Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 31 2014

Obama’s strong finish in 2014

Ã-MER TAÅ?PINAR
December 31, 2014, Wednesday

It has been a strange year for Barack Obama. Despite a strong economy,
the Democrats lost the midterm elections to the Republicans in a
humiliating way. The Senate is now in the hands of the opposition and
Obama is the walking definition of a lame duck president. With his
legislative agenda hampered, everyone expected Obama to accept his
fate and finish his last two years in search of a legacy and a voice.
Yet, to the surprise of many, Obama now appears more determined than
ever to fight Republican obstructionism with the prerogative of the
executive office.

In many ways, Obama is not only legally but also politically entitled
to do so. After all, the economy has been stronger than ever in the
last 10 years, with growth restored to healthy levels and unemployment
below 2005 levels. The healthcare law passed and the number of
uninsured Americans is down by 10 million. There is also good news on
the budget front, with the national debt and fiscal deficit in a
downward trend.

Yes, Obama lost the mid-term elections despite such good economic
data, mainly because of income stagnation. But with incomes beginning
to rise as of last month, consumer confidence is coming back. This is
why Obama believes he deserves more political credit than what the
polls seem to indicate. After the mid-term defeat he decided to keep
his chin up and use his last two years in power without much
reservation.

Only two months have passed since the elections, and Obama has shown
his determination to do so in three major cases. First came his visit
to China and the Asia-Pacific region, with historic agreements made
after years of negotiations in climate, economic and military talks.
The visit symbolized a pivot to Asia with substantial results.
Needless to say, Obama badly needed some foreign policy points after a
disastrous spring and summer, during which Russia annexed Crimea and
the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) conquered large parts
of Syria and Iraq.
After his successful trip to Asia, Obama decided to focus on domestic
politics. The issue he selected was one of the most polarizing items
in American politics: immigration reform. In a prime-time speech to
the nation, Obama declared that he will bypass the House of
Representatives, which blocked Senate’s immigration bill. It was time
to honor his political commitment to the millions of mostly Hispanic
voters asking amnesty for undocumented immigrants at risk of
deportation. Not surprisingly, Obama’s executive order to pardon 5
million future Democratic voters infuriated the Republicans, who
wanted to savor their mid-term victory by emasculating him.

Finally, as 2014 was coming to a close, Obama finished the year in
style with an astonishing declaration that the US was restoring
diplomatic relations with Cuba. Needless to say, this final salvo
exacerbated Republican frustrations even further.

Why all this should be relevant for Ankara? 2015 will be a critical
year for Turkish-American relations. It is no secret that the White
House is very frustrated with the Turkish reluctance to play ball
against ISIL.

The common refrain that I hear in Washington is that this is not the
way a NATO ally should behave in times when solidarity is of essence.
The current situation is a litmus test for arguments about Turkey’s
much-taunted geo-strategic importance. After all, what good is
Ä°ncirlik Air Base if it is not used in times like today, against a
barbaric foe like ISIL?

One should also remember that Turkey counts on its strategic
importance each time Congress considers resolutions about the Armenian
genocide. In case Ankara continues to drag its feet regarding ISIL, an
unhinged Obama may decide to use his new-found executive voice with an
unexpected recognition of the Armenian genocide on the centennial of
the tragedy. If Ankara is complacent about the centennial on the
grounds that the Republicans are dominating Congress, it is time to
think twice. Obama may be running out of patience with Ankara.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Jan 2 2015

Government to hold 2015’s first meeting with religious communities

NURBANU KIZIL

Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu is expected to hold the first official
meeting of 2015 on Friday at a luncheon with representatives of
non-Muslim communities in Turkey under the scope of raising awareness
about Islamophobia.

The meeting comes after the recent National Security Council
highlighted that racism and discrimination against Muslims and
Islamophobia is on the rise in Europe and the situation is alarming.

As part of the efforts to take action against the situation, the
meeting is expected to bring different religious leaders together to
emphasize the idea that Islamophobia and racism are unacceptable and
contrary to the teachings of all religions. Community leaders are
expected to express a common stance against Islamophobia and mosque
attacks in Europe, while they will convey messages against terrorism
and discuss the issue of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS) in the region.

Representatives from Turkey’s different religious communities will
also discuss the developments and current state of events in Turkey as
well as in the world.

Greek Patriarch Bartholomew I; Aram AteÃ…?yan, the Armenian Pontiff of
Armenians in Turkey; Ishak Haleva, the Chief Rabbi of Turkey; Levon
Zekiyan, the Armenian-Catholic Archbishop in Turkey and a number of
representatives from the Latin Catholic community, Assyrian Orthodox
communities and others are expected to be present at the meeting.

The President of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs and some
ministers will also participate and discuss issues with
representatives of religious communities in Turkey.

As part of democratization efforts, the Turkish government has carried
out a number of reforms to improve the rights and freedoms of
minorities in the country. A new sense of all-encompassing identity is
being encouraged by the government, which accepts all citizens
regardless of ethnic or religious background.

The government has lifted a number of legal obstacles faced by
foundations (vakıfs) of non-Muslim communities which prevented them
from owning real property. This has resulted in the return of
significant monuments such as the Mor Gabriel Monastery in Mardin to
the Syriac community. The Greek community was also given permission to
reopen Aya Todori elementary school in Gökçeada, while the Sümela
Monastery in the city of Trabzon along the Black Sea and the Akdamar
Church in the eastern city of Van, – both of which functioned as
museums- were reopened for religious services. The Armenian community
was also given permission to build a school for the first time since
the establishment of the Turkish Republic.

Radio Sweden
Dec 31 2014

Protest grows against Armenian family’s deportation

A photographer who refused to take passport photos of a toddler is the
latest person to join a protest against the Swedish Migration Board’s
decision to deny the girl and her family asylum.

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The photographer was asked to take pictures of the family’s youngest
member, a two-year-old girl, but refused. He thereby joined several
politicians, church leaders and NGOs in objecting to the Migration
Board’s decision.

The passport photos were to be used in the deportation process, local
media reported.

“I don’t want to play a part in her deportation,” the photographer,
Martin Karlsson, told local newspaper PiteÃ¥-tidningen. “If the
Migration Board has made its mind up, then they can take the picture
themselves,” Karlsson added.

The girl, who will turn three in March, was born in Sweden to Armenian
parents who are suffering from psychological problems and are not well
enough to care for her or her two year older brother. The parents and
the older child came to Sweden in 2010.

The girl has been living with a foster family outside Piteå in
northern Sweden since she was seven days old. Her brother lives with a
foster family in the town of Skellefteå. In Armenia, the two children
reportedly risk being placed in orphanages since the parents are
unwell. The mother receives psychiatric care in Sweden, having been
apathetic for several years.

The Migration Board’s decision to deport the family came just before
Easter after their asylum application was denied for the third time.
The Board said there is not enough evidence to support the family’s
story. The mother claims she and her son were assaulted and threatened
in Armenia, while the father claims he was tortured by security
services.

411:1

Editorial, 31 December 2014

“Turks and Armenians were lived together harmoniously for centuries.
Then the ungrateful Armenians decided to break apart the Ottoman
Empire and create an independent Armenian state. To prevent Armenians
from destroying the empire which had done so much for them, the
Turkish authorities sent them to Syria. The government also wanted to
keep its Armenian citizens away from harm’s way by moving them away
from WWI theaters of war.”

For years this and its several variations have been top of the chart
for Turkey’s propagandists, apologists, and Genocide deniers. There’s
no doubt the tiresome sing-song will continue to be a hit next year as
Ankara continues its inane campaign against the Armenians as the
latter commemorate the centennial of the Genocide.

Because third-party followers of the news don’t know the truth about
the above Turkish macabre tale and next year might give credence to
the Turkish mythinformation, Armenians need to have a synopsis of the
facts at their finger tips when they tell non-Armenians what truly
happened. They need a narrative which is short, to the point, and
accurate.

The below statistics tell the truth loud and clear. They can be told
within a minute or two–without confusing third parties with an
avalanche of information.

At the beginning of 1915 the Ottoman Army had 2,873,000 officers and
conscripts. In addition, it had several thousand German specialists
and senior officers. The Ottoman Army was a professional military
force and was equipped with modern weapons mostly supplied by its
German ally. It had machine guns and cannons, modern telecommunication
systems and an infrastructure (ex. medical care, food) to carry on a
modern war.

In addition, the Ottoman Army was buttressed by recently-released
convicts who were armed and given a free hand to eliminate the
Armenians, including women and children. Lastly, there were the
countless Kurds who were also armed and encouraged to kill the
“infidel” Armenians.

And how many Armenian fedayeen fighters were there at the beginning of
1915? The highest estimate is around 7,000, spread across a vast
territory. Unlike the Turks and Germans, they were amateurs and were
armed with outdated weapons, home-made guns and had little ammunition.
They had no modern communication network or medical support. For
example, during the Van resistance, fewer than 1,500 Armenian
combatants faced 15,960 Turkish soldiers in addition to Kurdish
fighters. The latter had been given 24,000 rifles by the authorities.
The Armenians had 505 rifles, 720 Mauser pistols, and a small supply
of ammunition.

Putting aside the uncounted number of Kurds, the convicts, the
riff-raff, the Hamidiyes, and the Germans, in 1915 some 7,000 Armenian
amateurs “fought” a professional force of 2,873,000. That’s a ratio of
411:1.

Yet, according to Turkey, this ragtag handful of Armenian amateurs
were about to break up the Ottoman Empire. To accomplish that fantasy,
each Armenian fighter had to kill 411 Ottoman soldiers without
suffering a single loss. Not even a superhero conflation of Hercules,
Superman, Lawrence of Arabia, the Red Baron, Billy Bishop, and
Hollywood fantasy heroes could accomplish that magnitude of kill
ratio.

There’s a “kicker” addendum to the above facts: Armenians were
considered by the Ottomans as the loyal ethnic group. Armenians meekly
went about minding their own business. Overtaxed, abused, harassed…
they bent their heads and obeyed the unjust laws of the Ottomans. But
despite their loyalty and vast and diverse contributions to the
empire, they were discriminated, oppressed, looted, killed…

So why should Turkish authorities be surprised that some frustrated
Armenians–a minute minority–would conclude that the only way to get
the attention of the Sublime Porte was to defend their communities
from quotidian Turkish depredations?

The puzzle is that only 7,000 Armenians took up arms.

Seven-thousand amateurs against 2,873,000 professionals.

One against four-hundred and eleven.

Some conspiracy to destroy the Ottoman Empire.

Some excuse for eliminating a nation.

Remember these statistics next time you hear about the “Great Armenian
Conspiracy to Destroy the Ottoman Empire” malarkey.

The Hidden Armenians of Western Armenia

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 | Posted by Matthew Karanian

Ninety-five year old Asiya is the daughter of a genocide survivor from
Chunkush, and is one of the hidden Armenians of Western Armenia. Photo
(c) 2014 Matthew Karanian, Reprinted with Permission.

BY MATTHEW KARANIAN

The village of Chunkush was home to about 10,000 Armenians, and hardly
anyone else, until 1915.

That’s when the Armenians were driven out, and were marched for two
hours to a ravine known as the Dudan Gorge. Once they arrived at the
ravine, they were herded by the force of batons and bayonets into its
depths. Here they died, if they hadn’t already perished before
entering the abyss.

One young Armenian girl, not more than ten years of age, stood at the
edge of death. She was part of a group that had been marched to the
ravine on one of the killing days–the day on which her Chunkush
neighborhood had been selected for this “deportation.”

This girl was pretty, and she must have captured the attention of one
of the Turkish soldiers who were herding the Armenians to their
deaths. Her life was spared. At the age of ten, she became the
soldier’s bride.

Five years later, in 1920, a baby was born from their union. This
baby, named Asiya, was raised in Chunkush by her mother, a genocide
survivor who had been able to remain in the home of her husband as one
of the village’s hidden Armenians.

When I met Asiya in 2014, she was the oldest surviving Armenian, and
indeed, the only Armenian, of Chunkush. Speaking through a translator,
Asiya told me her story.

Her father, the Turkish soldier, had died when Asiya was three or four
years old. While Asiya was growing up, Asiya’s mother had taught her
that she was an Armenian child. Her mother also taught her that her
identity as an Armenian was information that they could not share with
the neighbors. Their identity had to remain hidden.

Asiya was married off to a much older man when she was 11 years old.
There was no right to pick your own husband, she told me. “They gave
me to whoever they thought was appropriate.” She and her husband
stayed in Chunkush, and raised two daughters and a son.

I asked Asiya about the massacres of 1915. Her mother must have
explained to her what had happened. But Asiya refused to talk about
it. She did talk a bit about the old days.

“Chunkush was once very beautiful. The churches were so beautiful in
the past,” she told me. But now “nothing remains from the old times.
They even destroyed all the [Armenian] cemeteries.”

Asiya must have been about 95 years old when I met her in 2014. Her
life has been swept along in a torrent of sadness. I asked her how she
feels when, as the only Armenian of Chunkush, she meets Armenian
visitors from the Diaspora.

“I get happy as much as a mountain,” she told me.

Adapted from ‘Historic Armenia After 100 Years,’ (Stone Garden Press,
$39.95, Pub. Feb. 2015) by Matthew Karanian. Pre-order now for $35
postpaid in the US from: Stone Garden Productions; PO Box 7758;
Northridge, CA 91327 or pay with credit card by requesting an invoice
from [email protected]

Grand Holding presents over 60 million drams in gifts to Artsakh soldiers

15:36, 30.12.2014

YEREVAN. – Soldiers defending the borders of the Homeland got special
presents on the New Year Ever from the Vardanyan family.

Ahead of the New Year the Vardanyan family gave 15 thousand presents –
worth 60 million drams – to soldiers, officers serving in Artsakh and
their families, the company’s press service said in a statement.

Within the recent three years Grand Holding has given 45 thousand
presents to various military units. Schoolchildren from Mataghis,
Tonashen and Talish villages of Artsakh have also received bags full
of Grand Candy sweets.

ARMENIE
2014 année cruciale pour les réformes du secteur de la protection sociale

Résumant l’année 2014, le ministre du travail et des affaires sociales
l’a évaluée comme la plus cruciale en termes de création de systèmes
sociaux efficaces et, le plus difficile, en termes de mise en oeuvre
des réformes.

“2014 a été une année de lancement des réformes dans divers secteurs
de la sphère sociale, et elles ont été inévitablement suivies de
débats tendus, de diverses suggestions et de modifications
nécessaires,” a déclaré le ministre Artem Asatryan, ajoutant que
l’année a été aussi une année de dialogues considérant la
participation sociale active dans l’évolution des initiatives
législatives.

Il a pointé les protestations lors du processus de réforme des
retraites. Mais le ministre pense que le gouvernement a réussi à faire
de cette initiative majeure soit compréhensible pour le public et que
les réformes ont été mises en oeuvre.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Dec 30 2014

Russia seriously seeking to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Foreign Ministry

30 December 2014, 15:36 (GMT+04:00)
By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Holding of a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
was an important stage in Russia’s mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict’s resolution, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Efforts for the settlement of the Karabakh problem was one of the
significant issues on Russia’s foreign policy agenda, the Ministry
said in a report on its activity in 2014.

“An important stage of Russia’s mediation activity under the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s resolution process was holding of Sochi
meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents on August 9,
which led to a considerable decrease in tensions on the conflict
zone,” the ministry said.

It added that the Russian Federation has actively worked as one of the
co-chair countries (also including France and the U.S.) of the Minsk
Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as
the middlemen held five meetings with the Armenian and Azerbaijani
authorities, as well as number of consultations with the foreign
ministers of two sides.

Following a serious outbreak of hostilities on the contact line
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies, Russian President
Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting between Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham
Aliyev in Sochi, Russia.

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan once more voiced their
commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. As the
mediator, Russian President Putin said Moscow respected the current
format for the conflict’s settlement adding that Russia would continue
to work closely with both sides.

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

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently
holding peace negotiations.

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

Markarian Galaxies

admin December 20, 2014 Armenian astrophysicist, Beniamin Markarian,
Benjamin Markarian,Byurakan Observatory, Markarian 209, Markarian
Galaxy, Markarian’s Chain, Observatory in Armenia

The Discovery Channel posted today an interesting “photo of the day”
on their Facebook page. It’s a picture as seen by the Hubble telescope
of a galaxy known as the Markarian 209. Now why does a galaxy have
such an Armenian name? Let’s examine.

Markarian 209 is a part of a whole group of bright Markarian Galaxies.
They belong to a class of galaxies with a bright center that radiates
an excessive amounts of ultraviolet. They are named after their
discoverer, a renown Armenian astrophysicist Beniamin Markarian
(1913-1985) who in 1965 first discovered these galaxies at Byurakan
Astrophysical Observatory in Armenia.

Beniamin Markarian on Armenian stamp, 2013

Beniamin Markarian was considered one of the greatest observing
astronomers of the 20th century. He worked at the Byurakan Observatory
since 1946 on theories of star-formation, clusters and super-clusters.
He studied star associations and published the first systematic
catalog of OB associations. For his work in 1950 he was awarded the
prestigious Soviet Stalin Prize along with his colleague Victor
Ambartsumian. He went on to discover the Markarian Galaxies in the
1960s and published a catalog of 1469 galaxies called Markarian
catalog (First Byurakan Catalogue of Markarian galaxies). Markarian
also discovered a string of galaxies moving with a common motion.
Named after him the Markarian’s Chain is a stretch of galaxies that
are part of the Virgo Cluster. It is called a chain because, when
viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line.
Markarian has received many honors during the course of his career.

Between 1965 and 1989 up to 1515 Markarian Galaxies have been
identified by the First Byurakan Survey. In 2005, the Second Byurakan
Survey was carried out, extending the survey to fainter objects,
making a catalog of total 3563 objects, 1863 of which are galaxies and
1700 stars.

ERDOGAN’S EGYPTIAN NIGHTMARE

by Burak Bekdil
December 30, 2014 at 4:00 am

Erdogan was happy. At least until a few days ago….

Erdogan probably did not know the Emir of Qatar’s next move on the
Middle Eastern chessboard.

Turkey aspires to be a regional leader with no, little or problematic
dialogue with about a dozen countries in its region.

Back in 2011, everything ostensibly was coming up roses between Turkey
and Egypt. In a speech that year, then-Turkish President Abdullah
Gul mentioned “…an axis of democracy of the two biggest nations in
our region [Turkey and Egypt], from the north to the south, from the
Black Sea down to the Nile Valley…”

In September 2011, then-Prime Minister [now President] Recep Tayyip
Erdogan found an emotional hero’s welcome at Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians had flocked to the Cairo airport to
welcome him. Streets were decorated with posters of Erdogan.

In early 2012, a survey by TESEV, a Turkish think-tank, found that
Turkey was the most popular country for the residents of seven Arab
countries, including Egypt.

But against that glittering backdrop, this author wrote in June 2011:
“For Ankara, Cairo can be the new Damascus until another capital
becomes the new Cairo. At that time, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,
Erdogan’s one-time best regional ally, had already become his worst
regional nemesis.

The Turkish-Egyptian love affair would, in fact, be quite short-lived.

In August 2013, about a month after General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in
Egypt toppled the Muslim Brotherhood rule of President Mohammed Morsi,
Erdogan appeared on TV, reading — in an unusually soft voice —
a letter by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed al-Beltagy. The letter
was written to Beltagy’s daughter Asmaa, a 17-year-old girl, who had
been killed in Cairo when security forces stormed two protest camps
occupied by supporters of the deposed president. Poor Asmaa had been
shot in the chest and back.

“I believe you have been loyal to your commitment to God, and He has
been to you,” her father wrote in the letter. “Otherwise, He would
not have called you to His presence before me.” Erdogan’s tears
were visible.

Later, Asmaa became another symbol for Turkish Islamists; Erdogan
cheered party fans with the four-finger “Rabia” sign, in reference
to his solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood, and as a sign of
his endearment for the unfortunate girl. Even on the playing field,
a few footballers made the same sign after scoring.

In this image, widely circulated in social media, Turkey’s then-Prime
Minister [now President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan flashes the Egyptian
Muslim Brotherhood’s four-fingered “Rabia” sign.

After the coup in Egypt, when el-Sisi ran for president and won
the elections, Turkey’s Erdogan declared them “null and void.” And
not just that. Erdogan also said that he did not view el-Sisi as
“president of Egypt.” At another time, he said, “Turkey would not
recognize the coup regime in Egypt.” Last July, he called el-Sisi
“an illegitimate tyrant” and a “coup-maker.”

Meanwhile, neither was Erdogan a “rock star” in Cairo nor was Turkey
“the most popular country.” Egyptian non-governmental organizations
[NGOs] called on Egyptians and Arabs to boycott Turkish goods and
soap operas. Egypt’s intellectuals, writers and businessmen were
recommending a break in Egypt’s relations with Turkey because “they
were disappointed.” Egypt unilaterally cancelled both visa-free travel
for Turkish citizens and a transit agreement for Turkish trucks.

In the anti-el-Sisi campaign, Turkey was not alone. Its only regional
ally, Qatar, fully supported Turkey against Egypt’s elected “coup
leader.” Erdogan was happy. At least until a few days ago….

In Ankara, Erdogan was all smiles when he offered a red-carpet ceremony
to the visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Happy to have his best ally as a guest, Erdogan probably did not know
the Emir’s next move on the Middle Eastern chessboard.

A few days after al-Thani’s merry visit to Ankara, Qatar announced
its determination to thaw ties with Egypt, ending its alliance with
Turkey over “Egypt’s illegitimate tyrant.”

“The security of Egypt is important for the security of Qatar … the
two countries are linked by deep and fraternal ties,” ran a statement
from the office of al-Thani on Dec. 21. It was a real cold shower
on Ankara — and Erdogan. The statement had come one day after
el-Sisi met in Cairo with a Qatari envoy, suggesting a possible
thaw in relations. After the meeting, el-Sisi’s office issued a
statement saying, “Egypt looks forward to a new era that ends past
disagreements.” Apparently, the Egyptian-Qatari reconciliation had been
brokered by Saudi Arabia and, once again, Turkey was the odd one out.

In its immediate vicinity, Turkey does not have diplomatic relations
with three countries — Armenia, Cyprus and Syria — and has deeply
problematic diplomatic relations with two countries: Israel and Egypt.

This situation is not sustainable.

Even Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has said that Turkey should
repair its relations with Egypt. But this is not an easy task. In the
unlikely event of a reconciliation, Erdogan’s previous big words on
el-Sisi the coup-maker will make him look like a leader shaking hands
with an “illegitimate tyrant.”

On Dec. 24, Turkey’s foreign ministry spokesman said that bilateral
ties with Egypt could “normalize if the country properly returns to
democracy, if the Egyptian people’s free will is reflected in politics
and social life.” Meaning, no normalization. The spokesman would not
comment on Qatar’s policy change on Egypt.

Turkey aspires to be a regional leader with no, little or problematic
dialogue with about a dozen countries in its region. Erdogan’s top
advisors have found a nice euphemism for this situation: “precious
loneliness.” In reality, it is rather a blend of miscalculation and
over self-confidence.

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hurriyet
Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.