Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

DAVUTOGLU : LES CHRETIENS ET LES JUIFS SONT > DE LA TURQUIE

TURQUIE

Le Premier ministre turc a mis en garde contre une distinction entre
les “vrais citoyens” et les “citoyens de seconde classe”.

“Ce sont de vrais enfants de ce pays >>, a declare Davutoglu, selon
le journal > lors d’une reunion avec les representants des
minorites religieuses a Ankara. “Ils ne sont pas venus de l’etranger,
et ils ne sont meme pas aller a l’etranger.” Celui qui essaye de faire
une distinction entre les > et les
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECALLS ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS FROM PARLIAMENT

17:05, 16 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has addressed a letter to the
Speaker of the National Assembly Galust Sahakyan, informing about his
decision to recall the Armenian-Turkish Protocols from the National
Assembly. The letter reads, in part:

“Respected Mr. Sahakyan,

When launching the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations without preconditions, we were fully aware of all possible
scenarios of future development. We were ready for both comprehensive
normalization of relations through ratification of the protocols and
their failure. We had nothing to conceal, as it would become clear
to the world which party was guilty of missing the chance to open
the last closed border in Europe.

Almost six years have passed from the signing of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols. Throughout this period Armenia has consistently backed
the realization of the protocols.

However, we cannot but stress the lack of political will on the part
of turkey, the distortion of the letter and spirit of the protocols

From: Baghdasarian

DISCUSSION ON CONSTRUCTION OF AKHTALA TAILING DUMP IN METS AYRUM WAS TENSE

17:30 February 14, 2015

EcoLur

On 12 February the public hearings on allotting new land area from Mets
Ayrum community, Lori Region, for the construction of a new tailing
dump at Akhtala Ore Dressing Combine, was held in Mets Ayrum community.

Mets Ayrum community head Sahak Nazaryan, Akhtala Ore Dressing Combine
Foreign Affairs and Environmental Department Head Gagik Shahnazaryan,
community residents, environmentalists and journalists took part in
these discussions.

Not mentioning anything about the damage to be caused due to the
construction of a tailing dump, the combine representative started
listing who gets how much due to being employed at the combine,
“The combine currently employs 700 people, out of which 60 people
are from Ayrum and Tchotchkan communities, who annually earn over
100 million AMD.”

Then G. Shahnazaryan made a rapid shift to the financial state of the
combine and praising its owner – Maksim Hakobyan, “It’s not that moral
to speak about enterprise incomes under current conditions of decrease
in copper price worldwide. The price dropped from US$ 7300 to US$
5300, but no one was made redundant and God bless Mr. Maksim Hakobyan,
he said not to fire anyone and let at least one family member work.”

“Our common approach, which is also Maksim Hakobyan’s approach, is
possible social support to community residents,” G. Shahnazaryan said.

“If you think of people, open a fruit canning plant,” one of the
community residents said.

Another community resident said, “If this tailing dump is full in 10
or 20 years, where will it be transferred?… we don’t have any land
areas, the tailing dump occupies everything… Do you understand that
we are deceived when we are told no damage will take place…70 people
are employed, but hundreds of people breathe in this air…How are
they going to reclaim 40 ha, if now they can’t reclaim 7 ha…They
pay only 40,000 AMD, but this doesn’t allow me to get any benefit
from my land area of 20 ha. Can’t you feel that nature doesn’t exist
here? No fruit, not harvest, as the soil is contaminated.”

Then the resident asked the attendees who wanted their children to
get sick and the reply was non negative.

Then the resident added, “You are all cheated with a few
pennies… this fine nature is destroyed, we don’t have any nature
anymore, I go to other places for fresh air – here I have headaches
and pain in my heart.”

Hakob Sanasaryan, Chairman of Greens Union of Armenia, informed the
residents about the hazards of the tailing dump.

“Tail contains heavy metals, which cause heavy consequences not only
for people, but also for animals and plants. The scientists have
proved that tail processed thousands years ago still remains. If a
large tailing dump is available in the area, no human being should
live there,” Hakob Sanasaryan said.

“Community residents are informed that their children may die of
cancer tomorrow. The community residents should be aware of it. In
December the OSCE published a report, which says Akhtala tailing dump
is the most hazardous,” said Oleg Dulgaryan, Director of “Community
Unity and Support Center” NGO, member of Mets Ayrum Aldermen’s Council.

A resident supporting the tailing dump said, “We have lived here for
so many years and already got diseases, why you haven’t come earlier
and informed us about not living here…Tchotchkan has already made
its decision, so what’s wrong with Ayrum?”

The community head finished the discussions without allowing the
attendees, including the environmentalists, to ask the questions they
are concerned with.

From: Baghdasarian

BHK, HAK, AND HERITAGE PARTIES TO ORGANIZE MASS RALLY AT LIBERTY SQUARE

02.16.2015 11:11 epress.am

The trio of the non-ruling political parties, Prosperous Armenia
(BHK), Armenian National Congress (HAK), and Heritage, is organizing
a rally on February 20th at 4pm at Liberty Square in Yerevan. The
leaders of the three parties, Gagik Tsarukyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan,
and Raffi Hovhannisyan decided during a meeting yesterday, February 15.

As noted in the parties’ joint press release, the urgent national
rally is being convened to “make a decision together with the Armenian
citizens to resolve the current situation.”

Recall, last week during a Republican Party Council meeting President
Serzh Sargsyan heavily criticized Gagik Tsarukyan, stating that the
latter was fired from the National Security Council, in addition to
proposing audits for Tsarukyan’s many businesses.

Tsarukyan responded to the President’s speech stating the necessity of
urgent presidential elections in order for changing the current regime.

From: Baghdasarian

WHAT IS AND CAN HAPPEN IN THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SARGSYAN AND TSARUKYAN

02.16.2015 17:41 epress.am

Armenian President and ruling Republican Party leader Serzh Sargsyan
stated that the process had begun to expel wealthy businessman and
the leader of Parliament’s second largest party, Prosperous Armenia,
Gagik Tsarukyan from political life. Tsarukyan responded with a
statement about the start toward regime change, right after losing his
membership in the National Security Council. Epress.am interviewed
social and political activists Zara Harutyunyan and Anton Ivchenko
about the current situation.

The main theses of the conversation below:

– Of course, we’re speaking about a “competition” between two
“political actors”; their political parties, basically, start and end
with them. Both Tsarukyan and Sargsyan’s parties, generally, have
the same perspective in regards to basic political issues: private
property, “authority,” the state, resource distribution, morality,
honor, religious values, the nation, even foreign policy. In these
circumstances, the two parties’ criticisms can only be in two styles:

1. The opponent is dysfunctional (stupid, incapable, etc.) 2. We
will do it better than the opponent. The opponent does it worse than
we would do or it does not do what it has promised, while we promise
and will do it.

– Can the current situation change the way the public perceives
politics?

Mostly not. The only thing that has changed is that the political
confrontation between the two dubious actors (not political
platforms/ideologies/economic doctrines and even the parties) has
reached a unique peak. Basically, the difference is quantitative,
and not qualitative. The kingdom’s largest vassal (sovereign’s former
most loyal servant) stated that the sovereign is taking the entire
kingdom to hell, while the sovereign responded saying that the vassal
(former loyal servant) has become presumptuous and has forgotten
about his duty to fill up the wine glasses around the table and to
drive the tiresome petitioners away.

Moreover, both the sovereign and the vassal are saying the same thing:
such people are dangerous for the state. In this light, Serzh’s words
about the necessity of abandoning feudal logic are a bit comical.

– Does the current situation promote political and social
self-organization among the citizens?

It needs to be specified, as to whose self-organizing we are talking
about. The Republicans’ self-organization is a priori impossible;
there is a massive bureaucratic apparatus which organizes, but does
not allow nor promotes self-organization. In regards to Prosperous
Armenia, then yes, it promotes self-organization in regards to
their fervent supporters of party, who feel that the decisive time
to fight has come. If the conflict escalates, it would also promote
the self-organization of the politically neutral, but “unsatisfied”
sector. Possiblly among the supporters of other political forces,
at least those who do not feel any aversion toward Dodi Gago.

On the other hand, the latter group would probably be perceived by
Prosperous Armenia’s loyal supporters as ally enemies. Basically,
they will be denied subjectivity. We shouldn’t hurry to be happy
about such self-organization. Self-organization is a good thing,
but self-organization built as a pyramid where Dodi Gago sits on
the peak and for his part, brings happiness/peace/prosperity, is,
obviously, not the most progressive phenomenon.

Presently, the opposition coalition is dividing up the pelt of a bear
not yet killed. In case the situation develops and there is relative
opposition successes, we would probably be witnesses to one of the
most shameful manifestations of parliamentarism. In the end, let’s not
forget, that at least Levon Ter-Petrosyan still holds the burden of
presidential ambitions. However little Heritage and Armenian National
Congress ambitions are fulfilled, they will put that much less effort
in the political process. If they obtain more influence in the process,
then Prosperous Armenia will be much more cautious in its policies.

The opposition must find a balance in influence or at least, clearly
see, until when or where their political interests coincide, basically,
until the moment when Serzh Sargsyan “would be ready to listen to
the opposition’s demands.” Starting from that point, there will most
likely be not two, but a standoff of three camps.

Regardless of all this, we are approaching all types of prediction
with skepticism, and think that the situation can develop in another
way. For example, they may open a few criminal cases against Dodi Gago,
quite possibly objective ones, sentence him to imprisonment, and turn
him into a second Khodorkovsky; his image will be romanticized, while
Prosperous Armenia will turn into a political party and not an office.

From: Baghdasarian

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 14 2015

Vladimir Nikitin: it is necessary to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

14 February 2015 – 9:28pm

The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs,
Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Vladimir Nikitin,
talked to Vestnik Kavkaza about the current state of affairs in
relations between Russia and Azerbaijan at the moment: “Russia’s
relations with Azerbaijan are friendly. This is confirmed by the fact
that our delegations at PACE are voting together against US expansion.
Recently, the leader of the Communist faction in the State Duma
visited Azerbaijan, met with President Aliyev. Prior to this, all our
committee members had also gone there and had a half hour conversation
with the leader of Azerbaijan.”

“We concluded that Azerbaijan is one of those countries in the former
Soviet Union where there is no rabid Russophobia, where there is a
desire for people of all nationalities to live in peace. We hope that
Azerbaijan will be a country to become part of the Eurasian Economic
Union in the future,” Nikitin added.

He said that Russia is very interested in a settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue: “The President of the Russian Federation, and
the head of the State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, are now taking steps to
ensure that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan find the best way to
begin resolving the problem which causes a lot of pain to both
countries.”

“I think eventually they will find a solution,” he concluded.

From: Baghdasarian

Artsakh parliamentary elections to be held on May 3

February 12, 2015 13:17
Photo: Press service of the NKR parlament

Yerevan/Mediamax/. The upcoming National Assembly elections in Artsakh
will be held on May 3, 2015.

NKR President Bako Sahakyan signed the relevant decree today.

The previous parliamentary elections were held on May 23, 2010.

Over the 20 years, the legislative body of Artsakh has adopted 1144 laws.

From: Baghdasarian

Latest Armenia TV Episode features interview with Forbes Rich List
Billionaire, Ruben Vardanyan

Source: armenia.com.au | Wednesday, 11 February 2015

SYDNEY: The second episode of the 2015 season of Armenia TV has been
released, with an Exclusive One on One Interview with Russian-Armenian
Forbes Rich List Billionaire and Philanthropist, Ruben Vardanyan.

The episode also features an interview with His Grace Bishop Haigazoun
Najarian (Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Australia and
New Zealand) and Sarkis Manoukian – both members of Australia’s
Armenian Genocide Centenary Commemoration Committee.

From: Baghdasarian

Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey
February 13, 2015 Friday

Gulen lobby influences US lawmakers letter on Turkey

Dozens of US House members who received campaign donations from
entities linked to a wanted Turkish preacher, may have signed a letter
critical of Turkey without checking facts.

By Kasim ILERI
WASHINGTON

Some signatories to a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry by U.S.
House members critical of Turkish press freedoms, have received
financial benefits while insufficiently fact-checking claims made in
the letter.

Financial records show many of the signees have received political
donations from entities linked to a movement led by U.S.-based Turkish
preacher Fethullah Gulen.

In the Feb. 2 letter, lawmakers expressed concerns about recent
arrests of media figures in Turkey. It specifically laid emphasis on
proceedings against a Turkish media group linked to Gulen.

“According to multiple press reports, Ekrem Dumanli, the
editor-in-chief of Zaman, a highly circulated daily newspaper in
Turkey and Hidayet Karaca, CEO of Samanyolu Media Group, were arrested
on Dec. 14, 2014, on questionable charges, bringing the total number
of detained media personalities to 29,” the letter said.

More than 400 individuals, 150 of whom were linked to Gulen, were
monitored last year by the Turkish government on Twitter, according to
the letter.

Specific emphasis on Gulen-linked media have raised doubts that many
of the co-signers were motivated by political donations to their
campaigns from individuals and foundations linked to Gulen rather than
examining the assertions made in the letter.

Turkish officials have rejected the claims in the letter.

Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir, who was on a visit to
Washington last week, told reporters not a single journalist was
detained in Turkey for expressing personal ideas or beliefs. The few
who are currently detained are being held on charges of robbery,
shooting and clashes with security officers.

He stressed the letter didn’t contain names of the detained. “They do
not have the names of these 29 press members allegedly detained in
Turkey. Furthermore, the facts in the text are not correct,” Bozkir
said.

Eric Harris, press secretary for Rep. Gwen Moore, one of the letter’s
co-signers, told The Anadolu Agency the letter was primarily authored
by Arizona Republican Matt Salmon and Missouri Democratic Emanuel
Cleaver.

Harris said the congresswoman’s advocacy for freedoms of expression
and the press motivated her to sign the letter.

As with all letters that are drafter in the House, he said there was
an extensive fact-checking process, based on cross checks with
institutions from government agencies and non-governmental
organizations as well as the Congressional Research Service.

“In terms of the specific number in the letter, I would refer you to
the Rep. Salmon’s office and Rep. Cleaver’s office as they were the
architects of the original text of the letter,” said Harris.

The spokesperson also added that his boss’ staff trusted the
documentation capability of the main sponsors’ office.

“Since we did not write the letter itself, we weren’t the one who put
the number down. We trust the guidance account of Rep. Salmon and Rep.
Cleaver; if they did not have the correct number there, I am sure they
would rectify that,” he added.

The Anadolu Agency approached more than 70 of the co-signers to the
letter and learned that the congresswoman’s office was not alone in
trusting its main sponsors.

Dozens of representatives’ offices declined to officially comment on
the letter and referred questions to Salmon and Cleaver. Several
confirmed they did not contribute to writing the text.

A communication director for one of the signatories told AA on the
condition of anonymity that since he supported freedom of press in
Turkey, the representative conceptually agreed with the letter.

He said, however, Salmon’s office was in charge of collecting
information about the names and affiliations of press members
allegedly detained in Turkey.

“We looked into the letter once it was sent to our office; we thought
there was something that we would certainly want to support, as it was
in line with our legislative trajectory in the House,” the official
said.

He said he was unable to share any document relating to names and
numbers specified in the letter but instead referred our requests for
such information to Salmon’s office.

In addition to the apparent lack of proper vetting of the claims made
in the letter, many co-signers also did not make clear why a specific
media group was singled out in the letter.

The letter specified two media figures linked to the Gulen movement
and gave numbers related to the movement, which leaves an impression
that the Gulen lobby played at least some role in drafting the letter
and getting it signed.

Led by Fehtullah Gulen, the Gulen movement has been under scrutiny in
Turkey. Officials linked to the movement are accused of conducting
wiretaps of high-profile figures within the Turkish state as well as
constructing a “parallel state” to overthrow the elected Turkish
government.

The group was recently included in the National Security Strategy of
Turkey as an organization that threatened the national security of the
country. The Turkish government also removed dozens of high-profile
bureaucrats from posts because of their alleged links to Gulen.

The preacher, who lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, had his
passport revoked in late January by the Turkish government, who then
informed its U.S. counterparts about the revocation.

A Turkish court also issued an arrest warrant for Gulen and Turkey is
readying documents to apply to Interpol to bring Gulen to justice in
Turkey.

The letter to Kerry was sent in an atmosphere of the tensions between
the Gulen movement and Turkish government, which can also leave the
impression that pro-Gulen links in the U.S. Congress contributed to
the letter’s draft and signing.

The Anadolu Agency combed records from the U.S. Federal Election
Committee and found foundations and individuals in the U.S. linked to
Gulen have donated more than $300,000 to political campaigns of dozens
of lawmakers who signed the letter.

Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the recipient of the largest amount in
2014 with $92,750. He was followed by Al Green of Texas who received
$67,100; Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas got $14,000, Robert Aderholt of
Alabama was given $24,800 and Jim Bridenstine of Oklahama collected
$13,000.

The records show some donors made regular payments and in some cases
family members of donors made financial contributions to the same
representatives.

Representatives usually receive donations from their own
constituencies for election campaigns, but among the co-signers of the
letter some received campaign donations from Gulen-linked donors who
lived outside of some representatives’ districts.

For example, Reps. Cuellar, Green and Aderholt simultaneously received
similar amounts from donors in different states and districts than
where the representatives have a constituency.

The main sponsors of the letter, Reps. Salmon and Cleaver, as well as
dozens of other co-signers, were sponsored by Gulen-linked foundations
in the U.S. for recent visits to Turkey where they met several
Gulen-linked journalists and academics.

Among the co-signers, 22 were sponsored for trips to Turkey in 2013-14
which cost $171,000.

Rep. Salmon, one of the main architects of the letter, Henry Cuellar,
Danny Davis, Mike Honda, and Aaron Schock personally visited Turkey
while other lawmakers sent representatives from their offices.

The Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, Turkish American
Federation of Midwest, and Foundation of Intercultural Dialogue were
among the Gulen-linked foundations that sponsored the trips.

Among the co-signers of the letter, 47 were Democrat and 41 were Republican.

Many were members of the Greek, Armenian and Israeli caucuses.

Co-signers Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee, Steve Israel, Grace Napolitano,
Scott Garrett, Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren, Chris Van Hollen,
Alan Lowenthal and Doug LaMalfa were also sponsors of the bills
against Turkey regarding the 1915 events, also known as the Armenian
allegations of “genocide” by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The majority of co-signers were from California, Illinois, Ohio and
Texas – states with the most number of Gulen-linked chartered schools.

From: Baghdasarian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 13 2015

Armenian diaspora in US rejects PM’s claims on cooperation with Gülen movement

Leading figures from the Armenian diaspora in the US have rejected
recent allegations by Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu that the Gülen
movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, is lobbying against
Turkey in the US in cooperation with the Armenian community there.

Speaking at his Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Ä°stanbul
5th ordinary congress over the weekend, DavutoÄ?lu claimed that the
Armenian lobby, along with the Jewish and Greek lobbies, recently took
actions against Turkey ahead of April 24, the 100th anniversary of
what Armenians claim was a genocide of their people at the hands of
the Ottoman Empire. He added that the `parallel lobby’ is also
currently acting together with these lobbies.

`I am declaring here that we did not and will not yield to either the
Armenian lobby or the Jewish lobby. I am also appealing to the
parallel lobby, which is sending messages to these lobbies. We will
stand against you wherever you are,’ he said.

`Parallel structure’ is the government’s term to refer to the Gülen
movement, which is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah
Gülen.

According to Turkey’s bilingual Armenian weekly Agos, leading
representatives of the Armenian diaspora in the US have strongly
rejected DavutoÄ?lu’s claims. On the contrary, they say, relations
between the movement and the diaspora in the US are not very good.

Edvin Minassian, who is among the executives of the US-based Armenian
Bar Association, told the weekly that the fact that many members of
the Armenian diaspora in the US are working for the closure of charter
schools run by Turks affiliated with the movement is a clear sign that
the two groups are at odds with each other.

The director of the US-based Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA), Aram Hamparian, was also quoted by Agos as saying that members
of the Gülen movement in the US openly and actively work against the
policies of the Armenian community in the US. He argued that members
of the movement support efforts by the Turkish government to `prevent
a just and truth-based solution to the Armenian genocide issue’ and
side with Baku in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Harut Sassounian, the publisher of The California Courier, an
English-Language Armenian weekly based in Glendale, California, also
termed DavutoÄ?lu’s statements claiming that members of the Gülen
movement support the Armenian community in the US as `one of the lies
of DavutoÄ?lu and President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an.’

From: Baghdasarian