Author: Nahapetian Boris

POPE BENEDICT’S ‘SOFT TONE’ IN TURKEY SEEKS TO WIN MUSLIM HEARTS, MINDS
By John L. Allen

Catholic Online, CA
National Catholic Reporter — ( )
Dec 6 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey (National Catholic Reporter) – During his first four
foreign trips, Pope Benedict XVI developed the annoying habit of making
the world wait for the big story. In Poland last May, for example,
his speech at Auschwitz, which disappointed some because it offered
no new apology for the Holocaust, didn’t come until the last day. In
Bavaria in September, the pope’s now-famous speech at the University
of Regensburg, which touched off a firestorm of controversy in the
Muslim world, came more than halfway into the five-day trip.

Advertisement In Turkey, however, the biggest splash came on Day 1,
roughly a half-hour after the pope landed at the Ankara airport. In a
closed-door meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
who had been among the most outspoken critics of Benedict XVI after
the Regensburg speech, the pope indicated that he now smiles upon
Turkey’s candidacy to join the European Union.

In reality, Erdogan probably engaged in a bit of spin with regard to
the pope’s comments. It was Erdogan who told the press that the pope
had endorsed Turkey’s EU bid, while the Vatican later clarified that
the pope had not taken a political position for or against admission,
but instead merely affirmed the country’s efforts at "dialogue and
drawing close" to Europe.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that Benedict XVI effectively
disavowed his earlier position, expressed while still a cardinal,
that Turkey is "in permanent contrast to Europe," and that admitting
it to the EU would further muddy the Christian roots of the continent.

Anyone familiar with even a smidgen of papal history knows that popes
don’t often reverse field in quite so clear a fashion, and the fact
that Benedict did so right out of the gate crystallized the basic
spirit of this Nov. 28-Dec. 1 trip, Benedict’s fifth as pope and his
first to a majority Muslim state: No effort was spared to convince
the Muslim world that "the pope of Regensburg," depicted variously by
Muslim critics as a neo-crusader and as the chaplain to the U.S.-led
war in Iraq, is actually a friend.

In terms of realpolitik, Benedict’s new line on the EU probably
means little in terms of Turkey’s actual chances. It’s hardly as if
the powers-that-be in Brussels were waiting for a declaration from
the pope. This is the same body, after all, that repeatedly spurned
Vatican pleas for even a passing reference to God in the preamble
to the new European constitution. Just 24 hours after Benedict met
with the Turkish prime minister, the European Commission announced a
partial suspension of talks with Ankara, further dimming the country’s
prospects.

At a symbolic level, however, Benedict’s new line sent an unambiguous
signal that he’s willing to go to great lengths to win Muslim hearts
and minds.

At a meeting with diplomats accredited to Ankara Nov. 29, Ambassador
Georges H. Siam of Lebanon complimented Benedict XVI on his "soft
tone" in Turkey, and that in many ways seems an appropriate tag line
for the four-day trip.

Over and over, a series of key words percolated like leitmotifs
through the pope’s remarks: dialogue, understanding, brotherhood and
peace. Repeatedly, Benedict stressed his "great esteem" for Muslims
and, in particular, his respect for Turks, often invoking the memory
of Pope John XXIII, who served as apostolic delegate in Turkey from
1933 to 1945 and is remembered fondly here.

In a speech at the Religious Affairs Directorate Nov. 28, for example,
Benedict expressed "profound esteem for all the people of this great
country," and greeted Turkish Muslims "with particular esteem and
affectionate regard."

In what seemed almost a deliberate counterpoint to his infamous
quotation from a 14th-century Byzantine emperor at the University of
Regensburg, Benedict this time cited an 11th-century pope, Gregory
VII, who said to a Muslim prince in 1076 that Christians and Muslims
owe charity to one another "because we believe in one God, albeit in
a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every
day as the creator and ruler of the world."

By and large, the Turks seemed to reciprocate. Planned protests
never really materialized, and the coverage in the Turkish press
was overwhelmingly positive. After the first day, and in the wake
of Benedict’s reversal of field on the EU, one Turkish newspaper ran
the banner headline: "It’s a beautiful start."

Small, telling decisions

In a series of small but telling decisions, Benedict XVI appeared to
do everything possible to avoid irritating his hosts. For example:

– At a Mass at Ephesus Nov. 29, he referred to the "witness" of Italian
missionary Father Andrea Santoro, but without mentioning that Santoro
was gunned down Feb. 15 in the Black Sea city of Trabzon by a young
Muslim shouting "God is great!" who later said he had been agitated by
the Danish cartoon controversy. Many Turkish Christians see Santoro
as a symbol of the precarious nature of life in an overwhelmingly
Muslim society, where Christians run the risk of being seen as an
alien element. – At least four times, Benedict made reference to
freedom of religion, but he never linked that generic appeal to
specific problems in Turkey, where Christian churches cannot own
property or enter into contracts, where it is often impossible to
get permits for new churches or to secure visas for Christian clergy,
and where the seminaries of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox
churches have been shuttered by government edict since 1971.

– In his meeting with Patriarch Mesrob II in Istanbul Nov. 30,
Benedict referred to the "tragic circumstances" endured by Armenians
in Turkey in the 20th century, but without using the term "genocide,"
which is anathema to most Turks. His decision is all the more striking
given that John Paul II used the term "genocide" in reference to the
Armenians during his visit to Yerevan in 2001, in a joint statement
with Karekin II, head of the Armenian Apostolic church.

– In impromptu remarks as part of his meeting with Ali Bardakoglu,
head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, Benedict said that his
decision in May to appoint Cardinal Paul Poupard as president of both
the Pontifical Council for Culture and for Inter-religious Dialogue
was not a way to "diminish" the latter office, but to "integrate" and
"reinforce" the work of both. The pope also rejected "Islamophobia,"
and said that he regarded Islam as a religion of peace.

– In an unusual revision to the official schedule, Benedict added a
Nov. 30 visit to the famed "Blue Mosque" in Istanbul. While there, he
donned a pair of white slippers, in keeping with the Islamic tradition
of not wearing shoes inside a mosque, and paused for a moment of what
appeared to be silent prayer alongside his Muslim host. Later he said,
"We pray for fraternity and for all humanity."

– While milling with the small crowd of pilgrims who arrived for
the open-air Mass at Ephesus, Benedict spontaneously picked up a
Turkish flag and briefly waved it, providing a classic image of papal
beneficence toward his host country.

None of this is perhaps surprising, given the powerful incentives
both the Vatican and the Turks felt to make the trip a success. In
the wake of Regensburg, Benedict XVI wanted to convince Muslim public
opinion that he’s a friend of Islam, while the Turks wanted to show
the world that theirs is a sophisticated, pluralistic nation, ready
to take its place in Europe.

In a sense, therefore, the game in Turkey was always Benedict’s to
lose, and he made sure not to put a foot wrong.

Moreover, the challenging line of "the pope of Regensburg" was not
completely absent from Benedict’s appeals in Turkey. Albeit in oblique
form, his twin challenge to Muslims on terrorism and religious freedom
did surface throughout the trip.

"The civil authorities of every democratic country are duty-bound to
guarantee the effective freedom of all believers and to permit them
to organize freely the life of their religious communities," he said
in a meeting with ambassadors Nov. 28. "I am certain that religious
liberty is a fundamental expression of human liberty and that the
active presence of religions in society is a source of progress and
enrichment for all."

Speaking directly to Bardakoglu of the Religious Affairs Directorate,
Benedict called for "freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed
and effectively respected in practice." That language seemed
deliberate, given that the Turkish constitution guarantees freedom
of religion, but in practice Turkish bureaucrats often make life
difficult for the country’s small Christian minority of perhaps
100,000 believers in a country of 72 million.

Likewise, the pope insisted that religious leaders must "utterly
refuse to sanction recourse to violence as a legitimate expression
of religion."

Nevertheless, the preponderant message delivered on the Turkey trip
was one of friendship, not debate. Though Benedict did not offer any
new apology for the Regensburg address, the entire trip seemed to
have an air of contrition.

Eisn Tunali, 38, is a Muslim covert to Protestantism who drove six
hours to attend the papal Mass in Ephesus Nov. 28. She said the trip
allows Turks to get a different impression of the pope.

"They can see that anybody can make a mistake," she told National
Catholic Reporter. "This is kind of like an apology."

The gamble of the visit appeared to be that if Benedict wants to
challenge Islam to an internal reformation, he first has to establish
his credentials as a friend. Whether that strategy will pay off
remains to be seen. In the immediate wake of the trip, there was no
indication that the Turkish government intends to heed his message
on religious freedom in a new way – for example, by allowing the
Halki seminary of the patriarch of Constantinople to reopen, which
has emerged as a leading symbol of the problem of religious liberty
in majority Muslim states.

The original purpose of Benedict’s trip, which was somewhat
overshadowed by the focus on Christian/Muslim issues and the
prospect of a "clash of civilizations," was to visit the patriarch
of Constantinople, the "first among equals" in the Orthodox world. On
that level, the trip was intended as a further gesture of ecumenical
openness, in keeping with Benedict’s vow one day after his election
in April 2005 that Christian unity would be a top priority of his
pontificate.

Benedict and Bartholomew I, whose formal title is "His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and
New Rome," celebrated a vespers service together at the Phanar, the
headquarters of the patriarch in Istanbul, on the evening of Nov. 29,
and then celebrated a divine liturgy the next day. The two men blessed
one another, prayed the "Our Father" together, and issued a joint
blessing to the assembly at the Phanar.

"I can assure you the Catholic Church is willing to do everything
possible to overcome obstacles and to seek, together with our
Orthodox brothers and sisters, ever more effective means of pastoral
cooperation," Benedict pledged on Nov. 30.

The pope argued that greater Orthodox/Catholic closeness is especially
important in the context of a Europe seemingly ever more determined
to blur its Christian identity.

"The process of secularization has weakened the hold of that
tradition," he said. "Indeed, it is being called into question, and
even rejected. In the face of this reality, we are called, together
with all Christian communities, to renew Europe’s awareness of its
Christian roots, traditions and values, giving them new vitality."

In their Common Declaration, released Nov. 30, Benedict and Bartholomew
picked up that theme.

"In Europe, while remaining open to other religions and to their
cultural contributions, we must unite our efforts to preserve Christian
roots, traditions and values, to ensure respect for history," the
two leaders said.

To those expecting a more Regensburg-esque, cage-rattling performance,
it was striking that Benedict never explicitly engaged the crisis
besetting the patriarch of Constantinople, who presides over a tiny
flock of roughly 2,000 people, 60 percent of whom are over 50 years
old. As recently as 1950, there were more than 100,000 Orthodox
faithful in Istanbul, but waves of harassment from the Turkish
government have driven most away.

Some issue dire warnings that the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey
may be on the verge of extinction. The Turkish authorities have never
recognized any "ecumenical" role for the patriarch, insisting on
treating him as no more than a local clergyman, and demanding that
the occupant of the office must be a Turkish citizen born in Turkey.

For many Turkish nationalists, the patriarchate is an unwelcome Greek
presence on Turkish soil.

Recalling Christian heritage

Benedict walked up to the brink of acknowledging these realities
in the Common Declaration, where he and Bartholomew recalled "the
Christian heritage of the land in which our meeting is taking place,"
and asserted that this tradition "remains timely and will bear more
fruit in the future."

Yet without directly calling the Turks to task for their neglect of
the patriarch, many observers felt that Benedict’s visit amounted to
a major boon for the local Orthodox community.

"Sometimes when you are living in the shadows of religious
asphyxiation, a brother coming from the West can bring light to the
East," said Father Alexander Karloutsos, an official of the ecumenical
patriarch based in New York who was on hand for the events in Istanbul.

"Peter has come to give strength to his older brother," Karloutsos
told National Catholic Reporter on the margins of the vespers service
celebrated by Benedict and Bartholomew.

Benedict is the third pope to visit the Phanar, following in the
footsteps of Paul VI in 1967 and John Paul II in 1979.

Certainly the Orthodox did everything they could to milk the pope’s
visit for PR value, setting up sophisticated press centers, bringing
in English-speaking spokespersons, and even inviting journalists to a
reception with Bartholomew on the evening of Nov. 30 at the Istanbul
Hilton Hotel.

Yet if the aim of the meeting between pope and patriarch was to
usher in a new phase of Catholic/Orthodox unity, there seemed little
immediate indication that any progress had been made on the one issue
that has long blocked real ecumenical progress – Orthodox concerns
about the power of the pope.

Benedict addressed the issue in his remarks Nov. 30, noting that
"differences of opinion" over the role of the pope are currently
under review in the joint Catholic/Orthodox international dialogue.

He cited Pope John Paul II’s offer in the 1995 encyclical Ut Unum
Sint to reconsider a new mode of exercising the papacy that would be
acceptable to other Christians, and Benedict added, "It is my desire
today to recall and renew this invitation."

Exactly what such a revamped papacy would look like, however, is still
to be spelled out. If anything, Orthodox observers at the Phanar,
watching the massive media and security presence that follows the pope,
as opposed to the near-invisibility of their patriarch, seemed more
conscious than ever of the danger of being swamped in the pope’s wake.

In the final analysis, evaluating the success of Benedict’s Turkey
trip requires defining its aim. If the point was to expand upon
the conversation hinted at in his Regensburg address, about the
relationship between reason and faith and the related problem of
extremism in some currents of Islam, there was little evidence
that much had been accomplished. But if the hope was to reintroduce
Benedict to Muslims as a friend, on that front the trip did indeed
seem to move some opinion.

One Turk put it to a reporter this way: "I’m not sure we like this
pope yet," he said, asking that his name not be used. "But at least
we don’t dislike him anymore."

– – –

John L. Allen Jr. is National Catholic Reporter senior correspondent.

YOUTH PARTY OF ARMENIA TO PUT UP ITS CANDIDATURE AT 41 ELECTORAL DISTRICTS AT 2007 NA ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 05 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Youth Party of Armenia (YPA)
will nominate by the majoritarian electoral system deputy’s candidates
at all the 41 electoral districts at the coming RA parliamentary
elections. It is said in the statement spread by the YPA Board on
December 5. As it is mentioned in the statement, the party made such
a political decision "taking into consideration the public demand to
carry out generation change" and "having enough political potential,
ready young intellectual and healthy potential."

OSCE URGES ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS TO REDOUBLE EFFORTS IN KARABAKH PROCESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.12.2006 19:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We are encouraged that negotiations [over settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict] in 2006, facilitated by the Co-Chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group and supported by the OSCE Chairman in Office,
have brought the sides closer to agreement on the basic principles for
the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," says a statement
of the Council of OSCE FMs over the NK conflict, reports the Press
Office of the Armenian MFA. We welcome the support of the leaders of
the G8 to these efforts, expressed at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg
in July. We urge Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble
their efforts in the coming year to finalize these basic principles
as soon as possible. We call on the sides, with the assistance
of the international community, to extend co-operation to conduct
an environmental operation to suppress the fires in the affected
territories and to overcome detrimental consequences.

These measures can constitute significant steps toward restoring
confidence between the sides. The OSCE is available to assist.

We also express our continuing support for the Personal Representative
of the OSCE Chairman in Office and his mission to the region and
particularly for their efficient assistance to the environmental
Assessment Mission and for their ongoing monitoring of the
cease-fire. We regret that incidents along the front lines continue
occasionally to result in loss of life on both sides and we urge the
parties to adhere strictly to the cease-fire."

KAREL DE GUCHT: THE KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS HAS MOVED FROM THE DEAD POINT

ArmRadio.am
04.12.2006 15:47

"A move from the dead point" is felt in the process of settlement of
the Karabakh conflict, but it would be a senseless thing to anticipate
resolution of the Karabakh issue in Brussels, OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said today, speaking at the
sitting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers, "Trend" agency
reports.

The sitting, featuring Foreign Ministers of 56 member states, is
dedicated to the rise of effectiveness of the organization’s activity.

THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT PROCESS WILL RESUME: BAKU SEEMS UNHAPPY WITH THIS
By Gayane Movsessian

Yerkir.am
December 01, 2006

On November 28, the Armenian President Robert Kocharian met his Azeri
counterpart Ilham Aliyev at the Russian Embassy in Minsk. The Karabagh
settlement issue was discussed during this meeting.

The Minsk Group Co-Chair Segey Lavrov, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Carel
de Guht as well as the Armenian and Azeri Foreign Ministers Vardan
Oskanian and Elmar Mammedyarov participated in the meeting.

The two presidents had a confidential talk at the end of the
meeting. We do not know what they discussed. The Armenian Foreign
Minister made some general comments on the meeting.

According to him, during the tête-a-tête meeting presidents Kocharian
and Aliyev had noted the constructive nature of the negotiations
when they touched upon the provisions of the document around which
no agreement has been reached so far, ArmInfo informs.

"I cannot give specific assessment as to whether progress was made or
not, but both presidents appreciated the meeting both in terms of the
atmosphere and in terms of the constructive approaches taken. I think
the Armenian and Azeri leaders will analyze everything in detail in the
coming several days after which clear instructions will be provided to
the foreign affairs ministries as to further steps," Oskanian stated.

Commenting on the overall assessment of the Karabagh settlement
process in 2006 Oskanian noted that the general tendency has been
positive. Oskanian believes that even though no serious progress has
been made in the Karabagh settlement process, no regressive steps
were made either.

"I believe the negotiation process has not suffered in this period. We
can only wait and see what the further steps in 2007 will be. At this
stage, I will not talk about the contents of yesterday’s negotiations
but I can state that issues around which no agreement has yet been
reached were on the agenda during the negotiations," Oskanian stressed.

He believes the OSCE Ministerial Council to be held on December 4-5 in
Brussels will give an opportunity to summarize the developments of the
negotiation process in 2006. "A specific document has been circulated.

Elections will be held in Armenia in 2007, and in 2008 both Armenia
and Azerbaijan will have elections. This can have an impact on the
negotiation process in terms of the timelines but not the contents,
and I am sure that the negotiation process will not be disrupted,"
Oskanian concluded.

The Russian media note that the Minsk meeting between the Armenian
and Azeri presidents was preparation for another rendezvous between
the two leaders that is supposed to be held in December in Moscow
under the patronage of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Comersant newspaper states, "Baku says that the Minsk meeting can
yield some results if President Putin exerts the necessary pressure
on President Kocharian. In this case, the Azeri experts believe,
Aliyev might agree to Moscow’s demands not to support Georgia with
gas and electricity supply." However, the newspaper notes that these
issues will hardly be solved during the Minsk meeting. "The three
presidents will more likely agree to have another meeting of similar
format this time in Moscow," Comersant suggests.

Meanwhile, Zerkalo newspaper in Baku writes, referring to some
information sources, that if an agreement is reached around the
conflict settlement, Baku will demand to declare the constitutional
referendum in Nagorno Karabagh Republic invalid. The referendum will
be held on December 10.

It should be noted that no breakthrough was achieved during the
negotiations. The peaceful settlement process will continue, and this
in itself is an accomplishment. The international mediators have been
trying to convince the official Baku of the unacceptability of the
resort to military actions. Baku, however, does not want to dismiss
the possibility of a military solution.

A hysteric campaign has started in Azerbaijan around the statement made
by the US foreign policy expert, retired diplomat Wayne Mary. During
a speech at John Hopkins University in Washington Mary stated,
"Azerbaijan is recently seriously considering the possibility of
military solution to the Karabagh conflict. However, Azerbaijan’s
victory in such a case is impossible. Nagorno Karabagh is an infallible
fortress by itself that is made even stronger by the Armenian military
troops. Even the American army will have problems attacking it.

Pentagon shares this opinion. In terms of their military fitness,
the Armenian troops are significantly superior to the Azeris. It
is not a secret that Armenians have an army while Azeris only have
military forces. If military actions are restarted the Azeris would
only have to rely on human resources while Armenians can rely on
military superiority. In case of a war, Armenians would only have
to defend Karabagh, while Azeris would have to conquer the entire
territory of Karabagh, which is practically impossible".

Azeri officials have made no comments on this statement. However,
the head of the information policy and press agency of the Azeri
Foreign Affairs Ministry Tair Tagizade has noted, "If the potential
of diplomatic interaction is exhausted, I think Azerbaijan will have
to consider alternative solutions, and in this case the processes
of reform and improvement of the armed forces will play a serious
role. These processes are progressing rather rapidly in Azerbaijan;
the military budget significantly exceeds the Armenian military
expenditures."

We have already heard about this and unfortunately will have to hear
such statements in the future as well. Baku does not want to give
up its policy of threats and blackmailing. It is at least naive to
speak about compromises in such an atmosphere.

–Boundary_(ID_jqe4+FIk4etA8XNo2PE7uw )–

ARMED ATTACK

A1+
[12:19 pm] 29 November, 2006

On November 25, 2006, at about 00:30 a.m. near the cemetery of
Silikyan district two people attacked driver of taxi service "Golf"
Varazdat Hovhannisyan with knives and demanded money. The criminals
stabbed the driver and escaped with his car.

The car was found near house N27 on Estonian street. A criminal case
has been initiated. The police revealed the identity of one of the
criminals – M. Hovsepyan (b. 1984) living in Silikyan district.

M. Hovsepyan has been arrested. Measures are taken to find the other
criminal.

Preliminary investigation is under way.

PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Marc A. Mamigonian

LECTURE AT NAASR ON NEW ARCHIVAL EVIDENCE ON GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS AND
ASSYRIANS

Dr. David Gaunt, Professor of History at Södertörn University
College, Stockholm, Sweden, will give a lecture entitled "Massacres and
Resistance: The Genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians Based on New
Evidence from the Archives" on Thursday, December 7, at 8:00 p.m., at
the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
Center , 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA. This lecture, Gaunt’s first in
the Boston area, will be co-sponsored by NAASR and the United Assyrian
Association of New England.

The lecture will be based on findings from Dr. Gaunt’s
recently-published book Massacres, Resistance, Protectors:
Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I
(Gorgias Press, 2006), which will be on sale and available for signing
by the author.

NAASR Holiday Open House Before and After Lecture

Preceding and following Gaunt’s lecture, NAASR will hold its annual
holiday open house, featuring a special sale in NAASR’s bookstore,
refreshments, music, gift-wrapping, and slide presentation of highlights
from NAASR’s recent 50th Anniversary Celebration. The bookstore will
open at 6:00 p.m. and remain open until 11:00 p.m.

Dr. Gaunt will detail how the persecution of Armenian and Assyrian
Christian minorities was organized on the national and local levels in
places where Armenian and Assyrian populations overlap. Case studies
involve the Turkish occupation of Urmia and its surrounding villages,
the Assyrian tribes in Hakkari, the massacres of Armenians in Diyarbekir
and Mardin, the massacres of Syriacs in the hundreds of villages in Tur
Abdin, the successful armed resistance mounted by the villagers of Azakh
and Ayn Wardo, and the victory of Antranik’s Armenian and Assyrian
volunteers at the battle of Dilman.

Groundbreaking Archival Research

Gaunt’s work is based on unique access to hundreds of documents in the
archives of Istanbul and Ankara, as well as documents of Iranian,
Russian, Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, French, and German origin. Most of
these documents have never been published before. In addition, nearly
forty persons were interviewed about their experiences of the war
period. The Turkish documents confirm events and decisions of what was
believed to have happened, but for which evidence has been lacking. In
some ways the new documents fill in the blank spaces in the history of
genocide.

David Gaunt was born in London, grew up in New Jersey, and
moved to Sweden in 1968. He received a Ph.D. from Uppsala University.
He is currently Professor of History at Södertörn University College
in Stockholm, which is situated in one of Europe’s largest
concentrations of the Assyrian diaspora. He has previously taught at the
universities of Uppsala and Umeå. He has published ten books and over
one hundred articles, mostly on Swedish social history. In the field of
genocide research he has edited Collaboration and Resistance during the
Holocaust: Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (2004) and authored "At
Death’s End: the Genocide in Diyarbekir Province" in Armenian
Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa (Richard G. Hovannisian, ed.), as
well as articles in the journals The Assyrian Star and Hujådå.

The NAASR Center and Headquarters is located opposite the First Armenian
Church and next to the U.S. Post Office. Ample parking is available
around the building and in adjacent areas. The lecture will begin
promptly at 8:00 p.m.

More information about the lecture is available by calling 617-489-1610,
faxing 617-484-1759, e-mailing [email protected], or writing to NAASR, 395
Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

ARMENIAN ICE DANCERS WILL PARTICIPATE IN EUROPEAN AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 29 2006

January 18-28, 2007 in Warsaw Anastasiya Grebyonkina and Vazgen Azroyan
ice dancers of Armenia will participate in the European Figure Skating
Championship. The event will feature about 30 dance pairs.

According to the President of the Figure Skating Federation of Armenia
Samvel Khachatryan, our ice dancers will participate also in the World
Championship to be held in March 2007 in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AN ISSUE IN SWEDEN
by Afram Barryakoub

Spero News
Nov 29 2006

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has received an interpellation
from parliament demanding an investigation into finding of human
remains of genocide.

The finding of a mass grave in south eastern Turkey, believed to date
from the 1915 genocide of Assyrians and Armenians, and the Turkish
government’s silence regarding the finding has prompted a debate in
the Swedish parliament on the matter.

It was on October 17 this year that villagers from Xirabebaba (Kuru)
in southeastern Turkey came across a mass grave when digging a grave
for one of their deceased. The villagers took pictures of the skulls
and bones in the mass grave before Turkish military came and blocked
the site.

The villagers were certain that they had found remains of victims of
the 1915 genocide. The military personnel forbade the villagers to
tell anyone about the site and then closed it. Some of the villagers
chose not to follow the orders of the military and told the story to
a local newspaper who followed up on the story.

As soon as the military learned that someone has leaked this
information to the press, they pressed the villagers to give the
names of those responsible for this. Since then journalists trying
to get near the mass grave have been denied access by the military.

Turkey still denies that its Christian population of Assyrians (also
called Chaldeans and Syriacs), Greeks and Armenians were subjected
to genocides. That could explain why the Turkish state and most of
the Turkish media has remained silent about the finding.

But now one of Turkey’s most popular weekly magazines, Nokta,
has highlighted the mass grave finding with a cover story in the
latest issue with the main heading "Again acting the three monkeys –
a mass grave was found one month ago in Nusaybin and the jurisdiction,
execution and legislation bodies as well as the media are silent."

The writer, Talin Suciyan, accuses the Turkish state of turning a
deaf ear to the mass grave finding. "None of the three ‘powers’ of
our democracy, legislation, jurisdiction or execution made a move to
deal with the issue. And when the fourth power – the media – swept
the bones under the carpet (the Turkish) public remained completely
unaware of the issue." she writes.

In fact, the only Turkish group that has reacted to the finding is
the Turkish Human Rights Association who sent an open letter to the
ministry of interior calling for an investigation into the matter.

The mass grave finding has yet to enter Turkish politics but in Sweden
the matter has stirred up a debate on the highest levels, much due
to the efforts of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Association (ACSA).

The news about the mass finding was distributed by Tidningarnas
Telegrambyrå (TT), Sweden’s top news agency and was thereafter
published in several Swedish media, including the two leading morning
papers Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Svenska Dagbladet (Svd).

As a result of the above the mass grave issue has now entered Swedish
politics as MP Hans Linde from the left party recently submitted an
interpellation to the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, asking
for an independent commission of scientists and historians to examine
the findings.

The foreign minister must now ask the foreign ministry to launch an
investigation into the matter before he can respond to MP Hans Linde.

The response of the foreign minister on this issue is due to be
presented on the 12 of December before parliament.

–Boundary_(ID_MQv8klKZfIgavQOpcUzA3w )–

POPE SEEKS BROTHERHOOD IN HOSTILE TURKEY
Richard Owen in Ankara and Sam Knight

The Times, UK
Nov 28 2006

"No red carpet for the Pope" said one Turkish headline today – and
indeed there were no banners, portraits or flag waving crowds of
the kind you normally see on papal trips abroad as Pope Benedict XVI
arrived for the most hazardous and delicate trip of his pontificate
so far.

But equally, despite noisy protests against the Popes visit over the
past few days and threats of violence, the streets of Ankara were
also devoid of demonstrators, partly because of a ferocious security
clampdown by Turkish police.

The Pope stepped from his Alitalia plane to meet Tayyip Erdogan,
the pro-Islamic Prime Minister, wearing a heavy white topcoat which
may or may not conceal a bullet proof vest. Vatican officials admit
the question of whether he should wear one was raised, but that the
pontiff was reluctant to do so.

The Pope appeared to nod understandingly when Mr Erdogan, who only
agreed to meet the pontiff at the last moment, explained that he had
leave immediately for the NATO summit in Riga.

The two men then spoke for twenty minutes in the VIP lounge of Ankara
airport and appeared keen to dispel tensions that have surrounded
the Pope in the Islamic world since he appeared to conflate Islam
and violence in a speech at the University of Regensburg in September.

The Pope said that he wanted to visit Turkey to "reiterate the
solidarity between the cultures" adding: "It is a democratic, Islamic
country and a bridge… I wanted to come to Turkey since becoming
Pope because I love this culture."

Mr Erdogan, a moderate leader who told the Turkish parliament
that he expected the rest of the country to welcome the Pope "with
our traditional hospitality", affirmed the pontiff as a figure of
tolerance.

"I explained to him that Islam is a religion of love and tolerance,
and the Pope agrees with me," he said. "He too gave the message that
Islam is a religion of love and peace."

But the first misunderstanding was not far away. After their meeting,
Mr Erdogan told journalists that the Pope, who as a cardinal said
that admitting predominantly Muslim Turkey to the EU would be "a grave
error against the tide of history", had now told him he hoped Turkey
would join.

"He told me, ‘We want Turkey to be part of the EU,’" said Mr Erdogan.

"It is an honourable commendation."

Vatican officials offered a slightly different version, saying the Pope
had told the Turkish leader that the Vatican "views with favour the
steps Turkey is taking toward fulfillment of the requirements of the
EU body", and had stressed that the Vatican was not a political entity.

Despite the miscommunication, the Pope’s remarks on a trip originally
intended to reconcile Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox church
but which has been overshadowed by the wider unease surrounding
Christianity and Islam, managed to strike a conciliatory note from
the start.

That good impression was followed by his first formal act on Turkish
soil, the laying of a wreath at the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder
of modern secular Turkey.

At the huge granite mausoleum, high on a hill in Ankara, we watched
the Pope listen attentively to an account of Ataturk’s life and the
significance of the mausoleum as a focus of Turkish national unity
before he mounted the steps in brilliant winter sunshine to lay
the wreath.

As he did so the muezzin call to prayer drifted across the rooftops
of Ankara, as if to remind the pontiff that he is in a predominantly
Muslim country – and that quite apart from the political question
of Turkey’s relation with the rest of Europe, Turks are also looking
to him to make amends for Regensburg, when he quoted a 14th century
Byzantine emperor criticising Islam for its lack of reason and amenity
to violence.

In an early attempt to undo the damage, he told the President of
Turkey, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, that Christians and Muslims enjoyed "a
mutual respect" based on the importance they attached to the sacred
and "the dignity of the person".

The Pope also recalled that one his predecessors, Gregory VII, had
told a North African Muslim prince in the eleventh century that they
both worshipped "the one God".

Tomorrow, the Pope will make the first of a number of Christian
appointments on his visit, travelling to celebrate mass at Ephesus,
the ancient city where St Paul lived for three years and where the
Virgin Mary is said to have lived after the death of the Christ.

He will be based for the rest of his visit in Istanbul, where police
said today that all "the necessary measures and observations of the
route the pope (will travel)" had been taken.

In the official climax to the visit, the Pope will be welcomed
by Bartholomew I, the leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox
Christians, and, reflecting the Christian importance of Istanbul,
once the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, he will spend the next
two days meeting members of Turkey’s small Catholic community and
the leaders of the Armenian Orthodox church.

In Istanbul, Benedict XVI will also make the second papal visit to a
mosque, after John Paul II prayed in Damascus in 2001. And he will go
to the Haghia Sophia, the once Christian basilica that was converted
to a spectacular mosque but made a museum during the secular rule
of Ataturk.