Author: Chalian Meline

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
7 Vazgen Sargsian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 27.00.03, 27.16.00 (temporary)
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46 (temporary)
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

February 19, 2007

HERITAGE: OPEN LETTER ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF HEADQUARTERS LOCKOUT

On the brink of parliamentary elections, its headquarters still under
illegal lockdown and property held captive inside, the Heritage Party
herewith demands fundamental justice one more time.

Since Heritage redefined its engagement in Armenia’s civic life and
political arena in the fall of 2005, the incumbent regime has carried out
campaigns of repression against party members in general and its founder
Raffi K. Hovannisian in particular.

The mainstay of these repressions was achieved on March 4, 2006, when the
authorities instructed the Paronian State Theater to breach the law in the
form of the lease it had signed with Raffi Hovannisian (which was in effect
until 2007) and without judicial sanction to fasten an illegal lock on the
party’s central headquarters. To this day, Hovannisian continues to be
deprived of his property rights and the party’s normal operations have been
paralyzed, with the executive board and staff members being denied access to
their office space and basic archives, including Heritage’s original bylaws
which are required for any act of official registration.

The judgment, dated June 26, 2006, of the Central and Nork-Marash Court,
Edward Avetisyan presiding, held that the forcible closure of Heritage’s
office was illegal. This exceptional ruling, however, was never enforced,
and the party’s subsequent attempts to restore its rights by meticulous
recourse and appeal to law enforcement and the judicial system–the police,
the prosecutor’s office, and the appellate courts–were met at all levels
with unlawful rejections issued by those "tribunes of justice" at the behest
of the highest echelons of power.

The doors of Heritage headquarters remain sealed by the Service for
Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts (SMEJA) of the Ministry of Justice.
Heritage’s petitions–the most recent of which was sent on February 1–to
SMEJA, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, and the Republic’s
ombudsman with respect to reopening the office doors in order to remove the
party’s property have not received the courtesy, and legal imperative, of a
reply.

Already finding itself in the midst of an official election process, the
Heritage Party is locked out of its central offices and denied access to its
documentary resource base and computer system. Raffi Hovannisian continues
to be deprived of his personal property, still the hostage of an ongoing
political crime. As this situation cannot be considered congruent with
constitutionally-protected civil and political rights and because a party
cannot enter the election season without its computers, databases, and
furniture, Heritage calls on SMEJA to execute the court’s order and restore
its property forthwith.

If by month’s end–the eve both of the one-year anniversary of the criminal
lockout and of the forthcoming parliamentary elections–no such remedial
action is taken, Heritage will be compelled, in emergency fashion, to decide
on its own remedy in restitution of its civil liberties and human rights.

February 19, 2007
Yerevan, Armenia

Berliner Morgenpost
15. Februar 2007

Mahnmal für die Armenier;
Berlinale / "Das Haus der Lerchen" der Brüder Taviani;
Der politisch mutigste Film der Berlinale: "Das Haus der Lerchen" der
Brüder Taviani

von Peter Zander

Sie tragen dick auf. Gleich zu Beginn spritzt eine Blutfontäne. Da
ist es nur eine Vision, die eines sterbenden Alten. Später wird die
Szene indes ihre Entsprechung finden, wenn die Türken den Hof der
Armenier überfallen und dem Hausherrn den Kopf abschlagen. Ein
Menetekel, das sich erfüllt.

Nun gibt es ihn also. Den ersten Film über den Völkermord der Türken
an den Armeniern. Und es ist vielleicht kein Zufall, dass ihn kein
Armenier, sondern zwei Italiener, die Brüder Paolo und Vittorio
Taviani, gedreht haben, mit internationalem Cast. Es ist der Film,
den sich Atom Egoyan nie zu trauen drehte. Der kanadische Regisseur
armenischer Abstammung hat es mit "Ararat" vor fünf Jahren zumindest
versucht; hat dabei aber zu viele (Zeit-) Ebenen ineinander gelegt.
Hat den Genozid quasi nur indirekt, als Film im Film, gezeigt. Und
vor allem, noch in der Aufarbeitung, schon ganz auf Versöhnung
gesetzt.

Ein Film zur rechten Zeit

Nun kommt "La masseria delle allodole" ("Das Haus der Lerchen") und
legt die Finger in die Wunde, zeigt schonungslos die Massaker, bei
denen über eine Million Armenier ihr Leben verloren, die aber in der
Türkei bis heute offiziell bestritten werden. Ein Tabu, dessen Bruch
gern, wie bei dem türkischen Nobelpreisträger Orhan Pamuk, mit einer
Anklage wegen "Beleidigung des Türkentums" geahndet wird. Die
Welturaufführung des Films kommt just zu einer Zeit, da nach der
Ermordung des armenischen Journalisten Hrant Dink auf offener Straße
und Pamuks Absage seiner Deutschlandreise die Diskussion wieder voll
entbrannt ist. Seltsam nur, dass der Film gestern seine
Welturaufführung nur am Rande des Festivals erlebte, als "Berlinale
Special" statt im Wettbewerb.

Auch die Regie-Altmeister sind, anders als angekündigt, nicht zu
einer Diskussion nach der ersten Voraufführung erschienen, weil sie
sich an ihrem ersten Berlinale-Tag "nicht zu viel zumuten" wollten.
Die Polizei wies indes Berichte zurück, wonach die Aufführung
Proteste der türkischen Gemeinde auslösen könnte. Bestürzung hat er
indes hervorgerufen. "Der Lerchenhof" dürfte der interessanteste
Beitrag der Berlinale sein. Auf jeden Fall aber derjenige, der die
Gemüter am meisten erhitzt. Dabei haben sich die Tavianis nur an
historisch belegte Details gehalten. Sie beschränken sich klug auf
das gleichnamige Buch von Antonia Arscan, die darin ihre
Familiengeschichte rekonstruiert; zeigen also nur einen Ausschnitt,
der das Grauen erst ertragbar macht. Auch wenn die Darstellung der
Gewalt vielen schon zu weit geht.

Moritz Bleibtreu als Soldat mit Skrupeln

Es ist die Geschichte von Türken und Armeniern, die 1915 in einer
Provinzstadt friedlich nebeneinander leben, bis die so genannten
Jungtürken des Osmanischen Reichs die Massaker von langer Hand
vorbereiten. Das Richtfest eines Landhauses wird zum Blutgericht, bei
dem ein Soldat noch seine armenische Geliebte retten will, während
die Generalin schon gierig auf das Piano des Hauses schielt.
Assoziationen zum Holocaust drängen sich geradezu auf.

Die Männer werden, vom Greis bis zum Knaben, noch im Hof ermordet, ja
geschlachtet. Der Kopf des Patrons wird seiner Gattin (dargestellt
von Egoyans Frau Arsinée Khanjian) achtlos in den Schoß geworfen.
Frauen und Kinder werden deportiert; wer zu fliehen versucht, wird
gekreuzigt oder verbrannt. Sie müssen sich nachts ihren Schergen
anbieten, um Brot für die Kleinen zu bekommen. Oder werden gezwungen,
Neugeborene umzubringen, wenn es Knaben sind. Das ist die
ergreifendste, schrecklichste Szene: Wenn zwei Frauen, Rücken an
Rücken stehend, ein Baby erdrücken, um ihm den Tod durch den
Krummsäbel zu ersparen.

Eine Schlüsselrolle in diesem Film spielt Moritz Bleibtreu als
türkischer Soldat. Der einzige, der Skrupel empfindet. Der sich in
eine Armenierin verliebt – und sie schließlich, auf ihr Geheiß,
selbst töten muss. Am Ende steht er vor Gericht – und klagt seine
Kameraden an, die die Gräuel begangen haben, und den Staat, der sie
angeordnet hat. Ein Prozess, der, natürlich, kein Urteil findet. Die
Klage bleibt gleichwohl im Raum.

"Der Lerchenhof" ist nicht frei von Klischees. Er zeichnet sich auch
nicht durch die spröde Klarheit früherer Taviani-Werke aus. Und doch:
ein mutiger Film. Und eine klare Absage an das große Verschweigen.
Eine Tür ist damit aufgestoßen. Die Hoffnung Paolo Tavianis freilich,
ihr Film könnte schon bald in türkischen Schulen gezeigt werden, wird
sich wohl nicht so schnell erfüllen.

Sie werden deportiert, gedemütigt, missbraucht, gefoltert und
getötet: Die armenischen Frauen (Mitte: Paz Vega und Arsine Khanjian)
und ihre Schergen

Fotos: Berlinale

Klagt am Ende sich und sein Land an: Moritz Bleibtreu als türkischer
Soldat

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

========================================== ======
Friday 16 February 2007
UZBEKISTAN: HOW MANY FORCED CLOSURES OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES?

Uzbekistan tries hard to camouflage its religious freedom violations and
one way it does this is through statistics. Comparing February 2007 figures
from the state Religious Affairs Committee with October 2002 figures, Forum
18 News Service notes that a net total of six Christian churches are
indicated to have lost registration, along with one Jehovah’s Witness, one
Hare Krishna and one Baha’i community. The figures cannot be independently
verified and conceal denominational differences, with an increase in
Russian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic communities disguising loss of
legal status of Protestant churches. Religious believers inside Uzbekistan
indicate that the reality may be much worse. Some Protestant churches have
recently calculated that 38 of their congregations were closed down by the
state between 2000 and 2006. Over 100 religious communities of various
faiths are thought to have tried unsuccessfully to gain registration. The
Religious Affairs Committee asserts that "there there are no restrictions
on or hindrances to registration." Without state registration, all
religious activity is illegal and religious believers are subjected to
harsh state action.

UZBEKISTAN: HOW MANY FORCED CLOSURES OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES?

By Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service <;

Uzbekistan devotes much effort to trying to camouflage its attacks on
religious freedom and one element in the camouflage is statistics. Forum 18
has tried unsuccessfully to get the state Religious Affairs Committee to
say how many religious organisations were closed down in 2006. Begzot
Kadyrov, chief specialist on non-Islamic faiths for the Committee, said
that it had no information on this. This is strange, as collecting
statistics on the number of religious organisations is one of the
Committee’s main tasks.

Attempts by Forum 18 to obtain figures of religious community closures
from the Justice Ministry were likewise unsuccessful. Between 6 and 13
February, Forum 18 made numerous attempts to talk to Jalalbek Abdusatarov,
head of the Religious Organisations Registration Department at the
Ministry. Each time, an employee who refused to give his name said that
Abdusatarov was not there and that nobody else was able to provide
information. Regional Justice departments have been similarly
uninformative. On 14 February, Bekmukhamad Latyrinov, head of the Religious
and Social Organisations Registration Section of the Samarkand [Samarqand]
Justice Department, refused to answer any questions from Forum 18 by
telephone.

But, according to statistics from the Religious Affairs Committee
published by the government-sponsored website press-uz.info on 15 February,
2,222 religious communities of 16 faiths currently have registration. A
total of 2,042 of these are Muslim, 164 are Christian of various
unspecified denominations, 8 are Jewish, 6 are Baha’i and one each are Hare
Krishna and Buddhist. It remains unclear why neither the Committee nor the
Justice Ministry was able to provide these figures to Forum 18 just a few
days earlier.

The statistics – which cannot be verified independently – compare with the
Committee’s figures of a total of 2,152 registered communities in October
2002. Of these, 1,965 were Muslim, 61 Korean Protestant churches, 36
Russian Orthodox, 23 Baptist, 22 Full Gospel, 11 Seventh-day Adventist, 7
Baha’i, 6 Jewish, 5 Catholic, 4 Lutheran, 4 New Apostolic, 2 Jehovah’s
Witness, 2 Hare Krishna, 1 Armenian Apostolic, 1 Voice of God Protestant
church, 1 Buddhist – as well as 1 Bible Society branch.

Comparing the figures, a net total of six Christian churches have lost
registration in four and a half years, as well as one Jehovah’s Witness,
one Hare Krishna and one Baha’i community. However, these figures conceal
denominational differences, with an increase in the number of Russian
Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic communities disguising the loss of legal
status for Protestant churches.

Official figures should be treated with caution. For example, in 2005 the
authorities falsely claimed to Forum 18 that a Catholic parish was
registered in Nukus, in north-west Uzbekistan (see F18News 2 June 2005
< e_id=575>)

Amongst the other statistical propaganda tools used to deny religious
freedom violations has been an opinion poll conducted by a government-run
"non governmental" organisation (see F18News (see F18News 19 December 2006
< e_id=891>). This camouflage
effort has run in tandem with an increase in the state-rum mass media’s
encouragement of intolerance against religious minorities (see F18News 19
December 2006 < 890>)

Some of the religious communities, known to Forum 18, which have been
closed by the authorities in the last 18 months are: the Jehovah’s Witness
congregation in Fergana [Farghona] (see F18News 15 February
< ticle_id`2>); the Seventh-day
Adventist church and a Korean Protestant church in Samarkand [Samarqand]
(see F18News 19 May 2006
< e_id=784>); as well as the Full
Gospel church in Nukus (see F18News 11 November 2005
< e_id=686>).

The Bethany Baptist church, in the Mirzo-Ulugbek district of Tashkent, has
long been denied official registration and therefore the right to function.
Two church members were deported in 2006 (see F18News 6 September 2006
< e_id=838>). The congregation
decided to hold a celebratory meal for church members at Easter 2006 in the
church building, the first time the congregation had used its church
building in two years. Congregation members prepared a traditional plov
rice meal and tea but, as Protestant sources told Forum 18, within ten
minutes of the event beginning the local police arrived and closed it down.
The congregation has not dared to use its church building since.

Escalating pressure on congregation members typically follows such
closures (see eg. F18News 26 January 2006
< e_id=719> and 5 May 2006
< e_id=774>).

Adventist sources in Uzbekistan told Forum 18 on 14 February their church
in Samarkand was closed by the authorities as "we had been meeting in a
building different from the address stated in our registration document. We
don’t intend to appeal against the decision." There are still four
registered Adventist churches in Tashkent and Tashkent region.

An Uzbek Protestant pastor, who preferred not to be named, told Forum 18
that a number of Protestant churches, of a cross-section of non-Korean
denominations, had calculated recently that between them, 38 of their
congregations had been closed down between 2000 and 2006 under varying
official pretexts. (Christian missionaries from Korea have been quite
active in Central Asia.)

Forum 18 estimates that over 100 religious communities have been trying
unsuccessfully for many years to obtain registration from the Justice
Ministry. But only one Christian church per year is being registered: one
Protestant church in 2005, another in 2006, and the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Tashkent in January 2007.

The Religious Affairs Committee continues to deny that any pressure is
being exerted against religious communities and brushes aside any
complaints of denial or removal of legal status from congregations. "The
Committee regards assertions that ‘the republican authorities have
increased pressure on Protestants over the last few months’ as groundless,"
it claimed in a 12 February statement posted by the press-uz.info agency.
"The number of religious organisations in our country is growing. This
shows that there are no restrictions on or hindrances to registration." On
14 February, Aziz Obidov, the Committee’s Press Secretary, refused to make
any further comment to Forum 18. "We have already communicated everything
we think necessary and we are not going to comment further." (END)

For a personal commentary by a Muslim scholar, advocating religious
freedom for all faiths as the best antidote to Islamic religious extremism
in Uzbekistan, see < 338>.

For more background, see Forum 18’s Uzbekistan religious freedom survey at
< id=777>.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at
< id=806>, and of religious
intolerance in Central Asia is at
< id=815>.

A printer-friendly map of Uzbekistan is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=uzbeki& gt;
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Feb 15 2007

Investigation into Samast video and photos concluded
Photos and video footage of Samast, were taken in a police tea-room
after his arrest.

Güncelleme: 10:43 TSÝ 15 Þubat 2007 PerþembeSAMSUN – Inspectors
looking into claims that members of the Turkish security forces had
the alleged murderer of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink pose for souvenir photos and videos have concluded their
investigations Wednesday.

The investigation was launched after photos and video of Dink’s
alleged killer, 17-year-old Ogun Samast, surfaced in the media.

Samast was shown posing in front of a Turkish flag and being treated
like a hero by members of the security forces after his arrest.

The investigation revealed that Samsun police chief, Mustafa Ilhan,
was present in the tea room where the Samast photos were taken. Ilhan
was subsequently suspended from duty.

The investigation was carried out in the Black Sea cities of Samsun
and Trabzon and Istanbul police force headquarters.

NEXT CONGRESS OF PPA TO TAKE PLACE ON FEBRUARY 17

Noyan Tapan
Feb 15 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The People’s Party of Armenia
will hold its next congress on February 17. Ruzan Khachatrian, the
PPA Press Secretary informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent about it.

Issues on making some amendments in the party program and regulations
will be discussed in the congress. In R.Khachatrian’s words, after
1998, when the PPA program was adopted, some changes took place
in the sphere of foreign policy, particularly, Armenia became a
member of the Council of Europe, and a problem of modernization of
the party program arose. The issue of the PPA participation in the
coming parliamentary elections will also be discussed at the congress.

R.Khachatrian affirmed the PPA intention to alone take part in the NA
elections. She mentioned that the board to be elected by the congress
will form the party’s proportional list.

As for PPA Chairman Stepan Demirchian’s nomination by the
majoritarian electoral system, no final decision was yet made about
it. As R.Khachatrian mentioned the program of nomination of the
opposition leaders in all the 41 electoral districts seems not to
be implemented. In her words, particularly, Artashes Geghamian, the
leader of the "National Unity" party has already stated that he will
not nominate his candidature by the majoritarian electoral system.

The PPA Press Secretary at the same time mentioned that few people
from the heading staff of the party expressed a wish to be nominated
by the proportional electoral system, but this issue as well is at
the stage of discussion.

FIRST SHIPMENT OF SERBIAN ARMS DUE IN ARMENIA FEBRUARY 15?

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.02.2007 11:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first shipment of arms produced by the
Kragujevac-based weapons manufacturer Zastava Oruzje will head for
Armenia toward the end of the week, although it was announced earlier
that the first shipment would take place in mid-January.

The shipment was delayed due to the complicated procedure for issuing
all the permits necessary for the export of arms. Zastava Oruzje
got the permit to export the first of the two arranged shipments,
worth USD 1.7 million, on January 10th, but the procedure for
issuing the transport and other necessary permits is only now being
completed. Therefore, the actual shipment would take place on February
15th. The realization of the second export contract, worth USD 900
000, is still uncertain, as none of the ministries in charge of this
matter approved the export on the basis of this contract. According
to unofficial reports, the problem is, once again, that of higher
national interests in connection with the status of Kosovo and
Metohija, although Russia had approved the export of arms to the
countries in question, with the exception of Georgia.

As the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Internal Affairs
have not given their consent for issuing a second export permit to
Zastava Oruzje, the final decision on this matter will have to be
made by the Serbian Government, reports EASTBUSINESS.ORG.

AZERBAIJAN’S FM: "I DO NOT THINK PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA MAY SERVE OBSTACLE FOR CONTINUATION OF PEACEFUL NEGOTIATION PROCESS"

Yerevan, February 13. ArmInfo. "I do not that the parliamentary
elections in Armenia may serve an obstacle for continuation of a
peaceful negotiation process", Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar
Mamediarov, said, Day.az reports.

"Different elections are carried out in the most of countries,
however, it does not mean that the negotiation processes should stop",
he said. In the Minister’s opinion, a political will of the sides is
necessary to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem.

"It is very pleasant that the American Co-chair, Mathew Bryza, has
come out with a statement that an impulse will be observed in the
negotiation process after the parliamentary elections in Armenia",
Mamediarov stressed. The Azeri Minister called the actions of Moscow,
Paris and Washington constructive in this direction.

VARTAN OSKANIAN DISCUSSES EU-ARMENIA COOPERATION PROSPECTS IN MUNICH

Noyan Tapan
Feb 12 2007

MUNICH, FEBRUARY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 10, RA Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian took part in the 43th Munich Conference on
Security Policy. As NT was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press
and Information Department, within the framework of the conference
V. Oskanian had a bilateral meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister
Gela Bezhuashvili. At the meeting they discussed the current level of
bilateral relations, the approaches of the two countries over regional
conflicts, the possibilities to complete the demarcation process of
Armenian and Georgian state border. V. Oskanian again presented to
his Georgian counterpart Armenia’s position in connection with the
resolution initiated by GUAM at UN General Assembly emphasizing that
its adoption will have a negative impact on formation of an atmosphere
of confidence in the region.

Regional issues, current state of Georgian-Russian relations were
also discussed.

The interlocutors reached an agreement to activize bilateral contacts
at various levels. At the meeting with Michael Schaefer, Political
Director of FM of Germany presiding at EU they discussed Armenia-EU
cooperation prospects within the framework of EU New Neighborhood
policy, current state of Armenian-Turkish relations and negotiations
over Nagorno Karabakh settlement. On February 11, RA Foreign Minister
visited Koln where he had a meeting with representatives of Armenian
community. At the meeting V. Oskanian presented the process of reforms
in Armenia, process of negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh problem,
issues of fulfilment of decisions adopted at the 2006 Armenia-Diaspora
third conference.

GUN CEREMONY DEEPENS FEARS OF GROWING NATIONALISM

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 12 2007

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into a controversial oath
taking ceremony by an ultranationalist group after recent footage
was broadcast showing its members swearing over a gun to protect the
"homeland."

The head of the group has played down possible court action, vowing
to go ahead with similar oath ceremonies across Turkey.

The footage, broadcasted on a satellite channel, shows members of
the Kuvayý Milliye Association (National Forces) taking an oath by
putting their hands over two pistols and holy Koran in a ceremony
held at a public building generally used for wedding ceremonies in
the Mediterranean province of Mersin. Chairman of the group, retired
colonel Fikri Karadað, quotes from a speech made by the founder of
modern-day Turkey Kemal Ataturk and says, "Dear friends; you may get
killed, you may kill in this endeavor."

Prosecutors in neighboring Antalya have launched an investigation into
the group after the footage was broadcasted.A similar ceremony took
place in the Kemer district of Antalya late last year, but prosecutors
then did not take any action.

The footage comes amid fears of rising nationalism, something experts
say had a role to play in the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink by a 17-year-old assailant. The assailant reportedly
told the police he had killed Dink because he had "insulted Turkish
blood." The Kuvayý Milliye members say they are pure Turks "born
from a Turkish father and a Turkish mother and have no converts among
their ancestors."

"I am aware of the historic responsibility I take on my shoulders. I
swear on my honor and dignity that I shall work determinedly for the
peace, wellbeing and eternal existence of my nation and my state in
order to make the Turkish nation the master of the world… and to
willingly sacrifice my life when necessary for the homeland, the
Republic and the flag."

In a statement published in a local newspaper in Mersin, Kuvayý Milliye
Association provincial representative Kemal Canay said Karadað had
identified some 13,500 "traitors" across Turkey and vowed to make
them account for their actions.

Canay also quoted Karadað as saying that "Mersin has been invaded
by Zionists and the outlawed PKK." Karadað also said 90 percent of
criminals in Mersin come from southeastern Anatolia because "Turkish
children don’t commit crimes." Responding to accusations in the media
at a press conference on Saturday, Karadað said these 13,500 people
were "important people" and that he would not announce their names
before confirming certain information.

Karadað also said the guns used in the ceremony were air guns. He said
the oath taking ceremonies would continue across Turkey. "I don’t
understand why this bothers you," he told reporters at the press
conference. "One day we will see tens of, hundreds of thousands of
people take this oath."

–Boundary_(ID_a6IFM8ZX0jlVO+hL0yLL8A )–

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

All claims over Dink murder being investigated: Turkish police

A number of police officers have been suspended from duty pending an
inquiry into alleged failures to act on information warning the
Turkish-Armenian journalist would be killed.

Güncelleme: 18:37 TSÝ 09 Þubat 2007 CumaANKARA – All allegations
surrounding the murder of prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink were being fully investigated by public prosecutors and civil
inspectors, a spokesman for the Turkish police said Friday.

Speaking at a regular weekly press briefing, police spokesman Ismail
Caliskan said the investigation into Dink’s murder on January 19 was
being thoroughly pursued.
Caliskan denied there was any tension between the civil police and
the paramilitary gendarme after photos and video tapes of Dink’s
alleged killer, Ogun Samast, taken while he was in custody, were
released to the media.

The photos and video showed Samast pictured in front of a Turkish
flag and being portrayed as a hero. There was controversy as to
whether the photos and video were taken while Samast was in police or
Gendarme custody.

Asked whether there had been any negligence on the part of security
forces concerning the murder of Dink, Caliskan said and investigation
into allegations was continuing and that inspectors were trying to
determine if there had been any failings on the part of police.