Author: Jalatian Sonya

U. ARIZONA PROFESSOR ACQUITTED OF CHARGES IN TURKEY
By Natasha Bhuyan, Arizona Daily Wildcat; SOURCE: U. Arizona
Arizona Daily Wildcat, Univ. of Arizona
September 22, 2006 Friday
In a move hailed as a victory for freedom of speech, a Turkish court
acquitted Elif Shafak, a University of Arizona assistant professor in
Near Eastern Studies, saying there was no evidence that she “insulted
Turkishness” in one of her novels, according to the Associated Press.
UA Provost George Davis said he felt tremendous relief about the
decision.
“It’s joyful that this is happening,” Davis said. “I wrote letters
(to the Turkish government) to underscore the importance of extending
to her the kind of freedom of expression and living that we want
everyone to possess.”
The trial ended 1 1/2 hours after it began, with Judge Irfan Adil
ruling that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that Shafak
committed a crime.
Shafak, 35, gave birth to a girl, Sehrazat Zelda, on Saturday and did
not attend the trial as she was still in a hospital in Istanbul. If
convicted, Shafak could have faced three years in prison.
Armenian characters in Shafak’s novel, “The Bastard of Istanbul,”
refer to Turkish butchers who were part of the Armenian genocide in
1915. The massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World
War I is a taboo topic in Turkey.
Shafak was charged under Article 301, which makes public denigration
of Turkishness, the Turkish Republic, the Grand National Assembly,
the government, judiciary, military and security services a crime,
according to the Associated Press.
Shafak’s trial gained international attention, with more than 300
riot police surrounding yesterday’s hearing. The trial came at an
important time for the country, which is under evaluation to join
the European Union.
The EU has warned Turkey that putting writers and journalists on
trial for their speech could hamper its efforts to join the bloc,
according to the Associated Press.
Although Turkey is already a democracy, it’s a country in the process
of developing increased citizen-participation in the government,
said Amy Newhall, director of the Middle East Studies Association
and senior lecturer in Near Eastern Studies.
Whether or not the “insulting Turkishness” law will be changed is up
to the Turkish people, Newhall said.
“Like this country, Turkey has a wide range of opinions, including
extreme conservative,” Newhall said. “Some people see danger in
creative expression.”
Anne Betteridge, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies,
said the trial had a “wonderful outcome” due in part to support from
the community.
Leaders from UA departments wrote several letters in support of
Shafak. The departments included English, Journalism, Middle Eastern
Studies, and even a letter from provost Davis on behalf of the entire
university.
Shafak believed the letters would make an enormous difference,
Betteridge said.
Fenton Johnson, an associate professor of English who led a
letter-writing campaign, said this is evidence that the community
can influence international situations and encourage more people to
become involved.
“At a time when there’s a lot of apathy about such things, this shows
such campaigns do have an impact,” Johnson said.
Davis, who has traveled to Turkey, said although people criticize
aspects of higher education in America such as faculty tenure, it is
important to have academic freedom.
“Faculty can not be reckless, but they need to explore topics that
are sensitive politically, culturally,” Davis said. “They are an
appropriate part of discourse.”
Betteridge said Shafak will return to the UA in fall 2007.
Newhall, who was part of the hiring committee that selected Shafak,
said although Shafak views Turkish history in a realistic way, she
cares deeply about her country.
“Her activism is bound up in her love of her country,” Newhall said.
“She is critical of her country, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t
love it.”

Genocide case still stuck in court
By Jillian Fennimore/ Staff Writer
Community News Company
Friday, September 22, 2006
Oral arguments were heard for the first time on the motion to dismiss
the case of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations and its
lawsuit against the Massachusetts’s Department of Education’s
curriculum guide concerning the teaching of the Armenian genocide.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf presided over the
courtroom on Monday, and has yet to make a ruling regarding
procedural issues and merits within the case.
As a result of last year’s lawsuit, involving a Lincoln-Sudbury
High School history teacher and high school senior, along with
another teacher and ATAA, the Armenian Assembly of America filed an
amicus curiae – friend of the court – brief in support of defending
the rights to teach the genocide history in the schools.
According to a press release, the ATAA lawsuit asserts that a
decision to remove materials of genocide denial in the school
curriculum amounts to “censoring” and therefore would be a violation
of the First Amendment.
The Lincoln-Sudbury High School teacher, Bill Schecter, and
senior Ted Griswold argue that the Turkish perspective in the
teaching of 1915 slayings of approximately 1.5 million Armenians
during their deportation from Turkey were deleted from curriculum
guidelines.
Their perspective is that the Armenian Genocide never occurred,
even though genocidal historians fully acknowledge that it did occur.
Harvey Silvergate, an attorney representing the ATAA, said he is
hopeful of the outcome because the judge was very precise in hearing
all the facts.
“It’s unusual to have a judge hear a motion like this for so
long,” he said about the 2 1/2-hour session. “He has a very serious
consideration for this.”
Silvergate estimates that a ruling will be made within weeks.
But voices from the other side say the lawsuit is an act of
rewriting history and is just wrong.
“The state’s curriculum ensures that the lessons of the
Holocaust, Armenian Genocide, Irish Famine and other crimes against
humanity are not forgotten and thus taught in classrooms,” said Scott
Ferson, spokesman for the Armenian Assembly of America.
Arnold Rosenfeld, an attorney representing the Armenian Assembly
of America, said there are three basic procedural issues the judge
could rule on, regarding whether or not the lawsuit meets the statute
of limitations, is qualified as discrimination, or has standing,
“They really did not show that they had been harmed,” Rosenfeld
said about the plaintiff’s case.
Anthony Barsamian, Armenian Assembly Board of Directors chairman,
labeled the lawsuit as “disingenuous” and without clout, only moving
forward to create controversy.
“We will just keep muddying this thing up,” he said. “I just
think that is unfortunate.”
He said he has been pleased by the response of community members
and the interest in joining the coalition to seek a positive outcome.
Depending on the judge’s ruling, the case could be dismissed,
appealed or continued into a discovery hearing.
Jillian Fennimore can be reached at [email protected].

Armenian charge d’affairs underlines his county’s desire to develop ties with Syria
SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria
Thursday, September 21, 2006 – 12:55 PM
DAMASCUS , (SANA) – Armenian acting Charge d’affair in Damascus Karen
Krikorian underlined Thursday the deep-rooted relations connecting
Syria and Armenia, expressing his country’s desire to develop ties
with Syria.
During a celebration organized by the Armenian embassy on the occasion
of Armenia’s national day, Krikorian pointed out to the continuous
progress in the Syrian-Armenian relations in all fields, calling for
activating the agreements signed between the two sides particularly
in the economic spheres and increasing trade exchange between them.
A.Zeitoun / Idelbi

CIS officials to discuss information security in Tashkent
UzReport.com, Uzbekistan
21.09.2006 14:54:18
The fourth session of Commission on Regional Commonwealth in
communication sphere will be held in Tashkent on 28-29 September. The
commission will focus on information security during its Tashkent
meeting.
The session will consider draft programme on ensuring information
security and proposals on its implementation, draft plan on development
of regulative documents in information security, current state and
problems in information security in CIS countries.
The commission will discuss issue son introduction of e-signature in
state bodies within the CIS area.
The commission on information security carries out work on development
of recommendations on interaction of participants of Coordination
council in information security on analysis of international
experience, modern technical means and information technologies,
development of proposals on legal basis.
The commission also assists to exchange experience in
creation of system and means of information security in
information-telecommunication systems and networks. The commission
considers issues on state of protection of interstate ICT systems,
networks, resources, technologies, means and develop recommendations
on improvement of their work.
It is expected that representatives of informatization administration
of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldavia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine will attend the meeting.

AFI FEST Sets “Bobby” for Opening Night and Unveils 13 World Premieres
Indiewire.com
September 20, 2006
Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby,” the story of the night Robert F. Kennedy was
assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968, will open
the 2006 AFI FEST, the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival,
much of the large ensemble cast from the film are expected to attend
the opening night at the festival. Also announced were 13 of the films
that will have their world premieres at the 2006 AFI FEST, including
David Cunningham’s “After,” J.B. Rutagarama’s “Back Home,” Chad Lowe’s
“Beautiful Ohio,” David Boyle’s “Big Dreams, Little Tokyo,” Alan
White’s “Broken,” Daniel Jones & Dann Sytsma’s “Comic Evangelists,”
Alante Kavaite’s “Fissures / Ecoute Le Temps,” David Stenn’s “Girl 27,”
Henry Jaglom’s “Hollywood Dreams,” Yokihiko Tsutsumi’s “Memories of
Tomorrow,” Sedika Mojadidi’s “Motherland Afghanistan,” Arnie Williams’
“No Sweat,” and Carla Garapedian’s “Screamers.” The festival will run
from November 1 – 12, 2006, anchored again at the ArcLight Cinemas
in Hollywood. For more information, visit the festival’s website.
[Screamers follows the rock band System of a Down as they tour Europe
and the US pointing out the horrors of modern genocide that began in
Armenia in 1915 up though Darfur today.]

Trend
Today 21.09.2006
Azerbaijan is ready for each format of negotiations in
interests of peace, stability and security in region –
Azeri Foreign Ministry
Source: Trend
Author: A.Ismaylova
20.09.2006
In the interests of peace, stability and security in the region, which
may allow pushing ahead the negotiations, Azerbaijan is ready for
each format of negotiations regarding settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Chief of the Press and Information Policy Department of
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Tahir Tagizade told Trend.
The Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Y.Merzlyakov announced
that the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in
New York will not happen. There have been planned separate meetings
of co-chairs with Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers Elmar
Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan.
According to the Russian co-chair, the meetings with foreign ministers
are scheduled for September 25. They want to resume the direct contacts
between the conflict sides to renew the negotiation process.
Touching up on the statement of the Russian co-chair regarding the
issue that including Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the agenda of the
U.S. Assembly General is counter-productive, Tagizade emphasized
that is not the position of all co-chairs, but concrete opinion of
Russian side.
It should be mentioned that the representatives of GUAM countries
(Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldavia) presented to the voting
of the Assembly General the issue of including a new clause in the
agenda of the 61st session of the U.N. Assembly General. In result,
16 countries, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey, Great
Britain and USA, supported to include the issue in the agenda. At the
same time, 15 countries, including Russia, Algeria, Armenia, Greece,
Indonesia and South Africa, voted against this. 65 states abstained
from voting, and 96 countries were absent in the voting.

GOLD PRICE SLIDES ON WORLD MARKETS, REMAINS HIGH IN GEORGIA
Nino Saginadze
The Georgian Times
September 19.09.2006
Gold prices have been going down in the New York and London stock
exchanges. The price of gold slumped to record lows at $594 USD last
week. Prices are declining on silver as well. Silver costs $11 USD
on the world markets. The price plummet has been brought about by
changes in oil prices and also by low consumer spending due to the
strong dollar.
The drop in the price of gold on the world markets have not affected
prices in Georgia. The price of gold, silver and other metals remain
at the level registered in January 2006. Neither a strong GEL nor oil
prices are having an impact on the metal prices in Georgia. Georgian
stock exchange experts argue that if gold prices remain low on
the world markets it will affect the prices in Georgia in the long
run. However, they add that that may take months.
Given the fluctuating price of the USD and the unstable economic
environment in Georgia, people tend to invest in gold along with
real estate. This is why the demand for gold — and thus the price
of gold — remains high in Georgia. The price of gold in Tbilisi
gold markets are at the same level today as they were in February
when they hit record highs. Currently 1 gram 999 gold costs 40 GEL,
583 gram gold costs 28 GEL.
“We’ve learned that prices on London stock exchange went down, but
I cannot reduce the price,” says Venera Avtandilashvili, a dealer
at the gold market. “I paid a high price for it and cannot afford
to discount it now. Some rings take two or three months to sell and
some even more – 6 months to a year. Therefore, I have to set a high
mark-up now to make a profit. I am standing here all day and have
to add at least a $50 USD mark-up to pay the daily charge here and
to make a profit. Why on earth should I care about world markets? I
have my own business. Therefore, what counts is how much I paid for
the ring rather than how much the ring would cost in London.”
The price changes on the world markets have not benefited buyers but
did bring profits to gold traders. They are making use of the world
trend and are offering lower prices to gold sellers, saying that gold
has became cheaper in the world.
Tbilisi gold markets and exchanges sell mostly Italian, Turkish and
Russian jewelry. Whatever counter you go to, dealers will offer jewelry
pieces produced in these three countries. But in reality gold enters
Georgia from many different corners of the world where most Georgians
have never set foot: from African states, the US, Greece (jewelry
from these countries is mostly brought by Georgian immigrants) and
in great amount from neighboring Armenia. Jewelry produced by local
goldsmiths takes an important share of the market. Local jewelers use
the so called ‘junk’ (raw materials) imported from foreign countries
and produce pieces here.
Buyers are still favouring Russian gold. However, Italian and Turkish
gold is becoming increasingly popular. Their appeal lies in their
modern design and are mostly liked by youth people. After the demand
on the Italian and Turkish gold went up, its price also started going
up and today costs more than Russian gold. Transportation costs are
making the product even more expensive. 1 gram (585 sample) of Italian
and Turkish gold costs 32 GEL. Russian gold is a bit cheaper – 28
GEL. However, the sample indicated on the label of the ring does not
usually show the real concentration of gold in the piece of jewelry,
especially for jewelry produced in local goldsmith’s.
The copper concentration in the jewelry is often higher the norm and
therefore its selling price is much higher its real value.

TIME HAS COME TO GIVE INTERNATIONAL ALARM FOR DEFENDING NKR FROM AGGRESSIVE NEIGHBOR
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2006 13:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Diaspora Third All-Armenian Forum is held
under the conditions of increasing tension around Nagorno Karabakh,
President of the Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) and the World
Armenian Congress (WAC) Ara Abrahamyan stated during the forum. In
his words, “competition” between officials and opposition for the
first place of invasion into NKR has increased in Azerbaijan lately.
The demand of absorption of Karabakh by force is declared as the
basis for unification of the nation.
Talks are held with the General Staff of the Turkish army to coordinate
joint actions, Abrahamyan noted.
President Aliyev states that Armenia has the last chance to accept the
ultimatum voluntarily. Azeri religious leader Allahshukur Pashazadeh
announced his readiness to declare jihad to Armenia.
Clanking with arms, Azeri figures and their foreign sponsors are
captivated by primitive notions on ways to solve inter-state problems,
the UAR leader said.
They deny the opportunity of peaceful settlement based on law and
justice. “Time has come to give international alarm for defending NKR
from its aggressive neighbor. Under the conditions of demonstrative
bellicosity of Azeri figures and denial of conventional legal grounds
of conflict settlement by them, leaders of Armenia have to take
effective measures to secure our Karabakh brothers by recognizing
that the NKR being a subject of international law is a basis for a
compromise solution of that issue,” Abrahamyan underscored.

JUSTICE MINISTER HANDS OVER A MEDAL TO CITIZEN OF FRANCE
Panorama.am
17:36 18/09/06
A medal was ceremonially awarded Monday to Levon Jolakyan, citizen
of France. The medal was awarded by the Armenian prime minister and
was handed over by Davit Harutunyan, minister of justice, justice
ministry spokeswoman Anahit Voskanyan said. The minister praised
Jolakyan’s contribution in Armenia’s membership to Latin Notary
International Union. He also gave credits to Jolakyan’s contribution
in the development of the law on notary and establishment of notary
institute in Armenia. Jolakyan thanked to the Armenian government
for appreciating his contribution in the notary service of Armenia
and expressed readiness to further cooperate.

TRANSDNESTR VOTERS BACK UNION WITH RUSSIA
By Nabi Abdullaev – Staff Writer
Gleb Garanich / Reuters
The Moscow Times
Tuesday, September 19, 2006. Issue 3500. Page 1.
Election official Pyotr Denisenko announcing the referendum results
Sunday.
The vast majority of voters in Moldova’s separatist province of
Transdnestr on Sunday backed independence and eventual unification
with Russia.
More than 97 percent of registered voters supported independence,
according to Transdnestr officials.
About 300,000 voters, or nearly 79 percent of those who are registered,
showed up at the polls.
Only Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia, which held its own
independence vote in 1999, has recognized the referendum.
Still, the vote was a victory for the Kremlin as it seeks to expand
its influence in the former Soviet republics.
“The referendum demonstrated that our society is united in its desire
to become part of Russia,” said Svetlana Antonova, Transdnestr’s
deputy information minister. Antonova spoke by telephone from the
province’s capital of Tiraspol.
Officials in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau and at the European
Union dismissed the referendum. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
praised it, calling the vote “democratic and open.”
Lavrov noted that hundreds of monitors from former Soviet republics
and Europe observed the referendum.
“They could watch the people’s will,” he said.
But Lavrov’s ministry was reluctant to go too far, refraining from
officially acknowledging the controversial vote and commenting on
its results.
Russia earlier pledged to respect Moldova’s territorial integrity.
In Chisinau, meanwhile, Natalya Vishanu, a spokeswoman for Moldovan
President Vladimir Voronin, said in an interview: “We don’t consider
it a referendum, and we don’t accept its outcome.”
The Moldovan government issued a statement Monday saying the referendum
sought to “torpedo” Moldovan unification talks and called on other
countries not to acknowledge the vote.
The European Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe, the continent’s premier human-rights groups, and the EU
also refused to recognize the referendum.
None of this appears to be deterring Transdnestr leaders from taking
steps to integrate with Russia.
Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov said Monday that the province’s
authorities would begin changing the legal code to make it conform
to Russian legislation. He said government bureaucracies would be
reconfigured in the image of Russian ministries and state agencies.
Transdnestr also wants the Russian ruble be the province’s only
official currency, Smirnov said.
The entire integration process is expected to take from five to seven
years, said Valery Litskai, the province’s foreign minister.
“If anyone thinks that Russia is going to acknowledge the referendum,
and that tomorrow everyone in Transdnestr will be granted Russian
citizenship, and Transdnestr will become an integral part of Russia,
I’d have to say this isn’t going to happen,” Litskai said, Interfax
reported.
Transdnestr seceded from Moldova in 1990, as the Soviet Union was still
in the midst of collapsing. A short but bitter war ensued in 1992,
with hundreds killed on both sides. Transdnestr’s population is roughly
equally divided between ethnic Moldovans, Russians and Ukrainians.
Like the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, bordered by Poland, Lithuania
and the Baltic Sea, Transdnestr, which is surrounded by Moldova and
Ukraine, would stand apart from the rest of Russia were it to become
part of the country.
Sunday’s vote strengthens Russia’s hand insofar as other unrecognized
states in the former Soviet Union are concerned, officials and
analysts from Russia and Transdnestr said. All those unrecognized
states, most of which are in the Caucasus, are Russia-leaning.
While Western governments have backed independence for Kosovo and
Montenegro, they have refused to recognize similar bids in Transdnestr;
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in Georgia; and the Nagorno-Karabakh
republic, claimed by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-connected political analyst, said the Kremlin
would seek to leverage Western support for Kosovo’s independence into
Russian recognition of Transdnestr and South Ossetia.
Antonova, the Transdnestr deputy information minister, acknowledged
the referendum’s timing was meant to help Russia.
In recent years, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan have been drifting
out of Moscow’s orbit as they seek closer ties with the West.
“The results of the referendum were predictable, and although they
will not have any real legal consequences related to joining Russia,
nevertheless, this is a signal to the international community that
cannot be ignored,” said Vadim Gustov, head of the Federation Council’s
Committee for CIS Affairs, Interfax reported.
Gustov’s colleagues in the Federation Council and the State Duma voiced
similar views. Duma Deputies Sergei Baburin and Viktor Alksnis went
so far as to propose that Russian authorities establish an official
process for eventually recognizing Transdnestr’s independence.
The bloc of former Soviet republics known as GUAM — Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova — last week managed to insert an item on the
United Nations General Assembly agenda dealing with the so-called
frozen conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Georgian diplomats who spearheaded the move called it a sign of
GUAM’s successful foreign policy, while Lavrov downplayed the inclusion
of the frozen conflicts on the General Assembly’s agenda. Lavrov
noted that 16 member-states voted for inclusion, 15 were against it,
and 65 abstained.
The General Assembly’s 61st session began last week and will run
until mid-September 2007. It was not immediately clear when the frozen
conflicts item would be dealt with by the General Assembly.