Author: Jalatian Sonya

SARÝIBRAHIMOÐLU AND ÞÝK ACQUITTED FROM 301 CASE

Today’s Zaman
April 4 2008
Turkey

A Today’s Zaman columnist and her co-defendant were acquitted yesterday
of charges of insulting the military under the infamous Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which also penalizes the denigration of
"Turkishness."

Judge Ruveyde Kaner and prosecutor Suleyman Aydýn of the Bakýrkoy
Second Court of First Instance in Ýstanbul decided to acquit
Today’s Zaman writer and Jane’s Defence Weekly correspondent Lale
Sarýibrahimoðlu and journalist Ahmet Þýk because they did not carry
any "criminal intentions" to harm any institutions, noting that their
words should instead be evaluated as "harsh criticism."

Minutes from the hearing state: "According to the testimonies of
the defendants, according to the published article and according
to the whole dossier about the case, in the article subject to the
criminal case, indications that ‘some structures and persons in state
institutions have to change their viewpoints’ should be evaluated
in the context of harsh criticism because defendants did not have
criminal intentions. They should be acquitted in accordance with Code
no. 5271 of Criminal Procedure Article 223."

The prosecutor had sought up to three years’ imprisonment for
Sarýibrahimoðlu’s remarks in Þýk’s article, titled "The military
should withdraw its hand from internal security," in the Feb. 8,
2007 edition of the now-closed newsweekly Nokta. The basis for the
case was her remarks regarding media images of the alleged gunman who
shot Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in January of this year:

"While police officers were suspended, military personnel were only
transferred to other posts. When you examine this picture, you see
a concern for protecting not only the personnel, but an institution
— moreover, a mentality. … We saw it once again with the Dink
investigation; there are sordid and rotten ones in each of the three
institutions that should be removed."

In her first hearing, on Oct. 24, Sarýibrahimoðlu denied accusations
that she had insulted the military, asserting that she had criticized
the existence of officers within security institutions harming the
institutions themselves and only a paragraph had been picked up to
wrongly accuse her. She had also said her off-the-record remarks were
included in the article.

On the other hand, Þýk defended himself by saying the article did not
aim to harm the institutions but to criticize them and that his story
was based on his recording of the interview with Sarýibrahimoðlu. He
also said he no longer has the records of the interview because
all of his equipment and notes were taken during a police raid of
the magazine following its publication of some former commanders’
alleged military coup plans against the government. Soon afterward
the owner of Nokta shut the magazine down.

Umit Kardaþ, Sarýibrahimoðlu’s lawyer, said the decision to acquit is
important because it reflects on free speech. "I think Article 301
should be removed, but the acquittal shows it could be interpreted
to allow freedom," he said while speaking to Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 of the TCK has been used to file indictments against
Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, slain journalist Dink and novelist Elif
Þafak. Dink’s son, Arat Dink, and his colleague Serkis Seropyan
also faced trial under Article 301, which criminalizes insulting
Turkishness, the Turkish military and state institutions.

Fikret Ýlkiz, Þýk’s lawyer, said the acquittal speaks for itself.

"The court’s decision is sharp and clear, giving no way to
interpretation. Each acquittal is positive for freedom of speech,"
he told Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 led to 917 cases being brought to court in 2006 and 245
more in 2007. In the same year, 27 cases were overturned by the
Court of Appeals and sent for retrial. There are currently 1,189
cases before the courts for judicial review.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin underlined last week that Turkey
needs to address concerns stemming from Article 301 as trials based
on it cause outrage worldwide. The minister further stressed that
the article should be amended in accordance with European Court of
Human Rights case law and with the principles of freedom of thought
and expression.

–Boundary_(ID_fXq3H6CgbyS7ui9EM64LvA )–

ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH PUBLISHES NEWSPAPER IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.04.2008 14:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With blessing of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin
II, the Armenian Apostolic Church launched publication of Armenian
Church Monthly in Moscow.

"The newspaper will perform an important spiritual and illuminating
mission and will help maintenance of the abundant heritage of our
ancestors among the faithful of the Russian and New Nakhijevan Diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church," His Holiness’ message says.

Articles are published in Russian and Armenian. The newspaper is meant
for various strata of society and offers publications about cultural
and social life of Armenians, ITAR-TASS reports.

BAKU OFFERS TO USE LACHIN PATH WITH COOPERATION WITH CONDITION

Panorama.am
14:58 02/04/2008

The official Baku offers to discuss the possibility of using
Lachin path with cooperation. According to the ANS TV station, the
announcement was made by Araz Azimov, the deputy foreign affairs
minister of Azerbaijan.

Notifying that the path is of great importance for both countries
Azerbaijan and Armenia, the deputy foreign affairs minister made a
proposal to use the path with a condition if it remains in the frame
borders of Azerbaijan.

According to Azimov the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen are aware
of the proposal and the statement can become a point of future
discussions. Lachin path is the only way joining Armenia with Nagorno
Karabakh and by this with the whole world.

The liberation operation of Lachin path took place in May 17-18,
1992. On 18 May the liberation forces of the NKR occupied Lachin and
then entered the frame borders of the RA opening a "humanitarian path"
joining Armenia and Artsakh.

ARF JOINS COALITION AFTER PROTRACTED DELIBERATION

ARMENPRESS
April 2, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: A woman parliament member from the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) said today her party’s
decision to become part of a new coalition government came after
‘protracted and serious ‘ deliberation.

Speaking at a news conference Alvard Petrosian said it was a right
decision. She said her party does not support individuals, but plans
of actions.

"ARF is a party that had to sacrifice a lot. What is important to us
are programs for action and not individuals and the new government
is going to pursue a one that we have been defending over the last
ten years, ‘ she said.

Alvard Petrosian said there is still the atmosphere of evil and
falsehood in the country, but added that all Armenians are relatives
and this should become the starting point for all.

"We have to stand side by side because positions in the government
are not eternal," she said, adding that everything should be done for
a deeper look into what really had happened on March 1-2 in Yerevan
to diffuse lingering suspicions and tensions.

She also said Armenians should not be divided into ‘tribes’ each with
their chieftain.

"There are much more that unites us, than divides and the ultimate
victory belongs to all and not to separate individuals," she said.

At the end of her news conference she welcomed president-elect Serzh
Sarkisian’s decision to make radical changes in the new government.

"There are people who do not accept Serzh Sarkisian, but he is an
extraordinary and interesting personality. I want my country to be
ruled by an extraordinary and not by a plain man.,’ she said.

WALK-MARATHON IN MEMORY OF THE GENOCIDE

AZG Armenian Daily
03/04/2008

Armenian Genocide

Armenians of Philadelphia will organize a walk-marathon in memory of
the Armenian Genocide. The aim of the event is to gather the Armenians
of Philadelphia and call to the authorities for the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide in order similar crimes not to be committed to
any nation.

The walk-marathon will start from Philadelphia Art Museum, Noyan
Tapan reports.

oikotimes.com, Greece
March 29 2008

Sirusho brings promo tour to Georgia

The Armenian representative this year, Sirusho, has made her way to
Georgia as the first stop on her promo tour. The singer, who will
perform Qele Qele in Belgrade, recently finished shooting photos for
both her new CD and website before traveling to Georgia. First up is
the capital city of Tbilisi to begin media promotion, with stops in
Akhalkalaki and Akhaltskhe to follow. More dates for Sirusho’s promo
tour are expected to be announced soon.

GEERT WILDERS’ ANTI-KORAN FILM GOES LIVE ON INTERNET

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.03.2008 13:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ After months of public discussion, a film critical
of the Koran produced by the Dutch politician Geert Wilders was
released on the Internet on Thursday night despite warnings that it
could spark violence.

Entitled "Fitna," the short film intersperses footage of acts of
terrorism with sayings from the Koran and begins with one of the
cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad whose publication in Denmark
provoked large and violent protests in several countries.

Politicians and Muslim leaders have warned against releasing the film,
and broadcasters in the Netherlands refused to screen it. But Wilders –
a member of Parliament and an anti-immigration campaigner who lives
under 24-hour police protection because of his outspoken views on
Islam – argued that he was defending free speech.

"I think Islam and the Koran are a danger for freedom in the
Netherlands in the long term, and I need to warn for that," he told NOS
television on Thursday, arguing that his film was not a "provocation."

"Fitna" was posted on the Internet at 7 p.m. Thursday via a site
called LiveLeak and, according to the NRC Handelsblad Web site,
received 1.2 million hits within an hour. LiveLeak later proved unable
to deal with the volume of traffic.

Before it begins, viewers are warned that they may see shocking images,
including pictures of terrorist attacks in New York and Madrid. The
film, about 16 minutes long, quotes several verses attributed to the
Koran that appear to suggest violence toward non-Muslims, including
a warning that "those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast
them in fire."

"Fitna" – Arabic for "ordeal" – ends with pages being turned, followed
by the sound of tearing. This, says text on the screen, was the sound
of a page being torn from a phone book, adding: "It is not up to me,
but up to the Muslims themselves to tear the spiteful verses from
the Koran."

The Dutch government has warned that a film offensive to Muslims
could lead to violence in Islamic countries similar to that of two
years ago when Danish embassies were attacked in protests against
the publication of cartoons, the AP reports.

S. DEMIRCHIAN: "OVERCOMING OF THE CRISIS DEMANDS POLITICAL SOLUTIONS"
By Marietta Khachatrian

AZG Armenian Daily
28/03/2008

Post-election

"The authorities should understand that it is not possible to overcome
this crisis by repressive methods. Vice versa, the gap between the
authorities and the society is getting wider. The problem is not
between persons and political forces; it is between the authorities
and the society. And it’s a self-deception that they have 70 percent
support of the society", said Wednesday Chairman of People’s Party
of Armenia (PPA) Stepan Demirchian in an interview to "A1+".

According to him, it is necessary to separate people who committed
crimes from those who expressed their political position. At the same
time the people who committed forgery and violence should be punished.

According to PPA Chairman, today’s parliament does not reflect public
mood, and the created crisis is possible to overcome only by just
elections.

The authorities don’t take real steps of dialogue, though it’s evident
that overcoming of the crisis demands political solutions. According
to S. Demirchian, one of those real steps is to stop political
persecutions, willfulness and illegality.

GROWTH OF LABOR RESOURCES REGISTERED IN NKR

DeFacto Agency
March 27 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 27.03.08. DE FACTO. According to the information DE FACTO
received at the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic National Statistic Service,
in 2007 labor resources in the Nagorno-Karabakh made 82,6 thousand
peoples, which is 1,6% more than the level of 2006. The number
of economically active population, which includes both employed
and unemployed citizens, made 59, 1 thousand people, which is 1,5%
more as compared with the index of 2006. According to January, 2008,
the number of citizens employed in economy made 56, 1 thousand people
vs. 54, 6 thousand people for the same date of 2007. Last year the
employed population~Rs average monthly salary made 68,610 drams (growth
is 21%), the salary of the budget sphere~Rs employees is 77 235 drams
(growth 20, 2%), non-budget sphere ~V 62,641 drams (growth is 21, 8%).

IN HARMONY

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
March 27, 2008

Independent MP Roustam Gasparyan yesterday announced that hereafter
he will act in harmony with the principles of "Prosperous Armenia"
political party and parliamentary faction.

"Since the ‘NA regulations-law’ does not give the independent MPs
the opportunity to become a member of any parliamentary faction, I
announce that as a member of ‘Prosperous Armenia’ party, my activity
as an MP will hereafter be in harmony with the activity of ‘Prosperous
Armenia’ party and faction both inside and outside the Parliament,"
R. Gasparyan says in his statement.