Author: Jilavian Emma

"We are all Ogun Samasts"
by Suat Kinikloiglu
Today’s Zaman
Feb. 6, 2007
do?haberno=102021

Indeed, we are all Ogun Samasts — as well as Yasin Hayals and Erhan
Tuncels and all the unknown accomplices of the shameful assassination
of Hrant Dink. Yes, we are.

Only a curious skimming of our newspaper headlines since Jan. 19,
when Hrant was murdered, confirm that some part of this country’s
security bureaucracy feels that his murder was justified. The scandal
surrounding the filming and photographing of Ogun Samast in the
gendarmerie station and the unfolding skirmishes between the police and
the gendarmerie seem to have missed the primary point that should be
addressed. We are trying to identify who murdered Dink, not who leaked
the footage to whom and what is behind it. Every day new information
is emerging from the investigation into the Dink murder. This case
is likely to change the career paths of some of our bureaucrats,
be they governors or police chiefs.

It is most depressing that some members of the police and the
gendarmerie pride themselves on having been photographed with the
prime suspect in the Dink murder. I am sure dozens of explanations
will surface, but they simply will not fly with anyone. The fact
remains that these irresponsible officials disgraced our flag, the
founder of the Turkish Republic and the institutions they represent.
What is more troubling is that they have seriously undermined public
trust in the police and the gendarmerie. Also, it is very troubling to
see that while the four police officers in question have been removed
from their positions and will probably be charged, the four gendarmerie
officials were simply assigned to other locations. Why have they not
been held accountable and simply assigned to other cities? Why will
they not be charged for disgracing our flag or inciting hatred?

Prime Minister Erdogan astutely squared the Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) with his comments on Saturday. In a most responsible and
courageous manner, the prime minister underlined that the "either
you love this country or you leave it" attitude exhibited by the
MHP is racist, exclusionary if not fascist. It is time that these
so-called nationalists are confronted publicly. For too long, this
sort of unacceptable political discourse has been passing without
a challenge.

I believe that the Dink murder and its aftermath has redrawn
the lines of our domestic politics in a most curious manner. The
principled stances of Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister
Gul on the Dink murder once again confirmed that Turkey’s
Muslim democrats, the AK Party, are the only potent force in this
country that can challenge the nationalist-conservative establishment.
Turkey’s Muslim democrats remain the only organized, ideologically
identifiable and motivated political force in this country that can
shepherd change in this country. The key issue here is that this is
also recognized by other progressive forces in this country. It is
in the interest of our democracy that Turkey’s liberals and true
leftists, who care about democratic change and not the status quo,
recognize this strategic fact and work towards an alignment rather
than being bogged down along the secular-Islamist divide. Needless
to say, a smart adjustment to some of the AK Party’s less popular
policies would even further ease this convergence.

This country and particularly its political elite have been seriously
shaken by the murder of Dink. These are difficult times for all of
us. We need to find the courage to separate ourselves from those who
applaud the murder of intellectuals. We need to support the Turkish
media’s persistent quest to unearth the truth behind the murder.
We need to stand up and shout loudly that we are not all Ogun Samasts
but are aspiring for a free, open and transparent Turkey where all
of us, regardless of our ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliations,
can prosper.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February 4, 2007 Sunday
Main Edition

SPOTLIGHT ON: ARMENIA

* Distance between Atlanta and Yerevan: 6,392 miles.

* Time difference between Atlanta and Yerevan: If it’s noon in
Atlanta, it’s 9 p.m. in Armenia.

* Atlantans of Armenian descent: 1,973

* A 1999 Georgia Senate resolution honored the worldwide victims of
genocide and recognized April 24, 1999, as a "Georgia Day of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."

* Armenian National Committee of Georgia (affiliated with the
Armenian National Committee),

* Armenian Church of Atlanta ()

* Armenian Independent Cultural Association of Atlanta
( z.html)

Armenia at a glance

* Size: 11,506 square miles (slightly smaller than Maryland)

* Capital: Yerevan

* Population: 2,976,372

* Population growth rate: -0.19 percent

* Infant mortality: 22.47 deaths/1,000 live births

* Life expectancy: 71.84 years

* Ethnic groups: Armenian, 97.9 percent; Yezidi (Kurd), 1.3 percent;
Russian, 0.5 percent; other, 0.3 percent (2001 census)

* Religious groups: Armenian Apostolic, 94.7 percent; other
Christian, 4 percent; Yezidi (monotheist with elements of nature
worship), 1.3 percent

* Principal language: Armenian, 97.7 percent; Yezidi, 1 percent;
Russian, 0.9 percent; other, 0.4 percent (2001 census)

* Government: Republic

* Head of government: Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

* Chief of state: President Robert Kocharian.

* Economy: Armenia endured a severe economic decline in the early
1990s, but has since managed to slash inflation, stabilize its
currency and privatize many businesses. It joined the World Trade
Organization in 2003.

* Labor force: 1.2 million

* Gross domestic product per capita: $15.99 billion

* Unemployment rate: 7.6 percent

* Currency: 1 Armenian Dram (AMD) = $0.002751 U.S.

History

One of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity (in 301 A.D.),
ancient Armenia existed for centuries in the areas today known as
Turkey, Iran and Armenia. Armenia’s shifting borders came under the
sway of various empires, including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab,
Persian and Ottoman.

In the 19th century, eastern Armenia was annexed by the Russian
empire.

During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, the Turkish
Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced mass resettlement that
Armenians said led to the deaths of approximately two-thirds of their
people.

Armenia was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920, and the Soviet
Republic of Armenia was established in April 1921.

In 1936, the Soviet Republic of Armenia was dissolved and Armenia
became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Armenia declared
independence in September 1991 and became an independent state when
the Soviet Union disbanded that December.

Fighting between mostly Christian Armenia and mostly Muslim
Azerbaijan escalated in 1992. Each country claimed Nagorno-Karabakh,
an enclave in Azerbaijan that has a majority population of ethnic
Armenians. A temporary cease-fire was announced in May 1994, with
Armenian troops in charge of the enclave.

Voters approved a new constitution in 1995 that increased
presidential powers. Gunmen stormed the Parliament on Oct. 27, 1999,
killing the prime minister and seven others.Armenia at a
glanceAtlanta connectionSources: CIA World Factbook, McClatchy
Newspapers, Associated Press, Encyclopedia Britannica, Georgia
General Assembly

— Compiled by news staff researcher Nisa Asokan

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 1 2007

Friend of Turkey Feigl to be buried on Monday

Austrian historian Prof. Erich Feigl, who demonstrated that the
Armenian allegations of genocide were untrue, will be buried on Feb.
5 at Simmering cemetery in Vienna, after a funeral at Feuerhalle
Hall.
Prof. Feigl died last week at the age of 76 from kidney failure,
following hospitalization for a stomach hemorrhage. He began his
writing career during his university years and furthered it by making
a large number of documentary movies and films in the Middle East,
the Far East, the Central Asia and the United States to foster
intra-religious and intra-cultural dialogue.
When his close friend, Erdoðan Özen, a labor attaché at the Turkish
Embassy in Vienna, was assassinated by Armenian terrorists in 1984,
he decided conduct a comprehensive study on Armenian terrorism.
Having proven that the alleged genocide claims of the Armenian
diaspora and the Armenian terrorist group ASALA were based on
fictitious documents and photographs put forward by Armenian author
Aram Andonian, he gathered all the evidence he was able to find in a
book titled, `A Myth of Terror,’ which exposed the roots and
strategic aim of Armenian terrorism. Feigl devoted this book, which
was published in English, German, French and Turkish, to his friend
Özen.

PRESS RELEASE
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Anush Babayan
Tel: 3741 52 09 40
Fax: 3741 52 37 95
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

1.02.07
The Hayastan Fund Cooperating with Heifer Project International
`Hayastan’ Fund and the organization `Heifer Project
International’ co-finance the agricultural project carried out in NKR
Martakert Region through a non-governmental organization `Revived
Homeland’ which provides the implementation and supervision of the
project.

During the meeting held on January 29, the Executive Director of
`Hayastan Fund’ Naira Melkoumian and `Heifer Project
International’ South-Caucasian Regional Director Anahit Ghazanchian
discussed the details and outcomes of this project, as well as the
perspective of implementation of similar projects in Hadrut region and
other areas.

In the framework of the project, some 13, 14, 21 and 8 families in four
villages of Martakert region -Mokhratagh, Chankatagh, Talish, and
Vardadzor were respectively provided with calf-bearing cows along with
training and technical assistance. According to the project concept,
families undertake to pass over one pregnant cow from this generation of
the animals to another needy family in three years time.

The project will enable rural families to satisfy their pressing needs
and contribute to the social and economic development of their
community.

Red, Blue and Orange on the Hayastan Fund Website

We would like to inform the numerous fans of the Red, Blue and Orange
song that it can be viewed online and downloaded for use in their cello
phones.

The song – hymn of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Telethon 2006 became
very popular among young people as soon as it was presented to the wide
audience on TV and the radio. Both the song and the film based on it,
produced by the Sharm Advertising Company has won a number of awards at
national musical competitions.

Panorama.am

19:58 30/01/2007

TRANSPORT POLLUTES AIR IN YEREVAN BY 90 PERCENT

The air in Yerevan is polluted by transport by 90 percent. Expert
alarm that clouds of dust have been formed because of air
pollution. Under these conditions, the issue of green zones has become
important. German experts say in case of planting enough trees air
pollution may be down by 40 percent.

Armen Saghatelyan, ecolosphere research center head, said several
factors must be considered while planting green zones, including
esthetic requirements, climate, sustainability of plants and the
qualities to absorb hazardous materials.

Hay Forest state non-commercial organization says the organizations
that plant trees must also take further care of them. The organization
refuses to cooperate with those companies and individuals that refuse
to take care of trees after planting them.

Source: Panorama.am

NOMINATION OF NA DEPUTY CANDIDATES TO START ON FEBRUARY 26

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA President’s January 29 decree,
regular National Assembly elections have been scheduled for May 12.
As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by Central Electoral
Commission Secretary Hamlet Abrahamian, in the coming days the
Commission will affirm the schedule of main events of preparation and
holding of elections, as well as will adopt a number of draft
decisions relating to electoral processes.

According to the Electoral Code, documents of nominating candidates by
NA proportional and majoritarian electoral systems are introduced to
the Central Electoral Commission and district electoral commissions no
sooner than 75 days and no later than 70 days before and for
registration no later than 45 days before. So, it is already
predictable that nomination of candidates will start on February 26
and will last until March 3.

In difference to the National Assembly of current convocation,
majoritarian mandates will decrease by 15 and proportional mandates
will increase by 15 in the next parliament, amounting to 41 and 90,
respectively.

According to the 2005 amendments to the Electoral Code, the demand of
introducing official bulletins with signatures of electors supporting
nomination of candidates by majoritarian and proportional systems to
commissions was recognized invalid. For registration of candidates
they should introduce certificates on being RA citizens over the past
five years and permanently living in the country for five years, as
well as receipts of electoral pawn in the amount of 2500-fold (2.5 mln
drams) minimum salary for a party or bloc of parties nominated by the
proportional system and 100-fold minimum salary (100 000 drams) for
candidates nominated by the majoritarian system.

The age qualification established for the candidates preserves: a
citizen who has turned 25 and has the right to vote can be elected as
a deputy.

In difference to 2003 when women were to make at least 5% of electoral
roll introduced by a party or a bloc by the proportional system, this
time they are to make at least 15%. Besides, at least every 10th
person of electoral roll should be a woman.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
January 29, 2007 Monday

ARMENIA DOES NOT PLAN TO FORM A FULLY PROFESSIONAL ARMY IN THE NEAR
FUTURE

Serzh Sarkisyan, Defense Minister and Security Council Secretary of
Armenia, states that in the near future the country does not have the
resources and does not plan to form a fully professional army.
According to Sarkisyan, the armed forces will continue to be manned
with conscripts. Along with this, one-third of the national army is
already manned with contract servicemen. According to Sarkisyan, the
quantity of conscripts will decrease in the country in two or three
years due to changes in the population. The Defense Minister
concluded, "We have foreseen this development of events and a
decrease in the quantity of conscripts will not be critical for
Armenia because we are already increasing the quantity of servicemen
for contract service."

Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, January 26, 2007, p. EV

RA GOVERNMENT HEARS 2006 ANNUAL REPORT OF RA MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND
YOUTH ISSUES

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The 2006 activity of the Ministry of
Culture and Youth Issues was aimed to taking steps assisting
implementation of the RA Government’s program policy, analysis and
reveal of cultural problems, formation of long-term programs on
cultural strategy, to formation of a universal cultural field and
development of international cooperation. Hasmik Poghosian, the RA
Minister of Culture and Youth Issues stated about it when presenting
the 2006 annual activity report at the RA Government on January 26. The
Minister mentioned that the allocations affirmed by the 2006 state
budget of the Ministry made 5 920 906.8 thousand drams, 320 mln 790.3
thousand drams with the "Culture and Science" group, 5 600 116.5
thousand drams with the "Culture, Information, Sport and Religion"
group. The allocations envisaged by the law were given by 28 expense
programs and by 3 programs allocated by the RA Government’s 2006
reserve fund. 261 mln 605.9 thousand drams were given in 2006 by the
program entitled "State Assistance to Implementation of Cultural
Events," the checked program made 396 mln 39.7 thousand drams. 253 mln
864 thousand drams were allocated from the reserve fund by the
Government’s 15 decisions.

AZG Armenian Daily #015, 27/01/2007

YERVAND AZATYAN: TURKS APPLY DOUBLE STANDARDS, ON ONE HAND THEY
CONDEMN THE GENOCIDE, ON THE OTHER THEY COMMIT THAT

Hrant Dink, Editor-in-Chief of "Agos" newspaper, killed in Istanbul on
January 19, was doomed to death under modern conditions of the Turkish
society, Yervand Azatyan, the person in charge of the "Tekeyan"
organization’s office in the USA and Canada, a member of Ramkavar
Azatakan party said at today’s press-conference in "Urbat" pres
club. He emphasized that the Armenian community of Turkey, unlike the
Armenian Diaspora in other countries, behaves extremely gingerly and
cautiously, taking care of its business and daily needs only and tries
not to "show itself". And there appears a journalist who puts the
emphasis in his publications not so much on the necessity of
recognizing the Armenian Genocide by Turkey as on "stopping to
consider the national minorities, living in Turkey – the Assyrians,
Armenians, Curds and others the slaves of the Ottoman
Turkey". Naturally, a radically disposed part of the Turkish society
could not forgive Hrant Dink for this, Azatyan stated. As for the
response of the Armenian, Turkish and international press to the
murder of Hrant Dink, the Armenian press, according to Y. Azatyan, has
responded rather emotionally, without keeping from anti-Turkish
hysteria. The Turkish press has also responded emotionally, but in its
typical manner – one newspaper even tried to reveal the Armenian roots
at H. Dink’s killer. As for the international Media, the American
press did not respond at all, while the European Mass Media have even
managed to come out with analytical calculations, Y. Azatyan said.

By Marieta Khachatrian

PanARMENIAN.Net

Increase of Baku’s military expenses indirectly points
to possibility of war against Armenia
26.01.2007 17:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It’s hard to say now whether Baku
will launch hostilities against Armenia to liberate
the disputable territories, but the increase of Baku’s
military expenses indirectly points to such
possibility, reports the Military Industrial Express.
The edition says, `It’s worth mentioning that in 2007
all South Caucasian states are leaders in military
expenses. The first place is firmly occupied by
Azerbaijan which nearly doubled the military budget.
Armenia’s military budget increased with almost 87%.
At that military expenses of Nagorno Karabakh were not
counted. `In 2006 the CIS member states’ military
expenses index exceeded that of 2005 with 21%.
Absolute champion here is Georgia with military
expenses multiplied by five (from $77 million up to
$341 million). At that the military share of the GDP
made 4.9% against Uzbekistan’s 5.2%.’