Author: Kajoyan Gevork

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 31 2014

Easier to prevent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict than to calm

31 July 2014, 17:12 (GMT+05:00)
By Aynur Gasimova

Everyone in the world today faces news about the horrors in different
parts of the globe. The world map has hot spots where people are
killed every day.

The literally burning Middle East, affected by the “Arab Spring” has
recently experienced revolution and civil war and is a flash point of
major news again in Gaza. This bloody confrontation has been observed
for almost a month. It has resulted in more than 1,350 Palestinians
and 56 Israelis killed so far. Nothing indicates the bloodshed will
stop soon. Nor do hostilities stop in neighboring Syria and Libya and
none of it inspires faith in the rapid stabilization of the situation
in the region.

A real civil war is being waged in the post-Soviet region too. The
deep crisis in Ukraine, which has claimed hundreds of human lives,
including Malaysian Airlines passenger plane shaken down in eastern
Ukraine on July 17, killing 298 people, has continued more than six
months.
Even though the UN Security Council passed a resolution that called
for bringing to justice those responsible for the plane crash and to
cease hostilities in the crash area for the international experts to
easily reach the crash site, the hostilities still continue.
The world powers must pay attention not only to the current civil wars
amid but simmering conflicts each of which can start again.

Azerbaijan is such a country, where 20 percent of its territory is
under Armenian occupation. If one views the chronicle from the contact
line of the Armenian-Azerbaijani troops, the current status quo may
soon be changed, and another heated conflict reignited in the region,
which at this point can still be prevented. Murders of civilians on
the frontline, Armenia’s constant ceasefire violations, provocations,
and attempts to discredit Azerbaijan continue. The Armenia side’s
attempt to present peaceful Azerbaijanis detained in Kalbajar region
as “saboteurs” can be cited as an example.
.
Armenian media reported that during the operation held on July 11 in
the Shaplar village of the occupied Kalbajar region, one Azerbaijani
citizen was killed and two other were taken hostage. They also
reported the launching of criminal cases against the detained
Azerbaijanis.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry dismissed the Armenian media reports on
any affiliation of the mentioned persons to the country’s armed
forces. The ministry stated that the occupied lands are the
territories of sovereign Azerbaijan and a ban cannot be imposed on
free movement of Azerbaijanis in these territories.
These individuals did not violate the state border because the lands
controlled by the illegal “fictitious” regime, are Azerbaijani
territories recognized by the UN, the ministry said.
Instead of trying to draw the attention of the international community
to the processes on the contact line of the armies, Armenia would
better be engaged in addressing its internal problems.

The poor economic condition in Armenia, serious demographic problems,
mass emigration from the country, continuous discord in the leadership
are the problems that Armenia should address instead of attempting to
divert the attention of the international community to the
unacceptable status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As distinct from Armenia, modern-day Azerbaijan is a country with a
prosperous economy, a country which nobody wants to leave and where
every citizens feel safe. Instead of pursuing a destructive policy,
Armenia long ago should have returned Azerbaijan’s occupied
territories and made efforts to get out of its fragile economic
crisis. Refusing to do so meets the interests of a handful of Armenian
oligarchs, not those of the people.

Unfortunately, Armenia continues to pursue its unconstructive policy
and show its interest in maintaining the status quo in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and thus ignores the resolutions of the UN
Security Council and international law.

The international institutions need to realize that it would be as
easy to prevent conflict than it is try to resolve the escalation of
an already arisen confrontation. They should take into account that it
is necessary to take measures to maintain peace in the region, while
Azerbaijan’s patience is not exhausted.

The regions with ‘frozen conflicts’ and the international institutions
should take into account that if a regional conflict is not resolved
in a timely fashion, it can turn into a global-scale conflict that
will claim many lives and undermine the stability in the region for a
long time.

Aynur Gasimova is Trend English News Service Head

Claude Salhani -a political analyst and senior editor with Trend
Agency contributed to this article.

Human Rights Watch
July 31 2014

Azerbaijan: Leading Rights Defender Arrested

Release Leyla Yunus Immediately; Drop Bogus Charges Against Her and Her Husband

(Berlin) – Azerbaijani authorities should immediately secure the
release of leading human rights defender Leyla Yunus from pretrial
custody, and drop the politically motivated charges against her and
her husband Arif Yunus. The authorities should also end their ongoing
harassment against the couple.

“The context leading up to these recent charges, including the
harassment they have endured over the past four months, make it clear
that the charges against Leyla and Arif Yunus are bogus and intended
to silence them,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately
end this campaign of intimidation against Azerbaijan’s leading human
rights defenders and allow them to work unimpeded.”

Azerbaijan’s international partners, including the Council of Europe
leadership and its member countries, should make clear that continued
harassment of human rights defenders, and the Yunuses in particular,
will have direct effects on their relationships with Azerbaijan’s
government.

Leyla Yunus is the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy,
a human rights group formed in 1995 that has focused on combating
politically motivated prosecutions, corruption, violence against
women, and unlawful house evictions. The organization has also been
involved in projects aimed at improving people-to-people dialogue
between intellectuals and community leaders in Azerbaijan and Armenia,
against the background of the unresolved conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,
the autonomous enclave in Azerbaijan primarily populated by ethnic
Armenians.

On July 30, 2014, at about 11:45 a.m., representatives of the Grave
Crimes Investigation Unit of the General Prosecutor’s Office, detained
Leyla Yunus on her way to a conference at a partner organization’s
office and drove her to the general prosecutor’s office, Arif Yunus
told Human Rights Watch.

Shortly thereafter, about six men in civilian clothes rang the bell at
the Yunus’s residence. Arif Yunus refused to open the door until he
could summon his lawyer, but by the time his lawyer arrived, the men
were gone. Yunus decided to turn himself in to the general
prosecutor’s office and arrived there with his lawyer shortly after 1
p.m.

Yunus told Human Rights Watch that he and his wife were accused of
spying for the Armenian secret services and interrogated in separate
rooms. He said that they chose to remain silent and not to respond to
any questions because the charges were so humiliating and absurd.

The investigators claimed that the Yunuses have used foreign grant
money to recruit Azerbaijani citizens to participate in second-track
diplomacy efforts over the unresolved conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh,
and used this as a cover for espionage.

Investigators also claimed that the couple operated an unregistered
nongovernmental organization and failed to pay taxes on grants they
received. While it is true that the Institute for Peace and Democracy
is not registered, the authorities make it almost impossible for human
rights organizations in Azerbaijan to register.

After six hours of interrogation, the prosecutor’s office pressed
charges against both Leyla and Arif Yunus. Criminal charges against
Leyla Yunus include treason (criminal code article 274), fraud causing
large damages (article 178.3.2), illegal entrepreneurship by an
organized group (article 192.2.2), tax evasion (article 213), and
falsifying official documents (article 320). Arif Yunus was charged
with treason and fraud.

For health considerations, the authorities released Arif Yunus under
house arrest and police supervision, while Baku’s Nasimi District
Court sent Leyla Yunus directly from the courtroom to pretrial custody
for three months. Arif Yunus told Human Rights Watch that his wife
suffers from severe diabetes and requires special meals at certain
intervals. He said he feared the authorities would not provide her
with adequate care in detention.

“This arrest and the charges have been in the making for some months
now and appear to be in retaliation for the Yunuses human rights work
and their outspoken criticism of the authorities,” Denber said. “The
authorities should immediately release Leyla Yunus from pretrial
detention and drop the charges in the absence of any credible evidence
that they are justifiable.”

On April 28, Baku airport police prevented the couple from leaving the
country, confiscated their passports, and subjected them to a 24-hour
ordeal of interrogations and house searches that led to Arif Yunus’s
hospitalization with hypertension. The prosecutor’s office
subsequently designated them witnesses in a treason investigation
against an Azerbaijani journalist and civil society activist, Rauf
Mirgadirov, who was deported from Turkey on April 19 and then arrested
in Baku.

Since then the authorities have repeatedly summoned the couple for
interrogations. However, the Yunuses have refused to cooperate with
the investigation until their passports are returned and their freedom
of movement restored. Arif Yunus said he believed an open letter Leyla
Yunus sent to the president of Azerbaijan a day earlier about the
arrests of youth activists, entitled “What Are You Afraid of, Mr.
President?” infuriated the authorities and possibly led to her
detention.

Azerbaijan has a long history of using bogus charges to imprison its
critics, including on treason charges, Human Rights Watch said. In the
past two years, Azerbaijani authorities have brought or threatened
unfounded criminal charges against over 40 political activists,
journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders, most of whom are
behind bars.

In August 2011, violating a court injunction, the Baku authorities
demolished without warning a building owned by Leyla Yunus as part of
a government land clearance to make way for a park and business area.
The building housed the Institute for Peace and Democracy and two
other human rights groups. Yunus had repeatedly criticized the
government’s redevelopment plans for the area.

The crackdown on critical voices continued even as, on May 15,
Azerbaijan took over the rotating chairmanship of the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe, Europe’s foremost human rights
body.

“Azerbaijan takes pride in chairing this important regional
institution, yet routinely violates the very values and rights
protections on which it is built and for which it exists,” Denber
said. “The least Azerbaijan’s partners in the Council of Europe can
now do is to urge the government to release Leyla Yunus from pretrial
custody and end its escalating persecution of government critics.”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 31 2014

Karabakh conflict in eyes of Israeli political analyst

31 July 2014 – 12:03pm

Interview by Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

Doctor Emil Abramov, a senior scientist of the Center for Iran and
Persian Gulf Studies of the University of Haifa, is one of the Israeli
scientists actively engaged in studying the history of the South
Caucasus, one of the leading specialists in the sector. Dr. Abramov is
preparing to publish his book and a series of articles on the history
of the Azerbaijani khanates, keeping a close watch on events in the
South Caucasus today, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

– Doctor Abramov, how interesting is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for
Israeli scientists? Do you think there are any similarities between
the Armenian-Azerbaijani and the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts?

– Israeli political analysts, of course, are more interested in the
development of the situation in the Middle East. Generally, the
Caucasus, sadly, remains terra incognita for Israeli scientists, only
a very few of them are familiar with the problems of the Caucasus.

One may, of course, find similarities in any conflicts. But I think
that the Karabakh and the Palestinian conflicts differ in their
essence, history, scale, the number of sides involved, the interest of
world mass media and many other factors. Every conflict is a unique
phenomenon, and attempts to resolve one conflict or another are based
on comparative analysis, they are, in my opinion, unproductive.

– There are many versions about the cause of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict. Which of them do you think is the closest to the historical
truth?

– Indeed, there are countless versions. And the majority of them can
easily be labeled as fantasy. The Karabakh conflict doubtlessly has
historical origins. But since Azerbaijan and Armenia are still on the
territory of post-Soviet space, the issue should be regarded from the
submission of the Trans-Caucasus to the Russian Empire, not older
times.

Before the conquest of the Trans-Caucasus, Armenians of the Russian
Empire were a minority on most of the territory they occupy today.
Being Christians, they were considered a natural ally of Russia in the
fight against Muslim Persia and Turkey. Or vice versa, the Turkomans
seemed like an unreliable population to the government, capable of
taking the side of their co-religionists at any moment. Right after
conquering the Trans-Caucasus in 1828 on the territory of the
discontinued Nakhichevan and Erivan Khanates, the Armenian Oblast was
formed; encouraged by the authorities of the Russian Empire, Armenians
from Persia and the Ottoman Empire started settling there. Curiously,
the resettlement of Armenians on the new territories was often hardly
voluntary. The displacement of the Turkic population, the obvious
disrespect from the imperial authorities and the religious differences
artfully used by various provocateurs caused rising tensions in
relations between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, resulting in bloody
clashes that took many lives. One such massacre in 1905-1906 ended
with numerous deaths.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, arising from the ruins of the Russian Empire
in 1918, managed to wage two wars in just two years of independence,
followed by ethnic cleansing. In 1920, the Bolsheviks liquidated both
republics. It seems that the new government, postulating friendship of
peoples, was to bring serenity. Indeed, despite some clashes and
deportations of Azerbaijanis from Armenia in the 1947-1950s, it seemed
for a long time that the conflict between the two peoples had come to
an end. But the events in Karabakh showed that the Soviet period was
only a calm before the storm.

I think, however, that historical arguments should be omitted in order
to resolve the Karabakh conflict. Referring to the traditional pages
of history only aggravates the current conflict and slows its
settlement. I, of course, do not call for putting history out of mind
and wiping the slate clean. It is simply impossible. But arguments
such as “you were not here” only brings us to a stalemate.

– What is your evaluation of the actions of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani authorities in the “hottest” period of the conflict, from
1990 to 1993?

– The Armenian side was better prepared for the conflict, in military
and ideological terms. Using the strength of the Armenian community,
skillfully forming agitation, Armenia managed to attract the sympathy
of the Western world to its side. Azerbaijan, on the contrary, was
unprepared for serious confrontation.

(Indeed, the plans and secret preparation of Armenian nationalists,
supported and controlled by the USSR capital and abroad, was
absolutely unexpected – Vestnik Kavkaza note). In those years,
Azerbaijanis and Armenians had excellent relations in Azerbaijan, no
one expected a conflict. Many leaders of Azerbaijan were idealists
then. In addition, the Azerbaijani elites were dissociated on
different issues. The situation changed when experienced politician
Heydar Aliyev returned to power, managed to stop the war and give the
country a break.

– How fair are Azerbaijani accusations of Armenia committing military
crimes and violating international law?

– Azerbaijan accuses the Armenian side of a set of such crimes, the
most outrageous of them is the Khojaly tragedy. Armenia is obviously
denying guilt. But the guilt has been proved by many independent
observers.

– What is your evaluation of the path both countries gone through in
the last two decades, from the ceasefire to today? How did the
conflict affect the development of their economic, domestic and
foreign policies?

– The Karabakh conflict has been the center of political discourse in
both republics. The Armenian side managed to gain control over
Nagorno-Karabakh, but it seems to be a Pyrrhic victory today. Because
of the long-running conflict, Armenia ended up in a blockade with a
bad impact on its economic development. Russia, the closest ally of
Armenia, as is known, has no land border with the republic. So Armenia
has to strengthen ties with Iran, ruining its image in the West.
Moreover, Armenia lacks an attractive economy for investors. The
situation develops completely differently in Azerbaijan. Managing to
recover from the repercussions of the war and postwar ruins, the
resource-rich country managed to allocate major volumes of funds for
modernization of the army. The growing economy makes Azerbaijan an
ever more significant player in the Caucasus and the world.

– And here is the main question. What are the positions of Armenia and
Azerbaijan in the world arena? Whose are better in your opinion?

– Doubtlessly, the Azerbaijani position is better. Armenia connected
its fate with Russia and cooperates with Iran quite actively, which in
the context of the crisis in relations between the West and Russia and
the long-running negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program greatly
weakens Armenia’s positions. The problem is that Armenia has hardly
any space for manoeuvre, not that it chose its allies and partners. If
Russia refuses to support Armenia for some reason, it will simply run
out of allies. Azerbaijan, being pro-Western on many issues, managed
to maintain friendly ties with Russia. In other words, Azerbaijan has
great potential for actions in the international arena.

– How constructive is the position each side takes in resolving the
conflict, in your opinion?

– Unfortunately, settlement of the conflict has reach gridlock.
Azerbaijan demands its territories back, I will remind you that it
demands Nagorno-Karabakh itself and the surrounding Azerbaijani
territories currently controlled by the Armenian side. The Armenian
side denies the claims, calling the territories its own. On the other
hand, we cannot ignore the fact that an Armenian population inhabits
Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan will have to form a system of
relations with it volens nolens. Both sides are fed up with many years
of fruitless talks, endless declarations and mutual accusations. I
really hope that no new war will start and the Karabakh issue will be
resolved peacefully.

– What further scenarios of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict do you foresee?

– In my opinion, the situation is developing according to the current
scenario, i.e. the negotiation process will remain in a stalemate.
Although, there have recently been certain prospects for progress in
the Russian policy, maybe Russia will put pressure on Yerevan to
ameliorate its position. But it is too early to talk about this.

– And the final question for you, as a specialist: what is your
evaluation of Azerbaijani and Armenian relations with Israel?

– Armenia takes a very passive position. It is no secret that
Azerbaijan is actively cooperating with Israel in various sectors,
including the military sector. Israel has already chosen a path
towards close cooperation with Azerbaijan. The cooperation is
beneficial for both sides, each of them wants to make maximum profit
from partnership relations.

Moreover, there is an emotional moment. Israel remembers the
many-centuries existence of a Jewish community on Azerbaijani land and
knows that Azerbaijan has no anti-Semitism. Israel constantly declares
its support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, hosts Azerbaijani
festivals and commemorations for victims of Black January and the
Khojaly tragedy.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apost. Church of America and Canada
H.E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan
Prelate, Easter Prelacy and Canada
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
Web:

July 31, 2014

The Armenian Prelacy =99¦ 138 East 39th Street =99¦ New York, NY
10016

tel: 212-689-7810 =99¦ Fax: 212-689-7168 =99¦ Email:
[email protected]

Bishop Anoushavan ordains Harold Nazarian to the Deaconate, assisted
by Archpriest Fr. Gomidas Baghsarian.

ORDINATION IN PROVIDENCE

Last Sunday, July 27, Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar of the
Prelacy, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered the Sermon at
Sts. Vartanantz Church in Providence, Rhode Island. During the Liturgy
His Grace ordained Harold Nazarian to the Deaconate. Following the
Divine Liturgy and Ordination a Fellowship Reception took place in
Aramian Hall in honor of Deacon Harold.

Deacon Nazarian and Deacon Diran Khosrofian, both of whom have
completed their studies in the U.S. and in Antelias, will be ordained
to the priesthood on Saturday, October 4 at Sts. Vartanantz Church in
Providence.

His Grace and Der Gomidas with deacons, choir members, and acolytes.

Srpazan and Der Hayr with members of the Providence Homenetmen Scouts,
who
received Holy Communion and Srpazan’s blessings for their upcoming
trip to Armenia.

PRELATE WILL TRAVEL TO BOSTON AREA

Archbishop Oshagan will travel to Massachusetts this weekend where on
Sunday he will attend and preside over the blessing of Madagh at the
annual picnic sponsored by Watertown’s St. Stephen Church that will
take place at Camp Haiastan in Franklin.

DER VAZKEN AND YN. ANAHID BEKIARIAN
CELEBRATE 60th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

On Saturday, July 26, Archpriest Fr. Vazken and Yeretzgin Anahid
Bekiarian
marked their 60th wedding anniversary surrounded by their family and
friends at St. Stephen Church in Watertown, Massachusetts. Attending
the festivities were Bishop Anoushavan, Archpriest Fr. Antranig
Baljian, and Archpriest Fr. Gomidas Baghsarian.

An added celebration took place when Bishop Anoushavan, on behalf of
Archbishop Oshagan, presented to Der Vazken the `Man of the Year’
award that had been conferred upon him during the National
Representative
Assembly in Dearborn, Michigan, in May that Der Hayr had been unable
to attend because of illness. Der Vazken was honored in appreciation
of his many
years of devoted and distinguished service to the Armenian Church.

Bishop Anoushavan presents Man of the Year award to Archpriest
Fr. Vazken Bekiarian on behalf of Archbishop Oshagan, along with Der
Gomidas (left) and Der Antranig.

Der Vazken and Yn. Anahid surrounded by family members and the clergy
celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

TEACHERS’ SEMINAR ORGANIZED BY ANEC

The Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC) will sponsor a
teachers’ seminar to be held on August 23, at the Prelacy headquarters
in New
York, from 10 am-4 pm. All schools and teachers are invited to
participate. The program will have the following lectures:

Sossi Essajanian: `Supporting the Next Generation: Early Childhood
Development, Best Practices, and the Armenian Language Teacher’;
Anahid Garmiryan: `To Be or Not to Be a Teacher: the Challenges of
Bilingualism’

For more information, please email ANEC at [email protected] or
call (212) 689-7231/7810.

SIAMANTO ACADEMY WILL RESUME ITS ACTIVITIES

The Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC), jointly sponsored by
the
Prelacy and the Armenian Relief Society, sponsored for many years the
Siamanto Academy for young adults. After a recent hiatus, the Academy
is ready to resume its activities. The Academy offers courses on
Armenian history, culture, and contemporary issues. Classes will take
place on a monthly basis, every second Saturday, beginning in
September at Sts. Vartanantz Armenian
Apostolic Church (Ridgefield, New Jersey), from 2 pm-5 pm. For
additional information, please contact ANEC at
[email protected].

BIBLE READINGS

Bible readings for Sunday, August 3, Second Sunday of Transfiguration
of Our Lord Jesus Christ, are Isaiah 3:16-4:1; 1 Corinthians 1:25-30;
Matthew 18:10-14.

Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I
tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father
in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and
one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the
mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he
finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the
ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your
Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be
lost. (Matthew 18:10-14)

For a listing of the coming week’s Bible readings click here
().

SAINT ISAIAH THE PROPHET

Today, Thursday, July 31, the Armenian Church commemorates the prophet
Isaiah, who is best known for the longest prophetic book in the Old
Testament (66 chapters) that bears his name. In what has been
described as one of the
greatest finds, two nearly intact manuscripts of the entire book of
Isaiah
were discovered in 1947 in a remote cave above the north end of the
Dead Sea.

Isaiah foretells the birth of the Messiah by a virgin and describes
the suffering of the Messiah’s church. Many of the New Testament
teachings of Jesus refer to the book of Isaiah. Because of his clear
foretelling about Christ the Savior, Isaiah is also recognized as an
Old Testament evangelist. Although it is not recorded in the Bible, it
is believed that Isaiah died a martyr’s death by order of the Hebrew
king, Manasseh. Relics
of the prophet are preserved at Mt. Athos in the Greek Orthodox
Khilendaria Monastery in Greece.

Hovnatan Hovnatanian, St. Thaddeus.

SAINTS THADDEUS AND SANTOOKHT

This Saturday, August 2, the Armenian Church commemorates Saint
Thaddeus, one of two apostles who preached in Armenia, and Saint
Santookht, daughter of King Sandadrook, and the first saint of the
Armenian Church.

Princess Santookht was converted to Christianity by Thaddeus. Her
father tried to have her renounce her conversion and finally gave her
a choice of the crown or the sword. She chose the sword and became the
first witness for
Christianity in Armenia and the first saint of the Armenian
Church. Shortly after her martyrdom, Thaddeus was also martyred.

SAINT CYPRIAN THE BISHOP

On Monday, August 4, the Armenian Church commemorates St. Cyprian
(Gibrianos), who was bishop of Carthage, an important early Christian
writer, and a
major theologian of the early African church. Many of his works in
Latin have survived. One of his best known works is, On the Unity of
the Church. Many of his epistles, treatises, and pastoral letters are
extant.

He urged Christians to recite the Lord’s Prayer every day, meditating
on each phrase. He wrote a commentary on the Lord’s Prayer showing how
it is the model for prayer.

Born in the year 200, he was the son of wealthy parents and became a
teacher of rhetoric and literature. He converted to Christianity in
his middle years and was ordained a priest and elected to serve as
bishop of Carthage. He was subject to persecution after his conversion
and in the year 258 was beheaded along with forty-five martyrs.

`When we pray, we should ensure that we understand the words we
use. We should be humble, aware of our own weaknesses, and be eager to
receive God’s grace. Our bodily posture and our tone of voice should
reflect the fact that through prayer we enter God’s presence. To speak
too loudly to God would be impudent; thus a quiet and modest manner is
appropriate. The Lord has instructed us that we should usually pray in
private,
even in our own bedrooms. This reminds us that God is everywhere, that
he hears and sees everything, and that he penetrates the deepest
secrets of our hearts.’

(From `On the Lord’s Prayer,’ by Cyprian of Carthage)

THIS WEEK IN ARMENIAN HISTORY
(Prepared by the Armenian National Education Committee[ANEC])

Enver Pasha

Hakob Melkumian

Killing of Enver Pasha
(August 4, 1922)

The Russian revolution of November 1917 that set the grounds for the
Soviet Union was followed by a civil war. Bolshevik troops were sent
into Central Asia to establish Soviet power in 1919-1920. A local
movement headed by Muslim elements, known as the Basmachi revolt (the
Turkic word basmachi originally meant `bandit’), took advantage of the
blunders of the Soviet government in Tashkent (the current capital of
Uzbekistan) to challenge its authority and set a movement of national
liberation.

Enver Pasha, former Ministry of War of the Ottoman Empire and one of
the main perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, had become a fugitive
of justice
after his condemnation to death in absentia by the Ottoman
court-martial in July 1919. He had first left Constantinople for
Berlin in late 1918 and in 1919 had gone to Moscow, where he engaged
in pro-Turkish activities among
the Bolsheviks. After participating in the Congress of Eastern Peoples
of Baku (September 1920), he tried to reenter Anatolia in 1921, but
was rejected by Mustafa Kemal.

Enver decided to return to Moscow and won over the trust of Soviet
authorities. Lenin sent him to Bukhara, in Soviet Turkestan, to help
suppress the Basmachi Revolt. He arrived on November 8, 1921. Instead
of carrying his mission, he made secret contacts with some rebel
leaders and defected along with a small number of followers. He aimed
at uniting the numerous rebel groups under his own command and taking
the offensive against the Bolsheviks. He managed to turn the
disorganized rebel forces into a small well-drilled army and establish
himself as its supreme commander. However, David Fromkin
has written, `he was a vain, strutting man who loved uniforms, medals
and titles. For use in stamping official documents, he ordered a
golden
seal that described him as ‘Commander-in-Chief of all the Armies of
Islam,
Son-in-Law of the Caliph and Representative of the Prophet.’ Soon he
was calling himself Emir of Turkestan, a practice not conducive to
good relations with the Emir whose cause he served. At some point in
the first half of 1922, the Emir of Bukhara broke off relations with
him, depriving him of troops and much-needed financial support. The
Emir of Afghanistan also failed to march to his aid.”

Operation Nemesis had succeeded in the liquidation of several of
Enver’s colleagues in European capitals. An Armenian group
assassinated Ahmed Djemal Pasha on July 25, 1922, in Tiflis under the
very sight of the Cheka, the Soviet secret police. Ten days later,
Enver would find his own Armenian nemesis in Central Asia.

Yakov Melkumov (Hakob Melkumian), born in Shushi (Gharabagh) in 1885,
was a decorated career officer who had participated in World War I and
after the revolution had entered the Red Army. After fighting in
Bielorrusia (Belarus) in 1918, he became a cavalry brigade commander
in Turkestan in late 1919, and from 1920-1923 he was involved in the
suppression of the Basmachi revolt.

On August 4, 1922 Melkumian’s brigade launched a surprise attack while
Enver had allowed his troops to celebrate the Kurban Bayrami holiday,
retaining a 30-men guard at his headquarters near the village of
Ab-i-Derya, near Dushanbe. Some Turkish sources claimed that Enver and
his men charged the approaching troops, and the Turkish leader was
killed by machine-gun fire. Melkumian published his memoirs in 1960,
where he stated that Enver had managed to escape on horseback and hid
for four days in the village of Chaghan. A Red Army officer
infiltrated the village in disguise and located his hideout, after
which the troops stormed Chaghan, and Melkumian himself killed Enver
in the ensuing combat.

After seven decades in Ab-i-Derya, Enver’s remains were taken to
Turkey in 1996 and buried at the Monument of Liberty cemetery in
Istanbul. Melkumian was decorated with the second order of the Red
Army for killing Enver and defeating his forces. The Armenian officer
continued his military career until 1937 in Central Asia. He was
arrested in June 1937, during the heyday of the Stalinist purges, and
charged with participated in the =80=9Cmilitary-fascist conspiracy.’
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 5 years of deprivation of
civil rights. After the death of Stalin, he was freed in 1954 and
rehabilitated. He died in Moscow in 1962.

Previous entries in `This Week in Armenian History’ can be
read on the Prelacy’s web site ().

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

The Prelacy Bookstore has an extensive collection of books (in
Armenian and English) about the Genocide including histories,
historical novels, memoirs, eye witness testimonies, essays, and
poetry. From now through next April we will feature one or two books
each week from the Bookstore’s collection.

Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug
By Hagop Martin Deranian

In 1925, Dr. John H. Finley, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Near East Relief, presented a rug made by Armenian orphans to
President Calvin Coolidge. The large rug (12′ x 18′) is estimated to
contain four and one-half million knots. An inscription on the reverse
side
of the rug reads: `Made by Armenian girls in the Ghazir, Syria, [now
Lebanon] orphanage of the Near East Relief and presented as a Golden
Rule token of appreciation to President Coolidge.’ The odyssey of that
rug made by orphans in the orphanage in Ghazir is told in this slim,
but informative, book. Dr. Deranian tells the rug’s story from start
up to the present day. Currently the rug is in storage in the White
House and rarely sees the light of day, although there have been vague
promises of allowing its display.

74 pages, softcover, $10.00, plus shipping & handling

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ARMENIAN LANGUAGE CORNER
(Prepared by the Armenian National Education Committee[ANEC])

I Can Be With You, but Not in Armenian

When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, says the Bible, one night the
Lord appeared to him in a vision and said: `Do not be afraid, but
speak and do not be silent; for I am with you (…)’ (Acts
18:9-10). Because God implied that he was spiritually together with
his apostle, the Western Armenian translation of `I am with you’ has
been rendered as follows: `ÔµÕ½ Ö=84Õ¥Õ¦Õ« Õ°Õ¥Õ¿ Õ¥Õ´ (…)’ (Yes
kezi hed em).

We all know that if you are physically together with your friend, you
would probably say, `I’m with you,’ e.g. `I go with you.’ In this
case, you can obviously say `Yes kezi hed em.’

We also know that if you are in agreement with your friend about
something, you would probably say, `I’m with you,’ e.g., =80=9CI agree
with you.’ To be with someone, at least in the Armenian language,
always implies a relation of togetherness, either physical or
spiritual. If you want to tell your friend in California that you
agree with his views over the phone from New York, and you say `Yes
kezi hed em,’ your friend will probably look around to see where you
are.

The puzzle is solved when you think in Armenian and say: `ÔµÕ½
Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡Õ±Õ¡ÕµÕ¶ Õ¥Õ´ Ö=84Õ¥Õ¦Õ« Õ°Õ¥Õ¿’ (Yes hamatzayn em kezi hed),
e.g. =80=9CI’m in agreement with you’ or `I agree with you.’ By
adding the crucial word hamatzayn (literally =80=9Cagreeable’), you
will have replaced Armenian `thought’ in English by Armenian thought
in Armenian. And your friend in California will not be looking around
for you.

Previous entries in `The Armenian Language Corner’ can be read on the
Prelacy’s web site ().

SYRIAN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY NEEDS OUR HELP MORE THAN EVER
The crises in Syria, including the recent upheaval in Kessab, require
our financial assistance Please keep this community in your prayers,
your hearts, and your pocketbooks.

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET OUR ONGOING RELIEF EFFORTS FOR THE ARMENIAN
COMMUNITY
IN SYRIA WHERE CONDITIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE DIFFICULT.

THE NEED IS REAL.
THE NEED IS GREAT.

DONATIONS TO THE FUND FOR SYRIAN ARMENIAN RELIEF CAN BE MADE ON LINE.
TO DONATE NOW CLICK HERE
() AND SELECT SYRIAN
ARMENIAN RELIEF IN THE MENU. OR IF YOU PREFER YOU MAY MAIL YOUR
DONATION TO:
Armenian Prelacy
138 E. 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Checks payable to: Fund for Syrian Armenian Relief

Thank you for your help

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

August 3-St. Stephen’s Church of Greater Boston, Annual Picnic at Camp
Haiastan, Franklin, Massachusetts. Lunch beginning at 12 noon,
includes delicious shish kebab and refreshments. Blessing of Madagh at
3 pm. Live Armenian music.

August 3-Annual Shish-Kebob Picnic and Grape Blessing, St. Paul
Church, 645 South Lewis Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois, 12 noon to 4
pm. Armenian
dinners and pastries available; dine in or takeout available. For
information and/or pre-order requests, 847-244-4573.

August 4-St. Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, Annual
Golf Tournament.

August 10-Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church, Providence, Rhode Island,
Annual Picnic at Camp Haiastan, 12 noon to 6 pm. Under the auspices of
His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan. Games and the Bouncing
Bubble for children. Delicious shish, lost and chicken kebab
dinners. Choreg and Armenian pastries. Live music by Michael Gregian
and Ensemble. Madagh and Blessing of the Grapes at 3:300 m with
participation of New England clergy. For information: 401-831-6399.

August 10-Annual Church Picnic and Blessing of the Grapes, Holy
Trinity Church, 635 Grove Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. Join us
for a fun
filled day and enjoy our delicious food, music by DJ Shaheen,
backgammon tournament, children’s activities. Begins at
noon. Admission is free. For information [email protected] or
508-852-2414.

August 15-17-Armenian Fest / Blessing of Grapes, All Saints Church,
1701 N. Greenwood Road, Glenview, Illinois. Armenian food, desserts,
beer
and wine, dancing, activities for kids, raffle. Life music Friday,
Saturday, & Sunday. Mr. Ash’s magic show Saturday. Friday 6 pm to 10
pm happy hour; Saturday 5 pm-11pm; Sunday 1pm to 7 pm. Blessing of the
Grapes on
Sunday at 4:30 pm. Free admission.

August 17-Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God and
Blessing of the Grapes, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 E. 27th
Street, New York City. Followed by luncheon and cultural program
featuring singer Rouben Voskanyan. Organized by Cathedral’s Ladies
Guild.

August 17-St. Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, Annual
Picnic and Blessing of the Grapes.

August 17-St. Sarkis Church (Dearborn) Grape Blessing Family Fun
Picnic at Kensington Park, Kensington, Michigan. Good food, music,
biking, soccer, dancing, magician, swimming, playscape, kids games,
door prizes, face painting, tavloo tournament and more.

August 17-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, Annual
Picnic and Blessing of the Grapes, 1-5 pm at Saddle River County Park,
Wild Duck Pond area. Music, delicious Armenian food and desserts, arts
and
crafts, and playground for children, cards, and tavloo, and more.

August 23-Teachers’ seminar sponsored by the Armenian Education
Committee (ANEC), at the Prelacy offices in New York, 10 am to 4
pm. All schools and teachers are invited to participate. Lecturers:
Sossi Essajanian, `Supporting the Next Generation: Early Childhood
Development, Best Practices, and the Armenian Language Teacher’ and
Anahid Garmiryan, `To Be or Not to be a Teacher: The Challenges of
Bilingualism.’ For information: [email protected] or
212-689-7810.

August 30-Concert, `Baroque & Before,’ featuring Lucine Musaelian and
Joyce Chen, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 E.
27th Street, New York City, at 5 pm.

September 7-Picnic Festival, St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley,
158 Main Street, North Andover, Massachusetts, featuring musicians
Leon Janikian, Jason Naroian, Johnny Berberian, and John Arzigian;
presentation by Siroun Dance Ensemble of Central Massachusetts. 12:30
to 5:30 pm, church
grounds. Shish, losh, and chicken kebab dinners, veggie plates,
Armenian pastries, family games and activities.

September 7-St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain and Hartford,
Connecticut, Annual Church Picnic after Sunday services will take
place
at The Quartette Club, 225 Wooster Street, New Britain. Armenian
music, dancing, and food.

September 7-Holy Cross Church, Troy, New York, Annual Armenian Picnic,
12pm to 4 pm. Shish Kebob dinner, Lahmajoun for sale, Armenian
pastries, live music. For info: [email protected].

September 7-Lecture `Mkhitar Heratsi,’ by Dr. Gregory Kazanjian, at 1
pm, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York
City. Organized by Cathedral and Hamazkayin of New York.

September 12-St. Hagop Church, Racine, Wisconsin, 2nd Annual
=80=9CTaste of the Mediterranean’ Wine Tasting Fundraiser, 4 to 6 pm
at Uncork in downtown Racine. Event will again feature 6 wines for
tasting,
a `mezze’ table, silent auction items, and 50/50 raffle. Cost of the
event is $20 per person or $35 per couple. Last year’s even was a
sell-out, so get your tickets early. For tickets and/or information
contact Mary M. Olson by email ([email protected]).

September 14-St. Sarkis Church, 38-65 234th Street, Douglaston, New
York, Annual Picnic on the church grounds following church
services. Admission is free. Enjoy excellent kebabs and
salads. Terrific entertainment for everyone and special activities for
children in the `KidZone.’ Music, food, and friends…a wonderful
afternoon. For information 718-224-2275.

September 18-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, 12th
Annual Golf Classic, River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New
Jersey. Rain or Shine. 11 am registration and Grilled Lunch Buffet; 1
pm Tee Off. Format: Shotgun Scramble (All player levels welcome). Golf
Outing Reservation: $195; limited to first 128 paid golf
reservations. Reservation includes: Grilled lunch buffet, dinner
banquet, golf, cart, and range balls. Contests and
Prizes. Sponsorships available. For information: 201-943-2950.

September 21-Ladies Guild of St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain and
Hartford, Connecticut, will host a Tea party at noon in the church
hall, 167 Tremont Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Brought back by
popular demand. Guest speaker from the Bigelow Tea Company. Goodie
bags for all. Raffle prize is being provided by Armeny Custom Jewelry
Design.

September 21-St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia, `Designer Bag Bingo’
luncheon in Founders’ Hall at 2 pm. Fifteen lucky
winners of designer bags, including top labels, Gucci, Prada, Fendi,
Laboutin, Judith Leiber, Chanel, and others. Join us for a fun game of
Bingo, Chinese auction, and enjoy the lavish Chanel inspired theme and
décor, along with champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts. Ticket
sales limited. For reservations and information: Cissy DerHagopian
856-313-6848; Donna Walter 484-354-0388.

October 3-St. Sarkis Armenian Church, Douglaston, New York, Saturday
School Dinner Dance Gala.

October 4-Ordination to the Priesthood of Deacon Diran Khosrofian and
Deacon Harold Nazarian, at Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode
Island, by His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan.

October 19-St. Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, His
Eminence Archbishop Oshagan will ordain sub-deacon Ara Stepanian
during the Divine Liturgy and preside over the parish’s 57th Annual
Banquet.

October 12-15-Prelacy Clergy Gathering for Reflection and Renewal at
St. Mary of Providence Retreat Center, Elverson, Pennsylvania.

November 7 & 8-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 58th
Armenian Bazaar, 10 am to 9:30 pm at Armenian Cultural & Educational
Center, 47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, Massachusetts. Meals served from
11:30 am to 8:30 pm (take out is available). Enjoy delicious meals,
Armenian pastries, gourmet items, arts and crafts, books, raffles,
attic treasures. For information: 617-924-7562.

November 21, 22, 23-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey,
Annual Bazaar, Food Festival, and Hantes. Mezze and Kebab dinners
(chicken, shish, luleh); dessert table and trays of home-made
delicacies; Boutique
Booths; Chinese Auction; Supervised Game Room for children;
Pre-packaged Monte, Sou Buereg, Kufteh, and Lehmejun; Take-out
available; Live Music for dancing and listening. Traditional Kavourma
dinner on Sunday served immediately after church service. For
information: 201-943-2950.

December 7-Ladies Guild of St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain and
Hartford, Connecticut, will host a Wine Tasting Party at noon in the
church hall, 167 Tremont Street, New Britain. A wine talk and tasting
will be provided by Taylor Brooke Winery, Woodstock, Connecticut,
owned by Linda Varjabedian Auger.

Web pages of the parishes can be accessed through the Prelacy’s web
site.

To ensure the timely arrival of Crossroads in your electronic mailbox,
add
[email protected] to your address book.

Items in Crossroads can be reproduced without permission. Please
credit Crossroads as the source.

Parishes of the Eastern Prelacy are invited to send information about
their major events to be included in the calendar. Send to:
[email protected]

Member-churches of World Council of Churches going to recognize
Armenian Genocide in 2015

by Marianna Lazarian
Thursday, July 31, 15:27

Member-churches of World Council of Churches going to recognize the
Armenian Genocide in 2015, according to the chairman of the
International Association to Fight Unfounded Armenian Allegations
(ASIM-DER) Goksel Gulbey.

APA quotes Gulbey as saying that for recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, the world churches united against Turkey and are going to
exert pressure on Ankara using religion: “For recognition of the
Armenian Genocide and compensation claims at the anniversary of
Armenian Genocide, the WCC member-churches decided to hold
international conference in Geneva with the participation of
international organizations, lawyers and human right defenders,
organize prayer ceremony to commemorate victims of the Armenian
Genocide in the Geneva Cathedral and invite WCC member-churches to
prayer.”

The ASIMDER chairman also said that the churches in Azerbaijan and
Turkey are members of the WCC and will join this conference and called
on relevant state bodies of both countries to warn churches and
religious leaders.

±0DCE60-18A5-11E4-A2D60EB7C0D21663

Vazgen Khachikyan said he had given 250,000 dollars to Ishkhan Zakaryan

17:21 | July 31,2014 | Social

A Yerevan court today continued the hearing of the case that involves
Vazgen Khachikyan, the former head of Armenia’s Social Welfare Service
who was arrested in September 2012 on embezzlement and fraud charges.
Among the people interrogated in the process are employees of the
Service’s divisions and pensioners. Many others have been involved in
the case as defendants.

Today, the court heard the fourth testimony of defendant Hovhannes
Grigoryan, a former chief of the payment service, who turned out to
have made a sensational statement.

The defendant recalled that once Vazgen Khachikyan had called him to
his office and said that he had given $ 250 000 to Chairman of the
Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan. Khachikyan also asked the Grigoryan
for money saying he was to given Zakaryan another $ 250 000.
Khachikyan promised to return the money.

Struggling On: Civic activists determined to continue fighting for
rights in Armenia

SOCIETY | 31.07.14 | 14:27

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

Civil activists celebrating their victory in Mashtots Park after
saving the public area in downtown Yerevan from controversial
redevelopment. For about three months the activists had struggled
against the construction of trade pavilions and kiosks, which were
then dismantled under their pressure. May, 2012

By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Armenia’s civil society will continue to demand solutions to problems
of vital concerns, but discussions about how to organize this
continued struggle in the most effective way will also be added to its
agenda, activists say.

During the past few years, Armenia’s active, demanding citizens have
managed to register a number of victories. In particular, they did not
allow an increase in bus fares in capital Yerevan or that citizens be
compelled to join the new pension system. But in some cases struggle
is still on, such as in efforts to conserve a historical Yerevan
building that belonged to Afrikyan brothers early last century.

Participant of numerous civil initiatives, member of the Civil
Contract group Lena Nazaryan says struggle is needed always – be it in
saving a building, a park or a tree from destruction or in solving
social issues like pensions, electricity prices, transportation, etc.

“In short, there are lots of urgent issues, now I can even name them,
but focusing on specific cases will not allow us to see the global
issues that have a systemic nature. The historical building in Yerevan
is being demolished because for many years it has not been renovated,
controversial mining projects are started communities because for
years no other investments have been made there,” she says.

In Nazaryan’s opinion, however, the civil society is now facing a more
conceptual problem.

“What should the civil society do? Raise questions and start
negotiations with representatives of the government or establish that
the government is unjust from the beginning, which would mean that
cooperation with it won’t result in anything and that one needs to put
an end to injustices and establish justice. One cannot avoid this
question,” she adds.

The biggest success recorded by civil society this year was the fact
that a movement managed to get a case against the new controversial
pension reform to the Constitutional Court and see some of the
provisions of the law ruled unconstitutional. But participants of the
movement do not consider it to be a complete success, since only a few
months later the government made changes in the law and turned
mandatory contributions into mandatory social payments. For now, only
public sector employees will have to make the payments, while the norm
will become mandatory for all in three years’ time.

Gevorg Hayrapetyan, a member of Dem.am, the group that has campaigned
against the mandatory elements of the reform, tells ArmeniaNow that
some concessions had been made, but they were only formally adjusted
to their demands, while essentially the mandatory norm has not been
removed for certain groups of citizens.

“We will surely continue our struggle, but it will be clear in autumn
how we do it. It will also depend on public sentiments and the level
of determination of the government to make money,” he said.

According to the activist, the struggle will be continued if some of
the public sector employees decide to stand up for their rights,
“manage to overcome the atmosphere of fear and indifference among
them.”

Hayrapetyan emphasized that while as a group Dem.am, which was formed
for campaigning against the controversial reform, has become more
passive, the civil activism of its members has remained as strong as
before and in issues of priority for the public these people are as
active as they were in opposing the pension law.

Despite certain achievements in certain areas, overall Armenia’s civil
society still finds it difficult to achieve consolidation in its
general struggle against the authorities and become fully fledged
because of being ‘disoriented’. This opinion has repeatedly been
voiced in his public speeches by director of the Armenian Center for
National and International Studies Manvel Sargsyan.

The political analyst suggests that in order to achieve success civil
society should come out not only against the authorities, but also
against all political forces and parties.

Turkey will not find rest, without facing with Armenian Genocide:
American missionary

12:03, 31 July, 2014

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The 36-year-old American missionary
Sebastian James has recently published a book titled “Expected
Awakening”, one of the central ideas of which is that “without facing
with the Armenian Genocide, Turkey won’t find rest.”

As “Armenpress” reports, in an interview to “Agos” Sebastian James
said that last 12 years of his life he spent distributing Bible in
Turkey, Pakistan and Palestine, explored the lives of Christians in
these countries and tried to understand why the number of Christians
previously constituting one-third of the population in those areas,
now is insignificant. “After Afghanistan the least number of
Christians currently lives in Turkey among those countries, when 100
years ago 33 percent of the population were Christians. Such decline
of the Christian population gave me a reason to think on discovering
the cause of that. In Turkey people are taught wrong things. These
lies are also connected with Christians living previously in this
country, with Christianity and with Bible. Many lies are about
Armenian Genocide. The purpose of that is not only to disguise their
sins but also to slander Armenians by saying “We didn’t do that, they
did it” and commit another new crime,” Sebastian James noted.

Turkish Govt not going to return Sansaryan Han to Armenian Patriarchate

13:44, 31 July, 2014

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish Government is not going to
return Sansaryan Han building located in Istanbul’s Eminönü district
to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. An Armenian college
used to function in Sansaryan Han, the true owner of which is the
Armenian Patriarchate.

As reports `Armenpress’ citing Turkish gazeteport.com news website,
the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bülent Arınç has
recently stated that the issue of returning the building is not on the
agenda. The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bülent Arınç stated this
in his response to the written query of political figure Sezgin
Tanrıkulu representing the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Among
other things, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bülent Arınç
underscored: `The Chief Department on Foundations does not hold
activities regarding this issue.’

TURQUIE
Le Mouvement Gülen a dépensé 1,5 millions de dollars pour faire du
lobbying contre la reconnaissance du génocide arménien selon un site
internet turc

Les partisans de l’idéologie du mouvement Gülen en Turquie et aux
Etats-Unis au cours des 8 dernières années ont dépensé 1,5 millions de
dollars pour faire du lobbying contre la reconnaissance du génocide
arménien selon le site turc Haber 10reprenant une information publiée
par le site américain Buzzfeed.

Ainsi depuis 2007, pour faire du lobbying contre la reconnaissance du
génocide arménien le mouvement Gülen a fait un don de 1,5 millions de
dollars à des politiciens américains. Parmi ceux qui ont reçu des dons
sont inscrites le président américain Barack Obama, l’ancien
secrétaire d’Etat Hillary Clinton et d’autres.

Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (né le 27 Avril 1941) est un prédicateur
turc, ancien imam et écrivain. Il est le fondateur du mouvement Gülen
(parfois connu sous le nom Hizmet). Il vit actuellement en exil Ã
Saylorsburg, en Pennsylvanie aux États-Unis. Gülen enseigne un
(Hanafi)la version anatolienne de l’Islam, qui découlent des
enseignements du savant musulman sunnite Said Nursi. Gülen est
activement impliqué dans le débat de société sur l’avenir de l’Etat
turc, et l’islam dans le monde moderne. Il a été décrit dans les
médias de langue anglaise comme `l’une des personnalités musulmanes
les plus importantes du monde`. Cependant, son mouvement Gülen a été
décrit comme` ayant les caractéristiques d’une secte `et sa
dissimulation et son influence dans la vie politique turque comparé Ã
` un islamique Opus Dei `.

Le mouvement Gülen est un mouvement civique islamique transnational de
la société inspirée par les enseignements de Gülen. Ses enseignements
sur hizmet (service altruiste au service du « bien commun ») ont
attiré un grand nombre de supporters en Turquie, en Asie centrale, et
de plus en plus dans d’autres parties du monde.

Malgré les revendications de Gulen et de ses disciples que
l’organisation est non-politique dans la nature, les analystes
estiment qu’un nombre important d’arrestations liées à la corruption
portées contre les alliés du Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an reflète une lutte de pouvoir politique croissant entre Gülen
et le Premier ministre.

jeudi 31 juillet 2014,
Stéphane ©armenews.com