Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIA PERMITTED ENLARGEMENT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 27, 2013 Wednesday

BYLINE: Tigran Ovanesjan
Source: Izvestia (Moscow issue), November 26, 2013, p. 7

RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA WILL BE ENLARGED AND EXPANDED;
The 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia, will be enlarged.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Armenia will take place
on December 2. The Armenian government permitted the Russian Defense
Ministry to expand the 102nd Russian Military Base. According to what
information is available to this newspaper, eighteen helicopters will
be flown to Armenia later this month.

Ex-minister Vagarshak Arutyunjan said that reenforcement of the 102nd
Military Base was to take place in accordance with the protocol signed
in 2010. According to this document, the Russian base is supposed to
ensure security of Armenia on the borders with Iran and Turkey on the
one hand and Georgia and Azerbaijan on the other. It does not mean
that Russian border guards will be manning the Armenian borders. It
means that in the event Armenia is threatened, security of these
borders will be a prerogative of the Russian base.

Arutyunjan said, “Georgia poses no threats or dangers to Armenia these
days. Dangers are posed by Azerbaijan… and probably Turkey… Hence
the decision to reinforce and enlarge the Russian military base.”

AN EU FUNDED PROJECT IN ARMENIA PRESENTS RESULTS IN FOREST TRANSFORMATION

28-11-2013 11:00:01 | Armenia |
On 02December 2013 stakeholders and journalists will visit the Spitak
pilot site of the EU funded project “Increasing the Resilience of
Forest Ecosystems against Climate Change in the Southern Caucasus
through Forest Transformation”. Participants will observe results
of field activities aimed at mitigating climate change impacts and
improving biodiversity and the livelihood of local populations.

Speakers will include Matthias Lichtenberger (World Wildlife Fund –
Germany), John Barker (EU Delegation to Armenia), Ruben Petrosyan
(Chief Forester of “Hayantar” SNCO of the Ministry of Agriculture of
the Republic of Armenia).

Numerous forest transformation activities will be observed by the
visit participants, who will also learn about the current state of
the project, activities implemented so far, and future plans.

The project in Armenia is implemented by WWF Armenia(World Wildlife
Fund) and is aimed at increasing the resilience of forest stands
against climate change. Two pilot sites with total area of 150 ha
located in Gugarq and Noyemberyan Forest Enterprises of “Hayantar”
SNCO (respectively Lori and Tavush regions of Armenia) will be
transformed into more resilient and “close to nature” forests. The
fencing of pilot sites was finalized at the end of 2012. Forest
transformation activities then started in autumn 2012 and will be
finalised in spring 2014. They are implemented by “Hayantar” SNCO of
the RA Ministry of Agriculture.

For further information: Ms. Maral Harutyunyan PR and Media assistant
at “Publicis Hepta” agency Tel: (+374 10) 53 74 41, cell (055) 00 37 36

Mrs. Siranush Galstyan Project Coordinator Tel: (+374 10) 54 61 56
(ext. 15) E-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Gera Voskanyan Partnership & Communications Manager Tel: (+374 10)
54 61 56 (ext. 14) Email: [email protected]

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan – See more at:

PUTIN TO PAY STATE VISIT TO ARMENIA ON DEC 2

Voice of Russia
Nov 27 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Armenia for a state
visit on December 2, the Kremlin press service reported.

0The visit will begin in the city of Gyumri, where Putin and Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan will visit the 102nd Russian Military Base
and take part in the 3rd Russian-Armenian interregional forum.

0This will be followed by top-level negotiations in Yerevan to address
key issues pertaining to bilateral cooperation, including in the
trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres.

0The parties are expected to exchange opinions on the implementation of
agreements reached during Sargsyan’s visit to Moscow on September 3 and
further steps on Armenia’s accession to the Belarusian-Kazakh-Russian
Customs Union and the Common Economic Space.

0The two countries are expected to sign a number of joint documents
based on the negotiations’ outcomes.

MOSCOW, YEREVAN AUTHORITIES SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. Moscow and Yerevan authorities have
sign a cooperation agreement today in Russia’s capital.

Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, Vladimir Petrosyan, the head
of the Moscow municipality’s social protection department, Sergey
Cheremin, the head of the municipality’s foreign relations, and
Mikhail Kuzovlev, the president of the Russian capital’s Commerce
and Industry Chamber and the chairman of Moscow Bank, represented
the Russian side at the signing ceremony.

The Armenian delegation was made up of Taron Margaryan, the mayor
of Yerevan, Oleg Yesayan, Armenian ambassador to Russia, Makar
Nahapetyan, the head of the Yerevan municipality’s office in Moscow,
and David Gevorgyan, the chief of the Yerevan municipality’s division
in charge of foreign relations. The agreement was signed by the two
cities mayors.

“Today we are signing a program of cooperation between Moscow and
Yerevan,” Sobyanin said at the signing ceremony. “The program implies
a series of measures in various areas, including medicine, education,
housing and utilities infrastructure and transport… I hope the
signing of this program of joint activities will give additional
impetus to our good relations.”

He added that economic relations between Moscow and Yerevan quite
good – trade turnover between the two countries grew 20% in 2012,
and improvement is visible this year.

“I am pleased to place it on record and I think this is the result
of our joint work,” he said.

Sobyanin also said that Moscow Days were conducted in the Armenian
capital in 2012 and thanked his Yerevan counterpart for cordial
reception and organization of events.

He said that now Yerevan Days are being held in Moscow. The program
includes exhibitions, concerts and performances, Novosti-Armenia
reports referring to RIA Novosti.

Margaryan, on his side, thanked Sobyanin for reception and invited
him to Yerevan.

“This will be a good reason for meeting and discussing
bilateral relations,” he said. —-0— – See more at:

SEVAN LAKE ENDEMIC FISHES ENDANGERED: EXPERT

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. Endemic fish species at Sevan Lake
are endangered, head of hydrobiology of Armenia’s institute of
hydroecology and ichthyology Susanna Hakobyan said at a discussion
on Sevan’s problems Monday.

The greatest danger for these species, according to the expert,
is rapidly breeding non typical fishes that have created serious
competition to Armenian bystranka and morocos in particular.

Recently about 366,000 trout baby fishes were let into the lake,
which will have a positive impact on ecosystem of the lake only if
proper conditions are created for their development, Hakobyan said.

But construction of small hydro power plants on rivers flowing into
the lake has negative impact on restoration of local fish populations,
according to the expert.

Another threat may be the possible increase in abstraction from Sevan,
Hakobyan said.

In 2012 the government had to apply to the parliament with an
initiative to make a number of amendments to increase abstraction
from Sevan for irrigation (from 170mln to 320mln cubic meters).

Illegal fishing that has increased several times over the last years
is another factor endangering the fish populations in the lake,
the expert said.

According to 2012 data, fish population in Sevan Lake dropped 3.5
times. -0–

– See more at:

POVERTY RATE IN ARMENIA CLIMBS 17.4% FROM 2008 TO 32.4% IN 2012

YEREVAN, November 26. /ARKA/. Poverty rate in Armenia climbed 17.4%
from 2008 to 32.4% in 2012, according to the National Statistical
Service’s report “Poverty and Social Panorama in Armenia, 2013”.

In its report, the National Statistical Service divides the poor into
three categories – extremely poor, very poor and poor. The extreme
poverty rate in Armenia rose 1.8 times within five years and the rate
of very poor people went 7.1% up.

According to the statistical report, every third resident of the
country or 32.4% (980,000 people) lived in penury in 2012, 13.5%
(408,000) were very poor and 2.8% (85,000) extremely poor.

Some 980,000 people lived in poverty in 2012.

Poverty rates in urban and rural areas are similar – in cities it
stood at 32.5% in 2012 after rising 17.7% since 2008, and in villages
it rose 16.7% to 32.1%.

The lowest poverty rate was recorded in Yerevan – about 25.6% (1.6
times lower than other urban areas’ indicators). Poverty rate mounted
27.3% over these five years here, while in other cities it rose 12.3%.

Some 64.4% of poor people are urban areas’ residents.

The main factor of the 2008-2012 poverty rate increase was a sharp
economic decline (14.1%) in 2009.

Earlier, Finance Minister David Sargsyan said that poverty rate in
Armenia is gradually going down.

This slow but sustainable downward motion will continue also in 2014
thanks to increase in salaries and pensions.

The minimal salary in the country was AMD 32,500 in 2012, and average
monthly salary AMD 113,163 drama.

In July 2013, the minimum salary was raised by 30% to AMD
45,000. —0—-

– See more at:

RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS DECRY WHITE HOUSE BAN OF ‘ORPHAN RUG’

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013 | Posted by Contributor

[communitybriefing.jpg]

ANCA-Glendale chair Berdj Karapetian kicks off community briefing
Tuesday

Ahead of Obama’s visit to Glendale Armenian religious and community
leaders gather to send clear message to White House.

Glendale Councilman Zareh Sinanyan to deliver protest letter to Obama
during his visit.

GLENDALE–As President Obama began his visit to Glendale, religious
and community leaders held a briefing to call on the President to
stop blocking the display of an Armenian Genocide-era rug woven by
orphans of that crime against humanity.

The rug, which took Armenian orphans 10 months to weave and has
4,404,206 individual knots, was presented to President Calvin Coolidge
in 1925.

Armenian National Committee of America Glendale Chapter Chairman
Berdj Karapetian opened the press conference and welcomed a broad
array of U.S. and Armenian print, television and online media to the
community-wide forum urging concrete White House action regarding
the historic rug.

“Today we pause, reflect and act,” remarked ANCA National Board member
Raffi Hamparian. “We pause to remember the remarkable generosity of the
American people during the Armenian Genocide. We reflect on the little
orphans of the genocide who carefully wove a rug that was presented to
President Coolidge. And finally, we act, by demanding that President
Obama stop his Administration’s unusual policy of placing the orphan
rug under quarantine. This is an exceedingly unusual way to treat a
piece of American history – especially a piece of American history
that speaks to our nation’s greatness in responding to a crime against
all humanity,” Hamparian added.

Western Primate Hovnan Derderian spoke eloquently about the integral
part the Armenian Genocide orphan rug plays in American history and
the need for the White House to arrange its permanent display.

Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian noted, “The rug was
a gracious gesture symbolizing the friendship between the American
and Armenian peoples. It is part of American history.

Keeping it locked away in storage is not only insulting to the
orphaned girls who painstakingly crafted this beautiful work of art,
it also represents a shameful effort to cover up, at the urging of
genocide-deniers in Ankara, a truly proud chapter of American history.”

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), released a statement declaring
that the [orphan] rug “is not only a symbol of the resilience of
the Armenian people through their darkest days, but also serves as a
tangible expression of the inherent truth that 1.5 million people were
killed in the first genocide of the 20th Century.” The Congressman,
long a champion on human rights issues, added, “It is my intention
to host an event in the Capitol featuring the rug, shedding light on
the efforts made by American diplomats and charitable organizations
to call attention to, and provide relief for, the victims of the
genocide. I will be urging the Administration to make the rug available
for display at that time and hope for a favorable response.”

Schiff’s statement was read by ANCA-WR chairwoman Nora Hovsepian,
who emphasized the community’s frustration at the White House’s
posturing on the issue.

In a November 8th Congressional letter to President Obama,
Representatives Schiff and David Valadao (R-CA) were joined by a
bipartisan group of over 30 U.S. Representatives – including House
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) – in calling upon
the White House to reverse its decision to block the public display
of the rug.

The press conference ended with participants signing a letter to
President Obama welcoming him to Glendale and urging him to “permit
the public display of the Armenian Genocide-era rug woven by orphans
of that crime against humanity.”

The letter referenced an earlier White House statement to LA Times
reporter Richard Simon, noting that displaying the rug “for only half a
day in connection with a private book launch event, as proposed, would
have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government property, would have
required the White House to undertake the risk of transporting the
rug for limited public exposure, and was not viewed as commensurate
with the rug’s historical significance.”

The petitioners wrote that they were “pleased that the White House
acknowledges the historical significance of this Armenian Genocide-era
rug. Therefore, we urge you to permit its prominent exhibition and
eventual permanent display at a location accessible to the public
in Washington, D.C.” Joining the religious and community leaders in
signing the letter were Glendale Unified School Board President Nayiri
Nahabedian, Glendale City College Board of Trustees Vice President
Dr. Vahe Peroomian, and representatives from the Armenian Relief
Society, Homenetmen Armenian Scouting and Athletic Association, All
Armenian Students Association, Armenian Youth Federation, Armenian
Rug Association, United Young Armenians, Armenian American Council
on Aging, Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Association,
among a broad array or community supporters.

“I look forward to presenting the letter to President Obama to honor
American history by displaying the rug,” said Councilmember Zareh
Sinanyan, who was scheduled to attend the Obama event at Dreamworks
Animation.

The briefing also featured remarks by Chamlian Armenian School
Principal Vazken Madenlian and Executive Director of the Los Angeles
committee for the Genocide Centennial Aroutin Hartunian.

The Armenian National Committee of America launched a nationwide
campaign last month on the orphan rug issue after The Washington Post
reported that a planned December 16th Smithsonian Institution exhibit
featuring the rug, organized in conjunction with the Armenian Cultural
Foundation and the Armenian Rug Society, was abruptly cancelled when
the White House, reversing an earlier affirmative decision, refused
to lend the iconic symbol of American and Armenian shared heritage
to the museum.

Washington Post staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Philip Kennicott, reported “There was hope that the carpet, which has
been in storage for almost 20 years, might be displayed December 16th
as part of a Smithsonian event that would include a book launch for
Hagop Martin Deranian’s ‘President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian
Orphan Rug.’ But on September 12th, the Smithsonian scholar who helped
organize the event canceled it, citing the White House’s decision not
to loan the carpet. In a letter to two Armenian American organizations,
Paul Michael Taylor, director of the institution’s Asian cultural
history program, had no explanation for the White House’s refusal to
allow the rug to be seen and said that efforts by the U.S. ambassador
to Armenia, John A. Heffern, to intervene had also been unavailing.”

Kennicott described the controversy as “a sign of the Obama
administration’s dismal reputation in the Armenian American community
that everyone assumes… must be yet another slap in the face for
Armenians seeking to promote understanding of one of the darkest
chapters in 20th-century history.”

The White House response thus far has been vague – with National
Security Staff Assistant Press Secretary Laura Magnuson initially
offering the following comment to the Asbarez Armenian Newspaper:
“The Ghazir rug is a reminder of the close relationship between the
peoples of Armenia and the United States. We regret that it is not
possible to loan it out at this time.” A statement with the same
exact wording was released by the White House last week and included
in Kennicott’s article.

The Armenian orphan rug measures 11â~@² 7â~@³ x 18â~@² 5â~@³ and
is comprised of 4,404,206 individual knots. It took Armenian girls
in the Ghazir Orphanage of Near East Relief 10 months to weave. The
rug was delivered to the President Coolidge on December 4, 1925, in
time for Christmas, with a label on the back of the rug, which reads
“IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.”

According to Missak Kelechian, an expert on this topic, the gift of
the Armenian Orphan rug was widely covered in U.S. media, including
in the New York Times in 1925 and the Washington Post in 1926.

Additional information about the history of the Armenian Orphan Rug
is available in Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian’s book, “President Coolidge
and the Armenian Orphan Rug,” published on October 20, 2013, by the
Armenian Cultural Foundation and soon to be available on Amazon.com.

ban-of-%E2%80%98orphan-rug%E2%80%99/

ASHTON PROMISES TO HELP KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
November 22, 2013 Friday

The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine
Ashton welcomed the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
in Vienna on November 19.

In her statement, she said that “the willingness of the presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue negotiations and to hold a new
appointment soon is encouraging.”

The European Commissioner also noted that the EU is ready to engage
in new efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict and to help strengthen
the work of the OSCE Minsk Group. -16D-

RULER OF SHARJAH’S GENEROSITY ENABLES ARMENIAN MONASTERY TO REOPEN

The National, UAE
Nov 26 2013

A significant donation by the Ruler of Sharjah has enabled a medieval
monastery in Armenia to reopen.

Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi made a fortuitous visit to
the Haghartsin Monastery several years ago at the invitation of the
former president, Robert Kocharian.

“In 2005 His Royal Highness visited Armenia and generously offered
to renovate the complex during a tour of various Armenian regions,”
said Varouj Nerguizian, a Sharjah-based Armenian businessman who has
advised Dr Sheikh Sultan.

Mr Nerguizian would not say how much was donated, but local media
reports said it could be about US$1.7 million (Dh6.2m).

Now, after years of building work including a new road up to the
monastery to help to boost visitor numbers, the refurbished structure
was finally opened last month.

“I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history
that an Arab Sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an Armenian
Christian church,” the priest, Aristakes Aivazyan, said.

“Without doubt it was God who brought the Sheikh to Haghartsin.”

Perched spectacularly amid thickly forested mountains about 100
kilometres north-east of Yerevan, Haghartsin Monastery is a masterpiece
of medieval Armenian ecclesiastical architecture.

Founded in the 10th century, the monastery, which includes three
churches and once housed about 250 monks, survived attacks from Arab
and Ottoman invaders and anti-religious campaigns under Soviet rule
during its turbulent history.

But after weathering those storms, decades of neglect meant the
complex looked headed for collapse as plants twisted through walls
and cracks threatened to send buildings tumbling.

“The monastery was in need of serious reconstruction but the repairs
were always delayed by the lack of finances,” Father Aivazyan said.

The donation, said Mr Nerguizian, “falls within the natural context
of His Royal Highness’s philanthropy as well as respect for other
religions”.

Sharjah has a thriving Armenian community which has its own church.

For those working at the monastery, the surprise of seeing an Arab
leader visiting the holy Christian site remains a vivid memory.

“He came with his entourage of about 10 people and looked around for
quite a while at all the churches and stone crosses before asking to
go into the main Church of Our Lady,” said Artak Sahakyan, who sells
candles to visiting worshippers. “When he came out he said that he
believed that the word of God was really heard here.”

Armenia is considered the oldest Christian country in the world and
its Apostolic Church belongs to the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch.

The church is hugely influential in Armenia and two monasteries
and its main cathedral are already listed on Unesco’s list of world
heritage sites.

ARE ELDERLY ARMENIAN WOMEN VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES?

Al Monitor
Nov 26 2013

Author: Orhan Kemal Cengiz
Posted November 25, 2013

A string of attacks against elderly Armenian women occurred in
Istanbul in late 2012 and early 2013. The victims were all lone
octogenarians. Two of them were badly battered and lost their sight,
while a third was stabbed to death after a brutal beating.

The first victim, Turfanda Asik, 87, lost an eye as a result of a
severe beating at the hands of an assailant who broke into her home.

The assailant – or perhaps the assailants – took nothing from the
apartment.

Shortly after, Maritsa Kucuk, 84, was found dead in her home, stabbed
seven times and badly beaten. Only the earrings and other jewelry
she usually wore were missing, while money was left untouched.

The third victim, Sultan Aykar, 83, was knocked down by an assailant
approaching from behind while she unlocked the door to her home.

Thanks to neighbors who heard the noise and rushed to help, she
survived the attack but also lost an eye.

All three incidents happened in Istanbul’s Samatya neighborhood, home
to 8,000-10,000 members of Istanbul’s 60,000-strong Armenian minority.

As expected, the attacks had a terrorizing effect on Armenians,
sending shock waves across the entire community.

It was obvious that the string of violence was directed exclusively
at elderly Armenian women and was not robbery-motivated. Yet, in
their initial statements the police insisted that the assailants were
robbery-motivated and did not act in an organized way.

Such statements only fueled the anxiety of the Armenian community,
spreading fears that the police’s careless attitude would further
embolden the perpetrators. Human rights groups and activists against
hate crimes raised concern that the state was yet again displaying
a knee-jerk impulse to look the other way when violence targeted
Turkey’s Armenians. But just as the controversy had begun to grow,
the police came up with a surprise, announcing on March 4, the arrest
of the 38-year-old alleged assailant. The suspect’s blood sample
matched the one found in Kucuk’s home. He had a criminal record for
theft as well as another characteristic that debunked those who saw
the attacks as hate crimes against Armenians: Murat Nazaryan was
himself of Armenian origin.

The controversy waned after the suspect’s profile emerged and the
attacks came to be seen as incidents of ordinary crime.

The doubts, however, were soon rekindled when the judicial process
kicked off. The court handled Nazaryan’s case in a bizarre fashion,
following procedures typical for cases of terrorism and organized
crime. The prosecution imposed a blackout on the investigation, which
meant that the victims’ relatives and lawyers had no access to the
case file until the trial opened.

To see the other bizarre details in Nazaryan’s case, let’s take a
look at the press statement that the victims’ attorney, Eren Keskin,
and the Human Rights Association’s Istanbul branch released jointly on
Nov. 19 under the headline “Was Maritsa Kucuk killed in a hate crime?

Shed light on the truth!”

Here are the highlights of the statement: “Maritsa Kucuk, 87, was
battered and stabbed to death on Dec. 28, 2012. Had murder been the
only motive, an abrupt blow or a firearm shot would have sufficed to
kill a woman at that age. Yet, she was brutally battered for hours
and repeatedly stabbed.

“From Nov. 28, 2012 to Jan. 26, 2013, a period that spans Maritsa
Kucuk’s murder, other elderly Armenian women were targeted in
Samatya in similar attacks involving brutal violence. Following
Murat Nazaryan’s arrest, all news reports, which were obviously
funneled to the media from a single source, highlighted Nazaryan’s
Armenian ethnicity, branded him the “Samatya assailant,” creating the
impression he was responsible for all attacks, and asserted that the
attacks were robbery-motivated. Murat Nazaryan, however, is currently
on trial only for Maritsa Kucuk’s murder.

“The meetings we had with the victims’ families led to one conclusion:
The attacks were not robbery-motivated. Asik was battered for hours
but not even a single drawer was opened in her home. Kucuk’s home
was found all tidy, they didn’t look for anything there. Several bank
notes on the table were untouched.

“Maritsa Kucuk’s family and their attorney Eren Keskin were barred
access to the crime-scene report and photos and other related police
documents for no less than six months before the trial kicked off
because the prosecution had imposed a secrecy decision on the probe.

The practice of secrecy is used mostly in cases of organized crimes
or in cases related to state security. Why did it become necessary,
if this is an ordinary murder file?

“Murat Nazaryan remained silent in the first two hearings. The only
thing he said was, ‘I didn’t kill anyone.’ At the hearing on Nov. 4,
2013, the truth began to slowly emerge. Maritsa Kucuk was killed by
three people, who had taken Nazaryan along by force. They had guns. …

[Nazaryan] mentioned gangs. He said he had kept silent because he
was bullied and frightened.”

Nazaryan’s new testimony has led human rights groups and the victims’
families to believe that a larger campaign of organized attacks could
have been underway than originally was thought. They are urging the
authorities to expand the investigation.

Nazaryan’s testimony has yet to lead to other arrests, but hate
crime is back under consideration as the motive. If his account is
not a fabrication, Nazaryan seems to be a mere pawn, with the real
perpetrators at large.

The theory of an organized racist group is being strengthened
by the fact that another Armenian woman was attacked in Istanbul
on Aug. 17, months after Nazaryan’s arrest. Like the other women,
Markirit Camkosoglu, 80, suffered serious physical violence but was
lucky enough to escape without major injury.

It would be premature to conclude at present whether Nazaryan is a
deranged ordinary criminal or a pawn manipulated by a racist gang. In
any case, Kucuk’s murder and the other attacks deserve to be followed
very closely, keeping in mind the possibility of an organized hate
campaign. Could it be that some gangs in Turkey are trying to give
a message in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide? Is it the resurgence of anti-Armenian attacks, unseen since
the 2007 assassination of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink? If
Nazaryan was not really alone, many fresh questions will continue to
pop up.