Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

THOUSANDS FLOCK TO THE ARMENIAN STREET FAIR & FESTIVAL
By Peter Friedman

Patch.com, MA

Sept 12 2011

The Armenian Cultural and Educational Center’s the second Annual
Armenian Street Fair & Festival was even bigger than last year.

The second annual Armenian Street Fair & Festival took over Nichols
Avenue in Watertown this weekend and featured Armenian music,
delectable regional cuisine, and a fun, educational experience for
the entire family.

According to Dr. Ara Nazarian, the chairman of the Kermesse Steering
Committee at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center, the entire
event was “a huge success.”

The success of the event is measured by funds raised but also by
“spreading awareness of the Armenian culture,” said Nazarian, who
estimated at least 2,000 more festival-goers this year than last,
though the final numbers have not yet been tallied.

The weekend long event is one of the Armenian Cultural and Educational
Center (ACEC) largest and most significant fundraisers of the year,
which is a local Watertown registered non-profit organization in
Watertown. Last year was the annual event, and this year has been made
“bigger and better.”

“This year we added new entertainment, and a whole new section outside
of the entertainment tents for which we were able to close off the
street,” Nazarian said.

Throughout the weekend, the crowds enjoyed an eclectic assemblage
of musical entertainment that highlighted the diversity of Armenian
musical offerings. On both Saturday and Sunday, “DJ Ash” performed
club, pop and international music in the afternoons under the main
entertainment tent.

Some of the classic Armenian music including Armenchik, the John
Berberian Ensemble featuring Onnik Dinkjian, and the Arey Armenian
Folk Ensemble. On Saturday evening, the Armenian pop sensation Tata
Simonyan performed as the signature band under the main tent.

Michelle Blair of Watertown enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and
opportunity to learn about a new culture on a beautiful fall Sunday.

“It was something fun to do on a nice day, to get out of the house,
be around people, and learn a little about a new culture,” Blair said.

One of the other main additions to the festival this year was a
children’s entertainment zone, which was part of an effort to make
the event more friendly and welcoming for the entire family. Some
of the highlights of the “children’s zone” included an inflatable
jousting zone and super slide.

Aside from the music and children’s activities, one of the principle
reasons that the crowds flocked to Nichols Avenue was for the choice
Armenian food items. The menu included traditional Middle Eastern fare
such as humus, tabouleh, and beef, chicken, and pork khorovats, which
are more commonly known in the U.S. as kebabs. The desserts included
gargantag and nazook, as well as the popular Napoleon Pastry. Dr.

Nazarian noted that the volunteers charged with preparing the foods
worked tirelessly in preparation for the event.

“Some of the men and women responsible for preparing the food were
working two months in advance to get ready for this,” said Nazarian.

It is estimated that there are currently around 50,000 Armenians
living in the greater Boston area, many of them in Watertown, one of
the largest Armenian hubs on the East Coast.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA NEEDS INVESTMENTS BY WORLD BANK-ARMENIAN PM

news.am
Sept 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenia is interested in rapid implementation of the
projects invested by the World Bank (WB), as it needs them too much,
Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan said at a meeting with WB Europe and
Central Asia Regional Director for the South Caucasus Asad Alam
on Monday.

The sides touched upon the project implementation processes, current
situation of the world economy and its possible developments,
government’s press service informs Armenian News-NEWS.am. Armenian
PM presented the implemented measures for the development of the
Armenian economic system, particularly, in industry, agriculture and
other spheres.

Sargsyan and Asad paid importance to the further cooperation
development between Armenia and WB.

“We should focus on our inner potential in a rapidly changing world.

Certain projects are too important, effective and objective on this
context,” PM stated.

Another issue that was touched upon was steps towards modernizations
of Armenia’s governing system.

From: Baghdasarian

THE RECOGNITION OF FREEDOM: NAGORNO KARABAKH’S CASE

HULIQ.com
Sept 12 2011
SC

The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh – or Artsakh, as it is known in the
native Armenian – marked twenty years of independence, but it’s still
one of the four countries emerging as a result of the break up of the
former Soviet Union, waiting for the world to recognize its right to
freedom and right to self-determination.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the independence of a number of countries that used
to form part of the USSR. What was perhaps one of the most unexpected
events of the twentieth century resulted in the statehood of fifteen
republics – fifteen states recognized by the international community,
by the world at large, along with four countries that yet often go
by the moniker of being stuck in “frozen conflicts”.

Out of the four, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been not just thawed,
but deep fried back into the center of attention of the West, of
the media and academia, after the brief resumption of hostilities
across Georgia’s northern frontiers in August, 2008. Of the other
two, Transnistria’s situation remains dormant, while Artsakh – as
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is called in the native Armenian – has
always been simmering, ever since the ceasefire of 1994, with further
escalation of belligerent rhetoric coming from Baku during recent
years. Negotiations are ongoing, as they tend to be in such situations.

Artsakh itself marked twenty years of independence on the second of
September. The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is, of course, a complex one.

But the people of Artsakh – the Armenians who live and work there –
are confident in asserting and celebrating their freedom, simply
because they fought for their lives and their rights. Ask anybody in
the capital Stepanakert, or in any of the towns and rural areas of
this roughly 11,000 square kilometers sliver of land (about 4,000
square miles), and you will hear nothing other than assurance that
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is an independent state.

According to the Montevideo Convention of 1933, statehood is defined
following the four criteria of territory, population, government, and
the ability to deal with other states. In political terms, statehood
implies sovereignty. But who decides sovereignty? Recognition of
such is a controversial matter. For the most part, it is a practical
question that is, more often than not, pretty obvious. Most states
recognize their immediate neighbors and their borders. The United
Nations organization is the main forum to regulate their affairs;
its membership and how to go about acquiring such membership is clear.

Capitals host embassies, militaries make alliances, economies carry
out trade. Most of what people call “countries” are, to use more
technical parlance, sovereign states, full members of the international
community.

But then there are the controversial ones, from ones that don’t make
too much noise and offer little to dispute, such as the Principality
of Sealand, to governments-in-exile or those with whom there are
partial dealings, such as Tibet or Taiwan, all the way to the very
problematic conflict raging in Palestine/Israel, a matter that has
not been resolved in over ninety, sixty, or forty years, depending
on where you start. The Palestinian Authority is planning on pursuing
full statehood as a tactic, which only goes to indicate that there is
something very significant about sovereignty and its role in global
affairs. It is, to put it bluntly, nothing less than an essential
component of international relations.

Self-declared sovereignty is one thing, whereas international
recognition is quite another, however, and that’s where further
complications arise. Usually, either a country is recognized, or it
is not. We have witnessed the birth just recently of South Sudan:
a resolution of a civil war, followed by a referendum, and then
formal recognition, admission to the UN, flag-hoisting and other
solemn ceremonies. All planned out, involving, at least formally,
every other state in the world.

That’s not the way it worked in Kosovo, though. Eighty-two countries
recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state today. Only four recognize
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Does it matter that one of those four is
Russia, and that one of the eighty-two is the United States?

The United States itself offers the classic example of a struggle for
independence and the fulfillment of “the right to self-determination”,
as modern terminology would put it. The American Revolution, in
fact, serves as the classic historical precedent, a main point of
inspiration for many peoples the world over struggling to assert their
rights. The issue over Artsakh is very complicated to say the least,
but part of the story certainly reflects the struggle of the native
Armenian population to solve the issue of its physical security, to
say nothing of the institutionalized discrimination and marginalisation
faced during six decades and more of rule as part of Soviet Azerbaijan.

Does it matter that no state recognizes the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
as independent? International law might consider it important, but
for the people of Artsakh, the bottom line is that they managed to
secure themselves and have been busy building up a democracy, a viable
economy, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and certainly an army
worthy of any country for twenty years now. Freedom means something
to the Armenians who live there in a way that is qualitatively
different than any declaration or embassy might indicate, whether
from Washington, Moscow, New York, Paris, or Brussels.

The foreign minister of Uruguay recently stated the possibility of
moving to formally recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It seems,
then, that we may yet see a new convention out of Montevideo.

Written by Nareg Seferian Seferian is currently pursuing a master’s
degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

From: Baghdasarian

LUKASHENKO PRAISES BELARUSIAN-ARMENIAN RELATIONS

National Legal Internet Portal
Sept 12 2011
Belarus

MINSK, 12 September (BelTA) – Belarus and Armenia have reached an
advanced level in the development of trade and economic and political
relations, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko as he met
with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on 12 September.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, the two countries have advanced
farthest in the post-Soviet space thanks to various objective and
subjective reasons, remarked Alexander Lukashenko.

In his words, Belarus and Armenia are connected by tight economic
cooperation that they have managed to advance to quite a high level
over the last few years. “It was hard to imagine that we could build
these relations several years ago. But there are kind people in this
world, there are options, we have found these ways of cooperation,
the businessmen that have steered this process,” remarked the head
of state.

Speaking about political cooperation the President said that it is
very advanced as the two countries are in the same military political
bloc. “Yes, there are rough parts to polish but it is what today’s
meeting is all about, to avoid these rough parts in the future and
to build relations, including those in the international arena,”
said Alexander Lukashenko.

Besides, the two countries are connected by friendly relations not
only between the heads of state, but also between governments and
business representatives. “We closely monitor the life of our brotherly
Armenian nation. We rejoice at your successes. We are glad that in
the complicated conditions you are trying not to simply survive but
to advance Armenia to a higher development level. If we can help you
in this area, we will,” said Alexander Lukashenko.

In turn, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian remarked that
while in Belarus he planned to discuss several bilateral matters
as well as matters on the regional and international agendas. “We
maintain the political dialogue at the highest level,” stressed the
Foreign Minister of Armenia. He remarked that Belarusian-Armenian
cooperation develops quite successfully, emerging issues are promptly
addressed. He also remarked that there were plans to sign a 2011-2012
Belarusian-Armenian cooperation plan during his visit.

Belarus is an important trade partner of Armenia and ranks third among
the CIS states in the bilateral trade volume. In 2010 Belarus exported
$42.1 million worth of commodities to Armenia, 81.2% up. Belarus’
main exports to Armenia are tires, trucks, tractors, parts and
accessories for them, medications, and dairy foods. Belarus’ main
imports from Armenia are alcohol beverages, tobacco products, chemical
substances, and medications. There is a chain for distributing products
of Belarusian enterprises in Armenia. Three enterprises with a share
of Belarusian capital have been opened. Those are the trading house
BelAr, OOO BelAZ Kavkaz Trans Service, and OOO Armenian-Belarusian
Trading House Ar-Be.

From: Baghdasarian

Le Figaro Économie, France
Jeudi 1 Septembre 2011

En Arménie, on faisait déjà du vin il y a 6 000 ans

Miserey, Yves

ARCHÉOLOGIE À quelle époque et dans quelle région les hommes ont-ils
appris à fabriquer du vin ? L’énigme reste entière malgré plusieurs
découvertes autour du bassin méditerranéen et dans le Caucase. Le fait
de savoir maintenant distinguer les pépins fossiles de raisins
sauvages et domestiques ouvre de nouvelles pistes de recherche. Car
nos ancêtres ont pu faire du vin avec de la vigne sauvage avant
d’apprendre à la cultiver.Dans ce contexte, la découverte qui a eu
lieu en 2007 dans une grotte située dans l’est de l’Arménie reste
malgré tout un événement majeur. Des archéologues américains et
arméniens y ont exhumé un vrai trésor : les restes d’un ancien
pressoir, une cuve, des fragments de poteries, des pépins, de la pulpe
et même des pédicelles. Tous ces vestiges en bon état de conservation
dormaient dans une couche de terre vieille de 4000 ans av. J.-C.
(Journal of Archaeological Science, mai 2011).« Ils ont eu beaucoup de
chance de trouver autant de choses dans un seul lieu », admet Philippe
Marinval, de l’université de Toulouse (CNRS). Le nombre de pièces leur
permet en effet d’avoir la quasi-certitude d’être en présence d’un des
premiers chais néolithiques. « Nous n’avons jamais dit que nous avons
découvert le plus vieux vin du monde, souligne néanmoins Hans Barnard,
de l’Université de Californie (États-Unis). En revanche, nous avons
développé une méthode fiable pour identifier les traces très anciennes
de vin et nous l’avons appliquée à plusieurs échantillons mis au jour
en Syrie et en Arménie », insiste-t-il.À ce jour, en effet, aucune
analyse biochimique ne permet de détecter des traces de vin avec
certitude car l’éthanol (alcool) disparaît avec le temps. À défaut,
les biochimistes se sont rabattus sur les traces d’acide tartrique, un
composé que l’on trouve dans le raisin mais aussi dans d’autres fruits
consommés jadis dans le bassin méditerranéen ou utilisés comme plantes
médicinales.

Un pigment rouge
Le nouveau marqueur est un pigment rouge caractéristique du raisin :
la malvidine qui a l’avantage de n’être présente que dans un petit
nombre d’autres végétaux. Des traces ont été détectées sur la paroi de
plusieurs tessons de céramique trouvés dans la grotte arménienne mais
aussi à Tell Mozan, en Syrie. C’est un indice mais, pour Hans Barnard,
il ne serait être suffisant. « Une preuve définitive ne peut être
apportée que par la combinaison d’indices archéologiques, historiques
et chimiques », explique-t-il au Figaro. L’idéal serait de trouver une
nouvelle méthode de détection de l’éthanol (l’alcool) mais il est très
soluble et n’a le plus souvent laissé aucun dépôt. De plus, l’alcool
peut aussi être le produit d’une activité microbiologique naturelle.
C’est donc peu vraisemblable de pouvoir un jour mettre au point un
test irréfutable de la présence de vin ou de produits alimentaires
dans un contexte archéologique. » Les révélations sur l’histoire
ancienne du vin sont elles aussi à consommer avec modération.

From: Baghdasarian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 9 2011

Erdogan’s misinterpreted remarks on escorting aid vessels touch raw nerves

A warning by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Israel
reiterating his country’s firmness on ensuring freedom of navigation
in the eastern Mediterranean sent shockwaves throughout the region
after it was interpreted as a prelude to a naval confrontation with
its former ally.

But officials in Ankara made clear on Friday that Erdogan’s remarks
during an interview with Al Jazeera were quoted out of context. Some
of his quotes were compiled later both by Al Jazeera and Reuters in a
way that implied these quotes had followed each other, the same
officials said. “Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized
to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Erdogan was
quoted as saying by Reuters in the interview, broadcast by Al Jazeera
with an Arabic translation.

“From now on, we will not let these ships be attacked by Israel, as
what happened with the Freedom Flotilla,” Erdogan was also quoted as
saying by Reuters.

In the Turkish version of the text of the interview provided by the
Anatolia news agency, however, Erdogan, in response to a question on
ensuring the freedom of navigation in the eastern Mediterranean, says:
“At the moment, no doubt, Turkish warships are first of all liable to
protect their own ships. This is the first step. And there is
humanitarian aid which we will extend. Our humanitarian assistance
will no longer be attacked as happened in the case of the Mavi
Marmara.”

A senior government official speaking to Today’s Zaman on Friday said
Erdogan’s remarks cannot be interpreted to mean that Turkey has been
preparing to send humanitarian aid ships to the region that will be
escorted by Turkish warships. “We have put forth a principle by saying
that we will ensure the freedom of navigation in the eastern
Mediterranean and that this field is not an Israeli playground.

As long as Israel does not interfere in the freedom of navigation, we
do not plan on sending any warships to escort humanitarian aid ships,”
the official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the
issue, told Today’s Zaman. “The misquoted remarks suggest that we have
been readying to provide a warship to escort each humanitarian aid
ship. This is not the case. However, Turkey will protect its citizens’
rights in the event of any interference in international waters,” the
official added.

Turkey downgraded its relations with Israel following a raid by the
latter on the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was part of an international
aid flotilla attempting to breach an Israeli blockade of Gaza. Turkey
said relations between the two countries would only return to normal
if Israel offered a formal apology for the resultant killings and paid
compensation to the victims’ families. Israel, however, refused,
saying its soldiers had acted in self-defence. Months-long diplomatic
efforts to mend relations failed to produce an agreement.

The Turkish government last Friday announced a set of sanctions
against Israel, including the further downgrading of relations to
second secretary level – effectively expelling senior-level Israeli
diplomats – and measures it will take to ensure freedom of navigation
in the eastern Mediterranean after Israel made clear that it would not
apologize for the 31 May 2010 raid.

In Jerusalem, Erdogan’s compiled remarks found a response from Deputy
Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who termed “Turkey’s announcement that
Turkish warships would escort any future convoys to the Gaza Strip”
“harsh and serious” but said Israel wanted to avoid a war of words
with its former ally.

“The things Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said are harsh and serious,
but I don’t think it would be right to get into any verbal
saber-rattling with him,” Deputy Prime Minister Meridor told Israeli
Army Radio. “Our silence is the best response. I hope this phenomenon
will pass.” Meanwhile, Israel’s hawkish foreign minister is planning a
series of measures to retaliate against Turkey in the recent row over
the apology, including military aid to the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), a news report said on Friday.

Other planned measures are cooperation with the Armenian lobby in the
US in its efforts to win recognition for Armenian claims that 1.5
million Armenians were victims of a genocide campaign in the late
Ottoman Empire during World War I and to issue a travel warning urging
all Israeli military veterans to refrain from travelling to Turkey,
according to a report in Israel’s Yedioth Ahranoth newspaper. The
travel advisory will also urge Israelis to refrain from boarding
connections in Turkey, the report said.

Yedioth Ahranoth said Lieberman had planned meetings with PKK leaders
in Europe in order to find ways to cooperate with them “in every
possible area.” In these meetings, the PKK leaders may ask Israel for
military aid in the form of training and arms supplies, the report
said. Lieberman is also planning active Israeli participation in
efforts worldwide to report Turkey’s “violations of human rights” in
the treatment of minorities in Turkey.

“We’ll exact a price from Erdogan that will prove to him that messing
with Israel doesn’t pay off. Turkey better treat us with respect and
common decency,” Lieberman was quoted as saying. Whether Lieberman’s
threats could ever be implemented remains questionable.

From: Baghdasarian

WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
Sept 11 2011

Historical Armenian church inTurkey holds second ceremony

Akdamar Church had been opened to worshippers for a single day and
hosted a religious ceremony for the first time after 95 years in
September 2010.

A religious ceremony began at the Akdamar Church, located on Akdamar
island in Lake Van, on Sunday morning.

The ceremony is being led by Turkish Armenian Patriarchate’s
Archbishop Aram Atesyan.

Akdamar Church had been opened to worshippers for a single day and
hosted a religious ceremony for the first time after 95 years in
September 2010.

The church, which had attracted nearly 30,000 tourists until the end
of 2010, has received even more number of visitors during the first 7
months of the year, tourism officials told AA.

Officials said the number of tourists visiting the Akdamar Church was
expected to reach 60,000 until the end of 2011 as the church would
host another religious ceremony.

The Church of Akdamar was built by Architect Bishop Manuel between
915-921 A.D. under the supervision of King Gagik I.

The name given to the island, Aght’amar, is explained by a well-known
legend among local population: A nobleman who fell in love with a
beautiful girl named Tamar visited the island every night to see her.
As he was crossing the lake one stormy night, his boat capsized and
fighting the waves, he drowned uttering the words “Ach Tamar”. Tamar,
awaiting the arrival of her loved one, grieved deeply upon hearing the
news of his death and died soon after. Hence, the island was called
“Ach Tamar” (Aght’amar/Akdamar) ever since.

The church remained as a part of a monastic complex until the
beginning of the 20th century, after which it was abandoned during
World War I due to the fights along the Russian border and it was left
in a bad condition for many years.

Turkish authorities restored the church between 2005-2007 and opened
it as a museum.

Upon a proposal by the Governor’s Office of Van and approval of the
Turkish Culture & Tourism Ministry, authorities later decided that
Akdamar Church shall host a religious worship once a year.

AA

From: Baghdasarian

Atlas Shrugs
September 10, 2011 Saturday 2:55 PM EST

Turkey Prepares for War With Israel: Will Send Warships to “Escort”
Jihad Flotilla Warship

“The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our
bayonets and the faithful our soldiers.” Turkish Prime Minister
Erdogan

The newly islamicized Turkey escalates its hostile aggressions towards
the tiny Jewish state. Today Turkey said it would increase hostilities
against Israel by sending warships to escort the next round of jihad
flotillas to Gaza.

Further, they promised that they would not allow a repetition of last
year’s Israeli raid that killed nine Turks, setting the stage for a
potential naval confrontation with its former ally.

Turkey is continuing its jihad against Israel. The jihad flotilla was
a set-up; the ambush, the bloodshed: “We had no Choice”… [we] did
not expect to be landing in “a battlefield” and facing a group of
“murderous mercenaries.”

The jihad flotilla warship launched from Turkey should have resulted
in sanctions against the Turkish government. Instead, the jihadist
prime minister is promising to launch another, with warship escorts.

One of the flotilla event organizers called for “death to Israel,”
saying that they will fight till their last breath until they take
over Jerusalem.

Turkey violated international law, and as a result, demanded that
Israel apologize, as the Ottoman empire demanded of its dhimmi Jews.
Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to apologize to Turkey for Jewish
soldiers defending themselves from marauding knife-wielding Muslims.

In response, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador. And followed up
with last week with the nazi-like detention of 40 Jews at Istanbul
Airport, who were forced to strip, their passports confiscated.

Why aren’t free nations at the UN demanding that Turkey be expelled
for launching a warship designed to provoke war games with Israel?

Worse still, the islamophiliac in the White House is demanding that
Israel issue an apology.

One only has to have a cursory knowledge of the brutal and monstrous
history of the Jews in Muslim lands to understand what a post-dhimmi
Jew is, but clearly Turkey is reverting to its Ottoman imperial
supremacist thuggery, with the OIC leading the way. The 1,400-year
treatment of the Jews under Muslim rule is without peer, save for the
Nazis, who were more advanced and modern, and made extermination their
ultimate goal — whereas under the sharia, slavery, exploitation,
persecution, humiliation and extermination were the mixed bag suffered
by the Jews. But make no mistake: the Muslim world was aligned with
Hitler, and the leader of the Muslim world, Mufti al-Husseini, was
responsible for the deaths of 400,000 Jewish women and children during
the Shoah. The Muslim armies he raised in Bosnia were said to be the
most vicious and bloodthirsty.

In his memoirs [al-Husseini] wrote: “Our fundamental condition for
cooperating with Germany was a free hand to eradicate every last Jew
from Palestine and the Arab world. I asked Hitler for an explicit
undertaking to allow us to solve the Jewish problem in a manner
befitting our national and racial aspirations and according to the
scientific methods innovated by Germany in the handling of its Jews.
The answer I got was: ‘The Jews are yours.’

The Muslim world never expressed remorse nor made reparation for its
role in Holocaust. And Turkey has never been held accountable for the
1915 Armenian Genocide, resulting the Islamic slaughter of millions of
Armenian Christians. Turkey should be sponsoring our Freedom from
Jihad flotilla to save the victims of sharia living in Muslim
countries (we had to push the launch back to raise funds, and get a
ship and a country to sail under. Freedom is growing increasingly
unpopular in a leftist/Islamic world). Instead, Turkey supported a
genocidal mission against Jews. We must demand the end of Turkey’s
occupation of Northern Cyprus and demand justice for Armenia and the
Kurds.

Turkey will send warships to escort next Gaza Flotilla Reuters

(Reuters) – Turkey said on Thursday it would escort aid ships to Gaza
and would not allow a repetition of last year’s Israeli raid that
killed nine Turks, setting the stage for a potential naval
confrontation with its former ally.

Raising the stakes in Turkey’s row with Israel over its refusal to
apologize for the killings, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told
Al Jazeera television that Turkey had taken steps to stop Israel from
unilaterally exploiting natural resources in the Mediterranean.

“Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our
ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Erdogan said in the
interview, broadcast by Al Jazeera with an Arabic translation.

“From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as
what happened with the Freedom Flotilla,” Erdogan said.

Referring to Erdogan’s comments, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman
Yigal Palmor said: “This is a statement well-worth not commenting on.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel, two close U.S. allies in the
region, have soured since Israeli forces boarded the Gaza-bound Mavi
Marmara aid ship in May 2010.

Ankara downgraded ties and vowed to boost naval patrols in the eastern
Mediterranean in the escalating row. Israel says it acted legally
against ships that tried to breach its blockade on the Palestinian
enclave which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group.

OT but related: Egypt’s Mubarak did not suffer these Gaza ‘aid’
inciters Dec. 31, 2009

the Egyptian government refused to allow the nearly 1400 leftist
activists from a reported forty-three nations gathered in Cairo to
cross into Gaza through Egyptian border crossings to join the
so-called Gaza Freedom March scheduled for December 31st in Gaza. 1400
was the number of Palestinians reported killed in Israel’s defensive
operations in Gaza last December.

And look how things worked out for him. There are no accidents. The
rise of the universal caliphate:

Islamist Organizers of “The Gaza Flotilla”, Now Lead Anti Mubarak
Demonstrations in Turkey MEMRI

Istanbul is the scene for daily demonstrations by Islamist
organizations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Yesterday,
crowds carrying banners both in Turkish and Arabic gathered in front
of Egypt’s Consulate in Istanbul, cheered “Long Live the Egyptian
Intifada”, they burned posters of Mubarak, and chanted ‘Pharoah
Mubarak go to Israel!”.

Bulent Yildirim, the president of IHH, who organized the Gaza Flotilla
against Israel in May 2010 spoke to the crowd and said that Mubarak
was an oppressor and killer of his people, who had surrendered Gaza to
the hands of Israel.

IHH was also the organizer of today’s protests in Istanbul, after
Friday prayers. All Islamist NGOs close to the ruling AKP, and a
leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood participated in the protest.
Yildirim spoke to the crowds, saying that Egyptian people were not
alone and that the torch of freedom was lit by the blood of the
shahids of Mavi Marmara. He said that all leaders that supported the
destruction of Al Aqsa would share the same fate as Mubarak.

Dr. Ashraf Abdulgaffar, a Muslim Brotherhood leader told the crowd
that people were filling the streets in many countries, to say “No to
Israel and America”. He said, “Today is the umma’s birthday. Today,
millions in Egypt are writing history. Nobody can stand against the
umma’s rise”. He also led a prayer for success of the resistance of
the Egyptian people and readings from the Koran.

Sources: AA (Anatolian Agency), Turkey, February 3, 2011;
Haberler.com, IHH.org, February 4, 2011

From: Baghdasarian

ISRAEL
Israël : pas d’excuses à Ankara et blocus de Gaza maintenu

Israël ne présentera pas d’excuses à la Turquie pour son raid contre
le ferry turc Mavi Marmara et maintiendra son blocus maritime de la
bande de Gaza, a réitéré mercredi un ministre israélien.

`Israël défend ses intérêts, et son gouvernement ne présentera pas ses
excuses`, a affirmé Israël Katz, ministre des Transports, à la radio
publique israélienne alors que les rapports entre les deux pays
s’enveniment de jour en jour.

Il a ainsi fait allusion à neuf Turcs tués sur ce ferry en 2010 lors
d’un raid de la marine israélienne dans les eaux internationales
contre une flottille humanitaire internationale en route pour briser
le blocus maritime israélien de la bande de Gaza.

`Israël poursuivra son blocus maritime de la bande de Gaza pour
empêcher le transfert d’armes aux terroristes du Hamas` le mouvement
islamiste palestinien qui contrôle ce territoire, a encore dit M.
Katz.

La Turquie a adopté la semaine dernière des sanctions contre Israël,
notamment parce que l’Etat hébreu refuse de présenter ses excuses et
de lever ce blocus.

Egalement interrogée à la radio publique, Tzippi Livni, chef du parti
centriste Kadima d’opposition, a souligné que `la dégradation des
relations entre la Turquie et Israël est constante depuis deux ans et
demi, et les dirigeants des deux bords doivent se parler`.

Selon ses estimations, `la Turquie sent qu’Israël est isolé et faible,
et que ses rapports avec les Etats-Unis sont dans une situation
délicate (…) Si le processus de paix (avec les Palestiniens) n’avait
pas été interrompu, la Turquie ne se serait pas comportée ainsi`.

Cité mercredi par les médias, le ministre israélien de l’Industrie, du
Commerce et de l’Emploi, Shalom Simhon, a pour sa part émis l’espoir
`qu’en ces temps de tempête, les échanges commerciaux serviront de
levier pour améliorer les relations bilatérales`.

Le volume de ces échanges est en augmentation constante malgré la
crise politique.

Selon l’institut israélien pour les exportations, les exportations
d’Israël vers la Turquie ont représenté 858 millions de dollars (609
millions d’euros) durant le premier semestre 2011, soit une
augmentation de 23% par rapport à la période correspondante de l’année
antérieure.

Sur l’ensemble de 2011, ces exportations devraient atteindre plus de
1,7 milliard de dollars (USD, 1,2 milliards d’euros), contre 1,3
milliard USD en 2010.

Les importations israéliennes de Turquie ont représenté 1,8 milliard
USD en 2010, soit 30% de plus qu’en 2009. Durant la première moitié de
2011, elles ont atteint 1,1 milliard USD, soit 14% de plus que durant
la période correspondante de 2010, et devraient se fixer à plus de 2,2
milliards USD (3 milliards d’euros) pour l’ensemble de l’année.

dimanche 11 septembre 2011,
Sté[email protected]

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIE
Disparition de Karékine Azarian (50 ans)
il était le président de la Commission centrale électorale d’Arménie

Karékine Azarian, le président de la Commission centrale électorale
d’Arménie est mort vendredi soir des suites d’une crise cardiaque. Il
avait 50 ans. Karékine Azarian était né à Erévan le 12 avril 1961.
Marié, il était le père de deux enfants. Récemment réélu à la tête de
la Commission centrale électorale, Karékine Azarian avait occupé de
très nombreuses fonctions au sein de l’Etat arménien. Diplômé de
l’Institut Polytechnique d’Erévan en 1986 il occupait de 1986 à 1992
des fonctions auprès du Conseil du quartier Machdots à Erévan. De 1992
à 1995 il était le directeur adjoint de la société « Help ». De 1995 à
1996 il était le responsable du personnel auprès du ministère du
Territoire puis de 1996 à 1997 il était le responsable du quartier de
Machdots. En 1997 il était nommé Conseiller au Parlement arménien. De
2000 à 2003 il avait une responsabilité auprès du ministère de la
Justice. Depuis 2003 il était président de la Commission centrale
électorale.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 11 septembre 2011,
Krikor [email protected]

From: Baghdasarian