Author: Boshkezenian Garik

PAMUK BELIEVED TO BE IN EXILE IN US
Michelle Pauli

The Guardian Unlimited, UK
Feb 14 2007

The Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has reportedly left his home country
to live in America amid fears for his life. The Nobel laureate is
believed to be at risk of assassination in Turkey following the murder
of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink last month. Threats appeared to
have been made against Pamuk by the man who confessed to orchestrating
the murder.

The International Herald Tribune reported on Thursday February 1 that
Pamuk had boarded a plane for New York to begin a lecture tour of
American universities and, according to Fatih Altayli, a prominent
columnist writing for the Turkish daily newspaper Sabah, he has no
plans to return to Turkey. The writer had already cancelled a tour
of Germany, which has a sizeable Turkish community, at the end of
last month.

"What I was told was more than mere rumour: Pamuk recently withdrew
$400,000 from his bank account and said he would leave Turkey and
would not be returning to his country anytime soon," wrote Altayli.

According to the Daily Telegraph, those close to Pamuk have declined
to comment publicly on the report because of the "sensitivity of Mr
Pamuk’s position".

Pamuk’s work, of which the best known are his recent novels My Name
is Red and Snow, explores Turkey as a country poised between east
and west, tradition and modernity. He is the fastest selling author
in Turkish history, as well as commanding international acclaim.

He became a lightning rod for controversy in Turkey after talking
openly about the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th century,
and is reviled by the country’s nationalists who regard him as
a traitor.

In 2005 he was tried in an Istanbul court for the crime of "insulting
Turkishness" under the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish penal
code, but was acquitted on a technicality a month later. This week,
Turkey’s foreign minister backed calls to amend the article, but not
to repeal it.

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INHUMAN CONDITIONS IN PRISONS

A1+
[04:32 pm] 12 February, 2007

Prisoners are kept in the Vanadzor Criminal penitentiary institution
in inhuman conditions. There is no normal heating, and food is barely
enough not to starve.

During the last six months the representatives of non-governmental
observers mission have visited Criminal penitentiary institutions and
prisons in the northern part of the country in order to investigate
the conditions there.

The results are not comforting.

Investigation of the personal journals of prisoners showed that they
are often subjected to physical violence the results of which are
often attributed to chance. Let us remind you that as member of the
European Convention on tortures, our country has to investigate each
case which it does not do.

As a result of the investigations, the Tashir police isolator has
been closed and is currently under construction. The building was not
heated and the cells did not have proper electricity. According to the
head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Arthur
Sakunts, there are prisons were the cells do not even have windows.

Another problem is that of food. According to the Government decision,
the prisoners are to be given not only bread, but also fish and meat
on a daily basis. Nevertheless, each prisoner is allotted 450AMD a
day which is not enough for proper feeding.

ERDOGAN MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NGOs IN TRABZON

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Turkish Press
Milliyet
Feb 12 2007

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with representatives
of non-governmental organizations in Trabzon in the wake of the
murder last month of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian
descent. Ogun Samast, Dink’s confessed murderer, came from the Black
Sea city. During the meeting, Erdogan said that people should guard
against provocations, adding that rather than brandishing guns,
he wants to see young people shaping humanity with pencils and pens
in hand. Commenting on arguments that Trabzon doesn’t deserve to be
linked to Dink’s violent death, Erdogan said that a person from any
province could have committed the murder. "We shouldn’t allow those who
want to shatter our unique structure and the hopes of our children,"
stressed Erdogan.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
By Jason Freeman Correspondent

Chicago Daily Southtown, IL
Feb 12 2007

>From 1915 to 1917, in a period that many scholars feel the first
great genocide of the 20th century occurred, hundreds of thousands
of Armenians were forcibly removed and massacred by the Turkish
government during what is now referred to as the Armenian Holocaust.

But it’s not quite as cut and dry as the history books might tell.

According to Turkish historian, sociologist and author Taner Akcam,
who gave a lecture Sunday afternoon at Saints Joachim and Anne
Armenian Church in Palos Heights, many in the Turkish government
deny responsibility for the deaths and claim they were a result of
deportation movements during the first World War.

That’s why Akcam — who recently published a book on the subject called
"A Shameful Act" — feels it is necessary to bring the truth to light.

>From 1 to 1:30 p.m. in the church’s fellowship hall, Akcam spoke to
the dozens in attendance about the Armenian Holocaust and offered
proof that the Turkish government was indeed responsible for the acts.

Akcam focused his discussion on the Ottoman Archives, a collection of
historical sources related to the Ottoman Empire that he said sheds
light on the Armenian Holocaust.

"Two factions have formed around different assessments of the Ottoman
Archive materials," he said. "Those who argue that the events of
1915 were not (an) intentionally planned destruction of the Armenian
population but unexpected consequences of the deportation due to
the war, rely exclusively on the Ottoman documents … in order to
support their claim."

In using the same documents that the Turkish government has used to
deny the events, Akcam said he hoped to show the hypocrisy inherent
in that system of thought.

"At the beginning of 1913, there were already official agreements
between Greece and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire to exchange the
population," he said. "It was legal ethnic cleansing."

But although Akcam stressed that the Turkish government should take
responsibility for the massacres, he also helped mend the ill feelings
many Armenians have toward Turkish people, said church pastor and
Armenian Father Tavit Boyajian.

After a meeting with a Chicago Turkish organization a few weeks ago,
Boyajian realized something about himself.

"As I sat there, I became aware … that in my heart, I carry a
prejudice against Turkish people," he said. "I have been raised in a
society where there is a lot of resentment, there’s a lot of anger,
and I don’t really think I realized how much I have internalized that
until I was sitting across the table from some Turkish people."

It was a feeling that Boyajian said Akcam helped him overcome.

"This man is a tremendous honest, thoughtful, caring human being,"
he said. "He has done more to help me get over those feelings than
anything else."

CLERGYMEN HAVE HUMAN MESSAGE, INFORMATION MINISTER SAYS

SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria
Feb 13 2007

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Minister of Information Mohsen Bilal on Monday said
that scholars and clergymen have a human message based on spreading
amity, tolerance and consolidating good values of the human soul.

"Syria has precious treasures…and it also has rich spiritual values,"
the Minister added in a meeting with Archbishop of Damascus and Homs
Apostolic for the Orthodox Armenian Armash Nalbandian, stressing the
importance of conveying Damascus image and its historic role to the
whole world.

For his part, Archbishop Nalbandian said that the duty of clergymen is
to preserve the religious and spiritual values in society, referring
to coexistence and tolerance Syria enjoys among its people.

WORKS FOR UPGRADING OF "SHIRAK" AIRPORT TO BE COMPLETED BY SPRING

Gyumri, February 12. ArmInfo. The second largest airport in Armenia,
the "Gyumri", will shortly receive the 1 class category in line with
the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), the spokesman of the Central Department of Civil Aviation of
Armenia (CDCA), Gayane Davtyan, told ArmInfo.

According to her, reconstruction works of the Gyumri airport’s strip
and installation of a modern signal-light equipment on it will start
in March. This will allow to enhance the quality of the airport’s
runway, thus, assuring a service of any type of airplanes. 67 mln
drams were allocated from the state budget, 2006, within the frames
of upgrading the "Shirak" airport. The means were also aimed at
installing a new P3D air-navigation system of Czech production, which
allows to estimate the flight height with great accuracy. According to
G. Davtyan, after completion of all the upgrading works, the "Shirak"
airport will not be considered only as an alternative to "Zvartnots"
airport. In case of bad weather conditions, the Gyumri airport will
increase the regular flights which are rare today.

Presently, the airport serves the regular flights to Sochi, Anapa
and Mineralnye Vody.

New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

‘Turkey has to consider cross-border op’s consequences’

The New Anatolian / Ankara
09 February 2007

While Turkish Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul continued his meetings in
Washington expressing Ankara’s uneasiness at the continuing Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist presence in northern Iraq, a top U.S.
official cautioned yesterday about a possible military action, "The
responsibility for the consequences is something that Turkey has to
think about."

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel
Fried, in a teleconference with Turkish journalists in Ankara, stated
that the presence of the terrorists in northern Iraq is a problem,
adding that they are discussing the problem to eliminate them.
Calling Turkey’s frustration understandable, he said the
responsibility for the consequences of possible military action is
something Turkey has to think about.

He added that Washington believes Turkey should cooperate with the
central Iraqi and Kurdish regional government.

Fried also talked about Turkish Foreign Minister Gul’s current visit
to the U.S., characterizing it as successful. He added that U.S. and
Turkish officials talked about the Middle East, Lebanon, Israel,
Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Asian, Afghanistan, the Caucasus,
diversification of energy projects, the terrorist PKK, and the
so-called Armenian genocide resolution.

He described relations between Turkey and the U.S. as very deep and
broad, stating both countries share common interests. Recalling
previous disagreements in Iraq before the 2003 invasion of Iraq,
which Turkey refused to join, he stressed, "We put any disagreements
behind us."

He said that so-called Armenian genocide resolution could damage
Turkish-U.S. relations, adding that the U.S. administration opposes
the measure and continues to work to block it.

"Turkey needs to look honestly at its own history," he added. "It is
a process of deep democracy. We need to encourage Turkey, but not
through pressure from outside"

Regnum, Russia
Feb 9 2007

Ankara expects US Congress to recognize the Armenian Genocide,
Armenia is increasing lobbying

Possibility of a breakthrough in improving the Armenian-Turkish
relations that appeared after murder of Hrant Dink was taken by the
Turkish side to the background, after Resolution 106 was introduced
to the US House of Commons, Armenia’s deputy defense minister Arman
Kirakosyan announced at a news conference on February 9, saying that
up to the present moment, Turkey directed all its effort at blocking
the resolution.

Meanwhile, as Kirakosyan said, Armenia was not going to be twiddling
its thumbs and it would use all resources to increase lobbying. To
pass the resolution, at present moment favorable conditions are
established by Armenia, in particular, a democratic majority at the
Congress. And while Turkey is doing it best to prevent from passing
the resolution, the presidential administration, in its turn, will
try to do its best not to worsen the Turkey-USA relations," he said.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul arrived on an official
visit to Washington after the draft resolution on recognizing the
Armenian Genocide with the aim to persuade US authorities not to pass
the resolution. However, US Congress Chair Nancy Pelosi refused to
have a meeting with him citing time constraints. While meeting US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Turkish minister said that
passing the resolution was not `a political issue,’ but could `pose
threat’ the Turkish-American relations. `We cooperate in very
complicated fields, fight side by side against common problems. But
if the Congress passes the resolution, it would be a shock,’ the
Turkish minister said, assuring, however, that they in Turkey are
disclosing archives and examine the problem on their own. At the
same, commenting on the statement, US State Department Spokesman Sean
McCormack announced that the US Congress is an independent
institution, but the US authorities can inform congressmen on the
Turkish position on the issue.

VARTAN OSKANIAN TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SECURITY
POLICY

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
will leave for Germany on February 10 to take part in the 43th Munich
Conference on Security Policy to be held on February 9-11 in Munich. A
number of bilateral meetings are scheduled within the framework of the
conference, in particular, Minister Oskanian will meet with
representative of Germany presiding at EU and with Georgian Foreign
Minister Gela Bezhuashvili. As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA
Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department, on February 11, RA
Foreign Minister will leave for Koln where during his meeting with
representatives of Armenian community, issues of fulfilment of
decisions made at 2006 Armenia-Diaspora third conference will be
discussed.

TARIFFS FOR PAID BROADCAST OF PREELECTION CAMPAIGN ARE RATHER HIGH,
WHICH GENERATES COMPETITION, OYP VICE-CHAIRMAN DECLARES

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The price for one minute of paid
broadcast on Public Television, 80 thousand drams (nearly 222 USD)
within the framework of preelection campaign is rather high. Mher
Shahgeldian, RA National Assembly Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law)
faction member, OYP Vice-Chairman expressed such opinion at the
February 9 press briefing. He said that high tariffs generate
competition, "as here we deal with not political approaches, not
ideas, not program principles, but financial problem." The MP assured
that OYP will use all legal possibilities for agitation campaign, but
found it difficult to say in advance how much it will use paid
broadcast. In M. Shahgeldian’s words, OYP "is a political force
financed with participation of its members" and it does not receive
any financing from outside.