Author: Badalian Vardan

GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL TO BE COMMEMORATED IN ISTANBUL

Monday, December 8th, 2014

People in Istanbul commemorate the Armenian Genocide

Groups Aim to Bring Together Turks and Armenians from Around the World

ISTANBUL–Turkish and Armenian-American organizations are working
together to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide on
April 24, 2015 and to encourage Armenians from around the world to
attend, DurDe and Project 2015 said Monday. The concerted campaign
by Ottoman leaders a century ago resulted in the deaths and exile of
the vast majority of Armenians from their homeland.

While Turkish groups have organized memorial events in Istanbul
for the past several years, Turkish NGO DurDe and Project 2015, a
US-based organization, are working to ensure that a large contingent
of Armenians come to Turkey for the historic centennial commemoration.

“We encourage and welcome Armenians from around the globe to assemble
with citizens of Turkey in Istanbul to participate in these memorial
events,” said Levent Sensever of DurDe. “As Turks, we want to express
our solidarity with Armenians as we pay our respects to the victims
and survivors of this terrible crime, and press our government to
recognize the genocide.”

The events in Istanbul will include a public assembly in Taksim on
the evening of April 24. It will also include a memorial service at
Å~^iÈ~Yli Armenian Apostolic Cemetery (È~XiÈ~Yli Ermeni Gregoryen
Mezarligi), where Sevag Ã…~^ahin Balikci is buried; Balikci was an
Armenian soldier serving in the Turkish military and murdered by
a Turkish soldier on April 24, 2011. Information about the planned
events can be found at

“As Armenians, we are going to Istanbul to memorialize the brutal
massacre of our family members, and to remind the world that 100
years later, we are still seeking justice and accountability from
the Turkish government,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, board member of
Project 2015. “For many of us, this is a first return to the lands
of our ancestors, who lived here for thousands of years before their
murders and expulsions 100 years ago.”

Discussion of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey remains a highly
sensitive subject in Turkey and subject to criminal sanctions. The
Turkish government has prosecuted journalists, writers and academics
for making reference to the Armenian Genocide. However, past
commemorations of the Armenian Genocide in Istanbul have taken place
without incident, and with the benefit of municipal police protection.

In 2014, then-Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences
to the grandchildren of “Armenians who lost their lives in the context
of the early 20th century” but failed to acknowledge the role of the
Ottoman government in systematically causing these losses. The Turkish
government has refused to recognize the massacres of the Armenians
as genocide.

“As Turks, we are striving to broaden the space to discuss the events
leading to the near total destruction of one of the region’s oldest
indigenous communities,” Sensever said. “We want to demonstrate to
the world that while the Turkish government may not be ready to come
to terms with this country’s past, we as citizens of Turkey are ready.”

DurDe is one of Turkey’s leading civil and human rights organizations,
working to combat racism, nationalism and hate crimes. It is an
activist network that in recent years has played an important role
in organizing commemorations for the Armenian Genocide in Istanbul.

Project 2015 is a US-based non-profit organization comprised of
Armenians, Turks and Americans to encourage wide participation in
the commemoration events in Istanbul.

“Commemorating the Armenian Genocide in the place where the crimes took
place will be a deeply meaningful experience,” said Nancy Kricorian,
Project 2015 board member. “Our presence in Istanbul will be a form
of resistance to erasure and denial.”

CELEBRATING CHARLES AZNAVOUR WITH EGYPT’S ARAX ARMENIAN CHOIR

Ahram Online, Egypt
Dec 8 2014

On 12 December Arax Armenian choir will perform the best hits of
Charles Aznavour in the Nubarian Armenian School in Heliopolis Ahram
Online , Monday 8 Dec 2014

The songs by the internationally renowned Armenian-French singer and
songwriter Charles Aznavour will be performed by Arax Armenian choir.

The Armenian minority in Egypt, which according to estimates does not
exceed 6,000 people in Cairo and Alexandria, is particularly active in
presenting their culture through different art forms. The Arax Choir
is one of such outlets, holding concerts on regular occasions. Among
the noteworthy events held by the choir in the recent years was a
concert commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Armenian composer
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).

Operating under the Armenian Prelacy of Cairo, the Arax Choir goes
back to the 1990s, when its name was Zavartnots and it was conducted
by David Zalyan. The conductor was succeeded by Hrant Aghajanian,
a music and arts teacher, an important mediator of Armenian culture
in Egypt. In 2003, Aghajanian was replaced by Mihran Ghazelian, the
choir’s conductor and artistic director until date and who changed
its name to Arax.

The first performance of the choir under the name of Arax was on the
occasion of the 1700th anniversary of foundation of the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin (in 303 AD), the oldest church built by a state
in the world and the spiritual headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic
Church. Since becoming Arax, the choir has given a number of concerts
in Cairo and Alexandria.

Programme: Friday 12 December, 7pm Belekdanian Hall, Nubarian Armenian
School, 5 Menouf street (off Cleopatra street), Heliopolis

ARMENIAN SKIER SERGEY MIKAELYAN COMES FIRST IN FINLAND

14:07 | December 8,2014 | Sports

Armenian skier Sergey Mikaelyan came first in the cross country 10
km classic style skiing in the city of Lapinlahti in Finland.

Armenia Ski Federation Secretary General Gagik Sargsyan says Mikaelyan
was the first among the 97 athletes from eight countries.

Mikaelyan is currently training for U23 World Championships will be
held in Almaty in February.

CHALABIS, KHOJAS, AMIRAS AND EFFENDIS (PART 1 OF 2)

by Dr. Antranig Chalabian, Translated and abridged by Vahe H. Apelian,
November 2014

By the 17th century, not much was left from the old Armenian nobility;
they were Amadounis, Arshagounis, Artzrounis, Broshians, Gamsaragans,
Hassan-Jalalians, Mamikonians, Orpelians, Pakradounis, Rshdounis,
Saharounis, Vahramians, Zakarians and other noble houses. During
the 17th century new upper classes appeared among the Armenians;
the Chalabis mostly in Constantinople and the Khojas in Old and New
Julfas and their regions.

Part I

1. The Chalabis

Even during the early days of the Ottoman Empire, in the 13th century,
the Armenian feudal families saw that they were losing ground by the
usurpation of their lands. They began trusting more in the mobility
of monetary wealth. Over a period of time some of them, through the
wealth they accumulated, were able to secure for themselves high
positions within the Ottoman royalty. They were called the Chalabis.

In Constantinople the primary occupation of the Armenians who attained
that honorific title was money exchange. The Chalabis, wrote Hagop S.

Anasian “overwhelmingly were devoted to banking transactions, servicing
the members of the Ottoman court”. The Chalabis at times were also
involved in large-scale trade. However, even for those involved in
trade, it was not their main occupation. “We will not be mistaken”,
continues Anasian, “if we claim that the Armenian Chalabis of the
17th century became the predecessors of the Armenian Amiras in
Constantinople in the coming centuries.”

The Armenian Chalabis, having deeply rooted in banking and money
exchange, cultivated the mannerism of upper cast nobles and became
fiercely conservative when it came to the social changes affecting
the western Armenians.

Among the known Armenian Chalabis were the following: Maghakia and
Iskendar Chalabis from Ameda or Dikgranagerd (the Armenian Diarbekir),
Sanos Chalabi from Aleppo, Andon and Abro Chalabis from Bursa, Shahen
Chalabi from Drabezon and Yeremia Chalabi Keumurdjian. The latter was
born in Constantinople in 1637. He mastered Turkish, Greek, Latin and
other European languages. He served as the secretary of two Patriarchs,
Yeghiazar I (1651-1652) known as Yeghiazar of Aintab (ÔµÕ²Õ”Õ¡Õ¦Õ¡O~@
Ô±ÕµÕ¶Õ©Õ¡ÕºO~AÕ”) and Mardiros II (1659-1660) known as Mardiros of
Kefez (Õ~DÕ¡O~@Õ¿Õ”O~@Õ¸Õ½ Ô² Õ”Õ¥O~FÕ¥O~AÕ”). He was also the tutor
of the wealthy Abro Chalabi’s children.

Yeremia Chalabi Keumurdjian authored historical works, poems, essays,
and translations. Father Nerses Aginian, of the Mekhitarian Order,
wrote extensively about him in 1930’s. In 1952, Hrant Der Antreasian
translated into Turkish Yeremia Chalabi’s three volumes historical
book about the history of Constantinople. The eminent Hagop Martayan
wrote praising that he was a beacon of light in the prevalent darkness
of his time.

The Chalabis exercised great influence especially in Bolis, the
capital city that was the nerve center of the Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire. Because of their ties with the court and the influence they
had there, they practically had the affairs of the Armenian Millet
run at their discretion.

>From the beginning of the 18th century and for the next 100 years
the running of the Ottoman mint was the monopoly of the great Duzian
family who were Chalabis themselves. The Duzian Chalabis minted the
Empire’s gold and silver monies. The members of the family were also
the jewelers of the court. They were immensely wealthy.

During the 19th century Sarkis Chalabi Duz was one of the most noted
member of the family. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud the Second,
1808-1839, Haled Effendi, a high placed official in the court envied
the trust the Sultan had towards the members of the Christian Duzian
family. With an Armenian accomplice who was an employee and a confidant
of the Duzian family, Haled Effendi started spreading unfounded rumors
that the Duzian family members plan to flee the country taking with
them royal treasury or using their immense wealth and ties they intend
to conspire with the Janissaries to have them rise against the Sultan
himself. These rumors had their intended effects.

On the night of October 16, 1819, Sultan Mahmud had the Duzian palace
surrounded and had all the members of the Duzian family apprehended.

Two brothers were beheaded in front of the royal court and the other
two brothers were hanged publicly. All that the Duzian family owned
was confiscated and put at the disposal of the Sultan.

After the demise of the family the Armenian accomplice of this
treason was elevated to high position within the court. Who was he
who helped orchestrate the destruction of the Duzian dynasty? “It’s
better that his name be lost forever in the dark pages of history”,
says the Mekhitarist Father Sahag Der Movsesian.

2. Khojas

On June 6, 1064, Alp Arslan ransacked Ani, the capital city of the
Pakradouni dynasty. Most of the survivors fled to Crimea, Poland
and elsewhere.

Some of the survivors of the devastation preferred to flee southbound
and following the Akhourian River reached the southern end of
Nakhijevan along the border of Persia, on the northern bank of the Arax
River. That desolate area, cut off from the rest of the world, offered
them a safe haven. The town they formed there came to be called Jugha.

The new inhabitants of Jugha were mostly artisans and traders. There
was not enough fertile soil among the large boulders to sustain an
economy based on agriculture. To make a living they became peddlers
buying good from the shops in Nachijevan and transporting them on
the back of their donkeys, roaming from village to another to sell
the goods. Over the years they expanded their trade forming caravan
routes transporting goods to the Caucasus and by the 16th century the
enterprising Khojas of Jugha were trading in the far east in India
and beyond, and in the west they had established trading houses in
Venice and Italy and as far north as in Holland.

Khoja is a Persian word and it means master or lord. It is bestowed
upon persons of wealth. In Persia large land holders and traders
carried the title. The same title was also used in Turkey.

Five hundred and forty years after the ransack of Ani, in 1604, when
the inhabitants of Jugha welcomed the Persian Shah Abbas the Great,
the thriving town had already around 2000 households and seven splendid
churches. The Khojas of Jugha, headed by Khoja Khachig, bribed the
local warlords to secure their trading. These warlords would fill
their pockets and would let the Khojas continue on with their trades.

After their forced deportation by Shah Abbas into the interior of
Persia, in the southern part of Isfahan, they formed a new settlement
calling it New Jugha. By forcing the relocation of the inhabitants
of Jugha to the interior of Iran, Shah Abbas wanted to expand Iran’s
trade to the far reaches of the world. The Persians produced silk
and other goods but they did not have the means and the connections
to have their products sold in foreign markets.

The New Jugha prospered incredibly fast thanks also to monetary
assistance by Shah Abbas. It soon overshadowed the fame the old Jugha
had mustered after centuries of experience in trade. The Khojas
of New Jugha, headed by Khoja Nazar, with the ships they owned,
not only sailed to Bombay and Madras in India, but also to Java and
the Philippine Islands in the East, and in the West they established
trading centers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Poland and
Russia as well.

The Khojas of New Jugha took their sons to Holland for education. Some
of them studied art and painted the churches of New Jugha. Over the
years the Armenian community in Amsterdam swelled and prospered. It
was there that the first Armenian bible was printed in 1666.

The French merchant and traveler Jean-Bapstise Tavernier noted:
“These people (khojas) in a short span of time became so proficient
that they initiated trade reaching as far as Tonkin, Java and
Philippines.” Continuing his observations of the Armenian merchants,
Tavernier wrote that the Armenians “have a knack for trade because
they economize and are abstinent. I do not know if that is a virtue
or a vice. When they, the Armenian khojas, are engaged in long
lasting travels they carry with them dry food. Whenever they travel
through mountainous region and come across a cheap goat or sheep,
they purchase it. They also carry hooks with them to fish whenever
they travel along riverbanks. When they reach a town they rent an
empty room and five or six of them sleep in the same room, each of
them carrying with them their own bedding and kitchen utensils.”

In 1667 the Khojas of New Jugha secured from Tsar Alexey Mikhalovitc
the monopoly of importing silk without custom duties for selling in
Russia. Until the end of the 17th century the Armenian merchants had
permission to trade in Russia from Astrakhan in the south to far north.

Whenever the Khojas went to Moscow they would lavish gifts on the
Tsar. On one occasion Khoja Nazar gifted Tsar Alexey a diamond laden
crown that is kept to this day in the military history museum of
Kremlin. The Armenian Khojas competed with English and European
companies. The Armenian trade was family based. They did not have
companies. Khoja Shahamir Shahamirian, for example, had settled from
Nor Jugha into the Indian city Madras. From there he had trading
centers in Persia, Mesopotamia and in European cities. Shah Abbas
was so pleased with the enterprising Armenians that he would visit
an Armenian church during Easter and would be hosted by the Khojas.

It is said that the Khojas of New Jugha had 24 churches erected of
which 12 stand to this day. Khoja Khachig, who had hosted Shah Abbas
in 1604 in the old Jugha, had financed the construction of one of
the churches.

The prosperity of the New Jugha hardly lasted a century. By the end
of the 17th century the policies of the Persian shahs and Ayatollahs
towards their Christian Armenian subjects changed altogether giving way
to persecution and high taxes. A great number of Armenians emigrated to
Bombay, Madras, Calcutta in India where they thrived much like they had
in the Old and New Jugha. Others emigrated to Moscow, St. Petersburg
where they inducted the local merchants into the silk trade.

In 1740 one of the former princes of New Jugha, Khoja Aghazar Lazarian,
sent his son to Moscow. Shortly after, the rest of the family joined
and settled in Moscow along with their other three sons.

They established a silk factory. In 1815 one of Aghazar’s sons
established the Lazarian High School that later became Lazarev
Institute of Oriental Languages. The building of the former institute
nowadays houses the Embassy of Armenia in Moscow.

The Armenians from Jugha in India traded in silk, gold and diamond and
became enormously wealthy. At the beginning not only they did not have
any conflict with the mighty East India Company, but collaborated with
its principals. Later on as the Armenian Khojas prospered enormously,
a conflict started between them. The East India Company had received
a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, therefore it had the
backing of the British Empire. With the support of the British Empire
it defeated its rivals, including the Armenian Khojas, monopolizing
trade to and from India.

In order to find new trading grounds the Armenian Khojas spread to
Dekka, Bangladesh; Rangoon, Burma; Singapore, Malaysia; Jakarta,
Indonesia; Chinghai, China and to Harbin, Manchuria where they
prospered, had beautiful churches constructed and faded away.

Presently not a trace has remained of the Armenian Chalabis in the
Asia Minor. Other than the Armenian cemetery that contains some
ten thousand funerary monuments, not much is left of the Old Jugha,
the birthplace of the Khojas. The New Jugha is still populated by
few thousands of Armenians.

The Far East and the Pacific Ocean Armenian communities have all
disappeared leaving behind churches that serve more as attractions
to the interested tourists rather than houses of worship for the
Armenians that do not exist there anymore. The rest of the Armenians
from Yerevan to Los Angeles continue to growl repeating the poet that
“we are, we will be and we will multiply.”

Multiply? Poor Baruyr Sevag. Had he been alive he would have witnessed
that indeed the number of the Armenians in the Diaspora is increasing,
certainly temporarily, due to massive exodus of the mostly able-bodied
conscript age young men and women from his native land, Armenia. If
Armenia continues to bleed this way, more likely than not it will
house an Armenian minority living in the shadows of the Mount Ararat.

(To be continued)

L’ARMEE ARMENIENNE DEVIENT UN FACTEUR DE LA POLITIQUE ETRANGERE APRES UNE OPERATION REUSSIE

ARMENIE

De violents affrontements entre les forces armeniennes et
azerbaïdjanaises pour le contrôle de la zone où l’helicoptère a ete
abattu en première ligne au Karabagh semblent peut-etre termines mais
des questions demeurent sur la facon dont l’incident aura un impact
sur la situation generale dans la zone du conflit et le processus de
règlement par la mediation internationale.

Dans la nuit du 22 novembre un commando du Karabagh a mene une
operation speciale visant a recuperer les corps des trois pilotes de
l’helicoptère Mi-24 que l’Azerbaïdjan a abattu le 12 Novembre alors
qu’il operait un vol d’entraînement a proximite de la partie orientale
de la ligne de contact.

Alors que l’helicoptère abattu est tombe dans la zone dite neutre,
aucune des parties ne pouvait l’approcher a cause des tirs intenses.

L’Azerbaïdjan a ignore les appels des mediateurs internationaux qui
l’ont exhorte a donner un accès a l partie armenienne afin d’acceder
a l’epave pour pouvoir recuperer les corps de pilotes. Le bras de
fer a continue pendant près de 10 jours et a conduit a l’operation
speciale dans laquelle la partie armenienne a dit qu’au moins deux
soldats azerbaïdjanais ont ete tues. Bakou a nie les decès.

Pendant ce temps, ni les co-presidents du Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE,
ni d’autres organisations internationales ont soit condamne ou ont
montre toute autre reaction a l’operation de recuperation menee par
les forces du Karabagh. L’absence de reaction peut etre la preuve que
les mediateurs ont ete au courant de l’operation envisagee ou de leur
approbation par la suite.

Quoi qu’il en soit, l’incident du 12 novembre a souleve un certain
nombre de questions dans la societe armenienne. Tout d’abord, c’est la
liberte d’action des armees armeniennes et azerbaïdjanaises dans des
conditions du cessez-le-feu de 1994 et des mediateurs internationaux
qui n’ont pas eu d’effet de levier afin de trouver des solutions et
au moins au niveau humanitaire ?

Comme il s’est avere, les instruments internationaux sont pratiquement
absents, et l’armee armenienne a pleinement realise que cela
permettrait de resoudre les problèmes de son propre chef.

Deuxièmement, comme il est avere, il n’y a meme pas la base juridique
minimum dans l’armistice armeno-azerbaïdjanais.

Le 11 mai, l’accord de 1994 ne contenait qu’une disposition
sur cessez-le-feu et devait etre confirmee par un document
militaro-technique le lendemain. Toutefois, aucun document a ete signe
le 12 mai lors d’une reunion organisee par le ministre de la Defense
de la Russie et en presence des ministres de la defense de l’Armenie
et de l’Azerbaïdjan et le commandant des forces d’auto-defense
du Karabagh. La Russie a exige l’introduction de ses troupes pour
separer les parties en conflit, mais l’Azerbaïdjan a refuse de signer
un tel document.

Depuis lors, aucun document a ete signe qui definirait les obligations
des parties et de la communaute internationale. Le Groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE, qui a ete cree en 1992, a un mandat purement politique. Et son
groupe de suivi n’enregistre que la situation sans avoir un mandat pour
une intervention ou une assistance dans les questions humanitaires.

Ainsi, les analystes armeniens concluent que l’unicite du conflit du
Karabagh est que les parties armenienne et azerbaïdjanaise prefèrent
des affrontements localises periodiques a l’introduction de forces
d’un pays tiers et le renforcement du rôle des mediateurs.

Les experts notent egalement que l’operation des forces speciales
armeniennes a souleve l’armee armenienne au niveau d’une armee comme la
plus independante et efficace au moins dans la region. La preparation
au combat eleve de l’armee armenienne a ete reconnu par des experts
internationaux aussi avant, mais cette fois l’armee a egalement prouve
qu’elle ne regardera pas les intervenants etrangers et s’acquitterait
de ses tâches.

Dans ce contexte, un changement dans le rôle de l’armee armenienne
dans la politique etrangère de l’Armenie est souligne. Le ministre de
la Defense Seyran Ohanian a declare a plusieurs reprises que l’armee
armenienne n’a pas besoin “d’autres forces >> afin de maintenir
la paix dans la region. Pendant ce temps, l’Armenie poursuit les
negociations sur la base des principes de règlement dits de Madrid,
ce qui implique qu’une force de maintien de la paix internationale
sera introduite dans la region pour faire respecter le traite de paix.

Des experts en Armenie notent que le facteur de l’independance de
la politique etrangère de l’armee armenienne permet de maintenir
l’equilibre militaro-politique et la stabilite relative dans la region.

Par Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow

lundi 8 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

LA SAINTE LANCE DE > TRANSPORTEE A LA CATHEDRALE DE SAINT ETCHMIADZIN POUR LA FETE DE SAINT-THADDEE ET SAINT-BARTHELEMY

ARMENIE

Le 29 Novembre, l’Eglise Apostolique Armenienne a celebre la fete
des apôtres Saint Thaddee et Saint-Barthelemy. À 10h30 une Divine
Liturgie a eu lieu dans la cathedrale Mère en l’honneur de la fete
des premiers enlumineurs de l’Eglise armenienne.

A cette occasion, la Sainte Lance (Gueghard) a ete emmene a la
Cathedrale Sainte-Mère, et lors de la celebration de la Divine
Liturgie, les fidèles ont eu l’occasion d’embrasser et de recevoir
des benedictions de la miraculeuse Sainte Lance. La Sainte Lance est
reste visible dans la Cathedrale jusqu’au soir.

Au cours de la Divine Liturgie et afin de satisfaire le souhait des
pèlerins armeniens et etrangers la Fete des fondateurs de l’Eglise
armenienne, Saint Thaddee et Saint-Barthelemy, a ete declaree comme
un jour de pèlerinage de la Sainte Lance par Sa Saintete Karekin II,
Patriarche Supreme et Catholicos de tous les Armeniens.

Informations

Une des nombreuses reliques saintes de l’Eglise armenienne est la
Sainte Lance (Gueghard), qui est egalement utilise pour benir et
consacrer le Saint Chreme (Muron) de l’Eglise armenienne. Le Sainte
Lance est la pointe de la lance du soldat romain qui a ete utilise pour
percer notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ, alors qu’il etait sur la croix.

Selon la tradition ecclesiastique, l’apôtre Saint Thaddee, l’un
des douze disciples du Christ, a transmis cette relique sacree du
Seigneur au peuple armenien au premier siècle. Pendant des siècles, la
sainte relique chretienne a ete maintenu a dans differents monastères
historiques de l’ Armenie, et depuis le 13 ème siècle a Ayrivank, qui
plus tard a ete rebaptise Geghardavanq en l’honneur de Saint-Geghard.

Dans la seconde moitie du 18ème siècle, la Sainte Gueghard a ete
portee au Saint-Siège d’Etchmiadzin et est encore conserve dans le
centre spirituel de tous les Armeniens.

Selon des informations historiques, la Sainte Geghard dispose
d’une puissance miraculeuse qui a dissipe des maladies mentales et
physiques. A cet effet, au cours des 18 et 19 ème siècle elle a ete
envoyee plusieurs fois dans differentes provinces d’Armenie, ainsi
qu’envoye a Tbilissi, en Georgie.

lundi 8 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

MEMBERSHIP IN EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION ALLOWS ARMENIA TO BUILD UP ITS INDUSTRY – SAFARYAN

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. Armenia will be able to build up its
industry, if it uses properly the opportunity its membership in the
Eurasian Economic Union provides, Vazgen Safaryan, chairman of the
Union of Native Commodity Producers of Armenia, said Monday at a
news conference. “This membership will give nothing to the country,
if we don’t work intensively, don’t restore our old ties and don’t
encourage Armenian and Russian entrepreneurs to establish production
in Armenia’s border villages,” he said. In his opinion, the national
industry’s growth is insufficient to ensure proper development of
social and economic growth to the country and to reduce emigration
and unemployment here. According to the National Statistical Service
of Armenia, Armenia’s industrial output grew 2.2% in Jan-Oct 2014,
compared with the same period a year before, to AMD 1040.1 billion.

The expert also finds it necessary to change Armenia’s economic
policy. In particular, he proposes to increase exports of final
products. “Economy is in need of a mobilizing policy, and all our
resources, particularly raw materials, should be processed into final
products, which will be sold at higher prices,” he said adding that
this will considerably build up GDP. ($1 – AMD 447.86). —0—–

Big News Network
Dec 6 2014

Georgian, Armenian Currencies Continue To Drop

RFE Friday 5th December, 2014

The Georgian currency, the lari, continued its decline in value to the
U.S. dollar on December 5, reaching a new low of about two lari to one
U.S. dollar.

Since December 1, the lari has lost 6.3 percent of its value to the
U.S. dollar, hitting its lowest point to the greenback in some 10
years.

The president of the Georgia National Bank, Georgi Kadagidze, said the
steep fall was due to “the frenzy of market players, which is
generally characteristic of financial markets in such times.”

He assured the National Bank had already proved its ability to cope
with the situation during times “of much greater upheavals” and added
there was no threat to Georgia’s financial and macroeconomic
stability.

The Armenian national currency, the dram, has also fallen from 435.26
to one U.S. dollar on December 1, to 447.86 on December 5.

With additional reporting by Interfax

It is meaningless to wait for the actions of the government (video)

15:34 | December 6,2014 | Social

“Support to borderline villages” initiative has organized a charitable
auction sale. People have provided handmade Christmas gifts- socks,
hats and other symbolic presents. The money gathered from their on
line sale will be directed to the organization of New Year events in
borderline villages since December 20.

The members of the initiative note that the residents of borderline
villages are unprotected and they need support, it is meaningless to
wait for the actions of government and the authorities.

We note that is the third action by the initiative.

Alliance for Kurdish Rights
Dec 6 2014

`To deal with its past, Turkey must first recognise PKK’s fight for freedom’

by Sultan Coban

Last week’s most discussed topic in Turkish media was the Dersim
Massacre of 1937-1938. The Turkish Prime Minister’s visit to Dersim at
the beginning of last week ignited a heated debate about Dersim. Three
years ago, Erdogan issued a controversial apology for the Dersim
Massacre that was in a way groundbreaking. It sent a strong message to
the public seeing as former ruling parties had previously refused to
call it a massacre or genocide.

The responsibility for the Dersim Massacre lies especially with the
Republican People’s Party (CHP, founded by Atatürk), which ordered the
ethnic cleansing of Kurdish clans led by Seyid Riza. Both Kurdish and
AKP-friendly crowds have criticized the current leader of CHP, Kemal
KılıçdaroÄ?lu, partly because he has hesitated upon speaking about his
own background in Dersim but especially because he as the leader of
the party behind the massacre and several other shameful events in
modern Turkish history has failed to take the responsibility upon
himself.

Following Erdogan’s apology, it has been discussed on several
occasions whether the official name of the city Tunceli should be
changed to Dersim. Der-sim in Kurdish means `silver door’ while
Tunc-eli means `a steel area’. Allegedly, the latter was meant to
symbolize the strength of the inhabitants. Dersim was changed to
Tunceli in 1935, just two years before the massacre.

According to the Turkish-Armenian online newspaper Bolsohays, a great
number of Armenian, Kurdish, Laz and Greek city and village names were
changed during the period between 1923, when the Republic of Turkey
was established, and 1940. The changing of names continued after 1940
when it was officially decided to change location names that did not
have roots in the Turkish language and culture. These alterations were
just a small part of the assimilation policies encompassed by the
Turkification process against the country’s ethnic groups. The
Turkification process is what caused opposition from Seyh Said (1925),
Seyid Riza (1935-1938) and the PKK revolt from the beginning of the
80’s until today.

Bahçeli in Dersim

Shortly after Prime Minister DavutoÄ?lu visited Dersim, the leader of
the ultra-nationalistic party, The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP),
Devlet Bahçeli announced that he, too, would pay a visit to `Tunceli’
on Friday. Prior to that, Bahçeli had expressed at a party meeting
that the objective of the Dersim Massacre was to crack down on
`hypocritical terrorists’ and that he would strike them the same way
today. Bahçeli compared the Dersim resistance to PKK and called those
resisting `that time’s terrorists’. It is not the first time Bahçeli
has voiced such opinions. On the contrary, this was a mild statement
compared to previous ones. However, his statement is important because
it puts the perception of Dersim shared by the majority of Turkish
politicians into words.

It is therefore not surprising that Bahçeli came with a convoy of 500
people from ElazıÄ? when he showed up in Dersim; 250 of them security
guards and police meant to protect Bahçeli from the `rage’ of Dersim.
It was comical to see that Bahçeli had to cut his trip short as he was
met by protesters who obstructed the entrance of Bahçeli and his
nationalistic crowd into the city. Bahçeli was forced to give a speech
on the stairs of the governor’s office where party members could
applaud his speech uninterrupted.

What About Erdogan?

Another important visit took place in Istanbul. It was the Catholic
Pope Francis’ first visit to Turkey. He met with President Erdogan but
also Prime Minister DavutoÄ?lu and Mehmet Görmez, head of the Ministry
for Religious Affairs. The meetings were broadcasted live.

Both Görmez and the Pope expressed messages of peace. Görmez
especially emphasised that ISIS was a threat against the whole world,
including Islam. Görmez furthermore stated that there was a tendency
to Islamophobia in the West, saying it is just as bad as
anti-Semitism.

I noticed that Erdogan’s speech focused mainly on war and chaos, among
other things speaking of ISIS who he called `Daesh.’ He turned the
focus to Assad and expressed disappointment that the West has ignored
Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian war’s real perpetrator, in the coalition’s
strikes against ISIS. As usual, when Erdogan has the chance to speak,
he does not neglect to bash PKK. Erdogan stated that the international
community behaves unjust regarding the `terror’ committed by PKK, a
continuation of a previous comment when he likened PKK to ISIS.

It is interesting that Erdogan continues to use the `terror’ label
whenever he mentions PKK during such a volatile time when Kurds in
Turkey have shown that without PKK there can be no peace negotiation.
AKP, Erdogan’s ruling party, is aware of this seeing as they are in
negotiations with Abdullah Ã-calan, the imprisoned leader of PKK. Yet
it is understandable that Erdogan is trying so hard to create a
monster out of PKK in a moment where voices in the West have expressed
support for PKK’s (and YPG, Kurdish forces in Rojava/Syrian Kurdistan)
rescue of the Yezidis and defense against ISIS in Kobanê. More and
more academics and journalists are re-evaluating the rhetoric used
when talking about PKK and YPG. Some politicians have even called for
delisting PKK from terror lists.

The Danish Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, admitted that the
military aid sent from Denmark to the soldiers in Kurdistan Regional
Government might end up in the hands of YPG. The other country members
of the coalition against ISIS have also found themselves in this
dilemma. When the Western allies `indirectly’ support the YPG with aid
and assistance (the US has openly said they are working with the YPG),
they are sending a strong signal that these so-called Kurdish
`terrorists’ are doing something right. Erdogan is worried that this
change might amount to an international recognition of the Kurdish
people’s history, suffering and freedom movement; something that
provokes him to continue his smear campaign against PKK.

Kobanê and the established confederal self-rule in Rojava is a good
example of a functioning democracy in the Middle East that promotes
women rights by use of positive discrimination. It is a system
inclusive of groups with different ethnic and religious backgrounds; a
system that defends and promotes multiculturalism and multilingualism,
for example by introducing education in every language spoken in the
region. It is a system built on freedom of thought, speech and press.

A young democracy

The situation in Rojava is more complex than portrayed above. Rojava
is a young and growing democracy and there have been incidents of
harsh crackdowns on internal opposition and critics (as reported by
Human Rights Watch in 2013).

Recently, a delegation from a Danish socialist party, the Red-Green
Alliance, visited the Cizire canton in Rojava. One of the delegates,
the political spokesperson Nikolaj Villumsen, spoke at a meeting about
how he witnessed a diverse society in blossoming, which could continue
on to be an example for Iraq and Syria, both currently marred by war
and corruption.

Søren Søndergård, another delegate, spoke of a meeting he had with the
head of Rojava’s human rights commission who openly said that there
had been a number of violations of human rights in the self-ruled
region. Søndergård highlighted the importance of daring to speak of
the flaws and shortcomings of the system.

He mentioned that it is important to view Rojava in the context of
century’s life under dictatorial regimes:

Units like police forces need to understand that you can get people to
talk without beatings and without torture unlike what they are used to
seeing but they know it and it takes time to understand and implement.
But it must not be the reason we refuse the democratic and socialistic
ideology behind the uprising in Rojava.

I recently read an article about PKK on an online website with
statements from a Middle East expert who described PKK as an
authoritarian and suppressive terror movement that kills civilians.
The words are like taken from Erdogan’s mouth.

The article quotes a former PKK spokesperson for Scandinavia, Zeynel
Çelik, who calls PKK dictatorial and totalitarian. Çelik compares
Ã-calan to Saddam and claims that anyone who dares to criticize Ã-calan
is either killed or shunned.

The criticism of Ã-calan as the eternal leader is important but there
are stronger counter-arguments that the article failed to bring. It is
easy to name several former PKK fighters who have spoken against PKK,
conducted smear campaigns against PKK in Turkish media and helped the
Turkish intelligence in the state’s fight against PKK (Ã…?emdin Sakık,
Abdülkadir Aygan og Adil TimurtaÅ?) who have not been killed.

Regarding Çelik’s comment on being shunned, I do not have to emphasize
that it is a culture that exists and is seen in every form of
political organization. Take the Cuba-revolution as an example and
read Che Guevara’s memoirs about members who turned their back on the
movement. We do not even need to go that far back. Even ordinary
political parties distance themselves from former members who conduct
smear campaigns against the party.

If PKK is so totalitarian and authoritarian, would it have progressed
as much as it has since its establishment in 1978? To me, there is a
long way from independence to self-rule and from armed struggle to
ceasefire.

The smear campaign against PKK comes in many shapes and colours but
the common denominator is fear; the fear that there will be an
international recognition of PKK’s struggle and its grounds for
establishment.

Bahçeli and other Turkish politicians’ racist discourse on PKK and
Erdogan’s wish to eliminate PKK by using Kobanê will not be enough to
stop the Rojava revolution.

Originally for Translated to English by Alliance for
Kurdish Rights.

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