Author: Kanayan Tamar

TWO OFFICES OF "PROSPEROUS ARMENIA" PARTY BLOWN UP LAST NIGHT
Tatul Hakobyan

"Radiolur"
12.04.2007 12:12

This night unknown persons blew up the Offices of the "Prosperous
Armenia" Party in Kanaker-Zeytun and Avan communities.

The party’s press secretary Baghdasar Mheryan told "Radiolur" that the
office in Narekatsi district of Avan was located in the ground floor
of a multi-storey building. The office was completely destroyed. The
nearby grocery store was also blasted. Windows were broken in the first
four floors o the building. Director of the store told "Radiolur" that
the damage caused by the blast reaches approximately $25-30 thousand.

The office in Zeytun community was blown up at about 03:00-03:30. The
furniture was damaged as a result of the blast.

Fortunately, there are no victims.

RA President’s Spokesman Viktor Soghomonyan today came forth with
a statement about the blasts in the Offices of "Prosperous Armenia"
Party that occurred last night in two communities of Yerevan.

"The President of the republic was informed about the accident. Robert
Kocharyan instructed the law-enforcement bodies to undertake all
necessary measures to disclose the crime as soon as possible and to
prevent reoccurrence of similar accidents in the future.

All the conditions exist in the country to launch a civilized political
struggle. Strongly denouncing this crime, we assess it as an attempt
to destabilize the situation and create an atmosphere of intolerance
on the eve of parliamentary elections. Extremist expressions cannot
distort the decisiveness to hold democratic elections in Armenia,"
Viktor Soghomonyan declared.

US EMBASSY HELPS ARMENIAN RED CROSS RAISE MONEY TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST LAND MINES

ArmRadio.am
12.04.2007 17:28

At a fundraising reception on April 11, 2007, the US Embassy in Armenia
helped the Armenian Red Cross raise over $4,000 for the fight against
landmines in Armenia. The reception was held as part of the "Night
of a Thousand Dinners," a global event initiated in 2001 by the US
State Department under the leadership of former Secretary of State
Colin Powell. The purpose of the reception was to increase awareness
about the international land mine crisis, and to raise funds for the
Armenian Red Cross, a local NGO that is working to reduce landmine
casualties through a mine risk education program. The event was one
of many taking place around the world in recognition of International
Day for Mine Action.

While the scale of the landmine problem is hard to measure, the United
Nations Development Program reports that between 80,000 and 100,000
landmines remain buried in Armenia. These mines affect people living
in 60 communities, in five of Armenia’s eleven marzes. Over the past
decade, the United States has been the largest donor to landmine issues
and has spent over $1 billion dollars for mine action programs in
nearly 50 countries around the world. Since 2002, the United States
has provided more than $6.5 million dollars in humanitarian mine
assistance to Armenia.

During his opening remarks, US Chargé d’Affairs Anthony F. Godfrey
said, " The United States government is committed to addressing
the legacy and threat of persistent landmines and unexploded
ordnance…However, much more needs to be done, both by governments
and by concerned individuals and groups."

–Boundary_(ID_acEiH4Ve9L8kjO/tGhvi zQ)–

VIOLENT START TO ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
By Gohar Mkrtchian in Echmiadzin

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
April 12 2007

Shootings, arson and political machinations undermine hopes of an
untroubled election race.

Within days of its launch, campaigning for the Armenian parliamentary
election has been tarnished by violence, feuding between candidates,
and an apparent attempt to oust one candidate by bringing in another
with the same name.

April 8 marked the start of the official campaign for the May
12 poll. Two parties, the Republican Party, which currently has
the largest number of seats in the national assembly, and the
recently-established Prosperous Armenia are dominating the campaign.

Both have support from leading government officials.

Just five days before the campaign launch, the political temperature
increased with an assassination attempt against Vardan Ghukasian,
the mayor of the country’s second largest city Gyumri. Ghukasyan is
a member of the Republican Party.

Police said Ghukasian’s Mercedes and other cars accompanying it were
sprayed with gunfire on the Yerevan-Gyumri highway, and were hit
by 77 bullets. Four bodyguards died in the attack, while Ghukasian
and his deputy mayor Gagik Manukian were hospitalised with serious
gunshot wounds.

Ghukasian had been on his way back to Gyumri after attending a meeting
of the Republican Party’s ruling council in Yerevan, at which Defence
Minister Serge Sarkisian was formally nominated for the post of
prime minister.

A politician from the party, Ashot Aghababian, said, "These shots
were aimed at the Republican Party of Armenia. The incident came
immediately after a party meeting rather than at any other time".

The head of Ghukasian’s office, Artyom Mazmanian, said the mayor had
no enemies, nor had he received death threats.

Local media reported that Ghukasian was planning to switch allegiance
to the rival Prosperous Armenia party, led by wealthy businessman
Gagik Tsarukian. The party is the Republicans’ main challenger in the
forthcoming election, and is widely believed to enjoy the backing of
President Robert Kocharian.

Republican Party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov flatly denied the rumour,
saying, "That’s out of the question. It’s a flight of fancy."

The town of Echmiadzin – a town best known as the seat of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, but which has a heavy military presence – has also
been hit by election-related violence.

At about midnight on April 8, Hakob Hakobian, the incumbent member
of parliament who is running again in the constituency, came under
attack. Hakobian is a member of the governing Republican Party but
has a reputation for independence.

He recalled, "I was with a friend, and as we were leaving our car we
saw a BMW in the street, but we couldn’t read the number plate in the
dark. We had moved about six metres away from our car when the shots
rang out. We barely managed to take refuge in [our] office nearby
and lock the iron doors."

The same night, a fire broke out at a precision instruments factory
owned by another candidate, Susanna Harutyunian, whose headquarters
was located on the premises of the plant.

Hakobian and Harutyunian blamed another candidate, Sedrak Saroyan (also
known as Seyran Saroyan), a retired major-general in the Armenian army,
for what happened to them.

"If Hakobian and Harutyunian are eliminated, Saroyan will become a
member of parliament [even] if turnout is only 30 per cent," said
Karlen Khachatrian, who is running Hakobian’s campaign

Harutyunian is certain the factory was set on fire to scare her off.

"I’ve been repeatedly terrorised, and even offered a lot of money,
to get me to withdraw from the campaign. But when they realise that
isn’t working, they resort to such measures," she said.

Saroyan denied the allegations, saying his rivals were "stirring things
up with the sole aim of creating a fuss and promoting themselves."

A spokesman for Saroyan’s campaign, Hakob Martuni, said his candidate
was a man of strict military discipline who would never stoop to such
tactics. Instead, Martuni suggested that the attacks had been staged
by the other candidates themselves.

"They saw they were losing and they panicked," he said. "They’re
shooting at themselves."

Simon Mkrtchian, a 43-year-old resident of the town’s Zvartnots
district, commented, "It’s no surprise that the campaign in Echmiadzin
kicked off with gunfire – it’s what we were expecting.

That’s the way problems are resolved in this town; it’s [like] a real
military dictatorship here."

The Echmiadzin campaign has been made even more complex because there
are not three but four candidates – as well as the local Hakobian,
there is another candidate who is not only from the same Republican
Party but bears exactly the same name.

This second Hakob Hakobian was brought in from Yerevan in what some say
was a deliberate attempt to confuse voters. The new arrival proceeded
to accuse his namesake and the two other candidates of forging some
of the signatures a candidate needs to gather in order to be allowed
to stand.

Graphologists were brought in to analyse the disputed signatures,
and on April 10 a court in the town of Armavir disqualified both
Harutyunian and the original Hakobian from standing.

Neither attended the hearing. According to Harutyunian, "It was obvious
how it was going to end, so there was no point in my going there."

She said the verdict was bad news for democracy in Armenia, "What it
means is that everything in this country is organised from the top
down. How can we talk about democracy and fair elections?"

In a further blow to the local Hakobian, three of his supporters were
arrested in a police search of the homes of friends and relatives
that involved up to 80 officers and lasted from April 9 to 10.

Events in Echmiadzin caused a stir in political circles in Yerevan,
only 20 kilometres away. Opposition member of parliament Shavarsh
Kocharian described them as "a shameful episode".

"None of it serves our country’s stated aim of moving towards fair
and democratic elections," he said.

One of the leaders of the Republican Party in parliament, Galust
Sahakian, tried to play down the incident, saying that the court’s
ruling must be respected.

"Hakobian is my friend and… quite an important political player
and a serious businessman," he said.

But Sahakian added, "You can be involved in politics outside parliament
as well. Let’s not judge the overall standard and substance of the
election campaign solely by the shots fired in the [Echmiadzin]
constituency."

The disqualified Hakobian then played an unexpected card – offering
to back the incomer from Yerevan, whom he believes is merely a
stalking-horse for Saroyan and may pull out before the election
takes place.

"Since I blame Saroyan for all this, and the Yerevan candidate
is merely obeying orders, I have decided to support him [the other
Hakobian] by campaigning against the person who gave him his orders,"
he said.

If the outsider does pull out, Hakobian urged his supporters not to
vote for Saroyan.

The signs are that violence will continue to plague the election
campaign. Early on April 12, an office belonging to the Prosperous
Armenia party in Yerevan was hit by an explosion, apparently caused
by a bomb placed outside the door. The party office was destroyed,
as was a nearby shop. RFE/RL reported that a second office belonging
to the same party was also hit by a blast in the capital. There were
no casualties in either incident.

Gohar Mkrtchian is a pseudonym used by a freelance reporter in
Echmiadzin.

DELAWARE: APRIL 24 IS PROCLAIMED AS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2007 13:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Delaware General Assembly adopted a resolution
proclaiming April 24 as a day of remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reports
the resolution was introduced by State Representative John Kowalko,
and faced no opposition when it was brought for a vote by the General
Assembly on April 5, 2007.

Similar legislation was passed in the Delaware Senate in 1995, making
Delaware one of 38 States that recognize the Armenian Genocide. A copy
of the Delaware resolution has been sent to Delaware Congressman Mike
Castle, as well as Senator Joe Biden and Thomas Carper.

"I was particularly honored to present this resolution since it will
officially record and acknowledge a moment in the history of mankind
when man’s inhumanity to man and humankind’s disregard for a civilized
morality was made horribly apparent. The attempt to systematically
eliminate all traces of a noble civilization such as the Armenian
culture is another shameful moment in the history of the world,"
Kowalko, enthusiastic about the resolution, stated.

HUMILIATION OF MUSLIMS AND THE COMING SIEGE OF VIENNA
Blake Gartner

Global Politician, NY
April 11 2007

The "Zionist entity" is at the forefront of the clash between the
West and Islam. And yet, it is a tiny country, less than half the
size and population of Netherlands. World Jewry stands at just 13
million people, so it has never been a titan in global affairs. The
two dominant world religions in a constant clash with each other
since the 7th century have been Islam and Christianity. Today the
battle continues – whether against the Taliban in the mountains of
Afghanistan or against the rioters on the streets of Paris.

When Napoleon marched on Egypt, defeating the Arabs with extreme ease,
Christendom seemingly won. The Ottoman Empire fell as a result of
WWI and the West forgot about the Islamic threat. But Muslims did
not. Muslims felt humiliated.

The only thing people dislike more than being attacked is being
ignored. The West ignored the Middle East, seeing it as an
uncultured backwater useful only for its oil resources. But to
Muslims, everything from the defeat to Napoleon to the dismantling
of the Caliphate by Ataturk is "humiliation". At times it seems like
"humiliation" is the Muslims’ favorite word. They do not lose wars –
they get humiliated. They do not suffer from economic stagnation –
they get humiliated. They do not compromise on a UN resolution – they
get humiliated. Reading Islamic press one sees the word "humiliation"
with spectacular frequency.

What Muslims claim to want is "respect". But what is respect? The
Islamic vision of "respect" is to be the dominant global power. It is
to have the military power, the economic wealth and the international
prestige to get what they want, whenever they want. Any compromise
in any forum is immediately condemned as "humiliation" due to their
weakness – a humiliation that naturally should be countered by pressing
their political and military muscle.

But Islam was indeed a dominant power for much of its history. Today
it is hard to imagine Morocco defeating Spain, Tunisia conquering
Italy and Turkey marching up to Vienna, but it did happen in the
past. Muslims were the dominant power in the world for many centuries,
and it is that "Golden Age" that today’s generation, whether Islamists
or Nationalists, seek to re-capture.

The first millennium of its existence was an almost unmitigated success
for Islam. From its roots in the Arabian peninsula, it first spread its
wings to Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and North Africa – all of which were
then part of the Christian world, culturally closer to the West than
to the Arab states we see there today. Armenians, during the war of
640-652, were among the few able to stop the onrush of Islamic forces,
preserving Armenia and Georgia as Christian nations to this day.

With the Middle East under their control, Muslims proceeded to take
over Spain, Portugal, Sicily, and much of France, reaching 2/3 of the
way to Paris. In the first half of the 9th century, Rome and most of
what is now Italy fell to the newly dominant Religion of Submission
(islam means "submission").

Before the rise of water travel enabling countries along the Atlantic
Ocean, (England, Spain, Portugal, Holland, France) to set up empires,
the dominant military and economic powers were located in southern
Europe and Middle East – that being the trades routes where people
exchanged not only goods, but information and ideas. Northern and
western Europe was mired in what are commonly known as the Dark Ages.

These were not the powers that could stop the Islamic invasion.

The ever-shrinking Byzantine Empire struck back in the 840’s, but its
limited successes were soon turned back as Muslims sacked Messina in
842, Enna in 859, Syracuse in 878, Catania in 900.

In 904, Thessalonica, the second-largest Byzantine city, was taken
over by Arabs from Tunisia. Seven years later, the Byzantines suffered
another embarrassing defeat in Crete.

After a brief respite, Muslims sensed another opportunity to spread
their religion and civilization to the "darkness of barbarism and
unbelief", when the Byzantine rulers decided to disband most of their
military, preferring to pay mercenaries when troubles arouse. The
Byzantine army consisted largely of the elderly officers and untrained
young kids (for centuries after its destruction, the word "Byzantine"
was used to mean "effeminate decadence").

Faced with the decaying of what was arguably the only stable, viable
state in Europe, the West was again on the brink of annihilation. In
1095, Pope Urban II hoped to organize Christendom around a fight for
Jerusalem, a tactic frequently used before and after by Muslims. But
the first military engagement failed miserably, as the Turks
slaughtered almost every man sent into battle. The second battle was
much more successful and some of the lands previously lost to Muslims
were recovered.

The Crusaders established the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099. At
its height, the Crusader Kingdom was about the size of Israel and
West Bank. For more than a hundred years, Muslims could do little
about the new country, fighting occasional wars, mostly to contain
the Christians. But in the 12th century, a Jihad on Jerusalem was
organized. In 1187, settlers lost Jerusalem – it was now the Kingdom
of Jerusalem… without Jerusalem. A small strip of land along the
seaside of what is now Israel and the southern half of Lebanon was all
that remained. Subsequent Crusades recovered Jerusalem, but all was
lost when Sultan Khalil captured Acre, the new capital of the Kingdom,
and proceeded to either slaughter or enslave all remaining settlers.

The Crusades were a failure. Islam won, forever reinforcing its sense
of invincibility against the infidels. I’ve heard many Muslims say,
"It took us 200 years to defeat the Crusader Kingdom. Israel has
existed less than 60. We have another 140 to destroy it, and we will."

But Islam did not stop at the defeat of the Crusader Kingdom. In
the 15th century, the Turks finally destroyed the Byzantine Empire,
conquering its capital Constantinople.

At the other end of Europe, much of Spain and Portugal was under
Islamic rule for 781 years until 1492. Faced with Arab Muslims
threatening from the West and Turkish Muslims threatening from the
East, Europe struck back with a vengeance again. Spain and Portugal
were won back, pushing Islam back into North Africa. But just like
the first time when the West responded to Islamic aggression with
violent Crusades, the new European attempt to defend itself and even
the genocidal Inquisition fell short of taking back everything that
was lost. Constantinople remained part of the Islamic world.

In 1526, Sultan Suleiman conquered most of Hungary, with Bulgaria
already under his control. Three years later, the Turks reached all
the way to Vienna and laid siege to it. The city stood up only because
it was attacked too late by a Turkish force that was too tired from
prior battles. In 1532, the Ottomans tried again, but faced stiff
resistance in western Hungary.

For 150 years, the Ottomans tried to jump from southeastern Europe
into its heartland before the epic Battle of Vienna. This time,
the siege began in July of 1683. During the siege, 10,000 Viennese
troops were surrounded by 140,000 Turks. They would probably fail,
and allow Islam into the center of Europe, but King Jan III Sobieski
of Poland sent a 30,000 man army to protect the city, possibly saving
the Western civilization. The Battle of Vienna began on September 11.

When the battle was over next day, 4,000 Christians had been killed –
and 15,000 Muslims. Vienna survived again.

The rest is history. The Enlightenment and later the Industrial
Revolution sent the West far ahead of Islam. In the 19th century,
Napoleon showed just show dominant Christendom was over Islam. The
Caliphate was eliminated when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. The
West stopped fearing Muslims, viewing them as nothing more than
"oil cows". And Islam truly ceased being a power.

That, of course, is what the West wanted to believe. Truth is that
Christendom still didn’t recover most of the territories lost since
the rise of Islam. Constantinople (now Istanbul), Egypt, Syria,
Bosnia and Chechnya were all Christian lands in the past.

Islam did not invade the West continuously for a thousand years.

Instead, there were many generations of peace, but that peace was
eventually always interrupted by Muslim attacks on Europe. Each time
Christians lost large parts of their territory, then fought back,
but never fully recovered the lost territories.

For two centuries now, the West was strong enough to ignore the threat
from the south. But Muslims felt "humiliated" because they did not
have the strongest army, the wealthiest economy and the dominant
political power.

Islam began to resurge in the 1960s (some say in the 1920s, but
Islamists weren’t strong enough until after Israel "humiliated"
Arab nationalists in 1967). First came terror. Then global Jihad. In
the 1990s, massive Islamic immigration into Europe began to threaten
a demographic takeover. Islam is on the move again. Will Vienna be
under siege once more?

ID=2619&cid=3&sid=9

SERGEI IVANOV: RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA POSES NO THREAT TO A THIRD COUNTRY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 11 2007

The operation of Russian military base in Armenia is not aggressive
and does not pose any threat to a third country. This military base
provides our effective security". First deputy Prime Minister of
Russia Sergei Ivanov said in Armenia, APA reports.

Russian senior official appreciated the 102nd military base at Gyumri
as an element of Russian-Armenia strategic cooperation.

"But strategic cooperation between Russia and Armenia is not
restricted with military base. The cooperation between the two
states covers economy, culture and Russian language. Armenian is a
strategic partner for Russia. This idea does not mean only military
cooperation. Russia and Armenia have common cultural and historical
roots," he underlined.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE AMBASSADOR OF BULGARIA

His Holiness Aram I received the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Lebanon, His
Excellency Veneline Lazarov in Antelias on April 10. The first ever visit by
the ambassador to the Catholicos lasted for over an hour.

The Bulgarian diplomat and the Pontiff talked about the current situation
in Lebanon, the mission of international forces and the peace process in the
Middle East in general.

His Holiness explained to the Ambassador the structure of the Armenian
Church with its administrative divisions, diocesan units, its work in the
area of spiritual renewal through Christian education and specially through
the reassessment of religious-moral values in the lives of the youth.

##
View the photo here: #2
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

ARMENIAN POLICE ANNOUNCES ABOUT "HOT LINE" IN CONNECTION WITH THE FORTHCOMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

Arminfo
2007-04-09 17:12:00

"Hot Line" will function in the Armenian police in connection with
the forthcoming parliamentary election on May 12. The first deputy
commander of the police, Gen-Col Ararat Makhtesyan told journalists
today that the "hot line" will function till May 11. Citizens will be
able to apply every day from 10 AM to 10 PM at the telephone 56-13-46
and 53-43-91.

Makhtesyan also added that albeit the police implemented enough work on
removal of slips in the voters’ lists, nevertheless observations and
the election of Armavir town mayor held recently disclosed numerous
errors in the lists. The work on removal of errors will be held in
several directions- disclosing of the "dead hearts", involving of the
people in the lists which were not involved earlier, disclosing of
"extra" names, disclosing of the names of soldiers that are serving
in the army at present. Ararat Makhtesyan called those who still have
the Soviet type passports to get the passport of the Armenian citizen
as soon as possible.

Ararat Makhtesyan also said that the police striving to ensure the
back link with the citizens of the country will inform about the
results of the "hot line" and the number of splits every week.

PRE-ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN STARTS OFFICIALLY ON APRIL 8

Noyan Tapan
Apr 09 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 9, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 8, the pre-electoral campaign
of candidates for deputacy and political forces participating by the
majoritarian and proportional electoral systems in the parliamentary
elections on May 12 started officially.

According to the Electoral Code, the pre-electoral propaganda
campaign may be conducted through the mass media, by organizing public
pre-electoral events – pre-electoral meetings and meeting with voters,
public discussions, debates, rallies, processions, demonstrations,
as well as by publishing printed materials and demonstrating recorded
programs.

Funds of pre-electoral foundations only may be used for conducting
the pre-electoral propaganda campaign. The candidate and the party
or bloc have the right to spend sums not exceeding 5 mln drams (about
14 thousand USD) and 60 mln drams respectively.

During the pre-eelctoral campaign, candidates are forbidden to give
(promise) money, food, securities, goods or provide (promise) services
to citizens by person or in some other way.

With the aim of organizing meetings with voters and other
elections-related events, halls and other facilities are provided to
candidates and parties participating in elections on equal bases –
free of charge.

The parties and the bloc participating in the elections have the right
to use paid and free public radio and TV time on equal conditions – by
the order and schedule determined by the Central Electoral Commission –
from April 10 to May 10. The candidates and political forces may also
use time of private radio and television companies on the paid basis.

By the way, according to the latest amendments to the RA Electoral
Code, "reporters, members of the editorial staff of the public radio
and public television, other radio and TV companies, who are registered
as candidates, are forbidden to cover elections and present radio
and television programs."

The deadline of the propaganda campaign is May 10, 12 pm.

Flint Journal (Michigan)
April 1, 2007 Sunday
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

‘Istanbul’ features rich, complex characters, a little magic;
FLINT JOURNAL REVIEW

by Carol Azizian, [email protected] * 810.766.6245

If "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," as Tolstoy said,
then the families in Elif Shafak’s latest novel, "The Bastard of
Istanbul," surely have an edge on dysfunction.

Shafak weaves a complex web of characters with magic realism and
historical events but focuses on two extended families – a Turkish
one in Istanbul and an Armenian one in San Francisco and Tucson.

The Tchakhmakhchians, an Armenian family, can’t seem to forget their
tragic history of massacres and deportations. The Kazancis, a Turkish
family, live in a state of denial or ignorance – much like the
Turkish state, which has not yet acknowledged the genocide of 1.5
million Armenians in 1915.

"The Bastard of Istanbul" is Shafak’s second novel in English and
some critics contend that she’s still finding her voice in that
language.

I, too, stumbled over several sentences (for example, "sex is far
more sensual than physical"). At times, her digression into magic
realism, along with her enormous cast of characters, grow tiresome
and overwhelming.

But Shafak challenges the reader and tackles profound subjects with
wit and wisdom.

The lives of the two families intersect when Armanoush, an
intellectually curious woman who discusses Armenian/Turkish relations
in a cybercafe, travels to Turkey to visit the family of Mustafa, her
stepfather. (Her biological father is Armenian; her mother is from
Kentucky.) Mustafa is the long-lost brother of the Kazanci clan.

That clan includes Mustafa’s outrageous sisters: Zeliha, the bold,
sexy owner of a tattoo parlor; Banu, a clairvoyant who believes she’s
informed by djinns on each shoulder, one evil, one good; Feride,
whose hairstyles change as often as her mental diagnoses; and
Cevriye, a teacher of Turkish history who spouts propaganda.

Asya, a 19-year-old existentialist who loves Johnny Cash, is Zeliha’s
daughter and the "bastard" of the title. She forms a bond with
Armanoush, her American contemporary.

With the exception of Armanoush, most of the women are a bit
off-kilter or just plain zany.

Especially entertaining for anyone who comes from an ethnic
background is the section where Armanoush posts a "self-scoring test
(on an Internet forum) that measured the degree of one’s
‘Armenianness.’"

"The Bastard of Istanbul" is a book that titillates the senses, with
the sights, smells and sounds of Istanbul coming through vividly.

The secrets uncovered in the journey are intriguing and by the end,
deeply disturbing. The story ends unresolved, much like the political
stalemate between Turkey and Armenia. But its universal message is
undeniable (consider Darfur, for one).

Shafak knows all too well the consequences of discussing a taboo
subject like the genocide in her homeland. She was tried in the
Turkish courts, and later acquitted, of "insulting Turkishness"
because some of her fictional characters talk about it. In one
segment, she flashes back to the past and depicts graphic scenes from
the massacres.

Like the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, Shafak has
become a target of rightist groups and a popular figure among the
literati of Turkey.

A professor at the University of Arizona, she curtailed her American
book tour after the murder of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish
newspaper editor of Armenian ancestry and a friend of hers.

In Turkey, "eventually, every writer has to face the question – are
you ready to be a public intellectual?" she told The New York Times.

Give Shafak a few more years and she’ll master the English language
while turning out even more provocative novels. No doubt she’ll
become a public intellectual here, too.

Carol Azizian is a feature writer in The Journal’s Today section.

NOTES: THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL

By Elif Shafak

Viking, 357 pages