Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 5 2012

Azerbaijani MP calls for sanctions against Armenia

5 January 2012, 17:41 (GMT+04:00) Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 5 / Trend M.Aliyev /

The Azerbaijani MP called international organizations which disagree
with military solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to impose
sanctions against Armenia.

“Those who are concerned about war in the region will lead to
unpredictable consequence and jeopardize large transnational projects
should support sanctions against Armenia,” Zahid Oruj, a member of the
Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, told Trend on Thursday.

Perceiving the impossibility of war in Nagorno-Karabakh as
strengthening of Armenian positions on these territories does not
coincide with the realities of 2012, Oruj noted.

“Does not the desire to protect the peace create conditions for
strengthening the position of the aggressor and occupier in these
territories?” MP said. “Stressing importance of peaceful settlement of
the conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and representatives of
other international organizations as if come out against Azerbaijan’s
military power and even admit the threatening statements, and this is
inadmissible.”

According to Oruj, Azerbaijan is stronger than Armenia in all ratings.

“If international community takes a just position on Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute, the restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights on its
territories will be realized,” Oruj noted.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno- Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

From: Baghdasarian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 6 2012

Due to Armenian-Turkish protocols Armenia unleashed Turkey’s hands –
opposition party

January 06, 2012 | 17:53

YEREVAN. – The expectations that after parliamentary elections in
Turkey Ankara will come up with a proposal of restarting the
negotiation process of Armenian-Turkish relations were in vain. That
is not a surprise as the settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations was
not represented in any of the pre-election campaigns of Turkish
parties, ARF Dashnaktsutyun member, responsible for Hay Dat issues
Kiro Manoyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to him, as usual Turkey presents preconditions concerning
the Karabakh conflict and only after that Turkey is ready to restart
the negotiation process.

`The Turkish side considers it to be its duty to remind us about it
weekly. It is time for the Armenian side to withdraw its signatures
from the protocols and to put the project consisting of 3 paragraphs
on the negotiation table. After that we can wait that Turkey’s
government will wish to settle relations with Armenia,’ he added.

Talking about the fact that lately the Turkish government allows to
express itself incorrectly about the Armenian government, Manoyan
mentioned that it was a usual action by the Turkish government
teaching everybody lessons and trying to prove something to someone.
However, such a behavior may have an opposite effect.

`The world witnessed that the failure of the Armenian-Turkish
relations settlement was Turkey’s fault and currently Turkey does
everything it can so that Armenia will not withdraw its signatures.
Those protocols benefit Turkey and it is about time that Armenia
withdrew its signatures thinking about its own interests and not
trying to prove to the West what a reliable partner it is,’ Manoyan
said.

From: Baghdasarian

Tert.am, Armenia
Jan 6 2012

Holiday concert to be held in Armenia’s capital
17:46 – 06.01.12

On January 6, at 8:00 pm, on the occasion of Christmas and Theophany,
the Yerevan Municipality is holding a concert in Republic Square.

The ethnographic song and dance group Karin, as well as artists Arsen
Ghazaryan, Anna Khachatryan, Leila Saribekyan, David Amalyan, Mkrtich
Lazarian, Sahak Sahakyan and other actors will perform folk songs and
dances.

Artistic Director of the Karin group Gagik Ginosyan will conduct the concert.

Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

Xinhua General News Service, China
January 5, 2012 Thursday 4:25 PM EST

Former Turkish army chief faces arrest on charge of plotting to
overthrow government

ISTANBUL Jan. 5

Istanbul public prosecutor Thursday demanded the arrest of former
Turkish army chief Gen. Ilker Basbug on charges of leading a terrorist
organization and attempting to overthrow the Turkish government, state
media reported.

Public prosecutor with special authority Cihan Kansiz took the
testimony of former chief of general staff and retired Gen. Basbug as
a suspect under an investigation launched by Istanbul deputy chief
prosecutor’s office.

The prosecutor charged Basbug with leading a terrorist organization
and attempting to overthrow the Turkish government. Basbug arrived at
an Istanbul courthouse and testified as a suspect in an ongoing case
for seven hours.

It is the first time in Turkey’s history that a former chief of staff
is being testified by a prosecutor.

The ongoing Internet Memorandum case refers to an alleged document by
the General Staff about setting up 42 Internet sites to distribute
propaganda against the ruling Justice and Development Party, the
outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as Greeks and
Armenians.

General Basbug, who retired in 2010, is the highest-ranking officer to
be caught up in a widening probe into the so-called Ergenekon network,
an ultra-nationalist group accused by prosecutors of conspiring to
topple the government.

Several hundred defendants, including retired senior officers,
lawyers, academics and journalists, have been put on trial in cases
relating to the investigation.

Turkey’s military, NATO’s second-largest army, has long seen itself as
the guarantor of the country’s secular constitution, and had carried
out three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pressured another government
from power in 1997.

From: Baghdasarian

la Nouvelle République, France
5 janv 2012

Souvenirs de l’orphelinat arménien en Vendômois
05/01/2012 05:36

L’un se souvient des orphelins arméniens, en 1933, à La
Ville-aux-Clercs, l’autre a encore des contacts avec les fils de la
famille initiatrice de la fondation.

Dans notre édition du 27 décembre dernier, nous relations, Ã
l’occasion de la polémique suscitée par le vote de la loi réprimant la
négation des génocides, les souvenirs d’un Tourangeau, Alain
Garabedian (président des Arméniens du Centre) autour de l’orphelinat
arménien existant à La Ville-aux-Clercs ouvert en 1924. Article qui
appelait nos lecteurs à nous envoyer leurs témoignages et souvenirs¦

Réagissant à la parution de cet article, André Frard, moréen, se souvient?:
« En 1933, j’ai passé mon certificat d’études avec une dizaine de
jeunes Arméniens de La Ville-aux-Clercs. Une part importante des
postulants puisque nous étions environ quarante. Je ne les fréquentais
pas mais je les connaissais de vue car ils venaient tous les jeudis
après-midi à la belle saison se baigner au pont de Villeprovert. Ils
passaient devant le champ où je gardais des vaches à Clairefontaine.
Ils venaient à pied depuis La Ville-aux-Clercs accompagnés d’un âne
avec une charrette qui transportait tout le nécessaire pour le goûter.
»
Yves Touret, de Blois, tient à indiquer à Alain Garabedian (le
président des Arméniens du Centre qui réveillait ces souvenirs dans
nos colonnes) sa proximité avec la famille Tavitian, initiatrice de
l’arrivée des garçons arméniens au château de la Gaudinière?: « Je
suis le gendre [d’un couple] d’instituteurs de La Ville-aux-Clers,
détachés au château de La Gaudinière, et ayant participé à l’épreuve
désastreuse de l’incendie ` et suis très proche de la famille Tavitian
depuis ces funestes années 1924 à nos jours. Personnellement, par le
biais de mes futurs beaux-parents, connus à Vineuil en 1935 comme
collègues de mes parents, instituteurs eux aussi à partir de 1933,
ayant vécu en totale harmonie professionnelle (logements juxtaposés
aidant) dans cette école primaire vinolienne, j’ai, à partir de cette
époque, eu l’occasion de côtoyer M. Noubar Tavitian. Impressionnant
érudit et polyglotte¦ De ce fait, j’ai fait particulièrement
connaissance de ses fils, Mirhan et Tavo, en même temps que de mes
futures belles-sÅ`urs et beaux frères, et nous sommes restés très
attachés [¦] Par ailleurs, je suis en possession d’une impressionnante
biographie conçue par feu M. Tavitian, relatant, en plusieurs volumes,
ces périodes antérieures et postérieures. Sans doute en avez-vous eu
connaissance, compte tenu du détail des faits relatés dans la NR du 27
décembre dernier. »

From: Baghdasarian

Public Radio, Armenia
Jan 5 2012

Turkey may step up moves against Paris
05.01.2012 15:34

Turkey may step up action against France if the French Senate votes
this month to outlaw denial of the Armenian genocide, a Turkish
diplomatic source said Thursday.

“There may be a downgrading of the Turkish diplomatic representation
in Paris. It is probable, if the upper house of parliament approves
the bill,’ the diplomat said, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The French lower house approved the law last month, threatening anyone
who denies that the events of 1915 amounted to genocide with jail.

Ankara froze political and military ties with France when the bill was
passed by the National Assembly, and threatened further measures if it
continues through the Senate or is approved by President Nicolas
Sarkozy.

Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Paris, but embassy officials
said Thursday that he will return next Monday in order to monitor the
Senate’s handling of the bill.

From: Baghdasarian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 5 2012

Armenian authorities to ensure separating business from parliament

January 05, 2012 | 11:58

YEREVAN. – Armenia is getting prepared for the most free and
transparent elections during the last 20 years and the state has all
the pre-requisites for it, ruling Republican Party MP Hovhannes
Sahakyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent.

According to him, the authorities will ensure separating business from
parliament. Measures are taken in this direction.

`We currently have MPs who say willingly that they are not going to
stand for the upcoming elections, as they do not see themselves in
legislature,’ MP said.

However, the process should be gradual as hasted ones always fail.

In response to the question why there are MP oligarchs and why they
should not be anymore, Sahakyan said that according to the law, MPs
should no run business.

`I believe that none of our MPs run business. There are MPs who have
property purchased before. Currently those businesses are run by
trusted persons. I do not consider them businessmen as they should run
it personally. They may be just rich people,’ MP said. `We should not
forget that the Parliament is a place to deal with politics. They
should express their political ambitions, opinions and solve political
issues in the parliament. We have approached to a certain level, where
each one should decide on him.’

From: Baghdasarian

MilAz.info, Azerbaijan
Jan 5 2012

US Congress’ Helsinki Commission policy adviser: `The Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict looks little different than 15 years ago’

11:14 05-01-2012
Michael Och, a policy adviser at the US Congress’ Helsinki Commission,
considers that the conflicts in the South Caucasus have threatened the
stability and security of the entire region, APA US correspondent
reports.

`Despite the efforts of the Minsk Group and the occasional exuberant
claims of imminent success, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict looks little
different than 15 years ago’, he says.

Mr. Och, who last month organized a hearing on the Caucasus conflict
at the Helsinki Commission, also points out that things are different
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well, where matters languished
unchanged for many years until the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

The analyst mentions contradictions between two Helsinki principles:
territorial integrity and self-determination.

To this day, he says, after two decades of mediation, the parties
refer to these two principles as their guiding lights and
justification.

‘Neither the negotiators nor the international community have been
able to bridge the gap’, he says.

From: Baghdasarian

Radikal, Turkey
Dec 27 2011

Does This Not Even Constitute a Crime Against Humanity?

by Ahmet Insel

Can we not resume the assessment of the incidents that occurred during
the deportation of the Armenians from where it was left off in 1919?

“There is no such genocide in our history. It is impossible for us to
acknowledge it.” This statement was reiterated by the Turkish prime
minister in the wake of the French Parliament’s approval of the
Armenian bill. This official stand suggests on the one hand: “Let us
open all the archives and have historians decide,” and on the other,
“This has never happened.”

The notion of genocide did not exist in 1915. As against this, the
term “crime against humanity” was used for the first time in the world
in 1915. On 24 May 1915, France, Britain, and Russia that were at war
against the Ottoman Empire issued a joint declaration:

“For about a month now, the Turkish and Kurdish populations of Armenia
have been massacring the Armenians together with and often with the
assistance of the Ottoman Government’s officials. Such massacres took
place towards mid-April in Erzurum, Tercan, Egin, Bitlis, Mus, Sason,
Zeytun, and throughout Kilikya. The entire population of some 100
villages around Van was murdered. The Armenian Quarter in Van is
besieged by Kurds. Furthermore, the Ottoman Government has mistreated
the inoffensive Armenian population in Istanbul. In view of those new
crimes that Turkey committed against humanity and civilization, the
Allied States publicly declare to the Sublime Porte [Bab-i Ali] that
all the members of the Ottoman Government and the officials who were
involved in those massacres will be held personally responsible for
these crimes.”

As against this, on 27 May, the Union and Progress [Ittihat ve
Terakki] government passed the Dispatchment and Settlement Law [Sevk
ve Iskan], and on 4 June issued a response to the declaration. The
response claimed that “the measures were in no way against the
Armenians, that the Armenians did nothing that broke the public order,
and that the Armenians were not subjected to general measures of any
kind!” In other words, the Union and Progress government did not say
on 4 June that “the Armenians stabbed us in the back.” It did,
however, start to take a close interest in abandoned property
following the protocol of 30 May of the Ottoman Council of Ministers
[Meclis-i Vukela] and the ordinance of 30 May.

The deportation law against the Ottoman Armenians, in other words, the
decision that the Ottoman Government adopted against its own citizens
and implemented in a bloody manner brought about the use of the notion
“crime against humanity” for the first time. Prior to that, the Hague
Convention that was ratified in 1907 used the term “war crime.” Later
on, the term “crime against humanity” was defined first in the
foundation statutes of the Nuremberg Trials as massacring,
annihilation, enslavement, deportation… and afterwards they were
defined again in detail in Article 7 of the Rome Statute which
established the International Criminal Court.

In December 1918 war tribunals [Divan-i Harbi Orfi] started to be
established in the Ottoman Empire in order to investigate the Armenian
genocide crimes directly. Certain protocols and decisions of these
tribunals had appeared in the period’s newspapers. These were recently
compiled and published by Vahakn Dadrian and Taner Akcam (Deportations
and Killings, Minutes of War Tribunals, Bilgi University Publications,
2008). The evaluations of the prosecutors in the main tribunal case
that was filed against the Union and Progress leaders do not enable
the use of the argument “such incidents never took place in our
history.”

In the main case, the incidents are described as follows: “Massacre,
property and money plundering, burning buildings and bodies, rape,
torture, and indecent harassment…” The same assessment appears in
many decisions: “As it is the primary duty of all state officials, the
teachings of Holy I slam and the Ottoman laws and decrees stipulate
that the honour and the persons of citizens of all nations without
discrimination have to be protected, and their property safeguarded,
and the public law has to be protected against all threats and
violations…”

For instance, the accusation against the Bogazliyan District Governor
Kemal is very clear: “In breach of personal law, stripping of their
money and valuables all the people that made up the convoys of
Armenians who were forced to emigrate, including helpless women and
little boys and girls, disregarding the exceptions in the official
orders…” and “allowing the perpetration of atrocities planned and
implemented by tying the hands of the men in order to deprive them of
their right to self-defence.” The Yozgat tribunal rules that the
witness testimonies and documents confirm beyond doubt that “he caused
looting and plundering, and killings which do not conform to the
values of humanity or civilization and that are considered major
crimes before the laws of Islam.” In addition, the ruling says: it is
established that the accused deems it natural and necessary that all
Muslims carry out massacres against the Armenian nation.

The Bogazliyan district governor who was executed for these crimes was
later declared a national hero!

Can we not resume the assessment of the law of deportation of the
Armenians and the incidents that occurred during the deportations,
from where it was left off in 1919? Did this never take place in our
history either?

[translated from Turkish]

From: Baghdasarian

EurasiaNet.org, NY
Jan 5 2012

Azerbaijan: Baku Fumes Over Scuttled Ambassadorial Appointment

January 5, 2012 – 2:40pm, by Shahin Abbasov

The US Senate’s failure to confirm the appointment of acting
ambassador Matthew Bryza to Baku threatens to undercut Azerbaijani
relations with the United States.

Bryza’s mandate as US envoy expired at the end of 2011 when the Senate
did not take action to approve his recess appointment by US President
Barack Obama. Bryza’s nomination had been opposed by Armenian Diaspora
lobbying groups, which apparently believed that the diplomat had
overly cozy ties to Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Bryza — an experienced career diplomat who served as the US envoy in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks, as well as point-man for
coordination of US energy policy in the Caspian Basin — was
dispatched to Baku by Obama in early 2011 to serve as ambassador to
Baku on a temporary basis. The Senate’s failure to act on his
appointment once again creates a void in a diplomatically sensitive
area. The nomination process must now start afresh. Deputy Chief of
Mission Adam Sterling is expected to lead the embassy in Baku until a
new envoy arrives.

Behind closed doors, Bryza’s confirmation controversy is being
interpreted by officials in Baku as a slap in the face to Azerbaijan.
Many in Baku are particularly miffed at what they see as the undue
influence of US-based Armenian Diaspora organizations over the
confirmation process. Two of the leading critics of Bryza’s nomination
in the Senate — California Democrat Barbara Boxer, and Robert
Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat — have well-established associations
with Armenia diaspora organizations.

Publicly, most Azerbaijani officials have described Bryza’s status as
an internal matter for Washington. At the same time, some Azerbaijani
diplomats have hinted that US legislators are venal and prone to
influence peddling. Commenting on the lack of a Senate vote, Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov asserted that `Baku understands that some
pro-Armenian senators who are under Armenian Diaspora pressure are
behind this.’ He also said at a December 23 briefing, that he `would
not link [the unscheduled vote] with the US role’ in the Karabakh
talks.

On January 5, Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev expressed
hope that the Bryza flap would not hamper bilateral relations.
“Ambassador Matthew Bryza was a very strong, competent diplomat, who
did much to develop the relations between the United States and
Azerbaijan’, the Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency quoted Abdullayev as
saying. “We would like to see the development of these relations on
the rise.”

Later on, Abdullayev lashed out at US legislators for refusing to
confirm Bryza. `It is unpleasant to watch [this] incomprehensible
tendency, when the senators or congressmen become an instrument in the
hands of the Armenian lobby, thereby harming US interests,’ the
diplomat was quoted as saying.

During a late December appearance at the Atlantic Council in
Washington, DC, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov took a swipe at
the Senate. According to Azerbaijani news agency reports, Azimov
asserted that the Senate’s failure to confirm Bryza’s nomination
`could become a bad precedent for American diplomats who would not
know whose policy they should pursue – the president’s policy, the
Senate’s or the interests of a handful of lobbyists.’

The US State Department has not responded to Azimov’s or remarks.

Azimov’s point of view seems to resonate in Baku. One group of
influential civil society activists has contended that `the Bryza
issue’ raises questions about US fairness in the Karabakh peace
process. A December 15 letter signed by prominent civil society
figures in Baku and sent to President Obama and Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined these concerns. In it, Eldar Namazov,
chief of staff under the late President Heydar Aliyev, Center for
National and International Studies Director Leyla Aliyeva (no relation
to President Ilham Aliyev), political analyst Ilgar Mammadov, economic
analyst Sabit Bagirov and Turan News Agency Director Mehman Aliyev
said that the botched Bryza vote `does not serve to refute’ the
impression among many Azerbaijanis that the longtime Karabakh talks
have failed because of the influence of Armenian Diaspora lobbyists in
such mediator countries as the United States and France.

[Editor’s Note: Mehman Aliyev formerly served as board chairman for
the Open Society Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan, part of the Soros
Foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of the
Open Society Institute, a separate part of that network.]

Namazov, who, like many Azerbaijani (and Georgian) public figures,
holds a high opinion of the Bryza, commented to EurasiaNet.org that
the campaign is `not about the ambassador’s personality,’ but `about
principles.’

`He is one of the best US diplomats ever working in our region. But,
in this case, the principle of the United States remaining an unbiased
mediator in Karabakh conflict is more important,’ Namazov said.

The Bryza episode could have a lingering negative effect on Baku,
fostering distrust in whoever becomes the next American envoy to
Azerbaijan. “Confirmation in the Senate would mean that the Armenian
lobby is happy with a nomination and it will create suspicions in
Baku,” Namazov said.

Analyst Elhan Shahinoglu, head of Baku’s Atlas research center, raised
the possibility that a peeved Azerbaijani government `could delay
receiving, or even refuse to receive the new ambassador.’

Editor’s note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance reporter in Baku and a
board member of the Open Society Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan.

From: Baghdasarian