Author: Andres-Papazian

WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
Jan 22 2011

Turkey reacts strongly to remarks by Greek president

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the remarks by Greek
President Papoulias targeting Turkey were a mere distortion of
historical facts

Saturday, 22 January 2011 14:03
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the remarks by Greek
President Karolos Papoulias targeting Turkey during Armenian President
Serzh Sargsian’s visit to Athens were a mere distortion of historical
facts.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday,
“remarks by Greek President Papoulias targeting Turkey, while Armenian
President Sargsian was visiting Athens are a mere distortion of
historical facts, do not reflect common sense and are not befitting
with the esteemed office from which they emanate.”

“Turkish and Greek governments with their common political will, exert
their utmost in order to give a new impetus to Turkish-Greek
relations. It is therefore a reasonable expectation for authorities to
refrain from such statements which would damage this atmosphere. We
urge those who make such statements to earnestly review our common
recent past and examine historical facts without distorting them,
while duly analyzing the contractual situation,” the Ministry added.

AA

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 22 2011

Serzh Sargsyan says Armenian-Georgian friendship valuable for region

January 22, 2011 | 17:45

The sooner Armenian and Georgian nations are able to attain their
goals, the sooner security of Armenia and Georgia is achieved,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in Yerevan.

Speaking at a closing ceremony of Armenian-Georgian mathematics,
physics and informatics competitions, President stressed that the
Armenian-Georgian friendship started long ago and presently two
nations should preserve it to be inherited by further generations.
However, President Sargsyan noted that two nations have been competing
with each other in culture, science and education, but never rose in
arms.

He said that considers President Saakashvili’s biography an example
for young people. `President Saakashvili got his PhD degree when he
was 28, and became a president when he was only 36. It indicates that
person can always achieve his goals,’ he said addressing Armenian and
Georgian children. The Armenian leader urged young generation to draw
up plans for the future not forgetting about Armenian-Georgian
friendship which is valuable for the entire region.

President Sargsyan also promised to provide Georgian students with an
opportunity to study in Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 22 2011

Armenians should not leave their homeland, Saakashvili says

January 22, 2011 | 17:09

“Serzh Sargsyan is my brother, a good friend and a colleague,”
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stated at the prize-giving
ceremony of Georgian-Armenian Olympiad on Mathematics, Physics and
Information Science.

The Georgian President stressed his Armenian counterpart provided
assistance to him and Georgian people.

`Armenia-Georgia friendship should serve an example for other nations.
Armenia’s victories are victories of our two nations,’ Saakashvili
said.

Meanwhile, Saakashvili emphasized the further development of bilateral
political and economic relations.

`500.000 Armenians visited Georgia,’ Saakashvili said. He advised
Armenians not to leave their country, go on living and creating in the
homeland.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 22 2011

Armenia adopts Georgia’s experience in business environment
improvement, Armenian President says

January 22, 2011 | 18:17

Armenia has learned and adopted much from Georgia in establishing law
and order and improving business environment, Armenian president Serzh
Sargsyan stated during a visit to the SYNOPSYS Company, accompanied by
his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili.

`And now we would like show our achievements to the Georgian President
and feel a little proud,’ he said.

`We are showing our achievements to the Georgian President for his to
share his experience in improving business environment,’ the Armenian
leader said. He stressed that adopting experience is a specific
feature of bilateral cooperation and of the two nations` friendship.
The Armenian President stressed that Mikhail Saakashvili`s visit to
Armenia is one more step to the consolidation of Armenian-Georgian
friendship.

From: A. Papazian

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 21 2011

Armenia diaspora wing flies in new direction

Friday, January 21, 2011
VERCÝHAN ZÝFLÝOÐLU
MARSEILLE, France – Hürriyet Daily News

Didier Parakian, a politician and businessman who owns the global
Parakian brand, is also the deputy mayor of Marseille. Daily News
photo

Liberal members of one of the most conservative Armenian diaspora
groups have called for the renewal of rapprochement efforts with
Turkey, saying the border between the two countries should be opened
to trade and travel.

“[Diplomatic] protocols were signed and a new process was beginning.
For once we believed things were going to change, but it ended up
quite contrary,” politician and businessman Didier Parakian, a member
of the French Armenian diaspora in Marseille, told the Hürriyet Daily
News & Economic Review. “We were planning to start trade [between
Turkey and Armenia], and I was planning to lead this process, but
everything got turned upside down.”

Parakian said he is unhappy with the way the Armenian diaspora is
understood by the Turkish public. “We cannot take the diaspora as a
homogenous whole. There of course is a very strict conservative
segment, but there are also liberals like us,” he said, adding that
the liberal wing would gain more power if the border between Turkey
and Armenia were to be opened, while leaving it closed fuels negative
radicalism.

The apology campaign started by Turkish intellectuals in late 2008 to
atone for the events of 1915, when Armenians claim up to 1.5 million
of their kin were systematically killed in the waning days of the
Ottoman Empire, received positive reactions within the diaspora,
according to Parakian, who is also the deputy mayor of Marseille.

The businessman said they never blamed the Turkish people for the
events of 1915, which Armenia has characterized as genocide. “They
[Turks] only know what the official history tells them, but there is a
bitter truth,” he said. “As liberals we could have started trade
activities as a first step if the borders were opened. But it is
impossible for us to take a step back in terms of our efforts to get
the genocide recognized in other countries.”

Colette Babouchian, another Armenian politician from Marseille, was
among the first supporters in the diaspora of the Armenian apology
petition campaign launched in Turkey. He said he is not against the
formation of a historians committee to further investigate the events
of 1915.

“I believe in communication. There must be a historians committee, but
one composed of objective, impartial scholars,” Babouchian told the
Daily News. “If the truth will really be uncovered with no vested
interest involved, there is nothing to be afraid of on our part. The
evidence is already in the open.”

Launched in December 2008, the “I apologize” campaign has drawn harsh
criticism within Turkey, even as approximately 30,000 people,
including many intellectuals and journalists, have signed the
petition, which reads in part: “My conscience does not accept the
insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that
the Armenians were subjected to in 1915.” Turkey denies claims of
genocide, saying that any deaths were the result of civil strife that
erupted when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern
Anatolia.

Efforts to bridge the diplomatic gap between the two countries started
in 2008, when Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a historic visit to
Armenia to watch a World Cup qualifier football match between the
Turkish and Armenian national football teams. Armenian President Serge
Sarkisian visited Turkey to watch the return match in 2009.

Following this “football diplomacy,” Turkey and Armenia signed two
protocols for the development of relations and the mutual opening of
their sealed border in 2009, but the two countries have been unable to
complete the process of ratifying the protocols.

Asked why much of the diaspora is against renewing relationships with
Turkey, Babouchian said: “If I am to exemplify those from Marseille,
almost all the Armenians here are the sons and daughters of those who
luckily survived the events of 1915 and moved here. How do you expect
them to feel?”

He immediately agreed with Parakian that the Armenian diaspora does
not blame the Turkish people for the historical events and only seeks
acknowledgment of the truth and an apology for it. “We will never come
back to Turkey; my country is now France,” he said.

Remembering the slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, whose
murder four years ago was commemorated in Istanbul this week, Parakian
said: “When Hrant was shot we thought history was repeating itself. He
was trying to open doors and establish a dialogue between these
cultures. Besides, he genuinely loved Turkey and Turkish people.”

From: A. Papazian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 22 2011

Hrant and Sledgehammer

ERGUN BABAHAN

The masterminds of the Sledgehammer case had set out to finish what
members of the Committee of Union and Progress started. An order to
kill Hrant Dink was issued within this scope, and if plans stayed on
track they were going to kill other important figures in Turkey such
as Etyen Mahçupyan and Sevan NiÅ?anyan.

Documents seized from the Gölcük Naval Command in a search conducted
during Sledgehammer investigations shed light on all suspicious events
that have occurred in Turkey in the recent past, including the
Sept.12, 1980 coup d’état. The documents show us once again that coup
leaders are not saviors but murderers.

But a section of the media persist in ignoring these developments.
These same people also try to downgrade and reject the Ergenekon case.
This is in fact an indication that there is an unusual relationship
between coup planners and the media. This is understandable to a
certain extent because they owe their existence, power and wealth to
the military. But when we look at the Dink murder, it’s hard to
understand the government’s attitude.

It’s apparent that Dink was not murdered by just a couple of young
lackeys but that the the police and gendarmerie were involved as well.
For some reason the government and the Interior Ministry did not or
could not go after those who were really responsible for the killing
and did not allow the investigation to expand after a certain point.
This in return leads to the suspicion that the decision to kill Dink
was made by people that the government is reluctant to expose.

Turkey is a country that still has not confronted the events of 1915.
For years, Turkey kept that part of history concealed, and any time it
was brought up it hid behind the argument that `they killed people too
and so did we.’ What we have before us is the murder case of an fellow
citizen of Armenian origin. This is clearly a `state murder.’ I have
said this before and I will say it again: A state that can not shed
light on a critical murder like this one, which happened not too long
ago, has no right to say anything about the past.

The decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dated Sept.
14, 2010 is a badge of shame we have to wear. The court unanimously
agreed that Turkey failed to take sufficient measures to protect
Dink’s right to life, stressing that security forces did not take
precautionary measures even though they knew Dink’s life was in
danger.

During a speech at the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s
Association (TÃ`SÄ°AD), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an boasted
about how the suspects were caught within 36 hours of the incident and
shifted the responsibility to the judiciary. But the government is
responsible for security and intelligence forces. An explanation as to
why the government has not launched a thorough investigation of that
part of the case is necessary.

The Dink case is the mother of all cases because it will give Turkey
the opportunity to confront everything from its recent to distant
past.

From: A. Papazian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 22 2011

There’s this Armenian

This is the title of journalist Adem Yavus Arslan’s recent book on
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink’s assassination. The full title is “Bi
Ermeni Var: Hrant Dink Operasyonu’nun Þifreleri” (There’s This
Armenian: The Codes of the Dink Operation).

The book tries to show through evidence that the Dink assassination in
2007 was part of a larger plan by the Turkish gendarmerie and part of
a larger Ergenekon conspiracy to weaken and, if possible, topple the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. The book argues
that Dink, the monstrous murder of three Christian missionaries in
Malatya and the murder of a Christian priest in Trabzon were all
orchestrated by the same culprits.

Arslan underlines the Dink murder was part of a larger plan to drive
Turkey away from the European Union. As you may remember, some neocon
writers had been falsely trying to label AK Party politicians
“Islamo-fascists” and with this assassination and the murder of
Christians, Ergenekon wanted to “prove” to the West that all these
murderers and assassinations were encouraged by the AK Party. Thus,
the West’s encouragement of proper democracy in Turkey was fatal. “One
vote, one time” is the motto. When these so-called Islamo-fascists
come to power, they will never go and in order to remain in power they
will start butchering their “other(s).” The bureaucratic oligarchy
dreamed that once the anchor of Western democratization had safely
been removed from Turkey, they would easily be able to do away with
the AK Party through all sorts of psychological operations. They are
so skilful that in order to prepare for the Feb. 28 coup, they made
the nation believe that a prostitute was a devout practicing Muslim
who was misled and abused by two notorious, so-called religious
leaders. It is only very recently that the nation learned that the
piety of these two men was less than we had been led to believe.

Arslan’s book also asserts that Dink’s murder was a way to stir up
ultranationalist sentiment, paving the way for the AK Party’s votes to
diminish and nationalist parties to gain power. The other target was
the Gülen movement, which is known for its inter-faith dialogue.
Sheikh Haydar Baþ’s newspapers kept claiming that the movement was
helping Christian missionaries in Turkey and that there were 18,000
house-churches in Turkey. In Islamist Necmettin Erbakan’s newspaper,
Milli Gazete, Mehmet Þevket Eygi claimed that a religious leader
(implying Fethullah Gülen) had made a secret agreement with the
Vatican to sell out Turkey. You may believe that all these things are
simply coincidental, but I do not. And, as Arslan’s book hints, every
single minute detail was carefully planned by the officials of the
Turkish state. The Dink assassination was so well organized that the
gendarmerie was able to cheat the police by employing double agents.
It is as if we are talking about two different enemy forces belonging
to two different states. What bothers me is that the AK Party has not
helped enough in solving the Dink case, for reasons unknown to me. I
wonder if in their subconscious they are confusing the number 2007
with 1915.

I hope the book is translated into English as soon as possible.

From: A. Papazian

Celebrity Mania
Jan 22 2011

‘Breaking Dawn’ Actress Talks Backstory of the Egyptian Coven

Share Fri, 21 January 2011 22:47:46 ET

“In Plain Sight” actress Angela Sarafyan has joined “The Twilight
Saga’s Breaking Dawn” to bring Egyptian vampire Tia to the big screen.
When talking about her experience on the set recently, the
Armenia-born beauty shared to MTV News that she got the chance to help
create the backstory of the Egyptian coven.

“I always envisioned Tia like Cleopatra and Benjamin like Marc
Anthony, so even though they’re the younger vampires, they’re very
strong-willed and rebels,” said the actress. “We have this entire
history of how they were 4 and they met and they fell in love and at
16 they turned into vampires. It’s something along those lines. And
it’s funny, I spoke to [author] Stephenie Meyer and she has a similar
idea of what we created.”

During the interview, the actress who has a small role in “The
Informers” also noted that they are “midway through” the filming and
are currently shooting the big fight scene. “We’re shooting it on
green screen, so it’s really quite unpredictable because we don’t know
what we’re going to be doing day to day,” so she shared.

“Every character is pretty much in it except Ashley Greene’s character
and Jackson [Rathbone’s] character,” the 27-year-old further detailed.
“Were spending 14 hours a day hanging out with each other and it’s
been really exciting because at the end of the day, we don’t know what
it’s going to look like. It’s almost half the script, so it’s taking a
while to shoot it.”

In related news, Summit Entertainment has released the official title
art for “The Twilight Saga’s Breaking Dawn Part I”. The new title card
kept the same font used for the first three films, but presented a
different color. While the card for “Twilight” was red, “The Twilight
Saga’s New Moon” was gold and “The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse” was
silver, the “Breaking Dawn” version is a reddish orange.

“The Twilight Saga’s Breaking Dawn” will be made into two separate
films, “The Twilight Saga’s Breaking Dawn Part I” and “The Twilight
Saga’s Breaking Dawn Part II”. “Part I” is set to open wide in theater
across United States on November 18 this year with “Part II” coming
out on November 16, 2012.

From: A. Papazian

Genocide Recognition: Continuing a Flawed Political Strategy (Part I)

Thu, Jan 13 2011

By: Michael Mensoian

I want to believe that every Armenian hopes for the day when the
Turkish leadership acknowledges that the uprooting and murder of some
1.5 million Armenians was a genocide.

Good men and women, highly motivated and dedicated to Hai Tahd
(Armenian Cause) and the best interests of the Armenian nation are
working to achieve this objective. However, on Dec. 22 the latest
fiasco in this annual drama occurred when the House democrat
leadership in which our good men and women had placed their trust
decided to fool the Armenian American community once again.
Specifically, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrat Leadership
simply decided, without warning, to pull the rug out from under the
feet of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) ostensibly
because a favorable vote for passage of H.Res.252 (Armenian Genocide
Resolution) was not likely. Behind the door machinations by the
Turkish lobby aided by President Obama’s refusal to act on his stated
beliefs on the genocide are the usual suspects. Maybe this is the
moment when the ARF/ANCA finally realizes that while this annual
pilgrimage to Capitol Hill may capture the emotional support of the
Armenian community, it represents an inefficient and ineffective use
of resources.

It was interesting to compare the response by the ANCA with the
obsequiousness of the Armenian Assembly. Rightfully so, the ANCA
conveyed the anger and disappointment of the Armenian American
community, whereas the Armenian Assembly issued an immediate press
release praising Pelosi and her leadership team for providing
invaluable assistance and guidance during the process. The ANCA had
every reason to believe that the vote would have been taken under the
most favorable circumstances possible. An unconfirmed report
attributed to the Assembly accepted Pelosi’s judgment that the vote
would not favor passage.

If genocide recognition encompassed all that was represented by Hai
Tahd, there would be no cause for concern. Or if genocide recognition
could solve the problems facing the Armenian nation, there still would
be no cause for concern. Unfortunately neither is so. The Turkish
leaders in Ankara once again must be savoring their victory and it
must cause thinking Armenians in the homeland (Armenia, Artsakh, and
Javakhk) and the diaspora to question how priorities are being
established and resources are being allocated. Difficult as it may be
to accept, while passage of a genocide recognition resolution is
important, it is not so important as to neglect other issues that have
immediacy and are of greater importance to the future viability of the
Armenian nation (see `Genocide Recognition: A Misguided Political
Strategy,’ the Armenian Weekly, Oct. 17, 2009).

For a moment consider what effect passage of the non-binding H.Res.252
could possibly have. Would it cause the Turkish leadership to recant
and finally confess to the world and its own citizens, after a 90-year
policy of denial, that a genocide did occur? Would the average Turkish
citizen willingly accept the moral, economic, and political burden for
the crimes some ancestors several generations removed may have
committed? Would Turkey relent and open its border with Armenia? Would
it result in Artsakh being recognized as an independent political
entity? Would Georgia cease its discriminatory policies against the
Armenians of Javakhk? Other questions could be asked, but the answers
would all be a resounding no.

Furthermore, passage of a resolution would not cause Turkey to implode
for the benefit of Armenians and Hai Tahd. Genocide recognition by
some two dozen foreign governments has not lessened Turkey’s stature
in the world. Presently it holds one of the rotating seats on the UN
Security Council. Having said that, should a resolution recognizing
the Armenian Genocide pass, it would only serve to harden the
resistance of the Turkish leadership and the average Turkish citizen.
And why not, when President Obama fails to honor his campaign rhetoric
recognizing the Armenian Genocide? The president’s need to cajole
Ankara by equating its interests and values with those of the United
States or elevating Turkey’s contribution as more important than ever
should be more than sufficient reason for the ARF/ANCA to reassess its
strategy. In addition, many Armenians delude themselves by misreading
what Turkish academics and others mean when they say that the Turkish
people must face their past. Facing their past is a purely
psycho-moral exercise that is unrelated to the political and economic
ramifications that genocide recognition has for the Armenian people.

Granted, a resolution recognizing the genocide would be an appropriate
and significant moral and psychological victory for Armenians. It
would go a long way in assuaging the emotional scars that Armenians
have borne these many years, not only for the loss of ancestors they
never had the opportunity to know, but for the generations forever
lost to the Armenian nation. However, now is the time to realize that
following the same flawed strategy year after year will invariably
yield the same result. Valuable resources in political capital, money,
individual commitment, and moral support from the Armenian community
are being diverted from significantly more important objectives facing
the Armenian nation. We need to look no further than Artsakh where
some 7,000 of our people sacrificed their lives to liberate these
historic Armenian lands. They are no less our martyrs than those whose
lives were taken during the genocide.

Myopia is a dangerous political affliction. It has allowed genocide
recognition to be raised to the level of a cause celebre, an apparent
moral obligation that is given precedence over every other issue.
While genocide recognition may meet the legitimate expectations of the
diasporan Armenians, the need to respond to issues whose solution will
contribute to the viability and security interests of the Armenian
nation are wanting. There is a failure to see the forest because of
the trees. Theoretically, a genocide recognition strategy might be
effective if a critical mass of countries (somewhere in the vicinity
of 90 or 100 countries) not only supported the Armenian position, but
also agreed to apply economic sanctions to pressure the Turkish
leadership to finally accept responsibility. In the world of
realpolitik this is an unrealistic expectation.

Next week, Part II will consider the issues that are vital and
immediate to Armenia’s future, but that are being ignored, as well as
an important opportunity for the ARF to expand its political base in
Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 22 2011

Russia-Armenia gas pipeline to be sold, if Azerbaijan offers more
favorable terms, Georgian expert says

January 22, 2011 | 00:49

Armenia and Georgia have been neighbors in the region for many
centuries and high-level regular meetings between them are simply
necessary, Georgian expert Paata Zakareishvili told NEWS.am,
commenting on Saakashvili’s forthcoming visit to Armenia.

According to him, Georgian authorities finally realized that no one is
closer to the region and for this reason Saakashvili has intensified
his activities in the South Caucasus. The expert stressed the Georgian
President’s visit to Armenia should be viewed in this context.

`Such meetings are of high importance between neighboring countries to
maintain a high-level political dialogue. Besides, the meeting will
focus topical issues, particularly, the price for Armenia’s cargo
transportation via Georgia, as well as the possible purchase of
Georgian sector of Armenia-Russia gas pipeline by Azerbaijan,’ the
political scientist said. According to him, Saakashvili will make
every effort to persuade the Armenian colleague that the deal is
purely commercial.

`Georgia is interested in selling the project. I am totally against it
as in any case Georgia will lose control over the gas section. As a
result, it may appear in Russia’s hands. However, I am certain it is a
commercial deal and it will be sold to the one, who will offer more
favorable terms,’ Zakareishvili said.

As for the Georgian eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
acquisition of its status, the expert said any church in Georgia’s
territory, both Armenian and Georgian should have equal rights. `This
issue is not politicians’ business. Let the churches solve their
problems themselves,’ he noted.

From: A. Papazian