Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Armenia-Turkey issue close to actualization today – historian

12:13 * 29.08.14

In an interview with Tert.am, the director of the National Academy’s
Institute of History, Ashot Melkonyan, addressed the current stage and
the future prospects of the Armenia-Turkey relations, noting that the
process seems to be at the threshold of actualization today. The
historian said he thinks that the current state of affairs will cause
Turkey to bring to the agenda the frozen bilateral protocols signed in
Zurich, Switzerland in 2009 (Turkey later abandoned the deal in an
attempt to avoid offending Azerbaijan, its “younger brother”). In the
meantime, he warned against any attempt to unconditionally normalize
the relations with Turkey, noting that the clauses enshrined in the
documents are advantageous only to the Turkish side.

Mr Melkonyan, are the Armenia-Turkey relations on the threshold of
actualization today given the attitudes of Turkey’s new government? In
particular, [Foreign Minister] Ahmet Davutuglu introduced a
nine-clause manifesto as a candidate for the prime minister, saying
that the Turkish foreign policy agenda consists of the Armenian and
Cyprus issues which they will never abandon.

If you remember, Davutoglu, when he was a foreign minister, declared
the slogan Zero Problems with Neighbors. He thus sought to demonstrate
that Turkey is a peacemaker in the region, which seeks to smooth over
all the historical problems with the neighbors, including the Arab
world, the Armenians, the Greeks and the Russians. Life showed that
such a policy experienced a failure: Turkey did not manage to
successfully make the policy of establishing relations with the Arabs
serve its purpose, and the Arab world very soon got disappointed with
it. The Syrian example demonstrates that Turkey is not able to be a
leading Islamic state; what’s even more, it will continue the
traditional policies of remaining an enemy of the Arab world. Having
that situation in mind, he [Davutoglu] is now trying to justify the
failed policies. With the intention to become a prime minister, he is,
so to say, planning to pursue those policies of zero problems with the
neighbors. But the zero problems leave two difficulties nonetheless.
And they are so big and flagrant that there are no chances to reduce
them to zero in the foreseeable future, with Northern Cyprus remaining
under occupation and the Armenian Cause – which the Armenian statehood
re-affirmed from the initial years of its foundation – all the time
troubling Turkey. So they brought ashore those ill-fated Zurich
protocols which, in my deepest conviction, are advantageous only to
Turkey. The positive aspect for the Armenian side would be probably
the opening of borders at the cost of big sacrifices; yet it is
questionable how long the opening would last and what economic risks
it posed, especially for Armenia (given that the different levels of
economic development).

What specific proposals do you think will be made to the Armenian side now?

I now think that the frozen Zurich protocols may be brought to the
agenda again. It is not absolutely advantageous to us. The issue was
frozen or excluded from the agenda only because of Azerbaijan’s tough
stance. Azerbaijan had adopted the posture of an offended side, saying
that any relations with Armenia are unacceptable to it. Whereas the
Zurich protocols are favorable to Turkey, as the first clause
envisages a legal recognition of the Armenian-Turkish border by
Armenia, i.e. – Akhuryan-Araks would be recognized as the
Armenian-Turkish border, forcing Armenia to cede Western Armenia once
and for all. That would imply a re-ratification of the 1921 Treaty of
Moscow.

Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire 20 times on August 28

12:54 29.08.2014

According to the data of the NKR Defense Army, about 20 cases of
ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the
line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijan.

The rival fired more than 150 shots from weapons of different caliber
in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front troops of the Defense Army remained committed to the
ceasefire regime and confidently performed their military duty.

As Long As Serzh Sargsyan Remains President

Igor Muradyan, Political Analyst
Comments – 30 August 2014, 13:54

We have already noted that with all his intellectual misery Serzh
Sargsyan played a huge role in preventing access of all kinds of
obsolete politicians of the vulgar past to government, as well as
commitments between them and foreign interested centers of power.
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Raffi Hovannisian and their
myrmidons can confirm this as Serzh Sargsyan’s behavior towards them
had a lot of unexpected turns, especially towards Robert Kocharyan.

There was hardly anything important in Serzh Sargsyan’s position. Most
probably, it was determined by personal interests but, one way or
another, the pro-government, pro-Russian and opposition-pro-Russian
groups must be grateful to him for such a position. It did not give
them a lot of joy but illusions and “favorable” expectations occurred.

Serzh Sargsyan’s attempts to normalize relations with Turkey and
penetrate into the Eurasian Union were perceived by their opponents
from different camps quite originally; in other words, this is good,
of course but he cannot cope with these issues so we will resolve them
when we come to government. Here is ethic and logic typical of
Yerevan, and generally this is denoted with other wording.

At the same time, Serzh Sargsyan has led Armenia into a stalemate
tightly and lastingly, and even if the Eurasian and Customs Unions
blast like bubbles, Armenia will hardly make fun of it because nobody
knows how to creep out of this ugly situation. Simply there is nobody
to resolve these issues.

Serzh Sargsyan who is related to the Karabakh war and army building
has strived to gather around him not only people who are not related
to the idea of statehood, including the Karabakh idea, people who are
depressed by the former history of unification of the homeland but
also striving for depriving Armenia of independence.

The actual Armenian elite are riffraff while there is no alternative
yet. Hopes on armed forces and the young generation are still
expectations but still there is hope, and therefore bold people must
understand that the worse the better.

Serzh Sargsyan has lost even the miserable team which he had been able
to get together from among the wastes of the Armenian ethnicity and is
completely lost ahead of new political threats.

Surprisingly, he apparently thinks that the current situation of the
country and the state of the ruling regime is not bad, and there are
good expectations.

Now that it is clear that the pro-Russian economic and political, as
well as military “unions” will soon collapse, Serzh Sargsyan is trying
to demonstrate shrewdness and ability to calculate at least two moves
ahead with the help of venal mass media. All this is bullshit, and in
reality there is complete political failure and inadequacy.

In any case, such radical assessments are self-defeating because it
turns out that such a failure politician as the president of Armenia
has been able to thwart such strong plans as the integration of
Armenia with the European Union all by himself. Apparently, there were
stronger circumstances which forced Serzh Sargsyan to walk into the
blind alley and lead Armenia into international isolation.

The developments in Ukraine with which so much is linked in terms of
reconstruction of the Armenian statehood and sovereignty have at the
same time demonstrated the nature and characteristics of the policy of
the West and, first of all, leading European states. Germany
officially announced that it is not likely to supply weapons to
parties of conflicts. Practically, similar positions are held by
countries which preferred confrontation with Russia.

In the case of Armenia, limitations of supply of arms by the countries
of the Western community are even tougher than in the case of Ukraine
or Georgia. The Western states pretend that their position is
principled and complies with the international law. However, everyone
understands that refusal to supply arms to Armenia means strengthening
Armenia’s dependence on Russia, its main supplier of arms.

Everyone understands another thing, namely a strong army is the main
factor of supporting peaceful coexistence in the South Caucasus. All
the other arguments are relative and often illusory.

However, this is not the full understanding of the situation. With its
capacities, Azerbaijan is much stronger than Armenia which has no
ability to buy arms in international markets. Therefore, observing and
maintaining balance of forces in the South Caucasus, primarily between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, supposes supply of arms to Armenia by Western
states as a priority.

At the same time, the signals that Armenia received prior to
“September 3” were rather weak and unconvincing. Separate countries of
the West might have been interested in containing Azerbaijan’s
aggression with the help of Russia which supplies weapons to Armenia
but Russia has shifted the game to a different dimension and supplies
Azerbaijan with a quantity of weapons which cannot comply with the
objectives of observing balance of forces because balance of forces in
the South Caucasus means Armenia’s absolute advantage in the sphere of
defense.

Russia has been able to beat the West but the letter did not care much
until Russia demonstrated ambitions for dominance in Ukraine, the
Black Sea and the South Caucasus. Currently, Turkey and Israel, partly
Belarus and Azerbaijan have broken the balance of forces though this
notion is relative.

At the same time, it would have been unfair to deny the Western
perspective of Armenia in terms of defense and security prior to
“September 3”, especially considering the perspective. Defense
cooperation between the Western states and Armenia was procrastinated
and pedaled without a valid reason. Armenia was required to revise the
armed forces without any guarantee that the results of such revision
would be possessed by Turkey and eventually Azerbaijan.

For a long time after the collapse of the USSR through the beginning
of the 2000s the Western community openly supported Azerbaijan’s
interests and only when the relations of the United States and Turkey
and NATO were questioned, the importance of Armenia in the region
grew. Now the United States is busy with geopolitical plagiarism and
is considering Armenia as one of the many factors of containing
Turkey’s regional expansion, and Azerbaijan as a geopolitically and
ideologically unacceptable state.

Russia was weak and had to support Armenia. Now Putin has been made
believe that Russia has strengthened enough to shift to large-scale
expansion in different directions. Such a Russia which is ready to
agree with Turkey and Azerbaijan on anything in prejudice of Armenia’s
interests is threat N 1 to Armenia.

The United States and NATO have to move on to strengthening their
positions in Eastern Europe, including establishment of military
bases, and this supposes, inter alia, distance between Armenia and
Russia. In addition, such exhausted ideas as normalization between
Armenia and Turkey as a means of achieving independence of Armenia are
no longer effective and are not being considered by actual circles.

The United States and NATO are creating a “zone” of European security
and without the participation of Armenia, with consideration of Iran’s
role, this objective cannot be implemented fully.

It would be possible to achieve such frontiers without high risks had
the Armenian government possessed two qualities: necessary political
intellect and determination. Serzh Sargsyan did what he could, he is a
functionary of particular type and he was not even able to use the
resources that he had. He capitulated to the Russians, ceding the
country’s sovereignty, and now as long as he remains the president,
the West will not supply a single bullet to Armenia nor will the West
grant serious economic preferences.

Even now that the pro-Russian blocs are falling obviously apart, Serzh
Sargsyan continues to thwart the plans of the United States and NATO
in favor of Putin. No doubt his conductor Edward Nalbandyan who acts
as the fulfiller of Russia’s will is mainly responsible for this
policy.

Nevertheless, even if hypothetically the president of Armenia had not
given in to Russian rule, it should be acknowledged that he was doing
it with high risks because the West did not make due initiatives for
ensuring Armenia’s security. Even a decisive and legitimate president
would have found himself in a difficult situation, let alone Serzh
Sargsyan.

Therefore, he needs certain understanding, as well as the entire
intellectual and socially miserable Armenian society which has
capitulated to not only Putin but also Serzh Sargsyan who is not
capable of putting forth questions to his patrons and partners.

Now it is important to understand how guilty Serzh Sargsyan is for his
choice and how decisive the parallel government can be. My friends and
opponents were unable to answer this question in a quite frank
discussion. Now the question is not about Serzh Sargsyan, there is no
such question any more, but about further policy and politicians in
order not to have to justify and defend forthcoming politicians.

The pro-Western course is for serious and bold people for whom the
nation’s sovereignty is not lip service. The United States and NATO
have bigger understanding that “there is no alternative to
geopolitical expansion” towards the Black Sea – South Caucasus –
Caspian and are transforming their relations with new partners in
those regions at a higher pace.

The United States and its genuine partners are facing three important
objectives in Eastern Europe: lead to due division of the policy of
the international isolation of Russia, minimize pretensions of
opponents to enlargement and expansion of mission of the alliance and
proposal of integration to the countries of the region, launch a
large-scale policy of supplying arms to the countries of Eastern
Europe on acceptable terms.

The United States will implement adequate objectives independently
from NATO if such issues as NATO’s objectives are not resolved during
the summit in Cardiff but the alliance had to agree with such
initiatives. This is a chance for Armenia but Armenia needs an
appropriate real government or parallel government which would be
capable of binding agreements with the United States and NATO. For the
time being, there is no government in Armenia.

REVUE DE PRESSE
Ce motard inconnu qui a conduit la 2e DB à Paris

Le journal Le Parisien a fait un article sur une anecdote lors de la
libération de Paris.

“Parmi les héros de la Libération, un immigré d’origine arménienne :
Dikran Lorenian, 36 ans, crémier fromager à Villejuif (Val-de-Marne).
Pilote d’un triporteur, il ravitaille les prisons, les hôpitaux et la
préfecture de Paris. Ce qui lui permet de circuler et d’observer les
foyers de résistance allemande. Le 24 août 1944, Chaban-Delmas le
charge de guider la 2e DB au coeur de Paris. Evitant tous les
barrages, la colonne traverse la Poterne-des-Peupliers, à Gentilly, et
atteint l’Hôtel de Ville par les quais. Grce à Dikran Lorenian, la
Nueve (compagnie composée de républicains espagnols) est la première à
être entrée dans la capitale le soir du 24 août, pour la libération de
Paris.” présente le journal

samedi 30 août 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

DIPLOMATIE
Edouard Nalbandian a remis au président turc Erdogan, l’invitation
officielle pour assister à Erévan au 100ème anniversaire du génocide
le 24 avril 2015

Le 28 août, à l’issue de la cérémonie d’investiture, le ministre
arménien des Affaires étrangères Edouard Nalbandian, a transmis au
président turc Erdogan, l’invitation officielle de son homologue
arménien pour être présent aux cérémonies liées au 100ème anniversaire
du génocide, le 24 avril 1915 à Erévan.

Le chef de la diplomatie arménienne Edouard Nalbandian et le président
turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Le chef de la diplomatie arménienne, par sa présence au palais
présidentiel répondait à une invitation d’Ankara. Edouard Nalbandian a
très rapidement conversé avec Erdogan lors de la transmission de cette
invitation officielle.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 30 août 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Karen Mirzoyan: Adoption of resolution asserts NKR deserves to become
a full international community member

Thursday 28 August 2014 16:09

Karen Mirzoyan

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Karen Mirzoyan hailed the resolution recognizing the independence of
Arstakh adopted by the Senate U.S. State of California

Mediamax recalls that yesterday, the California State Senate, by an
overwhelming majority, passed the AJR 32 resolution recognizing the
self-determination and democratic independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. The resolution encourages Artsakh’s (Nagorno Karabakh)
continuing efforts to develop as a free and independent nation and
formally calling upon the upon the President and Congress of the
United States to support the self-determination and democratic
independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

“I hail adoption of the resolution which approves of and supports the
ongoing efforts toward building of the NKR’s free and independent
state. The resolution comes to prove the simple truth that the
civilized society hails Artsakh’s achievements in state-building
process and comes to conclusion more and more that the NKR and its
people deserve to become a full international community member”,
Karen Mirzoyan stated this answering Mediamax’s question.

According to the NKR FM, the passage of the resolution is also a clear
signal that Azerbaijan’s attempts to hinder the Artsakh people’s and
authorities’ efforts to build free and democratic statehood are in
vain. “I am convinced that the process of NKR international
recognition will have its logical continuation ensuring the
realization of the aspirations of the Artsakh people”, said Karen
Mirzoyan.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 28 2014

ICRC to visit Azerbaijanis detained in Armenia

28 August 2014 – 1:02pm

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will visit
Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Askerov and Shakhbaz Guliyev who were
detained in Armenia, according to ICRC spokeswoman Ilakha Guseynova,
APA reports.

Information about the date of the visit will be given later.

Georgia Today
Aug 28 2014

Armenian Gas Deal Draws Georgian Budget Concerns

By Zaza Jgharkava
28.08.2014

A Georgian is investing $600 million in the Armenian economy, it has
been revealed, as the media of Georgia’s neighbors Armenia and
Azerbaijan responded to Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili’s visit to
Yerevan. Later, this information was confirmed by the Georgian media
as well. The goals of the agreement between the Armenian government
and the Georgian company Anaklia IEP (Industrial Eco Park) Holding
were announced by the Kakheti Information Center.

The news has been perceived as sensational. Georgia, whose budget
heavily depends on foreign investments, making such a large financial
injection to a neighboring country’s economy, instead of its own, has
caused alarm

Teimuraz Karchava, owner of 100% of shares of the holding told
journalists about the project’s details at the press club of Ria
Novosti. The story of businessman Karchava is closely connected to
Russia. Like other Georgian businessmen, Karchava accumulated his
capital in Russia but not enough to afford an investment of $600
million into another country’s power industry. His interests –
Moscow’s VIP club “National”, uniting a casino and a restaurant –
would not bring him anywhere near that level of funds.

Karchava comes to light in Georgia in 2008. According to the Public
Registry, Karchava holds Georgia the following companies in: Anaklia
Gas, Churia, Teka, Chateau Manavi, Anaklia Industrial Eko Park & Port,
and Black Sea Port. Before 2008, the Georgian “Onassis” was detained.
As the newspaper kommersant.ru wrote in 2004, Karchava was arrested by
the Moscow police for offering a bribe to the Finance Ministry worker
Denis Mikhailov. After this criminal misadventure he returned to
Georgia and started a new business life.

According to Georgian news agency livepress.ge, Anaklia Port Ltd
received the right to construct a transport knot in the Anaklia resort
zone by the October 20, 2009 order no.732 of President Mikheil
Saakashvili. According to the agreement, construction was to finish in
2013 and a $5-6 billion investment was to be made. The project
included construction of a sea port, railway and vehicle roads,
railway and vehicle transportation infrastructure, energy and
engineering services. However, its implemenatation did not materialize
and the Ministry of Economy demanded $100 million from the businessman
in October 2012 for violating investment terms.

Karchava spoke about the reasons for this sensational investment at
the briefing at the Ria Novosti press club. At first, the construction
of this power station working on gas was planned for England; a $400
million worth of machinery was already purchased from the General
Electric Corporation. But high prices on natural gas in England
thwarted these plans. Armenia was selected; the government of Armenia
guarantees the provision of $1 billion cubic meters of gas per year
for a lower price. In two months, machinery was brought from England
to Armenia via cargo jets. The company Anaklia Energy established in
Armenia will construct the gas power station and exploit it. In the
process of construction and during the first five years of
exploitation, the government of Armenia is exempting Anaklia Energy
from taxes. The generated energy, almost all of it, which is 4 billion
kwt/hr, will be exported. Karchava pointed out that power generated in
Vanadzor will be used for implementing projects of Anaklia IEP
Holding, which was established in Georgia with the participation of
world famous companies: British Eco Power, China Power and Citik Group
(Hong Kong).

According to Karchava, for the construction and functioning of the
Anaklia port, as well as for the implementation of other projects, 400
megawatt energy will be needed. However, today Georgia’s power system
does not have the capacity to supply the project with the necessary
amount of electricity. This is why it was decided to build a gas power
station in Vanadzor. It will take 18 months to make it operational and
in Georgia it would take 8 years to build a hydro power plant. “The
Vanadzor gas power station is practically the first investment into
building the Anaklia port,” Karchava said.

The ambitious plans of Karchava seem interesting at first glance;
however, such a big investment in the neighboring country raises many
questions, not to say anything about Karchava’s British adventure. It
is truly interesting especially at a time when Prime Minister
Gharibashvili announced the construction of a new bridge at the border
of Armenia and Georgia to have been the main achievement of his visit
to Armenia. This $600 million investment was not raised. Armenia
receives gas from Russia and Iran. For gas from Iran, Armenia has an
obligation to use it only to operate the power plant, without the
right to re-export, which should be returned back to Iran as
electricity.

Russian gas continues to flow to Armenia via Georgia and this raises
the main question, why would the Anaklia IEP Holding need gas
purchased from a second party, i.e. the Armenian government? As
Karchava says, the Armenian government is promising advantageous tax
terms to his holding. It appears that the Gharibashvili government
cannot ensure such terms. Doubts are also raised about why Karchava
prefers Armenian gas to its Azerbaijani alternative.

ICRC: Missing persons must not be forgotten

16:01 28.08.2014

In the run-up to the International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August,
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on the
international community to show greater awareness of the tragedy of
people who have gone missing and the plight of their families.
Hundreds of thousands of people in all parts of the world have
disappeared as a consequence of armed conflict, natural
disasterormigration. Each person who vanishes leaves behind a large
number of people -the family in particular -suffering the anguish of
not knowing what happened.

“When people disappear, there are two kinds of victims: the
individuals who have gone missing and their families, torn between
despair and hope, living with uncertainty and pain, waiting for news,
sometimes for decades,” explained Marianne Pecassou, who heads the
activities carried out by the ICRC for missing persons and their
families. Although what the families need more than anything else is
to find out just what happened to their relatives, they also need an
appropriate way to honour the memory of their missing loved ones.
“They struggle against forgetting. Commemorative ceremonies offer them
public acknowledgement of their suffering, give them a voice and bring
them out of isolation,” said Ms Pecassou.

In some places, the numbers of people who have disappeared are
staggering. In Colombia, for example, over68,000 peopleare still
missing, out of more than 90,000 initially reported as such. In Sri
Lanka, the fate and whereabouts of more than 16,000 people remain
unknown.In Peru,between 13,000 and 16,000 people have vanished and
their families are still waiting for news. And more than 11,000 people
of a total of almost 35,000 reported to the ICRC who went missing in
connection with the Balkan conflicts are still unaccounted for

“States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to
take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of
people who have gone missing and to inform their families
accordingly,” said Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at a
commemorative event at ICRC headquarters attended by government
representatives and members of the humanitarian and diplomatic
communities of Geneva.

The plight of people who have disappeared- and the suffering of their
families, all too often ignored – has been a constant concern of the
ICRC. The organization is currently attempting to establish the fate
and whereabouts of more than 52,000 people. “This figure is just the
tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the
attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people
remain unaccounted for around the world,” said Ms Pecassou. Besides
working directly with the families of missing persons, the ICRC plays
an important role in bringing the issue of the missing onto the public
agenda. It urges the authorities to take action aimed at responding to
the needs of the families and encourages the search for their missing
loved ones.

To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, the ICRC is
unveiling a new publication entitled “Living with Absence:Helping the
Families of the Missing,” which highlights the ordeal of people
unaccounted for, underlines the multiple needs of the families and
describes the tailored responses the ICRC is providing. The content is
enriched by personal narratives of relatives of missing persons.

In Armenia, there are more than 400 people registered as missing in
relation to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. Since the beginning of its
humanitarian mission in the region in 1992, the ICRC has been working
closely with the authorities towards clarifying the fate of those
people and addressing the needs of their families.

In support to the authorities’ efforts to provide answers to the
families about the fate of their loved ones, the ICRC has been
implementing the detailed data collection programme. This includes the
collection of biological reference samples from the families of the
missing, which would increase the probability of the identification of
human remains. The ICRC also promotes the adaptation of the national
legal framework as related to the issue, working closely with
respective state authorities.

The organisation works countrywide with the families of the missing
offering them material assistance via house renovations and
micro-economic projects to start up small businesses and obtain
employable skills. Together with the Armenian Red Cross Society and
other local partners, the ICRC also provides psycho-social support to
the families, helping them to cope with the trauma of their loss and
to resolve their health, legal and social issues.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 25 2014

Political Islamist ideals pushed via imam-hatip schools sparks anger

by GÃ`LTEN Ã`STÃ`NTAÄ? / ISTANBUL

The results of the Transition from Primary to Secondary Education
(TEOG) exam held in June were announced several days ago, but a number
of students and families have received bitter surprises, as some
students were automatically enrolled in imam-hatip high schools, which
provide Islamic religious education, prompting outrage among some
Alevis and Armenians, as well as Sunnis.

Some representatives of the Armenian and Alevi communities have
reacted harshly to the odd practice by saying they will not allow
their children to be forced to go to Islamic schools, which they
consider to be part of an political Islamist agenda introduced by the
government.

After media coverage indicated that a number of students from minority
groups had been automatically placed in imam-hatip schools, a number
of others to whom it had happened raised their voices against the
ill-motivated practice of the education system. Many students and
their families were not aware that a low score on the TEOG exam —
which was given for the first time in 2014 — could automatically
place a student in an imam-hatip high school.

Some 1.2 million eighth-graders took the TEOG exam in June and the
results were announced a couple of days ago. All eighth-grade students
who want to enroll in high school must take the TEOG exam, forcing
them to make a choice between two options if they fail to get a high
score on the exam: vocational schools or imam-hatip schools.

The government is frequently criticized for trying to dominate the
education system in line with a political Islamist agenda, aiming to
shape schools — especially high schools — by limiting the
alternatives available to students who complete secondary school and
pushing them to attend imam-hatip high schools.

Speaking with Today’s Zaman about the issue, Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko BaÄ?dat recalled that the government had previously
issued a circular requiring all advertising boards to be written in
Turkish, adding: `The government later corrected the mistake by
exempting Armenian companies and their advertising signs. I am sure
that Armenian children will be exempted from this practice, too.’

However, BaÄ?dat has other concerns regarding the implementation.
According to him, the government is imposing onto the people a Sunni
version of Islam by automatically enrolling them in imam-hatip high
schools. `Any decision to send children to any kind of high school is
[to be] made by their families and the children themselves. The
government-initiated practice is totally anti-democratic. It is a type
of imposition that has not been faced very often,’ BaÄ?dat noted.

When asked about ErdoÄ?an’s previous discourse regarding raising
“religious generations,” BaÄ?dat responded: `If religious youth are
desired then the government should allow the Greek Orthodox Halki
[Heybeliada] Seminary and cemevis [Alevi houses of worship] to be
opened so any community in the country may mold their children in
accordance with their belief system, as an indicator of the equality
of opportunity.”

An Armenian journalist from the Agos weekly, Ferda Balancar, also
criticized the automatic enrollment in Islamic schools, saying: `The
present situation offends the Armenian community. Such moves and
mistakes are prompting the Armenian community, with a population of
50,000-60,000, to feel uneasy. These sorts of wrongdoings and mistakes
in the education system should be prevented. Civil society groups and
media outlets should actively take a position against this move.

However, not only Armenian and Alevi families have reacted against the
practice; some Sunni families have also raised their objections
against the auto-enrolment. According to the Taraf daily, a parent of
a Sunni student who goes by the initials M.Y. complained that despite
the fact that her child scored extremely high marks in the exam, he
was not placed in one of the 17 schools that he had chosen and was
automatically sent to an imam-hatip school: “My child does not want to
study in this school. For days we have faced serious problems at home.
I am Sunni and fast during Ramadan but I still do not want to send my
child to that school.”

Speaking with Today’s Zaman, Alevi intellectual Cafer Solgun described
the mandatory enrollment in imam-hatip high schools as disrespectful
to minorities and the rights of those who do not embrace the Sunni
interpretation of Islam, saying: `There is nothing worse than
discriminatory implementations against any parts of society based on
culture, identity and ethnicity. Automatically placing Armenian or
Alevi students in these schools is definitely going too far. None of
our citizens deserve such an arrogant and inappropriate attitude.”

Regarding ErdoÄ?an’s intention to create a religious generation, Solgun
stressed that the state and its leaders have no such responsibility or
authority, adding: “Stating this intention so explicitly is a direct
attack on those who are not part of the Sunni branch of Islam. The
Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and worship for everyone
by saying that no one has an obligation to declare what they believe
in. The rule is violating this fundamental principle.”

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ä°stanbul deputy
Sabahat Akkiraz, also an Alevi, slammed the government, saying: “The
change in the education system by imposing the 4+4+4 system on
students has prompted the current debacle. This system has resulted in
our Christian students being placed in Islamic schools. We will stand
against the AK Party’s efforts to assimilate and divide our society
based on religion. We well fight to the end to block the government to
put its plan into practice.’

The 4+4+4 educational system was introduced in the beginning of the
2012-2013 academic year and brought about fundamental changes. Fifteen
new elective courses were introduced in the new system. However,
elective courses are chosen by the school administration, not by
students and teachers, so the system of elective courses that was
brought with the reform has been nothing more than a formality.

Professor Emeritus Saim Yeprem of Marmara University’s Faculty of
Theology told Today’s Zaman that despite the fact that Alevi and
Armenian students, like other members of minority groups, should be
able to learn the basic principles of the society in which they live
to enable communication if they wish, they should not be forced to do
it involuntarily.

“If families overtly state that they do not want their children to
have an education in line with an Islamic system, then no pressure
should be imposed on them. If a mistake is made by placing these
students in imam-hatips, then the mistake should be corrected,” Yeprem
added.