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TURKEY: NO MORE TIME TO WASTE IN PROVIDING JUSTICE FOR HRANT DINK

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Posted: 19 January 2009

The Turkish authorities are nowhere near bringing to justice all
those who bear responsibility for the murder of Hrant Dink, said
Amnesty International on the second anniversary of the death of the
journalist and human rights defender.

Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at
Amnesty International, said:

‘Hrant Dink was murdered for the expression of his non-violent
opinions, apparently with the tacit agreement of elements within the
Turkish law enforcement agencies.’

Twenty suspects accused of planning and carrying out the murder have
been brought to trial. In a separate investigation, eight members
of the gendarmerie face charges of negligence. However, there has
been no progress in investigating and prosecuting police officers
for failing to act on warnings that Hrant Dink was being targeted
for assassination.

Reporting in July 2008, the Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights
Commission found that there was negligence and lack of coordination on
the part of the security services in failing to prevent the murder. In
addition, leaked details of the Inspectorate of the Prime Ministry’s
report into the role of the security forces in the murder of Hrant
Dink reportedly revealed that police officers at both the Trabzon
and Istanbul Security Directorates failed in their duty to protect
Hrant Dink although they had information about the planned murder.

Nicola Duckworth said:

‘The authorities should make public the report by the Inspectorate
of the Prime Ministry.

‘There is now a wealth of evidence upon which the judicial authorities
must act. An investigation should be re-opened so that all implicated
members of the police forces and gendarmerie are brought to justice.’

Background

Hrant Dink was shot dead on 19 January 2007 outside the offices of
the Agos newspaper of which he was the editor. He was best known for
his willingness to debate openly and critically issues of Armenian
identity and official versions of history in Turkey relating to the
massacres of Armenians in 1915. Prior to his death he was repeatedly
prosecuted for expressing his non-violent opinions.

On 2 July 2007 the criminal trial of 19 suspects accused of planning
and carrying out the murder began. Since this time another suspect
has been added to the trial. The next hearing will take place on
26 January.

At the current time eight members of the gendarmerie including
Trabzon District Gendarmerie Commander, Ali Oz are being prosecuted
for ‘dereliction of duty’. Ali Oz is accused of failing to pass on
information of the plot against Hrant Dink and of obstructing the
revelation of this evidence after the murder.

Agence France Presse
January 17, 2009 Saturday 11:13 AM GMT

Turkey warns US over Armenian massacres dispute: report

ANKARA, Jan 17 2009

Turkey’s foreign minister has warned Barack Obama’s incoming
administration that any US recognition of Armenian massacres by
Ottoman Turks as genocide could derail reconciliation efforts between
the two neighbours.

"It would not be very rational for a third country to take a position
on this issue… A wrong step by the United States will harm the
process," the Anatolia news agency quoted Ali Babacan as saying late
Friday.

Turkey has "never been closer" to normalising ties with Armenia, its
eastern neighbour, and a breakthrough could be secured in 2009, the
minister said.

Obama, who takes office Tuesday, pledged to his Armenian-American
supporters during his election campaign to recognise the World War I
killings as genocide.

Washington has traditionally condemned the massacres, but has so far
refrained from terming them genocide due to concern about straining
relations with Turkey, a NATO member and a key ally in the Middle
East.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire fell apart, a claim supported by
several other countries.

Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops.

Babacan said the dispute was among the issues that Ankara and Yereven
had been discussing since reconciliation efforts gathered steam in
September when Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to
Armenia.

"Turkey and Armenia have never been closer to a plan on normalising
relations," Anatolia quoted Babacan as saying.

The fence-mending process, he said, was boosted by similar
reconciliation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a close ally of
Turkey.

"The prospect of normalising relations both between Azerbaijan and
Armenia and between Turkey and Armenia in 2009 is not a dream," he
added.

Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan on
account of its campaign to have the killings recognised as genocide.

In 1993, it also shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia over Nagorny-Karabakh,
dealing a heavy blow to the impoverished nation.

Gul became the first Turkish head of state to visit Armenia when he
travelled to Yerevan in September to watch a World Cup qualifying
football match between the two countries on the invitation of his
Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian.

Naharnet, Lebanon
Jan 16 2009

Official and Popular Farewell to Mansour Rahbani

Lebanon bid farewell Friday afternoon to its leading composer and poet
Mansour Rahbani with an official and popular funeral at the St.Elias
Church in Antelias.

Rahbani’s casket made from wood used from the theater he used to
exhibit his plays, as per his last will. The casket was draped with
the Lebanese flag.

Culture minister Tamam Salam representing President Michel Suleiman
bestowed the golden medal of achievement placing it on the composer’s
coffin.

Many current and past political figures attended the funeral including
Syrian Charge d’Affaires Shawqi Shamat representing Syrian President
Basher al `Assad.

Funeral mass was presided by Mount Lebanon Greek Orthodox Bishop
George Khodr accompanied by Maronite Bishop Roland Abu Joude
representing Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

Bishop Khodr paid a warm eulogy to Rahbani saying: " He left carrying
the feelings of love for the wounded and suffering Palestinian
people."

Rahbani’s coffin was carried from the Armenian Cathedral towards the
church and the Antelias town square accompanied by tunes composed by
the late Rahbani brothers (Assi and Mansour).
Internal Security Forces musical band saluted the coffin playing the
tune of death.

Beirut, 16 Jan 09, 20:35

PanARMENIAN.Net

International rating tournament of Alpine skiing will be held in Armenia
16.01.2009 19:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ International rating tournament of Alpine skiing
will be held for the first time in Tsaghkadzor Armenian resort from
January 16 to 20, reports the press office of VivaCell-MTS cellular
operator.

Some 28 sportsmen from 11 countries will participate in the
tournament. On January 17-18 ` the competition will be on the special
slalom track, and on January 19-20 ` on the giant slalom track.

The opening ceremony of the tournament is due on January 16 at 16:00
on the Tsaghkadzor sideway.

The tournament has its own special prize fund.

The main sponsor of the tournament is Armenia’s leading mobile
operator VivaCell-MTS.

Driven by the belief that sports have its main influence on the
country’s health, and being Armenia’s sports’ partner, VivaCell-MTS
contributed AMD 60 million to the Armenian Ski Federation.

ARMENPRESS

PACE TO DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF 1609 1620 RESOLUTION BY ARMENIA JANUARY 27

STRASBURG, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: The main issues which will be
discussed in the winter session of the PACE which kicks off January 26
will refer to the situation created in Gaza, international financial
crisis and implementation of 1633 resolution on the consequences of
Russian-Georgian war, Council of Europe press service told Armenpress.
The implementation of PACE 1609 and 1620 resolutions by Armenia
will be discussed at January 27 session.

Moscow readies for crucial summit on gas dispute

13:03 | 17/ 01/ 2009

MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) – Representatives of countries
consuming and transiting Russian natural gas gather on Saturday in
Moscow as efforts intensify to resolve the gas dispute between Russia
and Ukraine.

The summit was proposed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
Wednesday at an emergency meeting with the prime ministers of Bulgaria,
Slovakia and Moldova, among the countries worst-hit by the cut in
Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine, which were halted on January 7.

An EU-brokered deal signed on Monday to have transits restarted has not
been enough to resume deliveries, even though international monitors
were deployed to ensure gas would not be siphoned off.

Eighteen EU member states and several other European countries have had
gas supplies either halted or seriously disrupted. A senior European
Union spokesman warned on Friday that "the meetings in coming days
offer the last and best chance for Russia and Ukraine to demonstrate
they are serious about resolving this dispute."

The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine meet on Saturday in Moscow
for talks on the crisis. Yulia Tymoshenko declared on Friday that her
government had sole responsibility in Ukraine for negotiating a way out
of the crisis.

Vladimir Putin was in Berlin on Friday leading Russia’s efforts to form
a consortium of gas companies to help move towards a solution to the
dispute, particularly in terms of providing Ukraine with the technical
gas it says it needs to transit Russian exports to Europe.

Gazprom, Germany’s E.ON, Ruhrgas and Wingas, Gaz de France and Italy’s
Eni have agreed to join the consortium and more firms could soon follow
suit.

Putin said the technical gas would cost $730 million for the first
three months of 2009, noting that Ukraine had asked for 360 million
cubic meters of technical gas in January, 600 million in February and
600 million in March.

The final makeup of participants in the gas summit is not yet known,
but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday invitations
had been sent to European Union members and other countries affected by
the dispute.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Czech Energy Minister Martin
Riman, whose country holds the EU presidency, are expected to take
part, while Serbia will be represented by its energy minister and the
head of national gas utility Srbijagas. Armenian president and
Kazakhstan’s prime minister have both confirmed they will attend.

Russia suspended supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after the former
Soviet neighbors failed to agree on debt and prices for 2009. The halt
in shipments to the EU came a week later, with Gazprom accusing Kiev of
stealing gas intended for EU consumers. Ukraine has denied the
accusation.

AZNAVOUR TO RECEIVE MIDEM AWARD

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2009 15:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MIDEM, the international music market, will host a
growing list of industry talent for the 2009 edition, which runs in
Cannes from 18-21 January.

The 43rd MIDEM will pay tribute to the industry’s most exceptional
personalities and artists. Charles Aznavour will receive a "Lifetime
Achievement Award" for a career studded with over 800 songs and sales
of 100 million albums.

Тhis year’s MIDEM conferences will bring together around 200 key
decision-makers to talk about the industry’s different areas of
expansion such as live performance; independents; managers; images
and brands; artist development; and for the first time this year,
publishers, with a special dedicated event – the International
Publishing Summit. MIDEM will also be welcoming Brian Message,
co-manager of Radiohead, Faithless & Kate Nash and Steering Committee
Member of the Featured Artist Coalition; Jay Marciano, President
of Madison Square Garden Entertainment; Andre de Raaff, CEO of
publishing company Imagem Music; Ralph Peer II, CEO and Chairman of
peermusic; Michael Eaton, Business Manager for Eric Clapton; Bruce
Flohr, Executive, Red Light Management/Partner, ATO Records; Simon
Raymonde, Managing Director of Bella Union and former member of the
Cocteau Twins; Ben Watt, Founder and Owner of Buzzin’ Fly Records and
Strange Feeling Records and former member of Everything But The Girl.

–Boundary_(ID_2ozKC90VCUsB484WmKKH0A)–

U.S. SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES HILLARY CLINTON AS SECRETARY OF STATE

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.01.2009 13:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved
the nomination of Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, and held
a hearing on the nomination of Susan Rice to be a cabinet-level United
Nations envoy.

The panel voted 16 to one to send the nomination to the full Senate,
which is expected to confirm Clinton just after the Obama inauguration
ceremony next Tuesday, VOA reports.

During her historic presidential campaign Secretary Designate Clinton
stated, "I believe the horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide. Our
common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for human
rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized
and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States."

AZERBAIJAN KEY TO ENERGY DIVERSITY

United Press International
Jan 14 2009

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 14 (UPI) — Azerbaijan is positioned
strategically with the necessary infrastructure to advance the
diversification of the European energy sector, officials said.

"We have already reached all major objectives in our country," said
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. "We have diversified transportation
energy. I am confident that the relationship between Azerbaijan and
European consumers will develop further."

The president pledged to his colleagues in the oil and gas sector
that Azerbaijan would remain an important ally in the region, the
Trend Capital News agency reported.

"Our partners can be assured that Azerbaijan will continue to play
an important role in the future as a reliable partner and friend,"
he said.

He pointed to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the world’s
second longest, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Pipeline, or South
Caucasus artery, as signs Azerbaijan and Caspian suppliers changed
the dynamics of the regional energy sector.

His comments came during a meeting with Estonian President Toomas
Hendrik Ilves on the Azeri conflict over the disputed Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh territories.

Ilves assured his counterpart the countries were important partners
in the political and economic realm.

TURK, ARMENIAN TEAMS GET PEACE PRIZE

Hurriyet
Jan 13 2009
Turkey

ZURICH – World’s football governing body FIFA donated its 2008
fair-play prize to the Turkish and Armenian national football teams
yesterday in a ceremony in Zurich for their contributions to peace
in a World Cup group stage match.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan to watch the
football match between Armenia and Turkey together with his Armenian
counterpart, Serge Sarkisian in September 2008.