Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

RACISME ANTIARMENIEN D’ERDOGAN – LES REACTIONS EN TURQUIE

TURQUIE

Le député du parti CHP Hursit GuneÅ~_ a déposé mercredi une plainte
pénale contre Erdogan. GuneÃ…~_ a annoncé son plan d’action juridique
sur son compte Twitter, disant qu’Erdogan avait violé l’article 10
de la Constitution et les articles 122 et 216 du Code pénal turc
(TCK) contre la discrimination.

Hursit GuneÃ…~_ a déclaré : ” Regardez cette disgrâce. Erdogan
a déclaré qu’être arménien est laid sur NTV. C’est dommage
! Qualifier une personne d’arménienne, même si elle est fausse,
n’est pas laid. Voir cela en tant que tel est une forme faible de
racisme ! Erdogan n’entend pas ce qu’il dit. S’il devient président,
la Turquie n’aura pas seulement choisi un tyran, mais en même temps
un raciste.”

Il a également lancé un appel aux citoyens turcs d’origine
arménienne a ne pas être offensé. “Son esprit n’est pas a la bonne
place” a-t-il dit, ajoutant : “Le monde doit savoir que [c’est une]
personne raciste. Il a défini l’affirmation selon laquelle être
arménien est une calomnie ” laide ”. Son nom est Tayyip Erdogan. ”

Il a également déclaré que la mentalité d’Erdogan était ce qui
a causé la mort du journaliste Hrant Dink, qui a été assassiné
par un adolescent ultra-nationaliste en 2007.

Peu de temps après avoir annoncé son intention sur Twitter de
déposer une plainte pénale, Hursit GuneÅ~_ a été au palais de
justice d’Ankara et l’a fait.

Un groupe de personnalités publiques arméniennes a critiqué les
remarques d’Erdogan dans un communiqué qu’ils ont publié mercredi,
exhortant Erdogan de les laisser tranquilles.

Les journalistes Hayko Bagdat et Rober Koptas sont parmi le
groupe d’Arméniens qui ont affirmé qu’ils ont toujours essayé
de faire taire les racistes malgré les politiques répressives
d’assimilation. Ils ont dit qu’ils n’ont jamais pensé qu’être turc
était ” mauvais ” tout en pointant la politique que les autorités
turques ont imposé sur les Arméniens.

Pendant ce temps, les médias ont été prompts a souligner que Erdogan
s’était identifié comme un Gurcu (Géorgien) lors d’une visite en
Géorgie le 11 aoÔt 2004 et Erdogan a été cité dans la presse
comme ayant dit :. “Je suis également géorgien. Ma famille est
[d’origine géorgienne] “.

Dans ses commentaires sur les remarques d’Erdogan, le vice-président
du CHP Aytun cıray déclaré que le Premier ministre exposait des
attitudes discriminatoires dangereuses et séparatistes, provocantes
et visant a la polarisation. ” En regardant ces symptômes comme
en tant que médecin, les symptômes d’Erdogan correspondent a la”
maladie folle du leader ”décrite par le professeur James Toole.”

Hayko Bagdat, un chroniqueur au journal Taraf qui est aussi d’origine
arménienne, a déclaré que les mots d’Erdogan sont racistes et
inacceptables et lui demande de s’excuser.

Laki Vingas, l’élu des fondations non musulmanes au Conseil de
l’Assemblée générale de la Direction générale des fondations
(VGM), a tweeté : “Le Premier ministre dit toujours” excusez-moi de
dire “quand il parle des Grecs et des Arméniens. Que peut-on excuser,
n’avons-nous pas également été fait par le Créateur ? “.

Dans une colonne pour le site T24, le journaliste Hasan Cemal en
référence a la déclaration du Premier ministre comme du “racisme
a l’état pur.”

Le journaliste de télévision Rustem Batum a demandé si des
écrivains pro-AKP d’origine arménienne, comme Etyen Mahcupyan,
auraient quelque chose a dire sur les remarques d’Erdogan. Il a
également tweeté : “Je me suis réveillé en Arménien. J’étais
Laz au déjeuner. J’étais grec dans l’après-midi et kurde au
dîner. J’étais encore humain quand je suis allé au lit ” critiquant
le point de vue de M. Erdogan.

jeudi 7 aoÔt 2014, Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

LES KURDES IRAKIENS, SYRIENS ET TURCS MÈNENT UNE OFFENSIVE CONTRE LES JIHADISTES (RESPONSABLE)

KURDISTAN

Des combattants kurdes d’Irak, de Syrie et de Turquie ont lance
ensemble une offensive contre des jihadistes dans la region de Mossoul,
dans le nord de l’Irak, a annonce un responsable politique mercredi.

Selon Hallo Penjweny, un haut responsable kurde irakien, des
combattants kurdes du PKK turc et du PYD syrien mènent des operations
contre les jihadistes de l’Etat islamique (EI) dans la region de
Sinjar, tandis que les peshmergas irakiens tentent de securiser des
zones situees au nord et a l’est de Mossoul.

“Les combattants du Kurdistan-ouest (en Syrie) et le PKK sont charges
de combattre” les jihadistes “dans la region de Rabia et Sinjar”,
a l’ouest de Mossoul, a declare M. Penjweny, plus haut responsable
du parti de l’Union patriotique du Kurdistan pour la region de Mossoul.

“De notre côte, nous (les peshmergas) nous occupons de Zoumar et du
reste du secteur au nord et a l’est de Mossoul”, a-t-il annonce a
des journalistes.

En 48 heures, les 2 et 3 août, l’EI a pris aux Kurdes plusieurs villes
dans la region de Mossoul, infligeant un serieux revers aux peshmergas,
pourtant reputes pour leur efficacite et leur organisation.

L’EI s’est aussi empare dimanche de Sinjar, a 50 km de la frontière
syrienne, jetant sur les routes quelque 200.000 personnes. Les forces
kurdes qui contrôlaient Sinjar se sont retirees, abandonnant la ville
a l’EI, qui avait deja chasse samedi les Kurdes de Zoumar, une autre
ville près de Mossoul, et d’un site petrolier.

“Les combattants du PKK ont atteint la zone du Jabal Sinjar, où ils
protègent les habitants des attaques” des jihadistes, a declare M.

Penjweny.

Il n’a pas ete clairement etabli si les combattants syriens et turcs
avaient pris le contrôle, meme partiel, de la ville de Sinjar.

Le PKK, Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan, a appele les Kurdes
a unifier leurs forces pour stopper l’avancee des jihadistes dans
le nord de l’Irak, a rapporte mardi la presse turque. Et plusieurs
responsables avaient annonce lundi que des combattants du PYD, parti
kurde syrien de l’Union democratique, etaient arrives en Irak pour
preter main forte aux peshmergas.

jeudi 7 août 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

EREVAN NE VOIT PAS L’INTERÊT D’UNE OPERATION DE MAINTIEN DE LA PAIX AU KARABAGH

Conflit du Haut-Karabagh

L’Armenie ne voit pas la necessite du deploiement de troupes de
maintien de la paix dans la zone de conflit du Haut-Karabagh en depit
d’une forte augmentation des violations du cessez-le-feu, a declare
hier le ministre de la Defense Seyran Ohanian.

“Certes, il y a une situation ambiguë parce que notre ennemi viole
constamment le cessez-le-feu”, a declare Ohanian lors d’une conference
de presse a Erevan. “Mais nous maintenons cette situation grâce a la
preparation au combat de nos troupes.”

” En ce sens, nous pouvons accomplir nos tâches nous-memes, et en
ce moment il n’y a besoin de personne pour le deploiement de forces
de maintien de la paix”, a t-il dit. Il a fait valoir que, malgre
l’absence de ces troupes, les parties en conflit ont reussi a eviter
une guerre a grande echelle ces deux dernières decennies.

Les remarques ont ete faites au milieu de speculations a Erevan sur
le fait que la Russie souhaite deployer ses troupes autour du Karabagh
dans le but de renforcer son influence dans la region. Certains experts
locaux affirment que le president russe Vladimir Poutine va pousser
dans ce sens quand il s’entretiendra avec ses homologues armenien et
azerbaïdjanais a Sotchi cette semaine.

Ohanian a insiste pour dire que les forces armees de l’Armenie et
du Karabagh restent le principal rempart contre une nouvelle guerre
armeno-azerbaïdjanaise. Il a dit que la dernière recrudescence des
combats, largement consideree par l’Armenie comme un serieux revers
pour l’armee azerbaïdjanaise, a souligne la force et l’incapacite
de l’Azerbaïdjan a resoudre le conflit par la force. Bakou n’a pas
reussi a obtenir un avantage militaire strategique, a t-il affirme.

“Nous devons garder a l’esprit que toute arme necessite une personne
suffisamment qualifiee pour l’utiliser”, a poursuivi Ohanian.

jeudi 7 août 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN DM: HAYKAZ BAKHMANYAN’S $150,000 CAR IS A PRESENT BY HIS FRIENDS

by David Stepanyan

Wednesday, August 6, 14:25

Haykaz Bakhmanyan’s $150,000 car is a present by his friends, Armenia’s
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told journalists on Wednesday, when
asked how much the deputy chief of the Armenian army’s general staff
earns if he can afford such an expensive car.

“I don’t think that anybody in the army can afford such an expensive
car. It was a gift. I think he has the right to get a gift, doesn’t
he?” Ohanyan said.

He does not see any corruption risks in this. He also refuted the
reports that Bakhmanyan has personal guards. “Only the Minister and
the Chief of the General Staff have guards,” Ohanyan said.

From: Baghdasarian

ILHAM ALIYEV HAS BEEN IN BAKU DURING RECENT INCIDENTS; HE IN NERVOUS SHOCK

11:44 07/08/2014 >> COMMENTS

Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, has not been out of country
during the incidents that took place on Karabakh – Azerbaijani
contact line since July 31 to August 2, writes Azerbaijani
(Talish by origin) political scientist Fahraddin Aboszoda in
his article titled “The condemned: slaughter in Azerbaijani
style.”[]

The author writes that according to his information Ilham Aliyev has
not only been in the country, but, moreover, he has been in Baku all
of the time and has been in nervous shock. The political scientist
has accused Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of the administration of
the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of lying. The latter
had told everyone that Ilham Aliyev has been out of the country.

Coming to Novruz Mammadov’s statement Fahraddin Aboszoda notes, “During
all the time that he has been at office of President’s Administration
he has not uttered a single true word. He has lied all the time. He
lies and does not blush. We cannot say where Ilham Aliyev was during
all that time. We know only that the Minister of Defence was in
Bodrum. And even if Ilham Aliyev was in abroad he was to return to
Azerbaijan as soon as he learnt about the tragedy of his army.

Not only he didn’t return but he didn’t even try to extend his
condolences to the relatives of the killed soldiers. Our sources in
Baku assure that Ilam Aliyev has been in Baku all of that time and
has been in nervous shock. Modifying the words Yuri Nikulin says in
the Soviet famous movie “The Caucasian Captive” we can say in this
case that Ilham Aliyev “is not able to come out into his people.”

Second, different representatives of the ruling regime make different
and contradicting statements during these days.

Thus, the abovementioned Novruz Mammadov says allegedly the “the
statement of the Armenian side saying that “It is Azerbaijan who has
initiated the sabotage” does not correspond to reality”, in this way
Mammadov shows that he is not aware of the statement of Azerbaijani
Minister of Defence, Z. Hasanov.

The author quotes famous journalist Mirza Khazar. He has reminded
that the Minister of Defense, in the text of his statement addressed
to the president for awarding the soldiers had mentioned that “the
latters had been killed while performing their military tasks.” This
proofs that “the sabotage has been organized by the Azerbaijani side.”

Concluding the political scientist notes that in this way Azerbaijan
will find itself in a ridiculous situation in front of the entire
world.

Coming up to the sabotage motives Aboszoda brings the attention on
the meeting of the presidents to be held in Sochi.

According to him though the information about the meeting has been
disseminated recently, but the high level agreement exists long
before. Thus, Ilham Aliyev has made an attempt to leave for Sochi
as a winner, which, however, has been failed due to the vigilance of
the Armenian forces.

“It is not excluded that Ilham Aliyev has had the wish to appear
in the negotiations as a triumphalist, hinting at the idea that if
Armenia does not accept our conditions we will solve the problem in
a military way. He failed, however. The fact that Ilham Aliyev is
silent till now is the proof of the fact that he will have to hold
talks in Sochi from the position of a loser. He will not be able to
dictate his conditions as the last incidents showed that there is no
Azerbaijani army there. Or, better to say, the Army is not able to
return Karabakh in a military way.”

Just on the contrary, if Aliyev starts the war he will lose more
regions – even Kur and the rest.”

From: Baghdasarian

ARAVOT: NAME OF COUNTRY CANNOT BE SWEARWORD

10:23 * 07.08.14

Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan, who is most likely to be elected
president, has taken offence at his voters for calling him an
“Armenian.”

Armenia gave a harsh response – what’s the worth of his message to
the Armenian Genocide survivors? Regrettably, the Turkish premier
does not even conceal his opinion. Mr Erdogan is an emotional man,
and the greater part of Turkey’s population does not like it. But he
wants to look brave.

But let us be sincere. Would not an Armenian politician feel hurt if
he were called a “Turk”?

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

PUTIN TO TACKLE THREAT OF KARABAKH WAR WITH LEADERS OF ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 6 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin will this week host leaders
of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks as fears grow that
military clashes may lead to a resumption of one of the bloodiest
post-Soviet wars.

At the heart of the dispute is the fate of Nagorny Karabakh, a region
mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians that broke away from Azerbaijan
with the help of Armenia in a war that claimed some 30,000 lives
between 1991 and 1994.

The conflict has been festering ever since, with international
mediators unable to find a political solution. Both countries remain
on a war footing and the brittle status quo has been punctuated by
occasional skirmishes on the front.

Last week the simmering tensions boiled over into the fiercest clashes
seen since a ceasefire was agreed in 1994. At least 18 soldiers have
lost their lives in the latest surge of violence.

The tensions between energy-rich Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia
are escalating as ex-Soviet republics are uneasily watching the
Kremlin’s historic confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where
government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists.

Some experts warn that Putin’s move to redraw the European map by
taking over the peninsula of Crimea in March and the raging Ukrainian
crisis could re-open old wounds or even spark new conflicts among
former Soviet countries.

Analysts in Moscow said it was important for the Kremlin to try and
quell the tensions between Azerbaijan, home to Western energy giants
BP and ExxonMobil, and Armenia, which has been seeking closer economic
ties with Russia.

“This will be a confirmation of Russia’s role as main guarantor
of security across the post-Soviet space and will remove fears
that periphery around Russia will go up in flames,” said Timofei
Bordachev, head of the Moscow-based Centre for Comprehensive European
and International Studies.

Putin will host Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan for separate meetings at his Black Sea residence in
Sochi before convening trilateral talks.

“When they will end up at the same place at the same time, talks
about Nagorny Karabakh will probably be unavoidable,” Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Aug. 4.

Lavrov didn’t provide any details of the upcoming negotiations,
saying only they will take place at the end of the week. Armenia has
said negotiations could take place either Aug. 8 or Aug. 9.

“Such meetings provide opportunities to start, to continue a dialogue,”
Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan said Aug. 6. “We all know
well that dialogue is the only way to resolve questions peacefully.”

Russia’s top diplomat admitted that helping the two countries reach a
breakthrough after two decades of mediating efforts would not be easy.

“A multitude of attempts have been made and every time it seemed
that some important milestone for reaching agreement was in sight
but something stood in the way,” said Lavrov.

International mediators Russia, France and the United States have all
expressed concern over the outburst of violence. Ohanyan said he did
not expect tensions along the border to ease ahead of the meeting,
but said the risk was low of the clashes erupting into a general
conflagration.

He also sought to lower expectations about the meeting. “Expectations
that after the meeting there will be complete peace or a return to
a full ceasefire are misplaced,” said Ohanyan.

Russia seeks ‘expand influence’

In his efforts to mediate the crisis, Putin appears to be stealing
the thunder of France’s President Francois Hollande who sought to
organise a similar meeting and visited both countries in May.

“Unfortunately, Hollande’s proposal was general in nature and did not
really move the settlement process forward,” Azerbaijani lawmaker
Rasim Musabekov told AFP. But many are also sceptical that Putin’s
efforts will bear fruit.

“The top task of this meeting will be to take the warring sides
back to the 1994 ceasefire regime,” said Armenian analyst Hrant
Melik-Shahnazaryan.

“Nothing else should be expected from this meeting.” Some are wary
about the timing of the latest clashes, suspecting they may be part
of a new geopolitical power play on the continent.

“The United States wants to set afire the entire Russian periphery
because it is acting according to the logic of the Cold War,” said
Bordachev.

Some experts in Armenia however suspect the skirmishes may be in the
interests of Russia, as they believe Moscow wants to station troops
in Nagorny Karabakh to expand its influence in the Caucasus.

August/06/2014

From: Baghdasarian

CHP FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST PM ERDOGAN OVER ANTI-ARMENIAN REMARK

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 6 2014

August 06, 2014, Wednesday/ 14:29:16/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Hurþit Guneþ
has filed a complaint against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan,
who has sparked outrage in Turkey by saying he was “even worse,
called an Armenian” in what many have condemned as “racist” remarks
that are insulting towards minorities in Turkey.

Guneþ filed the complaint against Erdoðan on the grounds that Erdoðan
committed a hate crime, stating that what Erdoðan said is a “hostile
act” that is against both the Constitution and the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK).

“I was called a Georgian. I apologize, but they even said [something]
worse: They called me an Armenian,” Erdoðan said during a live TV
interview broadcast on Tuesday evening, adding, “But I’m a Turk.”

Erdoðan’s apparently racist remarks have sent chills across Turkey
and have lit up social media accounts, with many condemning him for
insulting his own Armenian citizens.

From: Baghdasarian

PM ERDOGAN COMPLAINS OF BEING CALLED ‘EVEN UGLIER THINGS, ARMENIAN’

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Aug 6 2014

6 August 2014

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has sparked a fresh debate while
trying to defend himself for labeling his opponents according to
their minority religious or ethnic identity.

“They have also said a lot of things about me. One of them came and
said I was a Georgian. Then another came up and, I beg your pardon,
called me uglier things, saying I was Armenian,” Erdoðan said during
a live interview on Aug. 5, adding that he was a purebred Turk.

“What I have learned from my grandfather, my father and all of them
is that I am Turkish. That’s it,” he said in remarks that have caused
great controversy.

The Turkish prime minister has repeated several times during his
campaign that main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader
Kemal Kýlýcdaroðlu is an Alevi, Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP)
candidate Selahattin Demirtaþ is a Zaza-origin Kurd, and the CHP and
other parties’ candidate Ekmeleddin Ýhsanoðlu is “not even a native”
for being born in Egypt, albeit to Turkish parents.

During his speeches, Erdoðan has consistently reminded the nation’s
populace that he is a “Sunni.”

His comments triggered accusations of sectarianism, causing a backlash
on social media and prompting the left-leaning daily BirGun to bitingly
respond with the front-page headline: “Kýlýcdaroðlu is Alevi, Demirtaþ
is Zaza, Ýhsanoðlu is Egyptian and you are a thief.”

But Erdoðan argued during his interview that no one should hesitate
to unveil his identity.

“Let everyone say what he is. An Alevi citizen can come to me and say,
‘I am Alevi,’ without any problem. Why it is considered discrimination
when Sunnis say ‘I am Sunni.’ Kurds could not say so for years. Can’t
now my Kurdish brother say, ‘I am a Kurd?’ So let the Turks say,
‘I am a Turk,'” Erdoðan said.

6 August 2014

From: Baghdasarian

August 6, 2014

St. Paul Armenian Church
Contact: Ben Krikorian, Parish Council Chairman
St. Paul Armenian Church
559-908-4089 (cell)
Email: [email protected]

St. Paul Armenian Church of Fresno is pleased to announce the
appointment of Rev. Fr. Yessai Bedros as its new Parish Priest. His
appointment was made by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, on August 6.

Fr. Yessai was born in Kamishli, Syria and graduated from the Armenian
Seminary of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in
2006. He was ordained into the sacred order of priesthood that same
year and has served in parishes in Isfahan, Iran and
Lebanon. Fr. Yessai recently joined the Burbank, California-based
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. He is married to Vartine and
they have two young sons.

While Fr. Yessai has been a guest celebrant at St. Paul on several
occasions since May, his first service as Parish Priest will be on
Sunday, August 10 at the annual Grape Blessing Picnic on the grounds
of the California Armenian Home located at 6720 E. Kings Canyon
Road. Services will begin at 10:30 am with the Grape Blessing ceremony
at 12 noon.

At 29 years of age Fr. Yessai is an energetic young priest, who brings
to the St. Paul parish a new level of excitement. His dedication to
the Church and the Armenian people is founded in a deep level of
spirituality.

We extend an invitation to the Fresno Community to welcome and meet
Fr. Yessai at the Grape Blessing Picnic.

From: Baghdasarian