Author: Hakobian Adrine

Bristol Evening Post, UK
January 27, 2007 Saturday

Soapbox: Holocaust day

This is a polite reminder that today is Holocaust Day, which in my
opinion ought to be renamed Genocide Day, especially when one
considers the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine
and, lest we forget, Africa (Rwanda, The Congo and Darfur spring to
mind).

Genocide is defined in the dictionary in unambiguous terms as "the
deliberate extermination of a racial, religious or ethnic group". A
more expanded definition comes with the following quote from the
Peace Pledge Union website: "It is mass murder deliberately planned
and carried out by individuals, all of whom are responsible whether
they made the plan, gave the order or carried out the killings.

"Whatever its scale, genocide is made up of individual acts and
individual choices to perform them. So human individuals need to make
the commitment, as early in life as possible, that they will have no
truck with it."

Almost without question, the Holocaust – to sacrifice by fire – (or
Shoa) was the worst example of this kind of barbarism and organised
mass murder. The fact that it was so organised and meticulously
carried out makes it so. Sadly, it is not unique in history.

Millions of Congolese were murdered by the Belgian imperialists under
the stewardship of King Leopold the second.

The British incarcerated and starved hundreds of thousands of Boers
during the Boer War, the British army effectively invented the
concentration camp.

In 1915, the Young Turks organised the extermination of at least
million Christian Armenians.

By 1900, the Native American Indians were practically eradicated from
a population of at least three million.

In 1904, the German imperialists murdered 65,000 members of the
Namibian Herero tribe from an initial population of 80,000.

In 1932, enforced collectivisation of the Ukrainian farmers resulted
in the deaths of at least seven million people and another 10 million
were deported to Siberia as slave labour.

At least 100,000 Cambodians were killed as a direct result of US B52
bombing – this catastrophe helped Pol Pot take control. The Khmer
Rouge (which the US backed in its war with Vietnam) systematically
slaughtered, tortured and starved at least three million people.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I have tried to convey
balance – no one country or geographic block is guilt-free.

This leads me to believe that it is a system of deliberate policies
that allow it all to happen.

The great US historian Howard Sinn hits the nail on the head, saying:
"The memory of the Jewish holocaust should not be kept isolated from
other atrocities in history. To remember what happened to the six
million Jews serves no important purpose unless it arouses
indignation, anger and action against all atrocities anywhere in the
world."

So, dear reader, if you are anything like me, you are appalled about
the general state of our beautiful world today, sick of seeing
killing versus helping. You think that it is a crime that recent
Pentagon disclosures show the US military alone is spending 320
million a day solely on Iraq and Afghanistan, with no discernable
improvements for those we are supposed to be helping. In fact, by any
benchmark, things are worse than they were before "liberation". You
think it is an obscenity that our UK establishment is even
considering spending £25 to £75 billion on the Trident replacement,
yet is shutting hospitals and selling off services that could be run
for decades if not centuries for the same money.

In short, you are appalled by our reality and disgusted by the lack
of progress in terms of "sorting things out".

Look at the solutions put forward by the establishment to deal with
climate change, world hunger, Aids, and poverty across the world – do
you think they are going to work?

I believe that in a global context these sorts of issues taken as a
whole constitute a crime against humanity, as it is all so
unnecessary and tragic.

Today is about giving some time to reflect on our situation. More
importantly, it is about taking action and saying words to the effect
of "I’m not standing for this any more."

Mark Plummer, Knowle.

Bristol Evening Post, UK
January 27, 2007 Saturday

We won’t forget Holocaust victims

This small pile of polished rocks was the centrepiece of a ceremony
to remember victims of the Holocaust.

At some Jewish funerals, it is practice to bring rocks instead of
flowers and build a cairn to remember the dead.

But at yesterday’s memorial event at the Victoria Rooms in Queens
Road, the pile of rocks was built in advance – and each person
attending took one of a rock away with them to symbolise the
continuing toll of genocide across the globe.

Yesterday’s event was attended by almost 100 religious and community
leaders, one day before International Holocaust Memorial Day.

The day marks the liberation of Auschwitz – the Nazis’ most notorious
death camp – by the Soviet Army in 1945.

The service was organised by Bristol University’s multi-faith
university chaplaincy. It included music, poems, prayers and readings
from survivors of the Holocaust.

It also remembered the genocides of Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan and
Armenians in Turkey.

The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Peter Abraham, attended and lit
a candle as a symbol of hope.

Rabbi Natan Levy, the university’s orthodox Jewish chaplain, said:
"The theme of this year’s commemoration is the dignity of difference.
Genocide has and will exist as long as we fear that which is
different.

"When we can embrace our differences, only then will hope emerge."

Today there was to be a remembrance service at St Mary-on-the-Quay
Church in the city centre after the 12.15pm Mass.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 26 2007

Historian Eric Feigl, proved Armenian genocide to be untrue, died

[ 26 Jan. 2007 17:42 ]

Austrian historian and writer, Professor Eric Feigl has died at 76
today, APA reports.

Recently he had internal hemorrhage and today he has died of kidney
failure in the hospital in Vienna, APA reports. He decided to
investigate the claims on Armenian genocide after terrors committed
by Armenian Terror Organization ASALA and wrote a book called `A Myth
of Terror’. He renewed the book after his close fiend Erdogan Ozen’s
assassination by Armenian terrorists and devoted the book wholly to
Turkish diplomat. He proved that Armenian genocide did not happen
basing on the historical documents kept in some of archives of
European countries.
It should be noted that, Eric Feigl was awarded Honour Order by
President Ilham Aliyev. /APA/

Turkish prosecutors charged five people in Hrant Dink’s assassination

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.01.2007 13:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Wednesday the Turkish Office of Public Prosecutor
charged five people, including a teenage gunman, in the killing
of ‘Agos’ Turkish-Armenian weekly editor Hrant Dink, said Chief
Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin. "The teenager, Ogun Samast, is charged
with membership in an armed gang and murder," Engin said. Four other
suspects, including a man who has confessed to inciting the killing,
are charged with membership in the armed gang and of involvement
in Dink’s slaying. "Nevertheless, Office of Public Prosecutor will
continue the investigation in order to find out if any other groupings
have participated in Dink’s assassination," stated Aykut Cengiz Engin,
Reuters reports.

IN RESOLUTION ADOPTED ON JANUARY 25 PACE SERIOUSLY CONDEMNS HRANT
DINK’S MURDER

STRASBOURG, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe adopted on January 25 a resolution "On Danger
Threatening Journalist’s Life and Expression of Speech," by which,
particularly, murders of journalists Hrant Dink and Anna Politkovskaya
are seriously condemned. It is also mentioned in the resolution that
during the last one year rather serious violences were implemented
towards journalists especially in Eastern European countries, the
leaders among which are RF and Azerbaijan.

According to Radio Liberty, H.Dink’s judicial Odessey is briefly
presented in the part of the resolution concerning "Akos" newspaper
editor’s murder.

Besides, it is mentioned that he addressed with a claim to the European
Court of Human Rights few weeks before his death. It is also fixed
in the document that the journalist wrote in one of his last articles
that he got many threats.

During the discussion on the draft resolution, according to the radio
station, Armen Rustamian, a member of the PACE Armenian delegation,
the Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations, a representative of the ARF Armenian Supreme Body made a
rather strict speech. "Ones who struggle for the Armenian Genocide, do
it in a peaceful and civilized way, those who deny the genocide fact,
use the whole repressive resource of the state or simply shoot. Hrant
Dink was too right, considering that the greatest achievement fixed on
the way of Turkey to the European Union can be the Armenian Genocide
recognition," the Armenian deputy said in his speech. He also called
on the Turkish side to follow the example of Germany recognized the
Holocaust and recongnize the Armenian Genocide.

According to the radio station, the Turkish deputies present at the
sitting restrainedly responded A.Rustamian’s speech.

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS ASK COUNTRY PRESIDENT TO PROHIBIT TRANSPORTATION
OF OLD ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPTS TO FRANCE

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A group of famous Armenian
intellectuals expressed their anxiety in an open letter addressed to
the RA President, Prime Minister and National Assembly Speaker on the
occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the Armenian Christian art to
open in the Louvre museum within the framework of the Year of Armenia
being held in France. It is envisaged to exhibit in Louvre ancient
illustrated parchment manuscripts, Etchmiadzin Avetaran (Gospel)
of 989, Margare painter, Kirakos miniature painter and Toros Roslin,
correspondingly the Gospels and other manuscripts germinated in 1211,
1249 and 1267-1268, being kept in the Yerevan M.Mashtots Matenadaran
(Armenian repository of ancient manuscripts).

In the intellectuals’ opinion, transportation of these manuscript
exclusive volumes to France at the same time, especially by air, is
fraught with irretrievable and calamitous consequences. They mentioned
that one must not forget how a number of paintings of world-famous
paiter of the Armenian origin Arshile Gorky were abolished during a
plane crash years ago, and how Martiros Sarian’s early period canvases
were burnt in France during the fire on a ship.

According to the letter authors, these manuscripts envisaged for being
exhibited in Louvre are just crumbs of our centuries-old history
and the further generations will not forgive their loss. "Finally,
the letter authors mention, those manuscripts are the treasure of
all Armenians and not only of Matenadaran and the Republic of Armenia."

"So we ask you to prohibit transportation of manuscripts to France,
especially all together, by air, based on the existing corresponding
legislation," the intellectuals mention. And instead of those valuable
volumes, the intellectuals propose to exhibit in the Louvre copies
of the same manuscripts and miniatures which are exhibited at the
National Gallery of Armenia and Matenadaran.

FIRST EDUCATIONAL MANUAL "THE SPECIALITY OF REALTOR IN ARMENIA:
MANAGEMENT OF REALTOR’S ACTIVITY" PUBLISHED

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The first educational manual "The
Speciality of Realtor in Armenia. Management of Realtor’s Activity"
was published in Armenian and Russian. The manual’s authors are Erik
Mesropian, Chairman of the Scientific and Information Center of Real
Estate, Ph.D, Associate Professor, and Hakob Baghdasarian, Chairman
of Actsern Association.

E. Mesropian told NT correspondent that the manual is intended for
experts working in real estate market and students studying this
sector. "The book contains detailed information about management of
a realtor’s activity and practical tips for realtors operating in
the real estate market," he said.

In H. Baghdasarian’s words, the importance of this manual is that
so far there were no giudes and methodical materials (in Armenian)
for real estate market experts. The book uses the scientific and
theoretical materials of the center and Actsern’s wide experience of
managing 6 realtor firms.

MUNICIPALITY TO BUILD PUBLIC LAVATORIES

Panorama.am
18:11 22/01/2007

The municipality will allocate land for building some 50 public
lavatories, Karen Gevorgyan, trade and service department head of the
municipality, told a briefing today. He said they understand the need
of lavatories as tourism develops in Armenia.

The municipality also makes sterilization of outdoors dogs. Gevorgyan
says at least 30 percent of outdoors dogs will be eliminated in 5
years. The municipality official said they had invited an American
expert to share more experience in work with outdoors animals.
"They do not ask money for that," he said.

Source: Panorama.am

Police arrest suspect in death of Armenian editor

Daily Times, Pakistan
Jan 22 2007

ISTANBUL: Turkish police on Saturday arrested the suspected killer
of a prominent Turkish-Armenian writer who had angered nationalists
with articles referring to a Turkish "genocide" of Armenians.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he was pleased the suspect had
been arrested in such a short time. "The suspected murderer of
Hrant Dink, Ogun Samast, was caught in Samsun," Erdogan told a news
conference. Erdogan said it was too early to say whether Samast had
links to any organisations and the police investigation was continuing.

Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said Samast, a 17-year-old unemployed
youth from the Black Sea coastal town of Trabzon, and six other
people also detained would be brought to Istanbul for questioning.
Police arrested Samast after his father informed authorities that
the picture shown on television was his son.

Dink was the editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos
and Turkey’s best-known Armenian voice abroad. He was shot in broad
daylight as he left his office in Istanbul on Friday. "I am declaring
once more as an answer to provocateurs who have blood on their hands
that bullets fired at Hrant Dink were fired at all of us," Erdogan
told his AK Party earlier. "We are aware of our responsibility as
the government and we’re making this a priority … Hrant Dink was
a son of this land." reuters

Agence France Presse — English
January 21, 2007 Sunday 5:26 PM GMT

Turkish teenager confesses to killing journalist

A 17-year-old prime suspect in the killing of Turkish journalist
Hrant Dink, one of his country’s most prominent ethnic Armenians, has
confessed to the murder, a prosecutor said Sunday.

"He admitted he committed the murder" in his preliminary
interrogation in the Black Sea port of Samsun, where he was arrested
overnight, the city’s chief prosecutor Ahmet Gokcinar told Anatolia
news agency.

The suspect, Ogun Samast, reportedly said he shot Dink because the
journalist insulted the Turkish nation.

"I shot him after saying the Friday prayers. I’m not sorry," the CNN
Turk news channel quoted him as saying in his testimony. "I read news
on the Internet. He said ‘I’m from Turkey but Turkish blood is dirty’
and that’s why I decided to kill him."

Dink, 53, was one of the taboo-breaking critics of the official line
on the massacre of Armenians in 1915-17 under the Ottoman Empire,
which he labeled as genocide, and was last year given a suspended
six-month jail sentence for insulting "Turkishness."

Nationalists had branded him a "traitor" and Dink wrote in recent
articles in his bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos that he
received threats.

Samast, a jobless secondary school graduate reportedly involved with
nationalist groups, was detained on board a bus in Samsun, while he
was returning from Istanbul to his northeastern hometown of Trabzon
on the Black Sea.

He was still carrying the gun he allegedly used to shoot Dink three
times in the head and the neck outside the Agos office in downtown
Istanbul Friday afternoon, officials said.

The boy, flown to Istanbul Sunday, was arrested with the help of his
father, who tipped off the police after the authorities released
pictures of his son caught on the security camera of a bank near the
scene of the murder.

Nine other people suspected of being linked to the assassination were
detained in Trabzon, officials said. Four of them were also taken to
Istanbul.

In addition, the Samsun police detained two men who were travelling
on the same bus as Samast and sent them to Istanbul, Anatolia
reported.

Pointing to Samast’s young age, Dink’s lawyer raised the possibility
that he might only be a hitman.

"The boy might have pulled the trigger, but the authorities should
find those who are behind him," Erdal Dogan told the Aksam newspaper.
"The state should not just say ‘this boy did it’ and shut up."

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, Aykut Cengiz Engin, said organized crime
units would probe the murder, even though there was no immediate
indication that an illegal organization was involved.

Among the detainees was reportedly a friend of Samast, named as Yasin
Hayal, who spent 11 months in jail for a 2004 bomb blast outside a
McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon.

Samast said in his initial testimony that Hayal encouraged him to
kill Dink and gave him the gun, the Milliyet newspaper said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed Samast’s detention "in the
name of democracy and the struggle for freedom".

The police will also probe any possible links between Dink’s
assassination and the murder of an Italian Catholic priest in Trabzon
in February last year by a 16-year-old boy, Erdogan said.

Dink’s assassination sent shock waves through Turkey and hundreds of
protestors into the streets chanting "We are all Armenians, we are
all Hrants."

Despite the controversies, the soft-spoken and often emotional Dink
had won many hearts as a sincere activist for Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation and free speech, who also denounced Armenian
radicalism and most recently a French bill to jail those who deny
that the massacres constituted genocide.

Members of Istanbul’s tiny Armenian community prayed for Dink after
Sunday masses.

Hundreds continued to flock to the scene of the murder to pay their
respects to the slain journalist, lighting candles and laying flowers
at his portrait. Dink was to be laid to rest Tuesday.