Author: Harutyunian Christine

Armenian Studies Program
University of Michigan
1080 S. University Ave., Suite 2603
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
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PRESS RELEASE
August 5, 2008
Contact: Gloria Caudill, Armenian Studies Program
Telephone: 734.763.0622
Email: [email protected]

Armenian Studies Program, University of Michigan
ASLANIAN AND DUNDAR SELECTED AS POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr. Sebouh Aslanian and Dr. Fuat Dundar have been selected as
Manoogian Simone Foundation Post-doctoral Fellows for the 2008-2009
academic year, announced Prof. Gerard Libaridian, Director of the
Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dr. Aslanian defended his dissertation, entitled "From the Indian
Ocean to the Mediterranean: Circulation and the Global Trade Networks
of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa, Isfahan, 1605 to 1747," in the
Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures at
Columbia University in 2007. The dissertation reassesses, in part, the
usefulness of the "trade diaspora" paradigm for the study of long
distance merchant communities. Dr. Aslanian’s doctoral thesis, awarded
with distinction, was also selected as the best dissertation in the
humanities at Columbia University and represented Columbia at a
national competition in 2008. During the last academic year he was a
Visiting Professor at Whitman College in the state of Washington.

During his tenure, Dr. Aslanian plans to revise and complete a book
manuscript for the University of California Press (World History
Series) of nine chapters, which is based on his dissertation. The
Manoogian Simone fellowship will be crucial in allowing him to
elaborate on two themes in his manuscript. The first theme is related
to the Early Modern world of "trans-imperial cosmopolitanism." The
second theme that he plans to elaborate further is also a paradox
involving Julfan cosmopolitanism. " How is it possible," asks
Dr. Aslanian, "for a merchant community whose cultural values were so
thoroughly cosmopolitan to be among the first communities in the world
to embrace what has now come to be seen as the parochializing logic of
the nation-state?"

While at the University of Michigan, Dr. Aslanian will also teach one
course per semester and deliver public lectures. During the fall
semester, Dr. Aslanian plans to teach a course on "The Indian Ocean in
World History." He is the author of a number of articles.

The second Manoogian Simone Foundation for 2008-2009 will be Dr. Fuat
Dundar. Originally from Turkey, Dr. Dundar completed his doctoral
dissertation in 2007 at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes des Sciences
Sociales in Paris. His massive and original work, "The Ethnic
Engineering of the Committee of Union and Progress and the
Turkification of Anatolia (1913-1918), »has already been published in
Turkey (in Turkish); an English edition is being planned for 2009 in
the United States.

Dr. Dundar’s research while in Ann Arbor will address "Powers and
Ethno-Statistics: Population Censuses as an Arena of Ethno Political
Conflict from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic." The basic
historical source for this study will be Ottoman and Turkish archival
materials and statistical figures so that the instrumentalization of
statistical data by the political power in the course of ethnic
problems can be revealed. The study will scrutinize the population
censuses, which were accomplished beginning from imperial period to
the present day.

Dr. Dundar will teach one course during the Winter 09 semester and
deliver a number of public lectures.

The positions of Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, have been made possible by the Manoogian Simone Foundation
gift to the University’s Armenian Studies Program.

E. NALBANDYAN: MINSK GROUP HAS PROVED ITS VIABILITY

Panorama.am
20:13 19/09/2008

"If we believe in the comments spread by the Azeri mass media, most
probably, Mr. Bryza has by mistake used Armenia in stead of Azerbaijan,
as Turkey can use its power to make the position of Azerbaijan more
flexible characterizing the relationship of Azerbaijan and Turkey
which presidents define it "one nation, two countries". Hence saying
that Turkey has some influence upon Armenia is pure exaggeration,"
said Edward Nalbandyan to "Arminfo" agency commenting on Mattew
Bryza’s announcement made in Baku.

As for the OSCE Minsk Group and the possible changes in its mission
and objectives, he said that the group has proved its viability and
has drafted an internationally supported direction.

HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
19 Sep 2008
Armenia

I have already mentioned many times and I will repeat that I will
do my best for our country to have an independent court and free
judges. But only the desire of the President, the efforts of the
executive and the initiative of the legislative is not enough to
solve very important issues faced by this system.

We must have supporters from inside. We need your initiatives and we
express our readiness to help you. You must be able to accomplish the
judicial system." Serge Sargsyan said yesterday appealing the judges
of the Cassation Court.

ARA KOCHUNYAN: WE SHOULD NOT FEAR THAT OPENING OF BORDER WILL DAMAGE ARMENIA’S SECURITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.09.2008 13:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ We should not fear that opening of the border will
damage Armenia’s security, Ara Kochunyan, editor-in-chief of Zhamanak
Istanbul-based Armenian-language newspaper, said in an interview
with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"Nations should be in contact; otherwise all the problems will
remain unsettled. Normalization depends on Presidents of Armenia and
Turkey. A step forward was made. But given current transformations in
geopolitics, there is no need to hurry. The developments prompt that
borders should be open. The question is when it can happen. Turkey
is a pragmatic state. After the war in South Ossetia, the Turkish
authorities concluded that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan had better go
through Armenia. Ankara understands that Armenia is the most stable
and predictable country in the region," he said.

TURKISH WRITER CALLS TO COLLECT COMMEMORATIONS OF ARMENIANS WHO SURVIVED GENOCIDE WITH HELP OF TURKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.09.2008 18:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ziya Meral, a London based researcher on Middle
East minorities and a writer calls to collect the commemorations
of Armenians who survived the Genocide with the help of Turks, the
Turkish Daily News reports.

"I similarly don’t remember when I first came to hear about massacres
of Armenians, but I remember how I cried in the memorial in Yerevan
for hours for all that has happened. I still shiver with pain each
time I see pictures and hear stories of families scattered around
the world. However, as I continued to read and reflect on memorial
practices and sites, I have come to be increasingly worried that there
were hardly any mention of ‘righteous Turks’- Turks who risked their
lives to save their Armenian friends or even complete strangers in
the literature and commemorations," he said.

"For this reason, I have personally begun a web-based initiative,
named Project Common Humanity, or PCH, to gather the untold stories
of courage, virtue and sacrifice. My humble and limited attempt is in
no way meant to undermine the suffering of the victims or even getting
involved in debates on whether or not what happened was genocide."

"So if you know any such story, published or not, please consider
sharing it with all of us. Visit PCH’s amateurish blog and send your
stories in Turkish or English. And join me to celebrate what unites us
in an age that is obsessed with fixing what separates us," Meral said.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICA
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE
September 11, 2008
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Email: [email protected]

ANCA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO LOOK AT TURKEY’S
TRUE INTENTION AND REAL-WORLD ACTIONS

— Alerts House and Senate to Post-Soccer
Match Prosecution under Article 301

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
today called the attention of Members of Congress to statements and
actions by Turkish leaders following the September 6th "soccer-
diplomacy" match in Yerevan that directly undermine the prospects
of moving toward an enduring Armenia-Turkey peace based on truth
and justice.

Attached to each "ANCA Memo to the Hill" was a copy of the two-page
September 4th ANCA letter circulated to Members of the House and
Senate outlining the Armenian American community’s hopes, concerns,
and reservations regarding Turkey’s approach to this matter.

Among its points, the ANCA Memo spotlighted Turkey’s post-soccer
match prosecution of noted Turkish writer Temel Demirer, who had
condemned the 2007 assassination of the Armenian-Turkish editor
Hrant Dink because of his statements recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. Demirer’s lawyer called to Turkey’s promises to improve
human rights "fairy tales."

To read more about the Demirer prosecution, visit:
109616/ministry-of-justice-gives-permission-for-tr ial-of-writer-demirer-under-article-301

The full text of the ANCA memo to Congressional offices is provided
below.

#####

To: Members of Congress
Attn: Foreign Affairs Legislative Aide
From: Aram Hamparian, Executive Director
Date: September 12, 2008

RE: Looking at Turkey’s real intentions

In a troubling September 10th Associated Press article, Turkey’s
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan revealed Turkey’s expectation that
Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s acceptance of Armenian President
Serj Sarkisyan’s invitation to Armenia to watch a soccer match will
serve Turkey’s long-standing policy to deny the Armenian Genocide.

In the days since this soccer match, we have seen Turkey move in
exactly the wrong direction, showing through its own actions that,
unfortunately, its leaders view this visit as a photo opportunity
to relieve the growing international pressure it is under to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, rather than as a true opportunity
to work with the Armenian people toward an enduring peace based on
truth and justice.

Here are the facts:

1) A new crackdown on discussion of the Armenian Genocide

Turkey has not only kept in place Article 301 of its criminal code
– which criminalizes any discussion of the Armenian Genocide – but
has, this week, actually pressed forward with a new, high-profile
prosecution under this undemocratic law.

Turkey’s Justice Minister, Mehmet Ali Salin, just approved the
prosecution, under Article 301, of a noted Turkish writer Temel
Demirer for condemning the 2007 assassination of the Armenian-
Turkish editor Hrant Dink because of his statements recognizing the
Armenian Genocide.

Demirer’s lawyer stated with dismay:

"We were expecting this decision. With this decision, they have
just proven that their promises regarding . . . human rights are
all fairytales. On the one hand, they go to Armenia to watch a
game, on the other hand they are filing cases under article 301."

2) Refusal to honor new U.S. requests to lift its blockade

Despite repeated U.S. demands that Turkey lift its over 15-year-
old, illegal blockade of landlocked Armenia, most recently
articulated by Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried before the
House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 9th, Turkey has not
taken any steps to end this clear violation of international law.

3) Continued outright denial of the Armenian Genocide

As recently as September 10th, the Turkish Embassy’s website
continues to host pages describing Armenian "allegations" regarding
the "so-called" Armenian Genocide as a "myth."

ARMENIA SIGNS POWER SUPPLY DEAL WITH TURKEY AFTER GUL VISIT

Agence France Presse
Sept 10 2008

Armenia has signed a deal to supply electricity to Turkey, Energy
Minister Armen Movsisian said Wednesday, in the first tangible sign
of a thaw in relations since an historic weekend visit by the Turkish
president.

Movsisian told reporters that the deal will see electricity from
Armenian thermal power plants supplied to eastern Turkey from the
beginning of 2009.

"An agreement on this was reached during the recent visit of the
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Enhanced Coverage LinkingAbdullah
Gul, -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days
" he said.

"Turkey is a new market for Armenia, as Armenia last supplied
electricity to this country during the Soviet period," he added.

Gul’s visit Saturday to attend a football match between the two
nations’ teams and meet Sarkisian raised hopes that Turkey and Armenia
could overcome traditional enmity and establish diplomatic relations.

The deal was signed between Armenia’s state-owned High Voltage
Electricity Network company and a privately owned Turkish firm called
UNIT, Movsisian said.

He said the infrastructure was in place on the Armenian side to
deliver the electricity but that repairs to transmission lines and
the installation of a new transformer in Turkey would take four to
five months.

He said Armenia would initially supply 1.5 billion kilowatts per
hour of electricity to Turkey and that the amount would eventually
increase to 3.5 billion kilowatts per hour.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with eastern neighbour
Armenia because of Yerevan’s campaign for the recognition of the mass
killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I
as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey dealt a heavy economic blow to its impoverished
neighbour by shutting the border in a show of solidarity with its close
ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh — an
Armenian-majority region in Azerbaijan which had declared independence.

ALIYEV: INITIATIVES OF TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN SERVES SETTLEMENT OF STABILITY & PEACE IN REGION

Anatolia News Agency
Sept 10 2008
Turkey

BAKU (A.A) -10.09.2008 -Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on
Wednesday that relations between Turkey and his country were on high
level, and the initiatives of the two country served settlement of
peace and stability in the region.

Holding a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah
Gul Enhanced Coverage LinkingAbdullah Gul -Search using: Biographies
Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days in Baku, Aliyev said that there
were energy and transportation projects which united Turkey and
Azerbaijan. Aliyev said that cooperation in energy, transportation
and other areas affected positively not only Turkey and Azerbaijan
but also the developments in the region.

Aliyev said that during his meeting with Gul they focused on the issue
of Upper Karabakh [Nagornyy Karabakh] which was under occupation of
Armenia and also regional developments. He added that stances of Turkey
and Azerbaijan towards the developments in the region were the same.

Aliyev said that Karabakh problem had not been solved yet, and this was
a danger both for Azerbaijan and the region. He added that Azerbaijan
wanted the problem to be solved soon.

Following the press conference, Aliyev hosted a dinner in honour of
Gul. Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler also
attended the dinner. Gul, then, departed from Azerbaijan.

GEORGIA: THE RIPPLE EFFECT
By Jonathan Marcus

BBC NEWS
urope/7609016.stm
2008/09/10 16:59:15 GMT

Russia’s military intervention in Georgia has inevitably had a dramatic
impact on the region.

But the implications of its decision to unilaterally re-draw Georgia’s
boundaries by recognising the independence of the two separatist
enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia go way beyond the Caucasus –
the ripples spreading into Turkey, the wider Middle East and beyond,
reaching as far as the Caribbean.

The crisis has given an added boost to Turkey’s efforts to become a
significant diplomatic player in the region.

Turkey is a key member of Nato, though it also has important trading
ties with Russia.

As a neighbour of Georgia it does not want to be precipitated into
an unwanted confrontation with Moscow.

The Turkish government’s efforts to conclude a Caucasus Stability
and Cooperation Pact – something that has already taken the Turkish
president on an unprecedented visit to his country’s historical
enemy, Armenia – are an effort to improve the climate in an often
tense region.

Chain reaction

The wider Middle East is already reacting to events in Georgia.

Israel appears to be fundamentally re-thinking its military ties to
Tbilisi, concerned that these might encourage Russia to retaliate by
making advanced weapons sales to Syria.

The Syrians have rushed to Russia’s support, perhaps hoping to
resurrect the close Cold War relationship between Damascus and Moscow.

Even before the Georgia crisis erupted, Russia – angered at US missile
defence plans in central Europe – was sending signals that it might
step up military ties with Cuba.

Now, in the wake of US naval deployments to the Black Sea, Moscow is
despatching one of its largest warships – a nuclear-powered cruiser –
accompanied by a small flotilla, to the Caribbean for exercises with
the Venezuelan Navy.

Mixed messages

The message to Washington is clear – if you meddle in what we see as
our backyard, the Russians are saying, then we will meddle in yours.

It all sounds like the makings of a trailer for a new Cold War drama.

But to some extent that would be to mis-read the signals.

Some may call it posturing, but it is posturing to a purpose. Messages
are indeed being sent.

All the indications are – at least for the moment – that Russia is
not intending to recreate the global struggles of the Cold War era.

It has so far refused sensitive arms sales to Syria, for example.

And many experts believe that Russia’s chief aim in all of this is
to assert itself closer to home, to draw strict limits to Nato’s
further expansion.

Further political battlegrounds lie ahead – most immediately in Ukraine
where the events in Georgia have already worsened existing political
divisions between those who look to the West for the future and those
who look towards Moscow.

The European Union’s decision, this week, to offer Ukraine closer
relations but not a clear path to future membership highlights the
delicacy of the diplomatic challenges facing Western nations as they
struggle to respond to a newly resurgent Russia.

Europe at one and the same time wants to draw Ukraine "Westwards" in
political terms, while not exacerbating the country’s internal strife.

Stretched state department

Beyond Europe, the stakes are even higher.

What price now a new UN Security Council resolution bringing in any
kind of tougher sanctions to roll back Iran’s nuclear programme?

If the current atmosphere between Washington and Moscow is anything
to go by then such a resolution may be a dead-letter.

As the Bush Administration seeks to polish up its foreign policy legacy
during its closing months in office, it can expect no help from Moscow.

Was Russia mishandled by the Bush administration, or was it simply
given insufficient attention?

That will be for the historians to judge.

But, in a sense, it is clear that the Georgia crisis – like so many
other aspects of this administration’s performance abroad – has been
inextricably bound up with the Iraq crisis.

It was Georgia’s willingness to provide troops for operations in
Iraq that established its military relationship with Washington in
the first place and fixed its image as an out-post of democracy in
Washington’s collective mind.

And it may also be the extraordinary demands of dealing not just with
the conflict in Iraq, but that in Afghanistan too, that meant that
even a state department headed by a Russian expert in Condoleezza
Rice was unable to give relations with Moscow sufficient time.

OPPOSITION RALLY DUE ON SEPTEMBER 15

A1+
[08:13 pm] 10 September, 2008

Since the tragic events of March 1 and imposition of a state of
emergency the acting regime has roughly violated human rights and
rejected over 70 notifications for opposition’s rallies. But even in
the given conditions we did not give up. Since March 21 the Armenian
National Congress has continued its struggle in Northern Avenue for
170 days holding about ten protest actions, marches and demonstrations.

"Finally, our valiant efforts were crowned with victory. The
authorities had long rejected the opposition’s notifications of
rallies. Yesterday they had to sanction our rally of September
15. Nevertheless, we were ready to ignore the illegally-imposed ban
and exercise our constitutional right to rallies.

On the other hand, we cannot help tasting the fruit of our struggle
-pleasure of an authorized rally – with the participation of thousands
of our regional supporters whose right to move was confined on those
days," runs the statement of the Armenian National Congress States.