Author: Badalian Vardan

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 30 2011

`Genocide’ bill may discourage investors

G̦khan Kurtaran РISTANBUL

A possible boycott of French firms might slow down investments, says
Yves Marie Laouenan.

A possible Turkish boycott of French products and companies would not
only harm bilateral trade relations but also possibly discourage new
French investment in Turkey, a top executive of the Turkish French
Trade Association (CCIFT) said yesterday.
`We should bear in mind a possible boycott of French products and
firms in Turkey might also slow down investments from France, the
second biggest foreign direct investor in Turkey,’ said Yves Marie
Laouenan, vice president of the CCIFT.
With tensions heating due to the French Parliament’s decision last
week to penalize any denial of the 1915 events as genocide, `trade and
business relations established over many years should be taken care
of,’ he told the Daily News.
France ranks the fifth biggest European direct investor in Turkey with
$10.3 billion worth of investments between 2000 and 2010, following
the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg,
respectively, according to data from Turkey’s Central Bank.

French investments in the country were only $1.6 billion in 2000. Even
in the midst of the European economic crisis, Turkey managed to
attract $816 million in the first half of this year, the data showed.

`We do not want to be involved in politics, we want to trade and
enhance economic relations between both countries,’ said Laouenan,
noting that the French Senate rejected a similar genocide bill in the
past.

Laouenan said Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated
in 2007, was among the pioneers who put his signature to a letter
urging French politicians to withdraw from passing such a bill in
2006. `A similar petition will soon be launched and presented to
French senators,’ Laouenan said.

`Nearly 100,000 Turkish people work in French firms in Turkey,’ said
Zeynep NecipoÄ?lu, the head of the association calling on both sides to
calm down and care more about economic relations between the
countries. Currently, more than 300 French firms operate in Turkey,
including Schneider, Areva, St Gobain, Lafarge, Danone, L’Oreal,
Carrefour, Total, BNP Paribas, AXA, Groupama and Dexia.

`The bill has not been accepted by the French Senate and we will
continue to express the sensitivity of the issue to French senators,’
NecipoÄ?lu said.

Last week, Turkish EU Minister Egemen BaÄ?ıÅ? warned that `Turks decide
on their own,’ implying citizens might boycott French goods as they
did before against Italy. However, any attempt to boycott trade with
France would fail to achieve results, Ã`mit Boyner, head of Turkish
Industry & Business Organization (TÃ`SÄ°AD), said in an interview with
the Daily News Dec. 28 following the minister’s comments.

December/30/2011

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Dec 27 2011

Swiss foreign minister says Armenian, Turkish historians should
investigate history

ANKARA (A.A) -December 26, 2011 -The president of the Swiss
Confederation and Switzerland’s foreign minister said on Monday [26
December] that Armenian and Turkish historians should investigate the
history.

Micheline Calmy-Rey said that historians in Armenia and Turkey should
deal with the allegations regarding the incidents of 1915.

The historians would then contribute to discussions with their
findings, Calmy-Rey said during Turkish ambassadors conference in
Ankara.

Calmy-Rey said there was not any law in Switzerland which acknowledged
a certain incident as genocide, like in France.

The foreign minister said Switzerland had mediated between Turkey and
Armenia between 2007 and October 2009 to enable the two countries to
establish diplomatic relations, open their borders and set up
sub-committees.

Switzerland’s official mediation role ended with protocols signed in
Zurich on October 10, 2009, Calmy-Rey said.

Calmy-Rey said Swiss penal code punished discourses and propaganda
including racism, and the Swiss government had many times condemned
the “tragic incidents of 1915.”

The minister said the Swiss government had clearly expressed its
formal view about this issue in 2003, and there had been no change in
Switzerland’s stance.

However, Armenian and Turkish historian should investigate the issue,
and contribute to discussions with their findings, Calmy-Rey also
said.

The lower house of the French parliament adopted on Thursday a
resolution that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations
pertaining to the incidents of 1915. Only 70 out of 577
parliamentarians joined the voting of the resolution which was adopted
with majority of votes.

The resolution envisages “one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine
for those who deny genocide recognized by French laws.” French
Parliament had recognized so-called Armenian genocide in 1915 on
January 29, 2001.

The draft criminalizing the rejection of Armenian allegations had
first been approved in 2006, but it could not become a law as French
President Nicolas Sarkozy prevented its presentation to Senate.

Now, the senate’s approval is necessary to make the resolution a law.

Turkey strongly opposes the issue of the incidents of 1915 being used
as a tool in French politics. Many believe that French President
Sarkozy supports the Armenian resolution in order to garner support
from France’s Armenian population that number around 500,000.

France will hold the first round of next year’s presidential election
on April 22 and the second round run-off on May 6. Sarkozy is running
for a second term.

If the resolution is not adopted at the senate till February 22, 2012
when the parliament and senate will recess for presidential elections,
it will be invalid.

Moreover, Davutoglu thanked Switzerland for its active policy that had
a significant effect on Turkish-Armenian normalization talks, and said
Swiss parliament had rejected such a resolution on December 21.

Yeni Safak , Turkey
Dec 27 2011

Shi’ite Sunni Split; Turkish-Kurdish Partnership

by Ibrahim Karagul
[translated from Turkish]

If everybody is going to be autonomous will it be possible to speak of a country
called Iraq? What will this solution cost Turkey? Is there a new form of
solidarity taking shape between the Sunnis and the Kurds, between Turkey and the
Kurds? To be more precise, might the Turkish-Kurdish conflict be replaced by a
Turkish-Kurdish partnership?

The answers to these questions are important. Why, you ask?

The power crisis in Baghdad is paving the way to an unravelling more dangerous
than what took place among the Shi’ites, the Sunnis and the Kurds during the
occupation. During the occupation there was no physical partition. But hearts
and minds grew further apart than ever before.

The notion of being an Iraqi was replaced by notions of being Shi’ite, Kurd and
Sunni. The idea of being a state was replaced by the idea of being a group or a
sect. A united Iraq centred on Baghdad was replaced by every political body’s
particular goals.

But throughout the occupation the country held together, albeit with military
glue. As soon as the United States pulled out a crisis erupted on day two. A
warrant was issued for the arrest of Sunni leader and Vice President Tariq
al-Hashimi citing charges of terrorism. Al-Maliki’s administration created the
opportunity to purge the Sunni leader via allegations concerning his bodyguards.

Al-Hashimi seeking refuge in northern
Iraq among the Kurds said some remarkable things. He said that Nuri al-Maliki is
playing the single man role, that he is turning into Saddam, that what happened
to him would soon happen to the Kurds, and that Al-Maliki’s regime wants to
eliminate everybody else.

These new practices being put into effect by Iraq’s prime minister in parallel
to the changes in the regional state of affairs doubtless all point to new
enemies, new divisions and new partnership. Al-Hashimi’s remarks, especially his
emphasis on autonomy, actually point to the same thing. Al-Maliki’s team does
not welcome any power sharing beyond spreading power among the Shi’ite groups.
While this is pushing the Sunnis and the Kurds into new quests, Al-Hashimi’s
words seem to be predicting the future.

Iraq’s internal power struggle is very important given concerns of an
identity-based conflict. However, these developments also have other very
important aspects relating to Turkey and the rest of the region. While drawing
attention to these concerns last week we mentioned the construction of a new
line of solidarity [see GMP20111221006004 Turkey Seen as Target of Iran-Written
Scenario Being Acted out in Baghdad]:

A design or rather a line of solidarity focused on Syria is growing in strength.
Attacks on the Iran-Syria-Hizballah line of resistance are focused on Syria and
campaigns for attacking Iran are increasing. While all this is going on we can
see that this line is actually strengthening solidarity between them. Now Iraq
is being added to the Iran-Syria-Hizballah line. Iran is protecting Iraq, which
it feels will make a more powerful shield than Syria, in the event that Syria
should fall. There is now a line in the region that is even more powerful than
it used to be in the form of solidarity between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hizballah.

Al-Maliki’s recent rapprochement with Iran in the past two months, added to his
comments about Syria and his criticism of Turkey needs to be watched carefully,
as do military agreements. The Iran-centred resistance to the threatening winds
from the West appears to have grown in strength right now. This is a picture of
the force that has grown to counter any intervention in Syria.

This is probably the wisdom behind Al-Hashimi’s bodyguards drawing attention to
Turkey in their “confessions” and in them claiming to have been trained in
Turkey. This is a huge propaganda war. Turkey’s outspoken position on Syria and
Al-Hashimi’s powerful relations all point to the fact that the real target of
the theatrics taking place in Baghdad is Turkey.

In 2011 we witnessed the following repercussions of the tension between Turkey
and Israel: Ankara took steps to isolate Israel from the rest of the region.
Meanwhile, Israel tried to build a wall around Turkey. It signed military
agreements and alliances with countries like France, Germany, Greece, Armenia,
Romania and Bulgaria. The fact that all these countries surround Turkey
indicates a strategy of “encirclement.”

And now it seems like a similar situation wants to be created by the countries
in the region. The Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon axis is shaping up like it is going
to sever all Turkey’s links with the south. Baghdad is imposing commercial
obstacles to oppose Turkey, which staved off the Jordan-Iraq alternative by
closing the Syria gate.

What really grabs the attention is this: the way that Israel’s encirclement
strategy and the bid to create a regional line of resistance are actually
mutually reinforcing. What an odd coincidence!

If this is how things are going to continue then the outcome will be this: The
ethnic-based unravelling in Iraq will cause separations all over the region.
Just as the Sunnis and the Kurds are going to grow close so the Turks and the
Kurds are going to go from “conflict” to “partnership.” This could come as a
serious jolt to the region’s power dynamics!

PRAVDA, Russia
Dec 30 2011

Russia exposes true colors of the West

30.12.2011

For the first time in many years, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published
an extensive report about the state of affairs in the field of human
rights in the United States of America, Canada, EU, NATO members and
Georgia. The report from the ministry also touched upon Libya, where
NATO’s incursion has led to the bloody change of power. The document
is not flawless. However, it clearly shows that democracy in the West
is not as perfect as it is painted.

For a long time the monopoly on the publication of such reports
belonged to the United States. The Americans tend to present certain
countries as outcasts. Year after year Russia is highlighted in the
reports of the State Department. According to them, Russia has issues
with the elections, freedom of speech and religious minorities.
Something similar is published by the European Union. At one time,
Chinese Foreign Ministry published a report on human rights in the
United States.

Russian foreign policy was clearly defensive. Russia always had to
justify itself, responding to attacks from the West. And then,
finally, Russia published a nearly 100-page document describing human
rights violations in the United States, Canada, EU and NATO, as well
as allied Georgia. The actions of the West during the war in Libya
have not been overlooked in the report either. Each region is assigned
a separate section.

The largest section is devoted to the U.S. – the country which has
declared itself “the standard of democracy.” “The situation there is
far from the ideals proclaimed by Washington. The main unresolved
issue is an odious prison at Guantanamo Bay … President Obama has
legalized indefinite terms without trial… The current administration
continues to use most of the methods of social control and
interference with the privacy of Americans,” the document says.

“There are continued violations of international humanitarian law in
armed conflict and during anti-terrorist operations. Chronic systemic
problems in the American society are getting more acute, including
racial discrimination, xenophobia, overcrowding in jails, unreasonable
use of the death penalty … The U.S. has one of the weakest in the
West security systems for workers’ rights for Collective Bargaining”,
stated Russian diplomats.

“The extraterritorial application of the American law does the
greatest harm in terms of US-Russian relations. It leads to a
violation of fundamental rights and freedoms of Russian citizens,
including arbitrary arrests and abductions from third countries (the
most obvious examples are the cases of Viktor Bout and K.
Yaroshenko),” says the report. The authors also note “a very acute
problem of violence against adopted children from Russia in American
families.”

Further the report lists such things as violation of the rights of
prisoners in CIA prisons, the problems with freedom of expression and
harassment of employees and the founder of the website WikiLeaks, the
death of at least 111,000 Iraqis and 14 thousands of Afghans in the
wars unleashed by the United States. There is racial discrimination of
blacks and Hispanics, and religious discrimination against American
Muslims.

Not everything is well in the U.S. with human rights, freedom of
speech and racism, and especially with the wars. Of course, one can
parry that in Russia the labor laws are less than perfect, and there
are problems with the media, and national relationships are not
perfect as well. However, Russia is not instructing the world how to
live, and does not throw bombs on other countries. The presence of
problems in Russia does not change the fact that the U.S. is far from
ideal.

With regard to the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry has
supported human rights criticism from Human Rights Watch on the rights
of immigrants from Asia and Africa and the anti-Muslim rhetoric. “The
main conclusion is the overall growth of xenophobia and intolerance in
the EU, promotion of far-right rhetoric … European governments do
not try to fight it, but, rather, vice versa, use the trend in
domestic purposes,” the Russian diplomats said.

“According to the AOHR (EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights – Ed.)
in 2009 more than any others the following nationalities were
discriminated at work: North Africans in Italy (30 percent), Roma in
Greece (29 percent), Roma in the Czech Republic (27 percent), Africans
in Malta (27 percent), Africans in Ireland (26 percent), Roma in
Hungary (25 percent), Brazilians in Portugal (24 percent), Turks in
Denmark (22 percent), Roma in Poland (22 percent),” the report says.

It is important that Russia described the problem that the EU remained
silent about for years. They say that they do not have problems with
the Muslims or Roma. They do have them, however, and last year they
demonstrated it by the shooting in Norway or the influx of refugees
from North Africa. Yet, there is another side to the issue: can
Muslims or blacks demand the same rights as the indigenous people? Can
they pointedly ignore laws and customs accepted in Europe? Would Roma
themselves be willing to adapt to a normal society? Therefore,
complaints to the authorities of European countries are still
excessive.

Sections on Germany, France, Britain and Sweden, report on the growth
of xenophobia and the issues of Muslims. Swedes, among other things,
are accused of supporting the Chechen rebels. Finland is also
mentioned in connection with the endless stories about taking children
away from Russian mothers. In the case of Hungary there is a mention
of an attempt to revise the results of the Second World War. Poland,
Bulgaria and Romania “only” suffer from inadequate legislation.

A separate section is devoted to the Baltic. “The discriminatory
policy of the authorities of the Baltic states against the Russian
minority living there remains nearly unchanged. Of particular concern
is the unresolved problem of mass statelessness in Latvia (nearly 330
thousand “aliens”) and Estonia (nearly 100 thousand “aliens”) and
consequent violation of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in
these countries,” stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Reduction of the Russian-language news and cultural and educational
space, as well as the persecution of World War II veterans and law
enforcement agencies of the former USSR is also observed in Lithuania.
Of particular concern is the continuation of the trend to rewrite the
history of the Second World War Baltic states,” Russian diplomat said.

Problems in Georgia were very clearly outlined in the report. There
are a lot of cases when Russian citizens (including ethnic Georgians)
fell victims of provocations of local security forces. Attention is
drawn to the dispersal of the protests. Particularly highlighted is
the largest violation of the rights of national minorities of the
country – the Armenian and Azerbaijani.

“Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti (in Armenian
Javakheti) is in dire socio-economic situation … Administrative
positions in local government are occupied predominantly by Georgian.
The Georgian authorities have deliberately carried out a
discriminatory policy against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of
Azerbaijanis in neighboring Azerbaijan is becoming mass in nature,”
the Russian diplomats stated.

The next section of the report is on Canada. The country was berated
for the brutality against the demonstrators, for the oppression of
Indians and Eskimos, and lack of security of Canadian citizens abroad.
However, there is not a single word in the report about endless
military exercises in the Arctic and threats of Canadian authorities
to Russia.

The last section is devoted to NATO operations in Libya. “NATO leaders
officially deny the facts of civilian deaths as a result of air
strikes by coalition forces, indirect victims, which was the reason
for the blockade of the western regions of Libya, the destruction of
civilian infrastructure,” the diplomat said.

Then follows a list of deaths of civilians from NATO attacks and
atrocities of Western-backed rebels. The highlights are “extrajudicial
execution of the representatives of the former regime and its
supporters with the tacit consent of NATO members,” numerous cases of
“crimes of the former Libyan armed opposition.”

The document is not without drawbacks. Thus, it has no foreword or
conclusion. Sections on the United States, the Baltic States, Georgia,
Libya, and the largest countries in Europe are very detailed. However,
the sections of the smaller European countries, as well as the entire
EU and Canada raise questions and seem to be rather “raw”. The
publication of the report seems untimely. During Christmas and New
Year holidays even the politicians are not particularly into policy.

However, the first attempt was pretty good. Russia has shown that it
will not always have to justify its behavior after publication of the
American and European reports. It can provide pre-emptive strikes in
its foreign policy. Hopefully, such reports from the Foreign Ministry
of Russia will become commonplace and improve with time.

Vadim Trukhachev

Pravda.Ru

FARS News Agency, Iran
December 28, 2011 Wednesday

US Military Influence in Mideast Fading Away Due to Iranian Drone Hacking

TEHRAN (FNA)- The recent showing of a captured American drone by Iran
embarrassed Washington so much that US President Obama had to ask
politely for the expensive piece of machinery to be returned.

The insult to injury is that the drone was not crashed – it was
landed. This simple detail holds all the implications for the future
of American foreign policy in the Middle East. It is reflective of a
trend in the Middle East that seems to leave America behind, with up
and coming players, like Iran, filling the void.

Given Iran’s show of power, now restraint must be one of the virtues
in the US State Department and the Pentagon.

The purpose of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan is not to consolidate or
create an Afghan state – it is to present a hard power deterrent to
Iran’s regional influence; it becomes even more important with the
American withdrawal from Iraq and the opening of Iraq to Iranian
influence. Losing the emirates in the Southern peninsula is directly
related to whether the Keystone XL pipeline is built: Simple supply
and demand of oil will reduce the stakes of securing Saudi oil –
conversely, the emirates might come under the control of Iranian. As
far as hard power goes, the fact Iran managed to hack a sophisticated
drone is a hint that hacking an aircraft carrier based in Bahrain is
now possible.

The recent recognition of the Armenian genocide by France is a
calculated move to distance Turkey from Europe further. Turkey has a
rapidly growing economy and a powerful military, which combine with
the distancing from Europe to give Ankara its own version of
Ostpolitik, to make up for an ongoing century of Ottoman stigma and
relative absence from Mideast affairs. It might be said that the
Turkey-Iran relationship may be one of the most important regional
dynamics during this century, and with a policy of re-rapprochement,
Washington will carry relatively less clout with Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan.

Syria is a yet unknown variable – President Assad survived the western
plots. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s newfound political power can
also be used to sour relations with Israel, if the call for revision
to the 1979 peace treaty comes to fruition. Tel Aviv is following
these events closely, but its international isolation will be deepened
once the above dynamics intensify.

The confluence of these dynamics also marginalizes America’s influence
in the Middle East. President Obama’s request to Iran to give the
drone back demonstrates the highly unfavorable position of Washington
to affect the changes it wants in the Middle East. Indicative is also
the decision to send 250 American soldiers to Australia in 2012 – in
simplest terms, it is symbolic of America’s strategic defeat in the
Middle East and the reshuffling of the cards toward the Pacific to
shore up a diminishing global presence.

It is a mysterious thing about empires – one day, the world is theirs.
On the next, it just moves on.

Agence France Presse
December 27, 2011 Tuesday 6:02 PM GMT

Denial of Armenian genocide should be punishable: Dodik

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dec 27 2011

Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik, who has staunchly denied
the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, on Tuesday said he would seek to make
denial of the disputed Armenian genocide illegal in Bosnia.

Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-run entity in
Bosnia, said his party would “propose a law that would ban denial of
the genocide committed against Armenians” in 1915, Fena news agency
reported.

“We would like to enter into the circle of civilised countries,
European and others, who have denounced this genocide. We will submit
the draft to the (central) parliament in the coming days,” Dodik said.

In 1915 and 1916, during World War I, many Armenians died in Ottoman
Turkey. Armenia says 1.5 million were killed in a genocide. Turkey
says around 500,000 died in fighting after Armenians sided with
Russian invaders.

The issue has become an obstacle in Turkey’s relations with western
countries, notably France.

Paris had recognised the 1915 killings of Armenians as genocide and
moved last week to adopt a law that would impose a jail term and a
45,000 euro ($60,000) fine on anyone in France who denied it, sparking
a stormy reaction by Ankara and a deterioration in diplomatic
relations with Turkey.

Dodik said “the genocide against Armenians was committed without a
doubt and one-and-a-half million people were massacred.”

However, the Bosnian Serb leader has staunchly denied that the July
1995 massacre in Srebrenica, in which some 8,000 Muslim men and boys
were killed by Bosnian Serb forces, could be qualified as a genocide.

The International Court of Justice, the highest judiciary body of the
United Nations, ruled in February 2007 that the Srebrenica massacre
was genocide.

Since the end of the war, Bosnia has been divided along ethnic lines
into two entities, Republika Srpska and Muslim-Croat Federation.

Xinhua General News Service, China
December 27, 2011 Tuesday 1:16 AM EST

Turkey may withdraw 15 bln USD bond reserves from France for Armenian
“genocide” bill: report

ANKARA Dec. 27

Turkey’s Central Bank might transfer its 28.8 billion Turkish Liras
(15.3 billion U.S. dollars) of investments in French bonds to other
European countries as part of sanctions against France for the
Armenian “genocide” bill, local media quoted economists as saying on
Tuesday.

“Judging from the recent steps taken by the Turkish government and the
political tone, I can expect the Turkish Central Bank could withdraw
its reserves from France as part of its economic sanctions in the
future,” Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erol
Katircioglu, professor of the economics department of Istanbul Bilgi
University, as saying.

Further, Kerem Alkin of Istanbul Commerce University said it is the
right of Turkey to withdraw its reserves from France and the move will
prove Turkey is playing sanctions for real, according to the Hurriyet
report.

With a government bond of 28.8 billion Turkish Liras (15.3 billion
dollars), Turkey’s Central Bank reserves in France are second only to
the United States’ 48.6 billion Turkish Liras (25.7 billion dollars),
according to the report.

By the end of 2010, Turkish Central Bank’s total investments in
various banks registered 110.1 billion liras (58.4 billion dollars) .
In European countries, the bank had 17.7 billion liras (9.4 billion
dollars) reserves in Germany, 4.8 billion Liras (2.5 billion dollars)
in Belgium, 4.5 billion liras (2.4 billion dollars) in the Netherlands
and 1.3 billion Liras (689 million dollars) in the United Kingdom.

In 2010, Turkey invested around 17.7 billion liras (9.4 billion
dollars) to purchase the French government bonds amid the euro zone
crisis. “The French economy might face serious difficulties if the
Turkish Central Bank withdraws reserves,” said Mehmet Usta, deputy
chairman at Bank Aktif, who also served as general manager at Banque
de Bosphore in France between 1994 and 2007.

France’s need for liquidity is rising due to the ongoing European debt
crisis. Turkey’s investment in the country would still play an
important role if France could not compensate the amount from any
other source immediately, said Mehmet Usta.

“German bonds would be the primary choice of Turkey’s Central Bank
instead of French bonds,” Mehmet Usta said.

However, such a move might bring negative effect to Turkey’s EU
membership bid, said Erol Katircioglu.

On Thursday, Turkey halts “all political consultations, joint military
activities and maneuvers” in response to the French approval of a
bill, which stipulates criminal sentences and fines for those who
refuse to recognize the killing of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide” in
France.

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down in a dispute over the World
War I-era deaths of Armenians under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says the
deaths occurred in a “genocide,” while Turkey denies the charge and
insists that the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and
governmental breakdown as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern
Turkey was created.

Turkey rejects the term “genocide” for killings of Armenians in the
World War I era, arguing the issue should be left to historians.
Ankara has proposed to establish a joint commission by Turkish,
Armenian and other international historians to discuss incidents in
1915. Armenia has not responded positively to the offer.

ianyan magazine
Dec 28 2011

That’s the Spirit: Armenian and Greek Orthodox Monks in Broom Fight
Society – By Liana Aghajanian

In the spirit of holiday giving, Armenian and Greek Orthodox Monks
took it upon themselves to exchange gifts, except they weren’t the
kind of presents you would normally expect. Around 100 priests hurled
brooms at each other in Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity as they were
cleaning the church in preparation for Orthodox Christmas, which both
cultural groups celebrate.

The outburst, broken up by baton and shield-wielding Palestinian
police, came to head as the Greek Orthodox and Armenian clerics, who
each control a portion of the church along with Roman Catholics,
believed to be built over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus,
got into the scuffle over a `turf war.’

Bethlehem police Lt-Col Khaled al-Tamimi was quoted in Reuters as
saying that no one was arrested `because all those involved were men
of God’ while the BBC reported that the 1,700-year-old church is in
bad shape because priests can’t agree on who should be footing the
bill for its repair.

The rotting roof timbers have not been replaced since the 19th century
and due to rainwater seepage, there is a chance of an electrical
short-circuit and fire, according to the historical preservation
organization, World Monuments Fund, who sees an agreement between the
three keepers of the church as the only solution to its repair:

For the site to be preserved, its three custodians – the Greek Orthodox
Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order – would
have to coordinate their efforts, but such a collaboration has not
occurred in nearly a thousand years.

The WMF reports that an agreement was reached in September 2010 to
restore the church’s roof, the first of its kind, funded by the
Palestinian authority.

The ironically timed priestly brawl is a common occurrence. In 2008,
Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks went head to head at the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre, known as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. The
Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognizing their rights, while
Armenians said Greeks had violated a traditional ceremony their clergy
attempted to place one of their monks inside the Edicule, a structure
said to encase the tomb of Jesus, reported the BBC. Unlike today’s
battle, four monks were detained by police in the fight.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 29 2011

US ambassador: No military solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The US always say there is no military solution to the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the only way to
resolve the conflict should be peacefully negotiations between the
both sides, US Ambassador Matthew Bryza said at a press conference in
Baku on Thursday, Trend reports.

“We always say there is no military solution to the conflict. The
point is not the issue of Azerbaijani soldiers’ capability, the only
way to resolve the conflict should be peacefully negotiations between
the both sides,” Bryza said.

Bryza believes that there will be resumed progress when the presidents
will meet again.

Cyprus Mail
Dec 28 2011

Our View: Why the new-found interest in the human rights of others?

THE ISRAELI Knesset’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday held a
three-hour discussion on the Armenian genocide by the Ottomans, the
first-ever public hearing on the issue, which was attended by
government officials and representatives of both the Turkish and
Armenian communities.

Although no resolution was passed and the session took place despite
the Israeli government’s opposition to the motion, members of the
Knesset expressed a “moral and historical obligation” to support
recognition of the genocide.

The Armenian genocide – in which 1.5 million died – happened in 1915
and Israel has been a state since 1948 so it is legitimate to ask why
now, and whether anything will come of this new-found concern for the
human rights of others?

For years it has been Israel’s policy to not only to refuse to
recognise the Armenian genocide but to go out of its way to oppose its
recognition by other countries. Most recently influential Jewish
organisations in the US worked actively with Turkey to block
recognition of the genocide by Congress. Where was the Knesset’s
“moral and historical obligation” then?

Could the new-found concern for the suffering of the early 20th
century Armenians have anything to do with Israel’s deteriorating
relations with Ankara? The answer is that it has everything to do with
that and very little, if anything at all, to do with solidarity to a
race of people who suffered a similar fate to Europe’s Jews.

The Knesset’s move can only be described as a cynical political move
to beat Turkey with the proverbial diplomatic stick, especially in the
wake of France’s decision to have denial of the Armenian genocide
declared a criminal offence.

Neither will Monday’s session accomplish anything. The Israeli
government has made it clear that although it is currently at odds
with Turkey, it would like to keep the door open for future
restoration of ties with its former military ally. Recognising the
Armenian genocide would likely be the last nail in the coffin, and not
something Tel Aviv is likely to risk in the long term.

Of all the countries in the world that have recognised the Armenian
genocide, Israel should have been among the first to do so. Gassings,
cattle cars, concentration camps and death marches, for which there is
credible historical evidence stemming from the Armenian genocide, are
words that should invoke solidarity among Jewish people.

Instead the fate of 1.5 million Armenians has been ignored in Israel
as if it never happened. Therefore from a moral and historical
perspective, the Knesset discussion is too little too late, and truly
meaningless because it was done for all the wrong reasons.