Author: Kalantarian Kevo

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN : LES DEPUTES TURCS QUITTENT LE GROUPE D’AMITIE FRANCO-TURC
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 27 decembre 2011

Le groupe d’amitie Turquie-France a l’Assemblee nationale turque a
cesse d’exister vendredi après que ses membres eurent decide de le
quitter pour protester contre l’adoption la veille par les deputes
francais d’une loi penalisant la contestation du genocide armenien
sous l’Empire ottoman.

“Il n’y a plus de raison d’etre pour un groupe d’amitie dans notre
Parlement (..) Et il n’y a plus de raison de maintenir l’amitie avec
un tel pays”, a declare le president du Parlement, Cemil Cicek.

Les deputes de la majorite gouvernementale ainsi que ceux de
l’opposition ont demissionne de leur poste au sein de ce groupe,
a explique M. Cicek, esperant que le Senat francais fasse obstacle
au texte conteste “pour ne pas provoquer davantage de degâts” dans
les relations bilaterales.

Pour entrer en vigueur, la proposition de loi devra etre adoptee par
le Senat, ce qui pourrait prendre plusieurs mois.

TURKEY READING ITS HISTORY WELL – ERDOGAN

Anadolu Agency
Dec 28 2011
Turkey

Turkey’s prime minister underlined on Tuesday necessity of finding
permanent solutions to problems.

Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said instant reactions and temporary
solutions would not bear any result.

“We have to think multi-dimensionally and with a long-term perspective
and find robust, effective and permanent solutions,” Erdogan said
during a meeting in Ankara’s Golbasi town.

Erdogan’s remarks came after the lower house of the French parliament
adopted a resolution last week that criminalized denial of Armenian
allegations regarding the incidents of 1915.

“We have to make use of history and science to deal with these
allegations that are tried to be turned in an anti-Turkey campaign
by some countries, instead of populist and argumentative discourses
and instant reactions,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan said Turkey would only speak with documents, information and
with the help of archives and science against unjust, ill-minded,
racist and discriminative campaigns.

“I request our scientists, scholars, researches and universities to
give priority to studies on our near future,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said Turkey was reading its history well and re-building
today and future with the strength, courage and self-esteem it got
from its history.

SWITZERLAND URGES HISTORIANS TO DEAL WITH “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” ALLEGATIONS

Trend
Dec 27 2011
Azerbaijan

27 December 2011, 02:50 (GMT+04:00) Swiss foreign minister has urged
Turkish and Armenian historians to investigate events earlier last
century that have been primary cause of tensions between the two
nations for decades, Today’s Zaman reported.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, who is also the president of the Swiss
Confederation, told Turkish ambassadors in her keynote speech at
Ambassadors Conference in Ankara on Monday that historians from both
sides should investigate the “Armenian genocide” allegations.

“The historians would then contribute to discussions with their
findings,” Calmy-Rey. Calmy-Rey stressed that there is not any law
in her country that acknowledges a certain incident as genocide,
like in France.

Armenia, backed by some historians and parliaments, says about 1.5
million Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during
World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the
Ottoman government.

Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the
charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that
there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.

She said Switzerland had mediated between Turkey and Armenia between
2007 and October 2009 to enable the two countries to establish
diplomatic relations, open their borders and set up sub-committees
to investigate 1915 events.

Turkey and Armenia signed twin protocols in 2009 to bury a century of
hostilities on establishment of diplomatic relations and normalizing
ties but the protocols failed after the two countries failed to ratify
the documents.

The foreign minister said Switzerland’s official mediation role ended
when the protocols were signed in Zurich on October 10, 2009.

Calmy-Rey said Swiss penal code punished discourses and propaganda
including racism, and the Swiss government had many times condemned
the “tragic incidents of 1915.” She added that the Swiss government
had clearly expressed its formal position about this issue in 2003,
and there had been no change in Switzerland’s stance.

French lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday making it a crime to
deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks constitute
genocide.

Turkey was already frustrated by French opposition to its stalled
European Union bid, and hopes for Western-backed rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia seem ever more distant ahead of 2015, the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian killings.

The bill strikes at the heart of national honor in Turkey, which
maintains there was no systematic campaign to kill Armenians and
that many Turks also died during the chaotic disintegration of the
Ottoman Empire.

The French bill still needs Senate approval, but after it passed
the lower house, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
halted bilateral political and economic contacts, suspended
military cooperation and ordered his country’s ambassador home for
consultations.

France formally recognized the Armenian killings as genocide in 2001,
but had previously provided no penalty for anyone refuting that. The
bill sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of
45,000 euro ($59,000) for those who deny or “outrageously minimize”
the killings, putting such action on par with denial of the Holocaust.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told ambassadors on Monday
during a session that Turkey is ready to confront its history but
said this history must be handled with objective and just memory,
referring to tragic losses in both sides during the World War I. He
urged that historians should discuss Turkish-Armenian history in
an intellectual environment with open archives. He said Turkey’s
reaction to France is because the European Union member state even
made it impossible for such an intellectual atmosphere to take place.

Davutoglu said he hopes France will fulfill its mission in Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, a body that
is assigned to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia
and Turkey’s key ally Azerbaijan, and that France will contribute to
restore peace in the South Caucasus.

Davutoglu said solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will also unblock
normalization process between Turkey and Armenia and will result in
enduring peace.

TURKEY SAYS FRANCE MADE UNFORGIVABLE MISTAKE

Today’s Zaman

Dec 27 2011
Turkey

Turkish president has said France made an unforgivable mistake by
supporting a vote in the French Parliament last week making it a
crime to deny the WWI-era mass killings of Armenians was a genocide.
In an interview with a Turkish TV network on Tuesday, Abdullah Gul
said French President Nicolas Sarkozy took unbelievable steps for
what he said “small [political] calculations,” referring to impending
elections in France in April.

“I hope they will turn back from their mistakes,” Gul stressed.

Turkey vehemently rejects the term “genocide” for the World War I
era-mass killings of Armenians, saying the issue should be left to
historians. It contends that France is trampling freedom of expression
and that Sarkozy is on a vote-getting mission before April presidential
elections.

An estimated 500,000 Armenians live in France and many have pressed
to raise the legal statute regarding the massacres to the same level
as the Holocaust by punishing denial of genocide.

France formally recognized the killings as genocide in 2001, but
provided no penalty for anyone denying that. The bill sets a punishment
of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euro ($59,000) for
those who deny or “outrageously minimize” the killings by Ottoman
Turks, putting such action on a par with denial of the Holocaust.

Noting that Turkish-French relations are very deep, Gul said the bill
criminalizes speaking and writing about something that is different
from state’s official position. He recalled Turkey’s reform process in
which he said as a country “we freed ourselves from these bans.” He
said people are being punished for their views that is different
from state position in a country where he said is known to be “land
of freedoms.”

Turkey, a NATO member, is a strategic ally of France and valued
trading partner, and the moves diminish ties at a particularly crucial
time. Paris and Ankara are both deeply involved in international
issues from the uprising in Syria to Afghanistan.

Gul said what makes him angry is that France says “I will punish
those who believe otherwise.”

“A history professor will not be able to say that this is the truth
[about 1915 events],” the president said, adding that cheap politics
brings countries to an “unexpected point.”

Gul also complained of a situation in Turkey’s neighborhood and
recalled that he wrote a letter to his Armenian counterpart earlier
and had talks with Armenia and Azerbaijan to bury hostilities. He
said today’s situation in the region, where Azerbaijan and Armenia
are officially at war and there are no diplomatic or commercial
relations between Turkey and Armenia, are not in favor of any these
three countries.

He said Turkey is the most powerful country in the region and must
see countries in its vicinity as its hinterland. He added that Turkey
must build cultural, economic and political ties with its neighbor
and acknowledged that efforts in this regard slowed down recently. Gul
also stated that Turkey is not competing with France in these areas.

Turkey and Armenia signed twin protocols in 2009 to normalize relations
and establish diplomatic ties but both countries failed to ratify
the documents in the parliaments. Turkey pegged the ratification
of the protocols to an Armenian-initiated breakthrough in the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Armenia
suspended the process after accusing Turkey of failing to live up to
its committments.

Speaking about the unrest in the Middle East, Gul said what Turkey
wants amid this political turmoil is to see people of these nations
happy. Stressing that people cannot be happy under repressive regimes,
warning of risks in the Arab Spring.

Turkish president said demands for change will go easily if rulers
lead the change but said these changes are made after people’s revolt
or foreign intervention which has huge costs.

The president also acknowledged that he always distanced himself
from the Syrian regime and believed that Turkey’s reconciliation with
Syria may transform the country.

WikiLeaks cables also showed that Gul frequently expressed his
uneasiness about the Syrian regime and Assad family.

Gul said Turkey believed that the Assad regime may change the country
but he said Syrian President Bashar Assad may not be powerful in the
Baath party.

A SEASON OF CELEBRATING, GIVING AND RECEIVING
By David Laurell

,0,6136073.story
December 27, 2011 | 3:44 p.m.

Presenting and accepting a generous gift to the YMCA’s CDC are, from
left, Dan Soderstrom, Marty Del Cid, Chris Habitz, Mary Cutone, Chris
Rizzotti, Dana Russo, Philip DiNova and Brian Paul. (David Laurell)

As this season of year-end celebrations continues, the spirit of
giving, community and friendship prove to be in good shape and of
good cheer.

An early Christmas gift arrived at the Burbank YMCA’s Child Development
Center (CDC) as board members of the Burbank Association of Realtors
Community Service Foundation presented the facility with a check for
$1,000 on December 22.

Accepted by Mary Cutone, who serves as the CDC’s director, the
Realtors’ gift has been earmarked to assist in the completion of the
facility’s new outdoor playground classroom that will include special
features for children with physical disabilities. Among the Burbank
Realtors in attendance were CSF president, Chris Habitz and board
members Chris Rizzotti, Dana Russo, Marty Del Cid, Brian Paul and
Dan Soderstrom. Representatives of the Y, who joined the Realtors to
enjoy the vocal stylings of a chorus of students performing holiday
classics, included Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
Susan Sebastian and Philip DiNova who serves as the director of
financial development.

Festively dressed, the CDC student chorus, under the direction of Max
Reynolds and Rebecca Kelly, included Benjamin Forster, Piper Dugas,
Elizabeth Blumberg, Arnav Pallapothu, Alexa Klohn, Emilio Sanchez,
Alica Webber, Alexa and Katie Fishman, Pearl Poosong, Kyle Truett,
Vivien Chen and Elijah Becker.

As Burbank’s yearlong centennial celebration draws to a close,
members and supporters of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of
Burbank gathered at the Arbat banquet hall to tip their hat to the
city’s 100th anniversary.

Among the notables in attendance were ANC Burbank Chairwoman Silva
Kechichian, the organization’s former chair, Stepan Boyajian, who
served as the event’s master of ceremonies, Mayor Jess Talamantes
and Councilmembers David Gordon and Emily Gabel-Luddy, School Board
members Roberta Reynolds and Dave Kemp, City Attorney Amy Albano and
Deputy City Manager Joy Forbes.

Others who attended the festive evening included Matt Dabanenh
representing U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, Mary Hovagimian who represented
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, Stacey Brenner who represented Assembly member
Mike Gatto, Talin Mangioglu of State Senator Carol Liu’s office, Rita
Hadjimanoukian, representing L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich,
Armenian Relief Society (ARS) international Central Committee Chair
Vicky Marashlian, ARS Regional Committee Chair Nayiree Derderian,
ARS Social Services Executive Director Sona Zinzalian, and ARS Burbank
“Araz” Chapter Chairperson Seda Martir.

The Armenian National Committee of Burbank advances the social,
economic, cultural and political rights of the area’s Armenian-American
community and promotes increased Armenian-American civic participation
at the grassroots and public policy levels.

While it was not staged as an official event of the La Providencia
Guild of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, numerous members of the
organization were joined by their husbands to enjoy a recent evening
of holiday cheer at the home of Victor and Donna Salant and accept
a generous financial gift of support from New Urban West builders.

Among those who mixed and mingled were Ron and Deborah Spang, Joe
and Sharon Terranova, Brooks and Ann Gardener, Tim and Paula Davis,
Peter and Carol Thielemann, Max Andrews and Tami Sagona.

GENOCIDE TOI-MEME !

Paris Cute d’Azur

Dec 27 2011
France

Des genocides, l’histoire de l’humanite en est remplie. La decouverte
du Nouveau Monde sonna le glas de nombreuses ethnies du Nord au Sud
du continent americain. En Afrique bien de guerres tribales furent
le pretexte a des exterminations, dans l’Allemagne hitlerienne, au
Cambodge, plus recemment au Rwanda, au Tibet, dans l’ex Yougoslavie,
les massacres qui eurent lieu s’apparentent dans leur violence et
leur ciblage a des genocides. Les evenements qui se sont passes en
Armenie en 1894/96 (200 000 morts) et surtout en 1915/16 (plus de 1
million de morts) echappent-ils a ce qualificatif ? Etait-ce le rôle
des parlementaires francais d’en decider ?

Pour Dominique de Villepin, la reponse est non. Il va meme jusqu’a
faire un rapprochement avec l’action de la France en Algerie : ”
Est-ce que nous serions heureux que le Parlement algerien legifère
sur la memoire ? ” Une suggestion qui n’est pas tombee dans l’oreille
d’un sourd. En l’occurrence le ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
qui, dès la loi votee, reagissait en accusant la France d’avoir
commis un genocide en Algerie. Certes, la conquete de l’Algerie a
donne lieu comme toutes les conquetes colonialistes a des batailles,
des meurtres, des tueries. Faut-il pour autant parler de tentative
d’extermination ? Qu’elle que soit la reponse, cette affirmation du
Premier ministre turc a donne lieu a une autre reaction inattendue.

Inattendue car en ce domaine, ce sont toujours les Europeens
colonisateurs qui sont en ligne de mire. Comme si l’histoire de
l’esclavagisme et des guerres raciales commencaient avec eux. À en
oublier par exemple que la traite des noirs a connu de beaux jours
dans les pays arabes et ottomans, ou que les principaux pourvoyeurs
de bois d’ebène etaient de petits potentats nègres…

Aujourd’hui, c’est Bernard Lugan qui renvoie a propos du presume
genocide algerien commis par les Francais, le boomerang. ” La Turquie
a la memoire courte ! ” affirme-t-il, rappelant que l’Algerie a ete
pendant trois siècles une colonie ottomane, periode durant laquelle les
janissaires turcs s’illustrèrent par leurs methodes particulièrement
brutales et expeditives. On l’aura compris, il s’agit de massacres
et assassinats, de decapitations, d’esclavagisme…, pratiques dont
l’Occident est loin d’avoir le monopole.

Autre aspect de ce dossier qui n’est, volontairement ou pas, explore,
celui de la religion. Historiquement, la situation politique de
l’Armenie fut determinee par le fait que les Armeniens avaient choisi
le christianisme comme religion d’Etat, dans un contexte où la religion
dominante etait l’Islam. À l’heure où les communautes chretiennes
se trouvent persecutees en Egypte, au Liban en Irak, au Nigeria,
au Pakistan, par des extremistes musulmans, c’est un point qu’il
convenait de relever. En Turquie, un attentat contre le patriarche
~cumenique Bartholomee Ier, avait ete dejoue par la police turque
en mars dernier. Le patriarche fut d’ailleurs a plusieurs reprises
la cible de menaces de la part d’organisations ultranationalistes,
hostiles a son combat en faveur des libertes religieuses pour les
minorites chretiennes de ce pays. On peut ajouter a cela le meurtre
d’un pretre catholique italien en 2006, et celui de trois pasteurs
protestants en 2007.

Autre reaction a cette loi dont on a peine a trouver une raison,
autre qu’electoraliste et dont la mise en application risque d’etre
aleatoire, celle de turcs ou sympathisants negationnistes. Ils
s’en sont pris a Valerie Boyer, artisane de cette loi. Elle et des
membres de sa famille auraient recu des menaces de viol, de mort,
de destruction, des injures. Sur le site internet pirate de la
depute UMP, on pourrait ainsi lire des insultes dirigees vers la
diaspora armenienne, les accusant ” de n’avoir pas le cran d’ouvrir
les archives et de faire face a la verite “. Que pourraient-ils donc
y decouvrir qu’ils ne sachent deja ? Qu’aucune exaction, qu’aucun
massacre d’Armeniens n’a eu lieu en 1894 et en 1915 ou que leur
nombre a ete exagere ? Autres cibles des pro-turcs, les Francais,
” tellement pitoyables et pathetiques ” qu’ils meconnaissent les
verites pour obtenir des voix. Encore une fois de quelles autres
verites pourrait-il donc s’agir ?

Si la seule finalite de cette loi contre la negation des genocides,
telle que veulent le croire les Turcs, etait de capter les voix
des Armeniens pour les prochaines echeances electorales en France,
on peut penser qu’il vaut parfois mieux laisser l’Histoire tranquille !

LES HACKERS NATIONALISTES TURCS A L’ASSAUT DU WEB FRANCAIS
Par Chloe Woitier

Le Figaro

27 dec 2011
France

Ces pirates informatiques, qui revendiquent sans ambage leur
appartenance aux milieux nationalistes, entendent protester contre
le vote de la loi penalisant la negation des genocides.

Depuis ce week-end, le site du Senat, de certains parlementaires et
de blogs armeniens ont ete victimes d’attaques informatiques. Ces
dernières sont l’oeuvre de hackers turcs, le plus souvent
nationalistes, qui protestent contre le vote de la loi penalisant la
negation des genocides, dont celui perpetre en Armenie en 1915.

Les attaques des sites de parlementaires et de blogs armeniens
ont clairement ete revendiques par deux groupes (GrayHatz et
Millikuvvetler) ainsi que quelques hackers independants. Ces pirates
ont procede a un defacage, c’est-a-dire le remplacement de la page
d’accueil d’un site Internet par une autre. En se rendant sur le site
de la deputee UMP Valerie Boyer, l’internaute pouvait lire un texte
en turc et en anglais signe GrayHatz, surmonte d’un grand drapeau turc.

Les hackers denoncent un texte electoraliste en vue d’obtenir les voix
de la diaspora armenienne de France pour les elections presidentielle
et legislative. L’attaque a ete annoncee dimanche a 0h50 sur les
forums du groupe.

GrayHatz n’en est pas a son coup d’essai. Selon le site specialise
Zone-H, qui repertorie les attaques informatiques, le groupe turc
s’est rendu responsable de plus de 250 attaques, majoritairement des
defacages, depuis 2006. Le Nouvel Observateur affirme que les membres
de GrayHatz sont lies au groupe turc Akincilar, qui avait revendique
en novembre dernier l’attaque du site de Charlie Hebdo après la sortie
de son numero “Charia Hebdo”.

Des hackers possiblement lies a l’attaque du site de Charlie Hebdo
Akincilar, nom de legendaires cavaliers ottomans, se presente comme
un groupe de “cyber-guerriers” defendant les valeurs de l’islam,
mais egalement les interets turcs. Ils attaquent ainsi regulièrement
des sites et medias favorables au Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan
(PKK), en lutte armee contre Ankara. Plusieurs sites israeliens ont
egalement subi leurs foudres en 2010 après l’arraisonnement par Tsahal
d’une flottille humanitaire se dirigeant vers Gaza, qui avait coûte la
vie a neuf activistes turcs. Zone-H repertorie près de 7000 attaques
revendiquees par ces hackers depuis 2010.

Le groupe Akincilar a prevenu Le Nouvel Observateur le 21 decembre
de l’imminence d’attaques contre des sites francais. “Nous avons
pris connaissance de l’absurdite de [la loi francaise]. Il n’y aura
pas d’absolution”, stipulaient les hackers. Dans la nuit du 24 au
25 decembre, le groupe a promis au Nouvel Observateur de “pirater
tous les sites web des deputes francais” et de compiler sur un site
specifique l’ensemble de leurs attaques ainsi que celles de “leurs
amis” de GrayHatz.

“Bons petits soldats du nationalisme turc” D’autres hackers turcs
se sont egalement joints aux attaques. Le site du depute UMP de la
Côte-d’Or Bernard Depierre est actuellement deface par un certain
Atess, proclamant faire partie de la “cyber-armee turque”. Interroge
par Le Bien Public, le depute affirme ne “pas comprendre cette action”,
“surtout que je n’ai pas participe a la session de jeudi concernant
le vote sur les genocides”. Le groupe de pirates nationalistes
Millikuvvetler a lui revendique sur Cyberhaber l’attaque d’une centaine
de domaines francais. CyberHaber evoque egalement les actions des
hackers SaMuRa!, ZoRRoKiN et Black-Box, qui s’en sont pris ce week-end
a plusieurs sites francais dont ceux des municipalites de Rouillon
et Cabannes.

TURKISH PRESIDENT RECEIVES PARIS ENVOY

news.az
Dec 27 2011
Azerbaijan

Turkish President Abdullah Gul received Turkey’s Ambassador to Paris
Tahsin Burcuoglu.

Abdullah Gul and Burcuoglu evaluated the latest situation in the
aftermath of a draft bill that passed by the French National Assembly
and criminalizes the denial of the Armenian allegations on the 1915
incidents.

Ambassador Burcuoglu was recalled to Turkey after the adoption of
the bill and returned home on 23 December.

The first remarks Turkey’s Paris Ambassador made about the bill after
it was adopted, were “The French are now confused and embarrassed.

They are now settling accounts.”

ANKARA RAISES ITS VOICE

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta

RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
December 27, 2011 Tuesday

Turkey’s role is on the rise in the region and beyond

Public attention has been drawn recently to the loud exchange between
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy about a draft law that would criminalize denial of the
1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, which is currently being
reviewed by French parliament. Both public figures, as we know, are
never at a loss for words – and both are tuned to their audience’s
moods, at times sacrificing the purely commercial interests of their
countries’ businessmen.

In 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres was the target of Erdogan’s
outburst at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and today’s target
is the president of an even larger country – one that is also a NATO
ally. One could say that the Prime Minister’s voice is getting louder.

The reasons for Turkey’s growing volume on the global arena are its
increased economic clout and international influence. It’s no accident
that in one of Erdogan’s retorts, addressed to the European Union,
he advised: “Look at us, and look at the current state of Europe.” He
was referring to the advanced pace of development in Turkey – and the
financial crisis and stalemate in today’s European Union. Seemingly,
Erdogan’s most recent wordplay has reduced Turkey’s chances for
EU accession. However, judging from the statements of the Turkish
officials, Ankara is losing its interest in this, increasing its
cooperation with the United States instead.

Turkey is also playing a greater role in the region, where it
has sidelined Egypt from its leading power position. To get there,
Ankara quite easily sacrificed its former economic and military ties
with Israel. Now, Ankara’s influence is growing stronger with all
the countries of the former Ottoman Empire. The moderate Islamists,
who were able to raise their heads after the Arab Spring, see Turkey’s
system as an example. Turkish leaders are, in various ways, encouraging
their desire to imitate.

Ankara’s political stance, which is to avoid confrontation with
neighbors, has been set aside. Today, Ankara is taking an active part
in the events in Syria, having called numerous times on President
Bashar al-Assad to step down. Not only have Syrian opposition forces
firmly settled on Turkish territory but, based on some reports,
so have the rebel groups. Moreover, the idea of creating liberated
areas in the contagious zone of Syria and Turkey, is being expressed
increasingly often in NATO circles. Recall that Turkey has the second
largest army in the Alliance. It should also be borne in mind that
Turkey’s further involvement in Syrian affairs could lead to the
deterioration of its relations with another neighboring state – Iran.

Turkey’s activities are not limited to the surrounding region. It
has a noticeable presence on post-Soviet territory – particularly
in countries with Turkic-speaking populations. There, in addition
to strengthening economic positions, Turkey is raising its cultural
influence by building schools with a growing number of graduates
who can subsequently continue their studies in Turkey. The first
Summit of Turkic-Speaking Countries was held this year. All of this
indicates that Turkey’s interests extend beyond regional boundaries –
and that it is already an inter-regional power.

Moscow has excellent relations with Ankara – mainly in the economic
sector. At the same time, the neighboring state’s rising influence must
be taken into consideration. It will become increasingly more apparent
in a region in which Russia has traditionally had its interests –
and they will need to be protected.

YEREVAN CITIZEN FORCED TO MIGRATE TO VAN

04:49 pm | Today | Social

The home located at 18 Koghbatsi Street in Yerevan reminds one of an
island in the “ocean” of newly built tall buildings in the area.

In January 2007, the government recognized all homes in that area as
supreme public interest. Only Armenuhi Manukyan is not getting ready
to leave the home that she received from her grandparents as heritage
and says alienation is orchestrated with many violations of the law.

“The territory can be considered supreme public interest only if
there will be a public building here, like a hospital, a school
or a building of strategic significance. In our case, there is no
construction of such a building,” Armenuhi told “A1+”.

The construction firm has destroyed different parts of the once
two-story home from time to time after throwing the former tenants
out. As a result, the wooden roof is on the verge of collapse, and
there are more and more cracks in the walls of the residential sector.

Armenuhi is determined to reach the European Court of Human Rights,
but she has just one concern.

“Even if the ECHR rules in our favor and makes the government pay us
the money for compensation, Magaret CJSC shouldn’t be the one forced
to pay the money, but the Armenian government. It will be forced to
pay us by taxing you and me, while Magaret will build the building
and make millions,” she noted.

Armenuhi says she is tired of all the hustle and recalls that her
ancestor, who was a Genocide survivor from Van, obtained the house
in the early 20th century.

“It turns out that we were exiled, came to Armenia, and now if they
throw us out, we will go back to Van. There is no alternative,”
Armenuhi Manukyan.