Author: Ekmekjian Janet

TURKEY : OPENING OF THE TRIAL AGAINST THE ALLEGED MURDERERS OF HRANT DINK

AB Haber, Belgium
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
EU-Turkey News Network
July 1 2007

Paris, 29 June 2007 – On July 2, 2007, the criminal proceedings against
the alleged murderers of the Turkish journalist, Hrant Dink will begin
in Istanbul. Assassinated on a public street in front of its office in
Istanbul on January 19, 2007, this journalist of Armenian extraction
was at the forefront of the movement in favour of the democratic
reforms in Turkey. As an enthusiastic defender of the entry of Turkey
into the European Union, Dink personified the dialogue between Turks
and Armenians. FIDH has strongly challenged the Turkish authorities
to actively seek the assassins and accomplices of this crime and, on
the occasion of the 36th FIDH Congress, demanded from that the Turkish
justice system carry out a transparent and thorough survey in order
to establish all those responsible in the assassination of Hrant Dink.

Due to the the age of alleged murderer, Ogun Samast, 17 years, the
proceedings will be held behind closed doors. According to the bill
of indictment, he will have to respond to numerous charges, including
"premeditated homicide" and "membership of a terrorist organization".

The prosecutors in the case seek a sentence ranging between 18 and
24 years of prison. He faces an additional sentence from 8,5 to
18 years in prison for membership of a terrorist organization and
illegal possession of a weapon. The two supposed instigators of the
assassination, Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal, face life sentences.

Moreover, the former faces a sentence of between 22,5 and 48 years of
prison for having directed a terrorist act and the latter, 26 years
old, is likely to receive an additional sentence from 18 to 30 years of
prison for the same crimes, in addition to having furnished the money
and the weapon for the crime. Penalties ranging from 7.5 to 35 years
of prison are required against the 15 other alleged accomplices, all
from Trabzon, for complicity in murder and membership in a terrorist
organization.

The criminal investigation carried out by two prosecutors and
the anti-terrorist division of the Istanbul police force revealed
complicity and negligence within the apparatus of State, in particular
in the police and gendarmerie. The police force of Trabzon had
allegedly informed Ankara and Istanbul, as of February 2006, of the
plans of the terrorist organization to kill Hrant Dink. These warnings
were not taken seriously. The governor and the chief of the police
force of Trabzon were transferred, and the chief of the information
of the police force of Istanbul, Ahmet Ilhan Guler was dismissed from
his position and is the subject of an investigation .

The chief of police in Istanbul, Celalettin Cerrah, who had one moment
denied all "political dimensions or organization behind this crime",
was the subject of a preliminary investigation which was stopped on
decision of the governor of Istanbul, who saw no justification for
such an investigation. The lawyers of Hrant Dink made a call for this
decision. The procedure is underway.

Also, an inquest has established ilinks between the terrorist group and
an ultra-nationalist political organization, the Grand Union Party,
and its youth movement, ‘Foyers Alperen’ . The lawyers called for
the detailed examination of these relations during the proceedings.

The Turkish media, moreover, clarified that several people have been
excluded from the framework of the investigations. They revealed that
two people, one linked to the secret service of the gendarmerie and
the other with the Trabzon police force, had repeated correspondance
with the suspects. Tens of telephone contacts with Ogun Samast,
the principal defendant, were recorded for the period preceding the
murder. However, only a part of these conversations would have been
transmitted to the prosecutors in charge of the investigation.

FIDH recalls that it is essential that the case proceeds under
conditions of total safety and transparency, making it possible
for justice to be done in a peaceful manner. FIDH also demands that
light be shed on all who had direct or indirect responsibility in
this assassination, and that the true accomplices be identified,
whomever they are.

In this light, FIDH reiterates its total support for lawyers of the
Dink family and places all of its hopes and attention on the ability
of the Turkish justice system to answer all of the questions raised
in this crime, in particular the possible implication of the police
and gendarmerie but also the failure of the government to protect a
citizen who lived under a notorious threat.

The Irish Times
June 30, 2007 Saturday

Derry face daunting trip to Armenia

by Emmet Malone

SOCCER/Champions League draw: A year ago a run in the Uefa Cup gave
them a taste for European football in the likes of Gothenburg,
Glasgow and, even as they went out, Paris. The downside of Derry
City’s elevation to the Champions League this year, however, was
highlighted yesterday when the draw for the first round of the
competition was made.

The club’s first, and perhaps last, port of call this summer will be
the Armenian capital, Yerevan. If things go well, a trip to Ukraine’s
Donetsk awaits a couple of weeks later.

City will play FC Pyunik twice in successive weeks during the middle
of July. "I don’t really know what to make of it, to be honest," said
the captain and caretaker manager Peter Hutton. "We have to organise
the trip and familiarise ourselves with the team in a very short
space of time and neither will be easy.

"It’s disappointing for the fans, though. We brought a lot of
supporters with us everywhere we went last year but not too many of
them are likely to make it along on this trip. Having said that,
though, if it means that we have a better chance of making it through
to the next round then so be it, that’s the main focus."

The club’s chief executive, Jim Roddy, admitted the draw has left the
club with a lot of work to do. "Getting drawn at home first is
disappointing from a sporting point of view but there is some
consolation here because it gives us an extra week to get everything
organised."

Having talked to people in the know at yesterday’s draw in Nyon,
Roddy said that the general view is that the standard is broadly
similar to that here. Beyond that, however, he conceded it was early
days in terms of gathering information about a team that has won its
championship for the last six years running.

The Pyunik captain, Sargis Hovsepyan’s observation, however, that
"Derry City are not the strongest opponents we could have got in but
Irishmen are very good in the air" at least suggests that current
levels of mutual ignorance are roughly equal.

In the Uefa Cup, Drogheda United and St Patrick’s Athletic enjoyed
starkly contrasting fortunes with the former landing a first-round
tie with SP Libertas, the second best side in San Marino last year,
while John McDonnell and his men have the rather more daunting task
of taking on Denmark’s Odense.

"They are the most difficult team in the seeded pool, they have a
good pedigree," said the club’s director of football, Brian Kerr, who
was in Nyon for the draw. "They have beaten Shels in Europe, they
have gotten to the group stages of the Uefa Cup – and, last season,
they beat Copenhagen in the Danish Cup final. So they’re strong."

Both Irish clubs have been drawn at home although it is understood
the order of United’s games will be reversed over the coming days.

First Round (to be played July 17/18th and 24/25th): Khazar Lenkoran
v D Zagreb; Apoel FC v Bate Borisov; FC Sheriff v FC Ranger’s;
Hafnarfjodur v HB Torshavn; New Saints FC v FK Ventspils; FK Pobeda v
Levadia Tallinn; Olimpi Rustavi v FC Astana; FK Zeta v FBK Kaunas;
Tampere United v SS Murata; F91 Dudelange v MSK Zilina; Linfield v IF
Elfsborg; Derry City v FC Pyunik; Marsaxlokk FC v FC Sarajevo; NK
Domzale v KF Tirana.

Second round (to be played July 31st/ August 1st and August 7/8th):
Derry City/FC Pyunik v Shakhtar Donetsk; Crvena Zvezda v FK
Pobeda/Levadia Tallinn; Rangers v FK Zeta/FBK Kaunas; Debreceni VSC v
Linfield/IF Elfsborg; Zaglebie Lubin v Steaua Bucuresti; KRC Genk v
Marsaxlokk FC/FK Sarajevo; New Saints FC/FK Ventspils v FC Salzburg;
Olimpi Rustavi/FC Astana v Rosenborg; BK Hafnarfjodur/HB Torshavn v
Apoel FC/Bate Borisov; FC Coepenhagen v Beitar Jerusalem; F91
Dudelange/MSK Zilina v Slavia Prague; Tampere Utd/SS Murata v Levski
Sofia; NK Domzale/KF Tirana v Khazar Lenkoran/D Zagreb; Besiktas JK v
FC Sheriff/FC Rangers

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 29 2007

ARMENIAN FM, HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION DELEGATION STATE ACTIVE
DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL RELATIONS

YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign minister and Head of the
European Commission delegation in Armenia and Georgia state active
development of bilateral relations between Armenia and the EU.

The Foreign Minister’s press reported that Vardan Oskanian and Per
Eklund said this during their meeting.

Congratulating the Ambassador on the appointment, Oskanian touched
upon the issue of Armenia-EU cooperation at the present stage.
Oskanian pointed out that the cooperation has an extended agenda for
the implementation of which Armenian Foreign Ministry started
cooperation with the delegation.

The sides agreed that Armenia-EU relations actively develop and extra
efforts are needed to implement the action plan with the European
Neighborhood Policy.

Eklund informed that the European Commission decided to raise the
level of their representation in Armenia. The sides exchanged with
opinions on regional issues. L.M. -0–

ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES A GROUP OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS

Today, Azerbaijan
URL:
June 29 2007

On June 28, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a group of
Azerbaijani and Armenian intellectuals, who, on the initiative of the
Ambassadors of the two countries to the Russian Federation and under
the aegis of OSCE, earlier today had visited Khankendi and Shusha in
Nagorno-Karabakh as well as Armenian capital Yerevan, where they met
with President Robert Kocharyan.

The group included Armenia`s Ambassador Plenipotentiary and
Extraordinary in Moscow, professor Armen Smbatian, Rector of the
Yerevan State Conservatoire, professor Sergey Sarachian, President of
Armenia`s National Academy of Sciences, Academician Radik Martirosian,
People`s Artist of Armenia, Artistic Director of the Russian Drama
Theatre, professor Alexander Grigorian, head of the therapy department
at Armenia`s State Hospital Lyudmila Grigorian from Armenian side,
and Azerbaijan`s Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary in
Moscow, People`s Artist of Azerbaijan, professor Polad Bulbuloglu,
Rector of the Baku Music Academy, People`s Artist of the USSR,
professor Farkhad Badalbeyli, Rector of the Baku Slavic University,
corresponding member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences,
professor Kamal Abdulla, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Union of Theatre
Workers, People`s Artist of Azerbaijan, professor Azer Pasha Neymatov
and Honored Engineer of Azerbaijan, businessmen Ilham Fataliyev from
Azerbaijani side.

Reaffirming his country`s position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh, President Aliyev emphasized that the dispute
could only be solved on the basis of the principles of territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and inviolability of borders, with granting
a high level of self-governance to Nagorno-Karabakh.

AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN AMBASSADORS TO RUSSIA SUDDENLY VISIT NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 28 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr A. Ismayilova / Azerbaijani and Armenian
Ambassadors to Russia, Polad Bulbuloghlu and Armen Sabatyan, visited
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
Khazar Ibrahim, reported to Trend.

Ibrahim noted that it was an initiative of the Ambassadors, who are
former Culture Ministers. They visit the region not only as diplomats.

"The Ambassadors met with the Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian
origin residing in Nagorno-Karabakh, including Arkadiy Gukasyan,"
Ibrahim said.

The Spokesman noted that the visit had been intended to fortify trust
between Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, who will live in the same
territory after resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The conflict
will be settled in one way or another and the visit was organized in
order to provide for a smooth post-conflict period," he noted.

According to Armenian media, the importance of the initiative of
the Ambassadors was noted at the meeting with Gukasyan. According
to Gukasyan, the visit can provide for a healthy and constructive
atmosphere during the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The attendees of the meeting voiced hope that a dialogue between the
representatives of intelligentsia would continue in the future and
would cover wider public circles.

–Boundary_(ID_prsIt6MNXxFIREf0XuKopw)–

DAVTYAN WON SILVER MEDAL

A1+
[03:41 pm] 25 June, 2007

The Armenian judoist Hovhannes Davtyan (60 kg) took the second place
in the International Judo Tournament held in Tehran. He became the
vice-champion of Europe.

The sportsmen of 24 countries participated in the tournament, among
them Armenian judoists Mesrop Berberyan (66 kg), Karen Lazarian
(73 kg) and Hakob Arakelyan (90 kg).

1490 OUT OF 37936 LEAVERS RECEIVE MAXIMUM, 20 POINTS IN ARMENIAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE STATE FINAL EXAM

Noyan Tapan
Jun 22 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The Center for Giving Marks and Testing
sent the results of state final exams in Armenian Language, Literature
(A level) held on June 1 to education departments of all regions in
established terms.

Center Director Vanya Barseghian reported at the June 22 press
conference.

In his words, in case of not agreeing to the results the leavers can
appeal against them until June 23, 18:00.

In V. Barseghian’s words, 35 out of 50 tasks included in the
examination test regarded Armenian language, 15 literature. 50
examination points were fitted to 20-point system.

V. Barseghian said that 37936 leavers took part in the final exam,
228 out of which received unsatisfactory marks. 1490 leavers received
maximum mark, 20, 557 leavers minimum mark, 8.

In V. Barseghian’s words, the average mark of majority of leavers in
united exams was 15-16, while in final exams 16-17 (7245 leavers).

It was mentioned that the number of pupils who missed final exams
for valid reasons, as well as received unsatisfactory annual marks
was 712. A centralized exam will be organized for them and for pupils
who missed united exams in July in Yerevan.

RA DEFENSE MINISTER RECEIVED THE AMBASSADOR OF GERMANY

ArmRadio.am
18.06.2007 15:58

June 18 RA Minister of Defense Michael Harutyunyan received the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic
of Germany to Armenia Mrs. Haike Renate Peitsch, who is completing
her mission in our country.

At the beginning of the meeting the Ambassador turned to the work
carried out in Armenia during her tenure in office.

During the meeting the parties discussed the current state of bilateral
relations in the military sphere and the perspectives of deepening
these. In particular, reference was made to the expansion of ties in
the sphere of military education, i.e. training of Armenian officers
in military educational establishments of Germany.

Regional issues were also discussed.

At the end of the meeting Michael Harutyunyan thanked the Ambassador
for productive cooperation and wished success in her future activity.

THE FRESNO BEE, CALIF., KEN ROBISON COLUMN: LOCAL SCENE: TUNED IN TO LOVE FOR ALL THINGS NBA
Ken Robison

The Fresno Bee – California – KRTBN
Published: Jun 17, 2007

Connie Kirchberg was a 12-year-old in North Fond du Lac, Wis.,
in the late 1960s when she turned on her radio hoping to hear some
popular music.

What she got, instead, was a basketball broadcast.

Rather than tuning out, she tuned in to Eddie Doucette’s broadcast
of a Milwaukee Bucks game. Thus began a lifelong love of basketball
that has resulted in a book about basketball history.

"Hoop Lore: A History of the National Basketball Association" is
Kirchberg’s second book published by McFarland & Company Publishers
of North Carolina.

The first was "Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, and the American Dream,"
published in 1999.

Writers who take on such an ambitious project as the history of the
NBA are either passionate or educated about their subject.

"Call me both," Kirchberg said, admitting that early Bucks broadcast
"drew me in and gripped me."

She still pays attention to the Bucks — and the Sonics, from living
in Seattle for 20 years. But today, after five years in Fresno,
Kirchberg is a fan of the Lakers and Warriors.

She described her husband Jody, owner of Granite Artwork, a granite
and marble outlet in Fresno, as "not as big a fan as I am."

"He makes the money," Kirchberg said. "And I write."

"Hoop Lore" was born from Kirchberg’s study of the game she loves.

"I was researching the history of the game on my own," she said. "There
were no books on the whole history of the game. So if there isn’t one,
I’ll write it."

Former NBA player Jim Barnett, now a television analyst for the
Warriors, delivers the forward:

"If you are specifically interested in basketball, particularly the
NBA, Connie Kirchberg’s ‘Hoop Lore’ is a must read. This story is the
most comprehensive I have read in all of my travels throughout the
basketball world. … ‘Hoop Lore’ is a history lesson, a compelling
story and a walk down memory lane told with accuracy and social
conscience."

Among Kirchberg’s favorite pieces of NBA history is the Boston Celtics
dominance led by legendary center Bill Russell.

"I don’t think [people] know what an innovator Russell was, what he
did racially for the league," she said. "When he got to the Celtics,
there were just a few blacks, but no real stars, no name players.

"He was responsible for ending racial bias in the league, then became
the [NBA’s] first black coach."

Kirchberg said "Hoop Lore" is available at Fig Garden Books and
online outlets.

For her next nonfiction work, Kirchberg might trade basketball shorts
for aprons and skirts.

"I’m playing around with an idea for a book on women in TV, how they
have evolved from June Cleaver to ‘Sex in the City,’ " she said.

"It’s in my head, not yet on paper."

Valley runners succeed

Three San Joaquin Valley runners earned All-America honors in the
steeplechase at the recent NCAA outdoor track and field championships
in Sacramento.

Colorado senior Billy Nelson (Taft) finished fourth at 8:33.33,
Arizona State junior Kyle Alcorn (Buchanan) finished seventh at
8:35.71 and Cal senior Kevin Davis (Clovis High) was 10th at 8:41.54.

Another Huebner title

Larry Huebner said his family has now accomplished the "Huebner Slam."

The veteran tennis player and retired professional watched his wife,
Gretchen, team with daughter Karin to win the U.S. Tennis Association
National Super Senior Mother-Daughter Indoor championship last weekend
in Vancouver, Wash.

They defeated Linda Hixenbaugh of South Lake Tahoe and Peggy Lucero
of Fair Oaks, the only other duo in the competition.

Karin Huebner, who played at UCLA and coached at USC, owns a national
father-daughter championship. Larry Huebner also owns national
father-son titles with John and Jim and a grandfather-grandson national
title with Chase.

"Now, everyone in our family has a gold ball," Larry Huebner
said. Winners of USTA national championships are awarded a gold ball.

Who, what, when, where

Fresnans Varoujan Der Simonian and Vatche Soghomonian will participate
in the fifth annual Bike for Hope charity bicycle ride beginning
Thursday in Armenia … Former Fresno State golfer Gunnar Avinelis
has been hired as Southern California representative for the College
Golf Fellowship, a Christian group … UCLA junior Kevin Chappell
(Buchanan) was named second team All-America by Golfweek magazine.

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6279.

;sub=u sual&nid=190

15.06.07 19:00

Case of woman ready for suicide reaches high court

Uznews.net – Following a number of trials of different levels and
self-immolation attempts a lawsuit filed by Irina Akopyan, a resident of
Karshi who was unlawfully deprived of her flat, has finally reached the
Uzbek Supreme Court, but will it produce any result?

After 11 months of bureaucracy in courts of various instances, Irina Akopyan
appealed to the Kashkadarya Region court for civil cases on 1 May 2007.
However, the court, first, refused to accept her lawsuit citing various
groundless reasons and accepted it only on 15 May.

Of course, Akopyan had to pay a state duty for this. The victim had paid
this duty five times over the 11 months and in vain. Over this period she
had spent $5,000 she had earned in Russian on legal costs, complaints,
lawyers and renting a flat.

Irina Akopyan lost her own flat on 30 May 2006 when her ex-husband
unlawfully sold her flat to a certain Dilafruz Pardayeva. Akopyan herself
was working in Russia then and when she returned to Karshi she literally
found herself on the street.

Since then she has been fighting for her flat, living in rented flats and
paying $50 a month on average.

"During all this time I have provided the authorities with evidence that a
notary and the head of the regional archive falsified documents and the
results of the expert examination of signatures which show that the
signature in the purchase-sale contract is not mine. As, you can see, all
this was useless," the woman said.

In March, Akopyan, having got tired of refusals and excuses, said that if
this lawlessness does not end she would commit self-immolation on Karshi’s
central square. The authorities promised then that they would take necessary
measure. However, nothing has changed since then.

And now the Kashkadarya Region court for civil cases sent her lawsuit to the
Uzbek Supreme Court against her will. Akopyan said that this had been done
so because the regional court had not been able to gather three judges to
decide this issue.

However, Akopyan is not able to shuttle to Tashkent to defend her interests
there, especially when she will have to pay state duties and fees to lawyers
again because she does not have any money left.

"Moreover, I do not believe anymore that it is possible to restore justice,"
Akopyan said with indignation. "All the courts are bonded with and cover up
one another in Uzbekistan. Another reason is I am an ethnic Armenian and I
think that the ethnic issue plays not the last role in this case."

And now Irina Akopyan has sent letters to nine top officials in the region,
including the governor, the head of the national security (SNB) department,
the head of the regional police department and the regional prosecutor,
warning them that she intends to stage an open-ended picket on Karshi’s main
square.

An Uzbek former lawyer said that the threat of self-immolation or picket
would have hardly any impact on the Uzbek authorities. In the country where
everywhere lawlessness rules it will be easy for the authorities to find a
solution to this situation.

"After a possible death of Akopyan they would be able to quickly issue a
certificate saying that she was insane and close the case. That is why the
best solution in this situation if she appeals to international
organisations and the Armenian community. In general, this problem can be
solved through other means," the former lawyer said.

However, the chairman of the Jizak Region branch of the Human Rights Society
of Uzbekistan, Bahtiyer Hamrayev, did not share the former lawyer’s view.
Akopyan’s desire to commit suicide or take other radical measures will not
be a single case in Uzbekistan, he believes. Over the past five or six
years, many Uzbek citizens have tried to solve their problems in this way
and the authorities would just ignore them.

"These measures cannot remain without attention and only when someone
decides to commit self-immolation the authorities start solving his
problem," Hamrayev said. "Although, they try to hide such information from
the international community, keeping it under their control."