Author: Badalian Vardan

AZERBAIJAN CHANGES MIND, INVITES CABALLE TO BAKU

17:30 12.06.2013

Azerbaijan, Montserrat Caballe, Nagorno-Karabakh

The Foreign Ministry of Spain replied to the note submitted by
Azerbaijan in connection with the visit of opera singer Montserrat
Caballe to Nagorno Karabakh, Trend agency reports.

“The response of the Foreign Ministry of Spain received by the
Azerbaijani Embassy in Madrid on Tuesday says that such visits paid
on a private initiative do not change the official position of Spain
on this issue,” the Embassy told Trend.

The letter notes that Spain supports the efforts of the international
community for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

On June 5, Azerbaijan sent Spain a note of protest in connection
with the trip of the Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe to
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Spain Altay Afandiyev also requested a
meeting with Montserrat Caballe in order to deliver her a letter of
the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan Abulfaz Garayev.

The letter states that such visits could harm bilateral relations. The
Minister of Culture invites Caballe to visit Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani ambassador also delivered a letter of the Minister of
Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev to his Spanish counterpart,
which also expressed dissatisfaction with the singer’s trip to
Nagorno-Karabakh.

ZHOGHOVURD : ARMENIA’S 76 MPS ARE “PUNISHED”

June 11, 2013

YEREVAN. – The leadership of the Armenian National Assembly (NA)
started to impose sanctions upon the MPs, Zhoghovurd writes.

“Seventy-six MPs did not receive their full salary for unjustified
absences from the parliament’s plenary sessions, [NA] standing
committees’ sessions, and parliamentary hearings in March and April
of this year.

The NA Public and Media Relations Department informed Zhoghovurd that
the salary which was not paid to these 76 MPs totaled 2,466,300 drams
[approx. $5,920],” Zhoghovurd writes.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

“THE EYEWITNESS”: 98-YEAR OLD NVARD SUJYAN TELLS ABOUT HOSPITALITY AND “STINGINESS” ATTRIBUTED TO VAN PEOPLE

11:15, 11 June, 2013

The Armenian Genocide initiated in the Ottoman Empire during the
World War I in the beginning of the previous century is one of the
biggest crimes against humanity. Advancing the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide the new project introduced by “Armenpress” news
agency is dedicated to the story of the eyewitnesses and survivors
of the calamity to prove the world one more time that our demand for
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is fair and justified. This
time the project is dedicated to the story of 98-year old Nvard Sujyan.

YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. Stories about “stinginess” attributed
to the people from Van are very popular among us even in the form
of humor, notwithstanding after listening to the story of 98-year
old Nvard Sujyan one will not consider their modest lifestyle and
traditions as stinginess. Nvard Sujyan was but two years old, when
her family left Van and migrated to Yerevan, but it has never become
an obstacle for Nvard to consider herself a truedescendant of Van.

Among other things Nvard Sujyan underscored: “I was a little child,
when our family – my father Mkrtich and mother Vardanush left Van.”

Her family was among those lucky exceptions, which did not record
any casualty during the 1915 struggle of the Van people against the
Turkish conquerors.

Nvard Sujyan’s daughter-in-law – Donara, stated: “One of Turkish
acquaintances of Nvrad’s father – Mkrtich, told them about the start of
the massacres and they took whatever they had and migrated.” After, the
family settled in Yerevan’s Abovyan Street, where Nvard lives till now.

Also Nvard Sujyan emphasized that actually people of Van are very
hospitable and care about their future. In addition she highlighted
that the stereotype introducing them as stingy people does not
correspond the reality at all.

Today Nvard Sujyan has two grandsons, four great grandsons, and soon
her first great-great grandson will be born.

Nvard has always cherished a hope to see her birthplace again, but
that desire has remained unrealized.

(THE FULL VERSION OF THE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Article by Tatevik Grigoryan Photos by Samvel Berkibekyan

MONTSERRAT CABALLE VISITS THE MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

Montserrat Caballе, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

World-renowned soprano Montserrat Caballе visited the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin, accompanied by Armenian Minister of Culture
Hasmik Poghosyan.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, welcomed Montserrat Caballе’s visit to the religious
center of all Armenians.

Speaking about her impressions from Armenia, Caballe said her visit
was a pilgrimage and described Armenia as “the open heart of Christian
belief.”

During the meeting reference was made to the history of the Armenian
Church, the role of the church in the life of the Armenian people,
the Armenian religious music, the importance of Christian values.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of reinforcement and
development of centuries-old relations between Armenian and Spanish
peoples.

At the end of the meeting the Catholicos gave his blessing and extended
his best wishes to the world-famous singer.

SONDAGE : 58% DES ARMENIENS DISENT QU’ILS VONT QUITTER L’ARMENIE EN CAS DE HAUSSE DU PRIX DU GAZ

Un sondage d’opinion publique mene par Tert.am sur la hausse des tarifs
du gaz a revele que la majorite des sondes sont plus enclins a quitter
le pays plutôt que de lutter contre la hausse de facon alternative.

200 des 315 des sondes (58%) ont repondu ” Je vais quitter l’Armenie
“. Cinquante-six personnes (16,4%) ont dit qu’ils vont utiliser moins
de gaz, 41 personnes (12%) ont dit qu’ils vont utiliser des ressources
alternatives et 45 personnes (13,2%) ont dit qu’ils vont descendre
dans les rues pour protester.

Le sondage a ete realise du 18 au 25 mai

mardi 11 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

AZERBAIJANIS LIVING IN UKRAINE SEND MESSAGE OF PROTEST TO CHAIRMAN OF VERKHOVNA RADA AND PRESIDENT

MilAz.info, Azerbaijan
June 10 2013

Azerbaijanis protested against the draft resolution on recognition
of so-called “Armenian genocide”

The Azerbaijanis living in Ukraine gathered outside the Verkhovna Rada
and sent a message of protest to chairman of the parliament against
the draft resolution on the recognition of the so-called “Armenian
genocide”. Chairman of the Congress of Ukrainian Azerbaijanis Rovshan
Tagiyev told APA that a statement of protest had been handed to the
parliament. The statement undersigned by the Congress of Ukrainian
Azerbaijanis, Ukrainian Azerbaijanis Youth Union and Azerbaijan Council
of Elders has been sent to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The message says that the registration of the draft resolution on the
so-called “Armenian genocide” by the Verkhovna Rada caused serious
concern of Turkish-speaking people, including Azerbaijanis in Ukraine:
“As we know, every year, Armenian organizations mark 1915 events as
“Armenian genocide” all over the world. The historians have held
discussions in this regard, but Armenians” claims have not been
proved.”

According to the message, Ukraine is a multinational state, more
than 130 ethnic groups live here and the discussion of such draft
resolutions requires an accurate approach.

“Otherwise, the adoption of this draft resolution will lead to
the conflict among nations in Ukraine, this is inadmissible for
coexistence. The adoption of the draft resolution by the parliament
will undermine the relations of the Turkic-speaking nations, including
Azerbaijan and Turkey with Ukraine. The draft resolution will pose
a serious threat to the peace and security in Ukraine.”

The message asks and demands the Verkhovna Rada and Ukraine”s President
to prevent the discussion of the draft resolution.

Armenian members of the Verkhovna Rada Arsen Avakov (Batkivshina Party
in opposition) and Vilen Shatvoryan (the ruling Party of Regions)
have developed a draft resolution on “The recognition of Armenian
genocide” and had it registered at the secretariat of the parliament.

INTERPRETATIONS OF GEZI PARK FROM THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND RUSSIA

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 9 2013

ZAUR SHIRIYEV
[email protected]

The demonstrations that have gripped Turkey over the past week have
been widely covered in the international media, and among Turkey’s
immediate neighbors, the meaning and cause of these uprisings has
been intensely debated.

Due the failure of the Turkish mainstream media to cover the events
around Gezi Park, social media along with the international media
were the main sources of information. This gap in coverage has in
some respects given rise to misunderstandings of the core elements of
what has happened and is happening in Turkey; it remains challenging
to get a handle on the true ramifications of these events.

Looking to Turkey’s post-Soviet neighborhood, there are a few general
trends in the media coverage of the protests:

The protests have been widely covered by Azerbaijan’s Internet media;
while television news was sparse during the first days of the clashes,
social media sites were very active. Indeed, on May 31 a small group
of people gathered in central Baku to demonstrate their solidarity
with the Taksim Square protestors. Among those active on social
media sites, there are significant ideological divisions between
pro-government and opposition youth in their understandings of the
protests. Across these divisions, there are roughly speaking three
prevalent viewpoints. The first group sees the events in Turkey as a
positive step towards public democratization, and their concerns are
about how the Turkish government will react. The second, smaller group
is comparing current events with those of the 1960s when protests led
to the collapse of the Adnan Menderes government through a military
coup. This group believes that at least some of the current protesters
seek to bring down the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

The third group, more knowledgeable about Turkish politics, is focusing
on the political and economic consequences for Azerbaijan.

Interestingly, government officials have remained silent, aside
from a public note issued by Azerbaijan’s embassy in Turkey,
warning Azerbaijanis studying in Turkey not to participate in the
demonstrations.

In Armenia, the mainstream online media has covered the protests.

Armenian analysts, however, interpret the events as a clash between
“Islamists and seculars.” As in Baku, there are concerns about the
wider political ramifications. The AKP government has won favor
among Armenians because it was under the AKP government that the
Armenian issue stopped being a taboo subject. The other interesting
strand of Armenian media’s debate is the attempt to draw a comparison
with Azerbaijan. Misinterpreting the Gezi Park protests as a wholly
anti-government move, they have wondered whether this discontent
might spread to Baku. But in Armenia, the main topic for debate is
the gas crisis with Russia, and Turkish protests are really only a
tool in that particular “information war.”

By comparison, Georgia has shown relatively little interest in the
protests, probably because Georgians are preoccupied with domestic
politics on the eve of presidential elections.

In Russia, however, the protests have sparked much debate in the
mainstream media. The general observation is the Turkish protests
are the antithesis of the Arab Spring, where despite the triumph of
democracy in sweeping away the corrupt and authoritarian, ultimately
Islamist parties arrived to fill the power vacuum. Putin has stated
that the “Arab Spring” and Taksim Square protests are quite different
things. Later on, the president’s press secretary said that the
situation — as an exclusively internal affair of the Republic of
Turkey — does not require any negotiations [with Russia] and cannot
ask [for them]. Despite references by some Western media outlets to the
“Turkish Spring” being echoed in the Russian media, Russian political
experts have a totally different perspective.

The interesting and notable thing is that in the Russian media, there
are discussions about the relative importance of economic development
and democratic development. In Turkey, government officials continue
to push the line that Turkey’s economic development is a source of
envy for those who don’t like to see Turkey’s development. It should
also be noted that the environmental and urban planning origins of the
Gezi Park protests in Turkey can be compared to the street protesters
that took place in Moscow in the summer of 2010, when the government
decided to build a highway through Khimki Forest. These initially
environmental protests later became much bigger anti-government
protests. In Russian media, commentators have suggested that although
the respective democratic credentials of Turkey and Russia are not
really comparable, what both countries do share is a leadership that
has been in charge for more than a decade; in both Moscow and Ankara,
the leaders claim credit for providing stability for their people
(compared with the political and economic chaos that reigned during
the 1990s). Furthermore, the opposition in both countries is weak,
and both executives have very few advisers who can tell them “no.”

Returning to my original premise that the silence of the Turkish
mainstream media has given rise to misunderstandings concerning
the protests, these various regional perspectives demonstrate the
competing interpretations of the protests’ meaning across Turkey’s
post-Soviet neighborhood. If Turkey wants the world to see it as the
regional, democratic power it can be, it must remember that neighboring
countries closely monitor the language and rhetoric of government
officials towards their population. Calling the demonstrators “spies
for international powers,” for instance, is not the kind of strategy
a country like Turkey should be using. Turkey is an important role
model for the countries in its near neighborhood, and all eyes are
on the government’s reaction to the current events.

ALEXANDER BYCHKOV CONSIDERS ARMENIAN ATTEMPT OF DEVELOPING NUCLEAR ENERGY MODEL

19:49, 10 June, 2013

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS: Deputy foreign affairs minister
of Armenia Ashot Hovakimyan on June 10 hosted Deputy Director of
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and head of department of
Nuclear Energy Alexpander Bychkov.

Armenpress was informed from Armenian Foreign affairs ministry that the
sides mentioned with satisfaction that relations between Armenia and
IAEA are of high level and have direction of deepening and expansion.

Alexander Bychkov mentioned that he had effective meetings with
his Armenian colleagues. He stressed the importance of the fact that
Armenia was able to develop its own nuclear energy and Armenian attempt
is model for those countries which also want to develop this sphere.

Deputy minister Hovakimyan mentioned that Armenia stresses the
importance of further deepening of the relations with IAEA in sense of
peaceful development of nuclear energy, nuclear security, technical
cooperation and etc. He also thanked for technical support given
to Armenia from International Atomic Energy Agency and continuous
trainings for Armenian specialists.

EXPERTS SPEAK OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROSPECTS IN ARMENIA

16:47 ~U 10.06.13

The annual wind energy output may reach 10,000 MW in Armenia, according
to the Clean Energy NGO.

Haik Khachatryan, Vice-Chairman of the Clean Energy NGO, told
journalists on Monday told journalists on Monday that the mentioned
figure is almost ten times as high as the energy output of the Mestamor
nuclear-power plant (NPP).

“We can have this figure provided we can make use of all the winds.

Wind power stations have to be constructed high, which is a rather
difficult task,” he said.

Haik Shekoyan, an expert in renewable energy, said that a modern wind
power station costs $1.4m.

“But equipment similar to that operating in Europe can be brought to
Armenia, which will prove to be cheaper several times,” he said.

Both the experts said that solar energy has the best prospects
in Armenia.

“The expected gas price rise must be a signal for us to search means
of saving. Many families install solar collectors on the roofs of
their private houses, and a number of companies are producing such
collectors in Armenia,” he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

AKCAM: THE ‘FOREIGN CONNECTION’ IS ME
By Taner Akcam

June 10, 2013

Commenting on the Gezi Park events, Prime Minister Erdogan said,
“There are internal and external connections. Our intelligence work is
ongoing.” Confession time: The foreign connection is me. Anyone who’s
got doubts, take a look at my entry and exit dates: I entered Turkey
on May 28 and it all started. I was in Taksim Square every day. I was
involved in all sorts of necessary planning to ensure that the events
escalated (unfortunately, I’m not at a liberty to disclose exactly
what). When it started to become clear what the whole operation was
about, I returned with the satisfaction of having performed my duties
well. Since the operation had achieved its purpose, there’s no harm
in my revealing the truth here. Our intelligence officers will have
no difficulty finding my internal and external connections but there’s
no point in wearing them out more than it is necessary, right?

‘Surp Hagop Armenian Cemetery (1551-1939). You took our cemetery, you
cannot take our park’ As you can guess, the ones who sent me simply
couldn’t tolerate the fact that Turkey had become so powerful in such
a short time. In fact, these events were planned way in advance. During
the past few years, Turkey made some really bold, unexpected moves; it
strengthened its economy and by breaking the military’s guardianship
over politics, it proved that it isn’t some banana republic, gaining
a respected place among the nations of the world. For those outside
forces that sent me, Turkey’s increasing power undermined their own
influence in the region. Their purpose was to show Turkey–which had
embarked on a path to quickly becoming a great power in the region
and had gained so much respect in the world–a lesson. It was simply
unacceptable that Turks could operate in Syria freely, go about
changing regional dynamics without asking for anyone’s permission,
and then rock the boat in the region by coming to an agreement with
the Kurds.

Certainly they could have used other incidents as an excuse to teach
Turkey a lesson. Uludere, Reyhanli, the liquor sale prohibitions,
or the new Bosphorus bridge that’s to be named after Yavuz Sultan
Selim…They could have used any one of these. But then Turkey
would never have been able to get past the existing, deeply-rooted
polarization. If they had used any one of these incidents the
protesters would only be from a certain segment of society and those
segments would be accused of being manipulated by outside sources. For
example, if the liquor prohibition had been used, they would have
claimed that Ergenekon sympathizers were behind the activists, and the
plan would not have worked. For that reason, Taksim and Gezi Park were
chosen. As a result, the PKK and MHP followers, secularists, Alewites,
devout religious people, Ergenekon sympathizers, and liberals all came
together. This served to belie the credibility of the argument that
the actions were being stoked from outside. You know, it’s one thing
to claim that a single group is being manipulated by outside forces,
but making that claim for all groups? Now that would be a hard sell.

Even if the movement starts to lose steam, those who have sent me have
achieved their goal. They’ve already scored a huge success. Besides,
if the government doesn’t get the message, the events will continue.

The Turkish economy will be badly hit, tourism will suffer. As a
result, it’s going to become impossible for Turkey to act independently
of the wishes of these powers, challenging them in the region and
in the world. Like I said, no matter how you look at it, this is a
perfectly planned action….

Now I’m guessing that everyone reading these lines is asking this
question. So, why would I accept a job like this? Why take part in a
plan that aims at weaking Turkey and undermining its influence? The
answer to the question is directly related to the subject I study.

Because of past experiences, I hold a personal grudge against the
Turkish government. I knew that the best way to exact revenge would
be to get involved with the whole “genocide lie”; so I picked that
subject. Besides, by bringing up the genocide issue for years, I’ve
endeavored to weaken this state.

Unfortunately all the things that I’ve been saying and writing weren’t
very effective. For that reason, I determined that the chance to
take part in this action was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. After
all, Gezi Park used to be an Armenian cemetery. The cemetery grounds
actually covered what is now Harbiye[1] and the Divan Hotel too. If
the action is successful not only will I gradually, without scaring
anyone, be able to put the genocide on the agenda, but I’ll be able
to tell everyone that these lands belonged to the Armenians and that
they need to return and claim them. As a matter of fact, a memorial
has already been planted in the park declaring that it used to be an
Armenian cemetery. One of the streets in the park has been named after
Hrant Dink. As a result I’ve managed to carry out my own plans. For
this reason, I accepted the job with pleasure.

Will there be anyone who believes the scenario I’ve presented above? I
know you’re going to say that if the government wants it, many people
will believe in it. There are plenty of people who are convinced that
countless events in Turkey’s past occurred as a result of conspiracies
planned by those who are against our country and our nation. I don’t
know to what extent the AKP and Tayyip Erdogan will take advantage of
this deeply-rooted mentality, but what I do know is that believing in
this sort of rubbish leads to the bankruptcy of democratic culture. I
still harbor hope that Gezi Park will cause these nutty, nonsensical
conspiracy theories to be thrown into the trash bin, particularly after
an open debate about the true history of Gezi Park. Yes, how can we
memorialize the Armenian presence on these lands that used to hold
an Armenian cemetery? What is it going to be like for a Turkey that
is born anew from its ashes to re-create and remember its own history?

The Turkish version of this article appeared on T24 on June 6, 2013.

The Armenian Weekly thanks Fatima Sakarya for the English translation.