Author: Kalantarian Kevo

BOYCOTT ON WAY

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

Friday saw calls for a sweeping boycott of French goods in response
to the passage of a controversial bill seeking the punishment of
deniers of Armenian genocide claims, despite protests and pressure
against the bill in both Turkey and Europe.

The Turkish Consumers’ Rights Union on Friday called for a firm boycott
until France withdraws the bill, which would make it a crime to deny
Armenian genocide claims in France.

The first calls for a total boycott came from politicians this week.

However there were also deputies who rejected the calls for strong
economic sanctions, underlining the country’s economic situation.

A similar move was seen in Turkey in 1998, when it emerged that
Abdullah Ocalan, the now-imprisoned leader of the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), was being sheltered in Italy.

Italian goods were boycotted and several street demonstrations took
place where angry people burned that country’s products.

During the boycott, state-owned Ziraat Bank declared that it would
not grant loans for the purchase of tractors or other Italian farming
equipment. Several Italian firms were disqualified from significant
contracts that also did harm to the Turkish economy. The Turkish
government also blacked out Italian TV stations, and Turk Telecom
suspended all commercial ties with Italian companies.

The consumer group has urged the public to boycott a French company
operating in Turkey to be nominated by them each week, with French
petrol giant Total chosen by the organization as the first target.

Bulent Deniz, head of the group, in a written statement released
on Friday, said that the boycott is meant to punish France and show
Turkish resolve. He also urged the public to maintain their stance
until the French deputies reconsider their mistake.

Stressing that it is a dangerous move to boycott a country’s goods
in a globalizing economic system, Deniz said that this is a last
resort that has to be tried. He added that they will add another
French company to the boycott drive each week.

Total has almost 500 gas stations throughout the country and earned
$2.5 billion in revenue last year.

A similar call came from the Turkish Tradesmen and Artisans
Confederation (TESK) on Friday, which said that all French goods
should be removed from store shelves.

TESK, which represents many professional chambers and federations
as well as individual artisans and tradesmen, called on its
sub-federations, chambers and individuals to follow their call.

"The Turkish government, which rules over 70 million people, should
pay the price of a small group of Armenians who are playing with
the rest of the world through lies," said TESK head Dervis Gunday,
accusing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party government of
failing to block the passage of the French bill.

He also criticized the Swedish Royal Academy’s decision to award the
Nobel Prize for Literature to Orhan Pamuk, a celebrated Turkish writer
who earlier stood trial on charges of insulting Turkishness for saying,
"1 million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands."

"It’s very interesting that a Turkish author who has advocated the
so-called Armenian genocide claims won the Nobel Prize on the very
same day the French bill was passed," added Gunday.

Turkish business groups also called for a boycott or similar economic
sanctions, including barring French companies from participating in
state tenders.

Small- and Medium-Sized Industrialist Exporters’ Association of Turkey
(MUSIAD) head Omer Bolat also said on Friday that any boycott should
be firm.

"French companies should be excluded from tenders regarding the
environment, transport, energy and defense sectors," said Bolat,
whose proposal was welcomed by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO)
and several other business groups.

Deputy returns Peugeot

In a move to protest the French decision, a deputy on Friday asked the
Parliament Speaker’s Office to replace his government car, a Peugeot.

Center-right Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) deputy group leader Suleyman
Saribas said he was ashamed of having a French car and urged others
to follow his move.

"If the state has no other car to allocate to me, I will use my own
car," said the deputy.

He also said the Customs Union agreement between France and Turkey
should be suspended.

He also joined in the boycott calls, adding that there should be a
customs quota for French goods.

Arinc urges calm

Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, who on Thursday delivered a stern
statement criticizing France, on Friday urged, "We should stay calm."

"We can’t achieve anything by shouting, insults or burning flags,"
he stressed, while praising behavior that expresses the Turkish
position in a cool-headed manner.

He expressed his appreciation of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of
Armenian origin who on Thursday said he would go to Paris to violate
the bill if it becomes law, and to Mesrob Mutafyan, the Turkish
Armenian patriarch who also scolded France for its move.

He also proposed the release of a common manifesto by academics,
led by the head of the Board of Higher Education (YOK), on the matter.

He also said that France, with this move, has betrayed its own values
and long-established principles.

In another written statement, the Confederation of Turkish Employers’
Labor Unions (TISK), said that they will of course show their reaction,
but will also consider the economic interests of the country and the
Turkish people.

Agence France Presse — English
October 13, 2006 Friday

French historians come out against Armenian ‘genocide’ vote

A grouping of French historians on Friday issued a joint statement
condemning a vote by French MPs to adopt a new law which would punish
anybody who denied that the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks constituted genocide.

The bill, which was adopted by France’s lower house of parliament
Thursday and sent on to the upper house for debate, was "a real
provocation", the group, calling itself Freedom for History, said.

They said they intended to call on President Jacques Chirac to block
the bill if the upper house also voted in favour.

"So deep is the feeling of solidarity that we have for the victims of
history, we are rising in solemn protest," they wrote, adding that
the bill represented an "ebb of democratic freedoms".

The bill envisages a one-year prison term and a fine of up to 45,000
euros (56,000 dollars) on anybody who denies that the Ottomans
committed genocide against the Armenians as their empire fell apart
in World War I.

Turkey, the modern successor to the Ottoman Empire, has reacted with
fury to the bill, and threatened economic reprisals against French
firms.

The Age, Australia
Oct 14 2006

Fighting words from Turkey’s Nobel author

LAST year – not long after Orhan Pamuk was tried for insulting
Turkishness – an Istanbul newspaper ran an article entitled Who is
Maureen Freely? Their answer was that I was more than just Orhan’s
friend and translator: I was a shadowy master-agent whose sole
purpose in life was to win my client a Nobel prize.

It was part of a much larger hate campaign in the right-wing press,
just one lie among thousands. The campaign was so vicious that I was
sure that – even if it wanted to honour Turkey’s foremost writer –
the Nobel Academy, which shies away from controversy and does not
wish to take instruction from shadowy master-agents, would want to
wash its hands of the whole thing.

So though I’ve often used the N word when writing about Pamuk’s work,
I was probably the most surprised person in the world when the
academy awarded him the 2006 prize for literature. I was just
finishing a fiction seminar at the University of Warwick when he rang
me with the news and I’m afraid I screamed. He was calm and courteous
as I, too, tried to be on a series of radio programs afterwards. But
I am troubled that almost every interview began with the same
question. Did I see this prize as political?

No, I don’t. Orhan Pamuk has been on the world stage for 15 years
now. He is a hugely innovative literary writer whose books owe as
much to the great 19th-century novelists as they do to the modernist
traditions.

His subject is the clash of civilisations, or rather, the strange and
subtle interweavings of contradictory cultures in Turkey past and
present. In his historical novels – The White Castle and My Name is
Red – he presents dark metaphors that illuminate the contradictions
of contemporary life. In his contemporary novels, he pierces the
silences enforced by state ideology to expose the truth about power
and its masters.

But like all important writers in Turkey, he has often been asked to
speak on matters of political principle. He has spoken most
consistently and eloquently on free expression.

For many years, his high profile in the West allowed him more freedom
than most. That ended in February 2005 when he told a Swiss
journalist that though a million Armenians had been killed in the
country of his birth, no one talked about it. The firestorm in the
Turkish press was so fierce that he briefly left the country.

And then there was the lawsuit, which seemed to come at such an
awkward time for Turkey. Here it was, trying to join the EU. But here
it was, prosecuting yet another writer for his words. It wasn’t doing
itself any favours, was it?

The story has moved on – as many as 80 writers, scholars, artists,
and activists have been prosecuted for insulting state, the
judiciary, or Turkishness itself; 45 more cases are set to go to
trial before year’s end.

The ultranationalist lawyers who brought the case against Pamuk hope
to to trample democratic debate. Here they have not (yet) succeeded.
The intelligentsia is putting up a good fight. But it has come at a
cost for those who are known in the West, and especially for Orhan.
His life story eclipsed the stories in his books.

My hope is that this will change now. The Nobel has gone not to the
man and not to his politics but to his words, his characters, and his
ideas. Born into a culture that had (recently) clipped its Eastern
roots, and that was struggling to define itself as Western, he has
(like all of us who grew up in Istanbul) grappled with double
identities all his life. What might have seemed a curse to a young
man is the source from which his imagination feeds.

He has taken both sides of his clashing heritage and made them whole.
Though he is often praised for making Turkey "visible", his greater
achievement is to make the West see what it looks like from the
outside.

Now that he has won the prize of prizes, will he be allowed to shed
his political persona and go back to his desk? It’s too early to
tell. He is still a controversial figure in Turkey. He will, no
doubt, continue to challenge its official history when he thinks it
right to do so, just as he will continue to challenge Islamophobia
and ultranationalism in the West. But now, at last, his books will
come first.

GUARDIAN

Author Maureen Freely was born in the US but grew up in Istanbul. Her
translation of Orhan Pamuk’s Snow was published in 2004. She is a
senior lecturer in the Warwick writing program in the Department of
English at the University of Warwick.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Every Week Turkey Will Include a French Company in Black-List
13.10.2006 18:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Union of Consumers declared a limited
boycott on French products today. A non-governmental organization
engaged in examination of problems and protection of consumers’ rights
said the boycott will first of all refer to Total French oil
company. The NGO representatives also said that in case of adoption of
the bill every week the union will include a French company in the
black-list.

`We will explain our reaction to France in a language it will
understand. The boycott will remain in force until the bill is
cancelled,’ the union chairman said, reports Trend news agency.

Financial Mirror, Cyprus
Oct 13 2006

French Assembly votes to penalise Armenian Genocide denial

13/10/2006

In a historic move, the French National Assembly has voted
overwhelmingly to adopt a law imposing legal penalties on deniers of
the Armenian Genocide.

The legislation, introduced by Christophe Masse, Didier Migaud et
Martine David (Socialist group), seeks "to counter the denial of the
Armenian Genocide." The measure, adopted by a vote of 106 to 19, adds
a second article to the 2001 law through which "France publicly,
acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915."

In a direct reference to the law already in place imposing penalties
for the denial of the Jewish Holocaust ("Loi Gayssot"), the measure
approved this week states that, "those who contest the existence of
the Armenian Genocide through methods recorded in its article 23 will
be sanctioned through article 24-2 of the 28 July 1881 Law on the
press liberty."

"We welcome this historical move, which demonstrates, once again,
that France continues to lead the international community’s progress
on human rights and the dignity on man. State-sponsored denial of
genocide represents a calculated form of incendiary hate speech that
threatens both public safety as well as the ability of society to
organize itself, through open discourse, to prevent the repetition of
genocides in the future. We offer our profound thanks to the
individual political leaders and the broader movement that have moved
this cause forward,"
said Hilda Tchoboian, the Chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation.

"We do hope that the Senate will adopt this same text in the very
near future, so that this measure will become the law of France at
the first opportunity," added Tchoboian.

The European Armenian Federation notes with interest that the path to
the adoption of this measure in France was paved by the recent
electoral defeat of Armenian Genocide deniers in Belgium, the
exclusion of Armenian Genocide deniers from electoral lists in the
Netherlands, and the ban on Armenian Genocide denial demonstrations
in Germany.

"The time is now for a global European law that would penalize the
Armenian Genocide denial, as well as the other Genocide denials
occuring in Europe" concluded Tchoboian.

FRENCH LOWER HOUSE APPROVES ARMENIA GENOCIDE BILL

Xinhua, China
Oct 12 2006

PARIS, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) — The French lower house of parliament on
Thursday adopted a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the
World War I massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

According to the legislation that was carried by 106 votes to 19,
anyone denying the genocide would be sentenced to one year in prison
and ordered to pay a 45,000-euro (56,570 U.S. dollars) fine.

To become law, the bill still needs the approval of both the upper
house Senate and the French president.

But Turkey has warned that the bill would damage ties between the two
countries, and threatened economic revenge against France if the bill
become law.

"If this draft law is approved, Turkey will lose nothing but France
will … lose Turkey," Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in
televised comments late on Wednesday.

Ankara denied it was to blame for the genocide of around 1.5 million
Armenians during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World
War I, arguing that it was part of general fighting in which both
sides suffered.

Although the French government considered that it was up to historians
not parliament to judge the past, the ruling Union for a Popular
Movement (UMP) gave its lawmakers a free hand in the vote, which
ensured the passing of the bill.

Later in the day, the European Commission criticized the bill, saying
it could harm reconciliation efforts.

VARTAN OSKANIAN MET WITH THE BRITISH MINISTER FOR EUROPE JEFF HOON

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 11 2006

October 11 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received Jeff Hoon,
Minister for Europe at the British Foreign Office, who arrived in
Armenia in the framework of a regional visit.

Welcoming the guest, RA Foreign Minister highly appreciated the
bilateral relations with the United Kingdom, emphasizing Armenia’s wish
to activate these, particularly under the European New Neighborhood
Program.

Speaking about EU-Armenia Action Plan, Minister Oskanian underlined
Armenia’s intention to demonstrate the same efficiency as in the
negotiation period. For this purpose Armenia anticipates the practical
assistance of the European Commission and EU member states.

The British Minister for Europe presented the main objectives of his
visit, attaching importance to the enduring dialogue of the United
Kingdom with the South Caucasian countries and the accomplishment of
joint programs.

The interlocutors dwelt on regional questions, Armenia-Turkey relations
in the framework of the process of Turkey’s accession to the EU, as
well as the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

THERE ARE SEVERAL SCENARIOS AS TO WHERE HOAGLAND NOMINATION MAY END UP

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 13:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There are several scenarios as to where Hoagland’s
nomination as US Ambassador to Armenia may end up in the coming
weeks, California Courier Editor-in-Chief Harut Sassounian told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, after months and months of
waiting for his confirmation, Hoagland may end up withdrawing his name
and ask the State Dept. to nominate him to another country. "A second
possibility is that President Bush may make a recess appointment,
naming him ambassador to Armenia, while the Senate is not in session. A
third option would be for the State Dept. to come back to the Senate
and pressure Sen. Menendez to remove his hold," Sassounian noted.

"The best option for the State Department, Ambassador Hoagland,
Sen. Menendez, and the Armenian American community would be to get
together and see if there are certain inducements that the State
Department would offer on one or more Armenian issues which might
convince Sen. Menendez to remove his hold," the California Courier
Editor-in-Chief underscored.

Semneby Does Not Consider Karabakh Process "Absolutely Hopeless"

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2006 14:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Peter Semneby stated at a meeting of the EU Foreign Relations Committee
that Armenia and Azerbaijan drag the time during the process of
Karabakh conflict settlement. In his words, Azerbaijan hopes for the
profit from oil to allow the country to become "richer and stronger
from the military point of view." "Building arms is a serious cause
for concern and it has an impact on the circumstance that Azerbaijan
does not consider solution of the Karabakh conflict extremely urgent,"
Semneby stated. At the same time the EU Special Representative does
not think the situation around settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is "absolutely hopeless." At that he reported he will soon
meet with Armenian and Azeri FMs, reports RFE/RL.

THE HOW BOYS SHOWED ‘EM HOW
by John Reid

KRTBN Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News – Palo Alto Daily News
October 6, 2006 Friday

The representative from the Pacific Coast Conference in the 1952 Rose
Bowl was an unlikely one. The 1951 Stanford football team had no
great expectations before the season started. Even its head coach,
Chuck Taylor, thought the then Indians were a middle-of-the pack
group and didn’t make any pretenses about it. But the "How Boys"
showed ’em how, winning nine games in a row before losing the Big
Game to Cal 20-7 in front of 96,000. The loss was moot, for the Rose
Bowl berth had been already locked up by Stanford with an exciting
27-20 defeat of USC and its star, Frank Gifford, in a battle of two
unbeaten teams at the Coliseum.

Stanford led Illinois 7-6 after one half in the Rose Bowl, but was
snowed under in the second half, losing 40-7.

Seven of the members of the ’51 squad gathered at the Palo Alto home
of Dick Horn on Wednesday to talk about that magical season some 55
years ago. The fact the team ended the year 9-2 with an appearance
in the Rose Bowl was startling, mainly because Taylor was upfront
with his players about the team’s chances.

"Chuck said we had about the fifth best team in the conference,"
defensive tackle Al Kirkland said.

Taylor, an All-American guard on the Stanford team that beat Nebraska
in the ’41 Rose Bowl, wasn’t a fiery, Knute Rockne-type orator.

"Chuck Taylor wasn’t the fight-talk type," Kirkland said. "During the
practices or the games, neither he or any of the coaches yelled at us."

"What I liked about Chuck is that before every game, he said he
thought we could win," defensive end Jack Rye said. "Even though the
other team might be favored."

Taylor had a low-key, lighthearted way of relaxing his players
before the game. Kirkland related a story of when Stanford played in
Washington’s homecoming game.

"Washington invited us to their homecoming and got dates for us for
after the game," Kirkland said. "After we warmed up we went back into
the dressing room."

That’s when Taylor turned to assistant coach Pete Kmetovic.

"Pete, do all the guys have dates for the party tonight?" Taylor asked.

"I think they do," Kmetovic replied.

"Let’s go out and play," Taylor said.

Stanford beat a Hugh McElhenny-led Washington team 14-7. At the end
of the season, Taylor was named national Coach of the Year.

The players back then were much lighter than today’s standards.
Defensive guard Jesse Cone, perhaps the strongest player on the team,
was 175 pounds. Defensive guard Cappy Cook, at 185 pounds, was regarded
as one of the toughest players on the team. Offensive center Rod
Garner, at 190 pounds, was a top-flight heavyweight boxer. Garner
broke an inmate’s arm while fighting in an exhibition bout at San
Quentin Prison.

The team had star power with All-American receiver Bill McColl, fourth
in the Heisman Trophy voting that season. Running back Bob Mathias
was an Olympic decathlon champ in ’48 and ’52. It was Mathias’ 96-yard
kickoff return for a TD that tied the game at USC 20-20. Quarterback
Gary Kerkorian was an All-American that season, his injury in the
third quarter of the Rose Bowl playing a part in that second-half
collapse. Horn, a safety, was named to the 100-year all-time Stanford
team along with McColl. Reserve quarterback Bobby Garrett, who replaced
the injured Kerkorian, and receiver Sam Morley, became All-Americans
in 1953. Garrett and Morley were a pass combination at South Pasadena
High. Linebacker Chuck Essegian made his mark as a baseball slugger,
but was also a hard-nosed LB.

It was a team in every sense of the word, with players giving up their
body for the good of the cause. Defensive end Ron Eadie described a
play Rye made in the USC game.

"Rye was a powerful guy," Eadie said. "Two guards pulled out and
tried to knock him down. A fullback came in and tried to knock him
down. Rye then tackled the halfback with the ball."

Reserve safety Frank "Skip" Crist was one of the heroes in the USC
game with a long interception return to set up the winning touchdown.

"Skip was sent in and told to look out for a little pass," Kirkland
said. "He intercepted it and was going in for a touchdown. Rye and
I knocked out the last guy on the outside. But Skip cut back inside
and they darn near killed him in there."

After Crist’s interception, Stanford was inside the 20-yard line.
Kerkorian called three plays with Harry Hugasian running the ball
between powerful guard Norm Manoogian and tackle Jim Vick.

Manoogian was one of four Armenians starting on the team. Kerkorian,
Essegian and Hugasian were the other three. Manoogian related a
story about Kerkorian’s search for extra tickets for the USC game.
Kerkorian, from Southern California, had a lot of relatives living
in the area.

"Gary went up to athletic director Al Masters and asked for extra
tickets," said Manoogian, who went on to coach football at Foothill
College for 20 years. "Al asked, ‘How many do you need?’ Gary said,
‘I only need 180.’"

"We went to an Armenian party at the Biltmore Hotel after the game,"
Manoogian said. "I wanted to have Cone meet my parents. We introduced
him as ‘Jesse Coninian.’"

Players on the Stanford team were affectionately given Armenian names,
such as "Mathiasian" or "Kirklandian."

Mathias died recently at the age of 75. Other starters have gone on
to greater glory, including defensive tackle Bob Lathem, Kerkorian
and Garner.

"We had no cliques," Manoogian said. "But we all had one common goal.
The coaches made us believe in them."

There was the Stanford "Vow Boys" of 1933-35, the "Wow Boys" of 1940
and Taylor’s "How Boys" of ’51.

"We played over our heads throughout the season," Morley said.
"That’s why they called us the ‘How Boys.’ Some sportswriter wrote,
‘I don’t know how they’re doing it.’"

"We overachieved," linebacker Ted Tanner said.

And how, boys.