Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ICJ AND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DISPUTE
Cenap Cakmak

Global Politician
ia-genocide
Feb 28 2008
NY

Newspapers have reported that Turkey readies to take the longstanding
Armenian Genocide dispute to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), the UN-affiliated judicial institution authorized to deal with
interstate disagreements. In consideration of the growing problem
in regards to the recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide by
a number of parliaments allegedly committed by Turkish authorities
in early 1900s, Turkey has decided to prove in reliance on a global
court’s judgment that the events may not be viewed as repercussions
of the deliberative acts to destroy or eliminate a certain ethnic or
religious group in part or as a whole.

The decision should not be taken as a surprise simply because Turkey
has repeatedly publicized its intention to bring the case to the
sphere of international law, further asserting that the recognition
of the genocide in some countries was of political character. The
projected action to make the ICJ involved in the matter may generate
some positive results for Turkey; but it will not be a remedy for
its longtime reluctance to address the problem.

Above all, the so-called Armenian genocide enjoys recognition not
only by some states but also by the academic community. While this
does not prove the deaths in early 1900s constitute crime of genocide,
it will not be that easy to change the established prejudices. Second,
not always a court’s ruling is required to call certain acts as part
of genocide. Third, the ICJ’s decision on the matter will be legally
binding depending on the agreement by the parties; but it will remain
at least partially illegitimate given that its image was seriously
undermined due to its recent decision on the Bosnian Genocide. The
ICJ was blamed by the international community for adopting a timid
approach in this case to exonerate Serbia of the crimes committed in
the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A disputed genocide?

>From an international law perspective, the alleged Armenian genocide
is certainly disputed simply because the allegations are not based
on legal verdicts by a competent international judicial institution.

However, what Turkey is dealing with is not a pure legal problem that
needs to be resolved by international legal institutions.

For a number of states, and many international law scholars and
historians, whether the deaths in early 1900s constitute commission
of the crime of genocide is not disputable; rather, only what should
be done as part of reparation and remedy is a matter of discussion.

Parliaments of the states which recognize the Armenian genocide did not
seek any ruling by a competent international organization; instead,
they relied on the literature of genocide studies and were strongly
influenced by the efforts of the Armenian lobbies. The relevant
literature a priori accepts that a large Armenian population was
subjected to a genocidal campaign by the Ottoman State in 1915 and
there is no argument about it.

Even the introductory legal textbooks cite the Armenian Genocide
as the first genocide committed of the twentieth century, further
noting that the failure of the international community to deal with
it resulted in commission of similar subsequent campaigns. There are
even assertions that attribute Hitler’s decision to annihilate the Jews
to this failure given that he, in reference to the Armenian genocide,
allegedly said nobody remembered the Armenians.

The minds are already set to the assumption that Armenians suffered
from a brutal campaign of mass killing; it will not be easy to change
this assumption through a judgment by the ICJ. This does not suggest
that Turkey should not resort to this option; but not much should be
expected of such an action.

Does recognition of genocide require a judicial verdict?

The ICJ’s involvement in the dispute appears to be appealing to
the Turkish authorities because of the assumption that recognition
of genocide requires a legal decision delivered by a competent
international (or national) judicial institution. This is undoubtedly
true from a legal standpoint. Yet this does not mean that states or
scholars are barred from describing a particular situation as genocide
in the absence of such a decision. There is no legal authority or
instrument that prohibits recognition of a case as genocide unless
a competent international judicial body confirms that it is indeed
genocide.

There are examples whereby states have described a particular situation
as genocide without a legal ruling. The US administration as well
as the US Congress defined the situation in Darfur region of Sudan
as genocide. While the case has been referred to the International
Criminal Court (ICC) whose chief prosecutor has decided to initiate
an investigation, there is no legal ruling confirming the acts in the
region may be considered genocide. The US position in this particular
case is praised by civil society organizations and humanitarian
assistance institutions which also strongly criticize the European
states and the UN because of their reluctance to recognize the crime
of genocide in Darfur.

States are usually hesitant to recognize genocide because of probable
obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide where the parties "undertake to prevent
and to punish" the crime (article 1). But the Armenian case may be
considered an exception because it has already (and allegedly) been
committed and there is no need for preventive action; therefore, it
is easy for the states to recognize this genocide because it creates
no obligation under the said Convention.

ICJ’s eroded image and Armenian genocide

Turkish authorities selected the ICJ as the competent international
judicial institution to deal with the dispute on the so-called
Armenian genocide. This might seem a wise move because Turkey would
reinforce its position the Court decides that the deaths in 1915 were
not genocide. However, such a decision will not end the discussion due
to the ICJ’s eroded image. The Court’s recent decision on the Bosnian
genocide has severely been criticized by scholars and opinion leaders
because it was viewed as an attempt to save Serbia from liability
and accountability under international law.

It should be recalled that some Turkish columnists welcomed the
decision, asserting that the Court would make a similar decision with
regard to a future case in relation to the alleged Armenian genocide.

This was actually not something that Turks should welcome; the ICJ’s
image has been undermined by this shocking decision. It is no longer
a respected and highly legitimate international institution whose
judgment will resolve a highly controversial dispute.

>From a legal standpoint, such a decision will surely be binding over
the parties to the dispute; but this will not end the discussions
and further political actions as part of recognizing the Armenian
genocide. In other words, it is hard to believe that the parliaments
describing the 1915 events as genocide will review their decisions
based on the ICJ ruling and that scholars who agree that Ottoman Turks
subjected the Armenian population to a brutal genocidal campaign will
change their minds simply because the ICJ decided it was not genocide.

That being said, there seems to be no option that Turkey could rely
on other than taking the case to the ICJ at the present time.

Turkey’s long reluctance and indifference is the primary reason for
why the Armenian lobbies has made progress in ensuring recognition
of the alleged Armenian genocide. But this is a past matter; and at
the present time, reliance on international adjudication seems to be
best policy option for Turkey.

Dr. Cenap Cakmak has a Ph.D. from Rutgers University and is a Professor
of International Law at Mugla University Turkey.

TWO ARRESTED ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS CHARGED WITH RESISTING AUTHORITIES

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS
February 26, 2008
Russia

Former Armenian Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Dzhangirian and
former head of the tax agency Smbat Aivazian, who backed opposition
candidate for the Armenian presidency, former Armenian president
Levon Ter-Petrosian, have been charged with using violence against
authorities.

Both Dzhangirian and Aivazian offered resistance to officers of the
main anti-organized crime department of the Armenian Police and were
charged with this, the Armenian Police told Interfax.

Dzhangirian, who openly backed Ter-Petrosian, was dismissed in line
with a presidential decree. Aivazian, a high-ranking official in
the times of Ter-Petrosian rule, is a member of the Republic radical
opposition party, which backs the former Armenian president.

Dzhangirian, his brother Vardan and two other citizens were detained
on Saturday. Firearms, a knife, handcuffs and a bullet proof vest were
found in a search in Dzhangirian’s car. Vardan Dzhangirian offered
resistance during his detention and was wounded. Two policemen were
injured in the incident as well.

Aivazian and two people earlier convicted were detained in similar
circumstances. Firearms and a club were found in a search in Aivazian’s
car, police said.

Criminal cases were opened into these instances. The investigation
has been underway.

Chairman of the Democratic Motherland party Petros Makeyan,
suspected of hindering the work of a regional elections commission,
was apprehended on Monday morning, the Armenian Prosecutor General’s
Office told Interfax. Democratic Motherland is one of more than 20
small parties that backed Ter-Petrosian.

According to the investigation, Makeyan and two other supporters
of Ter-Petrosian hindered the work of the elections commission by
starting a brawl with its chairman. A criminal case was opened into
the incident.

20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIANS’ MASSACRE IN SOUMGAIT MARKED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

DE FACTO
Feb 28, 2008

YEREVAN, 28.02.08. DE FACTO. The 20th anniversary of the Armenians’
massacre in the Azerbaijani town of Soumgait has been marked in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic today.

The staffs of the Republic’s organizations, enterprises and educational
institutions, as well as the servicemen put flowers at the monument
of the tragedy’s victims on the Stepanakert Memorial Complex.

The representatives of the NKR’s top leaders headed by President Bako
Sahakian, as well as leadership of the NKR Defense Army paid tribute
to the memory of the victims. The priests of the Artsakh Eparchy of
the Armenian Apostolic Church held a mournful service in commemoration
of the victims of the Soumgait tragedy.

RA OMBUDSMAN URGED COUNTRY’S POLITICAL FORCES TO DIALOGUE

arminfo
2008-02-27 12:38:00

ArmInfo. Ra ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan urged the country’s political
forces to dialogue, tolerance and cooperation.

At today’s press-conference in "Urbat" club, he paid attention to
polarization of the Armenian society. In view of this, A. Harutyunyan
told of necessity of creation of such conditions in the country,
under which supporters of one or another political force would
not feel lost, and the rights and freedoms of all the society
members would be protected and guarantee equally. "I think that
polarization of the society and absence of mutual understanding are
our primary enemies. I think that it is the time for the parties to
learn listening to each other. Only together we can go out of the
present situation", the ombudsman said. He urged the parties to show
a political will and give positively assess Serzh Sargsyan’s speech
on February 26 at the Republic Square. "He has shown his readiness
for dialogue and tolerance. He offered his hand and I think this hand
should not be left in the air. I urge both the political figures and
representatives of Mass Media to be guided by these values. Meanwhile,
I have an impression that our society started to forget about such
terms as love, wisdom and mutual trust", he said.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN STATED THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF FEBRUARY 19 OF 2007 BECAME "THE BEST ONES IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY"

Mediamax
February 27, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated that
the presidential elections of February 19 of 2007 became the "best
ones in the history of the country".

Mediamax reports that the President stated on late February 26 in an
interview to the Public TV of Armenia that the post-election tenseness
is conditioned mainly by the low level of political culture and the
inability of certain forces to admit their failure.

"A recount of votes was held in 135 polling stations, only in one
of them serious problems were revealed, as a result of which the
chairman of the commission was arrested and the case will soon be
sent to the court. I would like to stress that in 86 out of those
135 polling stations the recount of votes was held by the request of
presidential candidates Levon Ter-Petrosian and Artur Baghdasarian",
Robert Kocharian stated.

According to the President, if the participants of the election
process still have questions, they have the full right to turn to
the Constitutional Court.

ARMENIAN SECURITY FORCE NEUTRALIZING ARMED GROUPS – PRESIDENT

Interfax
Feb 27 2008
Russia

YEREVAN. Feb 27 (Interfax) – Armenian authorities have taken measures
to neutralize armed units trying to destabilize the situation in
the country following the recent presidential elections, Armenian
President Robert Kocharian said.

"I can say that measures to neutralize criminal groups were pursued
yesterday and today. Large amounts of weapons and ammunition have
been seized. Particular individuals have been detained," Kocharian
said on Armenian Public Television on Tuesday evening.

"What is most dangerous is that part of Yerkrap [an organization of
the Nagorno-Karabakh war veterans] and some other veteran organizations
have been involved in the internal political processes," he said.

In addition, those "responsible for vote rigging during the elections"
have been detained, he said.

"These are not only opposition members. There are members of the
[ruling] Republican Party and other political groups among those
detained," he said.

Law enforcement are also detaining "those who have organized
unsanctioned processions and demonstrations, ignoring interests of
other people," he said.

In particular, residents of the houses adjacent to Freedom Square in
Yerevan, where the opposition has been holding a rally to protest the
official outcomes of the presidential elections, are complaining that
the rally caused them inconvenience, he said.

The law enforcement agencies are taking measures "to provide the
people’s security and calm," Kocharian said.

Armenia held presidential elections on February 19, in which nine
candidates were running. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan was proclaimed
the winner with 52.82% of the vote given in his support. His principal
contender, first President Levon Ter-Petrosian, gained 21.5% and
Artur Bagdasarian 17.7%.

Since February 20, Ter-Petrosian’s supporters have been holding
protest rallies in Yerevan to demand that the official results of
the vote be invalidated.

Recounts were ordered at some polling stations following complains from
a number of candidates. Central Elections Commission Deputy Chairman
Arutyun Shakhbazian said the recounts did not reveal significant
discrepancies with the already announced results.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE’S HEADQUARTERS CALL FOR RECOUNTING OF VOTES

Mediamax
Feb. 23, 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 23 February: The campaign headquarters of Artur Baghdasaryan,
the presidential candidate [from the OrinatsYerkir (Law-Governed
Country) Party], have urged the Central Electoral Commission [CEC]
to "take immediate measuresand instruct local [election] commissions
to restore the real picture of the [19 February] election with a
properrecount of votes".

"Otherwise, the legitimacy of the election will be seriously
questioned, which may lead to a publicconfrontation and seriously harm
Armenia’s international reputation," Baghdasaryan’s headquarters say
in a statement forwarded to Mediamax news agency today.

"The CEC’s indifference has resulted in the last opportunity to
restore justice – a responsible stage indisputing the results of
the election – being accompanied by illegal actions of individual
electoral commissions," the statement says.

The headquarters say that at some poling stations the commissions
refused to accept applications from ArturBaghdasaryan’s proxies who
demanded a recount of votes. As for the applications accepted, in
these cases, accordingto the candidate’s headquarters, artificial
obstacles were created to the recounting of votes by obstructing
aquorum at sessions of local [electoral] commissions.

ARMENIA, SLOVAKIA TO DEVELOP ECONOMIC COOPERATION

ARKA
Feb 25, 2008

YEREVAN, February 25. /ARKA/. Armenia and Slovakia will develop
economic cooperation, Slovakian Foreign Minister Jan Kubis said Monday
in Yerevan, at a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart
Vartan Oskanian.

"Slovenia intends to develop partnership with Armenia, especially
economic cooperation", he said.

He expressed hope that Slovakian economic bloc ministers who are
going to visit Armenia will manage to develop economic partnership.

Kubis also said that justice and culture ministers will travel to
Armenia in 2008 as well.

Vartan Oskanian, in turn, said that views Armenian-Slovakian
relationship as successful cooperation.

"An active political dialogue is established between the countries,
but there is room for developing relations in other areas, particularly
in economic sector", he said.

The Slovakian foreign minister came to Armenia on Monday for a
one-day visit.

He is set to meet Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, National
Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosyan and Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan
here.

Top 10 ways to fix the Oscars

ovieNews/2008/02/24/4872367-sun.html
Sun, February 24, 2008

By JIM SLOTEK

So now we know, the Oscars will go on tonight. The writers have been on
the job for a mere 10 days and Jon Stewart may be reduced to recycling
jokes — with the added handicap of neither Uma nor Oprah being there.

But a slapdash Oscars is the least of the problems facing the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Being the "showmen" they are (Hollywood speak for "liars"), the academy
has for years failed to disabuse anybody of the notion that a billion
people are watching worldwide when Jessica Alba and Ryan Reynolds read
the intro off the teleprompter whetting your appetite for the category
of best achievement in sound-effects editing.

Consider the existence of time zones, and the hubris involved in
claiming that one in six people in the world is watching, no matter
what time it is where you are. ("Balint! Come to bed. It’s four in
morning and you have to be at your job at poultry by-products plant in
three hours!"

"Be quiet, Blaga! Tilda Swinton is coming down Red Carpet and she is
committing fashion crime. Oh, that Cojo is such bitch!")

Fact is, in the only numbers that matter — North American ratings —
the ’00s have been flat, falling consistently under the 40-million mark
(slightly higher than American Idol’s ratings), and bottoming out in
2003 (when Chicago won best picture and the U.S. was invading Iraq) at
33 mil. Compare that to just five years earlier when 55 million watched
Titanic clean up.

Why? Oh I don’t know, maybe it was because at least 55 million people
HAD SEEN THE FRIGGIN’ MOVIE!

The Harvey Weinstein-ification of the Oscars has been a gradual process
— contributing to the feedback loop that has turned theatres into a
babysitting service for teenagers. All the best picture nominees
together didn’t cough up the box office of Norbit. The nominees are so
unseen, this may finally be the year the Oscars become known as
"America’s Genies."

So, free of charge, here’s our 10-point plan to fix the Oscars:

1. Get ’em drunk: The only reason the Golden Globes have any ratings at
all is that everybody’s good ‘n’ liquored, invariably inspiring
water-cooler talk the next day (remember when Ryan Phillippe was
screaming for Reese’s win like a Packers fan at a tailgate party? The
divorce countdown started there).

2. Reward success: I’m not saying big box office should be a
get-to-the-podium-free card. But how about some extra academy points
for every million you gross? A bad popular movie — such as, say,
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End — would still be precluded
because you’d still need actual votes from academy members to qualify.
If you want people to be watching, it would help if they had movies
they’d seen to root for.

3. While we’re at it, maybe separate giant roller-coaster ride movies
from tiny, thoughtful little indies where the actors worked for scale:
A bunch of indies in a category of "budget under-$20 million" would
give the chin-scratching cineastes something to cheer for, while giving
the big-budget films a category of their own. At least it would save us
another ridiculous Saving Private Ryan versus Shakespeare In Love
scenario. Apples with Apples, as Gwyneth might say.

4. Nominate more comedies: Better still, take another cue from the
Golden Globes and give them their own category. Then, once you have
winners in the drama and comedy categories, have the audience phone in
— a la Idol — to vote sad-face or happy-face.

5. Give documentaries about Holocausts their own category: Whether it’s
Darfur, Sudan, Armenia or the Big One, it’s really hard for a movie
about a spelling bee or about a guy wolfing down Big Macs to make any
headway against the darkness that taints our soul as a species.

6. Forget the get-off-the-stage music: If somebody starts to blather
on, give their mike a "tweak" so they sound like one of The Chipmunks.

7. Did I mention, get ’em drunk?

8. Wherever possible, have somebody’s ex present them the award: This,
combined with the booze, should liven up the speeches.

9. They don’t call the Oscars "the Super Bowl for women" for nothing:
But the NFL has tried to address its own gender bias via its halftime
show, which actually does attract a female demographic to the TV. Most
men frankly don’t care "who Cate Blanchett is wearing." One way to drag
them in: planned "wardrobe malfunctions." Hey, they watch NASCAR for
the accidents, why not the Oscars?

10. Replace "who are you wearing?" with "how many Third World children
do you figure had a hand in making that dress, and have you adopted any
of them?"

Armenian parliamentary speaker calls nonsense information on his
resignation

2008-02-23 13:59:00

ArmInfo. Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Tigran Torosyan
called nonsense the rumors on his resignation spread by the supporters
of Levon Ter-Petrosyan rallying in the Republic Square.

To recall, NA Vice Speaker Vahan Hovhannissyan sent in his resignation,
Friday.