Author: Babajanian Karo

Swedes Submit Zarakolu for Peace Prize: Turkish publisher favors
Genocide recognition

ArmeniaNow.com
03.02.12 11:29

Members of the Swedish Parliaments have submitted Turkish human rights
defender Ragip Zarakolu as a candidate for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.

Zarakolu has been sentence to jail several times for articles he
published about the Armenian Genocide and about Turkey’s treatment of
its Kurdish population.

Recently Zarakolu wrote to the Turkish parliament calling on the
lawmakers to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

`It is not only an obligation towards the victims but also a duty for
securing healthy way of thinking for the society. The acknowledgement
of the genocide will not belittle Turkey but will strengthen it,’
Zarakolu wrote.

Zarakolu visited Armenia in February 2011.

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.

FILM DIRECTOR SHARES SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF BEIRUT’S ‘LITTLE ARMENIA’

CNN

Feb 3 2012

>From Schams Elwazer, CNN

Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon (CNN) — Film director Nigol Bezjian was
born in Syria, raised in Lebanon and studied in the United States,
but nowhere does he feel more at home than in Little Armenia.

Little Armenia is the vibrant Bourj Hammoud neighborhood of Beirut.

Bourj Hammoud was developed mainly in the 1930s by Armenian refugees
who arrived in Beirut after massacres of Armenians in 1915 and the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians and many historians refer
to the massacres as genocide, but Turkey has always denied there was
a genocide of the Armenian population.

Bezjian, 77, director of the 1992 film “Chickpeas,” took CNN on a tour
of his favorite parts of Bourj Hammoud, taking in a family restaurant,
bookshop, church and art gallery, where he catches up with colleagues.

He said: “If you ask me what I am, I would tell you I’m Armenian.

“Bourj Hammoud has played a significant role especially after 1950s —
this is where the Armenian patriotism was born … Armenian literature
took root again.

“Armenian culture was reborn here in a way.”

As he walked down the bustling streets, Bezjian shook hands with
people he knew. “This is the thing I like, you run into people and
friends without planning,” he said.

In an Armenian bookstore, he said: “When I come here, I see lots of
acquaintances and friends from all different walks of life, I directly
connect to my people and I get lots of inspiration from them.”

In 2003, Bezjian made a documentary called “Muron,” named after
the consecrated mixture of oil, flowers, and scents used in various
rituals in the Armenian Church.

Visiting a church Bourj Hammoud, he said: “Muron is basically used
to consecrate icons and also for baptizing, and I wanted to see how
this was made.

“When they do a new one what remains from the oil is mixed in the new
one so in a way the Muron that is made today is directly connected to
what was made in year 301. This sense of continuity is very important.”

Bezjian said he is not religious, but loves the church for the silence
it provides from the noise of the streets outside.

“Church has always played a central role in preserving the Armenian
identity and culture,” he added.

Bezjian takes CNN to an Armenian radio station where the news is read
in Armenian and where he is a regular guest.

Ending his tour in a restaurant called Baroud run by a father and son,
Bezjian ponders the question of identity.

“In this part of the world people don’t talk about identity so much,
it’s a given. Identity is North American invention … who am I? You
are who you are.”

DENIAL OF HOLOCAUST MAY ALSO BE APPEALED IN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Aysor.am
February 01 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy: In case of abolishment of the draft law, the bill
criminalizing the denial of Holocaust will also be appealed in the
Constitutional Court.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his discontent as French
lawmakers appealed the bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide in the
Constitutional Court, the “Le Monde” periodic reported.

According to the source, French President has particularly stated:
“In case of abolishment of the draft law, the bill criminalizing the
denial of Holocaust will also be appealed in the Constitutional Court.”

77 senators instead of 60 appealed the bill. France’s Constitutional
Court has one month to decide if the bill is in accord with the
country’s Constitution.

LEVON ARONYAN REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE IN CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT OF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IF THEY ARE HELD IN AZERBAIJAN

Mediamax
Feb 2 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. International chess grandmaster Levon Aronyan
ruled out his participation in the Candidates Tournament of World
Championship if they are to be held in Azerbaijan.

Levon Aronyan stated this in his letter to FIDE President Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov and FIDE Presidential Board members, armchess.am reports.

“Dear Presidential Board Members

I learnt from the media, that the Chess Federations of Azerbaijan
and Bulgaria had submitted an application on holding the Candidates
Tournament of World Championship.

I’d like to inform you that general atmosphere in Azerbaijan and
continuous tensions between our countries make my participation in
such high ranked tournament in Azerbaijan impossible. A responsible
and important event, such as the Candidates Tournament, requires peace
of mind and special concentration. No circumstances, if they are not
chess-related, should prevent the grandmaster from demonstrating
all of his skills. Unfortunately, at this moment no Armenian can
find favorable or adequate psychological atmosphere in Azerbaijan,
whereas that is something absolutely necessary. In my opinion, all
the participants should be in equal conditions, which is impossible
in case of holding the tournament in Azerbaijan. Security guaranties
and any kind of additional support cannot be a remedy.

Taking into account the above-mentioned considerations, I inform you
that I would be delighted to take part in Candidates Tournament any
other country, but my participation in the candidates tournament in
Azerbaijan has to be excluded”, the letter reads.

Levon Aronyan expressed the hope that FIDE will take into account
his opinion while discussing the issue of the tournament venue at
the Presidential Board Meeting.

ARTSVIK MINASYAN: “THE DOWNSLUMP OF THE ARMENIAN ECONOMY MEANS THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO MORAL RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POWER”

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 2 2012
Russia

Deputy chairman of the committee on monetary and fiscal issues of the
Armenian parliament, Artsvik Minasyan, told VK about ways out of the
crisis for the economy.

– Armenian officials traditionally blame the world financial crisis
for the sad situation in the economy of Armenia. What are real grounds
for the problem?

– Unfortunately, there were no any serious achievements in
the economy of Armenia in 2011. Living standards are reducing;
Armenian competitiveness is weak; monopolization is being improved;
migration is growing. There are small successes, but they cannot
be called achievements. Some of such successes are development of
the concept on export of the industrial policy, providing the State
Committee on Protection of Economic Competitiveness of Armenia with
some instruments, the target of additional budget incomes in 101
billion drams. My expectations for 2012 depend on the results of the
parliamentary elections. Our population should apprise this or that
political party from the point of view of economic policy, which it
intends to provide.

– What is your appraisal of the current government?

– Individually members of the government are skilled specialists,
but the current government should resign. It is relevant, as
none of principles of the adopted governmental program 2008 were
implemented. Moreover, instead of progress the country is undergoing
regress, in this context the government has no moral right for
remaining in power. Early 2012 was marked by an active interference
of President into social-economic issues. Meetings were held, orders
were given, but the situation hasn’t stabilized. Even official data
on the social-economic situation are negative. There are objective
and subjective reasons for growing of migration – the world crisis
and the inadequate policy of the government.

– Establishing of the investment space favorable for investors is
widely discussed. What has been done in reality?

– In the end of 2011 the ruling Republican Part of Armenia presented
its economic strategy, which said about promotion of investment
attraction of our country. At the same time, my colleagues were not
managed to name at least one guarantee that this strategy will be
implemented. Motivation of investments is a priority for the economic
policy of the republic, but I don’t understand why foreign companies
would invest to Armenia. What has changed – investment environment,
dependence of courts on power, or human rights protection? In reality
nothing is doing in this sphere. If we are not managed to establish an
adequate environment in the country, we won’t implement the strategy.

– Armenian economic laws are as good as Western ones. The point is
they do not work…

– It not the only reason. Unfortunately, in our economic policy
high-liberal approaches prevail. Meanwhile, there are other directions
in the world, and participation of the government in economy is
thought to be important, especially in the post-crisis period. The
government should not only develop liberal laws, but also influence
internal formation of prices, defining purchasing enterprises and so
on. There are a lot of possible schemes. They will enable the internal
market to step on a new level.

– Armenian officials have their own views on the situation…

– I think their arguments are ridiculous. It is true that some
economists and officials state that after monopolies would be
canceled, products would const even more. In reality the situation
is different. The scale effect is working when we speak about natural
monopolies, for example, in infrastructure. When we speak about import
of products and services, this argument is false. I’m sure the role
of the state in economy should be more aggressive, as only due to
it national revenues in GDP could reach 35%, 25% of which should be
taxes inflows.

– Why did your fraction vote against the governmental fiscal project
for 2012?

– I think the budget 2012 doesn’t take into account possible inflation
scenarios and risks. Growth of incomes is predicted according to
inflation, but how inflation will influence budget spending is not
clear. The policy of spending part of the budget doesn’t differ from
the budget 2011, except increase in 41 billion drams for the social
sphere. There no serious changes in correlation of direct and indirect
taxes. It is important to discuss launching of the program budgeting,
which will enable the government to appraise using of resources
in details.

– Every year the government speaks about the social direction of the
budget. At the same time, investments are not mentioned.

Doesn’t it contradict the Economic strategy by the ruling party?

– It is true that majority of spending in the state budget is current
expenses. Thus, investment resources will be scarce in 2012.

However, we need investment for improvement of the economy.

Unfortunately, the social-economic policy hasn’t changed for three
years as well.

RIGHT TO CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO MILITARY SERVICE SHOULD BE GUARANTEED

IEWY News

Feb 2 2012

The right to conscientious objection to military service should be
guaranteed in all parts of Europe

Strasbourg, 2/2/2012 – People should not be imprisoned when their
religious or other convictions prevent them from doing military
service. Instead they should be offered a genuinely civilian
alternative. This is now the established European standard, respected
in most countries – but there are some unfortunate exceptions, says
Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
in his latest Human Rights Comment published today.

The right to conscientious objection has been endorsed by the
Council of Europe ever since 1967 when a first Resolution on the
topic was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly. The recognition of
this right later became a requirement for states seeking accession
to the organisation.

Recently the European Court of Human Rights recognised in the case
Bayatyan v. Armenia that the right to conscientious objection was
guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention, protecting freedom
of thought, conscience and religion. This was another important step
for many conscientious objectors who are still persecuted in Europe
because of their refusal to perform military service.

In fact, the right to refuse military service for reasons of
conscience is now recognised in the vast majority of the 47 member
states. However, problems remain in some countries, where military
service is still an absolute obligation (at least for males) or
where the alternative service is under military control or has
a discriminatory or punitive character, for instance through the
requirement of a much longer service time.

Persecutions, imprisonments and ill-treatment

Among the 15 Council of Europe countries which retain the system
of conscription, no less than seven have put objectors in prison in
recent years.

In Armenia, for instance, conscientious objectors are still prosecuted,
convicted and imprisoned for their refusal to perform military service.

On a visit to an Armenian prison last year I discussed this situation
with a couple of young men who belong to the Jehovah’s Witnesses
community. They explained that they had been sentenced because they
could not accept the existing form of alternative service as it was
administered by the military – an issue which was also raised by the
Venice Commission in its recent opinion on the proposed amendments
to the law on alternative service.

Azerbaijan undertook when joining the Council of Europe in 2001 to
adopt a law on alternative service. Though the Constitution guarantees
the right to conscientious objection, the corresponding legislative
framework has not yet been adopted.

There is therefore no alternative to military service. Conscientious
objectors have continued to be imprisoned when they have requested
to perform alternative civilian service outside military control.

This has recently been the case for Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, a youth activist
and candidate in the 2010 parliamentary elections, who was sentenced
last year to two years in prison for evading military service,
despite his request to perform alternative service.

Turkey is the only country of the Council of Europe that does not
recognise the right to conscientious objection for conscripts,
and conscientious objectors are prosecuted and imprisoned for their
refusal to carry out military service. In several cases they have faced
repeated imprisonment until they completed their term of military
service. There have also been a number of reports of ill-treatment
of conscientious objectors in detention.

In the Ulke case, the Strasbourg Court found that the applicant’s
repetitive convictions and imprisonment for having refused to
perform compulsory military service on account of his convictions as
a pacifist amounted to degrading treatment (violation of Article 3
of the European Convention).

Limitation of the right to freedom of expression

The problem in Turkey is compounded by restrictions to freedom of
expression. The Turkish Criminal Code (Article 318, formerly Article
155) has been used to prosecute non-violent expressions of support for
conscientious objection. This has given rise to several judgments of
the Strasbourg Court finding violations of Article 10 of the European
Convention on free speech.

The Court has held that a newspaper article with such a message
cannot be considered as incitement to immediate desertion. However,
the Turkish Criminal Code treats dissemination through the press
as an aggravating circumstance. Among many others, Halil Savda,
himself a conscientious objector, has been condemned several times
under Article 318 for speaking in public in favour of the right to
conscientious objection.

The agreed standards should be implemented

In a Recommendation on human rights of members of the armed forces,
the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers underlined in 2010 that
conscripts should have the right to be granted conscientious objector
status and that an alternative service of a civilian nature should
be proposed to them.

The message from this as well as from the case-law of the Strasbourg
Court is very clear: member states which have not done so should
introduce a genuinely civilian alternative service, which is not under
the control of the military, and of non punitive length and nature.

Conscientious objection is a human right. It is thus high time that
all member states complied with their commitments and recognised this
right effectively.

TURKEY FAILED IN ANTI-SYRIAN CAMPAIGN – ARMENIAN TURKOLOGIST

news.am
February 03, 2012 | 17:03

YEREVAN. – Turkey, which was active in trying to assume a determining
role in the events that started in Syria, is disillusioned, turkologist
Andranik Ispiryan stated during a press conference on Friday.

He noted that Turkey, which took on the role of the bludgeon in the
hands of Western powers, simply turned into an instrument in the
campaign against Syria.

Ispiryan stressed that the most recent developments concerning Syria
showed that Turkey was unable to achieve its desired result, and that
the Turkish authorities’ recent statements addressed to Syria bespeak
Turkey’s failure in the anti-Syrian campaign, leaving the initiative
to the League of Arab States.

In his turn, Arab Studies specialist Suren Manukyan noted that if
Syria’s opposition does not receive foreign assistance, the country’s
president will be able to suppress the uprising by the anti-government
forces.

Manukyan called the operations in Syria a civil war, and added that
a full-scale act of terrorism is anticipated there in the near future.

U.S. CONGRESSMEN ASK SAAKASHVILI PAY GREATER ATTENTION TO THE ISSUES OF JAVAKHQ ARMENIANS

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 3, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS: U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA),
lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide resolution, and Rep. Howard
Berman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
met with Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, Thursday to discuss
the bilateral relationship between the United States and Georgia and
to ask the president to focus more attention on the Armenian region
of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Armenpress reports citing Asbarez.

During the meeting in the U.S. Capitol, President Saakashvili expressed
a willingness to work with Schiff and Berman to direct more resources
to Samtskhe-Javakheti and said that he would fully support additional
American assistance to the region.

“I was very pleased with the discussion we had with President
Saakashvili,” Schiff said. “He was unhesitating in expressing support
when we asked for additional efforts to aid Armenian-Georgians.”

“I will continue to fight for the fair treatment and equal rights
for the ethnic Armenian community in Georgia,” said Howard Berman,
the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a
longtime champion of Armenian causes.

President Saakashvili has been in Washington for several days meeting
with a variety of senior American officials, including President Obama,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and congressional leaders.

ANONYMOUS RESUMES “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” OPERATION AGAINST OFFICIAL TURKEY

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 3, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS: Anonymous hacker group has stated
about resumption of “Armenian Genocide” operation. The group has
released a video statement saying that the world’s famous hackers say
that #OpArmGenocide was temporarily suspended connected with launch
of other operations.

The video starts from historical review about the barbarity of Turks.

“We will start targeting Turkish government websites, gain access
to their classified information and other Turkish websites that
deny the Armenian Genocide. This will continue until the genocide is
recognized. This might take a year, 2 years, but we will always fight
for the Armenian Genocide. This is also a warning to other countries
who have not yet recognized the Armenian genocide.”

The first video threat of anonymous was spread January 25 but
reasoning the priority of fighting against closing quick exchange
system of MegaUpload and ACTA, the “Armenian Genocide” operation was
temporarily suspended.