Author: Badalian Vardan

“EUROPEAN” ARMENIA: VIEW FROM YEREVAN

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 23 2013

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Prospects of initialing of the Associative Treaty and the DCFTA
Agreement between Armenia and the EU in November at the Vilnius summit
of the Eastern Partnership become real. At least, it is confirmed by
recent events in foreign and internal political life of Armenia.

The planned initialling of the documents has been discussed for a
long time. However, the first real step by made by Commissioner for
Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Stefan Fule, who said
that Brussels expected the initialling of two mentioned documents
with Armenia at the coming summit of the EU. However, Fule noted that
ahead of this Armenia had to conduct internal reforms which would be
a condition for initialling the Associative Treaty.

Considering the specific nature of Armenian policy, there is no
guarantee that the current Armenian authorities will manage to satisfy
European requirements which are necessary for the preliminary signing
of the Vilnius agreements not only till November, but at any time.

These are the requirements: democratization, protection of human
rights, involvement of civil society in the political life of the
country. The key problem is not that the Armenian authorities don’t
have enough time. If Yerevan and Brussels had the political will,
the problem of initialling the document would be purely technical.

However, the Armenian leadership has already stated its intention
to achieve initialling of the Associative Treaty in November 2013,
even though the schedule requires 2014.

Yerevan has enthusiastic supporters in this undertaking – first of
all Poland, which the President of Armenia visited recently. Poland
supervises the process of integration of post-Soviet states into the
EU. First of all, this concerns Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia – members of the Eastern Partnership. Thus,
the visit by Serge Sargsyan to Poland seems significant for prospects
of signing the Associative Treaty with the European Union.

Yerevan’s desire to integrate into Europe and the dubious devotedness
of the Republic Party of Armenia to European values are based not on
strong will, or certain state interests. It is a kind of a chastity
belt put on the ruling party of Armenia by the West. The belt’s rings
are recognitions of the results of almost all elections in Armenia
of recent years by Europe, when the republicans permanently won.

Today the rings are quite strong. This is confirmed by statements of
Western diplomats, who are beginning to call bread bread. The Western
diplomatic missions directly make Yerevan choose between European
integration and the Eurasian integration supported by Russia. The
fact that the West is showing its hand means that an initialling in
Vilnius is inevitable.

Statements that Armenia has chosen the European path and Yerevan and
Moscow have don’t trust each other anymore are far from reality.

Armenian-Russian relations should be considered at several levels.

Tension is really present, but only in the mass media, expert circles,
and Internet blogs. It is absent at the official level. There is no
problem of a tough choice between Russia and Europe for Armenia,
considering the fact that Europe has no leverages of pressure on
Armenia, unlike Russia, which is militarily present in the region and
the country. Europe cannot provide security to Armenia which would
be similar to Russia’s. So the Europeans have no such goals.

Thus, there is no choice between Russia and Europe in Armenia. Yerevan
will initial the Associative Treaty and the DCFTA Agreement with the
EU only because it is a part of a bigger game, greater internal and
foreign political processes, the big politics which is beyond relations
with Armenia. The majority of members of the Eastern Partnership,
including Armenia, are not ready for the program. It can lead to a
delay in signing.

EBRD LENDS ARMENIA 5.4 MLN EUROS TO UPGRADE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Interfax, Russia
July 22 2013

YEREVAN. July 22

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has lent Armenia
5.4 million euros for the modernization of the water supply system
in Yerevan, the government’s press service said.

The loan agreement was signed Friday by EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti
and Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian.

The loan program is being implemented by Yerevan Djur, which is owned
by France’s Veolia Environnement SA. The money will be used to restore
worn out parts of the water distribution network, and replace pipelines
and meters.

The EBRD has lent Armenia 620 million euros since it started working
with the country in 1992. Half of this – 310 million euros – went into
the banking sector, 25% into transportation, 15% into energy and 10%
into municipal projects.

Vp ak

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OBSTACLE TO TURKEY’S EU DREAM

July 23, 2013 | 18:06

Ankara’s reluctance to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide
perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire is one of the reasons why Turkey is
on the doorstep of the EU. However, it has no hopes to advance further,
Ukrainian aspekty.net portal writes referring to censor.net.ua.

The portal recalls that Mustafa Dzhemilev, Chairman of the Mejlis of
the Crimean Tatar People, has recently voiced harsh criticism against
Armenian Genocide bill.

Dzhemilev claims that the number of Turkic peoples in Ukraine is
several times higher than the number of Armenians, therefore it is
easier to spoil relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. He is confident
that more Crimea Tatars were killed during deportation.

“This is statistics provided by Mr. Dzhemilev. He will have this on
his conscience,” the newspaper writes.

As informed earlier, a bill on the Armenian Genocide’s recognition
was registered on June 6 in the Verkhovna Rada. Ukrainian parliament
members Arsen Avakov and Vilen Shatvoryan are the persons behind this
law proposal.

Ukrainian MPs, intellectuals, representatives of NGOs are actively
supporting recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

AGHDAM IS OUR HOMELAND, HOW ABOUT YEREVAN?

Aghdam which was built in the place of the ancient Armenian city of
Akn was liberated 20 years ago on July 23. The military people will
explain the military and strategic importance of liberation better than
me, and it is unnecessary to interpret its moral and psychological
importance. Perhaps because the developments that took place over
the next 20 years would question whether it is necessary to speak
about the moral and psychological importance of victories in war,
in this case Aghdam is liberated.

After about 12 years from liberation the minister of defense of
Armenia who wanted to be the next president, Serzh Sargsyan was
going to announce that Aghdam is not our homeland. The minister of
defense stating this in a country which won the war would not be
a president and would not remain a minister. However, neither the
commander-in-chief on those days dismissed him, nor the society
demanded the resignation of this minister of defense.

The minister retorted in a small company – prove that Aghdam is
Armenian.

They also say that archeologists who dug and discovered Tigranakert
in Aghdam proved to Serzh Sargsyan visiting Tigranakert as president
that Aghdam is our homeland, and these are not pathetic words but
scientific artifacts.

The sense of homeland is something special and is not based on
scientific proof, administrative borders or legal categories. The
border of homeland runs across each and every person, and fortunately
the border of the homeland liberated in the war in Artsakh runs across
thousands, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of Armenians.

Simply some of them have established those borders in them, while
others not yet because the years following the victory have blurred
the sense of preliminary homeland, the homeland which started from
the ABC book of Soviet school.

Since independence the ruling “elites” did everything possible and
impossible to defile the sense of homeland in people. It should be
noted that it was mostly a success. Fortunately, however, it never
succeeded fully or at least to a degree when the homeland is hopeless
against criminal oligarchic vandalism.

On these days the anniversary of liberation of Aghdam, part of the
homeland, overlaps with one of the havens of the fight for liberation
of the entire homeland. Definition of its manifestations is fight
against increase of fare but deep inside it is the fight of free
citizens for the homeland. This is the fight of the citizens who kept
the sense of homeland alive and reinforced it with the awareness
of state. They have already won a victory in the past years – they
stopped the parade for defamation of the sense of homeland and launched
their own.

Notably, one of the havens of this big process overlaps with the
anniversary of one of the important victories of war in Artsakh. The
victories in Artsakh were achieved as soon as it was clear that the
Armenians must achieve their right to one’s own destiny, life, security
and development for nobody will do it for them. Then there were
victories, important external support because they support those who
are ready and have will to fight for their own rights and existence.

>From this point of view, the link between victories in Artsakh and the
ongoing civic fight is not only symbolic or cognitive but absolutely
practical because the international destiny of victories of Artsakh
depend directly on the quality that Armenia must have as a state.

Hakob Badalyan 17:25 23/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

DOCTORS ARE AGAINST H. HARUTYUNYAN’S INTERROGATION

Tue, 07/23/2013 – 14:10

The investigative group examining the case of the accident of July
13 that took place in New Moscow, not far from Podolsk, hope that
in accordance with the preliminary agreement, on Monday Hrachyan
Harutyuyan will inform on the location of the company where he was
transporting the goods on “Kamaz”. “Komsomolskaya Pravda” reports
noting that the doctors did not allow to bother him.

However, it turns out that yesterday Harutyunyan was moved to
“Motroskaya Tishina” from “Butirka”.

“Investigative actions are appointed on Monday. He (Harutyunyan – ed.)
asked to bring a map, on which he wants to show the location of the
construction company, where he was taking the materials, the attorney
of the arrestee Alexander Maltsev said.

For a long period of time Harutyunyan refused to talk about his
employer and present how the vehicle in technically abnormal condition
appeared on the road and who signed the referral. And, finally,
when he was to speak, he is taken to another detention.

Relocation of the arrestee was done under the instructions of
the doctors. “My client had high pressure, which was a result of
aftershock of the accident. The doctors insisted not to put mental
load for these days. He is transferred to the hospital of “Motroskaya
Tishina” prison, Maltsey said.

Taking into account the advice of the doctors, no investigative
actions are appointed for the coming two weeks. In this period,
investigative actions will be conducted with the victims.

Author: Factinfo – See more at:

LEVON AGHASYAN CHAMPION D’EUROPE DU TRIPLE SAUT AUX CHAMPIONNATS D’EUROPE D’ATHLETISME JUNIOR A RIETI

ITALIE

Le triple sauteur armenien junior Levon Aghasyan, est devenu hier
Champion d’Europe dans sa categorie.

En ce dimanche 21 juillet 2013 a Rieti, Levon Aghasyan n’a pas recule.

C’est sous un orage grondant et sous un deluge de pluie, qu’il s
est elance pour reussir un saut a 16,01m laissant ses adversaires
a distance. Present l’annee dernière a Marseille lors du stage de
preparation pour les Championnats du Monde junior de Barcelone, Levon
Aghasyan a rejoint la delegation armenienne directement en Italie. Il
n’a pu etre present, avec le reste de l’equipe a Marseille, cette
annee pour le stage de preparation pour des raisons administratives.

Neanmoins ce titre de champion vient recompenser le travail initie par
les Federations Francaise et Armenienne d’athletisme. Ce projet mis en
place depuis 2 ans, en vue de promouvoir et soutenir l’athletisme en
Armenie, demontre au travers de cette première victoire le potentiel
de talents enormes que recèle le pays. Pour Courir Pour La Memoire –
CPLM – et la Ligue de Provence, qui sont les partenaires de ce projet,
c’est evidemment un formidable encouragement pour continuer dans
cette voie. Tous les artisans de ce superbe resultat voient ainsi
d’excellentes raisons de poursuivre cette aventure. Ils felicitent
bien sur Levon Aghasyan et les autres membres de la delegation junior.

Robert Emmiyan, President de la Federation Armenienne d’Athletisme ”
Au niveau international c’est un très bel exemple. C’est une immense
joie pour toute la delegation et pour l’athletisme armenien.

L’ambiance positive rencontree a Marseille a porte ces jeunes vers leur
meilleur niveau “. Pascal Chamassian, President d’honneur de CPLM,
a l’initiative du partenariat avec Andre Giraud, Vice-President de
la Federation Francaise d’Athletisme et Gerard Kirkorian, President
de CPLM de rajouter ” Quand on voit le niveau de ces jeunes champions
et que l’on connait leurs conditions d’entrainement en Armenie, nous
etions sûrs qu’avec de meilleures infrastructures, nous tenions la
une veritable pepinière de grands talents internationaux “. Communique
de presse 22 juillet 2013

JPEG – 244.2 ko .

Retour sur les performances de la delegation armenienne a Rieti du
17 au 21 juillet

Albert Martirosyan, lanceur de poids, le premier de l’equipe armenienne
a rentrer en lisse, realisa un echauffement encourageant, avec des
jets complets a plus de 18m. Le jeune athlète, contracte, a projete son
poids qu’a 17,31m, au 3ème essai, se fermant l’accès a la finale. Diana
Khubeserian, sprinteuse 100m et 200m, a battu son record personnel
ainsi que le record de l’Armenie sur 100m avec un temps de11’89,
cependant insuffisant pour acceder a la finale. Sa course de 200m
du lendemain aurait pu lui permettre a 5 centièmes, de rentrer en
demifinale. Satenik Hovhanissyan, sauteuse en longueur, a realise un
saut a plus de 6,30m, au 3ème essai, malheureusement annule, la ligne
d’appel ayant ete depassee, lui fermant les portes de la demi-finale.

Suren Khatchatryan, lanceur de disque, a realise un jet a 46,34m, alors
que tous les espoirs etaient permis durant son stage d’entrainement,
ont reduit ses chances de rentrer en finale, le seuil des qualification
etant fixe a 56m.

Une preparation a Marseille du 6 au 16 juillet couronnee de succès

Du 6 au 16 juillet, les 6 membres de la selection ont pose leurs
bagages a Marseille pour se preparer au mieux physiquement et
mentalement au Championnat d’Europe d’athletisme a Rieti, en Italie.

Grâce a un partenariat entre la Federation Francaise d’Athletisme
(FFA), Federation Armenienne d’Athletisme (FAA), la Ligue de Provence
et Courir Pour La Memoire (CPLM) avec le soutien du Conseil General
des Bouches du Rhône, ces jeunes champions ont eu les meilleures
conditions pour peaufiner leur preparation.

PNG – 1.1 Mo mardi 23 juillet 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

UNE PLAINTE POUR AGRESSION DEPOSEE CONTRE L’EX-MAIRE DE GUMRI

SOCIETE

Vartan Ghukasian, l’ancien maire controverse de Gyumri, risque des
poursuites penales, après la plainte deposee lundi a la police locale
par un homme qu’il aurait agresse.

La plainte decoule d’un incident survenu lors du procès d’un autre
resident de cette ville accuse d’avoir tue le fiance de la fille
aînee de Ghoukasian.

Un meurtre qui a eu lieu en avril de l’annee dernière. Karen Yesayan,
un resident de 27 ans des Etats-Unis avait ete trouve assassine dans sa
voiture le jour de la ceremonie de son mariage avec Manya Ghoukasian
(la fille du maire). Un autre jeune homme, Harutyun Sargsian, avait
ete arrete a la faveur de l’enquete criminelle qui avait suivi. Il
nie toute implication dans le crime dont la police l’accuse et dont
le mobile serait la jalousie.

Selon les proches de Sargsian, l’ex-maire et les hommes qui
l’accompagnaient ont agresse le 16 juillet au tribunal de Gumri Samvel
Sarkisssian, le père de l’accuse, officier de police a la retraite,
qui a dû etre hospitalise.

Un porte-parole de la police a indique au service armenien de RFE /
RL (Azatutyun.am) que Sarkissian a officiellement signale l’incident
a la police armenienne. Le fonctionnaire a declare que Sarkissian
avait certifie dans sa plainte avoir ete battu par un des hommes
de Ghoukasian. La police va enqueter sur ces allegations avant de
decider d’ouvrir une information judiciaire, a ajoute le porte-parole.

Ghoukasian a jusqu’ici refuse de commenter les allegations rapportees
par les medias.

Ghoukasian ainsi que ses proches ont des antecedents de comportement
violent qui ont entache son règne de près de 13 ans a Gyumri. Le
flamboyant ex-maire a ete brièvement detenu en avril suite a une
fusillade mortelle causee par un de ses neveux, selon la police.

mardi 23 juillet 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

THE ART OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Maria Titizian

BY MARIA TITIZIAN

You probably won’t come across many people smiling randomly in
Yerevan. It is not the default facial expression in the country. To
some it may even be a symptom of or a predisposition to pathological
behavior. Others simply may not have much to smile about.

In 1862, neurologist Guillaume Duchenne identified the facial muscles
that are utilized during spontaneous smiling or what is known as a
genuine smile. When someone dons a fake smile or when people are
simply smiling out of politeness, only the corners of their lips
shift upward. The genuine smile, which involves not only the mouth but
the crinkling of the eyes known as crow’s feet and a downturn of the
outer points of the eyes thereby, has been coined the Duchenne smile.

This piece of relatively useless information has some relevance
when it comes to Armenia-Diaspora relations, perceptions and
misunderstandings. I hear many complaints about Armenia from Diaspora
Armenians, some border on the absurd like the lack of toilets in
remote touristic destinations, as if this is a top priority for those
of us living here (yes, I know it’s good for tourism but we do have
some other pressing issues to tackle first), to the lack of smiles on
people’s faces. I doubt that there are any proven scientific grounds,
but it is a generally known fact that people living in post-Soviet
countries don’t smile much. During communist rule smiling was
considered suspicious and a person smiling for no apparent reason
was probably a fool.

In North America the smile culture is ubiquitous. You can’t escape it.

Walk into any store or establishment and you will be greeted with
a smile and a cheerful salutation. A few months ago, I was back in
Canada visiting my family and everywhere I went I was greeted with
jovial salespeople or waiters. My first reaction was, “Geez, why is
she smiling so much?” or “Why is he so happy?” I then realized how
much the non-smile culture had begun to influence my temperament
and disposition.

That a simple thing such as a smile or lack thereof could warrant
such distress is only one aspect of this larger cultural divide or
disconnect between Armenia and the Diaspora.

While walking on a crowded sidewalk in Yerevan you may inadvertently
bump into a passerby. If you turn back and say “Sorry” or “Excuse me”
they might look at you funny. If they bump into you accidentally,
they might look at you, they might not, but they will keep on walking
without saying anything. Never mind a lack of an apology, often
times walking is like a game of chicken or brinkmanship…a stranger
will come barreling down the sidewalk right at you and won’t budge
an inch to get out of your way but if you stand your ground, at the
very last millisecond he or she will move just enough to graze only
a shoulder or an elbow. It’s kind of like driving in the region. And
for additional information for the unsuspecting tourist, when someone
walks into an elevator, they most probably will not say “Hello!” or
“Good morning” either. If you do, they will look at you funny.

Customer service is erratic at best throughout the city. Most
establishments these days have pretty decent service but you’ll
still come across the occasional cantankerous waiter who takes your
order while looking off into the distance, a blank look on his face,
ostensibly wondering how the hell he ended up having to “serve” other
people. While the private sector is catching up with the world in
terms of customer service, most civil servants in state institutions,
offices and agencies are notoriously rude and impatient and it feels
like they complicate simple processes just to make you slightly crazy,
as if you weren’t that way to begin with.

This behavior is the norm in Armenia, yet again a remnant of Soviet
influence when everyone subconsciously made sure not to stand out,
to fit in, to stay within the confines of socially accepted norms of
conduct for survival.

While non-verbal communication may not be refined in our country,
we need to understand that they stem from historical experiences and
cultural conditioning. While some local Armenians may not smile or
say excuse me or can be less than polite, those visiting our country
can sometimes be shrill and obnoxious, entitled and impatient with
the slower pace of how things get done and almost always voice
their opinions, rather loudly. Instead of pointing fingers amidst
the misunderstanding, maybe we all need to take a step back and
re-evaluate our first impressions.

More than anything, cultural differences underscore our problems with
one another. And while there is some limited evidence to suggest that
smiling, genuinely or otherwise, can impact your mood positively, the
imperative to smile in North America is not de rigueur in Armenia. A
friend, when asked why she didn’t smile at a particular person said,
“Did she say something funny that I should have smiled?”

Next time you’re in Armenia and come across a non-smiling waiter,
remember that he or she may have a degree in physics or history
or be a gifted musician and is feeling shafted by the system here,
as most people are. Additionally, waiters, drivers, almost anyone in
the service sector is looked down upon by society here so the person
serving you has been hit twice, first because they have been forced to
take a job they feel is beneath them (and probably pays a lousy wage)
and secondly because of negative societal perceptions about them.

Life is not easy anywhere anymore, even more so in our homeland. If
our compatriots in the Diaspora, who often lead relatively privileged
lives, were to take a moment to reflect on what has come to pass
over the last quarter of a century to our people here, maybe they
would understand the reasons for the lack of smiles and cheerfulness:
the 1988 earthquake that decimated entire cities and villages, killing
25,000 people and wiping out the industrial complex of the country, the
Karabakh movement, war, the collapse of the Soviet Union, independence,
energy crises, blockades by two of our four neighbors, the cold and
dark years, the complete collapse of public services and utilities,
political, economic and social instability and uncertainty, injustice,
corruption, impunity…Everything needs to be put into perspective,
we’re all struggling, we’re all trying to raise our families and live
a dignified life and if we don’t always smile, don’t hold it against
us, be a little patient, we’re getting there slowly but surely.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 21 2013

Clashes between Syrian groups spread as southern Turkey on tenterhooks

21 July 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH REUTERS, Ä°STANBUL

Clashes between an al-Qaeda affiliate and the Democratic Union Party
(PYD) — a Syrian offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) — have spread to Tel Abyad, a Syrian town very close to
Turkey’s Akçakale district in Å?anlıurfa province, a development coming
on the heels of clashes in another Turkish border town that killed
one.

Tel Abyad lies in the opposition-held Raqqa province. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said clashes began after the PYD in the
area discovered fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front
trying to rig one of their bases with explosives.

According to some reports, the PYD retaliated by kidnapping several
fighters, including the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham
(ISIS), one of the most powerful al-Qaeda-affiliated forces fighting
in Syria. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP the leader’s
nom-de-guerre is Abu Musab, though it was unclear whether he is Syrian
or foreign.

After fighting rekindled on Saturday in Tel Abyad, which had been
rather free of clashes for nine months, 15 Syrians injured during the
clashes between the PYD and the al-Nusra Front were brought to the
Turkish border town of Akçakale for treatment. The injured Syrians are
being treated in Akçakale State Hospital, while those with severe
injuries have been sent to well-equipped hospitals in nearby cities.

The PYD’s capture of Tal Abyad came days after the militant group
seized control of Ras al-Ain, a Syrian town near Turkey’s Ceylanpınar
district in Å?anlıurfa province, and replaced the flag of opposition
Free Syrian Army (FSA) with their own. The Syrian Kurdish militants
won Ras al-Ain after days of clashes with fighters affiliated with the
al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front. Just days before taking the town, the
PYD declared it would establish autonomy in northern Syrian on July
19.

Activists said that the al-Nusra Front, which the PYD forced out of
Ras al-Ain two days ago, counterattacked on Saturday in a bid to
regain the key border town. It was reported that the al-Qaeda
affiliated group put 3,000 fighters into massive attacks on PYD forces
in Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad. Residents of the two Turkish towns across
the border reported hearing fire from mortars and heavy weapons.

Some reports said the al-Nusra Front joined forces with ISIS as well
as the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Tawhid al-Asima brigades — groups
fighting against the Bashar al-Assad regime — to take the northern
line back from PYD forces. The al-Nusra Front reportedly retook four
northern villages that were under the PYD control after the intense
fighting on Saturday.

Syria’s ethnic Kurdish minority has been alternately battling both
Assad’s troops and the opposition. Kurds claim to back the uprising,
but opposition groups accuse them of making deals with the regime to
ensure their security and autonomy during the conflict.

The PYD’s capture of Ras al-Ain has fueled Ankara’s fears that the
emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria could embolden
homegrown PKK terrorists fighting for autonomy in Turkey.

Recent bold moves along the Turkish border are also stoking security
concerns in southern Turkish cities. On Saturday night, two
anti-aircraft shells hit two separate garden walls in Ceylanpınar,
putting town residents on red alert. No injuries were reported.
Officials have asked Ceylanpınar residents to stay in their homes and
not go outside unless necessary.

On Friday, Turkish warplanes took off from Diyarbakır and flew low
over areas of the Turkish-Syrian border where clashes continue to
inspect the area; authorities say they didn’t violate Syrian airspace.
The military has said it strengthened security in the area with
armored vehicles.

Last Tuesday, stray bullets from Syria struck a police headquarters
and several homes in Ceylanpınar, several hundred meters from the
Syrian border.

Also Tuesday in Ceylanpınar, one Turkish citizen was killed and
another severely injured when they were hit by stray bullets from
Syria. The incidents were the most serious spillover of violence into
Turkey in weeks and highlight the growing concern that Syria’s civil
war is dragging in neighboring states.

One of the victims, 17-year-old Turkish man Mahsun ErtuÄ?rul, died last
Wednesday after a stray bullet from Ras al-Ain hit him in the chest,
while another teenager, Ahmet Gündüz, was severely injured after being
hit by another stray bullet from the war-torn country. Gündüz was
taken to a hospital in Ankara for treatment.

The Turkish army returned fire into Syrian territory after ErtuÄ?rul
was killed and more bullets were fired into Turkey throughout
Wednesday.

The army, in a statement, confirmed that Ras al-Ain had fallen under
the control of the PYD and that units in Cenkeser Border Post returned
fire in accordance with Turkey’s rules of engagement. It also said
four bullets hit houses in Ceylanpınar during overnight clashes on
Wednesday and that at least 10 bullets had hit the Ceylanpınar Police
Department building.

Addressing the spillover effects of the Syrian crisis, Foreign
Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu said Turkey would maintain its firm stance
against any kind of terrorist dominance near its borders and called on
the United Nations Security Council to act.

“This paints a striking picture of how much the crisis in Syria can
affect us and our citizens. Once again, we call upon the international
community to act. ¦ If the UN Security Council is to do the job it is
required to do, then the moment is now,” DavutoÄ?lu stated.

Ex-mufti of Syria’s Hasaka region says PYD armed by Assad

Ä°brahim Nakshbendi, former mufti of the Syrian province of Hasaka on
the Turkish-Syrian border, said on Sunday that PKK-affiliated PYD
forces had been armed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a bid to
hurt Turkey.

During the first months of the uprising, the Syrian mufti escaped his
country and took refuge in Turkey. Assad had ordered Nakshbendi’s
execution after the mufti advised the embattled president to apologize
to his people for his brutal crackdown and call elections. Speaking to
Today’s Zaman, Nakshbendi said the Kurdish militant group targets
religious Kurds and Arabs and that the Assad regime is arming the
group to `cause trouble’ for Turkey.

The mufti added that the PYD forces, like Assad’s troops, attack
religious Kurds, and claimed the Kurdish group refrains from attacking
Armenian and Jewish people in the province. `The PYD does not have
extensive support from the people in the northern region. But they
receive a great deal of ammunition from the regime,’ he said.

Kashmir Times, India
July 21 2013

Camera Women Tell Stories In A Snap

By Surekha Kadapa-Bose

“The camera gives me power and I become brave,” says Anahit
Hayrapetyan, 32, a photojournalist based in Yerevan, the historical
capital city of Armenia, a former Soviet bloc country. Adds the
talented lens-woman, “It’s not easy for me to go out with a camera in
my hands, but once I am out there, everything changes. My camera is my
motivation, my interest, my soul, my tears… [It’s my] life.”

Photographing the life and times of girls and women in her country has
been like a mission for Anahit ever since she started taking pictures
in 2005. Although she admits she has an emotional connect with every
story she has clicked, one of her most moving works yet has been the
‘Princess to Slave’ project that depicts the various forms of violence
Armenian women face – be it physical, sexual, psychological or gender
discrimination.

Like Anahit, Russia-born Irina Popova, 27, also trains her lens on the
everyday woman. From photographing an unusual family living on the
streets of St Petersburg to covering a war zone, she has done varied
work.

Anahit and Irina are part of an increasing tribe of women
photojournalists from around the world, who are using their evocative
photography to showcase the diverse challenges “womankind” faces. They
may be living in Tver (Russia), Paris (France) or Yerevan (Armenia),
but they willingly travel to far-flung regions like Abkhazia, Cuba,
Morocco or India to ‘shoot’ women and present their hitherto
unexpressed fears, apprehensions and problems.

Violence against women is a subject dear to Anahit’s heart. As part of
The Other Side Of Europe project, which has roped in various
well-known photographers from Eastern Europe to present an “inside
view” of the region, she writes, “I believe that problems can be
solved only if we speak out; otherwise they will stay hidden in our
society, and the society will stay sick. …hiding violence can bring
death…Women must know their rights and bring these problems out into
the open.”

Anahit recalls an incident involving the death of a young woman. “It
was the funeral of a young, pregnant and beautiful woman. She was in
white… her family wasn’t rich. While her family insisted that she
was killed, the husband’s family maintained that she had committed
suicide. At that time my son had just been born. I had to go to their
house then return to feed my son and then go back there again.
Emotionally, it was one of the most difficult days of my life,”
reveals this mother of two, who incidentally, has worked with National
Geographic Traveler Armenia, Institute for War & Peace Reporting and
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, among others.

It’s the unusual subjects that attract the artist in Irina, who has
many accolades to her name, including the title of the Best
Photographer of Russia, which she won in The Best Photo Story
category. The works she has produced over the last few years clearly
demonstrate her interests – she has photographed Cuban women, captured
Georgia during war, and even told the story of two-year-old Anfisa and
her parents, who are punks and heavy drug abusers. The last feature
created quite a sensation in the Western media.

Says she, “I love to interact with people who are not part of ‘real’
life. I too had no ‘real life’ and that’s why I took up photography. I
[love to] travel for my stories and pick out my destinations
[depending on what interests me].”

One such ‘destination’ Irina chose was strife-torn Georgia, located in
Eastern Europe. Over the last couple of decades, relations between
Russia and Georgia have been quite tense, especially because of
Moscow’s support for separatist sentiments in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. Irina has been a witness to the violence that had unfolded in
Abkhazia some years ago. She recalls, “I reached there a month before
the war. When I saw a Russian military camp in the actual conflict
zone I started to shoot immediately. There were about a hundred tanks
crossing over from the Russian side.”

On that occasion Irina was arrested and questioned for an entire day.
The authorities deleted all her pictures, even the ones that were not
related to the war zone. While she was shaken up by the incident – “as
a photographer if you witness something unwanted then you’re in real
danger” – she does not regret her decision to go there.

While Anahit and Irina tell stories of social impact, war, drugs,
subcultures and faith, Italian Guia Besana, 41, who is based in Paris,
is equally at ease with shooting a corporate project for a leading
international chain of coffee shops or portraying the lonely lives of
AIDS victims in Swaziland. A Marie Claire Photography Award (2012)
finalist, whose works have been recognised on various photography
platforms, Guia says, “All my projects have touched me. ‘Traces’,
which was about AIDS victims left a very deep impression on me as did
the project ‘She’, a poignant story that expressed the conflict of
Laura, the first man in Italy who underwent a sex-change surgery.”

On her website, Guia describes how she is “very drawn to my subjects
that have conflict and contradictions”. She describes her meeting with
Laura: ‘I listened to her story trying to fix gestures that could well
represent her strong personality. I discovered an elegant woman, an
excellent cook, a wise and creative friend…. My desire was to bring
alive this project through images representing my personal vision of
her, her disguises, of fiction and non fiction, showing a fragment of
her soul.’

Of course, it isn’t easy doing the kind of work these women do. As is
evident from Irina’s experience, many a time they not only face the
wrath of the State but also public ire. Irina puts it this way,
“Everyone asks what a photographer does when s/he sees a situation
that needs intervening. That’s a heavy moral dilemma. But there are
also times when a photographer becomes the victim. I feel
photographers in general face a lot of aggression.”

Anahit, whose brilliant pictures have fetched her numerous awards
including the “People and Faces” Karl Bulla International Photo
contest’s first prize in the “Family portrait” category, the special
prize by the governor of Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2012, and the
President’s Prize in Armenia, adds, “Very often I do face problems
from the police and even ordinary people but I try not to notice them.
The main idea is to just go out and start taking pictures.”

What about the time they invest in striking a relationship with their
subjects? Do they go back once they have moved on to something new?
All of them unanimously declare that they make it a point to stay in
touch. Anahit still tracks the lives of the refugees she met in a
building as part of her maiden project. She says, “The kids from that
building are now living in apartments. They have all grown up. One of
them is a boxing champion in Armenia now. Soon, I plan to shoot a
small story about him [and his journey of becoming] a boxer.”

The protagonists of her ‘Cuban Women’ project are still in touch with
Irina and have even sought her help in finding eligible Western men!
“Occasionally, I show these photos to my audience, telling them the
stories of these girls and asking if anyone would be interested in
marrying one of them. Usually, people simply laugh,” reveals Irina.

Women photographers are indeed a unique species – they take risks,
they make lasting relationships with their subjects, they strive to
capture unseen realities. And they do all this in the hope of making
the world a better, fairer place.