Author: Dabaghian Diana

President of Karabakh once again called for unification

03-05-2008 14:15:20 – KarabakhOpen

On May 2 in Stepanakert President Bako Sahakyan met with the
participants of the pilgrimage which started in St. Echniadzin and
ended in Shushi, at Ghazanchetsots Church. Several hundreds of people
participated in the pilgrimage.

In his greeting the president underlined that he was happy to see that
most pilgrims were young people from different parts of the world. `It
is vivid evidence that unity is one of the typical features of the
Armenian people,’ the president said.

The head of state said the Armenian people won victories only when they
came together.

`It is notable that our azatamartiks, as well as the representatives of
ethnic minorities of Armenia participated in the pilgrimage,’ Bako
Sahakyan said.

`Today we need unity more than ever,’ the president repeated.

The pilgrimage was organized by the Pan-Armenian International Youth
Center and the Spiritual and Cultural Rebirth, as well as a number of
youth organizations and student boards.

POLICE DISPERSES MAY 1 RALLY IN ISTANBUL

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2008 14:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear
gas in clashes with crowds gathering for an outlawed May Day rally
in Istanbul on Thursday, detaining hundreds at a time of heightened
political tensions in Turkey.

Thousands of police were stationed across the centre of Turkey’s
largest city to block access to its main Taksim Square. Three major
trade union confederations had pledged to mobilize up to 500,000
people in defiance of an official ban.

Officials banned the rally due to intelligence reports that radical
groups planned to stage violent protests.

Leftists and Kurdish separatists frequently clash with police at
protests.

Strains surrounding the traditional May Day demonstrations of workers’
unity were heightened this year by union opposition to a recently
passed reform of the social security system which sharply raises the
retirement age.

Police drove armored personnel carriers down the city’s main pedestrian
street, while security personnel in body armor fired tear gas at masked
protestors who had ripped up bricks from the pavement to lob at police.

The clashes came amid growing political tensions triggered by
a prosecutor’s bid to close the ruling AK Party and ban 71 party
officials including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for alleged Islamist
activities.

The unions later abandoned plans to march towards the square in the
face of the heavy police presence. But fighting went on in the city’s
side streets, and six police were injured, said local broadcaster
CNN Turk.

Numerous demonstrators were injured as well, though police did not
give details. A Reuters reporter saw several police beat one man
with truncheons.

The workers built the road we are standing on and now we are being
crushed on it, said retired Resit Celiktepe, 51, amid the clashes.

May Day demonstrations in Istanbul have been marked by clashes between
police and protesters in the past and authorities said they would
use force to prevent the rally.

Everyone must show common sense, state-run Anatolian news agency
reported Labour Minister Faruk Celik as saying.

If we can get through May Day today in agreement I believe future
May Days will turn into the celebration sought by all workers, he said.

Union confederations said they had abandoned plans to march towards
Taksim Square.

In order not to become a tool of this government’s provocations we
are sensibly ending our actions here.

But we will continue to call the government to account, said Suleyman
Celebi, chairman of DISK trade union confederation.

Last year dozens were injured in violent street battles on the 30th
anniversary of the deaths of 37 people who were shot by an unknown
gunman or trampled to death in May Day demonstrations in Taksim Square
in 1977, Euronews reports.

May 1, a traditional workers’ day holiday across most of Europe,
is a normal working day in Turkey, where the government resisted
intense union pressure this year to make it a day off.

KURDISH, A HUMANITARIAN LANGUAGE
By Ferhad Pirbal

Kurdish Globe, Iraq
=99AD1215D4DD8DA7CA9A5700F8AEAACA
April 30 2008

A message from Kurdish authors to the European Parliament

"What we see today is that countries like Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and
Iran, who always claim to practice the Islamic religion, try to forbid
the use of Kurdish culture and language in spite of all the sacrifices
the Kurdish people offered for the sake of Islamic religion!"

The annual cultural festival was held in Belgium from April 17-19
under the sponsorship of Belgium’s Ministry of Culture, the Kurdish
Institution in Brussels, and the organization of Het Beschrijif VZW,
also in Brussels. The mentioned organizations asked me to write a
message; it was read during the festival on April 19 and it will be
presented to the European Parliament by those Kurdish authors who
participated in the festival. The message, also translated into Dutch
and French.

I also wanted to publish that message, which concerns the issue of
saving the Kurdish language and culture in Turkey, Syria, and Iran,
for The Kurdish Globe readers:

The Kurdish language is the language of more than 45 million
people, and it has been jailed. It is distributed throughout several
countries. The Kurdish language is one of those languages that served
as a basic structure in the founding and development of Eastern
civilization, and it served humanity centuries ago.

The famous book of Anabaz (401 B.C.), written by great Greek
philosopher Xenophones, is the most ancient documentary data that
refers to the existence of the Kurdish language; it mentions the
Kurdish language of a time when Greeks had sent interpreters to
translate the Kurdish language for them.

Post Jesus’s birth, the Kurdish language held a high humanitarian
position. It was full of peaceful messages. In prehistoric times,
it was written in the Pahlavi alphabet, and then in Syriac letters;
Easterners benefitted from it. After that, under the influence of
Islamic religion, the Kurdish language was obliged to be written in
the Arabic alphabet. In 1856, the Kurdish language was practiced in
written form in the Armenian alphabet and was used to translate the
Bible from the Armenian alphabet into the Kurdish language in order
for Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Armenians who lived in Kurdistan to be
able to read and practice their religion.

It is true that the Kurds had no country, but they still published
their first newspaper in the Kurdish language in 1898, as did Persians,
Arabs, and Turks. The attractive point here is that the first Kurdish
newspaper was nongovernmental and private, unlike the first Persian,
Turkish, and Arabic newspapers, which were government-issued papers
about government activities. The first Kurdish newspaper was published
by a Kurdish cultural individual who provided for the cost of the
newspaper without government assistance; he wanted to focus on issues
like culture, public news, and the rescue of people under the power of
Ottoman feudalism and totalitarian government. The cultural practice
of the first Kurdish newspaper (Cairo, Geneva, 1898-1902) is obvious
evidence that the Kurdish language, from so many years ago to the
present, strived to explain the meaningful purpose of culture to
humanity and reached for a humane democratic and peaceful situation,
which is why the Kurdish language deserves to be proud.

In the passage of time, such a great offer to humanity has made
problems for the Kurdish language and has become a victim after
sacrificing itself for others. The history of great Kurdish ruler
Salahaddin al-Ayubi (1138-93) tells us that in 1187, his empire decreed
an order allowing the use of the Armenian language so that Armenians
could write down their culture and religion and have freedom of
expression; he didn’t decree any decision to encourage his nation (the
Kurdish nation) to practice the Kurdish language and develop Kurdish
culture. What we see today is that countries like Syria, Turkey, Iraq,
and Iran, who always claim to practice the Islamic religion, try to
forbid the use of Kurdish culture and language in spite of all the
sacrifices the Kurdish people offered for the sake of Islamic religion!

What is shocking along with this history is that the Kurdish language
has been forbidden through means like religion and politics and
has not been allowed to be expressed freely. Kurdish authors and
cultural people, historians, and others were obliged to submit to those
authorities who always conquered their lands, and were forced to write
in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish to serve human culture. These Kurdish
authors, thinkers, and scientists who wrote in foreign languages rather
than Kurdish include Ibn Khallikan (an Islamic sociologist in the 13th
century); Ibn Sirin (the first Muslim scientist who interpreted the
psychology of dreams centuries before Sigmund Freud); Ahmed Shawqi
(who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement and was named
the Prince of Poets); Qassim Amin (the first cultural man in the East
who defended women’s rights); Nezami Ganjavi (a famous Iranian epic
poet of centuries ago); Yashar Kamal (a famous novelist in Turkey);
Yilmaz Guney (a Turkish film producer and director); and Salim Barakat
(a great Syrian author). Among all these great cultural people are
others who invented great things and were originally Kurdish.

The success of Kurdish people continues to this day. In 2007, Kurdish
author Seyhmus Dagtekin was awarded the most famous poetry prize in
France, the Prix Malarme. All of this evidence bears out the fact that
if the Kurdish language becomes free and if Kurdish culture could be
written down freely, many great works would be produced that would
be as magnificent as those written works in European languages.

Very much worth mentioning is that were the Kurdish language freely
spoken, a language that is spoken by more than 45 million independent
people who are under dictatorial powers, then it would give all
mankind access to a growing number of people with a great hidden
humanitarian ability, a people wishing to install peace and democracy
in the Middle East.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARKISSYAN: "ARMENIA WELCOMES IRAN’S BALANCED POLICY ON NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE"

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
.html
April 30 2008

Armenian President Serzh Sarkissyan announced that Armenia welcomes
the balanced policy of Iran in Nagorno Karabakh issue.

According to the press service for the Armenian government, the due
announcement was made by Sarkissyan during his meeting with Iranian
ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Armenia Seyed Ali
Sagayn.

"The Armenian President noted that Armenian side is for the peaceful
resolution of the conflict in the framework of international law and
in line with the right of nations for self-determination", the press
service noted.

In turn, Sagayan said Iranian side highly evaluates the reserved
reaction of Armenia "to militaristic announcements, periodically
voiced by one of the countries of the region".

"During the meeting the sides agreed that the countries should join
efforts to ensure regional stability and security in this tense
region", said the press service.

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OF IRAN CONGRATULATES PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN

armradio.am
30.04.2008 14:30

The First Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Parviz Davoudi
congratulated RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan on appointment. The
message states, in part:

"I warmly congratulate you and the Government and people of Armenia
on the occasion of your appointment to the post of Prime Minister of
the Republic of Armenia.

I hope that we shall observe the continuation of relations and
constructive cooperation, as well as expansion of bilateral cooperation
in different spheres.

Let God grace you robust health and success, as well as happiness
and well-being to the Armenian Government and people."

TURKISH LEGISLATORS CONSIDER CHANGES TO LAW RESTRICTING FREE SPEECH

PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria
April 29 2008

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish legislators were debating a proposal
Tuesday to soften a law restricting freedom of speech that has
been used to prosecute Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk and other
intellectuals.

A vote on the proposed amendment to Article 301 of Turkey’s penal
code, which bars insults to the Turkish identity or the country’s
institutions, was expected later Tuesday or early Wednesday. The
ruling party, which proposed the change, has a majority in the 550-seat
parliament and the amendment was expected to pass.

Turkey says close to 7,000 people have been prosecuted under that
law and its precursor since 2003. A total of 745 were convicted in
that period.

The European Union has been pressing Turkey to abolish or overhaul
the law as part of Turkey’s campaign for EU membership.

The opposition, resentful of what it calls EU interference in Turkey’s
affairs, wants the law to remain intact.

"I am making this call for the last time: come back from the brink of
making a mistake. Do not pave the way for insults to Turkish values,"
Devlet Bahceli, who heads the Nationalist Action Party, said prior
to the debate.

Bahceli also called for a referendum to allow the people to decide
"whether they want or don’t want Turkish values and Turkey’s honorable
history to be insulted.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has been criticized
for slow progress on changes to Article 301 and other EU-backed
reforms.

Critics say that Erdogan, whose Islamic-oriented party is facing
possible closure for allegedly violating secular principles, is now
keen to be seen to be advancing Turkey’s EU bid.

Opponents of Article 301, meanwhile, say the government-proposed
changes are only cosmetic and will have little impact on Turkey’s EU
bid. They also say there are other freedom-curbing laws in Turkey’s
penal code that need to be changed, including Turkey’s anti-terror law
and laws on crimes against the national founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Under Article 301, the maximum sentence for denigrating Turkish
identity or insulting the country’s institutions is three years in
prison. The government proposal would reduce the time to two years, and
grant a possible suspension of the sentence for first-time offenders.

Under the plan, prosecutors would need to seek the Justice Ministry’s
permission before investigating possible violations of Article 301.

Also, the article would refer to the crime of denigrating the "Turkish
nation," instead of the currently used term "Turkishness," which is
viewed as too vague.

Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist who was gunned down in 2007,
was prosecuted under Article 301 for referring to the mass killings
of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century as "genocide.

Dink’s alleged killer was a teenager influenced by extreme
nationalists, and mourners attributed his death to the atmosphere
of animosity surrounding the journalist’s legal problems. Dink had
received numerous death threats.

Pamuk, who won the Nobel literature prize in 2006, also went on trial
for comments on the mass killings of Armenians, but the charges were
later dropped.

PAUL GOBLE EMPLOYED BY AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.04.2008 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Well-known U.S. politician Paul Goble will take the
office of Research Director at the Azerbaijani Academy of Diplomacy
and will also give a course of lectures in Azeri universities. The
information was confirmed by the Azeri Foreign Ministry, Mediaforum
reports.

Paul Goble is known as the author of Karabakh for Meghri swap plan.

ZHARANGUTIUN FACTION NOT TO TAKE PART IN VOTING OF NA DRAFT STATEMENT ON NKR SETTLEMENT CONSIDERING IT BELATED

Noyan Tapan
April 28, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 28, the RA National Assembly
finished discussion of the draft statement On Settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh Problem, which will be submitted for voting on April 29.

Draft author, NA Speaker Tigran Torosian expressed readiness to
discuss possible proposals before voting. He, in particular, agreed
to include in the draft ARFD faction’s proposal on RA’s being the
guarantor of NKR security.

The draft statement has already undergone some changes on the basis
of proposals made at the previous four-day sittings. Therefore,
RA NA proposes RA President and government the following:

– making Armenia’s policy on Nagorno Karabakh settlement more
initiating,

– making active and expanding efforts of elaboration and implementation
of events aimed at completely informing the international community
about the Nagorno Karabakh problem, by involving the all-Armenian
potential, possibilies, and means for that purpose,

– working out the legal bases within the framework of the international
law, which will ensure more efficient cooperation between RA and NKR,
as well as in case of a military aggression or other forcible measures
by Azerbaijan will give RA a possibility to ensure NKR’s complete
security and defence,

– exerting every effort for the purpose of ensuring negotiations’
efficiency to restore NKR representatives’ complete participation in
that process as an internationally recognized conflict side,

– preparing alternative possibilities of international recognition
of NKR independence, which are to be used in case of failure of the
negotiations proceeding within the framework of the Minsk Group.

Zharangutiun faction member Larisa Alaverdian said that the faction
is not going to take part in the voting, as they cannot vote for
such a belated statement having no address, which does not contain
consistency of any task set, is futile from the very start and does
not stipulate the legal bases of legitimacy of NKR independence.

TURKISH RULING PARTY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON TURKISH FLAG IN ARMENIA

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
April 28 2008

ERZURUM (A.A) -A high ranking official of the ruling Justice &
Development (AK) Party said Sunday "the AK Party strongly condemns
the recent attack on the Turkish flag in Armenia".

Speaking at an AK Party meeting in eastern province of Erzurum,
Deputy Chairman of the AK Party Egemen Bagis said that "as long as
the Armenians act in such a disrespectful manner, they are destined
to live in hunger and poverty in their corner".

"We strongly condemn the tramping of the Turkish flag in Armenia. The
government of Armenia must arrest all responsible for the attack. If
the Armenian government gives its consent to the attack on the Turkish
flag, then they would be proving that they deserve to remain in the
situation they live in," Bagis also said.

Agence France Presse — English
April 25, 2008 Friday 10:09 AM GMT

Turkey slams Argentina in genocide row, cancels visit

ANKARA, April 25 2008

Turkey slammed Argentina Friday over a new parliamentary document
referring to the World War I killings of Armenians as genocide and
cancelled a visit to the country by a cabinet minister.

"The Argentine Senate has approved a new text supporting the baseless
Armenian allegations… (which) we strongly condemn and fully reject,"
the foreign ministry said, without giving details about the document.

"Following the adoption of this resolution, the visit of State
Minister Mehmet Aydin… was cancelled," the statement said.

Aydin has been scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires on April 28-29 for
a gathering of the UN-sponsored Alliance of Civilizations initiative,
which aims to foster dialogue between Islamic and Western societies
and is co-chaired by Spain and Turkey.

Argentina is among an array of countries that have recognised the mass
killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as genocide, much to
Turkey’s ire.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died between 1915
and 1917 in deportations and systematic killings during World War I.

Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and argues that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence and sided with Russian troops
invading the crumbling empire.

Armenia on Thursday marked the 93rd anniversary of the start of
killings and its new president, Serzh Sarkisian, vowed to redouble
efforts to have the massacres internationally recognised as genocide.