Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

LA PREMIERE GUERRE MONDIALE ET LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN, PAR SERGE SARKISSIAN

LU DANS LE NEW-YORK TIMES DU 24 SEPTEMBRE

Cette annee on celèbre le centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale,
qui, par son ampleur et sa ferocite, est devenue une immense
catastrophe pour l’humanite. Quelques 14 millions de morts humaines
dont 5 millions de civils et 9 millions de soldats, des millions de
blesses, des prisonniers de guerre. Des personnes deplacees egalement
qui ont ete forcees de quitter leur patrie ancestrale. Ce sort a
frappe aussi les Armeniens qui ont ete pratiquement aneantis de la
surface de la terre.

L’annee prochaine le peuple armenien commemorera le centenaire des
evènements qui ont marque la culmination des deportations et des
pogroms massifs, perpetres a l’egard de la population armenienne de
l’Empire Ottoman. L’annee de 1915 est devenue l’apogee genocidaire
d’une politique d’epuration ethnique, accompagnant de massacres
commis envers les Armeniens par la Turquie Ottomane depuis la
fin du 19e siècle. Le fait de l’extermination des Armeniens a ete
deja reconnu a cette epoque-la. Le 24 mai 1915 les Gouvernements
de la Grande Bretagne, de la France et de la Russie ont fait une
declaration conjointe enoncant que >. Cette declaration a
ete le premier document international qualifiant >.

En effet, c’est le juriste polonais Raphaël Lemkin qui a ete le premier
a faire usage du terme > pour definir les massacres
massifs des Armeniens perpetres par les autorites ottomanes lors de
la Première Guerre mondiale, aussi bien que les decimations commises
par les Nazis envers les Juifs durant les annees de la Deuxième
Guerre mondiale.

Dans les deux cas les genocides ont ete commis dans le contexte
plus general, c’est-a-dire pendant la guerre. Selon l’historien Mark
Levene, il s’agit d’une guerre qui n’oppose pas les deux Etats, mais
c’est une categorie de guerre dans laquelle c’est l’Etat ou le regime
tenant les renes de l’Etat qui agit contre un peuple.

Le genocide armenien etait le triste precurseur de l’Holocauste
perpetre pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, autant des campagnes
genocidaires qui ont eu lieu des decennies après, au Cambodge, au
Rwanda, au Darfour. Le cycle sombre de l’histoire se repète, dans
une certaine manière, a cause des actions laissees inachevees dans
le passe.

Le genocide armenien reste impuni, est devenu un encouragement majeur
pour les futurs dictateurs. A titre d’exemple, Adolf Hitler a fini par
en deduire que la communaute internationale serait prete a tolerer les
genocides s’ils etaient commis notamment dans >. Hitler avait surtout une pensee pour les massacres armeniens quand,
en 1931, avant son arrivee au pouvoir, il examinait la question de la
necessite d’une politique de relocation des minorites non-allemandes.

.

Le genocide armenien nous rappelle les dangers dûs a la renonciation
d’assumer les lecons, a la negation des genocides ; il nous rapelle
les dangers menant aux consequences nefastes a long terme a cause
de l’impunition et de la non-reconnaissance de tels crimes. La
reconnaissance des genocides anterieurs tel que le genocide armenien
constitue la cle permettant de comprendre le contexte des genocides
futurs eventuels pour etre en mesure de les prevenir.

Malgre la Convention de l’ONU de 1948, censee prevenir les genocides
ulterieurs, nous sommes persuades que ni cette Convention ni aucun
autre document ne peut dûment fonctionner sans la denonciation,
la reconnaissance et la punition des genocides anterieurs. Nous
considerons que le genocide armenien n’est pas uniquement la tragedie
de notre peuple, il l’est aussi pour l’humanite, car il s’agit d’un
crime contre l’humanite a l’echelle universelle qui a ete reconnu au
niveau international au moment de sa perpetration. S’il etait reconnu,
a son juste titre, il pourrait avoir un rôle preventif vis-a-vis des
atrocites futures. L’Armenie va poursuivre d’oeuvrer activement dans
le cadre de l’Organisation des Nations Unies et dans les enceintes des
autres organisations internationales en vue d’aboutir a la condemnation
de ce type d’actes d’une extreme gravite dans tous les coins du monde.

La commemoration du Genocide armenien est toujours un rendez-vous
important pour la Diaspora armenienne, composee de generations des
hommes et des femmes qui depuis des millenaires jusqu’au jour d’etre
deracines violemment, ont vecu dans leur Patrie. A defaut d’une Armenie
independante et libre, la Diaspora et ses institutions ont tenu le
rôle de gardiens du patrimoine armenien jusqu’a la renaissance de la
nation armenienne regagnee sa liberte.

Il y a 23 ans, le drapeau tricolore armenien a ete de nouveau leve a
Erevan en symbolisant le renaissance de l’Armenie independante. Le
peuple armenien a eu une nouvelle opportunite de vivre librement
dans sa Patrie. L’independance retrouvee de l’Armenie a ete aussi
une opportunite pour ouvrir une nouvelle ère dans des relations avec
la Turquie. La position de l’Armenie est refletee dans le principe,
le meme depuis des decennies, consistant a etablir des relations
>. C’etait le principe fondamental
du lancement des negociations et il etait inscrit egalement dans
les Protocoles signes en 2009. L’idee etait d’eviter de tout type
d’obstacles et de creer un environnement propice au developpement des
relations bilaterales et de favoriser l’entente et la reconciliation
des deux societes, suite a l’etablissement des relations diplomatiques
et l’ouverture des frontières.

Maleureusement la Turquie a fait marche arrière de cet accord refusant
d’etablir des relations diplomatiques et continue a maintenir la
frontière ferme avec l’Armenie en lui imposant un blocus economique.

La Turquie renonce a faire face aux crimes commis dans le passe
et de reconnaître les injustices historiques. Mettant de côte la
verite historique, le temps que le dernier troncon du rideau de fer,
c’est-a-dire la frontière entre la Turquie et l’Armenie, reste ferme,
cela continuera a perturber le developpement naturel et l’integration
regionale en injectant constamment de l’instabilite dans cette partie
du monde strategiquement sensible.

L’avenir des relations armeno-turques doit etre fonde sur la
reconciliation historique entre les deux pays. La reconnaissance de
la verite historique peut aider a surmonter les desaccords profonds
entre les peuples armeniens et turcs. Nous sommes convaincus que la
reconnaissance du Genocide armenien ne peut etre considere, en aucun
cas, comme un pas contre la Turquie, une menace ou une attaque envers
elle. De nombreux intellectuels, ecrivains et academiciens turcs ont
entrepris cette demarche courageuse et ouverte leur ayant permis
d’avancer avec dignite sur le chemin difficile de l’introspection
et de l’etude. Dans ce contexte, il est important que la communaute
internationale soutienne et encourage les leaders politiques turcs
pour les inciter a preuve d’attachement envers la justice et la verite
historique, a l’instar de ses nombreux citoyens meritant le respect,
dans le but de clore avec honnetete et humanisme l’un des chapitres
sombres et inacheves de l’histoire de l’humanite.

Serge Sarkissian President de la Republique d’Armenie

vendredi 26 septembre 2014, Ara (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

CHANGE OF POWER IS IMPOSSIBLE, OPPOSITION MUST UNDERSTAND IT – LEVON SHIRINYAN

16:00 / 25.09.2014

The demand of the three parliamentary forces on change of power
is nonsense, political analyst Levon Shirinyan told the reporters
on Thursday.

“Our opposition which calls for change of power must understand
that it is impossible. Two years have remained until presidential
elections and I do not think that a coupe will happen before it. It
is necessary to present a modernization program and that time the
authorities will cooperate with the opposition. If the three forces
manage to implement their 12-point program it will be good as they
will serve for the people,” he said.

He said the implementation of these 12 points is very vital. “If I
were the Republican party’s president I would have cooperated with
the opposition over the implementation of these points,” he said,
stressing that the country is in such condition that it is necessary
to help each other.

Speaking about the decision of the ARF-D not to participate in the
rally, Shirinyan said ARF-D is a left-side party and must conduct
policy addressed to protection of labor force.

Nyut.am

From: Baghdasarian

SERZH SARGSYAN MEETS WITH LEADING FOREIGN RELATIONS EXPERTS IN US

11:38 * 26.09.14

As part of his working visit to the United States, Serzh Sargsyan
has had meetings with leading international relations experts.

According to a press release by the Presidential Office, US-Armenian
philanthropist Aso Tavitian hosted the talks attended by James (Jim)
Collins, James (Jim) Traubi and Steven Sestanovich.

The experts are said to have briefed the Armenian leader on the
situation in the Caucasus region and the Middle East and expressed
their evaluations of the latest developments. The sides also exchanged
views on different issues of interest.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY’S POLICIES URGED PRESIDENT TO ‘SEND ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS TO HELL’, SAYS KARABAKH OFFICIAL

10:43 * 26.09.14

Turkey’s behavior and policies were behind President Serzh Sargsyan’s
strong-wordedstatement at the UN General Assembly’s recent session,
a spokesperson for the Nagorno-Karabakh president has said, commenting
on Serzh Sargsyan’s remark on the Armenia-Turkey protocols.

“Over the past years, Turkey hasn’t made any step towards normalizing
the relations. Not only does it fail to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide but also takes every possible measure to combat the Genocide
recognition efforts. This is viewed as a continuation of the Genocide,”
David Babayan told Tert.am.

In his speech at the General Assembly’s 69th session in New York,
the Armenian leader strongly criticized Turkey for the stall in the
bilateral ties’ normalization process. He said that such policies
have caused the official Yerevan to rethink its plans and consider
the recall of the documents. “Armenia has never conditioned the
normalization of the bilateral relations with Turkey by recognition of
the Armenian Genocide. In fact, Armenia was the party that initiated
such a process which culminated in the signing of the Zurich Protocols
in 2009. However, those Protocols have been shelved for years now
awaiting ratification in the Turkish Parliament. Ankara declares
publicly that it will ratify those Protocols only if Armenians cede
Nagorno- Karabakh, the free Artsakh, to Azerbaijan. In Armenia and
Artsakh ordinary people often just retort to such preconditions:
‘To hell with you ratification.’ This vernacular phrase concentrates
the age-old struggle of the entire nation, and it unequivocally
explains to those who attempt to bargain the others’ homeland that
the motherland is sacrosanct, and they had better stay away from us
with their bargain. It is in these circumstances that currently the
official Yerevan is seriously considering the issue of recalling the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols from the parliament,” he said.

Describing the Turkish policies on Nagorno-Karabakh as extremely
non-constructive, Babayan said he sees that the country is attempting
to link the issue with the Armenian Genocide.

“When Turkish Prime Minister [Ahmet] Davutoglu declares that Turkey
has to key questions – the Armenian issue and Cyprus – what else are
we supposed to expect in such a situation? So the need to revise the
protocols is gaining urgency,” he noted.

Addressing the president’s remark on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement issue and Azerbaijan’s position on the process, Babayan said
their authorities too, have repeatedly stated in that connection that
Azerbaijan is a fascist state propagating Armenophobia and Nazism. He
said that such a country poses a threat to any normal and civilized
state.

“When, for example, the plane flying over Ukraine exploded, the whole
world was committed to take action, and the probe into the incident
continues to date. Whereas Azerbaijan declares on a state level that
it will shoot down a plane in case the airport in Stepanakert is
launched. And the menacing statement won’t receive any reaction by the
international community. The aggressor naturally benefits from that,
continuing its non-constructive and abnormal behavior. If instead
the international community resorts to timely corresponding steps
and rhetoric, lots of things will not probably happen,” he said,
referring to the recent border incidents and subversive acts.

Babayan said he finds force and punishment to be the only means
capable of restraining an aggressor.

“This is the problem, so we here have to agree with all the points
highlighted by the president,” he added.

As for Serzh Sargsyan’s remark on the OSCE Minsk Group mission’s work,
Babayan said he knows that it is the only specialized organization that
has been dealing with the conflict settlement process for two decades,
having a mandate by the international community. “The procrastination
in the conflict settlement process is through no fault of the OSCE
Minsk Group. They are probably trying to equally react to different
processes. They have simply found themselves in situation that makes
them deal with an unhealthy state like Azerbaijan, so they do not
want to irritate it,” he noted.

Babayan said he doesn’t think that the Minsk Group is able to do
anything in the present circumstances. Neither did he agree that
a replacement of mediators or a change in the negotiating mission’s
format can foster peace or in any other way contribute to the conflict
settlement process.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN STONE AGE ARTEFACTS SHOW HUMAN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION 325,000 YEARS AGO

09:44 26.09.2014

Stone Age artefacts discovered at a site in Armenia have shown how
innovative humans were in terms of technological development 325,000
years ago, according to the International Business Times.

Published in the journal Science, researchers studied thousands of
stone artefacts from the Nor Geghi 1 site in Armenia. The area is
unique as it has been preserved between two lava flows dating from
200,000 to 400,000 years.

The archaeological material was found in layers of floodplain sediments
and ancient soil between the lava flows.

Analysis of the artefacts, by researchers at the University of
Connecticut, showed that human technological innovation occurred
intermittently throughout the Old World, rather than spreading from
a single origin.

Their finding challenges long held theories of how human technology
developed – that it spread as human populations moved. Experts thought
more advanced technology was invented in Africa and spread to Eurasia
replacing older tools in the process.

Researchers found two types of technology at the site. Biface
technology, such as hand axes, is associated with the Lower Paleolithic
era, while the more advanced Levallois technology, a stone tool
production method, is thought to have come from the Middle Stone Age
in Africa and the Middle Paleolithic in Eurasia.

The tools found suggest simultaneous use of both biface and Levallois
technology – a surprising discovery: “The co-existence of the two
technologies at Nor Geghi 1 provides the first clear evidence that
local populations developed Levallois technology out of existing
biface technology,” the authors said in a statement.

Daniel Adler, lead author of the study, said: “The combination of
these different technologies in one place suggests to us that, about
325,000 years ago, people at the site were innovative.”

Researchers believe the shift from biface to Levallois technology was
gradual and intermittent, and that it occurred independently within
different human populations who had shared technological ancestry.

Adler said their findings suggest Stone Age people were flexible and
variable in terms of their technology – highlighting the “antiquity
of the human capacity for innovation”.

From: Baghdasarian

PACE COULD ASSIST TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SOLUTION

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 25 2014

25 September 2014, 12:44 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President
has said the organization can contribute to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations.

Anne Brasseur made the remark on September 24 at a press conference
on the results of her visit to Baku.

Noting that she conducted political debates in Baku, Brasseur said she
met with the government officials, parliament members as well as with
representatives of civil society and discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, which emerged over Armenia’s territorial claims against
Azerbaijan.

Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one
million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory,
including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Peace talks,
mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group,
have been largely fruitless so far. The UN Security Council’s four
resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Brasseur emphasized that the territorial integrity is not a topic
for discussion in the PACE and all member states should follow the
principle of territorial integrity.

She added that the resolution of any conflict needs dialogue and the
OSCE Minsk Group is involved to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Brasseur said both countries’ delegations are present in the PACE,
and it may contribute to the settlement of the conflict through
negotiations.

She recalled that Azerbaijan chairs the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe since May in accordance with the general rules.

She said Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe and signed on the
dotted line.

“All 47 members of the Council of Europe have deficiencies. There are
a number of mechanisms for the implementation of the commitments made
by member countries of the CoE. An action plan regarding Azerbaijan
is also developed. We will carry out joint projects with the Justice
Ministry,” PACE president said.

Brasseur visited Baku on September 22-23 and met with Azerbaijani
President, the Minister of Justice, Attorney General, the Speaker
and members of the parliament, as well as the civil society
representatives. The PACE president praised the fight against
corruption in Azerbaijan.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS DIVIDED OVER SUPPORT FOR ERDOGAN

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 25 2014

September 25, 2014, Thursday/ 18:06:52/ TODAY’S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL

A new media debate among two columnists, the pro-government Markar
Esayan and the more critical Rober KoptaÃ…~_, has highlighted a divide
among the Armenian intelligentsia of Turkey over President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

KoptaÃ…~_, editor-in-chief of Agos, an Armenian weekly based in
Ä°stanbul, wrote a severely critical column addressing Esayan, who
is a columnist for the staunchly pro-government daily Yeni Ã…~^afak,
calling him “bnagalez,” an insulting term meaning a person who eats
from an animal’s trough. KoptaÃ…~_ strongly implied that Esayan’s
loyalty to the government makes him a “bnagalez.” This harsh column
came as a response to Esayan’s call for Agos, which was previously
home to slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, to stop being a marginal
newspaper and to become part of the new media order in Turkey.

Esayan claimed that the Agos newspaper represents a marginal element
within the small community of Armenians in Turkey, likening it to
the leftist daily Birgun.

Arguing that 50 percent of Armenians in Turkey support the AK Party,
based on his observations, Esayan urged Agos to give up its “romantic
leftism” while noting that in the past leftist Armenians had allied
with the Committee of Union of Progress (Ä°TC), which orchestrated
the forced migration of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

According to KoptaÃ…~_, on the other hand, for some Armenian writers
it is right to support the AK Party unconditionally. KoptaÃ…~_ stated
that he refused to ally with the remnants of the Ä°TC and that Agos
will not become the tool of any political power or single community.

Revealing the feelings of Agos’ staff towards Esayan, who began his
journalism career at the Armenian weekly, KoptaÃ…~_ said his arrogance
made them happy to see him leave. KoptaÃ…~_ further argued that Esayan
has tried as hard as possible to be nominated as a parliamentary deputy
for the AK Party. According to KoptaÃ…~_, despite the abundant number of
people similar to Esayan supporting the authorities, his distinction
is that he is Armenian. KoptaÃ…~_ argued that therefore the government
expects Esayan to argue with “bad Armenians” from time to time.

A similar war of words took place between Taraf columnist Hayko Bagdat
and pro-government AkÃ…~_am columnist Etyen Mahcupyan in August. When
Mahcupyan labeled the majority of Armenian intellectuals “clowns”
in one of his columns, Bagdat wrote a response saying that Mahcupyan
has become “a court jester” by justifying the policies of Erdogan
and the AK Party.

“At least clowns make children laugh, while court jesters are
supposed to entertain those who give the orders to kill children,”
Bagdat wrote, referring to Erdogan’s remark that he had ordered the
police to shoot during the Gezi Park protests that claimed the lives
of several teenagers.

Both columns have been shared extensively in the social media.

From: Baghdasarian

SETTLEMENT PROCESS: ‘RESTORATION’ AND WHAT IT BRINGS TO MIND

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 25 2014

ORHAN MÄ°ROÄ~^LU
September 25, 2014, Thursday

The significance of some of the statements made by Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu derives not so much from his own political identity
and current role but rather more, I believe, from the value of his
intellectual and academic character.

Let me try to explain where we stand in terms of the solution process
by touching on some of the expressions we hear often from the prime
minister.

One example of these is Prime Minister Davutoglu’s fondness for the
term “restoration.” In other words, he stresses a belief that the
establishment of the New Turkey will be possible. What this term
immediately brings to mind is the various peoples with whom the
Ottomans enjoyed good relations during the serene and prosperous
years of the empire. Of course, many of those different ethnic groups
dissipated once the empire transitioned to the nationalistic stage,
and some departed from the empire in order to pursue a different
future from what would have befallen them if they had stayed. The
Armenian people were tragically forced to relocate. As for the Greeks,
many left in the midst of enormous population exchanges with Greece.

As for the Kurds, they were one example of a people who never left the
empire. In fact, they were unique in this sense. And as the republic
headed into its formative years, their existence as a people met with
denial and rejection. Later, here is what they began to think: Our
situation was much better when this was an empire. Because, starting
in 1514, we basically lived for some 350 years in an autonomous state.

It is not, of course, only the Kurds who look back on the prosperous
years of well-being under the Ottomans as a time to be missed. There
are many Turkish intellectuals who also reminisce about the better
days had by both peoples in Ottoman times. These same intellectuals
stress that in fact, for this reason and others, Ottoman times need
to stand as an example for Turkey even now.

In short, these more than 300 years of the past left behind them as a
legacy not only certain intangible values, but also a shared history,
as well as a sense of what it meant to live together. So when Prime
Minister Davutoglu talks of “restoration,” I suppose he is making
a reference to a path towards the normalization of Turkish-Kurdish
relations — which are today engulfed in such a difficult transition
period — as a valuable opportunity.

There is definitely a positive aspect to this all. But for whatever
reason, neither the academic nor the political worlds in Turkey wish to
recall 1514. While we see a wealth of celebrations and commemorations
of events such as the War of Independence, or in memory of those
killed at Canakkale, or even for Malazgirt, there is nothing to
recall Caldıran. There is little doubt that a big role in this is
the fact that many of our Alevi citizens interpret a revival of the
Turkish-Kurdish relations of 1514 as an era that will be specifically
constructed to oppose them.

But one cannot simply abandon history to its own fate. One needs to
take lessons from history and to alter one’s interpretations based
on the conditions and dynamics in place at the time.

In this sense, it seems to me that the solution settlement process
will go down in history as a time when Turkish-Kurdish relations were
carried over into a new era. In his comments about what is happening in
the Middle East, and about how the settlement process for the Kurdish
problem is the most important project of recent years, Davutoglu is
underscoring an important reality: The settlement process is a turning
point in terms of historical and political relations for Turks and
Kurds. It is a reckoning with the past.

It is an incredible opportunity to face up to all the damage that
was done to Turkey, and in fact all the citizens of the republic,
as a result of armed uprisings that came in reaction to policies of
denial and rejection.

Davutoglu affirms that where we stand now is effectively in the
middle of a river and that it would be disastrous to try and return. I
completely agree.

But in order to safely cross this river and emerge unharmed onto the
opposite bank the people who swim together must work together and
act together, persevering forward, while not becoming discouraged
by the stormy waters they may encounter. Some dangerous clouds have
gathered over this river of late.

Right now, as the only people fighting on land in territory
dominated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the
Kurds’ collective national psychology is largely fed at this point
by its war with ISIL. In the meantime, the Kurdish political front
has turned towards both Sinjar and Kobani. As for reports coming in
from those areas, they are not uplifting in any way, though I will
address these reports in a separate column tomorrow.

From: Baghdasarian

CAIRO FILM FESTIVAL TO OPEN WITH GERMAN DIRECTOR FATIH AKIN’S LATEST

Ahram, Egypt
Sept 25 2014

Organisers of the 36th edition of the Cairo International Film
Festival – set to take place from 9-18 November – held the first
press conference for the event on Wednesday evening at the Cairo
Opera House to announce the opening film and other details.

Samir Farid, renowned film critic and festival president, told members
of the press that this year’s festival will have a different approach
than previous editions as his team includes young filmmakers and
critics who are bringing fresh energy to Cairo’s oldest film festival.

The team includes veteran Egyptian filmmaker Yousry Nassrallah,
directors Ahmad Abdalla (Microphone, Rags and Tatters), Ahmed Maher,
Maggie Morgan (Asham, 2012) and Hala Galal, as well as film critic
Joseph Fahim.

Farid also announced that the festival’s opening film will be
German-born Turkish director Fatih Akin’s The Cut. The film is set
during the first World War and follows the events of the Armenian
genocide during the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.

The Cut

The festival has renamed the Lifetime Achievement Award to the
Naguib Mahfouz Award, which will be given to five individuals, four
of which were announced. The only Egyptian to receive the award will
be actress Nadia Loutfy, honoured for her exceptional contribution to
Egyptian cinema, her support to first time directors and her political
involvements in the past.

The award will also be given to Moroccan film critic and Marrakech
Festival founder Noureddine Saeel, German director Volker Schlondorff
(who is both an Oscar and Cannes Palme d’Or winner) and former French
culture minister Jack Lang, who played a role in securing French
support for Egyptian and Arab cinema and culture.

Loutfy was also the main inspiration for the Cairo Film Festival
poster, which features the top of her face with an emphasis on her
striking eyes staring into the camera, as captured from her appearance
with Abdel-Halim Hafez in Aby Fawq Al-Shagara (1969).

The poster’s designer, visual artist Karim Adam, explained to the
press that the focus on Loutfy was to capture the eyes reflecting
the lens of the camera in cinema.

36th Cairo Internaitonal Film Festival Poster

The festival will also feature an Industry Forum in parallel to the
screenings, following the model of other international film festivals,
where filmmakers can meet with potential distributors and producers.

Previously this forum was dubbed the Film Market and was a platform
for selling Egyptian films abroad and buying international films for
Egypt’s market. According to Farid, in the past there was never any
activity in this platform since the Egyptian market is only open to
local films and Hollywood productions.

The festival’s artistic director Mohamed Samir says the forum will
be supportive of the local independent industry. Participants will
get to screen excerpts of their films to distributors in addition to
providing them with names and contact information.

From: Baghdasarian

SABOTAGE “ON LEGAL GROUNDS”: AZERBAIJAN TO FORM FRONTLINE PATROL UNITS

September 25, 2014 – 12:21 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azeri President Ilham Aliyev ordered to initiate
security measures at the front line between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian armed forces, Abc.az reported.

The President sanctioned measures to prevent information leakage in
mass media and web resources on dislocation and purpose of facilities
of special importance to national security.

Sanctioned measures include strengthening of defense at the territories
bordering the front line and forming of voluntary patrol units in
the frontline zone.

The move might be Baku’s attempt to justify deployment of so-called
civilians at the line of contact at the Karabakh-Azei border.

The Cabinet of Ministers has been assigned to prepare a new version of
the martial law within three months. The new version should take into
account specific features of security regime in the frontline zone.

Proposals on tightening liability for dissemination of secret
information should be submitted within a month term. The same period
of time has been provided for the Ministry of Defense to approve the
order of coordination of journalists’ accreditation for their work
and business trips to the front zone.

Usually, Azer serviceman taken hostage by Armenian side and returned
to Baku are sentenced to a jail term of up to 15 years for divulgence
of a military secret, with no consideration of circumstances, including
their rank or the extent of their awareness.

The President’s Administration has been assigned to organize
explanatory work among residents of settlements in the front zone
regarding impermissibility of dissemination of information on armed
forces dislocation, military and political situation. Special courses
should be held for the Press Service employees.

From: Baghdasarian