Author: Nalbandian Albert

HISTORIAN HALACOGLU REFUSES TO RESIGN

BÝA
Aug 22 2007
Turkey

In a press briefing following his controversial comments on Kurds,
Alevis and Armenians in Anatolia, historian Yusuf Halacoglu has refused
to heed calls for his resignation. He argues that his comments were
misunderstood.

Historian Yusuf Halacoglu, who is president of the Turkish Historical
Society (TTK), has arranged a press briefing in order to defend his
controversial comments on the ethnic make-up of Turkey.

Refuses to resign

Rejecting calls for his resignation, Halacoglu said, "I, Halacoglu,
did not do this research because I am president of the TTK. I am a
historian. I have not had a phone call from the government."

He emphasised that his comments had been misinterpreted: "I did not
reject [the existence of] Kurds, I said the following: ‘Some who
believe themselves to be Kurds are shown as Turkmens in 16th century
records. Is that saying there are no Kurds? I [also] did not say that
Kurdish Alevis are Armenians. There are Armenians who pretended to
be Kurdish Alevis in order to escape the forced emigration. Being is
different, pretending to be is different."

2,287 Kurdish tribes registered

Halacoglu said that as a scientist he based his claims on documents
and said that he had done research on the roots of the Anatolian
peoples for years. He rejected accusations of racism, saying that
he has the names of Kurdish tribes on his computer: "Look, there are
2,287 Kurdish tribes here. If I am racist, why did I write them down?

Alright, if I had said there were no Kurds, there are [only] Turkmen,
that would be different."

"Armenian Patriarch is my friend"

The historian recounted that he was being asked where the 1.5 million
Armenians who used to live in Anatolia were today. He described it
as the duty of scientists to research where they were:

"I researched this. I did not research according to Armenians, Kurds,
Turks. It was I who found the Armenians who were said to be dead. The
Armenian Patriarch Mesrob is my friend."

Halacoglu had also referred to a famous Turkish actress and singer,
Hulya Avsar, who has talked about her Kurdish roots. The historian
had denied her claim, saying that she was really of Turkmen origin.

In his press briefing, he referred to Hulya Avsar’s mother’s insistence
that they were Kurdish by saying: "She says they are Avsar. That
is the biggest lineage of the 24 Oguz. But let her say what she
wants."

–Boundary_(ID_knk7XboHXXu7RWRYg NiCTg)–

ARMENIA FOUNDATION EXPERTS VISIT LORI REGION

Lragir.am
22-08-2007 13:29:44

Armenia Foundation is dynamically working on expanding the Rural
Development Program from Tavush to the rest of Armenia’s regions. Vahe
Aghabegians, Armenia Foundation’s executive director, and a group
of experts of the Foundation visited the region Lori which includes
Armenia’s northern border, the public relations department of Armenia
Foundation reported.

The first stop was Vanadzor, the administrative center of the region,
where the deputy regional governor introduced the current state of
the region’s rural communities. Once the biggest supplier of yellow
cheese to the entire Soviet Union, Lori suffered a sharp economic
decline in the early years of independence. Potato used to be one of
the staple crops in the region but when there was irrigation and when
the villages had tractors, good roads and natural gas. Now, an average
family has a cow, produces just enough wheat and potato to get through
the year and lives off remittance from relatives working abroad.

The next stop was the town of Tashir, and where the executive director
met with Khachig Doumigian who runs the cheese and meat manufacturing
enterprise. Mr. Doumigian said the region has a great potential for
both industries but people need economic assistance.

In the village of Norashen, Armenia Foundation was able to find
out about Lori’s current problems firsthand. In line with many other
issues, a major concern for the Norashen community is the poor quality
of telecommunication. "Why pay the bill every month if we can’t make
or receive calls?" complained the residents.

With a population of 271, the village of Ardzni was one of the
smallest communities the experts of Armenia Foundation visited. The
village shares most problems of the other villages in Lori and the
Armenian rural communities in general: severed trading links, absence
of infrastructure and investments.

"In our present situation makes the rural population leave the
village", said the mayor of the village. With no cultural center and
library Ardzni has almost no social life. Many have left for Russia,
others are looking to sell their houses and join their relatives
abroad.

GEORGIA RESUMES RUSSIAN GAS TRANSIT TO ARMENIA VIA RESERVE PIPE

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire, Russia
August 21, 2007 Tuesday 2:53 PM EET
TBILISI

Georgia has resumed Russian natural gas transit to Armenia via a
reserve pipeline, a spokesman for the Georgian International Oil and
Gas Corporation said Tuesday.

Gas transit was suspended on August 20 due to planned repairs along
the Georgian stretch of the North Caucasus – Trans-Caucasus pipeline.

The repairs are continuing, but this is not hindering Russian gas
transit to Armenia, the spokesman said.

The repairs are expected to last approximately a week, the Georgian
International Oil and Gas Corporation said Monday.

ONE-TIME AID ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

KarabakhOpen
21-08-2007 10:15:15

The government of Nagorno-Karabakh provides one-time aid on the 16th
anniversary of independence on September 2.

According to the government order, the disabled of World War II and
likened persons will get 16 thousand drams, the participants of World
War II will get 13 thousand drams, persons likened to the participants
of World War II will get 11 thousand drams, the widows of soldiers
who got killed in World War II will get 11 thousand drams.

The participants of the war in Karabakh in 1991-1994 will get one-time
aid as well. The families of soldiers who got killed in defending
Nagorno-Karabakh will get 16 thousand drams, the disabled of war,
as well as military servicemen who got disabilities after the war
will get 10 thousand drams, sole pensioners will get 5 thousand drams.

All in all, 7238 people will get one-time aid. The total sum is 90090
thousand drams. These categories get one-time aid three times a year –
on New Year, May 9 and September 2.

Jewish groups pressure the ADL

Urge recognition of genocide

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | August 21, 2007

Local Jewish groups rushed yesterday to sign a letter urging the
Anti-Defamation League to acknowledge the massacre of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks as genocide, increasing pressure on the ADL after it
fired its New England director for endorsing the emotionally charged
position.

Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Greater Boston, e-mailed a letter yesterday to some 40
prominent Jewish leaders in Massachusetts, asking them to support the
ousted director and to recognize the genocide against Armenians.

"We must never forget the Armenian genocide and maintain our guard
against those who deny its occurrence," the letter said.

Within hours of sending the letter, Kaufman said that 11 groups had
signed and that more were expected to do so shortly.

"I have never gotten such unanimous support for any position by the
JCRC asI have in the last few days on this one," Kaufman said. "It
doesn’t matter where people are on the political spectrum — left,
right, middle — people are really standing behind this because it
strikes at the core of what it means to be a Jew and never again means
never again."

Signers of the letter include the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the
Russian Community Association of Massachusetts, the Hillel Council of
New England, the Bureau of Jewish Education, and the David Project
Center for Jewish Leadership.

Kaufman said her group, which represents 41 Jewish organizations,
unanimously approved a resolution in 2005 calling the massacre an act
of genocide. "We just felt we needed to be on record," Kaufman
said. "We needed to be in solidarity and in support of the Armenian
community locally."

The rift opened last week after the Town Council in Watertown, home to
8,000 Armenian-Americans, voted unanimously to pull out of an ADL
program calledNo Place for Hate. The town was protesting the ADL’s
refusal to acknowledgeas genocide the slaughter of 1.5 million
Armenians by Ottoman Turks starting in 1915 in what is today Turkey.

After the vote, the ADL’s New England director, Andrew H. Tarsy, who
had initially defended the ADL’s position, said the massacre was
genocide. Then hewas fired by the national ADL.

The ADL’s national director, Abraham H. Foxman, said the ADL has no
official position on the genocide issue. But it does not support US
legislation that would affirm the genocide label.

In an open letter, the ADL has called the bill pending in Congress
"counterproductive" and said the organization, founded in 1913 to
fight anti-Semitism, worried what effect it would have on Jews in
Turkey.

The controversy has since drawn in Jewish leaders across the region,
not all of whom are in agreement with the local ADL. Grand Rabbi
Y.A. Korff, a chaplain of the City of Boston, said the local chapter
made a mistake in breaking ranks with its national leaders, who he
said are better suited to assess "very sensitive international and
diplomatic nuances and ramifications."

"As with any organization, you can’t have different chapters going
their own way, and basically that undermines the national
organization," Korff said in an interview from Jerusalem. "In my view,
the essential issue is how doesa national organization make these
decisions, and who is in the best position to make these decisions."

Barry Shrage, president of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, said he
supports Tarsy and the local ADL. "I think that Andy and the board of
the local ADL did the right thing and did what they thought was right,
and in this case, the local organization is a lot closer to what needs
to be done than the national is," Shrage said in an interview from
Jerusalem.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in West Roxbury,
said the local ADL was standing up in the tradition of its late former
leader, Leonard P. Zakim, for whom the bridge over the Charles River
is named. "I think the ADL national has made a huge mistake, and even
if they explain that there’s political and organizational issues, we
as a community ought to stand for the moral high ground," Penzner
said.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

IRAN, ARMENIA INK SPORTS MEMO

Mehr News Agency, Iran
Aug 20 2007

TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) – Iran and Armenia signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the sports sector in Yerevan
Monday.

The memo was inked by Iran’s Vice President and Physical Education
Organization Head Mohammad Aliabadi and Armenia’s Minister of Culture,
Youth and Sport Armen Gregorian.

Aliabadi is paying a visit to Armenia to hold talks with officials and
to attend the opening ceremony of 14th World Armenians Sports Olympiad.

The visiting official conferred with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian Monday.

ACTIVIST SAYS GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES SEEK TO "INTIMIDATE" ETHNIC ARMENIANS

EurasiaNet, NY
Aug 20 2007

The editor of an Armenian-language newspaper published in Javakheti
[predominately ethnic Armenian-populated region in southern Georgia]
and co-chairman of the Virk party has described as groundless the
Georgian Defence Ministry’s assertion that radioactive materials were
discovered at the vacated Russian military base in Akhalkalaki.

[Mels] Torosyan said that reports about the discovery were aimed at
intimidating the ethnic Armenian population that lives near the base.

Law-enforcement bodies reported two days ago [as heard; should be on
16 August] that an arsenal [of live munitions] and the radioactive
substance caesium had been discovered at the base.

AN OFF-TOPIC DAY
By Berk Cektir

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 15 2007

I am on the way back to Istanbul from Van (pronounced similarly to
the English word "one"). The city is located in Turkey’s East and
is a border city near Iran. I went to Van for business but was able
to take some time off and visit the beauties of this sacred city. I
would like to write a bit about Akdamar Island and the stunning old
Armenian church. The city was first founded by the Urartians (1000
B.C.). Van Citadel was first built by Sardur I, the Urartian king,
in the ninth century B.C., is 80 meters above the lake level and
extends 1,800 meters from east to west, 120 meters from north to south.

The church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van represents one of the most
sublime examples of Armenian religious architecture. The church was
built by the architect Bishop Manuel between 915 and 921 A.D.

Constructed in a cruciform plan (cross-shaped) and with a conical
roof domed on the inside, the building is made of red tufa stone
brought to the island from distant quarries.

The outside walls of the church are very beautiful, and the reliefs
depict Biblical scenes with Adam, Eve, Abraham, David and Goliath
and Jesus, as well as themes from daily life. You can also feel the
influence of ninth and 10th century Abbasi art. The interior church
walls are also decorated with frescoes with religious themes.

My companion during the visit to the island was an executive at
a restoration company who told me the original bell of the church
had been lost but that he found it with the help of an unbelievable
coincidence in Turkmenistan. Now there are efforts being made to
bring the bell back to the church.

I am totally amazed by the city and recommend you visit it soon.

Now let’s go back to legal matters. As most of my readers know,
I choose to write about real estate law and private real estate
investments in particular.

The first reason for such preference is the presumption that most of
my readers are involved in some kind of real estate transaction or
private investment in Turkey, and I am trying to satisfy the needs of
my readers. However I sometimes receive very sophisticated questions
about company law and/or stock exchange matters. These questions
convinced me to revise my schedule of articles, and I will be writing
about some corporate matters in the coming days.

The second reason for writing about company law is the fact that
I am actually a corporate lawyer who specializes in mergers and
acquisitions. In other words, I cannot resist the call of the wild…

Some of my readers may find this very complicated or very specific,
but don’t forget that you never know what kind of information you
might need. A bit of information about specifics of company law may
be very handy for your private investments.

I’m sorry I used the space today writing about irrelevant issues. I
will finish the second part of this article and begin with information
for shareholders of Turkey’s companies tomorrow.

Goodbye.

NOTE: Berk Cektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer
questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> The names
of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic
legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed
attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely
on the information in this corner.

‘NATO SHOULD FORCE ARMENIA TO ACHIEVE PEACE’

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Aug 15 2007

* Vahit Erdem: We will struggle against injustice against Azerbaijan
till the end

NATO Parliamentary Assembly first Vice-President, Turkish parliament
member Vahit Erdem’s interview to APA’s Turkey bureau

-You added experience of working in political and international word
to your experience in public administration. Turkish media outlets
do not conceal their intentions to see you in the post of Defense
Minister. Have you received any hint regarding this from the Prime
Minister?

-I have not received any information. Prime Minister forms the Cabinet
of Ministers. He involves those he could work in close cooperation
with to the Cabinet. I do not think someone knows something at
present. Everyone is busy with presidential election.

But I know that Prime Minister is dealing with forming a new Cabinet.

-You resisted unfair attacks on Turkey in the international arena.

You said to the face of Armenian parliament speaker in Yerevan that
pulling out troops from Azerbaijani territories is inevitable. Can
we say that AKP government will continue its severe policy against
Armenia?

-I have always stood against unfairness everywhere. We will struggle
against the injustice against Turkey’s brother Azerbaijan’s until we
achieve a result. We regard Azerbaijan as our state. Azerbaijan’s
problem is ours. We will struggle together with Azerbaijan against
Armenia’s aggression and achieve to end the unfairness. There is no
other way out. Everyone knows that Armenia’s continuing to occupy
Azerbaijani territories in the 21st century is unacceptable. We would
not like to be in hostile relations with Armenia. However, Armenia
should first of all try to establish good relations with Turkey and
refrain from unfairly accusing Turkey in the international arena.

Armenia should pull out its troops from Azerbaijani territories
unconditionally. If it does this, it can establish better relations
with us and Azerbaijan as well. Armenia is doomed to remain in
isolation in the region until it reconciles with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

-Armenian Foreign Minister condemned NATO for not forcing Ankara into
opening Turkish-Armenian borders.

-NATO should force Armenia first to achieve peace. First of all,
we have to solve the major conflict then care about details.

– How does Turkey manage to fight PKK terrorism?

-Sooner or later Turkey will succeed in that issue as well. Because,
we are very strong. We do not want to cause some international
problems. We try to solve the conflict by means of international
consensus. We are pleased with Iraqi Prime Minister’s regarding PKK
as terrorist. There is trilateral mechanism to fight terrorism among
the US, Turkey and Iraq. We will solve the conflict sooner or later.

Despite the fact that some Kurd groups make statements in Northern
Iraq they would not be able to overcome the US-Turkey-Iraq trilateral
mechanism.

PAVING OF YEREVAN’S STREETS 92% COMPLETED

Panorama.am
21:05 15/08/2007

The ongoing process of paving the streets of Yerevan is 92%
complete. As informed by the press service of city hall, the work
will be completely finished by September. To reach this deadline,
workers have a 3-tired graphic, as ordered by the mayor of Yerevan
at the most recent planning session.

We remind that this is in accordance with the planned conclusion date
of September 15, excepting the bridge at the corner of Tigran Mets
and Khanjian. That construction will last until October.

Starting tomorrow, work on the roads and bridges will begin, along
with work on the Baghramyan-Kievyan and Kievyan-Orbeli intersections
and on the "Artsakh" and "Freedom" boulevards. A list of expenses
has already been discussed and approved.

According to available information, cracks in the streets will also
be filled by the agreed-upon deadline. Additional workers will be
used to be able to complete the work on time.