Author: Badalian Vardan

HATE SPEECH, HATE CRIMES?

by Today’s Zaman

What is happening in Samatya? Can it be a coincidence that on four
occasions in the past few weeks, elderly women living on their own —
all of them of Armenian descent — were targeted in brutal attacks?

The latest assault took place on Tuesday, when 83-year-old Sultan
Aykar was severely beaten by a masked assailant. Her cries alerted the
neighbors and the perpetrator fled. She is now in hospital and risks
losing an eye. Another victim, aged 87, lost sight in one eye after
being battered in early December, while 84 year-old Maritsa Kucuk died
on Dec. 28 after being repeatedly stabbed. A fourth elderly woman
narrowly escaped being kidnapped in early January.

These attacks do not bear the hallmark of burglaries gone awry. Home
thefts are not uncommon in Ä°stanbul, as in all big cities, but Sultan
Aykar’s attacker — said to be around 35, dressed entirely in black
and wearing a ski mask — did not even pick up her handbag.

This spate of attacks has inevitably rekindled concerns among
non-Muslims in Turkey and raised suspicion that they are part of an
organized drive against Armenians. Civil society organizations are
following these incidents closely and demanding answers and improved
security measures in areas like Samatya where many of Turkey’s
remaining Armenians reside. The Human Rights Association paid a visit
to police headquarters on Wednesday and alerted the authorities to the
possibility that these attacks may be hate crimes. The police are
investigating but have so far not identified the culprits.

Six years after the murder of journalist Hrant Dink — targeted after
a long media and judicial campaign identifying him as an internal
enemy — has the risk of hate crimes receded? Has Turkey become a more
inclusive society?

The Media Ethics Platform organized a panel on hate speech and the
role played by the media in Dink’s death last weekend, chaired by our
colleague Yonca Poyraz Dogan. Journalist Kemal GöktaÅ~_, who has written
a book on the issue, reminded the audience that the free-for-all
against Dink in the media had started after the General Staff
condemned Dink for an article suggesting that Ataturk’s adopted
daughter, Sabiha Gökcen, was Armenian.

The (relatively) good news is that Dink’s murder seriously shook
Turkey, and mainstream media outlets publish fewer openly biased
headlines. But if discrimination has become more discreet and the most
egregious headlines are to be limited to a few nationalist newspapers,
prejudice has not disappeared and media members still tend to take
their cues from officialdom, as they promote a nationalist ideology
that sees Sunni Turks as the “real” citizens of this country.

In fact, the Media Watch on Hate Speech Project set up by the Hrant
Dink Foundation, which monitors the national and local press for news
and statements targeting specific groups, noticed an increase in
prejudiced and provocative statements in the media in the first half
of 2012. According to the latest report they published, for the
May-August 2012 period, non-Muslims — Armenians, Christians, Jews,
Greeks — were the main targets, but Kurds, women and homosexuals were
also subjected to insults, distorted reports or demeaning statements
in parts of the media.

No country is free of discrimination. As we all know, Muslims in
Western societies are often at the receiving end of preconceived
opinions in Western societies. In Turkey, biased or provocative
headlines tend to ebb and flow in line with the political agenda,
peaking during times of crises. The politicians’ attitude, the
language they use and how they respond to situations that have the
potential to reinforce erroneous perceptions and divide society are
therefore crucial.

Raising awareness of hate speech and monitoring the media is
important, but ultimately politicians have to take the lead if Turkey
is to become a genuinely inclusive society in which all citizens,
irrespective of their origins, are equal in reality as well as on
paper. Let’s hope that the authorities are taking a close interest in
the Samatya attacks and a thorough investigation will swiftly lead to
the perpetrators’ arrest.

25.01.13, 12:46

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN DEMANDS EDUCATION MINISTER’S RESIGNATION

arminfo
Friday, January 25, 16:50

At today’s press-conference, a candidate for president of Armenia, the
leader of the Heritage party, Raffi Hovannisian, demanded Education
Minister, Armen Ashotyan’s resignation. At his Facebook page the
latter blamed Hovannisian for illegal campaigning among students.

He thinks there is nothing illegal in his actions and the ruling
RPA and its representative, the education minister, should first of
all draw attention at their own shortcomings. Hovannisian blamed the
RPA representatives for the mass campaigning among teachers, school
principals and students in favor of the incumbent president. They
are directly instructed to vote for Serzh Sargsyan, he said and added
that the scarfs with the incumbent president’s slogan are delivered
to students in the universities. Hovannisian thinks that such actions
damage Serzh Sargsyan’s image which promised many time to hold the
most fair and transparent presidential election. “I don’t think that
Serzh Sargsyan is not aware of such activity of his dependents. And
if he does not disprove, nobody will have a basis to trust in his
promises. If Sargsyan ignores all these violations, this will mean
that the authorities have exhausted their trust resource”, – Raffi
Hovannisian said.

He also added that although minister Ashotyan did not agree to
Hovannisian’s request to hold a meeting with students and teachers,
nevertheless, Hovannisian is going to apply with a similar request
to rectors of universities. Hovannisian thinks that like a candidate
for president he has a full right to turn students to his electoral
programme, as students are fully-fledged citizens of Armenia and have
a right to vote. “If Serzh Sargsyan like a candidate for president and
the head of the Board of Trustees of Yerevan State University, has a
right to meet students and teachers, in that case, as a candidate for
president I also demand to give me a similar right”, – the leader of
the Heritage party said.

HEAD OF THE SYUNIK MARZ DECLARED ONLY SALARY

Factinfo
Fri, 01/25/2013 – 14:45

The head of the Syunik marz and his two deputies did not obtain
any real or movable property or expensive goods in 2011. Judging
from the Property and Income Declaration of the Ethics committee of
high-ranking officials they also did not have securities and other
investments. The most modest one is that of the head of the marz,
unlike his deputies he did not even declare money flow.

So, the head of the Syunik region Surik Khachatryan and his wife
declared only income from the salaries – respectively 2 million
359.603 AMD and 1 million 272.000 AMD.

The only income of his first deputy Ara Dolunts and his wife was
formed from the salaries respectively 1 million 798.518 AMD and
940.000 AMD. Dolunts, unlike his head, declared money flows equal to
7,5 million AMD which was the same in and beginning and in the end
of the year.

The income of the next deputy Vache Grigoryan was formed from the
salary of 2 million 167.744 AMD and the 425 US dollars investment. His
money flow in the beginning of the year was 1,5 million AMD and 5000
US dollars and 2 million AMD and 5425 US dollars in the end. His wife
declared 1,2 million salary as the only income. Her money flow was
equal to 200.000 AMD in the beginning of the year and 250.000AMD in
the end of it.

ARMENIA’S ELECTORAL CODE IS BIASED – PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

news.am
January 25, 2013 | 14:37

YEREVAN. – The Electoral Code of Armenia is biased, presidential
contender, non-party affiliate epos specialist Vardan Sedrakyan told
Armenian News-NEWS.am, commenting on the possibility of launching
administrative proceedings against him.

“They are doing [this] in full compliance with the law, but it is
simply biased. When we give a political context to it, they immediately
show the Electoral Code. But when during class hours they take the
schoolchildren to the campaign at [the ruling Republican Party’s
presidential contender, incumbent President] Serzh Sargsyan’s meeting,
that is normal. That electoral code is biased,” Sedrakyan noted.

He added that the Central Electoral Commission will make the
final assessment Friday with respect to the matter of launching
administrative proceedings against him.

To note, the aforesaid proceedings could be launched against Vardan
Sedrakyan on the grounds that his campaign posters do not include
any information on their client, printing company, and print-run,
which the Electoral Code requires. In addition, the code specifies
the precise areas where these posters can be placed, and violations
were recorded in this respect, too.

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE GETS FIVE SU-34 STRIKE AIRCRAFTS

January 25, 2013 – 15:13 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia’s Novosibirsk aircraft plant, part of the
Sukhoi holding, delivered five multirole Su-34 strike aircrafts
to the Russian Air Force on Friday, Jan 25, the manufacturer said,
according to RIA Novosti.

The jets will make a nonstop ferry flight from Novosibirsk to an air
base in Voronezh, southwest Russia, a distance of over 3,000 kilometers
(1,800 miles).

Six Su-34s were delivered to the Air Force in 2011, as part of an
initial contract signed in 2008 for 32 aircraft. The Voronezh base
received its first five Su-34 warplanes in late December.

Last year, the Defense Ministry said it would take delivery of 10
Su-34s in 2012, all of them to be deployed in the Western Military
District.

The Air Force is due to get 92 Su-34s by 2020, in a contract signed
in March 2012. Together with the 2008 contract, the Air Force will
eventually have a total of 124 Su-34s.

A two-seat derivative of the Su-27 fighter, the Su-34 can carry a
payload of up to eight tons of precision-guided weapons over 4,000
kilometers.

The aircraft will eventually replace all of the ageing Su-24 strike
aircraft in service with the Air Force and Navy.

The first Su-34s were manufactured in Novosibirsk in 2006, with series
production starting in 2008.

DOCUMENTARY FILM EXPOSES TURKISH STATE POLICY OF ERASING WESTERN ARMENIAN CULTURAL TRACES

14:19, January 25, 2013

January 24 saw the premier of the documentary film “Crime after the
Great Crime”, exposing the ongoing Turkish state policy of destroying
all traces of Armenian culture in Western Armenia.

Prepared by the Research on Armenian Architecture Foundation, the
film chronicles the situation of Western Armenian cultural monuments
before and after the 1915 Genocide.

The film states that pre-1915 there were approximately 170,000 cultural
monuments in Western Armenia of which a mere 2-3% remain intact today.

The video, in eastern Armenian, is narrated by Samvel Karapetyan.

NOTED IRANIAN-ARMENIAN INTELLECTUAL LEVON MINASIAN REMEMBERED AT NATIONAL LIBRARY EVENT

11:44, January 25, 2013

A day of remembrance for Levon Minasian, the noted Iranian-Armenian
teacher, academic and national activist who recently passed away at the
age of 93, was held on January 22 at the National Library of Armenia.

For more than seven decades, Minasian headed various educational
institutions in Nor Jugha and published numerous works on Armenian
history and literature.

His “A History of the Armenians of Pera” and “The Armenian Bards of
Pera” are of particular note.

L’ARMENIE ET LE KARABAGTH METTENT EN GARDE L’AZERBAIDJAN CONTRE TOUTE MESURE VISANT L’AEROPORT DE STEPANAKERT
Gari

armenews.com
vendredi 25 janvier 2013

L’Armenie et le Haut-Karabagh ont adresse de serieuses mises en garde
a l’Azerbaïdjan en reponse aux menaces proferees par les autorites
de Bakou contre les vols commerciaux qui utiliseraient l’aeroport de
Stepanakert, qui doit bientôt commencer ses activites. Le gouvernement
azeri avait annonce par voie officelle le vendredi 18 janvier qu’il
autoriserait son aviation a abattre tout avion, fût-il commercial,
survolant le Haut Karabagh, sans la permission de l’Azerbaïdjan,
qui revendique toujours la souverainete sur le teritoire contrôle
par les Armeniens.

Le document emanant des autorites de Bakou precise que tout appareil
survolant l’espace aerien azeri sera pourchasse en l’absence
“d’information precise concernant la presence de passagers civils
a bord.” Si les autorites de Bakou sont informees de la presence de
passagers civils a bord d’un appareil, alors les avions de guerre de
l’Azerbaïdjan pourront le contraindre a atterrir sur un aeroport azeri,
poursuit le document.

Les agences de presse azeries, citant Arif Mammadov, le chef du
departement de l’aviation civile de l’Azerbaïdjan, rappellent que
durant les travaux de reconstruction de l’unique aeroport du Karabagh,
Bakou avait a plusieurs reprises alerte les instances internationales
competentes sur le caractère illegal des vols censes assures la
liaison entre Erevan et Stepanakert depuis cet aeroport. “Nous les
avons informes que l’espace aerien du Haut Karabagh est ferme, et
que conformement a notre legislation sur l’aviation civile, nous
prevoyons de detruire tout appareil qui chercherait a s’y poser “,
a declare le responsable azeri.

Le ministre armenien de la defense Seyran Ohanian avait balaye du
revers de la main ces menaces lors d’une conference de presse un
peu plus tard le meme 18 janvier. ” Suite a une decision [relative
a ces vols], l’aviation de l’Armenie et ses forces anti-aeriennes
assureront [ la securite] des vols prevus par l’aviation civile”,
a indique le ministre armenien. Le porte parole de M.Ohanian, Artsrun
Hovannesian, a de la meme manière insiste le 23 janvier sur la fait que
l’armee armenienne empecherait l’Azerbaïdjan de perturber les liaisons
aeriennes annoncees. “Les forces aeriennes n’ont pas seulement vocation
a abattre les appareils ennemis mais aussi a assure la securite de
l’aviation civile”, a-t-il indique dans un entretien accorde a RFE/RL.

M. Hovannesian a fait valoir que durant des annees, l’armee de
l’Armenie a envoye des helicoptères civils et militaires au Karabagh
sans que cela ne pose aucun problème. “Des vols reguliers pour
Stepanakert se mettront en place de la meme manière”, a souligne le
ministre armenien de la defense.

Les autorites du Karabagh ont designe comme du “terrorisme d’Etat”
la decision du gouvernement de l’Azerbaïdjan, en soulignant qu’elle
ne contrarierait en rien les projets d’ouverture de l’aeroport de
Stepanakert. “Nous sommes capable d’assurer la securite de notre
espace aerien et de la totalite du territoire de la Republique
du Haut-Karabagh”, a declare un porte-parole du president du Haut
Karabagh Bako Sahakian ce weekend.

La communaute international a exprime a plusieurs reprises sa
preoccupation concernant le differend opposant Armeniens et Azeris
au sujet de l’aeroport de Stepanakert, et a appele les parties
en conflit a le regler par “la voie diplomatique”. Les diplomates
americains, russes e francais qui dirigent le Groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE avaient fait part de leurs reserves concernant l’aeroport en
visitant Stepanakert en novembre 2012, tout en mettant en garde Bakou
contre toute mesure militaire contre des avions civils.

vendredi 25 janvier 2013, Gari ©armenews.com

SAISIE D’UNE NOUVELLE CARGAISON D’ARMES EN PROVENANCE DE TURQUIE
Ara

armenews.com
vendredi 25 janvier 2013

SANAA, 25 jan 2013 (AFP) – Les autorites yemenites ont saisi au port
d’Aden (sud) une nouvelle cargaison d’armes, constituee de fusils
automatiques, en provenance de Turquie, ont rapporte vendredi des
medias officiels. Parmi les armes saisies dans un conteneur dans la
zone franche d’Aden, figurent notamment “115 fusils automatiques T14
de fabrication turque”, a indique le chef des douanes, Mohamed Zumam,
cite par l’agence officielle Saba.

Il a ajoute que la cargaison contenait au total quelque 3.780 fusils
automatiques et qu’elle avait ete declaree aux douanes comme un
chargement d’articles domestiques en plastique, a son arrivee le 16
novembre 2012 a Aden en provenance de Turquie.

Il n’a pas identifie l’expediteur ni le destinataire de la cargaison.

Debut novembre, le Yemen avait annonce la saisie au port d’Aden d’une
première cargaison d’armes dissimulees dans des cartons pour biscuits,
achemines par conteneur depuis la Turquie.

Le ministère turc des Affaires etrangères avait ensuite indique
enqueter sur cette affaire, et assure qu’Ankara n’avait pas autorise
l’envoi de tels equipements “vers une region où le risque de conflit
est eleve et peut conduire a une augmentation du nombre de morts”.

Le Yemen, un pays pauvre de la Peninsule arabique a structure tribale
et fortement arme, est en butte a une vague de violences, attribuee
notamment a Al-Qaïda qui a profite de l’affaiblissement du pouvoir
central, lors de l’insurrection populaire de 2011 ayant abouti au
depart du president Ali Abdallah Saleh, pour renforcer son emprise
dans l’est et le sud du pays.

vendredi 25 janvier 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

MEXICO CITY TO MOVE STATUE OF FORMER AZERI LEADER

23 January 2013

Azerbaijan paid for the redevelopment of the park around the statue

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The mayor of Mexico City has said that a controversial statue of the
former Azeri leader Heydar Aliyev will be moved from its current
location.

Miguel Angel Macera said the statue would be moved from a park on
the city’s main avenue that Azerbaijan paid to have renovated.

Oil-rich Azerbaijan has threatened to cut investments in Mexico
in response.

Human rights activists had objected to the statue and pointed to the
repressive nature of Mr Aliyev’s rule.

Azeri investments in Mexico amount to $4bn (£2.5bn), according to
the Azeri embassy in Mexico.

When the previous mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, unveiled the
Azerbaijan-Mexico Park last year, he said it was a “testament to the
will of the two peoples to grow closer”.

Mr Ebrard also noted that – in 16 years – none of the 180 diplomatic
missions or 45 international organisations based in Mexico City had
given as much money for public spaces in the capital as Azerbaijan.

A plaque accompanying the statue describes Aliyev as “a great
politician and statesman”.

In Azerbaijan there is a growing personality cult surrounding the
former leader, who is regarded as a father of the nation, which became
independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BBC’s Damien
McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia.

His face can be seen on huge billboards all over the country, our
correspondent adds.

Mr Aliyev’s son Ilham has ruled the country since 2003 – but with
presidential elections in October, and growing concerns in the West
about the government’s human rights record, Azerbaijan is keen to
promote his father’s image abroad, he says.