Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Beyond Stories of Survival

by Hourig Mayissian

August 19, 2012

Hatoun is sitting up still with her back against a tall palm tree, her
head bowed as though she’s asleep. She has seated a doll she received
as a present from an American aid worker up in the same position
against another, smaller tree close by. She has torn the doll’s head
off and placed it, face up next to its body.

No scene in any other book has haunted me to this extent. And
certainly, no other character I’ve come across has pierced through me
with the same intensity.
Hatoun is one of the main characters in Chris Bohjalian’s recently
released masterpiece on the Armenian Genocide, The Sandcastle Girls.
Hatoun is a child of not more than 7 or 8. Hatoun is a survivor of the
Armenian Genocide. And in this scene, Hatoun is re-enacting the
murder, by decapitation, of her mother and older sister which she
witnessed on the long march from Adana to Aleppo.

No scene in any other book has haunted me to this extent. And
certainly, no other character I’ve come across has pierced through me
with the same intensity. Ever since I came across it, this scene has
taken a life of its own in my mind, epitomising the millions of untold
stories of suffering, of trauma, of feelings experienced both by those
who perished during the Genocide and those who survived.

I have reflected on this moment over and over in the past ten days
since I put the book down. How did Genocide survivors deal with and
try to overcome the trauma they had experienced? What did they feel on
those marches, in the concentration camps, witnessing the brutal
murder of family members, throughout the starvation, the deprivation,
the humiliation? How were raped women and young girls ever able to
love and have sex again? What type of parents did orphaned children
manage to become? How did their experiences during the Genocide impact
their day-to-day life as survivors?

I tried to recall stories about my own ancestors who had survived the
Genocide in hope of remembering a habit, an incident, a
characteristic, anything of theirs that would tell me something beyond
their story of survival, beyond the chronology of how they ended up
where they did.

I remembered that my maternal great grandmother, who suffered from
advanced Alzheimer’s at old age, would stand in front of a mirror,
stare at herself in horror and ask her grandchildren to give `this
poor starving orphan’ some bread and water. My great grandmother was a
survivor of the Genocide, rescued by a Turkish man who adopted her
somewhere along the march from Harput.

I recalled hearing about other survivors and their stories. A friend’s
grandfather, also a Genocide survivor, would have an anxiety attack if
ever he walked into the living room and saw there was no food on the
table. There always had to be food on the table. The horror an
Armenian American friend managed to inflict upon his grandmother while
she babysat him one day, when he innocently opened the door to a
stranger. After all, isn’t this how it started for many – with an
unannounced visitor at the door?

I spoke with my parents, I spoke with my husband to try and dig out
more memories that would help me understand how Genocide survivors
dealt with their trauma – something we might have overlooked or
forgotten. How did my husband’s grandfather, a survivor with a
remarkable story that took him from Hassanbey to Australia, overcome
seeing his father, along with all the other men in the city, rounded
up in the city square, their beards set on fire until their bodies
turned to ashes? Some of these stories we will never know.

I remembered Suzanne Khardalian’s `Grandma’s Tattoos’ and the story of
a grandmother as told through the eyes of her grandchildren: A woman
rendered cold, distant, and strange after her experience being raped
as a child while escaping the Genocide.

Too often when we’re busy advocating for Genocide recognition and
fighting denial, are we prone to `forget” the names and faces behind
the numbers. Too few are the survivor accounts that take us so deep
into the psyche of the survivors themselves beyond the story, beyond
the events, beyond the facts.

The Sandcastle Girls brought a forgotten or neglected aspect of the
Genocide to life for me. It reminded me that our ancestors were not
only stories of survival. They were flesh and blood, heart and soul,
they felt, they hurt, they struggled, they loved, they lost and they
loved again – they were.

Armenians in Jerusalem: The Politics of Survival in the Holy Land

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 | Posted by Matthew Karanian

STORY & PHOTOS BY MATTHEW KARANIAN

The Armenians of Jerusalem form one of the oldest Armenian communities
outside of Armenia. The Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem may
be one of the most Armenian places in the world, too.

But this community is more than just old and Armenian. The community also
controls, through the Armenian Church, at least a part of every major
Christian Holy Site in the region, including the birthplace and crucifixion
of Jesus, and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary.

With such a rich cultural legacy, one might guess that the Armenians of
Jerusalem are strong and thriving. They are not. If the Old City were
divided up today, the Armenians might barely command one street. They
certainly would not lay claim to an entire Quarter, as they have for
centuries.

The survival of the community is today in peril. The population is
dwindling. Armenian property rights are under attack. Even Armenian
pilgrims are fewer in number.

Matthew Karanian – a Pasadena lawyer and the author of several books
about Armenia – traveled to Jerusalem earlier this year as part of a
research and photography project. Karanian is the co-author, with
Robert Kurkjian, of the best-selling travel guide Armenia and
Karabagh: The Stone Garden Guide. This article is one in a series
about the Jerusalem Armenians that Karanian has written and
photographed for Asbarez.

POLITICS OF SURVIVAL IN JERUSALEM

Armenians have 17 centuries of history in the Holy Land, and they share or
own most of the major Christian sites, including the sites where Jesus was
born, crucified, and buried.

There’s also a distinct geographical area in the historic walled city of
Jerusalem known as the Armenian Quarter.

This should be enough to make any Armenian feel proud. But after I had
spent several days living among the Armenians of this sacred Armenian
place, those 17 centuries of history instead felt like they were crushing
down on me. I felt as weary as if I had been breathing too much church
incense.

The Holy Land induces awe and inspiration for some. I felt this, too. I was
awed. And I was inspired.

But as I became increasingly aware of the greatness of the Armenian legacy
here, I also became increasingly aware that the survival of this legacy is
in peril.

George Hintlian is a Jerusalem historian and a prominent member of the
Armenian community. He had been my introduction to the Armenian community
when I arrived earlier this year.

He sensed that I had become weary, rather than uplifted, by all that I was
seeing and learning about the Armenians of Jerusalem. `This place doesn’t
work only by prayer,’ he said. `There’s a lot of politics.’

Unfortunately, the politics appear to be working against the Armenians.
This `politics,’ I feared, could one day turn the Armenian Quarter into
another Aghtamar – another sacred gem of Armenian culture that is now just
a
`museum’ that’s owned and operated by others.

WHAT’S AT RISK

The walled Old City of Jerusalem has a dense population of nearly 40,000
living in an area of less than one square kilometer.

The Armenian Quarter occupies one-sixth of this tiny walled-city, yet it
has a population of only about 500 Armenians. As a result, the Quarter is a
highly coveted piece of real estate. The other quarters are bursting with
residents who need more room. This is especially true for the Jewish
Quarter, which is adjacent to the Armenian Quarter.

`The Israelis want to take over the Armenian Quarter,’ says Hintlian.
Worshippers headed to the Western Wall – sometimes also called the
Wailing Wall – often pass through the public streets of the Armenian
Quarter. `Every day they see what we have,’ he says. `They want it.’

These worshippers frequently walk directly past the home and office of
Kevork Nalbandian, an attorney with a law practice in the Armenian Quarter.

Nalbandian says he is also concerned about the future of the Armenian
community. `We already live in a museum,’ he says, alluding to the
dwindling Armenian population. `Twenty years from now, how many of us will
there be?’ he asks.

There had been 35,000 Armenians – some say more – in the region prior to 1948.
There are about 2,000 in the region today, of whom 500 live in the Armenian
Quarter of the Old City.

The population decline has several causes. Finding work is difficult,
especially for educated professionals. This forces many of the most highly
educated Armenians to leave Israel. Job prospects are better for an
Armenian who wants to operate his own office, or work as a merchant.

So, an Armenian can make a living selling jewelry or ceramics, says
Hintlian, but careers in the professions are scarce. This is because the
politics of the region dictate that Arabs hire Arabs and Jews hire Jews, he
says.

There’s also the intangible difficulty of simply living in Jerusalem.
`People are psychologically crushed,’ says Hintlian. Israeli
policies – Hintlian calls it `harassment’ – work to encourage Armenians to
leave. And, government policy also prevents immigration to Israel by
Armenians, he says. The `Law of Return,’ the law that guarantees to Jews
anywhere in the world the right to immigrate to Israel, also prevents
immigration by non-Jews. The result is a community that cannot sustain
itself, and that can only shrink.

ARMENIA’S LINK TO THE HOLY LAND

For centuries, groups have competed for control of the region’s holy sites.

These groups, including the Armenian Church, have fought – sometimes
literally – for the right to hold religious rites at places such as the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and at the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. These are the sites where many in the Christian community
believe that Jesus was born, crucified, and buried.

In an effort to impose law and order on the religious groups, the Ottoman
Empire negotiated a so-called `Status Quo’ agreement with them back in
1852. The Ottomans were sovereign over Jerusalem and much of the Middle
East at the time.

This agreement dictated that the ownership and rights status that existed
for each of the holy sites in 1852 would be the set of rights that would
exist in perpetuity. This agreement remains in effect today and is enforced
by the Israelis in Jerusalem, and by the Palestinians in Bethlehem.

Negotiating this Status Quo agreement was one of the benevolent acts of the
Ottomans during their four centuries of rule in the Holy Land. It has been
effective in allowing the Armenians to continue to control or share
ownership of most of the major Christian holy sites today. The Greek and
Catholic churches are the only other religious groups that rival the
Armenians in their extent of ownership and control of Christian Holy Land
shrines.

Father Goruin is a member of the St. James Armenian Brotherhood. He became
a priest in the Armenian church at age 23, and this year, at age 30, he was
elevated to the rank of Vartabed.

The Armenian Church is able to maintain control of these sites because it
has been strong over the centuries, says Father Goruin. `And the church can
only be strong if there is a large community,’ he says.

There are today about 100 students enrolled in the Quarter’s Armenian
elementary school. This school, Saint Tarkmanchatz, or The Holy
Translators, was established in 1929 and the success of its pupils is one
of the keys to the survival of the community, he says.

If the community survives, it will be able to help the Armenian Church
maintain its co-stewardship of sites such as the Tomb of St. Mary, as
well as the Church of the Ascension, the Church of the Nativity, and
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Each of these shrines is built upon the site of a significant event in the
life and death of Jesus.

The Tomb of St. Mary is where the Virgin Mary was laid to rest before she
ascended to heaven.

The Church of the Ascension is built on the hilltop outside the city walls
of Jerusalem where Jesus ascended to heaven.

The Church of the Nativity is built atop the site in Bethlehem where Jesus
was born.

And the Church of the Holy Sepulcher occupies the sites within the Old City
of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified and was anointed and laid to rest.

The Armenian Church either shares ownership of these sites, or shares the
right to hold religious services there, with either Greeks, or Catholics,
or both. `When you consider how few Armenians there are in the world, and
how many Latins [Catholics] there are, it’s extraordinary that our rights
are the same or greater than theirs,’ says Hintlian.

There are several additional significant religious sites that are
owned or controlled by the Armenian Church, as well.

At the moment, the more immediate focus of the community is on preserving
the building and the sacred relics of the St. James Cathedral, which forms
the heart of the Armenian Compound within the Armenian Quarter.

The current edifice of St. James dates back to the twelfth century, and it
contains a treasure trove of artwork and priceless antiquities. The
monastery of St. James is even older, having been established in the fourth
century by St. Gregory the Illuminator.

It was here, on a recent afternoon, that Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian of
the Armenian Patriarchate presided over the elevation of four priests – four
members of the St. James Brotherhood – to the rank of Vartabed. The cathedral
was alight only with the flames of candles and oil-fed lamps. The mood was
mystical, and the community had turned out in large numbers to witness this
rare and sacred rite of the church.

Thirty students from the St. James Convent, all of them young men, filled
the gallery and sang hymns from the pages of books that were lighted only
by candles. There was no other music – no organ, no choir – except the singing
and chanting of these 30 young men.

Back in the 1930s, the military governor of Jerusalem, Ronald Storrs, had
famously stated that the Cathedral of St. James `embodies the misery and
the glory of the Armenian nation.’ On this evening, I understood only the
glory.

_______________

Matthew Karanian traveled to Jerusalem earlier this year as part of a
research and photography project documenting the Armenian community and the
Old City’s Armenian Quarter. His Jerusalem photography will be included in
a large format photography book to be released in 2012 with co-author
Robert Kurkjian.

Karanian practices law in Pasadena, Calif., and is a former Associate Dean
and member of the law faculty at the American University of Armenia in
Yerevan. He is also the co-author with Kurkjian of several books about
Armenia, including the best-selling photo-based travel guide Armenia and
Karabagh: The Stone Garden Guide. This book is available from Borders, from
Armenian booksellers in Glendale, and from the online bookseller Amazon.com.

Karanian’s photography has appeared in such magazines as CNN Traveler,
Photo Life, and Photo District News (PDN). He has photographed leaders such
as former Presidents Bill Clinton and Robert Kocharian, in the Oval Office
of the White House, and several Miss Armenia beauty queen.

ARMENIE
Le ministère de l’agriculture commence à combattre les maladies des forêts

Le ministère arménien de l’agriculture s’est embarqué dans la lutte
contre les maladies des forêts et les parasites.

Gevorg Harutyunyan, chef de division au ministère de l’agriculture en
charge de la culture de plants, de la sylviculture et la protection
des plantes, a dit aux journalistes vise 9000 hectares dans les
provinces du Syunik, du Vayots Dzor, d’Aragatsotn et du Kotayk.

Il a recommandé que les résidants proches des zones traitées
s’abstiennent d’entrer dans ces secteurs dans les 20 jours suivants
pour éviter tout empoisonnement.

Gevorg Harutyunyan a dit que la campagne sera dirigée aussi contre les
sauterelles et des rongeurs.

Pour combattre les sauterelles dans les provinces de l’Ararat et du
Syunik, le gouvernement a fourni des pesticides pour traiter 1000
hectares de terrain.

Selon les dernières données, les forêts arméniennes occupent 332000
hectares soit 11,17 % de moins qu’en 1993

dimanche 19 août 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

REVUE DE PRESSE
Samira Kadiri : « Mon objectif est de mixer les chants d’Arménie et de l’Atlas »

La cantatrice Samira Kadiri était au rendez-vous avec le public de
`Timitar`, le Festival de la ville d’Agadir où elle a interprété
quelques-uns de ses récitals et où, notamment, elle a chanté en
amazigh.

Le fait de chanter dans cette langue n’est pas un événement en soi,
puisque Samira Kadiri est constamment à la recherche de nouvelles
mélodies, de chants originaux surtout en ce qui concerne des chants
lyriques, andalous, hébraïques et autres. Son répertoire est puisé
dans l’histoire et s’étend sur une grande partie de l’Europe et de la
Méditerranée, là où naquirent des mouvements, tendances et écoles de
chants. D’ailleurs, chanter en amazigh s’inscrit dans le cadre de la
recherche permanente de Samira Kadiri. La cantatrice a tout un projet
où elle entend développer et explorer des chants de contrées
lointaines qui, tout au long de l’histoire, ont connu tour à tour des
croisements et des ruptures. Le projet s’intitule `Rythmes de
mémoire`.

` Dans ce projet, précise-t-elle, j’ai développé des chants de
montagnes en vue d’initier un voyage culturel entre l’Arménie, la
Grèce et l’Algérie. Les chants sont soit enregistrés dans les
montagnes, soit basés sur leur thématique. Il me permet de chanter
pour la première fois en berbère, et je suis contente de le présenter
au Festival Timitar. L’objectif est de mixer entre les différents
chants de plusieurs pays, en l’occurrence les chants de l’Arménie et
de l’Atlas`.

Samira Kadiri ne cesse de voyager et d’interpeller l’histoire, la
culture, les langues et les chants. Son périple musical ne s’arrête
jamais ; plus elle avance dans sa carrière, plus elle se rend compte
qu’il y a encore beaucoup de choses à découvrir et à connaître. `Tout
vient de ma formation, explique-t-elle. Je suis spécialiste en chants
antiques et j’interprète des répertoires médiévaux ou antiques. J’ai
toujours cherché Ã partager des moments de plaisir, Ã travers une
certaine recherche musicale. Je chante en `Hakaytia` (ladino), en
syriaque, en araméen et ma recherche est axée sur un répertoire très
ancien, mais qui risque de tomber dans l’oubli. J’essaie de voyager
avec le public entre l’Occident et l’Orient. C’est dommage que l’on ne
soit pas attentif à ces chansons. C’est?pour cela que j’ai essayé de
rapprocher le public marocain de ce genre de chants`.

L’artiste a, également, des responsabilités administratives
puisqu’elle est directrice de la Maison de la culture de Tétouan et
directrice artistique du Festival international de luth à Tétouan.
Mais elle parvient à gérer toutes ces responsabilités puisque, comme
elle le souligne, elles sont complémentaires.

`Chaque mission est au service de l’autre et chaque mission est une
occasion pour de belles rencontres. Ces casquettes me poussent à être
en mouvement, m’apportent de l’inspiration et me facilitent le contact
avec les gens`, avoue-t-elle.

Une expérience originale qui gagnerait à se faire connaître davantage,
car elle fait revivre l’histoire et la culture surtout que des pans
entiers de ce répertoire sont menacés de disparition.

Samedi 14 Juillet 2012

dimanche 19 août 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

LIBAN
La fête de l’Assomption à Bikfaya au Liban

En 1952, le Catholicosat de Cilicie a déclaré la fête de l’Assomption
de St. Marie comme date de pèlerinage au Monastère de St Marie de
Theotokos à Bikfaya. Avant le jour de la fête les pèlerins commencent
à arriver pour prier, méditer et donner des offrandes.

Cette année le séminaire a organisé des conférences et des réunions
sur le thème de la fête que plus de 200 femmes ont suivi.

Dimanche 12 août 2012, Sa Sainteté Aram 1er a présidé la Sainte
Liturgie célébrée après la tombée de la nuit devant la Chapelle de St
Marie. Son Eminence l’Archevêque Souren Kataroyan a célébré la
Liturgie accompagnée par le choeur ‘Shenorhali’.

Après que le sermon spirituel et la bénédiction du raisin, qui sont
une tradition antique de l’Église arménienne, Sa Sainteté Aram 1er a
dit « Dans la diaspora aujourd’hui nous avons deux priorités urgentes
: D’abord, notre langue arménienne Occidentale est dans un sérieux
déclin. Notre langue est essentielle dans la vie de notre foi et dans
la protection de notre identité dans la diaspora ».

Il a alors recommandé vivement aux jeunes d’employer l’arménien
Occidental même en communiquant par les médias sociaux.

Dans la deuxième partie de son message, le Catholicos a recommandé à
la communauté arménienne de Syrie de conserver son unité interne et de
maintenir son engagement envers la patrie syrienne et son peuple dans
les circonstances difficiles de troubles internes. Il a fait appel aux
fidèles pour aider la communauté arménienne de Syrie.

Le pèlerinage s’est conclu lundi 13 août avec la Liturgie de
Commémoration pour les proches des fidèles et un déjeuner servi par Sa
Sainteté Aram 1er, le clergé, les séminaristes et le Comité des Femmes
de l’Église.

dimanche 19 août 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

APA, Azerbaijan
Aug 17 2012

Azeri police disperse rally outside Israeli embassy

The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan and several Muslim believers have
attempted to picket the Israeli embassy in this country, Baku-based
APA news agency reported on 17 August.

The protesters chanted slogans “Karabakh and Quds are under
occupation”; “Shame on occupying regimes”; “Leave Quds!”; “Israel,
Zionism away from Azerbaijan!”. Police did not allow the protesters to
approach the embassy. Three of party officials and two other persons
have been detained.

Islamic Party members also held a peaceful rally today in the Martyrs’
Avenue in Baku, APA said. They read the statement of the rally,
demanding the “release” of Palestinian lands.

[Note: 17 July marks the international Quds Day when Muslims around
the world rally in support of the Palestinian cause.]

[Translated from Azeri]

AZAD’s Chairman Met with US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar

WASHINGTON, DC. August 16, 2011. Yesterday, chairman of
Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy (AZAD), Elmar Chakhtakhtinski, has
met in Washington, DC with the new US Ambassador to Azerbaijan,
Richard Morningstar. Below is Mr. Chakhtakhtinski’s interview with
Azerireport about this meeting.

The job of a US Ambassador to Azerbaijan has been vacant for a long
time and might be considered to be one of the more challenging posts
for US diplomats. What can you say about the appointment of Ambassador
Morningstar to this position?

Ambassador Morningstar is one of the most experienced US diplomats,
highly regarded by his peers both in the US and around the world. He
has been involved with Azerbaijan and broader post-Soviet region as
the US President’s Special Advisor since early 1990s and later as the
Special Envoy on Euroasian Energy. So, he is deeply familiar with the
situation in and around Azerbaijan and commands all necessary skills,
reputation and experience to be effective at this job.

There has been much controversy around the previous US Ambassador to
Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza, starting with the allegations about his
personal links to the Azerbaijani government officials that surfaced
during his Senate confirmation process and ending with him joining the
Board of Turcas Petrol – a company closely linked to the Azerbaijani
State Oil Company (SOCAR). These developments have raised questions
about the Azerbaijani government using its vast energy resources to
exert undue influence over foreign diplomats on personal levels. Were
these concerns addressed during your meeting with the new US
Ambassador to Baku?

In addition to Mr. Bryza’s case, there also was a previous precedent
of a lucrative post-diplomatic business career in Azerbaijan, set by
former US Ambassador Stanley Escudero. In both instances, one of the
main concerns, at least in public’s perception, was that this might
have led the foreign diplomats to turn a blind eye or take a softer
approach towards the violations of rights and freedoms by the corrupt
and repressive Aliyev regime. Because so many people, including those
within the Azerbaijani-American community, have been concerned about
it, I have raised this question during our conversation with the
Ambassador. And I am happy to say that Ambassador Morningstar has
reassured me that he personally has no plans or intentions to have any
such future personal business involvement linked to the Azerbaijani
regime.

Richard Morningstar is known as someone more involved with the energy
issues, especially considering his last job as a Special Envoy for
Eurasian Energy. How much importance, you think, will he place to the
issue of democracy in Azerbaijan?

Of course, the objectives and priorities of US foreign policy towards
any country are set by the US administration and policymakers in DC.
However, the position of a US Ambassador is very important in
fulfilling those objectives.

I shared AZAD’s view’s on the situation with human rights and freedom
in Azerbaijan and our perspectives on the role the United States can
play in that regard. Ambassador Morningstar has stressed that he
considers democracy to be as important as other top priorities in the
US relations with Azerbaijan and he is looking for ways to effectively
promote democratic development in his capacity as the US ambassador.
The points he raised demonstrate that he is keenly aware of the
serious issues related to human rights violations within the country
and with the socio-political conditions in Azerbaijan.

What other topics were discussed during your meeting?

Among other issues, we talked about the Karabakh conflict and the
prospects of its resolution. I have communicated to the Ambassador
that the absence of democratically elected governments, representing
free wills of their people, and the existence of corrupt and
repressive regimes make the peaceful resolution of this conflict more
difficult, even impossible (Azerireport).

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 17 2012

AK Party and Turkey’s near future

MARKAR ESAYAN
[email protected]

I have observed a recent surge in the emails I receive from my readers
who support the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The
majority of them are considerably disappointed in the party.

There are several common characteristics shared by those who send me
these emails: They not only voted for the party — they seriously
support it and have been working on a volunteer basis or within the
party organization for at least 10 years. In a sense, they are the
unknown heroes who have made the AK Party what it is. If the AK Party
has managed to established organic ties with the public so
successfully, it is because of such people who interact with the
public on an individual basis. These people have worked,
self-sacrificially, everywhere in Anatolia and all across the country.
They have enjoyed no personal benefits from their ties to the party,
but they do have certainly expectations of it.

What were/are those expectations?

These people, the `others’ of this country, wanted the AK Party to
create a clean, democratic state. Indeed, seeing them as the others,
the state had previously used its power to crush these religious
people, women with headscarves, Kurds, Armenians and anyone labeled as
dissidents. They wrapped this repression in a
secular-modern-democratic-Turkey package. And, for a long time, they
managed to deceive part of the public and the world that they were
actually secular, modern and democratic. Thus, they argued, if coups
were being staged and the deep state was committing murders, it was
because the secular republic was in danger. They had used this as a
convincing argument to suggest there was a serious reactionary danger
in the country.

Many people will remember what happened during the postmodern coup of
Feb. 28, 1997. Strange people and groups emerged out of the blue and
engaged in scandals that would make the blood of religious people run
cold. Yet, the propaganda suggested that these people were
representing religious groups. The military-guided, neo-nationalist
(ulusalcı) media outlets published these scandals, including intimate
images, of so-called leaders of religious orders. In the company of
these grotesque images and the shocking remarks from these people, the
argument that a reactionary threat was very close was pumped into the
public consciousness and subconsciousness. One of the coalition
partners was a religious party and, since it had come to power, the
secular republic had been imperiled. This was their thesis.

Indeed, they managed to overthrow a democratically elected government
with a military intervention. The media’s unrelenting support of the
coup prevented democratic opposition or any objections to it. Many
people — who we could refer to as the voter base of the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — even applauded the coup.
This was because they believed the secular republic was in danger. So,
it was a legitimate act for the military to stage a coup to secure the
regime. They conceded that a coup was not favorable, but, in the
favorite slogan of those days, they would say, `It is better to go
back 10 years with a coup than to go back 1,000 years with
reactionaryism.’

Today, we know from the investigation into the Feb. 28 coup and the
media’s reports about it that everything done to lay the groundwork
for the military takeover was false. Instead, it represented a joint
effort by the military and pro-military media networks, businesses and
bureaucrats.

As a result, when the AK Party came to power despite all the
obstructions it faced in the first elections it entered in 2002,
religious and liberal groups against whom the Feb. 28 coup had dealt
the biggest blow welcomed the AK Party with enthusiasm. Unlike its
predecessors, this party was not monolithic nor self-isolationist.
They didn’t see the US as the devil or the members to the European
Union as a nightmare. They perceived the country as a whole and were
working hard to make reforms. And, as a result, a big democratic
coalition was created in the country. This was the coalition of the
`weeping children of the Republic.’ The main component of this
coalition consisted of religious people, but liberals, non-Muslim
religious minorities, liberal leftists, Kurds and some Alevis also
supported them.

At that time, the junta planned continuously to overthrow the AK
Party. To justify the coup, they portrayed the AK Party as an evil
community with a secret agenda to pretend it was a democratic center
party and turn the country into Iran when the time was ripe. However,
democrats, liberals, liberal leftists and intellectuals representing
non-Muslim religious minorities backed the AK Party, and this did not
quite fall into place in the usual way, helping to protect the AK
Party from this propaganda.

It would be better if I spoke on my own behalf. During that time, I
wrote articles for the Agos daily newspaper, established by dear Hrant
Dink, who would be killed a few years later. We, the non-Muslim
religious minorities, had been frequently victimized by the Kemalist
neo-nationalists who would pose as modern people but who were actually
fascists and, therefore, we had developed a serious reaction to being
`otherified.’ For me, a headscarved woman not allowed to become a
deputy or judge is no different than an Armenian not allowed to become
a police officer, let alone a high-ranking bureaucrat. If a Kurd is
tortured or jailed for speaking his/her mother tongue or if an Alevi
is discriminated against because of his/her sect or if a woman or a
poor man or a homosexual faces discrimination, then no one can claim
this country is democratic. In other words, there is a systemic
problem in that country, not problems specific to Armenians or
headscarved women.

In sum, I know well the roots of this discrimination. This evil system
had to change and be reformed. During the first 80 years of the
republic, there were so many violations, and the state had turned into
such a criminal machine that no one save a happy minority could live
happily if this system did not change. And the public was not willing
to let this system go on without change. Indeed, the world has seen a
revolution in information technology. A segment of the religious group
called the Anatolian Tigers was opened up to the outside world. In
other words, a bourgeoisie class that was needed for a revolution but
that had been destroyed by the coup of Sept. 12, 1980, was being
formed among religious groups. In other words, things had gotten
started.

Such an historical background can be found behind the success of the
AK Party, created by these dynamic groups in the elections of Nov. 3,
2002. The party managed to act as the political, legitimate and
peaceful embodiment of this strong demand from the bottom. Serious
reforms have been implemented. For the first time, legal proceedings
have been launched against the deep state and junta members. The
public defended the AK Party against the anti-democratic efforts of
the still-strong coup supporters. 2007 and 2010 were landmark years.
For the first time, the government harshly reacted to a military
memorandum, that of April 27, 2007. And, in 2010, the constitutional
provisions that gave the tutelage its power were amended in a
referendum. Judicial bodies were made more democratic and
constitutional and legal obstacles to the adjudication of members of
the military and bureaucracy were abolished.

In the last elections, the AK Party came to power for a third time,
with over 50 percent of the national vote. This was how the public
rewarded a party that met their expectations to a great extent. The
reforms had not completed and the deep state had not been fully
revealed, but a serious advantage had been earned. It would be easier
and less dangerous to maintain the reforms with this advantage. This
was the public’s expectation.

But this didn’t happen. In particular, the Uludere tragedy — in which
34 civilians were mistaken for terrorists and killed by military
airstrikes in Å?ırnak’s Uludere district due to false intelligence —
and the AK Party’s cold attitude toward the tragedy came as a shock
not only to religious Kurds, but to all supporters of the AK Party.
The AK Party acted not as their old party, but as the old state. The
AK Party’s supporters were also disappointed when the match-fixing law
was amended and the prime minister openly opposed the investigation
into the Feb. 28 coup.

Lack of political movement that can gain public trust

Here are some points that must be emphasized. First of all, and as a
general rule in life, a lack of competition, alternatives and rivals
has made the party overly self-confident. Indeed, neither the CHP nor
the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) exhibits the dynamism needed to
come to power without a miracle or the AK Party making a serious
error. For a long time to come, it seems, no political movement will
emerge in Turkey that will earn the public’s trust and send the AK
Party packing.

The second is exhaustion. We are talking about 10 years of conflicts
and adventures that must have exhausted the prime minister and the
party’s senior executives. If we were a Western democracy, the party’s
leader would change and the problem would be automatically solved, but
Turkey is still a country in which the political arena is dominated
with the cult of the leader.

Third, the AK Party falsely believes that it has dominated the state
and the bureaucracy with its undeniable successes. That is, the AK
Party has evolved into an Ankara party, paying heed to the excuses of
bureaucrats rather than the demands of the public.

The fourth is the lack of democratic maturity of the AK Party and its
senior executives. The majority of the AK Party’s senior executives,
including the prime minister, do not have the democratic heritage
needed to take the country’s democratic progress further. That’s why
they cannot cope with the public’s democratic demands and fall short
of being on par with the public’s democratic maturity. They don’t have
sufficient democratic capital. To accumulate this capital, they need
time and experience, but Turkey has no time to lose.

In conclusion, we are going through expected developments. It may be
possible to mechanically solve in eight years the problems that have
accumulated over 80 years, but we need more time to overcome
mentality-related problems.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 17 2012

Armenian pupils to visit Russian song festival

Pupils of 1450 Armenian schools will visit the Second Russian Song
Festival `Song – a Bridge of Friendship’, organized this year, Vice
President of the Armenian Union of Russia Vladimir Agayan said, News
Armenia reports.

The first festival was held in Yerevan in autumn 2010. It was
organized by the Armenian Union of Russia, the Armenian Center for
Development of the Russian Language, the Russki Mir Fund of Russia and
the Ministries for Science and Education and Culture, supported by the
Armenian Union of Composers.

Famous Businessman Committed Suicide

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:15:23 – 18/08/2012

Yesterday, late in the evening the famous businessman Misha
Hayrapetyan committed a suicide with a gun.

The Hayrapetyan family owns Yerevan Plaster Company, Hayastan
Department Store, hippodrome, chain of BMW stores.

Misha Hayrapetyan’s granddaughter has recently married with the son of
Serzh Sargsyan’s brother, Sashik Sargsyan.

The Hraparak has reported financial problems facing the Hayrapetyan family.

Pailak Hayrapetyan received a loan from Ameria Bank to buy a diamond
mine in Sierra Leone but was deceived by his partner Ashot Sukiasyan.
Now Ameria Bank is likely to confiscate his family property.

Their family has been known since the Soviet years. They owned Erebuni
clothes company, later the plaster company, the hippodrome of
Charbakh, Yerevan. They come from the village of Tsovazard where they
own a hotel and land.