Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

NOBEL LAUREATE’S TRAVEL FEARS: ARE TURKISH-NATIONALIST ATTITUDES TO BLAME?

San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Feb 8 2007

Late last week, the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk (winner of the 2006
Nobel Prize for literature) canceled a reading tour of major cities in
Germany at the last minute. The apparent reason: the internationally
acclaimed author of such works as Snow and Istanbul: Memories and
the City was reportedly concerned about his safety after the recent
killing of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul
last month. "Yasin Hayal, the alleged mastermind behind [Dink’s]
murder, declared on his way into court on January 24: ‘Tell Orhan
Pamuk to wise up!’" (Der Spiegel) Germany has a population of some
2.6 million people of Turkish origin.

Like Dink, who was murdered by Turkish nationalists, in his writing
Pamuk has dared to critically examine aspects of Turkish culture,
society, history and religious practices that have long been considered
off-limits subjects for public discussion.

The writer’s biggest boo-boo in the eyes of hardcore Turkish
nationalists: In the past, he has dared to refer to "the deaths of
up to one-and-a-half-million Armenians at the end of World War I"
in what historians and Armenians have referred to as a campaign
of genocide carried out by the era’s Ottoman Turks. As a result,
"Pamuk is despised by militant Turkish nationalists for talking about
the mass murder and for criticizing the Turkish government’s handling
of the conflict with the Kurdish separatists in the southeast of the
country." (Der Spiegel)

Like Dink, Pamuk was taken to court (in 2005) for allegedly violating
Article 301 of Turkey’s national penal code. That provision makes it
illegal to "publicly denigrate Turkishness, the Parliament, the state
as well as the judiciary, the police force and the military…" (New
Anatolian) Pamuk’s case was eventually dropped on a technicality but
it reinforced international perception of Turkey as a country that
suppresses free speech – and, as such, as a nation that still may have
a long way to go before it can meet European Union requirements in its
government’s determined bid for coveted membership in the Euro-club.

Germany’s Der Spiegel noted that Pamuk’s "decision to cancel [his]
tour will be another blow to Turkey’s reputation when it comes to
the issue of freedom of expression."

Instead of traveling to Germany, Pamuk headed to the United States late
last week. He told reporters at Istanbul’s airport, upon his departure:
"I will give talks at Columbia University and other universities." (AP
in International Herald Tribune)

An editorial in Spain’s El País this week hinted that Pamuk’s latest
overseas travels might be seen as the writer’s first steps toward
a permanent move away from his homeland. The Spanish daily pointed
out that the ultra-nationalist pressure that is oppressing or even
silencing a growing number of Turkish artists and intellectuals
directly implicates the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Although Erdogan reportedly ordered any government
officials who may have acted with favor toward Dink’s alleged
murder-conspirators to be disciplined, El País noted that it has
been hard to miss, in watching Pamuk in TV news clips, that "the
Nobel laureate has lost confidence in the [Turkish] law-enforcement
forces that should be protecting him and, as a result, has opted for
a voluntary exile. As for his life, Istanbul, the scene of and the
source of his work, and all of Turkey, have become dangerous places."

–Boundary_(ID_eOIgaFNGkY5dy4CN1aiS jA)–
From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH PREMIER: TURKEY WILL NOT OPEN ITS BORDERS TO ARMENIA UNLESS ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT IS SOLVED

APA
[ 07 Feb. 2007 18:05 ]

Azerbaijan’s Defence Minister, General Colonel Safar Abiyev ended
his two-day visit to Turkey, the Ministry’s press service told the APA.

During his stay in Turkey, Azerbaijani Minister had meetings with
Armed Forces General Staff Chief, Army General YaÅ~_ar Buyukanıt,
President Ahmad Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Rajab Tayyib Erdogan
and Defence Minister Vecdi Konul.

Development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey
was discussed at the meetings.

Informing the Turkish Prime Minister of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over the Nagorno-Karabakh, Safar Abiyev said that the peace talks
have not yet reached progress.

"Therefore we are strengthening Azerbaijani Armed Forces," he said.

Rajab Tayyib Erdogan said that Turkey will continue its cooperation
with Azerbaijan in all spheres and military sphere as well.

"Turkey will not open its borders to Armenia unless Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict is solved. We should continue our friendship and
brotherhood. Our cooperation is of great importance," Erdogan
underlined.

No document was signed during the visit.

–Boundary_(ID_Juw2Qx8yl9yZGSHMLJqvJw)–
From: Baghdasarian

RA JUDICIAL SYSTEM TO UNDERGO CONSIDERABLE CHANGES

Noyan Tapan
Feb 07 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA NA discussed in the second
reading on February 6 the draft legislative packages on making
additions and amendments to the RA Judicial Code and the law "On
Conscription." This arises of the demands of making corresponding to
the 2005 constitutional amendments and additions and implementing
the 2nd stage of judicial-legal reforms. In the words of Davit
Haroutiunian, the main speaker, RA Justice Minister, by the presented
draft the RA judicial system will considerably differ from the one
functioning at present. Particularly, courts of first instance of
general competence will be created which will examine not difficult
civil, criminal and administrative cases. Difficult cases will
be examined at the specialized courts of 1st instance. 3 criminal
and 3 civil courts of first instance: Yerevan, North and South, and
one administrative court which serve the whole territory of the RA,
will be founded in the RA. According to the draft no changes will
be concerning other points: 2 Appeal Courts: Criminal and Civil,
the Court of Cassation will remain, but change of contingent will
take place. The Economic Court will be dissoluted. The considerable
part of cases being examined by the latter will be examined by the
Civil Court, and the others will be moved to administrative courts
and courts of general competence. The judges who are at present among
the Economic Court staff and carry on cases on bankruptcy will be
involved in the staff of specialized Civil Courts after the mentioned
reforms. The draft on coming into force of the RA Judicial Code was
also discussed in the first reading at the Parliament. According to it,
particularly, the norms regulating the judicial legal relations will
come into force not later than on January 1, 2008. The RA Economic
Court will stop its activity after that term.
From: Baghdasarian

ANCA CALLED FOR END TO U.S. COMPLICITY IN TURKEY’S DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Feb 6 2007

February 5 the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) in
testimony submitted to a key U.S. Senate Judiciary panel, called for
an end to U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide,
and concrete steps to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

The ANCA’s written testimony was submitted as a part of the inaugural
hearing of the newly created Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human
Rights and Law, titled "Genocide and the Rule of Law", which included
remarks by Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, Deputy Assistant Attorney
General Sigal Mandelker, actor and activist Don Cheadle, and American
University College of Law Professor Diane F. Orentlicher.

According to the information DE FACTO got at the ANCA, Armenian
National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian in
his testimony stated, "Today, as we witness the genocide unfolding
in Darfur, it has become increasingly clear that the failure of the
international community, over the course of the past century, to
confront and punish genocide has created an environment of impunity
in which the brutal cycle of genocide continues."

Hamparian cited the history of U.S. complicity in Turkey’s 92-year
campaign of genocide denial, most recently through the firing of former
Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans for properly characterizing
the Armenian Genocide as ‘genocide,’ and the re-nomination of Richard
Hoagland for this diplomatic posting – despite his record of denying
the Armenian Genocide. Hamparian publicly thanked Senator Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), who has placed a "hold" on the Hoagland nomination.

At the opening of the hearing, Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) presented
a video, "Genocide and the Rule of Law" which began with mention of
the Armenian Genocide, and went on to cite the other genocides of the
20th century. The film highlighted efforts by genocide law champion,
former Sen. Bill Proxmire (D-WI), who made over 3,000 Senate speeches
in support of U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention
and the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Sen. Tom Coburn
(R-OK), in his moving opening remarks, cited a poem inspired by the
Armenian atrocities, but which sadly describes the inhumanity of
all subsequent genocides. In his testimony, Cheadle noted Sudan as
the most recent of example of the cycle of genocide that pervaded
the last century, beginning with the Armenian Genocide. First term
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) outlined the "pattern of genocide"
the international community has faced over the past century, beginning
with the Armenian Genocide.
From: Baghdasarian

MINISTER SAYS ARMENIA DRAWING UP FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR IRAN OIL PIPELINE

Arminfo
5 Feb 07

Yerevan, 5 February: Feasibility studies for a project to construct
an Iran-Armenia oil pipeline and an oil refinery in Meghri are being
drawn up in Armenia, the Armenian energy minister, Armen Movsisyan,
has said in an exclusive interview with Arminfo.

"I plan to pay a visit to Tehran in the near future to discuss the
issue of implementing the project," the minister said, adding that
the talk is about the construction of an oil pipeline from the oil
refinery in the Iranian town of Tabriz to Armenia’s border town of
Meghri, where an oil refinery is to be built.

The minister recalled that the project has existed since 1990. However,
a real opportunity to implement it has only now emerged.

[Passage omitted: printed details]
From: Baghdasarian

PARTING TRIBUTE TO A ‘NUT VISIONARY’
Randall Beach, Register Columnist

New Haven Register, CT
Feb 5 2007

The first time I saw Elizabeth Tashjian, she was dressed in a long,
flowing purple silk gown as she ecstatically flung open the entryway
to her Nut Museum.

Although I was excited to meet her and I got an unforgettable tour,
I had been told not to go there. My wife, who grew up in Old Lyme,
within two miles of Tashjian’s home and museum, told me "the Nut Lady"
was old news, tiresome and self-absorbed.

Sometimes you have to ignore your spouse’s advice. Sometimes you’ll
be very glad you did so.

Yes, I am grateful I was able to spend two memorable afternoons with
one of our state’s genuine characters. And now she is gone; Tashjian
died Jan. 28 week at 94.

Sure, she was self-absorbed. Many of our most interesting people are
that way. You just sit back, listen and enjoy the show.

She didn’t entertain only the people who found their way to her
museum. She also performed for millions of viewers who were lucky
enough to tune in to Johnny Carson’s "The Tonight Show" (four times),
"Late Night With David Letterman" and even Howard Stern’s show.

All of those museum visitors or TV viewers had the privilege of seeing
her 35-pound double coconut from the Seychelles Islands (it looked
like human buttocks) and hearing Tashjian sing her own composition,
"The Nut Anthem." In her high sing-song voice she rhapsodized:
"Nuts can be so bee-yoo-ti-ful"

But of course Carson and Letterman and Stern were making fun of her.

And the audience was laughing at her.

Hers is a poignant story. I’m not kidding. She spent her life on a
serious artistic mission to educate the world about the beauty and
importance of nuts.

This proved to be an impossible dream.

She was such an eccentric that people kept laughing. They always called
her "The Nut Lady," a name she told me she detested. She wanted to
be known as "The Nut Visionary" or "The Nut Culturist."

She said it was a natural choice for her to come to "the Nutmeg
state." The daughter of wealthy Armenian immigrants, she had been
raised in New York City and first beheld the Victorian mansion in
1950 when she came to visit Old Lyme with her mother.

Tashjian said that when she was a little girl she developed a love
and respect for nuts because her family always had bowls of them
around the house.

Recalling her epiphany for a Connecticut Magazine profile, she said,
"And one day I cracked a walnut, and the way it fell out of its shell,
it looked so beautiful, like a butterfly."

Tashjian, a talented painter who studied at the National Academy of
Design, began to paint nuts at an early age. Her artwork was displayed
at her museum.

Embracing her singular vision, she never married. After her mother
died, she lived alone in that house and in 1972 opened the museum.

She became a familiar figure around Old Lyme. People would see her
riding her bicycle to the market; she never owned a car.

My father-in-law often saw her when he was buying groceries.

Inevitably, to his mounting irritation, their "conversation" would
turn to her TV appearances and nut obsession.

When I mentioned Tashjian to him last week and noted her passing,
he said, "She was a nut."

The double meaning of this word was a source of great sorrow and
frustration to her. Shortly after she opened her museum, she told me,
she was shocked to learn "nut" also means "crazy."

"I almost closed the place," she said sadly. "Instead I changed the
purpose from the mere beautification of the nut to ridding it of its
double meaning."

Her final years were also poignant. In 2002 she was found unconscious
at her home. The courts appointed caretakers for her and they stuck
her in a convalescent home in Old Saybrook and sold her home.

When she awoke from her coma, she was enraged. During my visit with
her at that convalescent home in November 2002, she kept saying,
"I want to go home."

She never did. She died in that facility where she felt imprisoned.

But there were moments of light and recognition and respect in
her later years. Chris Steiner, who directs museum studies at
Connecticut College in New London, saw the importance of Tashjian and
her collection. He gathered it together, exhibited it at the college
and invited her to speak at an opening reception.

For those who joined her that night, and for the 15 people who attended
her memorial service Friday, she was never "The Nut Lady."

She was a folk hero.
From: Baghdasarian

FEB 3 DAY OF ST. SARGIS – DAY OF LOVERS

Yerevan, February 3. ArmInfo. Today, Feb 3, is the Day of St. Sargis –
the Day the Blessing of Young People (analogue of the western Day of
St. Valentine, Feb 14).

On the order of His Holiness Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
all St. Sargis Churches will hold festive ceremonies today.

According to the legend, St. Commander Sargis is the patron of all
young people and lovers. According to the old custom, young people eat
special salty cakes on the night before the holiday and whoever gives
them a glass of water in their dreams will be their beloved.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenpress

ARMENIAN CULTURE MINISTRY DENOUNCES BRITISH DANCER

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS: In an unusually
harsh remarks Armenian culture ministry has denounced
today a British choreographer and dancer Nigel
Charnock’s entrance to Armenia, describing his two
performances here as ‘a low quality art."
" In a statement disseminated to media the ministry
said Charnock, who performed twice at a Yerevan
theater, could hardly be regarded as ‘a British
national treasure,’ claimed by media in UK. Nigel
Charnock was brought to Armenia by the British Council
and performed his "Frank" performance in the Russian
Drama Theatre on January 31 and February 1.
‘The English theater and its traditions are known
to the whole world.. We are sure that the Queen in
London and other ordinary Britons take pride in
William Shakespeare’s art regarding him truly as a
national treasure, but it appears that the English
perception of treasures has depreciated drastically
and Nigel Charnock is its best evidence,’ the
statement says.
The harsh statement may have been prompted by what
the ministry said was ‘disrespectful treatment of
Armenia’s national flag on the stage.’ "The ministry
wants once again say that it will not tolerate
disrespectful treatment of Armenia’s national flag and
other state symbols,"
"Charnock may treat the British flag as he likes;
drop it on the floor, step on it, chew it or swallow
it, but it is unacceptable and punishable by law to
treat that way the Armenian flag," it said.
From: Baghdasarian

A1+

DOORS OF CRU WERE CLOSED FOR HRANT KHACHATRYAN
[07:00 pm] 01 February, 2007

more images On February 1, over 30-40 people, adherents of Hrant
Khachatryan (founder of Constitutional Right Union) tried to enter the
CRU office with the shoutings, «We are all Hrants, we are all
CRUs». But unfortunately the door of the office was shut in front
of them.

Meanwhile, the adherents, to say more precisely about 5 handsome and
broad-shouldered body-guards of Hayk Baboukhanyan (acting president of
CRU) prevented them from entering the office. After assembling at the
doors for 10 – 15 minutes, Hrant Khachatryan’s adherents left the
territory without any further scandal.

«According to our data, there are many criminal elements in the
party and in order to hinder further hooliganism, we are leaving
now. We merely came to see whether they have carried out the verdict
of the court and now we see that it must be done forcibly. Next time
we shall visit the office with the representatives of the Compulsory
Executive Services and at that time we shall be able to restore the
work of the party», Karen Vardanyan, one of the authors of the
court claim told A1+.

«I try to be guided by law and not to commit any illegal step»,
Hrant Khachatryan says. In his words, he is the legal leader of CRU
though he submitted a resignation. Nevertheless, today, Hrant
Khachatryan is trying to administer justice.

In answer to our question whether Mr. Khachatryan feels pity for his
resignation, the latter said, «I don’t regret at all. My feelings
dominated my logics and soberness for 2 – 3 minutes, that’s all. It
happened the moment I was leaving the CRU sitting. Further on, I felt
no regret for my steps».

Hrant Khachatryan will not run for PM. He is neither going to organise
coup d’etat nor to nominate someone else for the post of CRU acting
president Hayk Baboukhanyan. «My aim is to restore the
regulation». Mr. Khachatryan maintains that CRU will not
participate in the upcoming elections, as «even if we put
everything in order today, we can’t provide the necessary conditions
for the party to participate in the elections. One cannot rule the
army with a limping donkey». By the way, by saying «a limping
donkey» Mr. Khachatryan means their weakened party.
From: Baghdasarian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 1 2007

US-Turkey ties face test as `genocide’ resolution introduced

Democratic and Republican lawmakers introduced a resolution in the US
House of Representatives urging the US administration to recognize an
alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
in Anatolia.

The resolution puts Turkish-US relations to a new test after tension
over Iraq throughout the past several years. Turkish officials have
repeatedly warned that relations would suffer irreparable damage if
the resolution is passed, and yesterday Turkish lawmakers expressed
hope that the resolution would not go ahead. "We hope the resolution
will never be brought before the president. Even in this case, we
hope the United States will not show weakness in the face of Armenian
diaspora efforts," said Faruk Çelik, a deputy from the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AK Party). "Otherwise, Turkish-US ties will be
seriously affected."
Turkey denies Armenian allegations that 1.5 million Armenians were
victims of a genocide campaign at the hands of the Ottoman Empire,
saying that the death toll is inflated and that the killings came as
the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell civil unrest caused by revolts
of Anatolian Armenians collaborating with the invading Russian army.
A similar resolution was presented to the US Congress in the past but
it was shelved at the last minute when the administration intervened.

Inal Batu, a lawmaker from the opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP), admitted that prospects were much stronger for passage of the
resolution as compared to the past. "Armenians are closer than ever
to success," he told Today’s Zaman. "But I still believe that the
United States will not alienate its strategic partner." The
resolution is opposed by the US administration, but analysts say the
House of Representatives is most likely to pass it.

In a statement, US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson reiterated that
the Bush administration’s position on the issue has not changed and
added: `The administration will be actively involved with the
Congress to oppose this resolution.’
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a co-sponsor, acknowledged that the
resolution might harm U.S.-Turkish relations in the short term.
Nevertheless, he said: `I’m optimistic that the relationship will go
on. We will move beyond this,’ according to The Associated Press.
Schiff and other lead sponsors who introduced the resolution in the
House of Representatives on Tuesday say they have commitments from
more than 150 other members who wanted to add their names as
co-sponsors after the legislation’s introduction. That would be a
strong show of support in the 435-member body.
The sponsors, who held a news conference Tuesday attended by two
Armenian survivors of the episode, say that the move to Democratic
control in Congress increases the chances that the bill will reach
the House floor for a vote. `We feel very strongly that this year is
the year we’re going to get this passed,’ another co-sponsor,
Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., whose state, New Jersey, has a
large Armenian-American community, was quoted as saying by The
Associated Press.
After French lawmakers voted in October to make it a crime to deny
that the killings were a genocide, Turkey said it would suspend
military relations with France. Turkey provides key support to US
military operations. Ýncirlik Air Force Base, a major base in
southern Turkey, has been used by the US to launch operations into
Iraq and Afghanistan.
From: Baghdasarian