Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AZERBAIJANI COMMUNITY LEADER ON UNITING ‘ALL KARABAKHIS’

news.az
Sept 19 2011
Azerbaijan

The head of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh has said
that the people of Karabakh consist of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

“Azerbaijanis have lived in Karabakh since ancient times, and I’m sure
that they will live there for many centuries more,” Bayram Safarov
said in an interview with Russian newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

“We were forced to flee our homes as a result of Armenia’s military
aggression. Of course, this is a tragedy. Each refugee is a story,
full of pain and emotion. Today the Karabakh people are scattered
across 58 districts of Azerbaijan,” he told the newspaper.

“The UN and international charities helped refugees and displaced
people in the early days along with the Azerbaijani government, but
over time, the financial resources of Azerbaijan allowed it fully to
take care of the people of Karabakh.

“I say ‘people of Karabakh’ since this term should characterize
the people of Karabakh – both Azerbaijanis and Armenians. There is
no such nation – the Armenians of Karabakh – just as there is no
nation the Azerbaijanis of Karabakh. The Azerbaijani community of
Nagorno-Karabakh Region of Azerbaijan unites all Karabakhis and aims
to achieve their return to their homeland.”

Asked whether he was satisfied with the role of international
institutions in settling the Karabakh conflict, Safarov restated
the Azerbaijani concern that some UN Security Council resolutions
are implemented almost immediately, while others, such as the four
resolutions in 1993 calling for the withdrawal of Armenian troops
from Azerbaijan, remain on paper.

“We have the same right to live in Karabakh as the Armenians do,”
Safarov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

“We have regular meetings with the chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group,
take part in every possible conference and forum on the conflict. We
bring to the attention of these structures our opinion and we can
see over time that the opinion of these structures is changing as
they have a complete picture of the conflict.”

He repeated Baku’s position that the best way to change the status
quo on the conflict would be the withdrawal of Armenian troops
from Azerbaijani territory, the return home of displaced people
and the confirmation of the status of Karabakh within the borders
of Azerbaijan.

“If anyone thinks that over the years the desire to return home
evaporates or that the new generation is used to living in different
conditions, they are very wrong. Our generation still remembers the
period of co-existence and can master its feelings of alienation and
hatred, while the young people are growing up in conditions of hatred,
as they cannot forget everything that has left them without hearth
and home. The longer the occupation continues, the more the hatred
will grow.”

Asked what he would like to say to his former friends, neighbours and
acquaintances in Karabakh, Safarov said: “We are deeply convinced
that the directly Armenian population of the territory is not
interested in continuation of the conflict – they have become
hostage to circumstance. It will be better for both the Armenians
and Azerbaijanis if the funds going on the purchase of weapons and
maintenance of the army in both countries are spent on improving the
welfare of people and restoring the territory.”

TURKISH PROSECUTOR ASKS FOR LIFE OVER ARMENIAN JOURNALIST MURDER SUSPECTS

Sept 19 2011
Turkey

The prosecutor accused the suspects for attempting to destroy the
democratic regime by use of force and violence.

An Istanbul prosecutor asked for aggravated life imprisonment —
the severe punishment under the Turkish Penal Code — for seven
suspects including Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel in the killing of
Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

The prosecutor accused the suspects for attempting to destroy the
democratic regime by use of force and violence under a provision of
the Turkish Penal Code Article 309, which specifies “crimes against
the constitution.”

The prosecutor also said Tuncel and Hayal masterminded the murder as
part of the Ergenekon, an alleged clandestine network of senior army
officers, academics, businessmen and others who have been on trial
since October 2008 on charges of plotting to use terrorist methods
to overthrow elected government.

Dink was shot dead outside the offices of his weekly Agos in on
January 19, 2007. Last July, a juvenile court in Istanbul sentenced
Ogun Samast, the self-confessed murderer of Dink, to nearly 23 years
in prison.

NKR PRESIDENT: THE UNITY OF THE MOTHERLAND AND DIASPORA IS A “DYNAMIC SYSTEM”

Mediamax
Sept 19 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR),
Bako Sahakyan, said today that the unity of the Motherland and the
Diaspora is a “dynamic system, and in order to preserve its flexibility
and efficiency, changes taking place on the international arena and
in various countries should be taken into consideration.”

Bako Sahakyan said this in Yerevan today addressing the All-Armenian
Conference of leaders and representatives of organizations of Diaspora,
Mediamax reports.

“In this context I think the holding of this conference, organized
by the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia, is very important. It may
become a platform for discussing issues which are very important for
our people and for two Armenian states. This cooperation framework
is very efficient and is one of the most effective methods to carry
out practical work. Artsakh is interested and ready to work in
this direction, considering it as a mechanism for strengthening the
Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity,” Bako Sahakyan concluded.

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WERE AWARDED HIGH STATE AWARDS

Office of the President
president.am
Sept 17 2011
Armenia

Today, by the decree of the President of Armenia, on the occasion of
the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence a group of individuals
were awarded high state awards for significant achievements and
accomplishments in their respective areas. Among them well-known
persons, who have made considerable contribution to the preservation
of the Armenian identity and provided services to the Motherland.

Today, during the official award ceremony, which took place at the
Presidential Palace, the President of Armenia handed the orders and
medals as well as honorary titles to the prominent figures from Spyurk,
representatives of science, education, health care and economy, as well
as a group of the Army and law enforcement servicemen and diplomats.

President Sargsyan congratulated the awardees and wished them further
success.

*** Congratulatory remarks by President Serzh Sargsyan at the award
ceremony in the Presidential Palace on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of independence of the Republic of Armenia

Ladies and Gentlemen, Generals and Officers, Dear Guests,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of the 20th anniversary
of Armenia’s independence and on receiving high state awards.

I am honored to be handing these awards because gathered today are
worthy representatives of our country and our society. It is first
of all thanks to these people that our state is strong and thanks to
these people our nation moves forward.

Armenia twenty years ago and Armenia of today are two different
countries not only for the world but also for us. Our country has
transformed first of all because of the people’s, concrete people’s
dedicated work. Drops of each person’s efforts come together to become
a tremendous force. As the saying goes, “Constant dropping wears away
a stone”. We, as a nation for twenty years have been drop by drop
“wearing away a stone”. Today, for me each of the awardees is one of
these precious and important drops.

Nevertheless, Armenia of twenty years before and Armenia of today
is the same country – with the same language, culture and family
traditions, same national aspirations. We will stay the same but
also different – conservative and modern, national and international,
ancient and always new. This is the road toward eternity, if we want
to be travelers of eternity.

A soldier or an officer, a scientist or an artist, a doctor or a
teacher, a builder or a state employee, a construction worker of a
dignitary – we all eventually are doing the same job – we are elements
of the same structure. Just as the foundation, pillars and the dome
of a temple which have different functions but together represent
one entity. In Vahan Terian’s words, “Our country is a temple, and
sacred is each stone.” And if every one of us perceives himself of
herself as a brick of a temple wall, he or she will see how strong,
beautiful and immortal we are together and how vulnerable when a
block is missing in the temple wall.

Today, Motherland acknowledges those who have that comprehension,
who live and work with that comprehension, who set criteria because
tomorrow’s generation will be guided by that very criteria.

I once again congratulate you and thank you for your work. I remain
confident that you, together with your colleagues will continue and
augment your and our success – success which will allow us in twenty
years to have an entirely different, an entirely new country but also
the same ancient and dearly loved Armenia.

ARMENIAN PM TO HOLD TALKS IN BRUSSELS

RIA Novosti
Sept 19 2011
Russia

An Armenian government delegation led by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
will start a working visit to Brussels on Monday, the government
press service reported.

During the visit, Sargsyan is expected to meet with European
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan
Fule, Valery Safaryan, the head of the Belgian-Armenian Chamber of
Commerce, and other officials.

The delegation also comprises Armenian Finance Minister Vache
Gabrielyan, Economy Minister Tigran Davidyan and other officials.

ARMENIA FORMS COUNCIL TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC REFORM EFFICIENCY

Vestnik Kavkaza
Sept 19 2011

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on formation of a
council for improvement of efficiency of economic reforms and economic
activity, News Armenia reports.

The council will be supervised by the prime minister and will include a
list of spheres for reforms.The Armenian government was ordered to form
a list of members for the council and a concept for reform improvement.

The mayor of Yerevan, the chairman of the Central Bank, the chairman
of the commission for settlement of public services and the head
of the state commission for protection of economic competition were
recommended to cooperate with the council.

Fresno Bee, CA
Sept 17 2011

Armenian pianist kicks off concert series

By Donald Munro / The Fresno Bee
Saturday, Sep. 17, 2011 | 05:41 PM

Leading off the 2011-12 season for the Philip Lorenz Memorial
Keyboard Concerts series is a familiar name: Vardan Mamikonian.

The acclaimed Armenian pianist returns for a fourth visit today to
Keyboard Concerts, which despite its small home at the Fresno State
Concert Hall has an outsized reputation in terms of international
prestige. Mamikonian was last in Fresno in 2006 as part of a
collaboration between the concert series and the Fresno Philharmonic.

A common theme of this season’s series is the composer Franz Liszt,
whose 200th birth anniversary is being celebrated worldwide. Seven of
the eight pianists in the season lineup have confirmed Liszt on their
programs.

And the biggest Liszt piece comes first: the Piano Sonata in B Minor.

“It’s considered one of the most substantial works of the 19th century
with great demands on every aspect of the player: interpretive
insight, personality, stamina,” says series artistic director Andreas
Werz. “I think it’s the dream of every pianist to one day play the
Liszt sonata.”

Mamikonian, whose visit is co-sponsored by Fresno State’s Armenian
Studies Program and underwritten by local Armenian contributors, has
performed in such prestigious venues as the Musikverein in Vienna,
Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, and Thétre des
Champs-Elysées in Paris.

Mamikonian, along with such artists in the series as Garrick Ohlsson
and Emanuel Ax, is an example of the big names that Werz is able to
bring to the series each year. He balances that with a mix of younger
upcoming talents. Two of the most promising in this season’s lineup:
Russian player Daniil Trifonov, who earlier this year won both the
International Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and the
International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; and Argentinian
player Fabio Martino, who won the Rio de Janeiro international piano
competition in 2010.

Performance details: 3 p.m. Sunday, Fresno State Concert Hall.
keyboardconcerts.com, (559) 278-2337.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 18 2011

Erdoðan visits Arab nations amid tension with Israel

18 September 2011, Sunday / ,

The much expected visit from the Turkish prime minister to the
rebuilding nations of the Arab Spring — Egypt, Libya and Tunisia —
took place last week, a time that was particularly significant as it
followed recent crises between Israel and its last remaining friends
in the region, Turkey and Egypt.

Erdoðan’s first stop was Egypt, where he received a hero’s welcome on
Monday. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoðan and
chanting slogans welcomed Erdoðan at Cairo International Airport. On
Tuesday, Erdoðan delivered a speech at a meeting of the Arab League in
Cairo, where he called on Arab countries and Turkey to close their
ranks so tightly that “even daylight could not pass between [us].” His
speech was interrupted by storms of applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey’s call for solidarity in the region. “It
is time for us to take responsibility for our common future,” Erdoðan
said, and added, “we are entitled to meet the righteous demands of our
people using any legitimate means.” Erdoðan also reiterated criticism
of Israel and called on Arab countries to support a Palestinian bid
for statehood recognition at the UN General Assembly later this month.

Erdoðan moved to Tunisia on Thursday. In Tunisia, he reiterated his
criticism of Israel, saying Turkish frigates and gunboats might be
sent to the eastern Mediterranean at any time to ensure freedom of
navigation. “Israel will not be able to move in the eastern
Mediterranean as it wishes,” he said at a joint press conference with
Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi on Thursday.

Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador earlier this month in a row
over an Israeli raid last year that killed nine Turks on a flotilla
bound for Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas and under
blockade by Israel.

——————————————————————————–
Sept. 11 Sunday
A religious ceremony was held at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on the island of Akdamar in the eastern province of Van. This was the
first such ceremony since the historic one of Sept. 19, 2010, which
was the first on the site since 1915.

Representatives from various nongovernmental organizations and
political parties gathered in the Kadýköy district of Ýstanbul to
condemn the Sept. 12 military coup on the coup’s 31st anniversary.

A policeman, Nadir Özgen, was kidnapped in the Çatak district of Van
province by three members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK).

Five people, including a policeman, a gendarme and three civilians
were killed, and 10 people, including seven gendarmes, were injured in
PKK attacks against a gendarmerie command building and the Þemdinli
Police Department building in Hakkari.

Sept. 12 Monday

Turkey was the world’s fastest-growing economy in the first six months
of this year, driven by intensive investment from the private sector,
data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) revealed.
Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) saw 8.8 percent growth in the
second quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago.

The 2011-2012 school year started for kindergarteners and first
graders. During their first week at school, the children will take
part in an orientation program designed to help them adapt to school.

An Ýstanbul court began hearing the trial of 22 suspects in a case
regarding the establishment of several websites that allegedly ran
propaganda campaigns against civilian groups and the government on
behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The case was merged with the
ongoing case of a separate military plot targeting the government last
month at the request of Ýstanbul Public Prosecutor Cihan Kansýz, after
arrest warrants were issued for 14 suspects, including seven senior
generals, in the website investigation.

Gürsel Tekin, deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP),
said Aziz Yýldýrým, the chairman of the Fenerbahçe sports club, who is
currently jailed over alleged involvement in match-fixing, asked the
CHP for support in changing the laws dealing with sports crimes when
he (Tekin) visited Yýldýrým at Metris Prison. Tekin said he
consciously chose Sept. 12 for the date of the visit, as a reminder of
the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. “I have great respect for those who
lost their lives and paid heavy costs in the fight for democracy. I
condemn the people responsible for Sept. 12. Metris Prison is a
notorious place in which many suffered,” Tekin said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan was greeted by tens of thousands
of Egyptians who flocked to Cairo airport to welcome the Turkish prime
minister, while Cairo’s streets were decorated with posters of
Erdoðan. At least 20,000 Egyptians holding posters of Erdoðan and
chanting slogans welcomed the prime minister at Cairo airport.

Sept. 13 Tuesday

Turkey said that its military may launch a ground offensive against
terrorist PKK targets in northern Iraq at any time, in accordance with
ongoing talks with Iraqi Kurdish officials, as part of a plan to
cooperate against the PKK. Interior Minister Ýdris Naim Þahin said in
response to questions from reporters as to whether Turkey is pondering
a ground operation in northern Iraq that talks with the Kurdish
regional administration in northern Iraq are still under way and that
a cross-border ground offensive could be launched at any time, as
could aerial strikes.

Minister of Family and Social Policy Fatma Þahin met with the
presidents of bar associations from 16 metropolitan provinces in
Turkey to exchange views on a draft law that aims to reduce violence
against women. The meeting took place at the conference hall of the
Ministry of the Family and Social Policy in Ankara.

The Ýstanbul Police Department’s financial crimes unit detained dozens
of people as part of an investigation into alleged corruption
involving the municipal government of Avcýlar Municipality.

Kýrýkkale Mayor Veli Korkmaz, who stands accused of warning suspects
in a fraud investigation about a possible police search of their
offices prior to the raid, testified to prosecutors carrying out the
Deniz Feneri probe.

At an Arab League meeting in Cairo Turkish Prime Minister Erdoðan
called for the Arab countries and Turkey to close their ranks so
tightly that “even daylight shall not pass between.” The Turkish
leader’s speech was interrupted by applause from Arab foreign
ministers supporting Turkey’s call for solidarity in the region. “We
are living through a turning point in history, and we are called upon
to cooperate more closely than ever,” Erdoðan said.

Terrorists from the PKK killed two police officers when they attacked
a police car in the southern province of Kahramanmaraþ.

Sept. 14 Wednesday

The Constitutional Court re-elected Haþim Kýlýç as its president, with
13 of the 17 justices voting in favor of the current president. The
top court held the vote to elect its president as Kýlýç’s four-year
term had come to an end.

A court arrested four active duty army officers and released a staff
colonel as part of the widening Sledgehammer probe. The 13th Ýstanbul
High Criminal Court arrested Adm. Abdullah Can Erenoðlu, Gen. Mustafa
Ýlhan and staff colonels Ender Kahya and Önder Çelebi on charges of
coup plot.

Turkey and US officials signed a memorandum on the deployment of US
radar as part of a NATO-backed missile defense system designed to
protect European members of the alliance from missile threats.
According to the memorandum, the X-band radar system will be deployed
at a military base in the eastern province of Malatya.

Prime Minister Erdoðan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in
Cairo where the Turkish leader declared that it was time to raise the
Palestinian flag at the UN.

President Abdullah Gül warned against Islamophobia in Europe and said
he considers a modern state a multicultural one. Gül said in a joint
interview with Turkey’s Zaman daily and Germany’s Die Zeit, prior to
his scheduled visit to Germany, that it was Europe where the modern
state developed, characterized by democratic principles and the rule
of law, and that he finds it contradictory to see Islamophobia on the
continent.

Kayseri’s First High Criminal Court rejected a request from the
lawyers of former military prosecutor Ahmet Zeki Üçok, who stands
accused of using torture on three noncommissioned officers in the
province of Kayseri, to have his case transferred to a military court.
The court ruled that only military crimes can be referred to military
courts and that engaging in torture is not a military crime.

Trabzonspor’s Ondrej Celustka struck 14 minutes from time to stun 2010
winners Inter Milan and clinch a 1-0 away win in the Turkish side’s
Champions League group stage debut.

Sept. 15 Thursday

Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation
into a recently published voice recording that allegedly reveals
secret talks between representatives of the Turkish government and the
outlawed PKK in Oslo.

Former police chief and politician Mehmet Aðar was sentenced to five
years in prison on charges of establishing a criminal organization, in
a trial concerning a car accident in 1996 that exposed links between
the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and Turkish security
forces. Aðar, who served as a police chief shortly before the
incident, was standing trial for his role in an unlikely arrangement
between a famous mafia boss, a member of the security forces and a
politician. The prosecutor argued that Aðar had established an
organization with the purpose of committing crimes.

Prime Minister Erdoðan, visiting Tunisia on the second stop of his
North African tour, reiterated his criticism of Israel, saying Turkish
frigates and assault boats might be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean
at any time to ensure freedom of navigation. “Israel will not be able
to move in the Eastern Mediterranean in any way that it wishes. It
will see our determination in this regard,” he said at a joint press
conference with Tunisian interim Prime Minister Beji Caid el Sebsi.

Turkey’s unemployment rate continued to fall with the country’s
unemployment rate at 9.2 percent in June 2011, according to data
released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat). TurkStat said
the unemployment rate fell from 10.5 percent in the same period of
last year. According to TurkStat’s data, the number of people
unemployed in the country now stands at 2.53 million and the number of
those employed at 24.90 million.

Five police were injured when a member of the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked a minibus carrying police from a police
academy in the southeastern province of Diyarbakýr

In a celebration featuring the unlikely trio of a pop singer, an
actress and the German minister of state, the German Embassy
commemorated 50 years of Turkish immigration to Germany at the Pera
Museum.

Sept. 16 Friday

Three individuals believed to be foreigners were killed in an armed
attack in broad daylight in Ýstanbul’s Zeytinburnu neighborhood.

The trial of seven defendants, including former Kayseri Gendarmerie
Commander Col. Cemal Temizöz, who is charged with killing Ramazan Elçi
in 1994 along with dozens of others while he was the commander of the
gendarmerie in the southeastern district of Cizre between 1993 and
1995, and former Cizre Mayor Kamil Atað, suspected of at least 20
unsolved murders in the Southeast during the 1990s, continued at
Diyarbakýr’s 6th High Criminal Court.

Speaking in Libya, Prime Minister Erdoðan declared that “the time for
autocracies is over,” and the autocratic regime in Syria will collapse
just like those in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

The International Hrant Dink Award was presented for the third time
on Hrant Dink’s birthday, Sept. 15, to Taraf’s Editor-in-Chief Ahmet
Altan and Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 17 2011

Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh will be discussed at the 66th session of
UN General Assembly
[17.09.2011 09:35]
Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 17 /Trend corr. E. Aliyev/

“Situation in occupied territories of Azerbaijan” and “Continuous
conflicts in GUAM and their influence on an international peace,
safety and development” paragraphs are included in the agenda of the
66th session of UN General Assembly , Permament mission of Azerbaijan
to United Nations told Trend. Hearing of these paragraphs are planned
to realize at “Preservation of international peace and security”
meeting at plenary session of Assembly.

An Armenian representative having a speech on regulation of meeting
expressed disagreement of his country to include “the Situation in
occupied territories of Azerbaijan” paragraph in the agenda. However,
Armenia as the only state not supporting this paragraph showed
aggressive and nonconstructive policy once again.

“The observer status of Parliamentary Assembly Turk-speaking countries
in the General Assembly”, suggested by Azerbaijan, and “The observer
status of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries in
General Assembly”, suggested by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Turkey also were included in the agenda of the 66th session of the UN
General Assembly. Hearings of these paragraphs are considered to
realize under paragraph of “Organizational, administrative and other
questions” at the Sixth Committee of the Assembly.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

National Post , Canada
September 16, 2011 Friday
National Edition

Coming to terms with genocide; A charge that Nova Scotia settlers
targeted Mi’kmaqs has historians debating terminology

by Kathryn Blaze Carlson, National Post

There is a Conspiracy of Silence hidden safely in the Archives of
Canada, a long denied fact: European settlers, inspired by White
Supremacism, sought the “out and out genocide” of the Mi’kmaq people
in Nova Scotia. Such, at least, is the claim – complete with
capitalization – of Halifax historian, Daniel Paul, published this
month in the Settler Colonial Studies journal.

“The dispossessing of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas by
Europeans, and the near extermination of them in the process, is the
greatest inhuman barbarity that this World has ever known,” Mr. Paul,
who could not be reached on Thursday, wrote in his paper, The Hidden
History of the Americas.

But his use of the term has rankled fellow historians, and has
resurrected the debate over when, exactly, it is appropriate to deploy
such a powerful word. “Genocide” refers to the most vile of human
aggressions, defined explicitly by the United Nations as acts
“committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

“I believe [genocide] is essentially a 20th century term, and I’m not
sure that it’s the best way to understand 18th century realities,”
said John Reid, a history professor at Saint Mary’s University in
Halifax. “What happened in the 18th century is a process of imperial
expansion that was ruthless at times, that cost lives…. But to my
mind, you can’t just transfer concepts between centuries.”

Some human rights experts argue that there has been only one genocide
in modern history – against the Jews during the Holocaust. Some say
there have been three more: Against the Armenians by Ottoman Turks,
against the Hutus in Rwanda, and in Bosnia in 1995.

“It’s a divisive term, and all you need to do is look at the Canadian
Human Rights Museum to see that that’s true,” said Kyle Matthews, the
lead researcher at the Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human
Rights Studies. “You can see differ-ent cultural communities in Canada
wanting their collective human suffering recognized with the same
weight as others.”

In his 15-page paper, Mr. Paul, a Mi’kmaq elder, refers to
Lieutenant-General Edward Cornwallis’ socalled Scalp Proclamation of
1749 as evidence that his people should be on the list – that the
British colonial authorities wanted to hunt every Mi’kmaq man, woman
and child in the province.

“His Majesty’s Council do hereby authorize and command all Officers
Civil and Military, and all his Majesty’s Subjects of others to annoy,
distress, take or destroy the Savage commonly called the Micmac,
wherever they are found,” the proclamation read. “[And] promise a
reward of ten Guineas for ever Indian Micmac taken or killed, to be
paid upon producing such Savage taken or his scalp.”

Mr. Matthews said those words may indicate “some genocidal intent,”
but said he, like Prof. Reid, would not deploy the term “genocide” for
both practical and profound reasons.

“From a legal perspective, it’s bet-ter to use the term ‘crimes
against humanity’ because the scope of proof is far broader,” he said.

Beyond that, though, is what he called the problematic “overuse” of
the word, which inevitably saps it of its power.

Mr. Paul’s argument has riled emotions in Halifax, where Cornwallis
Junior High was just this summer stripped of its name – thanks, in
part, to the efforts of Mr. Paul himself, and to Kirk Arsenault, the
first Mi’kmaq representative on the Halifax Region School Board.

“Genocide is trying to wipe out a race of people, and that’s what
Cornwallis tried to do,” Mr. Arsenault said. “What other word are we
going to use? Should we sugar-coat it? I’m sure we could find a word
that’s less severe than genocide. But should we?”

Mr. Arsenault acknowledged that the Mi’kmaq were at war with the
colonial forces, and that they, too, had issued bounties on English
scalps and wanted the enemy dead. But he said Cornwallis’ proclamation
is different in one key, and damning, sense.

“If he had made a proclamation of 10 guinea for every Mi’kmaq warrior,
then that would be another thing,” he said. “But if you’re trying to
kill every man, woman and child, isn’t that genocide?”

Despite opposing Mr. Paul’s use of the term, Prof. Reid said he
supports his efforts to educate Canadians on a sullied past.

“I agree that we need to confront some very dark historical realities
– that empire in the 18th century was not a clean, peaceful process,”
he said.

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