Author: Chatinian Lara

Refusal to acknowledge Armenian genocide
For the Turkish state, and many Turks, to admit their forebears committed
genocide is something they will not even consider
BY MATTHEW MCALLESTER
Newsday Staff Correspondent

November 29, 2006, 3:13 PM EST

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Mesrob II, the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and all
Turkey, was silent for a second.

He had just been asked by a reporter if he acknowledged that the Armenian
genocide happened.

"Uhhhh," he said, "I acknowledge that people were killed." He was silent
again. "Many people lost their lives."

More uneasy silence followed.

This from a man whose paternal grandfather was the only one of six ethnic
Armenian brothers to make it back to Istanbul after being, as he put it,
"deported to the Syrian desert" in 1915. They were among more than a million
ethnic Armenians who suffered a similar fate at the hands of Ottoman Turks:
They were rounded up, deported to concentration camps and, for the most
part, killed.

"So severe has been the treatment that careful estimates place the number of
survivors at only 15 percent of those originally deported," the U.S. consul
in Aleppo wrote to the State Department in 1915 in a dispatch quoted in a
recent article in The New Yorker magazine. "On this basis the number
surviving even this far being less than 150,000 . there seems to have been
about 1,000,000 persons lost up to this date."

What Mesrob II, who will meet the visiting Pope Benedict XVI today in
Istanbul, could not or would not say was that the Turks of the then-Ottoman
Empire committed genocide against the Armenians who lived in modern-day
Turkey. For the Turkish state, and many Turks, to admit their forebears
committed genocide is something they will not even consider, and it makes
many Turks extremely angry even to suggest the genocide happened.

Authors and journalists, including Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk,
have been prosecuted for suggesting it took place. But for the 65,000 ethnic
Armenians — mostly Orthodox Christians — who live in this country of 70
million Muslims, to speak publicly of genocide would not be just brave, but
potentially suicidal.

"Probably the state wouldn’t do anything directly except make some
statement" if Mesrob was to say there had been a genocide, said Murat Belge,
one of Pamuk’s publishers and an organizer of an unprecedented conference
last year in Istanbul about the genocide.

"Very likely he would be assassinated by some fascists," continued Belge,
who was himself prosecuted under a controversial law last year for writing
critical articles about a court’s ban on the conference. "The Patriarchate
would be burned down. A lot of Armenians would be shot in their daily
lives."

Mesrob, in an interview at the well-guarded Armenian Patriarchate in
Istanbul, said many different peoples, governments, political parties and
even his own Armenian Patriarchate should share the blame for what happened
in 1915. He said he believed the best way for Turks and Armenians to
reconcile is for Turkey to open its border with Armenia and for the two
countries to encourage exchange visits and other ways of generating mutual
sympathy.

"It’s not a matter of being silent about the issue," he said. "It’s a matter
of how can you make friends with someone. Do you from the first moment
simply confront the person?"

If it’s not silence, then it’s a pragmatic sort of self-censorship. Growing
up, Mesrob’s father never talked to him about what happened to the previous
generation, he said. "I think they didn’t want us to be at odds with our
Muslim neighbors."

That parenting method continues today among the ethnic Armenians in Turkey,
Mesrob said. "We don’t tell our children about historical problems so they
won’t face problems."

The Turkish government’s position on the events of 1915 is that the people
who died in the region at the time died as a result of inter-ethnic
fighting, disease and hardships caused by war.

More than 20 countries have officially recognized the genocide, as have a
majority of the 50 states in the United States, including New York. It is
long-standing State Department policy not to refer to the events of 1915 as
genocide; many critics of this policy see it as a politically expedient way
of avoiding alienating a crucial American ally.

Most Western historians agree the genocide happened. Last year, the
International Association of Genocide Scholars wrote to Turkey’s prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about it, concluding: "We believe that it is
clearly in the interest of the Turkish people and their future as a proud
and equal participant in international, democratic discourse to acknowledge
the responsibility of a previous government for the genocide of the Armenian
people, just as the German government and people have done in the case of
the Holocaust."

Such an acknowledgement will not come easily or quickly — if at all.

"Until the 1980s there was a total loss of memory," said a Turkish political
powerbroker who requested anonymity because of the topic’s sensitivity.
"Nobody talked about this. It was the policy of the omnipotent state not to
talk about anything negative."

Last year’s conference in Istanbul and a growing concern about the issue
within Europe — a recent French law makes it a crime to deny the genocide
happened — have moved Turkey slightly closer to coming to terms with its
past.

"The skeletons are there and they have not vanished," the Turkish
powerbroker said. "Now we are going to open the cupboard."

If Turkey is to gain entry to the European Union, it likely will have to
acknowledge its actions in 1915 — although Turkey accepting the word
"genocide" could forever remain a sticking point.

Egemen Bagis, foreign policy adviser to Erdogan, said in an interview that
last year Erdogan made an offer to the Armenian president: Both countries
would establish an independent investigative commission and open up all
countries’ archives in order to establish what happened.

"No other politician in Turkey’s history has ever said he is ready to face
his own history," Bagis said.

But when asked if he recognized that a genocide took place, Bagis responded
quickly: "I don’t."

THINK TANK CONDEMNS AZERBAIJAN FOR SILENCING MEDIA AND OPPOSITION

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Nov 27 2006

The Azerbaijani government’s aggressive moves to silence independent
media and the leading opposition party last week not only raise obvious
human rights problems but will have a detrimental effect on efforts
to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the Brussels-based
think tank, the International Crisis Group, Monday.

On November 24, the Azeri authorities took the country’s first,
biggest and most professional independent TV and radio broadcaster,
ANS, off the air.

The same day, police forcibly evicted the key opposition party, the
Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, two opposition dailies Azadlig and
Bizim Yol and the Turan information agency from their Baku offices,
said the ICG in a statement.

"Following a pattern of harassment of Azerbaijan’s independent
journalists since 2003, Friday’s events once again put into question
Azerbaijan’s commitment to protecting freedom of speech and upholding
the rule of law."

The think tank said Azerbaijan’s international partners — the EU and
its member states, the US, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and others
— should in unequivocal terms call on the government of President
Ilham Aliev to restore media freedoms protected in the Azerbaijani
Constitution and in commitments made as a member of the OSCE and the
Council of Europe, and as a recent signatory of an EU Neighborhood
Action Plan.

The Financial Mirror
26th of November 2006
Armenian President expresses sorrow over division of Nicosia

It is very sad to see Nicosia divided and know that this is happening in
Europe, President of Armenia Robert Kocharian said on Friday, after visiting
the ceasefire line in Nicosia.
”It is very sad to see this old city divided and know that this is
happening in Europe. Not only the city was divided, by also human lives were
lost and many people are still missing,” Kocharian wrote in the visitors’
book.
Accompanied by Nicosia Mayor Michalakis Zampelas and other officials,
Kocharian and his entourage visited the ceasefire line, dividing the
government-controlled areas from the Turkish occupied northern part of the
island, since the Turkish invasion of 1974.
The Armenian President, who is on a state visit to Cyprus, wished that the
island will be united again and that the people of Cyprus will live under
conditions of prosperity and peace.
Earlier, Zampelas presented the Golden Key of the City to the Armenian
President during an official ceremony at the town hall.
In his address at the ceremony, Kocharian said that ”although this is my
first visit in Cyprus, all things around me seem so familiar that I get the
impression that sooner or later people will start talking to me in
Armenian.”
The Armenian President wished that justice will prevail in Nicosia, just as
in the case of Berlin, were the wall was demolished and now the city has
become a symbol of peace.
”I was recently in Berlin. It is a city that proved how justice in the end
prevails. I wish that Nicosia is again reunited and the Cyprus issue is
resolved according to the wishes of the Cypriot people,” he said.
He also made a proposal that the capital cities of Yerevan and Nicosia
become twinned.
In his address, the Nicosia Mayor referred to the traditionally friendly
relations between Cyprus and Armenia.
Referring to the Armenian people living in Cyprus, he said that they are an
important part of the Cypriot people and contribute to a great extent to the
political, economic and social prosperity of the island.
Later on, the Armenian President visited the Armenian Archbishopric, Church
and School in Nicosia.
A warm welcome was awaiting him by Armenians living in Nicosia, who
applauded and thanked him for his visit.
Kocharian was welcomed by Archbishop of the Armenian Church in Cyprus
Varoujan Hergelian.
Armenian pupils, holding Cypriot and Armenian flags, greeted the official
Armenian delegation and prepared a cultural programme with traditional
dances for its members.
Speaking to the press, Representative of the Armenian Religious Group at the
House of Representatives Mahdesian Vartkes referred to the friendly
relations between Armenia and Cyprus, saying that the living conditions of
Armenians on the island are excellent.

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 25 2006

CLUB OF YOUNG DEFENDERS OF RIGHTS IN ARTSAKH

SVETLANA KHACHATRIAN

The International Association of Lawyers and Psychologists has
visited Stepanakert recently. About 30 high school students, teachers
and parents from Armenia and Javakheti arrived in Stepanakert. We
have learned from the chair of the NGO Khachatur Marozian that the
purpose of the visit is to set up a club of young defenders of rights
in Artsakh, which will help raising legal awareness among the younger
generation. Similar efforts were made in the schools of Armenia, and
Khachatur Marozian says the results were assessed as positive by the
ministry of education, the ministry of justice of Armenia, as well as
the parents and teachers. `They don’t have to become lawyers, it is
important that they be aware of their right to able to defend them
and uphold justice, and fight against castes,’ he says. According to
him, nepotism is deeply rooted in the society, and it should be
battled. It is difficult to develop this among grown-ups because they
have social problems and as they often depend on some person, they
cannot rise against these phenomena. Meanwhile, the younger
generation does not have such problems yet and it is easier to teach
them. If a person has legal awareness, he is able to protect his
rights, but first he must be able to defend others’ right, i.e. to be
aware of his duties as well. There are already teams of defenders of
rights in several Armenian schools, who often hold debates. The
members of the club said these debates are very effective, for
children learn to discuss issues, ask questions to the point and
analyze. The members of the club of young defenders of rights held a
debate at School 7 in Stepanakert on education and patriotism and
thereby set up the first team in Artsakh.

Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus
Nov 23 2006

Cyprus president backs Armenia, expects EU "sanctions" on Turkey from
mid-Dec

Nicosia, Nov 23 (CNA) – "The Cyprus problem is irrelevant to and
cannot be associated with Ankara’s commitments vis-a-vis the European
Union," stressed here tonight Cyprus President Tasos Papadhopoulos.

Addressing a state dinner given at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia
in honour of visiting President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan,
President Papadhopoulos said Turkey’s obligations as an occupying
power as regards the Cyprus problem are a completely different issue.

"These are obligations that dictate its positive contribution to the
efforts to achieve a functional and viable solution. The fulfilment
of these obligations is pending for 32 years now, resulting in the
continuing forceful division of our country and the terrible tragedy
of our people," the Cypriot president noted.

He stressed that "we have supported and continue to support the
European course of Turkey. However, it is Turkey that undermines this
course with its continuous denial to comply with the European
prerequisites and respond in a positive way to the commitments she
has undertaken. The Report by the European Commission, issued only a
few days ago, notes this provocative denial by Turkey. A denial which
in essence equals with contempt of the European accession criteria
and the European rules of political behaviour," Papadhopoulos added.

The Cypriot president wondered "when Turkey challenges the European
Union, of which it aims to become a member, what should be the
reaction of the European partners? When Turkey refuses to fulfil her
obligations vis-a-vis the European Union in general and vis-a-vis the
Republic of Cyprus in particular, what should be the consequences?"

For certain, he added, the European Union cannot tolerate this
provocative stand and behaviour of Ankara and has no right to consent
to a smooth and unhindered course for Turkey, as if nothing happens.
It is not possible, because of Turkey and for the sake of Turkey, to
ignore the established European procedures and to bypass the
statutory European rules, which are valid for every candidate
country, prior to accession.

Papadhopoulos said, however, that there is still time for Turkey to
comply with the recommendations and the demands of the European
Union. "So far we do not have valid reasons to be optimistic. On the
contrary, we have sound reasons to believe that it will continue her
negative stand. And unavoidably, it becomes clear that measures and
sanctions must be imposed on Turkey by the European Council, in the
middle of next month".

"We are not happy with this development, for which Turkey and no one
else is to blame. From the moment, however, that Turkey entrapped
itself into provocatively denying to fulfil its European obligations
there is no reasonable excuse, nor a legal way to avoid measures
against it," the president added.

He referred to the friendly ties between Cyprus and Armenia assuring
his Armenian counterpart that Cyprus "remains firm and consistent on
issues of principle that concern our steady and loyal friends, like
Armenia, especially when the issues of principle are common."

He said Cyprus, as a full member state of the great European family,
and Armenia as a country participating in the Action Plan, in the
framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, have now, one more
opportunity to promote and expand their relations. Geographically,
Cyprus, more than any other European country, is closer to Armenia
and can, through the European Union Policy, become a communication
bridge between Europe and Armenia.

"I assure you, Mr President, that Cyprus, within the framework of the
European Union and on the basis of the European Neighbourhood Policy,
will support your friendly country in all its European aspirations
and in all its efforts for participation in European structures and
markets," Papadhopoulos pointed out.

Furthermore, he assured him that Cyprus fully supports the Minsk
Group efforts to achieve a peaceful and viable solution to the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh in the framework of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Such a solution must of course meet
your own positions and aspirations, the Cypriot President concluded.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Nov 24 2006

Armenia hopes Turkey EU process will open to doors to genocide debate

By Jean Christou

ARMENIA said yesterday it hoped Turkey’s accession to the European
Union would lead to more honest and open debate on issues such as the
Armenian genocide.

Speaking to reporters during his official visit to Cyprus, Armenian
President Robert Kocharian said Turkey’s path to Europe would likely
influence relations between the two countries.

He said that once Turkey had expressed its wish to include itself in
the EU, it should mean normalisation of relations with its
neighbours, including Armenia.

`Consequently, the issue of Turkey’s accession course interests us
and we are waiting to see it become what it should become. This will
certainly influence Armenian-Turkish relations,’ Kocharian said.

The Armenian president also commented on the recent difficulties in
French-Turkish relations after Ankara said it was suspending
bilateral military ties with Paris

It was the latest step in a row over whether Armenians suffered
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks in 1915, after the French
National Assembly approved a bill criminalising denial of the
Armenian genocide.

Kocharian avoided commenting on the row, but welcomed moves by the
international community to recognise genocides and hoped that one day
Turkey could join the ranks.

`We believe the process of Turkey’s accession to the EU will lead to
a more open and honest debate in Turkish society where people can
express their opinions,’ Kocharian said.
`I know this a difficult process. I also know that the international
community, in recognising the various genocides that have taken
place, all contribute so that these matters can move forward to the
point where there is understanding of such things.’

Kocharian also said that `Armenia would like to see a speedy solution
to the Cyprus problem’, following his meeting with President Tassos
Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos said that discussions with his Armenian counterpart
covered a wide range of issues, aiming at developing the bilateral
co-operation, in the fields of education, tourism, bank sector, and
culture.
He also expressed the belief that Armenians who live in Cyprus would
pave the way for new areas of co-operation, and accepted an
invitation from Kocharian to visit Armenia in 2007.

Prior to the meeting, an agreement was signed between the two
governments on co-operation in combating organised and other forms of
crime, which was initialled by Justice Minster Sophocles Sophocleous
and his Armenian counterpart Davit Harutyunyan.

OSCE PRESENTS EXPERT RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRAFT PLAN OF ARMENIA
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Nov 22 2006
YEREVAN, 22 November 2006 – An OSCE expert review of Armenia’s draft
plan for digital TV and radio broadcasting in the country was presented
today in Yerevan.
The report highlighted that social and economic issues, as well as
infrastructure development, were key issues of concern when it comes
to ensuring more access to broadcasting in Armenia. It was also
recommended that more attention should be paid to avoid monopolization.
In an address delivered on his behalf in the Armenian capital, Miklos
Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, welcomed
the Armenian Government’s initiative to establish a regulatory basis
for the digitalization of broadcasting media and to encourage a public
discussion on the move.
“This ‘switch-over’ from analogue to digital transmission will
multiply the number of available channels and make state licensing
largely unnecessary,” he said in his speech.
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan said:
“I hope that today’s discussion will help identify the challenges in
making the ‘switch-over’ an achievable and well-managed objective. This
is very important for the safeguarding and promotion of media pluralism
in Armenia.”
Following the allocation of a digital terrestrial frequency range
to Armenia by the International Telecommunications Union earlier in
the year, the Armenian authorities drafted an implementation plan
as an initial step to put into practice the changes from analogue to
digital broadcasting. At the request of the Armenian Government, the
OSCE Media Representative, who in an earlier country report on Armenia
had recommended to establish the legislative framework for the switch
to digital broadcasting, provided an expert review on the draft plan.
The presentation of the expert review was organized by the OSCE
Office in Yerevan, the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom
of the Media together with the the Open Society Institute Assistance
Foundation-Armenia, and the Armenian Ministry of Transport and
Communication.

INITIATIVE GROUP FROM CALIFORNIA PROTESTS AGAINST CONVICTION OF EDITOR OF ‘ZHAMANAK LOS-ANGELES’ NEWSPAPER
AZG Armenian Daily
22/11/2006
The California based initiative group protests against conviction of
the editor of “Zhamanak Los Angeles” newspaper, Arman Babajanian. It’s
worth mentioning that Babajanian is convicted by the Armenian court.
The first instance court has sentenced Babajanian to 4 years in
imprisonment for “draft dodging” in October 2006.
The statement of the initiative group reminded that A. Babajanian was
convinced, according to the formulation of judges, for “violation of
RA Law on Compulsory Military Service” and under the Article 327 of
RA Criminal Code. Moreover, the document states that the sentence,
passed on Babajanian, cannot take force, since the Law envisages a
fine, while the RA CC – imprisonment. The document authors call to
change the restraint to Babajanian for a fine, “taking into account
that Arman Babajanian is a worthy son of his Motherland”.

Q&A: ACCOUNT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TRANSLATED SO OTHERS WILL NOT REPEAT ATROCITIES
By Phyllis Sides
Journal Times Online, WI –
Nov 21 2006
Second of two parts: The first genocide of the 20th century started in
Turkey in April 1915. Racine resident Mariam Sahakian has a first-hand
account in her father’s memoirs. Sahakian’s father, Varteres Mikael
Garougian, survived the killing and recorded his experiences for
posterity.
Armenians say that Turkish authorities executed 1.5 million people
between 1915-1923, accusing them of helping the invading Russian Army
during World War I. Turkey rejects the genocide claim, saying Armenians
were killed in civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
However, Henry Morgenthau, the United States ambassador to Ottoman
Turkey between 1913 and 1916, wrote of the mistreatment and killings
of the Armenians in “Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story,” a memoir of his
years in Turkey. Because the past is important Sahakian translated
her father’s memoirs into English.
This is part two of a two-part interview. The first part was published
Monday.
When did you decide to translate your father’s memoirs and how long
did it take? Shortly after I retired in 1988, I began to read again
our father’s gift to us – his treasure, the manuscript that he had
left to my brother and me. As a tribute to our parents, I began
translating it by 1990, intending to make it available to my family
and my brother Mikael. However, as I worked on it, I realized that
my father’s uncommon life might be of interest to others.
The whole process took me over 12 years to complete because I used
quite a few sources to corroborate some events Varteres describes,
as well as searching for maps and geographical sources, contacting a
number of living survivors, etc. Also, I didn’t work on it everyday
and when I did, it usually was for only two to three hours at a time.
When he died in 1958, my father’s Armenian manuscript, interspersed
with some Turkish, French, Arabic, consisted of 286 legal size,
handwritten pages of text only and was not completely ready for
publication in Armenian. There were several separate sections, as well
as some eyewitness accounts by others, which had to be incorporated
into the text as I translated it.
To his work I added a translator’s preface, title, chapters and chapter
headings, 16 pages of footnotes, a Turkish and an Armenian glossary,
a suggested bibliography, and a 19-page index. In addition to all
the above, I sketched three maps and selected photos with captions.
The Armenian title my father had used was “Narrations from my life:
what I saw, heard, and endured.” However, I changed it to “Destiny of
the Dzidzernag.” When he was a French Legionnaire, he was sending
articles to Armenian newspapers in America using the pseudonym
“Dzidzernag,” which is the swallow that symbolizes Armenia. I think
of my parents – in fact all the Armenian immigrants of those times as
Dzidzernags – and this tribute is for all those immigrants, who as
my father describes it in his manuscript, were uprooted from their
ancestral lands and courageously tried to relocate elsewhere were –
and I quote him – “like seeds flung to the winds.”
What did you learn from the process? I learned how important our roots
are, as well as developed a greater appreciation for our immigrant
parents, as well as other immigrants. I marvel at their ability to
leave homeland and find roots in such faraway places – also their
ability to survive such horrendous difficulties and cruelties.
Although we were taught to speak Armenian by our parents and to read
and write by our father in the safety of our home in this country,
we only were aware of how precarious and uncommon their previous
lives had been. A few hints now and then, or a brief story of some
troubles they had encountered. Reading my father’s manuscript as well
as other related sources while translating has left us in awe of our
parents’ lives.
Why is your translation important? The word `genocide’ was coined
by our President Woodrow Wilson, a true scholar, who was active
in promoting the League of Nations after World War I. “Destiny
of the Dzidzernag” is a factual record of those times. My 19-page
index includes numerous people’s names and places, since many have
been changed or are no more, as well as some events. The suggested
bibliography and my footnotes add to its value. Professor Robert O.
Krikorian’s enlightening foreword emphasizes the historical importance
of Varteres’ translated memoirs. I will remain grateful to him for
encouraging me to have it published and showing me the path to do so.
Hopefully, this book, in its own small way, will help readers to
understand they must prevent genocide, atrocities. In the 1930s,
when some in Adolph Hitler’s circle of advisors argued against
his plan to exterminate the Jewish people, he convincingly stated,
“After all, who now remembers the Armenians?” Let us always keep in
mind this famous statement by George Santayana; “Those who cannot
remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
06/11/21/local/columns/iq_4284040.txt

EUROPEAN COMMISSION SETS DECEMBER 6 AS DEADLINE FOR TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.11.2006 17:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Finland, the holder of the rotating EU presidency,
has given Turkey a respite until December 6 to resolve the Cyprus
deadlock. In his speech to members of parliamentary EU affairs
committees in Helsinki, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen stated
that the European Commission would take a recommendatory decision
about the Cyprus issue in the first week of December, adding that
the decision will be discussed at the General Affairs and External
Relations Council meeting to be held on December 11.
The deadline for Turkey as Vanhannen stated is before the decision on
advice. On one hand European commission is demanding opening the sea
and airports to Greek Cypriots and on the other Turkey is demanding
the lifting of the isolations on The Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus. “Time is running out”, the Finnish premier remarked. “If
Turkey does not honor its commitments, the EU will need to reconsider
the implications for the accession process,” Mr. Vanhanen noted,
reports Cihan News Agency.