Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES PLAN OF ACTIONS TO IMPROVE DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION IN 2013

YEREVAN, December 20. / ARKA /. The Armenian government has approved
today a national plan of actions to improve the demographic situation
in 2013, and a list of measures for its implementation. The purpose
of the program is to prevent negative demographic trends.

According to official numbers, 43,340 babies were born live in Armenia
in 2011, by 1,485 less than in 2010. In January-June 2012 some 19,183
babies were born, by 812 people or 4.1% less from a year before.

One of the factors behind low birth rate is the decreasing number of
marriage. In 2011, the number of marriages, compared to the previous
year, increased by 1,722 to 19,706; and the number of divorces rose by
6.4%, to 3,188. In January-June 2012 the number of marriages decreased
by 147 from the same time span in 2011.

As of January 1, 2012 Armenia had officially a 3.2 million population,
of which about 2.1 million were urban population. -0-

From: A. Papazian

THE GREAT CRIME THAT WAS BREWING: THE MEANING OF ‘MEDZ YEGHERN’ BEFORE 1915

by Vartan Matiossian on December 20, 2012

‘We want to believe in the victory of Freedom and of tomorrow’s
brotherhood, we want to enjoy smiles, we want to strengthen our
faith that famine is not eternal, blood is not eternal, yeghern is
not eternal.’ E. Aknuni (1910)1

The meaning of yeghern in Classical Armenian (“evil,” “crime,”
and “calamity”) may seem to give some credence to claims that Medz
Yeghern doesindeed mean “Great Calamity.” However, before we accept
these claims, we must first verify whether those three meanings have
survived in Modern Armenian. Their survival is contingent not only
on their presence in dictionaries, but also on their actual usagein
literature. As translators know firsthand, dictionaries may give
definitions, but the key to using them effectively depends on one’s
ability to place a given literal definition within its proper context.

Armenian survivors of the Adana massacres at the ruins of their houses
(Source: The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute) In this study, we
will first overview the definitions of yeghern in Modern Armenian
dictionaries, both monolingual and multilingual, published before
and after 1915, to validate the accuracy of the “Great Calamity”
translation.

The meaning of ‘yeghern’ in Modern Armenian until 1915

A primary meaning of yeghern as a breach of law or a crime was already
present in Modern Armenian before 1769. Proof is offered by the
second tome of the Haigazian Dictionary by Mekhitar of Sebastia and
his disciples, published that year. This dictionary contained three
wordlists: a Classical Armenian dictionary, “where the words of the
Haigazian [Classical] language are interpreted only with vernacular
[ashkharhabar] or Turkish words”; a Modern Armenian dictionary with
translations into Classical Armenian; and a dictionary of proper
names. In the second volume, the word yeghern appeared interpreted
in the “vernacular language” as Õ´Õ¥Õ® Õ¡Õ¶O…O~@Õ§Õ¶Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[medz anorenutiun, “great lawlessness”], Õ¡Õ¶Õ”O~@Õ¡O~BÕ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[aniravutiun, “evil”].2 This suggests thatatsome time between the
5th century and 1769, yeghern was no longer defined as “calamity.”

This development was reflected in the 1821 English-Armenian dictionary
of Rev. Paschal Aucher and John Brand, which introduced yeghern as
one of the translations for the English words “crime”and “evil”:
crime = ÕµÕ¡Õ¶O~AÕ¡Õ¶O~D [hantsank], Õ´Õ¥Õ²O~D [meghk], Õ¾Õ¶Õ¡Õ½
[vnas], Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [charik], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ [yeghern], Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@ [vojir];
evil = Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [charik], ÕµÕ¡Õ¶O~AÕ¡Õ¶O~D [hantsank], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶
[yeghern], Õ¾Õ¶Õ¡Õ½ [vnas], Õ¡Õ¶Õ”O~@Õ¡O~BÕ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [aniravutiun],
Õ¦O~@Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶O~D [zrgank], Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [charutiun],
Õ¡ÕºÕ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [abaganutiun], Õ¾Õ¡Õ¿Õ©Õ¡O~@Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[vadtarutiun], Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D [aghedk], Õ©Õ·Õ¸O~BÕ¡Õ¼Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[tshvarutiun], Õ¤Õ¡Õ¼Õ¶Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [tarnutiun], Õ¡Õ­Õ¿ [akhd],
Õ°Õ”O~BÕ¡Õ¶Õ¤Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [hivantutiun]. The word was not
listed as translation for calamity, catastrophe, or disaster:
calamity = Õ©Õ·Õ¸O~BÕ¡Õ¼Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [tshvarutiun], Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D
[aghedk], Õ¾Õ”Õ·Õ¿ [vishd], Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [charik]; catastrophe =
ÕµÕ¥Õ²Õ¡O~CÕ¸Õ­Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [heghapokhutiun], Õ¥Õ¬O~D Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿Õ¡Õ¬Õ”
[yelk aghedali], Õ¯Õ¡Õ¿Õ¡O~@Õ¡Õ® Õ¸Õ²Õ¢Õ¡Õ¬Õ” [gadaradz voghpali];
disaster = Õ¤ÕªÕ¢Õ¡Õ­Õ¿Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [tzhpakhdutiun], Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D
[aghedk], Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [charik], Õ¾Õ”Õ·Õ¿O~D [vishdk],
Õ¿Õ¡Õ¼Õ¡ÕºÕ¡Õ¶O~D [darabank], Õ±Õ¡Õ­Õ¸O~@Õ¤Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[tzhakhortutiun].3

The Armenian-English dictionary of 1825 by the same pair repeated
the trend. The meanings for yeghern reflected “crime” and “evil”:
Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ = rascality, offence, misdeed, malice, crime, wickedness.4

Interestingly, the revision of this dictionary, undertaken by Rev.

Matthias Bedrossian and published in 1879, added “catastrophe”
as a secondary meaning for yeghern.5 It goes without saying that
he wished to accommodate the classical meaning of yeghern, just as
Rev. Srabion Eminian had done in his 1851 French-Armenian-Turkish
dictionary, where he translated yeghern into French as mal (“evil”)
and calamité (“calamity”). Incidentally, this was the reason the
dictionary also contained the only available translation of yeghern
into Turkish as felâket.6 However, it is interesting to note
that in 1893, Gomidas Voskian’s French-Armenian dictionary wrote:
“yeghern = see vojir,” and “vojir = crime, attentat [attack], méfait
[wrongdoing], forfeit [crime].”7The fact that yeghern did not appear
as translation of “catastrophe,” “calamity,” or “disaster” in late
19th-century and early 20th-century English-Armenian dictionaries
shows that the meaning was completely outdated by that point in time:
crime = Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ [yeghern], Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@ [vojir] (V. H. Hagopian,
1907); crime = ÕµÕ¡Õ¶O~AÕ¡Õ¶O~D [hantsank], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ [yeghern],
Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@ [vojir] (M. K. Minassian, 1907); crime = Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@ [vojir],
Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶Õ¡Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [yeghernakordzutiun], Õ´Õ¥Õ®
Õ¡Õ¶Õ”O~@Õ¡O~BÕ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [medz aniravutiun] (Z. D. S. Papazian,
1910).8

The use of ‘yeghern’ at the time of the Massacre of Adana

The word appeared in literary usage, indeed. For instance, it
showed up twice in Avetik Isahakian’s famous philosophical narrative
poem, “Abu-Lala Mahari,”written in 1909 and published in 1911. Its
protagonist, the homonymous Arab poet, expresses his contempt and
pessimism for humanity. The two relevant stanzas follow:

And woman I hate. She’s the fertile cause of unbridled crime [yeghern],
of passion the seed; A well never failing, whose copiousness steams
earth’s growing wickedness water and feed.

For nothing but gain. To the claw of crime [yeghern]divinity men will
ascribe; Such ever is man, the image of God–whom abort of the devil
would best describe.9

Isahakian’s poem was written in the same year of the forerunner to the
Armenian Genocide: the 1909 massacres of Adana. E. Aknuni, one of the
leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in the early
20th century, was nevertheless hopeful that better times were to come.

In September 1910, when touring the United States, he wrote an essay
titled “To the Exiled Armenians of America,” in which he inscribed
the words of the epigraph: “… [W]e want to strengthen our faith
that famine is not eternal, bloodletting is not eternal, yeghern is
not eternal.”

Logical thinking in the process of writing would have placed one
reference to a natural cause of death (“calamity”) along the other
(“famine”). The order of Aknuni’s references indicates that yeghern
did not mean “calamity,” but “crime,” which is why he placed it after
a violent cause of death (“bloodletting”).

Around the same time, Armenian writer Tlgadintsi (Hovhannes
Harutiunian, 1860-1915) published a chronicle called “Take My Sun,
Send Me My Death,” where his interlocutor, Rev. Aslanian, a priest
who had been to Adana, was quoted as saying: “Babikian too, that poor
man but also a select and true Armenian, was melting like a candle
against the fire when he saw things and heard the stories of the
unprecedented extremes of the yeghern committed by the Turkish mob
with a kind of official treason.”10

The reader would have readily understood yeghern to mean something
committed by man (a crime), rather than by nature (a calamity),
supported by Simon Kapamajian’s 1910 modern Armenian dictionary, which
defined yeghern as “O~DÕ¡Õ²Õ¡O~DÕ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Õ¯Õ¡Õ´ Õ¢Õ¡O~@Õ¸ÕµÕ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶
O…O~@Õ§Õ¶O~DÕ” Õ¤O~@ÕªÕ¸O~BÕ´ [breach of political or moral law];
Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [evil]; Õ¾Õ¶Õ¡Õ½ [harm]; Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@ [crime].”11

Hagop Babikian (1856-1909), an Ittihad Party deputy in the Ottoman
Parliament, had been sent to Adana as part of an investigative
commission. He died under suspicious circumstances only two days after
having shown a draft of his damning report to some parliament members.

His report was surreptitiously published in Ottoman-Turkish in
Constantinople in 1913. It is likely that it was translated into
Armenian at the time, but only published six years later due
to political turmoil and the genocide years. Hagop Sarkisian’s
translation was titled “The Yeghern ofAdana.” In his preface, dated
Feb. 1, 1919, he made clear that “[Babikian] was poisoned by the
Young Turks as repayment for this report about the yeghern of Adana,
which he prepared for the Chamber of Deputies and for which he died
on July 20, 1909.” The preface began with the following statement:

“It was in the spring of 1909 when the black Mongolian claw painted
the whole Cilician plain red and turned it into one vast cemetery; the
rivers Sihoun [Seyhan] and Jihoun [Ceyhan] received floods of Armenian
blood. The Young Turks, openly or secretly, rubbed their hands together
with devilish smiles on their faces and with an insolence worthy of
hyenas at having accomplished some supreme duty spat in the face of
Civilization and of the Allah they worshipped. This was the result of
the old and new Turkish mentality, one which never wanted to understand
that the owners of this country, of yesterday and of tomorrow, might
have the right to live too. The days of awakening came, nevertheless;
it was necessary to sow ashes over the Medz Yeghern and conduct the
burial of Justice crucified.”12

While Babikian’s use of yeghern by itselfmay not have shed a great
deal of light on its meaning, the context surrounding the words Medz
Yeghern–from the “black Mongolian claw” to “Justice crucified”–make
it quite clear that there was no question of “calamity,” or natural
disaster, here. The massacres of Adana had turned yeghern from “crime,”
into “pogrom.”

It is curious that the translator, writing in 1919, used the concept
of Medz Yeghern, butdid not make any explicit reference to the events
of 1915-18. He was in fact echoing an expression already used by Sahag
II Khabayan, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in a letter of
appreciation written on Dec. 4, 1912 and printed in “The Catastrophe
[Aghed] of Cilicia,” by Hagop Terzian, a witness to the massacre of
Adana. The letter stated the following in its penultimate sentence:

“It [the book] is the living image of the Medz Yeghern, extracted
from beneath the ruins and the ashes by the dedicated and inquisitive
effort of an authentic child of Cilicia, which will be the eternal
affront of the much-touted civilization and the inexistent humanism
of the 20th century.” 13

The horror of Cilicia, where Armenians young and old had been
indiscriminately slaughtered, surpassed the massacres of 1895-96 in
both scope and brutality: “… [T]he most painful and hellish episodes
of the events of ’95, in comparison with what actually happened
in Kozluk, were not even the beatings sparked by the ballgames of
schoolboys…”14 The Catholicos bore witness to the annihilation of
his flock three years later in a much bigger “eternal affront” that
also took the lives of Aknuni and Tlgadintsi, and was condemned by the
Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, and Russia), as early as May 24,
1915, as the “new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization,”
as reported by the U.S. State Department.15

Guy de Lusignan’s and K. J. Basmadjian’s Armenian-French abridged
dictionary, ironically published in 1915, defined yeghern as “crime,
forfait [crime], attentat [attack], délit [wrongdoing]; malheur
[misfortune], fatalité [fatality], catastrophe.”16 A single dictionary
that has the secondary meaning of yeghern defined as “catastrophe”
cannot prove that such an understanding was so widespread that
Armenians named the darkest page of their history to imply that
meaning.

The reason for this intriguing double meaning was that Karapet
Basmadjian had posthumously abridged Lusignan’s voluminous dictionary,
which revised his 1861 Armenian-French dictionary. The definition
of two groups (“crime” and “misfortune”) repeated the latter;
Lusignan had followed the inaccurate classification of the New
Haigazian Dictionary and put together yeghern (Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶) and yegher
(Õ¥Õ²Õ¥O~@) as synonymous words. Thus, he defined yeghern as “crime,
forfait [crime], attentat [attack], délit [wrongdoing]; malheur
[misfortune], fatalité [fatality], catastrophe.”17

Interestingly, Lusignan’s voluminous French-Armenian dictionary,
published in 1900, defined crime as follows: “Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@
[vojir], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ [yeghern], Õ¸Õ³O~@Õ¡Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[vojrakordzutiun], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶Õ¡Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[yeghernakordzutiun], ÕªÕ¡Õ¶Õ¿Õ¡Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[zhandakordzutiun], Õ¾O~@Õ”ÕªÕ¡Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[vrizhakordzutiun], Õ¡Õ¶O…O~@Õ§Õ¶Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [anorenutiun],
Õ¡ÕºÕ”O~@Õ¡Õ¿Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [abiradutiun],” with the phrase commettre
un crime (“to commit a crime”) translated as Õ¸Õ³Õ”O~@, Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶
Õ£Õ¸O~@Õ®Õ¥Õ¬ [vojir, yeghern kordzel]. The sixth meaning of the
word mal (“evil”) was “Õ¹Õ¡O~@ [char], Õ¡Õ¶ÕºÕ¡Õ¿Õ¥Õ°Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶
[anbadehutiun], Õ¥Õ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶ [yeghern], Õ´Õ¥Õ² [megh], Õ¾Õ¶Õ¡Õ½
[vnas], Õ¡ÕºÕ”O~@Õ¡Õ¿Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [abiradutiun].”But the Armenian
equivalents for calamité (“Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D [aghedk]; Õ¿Õ¡Õ¼Õ¡ÕºÕ¡Õ¶O~D
[darabank], Õ­Õ¡O~@Õ¸O~BÕ¡Õ¶O~D [kharvank], O~CÕ¸O~@Õ±Õ¡Õ¶O~D
[portzank]”), catastrophe (“Õ¡O~@Õ¯Õ¡Õ® [argadz], Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D
[aghedk], Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿ Õ¤Õ§ÕºO~D [charaghed tebk], Õ´Õ¥Õ®
Õ¹Õ¡O~@Õ”O~D [medz charik]”) and désastre (“Õ¡Õ²Õ§Õ¿O~D [aghedk],
Õ©Õ·Õ¸O~BÕ¡Õ¼Õ¸O~BÕ©Õ”O~BÕ¶ [tshvarutiun]”) did not contain any trace
of yeghern.18

Before 1915, then, yeghern was solidly established, both in
dictionaries and in literary texts, with the meaning of “crime.” The
genocide would bring the use of the word to a higher level.

Notes

[1] E. Aknuni, Depi Yerkir (Towards the Country), Boston: Hairenik
Press, 1911, p. 15.

2 Bargirk haykazian lezvi (Dictionary of the Armenian Language), vol.

2, Venice: Antoni Bortoli, 1769, p. 113.

3 Father Paschal Aucher and John Brand, A Dictionary English and
Armenian, Venice: Armenian Academy of S. Lazarus, 1821p. 116, 128,
213, 258, 318.

4 John Brand and Father Paschal Aucher, A Dictionary Armenian and
English, Venice: Armenian Academy of S. Lazarus, 1825, p. 180.

5 Rev. Matthias Bedrossian, New Dictionary Armenian-English, Venice:
St. Lazarus, 1875-1879, p. 155.

6 Rev. Srabion Eminian, Baragirk gagghieren-hayeren-tajkeren
(French-Armenian-Turkish Dictionary), Vienna: Mekhitarist Press,
1871, p. 155, 743 (first edition, 1851).

7 Gomidas A. Voskian, Ardzern baragirk hayeren gagghieren
(Armenian-French Pocket Dictionary), Constantinople: H. Matteosian,
1893, p. 195, 641.

8 V. H. Hagopian, A Dictionary English-Armenian, Constantinople: H.

Matteosian, 1907, p. 159; M. K. Minassian, A Dictionary, English,
Armemian and Armeno-Turkish, Constantinople: V. and H. Der Nersessian,
1908, p. 246; Z. D. S. Papazian, Illustrated Practical Dictionary
English-Armenian, Constantinople: H. Matteosian, 1910, p. 252.

9 See the original Armenian in Avetik Isahakian, Yerker (Works),
Yerevan: Sovetakan Grogh, 1987, p. 237, 250. The first stanza is
a literal reproduction of Zabelle C. Boyajian’s 1948 translation,
while the second revises the translation, where the word yeghern
had not been translated (“For nothing but gain. To the grabbing claw
honour and sanctity men will ascribe;/ Such ever is man, ‘the Image
of God’–whom ‘Sons of the Devil’ would best describe”). For the two
stanzas in Boyajian’s translation, seeAvetik Isakakian: Great Armenian
Poet, Armenian Program, 35th Annual Women’s International Exposition,
November 3-9, 1958, 71st Regiment Armory, Park Ave. at 34th St.,
New York City, p. 11 and 18.

10 Tlgadintsin yev ir gortze (Tlgadintsi and His Work), Boston:
Tulgadintzi Alumni Union, 1927, p. 230.

11 Simon Kapamajian, Nor baragirk hayeren lezvi (New Dictionary of
the Armenian Language), Constantinople: R. Sakayan Press, 1910, p. 407.

12 Hagop Babikian, Atanayi yegherne (The Yeghern of Adana), translated
by Hagop Sarkisian, Aleppo: Armenian Prelacy of Aleppo, 2009, p. 15-16
(second edition).

13 Hishatakaran Atanayi agheti (Memorial of the Catastrophe of
Cilicia), vol. II, Antelias: Collection of the 100th Anniversary of
the Massacre of Adana, 2010, p. 14 (third edition of Terzian’s book).

14 Tlgadintsin yev ir gortze, p. 229.

15 Annette Höss, “The Trial of Perpetrators by the Turkish Military
Tribunals: The Case of Yozgat,” in Richard Hovannisian (ed.), The
Armenian Genocide: History, Politics, Ethics, New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1992, p. 209.

16 Guy de Lusignan-K. J. Basmadjian, Dictionnaire portatif armenien
moderne francais, Constantinople: Librairie B. Balentz – Imprimerie O.

Arzouman, 1915, p. 199.

17 G. A. Nar-Bey de Lusignan, Dictionnaire arménien- francais and
francais-arménien, third edition, Paris: L. Hachette and Co., 1881, p.

239.

18 Guy de Lusignan, Nouveau dictionnaire illustré francais-arménien,
vol. I, Constantinople: H. Matteosian, 1910, p. 358, 408, 626, 710;
vol. II, p. 138.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA IS NOT READY FOR VENICE BIENNALE

Story from Lragir.am News:

16:50 20/12/2012

There are some issues related to Armenia’s participation in the 2013
54th Venice Biennale. The government allotted 5 million AMD for this
aim, but this money is only the ten percent of the whole sum required
for Armenia’s participation.

Armenia took part in the Venice Biennale in 1995 for the first time.

After, Armenia has always had its pavilion at the Biennale. The
requests on the concept of participation and pavilion content design
should be presented to the ministry of culture by December 15, but so
far no request has been presented.

Art critic Lilit Sargsyan says that after the invitation is received,
the invited country launches the relevant process which starts with
the appointment of the Curator, who takes care of the fundraising and
appoints a responsible, who chooses the artists and presents the
concept.

On October 25 the meeting of all participant curators was held, but
Armenia presented no request.

According to the head of modern art department Seyranuhi Geghamyan,
Armenia has not received the invitation, though the organizers claim
to have conveyed it to the embassy of Armenia at the beginning of
October.

From: A. Papazian

RAGIP ZARAKOLU, UNE LIBERTE EN SUSPENS, PAR ARA TORANIAN
Ara

armenews.com
mercredi 19 decembre 2012

Lu dans la Règle Du Jeu : ” Parev tsez,… shalom,…

kalimera,…bonjour ! Je suis très content de me trouver ici, entre
amis, Je me sens a present moi-meme plus libre “. Le petit homme
au beau visage de sage qui salue mercredi 12 decembre l’assistance
a la tribune de l’amphi de l’ecole pratique des hautes etudes en
sciences sociales s’appelle Ragip Zarakolu. Il est turc, fondateur de
l’association locale des droits de l’homme. Et il revient de loin. Il
y a encore quelques mois, cet editeur d’Istanbul croupissait dans une
prison de haute securite pour soutien a une ” organisation terroriste
“, le KCK, consideree par son gouvernement comme proche du Parti
des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). Son tort : avoir participe a
des reunions publiques favorables a la cause kurde, frequenter et
manifester sa solidarite avec ses defenseurs. Cent quatre-vingt-treize
personnes ont ete arretees dans le cadre de cette procedure qui
s’inscrit dans la grande repression visant a etrangler le mouvement
kurde, y compris dans sa version pacifiste et politique. Au nombre des
detenus figurent des avocats, des journalistes, des universitaires,
dont Deniz Zarakolu, le fils de Ragip. Un bon moyen de faire pression
sur le père. Car Ragip, n’est pas n’importe quel opposant en Turquie.

La suite sur le lien plus bas :

mercredi 19 decembre 2012, Ara ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

MOSCOW VISIT: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT FACES SERIOUS TALK AND HARD CHOICES ON TRIP TO RUSSIA

Politics | 19.12.12 | 13:11

By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Today Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is meeting his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the sidelines of a meeting
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council hosted
by the Russian capital.

Armenian experts have no doubt that Moscow will do everything to
prevent Armenia from signing an association agreement with the European
Union. On December 17, Armenia and the EU signed an agreement on visa
facilitation, while an Association Agreement and an agreement on the
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area are expected to be signed as
early as in November 2013. Before that, Putin is sure to be trying
to win Armenia over.

The difference between European integration and accession to
the Russia-dominated Customs Union is primarily in the methods of
integration. While Armenia is being coerced to sign up to the Customs
Union and methods like raising the price of natural gas and others
are being used to ensure that move, the South Caucasus country seems
to be voluntarily choosing integration with Europe, consenting to
meeting the strictest requirement along this path.

A few days before the CSTO summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov visited Uzbekistan, where he tried to persuade Uzbek President
Islam Karimov to annul his country’s withdrawal from the CSTO. But
Karimov did not agree and all Lavrov could say is that Uzbekistan
will still remain an ally of Moscow.

A day before the summit, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych also
canceled his visit to Moscow. It had been announced before that
Yanukovych and Putin would discuss natural gas prices and Russia
would make a discount for Ukraine in exchange for Yanukovych’s signing
some documents related to the Customs Union. But instead reports have
appeared about Ukraine’s intention to sign an Association Agreement
with the EU soon.

A couple of days before the summit, Belarus President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka managed to get another major loan to Minsk from Moscow.

And, as analysts say, he had been blackmailing Moscow with his
intention to pull out of the Customs Union and start looking west,
to Europe.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan
Fule, speaking at a press conference following the meeting of the
Armenia-EU summit in Brussels, noted Armenia’s efforts in the field of
governance and human rights and said that lack of judicial independence
and corruption remained problems for the South Caucasus country.

He stressed that in order to achieve a successful outcome that would
allow the use of the full potential of relations between Armenia and
the EU, efforts were required for extensive reforms next year.

At the same time, in Armenia some local analysts predict pressure on
Sargsyan to sign some documents pledging to work more closely with
the Customs Union. That the Customs Union wanted to sign documents on
cooperation with Armenia in early 2013 was mentioned by chairman of
the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Viktor Khristenko,
who was in Armenia in early December.

“During the meeting with the President of Armenia and the Prime
Minister, when we discussed formats of cooperation, we agreed that we
will be preparing a document on cooperation between the Government
of Armenia and the EEC. Now we are working on this document. It is
likely to be signed at the beginning of next year,” he said.

Speaking on the subject of future agreements with Armenia, Khristenko
said that they will also be based in the area of competence of the
Eurasian Economic Commission. “Today, we have in our competence
everything related to trade policy, tariff and non-tariff measures,
measures of technical regulations, safeguards, etc.,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS – ARF-D REP

13:27 ~U 19.12.12

As the centennial of the Armenian Genocide is nearing, Giro Manoyan,
Head of the Hay Dat office, Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D), believes that Armenia should withdraw its
signature from the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

“Turkey is now trying to show a process involving the two countries.

They are making use of the protocols only to claim they are involved
in a process with Armenia. Our authorities have not changed their
behavior in the recent two years. Even the president has re-stated
his confidence the protocols are the right document, and Armenia has
no intention to withdraw,” Mr Manoyan said.

With respect to the Armenian president’s unwillingness to withdraw
from the protocols, he said that it is a way of assuming a stance in
the eyes of the West rather than a method to settle the issue.

“We must not ignore the fact that the last presidential election
process and results had its impact on the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

If the elections had been held in a different atmosphere, football
diplomacy would have taken a different course. I am concerned over
how the forthcoming election will be held,” Mr Manoyan said.

He also pointed out the necessity of raising not only the issue
of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but also of restoration
of rights.

“Recognition should not be considered task number one any longer. The
issue of rights should be emphasized. This scope of rights is wide –
from individual compensations to territorial issues,” Mr Manoyan said.

Some states may recognize the Armenian Genocide on the occasion of
its 100th anniversary, he added.

From: A. Papazian

Affaire Pınar Selek: Communiqué de YasemiOz

Publié le : 19-12-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire ce Communiqué de Presse de Yasemin Oz, avocate, porte
parole international du Comité de Soutien a Pınar Selek publié
sur le site susam-sokak.fr, le blog d’Etienne Copeaux, le mardi 18
décembre 2012.

susam-sokak.fr

Mardi 18 décembre 2012

Communiqué de Yasemin Oz, avocate, 17 décembre 2012

Chers amis,

Pardonnez-nous le retard avec lequel nous vous informons sur l’affaire
Pınar Selek, mais nous avons été très pris par le procès. Tout
d’abord, nous voulons chaleureusement remercier tous ceux et celles qui
ont soutenu Pınar en venant au tribunal. L’audience a eu lieu le 13
décembre a la Cour criminelle d’Istanbul. Comme vous le savez, lors
de l’audience précédente [22 novembre], la Cour était revenue sur
sa propre décision d’acquittement en ayant le front de contrevenir
a la loi. Et malheureusement [le 13 décembre], la Cour n’est pas
revenue sur cette décision malgré les objections des avocats. Lors
de cette audience de décembre, suivie par un public très nombreux,
72 avocats avaient pris la défense du dossier de Pınar.

Comme vous vous en souvenez, lors de l’audience du 22 novembre, la 12e
cour criminelle d’Istanbul avait révoqué la décision d’acquittement
de Pınar, prise le 9 février 2011, ceci bien qu’elle n’en avait
pas le droit. En annulant la décision d’acquittement, la Cour s’est
substituée a la Cour suprême et a fait appel de son propre jugement.

Après cette décision, les avocats de Pınar Selek ont voulu récuser
les juges, arguant qu’ils ne pouvaient être objectifs.

Lors de la dernière audience du 13 décembre, la Cour a rejeté
la demande de récusation faite par la défense, prétendant qu’ ”
il n’y a aucune raison de douter de l’objectivité des juges ”. Les
avocats de la défense ont réitéré l’objection et invoqué une
violation flagrante du code de procédure pénale.

La Cour a accepté la proposition de récusation de la défense,
décidant de reconsidérer la nomination des juges avant la prochaine
audience du 24 janvier. La procédure de récusation sera accomplie
avant cette prochaine audience.

La situation est très délicate. Si la Cour ne revient pas sur sa
décision, le risque de condamnation a perpétuité encouru par Pınar
Selek sera très grand.

C’et pourquoi nous vous demandons instamment de venir a Istanbul
assister au prochain procès de Pınar Selek, qui aura lieu le 24
janvier 2013. Toute participation de votre part a une importance
vitale. Aussi nous espérons fortement que vous pourrez venir pour
soutenir la justice.

Restons en contact, si vous le voulez bien.

Solidairement,

Yasemin Oz, porte parole international du Comité de Soutien a
Pınar Selek

pour plus ample information :

**********************

Lire aussi:

Le Collectif VAN soutient la sociologue turque Pinar Selek

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : susam-sokak.fr

From: A. Papazian

SAMAD SEYIDOV: “SERIOUS DISCUSSIONS ARE EXPECTED AT PACE ON THE REPORT ON AZERBAIJAN’S COMMITMENTS”

APA
Dec 18 2012
Azerbaijan

“I will not wonder, if Armenians attempt to create obstacles for
the report”

Baku. Konul Kamilqizi-APA. “The January session of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe will be interesting. The member
states, including Azerbaijan are aware of the report on Azerbaijan’s
commitments,” head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Samad Seyidov
told journalists, APA reports.

According to him, serious discussions are expected on the report.

“For the first time the report will contain a part on Nagorno
Karabakh. What is shown in the report on Nagorno Karabakh is very
important for us. The third point of the draft resolution on the
report says that military occupation was committed against Azerbaijan.

Inclusion of the issue on Nagorno Karabakh into the agenda of
the Council of Europe is very important. It should be taken into
account that the document has been prepared by PACE Monitoring
Committee rapporteurs, not by Azerbaijan. This makes the report
twice as valuable. I will not wonder, if Armenians attempt to create
obstacles for the report. They will make attempts so that the report
is considered biased, because their aggressive policy, crimes are
mentioned in the report. This makes the report more valuable,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

INCREDIBLE SUREN MANVELYAN EYESCAPES CREATE WINDOWS TO THE SOUL

Adelaide Now
Dec 18 2012
Australia

by: Erinna Giblin From: News Limited Network
December 18, 2012 11:30PM

Pictures:
Macro ocular portraits taken by physics teacher The irises reveal
hidden characteristics and alien-like landscapes Complex genetic
relationships determine eye-colour

THESE surprising images show the structure of the eye as you’ve never
seen before and opens the window to the soul.

They can be the first thing you notice when meeting someone new;
they can be the reason you distrust someone; the reason you first
fall in love with someone.

Although they may appear smooth, round and monochrome, upon closer
inspection our eyes are infinitely complex. The colourful element,
the irises, reveal hidden characteristics and alien-like landscapes.

The centre-dot, the pupil, is the window to the inner-eye, allowing
light to filter through, hitting the optic nerve, which our brain
translates to an image.

The iris not only provides colour and character to the eye but is
also the muscular apparatus that changes the size of the pupil,
according to how much light the eye needs to make a clear picture.

Iris colour, which varies from black to light brown, bright blue
to hazel, from violate to certain shades of pink, is determined by
our genes but scientists are still discovering the complex genetic
relationships which determine a child’s eye colour.

These incredible macro ocular portraits were taken by Armenian physics
teacher Suren Manvelyan, 36, using the eyes of his friends, colleagues
and pupils.

He told the Daily Mail: “It is quite natural when you shoot macro
shots of insects and plants, but to try to make a picture of the eye?

I did not expect these results,’ he said.

“I was not aware they are of such complicated appearance. Everyday we
see hundreds of eyes but do not even suspect they have such beautiful
structure, like surfaces of unknown planets.”

The complexity of the human eye is thanks to hundreds of millions of
years of evolution. Scientists believe that our eyes developed from
light-sensitive cells which were able to sense light from dark.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIAN SERVICEMEN IN ARMENIA EXPLORE TECHNIQUES IN RAPID-FIRE MOTION

NEWS.AM
December 18, 2012 | 20:35

YEREVAN. – The servicemen of the military base of Russia in Armenia
explore at a high-training center Kamhud techniques of rapid-fire
motion with automatic rifles and pistols, press service of the Southern
Military District (SMD) informs.

During the trainings, the scouts pay a special attention to improving
the skills of firing in the mountains and forests, in urban areas
and in limited visibility. The participants will perform more than
10 regulations and special exercises during the study course.

Besides, snipers study firing at different times of day and in any
weather conditions.

From: A. Papazian