Author: Kajoyan Gevork

IRANIAN MFA: IRAN-ARMENIA TIES ARE AT HIGHEST LEVEL

18:41 02/04/2013 ” REGION

Visiting spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Ramin Mehmanparast
discussed ways to promote bilateral trade and tourism cooperation
with Armenia in a meeting Monday with Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Shavarsh Kocharyan, IRNA reported.

The two also exchanged views on major regional and international
developments.

“Iran favors best ties with regional states, specially its neighbors,”
said the spokesman, noting that Iran-Armenia ties were at the highest
level.

He also said that Tehran-Yerevan cooperation in the fields of economic,
cultural and tourism activities should be promoted to the same level
as their political cooperation.

He added that Iran’s and Armenia’s support for each other’s views at
the international circles has indicated that the two capitals enjoyed
excellent relations.

Mehmanparast said that promotion of Tehran-Yerevan multi-lateral
cooperation in the region was another move to further strengthen
bilateral ties.

Shavarsh Kocharyan, for his part, said that Yerevan favored regional
peace and security and believed that Iran played a crucial role in
promotion of regional stability and peace.

Kocharyan also underlined the need to promote Tehran-Yerevan economic
cooperation.

Source: Panorama.am

DEFENSE MINISTRY: MOVEMENTS OF SMALL AZERI UNITS NOTICEABLE AT BORDER

NEWS | 02.04.13 | 13:24

An Armenian Defense Ministry has reported continued activity of
Azerbaijani military units along the border.

“The enemy continues to be active in the Azerbaijani section of
the border zone. The movements of especially small military units
are noticeable. Ceasefire violations have become more frequent,
the number of shots fired from the enemy’s side notably increased
last night,” Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said,
according to Aysor.am.

“We are following the movements of the enemy and are ready to take the
respective steps if necessary in order to neutralize any provocation
of the enemy,” said Hovhannisyan.

KARABAKH SETTLEMENT, ARTSAKH’S RECOGNITION TOP PRIORITIES FOR MFA

16:06 02.04.2013

Nagorno-Karabakh

On 2 April President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
visited the NKR foreign ministry and partook at the consultation
dedicated to summing up the activities of the structure in 2012 and
the 2013 action plan, Central Information Department of the Office
of the NKR President reports.

Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan, heads of Ministry’s different
departments delivered reports.

The President noted in his speech that during the reporting period
the structure generally succeeded in solving the set tasks.

Touching upon the republic’s foreign policy agenda, the President noted
that it remained unchanged with the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, international recognition of the Artsakh Republic and the
development of multilateral ties with different states remaining as
the ultimate priorities. President Bako Sahakyan gave corresponding
instructions for proper implementation of the activities in these
directions.

The President underlined that the sphere of information and propaganda
is of particular importance for solving the ultimate issues on
foreign policy agenda and the main emphasis here should be put on
the dissemination of accurate and true information about the country
and different spheres of its life as well as on intensifying struggle
against the adversary’s fake propaganda. The President emphasized that
“here we should abandon the position of reacting and be very proactive,
the more so because we have all the moral, legal and political grounds
for that.”

Bako Sahakyan also considered significant the intensification of
diplomatic activity in the field of external economic relations,
which would also give an additional impetus to the socioeconomic
development of the republic.

President Bako Sahakyan mentioned that the problems faced by the
structure, the issues of improving working and social conditions of
the staff would remain at the spotlight of the authorities.

ONE WEEK REMAINED, MR. PRESIDENT! – VIDEOS

A1Plus.am
03:41 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

“Exactly one week later, on April 9, at 2:45 we will have new declared
Republic of Armenia and that will be the launch of the national unity,
of the real the unity “,- with these words “Heritage” party leader
Raffi Hovhannisyan welcomed Gyumri residents.

“There is an opportunity now, think one week more, guys, Mr.
President, one week remained to be the participant of the national
unity. One week is left, I ask you, I demand, I expect, unite to our
national unity, because there can be no game against us: we are living
the most responsible and important week of our lives. The moment of
truth of the Armenian nation has come and sicne April 9 there will
be one constitution, one nation, one state”, – Raffi Hovannisian said.

During his speech Sahak, a villager from Jajur with a poster “Victory
to the end” apprached to Raffi Hovhannisyan and called the police
not to make new March 1, 2008 out of this fair struggle.

Before visiting Shirak province, since early morning Raffi Hovannisian
has been in Kotayk province then in a few communities of Aragatsotn
province. Meetings are still going on.

Yeghvard

Ujan

Tali

Gyumri

Gyumri 2

Israel’s apology to Turkey was a mistake

by Efraim Inbar
The Jerusalem Post
March 28, 2013

Israel’s apology to Turkey for “operational errors” in the Mavi
Marmara incident is a diplomatic mistake both in terms of substance
and timing. It’s hard to understand or justify Israel’s weekend
apology to Turkey. While the use of Israeli force in the Mavi Marmara
“flotilla” incident was not very elegant, it was perfectly legitimate
– as the UN-appointed “Palmer Commission” unequivocally determined.
Moreover, the incident was a Turkish provocation that warrants a
Turkish apology, not an Israeli one.

Worse still, the hopes in Jerusalem for a new era in Israeli-Turkish
relations in exchange for the apology are simply illusory.

The Israeli apology will hardly stop Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s regular Israel-bashing rhetoric. Nor has it secured a
clear Turkish commitment for the resumption of full diplomatic
relations.

Moreover, Erdogan already has conveyed his intention to visit
Hamas-ruled Gaza. Such a visit is a slap in the face to both Jerusalem
and Washington.

Turkey, under the AKP, an Islamist party, has gradually adopted a new
foreign policy, fueled by neo-Ottoman and Islamist impulses, whose
goal is to gain a leadership role in the Middle East and the Islamic
world.

Attaining this objective requires harsh criticism of Israel, which has
generated great popularity for Erdogan and Turkey. Unfortunately,
vicious attacks on Israel come easily for Erdogan, who is plainly and
simply an anti-Semite.

Israel has failed to fully grasp Turkey’s new Islamist direction. For
several years already, we no longer have a pro-Western Turkey with
which Israel can cooperate in the turbulent Middle East. Ankara and
Jerusalem have very different views on a variety of issues. While
Turkey is truly an important and powerful player in regional politics,
its behavior over the past decade actually harms Israeli interests. It
does not follow the US policy on Iran and helps circumvent the
international sanctions imposed on Tehran. As a matter of fact, Turkey
helps Iran, a country with genocidal intentions toward Israel, to
progress in its nuclear program.

Turkey also sides with Hamas, an Islamist terrorist organization
dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, and helps it
entrench its rule in Gaza and gain international support and
recognition.

Turkey is also actively helping radical Islamic Sunni elements take
over Syria. It also supports the idea of violent opposition against
Israel’s presence in the Golan Heights. As such, the hope that Israel
and Turkey can cooperate together with the US in limiting the damage
from a disintegrating Syria has little validity.

Furthermore, Turkey, still a NATO member, is obstructing the efforts
of Israel in developing its ties with this organization. The Turkish
position in NATO also hinders the Western alliance’s ability to deal
more effectively with the Iranian nuclear challenge.

Turkey’s policy in the Mediterranean similarly clashes with Israeli
vital interests. Its bullying of Cyprus interferes with Israel’s plans
to export via this island its newly found gas riches to an energy-
thirsty Europe. Turkey, that sees itself as an energy bridge to
Europe, does not want the Israeli competition. It may even use
military force to maintain its role in the energy market.

What is also important is how the Israeli apology will be perceived in
a region whose prism on international relations is power politics.
Inevitably, Israel under Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be
seen as weak, bowing to American pressure. Public regrets about use of
force erode deterrence and project weakness.

Perceived weakness usually invites aggression in our tough neighborhood.

This is also what Ankara thinks, which is very problematic for Israel.
Moreover, Tehran and Cairo, both ruled by radical Islamists, cherish
the Turkish victory over the Zionist entity.

The Israeli-initiated apology is an American diplomatic success, but
reflects a dangerous American misperception of Turkey as representing
“moderate Islam,” which is incredible naïve. Turkey is distancing
itself from the West and its values.

Nowadays, more journalists are in jail in Turkey than in China.

Israel’s friends in Turkey, part of the democratic opposition, must be
bewildered as Israel hands Erdogan a diplomatic achievement,
buttressing the grip of the Islamist AKP on Turkish politics.

The timing is particularly troubling.

Turkish foreign policy is in crisis because its much-heralded approach
to the Middle East (“zero problems with its neighbors”) is in
shambles. Turkey needed a diplomatic success here more than Israel
did. Israel could have negotiated a better formula to end the impasse
in bilateral relations.

Only very recently, we heard Erdogan call Zionism a crime against
humanity. He did not apologize, as he should have, but told a Danish
newspaper that he was misunderstood.

This was part of a concerted effort on part of Turkey to prevent
additional international criticism on this issue. Nevertheless, the
pressure was on Ankara, not Jerusalem.

Furthermore, an apology to a Hamas supporter, just a day after Hamas
again launched rockets against Israel, communicates terrible weakness.
Sanctioning an Erdogan victory trip to Gaza at this particular moment
is terribly foolish, too, particularly when Israel is seeking to
bolster the standing of the rival Palestinian Authority.

It is highly unlikely that we will see a reversal or a turnaround in
Turkey’s anti-Western and anti- Israeli policies. The apology from
Jerusalem only enhances Turkish ambitions and weakens Israel’s
deterrence.

Efraim Inbar is a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan
University, the director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for
Strategic Studies and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Davutoglu Proposes Two-State Solution for Cyprus

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu

TBILISI – Turkey wants to negotiate a two-state solution to the Cyprus
issue, if according its foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu,
reunification talks between the two sides fail and no agreement is
reached for the establishment of a joint commission on the island’s
gas resources, reported Hurriyet Daily News on Thursday.

It seems Davutoglu is unhappy that Cyprus has offered rights to oil
and gas exploration around the island as collateral for an
international bailout package from the European Union without taking
into consideration occupied Cyprus.

In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, which has effectively become a divided
island. No country, with the exception of Turkey, recognizes northern
Cyprus as an independent nation. Yet, the Turkish foreign minister
insists that its occupying forces on the island must be taken into
consideration by the sovereign Cypriot government.

`We have three paths ahead … The U.N. mission should be accelerated
and the sides should talk on a comprehensive solution and the
resources should belong to a united Cyprus. A new state, which Turks
are a part of, should be able to use them,’ Davutoglu said speaking in
the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, where he is attending a meeting with
his counterparts from Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The United Nations envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer said earlier this
month that a bid to restart stalled talks to reunify the divided
island would only happen after the country concluded negotiations with
prospective international creditors for a rescue loan that it needs in
order not to go bankrupt.

`If this does not happen, then two sides should establish a body over
the usage of resources that should jointly manage the marketing and
extracting. The fund should be blocked in an account and should be
used for peace process and the period after peace,’ Davutoglu said,
referring to reunification talks.

`If these do not happen and Greek Cyprus says `the resources are ours’
then it means tacitly that Turkish Cypriots own the resources in the
north. If they behave according to this claim, we are ready to
negotiate a two-state solution. Then these two states will meet in the
EU,’ warned Davutoglu.

Turkey’s bullying continues.

`My Armenian Father: Journeys From the Past to Myself’

Updated: March 29, 2013

The author – son of an Armenian father and a German mother – tries to
find out where exactly he belongs: Who am I? Am I an Armenian who
can’t speak Armenian? Am I a German who is (all too) often treated as
a foreigner? These doubts sent the author on a journey into the past –
to retrace the life of his father who had survived both the genocide
of 1915 in Turkey and the Second World War, and who had lived through
the conflict between East and West Germany and its many consequences.

Based on his father’s anecdotes and family documents, the author
describes the everyday life of the Dolabdjian family in Turkey until
1915 and his father’s experiences leading to his arrival in Germany in
1922. Here was a stateless man who could not speak a word of German
when he arrived in Germany in 1922. How was he able to go to school
for the first time, pass his higher leaving certificate exams, study
medicine in Berlin, qualify as a consultant, all against the backdrop
of a worldwide economic crisis and the rise of National Socialism?
Today we can smile about his later experiences during the
tension-ridden relationship between the Federal Republic and the GDR
which even led to the temporary loss of his hard-won German
citizenship. But in those days it was a deadly serious situation.

The Author
Haig Dolabdjian was born in Germany in 1951 and grew up as the son of
an Armenian father and a German mother. From an early age he showed an
interest in his Armenian roots and from his father’s stories learned
that a catastrophe had struck the family during his father’s
childhood. In 1990 Haig Dolabdjian travelled to Turkey with his family
– the next generation – in the hope of finding his father’s
birthplace. In 2011 he then flew with his family to Armenia and on a
study trip there got to know the country and its people.
This book describes the circumstances of the Dolabdjian family in
Turkey up to 1915, the experiences of the author’s father leading up
to his arrival in Germany in 1922 and his father’s later experiences
in Germany, all reconstructed from stories and preserved family
documents. Haig Dolabdjian’s travel journals from Turkey and Armenia
close the circle.

This book is intended first and foremost for the author’s immediate
family, to ensure that their origins will never be forgotten. At the
same time, however, it strives to inform a broader public about what
happened in Turkey in 1915 and about what migration to another country
involves.

Haig Dolabdjian holds a doctorate in engineering and works free-lance
in the field of electrical engineering. He lives with his family south
of Munich.

My Armenian Father: Journeys from the past to myself
Publisher Hay Media Verlag, Frankfurt a.M., Germany 1 edition (Februar 11, 2013)
sold by Amazon.com (KINDLE) or at LIBREKA.de (EPUB) ISBN 978-3-86320-024-4

L’Eco di Bergamo, Italia
27 marzo 2013

Chiese e monasteri d’Armenia: Sentinelle del cristianesimo

Viaggi e Turismo

Sembrano tante sentinelle le chiese e i monasteri dell’Armenia.
Sentinelle di un cristianesimo che da secoli è un avamposto in mezzo
all’islam. Circondati da Iran, Turchia e Azerbaigian gli armeni hanno
difeso il loro credo resistendo a invasioni, occupazioni e ateismo di
Stato.

Primo Paese a proclamare la conversione al cristianesimo nel 301,
l’Armenia, ha subìto nel corso dei secoli occupazioni da parte di
turchi, persiani e mongoli. E il territorio è stato spesso devastato
anche da violenti terremoti. Tuttavia gli armeni hanno conservato la
loro identità, la loro cultura e la loro fede: elementi questi che
legano alla madrepatria gli oltre 10 milioni della diaspora sparsi in
tutto il mondo.

Oggi gli armeni residenti in ciò che resta del loro Paese sono circa 3
milioni sopravvissuti al grande genocidio compiuto dai turchi che, nel
1915-1916, ne massacrarono un milione e mezzo. Una tragedia poco
conosciuta e anche negata alla quale è dedicato il Museo del genocidio
nella capitale Yerevan. Ma, viene da chiedersi, cosa ha tenuto uniti
gli armeni in mezzo a secoli di guerre violenze e soprusi? Un elemento
costitutivo e distintivo del Paese è sicuramente la scrittura ideata
nel 405 da Mesrop Mashtots (cui è dedicato il museo del libro a
Yerevan dove sono conservati splendidi manoscritti) per poter tradurre
e far conoscere la Bibbia al popolo armeno. E il cristianesimo è il
secondo grande elemento costitutivo dell’identità armena.

`Il cristianesimo per gli armeni è come il colore della la pelle: non
si può cambiare’ dicono con orgoglio. Così scrittura e religione da
sempre sono punto d’incontro e collante anche dopo l’ultima divisione
del territorio. Un’amputazione che è ancor più dolorosa perché arrivò
nel 1920 all’indomani della riconquistata indipendenza dopo secoli.
Per sfuggire alla morsa turca gli armeni si gettarono nell’abbraccio
mortale della neonata Unione Sovietica. E Mosca, per tenersi buono lo
scomodo vicino turco, pensò bene di cedere le dodici province
occidentali dell’Armenia alla Repubblica Turca di Kemal Ataturk il
leader di quei `giovani turchi’ principali protagonisti del genocidio
armeno.

Ma quella cessione portò oltre al danno le beffe: l’Armenia perdeva
simbolo del Paese,l’Ararat la montagna dove secondo la tradizione si
arenò l’Arca di Noè. E per i cristiani armeni cominciava anche il
lungo inverno di 70 anni di ateismo di Stato con la chiusura di
seminari e la distruzione di chiese e conventi. L’Aratat oggi è più
che mai il simbolo dell’Armenia: non c’è angolo della vasta pianura e
dai rilievi che la circondano dal quale non lo si possa vedere e
sicuramente una degli scorci più suggestivi lo si può ammirare
Zvartnotz – Tempio degli Angeli – con le rovine della chiesa dedicata
a San Gregorio l’Illuminatore il patrono dell’Armenia.

L’imponenza dei resti della costruzione da soli raccontano a quale
punto di civiltà fossero giunti gli armeni a metà del VII secolo. E
proprio San Gregorio l’Illuminatore, primo chatolicos degli armeni, è
una delle figure chiavi del cristianesimo armeno. A Khor Virap, sul
luogo dove c’è ancora il pozzo nel quale il Santo fu rinchiuso per 13
anni, sorge un magnifico monastero circondato da mura dalle quali si
gode la vista dell’Ararat.

La tradizione narra che San Giorgio guarì Tiridate III il re che lo
aveva rinchiuso e quel gesto di generosità portò il sovrano a
convertirsi al cristianesimo e con lui tutti gli armeni. Gli armeni
oggi si riconoscono nella Chiesa Apostolica Armena che il suo
`Vaticano’ a Echmiadizin – La discesa dell’Unigenito – dove nella
piccola cattedrale è possibile incontrare il catholicos e dove è di
fatto rinato il cristianesimo armeno con la riapertura del seminario.

La Chiesa armena, benché separata da Roma (solo i Melchitarriti
riconoscono autorità del Romano Pontefice), compie passi di grande
apertura verso i cattolici (`Le differenze tra di noi e voi – amano
dire – stanno in un ditale’) tant’è che non è infrequente per le
comitive di pellegrini celebrare la Messa nelle loro chiese. E proprio
le chiese, sparse in tutto il territorio, in fondo a gole, a mezza
costa o sulla sommità di alture, costituiscono una delle maggiori
attrattive.

La quasi totalità è decorata da incisioni e bassorilievi e oggi
lentamente stanno lentamente riaprendo grazie agli aiuti degli armeni
della dispora. Così sono rinate – tra le altre – la chiesa di Santa
Hripsime dedicate a alle Sante Ripsima, Gaiana e compagne martiri, il
copmlesso monastico di Noravank, la chiesa di Astvatsatsin
dall’originale ingresso al primo piano lungo due strette scale
addossate alla facciata, o il monaztero di Geghard dove, secondo la
tradizione, p conservato un frammento della lancia di Longino che
trafisse il costato di Gesù Crocifisso.

Estremamente suggestivo infine il Tempio del Sole di Garni dal quale
si domina una vallata e che, immerso nel silenzio, da solo racconta la
storia di un popolo martoriato, sottomesso, ma non sconfitto del suo
intimo e che ancora oggi è testimone dei suoi valori, della sua
cultura, del suo credo.

L’agenzia viaggi Ovet di viale Papa Giovanni XXIII 110 ha organizzato
due viaggi-pellegrinaggi in Armenia di 9 giorni ciascuno. Il primo è
in programma dal 27 giugno al 5 luglio; il secondo dal 23 al 31
agosto. La quota di partecipazione è di 1.490 euro. Info

Mino Carrara

Le Monde.fr
Vendredi 29 Mars 2013

Le Haut-Karabakh veut sa liaison aérienne avec l’Arménie

Plusieurs fois reporté à la suite de pressions diplomatiques
internationales, le premier vol entre le Haut-Karabakh et Erevan, la
capitale arménienne, pourrait avoir lieu ce printemps. De passage à
Paris, jeudi 28 mars, Arayik Haroutiounian le “premier ministre” de
cette République autoproclamée située en Azerbaïdjan, non reconnue sur
le plan international, l’a confirmé au Monde. “On a fini de construire
l’aéroport il y a cinq ou six mois, dit-il. Il y aura des vols à 100
%. La date n’a pas été fixée car il y a encore quelques détails
techniques à régler. Il faut aborder cette question d’un point de vue
humain, et pas politique. Les gens ont le droit de circuler par voie
terrestre et aérienne.”

Près de vingt ans après la fin de la guerre contre l’Azerbaïdjan, ce
territoire enclavé et sous-développé veut ainsi lutter contre son
isolement. La principale voie de communication entre l’Arménie et le
Haut-Karabakh est une longue route sinueuse, très montagneuse par
endroits, difficile à emprunter l’hiver en raison de la neige
abondante. Il faut environ huit heures, d’Erevan, pour rejoindre
Stepanakert.

Mais la géographie hostile n’explique pas le feuilleton de l’aéroport,
qui dure depuis plusieurs années. La dimension politique est
omniprésente dans cette affaire. Réélu en février, le président
arménien Serge Sarkissian, lui-même originaire du Karabakh, a promis
qu’il serait passager du premier vol. De leur côté, les autorités
azéries ont protesté vigoureusement contre toute violation éventuelle
de leur espace aérien. Elles brandissent le principe de l’intégrité
territoriale, auquel les habitants du Haut-Karabakh répondent par
celui de l’autodétermination.

“SI L’AZERBAÏDJAN OUVRAIT LE FEU, IL Y AURAIT UNE GUERRE”

Après avoir suggéré qu’ils envisageaient toutes les réponses
possibles, y compris une destruction de l’avion, les militaires azéris
ont baissé d’un ton, tandis que les Américains et les Européens
appelaient Erevan à la plus grande retenue, pour ne pas envenimer les
rapports. “Si l’Azerbaïdjan ouvrait le feu, il y aurait une nouvelle
guerre. Et ils ne peuvent utiliser leurs avions pour empêcher le vol,
car nous avons nos moyens antiaériens”, affirme M.Haroutiounian.

Celui-ci souligne par ailleurs que les diplomates du groupe de Minsk
(Etats-Unis, Russie, France), médiateurs infructueux depuis vingt ans
entre les anciens belligérants, utilisent très souvent un hélicoptère
pour faire le déplacement jusqu’à Stepanakert. “Quelle différence
entre un hélicoptère et un avion ?”, sourit-il.

Ancien banquier, ce responsable gé de 39 ans essaie de relativiser
l’importance accordée à cette ouverture de la liaison aérienne. Mais
il reconnaît que le calendrier n’est pas favorable à cette initiative.
“Il y a cette année des élections en Azerbaïdjan, dit-il. Ça sera plus
simple après, même s’ils continueront à réagir de façon hystérique.”

Le Monde.fr

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 31 2013

New constitution embracing all ethnicities

MERVE BÃ`Å?RA Ã-ZTÃ`RK

Turkey’s bid to hammer out a new constitution, though presently
blocked by divisions over the definition of citizenship, could boost
efforts to solve the country’s Kurdish question and end a conflict
with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with whom the
government is currently conducting settlement talks, by affording them
greater rights. Turkish columnists largely suggest eliminating the
emphasis on “Turkishness” in the current Constitution, which has long
been a sticking point for Kurds.

Roni Margulies in his article in the Taraf daily suggests changing
`Turkish flag’ to `Turkey’s flag.’ Quoting from a letter one of his
conservative readers sent him, the columnist said: `Even if we say
that we are equal, we subconsciously think that we, Turks, are
superior. We live as if we have the right to force Kurds to act in
certain way. We tell them to hang Turkish flags and we tell them to
learn Turkish, whereas we do not even attempt to learn their language
or respect their flag. If we are equal, then what right do we have to
interfere with them? I think it is because we have been poisoned. We
were poisoned with nationalism following the Tanzimat era.’ If the
Turkish flag had embraced everyone in the country equally, it wouldn’t
be a problem for Kurds to hang it, the columnist notes.

Hilal Kaplan from Yeni Å?afak also says if a flag is a symbol that is
supposed to make every citizen feel he belongs to the country, then
she suggests calling it `Turkey’s flag.’ People may object to this
suggestion, saying `’Turk’ is not an ethnicity, it is the name for
everyone living in the country,’ and they are right, in a way, she
says. However, there is also a sociological reality in that our
history shows that Turkishness was used as a tool of discrimination in
this country in the past and it is hard to associate this word with a
super-ordinate identity now. If we insist on using the current terms,
including `Turkish’ in it, people will continue to believe that the
differences among society are a reason to separate from the country.
There are two options ahead of us now: We should either do away with
the ethnicity-centered perception or we should allow equal spaces for
each ethnicity in the country, Kaplan argues.

Ferhat Kentel, another Taraf columnist, says now is a historic moment
for Turkish democracy and true justice in the country due to the
ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution for Turkey. Kurds will not
be the only ones to benefit from a more democratic constitution.
Looking at some of last week’s court rulings: Although everyone in the
country knows that Pvt. Sevag Å?ahin Balıkçı was killed because he was
an Armenian, a court ruled that his death was an accident and
sentenced the man who shot him to four years and five months in
prison; the boss of 13-year-old Ahmet Yıldız, who was killed when his
head was struck by a hydraulic rubber molding press at a factory, was
sentenced to only two to six years in prison; a man in Denizli who
raped a 15-year-old girl three times was released, with the court
saying, `If the girl was raped three times, then she must have been
willing.’ Kentel asks, `Can’t we see that we urgently need a new
constitution to finally bring true justice to the country?’