Author: Badalian Vardan

In Armenia The Kid Is Prosecuted For Not Betraying His Father

Siranuysh Papyan, Interviewer
Interview – 13 September 2014, 12:34

Ruzanna, the prosecutor has demanded a severe punishment for Shant
Harutiunyan and your son. In your opinion, what is the reason for such
tough punishment and is the government really afraid of Shant and his
friends?

If you pay attention to the time when charges were brought against
Shahen Harutiunyan [the son of Shant Harutiunyan and Ruzanna Badalyan
– ed.], five months past 5 November 2013, the government is definitely
after something. There was only one act, he hit the policeman once,
and all the cameras shot it. Since then no new circumstance or episode
of crime has become known. Over these five months there have been a
number of cases that caused serious concerns. I even held a press
conference. Unknown people intimidated Shahen at school and at the
entrance of the house. In Metro the plainclothes policeman pushed him
to the ground, nobody has been held responsible for this violence.
Eventually, charges were brought against him. I felt there was
pressure on him. It is clear that Shahen was charged to put pressure
on Shant, to silence him. But then they saw that Shant would not go
silent, and Shahen, despite his young age, does not stop fighting,
grows up and is determined to continue the cause of his father and
grandfather.

Imprisonment for five years for a single punch for his and his
father’s defense demonstrates that this is persecution against a
teenage boy. The government that has usurped power is growing brazen.

In your opinion, does the instruction on severe punishment for Shant
and his friends come from Moscow or inside?

Shant is fighting against the Customs Union. The Customs Union does
not support the values for which Shant and his friends are fighting
for. Russia is so demoralized today that it is simply unable to
support those values. Russia is not the country towards which we
should be walking. Besides, historically the interests of this state
have never matched the interests of our country. Unfortunately, very
few forces act against the Customs Union, including Paruir Hairikyan’s
National Self-Determination Union and some individuals. Today the
government sees more danger coming from Shant because he makes
revolutionary calls. Apparently, the Armenian government wants to pass
the way to the Customs Union smoothly, and Shant is a hindrance, so
they may fear him. Shant and his friends took to the street for their
political goals and ideas and are now undergoing persecution.

There is no single legal fact that they committed one crime or
another. If a person is dissatisfied with the government and takes to
the street, tries to bring his ideas into being through different
methods, save the country and cannot achieve anything, the time of
revolution comes. And there are different forms of revolutions. In
court Shant Harutiunyan brought Ukraine’s example that in the
beginning Yanukovytch punished Maidan’s activists, revolutionaries
like criminals because he was stronger, but when Maidan became
stronger and won, they became heroes, and Yanukovytch fled from the
country.

Today Shant and his friends are called bullies and are punished
because the opposite side is stronger. If the Armenian people were a
little more viable and won, the situation would have been different.
Even the boys picked up sticks and hit, they did it for their ideas,
there is no doubt. All revolutions involve pressure and non-legitimate
steps. Simply our society is indifferent but if our society stands up
one day, our boys will get out of prison and win.

How is Shahen feeling? Is he distressed by the thought that he may be
sent to prison?

Of course, he is not. It may sound pompous if I say that his ideas
empower him but it is true. He has grown up on his father’s ideas and
he knows that a person must have principles and make sacrifices for
defending his principles. Of course, he is still a child and he does
not know a lot about prisons, about how it feels to be deprived of
freedom but I am sure that one can hardly find one or two other people
of his age that would so calmly go to prison for five years for the
sake of something.

Long-awaited industrial park opens in Armenia’s Gyumri

14:23 * 13.09.14

The plan to turn Gyumri into a technological center can now be
considered a reality in part, as Armenia’s second largest city on
Saturday launched its industrial park in a ceremony attended by
high-ranking guests.

The initiative is part of a larger project aimed at making Gyumri an
industrial center equipped with modern technologies, says Bagrat
Yengibaryan, the director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation.

“This is an exceptional opportunity for Armenia in terms of training
high-quality human resources and making investments based on them.
International organizations’ presence in Gyumri will, in turn, help
create a highly-paid workforce which will have its impact on raising
not only the education level but also the living standards,” he told
reporters covering the event.

The ceremony was attended by President Serzh Sargsyan, Minister of
Economy Karen Cshmarityan, Mayor of Gyumri Samvel Balasanyan and many
other guests.

In his speech, Minister Cshmarityan said that the Armenian Government
works consistently to promote the continuing growth of IT and High
Tech industries (which it has declared a priority trend).

“Considering Gyumri’s role in the economy of Armenia, the existing
potential of technological development, the presence of corresponding
physical infra-structures and educational institutions, as well as the
technological traditions, the Armenian Government made a decision to
found a technological center here. I am confident that the center will
play an essential role in the training of quality specialists, the
improvement of the business and investment atmosphere and the solution
of the socio-economic problems in Gyumri. It will also boost the
sector’s development,” he noted.

Armenian News – Tert.am

REVUE DE PRESSE
Les Alévis du Dersim, une identité métissée

Dans ses articles sur la recherche identitaire au Dersim (Les
identités au Dersim et Les Arméniens alévisés du Dersim), l’ethnologue
arménienne Hranoush Kharatyan nous livre une intéressante étude sur la
perception identitaire adoptée par les populations alévies du Dersim
sous l’Empire Ottoman et la République Turque. Néanmoins, la seule
étude des sources arméniennes et occidentales ne nous apporte pas tous
les éléments pour comprendre le culte alévi. Ses origines remontant
aux anciennes croyances de la Perse ainsi que sa double structuration
clanique et religieuse sont des éléments majeurs. Aussi, il convient
de mettre en avant le métissage de ses populations à travers
l’histoire pour éviter de chercher une origine ethnique unique.

Lire la suite…

samedi 13 septembre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

REVUE DE PRESSE
L’Arménie développera sa coopération militaire avec les USA et l’Allemagne

L’Arménie continuera à développer sa coopération militaire avec les
Etats-Unis et l’Allemagne, a annoncé mercredi le ministère arménien de
la Défense.

“Les Etats-Unis poursuivront le développement de leur coopération
militaire avec l’Arménie dans tous les domaines d’intérêt mutuel”, a
déclaré l’ambassadeur des Etats-Unis à Erevan John Heffern lors d’une
rencontre avec le ministre arménien de la Défense Seiran Oganian. Les
interlocuteurs ont évoqué la coopération arméno-américaine au sein de
l’Otan, y compris dans le cadre de la nouvelle plateforme de
partenariat mise en place par l’Alliance lors du sommet au Pays de
Galles.

Le premier vice-ministre arménien de la Défense, David Tonoïan, a
rencontré mercredi une délégation du ministère allemand de la Défense
en visite à Erevan pour étudier les perspectives de la coopération
militaire bilatérale.

Les participants aux négociations ont dressé le bilan du programme de
coopération pour 2014 et conçu le projet de programme pour l’année
prochaine.

“Les deux parties se sont félicitées du travail effectué ces dernières
années dans le cadre de la coopération bilatérale”, lit-on dans un
communiqué du ministère arménien de la Défense. Selon le communiqué,
ce travail comprend trois axes principaux : le concours aux réformes
engagées dans les forces armées arméniennes, la formation militaire et
la participation conjointe à la Force internationale d’assistance à la
sécurité en Afghanistan (ISAF).

L’Arménie participe à l’ISAF depuis février 2010. Tous les frais
relatifs à la présence du contingent arménien en Afghanistan sont
assumés par l’Allemagne.

RIA Novosti

samedi 13 septembre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

U.S. SENATE TO CONSIDER CANDIDACY OF NEW AMBASSADOR TO BAKU

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 12 2014

By Sara Rajabova

The United States Senate committee on foreign relations will hold
hearings on the nomination of new U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan.

The hearing on approval of Robert Cekuta’s nomination to the post
of the U.S. ambassador to Baku was scheduled for September 17, the
committee reported.

The committee also will hold hearings to approve nominations for the
post of new ambassadors to Armenia, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Cekuta, nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama, is Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State of the Energy Resources Bureau. He also
has direct oversight over the Bureau’s work on transparency and access
to energy. Bob comes to the Bureau having most recently been Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Energy, Sanctions, and Commodities in the
State Department’s Bureau for Energy and Business Affairs.

Cekuta, in case his candidacy approved, will replace Richard
Morningstar, who completed his diplomatic mission late this summer.

PARTNERS IN CRIME…

J-Wire Jewish Australian News Service
Sept 12 2014

writes Michael Kuttner

John Kerry’s frenzied efforts to put together a coalition of terror
busting countries and his boss’s equally futile attempts to contain
rather than defeat one particular terror group while ignoring many
others highlight the Mickey Mouse situation currently prevailing.

Michael Kuttner

Israelis can only look on in bemused horror as the leading democracies
of the international community continue to agonize and procrastinate
in the face of unambiguous plans to spread Islamic terror throughout
the world.

The absurdity of the situation was forcefully reinforced the other day
when Joe Biden, the American Vice President, in an effort to prove
that the Administration had a strategy and was in full control of
the situation, proclaimed: “we will chase ISIS to the gates of hell.”

Little did he realize that this sort of bluster is the same sort of
rubbish stated by terror groups confronting Israel who promise at
regular intervals to do this to us. Moreover his overinflated rhetoric
was immediately blown out of the water by reports that GI’s stationed
in Iraq tweeted: “how will he do this when we cannot even leave the
front gate of our own base?”

The sad fact of the matter is that resounding resolutions which are
not backed up by realistic, resolute and robust action have no show of
doing anything other than garner headlines and satisfy those who prefer
verbal pyrotechnics, acquiescing appeasement and political doublespeak.

In this regard I want to focus on two supposed allies being coddled
and serenaded at present and show how the alleged fight against terror
is being conducted in a manner which one can only politely describe
as hypocritical.

First of all take Turkey which as a member of the NATO alliance one
would imagine it to be a shining example of liberal democracy and
upholder of human rights. Anyone with even a smattering of history
and current events will know that this country which aspires to join
the European Union at some stage has not only a sordid past but a
very spotty current track record. This erstwhile ally has until today
refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in which up to one and
a half million Armenians were murdered. Granted this was carried out
by the Ottomans but the fact that Turkey still cannot bring itself to
accept historical responsibility speaks volumes. After all Germany
today has not only confessed the crimes carried out in its name
during the Nazi period but has also made restitution to its victims,
something the Turks have not contemplated. In fact any attempt to
get Turkey to own up to its sordid behavior has resulted in violent
reactions and threats of intimidation.

Anybody heard of North Cyprus? This is the illegally occupied territory
of the sovereign State of Cyprus invaded and occupied by Turkey. For
some mysterious reason neither the USA nor any other member of the
United Nations has lost any sleep over this continuing and flagrant
violation of international law. I wonder why?

Human rights abuses and intimidation of political opponents do
not seem to be a barrier to becoming an ally in Obama’s intended
coalition. However a far more worrying aspect of Turkey’s current
situation is deliberately ignored. That is its full hearted and
enthusiastic support for Hamas which has been designated as a
terrorist organization. Not only does Ankara provide safe havens for
Hamas leaders but it actively promotes the financial and political
advancement of that terror group. Thus, we witness virulent anti
Israel statements and policies which condemn our war on terror and
encourage those carrying out these acts. Is this the sort of ally
who can be relied on and indeed should be even considered?

The second country with a decidedly spotty record which Kerry is eager
to recruit is Qatar. This feudal bastion of democracy with its immense
wealth is the prime funder and supporter of Hamas which without its
help would be unable to fire rockets at Israel’s civilian population.

It also hosts Hamas leaders and helps promote anti Israel activities
In other words this Gulf State is hardly a suitable candidate to be
part of any coalition against terror.

These two partners in crime should be held to account and not embraced
for their support of terror. However, international double standards
being the order of the day, these considerations play no part in
formulating strategy to eliminate terror groups. It is notable that
Israel was not mentioned in Obama’s speech. Despite it being on the
front line and suffering more than any other country it is obvious that
in order to build a coalition, no matter how shaky that will prove to
be, the USA needs to freeze out the only country which is a constant
victim and moreover takes concrete steps to combat this scourge.

Assurances notwithstanding by American officials, the plain truth is
that Israel is not wanted. Those Arab regimes which give lip service
to the campaign will at the end of the day do very little. Turkey
has already bowed out of anything meaningful.

With friends and allies like Turkey and Qatar, who needs terrorists?

One can judge the sincerity of one’s friends by the company they keep.

The lesson for Israel is that once again we are on our own.

Some have yet to learn that lesson.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was
actively involved with various communal organisations connected
to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel where he is J-Wire’s
correspondent.

WHERE IN THE GLOBE IS ARMENIA?…

Mynextfone, UK
Sept 12 2014

Armenia in global publicity drive.Where in the globe is Armenia? It’s a
question that the nation ‘s President, Serzh Sargsyan, is anticipating
to get more individuals around the world to answer accurately .

He likes to mobilise the 10 million Armenians living abroad for a
global internet publicity campaign to boost tourism and influence
foreign investors.

Entitled the One Armenian, One Article campaign the idea is to get
expatriates to write positive stories regarding the nation .

President Sargsyan and others behind the publicity drive state their
nation needs a higher profile, because many individuals struggle to
recall anything regarding the country .

So only what do individuals know regarding Armenia?

‘We never hear regarding it’

London in the summer is full of tourists so it was easy to operate
an impromptu series of informal interviews, ambushing dozens of
unsuspecting strangers from around the world to get their views.

A couple from Saudi Arabia had heard of Armenia but just knew it was
in Asia, while a Danish woman said to me that “we never hear regarding
it in Denmark.”

But the most amusing was a man with his family from the United States,
who could just tell me that “all the individuals ‘s names end in
‘-ian’.”

His wife was quick to tell me he based that on the celebrity Kim
Kardashian.

The socialite Kim Kardashian is one of many who have family roots
in Armenia

Only one of the individuals I spoke to knew much regarding Armenia,
and that was a woman from Paris who had been to the capital, Yerevan,
and stated , “It is a small nation and its individuals have suffered
a lot.”

My questioning was strictly informal, but it does indicate the size
of the challenge experiencing President Sargsyan and his compatriots.

‘Soft power’

Enlisting individuals around the globe who have Armenian roots to raise
the nation ‘s profile could prove efficient . Famous individuals with
connections to Armenia include the singer Cher, tennis player Andre
Agassi, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian and the late Steve Jobs
of Apple.

“The Armenian diaspora sees itself in many ways as the second army
of the Republic of Armenia,” states Aram Suren Hamparian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America, based in
Washington DC.

“Armenians spread around the globe and prospered wherever they went,
and they haven’t forgotten their roots and they try to stay connected –
and that is part of the soft power of the Armenian country .”

Armenia’s ancient culture survived decades of Soviet influence before
independence in 1991. But regardless of its independence, the nation
still has significant economic ties to Russia.

Next year, the government in Yerevan plans to join the common economic
zone of the Russian Federation, alongside Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Armenia relies heavily on loans from Moscow too as the World Bank,
the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.

Armenia: Key facts Size of economy: $10.4bn (£6.3bn) Economic expansion
: 3.5% Population: 2.9 million Proportion of population below poverty
line: 32.4% Life expectancy: 74 years

Sources: World Bank and CIA World Factbook, 2013

Closed borders Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

Opening the border with Turkey will really be a game changer”

End Quote Teresa Daban Sanchez IMF representative in Yerevan

Money delivered home by expatriate workers is also a major driver of
economic activity, and accounts for one-fifth of Armenia’s economy.

“Remittances from Armenian workers living abroad are very important,
it provides resources, US dollars, to fund imports in Armenia and to
fund consumption,” states Teresa Daban Sanchez, the IMF’s inhabitant
representative in Yerevan.

Yet “90% of remittances come from Russia,” she adds – emphasizing
the nation ‘s trade links with Russia.

However, Armenia’s economic development is hindered because its
borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed.

Being blocked from trading with Turkey, one of the district ‘s largest
economies, is a big barrier to expansion .

Reopening the borders would transform Armenia’s economy, states Ms
Daban Sanchez.

“Opening them, particularly the border with Turkey, will really be
a game changer, because Turkey’s a large diversified economy with
access to European markets.”

Being landlocked presents a ” enormous challenge”, states the IMF’s
Teresa Daban Sanchez

The reasons the borders are shut lie in two 20th Century conflicts.

During World War One, between 1915 and 1917, hundreds of thousands
of ethnic Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks.

Yerevan wants Turkey to recognise the deaths as genocide and some
countries have done so, but Ankara insists there was no genocide and
that the dead were victims of the war.

It remains a extremely sensitive problem .

Expatriate Armenians provide significant “soft power”, states Aram
Suren Hamparian

Meanwhile, a fragile ceasefire is in place with Azerbaijan on Armenia’s
eastern border, over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh district .

In 1988, towards the end of Soviet rule, Azerbaijani soliders and
Armenian secessionists began a war that left the district in the
hands of ethnic Armenians when a cease-fire was signed in 1994.

Negotiations have until now failed to produce a permanent peace
consensus , and the dispute remains as a so-called frozen conflict.

Tourism potential

Yet even if Yerevan and its neighbours do reopen their borders, the
IMF’s Teresa Daban Sanchez cautions that the nation still faces the
more basic challenge of its location.

“Armenia, remember is a landlocked nation , so even without these
geopolitical issues Armenia has a enormous challenge.”

If Armenia’s expatriate society can effectively be mobilised for an
online public relations offensive then the nation could attract more
visitors and perhaps more business for travel agents.

“People will get an idea of what it’s such as ,” states Gillian
Leaning, marketing manager at the UK travel company Regent Holidays.

“They’ll see images of the ancient monasteries and they’ll hear
regarding the rolling valleys of the Lesser Caucasus, or what it’s
such as to taste the nation ‘s brandy in Yerevan.

“So they’ll be far more likely to choose it as a destination for
their next holiday.”

Furthermore to boosting tourism, positive stories online could also
catch the attention of possible foreign investors and to quote an
old Armenian proverb: “Whatever the eye sees, the heart won’t forget.”

Listen to more from Russell Padmore on Armenia’s publicity drive on
BBC World Service’s World Business Report.

MORE FROM IDC ON TED CRUZ’ DESPICABLE BEHAVIOR

Patheos
Sept 12 2014

September 12, 2014 by Mark Shea 0 Comments

Washington, D.C. – “In 1915, a German army officer named Armin
Wegner…

began to document a genocide that was taking place against Armenians.

Over one million people, eradicated, marched into the desert, and
murdered. Armen Wegner smuggled photos out at great risk to himself,
to show the documented genocide that was taking place. In 1933 in
Germany, Wegner became the only German author to publicly write an open
letter in condemnation of what he saw coming down the road. For this,
he was imprisoned in a concentration camp. The title of the letter was,
In Defense of the Jews.”

“This was the story IDC’s Executive Director, Andrew Doran, told in
tears about the inspiration for the name ‘In Defense of Christians.’
The organization was founded to stand in solidarity with the Christian
communities of the Middle East who are even now facing systematic
genocide. Doran made these remarks after Senator Cruz abruptly left
the stage during his keynote address.

“Last night, over 1,000 people gathered from over 24 states and a
dozen countries to stand in solidarity with the persecuted Christians
of the Middle East. On Tuesday night, an ecumenical gathering of
Christian leaders opened IDC’s three-day Inaugural Summit with a
call for unity with all minorities of the Middle East. The heads of
the major Churches of the Middle East–the Maronite Patriarch, the
Armenian Orthodox Catholicos, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch,
the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch, the
Representative of the Antiochian Orthodox Patriarch, the Representative
of the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, the Representative of the Coptic
Orthodox Patriarch, the Representatives of the Assyrian Church of the
East, and the representatives of the Protestant Churches–all came
together to support Christians suffering across the region. It is the
first gathering ever of the Eastern Patriarchs in the United States.

“In last night’s Solidarity Gala Dinner, Senator Cruz chose to stand
against the small and vocal minority of attendees who disagree with
his views on Israel rather than standing with the vast majority of
those who attended the gala and support both Israel and the Middle
East’s Christians.

“Cruz said in his remarks: ‘Today we are gathered at a time of
extraordinary challenge. Tonight we are all united In Defense of
Christians. Tonight we are all united In Defense of Jews.” His
statement was immediately met with a full round of applause.

“Yesterday, 17 Republican and Democratic Senators and Representatives
addressed this same audience, referring to peace and unity with
Muslims and Jews–themes expressed throughout the conference with
the resounding support of those present.

“Senator Cruz was not ‘booed off stage’ last night,” Baaklini said.

“He was asked to focus on the persecution of Christians in the Middle
East under the theme of Religious Freedom and Human Dignity. Some
participants inappropriately shouted, ‘Talk about the Christians!’
when Cruz refused to do so. Sadly, there was a small but vocal
anti-Israel element in the room. Those individuals do not represent
the views of IDC. In fact, there were many more people shouting down
the hecklers than there were hecklers. The hecklers who did not remove
themselves were removed by security.

“Senator Cruz abruptly ended his remarks accusing some participants
of being ‘consumed with hate.’ That was as unfortunate as the
inappropriate reaction by a small number of attendees.

“IDC regrets that last night’s event, the only deviation from unity
of the entire Summit, was briefly politicized and that some were
discourteous. The work of this summit, however, remains vital. All the
leaders present resumed the call to unity undeterred on Thursday. The
work to protect and preserve Christianity in the Middle East will
continue, despite efforts to derail this work.

As Nina Shea, who introduced Cruz later said, “We will not agree on
territorial disputes, but we stand united against religious persecution
regardless of the religion.

WILFRIED FURMAN: “THE ATTEMPT TO CONTINUE UNILATERAL CHANGES IN THE ETHNIC MAP IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS OBVIOUS”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 12 2014

12 September 2014 – 2:44pm

Interview by Orkhan Sattarov, the head of the European Bureau of
Vestnik Kavkaza

Professor Wilfried Furman of Potsdam University has expressed his
opinion about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the light of the
Ukrainian crisis and changes in the geopolitical situation in the
world.

– Mr. Furman, how would you evaluate the events around the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular, the meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Sochi and Wales, preceded by
violent August clashes in Karabakh?

– I would point out three main interconnected events here. Firstly,
the meeting of the presidents in Sochi initiated by Russian President
Vladimir Putin. Secondly, as you noted, the Americans tried to keep up,
organizing the meeting of Aliyev and Sargsyan in Wales, where the NATO
summit was held. And, finally, on September 8, the European Union
published information about granting Armenia and Azerbaijan funds
within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy – up to
74 million euros to Baku and up to 170 million euros to Yerevan. The
event should not be pulled out of the common context.

All these meetings and grants of certain sums to the sides of the
conflict prove that none of the three main actors (Russia, U.S. and
EU) are interested in aggravating the conflict and its transition to
a “hot phase.” The large players I named are trying to keep all the
conflicts in a deep frozen state.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in fact, happened in a zone between two
power blocks and, as it happens in a zone between two tectonic plates,
the region was in the zone of maximum military-political danger.

I disagree with the opinion that the key to the Nagorno-Karabakh is
in the hands of Moscow. Neither the EU or the U.S. have it. The key
to settlement of the problem is in the hands of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Speaking of Armenia, it puts maximum efforts into removing everything
associated with genocide against Azerbaijanis in Karabakh out of
memory. For me, it is a classic form of regional-scale genocide.

Expulsion from the region and extermination of a whole ethnos, call
it ethnic cleansing, destruction of the cultural landscape and all
memories about Azerbaijanis living in the region, is genocide. Armenia
accuses Azerbaijan but does not consider granting Azerbaijanis driven
out access to return to Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words, the Armenian
side is not ready for any concessions.

– The Armenian side assures that it would be possible but only after
Azerbaijan recognizes “the independence of the NKR…”

– I will tell you, give me a million dollars, and I will invite you for
coffee tomorrow morning… Azerbaijan keeps pointing out violations of
territorial integrity, four resolutions of the UN Security Council,
of international law. I, as a liberal-spirited man, can only welcome
the fact that there has not been a full-scale war so far. On the other
hand, the problem of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has not
found a solution. The principle of territorial integrity is constantly
emphasized in the case of Eastern Ukraine or Crimea. But when it
comes to Azerbaijan, no one in the West seems to express readiness to
support it in a potential war for restoration of territorial integrity.

– Do you think the problems of Crimea and Karabakh are similar?

– These cases are very similar but, at the same time, I think
that separation of Crimea is more legitimate, because it was done
via a referendum where the population of the peninsula was given
an opportunity to express its will. In Nagorno-Karabakh, such a
“referendum” was followed by pogroms, threats and the expulsion of the
Azerbaijani population. Driving out Karabakh Azerbaijanis, holding
a “referendum” and announcing that Armenians support Armenians is
certainly a big surprise. The argument that Armenians were the majority
in the NKAO before the conflict can in no way serve as justification
or explanation for the genocide they committed against Azerbaijanis.

Azerbaijan, relying on international law and insisting on restoration
of territorial integrity, does not find honest support from the West.

Thus, it was left in solitude with its attempts to restore sovereignty
over Karabakh.

– What do you think is the reason for the West’s refusal to help
Azerbaijan?

– Risking getting into speculations, I will make a cautious
supposition that it is greatly associated with the factor of Christian
solidarity, present to a certain extent in all Western countries
and governments. In this aspect, preferences between Azerbaijan and
Armenia are unequal in the West. On the other hand, in the light of the
topical events in Iraq and Syria, where religious fundamentalists are
rampaging, the public of the West, having heard that Azerbaijan was
predominantly a Muslim state, forms an opinion through the prism of
their attitude towards all the Muslim world. The fact that Azerbaijan
is a secular state becomes secondary.

Finally, in the West, there are many people interpreting the law
depending on personal preferences. What some deserve, others do not.

– The unrecognized authorities of the “NKR” proposed resettlement of
Yazidi Kurds from Iraq to Nagorno-Karabakh. How would you comment on
that proposal?

– At first glance, the proposal looks very positive and humane. Giving
refuge to persecuted people is a good deed. But on closer inspection,
it becomes absolutely obvious that resettlement of an ethnos from
one crisis region to another conflict region has nothing to do with
humanism. Moreover, I do not believe that the unrecognized authorities
of Nagorno-Karabakh had motives of humanism when they were making
the proposal. One the one hand, it is a classic PR move to get mass
media attention, improve one’s own reputation, gain sympathy and
legitimacy in the world. On the other hand, Armenians are trying to
compensate for the outflow of their own population, young people from
Nagorno-Karabakh, because they have no prospects and future there.

Finally, considering the hostile stance of Yadizi Kurds against
Muslims, which include Azerbaijanis, Armenians are trying to create
another stronghold against Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh, using
Yazidi Kurds for that. Armenia can also try to use the EU funds to form
such a stronghold: build settlements, infrastructure. The attempt to
continue unilateral changes on the ethnic map of Nagorno-Karabakh is
obvious, and preventing it, other than by using diplomatic mechanisms
and active work with mass media, is extremely hard.

– The Baku authorities have stopped concealing their disappointment
and irritation with the position of the West on the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue. The foreign political preferences of Azerbaijan are becoming
more oriented towards the north, towards Russia. Does this mean that
European integration has been scrapped?

– It will largely depend on development of the events in Ukraine,
in particular, the resolution of the problem of the long-term status
of the political system in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. In the near
future, in my opinion, the problems will be projected in the South
Caucasus. In NATO, pressure from the Americans insisting on admission
of Georgia to the Alliance will grow. Abkhazia and South Ossetia will
appear on the agenda against, and pressure on Georgia will keep rising.

At the same time, President Putin will put pressure on Kazakhstan and
Armenia because he wants Yerevan to join the Customs and the Eurasian
Unions. Nagorno-Karabakh here is the key issue for Armenia, because
Kazakhstan insists on Armenia joining the unions only in accordance
with its internationally-recognized borders, which means exclusion
of Nagorno-Karabakh from the process.

Armenia, in its turn, will put maximum effort into pulling
Nagorno-Karabakh into the CU and the EaEU. And finally there is
Azerbaijan, a country on “a lonely island.” Azerbaijan, in fact,
has only two opportunities. It either starts drifting to the West,
like Georgia, undermining prospects to get Nagorno-Karabakh under its
jurisdiction. Another alternative is that Baku gives up its ties with
the West and goes for a close alliance with Moscow and participation in
all its integration projects. Because, at the moment, when Armenia is
joining the EaEU, Azerbaijan will not do that, its chances of regaining
Nagorno-Karabakh would significantly drop because Baku would be unable
to affect the decisions that Moscow, Astana, Minsk and Yerevan will
make. Now the question of whether Azerbaijan joins the EaEU or not,
just as it was in Ukraine, greatly depends on financial circles,
if you wish, the oligarchs, in Azerbaijan: will they prefer money
or territorial integrity? Will they prefer dynamic EU markets and
innovations or Nagorno-Karabakh, which can receive major autonomy as
part of the Azerbaijani republic, at best?

MORE THAN SEMANTICS

Al-Ahram, Egypt
Sept 12 2014

Syria’s Kurds are complaining about the notional Arab character of
Syria, but their actions could open another can of worms, writes
Bassel Oudat in Damascus

Differences surfaced over the current name of Syria when Kurdish
members of the opposition to the government of Syrian president Bashar
Al-Assad objected to the word “Arab” in the name of the country,
the Syrian Arab Republic.

The argument is simple. Minus the word “Arab”, Syria belongs to all
its ethnic groups. But with this word it belongs less to the Armenians,
Assyrians, and Kurds than it belongs to its Arab population.

What began as a semantic question has now become a full-blown
confrontation in which not only politicians but also ordinary citizens
have traded remarks, not always benign, on social media.

For now, the rest of the opposition is apprehensive about the Kurdish
request. Many note that discussion of such matters should be made in
future elected bodies, not by the non-elected parties of the opposition
and not while the nation is still bleeding in a conflict with no end
in sight.

A few days ago, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces (NCSROF) said that it agreed to the use of the name
Syrian Arab Republic on the school certificates of students wishing
to pursue their studies abroad.

This name is internationally recognised, and changing the country’s
name at present could jeopardise the students’ futures, argued
officials of the NCSROF, a coalition of opposition groups that includes
nearly a dozen Kurdish parties.

But the Kurds say that the current name of the country jeopardises
the interests of non-Arab citizens.

The Kurds make up nearly 12 per cent of the Syrian population, and
Kurdish groups joined the opposition on condition that the latter
would recognise and support their rights. But until the issue was
raised, no one thought of the country’s name as something that could
undermine the rights of minorities.

When the Kurdish parties joined the NCSROF, they made several demands,
including that Kurdish should be an official language of the coalition
and that a Kurd should be appointed as deputy leader.

But the recent row over the country’s name seems to have ruffled
feathers across the ethnic divide. The NCSROF says that its decision is
“technical” in nature, as it is about the legality of students applying
for colleges abroad. But the Kurds are adamant that Syria should avoid
the epithet Arab, just as Tunisia, Lebanon, Iraq, and other nations do.

If Syria is to remain united, its name should not have ethnic
connotations, argue the Kurdish parties. Some have gone further,
saying that they can only live in a united Syria as long as its
name is ethnicity-free. If the country is called “Arab,” they say,
secession might become an attractive option.

Many question the right of the Kurds to dictate the name of the
country, asking whether a 12-per-cent minority should have the right
to tell the entire nation what kind of name it should adopt.

>From a legal point of view, a country’s name, just like its flag and
national anthem, are things to be decided by elected bodies, not by
opposition groups, however well intentioned they may be, observers say.

Strictly speaking, the opposition parties that exist today have no
more legitimacy than the regime, for none of them have been chosen
through free-and-fair elections. Some matters of national consequence
will have to wait until elected bodies are formed once the current
regime is gone, observers say.

Among those who believe that the moniker “Arab” needs to be excised
from the country’s name is Kurdish opposition member Radif Mostafa.

“To call a country Arab because most of its population are Arabs is
like calling a country Islamic because most of the population are
Muslims or Sunni because most of the population is Sunni. Perhaps a
certain sect of Sunni Islam will want the country named after them,
if they are the majority,” he told the Weekly.

“Syria must be a civil, democratic, pluralistic country that respects
human rights and citizenship,” he added.

Opposition journalist Mohammad Mansour is among the supporters of the
“Arab” epithet in the country’s name.

“For centuries, Syria has been home to diverse nationalities, but
it is also considered part of the Arab world, indeed its throbbing
heart,” he said.

Many orientalists, travelers, historians and geographers passed
through the region and spoke of Syria as its epitome, a country that
encapsulates the oriental heart of the Arab world, Mansour argued.

Some have argued that the Arabism of Syria was an invention of the
ruling Syrian Baath Party. Mansour, however, considers such views to
be untenable.

“Anyone who links the Arabism of Syria with the experience of the
Baath Party is mistaken. We, the Arabs, despise the fake nationalism
of the Baath Party. We cannot stand its racism and fascism, which
paved the way to dictatorship,” he said.

“We refuse to link the Arabism of Syria to the experience of the
Baath Party.” Mansour recalled that one of the men who founded the
Arabic Language Academy in Damascus was a Kurd.

“The founder of the most important scientific board for the Arabic
language was a Kurd called Mohammad Kurd Ali. No one asked him
to conceal his ethnicity or change his name in order to do so,”
Mansour said.

It is true, however, that the Kurds have been treated unfairly in the
region, mostly because the Sykes-Picot Agreement after World War I
led to the dismemberment of Kurdistan, which was subsumed by Syria,
Iraq, Turkey and Iran.

In Syria, the policies of the Baath Party further obliterated Kurdish
rights. President Hafez Al-Assad, father of Bashar, surrounded Kurdish
areas with a so-called “Arab belt,” bringing in immigrants to make
sure that the Kurds were surrounded by Arabs and forcing them to live
in cantons shorn of their identity and many of their basic rights.

Hafez Al-Assad refused to have identity cards issued to a considerable
section of the Kurdish community, denied them government jobs, and
banned them from teaching their own language, or even celebrating
their national feasts.

Still, the Kurds suppressed their national aspirations in order to
join the current revolution. They eagerly adopted the slogans of the
revolution and have truly believed that it will give them back the
rights the Baath Party has denied them.

Once the regime started using force against the revolution, the Kurds
adjusted their position. Some stayed within the NCSROF, continuing
to work in tandem with other ethnicities in the country, while
others took up arms with the help of the Kurdish Democratic Union,
an offshoot of Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Some say that the regime gave the Kurdish militants the chance of
a lifetime when it almost nodded its approval of self-rule in the
northeastern part of the country.

>From this point forward, a rift occurred in the Kurdish ranks. The
Kurdish Democratic Union is said to have expelled, arrested, or even
assassinated members of other parties. Some say that the self-rule
leaders have either made a deal with the regime or are hoping to
make one.

Other Kurdish parties, such as the National Kurdish Council, a member
of the NCSROF, have disapproved of self-rule, calling it a ruse.

Instead, they want Syria to become a federation, with equal rights
for all minorities.

For now, Kurds across the political divide say that they want Syria to
remain united, but in a formula that ensures their rights as citizens
and as a cohesive minority. They are also afraid that the moniker
“Arab” may undermine their status in the future Syria.

Home to many ethnicities, Syria needs to walk a thin line between
its integrity as a nation and the rights of its minorities. Syria
will lose much if it antagonises its minorities, for the country’s
rich legacy is a function of its diversity.

But if the minorities push their rights too far, they may risk breaking
the fabric that keeps their country great and united.

One option is for the opposition, Kurds included, to write a kind of
Magna Carta of the rights of the ethnicities and put the whole matter
to rest. All nationalities, Kurdish and others, would thus have full
rights within the perimeters of a unified country, one in which all
citizens were equal regardless of race, colour or creed.