Author: Emil Lazarian

PanARMENIAN.Net

EU membership inconceivable while Turkey refuses to
face up to mass murders of Armenians
26.01.2007 17:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The impasse in Turkey’s EU accession talks has
whipped up xenophobia. Brussels says that despite major reforms to
entrench human, democratic and minority rights, Ankara has not done
enough to protect freedom of expression or subordinate the army to
civilian control, reports The Financial Times. Turkey’s neo-Islamist
government says the Europeans are acting in bad faith, raising the bar
to entry ever higher to pander to anti-Muslim prejudice, particularly
in France, Germany and Austria. Both are right. But there are,
nevertheless, rightly unalterable membership criteria. No country with
a penal code that makes it a crime to "denigrate Turkishness" (Article
301) will meet them. European membership is also inconceivable while
Turkey refuses to face up to the mass murders of Armenians as the
Ottoman Empire crumbled during the First World War.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister, has called for reputable
historians to establish the truth, confident this would place the
killings within a conflict in which millions of Turks also perished as
western powers dismembered Ottoman territory. Yet for generations
there has been nothing but silence or denial. Rare conferences to
discuss these terrible events have been cancelled after pressure from
the army-dominated nationalist establishment. Turkey closed its
borders with Armenia in 1993.

Critically, nationalist cabals have used Article 301 to silence
writers and intellectuals who have dared to raise the Armenian tragedy
and ask whether it was centrally directed genocide. Mr Dink himself
was given a suspended jail sentence and Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel
prize-winning novelist was also dragged to court (where yesterday he
was publicly threatened by a well-known extremist who prosecutors say
provided the gun that killed Mr Dink). Mr Erdogan has reacted forcibly
to Hrant Dink’s murder and made gestures of reconciliation towards the
Armenians. It is unrealistic to expect more ahead of fiercely
contested elections this year. But Turkey must demonstrate its
commitment to free speech by repealing Article 301, not only a
mechanism for exacerbating ultranationalism but evidently an
incitement to murder too. Once the elections are over, Turks and
Armenians need to move towards a public reckoning with history, the
newspaper says.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Cossack Association awarded Dink with duke Madatov prize posthumously

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.01.2007 13:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian International Cossack Association (AICA)
posthumously has awarded ‘Agos’ Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly
editor Hrant Dink, who was gunned down in Istanbul January 19, with
‘Honor and Fidelity’ prize after 1812 war hero Major-General duke
Valerian Madatov. ‘Erkramas’ Armenian newspaper in Russia reports
that the prize was given to slain Dink’s son and widow by AICA ataman
Major-General Sergey Madatyan. The Cossack ataman arrived in Istanbul
to attend Hrant Dink’s funeral and posthumously to award him with
the above-mentioned prize.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VIC DARCHINYAN SAYS BEST PART OF HIS CAREER IS AHEAD

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: Armenia-born boxer Vic Darchinyan,
who turned 31 last Sunday, says the best part of his career is only
just beginning. After bringing himself to the attention of boxing fans
in the USA with three brutal stoppage wins on the Showtime television
network in 2006, the IBF/IBO flyweight world champion is looking for
the biggest fights available in 2007.

Evidence that Darchinyan’s reputation is rising is that he is listed at
six behind number one Manny Pacquiao and ahead of other notable names
such as Shane Mosley, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky
Hatton in the latest edition of the highly respected The Ring magazine.

Unfortunately, his promoter Gary Shaw’s attempts to get him a
unification match at flyweight have been unsuccessful so far. WBO
champion Omar Narvaez has turned down two offers to fight Darchinyan,
while WBC champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam has never fought in the USA
and rarely fights outside of his home country of Thailand.

While he has not fought since December 2005, WBA champion Lorenzo Parra
would appear to be the most likely title-holder at flyweight to face
Darchinyan this year. Of course, the biggest fight on paper in 2007
for southpaw Darchinyan is a clash with Mexican Jorge Arce . The 27
year-old is a former WBC interim flyweight and WBC junior flyweight
world champion, who is now campaigning at junior bantamweight.

Another possible big fight for Darchinyan would be a move up in
weight to face WBO junior bantamweight world champion Fernando Montiel
from Mexico.

TURKEY IS NOT ABLE TO ESTIMATE CONSEQUENCES OF HRANT DINK’S MURDER: ARMENIAN
HISTORIAN

Yerevan, January 25. ArmInfo. The Turkish public is not able to
estimate the whole weight of murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, a historian, Sahak Sahakyan, said at today’s press-conference.

He noted that the murder of the journalist in Istanbul is a glaring
example of the absence of principles of democracy and freedom of
speech in Turkey.

"Now it becomes clear that it is impossible to fight against the whole
state machine, which annihilates those who fight for the historical
truth", S. Sahakyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DPA LEADER: OPPOSITION SHOULD BE CONSOLIDATED INTO IDEOLOGICAL BLOC

Yerevan, January 25. ArmInfo. The Democratic party of Armenia will
take an active part in the coming parliamentary elections, though
yet unknown in what format, either in the structure of any bloc or
independently, the leader of the Democratic party of Armenia, Aram
Sarkissyan, told ArmInfo.

"Only one thing is known, if the DPA is consolidated into a united
bloc with any forces, it should be a alliance based on the ideological
community of forces in its structure. I am sure that in this case this
union will enjoy the popularity among the society from the first days
of its creation, while consolidation of the party into any mixed bloc,
as it was in 2003, is inexpediently, in my opinion", A. Sarkissyan
said, having underlined that the bloc, into which the DPA intends
to be consolidated, should gather no less than 20% of votes during
elections. Otherwise, it is senseless to develop a struggle for only
to overcome a 5%-barrier at elections and to form a small faction,
the voice of which will not be heard in the Parliament. The opposition
should form a faction, with the opinion of which the parliamentary
majority would have to reckon, A. Sarkissyan said. He underlined that
he considers it possible to form an oppositional bloc which would be
able to gather 20% of votes at elections.

As regards the possible creation of an ideological alliance with any
forces, A. Sarkissyan said : "I can say, for example, that we have
no discrepancies with the "Union of Constitutional Right" and the
"National Revival" on the Karabakh issue. We keep cooperating with
them for other issues as well and try to find common positions with
them on other issues. Of course, we have no discrepancies with the
People’s party of Armenia, however, no one is aware of the cooperation
format", he said. A. Sarkissyan ruled out a possibility of his party’s
participation in Parliamentary elections in a proportional list of
any other party.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

French Ambassador to Azerbaijan not confident the Genocide bill will pass in the Senate

ArmRadio.am
25.01.2007 16:32

"I don’t think the French Senate will discuss the bill on penalizing
the negation of the Armenian Genocide proposed by the National
Assembly," said Bernard du Chaffaut told the journalists in Baku,
Trend reports.

He said that up until now the question has not even been included in
the Senate agenda. "Considering that an election period has started
in the country, it would be incorrect to anticipate the discussion
and adoption of the bill," the Ambassador noted. He added that as
time passes the opportunity of adopting the bill reduces."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Rights body urges law change after murder

Independent Online, South Africa
Jan 25 2007

Strasborg, France – A European rights watchdog urged Ankara on Thursday
to change a law that many Turks say fuels hardline nationalism and
contributed to the murder of a prominent Armenian editor.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said Turkey should
scrap article 301 of its penal code which makes it a crime to insult
Turkey’s identity, state institutions and security forces.

"The existence of this measure, which judicially limits freedom
of expression, only validates legal and other attacks against
journalists," a resolution passed by the assembly said.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was gunned down last week by
a Turkish youth who said Dink had insulted Turks.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday he supported changes to
the law. The European Union has also called on Turkey, an EU candidate,
to abrogate the law.

Dink, like dozens of other Turkish intellectuals, had been prosecuted
under article 301 for his writings on the massacres of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks during World War One – a highly sensitive issue
in Turkey.

Dink’s murder shocked the country and brought more than 100 000 people
onto the streets of Istanbul on Tuesday. His death has put the ruling
AK Party again on the defensive over article 301.

Analysts say the government is dragging its feet despite repeated
promises because the AK Party does not want to look soft amid a rise
in nationalism during an election year.

Turkey denies charges by Armenia and other countries that 1,5 million
Armenians died in a systematic genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks
during World War One.

Turkey says that hundreds of thousands of both Muslim Turks and
Christian Armenians died in a conflict during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Jan 25 2007

What others say
Thursday, January 25, 2007

The voice of silence:

Fehmi KORU, Yeni Şafak

People don’t walk too often in Turkey. We in general don’t like to
walk. We don’t take morning walks for a healthier life, neither do we
march in the streets for a case that we believe in. Only funerals can
make us march; which usually turns into more of an ideological show.

I believe yesterday was exceptional. It is impossible to categorize
the tens of thousands as holders of a single ideology who walked from
the Agos newspaper’s office to Taksim, and then to Yenikapi. The
crowd reflected a very rich spectrum of differences.

Silence does indeed have a voice. If this wasn’t so, could the
message given by the thousands walking in silence have echoed so
loudly? Most probably, none of us in the procession had similar
thoughts in mind. Still, we walked feeling the same anguish for our
loss.

Whoever I am, Dink was a complimentary element of my identity. I
felt "complete" at times when I spent time with him. This might sound
selfish, but those who shot him also took something away from me. As
I walked in the silent procession, I swore that I continuously heard
the same voice saying: no matter how much pain we feel, it can hardly
match the greatness of our loss.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Foreign Minister: Turkey is willing to establish friendly ties with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.01.2007 14:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey is willing to establish friendly ties
with neighboring Armenia, adding the caveat that this would not
be possible without the full cooperation of both sides. Asked
about implications for Turkish-Armenian relations following the
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Gul said,
"Turkey aspires to enjoy friendly ties with all of its neighbors on
the basis of mutual trust and respect and we want to establish ties
with Armenia as well." Gul stressed that Turkey had no hostility
toward any of its neighbors but said that establishing friendly ties
was only possible with steps from both sides, adding that Armenia
should review its thoughts and feelings toward Turkey.

"The funeral of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on Tuesday
brought Turks and Armenians together. Armenian government officials and
moderate figures from the Armenian Diaspora attended the funeral at the
invitation of the Turkish government. "Representatives from Armenia
came and saw; Turkey has no hostility toward anyone," Gul said. But
he noted that Armenia should not come up with unfair demands from
Turkey – such as the recognition by Ankara of the alleged genocide of
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Empire – in return for normalization
of bilateral ties, reports Turkish Daily News.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CJR Daily, NY
Columbia Journalism Review
Jan 25 2007

A Murder, Then Progress?
In Memoriam: Hrant Dink (1954-2007)

Alia Malek

Friday’s murder of Armenian-Turkish editor and columnist Hrant Dink —
though not the only instance recently of a foreign journalist brutally
silenced — was different in that for those who follow global events
or the media, Dink’s name was familiar even before his death.

At a time when Turkey continues to struggle to join the European Union,
his prosecution (and arguably his persecution) under Turkish penal
code 301 that criminalizes insulting "Turkishness" — a law that stinks
of suppression of speech — had already made him a cause celebre.

Dink had been attacked by the Turkish Justice Ministry and Turkish
nationalists for advocating that Turkey acknowledge its role in the
Armenian genocide at the end of the Ottoman Empire during the first
World War, as a necessary prerequisite for Turkey moving forward
progressively and for a resumption of Turkish-Armenian relations.

His name was again in international papers in October, 2006 when he
lambasted a French parliamentary bill that penalized any denial that
Armenians were victims of a genocide. He was a champion of free speech
above all, and his commitment to seeing the genocide acknowledged
did not blind him to this larger principle. He considered the French
and Turkish laws as two sides of the same coin, saying that, "Those
who restrict freedom of expression in Turkey and those who try to
restrict it in France are of the same mentality."

Dink did not believe in holding a new generation of Turks responsible
for the actions of their ancestors; what he wanted was to move his
country into a new era of modernity, democracy, and celebration of
its multiethnic reality. Ironically, his death produced glimpses of
that vision, when thousands of Turks took to the streets the day of
his murder shouting, "We are all Armenian!" and when thousands more
attended his funeral, including government officials from Turkey and,
at Turkey’s invitation, from Armenia.

On many English-language Turkish blogs and Web sites, the killer
and his co-conspirators — who claimed to be acting as Turkish
nationalists — were denounced and Dink was hailed as the true
patriot. As important, the law under which Dink was prosecuted was
itself subjected to scrutiny.

There is no consolation for Dink’s death. And of course, many of
those who marched came from the cast of usual suspects — Kurds,
intellectuals, leftists, the so-called "White Turks." Moreover,
some of the slogans, such as "We are all Armenian" have brought
grumblings and, as reported in some Turkish-language papers, the
threat of more prosecutions under 301 (mentioned in haberturk.com,
the prominent online news hub). Still, the turnout for a funeral of
the man who was the public face of the Armenian community, has offered
hope of a conversation where before there was only denial. If that
conversation evolves, moving Turkey toward truth and reconciliation,
succeeding where external (and at times vitriolic) European efforts
have failed, then Dink’s memory can begin to be honored.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress