Author: Nalbandian Albert

Armenpress

PRESIDENTIAL AIDE SAYS MANY OPPOSITION FORCES LACK
SUPPORTERS

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS: An aide to
president Kocharian on national security issues said
today many opposition forces clearly understand they
have no chances at all to win a seat in the National
Assembly, ‘not because the polls will be rigged, but
because they lack supporters."
The aide, Garnik Isagulian, who is also chairman of
a minor party called National Security, alleged that
is why these forces are already accusing the
authorities of plotting to falsify the May 12
parliamentary elections ‘to justify their imminent
failure." Isagulian’s opinions were rejected by Aram
Manukian, a senior member of the former ruling
Armenian National Movement., who argued that the
opposition’s chances to win seats in the next
parliament ‘ are very big now."
Manukian said the opposition should build their
election campaign on political and economic failures
of the current administration. Manukian said he wanted
very much Armenia’s first post-Soviet president Levon
Ter-Petrosian to come back to politics and fight for a
seat in the parliament. But he said he did not have
information whether the ex-president has such
intentions. "Levon Ter-Petrosian is not the man that
can be talked back into big politics. He should wish
it himself," Manukian said, adding that Ter-Petrosian
is the person that is capable to bring together the
entire opposition.
Manukian said his Armenian National Movement is
negotiating a possible alliance with some opposition
forces, adding that it will team up with the
Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party of Aram Sarkisian.

University of Arkansas Daily Headlines, AR
Jan 31 2007

Translating the World of ‘Skylark Farm’

Thanks to a new translation by the University of Arkansas’ Geoffrey
Brock, the novel called an ‘Armenian Schindler’s List’ is now
accessible for readers in English.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Geoffrey Brock’s translation from Italian of the
debut novel by Antonia Arslan, brings the story of her family’s
struggle for survival in the Armenian genocide to the
English-speaking world. The Kirkus Review calls Skylark Farm an
"Armenian Schindler’s List." The Bloomberg reviewer praised the
"impressive subtlety" of Brock’s translation of Arslan’s "powerful
account."

Brock is assistant professor of creative writing and translation in
the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the
University of Arkansas.

In the prologue to her novel, Arslan remembers herself as a small
child savoring the names of relatives who lived all over the world.
She thinks of Arussiag in Beirut, Zareh in Aleppo, Nevart in Fresno
and Michel in Copacabana as travelers.

In fact, they are among the few survivors from her family of the
Armenian genocide of 1915, and she uses bits of memories to write a
novel that tells their story and the story of those killed. Arslan
grew up in Italy, the granddaughter of an Armenian who was living in
Venice at the time of the genocide. The men and boys of his family
back home in Anatolia were killed one night in May and buried beneath
the tennis court of the family’s country house, Skylark Farm.

Brock, an award-winning translator of other Italian authors, seeks to
recreate the literary experience of a work in translation. In the
case of Arslan’s novel, even the translation of the title was a
question. In Italian, the novel’s title is La Masseria delle
Allodole.

"It was a difficult title to translate," Brock said. "The word
‘masseria’ refers to a kind of farm, though it isn’t the standard
word for farm. And in the novel, it’s used specifically to refer to a
house that presumably used to be a farmhouse but is now really a
country house. I strongly considered The House of Skylarks as a
title, but the phrase in Italian has a strong rustic overtone that I
wanted to maintain."

Acknowledging the many who helped reconstruct that tragic time,
Arslan thanks "all the gentle, daydreaming Armenians who, in Milan
and Rome and the world over, welcomed me and nourished me with
ancient images and unforeseen kinship and gave me the gift of
treasured memories."

Brock noted that the novel has been very popular in Italy and is
being made into a film by Italian directors, the Taviani brothers.

Brock received the 2006 Lewis Galantière Award from the American
Translators Association for his translations of Umberto Eco’s novel,
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. In 2006, he also received the
John Frederick Nims Memorial Prize from Poetry magazine for his
translation of a poem by Giovanni Pascoli. His current projects
include an anthology of 20th century Italian poetry, for which he
received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005, and a second collection of
his own poems, tentatively called Voices Bright Flags.

The American edition of Skylark Farm is published by Alfred A. Knopf,
New York.

###

Contact:

Geoffrey Brock, assistant professor, creative writing and translation
J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
(479) 575-4238, [email protected]

Barbara Jaquish, science and research communications officer
University Relations
(479) 575-2683, [email protected]

GRIGOR HAROUTIUNIAN CONSIDERS AUTHORITIES TO BE GUILTY OF ELECTORAL
FALSIFICATIONS, AND SEYRAN AVAGIAN CONSIDERS DISTRICT COMMISSIONS TO
BE GUILTY

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. All the elections in Armenia were
falsified according to testimonies got from the President’s
residence. Grigor Haroutiunian, a board member of the People’s Party
of Armenia, the Secretary of the National Assembly "Ardaroutiun"
faction stated about it at the January 31 press conference.

In his words, three components: legislation, atmosphere of confidence
and authorities’ political will, are necessary for holding free and
just elections in Armenia. While the authorities which did everything
during the 2003 elections to break the people’s belief towards
justice, do not intend to hold just elections today as well. Quoting
data of the surveys held by the U.S. Galap Institute, he mentioned
that 80% of the population is sure that no just elections will be
held.

In the opinion of Seyran Avagian, the LDUA Chairman, RA President’s
Advisor, not the authorities but electoral commissions are responsible
for the process of elections. In his words, "events take place at
district commissions, and the numbers come falsified from there."
Responding the question especially which political parties do it,
S.Avagian mentioned that neither pro-ruling nor opposing forces "yeild
to such a temptation."

S.Avagian mentioned that there is no strict separation of opposing and
pro-ruling forces in Armenia today. In his words, during a short
period of time after the independence, Armenia was able to get rid of
two extreme forces: left extremism which was represented by
communists, and right extremism in the person of the Armenian National
Movement. In S.Avagian’s words, there is a great arena today in the
political field the forces existing in which will have success if they
are able to present a serious political plan.

PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

February 1, 2007
___________________

BISHOP AYKAZIAN SPEAKS ON IMPORTANCE OF ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern) and president-elect of the National
Council of Churches (NCC), spoke to a crowd of 700 people at the National
Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 29, 2007.

He spoke at the cathedral during the opening worship service for the
National Workshop on Christian Unity, which is gathering in Washington this
week. Bishop Aykazian’s message built upon the theme for this year’s
National Workshop on Christian Unity: "Ephphatha" (Be opened!).

It was a unique opportunity for an Armenian to address such a large
non-Armenian gathering at the National Cathedral, an Episcopal sanctuary
chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1893.

Before speaking, the legate was introduced by the Rt. Rev. John Chane,
Bishop of Washington, who spoke about the importance of Bishop Aykazian’s
ecumenical efforts.

Below are the remarks delivered by Bishop Aykazian at the National
Cathedral.

* * *

"A Call to Action in a Suffering World"

Thank you, your grace, for that kind introduction. I’m very touched and
blessed to have been given such an opportunity to speak to you in this
marvelous cathedral. And thank you, participants of this workshop, for your
warm welcome. It is good to see so many familiar faces and an honor to be
among so many friends – old and new. I can think of no other place I would
rather be than here in Washington with you, my brothers and sisters of the
National Workshop on Christian Unity. We meet at a time when the unity of
the universal church is vital to our common ministry. In spite of the fact
that we live in a time of unprecedented information, prosperity, and
freedom, we are faced everyday with the reality of incredible tragedy,
divisiveness, and suffering.

How can we explain and try to understand this paradox? How is it possible
that in this Age of Information, which has transformed the world into a
global village, we have become immunized to the great suffering around us?
Why are the blessings of human dignity confined mostly to the well-to-do?
Are we quick to forget that love and forgiveness are rooted in the
recognition of the rights and dignity of others?

The prosperity and freedom that we enjoy today have come at a heavy price.
The last century was the most violent in history. The extent of man’s
inhumanity to man has left a legacy that we have yet to fully confront.
Genocide, poverty, and curable diseases are moral, ethical, political,
economic, and spiritual challenges we face today. Time and again, in
societies with diverse cultural and religious heritages, individuals and
populations have been persecuted and have suffered often at the hands of
their own government. Many have been left without a voice in a world where
the loud and powerful often get the most attention.

The massacre of 1.5 million Armenians during the First World War and its
denial opened the door to a century of senseless bloodshed: the Holocaust of
the Second World War, the killing fields of Cambodia, the forced famines in
the Soviet Union and China, the slaughterhouse of Rwanda, and the ethnic
cleansing in Bosnia. Today, the words "never again" must ring hollow to
those suffering the same cruel fate in Darfur. Similarly, in an age of
technology and innovation, extreme poverty and inequality remain endemic in
many parts of the world. While we have more billionaires on earth than at
any other time in history, more than one billion people lead a subsistence
life. While we enjoy the benefits of medical advances here, HIV/AIDS has
decimated generations of people on the African continent. In our own
backyard, more than 45 million Americans remain without health insurance and
are at the mercy of a system that continues to punish the uninsured.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must give voice to the needs and
suffering of those who remain voiceless in our world. Our Lord and Savior
showed us the way. When all others feared a man with leprosy, He touched
and healed the man’s disease because he knew that the leper’s faith was
greater than his despair over the sickness. He broke bread with tax
collectors and others considered sinners to teach us not to judge because we
are all sinners in the eyes of God. He forgave those who persecuted him in
order to teach us that before we can beseech God’s forgiveness, we must
first learn to forgive one another.

In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 22, verses 36 through 40, He was clear in
his instructions. When asked: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment
in the Law? Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." This is the
foundation of our ministry, whether we were ordained many years ago, or we
are studying to be ordained in the near future, like some of you here today.

I stand before you, my brothers and sisters, as a humble servant of the
Armenian Apostolic Church – a church that is one of many in the great
Orthodox tradition that dates to the earliest Christians. Most Americans
from the Orthodox Christian tradition immigrated to this country in more
recent times. They came seeking the same opportunities and freedoms that
earlier Protestant immigrants sought during our country’s founding years.

My ancestors received the Good News of our Lord through the teachings of
Saint Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew. Later, they became the first nation
to adopt Christianity as the official religion in 301 A.D. They paid a very
heavy price for that conversion throughout the years through invasions,
occupations, forced re-conversions, massacres, and martyrdom. However,
faith in our Lord sustained us, especially during the darkest days of the
Genocide.

Even though our ecclesiastical traditions vary, the bonds that unite us are
far stronger than any differences that divide us. The teachings of the
Sermon on the Mount are as powerful and meaningful whether you read them in
Armenian or English. The cross serves to remind us of our Lord’s obedience
and unconditional love – the foundations of His ministry during his time on
Earth. Regrettably, we have too many distractions in our
information-overloaded world that draw us away from these basic teachings.

Political expediency and commercial marketing have reduced the meaning and
majesty of our Lord’s love to powerless sentimentality. However, only
through His Love and Grace can we speak with a unified voice, which can
serve as a clarion call in our troubled world. When we place love and hope
above greed and fear we can give voice to the voiceless. Only then will we
realize that true power comes from the humility of unconditional love.

The Sermon does not say "blessed are the peaceful." No. It says, "Blessed
are the peacemakers." Therefore, our faith is not passive, but a call to
action in a suffering world. That is who we are and where we stand. This
is our message here and to the whole world.

How do we respond to a world in need of voices that will be heard? What is
our response to the forces of envy, greed, and terror?

We begin by offering hope through the majesty and mystery of faith.

We continue by uniting behind the meaning of the cross to serve our Lord and
carry on His ministry.

We persevere by proclaiming that expressions of faith are meaningless if
they are not spoken with the recognition of the rights and dignity of
others.

We succeed by responding to a world in need of a clear voice by first
speaking with humility and love in order to counter the hatred and suspicion
that has poisoned much of our discourse today.

What lurks behind the apparent evils of our world, whether it is disease,
poverty, or Genocide, is something much worse and more devastatingly
powerful. The greatest force opposing improvement, the greatest force that
shackles men in their destitution and failing conditions, the greatest force
that chooses Sparta over Calvary is the evil of despair. This is our
adversary and our plague.

My hope is that we resolve to give voice to the voiceless and work together
to overcome this plague in our world. My prayer is that we speak with a
unified voice through the power of hope and the strength of His Love. Let
us dedicate ourselves to this purpose and fulfill our duty with humility and
love.

Thank you and God bless you all.

— 2/01/07

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), speaks at the
National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 29, 2007, during
the opening worship service for the National Workshop on Christian Unity.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Armenia
14, Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010, Armenia
Tel: +374 10 56 60 73 + 121
Mob: +374 91 43 63 12
Fax: +374 10 54 38 11
E-mail: [email protected]
URLs:

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT: Aramazd Ghalamkaryan
E-mail: [email protected]

NINE OUT OF TEN RESPONDENTS CONSIDER CORRUPTION A PROBLEM OR A BIG
PROBLEM IN ARMENIA

31.01.2007

Yerevan, Armenia

Nine out of ten citizens consider corruption as a problem or a major
problem in Armenia. In addition, nine out of ten respondents stressed
that free and fair elections is one of the solutions to improve the
anti-corruption situation in Armenia.

These findings were presented today in Yerevan, Armenia, at the
presentation of the "2006 Corruption Perception Survey in Armenia"
publication.

The survey was conducted in July-December 2006 by the Center for
Regional Development/Transparency International Armenia (CRD/TI Armenia)
with the support of UNDP Armenia Office, and the results were presented
by the Chairwoman of the CRD/TI Armenia Ms. Amalya Kostanyan.

The event brought together public figures, representatives of NGOs and
international organizations, as well as mass media. Ms. Consuelo Vidal,
head of UN and UNDP in Armenia, Mr. Vladimir Pryakhin, head of OSCE
Office in Armenia, Ms. Bojana Urumova, Representative of the Council of
Europe in Armenia, and Ms. Anna Aghadjanian, representative of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia were key speakers at the event.

Transparency International Armenia has carried out a similar survey in
2002, and analogous survey questionnaire was developed in 2006 to ensure
comparison with the previous data.

The results of the 2006 survey indicate that citizens of Armenia are
still very much concerned about corruption. Nine out of ten respondents
view corruption as a "problem" or a "major problem" in Armenia.
Meanwhile, 40% of the respondents consider corruption as "crime" and 12%
– as an "immoral behavior".

In 2006, nearly five times more interviewees (68%) than in 2002 (14%)
stated that corruption has always existed in Armenia. The majority of
interviewees (64%) believe that the level of corruption has increased
during the last three years.

Most people both in 2002 and 2006 still think that bribery and abuse of
public office for personal gain are the main manifestations of
corruption. They still believe that the state authorities are those who
mainly initiate corruption and that more corruption occurs in the high
level of the Armenian government system.

However, the responses concerning the most corrupt institutions
(structures) have changed since 2002. While the prosecution system was
mentioned again in 2006, the Prime Minister’s Office and the courts that
were mentioned in 2002 were replaced by the Prime Minister and the
Ministers in 2006.

As to the most corrupt sectors and services, the traffic police are
still perceived by the public as very corrupt (68%). In addition, the
majority of respondents selected the electoral system (74%) and the tax
service (63%) as most corrupt, while in 2002 the military and health
sector were given similar marks.

Whereas the majority of the 2002 respondents thought that the main
causes of corruption are poor law enforcement, imperfect legislation and
inefficient control and punishment mechanisms, in 2006 an increased
number of interviewees were inclined to see public tolerance as one of
the major causes of corruption in Armenia.

According to the findings of the 2006 survey, 70% of the public is not
aware about the Anti-Corruption Strategy, 85% – about the
Anti-Corruption Council and 91% – about its Monitoring Commission, as
well as about Armenia’s international obligations in the fight against
corruption (84%).

While prioritizing the solutions to improve the current situation, nine
out of ten respondents pointed to a necessity of ensuring free and fair
elections.

They also referred to strengthening law enforcement (94%) and punishment
of those involved in corruption (92%) as a key to the success of
reducing corruption in the country.

Both in 2002 and 2006, the majority of interviewees continue to believe
that the President of the country could play a determining role in
reducing corruption in Armenia. More than half of the respondents felt
that people themselves cannot do anything.

In 2006, 40% of the respondents said they could not justify corruption
at all. In 2006, 50% of respondents answered that they would not take
bribes since it is unacceptable for them, whereas in 2002 only 17% of
the respondents were of the same opinion.

The publication will be available on website soon.

* * *

For further information please contact:

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
14, Petros Adamyan Street, Yerevan, 0010, Armenia.
Tel.: (+37410) 566 073, Fax: (+37410) 543 811.
E-mail: [email protected];
Website:

and/or

Center For Regional Development/ Transparency International Armenia
5 Nalbandyan St., Rooms 35/38, Yerevan 0010, Armenia.
Tel: (+37410) 585 578, 526 914, Fax: (+37410) 585 578.
E-mail: [email protected];
Website:

January 31, 2007

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

WESTERN PRELACY RELOCATES TO THE NEW BUILDING

We are pleased to announce to our faithful that the renovation
project of the Western Prelacy has concluded and we are in the process of
moving to our new offices located at 6252 Honolulu Avenue in La Crescenta,
91214.

Regular office hours will officially resume at the new building
on Monday, February 5, 2007. Our hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We
will keep our faithful informed of the upcoming official opening ceremony.
The following is the contact information for the Prelacy
offices:
Tel: 818-248-7737/8 Fax: 818-248-7745
Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

WESTERN PRELACY DIVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net

Erdogan: Dink’s murder could be linked to upcoming presidential election
30.01.2007 17:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his
government would deal with the Hrant Dink murder case effectively and
that the investigation into the case would continue at full speed. Two
top officials in Trabzon, where Dink’s suspected murderer Ogun Samast
comes from, were removed from the office last week and Erdogan implied
that more officials could be removed from their posts in other
provinces. Asked if the Dink murder could be linked to the upcoming
presidential election, Erdogan said, `That’s possible,’ Today’s Zaman
reports. The premier also noticed that changes in election time are
possible. Asked whether parliamentary elections, scheduled for
November, could be held at an earlier date, Erdogan said changes in
the date were possible. `What we want is to have a democratic,
undisputed election and get the results as soon as possible,’ he said.

Turkish Daily News
Let’s not fool ourselves: Ethnic nationalism is alive
January 30, 2007
php?ed=3Dcengiz_aktar

In the past there were two concepts in these lands called ‘sin’ and
‘shame.’ It was even a tradition to not to speak of massacres and
pains, not out of forgetting them, but out of shame and respect. But
today cursing a man who lost his life makes only a few of us
embarrassed

CENGÄ°Z AKTAR

Since the murder of Hrant Dink, anger has been expressed in various
ways. The silent march of Jan. 23, which people from all walks of
life joined, was a genuine demonstration. Citizens expressed their
sincere feelings. However this was no turning point. This was not a
reaction which was shared by the whole country, from east to west. I
wish it had been.
This was rather a consolidation of those who shared the humanistic,
democratic, open-minded and self-confident worldview that was
represented by Hrant Dink, but who are also on the way to
extinction. It was the instinctive gathering of a herd which lost a
member to hunting hyenas. Just as is the case in game parks…
Let’s not confuse these lands, whose inhabitants go between servitude
and fatalism, with the France of ’68. The nascent civil society of
Turkey can only advance if it finds the strong and dedicated support
of the state and politics behind it. Just the way it happened during
the European Union reforms from 2002 to 2004. Other than this basic
fact what has been done in order to
transform the healthy reaction into politics?
Nationalism came back rapidly:
First the state and politicians fled the funeral in haste. Let’s
consider the insincere approach of the politicians as a calculation
for the coming elections. What shall we say about the president, who
only sent a dreary wreath to the funeral despite the fact that he will
probably leave the Turkish political scene for good in a few months?
After that, the turning `Armenian’ of a very limited part of society
for a single day was abhorred in the name of national sensitivity. At
the time the murder outraged the whole world, theprime minister, at
the Kızılcahamam camp of the Justice and Development Party (AKP),
flatly rejected the warning of Ayse Böhürler, a member of the
AKP’s executive committee, on the nationalist wave. He instead noted
how the rhetoric of transforming the PKK into a political party has
destroyed the True Path Party (DYP) and reaffirmed the route of his
party accordingly.
The government continued to postpone the abolition of Article 301, as
it has been doing for months. It did not even talk about our history
books that are based on exclusion and the general attitude vis-Ã -vis
non-Muslim minorities.
With the customary reasoning, `You can’t make me say that nationalists
are killing people,’ the government welcomed nationalist votes on the
eve of elections. Because it knew that, to be elected, it had to
embrace the phenomenon called `nationalist sensitivity,’ which is so
widespread and dominant in society due to its molding with nationalist
ideology following the military coup of 1980. Therefore although this
murder is of a political nature and is relevant not only to the past
but also to the future of this country, it won’t be approached by the
government as something more than a law enforcement case.
Moreover, the country soon will face the `anti-Turkey’ dimension of
the matter with the `genocide’ bills in France and the United
States. The dominant rhetoric will use these developments – I can see
statements like,`if Hrant were alive, he would get angry,’ from now –
to turn the reaction, anger and sadness of today in the opposite
direction. This would sweep aside the anger felt towards the Dink
murder and consolidate the process of Turkey’s closing itself to the
world.
The deep state at work:
Actually the atmosphere is already changing. I have been following the
flow of events since Hrant’s killing. I listen on the bus, the
dolmus. I note the nationalist zeal that went to ground for just a
few days but came back without delay. The supporting chants of last
Wednesday while the killers were taken into the Besiktas
Criminal Court; the chic photo of the killer taken in front of the
slogan, `the homeland is sacred, it can’t be left to its fate’; the
threats that came to AGOS and the churches in Kadıköy and Samsun;
the victory cries in Internet sites; and the mumblings of the timid
supportersof the crime with words like, `They also wronged us during
the Ottoman times, they killed our diplomats more recently…’
In the past there were two concepts in these lands called `sin’
and `shame.’ It was even a tradition to not to speak of massacres
and pains, not out of forgetting them, but out of shame and
respect. But today cursing a man who lost his life makes only a few
of us embarrassed.
Let us not forget that we are living in an environment similar to the
Germany of the 1930’s…

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 30 2007

Police detain three more people in Hrant Dink murder

Police have detained three more people in connection with murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in the Black Sea province of
Trabzon and sent them to &#304;stanbul for interrogation, the
Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

Two other people were detained on Monday in connection with the
murder. Several people, including the suspeected murderer and a
person who confessed to inciting the murder, have been arrested and
sent to jail already.
Dink was shot dead by a 17-year-old gunman from the Black Sea
province of Trabzon on Jan. 19 in a murder that shocked Turkey.
Reports said the police were warned a year ago about a plot to murder
Dink, the latest suggestion authorities may have failed to act to
stop the killing.
The report, carried by several newspapers, comes after the government
dismissed the governor and police chief in the Black Sea province of
Trabzon, where the main suspects come from. The government has sent
two inspectors to Trabzon on the northern coast to investigate
whether police and civilian authorities were at fault.
`There has been a tip-off that a man called Yasin Hayal, who lives in
Trabzon, has said he will come to &#304;stanbul and kill Hrant Dink,’
daily Sabah quoted a letter sent from Trabzon to Ankara’s police
intelligence headquarters.
A national police spokesman could not confirm the report.
`I can’t say whether it is true or false. We are waiting for the
report from two investigators sent to Trabzon. They are in full
charge of this investigation,’ spokesman &#304;smail
Çal&#305;&#351;kan told Reuters.
Sabah and another newspaper, Milliyet, said one of the suspects
charged in connection with the murder was an informer who had told
police another suspect was planning to murder the high-profile
journalist.
Hayal has admitted to inciting the murderer, Ogün Samast. Trabzon
police passed on the warning to Ankara’s police intelligence
headquarters and &#304;stanbul police in February 2006.
That was the same month an Italian Catholic priest was killed in
Trabzon, which the Turkish media said was carried out by a youth
influenced by Islamist and ultra-nationalist ideas. Since Dink’s
murder the government has been criticized for failing to deal with
extremist groups.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo&#287;an said on Tuesday that Turkey
had paid a heavy price for not cracking down on what he called the
deep state — a term which refers to secretive nationalist elements
in the powerful Turkish army and bureaucracy — comments linked to
the Dink investigation.

Panorama.am

19:57 30/01/2007

MAY 12 ELECTIONS TO DECIDE FATE OF ARMENIA

`These elections may not only be regular but decisive,’ Shavarsh
Kocharyan, National Democratic Party leader, told a press conference
today.

In his words, Armenia was going to `authoritarian, individual based
system’ but the process has been stopped in the course of the last two
years. Therefore, the elections on May 12 will decide the fate of
Armenia – towards a rule of law, democratic country or to an
authoritarian state. `For the first time in Armenia, there was a
change to shift the power from the center of authorities – the
president to a political body – the parliament,’ he said.

Kocharyan believes parliamentary elections are more important that
2008 presidential elections. He said Armenia cannot take the path of
Middle East countries especially that there are people who will go
`after ideas and not money.’

Source: Panorama.am