Month: February 2012

SITRONICS TO INVEST $10 MLN IN ARMENIAN FREE ECONOMIC ZONE

Interfax
Feb 2 2012
Russia

CJSC Sitronics Armenia will invest $10 million in 2012-2014 in a free
economic zone in Armenia, Armenian Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan
said as he presented the company’s business plan to the government.

The government on Thursday approved the establishment of a free
economic zone at CJSC RAO Mars and the Yerevan Computer Research and
Development Institute (YCRDI) and confirmed Sitronics Armenia as the
organizer of the zone and its managing company.

The zone will remain in force for 10 years. The minister said that an
agreement will soon be signed between the government and the company,
after which Sitronics Armenia will undertake to launch the zone within
six months.

Production with the newest technologies of electronics will be set
up at RAO Mars and science and research work will be carried out at
YCRDI, Davtyan said.

When drafting the business plan, SitronicsArmenia and the government
held talks with foreign investors, the minister said. Six or seven
well-known companies have already shown an interest in the project.

Additional major investment is therefore anticipated, he said.

Free economic zone participants will not pay any taxes other than
income tax for employees, Davtyan said. The products manufactured
will be exported, the minister added.

Sitronics Armenia was established in September 2009 by OJSC Sitronics
(RTS: SITR), an AFK Sistema (RTS: AFKS)structure. Armenia transferred
RAO Mars and YCRDI to Russia in 2003 as a debt payment. They are
currently part of AFK Sistema.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TEMPLETON HIGH SCHOOL REPORTER TALKS TO KATCHO

Atascadero News

Feb 3 2012
CA

BY: Benton Lowerison, The Aerie

Many constituents can identify our state assemblyman, Katcho Acahdjian,
but few know his story. Over an hour-long lunch, I got an insider’s
take on the politician’s life.

Born in Lebanon to Armenian parents, Katcho grew up speaking both
Turkish and Armenian.

“Lebanon was very pro-American where I grew up,” he said. “If you
drove an American car, you had it made. If there was an American
movie in the theatres, everybody went.”

In 1971, Katcho decided to pursue the American dream by moving to
California. He worked at a Shell gas station in Arroyo Grande to pay
for his college education, graduating from Cuesta in 1973 and from
Cal Poly in 1976 with a degree in international business.

Initially, he hoped to pursue a career that would utilize his fluency
in three languages. After his former employer offered to sell him
the Shell station he had worked at for so long, though, he decided
to stay local.

Before self-service at Shell, Katcho would wash customers’ windows
for them.

“I would always get the sides and the mirrors, and they [the customers]
would always come back,” he said.

As his business enterprises grew, he became more and more involved,
finding ways to serve the community that had helped him make his way.

He served as a volunteer on the French Hospital and Arroyo Grande
Community Hospital boards and has been an active member of the Arroyo
Grande Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years.

His extensive involvement in Arroyo Grande and the surrounding area
led many to support his bid for County Board of Supervisors in 1998.

After serving three terms, he ran for the state assembly and won.

“I came from a place where you couldn’t even pronounce the [American]
cities and now I get to make decisions in the capitol,” he said,
looking off into the distance before adding, “two oceans away.”

With the state assembly in recess, Katcho has been enjoying another
aspect of his job: visiting constituents to hear their take on assembly
bills and local issues.

“If you get beyond the politics of politicking, you can help people
out,” he said.

IS EUROPE SETTING UP CLASH BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND THE WEST?

CNN

Feb 3 2012

By Mohammed Ayoob, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor
of International Relations at Michigan State University and adjunct
scholar at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

(CNN) — Europe and the Muslim world seem to be on a collision
course that could have major political, economic and ideological
ramifications. January 23, 2012, may well come to be remembered as the
crucial date when Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” thesis,
which many of us believed discredited beyond repair, was reaffirmed.

Political scientist Huntington wrote in 1993 that cultural divisions
preclude a defining global civilization, and the West and the Muslim
world would never share the same values.

Last month, Europe took two different actions that nonetheless sent
the same message to the Muslim world: You are not our equals and are
doomed to be judged by standards different from those by which we
judge ourselves. Future historians might call January 23 the day when
Europe irreversibly alienated not one, but both, pivotal powers —
Iran and Turkey — that in all probability will dominate the political
landscape of the Middle East for several decades.

One action was the European Union’s decision to ban oil purchases
from Iran, including imports of crude oil, petroleum products and
petrochemical products, to force Tehran to negotiate away its uranium
enrichment program, which Tehran insists is for civilian use only.

This is the latest in a series of increasingly stringent sanctions
that Western powers have unilaterally imposed on Iran. These sanctions
go well beyond those required by the U.N. Security Council.

The EU sanctions attempt to hit the Iranian economy where it hurts
most: Europe imports about a fifth of Iranian oil. When combined with
a ban on transactions with Iran’s Central Bank, this action is aimed
at paralyzing the Iranian economy.

At the same time, the French Senate passed a law making it a crime
to deny genocides that are officially recognized by France. The two
genocides in this category are the Holocaust and the killing of 1.5
million Armenians in Anatolia during the last years of the Ottoman
Empire. Because the denial of the Holocaust is already a crime under
French law, the obvious objective of the bill is to criminalize the
denial of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

The issue of Armenian genocide touches a very raw nerve in Turkey,
which denies the scale of the killings — Turkey maintains that roughly
500,000 Armenians were killed — as well as the claim that it was
planned. According to Turkey, the killings happened in the midst of
the disarray accompanying World War I and the disintegration of the
Ottoman Empire. Turkey says a nearly equivalent number of Turks and
Kurds were also killed in inter-ethnic strife with the Armenians,
who were allied with the Ottoman’s Russian adversaries.

It’s not the accuracy of the opposing claims that is at issue;
it’s Muslim perceptions. Iran may well be trying to develop nuclear
weapons, and what amounts to an Armenian genocide may well have taken
place. What roils Muslim opinion worldwide is the perception that
the West uses blatant double standards to pass judgment.

Harsh sanctions on Iran are seen as an attempt to prevent a Muslim
country from developing deterrents to attacks from Israel and the
United States, both nuclear powers hostile to the Islamic Republic.

Most Western discussions of the Iranian bomb do not make even passing
reference to the well-documented Israeli nuclear capability, even as
Israel threatens to militarily strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. This
omission is seen as hypocritical, dishonest and self-serving.

For many in the Muslim world, double standards explain why France
singled out Turkey, and didn’t criminalize the denial of other nations’
crimes against humanity. Although denying Germany’s crimes is a crime,
the Holocaust is universally accepted as genocide, while Turkey’s
is not.

Many ask why disputing European massacres of non-European people is
not criminalized — such as the French actions in Algeria, as Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan has said. These would include the near-total
extermination of native populations by European settlers in Australia,
New Zealand, and North America.

They would include the killings of millions of people by the Belgian
administration of the Congo Free State, whose population was halved
during the early decades of Belgian rule. Most pertinent of all,
Muslims ask, why not criminalize the denial of the genocidal Spanish
Inquisition that led to the extermination, expulsion or conversion
of the entire Muslim and Jewish populations of the Iberian peninsula?

Many Muslims perceive these moves as the West targeting Iran
and Turkey in an attempt to prevent important Muslim countries
from achieving the military capacity — Iran — and the political
stature — Turkey — they deserve. Many see behind these moves the
not-so-hidden hand of an ideology based on Huntington’s theory of
the clash of civilizations. Although these perceptions may not fully
conform with reality, it is well established that perceptions count
much more than reality in the conduct of international relations.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH JOURNALIST SPEAKS ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GEONOCIDE
By Charlie Breitrose

Patch.com

Feb 3 2012

The Armenian Library and Museum of America audience welcomed the editor
of a left-wing Turkish publication, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator
reports.

The subject of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 is a touchy one in Turkey,
where the government has refused to recognize the events as a genocide.

Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan was welcomed Saturday Jan. 28 by a
crowd at the Armenian Library and Museum of America interested in
hearing from the editor of the left-wing publication Taraf.

Altan has picked up the mantle of getting the Armenian Genocide
recognized in Turkey which has landed him and the publication in court,
the Armenian Mirror-Spectator report.

HISTORY OF POST-SOVIET COUNTRIES NEEDS SERIOUS CONSIDERATION – EXPERT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 3 2012
Russia

Today Vestnik Kavkaza hosted a conference devoted to the 20th
anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy. Member of the Moscow State
Institute for Foreign Affairs Leonid Gusyev took part in the event.

According to Gusyev, the history of post-Soviet countries needs
serious consideration.

“Twenty years ago the Soviet Union was a place where several
tragic events were unfolding. I mean those of Sumgait, Khojaly and
Nagorno-Karabakh,” Gusyev said.

“Those who were born in the 90s do not remember these events.

Moreover, they do not learn about them at school, as the history of
the late 20th century is taught rather badly,” he admitted.

“We – experts and tutors – should do our best to fill this gap,”
he concluded.

EDITOR OF OPPOSITION PAPER ARRESTED IN YEREVAN

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 3 2012
Russia

Ayk Gevorkyan, 45, editor of Aykakan Zhamanak, an opposition
newspaper, has been arrested in Yerevan this morning, suspected in
a car accident, as stated by Ashot Agaronyan, head of the PR section
of Armenian police, News Armenia reports.

Gevorkyan is charged for violating the traffic rules and exploitation
of vehicle and leaving a car accident.

Media say he was taken to the Nubareshensky Prison. Online sources say
he has been on the wanted list since January 23. The police promised
to give additional information later.

It is not the first case of persecutions against staff of Aykakan
Zhamanak. Nikol Pashinyan, Editor-in-Chief of the paper, was trialed
for disorders in 2008 and pardoned in 2011.

YEREVAN HOSTS IRANIAN ART EXHIBITION

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 3 2012
Russia

The Armenian National Gallery opened an exhibition of Iranian arts
and crafts dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution
on Wednesday, News Armenia reports.

Sayed Ali Sagayan, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of
Iran to Armenia, said that friendly ties of Armenia and Iran have
lasted for centuries , as seen in similarity of art and culture of
the two peoples.

The ambassador emphasized that close relations of Iranian and Armenian
artists serve an example for other peoples.

About 90 works of modern Iranian art, including vases, trays, wooden
clocks, utensils, stands for the Quran and books, were displayed.

Works of painter Ali Mohammad Sheikh were a highlight of the
exhibition. His style mixes modern and traditional art. The painter
said that his works use symbolism of sand and water, that he likes to
work with clay, dominating with natural blue, green and sand colours.

The exhibition was organized by the Iranian Embassy in Armenia.

AZERBAIJANI BLOGS TALK ABOUT ARMENIANS: INTRODUCING HATE 2.0
Arzu Geybullayeva

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso

Feb 3 2012

International Alert, an NGO based in London working on conflict
resolution, did a study on how people on opposite sides of the
conflicts in the South Caucasus perceived each other. Our correspondent
focused on how Armenians were depicted in online discourse in Baku. An
insiders’ look into the dark side of the Azerbaijani blogosphere

A group of scholars, researchers, and specialists was selected to
examine a range of sources, from history textbooks, to the media and
blogosphere, as well as speeches made by politicians to understand
better the dynamics behind the conflicts in the South Caucasus. The
aim of this research, “Myths and conflict”, was to identify key words,
narratives, and other innuendos that reference the concept of “us vs.

them” or “friend vs. enemy”. I was part of the research team. In my
research, I looked at the Azerbaijani blogosphere in order to identify
systemically-used stereotypes and propaganda to dehumanize Armenians
and Armenia. The results of this research will be released in early
2012 and should be available through International Alert’s website.

Dehumanizing the ‘other’ The tone used to talk about Armenians in
the online media – possibly even more than in traditional media – is
clearly one of hate. This is part of a process of dehumanization of the
enemy that is characteristic of conflicts in general. Communication
and media analyst Karim Karim suggests that “hate-mongers can then
‘justify’ acts of violence and degradation because they have denied
the humanity of their victims”.

This definition fits the rhetoric of hate-oriented blogs in
Azerbaijan. In fact, dehumanization is at times combined with
belittling, name-calling and other degrading comparisons in the
majority of posts targeting Armenia and Armenians. As a result one can
clearly see the extent of bitterness, anger, and adverse attitudes that
exist between the two countries not only in traditional outlets but
also in the parallel world of online content. In this parallel world,
hate 2.0 is taken to a completely different level with no strings
attached and no responsibility taken for what is said, illustrated,
and written.

Azerbaijani blogosphere Though the Azerbaijani blogosphere is barely
a decade old, blogging has become more popular in Azerbaijan only in
the last two to three years. According to the most recent Freedom
House report, there are in total about 27,000 blogs operating on
various blogging platforms.

Topics vary extensively with authors writing about art, movies, food,
society, tradition, politics, social issues, and more. Of course,
among the most widely-discussed themes in blogs and popular blogs
are the Karabakh conflict, relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and negative perceptions of Armenians. Let us call them “hate blogs”.

The most common theme for hate blogs is mutual perceptions. It is
also the most explicit and acute theme in terms of the language used,
analogies made, and the overall attitude. Being a blogger myself
who works in the conflict resolution field, reading these blogs
was unpleasant to say the least. The appalling descriptions used in
reference to the “other” – such as descriptions portraying “them” as
thieves, liars, drunks, prostitutes, and cave propagandists – later
appeared to be “kind” when compared to some of the analogies that
were simply beyond my ability to comprehend. It was almost as if the
authors were reassuring themselves and their readers that the “other”
was no longer a human and that it was ok to humiliate them, belittle
them, kill them, let them die, and get rid of them all together.

In a post about the shooting death of an Armenian civilian – a shepherd
– by the Azerbaijani military forces on the border, an Azerbaijani
blogger concluded “In any case, there is one less Armenian and this
is the happiest part of this news story” [Post originally written in
Azerbaijani]. The post expressed no regret about the actual death,
and even championed the incident.

In another post, the author compared Armenia to a disease that should
be eradicated. “Yeah, almost forgot, the worst flu I am referring to
has a similar name to that of bird flu and swine flu, in our language,
we call it “Armenian flu”. The symptoms of this flu include hypocrisy,
fraud, and double standards” [Post originally written in Azerbaijani].

In an additional spin to the post, the author proudly added: “We are
sick with this Armenian trash! […] Hypocrisy they have, terror they
have it […] Now I think, will we even find a vaccine against this
dangerous flu? Let’s not forget: to find a vaccine is written only
in our destiny.”

These and other examples that were used for the purpose of this
research indicated an important factor: youth are also becoming deeply
affected by the negative relations between the two countries that
are reflected in the media, general political statements, and the
overall attitude of the government. The clear annihilation messages,
the overall tone of the posts, and the bloggers’ hostile attitudes
were in no way creations of these bloggers but rather the results
of decades-long policy and measures taken by the local government to
further embed anger and hatred.

Future of hate 2.0 No doubt, this research only reveals the tip of
the iceberg. This is just another example of the fact that in spite
of its extremely powerful liberating potential, the Internet is not
intrinsically good.

It can be used to strengthen stereotypes and can contribute to shaping
public opinion in the favour of conflict.

As the research shows, many young people in Azerbaijan have very strong
positions regarding the conflict that are unsupportive of the peace
process to say the least. It also indicated the amount of work that
needs to be done as well as the pressing need to take concrete steps
in gradually shifting these negative attitudes, building positive
relationships, fostering dialogue and creating space for mutual
understanding rather than hatred between Armenia and Azerbaijan. More
importantly, the research underscores the need to start this work to
promote mutual understanding among youth in particular.

Perhaps, hate 2.0 in Azerbaijan is here to stay. But there is a chance
that online communities with access to first-hand accounts of the
‘other’ will instead mostly contribute to changing attitudes for the
positive in the region as a new, tech-savvy generation grows. Sure
enough, alternatives to “hate 2.0” exist and are possible. The online
world is the world of opportunities, after all…

GENOCIDE DENIAL BANS: WHAT WOULD RAPHAEL LEMKIN DO?

FRANCE 24

Feb 3 2012

The French Senate’s recent decision to criminalize denial of the 1915
Armenian Genocide prompted backlash from the Turkish government and
charges of hypocrisy. While Turkey officially denies the systematic
destruction of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, in Turkey, a common
response to the French ban on Armenian genocide deniers is that French
occupation of Algeria constituted genocide.

Many find it strange to equate the two. The Armenian genocide appears
to be the prototype of violent attempts to destroy entire groups of
people. France certainly didn’t attempt to kill all of the Algerians.

How could they compare? To answer this question, it serves us to
investigate the origins of the term.

In his 1944 “Axis Rules in Occupied Europe,” Raphael Lemkin, the
man who coined the term “genocide,” described the concept as “a
coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of
essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of
annihilating the groups themselves.” Genocide had two phases: “One,
the destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the
other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor.” This
destruction of groups could be equally waged through economic policy,
the law, or violence.

Thus for Lemkin, the Nazi occupation of Europe, Stalin’s attempts
to destroy the Ukrainian people through religious persecution and
famine, the Belgian colonization of Congo, and the Ottoman massacres
of Armenians were all genocide. They were not genocide because of the
killing that occurred, but because they were all purposeful attempts
to destroy the way of life of the oppressed.

On the Algerian genocide, Lemkin wrote that a nation-wide campaign of
violence and torture targeted Algerian national consciousness while
colonial land and resource policy brought decimating poverty and
disease upon the Algerian population. He believed these coordinated
policies were purposeful attempts by the French colonial government
to destroy Algerian culture. This was no different from the Ottoman
Empire’s genocide of the Armenians, Lemkin believed.

Under the UN’s current definition, it would be hard to define the
French rule in Algeria as genocide. But if we go back to the roots of
the concept and pay attention to Lemkin’s ideas, those in Turkey who
charge the French with hypocrisy make a valid point. Let us be fair,
we all live in states built on bones. In the US, we hide our genocide
in plain sight, calling it manifest destiny. Kill the Indian and save
the man, from sea to shining sea.

What would Lemkin do if he heard this debate about criminalizing the
denial of genocide? He would probably point to the genocides both
governments are currently facilitating either tacitly or directly,
from Libya and Iraq to Congo. Instead of fretting over criminalizing
the denial of past genocides, our governments should be criminalizing
the support of current genocides. For one, the US, France, and Turkey
could ban domestic sales of global conflict materials. The eastern
parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo are some of the wealthiest
places on earth, and the genocide makes a lot of money for a lot
of people. Besides the loss of life and physical trauma, there is
also a tremendous amount of cultural destruction in as well. Lemkin
would remind us that this is just as dangerous to the welfare of our
collective humanity.

We like pointing to other people’s genocides without considering our
own role in facilitating and denying the suffering of others. We do
not like thinking about how much our cell phones would cost if we
had to pay a fair price for the blood minerals used to make them. It
is actually less than we think: people are dying for a few cents per
cell phone.

Solidarity requires too much sacrifice. So, we’re quarreling over
defining past atrocities.

Submitted by Douglas S. Irvin

The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not represent
the opinions of Rutgers University or the Division of Global Affairs.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LURE AND PIN: WHAT IS BLACK’S BEST MOVE?
By Eric Morrow

Muskogee Daily Phoenix

Feb 3 2012

Chess Corner The Muskogee Phoenix Fri Feb 03, 2012, 12:19 AM CST

Levon Aronian of Armenia won the prestigious, annual chess tournament
in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, now called by benefit of its corporate
sponsor the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. This was the best tournament
of Aronian’s career. He will now be the world’s second-highest rated
player, trailing the leader, Magnus Carlson’ by only a few points.

In the tenth round Aronian defeated Anish Giri of the Netherlands
with a move and combination that will join the list of chess’ great
brilliancies. Aronian is black; Giri, white. Aronian sacrifices a
piece to create a pin that threatens checkmate. With this hint in
mind please try to find black’s best move and plan.

Black’s bishop and pawn on c3 prevent white’s king from moving off
the 1st rank to the 2nd rank. Because of this, if black checks white
from the 1st rank, checkmate is in the air. White’s rook on h1 defends
against this check.

Aronian thus lured this rook into danger by dangling his knight in
front of this rook by planting his knight on f3 to e1. The knight
threatens to hop to d3, initiating a series of devastating checks.

White cannot allow this. Giri therefore captured the seemingly free
knight. Now Aronian struck by moving his queen to f4, checking white
(Qf4+).

Even though black’s knight on e2 is ready to gobble up white’s queen,
the knight is pinned. If white’s knight takes the queen, black’s rook
on e8 captures white’s rook on e1, checkmating white.

The black queen check on f4 forced Giri’s king to flee to d1. Aronian
maneuvered his queen to e4 and Giri resigned.

The threat of black’s queen checking from b1 and d3 in addition to
the pin on white’s knight is overwhelming. If white’s knight moves
and captures black’s pesky pawn on c3, for example, black’s queen
grabs white’s rook on e1, delivering checkmate.

Aronian is following a path typical of world chess champions. They
emerge as young geniuses at an early age. Aronian was the under 12
world chess champion in 1994. In their 20s they join the world’s elite
along with other former chess prodigies, as Aronian did in 2005. It
is at around age 30 that they start to play their best chess and then
vie for the crown of world champion. Aronian turns 30 this year and
his recent play shows that the title of world chess champion may be
within his grasp.