Author: Kanayan Tamar

Agence France Presse — English
December 7, 2014 Sunday 9:59 AM GMT

Turkish Nobel laureate slams climate of ‘fear’ in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Dec 07 2014

Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who won the Nobel prize for literature in
2006, denounced what he called a climate of “fear” in his country, in
an interview published Sunday.

“The worst is that there’s a fear. I find that everyone is afraid;
it’s not normal…. Freedom of expression has fallen to a very low
level,” Pamuk told the Hurriyet newspaper.

He accused the government of pressuring the media and especially
deplored the harassment of opposition journalists.

“Lots of my friends tell me that such and such a journalist has lost
his job. Now it’s even journalists who are very close to the
government who are getting harassed,” said the 62-year-old novelist,
who has repeatedly clashed with the Turkish state.

He also expressed dismay over recent remarks by President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan asserting that men and women are not equal, which grabbed
world headlines.

Pamuk said his just-published novel “Kafamda bir Tuhaflik” (Something
Weird in My Head) “in fact deals with the oppression suffered by women
in Turkey…. If we were to criticise Turkey from the outside, it
would be the place of women in society.

“Our politicians make thoughtless statements on this point as if they
want to start a fight,” he said in a thinly veiled reference to the
president.

Erdogan, who took over Turkey’s presidency in August after serving as
prime minister for more than a decade, is accused of becoming
increasingly authoritarian.

Critics have long accused his Islamic-rooted government of seeking to
erode the country’s secular principles and limiting the civil
liberties of women.

Pamuk, a major cultural figure known for novels such as “Snow” and “My
Name is Red”, was the first Turk to be awarded a Nobel prize.

The 2006 literature award caused a stir, coming a year after Pamuk
broke a taboo in Turkey by saying in a magazine interview that one
million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in the country during
World War I.

His books have been published in more than 60 languages.

US Official News
December 9, 2014 Tuesday

New York: Professor Peter Balakian takes part in cultural exchange
about Armenian genocide

Albany

Colgate University, The State of New York has issued the following
News release:

Colgate Professor Peter Balakian recently joined four other American
writers on a U.S. State Department-sponsored trip to Istanbul, Turkey,
and Yerevan, Armenia.

The trip, part of the University of Iowa International Writers
Program, was a cultural exchange designed to encourage dialogue
between the two countries as the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide draws near.

Peter Balakian

Balakian, Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor in the Colgate
department of English and the director of creative writing, is one of
the preeminent experts on the Armenian genocide of 1915.

A November article in the Armenian Mirror-Spectator quotes Balakian
about the opportunity during the trip to share his work in public with
Turkish and Armenian writers: “It was an occasion of some symbolic
significance and a small step toward more openness.”

Colgate will host two campus events in 2015 to commemorate the
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Balakian said, including a
special film symposium on April 7 with Canadian director and Oscar
nominee Atom Egoyan. There will also be an Armenian genocide, Yom
Hashoah, and Rwandan genocide commemoration on April 14 with Colgate
faculty who study the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide.

Balakian’s new books-Ozone Journal, poems, and Vise and Shadow: Essays
on the Lyric Imagination, Poetry, Art, and Culture, will be published
in March/April by the University of Chicago Press. The author of nine
previous books and two translations, Balakian is a New York Times and
national best seller.

Nikol Pashinyan. “I have no doubt that assails were instructed by
Serzh Sargsyan personally.”

December 13 2014

Aravot.am asked ANC faction MP Nikol Pashinyan about his opinion on
the incident with Aram Manukyan and what was it associated with. He
replied, “I have no doubt that all these assails are instructed by
Serzh Sargsyan personally. My conviction can be balanced only when
this and other cases of violence are disclosed. The government has all
the levers and all the powers to identify these cases. And, generally,
when any of such event is not disclosed, it is definite that the
number one figure of the country bears the responsibility for it, who
shall follow the Constitution by virtue of his position.” To our
question of whether he feels himself protected, and whether he does
not need to have bodyguards, in response he smiled, “Thank you.”

Hripsime JEBEJYAN Photo by Arman Veziryan

Read more at:

Pharaoh’s statue restored 3,200 years after collapse in earthquake

12.9-metre statue of Amenhotep III stands again at northern gate of
king’s funerary temple in Luxor

Agence France-Presse in Cairo
The Guardian, Sunday 14 December 2014 19.34 GMT

The twin Memnon colossi show Amenhotep III seated. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Archaeologists have unveiled a restored statue of Amenhotep III that
was toppled in an earthquake more than 3,000 years ago at Egypt’s
temple city of Luxor.

The statue was re-erected at the northern gate of the king’s funerary
temple on the west bank of the Nile. The temple is already famous for
its 3,400-year-old Memnon colossi – twin statues of Amenhotep III,
whose reign archaeologists say marked the political and cultural
zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

The 12.9-metre (43ft) statue unveiled on Sunday stands west of another
effigy of the king, also depicting him walking, which was unveiled in
March. “These are up to now the highest standing effigies of an
Egyptian king in striding attitude,” said German-Armenian
archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the
temple. The twin Memnon colossi are 21 metres tall but show the
pharaoh seated.

The restored statue now stands again for the first time since its
collapse 3,200 years ago, Sourouzian said. Consisting of 89 large
pieces and numerous small fragments and reassembled since November,
the monolith weighs 110 tonnes. It had lain broken in pieces after an
earthquake in 1200BC, Sourouzian said.

The statue shows the king wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, and
each hand holding a papyrus roll inscribed with his name. His belt,
holding a dagger with a falcon-head handle, is fastened with a
rectangular clasp bearing the names of the king.

Pharaoh Amenhotep III inherited an empire that stretched from the
Euphrates to Sudan, archaeologists say. The 18th dynasty ruler became
king aged around 12, with his mother as regent. Amenhotep III died in
around 1354BC and was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, widely known
as Akhenaten.

Armenia to comply with international legal standards – Artak Shaboyan

13:58 * 14.12.14

Armenia will continue bringing its laws to conformity with
international standards after joining the Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU), Chairman of the State Commission for Protection of Economic
Competition Artak Shaboyan told Tert.am.

“Certain amendments will be made as a result of integration, but the
fundamental principles will not be changed because in this respect
Armenia’s laws are in conformity with international and European
standards. Three years ago, we fully revised our laws in cooperation
with the World Bank and brought them to conformity with international
standards,” he said.

Artsakh war veterans meet at Yerablur Memorial Complex

by Tatevik Shahunyan
Saturday, December 13, 13:56

The Artsakh war veterans have met at Yerablur Memorial Complex to
determine their further steps in the fight against the authorities.

The veterans decided to meet following the latest beating of three
Artsakh war veterans Suren Sargsyan, Manvel Yeghiazaryan ans Razmik
Petrosyan.

The veterans said that they are concerned over the current situation
in Armenia and want Armenia to have better future. “We, the veterans,
are ready to assume the responsibility for Armenia’s future”, said
veteran Smbat Hakobyan. He added that they will no longer stand any
unlawful actions of the authorities or the opposition.

Razmik Petrosyan, who has lately been attacked, said that it is
impossible to intimidate the veterans. “All these attacks constitute
links in one and the same chain”, he said.

On December 11 evening, Aram Manukyan, Secretary of the opposition
Armenian National Congress Faction, was attacked by an unknown man,
who struck him on the face several times and escaped. Earlier,
veterans of the Artsakh War Suren Sargsyan, Manvel Yeghiazaryan and
Razmik Petrosyan were beaten and the cars of 4 members of the
opposition Pre-Parliament movement were burnt by unknown persons. All
the aggrieved people accuse the Armenian authorities of the incidents.
The representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia say
these accusations are marasmic.

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Azerbaijan shells Armenian border villages

14:04 * 13.12.14

Azerbaijan’s armed forces targeted several border villages of
Armenia’s north-eastern region of Tavush overnight, firing bullets in
different directions.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense says that the Armenian
border troops managed to take a prompt action to silence the
adversary. “The Armenian side reacted to the gunshots,” Artsrun
Hovhannisyan told Tert.am.

On Saturday morning, the Azerbaijani forces were reported to have
released sniper gunfire against the village Berkeber (Tavush region),
leaving one resident injured.

ARMENIE-TOURISME
Les hôtels de Dzargatsor affichent complet pour les fêtes de fin d’année

Selon Hagop Hagopian le président de l’association des Hôteliers
d’Arménie, cette année l’Arménie a enregistré une hausse sensible du
tourisme et de la fréquentation des hôtels. > dit H. Hagopian en précisant que durant l’année 550
nouvelles chambres furent mises sur le marché hôtelier et l’an
prochain ce chiffre sera complété par 300 chambres supplémentaires. Il
a également fait le constat d’une croissance régulière de la
fréquentation des hôtels pour les fêtes du Nouvel an.

OSCE MINSK GROUP: TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Dec 12 2014

12 December 2014, 10:00 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova

Continuing tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as frequent
ceasefire violations on the contact line has rendered efforts of
international mediators to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict even
more difficult.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE
Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by
the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. However,
the negotiations have been fruitless so far despite the efforts of
the co-chair countries over 20 years.

Following recent developments, namely the Armenian provocative moves
and sabotages, and the downing of a helicopter by the Azerbaijani army,
have negatively impacted the negotiation process.

Some experts are questioning the effectiveness of the OSCE Minsk Group,
saying it has lost its reputation as a mediating institution and even
hoped to replace it with another mechanism.

However, Aydin Mirzazade, MP and deputy chairman of Azerbaijani
parliament’s security and defense committee believes that the Minsk
Group hasn’t lost it efficiency.

“The Minsk Group is not a separate stand-alone institution. It is a
mechanism of action of the three influential countries of world to
solve the problem,” Mirzazade told AzerNews.

He said the existence of this mechanism is a very unique event in
the world because there is no such a mechanism in such conflicts.

Mirzazade noted that it is another question that there are many
expectations from this organization regarding the peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“We are in favor of joining efforts of the United States, France
and Russia and impact on Armenia for its pull out from Azerbaijan’s
occupied territories. In this respect, the world has already started
to look to this issue through the eyes of Azerbaijan and defend
its position. This is in itself an image of new idea in the world
regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,” Mirzazade said.

On the other hand, some exerts still consider the activity of the
Minsk Group as inactivity.

Elman Nasirov, political expert and Director of the Institute of
Political Studies of the Academy of Public Administration under the
president of Azerbaijan said despite the Minsk Group has been engaged
as a mediator in the conflict resolution, it can boast with only one
thing: not with result, but with prevention of conflict’s turning
into a war.

“However, military incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line
in late July-early August, as well as the helicopter issue showed
that this conflict can break out at any moment,” Nasirov said.

He noted that the mediators’ thoughts on prevention of conflict’s
transformation into the war is nothing more than an illusion, they
comfort themselves with this idea.

Nasirov also added that there are some bewildering moments. “Armenia’s
Serzh Sargsyan held an immediate meeting of the ruling party in
the country right after his return back to Yerevan from the NATO’s
Wels summit in September. He told the party that Armenia has made
more stringent achievements in the OSCE and its Minsk Group format,
but Azerbaijan has achieved more serious accomplishment in terms of
PACE and NATO. Sargsyan says that Armenians should take measures to
repeat its achievements gained in OSCE in terms of PACE and NATO,”
Nasirov said.

Nasirov stressed that this once again confirms that “if Armenia
satisfied with OSCE’s activity, then its serves the interests of
Armenia.”

Touching upon the replacement of this format with other format,
Nasirov noted that serious discussions should be held for finding
the convenient format.

The precarious cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia was reached
after a lengthy war that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and
has been in place between the two South Caucasus countries since 1994.

Since the hostilities, Armenian armed forces have occupied over
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost
100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia’s
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.

G.N. SOUTH GRAD PENS PLAY ON GENOCIDE

The Island Now
Dec 11 2014

By Adam Lidgett TheIslandNow.com

When Anoush Baghdassarian wrote a play about the Armenian Genocide
during his senior year at Great Neck South High School, she said,
she only intended it to be a learning tool.

Now Baghdassarian, who studies psychology and literature at Claremont
McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., can say she is a published
playwright, with her play, “FOUND,” published by Xlibris.com, and
available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

“I just want people to know that this play is available to put on in
communities, and to give to students to learn about the genocide,”
she said.

As part of that effort, she said, she is having a book signing on Jan.

8 at the Barnes and Noble in Manhasset at 1542 Northern Blvd.

Baghdassarian said she is not really interested in making money from
the play, but that she wants instead to raise awareness and educate
people about the Armenian Genocide.

April 24, 2015 will mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the
genocide, which claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 through 1916.

Baghdassarian said with the anniversary coming up this is the right
time for schools as well as churches, temples and mosques to use to
help others learn about the “forgotten genocide.”

The play centers on an Armenian woman named Lucine, who lives through
the genocide.

The stage is split in two, with one side of the play being a young
Lucine in 1915, and the other side being Lucine in 1925, Baghdassarian
said.

Baghdassarian, who is of Armenian decent, said the show starts in 1915,
with Lucine’s home being invaded and her brother being kidnapped by
the Ottomans. The rest of the play involves Lucine, in 1925, writing
out the events as she saw them during the genocide.

As Lucine’s character writes about her experiences on stage them,
they are played out on the 1915 portion of the stage.

The play’s plot is driven by Lucine trying to find her brother,
and her worries about what happens to him.

“The most relevant message to spread in Great Neck would be to teach
people that when Hitler was planning the annihilation of the Polish
Jews, he justified himself by saying, ‘who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?,'” Baghdassarian said. Hitler
said this during his “Obersalzberg Speech” he gave on Aug. 22, 1939.

Baghdassarian directed the play initially during May and June of 2013
at the Levels Teen Center at the Great Neck Library, she said.

The play then was produced at the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs
in Bayside, Queens, later than June.

The show eventually moved to her college in California in 2014,
where she directed, produced and acted in it, Baghdassarian said.

Baghdassarian said she has been involved in theatre since she was in
the fifth grade, and that she has always loved to write.

She said that while taking a playwriting class she was required to
write a monologue, which would eventually, after a time, morph into
the first scene of “FOUND.”

Baghdassarian said she has been trying to educate people about the
Armenian Genocide since she was in the sixth grade.

She originally starting by doing educational posters, and eventually
would move on with her drive to educate with the play, she said.

“People have said to me ‘someone asked me about the Armenian Genocide
and I knew it because of your presentation,'” Baghdassarian said.

She said many of her family members were killed during the Armenian
Genocide, and that various members of her family also had to escape
to other areas of the world, including Egypt and South America.

Baghdassarian said she is currently in a screenwriting class at
Claremont McKenna College where she is working on a screenplay about
the Palestine-Israel conflict.

She said she eventually wants to practice law in the human rights
field, and would also like to write plays about human rights issues
as well, that would be both entertaining and educational.