Author: Kanayan Tamar

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 12 2012

God forbid: What if it wasn’t a slip of the tongue?
ORAL Ã?ALIÅ?LAR

When the prime minister said `one religion,’ I thought, `I hope that
was a slip of the tongue.’ The fact that a person who represents 50
percent of Turkish society, and a man who is expected to become
president soon utters words that could be interpreted to mean, `From
now on, you will all belong to identities that I have specified,’ was
a situation beyond the traditional monism that is incorporated into
the heart of this land.

We’re only learning now, by exceeding the boundaries of the official
history, what has happened in the past to those who did not identify
themselves as Muslim and Sunni; in other words, those who did not
belong to the most widespread identity in Turkish society.

We can remind ourselves of happened to the Armenian community in
Malatya, who now number less than 20 people, when they wanted to
repair their old cemetery and build a place for prayer there. Just a
few months ago, teams from Malatya Municipality knocked down the
properly designed building in the Armenian Cemetery overnight. In the
same cemetery also lies Tilman Geske, a man of German origin whose
throat was slit five years ago because he was a Christian.

Alevism is not treated any differently. Alevis from every walk of life
have been stating, from the start of the Alevi initiative, that their
cemevis (Alevi houses of worship) are places of worship just like
mosques, and should be accepted as such. Despite many meetings and
initiatives, the status of cemevis has not yet been clarified. We all
know that both the coup supporters and the religious masses of this
country love to detect dangerous `missionaries.’ Christianity and
Judaism are perceived as concepts upon which conspiracy theories can
be built. There are even Alevi-themed conspiracy theories. Diverse
identities are not valued as a source of richness, but are seen as a
source of danger.

One-party dictatorship was also monist

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an is a politician who continues to
criticize the authoritarian nature of the Republic, the one-party
dictatorship. However, if viewed from a different angle, we see that
he has not given up carrying on the `monist’ discourse created by the
Republic (which, however, never officially included `one religion’
until today). What’s more, from time to time he adopts stances that
emphasize this even more that the Kemalists did. The monism in Turkey
is so deep-rooted, even those who set about aiming to criticize it,
after a while, whether consciously or not, fall under its sphere of
influence.

There was no official discourse of `one religion’ in the Republic, but
practices in several fields completely supported a single religion:
The campaign to `nationalize the economy’ that started in the 1920s
was in a way an `Islamization of the economy,’ because while the
Christians and Jews who were influential economically were citizens of
the Turkish Republic, and were even officially considered Turkish,
they were not Muslims, and that was the real distinguishing feature.

While the economy was being `nationalized’ under this program,
paradoxically, pious Muslims were also excluded from the center. It is
would be worthwhile to separately review the discontentment and
pressure they feel. To what extent do this wide majority regard as
genuine the constant highlighting of their identity by the system?

When we look at the bigger picture, it would only be verifying a fact
to add `one religion’ to the discourse of `one flag’, `one homeland’
and `one nation.’ The most clear example of this is that the Law of
Foundations still continues to define the Christian and Jewish
citizens of this country as `foreigners.’

For better or worse, it was good that the prime minister’s tongue
slipped. Actually, we can even try to be a little bit optimistic:
Maybe the bureaucrats and the administrators of this land, who have
been trained under the `monist’ educational system, will begin to
doubt and think, `Has there been a change in the state’s monist
philosophy?’

The minorities living in this country know that the dominant stance in
this country, despite its secularism and orientation toward the West,
is still shaped around `one religion’ and `one sect.’ The world also
knows. We are only fooling ourselves. The issue drags on.

[email protected]

Oral Ã?alıÅ?lar is a columnist for daily Radikal, in which this piece
was published on May 11. It was translated into English by the Daily
News staff.
May/12/2012

The Foreigner, Norway
May 12 2012

Norwegian musician wins prestigious music competition

17-year-old viola player Eivind Holtsmark Ringstad won the Eurovision
young musician competition, Friday, for his interpretation of Béla
Bartók’s Viola Concerto.

At the final in Vienna, violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavarian from Austria
took second place with Armenian Qanun (a stringed instrument) – player
Narek Kazazyan coming in third.

The competition sees young musicians under the age of 19 compete from
all over Europe. 16 semi-finalists compete for one of seven places in
the final.

Eivind told NRK that winning was overwhelming, saying, `It was a
fantastic experience to be on the stage, with a wave of cheers from
the audience.’

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 12 2012

Russia in the Caucasus: view from the south

Spartak Zhidkov, Sukhumi-Vladikavkaz. Exclusively to VK

In late April issues of contemporary policy of Russia in the Caucasus
were discussed at the international scientific conference organized by
the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies in Vladikavkaz Management
Institute. Experts from all Caucasian countries, except Georgia, came
to Vladikavkaz, but it didn’t prevent the participants from discussing
Georgian foreign policy.

The initiators of the discussion intended to make it widely covered by
analysts and predictors. The topic was the Strategy of Russia in the
Caucasus in the 21st century. It is obvious that sooner or later
Moscow will have to make decisions similar to those made in August
2008. Even if Russia doesn’t want any changes, sooner or later the
waves of the Arab Spring will cover the Caucasus or the Iranian crisis
will be settled; and these circumstances will change the political
atmosphere.

For most experts who deal with Russian policy in the Caucasus the
complex solution of all these problems is an essential task. For
example, the unsettled contradiction between Russia and Georgia on the
Abkhazian and Ossetian issues (political and military targets are
clear) and on cooperation with Armenia, which is very important for
this country. On the one hand, a direct opponent of Russia like
Mikhail Saakashvili is beneficial for Tskhinvali and Sukhumi. While
Saakashvili is President, Moscow sees no reasons for changing the
course: strict confrontation with Georgia and intensive military
security of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia is not a threat to
Russia. On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget that Moscow’s ally,
Armenia, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh are separated from Russia by
Georgian territory. Therefore, if the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
starts again, if Turkey remains hostile to Armenia, and Iran is
involved in a conflict with NATO, how can Moscow protect the
Armenians? Is power change in Georgia beneficial for Russia? There is
no clear answer.

The second problem discussed at the conference was the problem of
terrorism in the Caucasus. The phenomenon has always had a political
basis. Today terrorism in the North Caucasus is more acute than in the
1990s. In that period it was obvious that the common center of
anti-Russian forces in the Caucasus were the authorities of rebellious
Chechnya. Today there is no clear center, and it is difficult to
define where the threat comes from, what targets the terrorists have
and whether they cooperate with the local population. Terrorism
doesn’t weaken, it evolves. The number of specialists on terrorist
operations reduced. They are residents of the post-Soviet republics
and Russia itself. A new model of extremist organizations appeared,
i.e. transnational net structures that are able to commit terrorist
attacks in any place of the world.

According to experts, the situation is caused by several negative
processes in the North Caucasus – consolidation of extremist and
criminal groups and conveyance of new political concepts. One of them
is the idea of the `genocide of the Circassians’ launched by Georgian
politicians. It should be admitted that this project of Georgian
diplomacy appeared to be viable and influences the minds of the
population of the North-Caucasus republics. It is interesting that in
the 1990s such an initiative had no chances of being understood,
despite the Chechen war. But now the idea is perceived not only by
young people, but also by ideologists-Caucasiologists.

What is the reason? It seems Russian analysts are not fast at reacting
to new phenomena. Sometimes the Caucasian mentality is not taken into
consideration, while tolerance is lacking. The senior vice-principal
of the Vladikavkaz Management Institute, Taimuraz Kusov, urged a
reconsideration of some of the concepts of economic development which
are aimed at tourism promotion in the North Caucasus. The connection
between social phenomena and political attitudes is obvious.

At the same time, it is necessary to deal with an ideological
contradiction, which often dominates other problems. Vladimir Chernous
thinks that the establishment of the NCFD caused a contradiction which
is used by Georgian political technologists. They try to form
pan-Caucasian identity in opposition to a Russian one. Russia is slow
to react and misses many important moments.

A surprise opinion was voiced by Arif Yusufov on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. According to him, for Armenians the Karabakh war is not only
a national, but a religious conflict, they see a confrontation of the
Christian and Muslim worlds in it. The political scientist Rachya
Arzumanyan replied to this: `You think Armenians are reckless, but not
nearly as bad: to live among Islamic countries and fight against Islam
is nonsense for real politics.’

In Vladikavkaz an effort to gather information on the situation in the
various regions of the Caucasus was made, and it was discussed through
benefits of and threats to the influence of Moscow. This work should
be fruitful.

Karabakh commander: diplomats nullified Armenia’s victory in wars

May 12, 2012 – 11:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenians won in Artsakh war due to persistent
struggle and large human toll, first commander of Nagorno Karabakh
self-defense forces Arkadi Karapetyan said at a recent meeting with
the youth.

”We took the first step, and God favored us,” Karapetyan emphasized
adding that the Armenian nation always emerged as winner in wars;
another thing is that diplomats reduced our victories to nought.

Touching upon different stories on Artsakh war, he said different
myths on Russian-assisted victory were spread over the past years.

`I assure you they [Russians] did not supply us with armaments, they
just sold them to us. I remember buying 3 infantry fighting vehicles
and paying 240.000 roubles for them,’ Karabakh-open.info quotes
Karapetyan as saying.

KARABAGH
Communiqué de l’organisation « Aravni » – Mai 2012
Généralités

En 2009, l’organisation « Aravni » commençait à travailler sans autre
moyen financier, matériel, mécène ou autre soutien que la ferme
volonté de réussir. Après un peu plus de 30 mois, quel bilan
pouvons-nous tirer ?

Août 2009 : exposition de D. Landucci (France) : Les peintures
exposées à Stépanakert sont toutes achetées par le ministère de la
Construction grce auquel l’exposition est autofinancée. Deux jours
plus tard, exposition à Shoushi à l’initiative du préfet de la région
: succès populaire qui dépasse complètement le comité d’organisation.

Avril 2010 : site internet Artour Mkrtchian : Mis en ligne grce à
une donation de 80 000 drams de citoyens d’Arménie et la participation
de plus de 20 bénévoles d’Artsakh qui, en seulement 4 mois, ont saisi
plusieurs centaines de pages de documents et retouché sur ordinateur
plus de 100 photos mal conservées. Présentation du site en coopération
avec le ministère du tourisme au sein de l’Assemblée nationale
d’Artsakh.

Septembre 2010 : centre culturel : Ouverture dans un local mis
gracieusement à disposition par le Prélat d’Artsakh de l’Eglise
Apostolique Arménienne. Sur place, exposition permanente en
coopération avec le Fonds Humanitaire de Shoushi et les peintres de la
ville. Accueil des réunions du Centre pour l’initiative civile de
Stépanakert, d’évènements et d’expositions du palais de la culture de
Shoushi, de cours de soutiens scolaires…

Année 2011 : hors donations personnelles de son Président et de sa
famille, 30% des donations reçues par l’organisation « Aravni » sont
le fait de dizaines d’habitants locaux. Les donations extérieures sont
employées pour améliorer notre équipement et garantir notre
financement à long terme. Notre action s’inscrit sur la durée. Nos
armoires ont été offertes par des habitants de Shoushi, nos
ordinateurs par les sociétés `Artsakhenergo’, « Karabakh Telecom » et
`Artsakh Bank’. Plus important, nous disposons du soutien de bénévoles
tant pour assurer le fonctionnement quotidien de notre centre que pour
préparer des publications telles que l’encyclopédie sur Shoushi (20-30
volontaires locaux), le `Projet Artsakh’ (livret en cours
d’impression) ou un site tout dédié à la promotion d’Artsakh (mise en
ligne en juin) : documentation, tourisme, humanitaire, économie et
repeuplement…

L’assise populaire de l’organisation « Aravni » est tout sauf une
invention de l’esprit. Plusieurs jeunes qui fréquentent notre centre
versent d’eux-mêmes une cotisation journalière double, voire triple,
dans l’idée de nous soutenir dans notre travail quotidien. Notre
centre fonctionne tous les jours sans aucun salairié. Son responsable
De Facto est un jeune comme les autres… Un de ses amis a lancé la
rénovation des locaux jusqu’à ce que ses parents le lui interdisent
s’il n’était pas payé. Nous avons continué, et lui a augmenté son
obole quotidienne !!

Notre centre se veut comme une école de l’action citoyenne et les
résultats accumulés mois après mois prouvent que nous parvenons à
dépasser les traditions matérialistes bien ancrées. Les projets
réalisés ne sont que la surface émergée d’une véritable structure qui
ne cesse de s’étoffer et se renforcer…

L’organisation « Aravni » est une réussite collective qui, avec un
budget financé localement et de seulement 50 000 drams par mois,
parvient non seulement à faire fonctionner quotidiennement et à
rénover son centre culturel mais aussi, en parallèle, à réaliser
d’autres projets seul ou en coopération.

Combien d’associations parviennent à réaliser autant avec si peu de
moyens financiers ?

Combien de structures associatives fonctionnent en Artsakh à la seule
force de leurs membres bénévoles ?

Réalisations et évènements

Bilan financier année 2011 : grce à un strict contrôle des dépenses,
les avoirs financiers totaux sont passés de 283 700 à 1 230 100 drams
entre le 1er janvier et le 31 décembre 2011

10-15 janvier : Distribution de vêtements reçus d’Erevan

15-25 janvier : visite et recensement des besoins d’une vingtaine de
villages des régions Hadrout et Kashatagh

Début Février : Démarrage de notre projet de cours d’anglais
(personnel hôtelier et individuels)

Mars-avril : Financement du centre désormais sans aucune participation
financière de son Président

1er avril : participation (sur invitation) à l’exposition de Pques
organisée à Erevan à l’hôtel Ani Plazza

19 avril : Réception d’une donation de 1000 euros de France

Coordonnées

Merci de nous adresser vos dons dans l’idée que les montants les plus
faibles doivent produire les plus grands effets. Voici les coordonnées
de nos trois comptes pour soutenir les initiatives des familles
d’Artsakh : Banque : « Ardshininvestbank » Code SWIFT ASHBAM22
Intitulé du compte « Aravni » NGO Compte en dram (AMD)
2478400052320010 Compte en dollars 2478400052320020 Compte en euros
2478400052320030

Pour des précisions et plus de détails, n’hésitez pas à visiter nos
sites internet et à nous contacter : Sites internet : ,
, , facebook et youtube

samedi 12 mai 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Karabakh’s state budget replenished with AMD 7.2 bln from taxes in Jan-Apr

STEPANAKERT, May 11. /ARKA/. Taxes, duties and mandatory social
payments transferred to the Nagorno-Karabakh’s budget in January-April
of 2012 totaled 7.277.5 billion drams, that is 2.5% higher of the
projected figure, the data published on the website of State Tax
Service of NKR shows.

According to the data, the analogical indicator of a year earlier
exceeded the projected figure by 9.9 % or 655.8 million drams.
The state budget was replenished by 5.273.1 billion drams from taxes
and state duties against the projected 5144 million drams ( rise by
2.5%). The result of Jan-Apr of 2011 exceeded the projected indicator
by 10.6% or 503.3 million drams.

`Obligatory social payments totaled nearly 2.004.4 billion drams
within the reported period exceeding the planned amount by 48.4
million drams , and the result of the same period a year earlier – by
about 152.5 million,’ the press release says. – 0–

Orinats Yerkir leader is ingrate – paper

May 12, 2012 – 10:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Distribution of countless phones and jam jars by
Orinats Yerkir party yielded no tangible results.

According to Zhoghovurd paper, party leader Arthur Baghdasaryan was
quite displeased with the poll results.

Comparably favorable election outcomes for Orinats Yerkir were
recorded only in Armenia’s Kotayk province, particularly in Abovyan
city, where the party operation was coordinated by RA Minister of
Emergency Situations Armen Yeritsyan.

However, the party head is said to express no appreciation for his
work, either, Zhoghovurd writes.

Armenian President holds farewell meeting with Iran’s ambassador

May 12, 2012 – 17:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On May 12, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a
farewell meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Armenia Seyed Ali Sagayan.

President Sargsyan thanked the envoy for strengthening of cooperation
and development of bilateral ties, wishing him good luck in his
further activity, according to RA MFA.

Erebuni Museum to Launch “Junior Archaeological School”

hetq
14:36, May 12, 2012

Armenia’s Erebuni Museum is launching a unique hands-on program
designed to instill a respect for Armenia’s archaeological inheritance
in school students.

The program, entitled the `Junior Archaeological School’ will hold its
first class on May 16.

To date, 18 students have registered for the classes to be taught by
Mikayel Badalyan, a researcher at the Erebuni Museum.

Dersim massacre’s Armenian survivor demands apology from Turkish
parliament for her suffering

NEWS.AM
May 12, 2012 | 14:11

Fatma Yavuz, an 80-year-old Armenian survivor of the 1937-1938 Dersim
(today’s Tunceli, Turkey) Massacres, sent a letter to the Turkish
parliament’s subcommittee on the Dersim affair, wrote about the
suffering she endured, and demanded an apology for all this.

The elderly Armenian told that he was given to a Turkish family,
during the Dersim Massacres, and this family was very cruel to her.

`I learned only in 1995 that the fact of my being Armenian was kept
secret for 57 years, and I learned my real [Armenian] name at the age
of 78,’ Fatma Yavuz wrote in her letter, and demanded that their
seized lands be returned, her relatives be found, and a formal apology
be made.

To note, Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan had stated that, if
necessary, he would apologize and is apologizing for the Dersim
Massacres, on behalf of the state.

The Turkish authorities had quelled the Dersim uprising with bloodshed
and eradicated thousands of villages. In line with different sources,
up to 100,000 people lost their lives during the Dersim Massacres.

Also, thousands of 1915 Armenian Genocide survivors, who had found
shelter in Dersim’s villages, were subjected to a second genocide in
1938.