Author: Kanayan Tamar

TURQUERIES
Les Turcs désirent changer le nom du lac de Van

Les habitants de Bitlis, l’ancienne cité arménienne qui se trouve
aujourd’hui en Turquie désirent changer le nom arménien du lac de Van
en « mer de Tatvan ». Selon la chaîne de télévision turque TRT les
habitants de Bitlis fondent leur demande sur l’argument que 65% de la
superficie du lac de Van se trouve dans la province de Bitlis. Le
maire de la ville Fehmi Aydin a affirmé de son côté qu’à la
bibliothèque Suleymanié se trouve un « document » ottoman dans lequel
le lac de Van est nommé « la mer de Tatvan ». Le maire de Tatvan qui
se trouve au nord du lac dit que tout le tourisme du lac de Van est
lié à l’île d’Akhtamar et qu’il conviendrait de développer un tourisme
englobant l’ensemble du périmètre du lac et ainsi ne pas délaisser le
nord. Un autre habitant de Bitlis a quant à lui proposé de nommer le
lac « lac Van Bitlis » ! Les Turcs ont l’impression que l’Histoire du
lac de Van débute avec la période ottomane. Van qui fut rappelons-le
la première capitale de l’Arménie bien avant l’arrivée des
envahisseurs Turco-ottomans.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 22 septembre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

FRANCE-TURQUIE
François Hollande devrait se rendre en Turquie début 2013
la question de la pénalisation du génocide arménien serait à l’ordre du jour

Le président français François Hollande va se rendre début 2013 (en
février ou mars) en Turquie annonce le journal turc « Hürriyet ».
François Hollande y sera invité par le Premier ministre turc Recep
Tayyip Erdogan ; Lors du sommet des G-20 au Mexique, Erdogan avait
rappelé à François Hollande qu’« aucun président français n’a visité
la Turquie au cours des vingt dernières années ». L’Elysée a
semble-t-il donné son accord pour cette visite. La diplomatie turque a
déjà mis dans le dossier de ces rencontres Hollande-Erdogan la
question de l’entrée de la Turquie au sein de la CEE ainsi que la
pénalisation du négationnisme du génocide arménien.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 22 septembre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

APA, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2012

U.S. ‘Not Satisfied’ With Baku, Budapest Over Safarov Case

[ 21 Sep 2012 18:46 ]

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA.’The United States is “not satisfied”
with explanations from Baku and Budapest concerning the case of an
Azerbaijani officer’. Philip Gordon, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told RFE/RL in Washington.
APA reports.

He said that Washington continues to express “dismay and
disappointment” to Budapest about its decision to release Ramil
Safarov to Baku. He said Washington is sending the same message to
Azerbaijan’s government.

BIAnet.org, Turkey
Sept 21 2012

`PM ErdoÄ?an Believes Religious Education Will Breed Obedience’

Education specialist Assist. Prof. Cem KirazoÄ?lu said Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s recent comments on the status of theological
Imam Hatip schools reflect his underlying belief that religious
education will breed obedient generations.

Ekin KARACA

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s recent remarks on the status of
theological Imam Hatip schools reveal his underlying conviction that
religious education breeds obedient generations, according to Assist.
Prof. Cem KirazoÄ?lu, a researcher in the field of educational studies.

“What harm have Imam Hatip schools brought upon you that you [decided
to] shut them down? What have Imam Hatip [graduates] ever done to you?
Did you shut them down because Imam Hatip schools do not breed
terrorists [and anarchists?..] Did you shut them down because [their
graduates] are aching to serve their country?” Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an
said during the inauguration ceremony of the Cedide AbalıoÄ?lu Anadolu
Imam Hatip High School in the southwestern district of Denizli.

The government believes in the significance of Imam Hatip schools
because they think these institutions breed religious generations that
comply with authority and which nurture sentiments of gratefulness
rather than inciting rebellious behavior, according to Assist. Prof.
KirazoÄ?lu.

“As Imam Hatip high school graduates, my sons, many a minister friends
of mine and I are deeply moved in restoring the prestige of these
[institutions] today. People across Turkey today are embracing Imam
Hatip schools which are now returning back to their former days of
glory,” Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an went on.

“They shut down the middle [school] sections of Imam Hatips, and as if
this were not enough, they also introduced a new obstacle [by changing
the coefficient figure] in university entrance exams to slacken the
demand for their high school sections as well,” he said.

“Obedient generations that conform to the authorities”

“People turn into ‘terrorists’ and ‘anarchists’ in the eyes of the
authorities when they begin to act unruly. This reflects a
discriminatory language on the part of the authorities. We see this
language at the work place and in the family. Those who have power
employ this language against those who lack it. When those who lack
power [refuse] to obey and [choose] to criticize instead, then they
are labelled as such,” Assist. Prof. KirazoÄ?lu said.

Religious people cannot be “bad persons” according to the government
of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) which defines “bad persons”
as those people who do not seek their rights, fail to obey the
authorities and identify with certain political views, he said.

“The prime minister believes in the significance of religious
education because religious education permits the breeding of obedient
generations that do not rebel or question. In reality, the [terms]
‘terrorist’ and ‘anarchist’ in his lexicon” signify people who do not
entertain sentiments of gratefulness,” he added.

“A project doomed to fail”

“On the other hand, they reduced primary education down to four years
with the introduction of the new [education] system. As such,
juveniles who reach the age of nine and a half will now be able to
enroll in Imam Hatip Middle Schools. Their goal in this is to begin to
shape children’s [minds] as early as possible,” Assist. Prof.
KirazoÄ?lu noted.

Assist. Prof. KirazlıoÄ?lu also highlighted the fact that Imam Hatip
schools offer much more comprehensive curricula than other vocational
schools with whom they share the same status, giving the Imam Hatips a
special edge.

“There is massive difference between the curricula employed in other
vocational schools and the Imam Hatips. The Imam Hatips go beyond the
curriculum that is designed solely to train imams and preachers so as
to also include courses provided by regular schools,” he said.

“They always pushed aspiring students toward one direction [or
another] in Turkey. The republican regime pushed them in one
direction, and the current regime is now pushing them in another. It
is crystal clear that a collosal transformation is in the works at the
moment,” Assist. Prof. KirazoÄ?lu said.

“The failure of the republican project, however, bore certain
qualities that will also cause the demise of the present regime as
well, namely [their tendency to] disregard the people. I believe this
project will also fail,” he said. (EKN)

Director Forces Vardenis Psychaitric Patients to Graze His Private Livestock

16:24, September 18, 2012

It appears that the director of the Vardenis Psychiatric Hospital is
forcing patients to work as animal herders.

Director Nver Hovhannisyan took a group of patients up to the Nerkin
Shorzha village and told them to start grazing the sheep and cows. The
patients must also milk the animals, some of which belong to the
hospital, but others belong to Hovhannisyan and his friends.

We apologize to the relatives of the patients for publishing their
names and the disorders they suffer from.

When we reached the village by car, we got out and started to climb to
the nearby mountain on foot where we spotted the grazing animals.

The first person we met was Hounan, who was tending a flock of sheep.
We had a tough time conversing with the man. He could only get out one
intelligible sentence. After that, it was a mish-mash of unrelated
sentences.

Hounan Navoyan told us he was 45, from the Gegharkounik village of
Astghadzor, and suffered from schizophrenic.

Further down, Moushegh Bazoyan was grazing cows. He’s an epileptic.

We know most of the patients by name since we’ve been dealing with the
issues of the Vardenis Hospital starting in 1997. Moushegh is one of
our old acquaintances. After a welcoming hug, Moushegh told us how he
wound up at the hospital.

The man pleaded with us to talk with hospital management to get him
transferred back to the institution rather than working high up in the
mountains. He told us that employees even beat the patients.

“Those guys hit me and broke all my teeth,” said 49 year-old Moushegh
from the town of Hoktemberyan. He told us his relatives have no idea
that he’s now grazing animals in Nerkin Shorzha.

The patients told us that they are given nothing to eat for lunch.

Stepan, the third patient we met, was working in the barn. He’s
schizophrenic as well.

We were told that a fourth patient, Tereza Minasyan, was recently
transferred back to the hospital. She had been milking cows in the
village but fell sick. Tereza now must undergo an operation for an
inflamed large intestine. The hospital says it will foot the bill but
the woman is still waiting.

It’s cold up in the mountains and the work is hard. The patients live
in squalid conditions.

While it’s true that work therapy is an accepted form of
rehabilitation, practiced by the Vardenis Hospital in the past, it was
only for an hour or two a day and under a physician’s supervision.

The Vardenis institution is the final stop for all those deemed to be
untreatable. Other hospitals send problem patients to Vardenis. The
patients here are heavily medicated and looked after.

Those working in Nerkin Shorzha aren’t provided any medical
supervision. The director’s friends are the only outsiders monitoring
the patients. You can bet these people are more interested in the
work, and not the health, of the patients.

Recently, the RA Control Chamber had sent a team to inspect the
Vardenis Hospital. Before the team called for a roll-call of the
patients, management had brought those working in the village back to
the ward. When the inspectors left, the patients were sent back to the
village.

The Vardenis Hospital is run by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs, The ministry also carries out periodic inspections. During
such inspections, hospital staff often fill in for those patients
working in the village.

We contacted the ministry, wanting to find out if its inspectors had
uncovered any violations. Hasmik Khachatryan, who runs the Public
Relations Unit, told us that the ministry was still compiling data
from the last inspection and that their findings weren’t ready for
publication. The minister was away from his desk and would be back by
the week’s end.

Director Nver Hovhannisyan denied that any patients were working in
Nerkin Shorzha grazing livestock. He told us that even though he was
new to the job, everything was above board and normal.

We told him tat we had visited the village and saw several patients
there. We asked if it was a form of therapy. He answered that it was,
but that they are only sent to get a change of scenery and walk in the
fresh air.

– You send them to Shorzha for walks?

– We send them all over. Not just to Shorzha. It’s medical therapy.

– We also saw the patients grazing your animals.

– Give me a break, already.

– Does the hospital have animals in Nerkin Shorzha?

– No.

– Do you own animals there?

– No.

– So what were your patients doing there?

– They weren’t our patients. Who gave you that info?

– Moushegh Bazoyan, Hounan Navoyan, Stepan and Tereza aren’t your patients?

– They’re all at the hospital now. They never were there on their own.

– But they are your patients?

– I can’t say at this moment. I don’t remember the names.

– What’s Tereza’s medical condition?

– Very good. It’s always been good.

Many in the neighboring villages know that patients from the
psychiatric hospital are tending animals in Nerkin Shorzha. Even kids
from the nearby village of Ayrk will tell you.

No one, however, seems overly concerned that some patients are forced
to work for their room and board, or that hospital management are
conveniently stretching the concept of “work therapy” for personal
gain.

Kristine Aghalaryan
Edik Baghdasaryan
Marine Madatyan
Saro Baghdasaryan

Turquie : La question kurde reste toujours d’actualité

Publié le : 21-09-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN publie
ici un article d’Ahmet Dere, journaliste et écrivain kurde de
Belgique, publié le 15 septembre 2012.

En Turquie, ce sont les problèmes autour de la question kurde qui
constituent l’ordre du jour. Cette question est au c`ur des enjeux
politiques et stratégiques du pays. Elle est ainsi présente au c`ur du
débat identitaire dans ce pays.

La situation actuelle en Turquie ne présage pas d’une sortie
démocratique rapide de l’impasse constituée par la question kurde.
Depuis ces 3 dernières années, surtout depuis les élections
législatives du 12 juin 2011, le gouvernement de l’AKP a durci de plus
en plus sa position à l’encontre des efforts en faveur d’une solution
politique de la question kurde.

Ces derniers mois, les affrontements entre l’armée turque et la
guérilla kurde ont fait des dizaines de morts, soit du côté de la
guérilla, soit du côté des militaires. Depuis le début du mois de
juillet, les forces armées turques ont lancé quelques centaines
d’opérations contre les militants du PKK. Le but de ces opérations est
d’écraser la force du PKK qui intensifie les attaques contre les bases
militaires. La Turquie mène ces opérations avec la participation de
milliers de soldats y compris avec l’appui d’hélicoptères et d’avions
de guerre. Des opérations de même nature sont parfois menées sur les
territoires de la région kurde irakienne. Ces derniers jours, de
violents combats se concentrent dans les districts de Semdinli et
Beytusebap.

Le pouvoir AKP engage une lourde répression contre les Kurdes. Les
arrestations contre les politiques kurdes, surtout membres du BDP,
deviennent quotidiennes. Les procès des avocats, des représentants de
diverses associations, des défenseurs des droits humains, des
journalistes, des syndicalistes, des étudiants, des intellectuels
ainsi que des élus locaux, sont de véritables atteintes à la
démocratie. On compte à ce jour plus de 6000 détenus dans les prisons
turques, arrêtés et jugés pour appartenance à une organisation
clandestine (KCK- Union des Communautés du Kurdistan-). C’est donc une
répression accrue contre les militants kurdes qui menace tout le
peuple kurde. L’escalade de la répression et de la militarisation est
devenue la règle.

Je me demande si les responsables européens suivent vraiment ce qui se
passe actuellement en Turquie ?

Je me permets de rappeler que les années précédant et suivant 1980, la
démocratie en Turquie n’était pas une préoccupation pour les pays
occidentaux, qui ont réagi favorablement au coup d’Etat. Pour ces
pays, la priorité était alors seulement de garantir la stabilité de la
Turquie dans un contexte de guerre froide.

La perspective européenne apparaît-elle toujours comme une possibilité
de sortie de l’impasse pour les Kurdes ? Oui, je pense une forme de
reconnaissance des différents groupes ethniques au sein de la
République de Turquie permettrait l’ancrage et la stabilisation de la
démocratie dans le cadre des principes européens. Il faut souligner
que les Kurdes sont d’ailleurs favorables à la perspective européenne
concernant la Turquie.

Selon ce que je vois, la perspective européenne concernant la Turquie
est actuellement bloquée. Il est toutefois impératif de la maintenir
car elle peut toujours représenter une possible sortie de l’impasse
actuelle. La non-résolution, par la voie politique et démocratique, de
la question kurde en Turquie peut tuer le modèle turc, même si
celui-ci doit évoluer. D’autant que la tentation d’internationaliser
ou de régionaliser davantage la question kurde représente un fort
danger.

Tous les dérapages sont donc possibles, c’est pourquoi il est
impératif de ne pas céder aux potentielles tentations sécessionnistes
qui existent en Turquie et qui, aggraveraient les problèmes plutôt
qu’elles ne contribueraient à les résoudre.

Il est impératif que l’Union européenne réagisse contre cette
continuité de la situation de guerre. Si cette situation continue et
approfondit davantage les blessures existantes, l’UE aura également de
véritables pertes. Il est donc important de ne pas rester silencieux.

Ahmet DERE / 15.09.2012

Biographie :

Ahmet Gülabi Dere est un journaliste kurde né en 1971 dans le district
de Varto, dans le Kurdistan turc. Il vit depuis l’ge de 16 ans en
Europe comme réfugié politique.

Entre 2003 et 2009, Ahmet Gülabi Dere a été membre du Congrès national
kurde, chargé des relations internationales. Il a travaillé à
Bruxelles et à Strasbourg. Entre 2001 et 2009, il a écrit pour les
journaux kurdes, dont Azadiya Welat et Yeni Özgür Politika ; ses
articles ont été publiés sur divers sites web, en kurde, turc et
français.

Au mois de septembre 2009, il a démissionné du Congrès National du
Kurdistan et, depuis lors, il travaille comme journaliste indépendant.
Ahmet Gülabi Dere

PACE to debate Safarov on October 1

14:15 20/09/2012 » Politics

A request has been made to debate Safarov in the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), according to the draft
agenda of PACE (October 1-5), published on PACE website.

The debate on Safarov is scheduled for October 1.

Source: Panorama.am

Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2012

Azerbaijani centre: Armenia’s statements on airport in Khankendi
receive adequate response

Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 21 / Trend E. Mehdiyev /

Armenia has repeatedly voiced its intention to start exploiting the
airport in Khankendi, but it always gets a measured response, director
of the Centre for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President
Farhad Mammadov told media today.

He recalled that the International Civil Aviation Organisations
directly stated that it is possible to use Azerbaijan’s air space only
with its consent.

“Of course, Azerbaijan will not give its consent,” he added. “On the
other hand, Azerbaijan strongly disagrees with the last statement of
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, in which opening the airport in
Khankendi is seen as a step that could help establish trust between
the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

Azerbaijan has banned the use of the airspace of Nagorno-Karabakh
occupied by Armenia, as no one can guarantee flight safety in the
area, the head of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif
Mammadov, told the New Azerbaijan party’s official website earlier.

He said Armenia’s steps directed to the operation of the airport in
Khankendi are attempts to violate international legal norms. This air
space belongs to Azerbaijan, so its use by Armenia is impossible.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European
Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) also support the position of
Azerbaijan on this issue.

The Armenian side is planning to open the airport in Khankendi,
located in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. President Serzh
Sargsyan promised to be the first passenger which will fly from
Khankendi.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. – are
currently holding peace negotiations.

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

MilAz.info, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2012

Farhad Mammadov: `Social tension in Armenia will increase’

23:38 21-09-2012

`The difficult economical situation in Armenia, financial crisis and
its isolation from neighbor countries led to increase of social
tension in the country’, said Farhad Mammadov, the Director of
Strategic Research Centre near the President of Azerbaijan in his
speech on the theme of `Pre-election Situation in Armenian’ at a
briefing held by Strategy Research Centre, APA reports.

He said that the official Yerevan’s approaches towards the several
internal and foreign policy issues and its decision on not
participating in Non-Aligned Movement Tehran Summit and NATO’s Chicago
Summit reduce the independence elements of Armenia, as well as reduces
its maneuvers ability between Russian Federation, US and Europe.

`From the other point of view, the successful foreign policy pursued
by Azerbaijan will significantly reduce the possibilities of foreign
political course followed by the Armenian government. The increasing
pressure of Azerbaijan will create diffidence in the Armenian
government. They don’t have anything to show to the international
community. This gives an opportunity to Azerbaijan to demonstrate to
the international community that the current difficult situation in
Armenia is a result of its occupation policy’.

F.Mammadov considers that the political situation formed on the eve of
the presidential elections in Armenia clearly shows the distinct
degree of fragility and defenseless of the Armenian government. From
this point of view, Armenian is expected to demonstrate a stricter
position till the February of 2013: `So, the conception of `foreign
enemy’ is still remains as a unique element which allows her to keep
the country under control’.

Specking about the current condition of the opposition in Armenia,
F.Mammadov said that the last parliamentary elections showed that the
opposition wasn’t able to gain even 20% of votes. F.Mammadov connected
this issue with the current difficult social-economical situation in
Armenia and stressed that, as international organizations also
confirm, the candidates buy the electors’ votes’.

MilAz.info, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2012

Araz Azimov: `As if there was any progress towards the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict before Ramil Safarov’s release?’

17:16 21-09-2012

`Perhaps the co-chairs try to misuse this situation; frankly saying,
they haven’t carried out any important work towards the solution of
the conflict’

Somebody is looking for an excuse, now they found a pretext from the
Ramil Safarov’s issue. They treat as if there was any progress towards
the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict before Ramil Safarov’s
release? Did Armenians give us any hope for the solution of the
conflict?’ Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Araz Azimov
commented on the situation around the extradition and pardoning of
Ramil Safarov.

Araz Azimov criticized the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for their
positions in this issue: `Perhaps the co-chairs try to take an
advantage of the condition.Both Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs negatively estimated the issue on Ramil Safarov. The
co-chairs said in their report that the peaceful settlement of the
conflict will become more difficult after this problem. But there have
never been any progress in this process before. Armenians always took
a negative position in the negotiations processes. Honestly, the
co-chairs haven’t carried out any serious work towards the settlement
of the conflict.’