Author: Chatinian Lara

PM ERDOGAN: I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED A POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM ARMENIA
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Sept 12 2006
* PM Erdogan speaks about Armenia at Turkish history congress
ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated
yesterday in the 15th Turkish History Congress in Ankara.
Speaking to congress attendees, Erdogan touched on questions
surrounding the so-called Armenian genocide, noting “It is nearly
impossible to come across a people as free of guilt as ours in
history. Still, there are those who try to blacken our history for
political reasons. This is where the accusations of a so-called
Armenian genocide come in. On this subject, as the prime minister,
I proposed to Armenia that we form a commission. I still have not
receive a positive response to this request. Still, we have hope. All
of the Ottoman archives are open to those who wish to investigate. In
fact, foreign researchers talk about how our archives are more open
than those of other countries.”
Turkish PM last yaer offered to establish a joint commission to
discuss the historical issues. Armenia does not recognise Turkey’s
eastern borders and have been occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijan.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer also sent a message to the
president of the Turkish History Foundation, Yusuf Halacoglu, noting
that “no efforts would be successful in hiding the truth about
Armenian accusations.”

FILM “YOL”: A MONUMENT TO HUMAN ENDURANCE
By Jalal Jonroy
KurdishMedia, UK
Sept 9 2006
Yilmaz Guney (1 April 1937 – 9 September 1984)
When shown at the Cannes Film Festival ’82, YOL received a standing
ovation and won the coveted first prize. YOL is a Kurdish drama made
by Yilmaz Guney -a Kurd- while serving 19 year prison sentence in
Turkey. Y. Guney escaped prison and now lives in Paris where he and
other Kurdish artists in exile have formed (The Kurdish Institute)
to help save the Kurdish culture – a much neglected and maligned
treasure of mankind’s cultural heritage.
On the surface, YOL relates the sufferings, the loves, and the hope
of five Kurdish prisoners while on temporary leave. On the way -YOL-
to their homeland Kurdistan, occupied by fascist military Turkey,
the film slowly and sensitively reveals the terrible operation
and hardships of the Kurdish nation. YOL is a long harsh road into
Kurdistan -deliberately kept backward socially and economically, by
successive Turkish governments. Poverty, bad transportation, luck
of schools and hospitals (witness the dentist’s scene), deprived
children smoking cigarettes, villagers crammed in tiny mud houses,
and farmers still having to work with antiquated tools are all shown
in dramatic contrast to the purity and natural beauty of Kurdistan.
The only signs of 20th century progress the Kurds see daily are the
machine guns of Turkish soldiers!
The five prisoners soon find themselves in the greater and more
oppressive prison of Kurdistan. Through lack of education, the Kurds
are held under and old feudal system with its blood feuds and complex
codes of honor -for example with the respect to adultery. Today,
this medieval web coupled with religious ignorance, and compounded by
Turkish political and economic oppression, reduces much of Kurdistan
to a rigid backward social structure with both men and especially
women trapped as victims. (Witness during the snow scenes the unspoken
painful dilemma of husband and wife who had “betrayed” him martially.)
To ease its exploitation, Turkey dupes the people with confused
brand of religious and archaic moral standards, hence, for example,
the mass hysteria and the tragic scene of the train.
YOL is a compassionate journey through Kurdistan kept under a permanent
state of siege by Turkey since the dawn of this century.
Here, over one and a half million Kurds (and similar numbers of
defenseless Armenians) have been massacred. Persecution, tortures,
gallows, mass deportations, aerial bombardments, napalm, poison
gas, mass trials, organized terror, forced assimilations, and total
destruction of towns and villages are marked in blood on Kurdish
mountains as the unwritten history of Kurdistan. To talk about basic
human rights would be futile, when Turkey, in order to add insult,
calls the Kurdish nation “Mountain Turks”.
To this date, mere speech in Kurdish or Kurdish costume carries a
mandatory prison sentence! Of course, since twelve million Kurds in
Turkey are not supposed to exist, any mention of even the word Kurd
is banned, let alone Kurdish culture! (Last March, a non-Kurdish
sociologist, Ismail Besikci, was sentenced to ten years for merely
describing the Kurds as a separate ethnic group.)
Turkey, a member of NATO, receives over one million dollars a day from
the United States as military aid. The corrupt fascist Turkish junta
uses much of this to destroy Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, and liberal
Turkish people. As recently as last May, Turkey in conspiracy with
Iraqi military fascists staged a back-handed attack on Iraqi Kurdistan,
and burned Kurdish villages. Two thousand Kurds were captured, most
of whom are now under torture in the already over-crowded Turkish
prison camps.
Robbed of its oil, food produce, and other natural resources by its
more powerful neighbors, Kurdistan lies in a singularly strategic
position -between the Middle East, Russia, and Europe. Due to this
quirk of fate, Kurdistan has always been the battlefield of aggressors
with Kurds used as worthless pawns in a brutal game of greed and power.
Today, the fascist governments of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq are
shamelessly ganging up to exterminate the Kurdish nation -something
no one has been able to do for 3000 years from Alexander the Great,
the Mongols, the Persian and Ottoman empires, to the British. The
Kurds are some 40 million people. Descendants of the ancient Medes,
they have lived in Kurdistan long before the Turks existed.
YOL is a monument to human endurance; to the sick and wounded
in Kurdish mountains; to thousands of lost orphans and homeless
families. YOL is a poem of tears and flowers dedicated to the bereaved
women and weeping mothers of Kurdistan.
If you add up the hardship of the freedom-loving peoples of El
Salvador, Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan, Palestine and Poland, it
may not equal the plight of the Kurdish nation whose very existence is
endangered. Yet ironically because Kurds are being massacred by Iran,
Turkey, and Iraq, and not directly by “white” or “big” powers such
as Russia or America, the Kurdish cause, though a unique tragedy,
does not get the media exposure of the support automatically given
to other national causes. How apt, even today, is the sad, age old
proverb: “Kurds have no friends”!
YOL is hymn to the unsung heroes of the Kurdish nation, who against all
odds and modern destruction machines, fight alone for the preservation
of their dignity, and identity. Form the heart of Kurdistan, YOL
is a gift of spirit and hope to the oppressed people everywhere in
the world.
Outside links KurdishMedia.com does not take the responsibility for
accuracy of the outside sources.

ARMENIAN ARMY CARRIES ON ARSONS IN AZERI LANDS
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 9 2006
Starting from last afternoon the Armenian Armed Forces continued
to commit malicious arsons in the Azerbaijan territories occupied
by Armenia.
APA’s Karabakh bureau reports strong fires committed in the Paprevend
village of Aghdam were easily observed from the frontline overnight.
Borderers say they witnessed Armenians having committed arsons
here before.
Observation shows that Armenians now set fire to the places which
had been used as shelters before.

PARLIAMENT OF SPAIN CAN DISCUSS ISSUE OF RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE
MADRID, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Representatives
of the Armenian comunity of Spain addressed to deputies from Catalonia
Rosa Bonas and Joan Puigcercos with a call to organize discussions at
the Spanish Parliament on the issue of the Armenian Genocide committed
in the Ottaman Empire in the early 20th century. The deputies presented
a corresponding proposal to the Parliament Committee on Foreign
Affairs and persuaded their colleagues to recognize the Armenian
Genocide as a crime against mankind. Later, Rosa Bonas informed the
Turkish “Anatolia” information agency that they made changes in the
draft resolution, taking out the article in which Ankara is called
to recognize the Armenian Genocide. At the same time, Bonas stated
that she has always had special attitude towards communities small
in number, and she heard about the Armenian Genocide only after the
Spanish Armenians’ letter. Turkish Ambassador Volkan Vular said to
the Foreign Ministry and Parliament of Spain that in the case of
holding the proposed discussions, the Turkish-Spanish relations would
be damaged.

OMBUDSMAN DEMANDS TO PUNISH THE GUILTY PEOPLE
A1+
[06:10 pm] 07 September, 2006
Armen Haroutyunyan, the RA Human Rights Protector, condemns the recent
violence against a press representative. He made an announcement in
this connection.
The announcement says, “The recent assaults on journalists and the
intervention into their activity put the reputation of our country
into question and are real threats for freedom of expression and full
provision of rights on information availability”
The violence against Hovhannes Galajyan, editor-in-chief of the
newspaper “Iravounq” is a condemning action directed to press freedom.
The Human Rights Protector calls on the law enforcing bodies to be
more prudent and consistent and voices hope that any violence against
journalists will be hence revealed and punished by the authorities.

EIGHT ARMENIAN BOXERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
ArmRadio.am
07.09.2006 18:00
The youth boxing national team of Armenia left for the city of Agadir,
Morocco. Eight sportsmen included in the national team will take part
in the world championship. The team comprises Hayk Mkrtchian (48 kg),
Derenik Gizhlarian (51 kg), Azat Hovhannisian (54 kg), Robert Yeghisian
(57 kg), Ara Pluzian (60 kg) Arman Hovikian (64 kg), Tsolak Ananikian
(81 kg) and Vagharshak Aslanian (heavy weight category). The delegation
is headed by Secretary General of RA Boxing Republican Federation Levon
Hovhannisian. The world championship will be held on September 6-17.

THEY WILL EXERT PRESSURE BUT NOT ON EVERYBODY
A1+
[03:11 pm] 07 September, 2006
The pressure exerted on Hovhannes Galajyan, editor-in-chief of the
newspaper “Iravounq” was not restricted with beatings. Hovhannes
Galajyan claims that those “villains” rang him at about 4:00a.m.,
swore and threatened him once more. Asked what threats they said
Hovhannes Galajyan answered “ordinary” ones.
Anyway, Galajyan doesn’t consider himself a “sufferer” and assures
that nothing will change either in his behaviour or in the activity
of the newspaper.
Today a number of media representatives have gathered to discuss the
mechanisms which might ensure the free and independent activity of
journalisms in Armenia.
Everybody realizes that the pressure exercised on journalists
will still strengthen. Pressure will be mainly directed to the
representatives of press as even the European specialists mentioned
that “diversity of opinions is provided mainly by press.”
Tigran Haroutyunyan, director of “Noyan Tapan” Agency claims that the
beating of journalists is “the logical continuation of the actions
which began a few years ago. Narine Dilbaryan, member of the Press
National Club, noted that the illegality existing in the country has
gone out of control. “Even the authorities cannot control the criminal
elements, whose crimes were revealed. The illegality is already ruled
from a few centres.””
At the end of long debate they came to the conclusion that journalists
must combat against pressure with joint efforts. But it won’t work
either as the sphere of journalism is disrupted. Hayk Gevorgyan, a
correspondent of “Haykakan Jamanak” daily, reminded the time when the
disruption began. After the embattlement of “A1+” and “Noyan Tapan”
TV Channels, a number of “free and responsible” media separated from
the whole sphere and made an announcement according to which there
is no freedom of speech in Armenia. The fact that the auditorium was
overcrowded at the beginning of today’s discussion and it became
deserted only 30 minutes later testifies to the fact that today
journalists cannot unite and they still remain in various parts of
“barricades.”

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SLAMS TURKEY ANEW
AINA, CA
Assyrian International News Agency
Sept 6 2006
Brussels — Marking the start of looming crisis between Europe and
Ankara over its accession bid, European lawmakers overwhelmingly
approved last Monday a highly critical Report, accusing Turkey
of slowing down necessary political and institutional reforms for
accession into the 25 members bloc.
The Committee of Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament voted
through a Report, which slammed Turkey for not fulfilling the
commitments it undertook when it received the green light last October
to start talks.
“The European Parliament … regrets the slowing down of the reform
process,” the Report said, pointing to what it called “persistent
shortcomings” in a range of areas. The lawmakers said Turkey had shown
“insufficient progress” in the areas of freedom of __expression,
religious and minority rights, women’s rights and law enforcement
since EU leaders agreed to start accession talks 11 months ago.
“We are not saying that we are not still committed to the talks or that
we do not want Turkey to join the EU,” said Dutch MP Camiel Eurlings,
who prepared the Report. “But we are sending a clear signal to Turkey
that it must move quickly with its reforms,” he told the Foreign
Affairs Committee.
Turkey must recognize Cyprus, withdraw its troops from the island
The Report also urged Ankara to recognise the Republic of Cyprus,
a UN and EU member-state, and urged it to “take concrete steps for
the normalization of bilateral relations with the Republic as soon as
possible.” It also called Ankara to open its ports and air to Cypriot
traffic, to stop vetoeing Cyprus’ access to various international
organizations and to withdraw in a reasonable timetable its occupation
troops, estimated at 40.000, from the northern areas of Cyprus.
Turkey must respect religious and ethnic minorities, women rights
The Report also censured insufficient progress on freedom of
__expression and raised concerns over the lot of Turkey’s Christian
religious minorities, calling for the recognition of the Ecumenical
Patriarch, the leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and
the reopening of the Theological Schools of the Greek and Armenian
Communities. The Report also criticised the unusually high threshold
for parliamentary representation, under which a political party must
score 10 percent nationwide; the latter aims at making difficult
or eliminating the possibility of Kurds being elected in Turkey’s
national assembly. Violence against women and wide corruption were
also pointed out as serious problems in the Report.
Turkey must ackowledge the Genocide
Moreover the Report demanded that, as a precondition of EU membership,
Ankara should acknowledge that its predecessor, Ottoman Turkey,
committed Genocide against Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians (Arameans)
during WWI.
Armenian, Greek and Assyrian (Aramean) circles have welcomed the
Parliament’s Report as objective and reflecting historical truth and
highlighted the necessity for Turkey to cleanse its past in the same
way as Germany did after WWII.
Turkey Snubs the Report
In an angrily reaction, the Turkish Foreign Ministry dismissed the
Report, saying that it lacked common sense and smelled of political
bias against Turkey.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a press conference that
Turkey has no intention to open its ports and air to Cypriot traffic.
The Turkish Prime Minister T. Erdogan also snubed the value of the
Report as non binding and dismissed any genocide recognition.
Turkey ostensibly denies having committed a Genocide against its
indigenous Christian populations of Armenian, Greeks and Assyrians,
while its Penal Code maintains relevant provisions punishing any
discussion, in oral or written form, on the genocide issue.
If by December 2006 Turkey has not complied, the annual EU summit
of heads of state and government is likely to put on hold or revoke
Turkey’s accession talks.
Any country wishing to join the 25-member bloc requires the approval
of both the European Parliament and the agreement of all member
states. The Report will go before a full parliament session at the
end of the month and is likely to be raised when chief Turkish EU
negotiator Ali Babacan visits Brussels from Wednesday. The conservative
EPP-ED, the assembly’s largest political group, still favours a
“privileged partnership” with Turkey rather than full EU membership,
pointing at wide and profound opposition from the European public
opinion for an eventual EU accession of a pre-dominentaly Muslim
country.
Forum Against Genocide

EU: TURKEY URGED TO REINVIGORATE REFORMS AND ADMIT CYPRIOT PLANES AND VESSELS
European Parliament
Sept 6 2006
The Foreign Affairs Committee remains firmly committed to accession
as the goal of EU negotiations with Turkey, but says that both in
Turkey and in the EU important reforms are needed in order to achieve
this outcome. In a report adopted on Monday, the committee welcomes
the start of the accession negotiations with Turkey, but expresses
regret that the reform process in Turkey has slowed down. The text
will be debated by the whole Parliament during the plenary session
of 25-28 September.
The report, prepared by Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED, NL) and adopted by 53
votes in favour to 6 against with 8 abstentions, notes “persistent
shortcomings” in areas such as freedom of expression, religious
and minority rights, the role of the military, policing, women’s
rights, trade union rights and cultural rights. It urges Turkey to
“reinvigorate” the reform process.
MEPs also urge Turkey “to take concrete steps for the normalisation
of bilateral relations” with Cyprus “as soon as possible”. They refer
to the Council declaration of 21 September 2005, which said that
continuing negotiations would depend on Turkey opening its borders to
Cypriot vessels and airplanes and that the situation would be reviewed
in 2006. Regarding Cyprus itself, MEPs welcome the meeting between
Mr Papadopoulos and Mr Talat, which led to the agreement of 8 July.
On other issues, the Foreign Affairs committee call on Turkey to
recognise the Armenian genocide as a precondition for accession. And
it called for a lowering of the threshold of ten percent of the votes
below which political parties cannot enter the Turkish parliament.
MEPs repeat that negotiations do no lead automatically to accession
and said that whether or not negotiations are successfully concluded,
Turkey must remain “fully anchored in European structures.”
Before the start of the vote, Mr Eurlings said that “unfortunately,
reforms have clearly slowed down.” He hoped that the Turkish government
would regard his report “as a signal and an incentive to reintroduce
the vigorous speed of reform it had shown in the year before accession
negotiations started.”

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY REPORT NOT BINDING ON TURKEY: ERDOGAN
NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Aug 5 2006
Turkey’s position on the so-called Armenian genocide is clear, the
Prime Minister said.
Guncelleme: 21:36 TSÝ 05 Eylul 2006 SalýANKARA – Turkey’s Prime
Minister has dismissed elements of a report adopted by the European
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on his country’s progress
towards meeting the criteria of European Union membership.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the European Parliament
was dreaming if it felt that Turkey would change its position on issues
such as accepting claims that the Ottoman Empire had carried out an
act of genocide against its Armenian population during World War One.
“The resolutions adopted by the European Parliament are not binding,”
Erdogan said during a press conference in the Turkish capital. “We
have not accepted anything about the so-called Armenian genocide. Our
stance on that issue is obvious.”
The report, tabled Monday evening and approved by the EP’s
Foreign Affairs Committee, chided Turkey for not doing enough to
strengthen human rights, freedom of expression and religious rights of
minorities. It also had articles added to it saying that recognition
by Turkey of the so-called Armenian genocide should be a condition
of Ankara’s accession process.
–Boundary_(ID_MklfSi9TzQOSDxIgFEjfqg)–