Author: Kanayan Tamar

ERDOGAN STRONGLY CONDEMNS TERRORISM DURING LATIN AMERICA TOUR

Cihan News Agency (CNA), Turkey
February 11, 2015 Wednesday

Ä°STANBUL (CÄ°HAN)- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that
Turkey — a country that has experienced terrorist activity for
decades — is against all forms of terrorism and assured that Turkey
has no intention of expanding its territory or interfering with other
countries’ internal affairs.

Erdogan, who is on a tour of Latin America along with a delegation
of Turkish businessmen and ministers, was in Bogotá on Tuesday.

At a symposium called “1915: The longest year of the Ottoman Empire”
co-organized by Bogotá Externado University and Ankara University,
Erdogan talked about a number of foreign policy issues.

Erdogan said that when the word “terrorism” is mentioned, people
around the world first think about the Middle East, but other parts
of the world also suffer from terrorism.

“As long as Israeli oppression and Israeli terror continue, the
bleeding in the Middle East and the entire human conscience will never
stop,” said Erdogan. He said Turkey’s approach is humane when it comes
to the issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and conflicts in
Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Erdogan stressed that it is not possible
for Turkey to support former military leader and current Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who came to power after a coup.

He dismissed international criticism of Turkey’s foreign policy and
said that this criticism is unjust and unethical.

“Turkey has no interest in other countries’ territories and no
intention of interfering with countries’ internal affairs. Turkey,
as a country that paid a heavy price as a result of terrorism,
is against all forms of terrorism and all terror organizations,”
said Erdogan. He added that Turkey wants peace in the region.

Erdogan also criticized Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan for
declining his invitation to the centennial commemorations of the
Battle of Canakkale this year on April 23-24. “Once again they are
rejecting our peace offer,” said Erdogan.

Armenia will be commemorating the 100th year of what it calls the
“Armenian genocide” at the end of World War l, during the days of
the Ottoman Empire. Traditionally Armenians commemorate the events
of 1915 every year on April 24. Turkey traditionally commemorates the
Battle of Canakkale on March 18. In an open letter to Erdogan, Sarksyan
rejected the president’s invitation last month. The Armenian diaspora
sees Turkey’s invitation as a “short-sighted attempt” to overshadow
the 100th anniversary ceremonies of the events of 1915 in Armenia.

Turkey has invited more than 100 countries to the Canakkale
commemoration ceremonies.

Erdogan met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon on
Tuesday and held a joint press conference after their meeting. Erdogan
announced in the meeting that Turkey and Colombia signed seven
agreements on military, political, economic, commercial, educational
and cultural issues.

Turkey and Colombia signed the Turkey-Colombia Cooperation Framework
Agreement, a plan for cultural cooperation, as well as a memorandum
of agreement in the tourism sector and a memorandum of understanding
on agriculture.

Erdogan called on Colombian construction companies to invest in
Turkey. He also said that the Turkish Cooperation and Development
Agency (TÄ°KA) will soon open an office in Colombia to work on
education, culture and other issues.

After completing his Colombia visit, President Erdogan arrived in
Havana late Tuesday.

RUSSIAN BASE FOR CYPRUS

Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 11 2015

by Yusuf Kanli

Officially whatever is left from the 1960 Cyprus Republic, it is
still “officially” a non-aligned country, even if there is no longer
a functional Non-Aligned movement. It seems like a bad joke. On part
of its territory there are two sovereign bases of NATO-member Britain.

With NATO-member France, it has a special defence cooperation agreement
that allows the French to use the Greek Cypriot military facilities,
including an ARIBAs. Again, NATO-member Greece has special and
advantageous defence cooperation agreements with the Greek Cypriot
state, allowing it to have free access to all military places. Israel
has special relations with the Greek Cypriot state. Furthermore, for
ages Greek Cypriots have been complaining that Turkey is blocking
their admission into the Partnership for Peace programmes, if not
full membership of NATO. What kind of a non-aligned status that is,
however, is difficult to understand.

Could it surprise anyone should someone come up with a claim that
Greek Cypriots were offering bases to Russia? Will this be the first
time such a flirtation will be in the cards? Was it not the Greek
Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris who visited Moscow in March
2013 to offer bases to Russia in exchange of much needed easy loans
to overcome the worst financial crisis of south Cyprus in recent times?

Did not those talks collapse when the Russians did not find Greek
Cypriot offers juicy enough and ask for arrangements enjoyed by the
British bases -that is to have sovereign bases on Cyprus?

Through its proxy on Cyprus, the socialist Akel Party, Russians have
always been active in Cyprus diplomacy and local politics. There
are some claims that the July 15 Greece-engineered coup against
Archbishop Makarios as well as the July 20, 1974 Turkish intervention
the coup triggered were part of an effort to keep the island drifting
into Soviet camp. It is no secret, anyhow, that if not the sole one
Russia before and after the Cold War irrespectively has been one of
the staunchest allies of the Greek Cypriots at the UN Security Council.

Even when relations between Ankara and Moscow appeared to be
at their climax, Russia never parted from its pro-Greek Cypriot
stance on Cyprus. Was it not primarily because of Russia that in the
post-Annan plan period the report of former Secretary-General Kofi
Annan suggesting lifting of the international isolation of Turkish
Cypriots blocked at the UN? Well, of course there is, as well, always
the French connection that whatever odd happens against Turkey and the
Turks at the UN and other international forums, but that is related
more to the Armenian issue and an overall animosity towards Turkey
than support for Cyprus.

The latest euphoria over the Russian base on the Cyprus issue was
because of a slip of the tongue of President Nikos Anastasiades. He
did not even use the word “base” while briefing reporters about
upcoming agreements with Russia. He said among the agreements to be
signed, there will be one on “providing facilities for emergency and
humanitarian operations to Russian aircraft carriers.” Of course
there is a difference between “providing facilities” or “offering
facilities to facilitate humanitarian operations” and “offering bases.”

Even if they are “sovereign bases” of another country, a Non-Aligned
country should at least express discomfort with if such bases on its
territory are used in operations against neighbouring countries.

The Libya, Syria and Egypt policies of the Greek Cypriot government
demonstrate that military facilities of the island have become some
sort of NATO facilities. Except for Turkey whoever so far wanted to
use them was provided the required facilitations.

In those “good old Cold War days” late Archbishop Makarios was one
of the leading figures of the Non-Aligned Movement, along with Joseph
Broz Tito of the deceased Yugoslavia and India’s First Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru. Yet, in those times as well, Greek Cypriots were
dangling in between Washington and Moscow, effectively employing a
tightrope policy and trying to make best use of antagonism between
the two… The end result has always been to alienate the Turkish
Cypriot population from the rest of the world and consolidate all Greek
Cypriot governance as the government of the entire island, even if that
contradicted the founding agreements and the constitution of the state.

That policy proved to be successful and is still continuing today.

Officially, Anastasiades is talking in Brussels to join NATO if
Turkey is be convinced, in Moscow he is offering free use of bases
to Russians. Yet no one is talking about the 2010 agreement signed
between Israel and Greek Cyprus…

This is a dirty game. Anyhow, Greek Cypriots have officially denied
that no bases were offered to Russia, and the world must believe to
what’s said…

TURKISH PRESIDENT REBUKES ARMENIAN REJECTION OF APRIL 24 INVITATION

Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 11 2015

BOGOTA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Armenia to
examine the 1915 events through the lens of “science, not politics,”
criticizing the rejection of Ankara’s invitation to representatives
of the country to attend war commemoration ceremonies in Turkey.

“Let’s remove the 1915 events from the area of politics and refer to
science and scientists,” Erdogan said during a symposium on the topic,
co-organized by Bogota Externado University and Ankara University. He
was attending the event as part of his official visit to Colombia on
Feb. 10.

“What the Armenians did against the Turks and what the Turks did
against the Armenians 100 years ago has not been properly discussed,”
Erdogan said.

“We have made an effort to fix relations with Armenia and open a new
page. Unfortunately, our hand of peace has always been rejected by
the influence of the Armenian diaspora,” he added.

In January, the Turkish president sent invitation letters to more
than 100 leaders, including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to
participate in ceremonies on April 24 marking the centenary of the
Battle of Gallipoli in Canakkale. The ceremonies in Canakkale were
rearranged this year to coincide with Armenia’s traditional day of
remembrance for the Armenian victims of 1915.

Sargsyan reportedly denounced Erdogan’s invitation as a “short-sighted”
attempt to overshadow the 100th anniversary the massacres of Ottoman
Armenians.

“We would like them to come and be in Canakkale on April 24,
to breathe in that atmosphere and try to understand that happened
among our hundreds of thousands of martyrs. But they won’t do that,”
Erdogan said.

“They once again blocked peace and dialogue with their statement,
which violated protocols of courtesy,” he added, while vowing “not
to give up on our efforts for peace and dialogue.”

“We will continue to approach this issue under the light of history and
science, not with propaganda, perception games or ugly international
politics,” he stressed.

“This year is the 100th anniversary. We are still reiterating our
sincere call,” Erdogan added.

February/11/2015

DICK HARMON: LIVES OF JERRY TARKANIAN AND FORMER UTAH AND BYU COACH LYNN ARCHIBALD INTERSECTED IN LIFE AND DEATH

Deseret News
Feb 12 2015

By Dick Harmon, Deseret News

Two weeks ago in Jerry Tarkanian’s giant master bedroom, the
larger-than-life basketball coach was enjoying one of his more lucid
moments as his life entered its final days.

In the room was his wife Lois, his daughter Pam, and Anne Archibald,
the wife of former University of Utah head coach and BYU director of
basketball operations Lynn Archibald. There was laughter in the air,
valuable fragments of joy that will long be cherished as Jerry used
the short respite as a rallying point in his fading mortality.

“There was a lot of stimulation in that room for him that day,”
said Anne.

“We got him outside and he liked it. He was eating and getting stronger
and then that all went downhill. I talked to his son Danny Tuesday
night and he said Jerry was just minutes away from passing but he was
fighting hard. I told Danny some people have a hard time leaving this
world and your father has put up a great fight. You know it’s time.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” said Danny.

Tarkanian, 84, died Wednesday after a long battle with health issues.

The Hall of Famer won 729 games in a career earmarked by teams that
featured lightning-fast offense and smothering, relentless press
defense. He was known as a recruiter, a collector of remarkable
talent. His coaching career at UNLV and Fresno State also included
controversy and legal battles with the NCAA, which ultimately came
to overshadow his winning record.

But for Anne, Jerry Tarkanian will always be remembered as a man with
the gift of levity and humor, a man with a sparkling personality,
a warm friend and a coach who gave her late husband, Lynn, and son
Damon their first jobs as college coaches.

Lynn went on to be the head coach at Utah and Idaho State before going
to BYU with head coach Roger Reid in the mid-’90s. He died May 1997
at age 52. His son Damon has coached at New Mexico State, Iowa State,
USC, Pepperdine and Fresno State.

Lynn was an assistant to Tarkanian at Long Beach State. When Lynn got
a job at nearby San Luis Obispo, Tarkanian received an offer to coach
at UNLV. Tarkanian called Lynn and asked the assistant if he would
join him there if he accepted the offer. When Lynn asked his boss,
Ernie Wheeler, Wheeler moved Archibald’s desk out of his office and
into the hallway, citing disloyalty, and told him he would not have
a job at the end of the year.

Tarkanian moved to Las Vegas after the season and Archibald followed.

“He was always so charming and funny,” said Anne. Most times when
he saw her, he’d greet her with the question, “Who are you giving
hell now?”

She remembers Tarkanian saying he flew on the same flight as a UNLV
recruit who was returning home to Long Beach, California, after a
campus visit. “I knew we were in trouble when he never turned the
page of the comic book he was reading.”

One time an ex-UNLV player was giving Damon a bad time and it got
ugly. Said Tarkanian of that player: “He’s going to be the sorriest
person in the world because now he’s got the Catholics and the Mormons
praying against him.”

One day UNLV players were concerned about going to play at Wyoming,
which boasts an elevation of over 7,000 feet above sea level.

Remembers Anne, “Jerry said, ‘What are you guys worrying about? We
aren’t playing outside.'”

Affectionately nicknamed Tark the Shark, Tarkanian was the son of
Armenian immigrants, born in Euclid, Ohio. His mother, Rose, was
a refugee of the Armenian genocide that happened during World War
I. His father died when he was 13.

In the winter of 1997 after a game at Fresno State, Fresno City
College coach Steve Cleveland — soon to be BYU’s next coach — was
talking to Tarkanian and asked if he’d heard that Lynn Archibald was
dying of prostate cancer. He did not know.

A somber blanket engulfed Tarkanian and he began to sob like a little
child. He joined his players on the team bus and continued to grieve.

Things grew silent and you could hear a pin drop.

Two days out from knee replacement surgery, Anne, who now lives in St.

George, said when I spoke to her Wednesday that she absolutely will
be at Tarkanian’s funeral services in Las Vegas this week alongside
Lois, who has served as a Las Vegas councilwoman and is a pillar in
the desert community.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she said.

The lives of two women once known as Lois Huter and Anne Machock
intersected because of basketball and they will mourn not a legend
of the game, but a husband, father, grandfather and friend.

They will relate to one another more deeply than ever before in a
way they never thought they would.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, STILL A POLITICAL HOT POTATO, IS ABOUT TO LAND AT THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Quartz
Feb 12 2015

Written by Annalisa Merelli@missanabeem

Do not be fooled by the song and dance; the Eurovision Song Contest
really is about international politics.

This year’s edition of Europe’s top kitsch-fest, which will be held
in Vienna May 19-23, had already promised plenty of intrigue, with
Ukraine withdrawing from the contest, Russia organizing a competing
event (while still going for a Eurovision win), and the decidedly
non-European nation of Australia planning to make its contest debut.

Now comes word that Armenia will present a song evoking the aftermath
of the Armenian genocide.

This year’s Eurovision contest roughly coincides with the 100th
anniversary of the Ottoman empire’s decimation of its Armenian
minority. More than 1 million people who were living in what’s now
Turkey were killed. Others scattered, seeding the modern Armenian
diaspora.

The genocide, which began in April 1915, is still denied by the
Turkish government; a trial underway in the European Court of Human
Rights Court will test whether outlawing its denial is a violation
of free speech.

Armenia will take part in Eurovision with a song evocatively titled
Don’t deny, by Genealogy. The group will be comprised of artists from
the Armenian diaspora–one each from Africa, America, Asia, Australia,
and Europe–who will be joined on stage by an Armenian performer.

Armenian news agency Armenpress reports that the meaning behind the
choice to have performers from five different parts of the world is
to symbolize unity and peace.

The number goes along with the five petals of the Forget Me Not
flower, and another participant will join the group and bring the
“petals” together.

According to the Eurovision official website:

The idea is to unite a new generation of Armenians on stage whose
families once spread all over the world in the year 1915.

The performers reportedly will include French-Armenian Essaï,
who recently released Je n’oublie pas (I don’t forget), a song he
dedicates, in the video, to “the 1.5 million Armenians, victims of
the 1915 genocide.”

This is not the first time Eurovision has been tied to Armenian
politics. In 2012, Armenia withdrew from the contest after the
organizers selected Baku, Azerbaijan, as the host city of the event.

Armenia and Azerbaijan had gone to war over the disputed South Caucasus
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, without ever getting to
a resolution.

RUSSIA WANTS CAUCASUS TO SOLVE ITS PROBLEMS ECONOMICALLY

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 12 2015

12 February 2015 – 9:22pm

Alexander Dzasokhov, vice president of the Russian Council for
International Affairs, told Vestnik Kavkaza that he had attended the
Integration Club of the speaker of the Federation Council yesterday
and proposed searches for a format of meetings of the North Caucasus
authorities and politicians to consider common problems of regional
security and settlement of conflicts within the framework of the BSEC
and the EaEU. He reminded that Armenia was the only one of the three
South Caucasus states to show interest in joining the EaEU. Dzasokhov
noted that the Greater Caucasus had high potential for conflicts,
especially in modern geopolitical circumstances.

Sergey Glazyev, Russian presidential advisor, sees good prospects for
the Eurasian economic integration of Caucasus states. The participation
of all republics of the Caucasus would solve all regional conflicts,
he believes. The official assumes that it would help solve the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Azerbaijani expert Oktay Akhverdiyev said that economic ties with
Russia differed from ties with the EU. Most Azerbaijani exports to
Russia are agricultural products. Azerbaijan buys lumber, chemical
products, fertilizers and weapons from Russia. Akhverdiyev noted that
Russian Vice Prime Minister Aarkady Dvorkovich had recently visited
Baku and discussed an increase of imports of fruits, vegetables and
meat to Russia. The expert reminded that economic cooperation was often
a solution to political problems. He regrets that the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict had not been solved by the OSCE Minsk Group for over 20 years.

Georgian expert Irakli Lekvinadze said that Georgian exports to
Russia were falling because of the weakening ruble. About 10% of
Georgian trade turnover is accumulated with Russia, which is only 6%
of Georgian imports.

COSTA STATEMENT ON LOSS OF COACH JERRY TARKANIAN

Congressional Documents and Publications
February 11, 2015

Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) News Release

SECTION: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DOCUMENTS

Congressman Costa was saddened to learn about the passing of
basketball Hall of Fame coach Jerry Tarkanian. A graduate of Fresno
State University, Coach Tarkanian never forgot his humble Armenian
beginnings or the colleges and universities where he coached for
31 years. His incredible success as a collegiate basketball coach,
with 729 victories, was clearly demonstrated throughout his career,
from taking UNLV to win the national championship in 1990, leading Long
Beach State to four straight NCAA tournament appearances, including the
1971 West Regional Final, and then returning to his alma mater, Fresno
State, where he had 153 victories and six straight 20-win seasons.

“After Coach Tarkanian came back to Fresno State, his alma mater,
I had a happenstance meeting with basketball great, Magic Johnson,
while in a gym in Southern California,” said Costa. “I introduced
myself to Johnson and told him where I was from. His first questions
to me were ‘How is the Red Wave? Are the people excited to have
Coach Tarkanian at Fresno State?’ I told him that the community was
excited and that as a graduate of the University, a successful coach,
and an Armenian, Coach Tarkanian was a great source of pride for
our Valley. Magic responded by telling me something I didn’t know:
that Coach Tarkanian was known around inner city playgrounds in
America as the coach of second chances. When talented young athletes
who had gotten in trouble still wanted to pursue their dreams on the
basketball court, Coach Tarkanian was willing to give many of them a
second chance. Johnson went on to say that there was no doubt in his
mind that Coach Tarkanian would do well during his tenure at Fresno
State. He then told me that he had to go to a pickup game, but to
“tell Jerry and the Red Wave that Magic said hi.”

“Coach Tarkanian, thank you for being a friend to so many of us and
more importantly, making a difference in the lives of many young men,
to whom you gave a second chance.”

Read this original document at:

ERDOGAN SEEKS TO BUILD OTTOMAN-STYLE MOSQUE IN CUBA

Al-Akhbar English, Lebanon
February 12, 2015 Thursday

by Rana Harbi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled his ambitious plan
to build a major Ottoman-style mosque in Cuba, saying it should be
similar to a nineteenth century one on the Bosphorus in Istanbul,
the presidency said Thursday.

Erdogan acknowledged after holding talks with Cuban President Raul
Castro in Havana that Cuban officials had appeared to have already
made an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the construction of a mosque
in Havana.

But Erdogan, who caused astonishment last year by claiming Muslims
traveled to the Americas before Columbus, said Turkey was pressing
for an Ottoman-style mosque in another city in Cuba.

“We have told them that we could build a similar one to Ortakoy
mosque in another city, if you have promised to others for Havana,”
Erdogan said in the communist island, the second stop of his Latin
America tour.

The Ortakoy mosque, designed by the Balyan family of Armenian
architects, was built in 1853 during the rule of the Ottoman sultan
Abdulmecid I.

The neo-Baroque edifice is a familiar sight on the shore near the
Bosphorus Bridge.

Erdogan said Turkey was not in search of a partner to build the mosque
as “our architecture is different from that of Saudi Arabia.”

“I have provided the Cuban officials with all the necessary
information…. so far they have not taken a negative approach to it,”
he was quoted as saying by the presidential website.

Erdogan, a pious Muslim who has been in power for more than a decade,
stirred controversy late last year by declaring that the Americas
were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century.

Erdogan cited as evidence for his claim that “(Christopher) Columbus
mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast”
when he traveled there in the late 15th century, and offered to build
a mosque at the site mentioned by the Genoese explorer.

The president has repeatedly been ridiculed by critics for harking
back to Turkey’s past to even before the Ottoman Empire was established
in the fourteenth century.

In late January, Erdogan brushed off criticism that he was trying to
amass sultan-like power, saying he really just wants to be more like
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

“In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant
element is the Queen,” Erdogan said. In fact, Queen Elizabeth only
holds largely ceremonial and symbolic powers.

Erdogan’s comments came after fresh criticism from the opposition that
he would act like an “Ottoman sultan” once his presidential role has
been boosted.

Erdogan also stirred fierce criticism last month when he said that
Ottoman, an old form of Turkish using a version of Arabic script
which was replaced by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk with the Latin alphabet
on foundation of the secular Republic in 1923, should be taught
in schools to prevent younger generations losing touch with their
cultural heritage.

Erdogan’s supporters, who carried him to victory in Turkey’s first
popular presidential election in August with 52 percent of the vote,
see him as a champion of the religiously conservative working classes,
standing up to a secular elite.

The Turkish president in October unveiled a new presidential palace
– built at a reported cost of $350 million to $650 million – on the
outskirts of Ankara, a move seen by many as a vivid symbol of what
Erdogan touts as his drive towards a “new Turkey.”

The palace is the new home of the Turkish presidency, marking an
historic break with the Cankaya presidential palace in downtown Ankara.

The Cankaya has been the seat of the Turkish president ever since the
modern republic’s founder Ataturk became president and for many has
been a symbol of Turkey’s modern history as a progressive secular
state. From Ataturk to Erdogan, it has been the home of 12 Turkish
presidents.

For the opposition, the new palace marks another betrayal by Erdogan
of Turkey’s secular heritage bequeathed by Ataturk who based the
republic on a strict separation of religion and state.

Furthermore, the palace has been built on land where Ataturk created
a forest farm that was then donated to the state. Erdogan in March
defied a court order halting the construction.

Moreover, Erdogan has also drawn the ire of feminist groups on
multiple occasions.

Last month, the Turkish president, who co-founded the ruling
Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), declared that
women were not equal to men because of “biological differences” and
launched a bitter attack against feminists in Turkey, claiming they
reject the concept of motherhood.

He has previously declared that every woman in Turkey should have at
least three children and with proposed to limit abortion rights and
access to the morning-after pill.

In August, he drew mass criticism regarding his attitude towards
the media and women when in a television debate he said to a woman
journalist that she was a “shameless woman” and told her “to know
[her] place.”

ARTSAKH STATE UNIVERSITY – A NEW PROSPECT FOR COOPERATION

Wednesday, 11 February 2015 15:32

Tomsk_2.jpgA new initiative is launched, which will allow to present
real Artsakh at the academic level. It will be implemented through
the cooperation between the Russia-Armenian Cooperation organization,
the Yerevan and Tomsk State Universities.

The initiative authors have recently arrived in Stepanakert to suggest
the Artsakh State University also to participate in this program.

Till the end of the year, an Armenian Political Researches Center
will be opened at the Tomsk State University. The one-week Winter
School organized by the Russian-Armenian Cooperation organization,
the Yerevan and Tomsk State Universities comprise a five-member group
of young scientists and researchers, which should become the core of
the Center. The young scientists have recently visited the Artsakh
State University.

Prorector Valery Avanesian emphasized the main goal of the meeting:
“I believe one of the most important and interesting parts of this
initiative should be the establishment of direct cooperation between
the Artsakh and Tomsk State Universities”. In turn, Chairman of
the Russian-Armenian Cooperation organization Yuri Navoyan said,
“This should become yet another opportunity to present the reality
about Artsakh to Russia and other foreign states”.

The representatives of the Tomsk University are aware of Artsakh, but
this is their first visit to the country. They have witnessed it is a
state. “Nagorno Karabakh has all the attributes of a state. According
to the Montevideo Convention, they are the territory, the population,
the authorities governing the territory and the population, and the
foreign relations. All this is available here. There is one thing
left to achieve – de jure recognition”, said a graduate student and
lecturer of the Tomsk State University, Van Harutyunian. The guests
also see development prospects here. They are sure that the results
of the economic policy assumed by the authorities of Artsakh will be
obvious soon. “Even compared with a number of states, in particular,
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, market liberalization in
Armenia and Artsakh is on a much higher level, and more benefits are
provided, thus attracting new investments. I think this process will
be continued, giving its results”, expressed her confidence graduate
student of the Tomsk State University Yulya Zhuchkova.

This is appreciated not only by individuals and not only on the
academic level. The fact that the people of Artsakh could build a
state in the conditions of a continuing war, remaining adherent to the
international norms of democracy, is admitted also by Western reputable
organizations, noted graduate student of the Tomsk State University
Areg Galstyan.

AZERBAIJANI LGBT ALLIANCE “NEFES” SUSPENDED ITS ACTIVITIES FEARING FOR PERSONAL SAFETY OF ITS MEMBERS

17:16 12/02/2015 ” SOCIETY

“NE~YfE~Ys” LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance that consists of sexual minorities
officially terminates work in Azerbaijan, reports Gay-League of
Lithuania that is engaged in issues of sexual minorities.

The statement reads that the socio-political state in the country,
increasing number of arrests and chasing of individuals and
organizations working for human rights by government, as well as
increasing risks for personal life and personal safety of organization
members made “NE~YfE~Ys” LGBT Alliance to take this serious action.

“Our view is such that Azerbaijan Republic is not interested in Human
Rights NGOs to operate in the country; government wants to hide the
state of the LGBT rights in Azerbaijan, and does not want legislative
defaults on LGBT Rights to be discussed, and government does not want
denying obligations that Azerbaijan Republic signed to be revealed,”
the statement notes.

It is noted that another reason for taking this serious action
was recent changes to NGO operating legislation. “NE~YfE~Ys” LGBT
Azerbaijan Alliance has stated during several meetings with EC,
embassies of EC Republics, US Embassy in Baku that the changes to the
legislation is not optimization of the existing rules, but targets
Human Rights Organizations and its executive members. There are many
examples of NGO Executives getting arrested with unjustified reasons
after changes of the legislation. “NE~YfE~Ys” LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance
has applied twice to Ministry of Legislation for registration and
could not get official response.

“‘NE~YfE~Ys’ LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance executive members are under
serious risk of legislative actions if organization continues to
operate without registration. Therefore, “NE~YfE~Ys” LGBT Azerbaijan
Alliance is forced to terminate operating. We will continue to
work with international organizations to run campaigns on state of
Human Rights and LGBT Rights in Azerbaijan. One of the plans is to
establish a network of Azerbaijani LGBT and Human Rights activists
living abroad,” the statement reads.

In January 2014 a young activist, chairman of people with different
sexual orientations Isa Shahmarly, committed suicide in Azerbaijan. He
was 21 years old. Before committing suicide Isa wrote on his Facebook
page, “I am leaving. This country, this world is not for me. I am
leaving to find happiness.” On the eve of suicide Azerbaijani alliance
“Nefes” appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan
in connection with the discrimination faced by the members of the
public association.

The appeal read that in the last 10 days there have been two cases
of hatred and intolerance. In the first case, 19-year-old young man
could not endure discrimination from family and others and committed
suicide. The second case concerns a 17-year-old young man who was
brutally raped by eight persons who filmed it on video, and then
extorted money from the victim. The young man could not get the
required amount of money, and the video was delivered to his family.

Parents beat him. Nothing more was known about his fate.