Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Aug 9 2008

CIS Leaders’ Reactions Mixed To South Ossetia Fighting

Saturday , 09 August 2008

Leaders of former Soviet states have reacted to the escalating
violence in Georgia’s breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Some have called on Russian forces to withdraw, saying they support
Georgia’s right to control its sovereign territory.

Speaking from Beijing where he is attending the Olympic Games, Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on the countries of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to close ranks and prevent
Georgia from taking further military action.

At a meeting with Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, on
August 8, Putin said that "an appropriate assessment" of Georgia’s
action was needed from the CIS.

Nazarbaev criticized Georgia for not raising the alarm before
hostilities broke out.

"I think the Georgian leadership has not done the right thing here, by
not alerting anyone ahead of time, by not highlighting any rise in
tensions. I think, in any case, that there is no alternative to a
peaceful resolution of this issue," Nazarbaev said.

In Yerevan, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian
called for a peaceful resolution but did not take a side.

"Armenia is in the region where the conflict is at this moment and
there is no doubt it worries us. We really hope that a solution will
be found very quickly because at this moment it is true that no
solution has been found in the area of security, but I think the
problem must unequivocally be resolved by peaceful means,"
Gharibjanian said.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Tbilisi was prepared
to assist any Armenian citizen in Georgia who wished to return to
their home country.

In Belarus, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Vanshyna expressed deep
concern over the mounting civilian casualties but, like Armenia, did
not align her country with either the Russian-backed separatists or
Georgia.

Support For Georgia

Among those CIS countries speaking out in support of Georgia has been
Azerbaijan. Foreign Ministry spokesman Xazar Ibrahim told RFE/RL’s
Azerbaijani Service that Georgia has "every right" to restore its
territorial integrity to South Ossetia.

"Azerbaijan supports Georgia’s territorial integrity, and the South
Ossetia conflict should be solved only [within] this framework. At the
same time, Georgia has [every] right to restore its territorial
integrity, provided by the norms and principles of international law,
including the UN Charter. And therefore, all the steps taken by
Georgia in this direction are in accordance with international law,"
Ibrahim said.

Vitalia Pavlicenco, the leader of Moldova’s pro-Western, opposition
National Liberty Party, told RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service that his
country must support Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, not
Russia. He noted that Moldova is a member of GUAM, the regional
organization of ex-Soviet states that also includes Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Iurie Rosca, the vice president of the Moldovan parliament, said
Russia’s action seemed aimed at Georgia’s NATO aspirations.

"These provocations are aimed to destroy Georgia’s strategic plans to
become a full-fledged member of the North Atlantic alliance in a few
years," Rosca said.

Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Vladimir Handogy, who was meeting
with the Russian charge d’affaires in Kyiv on August 8, also expressed
his country’s support of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

He said Ukraine is prepared to assist international efforts to bring
about a peaceful resolution, and he urged Russia to not become a party
to the conflict.

August 08, 2008
By RFE/RL

BY DATA OF FIRST HALF OF 2008, INVESTIGATION OF 205 CASES COMPLETED BY RA SPECIAL INVESTIGATION SERVICE

Noyan Tapan

Au g 6, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, NOYAN TAPAN. In connection with the case on March
1 events, charges were brought against 139 people, 117 of whom were
under arrest, 22 ones gave a written undertaking not to leave place
of residence, pecautionary measures were changed with respect to
31 accused persons during the investigation, 82 criminal cases on
95 persons were sent to court, and 67 court decisions concerning 77
persons were made. This was announced at the August 6 sitting of the
Collegium of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office.

It was also announced that 14 persons are under arrest by the cases
under invetigation, precuationary measures were changed with respect
to 9 accused persons, and 4 accused persons are wanted by the police.

By data of the first half of 2008, the RA Special Investigation
Service completed the investigation of 205 criminal cases, with 116
cases on 145 people being sent to court. During the investigation
of the cases, damage of 295 million drams to the state was revealed,
indemnification of 112 million dollars was paid.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GOES ON TWO-WEEK VACATION

Noyan Tapan

Au g 5, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan
went on a two-week vacation. NT was informed by the RA president’s
press service that S. Sargsian will spend two days in Europe, then he
will leave for China. In Beijing he will attend the opening ceremony
of the 29th Olympic Games and watch members of the Armenian Olympic
team participating in competitions. Then S. Sargsian will continue
his vacation in Armenia.

AZERBAIJAN VIOLATED ARMISTICE AGREEMENT

Panorama.am
21:00 31/07/2008

In these days Azerbaijani military forces started some activities in
the front line of NKR, in the result of which armistice agreement has
been violated, reported the press service of the NKR Defense Ministry.

According to the source at night of July 28 and 29 and during the
day the military officers from the opposite side started shooting
disorderly. Armenian side took appropriate measures and the shooting
calmed down. Defense Ministry has not victims.

IT’S ETHNO-METAL, BUT MORE INTIMATE
By Mark Lepage, Freelance

The Gazette
July 31, 2008 Thursday
Montreal

Scars on Broadway
Interscope/Universal
Rating 3 1/2

If someone had told you five years ago that the most significant
band in metal would be a politicized crew of porn-fan Californian
Armenians who write in mangled altered English, you’d have sent him
home to take two Ozzies and call you in the morning.

Moreover, System of a Down are not just alt-metal but ethno-metal,
super-volting the music of their Near Eastern heritage with double-time
drums and guitar for an eye-bulging sound that has become the current
dissident-metal signature. They’ve got the box office. Now come
the sequels.

Who is SOAD? With singer Serj Tankian the first member to establish
a solo career, guitarist Daron Malakian (and drummer John Dolmayan)
make their own case in side project Scars on Broadway. Given Malakian
writes the SOAD music, they have a clear edge.

Now this is metal, and so before a volley of deranged critical praise
obliterates our context, let’s remember theirs: Malakian reassured SOAD
fans that the band wasn’t breaking up, simply releasing solo albums
"like Kiss did." This terrifying promise – the rock version of a Habs
GM promising to revive the Damphousse era – might have rendered SOB
DOA in this precinct. Instead, SOB turns out to be SOAD on E, more
intimate and less angular.

But, certainly, recognizable. With his inherent (and probably
Armenian-folk-meets-Wings) melodic sense, Malakian both expands
his regular band’s sonic palette while remaining true to its
identity. Thus, there is ample denunciation of sleaze culture and
"Turkish lies", even as his riffs revel in the former (not the
latter). At the risk of harping on Malakian’s heritage, it does
separate him from, say, Fred Durst (remember?). While not out to prove
the metal cred, half of these songs are riff-based, but the range,
from keyboards to balladry, makes it unlike anything it will outsell
this week. This praise comes despite a strong and sane desire never
to hear the song Chemicals again.

ARMENIAN AMBASSADORS’ MEETING TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN IN EARLY SEPT

ARKA
August 1, 2008

YEREVAN, August 1. /ARKA/. The executive staff of Armenia’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs is to meet with Armenian ambassadors accredited
abroad in Yerevan on September 1-2, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan said.

Ambassadors and the Foreign Ministry executive staff will meet
in educational institutions on September 1 to discuss Armenia
– the outside world relations, the Minister told a press
conference.

EIGHTY-TWO ARMENIANS APPLY FOR 71 PLACES IN ACADEMIES OF GREECE AND RUSSIA

ARMENPRESS
July 30, 2008

YEREVAN, JULY 30, ARMENPRESS: Eighty-two Armenians have applied for
71 places available for Armenian cadets in 18 military academies of
Greece and Russia.

To become eligible the applicants will have to pass a series of
examinations, which are now underway. Armenian cadets will be majoring
in prestigious Russian military academies in Moscow, Ryazan, Voroniezh
(Russia) and in Greece.

Murad Isakhanian, head of a Defense Ministry department in charge of
military education and personnel, told Armenpress that many third-year
cadets from Armenian academies and officers continue their education
in Italy, Germany, China and USA.

HSBC TOPPING LIST OF BEST WORLD BANKS

July 28
ARKA

HSBC has jumped from third to first place in the latest annual Banker
magazine survey of the world’s top one thousand banks (Top 10001),
press office of the bank reports.

"HSBC is the first non-U.S. company to lead the survey since 1999
and tops the rankings by virtue of its Tier 1 capital and profit
before tax,

which last year reached a new high", the press report says.

The survey found that US banks now account for just 14 per cent of
aggregate Top 1000 pretax profits, down from 24 per cent last year,
while Asian banks rose to 19 per cent from 12 per cent. European bank
profits remained flat at 41 per cent of the total.

The press release also says that in April, HSBC also topped the Forbes
2000 list of world’s largest companies – the first non-U.S. company
to do so, having reached 26 percent growth in annual revenue and 31
per cent in net income over the past five years.

HSBC Holdings plc serves 128 million clients in 84 countries in Europe,
Asia, Pacific, Americas and the Middle East through its 10 000 offices.

HSBC, with its assets totaling $2.354 billion is the world biggest
organization providing banking and financial services.

HSBC Holdings plc serves over 128 million customers worldwide through
around 10,000 offices in 83 countries and territories in Europe, the
Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With
assets=2 0of some US$2,354 billion at 31 December 2007, HSBC is one of
the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. HSBC
is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’. M.V.

Redlands Daily Facts, CA
San Bernardino Sun, CA
July 27 2008

Filmmaker claims censoring attempt

Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/26/2008 11:57:05 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – A man who filmed a June 10 lecture by a Turkish diplomat
at Claremont Graduate University now has a Web site criticizing the
university, alleging it is trying to censor his film on the Internet.
In fact, he has created the site –
– describing his attempts to place his film on YouTube.

His reason for the Web site, which has a title of "Claremont Graduate
University Censorship," is that videographer Peter Musurlian’s YouTube
video about the lecture was blurred and briefly pulled down.

In the video, Musurlian comments on how the speaker, R. Hakan Tekin,
the consul general of Turkey in Los Angeles, at "age 41 he
mathematically could be the grandson of a perpetrator of the Armenian
genocide. … Instead he’s armed with rhetorical skills, a smile and
Turkish government talking points and propaganda."

During World War I, as many as one and a half million Armenians were
treated as possible enemies and killed after being forced into
concentration camps when Turkey joined the Central Powers against
Russia.

The conflict goes back to at least the 1800s when Armenians,
identified with the Christian religion, were placed at odds with
Turkey’s Muslim factions.

The Turkish government has denied there ever was an Armenian genocide.

Musurlian, 46, is a station manager for Burbank’s government access
channel and also a board member on the Armenian National Committee of
America’s Western Region.

He said he was not at the "The Role and Challenges of Turkey in a
Globalizing World" lecture on behalf of the national committee and
just wanted to tape the event for his channel.

Musurlian said he had a campus lawyer, identified as Paul S. Berra,
tell him to blur student faces or the university would have the video
pulled.

"He initially said some of the students were being harassed,"
Musurlian said.

But the video doesn’t focus in on students and he said he wasn’t given
a specific reason about the kind of harassment.

In a letter claimed to be from Berra posted on Musurlian’s Web site,
the lawyer wrote " … I asked you to voluntarily remove your video
from YouTube because you had no authority to publish it. I explained
that you needed to obtain, for starters, the students’ consent before
doing so."

When reached at his Santa Monica law office on Friday, attorney Paul
S. Berra said he had no comment.

The video, Musurlian said, was posted June 14, and about nine days
later Berra contacted him, he said.

A YouTube e-mail Musurlian sent from his account Friday shows the
video was removed June 25 "as a result of a third-party notification
by Claremont Graduate University claiming that this material is
infringing."

Musurlian e-mailed back a counter-notification and on July 10 the
video was restored.

When asked, Claremont Graduate University spokesman Nikolaos Johnson
said the campus had no comment on its filming procedures, the genocide
Web site or its use of a lawyer.

Rachel Matteo-Boehm, a partner at Holme, Roberts and Owen, is general
counsel to the California First Amendment Coalition.

Matteo-Boehm said that because no one had objected to Musurlian’s
attendance, there didn’t appear to be any potential privacy issues.

"I don’t see any legal basis to request student faces to be blurred
based on the facts as I understand them," Matteo-Boehm said.

Musurlian said he set up a large tripod, a camera and placed a
wireless microphone on the podium and was actually encouraged to ask a
question at the lecture.

"It was a pleasant experience," he said.

The Web site now has more than 5,800 hits. Musurlian said he has "no
plans" of taking the Web site or any of his videos down.

"The Web site, I paid for it to be up for a year," Musurlian said.

dinocounty/ci_10011187

Zaman Online, Turkey
July 28 2008

Shadowy network behind unresolved political murders, says indictment

An indictment into Ergenekon, a political crime gang allegedly making
preparations to topple the government, claims that the gang was behind
a series of unresolved assassinations and was readying to perpetrate
bloody attacks on several high-profile personalities.

The indictment, made public on Friday, said the Ergenekon network
incited the perpetrators of deadly attacks on some important public
figures. The victims include Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor Hrant
Dink, journalist UÄ?ur Mumcu, businessman Ã-zdemir
Sabancı and writer and scientist Necip HablemitoÄ?lu. The
gang was also planning to launch bloody assaults against several
high-profile personalities, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an, Chief of General Staff Gen. YaÅ?ar
BüyükanÄ&#x B1;t, journalist Fehmi Koru and Nobel
Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk.
Cumhuriyet daily columnist Mumcu, a leading figure in investigative
journalism, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb placed under his
car on Jan. 24, 1993. He was long believed to have been assassinated
by Islamic extremists. However, the Ergenekon indictment stated that a
document found during a search of a ranch house belonging to retired
Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, arrested in the Ergenekon
operation in January, showed that a six-member Israeli group, under
the direction of US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), infiltrated
Turkey to assassinate journalists Mumcu and Mehmet Ali Birand to
prevent Turkey from being ruled by a religious administration. The
said document was undersigned by an official from the National
Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T).

Professor HablemitoÄ?lu was shot dead in front of his house on
Dec. 18, 2002. He was also believed to have been killed by an Islamic
group and the perpetrator of his assassination was never
identified. The indictment claims that HablemitoÄ?lu’s shooting
was inspired by the Ergenekon network. The document cited Internet
chat conversations of Habib Ã`mit Sayın — a lecturer at
Ä°stanbul University who was taken into custody earlier this
month for suspected links with the gang — with an individual whose
identity was not revealed regarding the HablemitoÄ?lu
assassination. Sayın told the mysterious individual on MSN
messenger that HablemitoÄ?lu might be killed in one year. "He is
afraid because neither the MÄ°T nor the police are behind
him. He will most probably be killed by next year," Sayın
wrote.

Top Turkish businessman Sabancı was shot dead in his
high-security office in 1996. Sabancı was killed by militants
of the extreme-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front
(DHKP/C). The indictment, however, said the assassination wasn’t
solely perpetrated by the organization. It stated that the names of
Fehriye Erdal, Mustafa Duyar and Ä°smail Akkol (the perpetrators
of the assassination) were noted in a document that was prepared eight
days before the shooting and later seized during a police raid at the
ultra-nationalist and anti-European Union weekly
Aydınlık. The indictment said it would be impossible to
turn a blind eye to the link between the document, the Sabancı
assassination and Ergenekon.

The indictment also noted that Küçük, believed to
be one of the masterminds of the network, had threatened Dink, the
Turkish-Armenian journalist slain by a teenager in 2007, before his
murder, a sign that Ergenekon could be behind his death as well. Dink
was shot dead in broad daylight outside the office of his bilingual
newspaper, Agos, in Ä°stanbul on Jan. 19, 2007, and an
investigation in the wake of his assassination revealed that a group
of ultra-nationalist youths were behind the murder. The indictment
revealed that some members of the group were closely monitored by
Ergenekon both prior to and after the Dink shooting.

28 July 2008, Monday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES Ä°STANBUL