Author: Kafian Jirair

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb. 26, 2008

Malatya, Dink murders still clouded in mystery

Turkey saw hearings for two separate but related crimes yesterday as
the third trial in the murder of an ethnic Armenian journalist in
Ýstanbul and the suspects of the murders of three Bible publishers in
Malatya resumed yesterday, but neither trial has been a source of
encouragement for those hoping to see justice done in the end.

The two cases seem to be inherently related in many respects. In both
cases, the police have been accused of trying to obscure evidence to
protect the suspects and even of having links to the assailants. In
the case of Hrant Dink, an Armenian Turkish journalist, one of the
prime suspects is a known ex-police informant. The European Union and
international rights groups are monitoring both cases closely.

With regard to the previous hearing in the trial of the Dink murder
suspects, "It’s clear that police officers and security services knew
about the plans of these guys, but they didn’t act," said Joost
Lagendijk, the co-chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary
Commission.

Although both murders initially appeared to be hate crimes, an
investigation into a neo-nationalist gang known as Ergenekon, with
access to power centers in the military and state apparatus, showed
that the group might be behind both of the attacks, intended to
create chaos in the country and lay the groundwork for an eventual
coup d’état to overthrow the government.

Security was tight outside the Beþiktaþ courthouse ahead of the trial
of Dink’s murder suspects. Police put up barriers around the building
and set up checkpoints to search individuals entering the building as
well as check their identification documents.

Civilian automobiles were not allowed to enter the courthouse’s
parking lot.

Dink was gunned down in broad daylight on Jan. 19, 2007 in front of
the headquarters of bilingual Armenian weekly Agos, where he was
editor-in-chief. Following Dink’s murder, many reports suggested that
the police were tipped off about the planned assassination more than
once prior to his execution yet failed to prevent it.

A group of protestors calling themselves "Friends of Hrant" gathered
at Beþiktaþ Square ahead of the trial. The group, holding posters of
Dink and chanting slogans demanding justice for the slain journalist,
also issued a statement to the press. "We want something very simple.
We want something that nobody would object to. We want justice," said
singer Þevval Sam, reading the statement on behalf of the group.

The group reiterated the demands of the Dink family and the attorneys
representing the plaintiffs, who have been saying that the murder has
not been properly investigated. The co-plaintiff lawyers say some of
the evidence has been hidden or destroyed.

They have also claimed that information vital to the course of the
investigation had been held back by the police from the prosecution
and the court in what seems to be an attempt to protect the suspects.

Nineteen suspects, including Dink’s suspected killer, 17-year-old
O.S., and an ultranationalist youth charged with planning the crime,
went on trial in July of 2007 for organizing the murder at the 14th
High Criminal Court in Ýstanbul’s Beþiktaþ district.

The trial is being held behind closed doors because O.S. was a minor
at the time of the murder.

Since the third hearing in the trial, held on Feb. 12, all sessions
in the trial are being recorded by cameras set up in the courtroom, a
first in Turkish judicial history. The implementation began when
attorneys requested audiovisual recording, citing attempts of
security officers to obscure evidence during the second hearing of
the trial.

During the second hearing of the trial’s suspects, O.S. expressed
"regret" for the killing in his testimony.

"I was forced to do this job. I shot Dink out of fear without even
understanding how it happened. I was at my uncle’s place when I came
to my senses. I could not sleep the entire night. I regret it; I
didn’t know he had a family. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known,"
he said in his testimony.

Malatya case adjourned until March

The third hearing of the trial in the murder of three Christians, one
of them a German citizen, in the eastern Turkish province of Malatya
last year convened at the Malatya 3rd High Criminal Court at 9 a.m.
yesterday.

Lawyers in the case demanded that the hearing be recorded with visual
and audio devices, a demand the court rejected. After the rejection
of the request, the lawyers this time asked that the judge be
removed, saying that the court’s impartiality and independence was
now jeopardized by the denial.

The court adjourned the case until March 17, 2008 to review the
request.

Malatya victim Tilman Ekkehart Geske’s wife, Suzanne Geske, and
Necati Aydýn’s wife, Þemse Aydýn, as well as chief suspect Emre
Günaydýn’s father, Mustafa Günaydýn, attended the hearing.

The suspects were brought to the courthouse from the Malatya prison
by special security units.

The five suspects currently under arrest are being charged with
setting up an armed terrorist organization, committing more than one
homicide as part of the activities of the terrorist organization,
trespassing and aiding and abetting an armed terrorist organization.
Günaydýn is additionally being charged with having masterminded the
murders. The prosecutor is seeking three life sentences for each of
the five suspects. The other two are facing charges of aiding and
abetting an armed terrorist organization.

Murders at Zirve Publishing House

On April 18, 2007, Christian Turks Necati Aydýn and Uður Yüksel and
Christian German national Tilman Geske were tied to their chairs,
stabbed and tortured at the Zirve Publishing House before their
throats were slit. The publishing house they worked for printed
Bibles and Christian literature. The killings drew international
condemnation and added to Western concerns about whether Turkey can
protect its religious minorities.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
February 25, 2008 Monday

Hagopian rose through police ranks: Shot in 1967 riots, he later led
detectives

Meg Kissinger and Amy Rabideau Silvers, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Feb. 25–For years, Kenneth J. Hagopian hung a photo in his office at
the Milwaukee Police Department.

It showed his face just after he was struck by a blast from a
shotgun. Then a Milwaukee police captain, Hagopian was shot in 1967
during the riots in the central city.

"I was unconscious for almost two weeks," Hagopian later told William
Janz, Milwaukee Sentinel columnist. "I couldn’t walk. Blood clots in
the lung, had to have emergency surgery. The doctor kept saying,
‘You’re lucky to be alive.’ One-hundred-twenty-six pieces of lead in
the face, neck and shoulder."

And so the photo hung until Hagopian retired in 1987 as the
department’s inspector of detectives. It meant that officers should
be careful out there.

Beneath the photo were the words of another message: "I came back."

"He loved police work," said Mary Hagopian, his wife of nearly 35
years.

Kenneth Hagopian died of pneumonia on Feb. 18 at a hospital near his
winter home in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 81.

He grew up in Cudahy, graduating from Cudahy High School, where he
was captain of the football team. His mother’s family was from
Poland; his father was from Armenia. Kenneth Hagopian served in the
Army Air Forces during the final months of World War II.

In 1951, Hagopian joined the Police Department, then one of only two
officers who had a college degree. He had graduated from the
University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in sociology.

Hagopian learned one unexpected lesson as a young officer. Confronted
with a huge armed suspect — 6-foot-10 as the story goes — he was
nearly strangled with his own necktie. Hagopian managed to knock a
gun from the suspect’s hand and then began to chase him.

"I’m thinking I’m going to shoot the s.o.b., but I can’t," Hagopian
recalled. "He’s unarmed."

He did, however, give up knotted ties for clip-ons.

No. 4 ranking officer

He later served a stint on what was then called the safe-cracking
squad and ultimately became the department’s fourth-highest ranking
officer as head of the detective bureau, later renamed the criminal
investigation unit.

"Hagopian was probably in the vanguard of the new police officer,"
said Victor Manian, a retired Milwaukee County Circuit chief judge
who was earlier a police officer and one of Hagopian’s partners. He
made the remark when Hagopian retired in 1987.

"He has demonstrated over the years the classic police personality,"
Manian then said. "He is a classic mixture of intelligence,
compassion and courage. Historically, that’s what the Milwaukee
Police Department is known for."

Hagopian later talked about the shooting, but realized that the
events were not just about him.

It happened as Hagopian responded to a report of a shooting. He got
out of the unmarked squad car with a pen and note cards in his hand.
Then he saw a man with a shotgun.

"I yell, ‘Hey, mister, I’m a police officer,’ " Hagopian told Janz.
"Boom. That was it. He hit me and then he hit the car. Knocked us
down, one by one.

"One officer was killed, didn’t find his body until the next day
after a fire in the house," he said. "Other officers were shot. John
Carter was blinded."

Nor did the shooting change the man that Hagopian was.

Praise for Hagopian

"He was able to put his shooting in perspective," Manian said in
1987. "He was close to death for a long time. But he came back with
the same extraordinary balance of judgment that he had before.

"Some people were going to organize some real support for him to be
chief, but he asked people not to do that," he said. That was
discussed as Chief Harold A. Breier retired in 1984.

"His idea of the best job in the Police Department was chief of
detectives," Manian said. "He didn’t like the politics in the chief’s
office. He wanted to be a crime buster."

After retirement, Hagopian set up a private investigation firm doing
background checks for employers.

"The only thing I’m going to miss is the guys," Hagopian said. "I
used to hate to be off on Friday and Saturday because I might miss
something, but now that feeling’s gone."

Hagopian loved vegetable gardening, Mary Hagopian said.

"He used to tell me, ‘You can’t eat flowers,’ " she said.

He also enjoyed bike riding and rode a three-wheeler the week before
he died.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters from his
first marriage; Katherine (Bruce) Binder, Diane (John) Reid and
Marjorie Bessette; and two grandsons, Michael Reid and Jacob
Bessette.

A private service will be held later.

What the Papers Say (Russia)
February 22, 2008 Friday

KOSOVO’S SOVEREIGNTY ESTABLISHES NEW WORLD ORDER

by Ruslan Gorevoi

KOVOSO: TIME TO START THINKING OF WAYS AND MEANS TO AVOID WORLD WAR
THREE; Kosovo precedent may rearrange European borders and actually
launch World War Three.

Emergency meeting of the UN Security Council formulated its attitude
to self-proclaimed sovereignty of Kosovo. Five members of the UN
Security Council out of fifteen backed independence and sovereignty
of the Serbian province on the basis of the so called Ahtisaari’s
Plan. Russian Ambassador Vasily Churkin questioned the right of the
United States and European Union to encourage Kosovo to proclaim
sovereignty but his pleas were ignored.

In theory, five members of the UN Security Council are prepared to
acknowledge Kosovo as a sovereign state. Special emphasis is made on
the fact that the Kosovo case is unique and therefore sets no
precedents for others like North Cyprus, Trans-Dniester region,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, or Nagorno-Karabakh. Some political
scientists suspect that encouragement of Kosovo by the Western
community might end in another war in the Balkans.

Supporters of sovereignty apparently refused to believe until the
last moment that pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic would go
to the end. Tadic, supported and prodded by Moscow, did disappoint
them. Official Belgrade waived independence of the territory even
before it was declared. Tadic and his Premier Vojislav Kostunica said
in no uncertain terms that sovereignty of Kosovo would never be
recognized.

Emergency meeting of the parliament echoed their firm "no" to
separatism. The war seems inevitable, it is just a matter of time
now. How soon meanwhile shall we expect an analogous revision of
European borders elsewhere? Forget the Commonwealth where Moldova’s
chances to retain the Trans-Dniester region are as slim as Georgia’s
to keep Abkhazia and South Ossetia. (At least because of these
countries’ insolvency.) The Kosovo precedent may backfire in Great
Britain where separatist Scotland has been biding its time, not to
mention Ulster that is probably ready to share its fighting
experience and weapons with the Scots.

Forget Basques in Spain and the Cyprus divided between Greece and
Turkey! There is also Kurdistan that actually exists even though the
international community refuses to acknowledge the fact. Kurdistan is
located on the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Ankara
has been doing what it can to postpone declaration of Larger
Kurdistan nearby, but now… The Kurds have already stated in no
uncertain terms that they take recognition of Kosovo sovereignty as a
signal.

Shortly speaking, the international community had better start
thinking about ways and means of to avoid WWIII.

Source: Versiya, No 6, February, 2008, p. 4

Public TV of Armenia
Feb. 23, 2008

DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, TOP DIPLOMATS SACKED IN ARMENIA

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Bayburtyan and a number of
other top diplomats have been dismissed anddeprived of their
diplomatic ranks, Armenian Public TV has reported.

Bayburtyan and several Armenian ambassadors issued a statement
earlier on 23 February, expressing their support forthe opposition.
They said in the statement that they support the people’s movement
and join the opposition.

The diplomats also said in the statement read out at the opposition
rally on Freedom Square that only ademocratically-elected president
can address the country’s foreign policy challenges. They urged
thelaw-enforcement agencies to refrain from using force against their
own people.

Yemen Times, Yemen
Feb. 25, 2008

Noah’s Ark started its voyage from Hadramout

Aref Saleh Al-Tawi For the Yemen Times

In 1948, Noah’s ark was discovered in a mountain range in Turkey
bordering Armenia, precisely on Mt. Ararat. However, the discovery of
this mountain dates back hundreds of years. According to the majority
of circulated tales, it has been less than 9,000 years since the
events surrounding the ark occurred, while archeological teams are
still searching for the ark.

When western scholars discovered a program named `Google Earth’, they
looked continuously for Noah’s Ark on every mountain and hill across
the sphere. Their efforts culminated with footage of a mountain
containing the boat’s shape. This enhanced my understanding that
Noah’s Ark has not been found yet.

I conducted a similar experience in the search and reached no result,
except for consulting the Qur’an, which tells the truth about
historical facts. I found two surahs, Al-Ankabout and Al-Qamar, which
included accurate information about the story. Al-Ankabout 15 reads
`We rescued him (Noah) and the other passengers aboard the Ark and
made it a miracle for mankind,’ while Al-Qamar 15 reads, `We [Allah]
left it as a miracle for people to contemplate on.’

What caught our attention here is that both verses, having the same
digit, focused on Noah’s Ark, and each is made up of six words.
Having examined both surahs, I found that . Al-Ankabout – `the
spider’ – discusses how this insect’s web is built, as well as how
the male spider fertilizes the female, and after the process is over,
the female kills the male and leaves its body for the babies to eat
when they are born. This depiction shows us how life is likened to
the spider’s web, and that everything in this short life will expire.
But the key question her is, how is Noah’s ship related with this
subject?

A glance at the spider’s web, finds that it resembles the latitudes
and longitudes of Earth, and such an eye-catching simile led us to
the idea of how Noah’s ark was discovered. I was surprised by the
above-mentioned Qur’anic verses that indicated the venue of the
occurrence in central Yemen at a latitude near an ancient water
course where the flooding, left behind during Noah’s days, took
place. This course has a total area estimated at hundreds of square
kilometers, and it is on this course where Noah’s ark anchored.

A cursory look at the Hadramout Mountains tells us that these
mountains have a distinctive shape. They are smooth, thereby making
it possible for a ship to anchor. Surah Noah 19 tells us that `Allah
has made Earth flat for your sake.’ This verse indicates how flat and
plain Hadramout valley is. Google Earth images also confirm to us how
applicable this verse is to Hadramout Valley, with large and smooth
mountains making it possible for the ship to anchor. By God’s wisdom,
Hadramout Mountains are shaped as if they are airport runways.

Having looked at some Quranic verses, we understood that the
latitudes and longitudes lead us to places making it impossible for
us to think how ancient events took place. Al-Ankabout includes
verses talking about peoples who suffered from difficult experiences
and provided lessons for coming generations to learn from, notably
Lot’s people. Other verses from the Qur’an provide us with clear-cut
evidence that Noah lived in Hadramout Valley.

Agence France Presse — English
February 23, 2008 Saturday 6:14 PM GMT

Armenian president accuses protesters of trying to seize power

Michael Mainville

YEREVAN, Feb 23 2008

President Robert Kocharian accused the Armenian opposition of trying
to seize power Saturday as tens of thousands protested for a fourth
day demanding a presidential election be overturned.

Some 50,000 supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian
gathered under in the central Freedom Square, waving Armenian flags
and chanting "Levon!" and "Fight to the End!"

It was the fourth day of protests against the result of last
Tuesday’s presidential poll, officially won by Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian.

The protests have been peaceful, but Kocharian warned the government
was prepared to take action.

"I view these actions as an attempt to seize power," Kocharian told a
meeting of senior army and police officials, according to a
statement.

"No organisation can put itself above the law and constitution and
practice illegal activities," he said. "Our actions will be decisive
and firm to maintain stability and the constitutional order of the
country."

Several thousand demonstrators marched Saturday on the headquarters
of national public radio to protest what they allege has been a lack
of coverage of their campaign.

"They are not reporting anything that is happening in our country,"
said Lyudmila Sarkisian, who led the march and read out a letter of
protest in front of the radio headquarters, which was surrounded by
police.

Activists have set up about two dozen tents in the square and several
hundred have camped out overnight, huddling around campfires to keep
warm in sub-zero temperatures. Many of the most committed activists
are unemployed men hoping that a change in government would mean new
jobs.

Neither the tent camp nor the rallies have been sanctioned by the
authorities.

Official results from the election gave 52.9 percent of the vote to
Sarkisian, hand-picked to succeed Kocharian, who is obliged to step
down after his second term.

Ter-Petrosian, who trailed with 21.5 percent, has demanded a rerun of
the "shameful" election, alleging that dozens of his activists were
beaten and that ballot stuffing, multiple voting and voter
intimidation were widespread.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe described the election as "mostly" in line with international
standards.

A number of high-ranking officials have joined the opposition,
including deputy prosecutor general Gagik Dzhangirian, who was fired
on Friday after declaring his support for Ter-Petrosian.

Ter-Petrosian told the crowd Saturday that he had widespread support
among government officials.

"The government machine is breaking," he said. "I know many officials
who fear the government so cannot openly support us, but they will
stand with us."

Several dozen Sarkisian supporters held a small counter-demonstration
outside Ter-Petrosian’s home on the outskirts of Yerevan Saturday.

"We don’t want Levon back, we had nothing when he was president. All
we had was hunger, cold and darkness," said protester Yegiazar
Aristakesian.

Ter-Petrosian was Armenia’s president between 1991 and 1998 and
returned to politics last year vowing to fight corruption, after a
long period of silence.

The current prime minister and president have been credited with
ensuring relative stability and strong economic growth. But critics
accuse the government of tolerating widespread corruption and
cracking down on opponents.

A GROUP OF OFFICIALS OF RA MINISTRY OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMEMT JOIN MOVEMENT OF LEVON TER-PETROSIAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 25, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. It was announced at the February
24 rally that Vahagn Ghazarian, the head of the Department for
Coordination of Relations with the WTO and the EU of the RA ministry
of trade and economic development, Zohrak Hovhannisian, the head of the
Department for Coordination of Interstate and International Relations,
and Arman Sarukhanian, the chief expert of the Gem and Jewelry Agency
joined the movement of Levon Ter-Petrosian on the same day.

According to their statement, they expected the presidential elections
to pass in line with international and European standards and a legal
election of president will be ensured. However, mass violations were
committed, so the elections cannot be considered as free and fair. For
that reason they decided to join the national movement.

Armenian leader warns protesters
By Matthew Collin
BBC News, Yerevan

Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/7251983.stm

Published: 2008/02/24 01:14:23 GMT

The outgoing President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, has threatened a
"firm response" to what he called opposition attempts to seize power.
Opposition supporters have been protesting around the clock about the
results of Tuesday’s presidential elections which they say were rigged.

According to official results, Armenia’s current Prime Minister, Serge
Sarkisian, was elected president.

International observers have judged the poll to be generally
democratic.

Official results give Mr Sarkisian 53% of the vote, with Mr
Ter-Petrosian his nearest rival on 21.5%.

On Saturday around 50,000 people held the biggest demonstration against
the election result so far despite having no official permission to do
so.

The demonstrators have set up a tent camp in Yerevan’s Freedom Square,
they say they will stay there until the authorities back down.

Also on Saturday, thousands of Armenian women stood face to face with a
line of riot police chanting the name of the opposition leader they
believe was the real winner of this week’s elections, Levon
Ter-Petrosian.

The women had marched through the streets of the capital bringing
traffic to a standstill.

"The people wont remain silent about this authoritarian regime," one of
the women said, "we believe they have no right to be in power".

The outgoing President, Robert Kocharian, says he views actions like
these as an attempt to seize power.

He says the government’s response would be decisive and firm to
maintain stability and order.

But an opposition spokesman dismissed this warning and said the
protests would continue until the election results are overturned.

He said any use of force would be catastrophic for the government.

The year of our struggle and resolution…

Azat Artsakh Daily, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
22-02-2008

Twenty long years separate us from 1988. The year, which has become
turning for armenian people.
In 1988 our power and voice were octadrupled. A number of our relatives
was octadrupled. Eight times eight thousand demonstrators gathered in
the square of Stepanakert and resounded the word of their heart so,
that it became the trouble of all the humanity.
Twenty years later, on February 20th 2008, Veratsnund square of
Stepanakert was again filled. Free and Independent Artsakh celebrates
two tenth anniversaries of national-liberating movement.
National holiday began in Stepanakert from early morning: a number of
cultural arrangements took place in Veratsnund square, where then a
mass meeting took place. The participants with slogans of 1988,
demonstration tapestries, with proud and triumph from Hakhtanak square
marched here, where 20 years ago a historical great event took place.
Leaders of the republic, by the head of Bako Sahakian, the primate of
Artsakh diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church Pargev archbishop
Martirosian, the writer, publicist Zory Balaian, members of `Krunk’
organization, guests from Russian Federation, by the head of Andrey
Nuykin, were in the central tribune.
The vanguard of Artsakh movement Jane Galstian opened and held the
meeting.
The writer, publicist Zory Balaian didn’t forget to mention, that the
most terrible enemy was a split, which there wasn’t fortunately in
Karabakh and called to be always indivisible.
Numerous infants participated also in the meeting of 1988. They are
today of the same age and more. One of them was a journalist Tsovinar
Barkhudarian, whose speech was warmly listened by the participants of
the meeting.
In connection with the 20th anniversary of Artsakh movement, the NKR
President Bako Sahakian congratulated and sent a salutary address to
Artsakh people.
The mass meeting ended with pilgrimage: the participants, by the
leadership of leaders of the country visited Memorial Complex.
Continuation of arrangements devoted to the 20th anniversary of Artsakh
movement was again in Veratsnund square: a gala concert took place, and
in the end ` a firework.

The President has considered unnecessary…

Azat Artsakh Daily, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
23-02-2008

On February 22nd the NKR President Bako Sahakian convened a
conference devoted to the questions of increasing of productivity of
government system in Nagorno Karabakh.
Bako Sahakian emphasized, that in the section of population the
work of some groups of the authority gave rise to dissatisfaction. The
President considered inadmissible the tendencies of becomin a
bureaucrat, as well as the work carrying a declarative character.
The necessity of close collaboration of all the wings of the
authority in the process of increasing of government system was touched
importance during the meeting.
The Prime Minister A.Haroutyunian, as well as representatives of
legislative and executive bodies participated in the conference.

* * *

On February 22nd the NKR President Bako Sahakian visited a number
of districts of the capital, for getting acquainted with possibilities
of constructing manyflat and private buildings on the spot.
The President gave assignments to corresponding bodies to show a
complex attitude during working out the plan of a new district, taking
into account all the tendernesses.
Prime minister A.Haroutyunian, minister of Urban Planning
A.Mamounts, the mayor V.Michaelian, the leader of `Artsakhnakhagits’
organization M.Farsian accompanied the President during the visit.