Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIE
Le président Sarkissian accuse à nouveau Bakou d’attiser la tension

Le président Serge Sarkissian a accusé lundi 26 janvier l’Azerbaïdjan
de souffler à nouveau sur les braises du conflit du Haut-Karabagh et a
mis clairement en garde Bakou contre de nouvelles représailles des
forces arméniennes et aussi contre des actions préventives en vue
d’empêcher de noouvelles violations du cessez-le-feu. S’adressant aux
plus hauts gradés arméniens, le président Sarkisian a déclaré que le
regain de tensions observé aux frontiéres est dû aux efforts
persistants des autorités azéries visant à obtenir le plus de
concessions de la part des Arméniens dans les pourparlers de paix en
cours sous l’égide des Etats-unis, de la Russie et de la France. Cette
“politique de chantage” n’infléchira pas les positions de Erevan et
aura des

Anti-Syrian racism in Turkey
By Dogus Simsek
27 January 2015

[About the author: Dogus Simsek is a research fellow at Migration
Research Centre (MireKoc) at Koc University. She holds a PhD in
sociology from City University London where she taught undergraduate
sociology courses. Her research interests lie in the field of
migration, ethnicity and identity.]

A wave of xenophobia is ruining the lives of Syrian refugees in Turkey
where they are seen as criminals, accused of stealing jobs and
responsible for anything that goes wrong. Media incitement and state
inaction fuel the flames.

`Suriyeli’ (Syrians) is a name given to people escaping from the civil
war in Syria. Called`Suriyeli’, they are seen as criminals, beggars,
burglars and prostitutes, unable to adapt to Turkish culture. They are
numbers, devoid of their unique stories. Some have crossed the borders
individually, some with family members, some with a baby to live in a
safe place. They did not have much choice about where to go. They
crossed the border without knowing what was waiting for them. The only
thing they have left is hope.

Since the outbreak of the Syrin uprising in March 2011, over 1 million
Syrians have crossed into Turkey. According to the Director General of
Migration Management in Turkey, 1 million and 450 thousand Syrian
refugees are registered in Turkey. Turkish authorities take them to
refugee camps; there are 22 refugee camps in the cities of
southeastern Turkey alone. The recent AFAD report (The Disaster and
Emergency Management Presidency) shows that more than half of Syrian
refugees live outside the refugee camps’ choosing to live in the
cities and towns of Turkey because the camps are overcrowded. Camp
life is tough, and there is a limited freedom of mobility.

Unwelcomed ‘guests’

In Turkey, Syrian refugees are taken in as `guests’, not as
`refugees’, as a result of Turkey’s asylum policy’not to be polite.
Due to the `geographical limitation’ that Turkey bears to the 1951
Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol, it only accepts European
asylum seekers as refugees. Turkey has implemented a `temporary
protection scheme’ for Syrian refugees, which maintains open door
policy, non-refoulement, and humanitarian assistance, including
supports inside the borders of the camps. `Guest’ status implies
ambiguity about their presence, safety and rights in Turkey.
Realistically, Syrian refugees in Turkey will not go back to Syria
anytime soon; they are not `temporary’ in Turkey. Within this
unpredictable situation, many Syrian refugees use social networks to
shelter in cities and towns and work under exploitative conditions.

Due to the increased number of Syrian refugees scattered across the
cities and towns of Turkey, xenophobia has raised its head in Turkish
society. Perceptions about Syrian refugees highlight the fear of
living with `foreigners’. The main native concerns are the economic
situation and social tension, as many Turkish citizens accuse
`Syrians’ of ‘taking our jobs and our homes’, `Syrians do not adapt
to our culture’, `crime in Turkey increases because of Syrians’. As a
result of this negative labeling, many local people do not want Syrian
refugees to live in ‘their’ cities; nor do they want them to be
visible in the public sphere. Many people I spoke to in Istanbul would
like Syrian refugees to stay in the camps; they do not want to live
among them. Anti-immigrant and discriminatory discourse became popular
among the local people. There began to be demonstrations against
Syrian refugees and physical attacks on them.

Hate crime

Since the spring of 2014, anti-Syrian sentiments have increased in
Turkey. Turkish citizens who live in the cities where there have been
many Syrian refugees criticize Syrian refugees as a major determinant
in increasing rent prices, a reason for lowering wages in the labour
market and of rising social tensions. Local people forcibly restrict
the presence of Syrian refugees in public spaces in many cities.
Anti-Syrian sentiment and discriminatory discourses heavily assist the
creation and maintenance of a violent atmosphere. For instance, in
Ankara local people stoned and set fire to the building Syrian
refugees lived in. Then they marched against Syrian refugees.

Anti-Syrian sentiment carries on rising in other cities of Turkey as
well. In Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey where more than 200,000
Syrian refugees are living, extreme right wing groups have been
hunting down Syrian refugees to verbally and physically attack them.
Tension in a Gaziantep neighbourhood erupted after the death of a
Syrian tenant at the hands of a Turkish landlord; local people
attacked Syrian refugees in the streets and in the parks armed with
knives and sticks; shouting anti-Syrian slogans’more than 10 Syrian
refugees were injured. Discrimination and violence against Syrian
refugees are on the rise in the border cities of Sanliurfa and Kilis,
and have now spread to Kahramanmaras, Izmir, Kayseri, Adana and
Antalya.

Recently, Antalya’s governor office sent notification to more than
1,500 Syrian refugees to leave the city, stating that they have
brought with them economic and social tension and damaged the tourism
industry. After the governor’s remarks, some local people attacked
Syrian refugees in Antalya’s Manavgat district. They wrecked Syrian
refugees’ houses and cars, and marched to a neighbourhood where Syrian
refugees live.

Syrian refugees are not the only victims of racism in Turkey. In
Turkey’s history, Kurds, Armenians, non-Muslims, gypsies, blacks,
Arabs and many other minorities are subjected to racism. Many Turkish
citizens do not accept that there is racism in Turkey as they state
that they are proud of their hospitality towards foreigners.

However, racism is visible everywhere, in public space, private space,
in all corners of the world. Discriminatory discourses have
prominently been attributed to the Turkish process of modernization,
the building of its nation-state and the formation of Turkish national
identity. These discourses have been spread by the media, state and
institutions in all cases resulting in the marginalisation of Syrian
refugees.

Many Turkish citizens, especially those among Turkey’s poor, believe
that Syrian refugees have been looked after with the taxes they pay;
they steal their jobs; they are burglars, beggars, criminals; they are
culturally different – not modern; they create social tension, etc.
The xenophobic and racist discourses have become legitimized through
such phrases. Forms of racism and xenophobia are closely interlinked
with the economic situation, as in Europe.
Mediated hatred

The content of racism is elided with that of difference. Public
discourses against Syrian refugees are based on a `them’ and `us’
mentality. When people identify themselves as a member of a particular
group, they do not feel comfortable with others. The public’s concerns
about Syrian refugees are to do with culture, values and
sustainability. The mainstream media, some column writers, and the
opposition, use and amplify these concerns about Syrian refugees
living in the cities. The racism of mainstream media is visible in
many news contexts. For instance, Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Ajansi)
refers to `Syrians’ as unable ‘to adap to an urban lifestyle in
Turkey’ in the news; Syrian refugees are seen as criminals, problem
makers in many item daily in mainstream papers.

Apart from being victims of racism, Syrian refugees in Turkey are also
used as a politial football by politicians. The opposition party has
criticized the foreign policy of the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government on Syria as being too sectarian and not supporting
the `open door’ policy towards Syrian refugees put forward by the
opposition party politicians.

Some column writers who endorse the opposition party also wrote that
`we look after Syrians, give them money; offer them jobs. While
Turkish soldiers defend their nation, they sit back and do nothing’.
Such racist discourses do not only target Syrian refugees, but also
use them as a policy-making tool. With such discourses, racism has
slowly been shown to infect almost all of society. The public, some
column writers and politicians blame Syrian refugees, rather than
denouncing the state, as the cause of unemployment, crime, social
tension, rising rent prices; these opportunists are using the
vulnerability of Syrian refugees for their own interests, and the
interests of the capitalist classes.

Syrian refugees in Turkey are seen as criminals, beggars, burglars,
exploiters, prostitutes, as tools for politics, but not as
individuals. Turkey’s state, media, and civil society have to work
seriously to create an environment for Syrian refugees to live
respectably, as well as to develop measures and an environment that
prevent the targeting of Syrian refugees.

LIBAN
Le représentant du patriarche syriaque orthodoxe rencontre Sa Sainteté Aram I

Le 10 Janvier 2015 le Métropolitan George Saliba du Mont-Liban, de
l’Eglise syriaque orthodoxe, a rencontré le catholicos Aram Ier afin
de lui transmettre les salutations de Noël et du Nouvel An de la part
de Sa Sainteté le Patriarche Ignatius Ephrem II. Le Metropolitan a
également informé Sa Sainteté Aram I des activités qu’ils envisagent
pour commémorer le 100e anniversaire des massacres de leurs peuples
par les Ottomans.

mardi 27 janvier 2015,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian Warns Of Fresh Anti-Russian Protests in Gyumri

By MassisPost
Updated: January 26, 2015

GYUMRI (RFE/RL) — Primate of Shirak Diocese Archbishop Mikael
Ajapahian has warned angry street protests in Gyumri could reignite if
Russian authorities fail to hand over a Russian soldier charged with
killing seven members of a local family to Armenian law-enforcement
bodies. He said renewed anti-government and anti-Russian
demonstrations in Armenia’s second-largest city would have
“unpredictable consequences.”

“The people may again take to the streets if there is again a careless
statement or wrong approach and the people’s minimum demand is not
fulfilled,” Ajapahian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
“And what the people are demanding is not a big deal. The people’s
demands are feasible. They simply want the criminal to be handed over
to Armenian law-enforcers.”

“God forbid that the people feel that they have been rebuffed. That
would lead to unpredictable consequences,” added the head of Shirak
Diocese .

Arch. Ajapahian was worried about the kind of unrest that followed the
January 12 killing spree blamed on Valery Permyakov, a soldier from
the Russian military base headquartered in Gyumri. Permyakov has been
kept in the base ever since being arrested hours after the massacre.

Scores of people rallied outside key government buildings as well as
Russian facilities in Gyumri on January 14 and January 15 to demand
the suspect’s handover to Armenian law-enforcement bodies. Hundreds of
them clashed riot police outside the local Russian consulate.

While backing their demands, Ajapahian has deplored the violence. He
urged the Gyumri citizens to avoid further unrest last week as he held
a requiem service for 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisian, who died of his
stab wounds one week after his 2-year-old sister, parents, aunt and
grandparents were found dead in their home.

“I can’t work as a perpetual lighting rod,” the respected archbishop
said on Monday.

The Armenian and Russian authorities have scrambled since January 15
to reassure the locals that the gruesome crime will be fully solved.
They have pledged to coordinate their separate inquiries into the
killings and said that Permyakov will stand trial in Armenia. However,
a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated last week
that the 18-year-old will be tried in a Russian military court.

In Yerevan, meanwhile, Hunan Poghosian, a deputy chief of the Armenian
police, said on Monday that he personally visited the Russian base and
demanded Permyakov’s extradition immediately after the latter was
caught by Russian border guards deployed on the nearby Turkish border.
“But that’s not an issue that could have been solved on the basis of
demand,” said Poghosian during a news conference. “As you all know,
the issue is on the legal plane and should be solved within the
framework of treaties between the two countries.”

Phoghosian spoke of “unprecedented” cooperation between Armenian and
Russian officials investigating the crime.

The police general also confirmed reports that more than 100 Gyumri
residents have been summoned to local police stations and questioned
in connection with the January 15 violent protest. He said 27 of them
might face accusations of hooliganism or resistance to police. None of
them has been formally charged yet.

EXPERT: RUSSIA’S EVERY DECISION DIRECTLY AFFECTS ARMENIA

by Mariam Lazarian

Monday, January 26, 20:35

Russia’s every step has a direct negative impact on Armenia, Gagik
Makaryan, head of the Association of Employers of Armenia, told
reporters, Monday.

According to Makaryan, many migrants were reluctant to leave their
jobs and return to Armenia as a result of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

This has cut private transfers to Armenia and increased unemployment
in the country. Anti-Russian sanctions have also affected the
situation in the Armenian market. According to Makaryan, accession
to the Customs Union does not mean Armenia will have favorable
conditions for cooperation with such members of the Union as Belarus
and Kazakhstan. This means that the only partner of Armenia is still
Russia. According to Makaryan, Armenia’s export position has tangibly
decreased over the last period, as exporter companies are experiencing
losses not only due to the changes in the foreign exchange market, but
also as Russia demands them to reduce prices of the exported products.

Despite the general decline of oil prices in the world, Makaryan
said, the fuel prices in Armenia will not change due to the relevant
interstate agreement with Russia, which cannot but affect the country’s
economy. According to the surveys conducted by the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, no economic development is observed
in Armenia in 2015. According to Makaryan, economic indicators of
Armenia may be even negative in 2015.

Talking to ArmInfo, Makaryan said Armenia has to pay more attention
to the developing Arab countries to boost cooperation with them. This
will help settle the current economic problems in the country, he said.

ARMENIA: EIGHT THINGS THAT DON’T ADD UP ABOUT THE GYUMRI MURDERS

EurasiaNet.org
Jan 26 2015

January 26, 2015 – 1:22pm, by Marianna Grigoryan

Two weeks after the killing of a family in the northern Armenian town
of Gyumri, there are more questions than answers concerning the actions
and motives of the individual accused of committing the mass murder,
18-year-old Russian army private, Valery Permyakov.

Some answers may seem straightforward, while others, given the
case’s sensitivity, may never be disclosed by Armenian and Russian
investigators.

According to the official charges against him, Permyakov entered the
Avetisian household in Gyumri in the early morning of January 12,
supposedly seeking a drink of water. He allegedly shot or stabbed to
death all seven members of the family; supposedly from fear that the
Avetisians would inform the 102nd Russian army base in Gyumri that he
had deserted. Six died on the spot; the seventh victim, six-month-old
Seryozha Avetisian, died on January 19.

A Russian military tribunal in Armenia will try Permaykov, but the
name of his lawyer — a Russian citizen who lives in Armenia —
has not been disclosed, according to the Russian news service Interfax.

Both countries have set up parliamentary commissions to monitor
investigators’ work, and officials from both countries have repeatedly
pledged that justice will be served. But the Armenian public remains
skeptical: protesters again took to the streets on January 26 in the
Armenian capital, Yerevan, to demand that Permyakov face trial in an
Armenian court. Given the public wariness, the lingering questions
surrounding the criminal investigation could become a political
liability for the Armenian government.

The central, unanswered questions surrounding Permyakov’s actions are:

1. Why Desert with Only a Gun and Bullets?

Armenian investigators say that Permyakov left the 102nd army base in
Gyumri at 4am on January 12 with an AK-74 rifle. Permyakov himself
is reported as saying he went “to take a stroll.” Yet many question
why Permyakov would choose to abandon his post with no supplies
other than a gun and bullets. According to the government’s weather
service, ArmHydMed, area-temperatures on January 12 fell to 17 to 20
degrees Celsius below zero – a frigid low even for a Siberian native
like Permyakov.

2. How Did Permyakov Enter the Victims’ House?

The Avetisians lived in a gated, private house in the center of Gyumri,
some three to four kilometers from the 102nd army base.

Neighbors have told reporters that the family usually left the gate
unlocked. A new, stronger door was purchased for the house two days
before the murders.

Armenia’s special investigation service claims that Permyakov broke
a window to enter the house. The defendant says only that he wanted
to drink water. He claims that he did not know the family, nor do
the Avetisians’ relatives know of any previous ties. Investigators,
though, have not disclosed any hypothesis as to why he chose this
particular gated house in his alleged search for water.

2. If Permyakov Wanted Water, Why Not Just Ask?

To many locals, long accustomed to sharing food and cigarettes with
Russian soldiers, this is the strangest question. Permyakov was a
recent arrival, but those posting on the 102nd base’s page on the
Russian social network VKontakte speak openly about Gyumri traditions
of hospitality toward soldiers in need.

Did Permyakov Encounter Resistance?In a January 17 interview with
Aysor.am, Armenian attorney, Tamara Yayloian, who initially attended
Permyakov’s interrogations, claimed that the soldier said that he
had shot the first Avetisian, a man, when he reached for the phone
after waking up, seeing him, and yelling.

After hearing voices in an adjacent room, Permyakov alleges that he
entered and killed two people there. He then supposedly moved into the
third adjoining room, and shot dead two of its occupants and, when
his gun misfired, stabbed two children with his bayonet. A corridor
connects all three rooms. To many, that raises the expectation that
the occupants of the other rooms would have awoken at the sound of
gunfire, and tried to stop the intruder, who would not have known
his way around the house in the dark.

Video from the crime scene, however, shows six of the seven family
members dead in their beds. Some openly question if Permyakov acted
alone, but no evidence exists to support such speculation.

5. Why Did No One Hear the Shots?

The Avetisians lived in the center of Gyumri, a city of 146,355 people,
on a street not far from the city hall and train station.

Neighbors’ houses were just meters away. Yet, surprisingly, though
investigators say they have interviewed 30 witnesses, no information
exists about anyone who reported hearing gunshots or other commotion.

In a country where people take a keen interest in their neighbors’
activities, this also arouses suspicions. Armenian investigators
estimate that the killings occurred at about 6am – a time of day when
people could hear a pin drop in a neighbor’s residence, criminologist
Sergei Galoian told a January 14 news conference. The Avetisians’
next-door neighbor, Rita Petrosian, a relative of the family, only
discovered the murders around noon when she went to the house for a
usual coffee. Official reports make no mention of a silencer.

6. Did Someone Tamper with the Crime-Scene?

Official reports state that military boots with Permyakov’s name in
them, an AK-74 rifle with 5.45-milimeter bullets, a cartridge with
30 bullets, and one with a single bullet were found scattered at the
scene. Permaykov’s uniform was found carefully folded in the house.

According to the official story, Permyakov left the Avetisians’ house
dressed in the clothes of the owner’s son, Armen. An explanation
as to why the suspect would be so careless as to leave behind such
evidence remains unclear.

7. Why Did Nobody Notice Permyakov on the Run?

While Gyumri may not be bustling in the early morning, a Russian
man tramping solo on foot through the winter countryside toward the
Turkish border is likely to have attracted someone’s notice. Yet no
details have been given about the exact location of Permyakov’s arrest,
how Russian border guards recognized him, nor how, with a newcomer’s
knowledge of the area, he made it to the border on his own.

In Armenia, where coverage of crime scenes is video-rich, this absence
of information appears anomalous.

8. Why Was Permyakov Not Tested Earlier for Mental Illness?

On January 24, the Russian news agency Interfax cited an unnamed
source who reported that tests will be run “in the nearest future”
to assess Permaykov’s mental health, as well as to compare DNA samples.

The tests will be conducted at the 102nd army base, according to the
source. Reasons for waiting more than two weeks after the suspect’s
arrest to perform such analyses were not provided.

ARMENIA: MURDER CASE STRAINS RELATIONS WITH MOSCOW

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR CRS Issue 765
Jan 26 2015

Mass protests held over Yerevan’s failure to try Russian suspect in
an Armenian court.

by Armen Karapetyan

Armenians in the capital Yerevan and the northwestern city of Gyumri
have reacted angrily after the national authorities failed to act
against a Russian serviceman accused of carrying out a brutal gun
massacre.

Instead, the suspect, Private Valery Permyakov, was taken into custody
at the Russian army base where he was deployed, and the military
authorities there are now investigating the crime.

The Armenian authorities’ reluctance to investigate themselves and
put the suspect on trial in a domestic court has been criticised by
the national ombudsman and has led to public protests in Yerevan and
in Gyumri, where the attack took place.

According to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Private Permyakov,
a Russian soldier deployed at the 102nd Russian base in Gyumri,
has pleaded guilty to killing seven members of a single family in an
attack on January 12. His victims included a two-year-old girl and
a six-month old boy; the latter initally survived but died from his
injuries in hospital on January 19.

Police found an AK-74 rifle along with 21 cartridges at the crime
scene. They also found a pair of soldiers’ boots marked with
Permyakov’s name.

According to Raffi Aslanian, prosecutor for the Shirak region where
Gyumri is located, Russian border guards detained Permyakov on January
12 as he tried to cross the border into Turkey, about 15 kilometres
away from Gyumri. The suspect was then handed over to the Russian
military authorities at the base, where he is in custody.

The move has caused serious discontent among Armenians, particularly in
Gyumri, as people feel the Russians behaved in a high-handed manner,
and Permyakov should instead have been prosecuted under domestic law
since he was off the base.

Some argue that allowing him to be handed over to Russian custody was a
breach of Armenian law and also of a bilateral arrangement between the
two countries. The border with Turkey is manned by border guards from
both Armenia and Russia. However, under a 1992 agreement, suspected
criminals picked up at the border should be handed to Armenian law
enforcement agencies.

There was therefore some surprise when a statement issued by the
prosecutor general’s office on January 13 said that the authorities had
not discussed investigating Permyakov under Armenian law. The statement
said the reason was that the suspect was “a citizen of the Russian
Federation and under the jurisdiction of Russian law enforcement
agencies”. It cited article 61, paragraph 1 of the Russian constitution
which prohibits the extradition of Russian nationals to other states.

Lawyers in Armenia, as well as the country’s ombudsman Karen
Andreasyan, have criticised the national authorities and say there
are no legal grounds for the Russian military to take custody of
Permyakov and investigate the case.

“The fact that the murder was committed on Armenian territory and
the victims of the crime were Armenian gives grounds to say that
under international law, under the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental
agreement, and under the constitution and legislation of Armenia, the
investigation of the case should be conducted by the law enforcement
and judicial authorities of Armenia,” Andreasyan said. “The suspect
must be handed over to the Armenian authorities.”

Vahagn Dallakyan, a lawyer who works for the Yerevan Investment Law
Group, highlighted a 1997 agreement governing the Russian military base
in Gyumri. “Article 4 clearly states that the investigation of crimes
committed by persons who are members of the Russian military base
in Armenia falls under the jurisdiction of Armenia’s law enforcement
agencies and under Armenian legislation,” he said.

The Armenian authorities’ handling of the case has led to
demonstrations in Gyumri and Yerevan on January 14 and 15. About 30
protesters and police were taken to hospital following clashes. Police
also had to deploy in large numbers at the military base and at
Moscow’s consulate in Gyumri and embassy in Yerevan.

Armenia’s prosecutor general, Gevorg Kostanyan, rushed to Gyumri to
meet the protesters. As demonstrators hurled coins, Kostanyan promised
them that he would appeal to Russia’s chief prosecutor to get the
case and the suspect himself transferred to Armenian jurisdiction.

Besides the issue of whether Armenia or Russia should investigate
and prosecute the case, there are also concerns about local efforts
to pursue the suspect immediately after the crime took place.

A photograph of Permyakov published by the media the same morning
quickly circulated online. Yet despite a large-scale manhunt mounted
by Armenian police and security services, he managed to elude them for
about 12 hours. In doing so he walked about 15 kilometres in freezing
temperatures of minus 14 degrees. The Armenian authorities have yet
to comment on how he did this.

More broadly, many Armenians feel the incident showed that the
national authorities were being dictated to by Moscow and, as such,
marks a shift in the former Soviet state’s relationship with Russia.

The chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, Avetik Ishkhanyan,
disputes the official account of events in Gyumri. He believes
Permyakov may have been picked up by the Armenian police and then
handed over to Russian forces.

“I don’t trust the official statement, so it is even possible that
the Armenians arrested him and handed him over to his Russian base,”
Ishkhanyan said.

Ishkhanyan noted that Russia’s deputy defence minister, Arkady Bakhin,
visited Armenia on January 13, the day after the incident. He sees
this as an attempt to put pressure on Yerevan.

Russia is a longstanding ally of Armenia, supplying most of its gas as
well as maintaining a military presence there. Given the traditionally
cordial relationship, one might have expected the Permyakov incident
to have been resolved amicably. But a number of factors have soured
perceptions of Russia. Many Armenians were outraged when it emerged
in 2013-14 that the Russian arms industry was selling tanks and
other hi-tech military equipment to Azerbaijan, a country with which
they are still technically at war, even though the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict ended in a truce 20 years ago. (See Yerevan Angry at Russian
Arms Sales to Baku.)

Then there is the change in Russia’s own circumstances. Armenia entered
the Russia-Belarus-Kazakstan Eurasian Economic Union at the beginning
of January, but much of its trade is with European states and it has
no wish to share in Moscow’s increasing isolation, a result of its
actions in Ukraine. The deepening economic crisis in Russia has also
had a direct impact on the large numbers of Armenians working there,
cutting the value of the money they send home and reducing the numbers
of jobs on offer to foreign migrants. (See Armenian Economy Hit by
Knock-on Effects of Russia Sanctions.)

Ruben Mehrabyan, an expert at the Armenian Centre for Political and
International Studies, is concerned that Yerevan has acquiesced to
Moscow over the incident. He points out that President Serzh Sargsyan
did not declare an official day of mourning, and waited a whole week
to offer his condolences to the victims’ relatives – after Russian
president Vladimir Putin had done so.

“Armenia has become hostage to Russia,” Mehrabyan said. “In the short
term, what happened may not affect Armenian-Russian relations, but
looking at it in the long term, it marks the beginning of a process
of reviewing the relationship.

“We are not a province of Russia, but the current Russian elite does
not understand that.”

Armen Karapetyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia.

ISRAEL INTERESTED IN ESTABLISHING A FREE TRADE ZONE WITH EEU: LAVROV

18:53, 26 Jan 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Israel is interested in establishing a free trade zone with the
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and
Armenia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

“Dozens of countries suggested concluding agreements to establish a
free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union,” Lavrov said after
a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman. “Israel
has also expressed such interest.”

“IT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MILITARY OPERATIONS TAKE PLACE IN THE OPPONENT’S TERRITORY”

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

January 26 2015

Arman Melikyan about the connection between the events in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and Gyumri

The Gyumri calamity crime and also the sentiments raised in Armenia
as a result are compared with the attacks of the opponent on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and the Armenian side has losses. Can we
see a connection between these two? Does Azerbaijan take advantage of
what is happening in Armenia? “Aravot” talked to former
NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan on this matter and about the
affairs in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and in the Contact
line. “The frequency of armed incidents in the Contact line
has been recorded much before the tragedy in Gyumri. The direct
connection between these two can be proved only if it appears that the
offender has committed his crime by the order of Azerbaijani secret
services. Only then it will be possible to say that Azerbaijan is no
longer satisfied with inciting armed incidents in the frontline and
has decided to add the practice of intimidating people living in the
deep rear to its actions,” says Arman Melikyan.

He believes that the Azerbaijani approach aimed at keeping the
tension hot incurs from the policy adopted by this country, which
is one of the essential elements of this policy. “Although the
Armenian sides usually manage to give adequate military response to
the opponent’s provocations, however, they are unable and will
be unable to do the same in the political arena as long as they have
not reviewed their political behavior and have not supplemented it
with new effective approaches,” says Mr. Melikyan and considers
that more than intensive attempts of the recent ceasefire violations
in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are purely political.

“Azerbaijan pursues the goal to have a full control over the
present entire territory of the Republic of Artsakh, this is our
opponent’s invariable goal, for the implementation of which
it does not spare the lives of its people, nor the vast material
resources at its disposal,” says Mr. Melikyan.

“Aravot” reminded Mr. Melikyan that recently the Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanyan announced that if necessary, we would attack
first. To our question of whether the escalation of hostilities will
not lead to war, and to what extent it is favorable to us, he replied,
“No country and no people will want to get involved in the
war, and we are not an exception in this respect. However, given the
official Baku behavior and objectives, the current situation requires
a comprehensive and thorough study, only based on serious professional
analysis, it would be possible to make prudent decision to defend
or attack. If for some reason the war was considered inevitable,
then it is necessary to make sure that the military operations take
place in opponent’s territory.”

Arman Melikyan believes that to come out of created situation, our
country’s leadership, our entire political class should realize
the necessity to change our government system in quality. “New
credible and effective approaches are required, which will provide
necessary prerequisites for restoration of mutual trust and unity, and
will allow realistic grounds to build our relations with the outside
world: friends, opponents and potential partners,” says he.

HRIPSIME HOVHANNISYAN

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FROM ARMENIA’S TURK TO HRANT DINK

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 25 2015

Dear Hrant,

In early November, I moved from NiÅ~_antaÅ~_ı, a neighborhood
where high-end brands line up in Istanbul, to a slum in Yerevan,
Armenia. On my street, I used to hear the high heels of coquettes
tapping on pavements. Now, I hear the squeals of rats hiding under
trash containers.

I’m here as one of the three fellows chosen by Hrant Dink foundation.

We came here to cross borders. To fire Armenian-Turkish friendship.

But one of us got hit by a car and died. The other got emotionally
overwhelmed. She leaved temporarily for Istanbul. I stayed.

Today is January 19th, 2015. Eight years passed since you marked
our memories with your hollowed shoes. I am walking on Alek Manukyan
street right in the center of the city. It’s sunny. Winter leaves,
spring comes. So sudden.

My friend Anna and I are meeting up to commamerate you at the Genocide
Museum. When we arrive, the sun is on top of us. There are a few
people, clustered, here and there. Two police men stare at their shoes
as they talk to each other. There aren’t thousands of people like
there are in Istanbul. Recalling you in this land is a private matter.

It’s intimate. You know, I like it.

The lady who has organized your commemoration is walking towards me
and Anna. She has a plastic bag full of banners. Her red lipstick
had colored her teeth. I don’t say a word. I don’t know what to do
when these things happen.

“We won’t forget.”

“Justice for Hrant”

“We won’t be silenced”

Are written on the banners. But there’s one that causes me emotional
distress:

“We won’t forgive”

If you were alive, you wouldn’t like this banner. Or so I think. Your
heart is made of honey and cinnamon. It forgives. Your spirit seeks
justice with no bitterness or hostility. Your smile is forgiving
and emancipating.

But again, what do I know? I am hurt that you are murdered. But I
have no capacity in me to develop anger towards your assasin(s). I am
sorry for them. They live their own tragedy. They didn’t “get” you
because of their fears. Childhood wounds? This is no excuse. I want
justice for you. I need justice for us. But I also want forgiveness.

We walk from the Genocide Museum towards the Opera building. You have
been here. You know what I’m talking about. The football stadium
is on our left. Mount Ararat is imbued with a pink sunset. We
cross a bridge. Noy Vodka Factory stands behind us. Next to me
is a twenty-two-year old journalist. Her name is Siran. She is so
beautiful! She says she made Turkish friends during her trip to Italy.

Kurdish Osman talks to me: “Race isn’t important.” Then what’s
important, Osman brother? “Humanity.” There is a French-Armenian guy.

He says he wouldn’t say no to kebab and kunefe (cheese pastry soaked
in sweet sugar-based syrup) now. You know, our food. Anatolian
cooking. I’m hungry, you know. Born and raised in Paris. Got married
and settled in Yerevan. The kunefe guy says “I am Anatolian.” How
come? “That’s my home.” Origins, ancestors, legends, culture and
history. Food and justice. And you wouldn’t believe but David is here.

That PhD student from Hamburg. He is fluent in Armenian and Turkish.

“My stork was carrying me to Anatolia but it dropped me to Germany”
he says. For sure, if you met them in person, you would have so much
fun with these people. You would laugh together. Share your bread.

And this is exactly what we did. Hrant. Not easy. We walked the whole
city for you. Tired, hungry. Cold too. Hand in hand, we crossed Abovyan
Street. Couldn’t wait for the green light. We entered to Crumbs and
ordered some soup from a young waitress with braided hair.

When the food arrived, we were a family. We spooned hope and
friendship.

Stay amazing,

Meltem