Hillary Clinton to Meet with Erdogan in Qatar Today
Tert.am
13:31 – 13.02.10
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to Doha, the capital
of Qatar, reports Trend News agency, quoting Anadolu Ajansi.
The meeting will take place within the forum U.S-Islamic World, which
begins today.
The Erdogan-Clinton bilateral meeting will discuss the situation in
the Middle East and Iran.
Hackers attack Turkey-based Armenian newspaper
armradio.am
13.02.2010 12:48
The Web site of Turkey’s leading Armenian newspaper was hacked in the
early hours on Friday. Hackers also attacked the Web sites of two
Turkey-based foundations, Hurriyet Daily reports.
Hackers identifying themselves as "AK Hacker" overtook the Agos Web
site and put up an image of Ogün Samast, the alleged murderer of the
former editor in chief of the daily, Hrant Dink. The image was
accompanied by a text that criticized opposition to the ruling party
and stated the act of hacking was "an action that will go on to spread
like poison to others who oppose the current powers."
The International Hrant Dink Foundation and the Art for Peace
Foundation were also hacked around the same time. An official from the
Hrant Dink foundation told the Hürriyet Daily News that they were
uncertain if the site was attacked by the same hackers.
The note on the Agos site also made a chilling threat given the murder
of Hrant Dink: "If you do not fix your reporting in the way we see
fit, there will be new Ogün Samasts and new Hrant Dinks."
ARMENIA REVIEWS DEAL TO NORMALISE TIES WITH TURKEY
Agence France Presse
Feb 12 2010
YEREVAN — Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday submitted two
protocols on normalising ties with Turkey after decades of hostility
to parliament for ratification, his office said.
"The presidential administration has already sent the protocols to
parliament for ratification," presidential spokesman Samvel Farmanian
told AFP.
Sarkisian announced this week that he would soon be sending
the protocols on establishing diplomatic ties and reopening the
Armenia-Turkey border to parliament for approval.
But he added that the accords must be voted on by the Turkish
parliament before Armenia’s parliament will approve them.
Parliament spokesman Goar Pogosian confirmed that the assembly had
received the protocols and said that within two days a commission
would be established to study them.
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border in a historic step
towards ending decades of hostility stemming from World War I-era
massacres of Armenians under Ottoman Turks.
The protocols must now be ratified by both countries’ parliaments but
the process has stalled as the two sides have traded accusations of
trying to modify the landmark deal.
Ankara has accused Yerevan of trying to set new conditions after
Armenia’s constitutional court said the protocols could not contradict
Yerevan’s official position that the Armenian mass killings constituted
genocide — a label Turkey fiercely rejects.
Armenia, for its part, is furious over Ankara’s insistence that
normalising Turkish-Armenian ties depends on progress in resolving
the conflict between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan over the
disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after ethnic Armenian forces wrested Nagorny Karabakh from
Baku’s control in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.
The conflict remains unresolved despite years of international
mediation.
World’s biggest stage for Novato Skier
By Bruce Meadows
Contributor
Novato Advance
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 2:04 PM PST
Ani Serebrakian, a 20-year-old from Novato, will be marching in the
Opening Ceremonies Friday night at the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, B.C.
But if you plan on watching them on ABC, you may have to look quickly
. . . Serebrakian, an athletic standout at Marin Catholic and now
attending USF, is not part of the 216-member U.S. team, but will be in
the comparatively tiny four-person ski team from Armenia.
Serebrakian, who earned a reputation for excellence among the top
American juniors, could have tried to make the U.S. team, but opted to
ski for Armenia. Her parents, Armen and Anita Serebrakian, are
Armenian and were born in neighboring Iran.
`I feel honored to be on the Armenian team,’ said Serebrakian, who
will compete in women’s slalom and giant slalom events Feb. 24 and
26. `I’ve been to Armenia and it really hits home to ski for that
country.’
Serebrakian, majoring in exercise and sports science at USF, started
skiing at age 2, racing when she was 5. Calling herself and her
22-year-old brother Arman `weekend skiers,’ she spends most winter
weekends at Squaw Valley.
She has competed in numerous national and international ski events,
including one a few years ago at the Whistler Cup, where Olympic
Alpine skiing will be contested. She has been ranked as high as ninth
in Junior World Cup.
Ani excelled as a tennis player, earning All-MCAL honors her junior
and senior years at Marin Catholic and was named Marin Grand Prix
Player of the Year.
She could have tried to qualify for the American team, although it
would have been more difficult. Ani explained, `there’s a point system
and not all U.S. team members qualify for the Olympics . . . I really
don’t know if I could have qualified for the American team.’
While she had expressed an interest in skiing for Armenia, it was her
brother and father who initially contacted the Armenian Ski Federation
and found out what was needed for Ani to qualify.
`It’s kind of complicated, but they have a point system based on
competition,’ she explained, adding that besides herself, there is one
other male Alpine skier and a male and female cross-country skier.
She left for Canada last Friday, with a knowledge of Whistler, where
competition will be held, but not much else.
`I know we will be close to the start (of Opening Ceremonies, behind
Albania, Algeria, Andorra and Argentina) and we will be one of the
smallest groups,’ said Serebrakian before leaving for the Olympics. `I
don’t know what the uniforms look like or who will be carrying our
flag.’
She does know she will be going up against the best skiers in the
world, something she enjoys.
`I’m not going with the mentality that I will place or not place,’ she
said. `I just want to perform my best.`
Ani said `it hasn’t hit me yet,’ as far as competing in the Winter
Games, `but I am really looking forward to the experience.’
She was traveled north with her parents and brother for the Opening
Ceremonies, and her mother was planning on staying with her while her
father and brother were expected to return to California then return
for the slalom competition.
The first and second rounds of the Women’s Giant Slalom are Feb. 24,
while the Women’s Slalom will be contested Feb. 26.
`It’s a long wait,’ she said. `But that’s OK because I plan on skiing
every day.’
She’s proud to be competing for Armenia in the Winter Games,
explaining, `I traveled to Armenia a few years ago, in the summer, and
I fell in love with the culture and the history . . . I decided I
wanted to represent the country.’
She’s competed in several competitions this winter, including Utah,
Mammoth Mountain and Lake Tahoe, but knows this will be much
different.’
`I am racing against the best in the world,’ she said, adding that `I
will place where I place . . . I’m not worried about that part of it.’
Ani said she might be encouraged to try and qualify for the 2014
Armenian team, as is her brother, who competes for University of
Colorado and will be racing in the NCAA Championships at Steamboat
Springs, Colo., in March. The 2014 Winter Games are in Russia.
When she graduates, she is uncertain what she wants to do, although
she has expressed an interest in her father’s work . . . Armen is a
head and neck reconstructive surgeon.
`This (the Winter Games) might bring me some experience that could
lead me into something related to skiing,’ she said.
But for now, her mind is focused on practicing, Friday’s Opening
Ceremony and the competition later this month.
`I think it (Opening Ceremonies) will be emotional,’ she said. `Just
marching in, hearing the country’s name announced . . . I can hardly
wait.’
Olympic Postcard
Novato’s Ani Serebrakian, 20,is a member of the Armenian ski team
competing in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. While her events
– the slalom and giant slalom – are scheduled for Feb. 24 and 26, she
arrived last weekend, and will periodically be sending reports that
will be posted online at the Novato Advance web site,
novatoadvance.com.
Copyright © 2010 – Marinscope Newspapers
CHIEF OF POLICE DENIES RUMORS ABOUT HIS RESIGNATION
Aysor
Feb 10 2010
Armenia
Armenia’s Chief of Police Maj. Gen. Alik Sarkisian denied rumors about
his possible resignation. He said at today’s press-conference that
all this information is false. Besides, he said can only be dismissed
by presidential decree.
"Every day I report to President on activities I carry, and if
President was unhappy with my work, then he would tell me about
it," said Alik Sarkisian expressing surprise where the information
appeared from.
"All these rumors are figment of the imagination of some adventurers,
and are spread by those people who dream of my chair," he said adding
that whenever he resigns he will do it easy and with dignity.
ARMENIA WON’T HAVE A STAND AT INTERNATIONAL CEBIT SHOW 2010
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2010 14:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For the first time in the past 10 years, Armenia will
not have a stand at CeBit 2010 international information technology
exhibition.
As chairman of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE)
Karen Vardanyan told PanARMENIAN.Net, at the previous CeBitexhibitions
rent of stands was paid from the state budget. However, the government
hasn’t allocated state funds for the event this year.
In 2010, Fine, Arminco, "Norma +" companies will fully finance their
participation in the exhibition.
CeBit World Expo for Information Technology and Telecommunications
will be held between March 2 and 6 in Hannover (Germany). CeBIT is
the largest trade fair for information technology held since 1986.
THE DEMISED TURKISH PROTOCOLS’ UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
By Appo Jabarian
USA Armenian Life Magazine
February 8, 2010
Now that the Protocols are behind us along with the acrimonious
debates, we can collectively concentrate on healing our intra-national
wounds; review all the shortcomings that our community exhibited,
and troubleshoot them for the purpose of better preparedness in the
face of possible future threats.
The post-Protocols Armenian nation is definitely different than it
used to be. For a moment let’s liken the Turkish-imposed Protocols
to an earthquake, and Armenia with its Diaspora to a building that
has shown some cracks having undergone the shocks of the quake;
and Armenians worldwide to the occupants of the damaged building.
Some occupants may react to the post-quake damage as being hopelessly
irreparable and abandon the building. Whereas optimistic tenants
may simply go outside the building and start assessing the damage
caused by the shocks; begin to make plans to repair; and initiate
the re-enforcement of its structure so as to enable the building to
survive bigger and more destructive quakes in the future.
The good news with the biggest political earthquake called the
Protocols is that the building of the nation did not collapse. That
goes to prove that the nation’s "building" has strong structural base
albeit with some deficiencies. And even the best news was that the
pillars of the "building" – several community-based organizations –
showed coherence and even banded together in the face of a potentially
deadly national catastrophe.
Were the protocols a curse that unwittingly yielded a set of
blessings? Positively, they produced some very tangible unintended
blessings – far-reaching and durable accomplishments by Armenians.
– An unprecedented number of 60,000 (yes sixty thousand) Armenians
took their disapproval of the Protocols to the streets in Yerevan
strongly criticizing the government of Pres. Sargsyan, yet not one
Armenian’s nose bled. Whereas the 2008 post-presidential election
demonstrations by pro-Ter-Petrossyan protesters numbering a mere 20,000
(twenty thousand) caused the ransacking of storefronts in the center
of Yerevan and clashes with Police that contributed to the deaths
of several civilians. In stark contrast, the 2009 anti-Protocols
demonstrations were marked by discipline, law and order;
– The worldwide opposition to the Protocols re-enforced the correct
notion that the Armenian people in Armenia-Artsakh and the Diaspora
are united in their efforts to help protect their national home;
– The Armenian Diaspora gained recognition for its importance as
a strong political power both by Armenia’s president and Turkey’s
Prime Minister. Pres. Sargsyan embarked on a Diaspora-wide visit to
the large centers of the Armenian dispersion not necessarily to pay
homage but to "sell" the Protocols as being a "good deal." Even though
the Armenian Presidential tour was qualified as being a mere show,
it still underlined the importance of the Diaspora. As for Turkey’s
Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, in an October 2009 interview
with The Wall Street Journal, in a pointed reference to the Armenian
Diaspora, he said: "When Pres. Sarkisian was on an international visit,
he was faced by a reaction from the Armenian Diaspora. So what he
does in face of the reaction of the Diaspora is very important. If
he can stand firm, and if it is the government of Armenia and not
the Armenian Diaspora that is determining policy in Armenia, then I
think that we can move forward;"
– The diasporan supporters of Protocols were no more than 10% (ten
percent) of the populace – a tiny minority at best. But they were
misrepresented as being the sizeable "majority" when in fact over 90%
(ninety percent) of the Diaspora Armenians were categorically opposed
to the unfair Protocols. And that was seriously misleading on the part
of official Yerevan along with the Protocols’ main sponsors Russia,
the United States, and Europe. This experience confirmed the need
for an elected body that can accurately reflect the political will
of the Armenian Diaspora. "A Diaspora-wide leadership must be elected
to reflect properly the views of the majority of Armenians on crucial
issues. Such a mechanism would facilitate the transmission of credible
feedback from the Diaspora to Armenia’s leaders and to governments
and international organizations. Further details will be presented
on this important topic in a future column," wrote Harut Sassounian,
The Publisher of The California Courier;
– Just as the 1988 earthquake in Armenia galvanized Armenians worldwide
to collectively rush to Armenia’s aid, the unfair Turkish Protocols
"served" as the unintended catalyst for the formation of a landslide
political majority both in Armenia and its Diaspora that vehemently
opposed the poorly written proposed agreements;
– Back in December 2009, in a USA Armenian Life article this writer
had asked: "Will Gagik Harutyunyan, Constitutional Court’s Chair,
Help Armenia Avoid Becoming a Banana Republic?" To the credit of Mr.
Harutyunyan, the Court magnificently carried out its task as an
independent entity effectively serving as the healthy symbol of one
of the Armenian democracy’s three branches – The Judiciary. Any
normal sovereign state that is guided by democratic principles
shall vigilantly maintain the independence of its three branches
of government a) the Legislature (the Parliament); the Executive
(the President and his Administration); and the Judiciary (the
Constitutional Court and the entire judicial system).
– The emergence of a patriotic opposition that’s loyal to the national
security and interests of the Armenian state. The harmonious opposition
jointly mounted by the three traditional Armenian political parties
has served as a model for healthy and constructive opposition.
Additionally, the new opposition reaffirmed its intention not to
let their disapproval of Armenian leadership’s policies serve as a
reason for cutting aid to the needy; for stopping the investments
in the country’s economy, and for declining to visit or settle in
the homeland.
AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL EXPERT: DID SERZH SARGSYAN NEED TO RESORT TO CIRCUS ACROBATICS TO SEND MESSAGE TO ANKARA?
Z. Ahmadov
Today
1219.html
Feb 9 2010
Azerbaijan
"Armenia’s restoring to such political acrobatics makes no sense,"
Azerbaijani political expert Fikrat Sadigov said commenting on Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan’s letter to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah
Gul from the aircraft when the Armenia leader was flying over Turkey.
"In principle, heads of states’ greeting their colleagues from
countries over which they fly from aircraft is an old international
practice. Previously, the media often published such greetings. But,
apparently, Armenia leadership learned about this practice only
recently. Moreover, Serzh Sargsyan’s message to Abdullah Gul was
more political in nature, rather than simply a desire to welcome his
colleague," noted political scientist.
"Besides, given the fact the Armenian Constitutional Court approved the
Zurich protocols with reservations disavowed them. Armenian President
calls for Turkey to resolve all contentious issues and not leave
them to future generations seems quite ridiculous. If the Armenian
president wants his country to come out of isolation, such a message
from an aircraft, which is contrary to Yerevan’s acts towards Ankara,
is not the best solution."
"Did Serzh Sargsyan need to resort to circus acrobatics to send
message to Ankara? Yerevan’s such political acrobatics makes no sense,"
the expert added.
ARMENIA’S DEPUTY FM TO VISIT SYRIA
armradio.am
08.02.2010 11:17
February 9-11 the delegation headed by Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Arman Kirakosyan will visit the Arab Republic of Syria to participate
in the recurrent political consultations between the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of the two countries.
Within the framework of the visit the Armenian delegation will attend
the opening of Armenia’s Honorary Consulate in Syria.
Agos, Istanbul
Feb 2 2010
`The religion category should be removed from ID cards’
02 Å?ubat 2010
A Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) parliamentarian from Tunceli,
Å?erafettin Halis, has submitted a bill to abolish the religion
category on identification cards as well as the related article of the
Registry Office Law.
In his bill, Halis asked for the abolition of paragraph 7/1(e) of the
Registry Office Law 5490, which came into force on April 24, 2006.
That law, according to the bill’s preamble, requires that `The
individual’s religion must be written on his identification card.’
This is in spite of the fact that article 24 of the Constitution
guarantees that `Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and belief. Nobody can be forced to attend acts of worship,
religious services or ceremonies, or to reveal his religious belief or
conviction.’ The preamble also argues that as the current law forces
individuals to reveal their religious belief and conviction, it
violates freedom of thought, conscience and belief. The following
explanations also appeared in the preamble:
`The requirement to have a religion category on identification cards
not only violates the Constitution but also violates many treaties,
such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Turkey has signed. The
characteristics of Turkey’s political structure, the existence of the
Presidency of Religious Affairs, and the properties of institutions
and their staff, make it obvious that the Sunni Islamic character of
the state is dominant. This is in spite of the fact that Article 2 of
the Constitution stipulates that `The Republic of Turkey is a
democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law.’
Given these circumstances, it is inconvenient for individuals with
different religious beliefs and convictions in our country to expose
themselves, to carry out acts of worship freely and to self-define as
well as self-position themselves. In particular the Alevi community in
Turkey, which defines and would like to define itself as only `Alevi,’
as well as adherents of other religious groups and beliefs, are facing
actions contrary to the law. This violates both the Turkish
Constitution and international treaties that Turkey has signed.
Abolishing paragraph 7/1(e) of law 5490 is necessary for a democratic,
secular and social state governed by the rule of law.’