Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Interfax
April 1 2004
Armenia, Iran to sign gas pipeline deal in late April
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia and Iran will sign a final contract in
Yerevan in late April on the construction of a gas pipeline linking
the two countries, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian told
journalists.
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh will arrive in Armenia to
sign the document.
Movsisian said that the new intergovernmental contract will “bring
bilateral documents signed in 1992-1995 into line with modern
requirements.”
The minister said that the two nations’ talks had also produced an
agreement on the volume of gas supplies and the main parameters of
the gas pipeline.
“The gas pipeline is intended to meet Armenia’s domestic needs,” he
said.
The pipeline’s construction will begin next year and be finished 20
months later. The cost of construction in Armenia is estimated at
about $100 million. The pipeline’s construction in Iran will cost a
little more.
Movsisian described the price for Iranian gas set in the contract as
“more than reasonable.”
The project will involve building new sections into the two
countries’ existing pipelines and reconstructing a number of segments
of Armenia’s gas transportation network.
The minister said that the planned pipeline will allow Armenia to
receive gas both from Iran and Turkmenistan, adding that “at this
stage, we do not see any differences on this issue. Only after the
gas pipeline is built, the economy itself will show whose gas is more
preferable.” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Alyoshin said at the
start of February that the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran
to Armenia is in Russia’s interest. He said that Gazprom may become
the operator of part of the pipeline through Armenia in the future.
He said that Russia is consulting with Armenia on a feasibility study
for the pipeline.
The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline has been on the drawing board since
1992. In addition to the two main participants in the project, other
interested parties include Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, European
Union countries, and China. The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development has said that it is ready to finance the project.
Armenia and Iran signed an intergovernmental agreement in 1995
establishing the route of the pipeline, which stretches 114 km,
including 41 km in Armenia and 100 km in Iran. The agreement also
sets the price for gas to be transported through the pipeline at $84
per 1,000 cubic meters. The cost of the project is estimated at $120
million.
The possibility of building a pipeline to the Armenian-Georgian
border is also being considered. In this case, the cost of the
project will increase to $306 million and the pipeline will be 550 km
long and have a capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters per annum.

Georgian leader surprised at election results – Azeri TV
ANS TV, Baku
31 Mar 04
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has expressed his surprise at
the returns in the parliamentary election. He told Azeri commercial TV
channel ANS that he had expected that his coalition would do well, but
not that the opposition would do so badly. Saakashvili said that the
Azeri population in Georgia had been active in the elections, but
urged them to play a greater role in public life. He said that Azeri
and Armenian MPs had not been chosen for their ethnic origin, but for
their political experience and reputation. The Georgian leader highly
praised relations with his Azeri counterpart. The following is an
excerpt from the interview by ANS on 31 March; subheadings inserted
editorially:
Presenter The Georgian parliamentary election returns were unexpected
not only for the opposition, but also for President Mikheil
Saakashvili. He shared his impression about this in an exclusive
interview with ANS immediately after the elections.
Correspondent Qanira Pasayeva, in Russian with Azeri voice-over Mr
President, we congratulate you. How did the elections go? How do you
assess the current situation? Did you expect such results?
Election results paradoxical
Saakashvili in his office, in Russian with Azeri voice-over The point
is that the elections ended with paradoxical results. I hoped we would
win. But I did not expect that no party would be able to enter
parliament and that they would not manage to overcome the 7-per-cent
barrier. Incidentally, I would have very much liked someone to have
overcome this barrier. But this is not the point. The point is that
the people expressed their wish and were very active. I did not expect
this activity. The people took to the streets. We won a great victory
in the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria. Because the local government
failed to seriously meddle in the election results. That is they won
six times fewer votes than in past elections. I think we showed that
the Georgian people support the fight against corruption, the process
of democratization, the improvement of the social situation, the
creation of warm neighbourly relations with our neighbours and
integration into Europe. In general, our people support the Georgian
government and the president.
Correspondent European bodies stated that a 4-per-cent barrier was
enough for the parliamentary elections. Why was the 7-per-cent barrier
not reduced?
Saakashvili We did not have time to change it. I did not confirm
this. This was valid when former President Eduard Shevardnadze was in
power. To be frank, I thought that the 7-per-cent barrier could unite
the opposition. Unfortunately, this did not happen. But we will
probably be able to reduce this barrier to 5 or 6 per cent. The
parties should be strengthened. They should have smooth
programmes. They should advance serious proposals in favour of the
people. Of course, then the people will appreciate this.
Correspondent Won’t it be difficult for you to work without
parliament’s criticism?
Saakashvili First, I think there will be criticism. Because
approximately 50 of the 75 deputies elected under the first-past-the
post system are opposition members. Overall, parliament consists of
230 members. As you see, the opposition is already obvious. Second,
our party is a coalition of different parties and groups. The people
there have different views. We often argue. This will not be a Soviet
parliament. It will be an ordinary parliament which will also have
people with a radical position. Some will be less radical. I think the
president will have certain problems with the parliament. I am ready
for this. Democracy exists for the presence of some problems. At the
same time, there should be constructive cooperation.
Correspondent Whom would you like to see as Speaker?
Saakashvili I would like to see Nino Burjanadze in the post of
Speaker. Of course, the political group will decide this. In general,
my position is that the process of democratization should start from
inside in all issues. Let the people decide themselves. I think
Burjanadze will hardly have a problem in this issue.
Azeris were quite active in elections
Correspondent Were you satisfied with the activity in the
parliamentary elections of Azeris living in Georgia?
Saakashvili I think Azeris were quite active in the elections. This
time there were fewer irregularities than in the previous
elections. The irregularities were at the same level as those in other
Georgian districts. Unfortunately, I could not conduct an active
election campaign on the whole of Georgian territory, also among
Azeris. As for the next elections, I would like to visit all places
and speak to everybody. I want the Azeri and Georgian compatriots to
be more active. Therefore, we should of course provide them with
explanations. Everybody, including those Azeris, should consider
solving their problems by voting. I have always told them that they do
not need to support the opposition or the government. Let them
struggle for the resolution of their problems. Let them raise their
problems and demand that the government tackle those problems. For
instance, we abolished land tax. Azeri programmes are broadcast on our
TV channels now and we will extend the reach of their broadcast. We
will teach Azeris Georgian on a high level so that they can integrate
into society and succeed. At the same time, we have practically
resolved the problem regarding the Azeri theatre. We have done this to
protect Azeri culture in Georgia and to provide the theatre with a
building. There are various issues, which differentiate Azeris from
other citizens of Georgia. Their issues should be resolved as well as
heard . Of course, there are general social problems. These problems
should be resolved equally among Azeris, Georgians, Russians and other
nations. I think Azeris should state their conditions when they go to
the elections. Incidentally, many of them have done this. This would
benefit our statehood.
No ethnic quota for Azeri and Armenian MPs
Correspondent Could you please explain the reasons why the number of
Azeri MPs dropped and the number of Armenian MPs increased in this
parliament?
Saakashvili I have not defined their number by their ethnic origin. I
think one active MP might be equal to a few MPs. We do not intend to
create artificial obstacles to anyone for their activity, reputation
and political experience. There were Azeris in the former parliament
who did not utter a word in favour of their compatriots. We need
people who will not sit and do nothing, but who will really
fight. This is not a Soviet parliament that needs a quota. Leaders
should appear who could lead others, enabling them to get the
opportunity to play a more active role in public life. I do not know
what the proportion is. But I can say that I do not collect people by
these indices.
Elections show Ajarian leadership has lost popular support
Correspondent Mr President, what steps will you take to fully control
the port of Batumi and the Sarpi customs post in Ajaria?
Saakashvili I think the parliamentary elections were alarm bells for
the local government. Because they cannot rely on the support of the
local population now, unlike before. I think that the agreements we
have reached will come into effect. We will have our representatives
there. They will supervise everything. The only issue left open is the
disarmament of the armed groups called the local voluntary
brigades. We are not going to joke on this issue. We want to resolve
everything peacefully. But if we need to bring someone to book, then I
am ready to do this. We have all the possibilities to do so.
Correspondent Do you rule out an armed conflict?
Saakashvili Of course, I will rule out using any force. But there was
a group in the Georgian region of Svanetia which kept the whole region
under threat. We sent soldiers there to neutralize the situation and
we neutralized them. We will undoubtedly neutralize such elements if
they exist there as well. The state should use limited force, if need
be. But this is the last option for a solution. The best thing is
reaching an agreement and using softer methods. But we are ready to
take any steps for the sake of the integrity of our society, not
causing problems to local civilians, in line with the constitution and
civil dialogue to prevent any threat against our statehood.
Georgia glad to have Azerbaijan as neighbour
Correspondent What do you think of Azerbaijan’s role in this issue?
Saakashvili I generally think that Azerbaijan has always supported us
closely. We have no problems with Azerbaijan and this cannot be the
case. The Azerbaijani president is my personal friend, ally. He is
someone whom I can phone and rely on in my very hard times. In
general, the presence of such partners on the personal and state level
has always played a decisive role for states. I think that the world
would have developed more, if at least half of the countries had had
such a leader. I think you are happy from this viewpoint. You have a
leader whom you can rely on. He will not leave you in trouble. He
seldom gives promises. But he keeps his promise if he gives one. I
feel comfortable that we have such neighbour. Not only I, but also
normal citizens of all Georgia feel quiet.
Correspondent How do you see Georgia’s future – as a unitary or
federal state?
Saakashvili In all, I support decentralization. What is
decentralization? This means all bureaucratic issues are tackled on
the spot so that they are not prolonged in future.
Passage omitted: more about the future plans about decentralization,
resolution of the Abkhaz conflict.
Georgia always together with Azerbaijan
Correspondent Do you intend to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the fight
against separatism? Is it possible to expect any pact to be signed on
the joint fight against separatism?
Saakashvili I do not know what specific documents should be
signed. But I know one thing, that we are together with the
Azerbaijani people in their difficult times. Azerbaijanis have always
been our friends in our hard times. For this reason, we will closely
cooperate in numerous spheres. We regard all Azerbaijan’s problems as
close to us. The Azerbaijani president and the people have been well
informed of this. We will also cooperate with international
organizations so that we could resolve issues as peacefully as
possible and constructively within the framework of those
organizations. Georgia is interested in tidiness, peace, cooperation
and the presence of a general political and economic space in the
region. I think our views in this sphere fully coincide with those of
the Azerbaijani leadership.
Correspondent Thanks a lot.

PRESS RELEASE
MARCH 22, 2004
UCLA Armenian Graduate Students Association
Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Contact: Lilit Keshishyan
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
UCLA AGSA and ASA bring contemporary Armenian art to campus
The UCLA Armenian Graduate Students Association in conjunction with the
UCLA Armenian Students Association welcomed the campus community to a week
of contemporary Armenian arts hosted at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Hall Art Gallery.
The week-long series of events included an exhibition of visual arts from
March 8th through March 12th.
The exhibition, entitled “VIIISIONS: An Exhibition of Contemporary Armenian
Arts” featured works by prominent Armenian artists; Vachag, Seeroon
Yeretsian, Martiros Adalyan, Sev, Vahe Berberian, Kaloust Guedel, Alina
Mnatsakanian, and Samvel Saghatelyan as well as poet Lory Bedikian and
vocalist Soseh Keshishyan. Artists Sev, Vahe Berberian, Kaloust Guedel and
Samvel Saghatelyan participated in the Monday afternoon opening of the
exhibit at which they introduced their work and answered questions from
students and faculty members.
“It was rewarding to see the positive responses of both Armenian and
non-Armenian students and faculty at the exhibition,” commented UCLA AGSA
project director for the exhibition, Lilit Keshishyan. “I think the
exhibit, poetry reading and performance provided a rich and fulfilling
experience because it formed a creative and intellectual atmosphere, and
welcomed interaction between the artists and audience.”
On the evening of March 10th, UCLA Alumna Lory Bedikian delivered a poetry
reading at the gallery. Bedikian has read in numerous southern California
venues including California State University – Northridge, the Los Angeles
Poetry Festival, KPFK’s Inspiration House, and The World Stage as well as
for the YWCA of Pasadena. Presenting poems relating to issues of Armenian
identity in the diaspora and childhood experiences, Bedikian later
commented, “Reading at the gallery in the presence of such artwork reminded
me, once again, that the Armenian/Armenian-American artist’s voice is alive
and in significant progressive stages here in Los Angeles.” She also noted
that, “What is even more significant is that UCLA student groups have
recognized the relevance of organizing such events. One can only hope for
larger forums and diverse audiences in the future so that we can share our
rich art forms. As an alumna of UCLA, I was especially honored and excited
to read my poetry at this venue.”
Following the reading, Bedikian discussed her inspiration for writing and
encouraged all interested writers to continue writing and expressing
themselves through literary art. The evening ended with an a cappella
performance of three Armenian songs by Soseh Keshishyan. Keshishyan, who
has been singing at various venues for more than 10 years, is third-year
Ethnomusicology student at UCLA.
Sophomore, Sos Bagramyan, noted that “Samvel Saghatelyan’s pieces were
particularly interesting to me because of their intricate synthesis of
eroticism, dark colors and written text. It was really refreshing to see so
much talent and variety in the Armenian artistic community put on display
at UCLA. Events like this that bring not only the artistic achievements of
minorities like Armenians, but all arts in general into the academic forum
should be more frequent and encouraged by the university.”
All artists were invited back to campus for the closing of the exhibition
which was held on March 12th. There the artists mingled with the students
and members of the community at large in attendance. “Youth and young
energy is always inspirational for the artist and hopefully, in turn, the
artist will be able to inspire the students,” reflected Vahe Berberian.
“The artist-audience relationship is always a symbiotic relationship and it
is always nice to rekindle interests on both sides.”
———- Attachment # 1 of 1: “VIIISIONS” Photographs (3) ———-
– 1 – Photo viewable/download-able at:
– 1 – Caption: Myrna Douzjian (UCLA AGSA, organizing committee) introduces
the artists to the audience at the gallery opening on March 8th.
– 2 – Photo viewable/download-able at:
– 2 – Caption: UCLA Alumna Lory Bedikian reads selections from her poetry
to the students gathered at the Kerckhoff Hall Art Gallery on March 10th.
– 3 – Photo viewable/download-able at:
– 3 – Caption: UCLA students enjoy an evening poetry reading and a
cappella performance.

There is no former spirit
Karabakh war to suit both Armenia and Azerbaijan, politician says
Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
26 Mar 04

“Talks on the Karabakh settlement have reached a deadlock. Moreover,
they have created a pre-war situation in Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations, which is unfortunately advantageous to the authorities of
both Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the leader of the Democratic Motherland
Party, Petros Makeyan, said during a discussion organized at Hotel
Congress yesterday.
He believes that war is advantageous to the Armenian authorities since
given the current domestic political situation, it is the only means
to prolong and preserve their power in case of a positive
result. According to Petros Makeyan, war is advantageous to Azerbaijan
not because its army is much stronger, but because of the moral and
psychological atmosphere that exists in Armenia today.
“Azerbaijan is sure that today our people will not fight as they did
in 1990-94 when people voluntarily went to Karabakh to protect their
families. Today nobody will go and protect [President] Robert
Kocharyan’s, [Defence Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan’s and their criminal
administration’s property,” the leader of the Democratic Motherland
Party said.

Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2004
No Islamic World Exists Today
by Nuriye Akman
After five years of living in the U.S. and suffering from poor
health, Fethullah Gulen broke his silence by granting an interview to
Nuriye Akman. Gulen commented on developments in Turkey and around
the world, and answered all the allegations about him. Along with
those subjects, he also explained the meaning of years of
homesickness. Gulen conveyed the traces of his yearning for his
homeland, and remarked, “These last five years have perhaps become
the most painful years of my life.”
As a member of Sabah newspaper, I interviewed Fethullah Gulen 10
years ago in Izmir. This was a turning point. This marked the first
time he was sharing his views with an ‘outsider’ journalist; he was
clarifying about who he was and what he wants to do. 10 years later,
this time in America, I had the chance to interview him as a member
of Zaman. I say ‘I had the chance’ because as all my colleagues, I
was wondering about how he lives in the U.S.; how this lengthy
separation reflected on his feelings and thoughts and when he will
return to Turkey. I had the desire to be the first journalist
reflecting his disclosures. I feel that I am lucky since I had the
chance to witness this expatriation process.
I would like to start with the subject that his followers and
opponents are most curious about: Where and how is he living?
In a small town, he lives in a house owned by his niece located in a
small wood of pine, chestnut, juniper and oak trees. This is place
similar to what Yahya Kemal describes in his poems; a place that
tranquilizes the soul under cool cypresses, away from crazy crowds.
It is where time runs not out but in slowly, cheered every now and
then by visits of Turks who live in America. Flocks of birds in a
hurry leave the sounds of their wings on the rooftop during the day.
The moon and stars in all their grandeur shine in a sky free of light
pollution. There are plenty of squirrels and deer.
But, if you think that Fethullah Gulen takes long walks in the wood
and watches with pleasure how a bubbling brook flows into a small
pond, you are wrong. He leaves his room only for praying and meal
times. Let alone the wood, he had not even taken five steps into the
garden in five years.
All right, but why? From diabetes to heart disease, from high blood
pressure to cholesterol problems, many physical discomforts of course
have a share in it, but, I consider the real answer to be hidden in
his soul. You will find a few hints of this during our interview.
I witnessed how much the health problems, which an ordinary person
would barely stand, wore him out. His condition was fluctuating. Even
though his eyes could not mask his pain, he deemed it impolite to
complain about his pain and he tried to answer my endless questions
in detail. When his doctor felt he [Gulen] could not continue because
of increasing blood pressure, fever, headache and the inability to
utter even a single word, he was demanded a break and sent him to
take a rest. I was angry at myself for pushing him to talk with me
before he had fully recovered from his heart surgery he had a short
while ago; however my professional excitement was dominating and I
was saying, “All right, that will be all for the day, but let’s
continue tomorrow,” and he was replying, “if I do not die.”
Despite the fact he implied that I was pushing the limits, my ego was
unwilling to hear this.
For this reason, I should say that one should not be taken in by the
vigorous posture and rugged clothing in his photos.
I was not before him on an interview appointment anyways. I would
like to thank him for not letting me down even though he felt that it
was not the time to express his thoughts. I happened to attend a pep
talk he was giving his guests on a day when he was feeling good. I
listened to him in a pep talk for the first time. It was a
multilayered talk blended with Sufism, history, geography, politics
and literature. It was addressed both to the hearts and minds, in
which audience could broaden their circle of awareness to the extent
of their intellectual accumulations. I think he was able to talk so
fluently because he was able to curb his bewilderment on the inside
that was caused by his being wronged.
When I requested to see his room, I was not rejected. A twin size bed
was covered with a bedspread stitched with simple colorful fabric
pieces. A treadmill was in the corner. All the things in the room
were nothing but the presents with symbolic values. Soil saved in
jars or some in plastic bags from different regions of Turkey was for
pacifying the yearning for his homeland.
It’s been five years since you came to America, has it not?
On March 22 (today), it will be five years.
How was Fethullah Gulen Hodjaefendi five years ago and how he is
today?
Such a long time has passed and naturally it has had an influence on
me. As of my character, I cannot say that I changed a great deal.
However, I have seen different things, heard different things.
Sometimes, I had been lowered into gayyas, [a well in hell]. I kept
quiet.
These five years perhaps were the most painful years of my life. I
had been subjected to a similar unjust scrutiny as well for nearly
six years. In the end, the verdict was annulment of the charge. It
could be said that, since May 27 some repeatedly pushed the button,
whether or not I know the reasons, and some took action. I am 66
years old; almost since I was 20 my life has been like this. This was
the most painful of all. Because, in a way I am oversensitive. I am
so sensitive to the extent of hysteria. I feel I am being disloyal if
I do not return to a place where I had a cup of coffee. In the same
way I feel I am being disloyal to a road previously taken if I do not
take it again. There is soil in my room from 50 different areas of
Turkey. They are being preserved, as if it is the soil of Kabah. I
look at them and find consolation in them. But, on the other hand, I
endure like pressing a piece of red hot coal into my chest and
squeeze my teeth not to provoke some.
What did this period bring to you and take from you? How did it
affect your health and psychology?
There are two sides to every story. I came here for treatment mostly.
There is Mr. Sadi in the Mayo Clinic, he is a Crimean. He went back
and forth to Turkey. They came with a delegation of the executive
board. They wanted to run a check up on me. The other side of the
issue is that there was pressure. Gossip was going on and on. On one
side, there were pleasant things, like taking tolerance to higher
places in Turkey, of the people respecting their positions and even
more so, of it becoming a culture. On the other hand, some were
disturbed a great deal for some reason. My heart was in fairly poor
condition. My diabetes was increasing. Even my cholesterol could not
be controlled. I came to the Mayo Clinic. My intention was to stay
there a few days and then return. A few days turned out to be a few
months. Based on these incidents, they said returning would be
harmful for my health. I tried to be under treatment on one side. I
had osteoporosis. I often went to hospitals for my heart condition. I
went to the hospitals 20 times. I did not go any place except
hospitals. I got sicker here, partly from sadness, partly from
distress. These were the places where the newspaper failed to reach
and I failed to listen to radio. I felt as if I was a little more
comfortable here. I was released from the happenings around me.
However, the yearning for Turkey was burning me inside.
No Islamic World but Individual Islam
Islamic section sat aside for years saying, ‘Islam does not accord
with terror”. However, the incidents of September 11 occurred. In the
aftermath, bombings took place in many countries, including Turkey.
It was discovered that the perpetrators came from among us. Before
everything else, it is it not necessary for us to rebel?
You are so right. Today, Islam is misunderstood at best. Muslims
should say, “In real Islam, terror does not exist.” Because, in
Islam, killing a human is equal to qufr [not believing Allah]. You
cannot kill a human being. You cannot touch the innocent, even in
war. No one can give fatwa (a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by
a religious law specialist, on a specific issue) on this subject. No
one can be a suicide bomber. No one can rush into crowds with bombs
tied to his body. Regardless of the religion of these crowds, it is
not religiously permissible. Even in the event of war – in which
balances are not kept much- , this is not permitted. It is told, “Do
not touch children, people who worship at churches.” It is not only
once that it is said, but over and over again. What Our Master [The
Prophet Muhammed] said, Ebu Bekir said, and what Ebu Bekir said, Omer
said, and what he said, in later times, Salahaddin Eyubi, Alparslan,
Kilicarslan also said. Fatih [Mehmet The Conqueror] said the same.
Thus Constantinople, where a disorderly hullabaloo was experienced,
had become Istanbul. That means neither Greek did anything to
Armenian, nor Armenian did anything to Greek. Muslims too did not do
anything to them. After the conquest of Istanbul, there was a huge
Fatih poster in the Patriarchate. It had been made at that time.
Fatih summoned the Patriarch then and gave him the key. They
[Patriarchate] remember him in respect. Now, as in everything else,
there is lack of understanding Islam, which has always respected
different ideas.
I should say this regretfully that in the Islamic World, some hodjas
and immature Muslims have no other weapons to use. Islam is a just
religion, it should be lived justly. It is definitely not right
either to use a futile pretext on the way to Islam. As the target is
required to be just, all the means to reach that target should be
just as well. Within this perspective, one cannot go to heaven by
killing another. A Muslim cannot say, “I will kill a man and then go
to heaven.” Acceptance of the will of Allah cannot be earned by
killing men. Of the most important goals of a Muslim, one is to earn
acceptance of God’s will and the other is to make the Almighty name
of Allah known to universe.
Is this how their logic works; war used to fought on the fronts. But
now, everywhere is a battle ground. Thus, do they accept this as a
war as well? Do they think that a gate for them will be opened to go
to heaven from this angle?
Rules of Islam are obvious. Individuals cannot declare war. Neither a
group nor an organization cannot declare a war. War is declared by
the state. You cannot declare a war without a president or an army
saying that it is war. Otherwise, it becomes a relative war. One
forms a war front by gathering, forgive my language, a few plunderers
around him. One other takes the others. Think about Turkey. There are
strong minded people. A front could be formed even because of their
differences. Some could say, “I declare war against such and such.” A
person tolerant to Christianity could be told, “He helps
Christianity, and weakens Islam. A war against him should be declared
and he must be killed,” then a war is declared. This is not so easy.
If the state does not declare a war, one cannot wage war. Whoever
does it, even if the scientists I like much, it is not true war,
because it is against the spirit of Islam. The rules of peace and war
in Islam are determined.
If it is against the spirit of Islam, then why is the Islamic World
like so?
In my opinion, there is no such world as the Islamic world. There are
places where Muslims live. They are many in some places and few in
others. That is Islamic culture. There are Muslims who restructured
Islam in accordance with their thoughts. I do not refer to
radicalism, extremist Muslims. Requirement is that one should justly
believe, and apply justification to these beliefs; Islam should be
owned. It cannot be said that in Islamic geography no such societies
with this concept and philosophy exist. If we say otherwise, then we
slander Islam. If we say Islam does not exist, then we slander
humans. I do not lightly consider the contribution of Muslims to the
balance of the world. I do not see that logic with administrators.
The Islamic World is pretty ignorant, despite an enlightenment in
measures that is coming into existence nowadays. We can observe this
in Hajj. You can see this in their conferences and panels. You can
see this in their parliaments through television. There is a serious
inequality in the subject matter. They cannot solve the problems of
the world. Perhaps, it could be achieved in the future.
You mean then, that the term “Islamic World” should not be used?
No such world exists. There is individual Islam. There are some
Muslims in different places around the world. Piece by piece, broken.
I personally do not see the prosperous existence of Muslims. If
Muslims, who will be in contact with the others and constitute a
union, solve common problems, interpret the universe, read it really
well, consider the universe carefully with the Koran, read the future
very well, generate projects for the future, determine its place for
the future, do not exist, I do not call it Islamic World. Since there
is no such Islamic World, every one does something according to
him/her self. It could even be said that there are Muslims with their
own truth on behalf of Islam. It cannot be said that an Islamic
concept reached consensus by itself; rather great Islamic scholars
reach a consensus on a subject, bound by a strong Koran
interpretation, and it is tested many times. It could be said that an
Islamic culture is dominant.
Perhaps, it has been always like that. And it will continue to be as
such until the end of the world.
It has been so after the 5th A.H. It started with the Abbasid Era or
with the appearance of the Seljuks. It started more so after the
Conquest of Istanbul. This is a period that is the will of Allah for
us. In the following periods, doors to new interpretations were
closed. Horizons of thought were narrowed. Wideness in the soul of
Islam was narrowed. More unscrupulous people are started to be seen
in Islamic world. People who are touchy. People who cannot accept
others. People who cannot open themselves to everyone. This
narrowness was experienced in dervish lodges. It is so sad that it
was even experienced in madrasas [schools of theology]. And of
course, all of these require revision and renovation by great people
in their fields.
You think maybe their abolishment was for better.
Abolishment was the punishment of Allah for them.
Fethullah Gulen struggles with serious health conditions. While he
was answering Nuriye Akman’s questions, he got sick from time to
time, and all his pain was reflected in his face. There were pauses
where he felt that he could not continue with the interview. He
mentioned that he satiates the yearning for his homeland by viewing
the soil brought from 50 different regions in Turkey; he does not
consider it is time to go back to Turkey just yet. When he is asked
about the reason, he says: “My treatment continues. I do not want to
stir anything up with my return.”

Envoy surprised at Azeri reaction to Kazakh condolences to Armenia
Ekspress, Baku
20 Mar 04
Text of Alakbar Raufoglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on
20 March headlined “Astana’s letter of condolences” and subheaded
“Ambassador Andar Shukputov: ‘This is an ordinary protocol rule'”
The Kazakh ambassador to Azerbaijan, Andar Shukputov, cannot
understand why people in Baku ambiguously take the Astana government’s
condolences to Yerevan on the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen
Markaryan in Budapest.
“This move by the Kazakh Foreign Ministry is simply a protocol rule
and has no political significance,” Shukputov told Ekspress
yesterday. He believes that any conflict should be settled in a
civilized way. Astana, which has normal diplomatic relations both with
Baku and Yerevan, expects that the sides will “take steps that meet
international principles and norms” to settle the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict.
“Kazakhstan’s position has not changed,” Shukputov said. It is absurd
to link Astana’s letter of condolences to a change in Kazakhstan’s
position on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, he added. “We recognize
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. According to President Nursultan
Nazarbayev, Astana supports the settlement of the problem only within
the framework of the principle of territorial integrity,” Shukputov
stressed.

The Star, South Africa
World briefs – February 24, 2004
February 24, 2004
Museum waxing lyrical
Paris – The city’s famous Grevin wax museum is to add a figure of
79-year-old crooner Charles Aznavour to its collection of French icons
next month. Aznavour – 80 years old in May – is a veteran entertainer
who got his start with help from singer Edith Piaf. He was to be
featured next to portraits of actors Gerard Depardieu and Alain Delon,
among others, the museum said yesterday.

Winston Salem Journal, NC
March 19 2004
Clouds Lifted: Writer’s mother, 94, was a little girl lost in a
political upheaval
By Janice Gaston
JOURNAL REPORTER

A Long Search: Writer Thea Halo is shown at right with her mother,
Sano Halo, who was one of thousands of ethnic Greeks exiled from
their homes in Turkey in 1920. (Journal Illust. by Nicholas Weir)

Thea Halo grew up knowing that her mother’s life had been filled with
tragedy. By the time she was 10, the girl who would become known as
Sano Halo had lost everything that mattered to her.
Sano Halo, now 94, was one of thousands of ethnic Greeks driven from
their homes in Turkey in 1920. Marched through mountains and deserts
with ever-dwindling supplies, many of Halo’s fellow Greeks died. Some
dropped dead in their tracks. Her baby sister died in her arms.
By the time Sano Halo was 15, her mother and sisters were dead, and
her father and brother had disappeared. She was married off to a
45-year-old man she didn’t know.
She arrived in the United States in 1925, a teen-age bride, with
nothing left of her Greek heritage, not even the name that her
parents had given her.
Thea Halo tells her mother’s poignant story in her book, Not Even My
Name. Thea Halo, accompanied by her mother, will speak Saturday at an
Agape Celebration Luncheon at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Hellenic Center here. Proceeds from the luncheon, which begins at 11
a.m., will benefit youth programs.
When Thea Halo was growing up in New York, she could never explain
her heritage. Her parents were born in Turkey, but neither was
Turkish.
Her mother was a Pontic Greek, an ethnic group that had lived in
Turkey near the Pontic Mountains for 3,000 years. Her father was
Assyrian, a descendant of ancient people thought to be no longer in
existence. Her brothers took on the identity of Turks. Her older
sister told people that they were Egyptian and urged their mother to
do the same. She complied.
In her book, Halo wrote, “It had never occurred to any of us that in
our struggle to have an identity of our own, we had negated hers.”
Sano Halo, then known as Themia, was born in a tiny mountain village
in northern Turkey, near the Black Sea. She doesn’t remember her
family name. When she was not quite 10, soldiers came to her home and
rousted her family. In her book, Halo described what they said:
“You are to leave this place. Take with you only what you can carry.”
They marched the Greeks toward the Syrian desert, Thea Halo said by
telephone from her home in New York.
The march took place within the context of years of conflict between
the Greeks and the Turks.
“The whole history of this thing is so complicated, you could spend
your life on it,” said Bruce Kuniholm, a professor of history and
public-policy studies at Duke University. After World War I, the
Ottoman Empire, which ruled over Greece for centuries, was being
dismembered. An independence movement in the 19th century extracted
Greece from the Empire, but Greek minorities had continued to live
there.
The Treaty of Sevres, imposed on the Ottoman sultan by the Allies in
1920, awarded Greece portions of the empire in the West. But when
Greek forces invaded Turkey to take what had been awarded to them,
Kunhihom said, Turkish nationals, who opposed the sultan and the
treaty, drove the Greeks out. They also drove out the Russians,
Italians, French and eventually the British.
People like the Pontic Greeks, Kunihom said, were caught in the
complicated dynamic of a disintegrating empire, an emerging
nationalist movement and ethnic conflict between the Greeks and the
Turks.
After Sano Halo’s family passed through a town called Karabahce, her
daughter said, “they decided to run away. Two of their children had
already died on the road.”
Destitute, the family scrounged for food. Thea Halo’s grandmother,
realizing that her daughter might starve, gave her to a woman who
asked to take her in. The girl became a virtual slave to the woman,
who changed her name from Themia to a Kurdish name, Sano.
“She stayed with that woman about two years,” Thea Halo said. The
woman was so abusive that Sano Halo finally ran away. “An Armenian
family took her in,” her daughter said. “When they fled Turkey on
pain of death, they brought her with them as their daughter to
Syria.” There, her fate collided with that of Abraham Halo, who had
fled Turkey in 1905, “on pain of death,” his daughter said. He came
to the United States, married and fathered a child. The marriage
ended unhappily, and he gained custody of his son.
In 1925, he went to Aleppo, Syria, to look for a wife. One of his
relatives had a solution.
“Why don’t you marry that young girl upstairs?” the relative asked.
The decision was sealed.
On her wedding day, Sano Halo was still a child. She had not yet
begun to menstruate, and her breasts had not yet developed. The
bodice of the borrowed wedding dress that she wore sagged against her
flat chest.
When Sano Halo arrived in her new home in New York, she became an
instant stepmother to a boy of 10, a role she was ill-equipped to
play. But she quickly learned about motherhood when she began to bear
children of her own, 10 in all. She forgot the languages of her youth
and spoke nothing but English. When an injury forced her husband to
quit working when he was in his 60s, she got a job and supported the
family.
While her children were growing up, Sano Halo told them about the
tragedies of her early life, but they didn’t truly sink in.
“Parents tell their story,” Thea Halo said. “Especially when you’re
young, you have your own lives to live. You want to go
roller-skating. You hear basically the same stories over and over.”
But she realized that she needed to really hear the stories when she
decided to write a book about her mother’s past.
The idea for a book came after Thea Halo had taken her mother back to
Turkey, after nearly 70 years of exile, to look for her ancestral
home. Sano Halo had never been able to find her village on a map. In
Turkey, she found out why. The name that she remembered, Iondone, was
in dialect. The village was actually named Ayios Antonios.
Emotions ran high for both of them when they finally arrived at the
spot where Sano Halo had lived as a child.
Where 250 houses had once stood, they found nothing but a wooden
shack and empty green hills. A rectangle of wildflowers marked the
spot where the family home had been.
In her book, Thea Halo described what happened then.
“I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes for something lost,”
she wrote. “Or maybe for something found. I had a family at last,
just long enough to know they were gone.”
Thea Halo had spent most of her adult life making a living as an
artist. By telling her mother’s story, she became a writer. She has
put aside her painting and has more books in the works.
Not Even My Name, she said, has taken on a life of its own.
She started getting e-mails from people around the world. “This is
our story,” people told her. She began giving lectures and readings.
She started connecting with people who share her ethnicity.
“I was raised an American,” she said. “I had never been part of a
Greek community, an Assyrian community, an Armenian community,” she
said. “One of the things it did is bring me into the communities of
my heritage.
“It’s been a wonderful experience.”

A Writer At Large: In Search Of The (Live) Lost Chord;
IT MIGHT SEEM ODD TO SAY LONDON ISN’T A GREAT CITY FOR CLUBS, BUT IF…
March 7, 2004, Sunday
By Tim Marrs
In Seville recently for the Womex Conference, I fled the official
conference showcases and sought out La Carboneria, a bar I remembered
from years ago. Its signless wooden door in a back alley was marked
only by a row of parked bicycles and a few people exiting as we
approached.
You enter an extraordinary room, the high-vaulted central chamber of
what was once a charcoal-maker’s workplace. The walls are covered with
old bullfight ***** faded photos of flamenco singers, abstract
daubs with a Fifties air about them and relics of the craft of turning
wood into fuel. In a corner of the room by a fireplace, a woman
dressed in scarves and a long, flowered skirt and accompanied by a
guitarist sang coplas, a flamenco-esque song form from the
Forties. The crowd was mixed by age and type and paid attention to the
music rather than chatting. Through the far door is a large shed with
rows of benches, a long bar and a small stage. The back door opens
onto a huge hidden garden sheltered by palms and banana trees with
more tables, chairs and a bar. When the coplas finished, an Armenian
trio with clarinet, oud and percussion started in the shed, a
belly-dancer joining them towards the end of their set. By that time
the place was packed and the crowd was younger and hipper. It seemed
to have become more fashionable than I remembered from prior visits
listening to young flamenco rebels jamming after hours, but it had
retained its eccentricity and its atmosphere. It has also, like the
rest of Spain, kept its wilfully egalitarian ethos: the bartender
scrupulously insisted on returning the loose change I left on the bar.
As I sat sipping my ginda, I pondered why no equivalent exists in
London. Our past gets ploughed under by changing trends and rising
real-estate values. Clubs soar upwards on a tide of tribal fashion
then disappear. The Jazz Cafe was a great little joint in Stoke
Newington before it moved aspirationally to Camden Town; now it’s a
cog in the Mean Fiddler machine. The original Mean Fiddler in
Harlesden, for that matter, was once a pretty good place for live
music, but has long been closed. Momo tries to create the equivalent
atmosphere, but it is too relentlessly hip, exclusive and small to
match the democratic flavour of La Carboneria.
It sounds odd to say London isn’t a great city for music. Kids come
from all over the world to go clubbing here. But most London musical
destinations are in thrall to the world of DJs, or the shifting sands
of popular fashion, or both. Dancing, if it is done, is to recorded
music. And to be fair, London has raised the club-DJ scene to a level
of sophistication and up- to-dateness easily the equal of New York or
Paris. But the dance hall or venue with memories of years of great
nights of live music clinging to its unfashionable wallpaper is not to
be found.
There’s Ronnie Scott’s of course, but for decades that has been a kind
of landing strip for American, Cuban or other foreign jazz artists of
international repute. “The Old Place” lasted for a while as a haven
for local jazz talent in the original Gerard Street basement, but
walking through Chinatown now, you are hard pressed to remember which
stairwell once led down to its grimy but soulful rooms. The Pizza
Express jazz venues are good, but adhere pretty closely to the jazz
cliches.
One problem is that there is no native London musical tradition you
can dance to. You could never imagine a local version of the Mid-City
Rock ‘N Bowl, for example. As the name suggests, this is a bowling
alley, located in a strip mall in an unfashionable district of New
Orleans. Most nights, the lot is full and cars prowl the murky side
streets looking for a place to park while queues form at the foot of
the stairs. Once you gain entrance, you find yourself in a gigantic
hangar where the rumble of bowling balls blends with the clatter of
pins and the creaking of automated machinery re-setting the
lanes. It’s a good bowling alley, one of the best in the city, and in
excellent unaltered condition. Which means it reeks of the Fifties,
even down to the barmaids’ and waitresses’ tight little blue jackets,
pleated mini- skirts and black ankle boots. Murals on the wall
celebrate the Pelicans, the city’s minor-league baseball team, and
their sponsoring local beer.
But what sets Mid-City Lanes apart is the huge dance floor between the
bar and the bowlers. The space is about 30 lanes wide, with a stage at
either end for the busy nights when two groups alternate until two in
the morning. Week nights, they tend to have zyedeco or cajun bands,
with R&B or Latin music on the weekends. The roar of the lanes is
curiously supportive of the music, like a drone that never goes out of
tune. There are two-step lessons for the newcomers at 7pm on Wednesday
and Thursday evenings. By 11, the place is heaving, with dancers of
all races, ages and classes mixing it up and girls sitting on the
banquettes in hot dresses waiting to be asked. Couples come and bowl a
few frames, drink a few beers, eat some fried chicken, then have a
dance.
London’s closest equivalent to the democratic mileu of Rock ‘N Bowl is
the DJ Gaz Mayall’s Rockin’ Blues which has made its home in various
dives over many years. I remember running into an ex-girlfriend at a
dinner party 20 years ago who wanted me to take her, her Tory minister
husband and their friends out dancing after the meal. We ended up at
Gaz’s listening to early reggae and R&B while the minister rubbed
shoulders with a party of skinheads at the next table toasting one of
their number who was shipping out next day for the Falklands.
In later years, Jerry Lyseight, Max Reinhardt and Rita Ray opened the
legendary Mambo Inn which specialised in Latin and African music and
would present live bands in one of the rooms of the glorious
rabbit’s-warren that is Brixton’s Loughborough Arms. But it died at
the end of the Eighties, leaving Gaz to carry the roots torch
alone. Bricks and mortar are a problem in a prosperous place like
London. Seville and New Orleans are wonderful cities, but one has very
strict preservation orders to protect the old quarters from
development and the other is too poor to grow. Both recognise that
preserving their past is a better economic plan than developing it.
It sounds as foolish to accuse London of having no sense of history as
it does to accuse it of having no good music. But think about it – in
Seville and New Orleans, the past comes right up to the
present. London’s past is safely preserved in architecture from
distant centuries. Punk clubs? All closed. Murray’s Club, where
Stephen Ward first danced with Christine Keeler? Long gone. Eel Pie
Island, home to trad, skiffle, the blues, and finally The Who and The
Stones? No preservation order saved that century-long mecca of
decadence from the weeds. And don’t get me started on Battersea Power
Station …
Readers who may have gone along with me thus far would quickly turn
the page were I to suggest that London ought to preserve its own
native musical past the way those other cities do. What would that be?
The country dances brought into sweaty city dance palaces that Charles
Dickens so admired? The big dance floors and the equally big bands of
the Forties? Clearly, there is no chance of that. What, come to think
of it, is London’s musical culture? Cockney Music Hall?
No, London is a chameleon city, turning absorbed styles from across
the Atlantic into something it can call its own. Eric Clapton and Mick
Jagger did America’s white blues wannabes one better, as did Zep, Roxy
Music, The Clash, Britpop and Radiohead with their Transatlantic
equivalents. But these groups were primarily turns. They didn’t meet
kindred souls at after-hours clubs and jam. English pop groups work
out their act and then show it on a stage for kids their own age or
younger. Its whole point is to violate whatever tradition is
around. There is no undercurrent of musical texture seeping up from
London’s earth. Unless you count reggae and calypso – but the question
of why there has never been an established venue here for live West
Indian music is another subject entirely …
Bordeaux has a reputation as an up-tight bourgeois city. The beauty of
its 17th century river-front buildings is chilly and severe and the
place reeks of money and respectability. Spending time in the
countryside nearby, I despaired of ever having a Bordelais laugh. One
day I was sipping a pastis and idly thumbing a copy of Sud-Ouest when
I spotted a small notice announcing the Kocani Orchestra, the Balkan
brass band who appeared in Emir Kosturica’s films Underground and Time
of the Gypsies. Where on earth could they be playing in Bordeaux?
Many wrong turns later, I found myself in what resembled a scene from
one of those films. On the dingy far bank of the Garonne
Christmas-tree lights were strung along a chain-link fence between two
forbidding warehouses beside a disused railway line. The signs
announced two names, take your pick: La Guinguette and Chez
Alriq. True to guinguette tradition, it has tables, a dance floor and
a stage under the trees by the river. The bar and restaurant are
inside a crumbling workshop. You fetch your (excellent) food from a
counter and enjoy the summer breeze off the river. In winter, there’s
a stage at one end of the workshop and the tables crowd together
around a dance floor.
And behold, here was the Bohemiam Bordeaux I had been searching for:
art teachers, overgrown moustaches, charity-shop fashion, mixed-race
couples, teenagers hanging out contentedly with their parents
… Alriq’s wife, Rosa, greets and looks after the bar and the
musicians, and together they create an admirably louche
atmosphere. Every night there is music: cajun, musette, jazz, Latin,
gypsy, flamenco, tango. Never a DJ, always a band.
The atmosphere generated by live musicians playing danceable music is
impossible to replicate with recordings. People behave differently
towards each other. Electronic beats have the effect of hardening
manners to match the punch of the rhythm tracks. Watching the music
take shape in front of your eyes and touching your dance partner
softens people. At least that is my experience.
London does have a market for this musical agenda. The audience for
real musicians playing real music with a bit of history is satisfied,
to a degree, by our public spaces. We are lucky to have people like
David Jones of Speakout, Bryn Ormrod from the Barbican, David Sefton
of the South Bank (head-hunted and now running Royce Hall in Los
Angeles) and Andy Wood from Como No. They manage to parade a series of
concerts and musical events not just onto the formal stages but into
the foyers of the Barbican and the Festival Hall where there is room
for dancing. Mambo Inn’s Max and Rita now run the periodic Shrine and
try to blend their beats with live music in imaginative ways. The
Lyric Hammersmith fills time between plays with imaginative music
programming. The crowds at these events show that there would
certainly be an audience for a London guinguette. Maybe someone should
bring Eel Pie Island back to life.
I ran a club once: “UFO” Friday nights in a Tottenham Court Road
basement. Pink Floyd were our resident group, there were light shows
and Kurosawa movies at 4am, Yoko Ono cut a paper dress off a naked
girl on a stepladder with amplified scissors and it became the centre
of the annus mirabilis of 1967. History has memorialised it as the
cradle for groups like the Floyd, the Soft Machine and Arthur Brown.
But we used to present jazz, theatre, folk and the uncategoriseable
avant- garde as well. The openness of the programming was part of the
point. When my partner, Hoppy, was jailed and I found myself running
it on my own, I made the mistake of trying to keep it at the centre of
the new scene instead of maintaining its original free-form spirit. In
trying to become a commercial succes, it lost its way and
disappeared. (Having police and skinheads busting and beating up our
crowds probably didn’t help much, either …)
New York has recently lost both The Bottom Line and Village
Underground, but still boasts the Tonic, Joe’s Pub and The Knitting
Factory. Moscow now has great live venues, led by the quirky
Jao-Da. LA has Largo, Paris La Java, Cafe de la Danse, Divan du Monde,
Amsterdam the venerable Milkveg and Paradiso. Here, Stuart Lyon’s
Sunday nights at Ronnie’s carry on, while the admirable Kashmir Klub
has lost its lease. The Jazz Cafe, Spitz, 12-Bar, Cargo and Borderline
have their merits, but you wouldn’t send an out-of-town visitor to any
of them for the crowd and the ambience.
Is there room for a place in London with the Bacchanalian spirit of
Eel Pie Island, the agape booking policy of Chez Alriq, a dance floor
as big and springy as Mid-City Rock ‘N Bowl and the atmosphere and
cheap drinks of La Carbonaria. Well, I am certainly not going to open
one. But if someone is brave enough, he or she can count on my buying
a round on opening night.

Mehr News Agency, Iran
March 8 2004
Churches of Tabriz
TEHRAN, March 8 (Mehr News Agency) — Shining as the oldest and
largest church in Tabriz, Saint Mary’s church was built in 1782 in
the Armenian style of architecture.
Beautiful pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, as well as
several apostles decorate the walls of the prayer niche and the
corners of the arch-shaped ceiling of the church in which religious
and national Armenian ceremonies are performed.
There are also several other churches in the city including the Saint
Serkis and Saint Shoghat churches.
Saint Serkis Church was built in 1821, and is located in the
Barunavak district of the city. It is also decorated with pictures of
the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and several apostles. Another church is
on Valman Alley and a Gothic-style church built in 1910 is located on
Miyarmiyar St.
Shoghat Church is located next to the Armenian graveyard of the
Maralan district near Saint Mary’s Church.