Author: Hovsep Chakrian

Massis Post – “Why Does Turkey Deny the Armenian Genocide?” will be addressed in a talk by Clark University doctoral candidate Ümit Kurt at 7:30PM on Wednesday, February 10, in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus. The lecture is the third in the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2016 Lecture Series, with the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

One of the most important—and possibly the most sensitive—landmarks of modern Turkish history and the formation of Turkey’s political and socio-cultural climate is the Armenian Genocide. By the same token, this issue is a taboo in Turkish political history. The question widely asked is “Why does Turkey deny the Armenian Genocide?” This question should be examined at two levels: state and society. It is correct to say that there has been a strong state denialism of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Yet, one should also bear in mind that this strong state denialism has also been supported and reinforced by different sections of society. In this lecture, Kurt will analyze societal dimensions of Turkish denialism of Armenian genocide and also explore the reasons behind Turkey’s inability to come to terms with its past.

Ümit Kurt is a PhD. Candidate at Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program in the History Department of Clark University and completing his dissertation. He has written extensively on confiscation of Armenian properties, Armenian Genocide, early modern Turkish nationalism, and Aintab Armenians. He is the author of the Great, hopeless Turkish race: fundamentals of Turkish nationalism in the Turkish homeland 1911-1916 (Istanbul: Iletisim Publishing House, 2012) and editor of the Revolt and Destruction: Construction of the state from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic and collective violence (Istanbul: Tarih Vakfi Publishing House, 2015). He teaches history at Sabanci University in Istanbul and is the author, with Taner Akçam, of The spirit of the laws: the plunder of wealth in the Armenian Genocide (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015).

Azerbaijan imposed some limits on foreign currency outflows in a package of measures adopted by parliament on Tuesday to prop up the oil producer’s depreciating manat currency, reports.

Rising prices have stirred protests rarely seen in a country where oil money and well-equipped security forces have long ensured public loyalty to President Ilham Aliyev.

The manat has lost about a third of its value against the dollar in the past month and the central bank has burned through more than half its foreign currency reserves, which now stand at about $5 billion, trying to protect its value from low oil prices. Oil and gas account for 75 percent of the Azeri state’s revenues.

Azerbaijan’s 10-year dollar bond, which matures in 2024, rose 0.45 cents to trade at 90.08 cents as the government acted to contain the crisis. The bond’s yield premium over safe-haven U.S. Treasuries narrowed 11 basis points to 582 bps.

Central bank chief Elman Rustamov said the government would impose limits on foreign currency outflows and introduce a 20 percent tax on currency exports related to direct investment, the purchase of real estate or securities abroad.

The problems may spur consolidation in Azerbaijan’s banking sector and Rustamov said five or seven of the country’s banks may have to merge.

The central bank had already received requests to approve several mergers, he told reporters, saying international financial institutions had shown some interest in getting involved. There are 42 lenders with banking licences in Azerbaijan.

Astronomers have seen what could be the most powerful supernova ever detected, the BBC reported.

The exploding star was first observed back in June last year but is still radiating vast amounts of energy.

At its peak, the event was 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova, making it shine with 570 billion times the brightness of our Sun.

Researchers think the explosion and ongoing activity have been boosted by a very dense, highly magnetised, remnant object called a magnetar.

This object, created as the supernova got going, is probably no bigger than a major city, such as London, and is likely spinning at a fantastic rate – perhaps a thousand times a second.

On December 3, the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states was held in Belgrade under the chairmanship of Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, the Chairman of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers.

The ministers discussed the process of implementation of decisions made at the session of the Collective Security Council on September 2015, as well as issues of coordination of foreign policy of the CSTO member states.

The members of the CSTO Foreign Ministers’ Council discussed issues on the agenda of the 22nd Ministerial Council of the OSCE member states.

The participants exchanged views on the issues impacting the global and regional security, the fight against terrorism.

The current situation, which resulted after the shooting down by the Turkish armed forces of the Russian SU-24 plane, which was carrying out an anti-terrorist military operation in Syria, was touched upon. In that context Minister Nalbandian noted that the shooting down of the plane is a serious blow to the consolidation of the efforts of international community in its fight against terrorism and to the political settlement in Syria.

The CSTO Foreign Ministers approved the agenda of the Collective Security Council, which will be held in Moscow in December, as well as exchanged views on the activities of the CSTO statutory bodies.

The City Council of Italy’s L’Aquila recognized the Armenian Genocide on November 26, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

In letters addressed to the Armenian Embassy in Italy and the Union of Armenians of Italy, L’Aquila Mayor Massimo Cialente informed that the City Council of Cialente recognizes the Armenian Genocide on its centennial and expresses its solidarity with the Armenian people as a confirmation of protection of historic truth and human rights.

By Ara Khachatourian

Last month, comedian Conan O’Brien announced that he would be taking his late-night talk show on the road to Armenia. After a five-day trip, the episode will air on Tuesday, November 17 on Conan, which airs on TBS.

Ahead of Tuesday’s show, in a phone interview Friday, O’Brien discussed his experience in Armenia and producing the episode saying: “I’ve been making television for 22 year and this episode is one thing I am most proud of.”

He explained that the genesis of the show dates back six years when he moved to Los Angeles and hired Sona Movsesian as his assistance. She said she grew up in Montebello, where she attended the Armenian Mesrobian School, learning the language, culture and history of Armenians. She had never traveled to Armenia and said that she was able to experience what she had grown up hearing about from her family, school and community.

“It was amazing,” said Movsesian. “I felt a stong sense of appreciation and the people remind me of my uncles and aunts.”

“She [Movsesian] has been a big part of the show—and my life. She’s a very funny and colorful person,” explained O’Brien who said that over the years Movsesian had spoken about Armenia and being Armenian, so after the success of an episode from Cuba, which aired earlier this year, he decided to travel to Armenia to do his show from there.

In preparation for his trip to Armenia, O’Brien visited Sona’s family in their Los Angeles home.

“I wanted to talk to them and say that Sona misbehaves and watches too much American television… I am concerned about her and want to take to Armenia,” said O’Brien, adding that her parents had a long list of things that they wanted him to bring back, such as dried apricots, cognac, paintings and rugs.

Sona’s grandmother, who O’Brien said spoke very little English, told him, ”Bring back a man—I want her to marry an Armenian.”

Describing the trip as an “adventure,” O’Brien said that he took an Armenian language class with Anahit Keshishian, who taught him some words and phrases that he could use while in Armenia. He said people thought that it was funny when he spoke Armenian. He was surprised and impressed that young people in Armenia spoke English very well and recognized him, because they watched his show on YouTube.

He called Tuesday’s episode a “travelogue and a little bit of a scavenger hunt,” describing his experiences in the Armenian countryside of mingling with shepherds and trying his hand in herding sheep. He also learned how to weave a rug.

“I got her [Sona’s] parents a rug,” he said, adding that “you have to watch” to see whether he brought a man back for Sona.

The Dizidzernagepert Genocide Memorial Monument, O’Brien said “was the most powerful part of the show,” saying it was very moving to walk up toward the memorial.

“I haven’t quite done television like that. I thought it was very real. I am proud of the whole show,” said O’Brien. “It’s a very human story.”

Seeing Mount Ararat was another emotional experience that O’Brien and his team experienced. “It was like a painting,” he said recounting how the deeper they drove into the countryside the more powerful the image of the mountain was.

He thought Yerevan was a big city with buildings that clearly reflected the Soviet era, with the traditional churches and modern constructions adding to “the different textures” of the city.

While in Yerevan, O’Brien was a guest on a local comedy show and also made a cameo appearance on a locally-produced soap opera, playing a gangster with one line of dialogue: “Herika—enough.”

He also learned traditional Armenian dances. “There were these very beautiful professional Armenian dancers who were laughing at me,” said O’Brien, who learned the dances at the foot of the Garni Temple, where afterward the dancers performed.

“Trust me. No one makes a worse Armenian man than I do. It was really fun to do that,” he said adding that the episode has already aired in Armenia.

He said he would “definitely go back and hang out” in Armenia again because the five days he had there were not enough. “I was very impressed with how people were in Armenia,” he said, discussing his encounters with young people, including some Armenians who had settled there from Syria who knew of him and his show, because they followed him on YouTube. “The Armenian people were great. Very friendly.”

O’Brien said he wanted Armenians and non-Armenians to watch the episode to experience the “humor sweetness and solemn moments” that he had in Armenia.

The Armenia episode of Conan airs on Tuesday on TBS.

Photo by Lluis Gene, AFP

 

Catalonia’s regional government on Monday voted in favor of a resolution to split from Spain, launching a so-called roadmap towards independence which the central government in Madrid has vowed to block, Reuters reports.

The declaration on secession, the first step which pro-independence parties hope will lead to the northeastern region splitting from Spain within 18 months, was backed by a majority in the regional parliament.

Parties favoring independence from Spain won a majority of seats in the Catalan regional election in September. The Spanish constitution does not allow any region to break away, however, and the center-right government of Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy, facing a general election in December, has said it will immediately seek to block the resolution in the courts.

The representatives of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan agreed on multilateral cooperation, an interstate system for space monitoring of emergency situations, as well as an interregional satellite communication system, according to Roscosmos, Sputnik News reports.

A protocol on CIS countries cooperation that includes an agreement to establish a Joint Institute for Space Research, was signed on Friday, Russia’s Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said.

“One of the key decisions is the agreement of the partners to start preparing a project on the establishment of an international intergovernmental research organization [called the] Joint Institute for Space Research,” the statement reads.

The space agency noted that the final protocol was signed in Minsk, Belarus, following a two-day meeting of representatives from the CIS countries’ executive authorities devoted to the cooperation in space.

According to Roskosmos, the representatives of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan agreed to create a new contract-legal basis for multilateral cooperation, an interstate system for space monitoring of emergency situations, as well as an interregional satellite communication system.

On Thursday, the sixth conference devoted to cooperation in space for CIS countries opened in Minsk. The main objective of the event is to discuss acute issues of multilateral interaction in the sphere of research and how space can be used in the interest of CIS member states.

On October 18, the annual fundraiser of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund took place in Toronto, organized by the local chapter of the foundation with the support of the Embassy of Armenia in Canada.

Ambassador of Armenia to Canada Armen Yeganian, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Canada, Bishop Abgar Hovakimyan, members of clergy, non-government sector, politicians, journalists, numerous members of the Armenian community were present at the event. The guest of honour of the night was the priest of Dadivank Monastery, previously of Gandzasar Monastery, Reverend Father Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, who recalled episodes from the Artsakh liberation war.

In his speech Ambassador Yeganian emphasized, that the Armenian nation has its input in the development not only of its Motherland, but also of many countries around the globe, and that Armenia and Artsakh are advancing in many spheres. “Emphasizing the work of “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund, let me underline the success of its Toronto Chapter, which for many years showcases its strength, endurance and the ability to achieve higher grounds”, Ambassador stressed.

The record-breaking amount of over 700.000 dollars was raised during the evening, which will be directed at the realization of several important projects in Artsakh.