Author: Hovhannisian John

TURKISH, ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS TO MEET FOR CLOSER DIALOGUE

Hurriyet
March 31 2010
Turkey

According to Ragıp Zarakolu, many of the forums about the events of
1915 have only started to take place in Turkey since the year 2005,
which he called "the year zero for Turkey. Photo: Hasan ALTINIÅ~^IK

Intellectuals from Turkey and Armenia are set to gather in the Turkish
capital on the anniversary of the 1915 killings of Armenians during
the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

The meeting is set to occur at a time when the historic normalization
process between the two countries has stalled.

Turkish and Armenian intellectuals will meet in Ankara on April 24
and 25 to discuss the events of 1915 and attempt to improve dialogue
between the two nations in an event organized by the Ankara Freedom
of Thought Initiative.

"We believe the problem between the two nations will be solved
only by dialogue," Sait Cetin, a writer, human-rights activists and
one of the organizers of the forum, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review.

"Matters that concern us in the first degree are being discussed in
the capitals of the world because we cannot manage to talk [about
them] ourselves. The sincerity of the West is arguable, and Turkey
has an attitude of denial," Cetin added in a March 22 e-mail interview.

Participants in the forum will talk about the events leading up
to the 1915 killings, which Armenians refer to as "genocide,"
as well as their political implications. Topics of discussion are
set to include "The Armenian issue from a historical perspective,"
"From [the Committee of] Union and Progress to Kemalism – official
ideological denial and termination of the issue," "The Turkification
of the capital" and "The Armenian issue: How to handle it?"

Writer Temel Demirer underscored the importance of such dialogue in
order to ensure a more peaceful future, saying that the official
ideology in Turkey has tried to cover history up. "We, as Turkish
intellectuals, want to face the truth," he told the Daily News in a
phone interview.

When asked about possible reactions, Demirer added: "I do not blame
people who say the genocide did not happen. If there is such a thing
called freedom of speech, everybody should show respect to each others’
freedom of expression."

Cetin said the event had originally been planned to take place Jan.

19, the anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, but the group had difficulty finding a suitable location
in Ankara for that date.

"Actually, it is good that [the meeting] coincided on this date," he
said, referring to April 24, the date on which Armenians commemorate
the "genocide."

"We are going to present a perspective as different as we can for
Ankara and Yerevan on the solution of the historical problems,"
Cetin added.

‘Genocide’ resolution

The normalization process between Turkey and Armenia hit a new obstacle
after a U.S. House of Representatives committee endorsed a resolution
calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to label the 1915 killings of
Armenians as "genocide."

Ragıp Zarakolu, a founding member of the Human Rights Association
and the owner of Belge International Publishing, said that the voting
in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4 had the atmosphere
of a football match.

"Such a tragic event becomes a political issue because the Turks and
Armenians cannot solve it among themselves," he said.

According to Zarakolu, many of the forums about the events of 1915
have only started to take place in Turkey since the year 2005, which
he called "the year zero for Turkey. It is the year many taboo topics
started to be discussed. It was impossible before that."

The forum will to take place in the hall of the Construction Engineers’
Chamber on Necatibey Street in Ankara.

In addition to Cetin, Demirer and Zarakolu, the 20 scheduled attendees
include Sevan NiÅ~_anyan, an academic, linguist and writer; Professor
Baskın Oran, a political scientist; and Khatcig Mouradian from the
U.S.-based Armenian Weekly.

According to Cetin, the discussions at the forum will not be limited
the events of 1915, but will also include what happened before and
after, as well as contemporary reflections on the subject.

TURKISH LAWYER APPLIES TO COURT FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

Yerkir
31.03.2010 13:43

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Turkish lawyer Bendal Celil Ezman has applied to
an Ankara court for recognition of the 1915 massacres of more than 1,5
million Armenians as genocide. Ealier, Ezman campaigned for apologies
for the tragic happenings of 1915.

The claim, sent to the Second Ankara Criminal Court, says that "Sait
Halim Pasha’s government of Turkey committed genocide against Turkish
population of Armenian origin in 1915," Haber Turk paper reported.

"Armenians were killed in 1915 within the framework of a special
scheduled plan," the paper quotes Bendal Celil Ezman’s claim.

"Turkey must face with its past," Ezman said in an interview.

This is the first precedent of filing of a claim to the Criminal Court
over the issue of the 1915 Genocide, stressed Turkish lawyer. When
asked if he doesn’t afraid of taking these steps, Ezman said:
"Everything that happens is Allah’s will, if something happens to me."

MONITORING IN BERKABER LASTED FOR 7 MINUTES

Aysor
March 31 2010
Armenia

The OSCE mission finished the regular scheduled observation at
Armenia-Azerbaijan border close to Berkaber village of Ijevan region
of Tavush province of Armenia.

As the Aysor.am reporter informed the monitoring which was to last for
30 minutes, lasted for 7 minutes only. No incidents were registered.

Andranik Mkrtumyan, Colonel, Head of the Armenian Armed Forces General
Staff Operative Department Frontier Representation Office, mentioned
that the Armenian side has suggested conducting the monitoring within
the required time, but the Azerbaijani side has demanded to stop it.

"We think that their headquarters is not able to give guarantees of
long term security," A. Mkrtumyan told.

Mkrtumyan reminded that by their first deal with the Azerbaijani side
they were to make the monitoring in the Koti village of Tavush region
where on March 3 there were some incidents recorded.

But a day before the monitoring the Azerbaijani side broke the deal
saying that it can [rovide no security guarantees for that region.

"Does it mean they can’t control their own army and subdivisions?" the
colonel said reminding that the Azerbaijani side has refused to
conduct monitoring in the Chinar village.

"We try to open an answering fire only at the worst case, and I can
say that we answer when it is really needed," mentioned A. Manukyan.

MONT TO REDUCE FIGURE OF PIRATED PRODUCTS IN ARMENIA

Panorama.am
13:31 30/03/2010

Economy

Fresh studies of "Microsoft" in Armenia recorded 97% of software
pirated products in the local market. What is the vision of MONT
Company to deal with that tumor in Armenia?

"We’re going to fight against pirated software joint with the
producers. The producers have founded a special commit, like "Microsoft
Armenia" did, which holds special events joint with Intellectual
property agency against pirated products," MONT Chief Manager of
Armenian representation Ruben Yesayan said.

He added all those companies which would be represented by MONT in
Armenia would fight against pirated market.

"We’ll try reduce pirated software figure making it 80% from 97%,"
Yesayan said.

13:41 22/03/2010 » Region
Turkish actress receives death threats over pronouncing genocide

Turkish actress Pelin Batu pronounced the word genocide when speaking
about 1915 events carried out in the Ottoman Empire at a
Haberturk-aired program, bringing the program co-authors Murat
Bardakchi and Erhan Afyoncui into fury.

The Turkish actress appeared to be in hazard due to her expression,
Hurriyet reported. Batu said, she received death threats over
pronouncing the word genocide.
Note that with her mother being of Albanian decent, Pelin Batu is the
daughter of a resigned Turkish diplomat and former parliamentarian
Inal Batu.

Source: Panorama.am

DAY OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH

16:59:39 – 25/03/2010
hos17297.html

On March 25, in the `Asparez’ Journalists’ club, the Day of Freedom of
Speech was celebrated which traditionally is celebrated in Gyumri
since hundreds of thousands of citizens united around one idea to
support the GALA TV which was attacked by several wings of the
government.

The Day of Freedom of Speech and the Asparez club pointed out the work
of a number of journalists and press means awarding them with
souvenirs.

Tatul Hakobyan for his `Green and Black’ book, ,
journalist Voskan Sargsyan, Photo reporter Gagik Shamshyan journalist
Armenuhi Vardanyan, ,

SCR and Georgian railway develop joint measures to improve quality of
transport services

2010-03-26 11:40:00

ArmInfo. Meeting of representatives of SCR CJSC and Georgian Railway
LLC, headed by Director Generals Shevket Shaydullin and Irakli
Ezugbaiya was held on March 22-23 in Tbilisi. The parties discussed a
wide circle of issues concerning freight and passenger traffic,
information and communication technologies. SCR CJSC and Georgian
Railway LLC agreed to create a working group to deal with marketing
analysis and specification of measures on increasing the freight
traffic between Georgia and Armenia. Organization of the upcoming
seasonal communication Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan has become the key topic
of the meeting. The parties agreed to form one train of the Georgian
Railways LLC registration and two trains of SCR CJSC registration, one
of which should be formed via switching of a passenger train of SCR
CJSC registration of Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan direction to the
interstate communication Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan. The parties also
agreed to vest 80% of "to and from" tickets for the passenger trains
Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan in SCR CJSC. Participants in the meeting paid
special to the issue of reduction of the travel time of
Yerevan-Tbilisi train. Heads of the companies emphasized the
importance of experience and information exchange for further
deepening of cooperation, as well as creation of fairness and
competitiveness for both parties for improvement of quality of
transport services.

SCR CJSC is the 100 percent subsidiary of Russian Railways CJSC. In
February 2008 SCR obtained a concession of the state CJSC Armenian
Railway. The agreement of concession of the Armenian Railroad CJSC for
30 years with a 10-year renewable period was signed in Yerevan in
February 2008.

Reddit.com and Breadpig founder tells about promotion of ideas on the web

25.03.2010 21:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A well-known social entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian from
the U.S. met on March 25 with representatives of nongovernmental
organizations in Armenia. "There are many problems in the world: it is
necessary to focus your audience on a specific group or a
person,’Alexis Ohanian said. Alexis Ohanian is also known as
co-founder of news aggregator reddit.com.

In 2007, Alexis Ohanian founded a social enterprise Breadpig for sale
of amusing things. All proceeds from the sales he directed to
construction of schools. Breadpig sold 25 000 copies of its last
product Book xkcd. Over the last 2 years the company has provided to
charity about $ 100 000.

The meeting was organized by "Professionals for Civil Society" NGO,
the successor of the USAID program "Development of NGO sector in
Armenia".

STRUGGLE OF "TEAMMATES" GETTING TENSER

March 23, 2010

The statements of the former minister of foreign affairs of Armenia
Vardan Oskanyan regarding the current unfavorable situation of the
regulation of the NKR conflict have created a real panic within the
government. Oskanyan has said that Armenia has appeared in the same
phase as in 1998 and one of the ways of overcoming the crisis is the
change of the government. Especially the last thought has originated
the anger of the RPA members, who have without lingering responded
to the statements of Oskanyan. "He had been our teammate for 10 years.

Oskanyan, Robert Kocharyan and others are our teammates. We are
continuing the policy of Robert Kocharyan, Oskanyan and why not
even Serzh Sargsyan’s policy but we are being criticized because
they are not in the government any more. Why shall we resign if we
have turned our country into a serious factor in the world?" stated
the RPA deputy-chair Razmik Zohrabyan. Oskanyan has been making
such criticizing statements for over a year now but we have never
responded to those. The governmental wing has been ignoring those. It
is obvious that this "sentiment" of the RPA members is stipulated by
the possible return of Kocharyan into politics. This means that the
government is feeling fear in this regard. Perhaps it is no accident
that the government feels certain hazard in that. It is no accident
that among the ones, who responded to the statements of Oskanyan
was also Edward Sharmazanov, RPA spokesperson. This means that in
this affair are in charge those RPA members, who are responding
to the statements of the Armenian National Congress and the first
president Levon Ter-Petrosyan in an online mode. By the way, in an
"interesting coincidence" Oskanyan’s remarks were heard only after the
famous announcement of the chair of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik
Tsarukyan addressed to the minister of economy Nerses Yeritsyan. So
we may say that the RPA-Kocharyan conflict is entering a new phase.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE
March 25, 2010
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

TWENTY-SEVEN REPRESENTATIVES JOIN WITH PALLONE IN CALLING FOR U.S.-
NAGORNO KARABAGH DIALOGUE; INCREASED ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA AND
ARTSAKH

— Bipartisan Group of Legislators Co-sign Letter to House Foreign
Aid Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, DC – With Congressional appropriators in the early
stages of crafting the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) foreign aid bill,
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) was
joined by 27 of his U.S. House colleagues in urging the inclusion
of a series of provisions aimed at strengthening U.S. ties to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and bolstering the prospects for a
lasting regional peace, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

"We want to thank Representative Pallone for his leadership and to
express our appreciation to each of his colleagues who joined in
this effort, including, of course, Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Mark
Kirk, for helping to ensure that the foreign aid bill properly
reflects America’s support for Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh," said
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look forward to working
toward the adoption of the vital foreign aid priorities outlined in
this letter."

In a March 22nd letter to Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), a longstanding supporter of the U.S.-
Armenia relationship, and Ranking Republican Kay Granger (R-TX),
lawmakers cited six key foreign aid priorities, including:

— Increasing U.S. assistance to Armenia to $70 million in Fiscal
Year 2011.

— Directing USAID to spend $10 million in Fiscal Year 2011 for
humanitarian and development programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

— Enhancing Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to
Azerbaijan by narrowing presidential waiver authority of the
measure.

— Upholding the Committee’s long-standing tradition of maintaining
parity in military funding between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which
includes $4 million in FMF and $1 million in IMET funding for
Armenia in Fiscal Year 2011.

— Ending restrictions on travel, contacts, and the free exchange
of ideas between U.S. officials and the democratically elected
leaders of Nagorno Karabakh.

— Requesting language urging Azerbaijan to support confidence-
building measures that facilitate interaction among the parties, in
order to address regional security, resource management,
infrastructure, development and people to people programs.

Joining Rep. Pallone in cosigning the letter were Joe Baca (D-CA),
Bruce Braley (D-IA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna
Eshoo (D-CA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Elton
Gallegly (R-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Mark Kirk
(R-IL), James Langevin (D-FL), Frank Lobiondo (R-NJ), Stephen Lynch
(D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-FL), Ed Markey (D-MA), James McGovern
(D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), George
Radanovich (R-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD),
Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Tim Walz (D-MN), Henry
Waxman (D-CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

The full text of the letter is provided below.

#####

March 22, 2010

The Honorable Nita Lowey
Chairwoman
Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations
Room HB-26, The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kay Granger
Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations
1016 Longworth House Office
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger:

As you prepare the Fiscal Year 2011 State-Foreign Operations and
Related Programs Appropriations bill, we write in strong support of
U.S. assistance to Armenia and other aid related provisions that
contribute to peace and stability in the Caucasus region. We
respectfully request that you consider the following requests
listed in priority order:

Economic Assistance to Armenia

The people of Armenia continue to face the devastating impact of
Turkey and Azerbaijan’s dual blockades, illegal actions that
according to World Bank estimates from several years ago cost
Armenia roughly $720 million annually. As Armenia continues to
display commitment to ending the blockade and Turkey continues to
include preconditions that threaten the integrity of current
negotiations, the U.S. should continue its important support of
Armenia.

Until the recent world economic crisis, Armenia regularly
registered double-digit growth and has been consistently cited as
among the most free economies in the region by the Wall Street
Journal and the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom.
Our assistance programs have played a vital role in promoting this
progress, as well as in the development of Armenia’s democratic
institutions, an effort that has seen substantial advancement.

We respectfully request that you include language within the
Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia Account ensuring
that not less than $70 million is appropriated for Armenia in
Fiscal Year 2011.

Assistance to Nagorno Karabakh

The U.S. assistance program to Nagorno Karabakh, has played a
critical role in meeting needs among the population. Assistance
should be directed by Congress and the Administration, to continue
work that supports both humanitarian and development priorities.
We respectfully request language directing USAID to spend $10
million in Fiscal Year 2011 for humanitarian and development
programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

Enhancing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act

Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act continues to stand as a
powerful provision of U.S. law in principled opposition to
Azerbaijan’s blockade and other aggressive uses of force against
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

As recently as November 21, 2009, President Aliyev said that
"Azerbaijan is spending billions on buying new weapons, hardware,
[and] strengthening its position at the line of contact." To make
the threat explicit he added, "We have the full right to liberate
our land by military means." The statement came just one day before
a face to face meeting between President Aliyev and President
Sarkisian to continue ongoing peace talks. The statement is one of
many over the years by President Aliyev designed to disrupt the
ongoing OSCE peace process and which threatens regional stability.

As you know, the Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations
Act created a broad waiver authority that opened the door to
military assistance to Azerbaijan. In light of Azerbaijan’s
behavior, and as a contribution to the cause of a lasting and
equitable negotiated peace, we urge you to narrow this presidential
waiver as follows:

The President may waive section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act if
he determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations
that to do so–

(A) the assistance is necessary to support United States efforts to
counter international terrorism, or to support the operational
readiness of United States Armed Forces or coalition partners to
counter international terrorism;

(B) the assistance will not undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to
negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan or
be used for offensive purposes against Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh;
and

(C) in the last fiscal year, Azerbaijan has not taken hostile
action, either through military force or incitement, including but
not limited to threatening pronouncements by government officials,
toward Armenia or Nagorno Karabakh and has demonstrated its
commitment to a lasting peace with Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

Assuming all conditions of this new waiver authority can be met,
and military assistance is provided to Azerbaijan, we urge you to
uphold the Committee’s long-standing tradition of maintaining
parity in funding between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Military Assistance to Armenia

The U.S.-Armenia military relationship continues to expand in scope
and depth, building upon Armenia’s cooperation in anti-terrorism
efforts and its deployment of forces to both Iraq and Kosovo.
Armenia also recently approved a military deployment to Afghanistan
in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
mission. Armenia has entered into a NATO Individual Partnership
Action Plan (IPAP) and has worked closely with both NATO and the
Defense Department on a range of bilateral and multilateral
agreements, joint training programs, and military exercises.
Following the Russian-Georgian conflict, Armenia was the first
country to host a NATO exercise in the South Caucasus which
included more than 1,000 servicemen from 18 nations.

Past U.S. military aid has played a vital role in modernizing
Armenia’s armed forces, strengthening the principle of civilian
control, promoting increased NATO interoperability, and supporting
the growth of Armenia’s peacekeeping capabilities.

With these priorities in mind, we respectfully request that you
include $4 million in FMF and $1 million in IMET funding for
Armenia in Fiscal Year 2011.

Removing restrictions on contacts and communication with Nagorno
Karabakh

The time has come for ending restrictions on travel, contacts, and
the free exchange of ideas between U.S. officials and the
democratically elected leaders of Nagorno Karabakh. These outdated
restrictions stand in the way of greater mutual understanding,
hinder direct oversight of U.S. assistance programs, limits
cooperation on regional priorities, such as public health and anti-
narcotics efforts, undermine our effectiveness in promoting
democracy, and ultimately place artificial limits on our diplomatic
and civil society efforts to bring about a fair and durable peace.

We respectfully request that that the following report language be
included in the bill.

"In the interest of promoting mutual understanding, regional
cooperation, and a fair and lasting peace, the Committee directs
the Department of State, to remove any official or unofficial
restrictions on U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh travel, visitations,
discussions, meetings, contacts, consultations, exchange programs,
or other governmental or civil society communication, cooperation,
or interaction.

Furthermore, in order that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict come to a
peaceful resolution through the OSCE Minsk Process it is vitally
important that representatives from Nagorno Karabakh be included in
the negotiations. Although, Nagorno Karabakh was formerly
officially included they have not since had a part in the ongoing
international negotiations aimed at determining their future. We
request that the Committee include report language that recognizes
the importance of including representatives of Nagorno Karabakh in
the ongoing Minsk Process.

Confidence Building Measures

As in years past, the Subcommittee has also provided funding for
confidence-building measures to help facilitate a peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In order to
facilitate peace, we recommend that these funds continue to be made
available for increased cooperation among Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Karabakh. In particular, we respectfully request language urging
Azerbaijan to support confidence-building measures that facilitate
interaction among the parties, in order to address regional
security, resource management, infrastructure, development and
people to people programs.

Thank you for your leadership on the Appropriations Subcommittee on
State-Foreign Operations and Related Programs. We are grateful for
your role in strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and
Armenia and on all the issues we have raised. We appreciate your
consideration of these requests.

Sincerely,