MINISTER OSKANIAN SPEAKS AT THE HEARINGS ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
armradio.am
19.12.2007 18:00
December 19 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian participated in the
parliamentary hearings on "Armenian-Turkish relations: Issues and
perspectives."
In his speech Minister Oskanian dwelt on the reasons of the current
crisis in Armenian-Turkish relations and presented the viewpoint of
the Armenian Government on the normalization of relations between
the two countries.
US CHARGE D’AFFAIRES HOPES THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WILL REGISTER PROGRESS
armradio.am
17.12.2007 16:59
US Charge d’Affaires Joseph Pennington expressed hope that the
presidential elections of 2008 will improve as compared to the
parliamentary elections of May 12.
The American diplomat told today’s briefing that the United States
and the international community have recognized that the parliamentary
elections held in May, 2007 registered progress and they wish to see
this trend continue.
Joseph Pennington reminded that preceding the parliamentary elections
the USAID had launched a program for assistance to free and fair
elections, which will continue up until the presidential elections
of 2008.
Under this program a preliminary agreement has been reached on the
conduct of exit polls on February 19. "We were pleased with the fact
that the Armenian Prime Minister publicly supported this initiative,
which is called to strengthen the voter’s trust in elections," Joseph
Pennington said.
The American diplomat noted that the US attaches great importance to
the activity of the Armenian media and provision of equal conditions
to all candidates. According to Mr. Pennington, following the activity
of the Armenian mass media, it will be possible to make judgments
about the quality of the upcoming elections.
The Statesman, India
Dec 15 2007
Love songs of the year
Armenian Wedding
2 Armenian Street is the place to be next week as Kolkata’s Armenian
community witnesses two weddings after more than a decade. Vivian
Stephen walks us through the proceedings
Over a decade ago, December turned out to be a special month for
Armenians in Kolkata. Community members gathered on 21 December 1996
to celebrate a marriage. Every union promises expansion of the
closely-knit community. In a few days time, two couples will be
united ~ Victoria Stephen and James Wong, and Elizabeth Marcar and
Janik Zadoorian.
Meandering through the narrow Armenian Street in Dalhousie is an
experience of a lifetime. On both sides wares ~ paper cups, large
packets of rubber band, stationery, etc. ~ are sold at wholesale
prices. Attracted by the market-like atmosphere, you would soon lose
track of your objective ~ to find the Armenian Church. As the lane
turns keep your eyes glued to the left. A large gate, guarded by some
friendly security personnel, welcomes you. As you walk over graves
towards the main building, curiosity enters the soul. 2 Armenian
Street is an institution that narrates a million tales about our
city, takes you back in time when the number of Armenians was much
more.
Religion has always played an important role in the community. An
Armenian wedding taking place inside the Armenian Holy Church of
Nazareth after a decade is an occasion to be remembered. While
Elizabeth Marcar and Janik Zadoorian will be married by the priest on
22 December, Victoria and the Chinese James Wong will be blessed on
23 December.
So, what’s an Armenian wedding like ~ something that you might have
seen in movies. Music, food, 300-odd people ~ simply a night to
remember. There are many traditions attached to an Armenian wedding
and many of them will be observed. Marriage is one of the seven
Sacraments of the Armenian Church, in which the couple is called upon
to make a vow before the Lord to be true to each other for life. The
groom and the bride are crowned king and queen of their little
kingdom ~ the home ~ which they will rule with wisdom, justice and
integrity.
The spread at the wedding is simply scrumptious ~ dolma (stuffed
grape leaves), hummus (sesame and chickpea puree with garlic)
babaghanoush (a pureed egg plant spread), bourek (spinach and filo
dough appetizer), salad, pickled beet, chicken and lamb preparations,
kebab, pita and lavash ( flat bread), to name a few. A "fruit table"
is laid out, on which fruits are mixed to take on shapes of animals.
Every table, of course, will have bottles of vodka, cognac, whisky
and tequila. Adding colour to the celebration are Armenian dances and
songs.
Marriages conducted at the Armenian Church are rich in symbolism.
"Crowning" is an important part of wedding service (it’s a sign of
honour with which God crowns couples during the Sacrament). During
crowning, the bride and groom face each other and the best man stands
between them holding a cross over their heads. After crowning, the
"Common Cup" is blessed. In this a goblet of wine is blessed in
remembrance of the marriage at Cana of Galilee, which was blessed by
Christ’s presence. Next, rings are exchanged and the ceremony ends
with the priest blessing them, asking Christ to "protect them under
the shadow of thy Holy and Honorable cross in peace".
Victoria is both nervous and happy. "I’ve known James for many years.
Though he is not an Armenian, to me it doesn’t make a difference. I
simply love him. Hopefully, we would see more Armenians getting
married in the Church in the near future."
About the seven Sacraments, the priest says, "The most important
point is that the bridegroom and bride are regarded as king and
queen. It’s necessary for the bride to wear a white dress." Different
colours symbolize different meaning ~ white stands for purity, red
for life and green for field. In Armenia the priest blesses the
garments.
There are some "unwritten" traditions that are followed, like prior
to the wedding, relatives and guests visit the bride’s house and put
henna in her hair. On wedding day the bridegroom has to reach the
church before the bride and before the bridegroom leaves, he kisses
the bride’s father to show he’s no longer a child and can shoulder
responsibilities.
Hopefully, we don’t have to wait for another decade to witness
another Armenian marriage.
hp?clid=19&theme=&usrsess=1&id=180681
HAFIZ PASHAYEV: "ARMENIANS ARE PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FACTOR TO INTERPRETE AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA CONFLICT DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF SUBSTANTIATED ARGUMENTS"
Today, Azerbaijan
Dec 12 2007
"I find it rather an unfortunate coincidence that all three
co-chairs of the Minsk group that is tasked with the resolution of
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict are representatives of the countries
(Russia, France, United States) where Armenian lobby is particularly
strong", Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Hafiz Pashayev announced
during the international conference "Azerbaijan-Turkey-United States
relations and their impact on Eurasian region" held in Washington.
Hafiz Pashayev noted that a major headache for the country remains
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
He considers that that the real problem lies with distortions created
by the Armenian misinformation in the international arena.
"Looking back to the beginning of 1990s, I remember that Armenians
intentionally used religious factor in the interpretation of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. At that time it was an attempt by the
Armenian politicians to win the support of the conservative Christian
groups in the US Congress and in the governments of other countries.
But quite soon the reality has prevailed, because in its nature this
conflict is not of a religious character at all", he said and cited
excellent relations between Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Georgia
and the support of Shia Iran to Christian Armenia as a proof of
baselessness of Armenians’ statements.
Hafiz Pashayev stressed that Armenian politicians again started
promoting this factor, hoping to gain some points because they have
nothing else to say in their argument and again have to come back
to such a primitive, yet potentially destructive explanation of
the conflict.
He regarded it as a result of Azerbaijan’s positive efforts to raise
awareness in the world about the true nature of the conflict and the
sign of Armenia’s ideological loss a positive.
"Azerbaijan now, as many of you know, is in the process of rapid
development. This is a very historic period. Economy is growing at
the fastest rate in the world, political stability is a source of
pride and the real task ahead of us to use this economic growth and
oil revenues for the improvement of the public infrastructure and to
diversify non-oil economy for the better future of our children. It
would be appropriate to mention here the vision and policies of
President Ilham Aliyev, who is keen to invest oil revenues into other
sectors of economy and social life", H.Pashayev said.
URL:
A JOURNEY INTO TURKEY’S WILD EAST
Tim Hannigan, Contributor, London
Features News
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Jakarta Post
The man behind the counter in Istanbul train station raised a quizzical
eyebrow: "It’s dangerous in the East — Islamists, the Kurdish rebels,
and it’s close to Iraq. Are you sure you want to go there?"
I smiled nervously and nodded. He shrugged and handed over a ticket
for a 30-hour train ride into Turkey’s wild eastern borderlands.
I did wonder if this was a sensible time to be making the trip:
it was late autumn, and for weeks tension had been mounting along
the Iraq-Turkey border, with the Turkish parliament threatening
cross-border raids against rebel bases in northern Iraq. But I put
such worries from my mind, clambered aboard the train and settled
down for the long journey across Anatolia.
The splendors of Istanbul have been attracting tourists for more
than a millennia and the package resorts of Turkey’s Mediterranean
coastline seethe with sunbathers every summer, but I was heading for
somewhere altogether different.
Eastern Turkey fades into a tangle of sensitive borders: Georgia,
Armenia, Iran and Iraq. A geopolitical hotspot for centuries, invaded
by Mongols and Russians in the past and riven by insurgency in recent
decades, it’s not surprising that it has never been much of a tourist
destination.
But it wasn’t stories of violence that I had in mind as the train
rolled on past Ankara into the night: it was images of clear skies,
jagged mountains and cobalt-blue lakes.
A long way from Istanbul
I was a long way from Istanbul now. There wasn’t a trendy wine bar or
upmarket boutique in sight, and there certainly weren’t any girls in
short skirts. Instead there were bulky women swathed in coal-black
chadors, donkey carts in the alleys of the bazaar and a faint smell
of spice in the gritty wind. Welcome to eastern Turkey.
Erzurum, where I clambered down from the train, seemed adrift in a
huge landscape. From the minaret of the fifth-century citadel that
loomed over the town I could see the sweep of empty yellow steppe to
the north, and the ribbed brown hills, glowing in the October sunlight
to the south.
Erzurum is an ancient city. A staging post on the Silk Route, it was
repeatedly seized by invaders. The conquering armies left their marks
on the town, and the arrow-straight main street is a thoroughfare
through Turkish architectural history with ancient mosques and
seminaries between the modern shops and cafes.
The cosmopolitan secularists of western Turkey will tell you that
Erzurum is a hotbed of aggressive Islamic radicalism. There are
certainly more veiled women than on the streets of Istanbul, but it’s
a remarkably friendly place, and everywhere I went the people offered
warm greetings and cups of sweet black tea.
***
East of Erzurum the countryside was colder, and wilder. Great expanses
of flat red-brown earth ran out from the road as the bus sped along
the highway to Kars. Mud-walled villages stood in groves of poplar
trees and small boys herded flocks of shaggy brown sheep over the
broken soil. In the distance a long ridge of hills rose to a pale sky.
Kars is just about the most remote city in Turkey. Made famous by
author Orhan Pamuk in his novel Snow, for many Turks Kars is a synonym
for cold provincial backwardness.
It was certainly cold when I arrived just before nightfall. A bitter
wind was howling along the grid of streets laid out during a period
of Russian occupation, but there was real warmth in the people here.
I ate a delicious dinner of stewed lamb and aubergine with tomato and
fresh bread in a lokanta — a simple cafe. The waiter had worked in
Germany as a young man and had picked up a little English there. He
was eager to welcome me to his part of the country.
"People in Istanbul say it is dangerous here," he said. "We are poor,
yes, but we are good people."
Toward the Frontier
The next morning the hills beyond Kars were covered with snow. The
sense of winter rapidly closing in added a feeling of excitement as
I boarded a battered minibus heading towards the Iranian frontier.
The road passed villages hidden among willows and poplar trees. Ahead
the great conical peak of Mount Ararat — where according to legend
Noah’s Ark ran aground after the Flood — rose from a yellow horizon.
Kurdish folk music played on the minibus stereo and a blue and white
charm to ward off the evil eye dangled from the rear view mirror.
In the early afternoon I arrived in Dogubayazit, a wild little border
town, 20 miles from Iran, clinging to a hillside above an empty plain
with Ararat looming in the distance.
Dogubayazit’s most famous attraction stands on a high promontory
above the town. The Ishak Pasa Palace is one of the most stunning
buildings in Turkey. Built by a local chieftain two centuries ago, it
looks out over the vast landscape of eastern Anatolia. The courtyard
was deserted when I visited and the honey-colored limestone of the
columns and archways glowed in the afternoon sunlight.
As I walked back downhill toward the town three boys huddling behind
a low wall out of the chilly wind called me over to ask my name and
my country. When I returned the question about nationality they
glanced nervously at one another and mumbled, "Turkey". But as I
walked away they called me back and hissed, "We are not Turkish,
mister; we are Kurdish."
The Kurdish homeland sprawls across the borders of Turkey, Iran, Syria
and Iraq. For many years Eastern Turkey — the Kurdish heartland —
has seen vicious fighting between the Kurdistan Workers Party, known
as the PKK, which wants to establish an independent Kurdish homeland,
and the Turkish army.
In the last couple of years there have been moves towards peace, but
the increasing Kurdish autonomy over the border in Northern Iraq has
made the Turkish government nervous, and reignited the aspirations
of Turkey’s Kurds.
Abandoned churches, troubled past
The waters of Lake Van, a vast inland sea in hemmed in by rugged
mountains, were as blue as lapis lazuli. The hillsides beyond the
shore were dusted with snow, but it was warm in the bright sunlight.
I was standing beneath the golden sandstone walls of the Armenian
Church of the Holy Cross on the tiny island of Akdamar, a mile out
in the lake.
I had caught a lift in a truck along the lakeside road, then convinced
a ferryman to take me across despite the lack of other passengers.
The Kurds were not always the only troubled minority in eastern
Turkey. A century ago the area was home to several million Armenians.
As the Turks fought Russia in the First World War the Armenians
were accused of having pro-Russian sympathies and deported en-masse
to Syria.
During the deportations hundreds of thousands, possibly millions,
died. Many regard the fate of the Armenians as the 20th Century’s
first case of genocide; for the modern Turkish government it is an
issue still too sensitive for open discussion.
What is certain is that all that remains of centuries of Armenian
culture in Eastern Turkey are enigmatic ruins like the church at
Akdamar.
The church was beautiful. Inside its echoing chambers the delicate
iconography could still be made out, a thousand years after it was
painted. I wandered the island for an hour, then caught the ferry
back to the mainland and hitchhiked into Van.
The city of Van was the last stop on my tour through Turkey’s wild
east. It was a bustling place and the sprawling bazaar hummed with
sights and sounds. Great bolts of colored cloth hung outside tailors
stores; pavements were lined with boxes of dates, nuts and apricots.
The smell of fresh bread wafted from hole-in-the-wall bakeries,
and the sizzle of grilling meat drifted out from kebab stalls. Old
Kurdish men in black-and-white headscarfs hobbled along the alleyways,
and shopkeepers called me inside to give me sweet tea and creamy
feta cheese.
Eastern Turkey might be the most troubled part of the country, but
it is probably the friendliest. And despite the checkposts and army
bases I saw in the region there was no hint of trouble, hostility or
impending violence.
I spent 24 hours in Van then took an afternoon flight back to
Istanbul. As the Turkish Airways jet roared up into the evening sky
I strained my head to catch a last glimpse of the wild landscape
through the cabin window. To the south ranks of hills ran on and on.
Somewhere among them were the PKK camps and the troubled Iraqi
frontier, but you’d never have known it.
***
Three hours later I was plodding uphill from the Golden Horn into the
heart of Istanbul. The bars and upmarket restaurants were crowded;
sleek modern trams hummed along the streets, and there were girls in
short skirts.
I found a cozy little guesthouse amid the carpet shops in the shadow of
the Blue Mosque. The young man on reception asked where I had arrived
from and raised an eyebrow when I told him. "The East?" he said,
"But it’s dangerous out there."
I smiled, finished checking in, and set about putting him right.
MEDIA WATCHDOG NAMES HRANT DINK ‘WORLD PRESS FREEDOM HERO’
Agence France Presse — English
December 10, 2007 Monday 3:25 PM GMT
The International Press Institute named Hrant Dink, the murdered
editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Ago, as one
of its World Press Freedom Heroes on Monday.
"Hrant Dink’s nomination as our 52nd World Press Freedom Hero is a
tribute to his bravery, but also an acknowledgement of his significant
contribution to freedom of expression and press freedom in Turkey,"
IPI Director Johann Fritz said.
Dink, a well-known Turkish-Armenian editor and columnist, was murdered
in Istanbul on January 19, 2007.
He was shot twice in the head and once in the neck by a Turkish
nationalist outside the offices of the newspaper he set up in 1996.
He had run into trouble with the law for articles about the 1915-17
massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I and
received a six-month suspended sentence in July 2006 for denigrating
"Turkishness".
Dink was also facing prosecution for a second article condemning his
conviction, and had received death threats.
The murder trial opened in Istanbul on July 2 with 18 people charged
in connection with his assassination.
"The murder of Hrant Dink deprived Turkey of one of its most courageous
and independent voices and it was a terrible event for Turkish press
freedom in general," Fritz said as he handed the IPI award to Dink’s
widow, Rakel.
Dink was one of at least 91 journalists murdered so far in 2007,
IPI said.
"In most cases, these murders occurred with impunity. We call on
governments around the world to ensure that those responsible for
these heinous crimes are brought to justice," Fritz said.
At Dink’s funeral on January 23, 100,000 people marched in protest
at his assassination, chanting, "We are all Armenians" and "We are
all Hrant Dink."
DECEMBER 12 CONCERT OF KOMITAS STRING QUARTETTE DEDICATED TO 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF VIOLONCELLIST SARGIS ASLAMAZIAN
Noyan Tapan
Dec 11, 2007
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The concert of the Komitas string
quartette, a laureate of the RA State Prize, will be held in the
Yerevan Komitas Chamber Music Hall on December 12. Certain works of
Komitas, Aslamazian, and Shostakovich will be performed during the
concert dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Sargis Aslamazian, a
famous Armenian violoncellist. As Edward Tadevosian, the art director
of the quartette, stated at the press conference held on December 11,
the presentation of the new disk of the quartette will also be held.
Karine Khodikian, the RA Deputy Minister of Culture, declared that
at the end of the concert RA People’s Artist Edward Tadevosian will
be decorated with the golden medal of the Ministry of Culture on
the occasion of his 60th anniversary and for his contribution to
the Armenian music art. Alexander Kosemian, Aram Talalian, and Suren
Hakhnazarian, the soloists of the quartette, will also be decorated
with golden medals.
By the way, the latter is performing in the quartette for the last
time on December 12. In the words of Suren Hakhnazarian, he is moving
to Moscow, where his family is currently living.
CBA CHAIRMAN: ARMENIA’S RATINGS WILL RISE
Noyan Tapan
Dec 10 2007
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The rating Ba2 on risks related to
the Armenian government’s fulfilment of its liabilities in Armenian
drams and foreign currencies, the rating Baa3 of the country’s overall
credit risks (Armenia received these ratings in November from Moody’s
Investor Service international rating company) and the analyses made
in this connection reflect objectively the country’s macroeconomic
situation and the sitiation in the financial sector, the chairman
of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsian expressed this
opinion on December 8.
According to him, taking into account the fact that some provisions
on solutions to the problems presented by Moody’s were included in
the 2008 program of the government’s activity, there is a reason to
believe that Armenia’s ratings will gradually rise. In the words of
T. Sargsian, all prerequisites have been created for it. The report
of Moody’s underlines, in particular, the necessity to implement
reforms in tax administration and pension sectors.
As regards the sharp fluctuations registered recently in Armenia’s cash
foreign currency market, T. Sargsian said that the CBA is conducting
an investigation in this connection. There have been checkings in
commercial banks and exchange offices. "Taking into account that
pre-election passions are running high, we have decided to present
a detailed report after the presidential elections. At that time, it
will be possible to discuss the causes of sharp fluctiations in the
cash foreign crrency market objectively, without emotions and also
to discuss the main players in this market and the schemes used by
them," the CBA chairman stated. He added that they will also analyze
if the cash currency market was replenished with money from abroad,
as well as why this money was attracted and where it is spent.
Day.Az, Azerbaijan
Dec 7 2007
ARMENIA TO PULL OUT TROOPS FROM SEVEN DISTRICTS – AZERI SPOKESMAN
Azerbaijan is not bargaining about territories, Armenian troops
should be withdrawn from all the occupied territories and Azerbaijani
refugees and displaced persons should return to their homes,
Novosti-Azerbaijan has quoted Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman
Xazar Ibrahim as saying. "Then the issue of defining a status of
Nagornyy Karabakh within Azerbaijan will be solved," Ibrahim said.
He said that proposals that had been officially submitted to the
foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen in Madrid "do not contain special novelties, there are
some nuances. But in general, the main principles are similar to
those discussed within the Prague process".
"The negotiating process is at a stage when the majority of the main
principles have been agreed. Actually only one main principle has not
been agreed," Ibrahim said.
As to the Armenia troops’ withdrawal, Ibrahim supposed that might be
a stage-by-stage process.
"As that is a stage-by-stage process, probably the occupied
Azerbaijani districts will be liberated step-by-step. I mean that due
to the existence of a number of technical nuances, the Armenian
troops probably will not withdraw from all the seven districts at
once. Particularly, the territories must be cleared of mines.
One-time withdrawal of troops without simultaneous measures being
carried out may cause certain problems," he said.
"However, the basis is that the troops will be withdrawn from all the
seven districts and the process will be carried out according to a
precise schedule." Ibrahim said.
ABDULLAH GUL: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RESPONSIBLE FOR PEACEFUL SOLUTION OF THEKARABAKH ISSUE
armradio.am
07.12.2007 15:52
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has declared that the international
community is responsible for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
"Although there are many conflict zones in the world today, the
Karabakh issue has always been in the centre of attention of the
international community, and the international community is called to
carry out a special mission to help resolve the conflict in a peaceful
way," Gul said in an interview with Azerbaijani AzTV Company. According
to him, in this context "it is very important for the positions of
the OSXCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to overlap."