Author: Badalian Vardan

Katy Pearce: Azerbaijani authorities use social media to suppress dissent

18:38 04/02/2014 >> REGION

In Azerbaijan the opposition as well as the government uses social
media to have an influence on the society of the country. Social media
provides the regime with an alternative medium to harass the
opposition and demonstrate its power. Katy Pearce, an Associate
Professor at the University of Washington specialized on technology
and media of former Soviet space wrote about this in her article
published in quarterly American journal dedicated
to studying of political processes in the post-Soviet space.

“The traditional opposition parties do not leverage all affordances of
it; however oppositionists not affiliated with traditional parties are
leveraging social media to build audiences. While the regime is
currently “winning” the social media battle, oppositionists are using
the new and creative ways to unite people around them,” the author
states.

According to her, the Azerbaijani authorities have a unique way of
regulating the Internet: instead of using high-level filtering, they
use psychological techniques to create an environment of
self-censorship. The government also monitors and punishes social
media-enabled dissent.

“In Azerbaijan, the government has nearly total control of the
mainstream media. Accordingly, in the last few years, many
oppositionally-minded Azerbaijanis have turned to the Internet to
express their political views. With the growth of social media,
especially Facebook (between 13-18 percent of Azerbaijanis had a
Facebook account as of late 2013), this sort of political deliberation
has increased. As the openness of the Internet became an attractive
space for activists, the Azerbaijani government seemingly took notice
and began formulating a policy to control it,” the article reads.

As it is stated in the article, social networks are also used for the
organization of various protest actions. Since early 2013, there has
been a number of protest actions organized primarily via Facebook
without any sponsorship from any of the traditional opposition
parties.

“Facebook is a particular threat to the Azerbaijani government. After
an increase in Facebook activism in early 2013, some pro-government
Azerbaijani politicians made statements about limiting or blocking
Facebook. “These networks create a threat to Azerbaijan’s statehood”
Fazail Agamali, leader of the pro-government party Motherland said,”
Pearce writes.

According to her, Facebook was not blocked; however that was not the
last mention of Facebook as threat during the year.

Source: Panorama.am

PRETTY AMAZING, AGAIN

Garen Yegparian

BY GAREN YEGPARIAN

No doubt you read that Abdullah “Apo” Ocalan called on the Turkish
government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. You might not have
thought much of it, but here’s why it’s so amazing.

Apo is serving a life sentence in the prison on İmralı island.

Flyovers or fishing in the vicinity of the island is prohibited.

This is the same island prison in which Billy Hayes, the American
whose story became the film “Midnight Express”, was kept.

Apo just barely got away with his life due to European pressures after
he was captured by Turkey and sentenced to death for his role as the
main leader of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

He and the Turkish government are in negotiations now over the rights
and future of Kurds in Turkey. Why would he want to irritate the
government with something that is not directly beneficial to the Kurds?

Impressed yet?

Of course you could argue that this is just a ploy, a tactical move
to strengthen his hand in the negotiations. Possibly. But, there’s
more context.

Ocalan also marked the anniversary of Hrant Dink’s murder, saying,
“I greet the memory and the struggle of the precious child of the
Armenian people, our brother Hrant.”

He’s also in touch with Kurdish members of Turkey’s parliament,
and probably other Kurdish leaders. No doubt they coordinate their
activities and public statements. They have been very forthcoming on
issues of concern to Armenians and relationship building with us.

If you are inclined to see conspiracy and intrigue around every
corner, then you will probably be dismissive of this little snippet
of progress, but I see one more drop contributing to the ocean that
we must fill to achieve our national goals.

Once again, as with anything regarding the evolving and chaotic
politics of Turkey, we should watch, push, and support anything in
any way that enables the 76-ish million people living in that country
to acknowledge the horrible reality of our shared past. Once they get
over the Genocide hurdle, then the emotional barriers will be gone,
and it will become a matter of diplomacy, politics, and negotiations
to get our reparations and lands.

###

Iravunk: ‘Grey Wolves’ accompanied by NSS employees in Armenia

Lieutenant General Romik Harutyunian was recently relieved of his
post as first deputy director of Armenia’s National Security Service
(NSS) by a decree of President Serzh Sargsyan.

Citing a number of press reports, ‘Iravunk’ paper says that the visit
of Turkish nationalist Hasan Oktay advocating the extermination of the
Armenians may have been the cause of R. Harutyunian’s dismissal. A
supporter of Grey Wolves organization, Hasan Oktay has paid several
visits to Armenia and was accompanied by NSS employees during one of
his visits.

According to other sources of the paper, R. Harutyunian was dismissed
because almost a ton of heroin was quietly smuggled into Armenia
quite recently.

Sources in the national security system say that Arzuman Harutyunian
may be appointed first deputy director of Armenian NSS.

###

Edward Sharmazanov: Turkey must recognize Armenian Genocide

“Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in their homeland is nothing other
than a striking manifestation of a crime against humanity. Consigning
crimes against humanity to oblivion results in new crimes such as
the Holocaust,” the vice speaker of the Armenian parliament Edward
Sharmazanov told Aysor.am when commenting on the recent statement of
Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

During the January 27 meeting with French President Francois Hollande
in Ankara, the Turkish president urged Armenia and the Armenian
Diaspora not ‘to revive woes’ of the past and not to ‘pass these woes
from generation to generation’.

In the words of Sharmazanov, woes of the past should be resolved rather
than be consigned to oblivion. “I think the Turkish authorities should
take steps to reconcile with their own history. They must recognize
the Armenian Genocide so as not to pass on a heavy burden to the
future generations,” he noted.

“Otherwise, by a policy of denial, they will commit no lesser crime
than the one committed by the Young Turks’ government,” Edward
Sharmazanov said.

IRAVUNK: ‘GREY WOLVES’ ACCOMPANIED BY NSS EMPLOYEES IN ARMENIA

Lieutenant General Romik Harutyunian was recently relieved of his
post as first deputy director of Armenia’s National Security Service
(NSS) by a decree of President Serzh Sargsyan.

Citing a number of press reports, ‘Iravunk’ paper says that the visit
of Turkish nationalist Hasan Oktay advocating the extermination of the
Armenians may have been the cause of R. Harutyunian’s dismissal. A
supporter of Grey Wolves organization, Hasan Oktay has paid several
visits to Armenia and was accompanied by NSS employees during one of
his visits.

According to other sources of the paper, R. Harutyunian was dismissed
because almost a ton of heroin was quietly smuggled into Armenia
quite recently.

Sources in the national security system say that Arzuman Harutyunian
may be appointed first deputy director of Armenian NSS.

CZECH REP. MAY RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – DEUTSCHE WELLE

February 07, 2014 | 09:09

At his meeting with Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, Czech President
Milo¹ Zeman qualified as genocide what was carried out against the
Armenians in 1915; this is a reason for raising, on the Czech agenda,
the matter of Armenian Genocide recognition.

The Czech Republic may soon appear in the list of countries which
recognized the Armenian Genocide, reports the Turkish service of
Deutsche Welle news agency of Germany.

Zeman had noted that the year 2015 will mark the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide, and stressed that 1.5 million Armenians
were massacred in 1915.

The aforesaid was perceived as a signal for the Armenian Genocide’s
recognition in the Czech Republic.

In this connection, Czech Senator Jaromír ©tìtina stated that he will
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security,
and by the end of the year, a bill on the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

The Czech senator expressed confidence that the Czech Republic will
formally recognize the Armenian Genocide by April 2015.

ALL CULTURAL STRUCTURES TO HOLD EVENTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL

16:58, 7 February, 2014

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. All the structures representing
various branches of culture will start zealous activity advancing the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The Minister of Culture of
the Republic of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan stated this at the course of
the press conference held on February 7. Also, the Minister of Culture
of the Republic of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan highlighted that all the
branches of culture will organize conference for the organization of
the relevant activities.

As reports “Armenpress” among other things the Minister of Culture
of the Republic of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan underscored: “We face
comprehensive issues. First of all we must be able to create a
collected field for all those materials dedicated to the Genocide.

It’s about all the books, book series, and fiction books. We must sum
up everything we have to understand our lapses. The majority of our
lapses is about the documentary and monumental works, which have not
been translated into foreign languages till now. This is the issue
number one.”

(c) 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

ARMENIAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE WEBSITE SEES 1 MILLION MORE HITS IN 2013

By MassisPost
Updated: January 26, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC — With the continuing expansion of the information on
the Armenian Genocide available on the Armenian National Institute
(ANI) website, a marked increase in the number of visitors was
registered this past year, jumping by one million hits, and growing
the site from two million to close to three million hits in 2013.

Public and scholarly interest is clearly registering with ever growing
utilization of ANI materials. Both in anticipation of heightened
worldwide interest as the centennial approaches in 2015 and as a result
of increasing Turkish openness on the subject of the Armenian Genocide,
ANI has been preparing major resources and making them available to
the public, to support educators, to encourage researchers, and to
assist Armenian community efforts.

In March 2013, ANI, along with, the Armenian Genocide Museum of
America (AGMA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly),
issued a digital exhibit titled WITNESS TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE:
Photographs by the Perpetrators’ German and Austro-Hungarian Allies.

The ten-poster set included an introductory page, a detailed timeline,
a color-coded map geographically matching the photographs with their
location, and seven pages displaying 34 captioned historic photographs
depicting the deportations, massacres, and concentration camps. Since
its release, over 75,000 copies have been downloaded. Additional
downloadable exhibits will be made available, and as with the 2013
digital and printable exhibit, they will be distributed free of charge.

As part of its ongoing program to promote the teaching of genocide
and human rights and the lessons of the Armenian Genocide, in early
2013 ANI announced the release by Routledge publishers of the fourth
edition of Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts, the
genocide and human rights studies textbook widely used in college and
high school courses. This new edition addresses examples of genocides
perpetrated in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries.

The chapter on the Armenian Genocide, which has appeared since the
first edition of the publication, is authored by ANI Director Dr.

Rouben Adalian. More than 50,000 copies of the publication have been
sold over the years.

This publication was followed by the release of the online and print
versions of the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
issued by Macmillan Reference, a major publisher of educational
materials, to which Dr. Adalian contributed an entry on the Armenian
Genocide. The article appears in a section dedicated to Genocide
and Crimes Against Humanity that includes entries, among others,
on the Assyrian Massacre, Bosnia, Cambodia, Japanese Occupation,
Mayan Genocide in Guatemala, Rwanda, and Sudan.

As part of its continuing service to educators and to coincide with
the release of Centuries of Genocide, ANI expanded its “Resource
Guide” and other sections of the “Education” component of the ANI
website. Dozens of resources were selected for their instructional
value and are listed for the benefit of students and teachers. ANI
also expanded the database it maintains on Armenian Genocide memorials.

ANI also introduced a new section to its website documenting the
extent of “Press Coverage” and discussion of the Armenian Genocide
over the course of the past decade. As part of this expansion, the
section documenting the growing trend of international affirmation
of the Armenian Genocide was also updated.

The “Affirmation” section of the website reflects municipal, state,
and federal level recognitions from around the world. With 174 official
documents posted supporting the record of affirmation by 43 of the
United States, another 50 posted official enactments attest to the
extent of international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide with
21 countries formally on record. To facilitate navigation of the
growing list of international recognitions, a summary page listing
the countries in alphabetical order is provided.

Continuing its services, ANI, in coordination with AGMA and the
Assembly, is preparing to issue by April 2014 a major new online
exhibit on the Armenian Genocide featuring extensive new photographic
and documentary evidence.

LOCAL MUSICIAN WANTS TO PRESERVE ARMENIAN MUSICAL HISTORY ON FILM

Hometownlife.com, MI
Feb 7 2014

Ara Topouzian wants to preserve Detroit’s Armenian musical history
on film.

“My goal is to show the hidden story about Detroit, the ethnic
community,” said the Farmington Hills resident. “Our music represents
sadness, happiness, weddings, parties, picnics.”

The idea for the film stems from a project Topouzian, Troy Chamber
of Commerce executive director, created when he received a fellowship
from the Kresge Foundation in 2012.

A nationally known musician, Topouzian taught himself to play and
love the kunan, a trapezoid-shaped instrument that boasts sets of
three strings tuned to the same note. He and other Armenian musicians
continue to perform.

His Kresge fellowship gave Topouzian yet another opportunity to open
the doors to preserving Armenian music.

“It allowed me to create a project for the public that was a
lecture/concert about the history of Armenian music in Detroit,”
he said. “I thought it would be great if it was a film.”

That dream is on its way to reality thanks to a $12,000 matching
grant from the Knight Foundation. That joy, however, presents a hurdle.

Topouzian must raise the $12,000 match and he has until September.

He is working through the Miami Foundation and the online Kickstarter
to raise the necessary money. The former executive director of the
Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce and former economic development
director for the city of Novi is also accepting private donations to
help with the grant match.

With Kickstarter, Topouzian had to set a dollar goal and if that
fundraising goal is not reached by March 18, that’s the end of that.

“No money goes in my pocket from any fundraising for the film. I get
nothing except maybe the notoriety of the film,” Topouzian said.

Making progress

Progress is under way. If he can raise the minimum $5,000 on
Kickstarter, then he has $2,600 already with a total of $7,600 so far.

If all goes as planned, Brian Golden, Farmington area historian, will
film the historical project Topouzian has in mind. And again, if all
goes as planned, he wants to pitch a completed film to PBS. The film
in 2015 would coincide with 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian Genocide, also known as the Armenian Holocaust, took
place during and after World War I when the then-Ottoman Empire
systematically exterminated its minority Armenian population from
their homeland, which is today’s nation of Turkey.

Before the genocide, Detroit could boast some 3,000-4,000 Armenians.

Following the genocide, the ranks swelled to some 30,000 as survivors
made their way to Detroit and jobs with Henry Ford.

For the most part, Armenians brought their culture and music and
settled in the southeast section of Detroit. “They had no tape
recorders but they brought the tunes in their heads and desperately
made a life here and brought the culture they lost,” Topouzian said.

And this is the story he wants to tell the world. At first, Armenian
musicians played in churches, community centers and halls. In time,
nightclub owners realized Armenian music was popular and began inviting
the musicians to play a few nights a week.

“It is a story that needs to be told,” he said. “About how important
Armenians have been in Detroit preserving their culture and their
music.”

Topouzian plans to return to the spots where those nightclubs once
stood and interview Armenian immigrants and musicians who steadfastly
protected and preserved their culture.

“I want them to tell their stories. This is the history the Turks
did not get.”

To help Topouzian with his fundraising
campaign, go to Kickstarter campaign at:

More information about Topouzian can be found on his
website at: and on his blog,

AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA COMMIT TO STRENGTHENING CEASEFIRE DURING OLYMPICS – OSCE MINSK GROUP STATEMENT

Interfax, Russia
Feb 6 2014

BAKU. Feb 6

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will continue consultations
with the parties to the Armenian-Azeri conflict in the coming weeks
to prepare high-level meetings, of which the co-chairs said in a
statement summing up outcomes of their talks in Baku and Yerevan
available on the OSCE website.

“The Co-Chairs discussed the outcome of the Foreign Ministers’ recent
meeting in Paris with the presidents and stressed the need for further
progress on the substance of negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict,” it says.

The co-chairs stressed the need to continue top-level talks, as the
parties agreed at the latest summit between the Azeri and Armenian
presidents in Vienna in November 2013.

They also reiterated “their deep concern over the recent escalation
on the Line of Contact and the border, and called on the sides to
exercise restraint in their actions and rhetoric.”

“The sides stated their intention to strengthen observance of the
ceasefire and avoid further escalation, particularly in light of the
upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi,” the statement says.

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ARMENIAN CULTURE MINISTER COMES OUT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CAFE NEAR PAGAN TEMPLE OF GARNI

by Karina Manukyan

Friday, February 7, 20:06

Armenian Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan has come out for
construction of a cafe near the pagan temple of Garni.

“Why not if the construction of the cafe does not imply damaging the
cultural layer?” said Poghosyan at today’s press conference. “No bad
project will become a reality”, she said.

Earlier Vladimir Poghosyan, Head of the Service for the Protection
of Historic Environment and Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve,
said that no construction would be launched and that only chairs and
tables would be put there. The cafe’s menu will be consisted of fruit,
vegetables and home-made gata. The profit will be spent on maintenance
of the temple of Garni. Poghosyan assured that the pilot project aims
to boost tourism in Armenia.

In late 2013 “Sargis Tkhruni” Youth and Student Union of the
Social-Democrat Hunchakyan Party came out against that project. “The
practice shows that the “small cafes for the tourists turn into big
restaurants. The temple of Garni should remain untouched and shouldn’t
serve the interests of certain officials”, they said.

The Temple of Garni is a first century Hellenic temple near Garni,
Armenia. It is the only pagan temple in Armenia that survived the
Christianization of the country in 301 AD. Several constructions and
buildings have been identified within the enclosed area, including a
two-storey royal summer palace, a bath complex, a church built in AD
897, a cemetery and the site’s most famous and best preserved edifice,
a peristyle Greco-roman temple built in the Ionic order. Of particular
interest is the bathhouse located in the northern part of the site. It
as a well preserved hypocaust and one of its floors is decorated with
a mosaic reproducing a well known late Hellenistic iconographic type.

It bore depictions of Greek mythological figures and personifications,
such as Tethys, Oceanus, Thetis.

ARFD READY TO COOPERATE WITH AUTHORITIES IN CREATING COMMISSION FOR GAS ISSUES – RUSTAMYAN

14:10 07/02/2014 >> POLITICS

Head of ARFD parliamentary faction Armen Rustamyan has said that the
faction is ready to cooperate with the authorities in setting up a
commission for examination of gas issues.

“We are ready for cooperation. Otherwise, there will be a deadlock.

This sector is extremely important for our people, but we will wait
for concrete proposals,” he told a press briefing in parliament.

Speaker of Armenian National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan said yesterday
that the political majority is ready to create a commission for gas
issues and called on the parliamentary opposition to cooperate with
them in that format.

Rustamyan added that there will be no sense in creating a commission
if all this is done just for propaganda and unless the authorities
display proper will.

On February 3, the four non-coalition parliamentary factions – ARFD,
Prosperous Armenia, Armenian National Congress and Heritage – launched
a signature campaign for the establishment of a commission to examine
the 300-million-dollar gas debt of Armenia and determine the reasons
for the difference between the wholesale and retail prices of natural
gas. On February 5, the Armenian parliament rejected the proposal by
a vote of 58-44.

Source: Panorama.am