Author: Nalbandian Albert

SENATE RETURNED TO THE PRESIDENT HOAGLAND’S CANDIDATURE AS US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

Regnum, Russia
Dec 12 2006

US Senate returned to the president Richard Hoagland’s candidature
as ambassador to Armenia. According to the charter, the Senate has
no right to consider candidatures, which were neither confirmed nor
turned down at sessions, until the president re-introduces them again
at next sessions.

As Washington office of Hay Dat, in January, when office of the
110th US Congress starts, the president can either introduce a
new candidature or insist upon Hoagland’s candidature or using the
interruption in functioning of the parliament appoint Richard Hoagland
without being appointed by the Senate. Otherwise, the post of the US
ambassador to Armenia will be vacant.

Armenian public was extremely negative on Richard Hoagland’s
candidature after the diplomat presumed to make statements denying
the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. But despite
protests of the Armenian public, particularly, some NGOs in Armenia,
Richard Hoagland’s candidacy proposed by President George Bush was
considered and approved. New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez spoke on the
issue saying that many, including the US president avoid assessing the
evil done in the beginning of the last century in Turkey as genocide,
and appointment of Hoagland can become a setback, which is not either
in interests of Armenia or interests of the Diaspora.

It is worth mentioning, that US embassy charge d’affaires in Armenia,
Vice Ambassador Anthony Godfrey announced at a news conference on
November 8 that "despite the fact that Armenian community is negative
on candidature of Richard Hoagland appointed as US Ambassador to
Armenia, the US government considers no other candidatures to the
post."

GARABAGH ‘REFERENDUM’ QUESTIONS PEACE TALKS, OFFICIAL SAYS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 8 2006

The so-called referendum in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region
under Armenian occupation, scheduled for December 10, questions the
negotiating process on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and once again
proves the insincere position of the Armenian side, an Azeri official
has said.

These plans represent proof that Yerevan is engaged in "playing a
multi-lateral game", the head of the President’s Office international
relations department, Novruz Mammadov, told journalists.

"But regardless of what games they play, they will not be able to win
and reap dividends. Some international organizations and countries
have already expressed their opinion to that end. The world community
will never accept this show being staged by Armenians as a serious
legal act," Mammadov said.

Upper Garabagh is an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a
1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated
30,000 people and ousted about a million out of their homes. The
peace talks are brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the
United States, Russia and France.

"NEW EVIDENCE LEADS TO THE LOCATION OF NOAH’S ARK"

WKRN Nashville Tennessee
December 1, 2006, 10:55 pm

People have been searching for Noah’s ark for decades.

For the first time, an expedition team has actually brought back
evidence that some feel proves the gigantic ship sits atop a 13,000
foot mountain in the middle east.

When Arch Bonnema shows people what he brought back from a summer
trip to Iran, there’s always shock and awe or skepticism.

Bonnema believes the samples his expedition team gathered, are evidence
of one of the greatest stories ever told.

"We found the remains of an enormous ship at 13,126 feet in the region
of the world that in Bible times was known as the region of Ararat."

The pictures, Bonnema says, shows petrified wood. Cut wood, boards
and planks and when his team sent the samples off to five independent
science labs, they got another surprise.

"On two of the pieces, when you cut them open, you find a sea creature
that had burrowed into the wood."

Their discovery didn’t come in the mountains of Turkey known as Mount
Ararat, but rather in the mountains just north of Tehran, Iran. The
bible says Noah’s ark came aground on Mount Ararat, Bonnema claims,
that’s because Mount Ararat was misidentified by Marco Polo, and they
found other evidence.

"There’s thousands, tens of thousands of sea shells. Everywhere you
lookthere’s sea shells. Salt-water sea shells all around it.

At 15,100 feet, we found what appears to be an altar. It has the burnt
wood which is petrified, lots of broken pottery and a rock formation
of being an altar."

All five independent scientific labs concluded that what they found
was the remains of an ancient ship. Still, others are skeptical that
this could be Noah’s ark. They either don’t believe the ark ever
existed, or don’t believe it could be recognized 6,000 years later,
but Bonnema is encouraged by the findings of another scientist who
looked at the evidence.

"He starts out the conversation by saying I’m not aChristian and I
don’t believe the Bible, but I thought you’d want to know that we
traced the DNA of horses and the oldest horses in the world come from
the same region where you found the ship."

Bonnema says there’s even more evidence they haven’t shared yet. He
promises we will hear from the scientists who looked at these samples
and see photographs and video of what they believe is an altar…when
they release a documentary next spring.

PRESS RELEASE December 6, 2006
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]

Embassy of Armenia Unveils Armenian Rugs Exhibit at the World Bank

The opening ceremony for the exhibition of traditional and contemporary
Armenian rugs was held in the World Bank in Washington, D.C., on December 6,
2006. The exhibition, organized by the Embassy of Armenia in conjunction
with the World Bank Art Program, showcases more than 30 ancient and
contemporary rugs woven in Armenia and Artsakh and is dedicated to the 15th
anniversary of Armenia~Rs independence.

The one-month-long exhibition will provide an opportunity to the
multinational staff of the World Bank, the high-level delegations visiting
the WB headquarters, members of the DC professional network and diplomatic
corps, and the general public to view masterfully woven pieces of the
millennia-old Armenian of carpet-making art and to read the materials on the
history and present of the Armenian heritage and culture.

Ambassador of Armenia to the U.S., Tatoul Markarian, high-ranking officials
and staff members of the World Bank and IMF, and representatives of the
Armenian-American community were present at the reception marking the
opening of the exhibit.

OSCE SAYS NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO BE RESOLVED WITHIN A YEAR

IRNA, Iran
December 5, 2006 Tuesday 12:58 AM EST

OSCE says Nagorno-Karabakh to be resolved within a year Brussels,
Dec 5, IRNA Belgium-OSCE-Nagorno-Karabakh Belgian Foreign Minister
Karel De Gucht who currently chairs the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Monday that a solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is "in reach within one year."

"We have made really substantial progress if not a breakthrough with
respect to Nagorno-Karabakh," de Gucht told a press conference in
Brussels Monday night following the end of the first day of the 2-day
OSCE ministerial meeting.

The Belgian foreign minister said he has held several meetings with
the Presidents of both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"The trust between the two countries has grown considerably," he noted.

On other "frozen conflicts" in former Soviet states such as Abkhazia
and South Ossetia regions in Georgia, in Moldova , de Gucth said no
text was possible because of Russian opposition.

"There is a clear refusal on the Russian side even to discuss it.

No text possible," he said.

Foreign ministers from the 56 OSCE member states are holding their
annual Ministerial Council in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday.

The OSCE is a western security organisation founded in 1973, which
is concerned with conflict prevention, election observing and the
rehabilitation of post-conflict areas.

ARMENIA’S MILITARY FOR CLOSER TIES WITH NATO

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Dec 6 2006

YEREVAN, December 6 (Itar-Tass) – Intensification of Armenia-NATO
cooperation "is an imperative of the day aimed at counteraction to
challenges," Armenian Defense Minister, Secretary of the National
Security Council Serzh Sarkisian said at a meeting with the head
of a delegation of the European Commission in Armenia Per Eklund
on Wednesday.

"Relations with NATO are one of the components of Armenia’s national
security," the minister said. According to the minister, "involvement
in the European neighbourhood policy was the turning point in Armenia’s
relations with the European Union."

He stressed the importance of the republic’s plan for actions within
this policy’s framework adopted on November 14 and the activities
of the President Robert Kocharyan-led coordination commission for
relations with European structures.

NOVELIST ORHAN PAMUK RETURNS TO TURKEY FOR 1ST TIME SINCE WINNING NOBEL PRIZE

Associated Press Worldstream
December 1, 2006 Friday 1:21 PM GMT

Novelist Orhan Pamuk returned on Friday to Turkey for the first time
since winning the Nobel prize for literature, and he said the award
would not change his life.

"I am attached to my desk, to writing, to working and to my old
habits," Pamuk told journalists at the airport. "I will continue to
be the novelist Orhan that you all know."

Pamuk, a fellow at Columbia University in New York City, was in the
United States when he won the prize in October.

He said he would stay in Istanbul for three or four days before
traveling to Stockholm, Sweden with his daughter, to receive his prize.

Pamuk, author of novels such as "Snow" and "My Name is Red," was
tried earlier this year on charges of insulting his country.

He was tried after a group of ultra-nationalist lawyers accused Pamuk
of the crime of "insulting Turkishness" after the novelist told a
Swiss newspaper that "30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians were
killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it."

The charges were dropped over a technicality.

The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, is pressing the
country to change the law, which has been used to charge Pamuk and
dozens of other writers, academics and journalists.

KARL DE GUCHT: PROGRESS IN SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT THIS YEAR

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 4 2006

"Progress was made in the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict in
2006," Karl De Gucht, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign
Minister said during the meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Brussels,
APA Western bureau reports.

He said that the problems concerning Nagorno Karabakh and other
frozen conflicts will be discussed at the two-meeting of Foreign
Ministers.

OSKANIAN HOPES FOR NO UN RESOLUTION ON NAGORNO KARABAKH
By Nursun Erel, The New Anatolian

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 4 2006

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that Armenia doesn’t
see the "genocide issue" as a precondition to normalize relations
with Turkey, but called on his Turkish colleagues to remove all their
preconditions too.

As a successor of the Soviet era, said Oskanian, Armenia recognizes
all treaties including the Treaty of Kars, but he claimed the Turks
are the ones violating the agreement by keeping the border closed.

In his exclusive interview to The New Anatolian, Oskanian also pointed
to the historical city of Ani as a good step for mutual cooperation
and asked Turkey to open the border at least for visitors to the
city. Oskanian also told us that Orhan Pamuk’s two most recent books
are on his desk and he will start reading them soon.

Our appointment with Foreign Minister Oskanian was on the day after
our appointment with Yerevan State University students was cancelled
by the personal initiative of University Rector Aram Simonyan, so when
Oskanian brought up the Armenian press’ great interest in our visit,
I had to tell him about the cancellation too. Here’s what Armenia’s
top diplomat had to tell us during our interview in his office in
the Foreign Ministry building:

OSKANYAN: From what I see in all the newspapers, you’ve become a star
in Yerevan!

TNA: Well I doubt it, because yesterday I was supposed to meet
with journalism students at Yerevan State University but the rector
cancelled our meeting.

OSKANYAN: Why?

TNA: From what I heard, he finds my opinions a "virus" that I could
infect the students with, so he cancelled the meeting.

OSKANYAN: Well, I’m sorry to hear that and certainly that isn’t good,
and I don’t think he made the right decision.

Missed opportunities

TNA: So thank you very much for your kindness in receiving me here for
a second time, because back in 2001 I had another chance to interview
you. But I can’t say that I see much change in Turkish-Armenian
relations. What’s your view of this?

OSKANYAN: That’s a pity and it’s very unfortunate really because
we’re missing huge opportunities with every passing day. Turkey
is classically not raising any option to see those opportunities
and unfortunately doesn’t want to establish diplomatic relations
equally with all three Caucasus nations and play a more constructive
role. So that opportunity was missed. The second opportunity
has come out as closer cooperation with the European Union. At
the same time that Turkey is negotiating its EU accession, today
Turkey has the opportunity to play a role as a bridge between the
Caucasus and Europe. That opportunity is also is being missed,
but the biggest opportunity that we’re missing is the interaction
between our two peoples. Fifteen years have passed (since Armenia
declared its independence in 1991), and no interaction is seen on
the border. Our peoples don’t know each other well and old memories
are being reinforced, our focus today is the wrong focus. We’ve got
to focus on new relations, open borders, establishing diplomatic
relations and that’s what I mean by saying missed opportunities.

TNA: Recently some people in Turkey have said that the government
should seek arbitration in an international court on the issue of the
events of 1915. What do you think of this? (NURSUN: I MEAN GOING FOR
ARBITRAGE AM I RIGHT TO WRITE THIS WAY? LET NAZLAN HAVE A LOOK)

OSKANYAN: For us, there’s no court case, we’ll never talk about
this, because we grew up with the real evidence, our parents and
our grandparents. That living evidence of this tragedy, survival
of genocide, I’m the son of one them. So for Armenians there has
never been an issue where we ourselves have to prove this by going
to court, that this genocide happened. The question for us is to get
a political solution. Because the issue is neither historical nor
legal, it’s political. And Turkey has politicized this by pursuing
a policy of denial at the state level. So the real issue isn’t legal
but political and it’s between the governments of Turkey and Armenia.

Genocide recognition no precondition

TNA: Last week after your President Robert Kocharian visited Greek
Cyprus, I read your statement to Agence France Press saying that the
genocide issue would no longer be an obsession or dominant issue for
Turkish-Armenian relations. Could you elaborate on that?

OSKANYAN: I’ve always said and will continue to say that. Genocide
recognition isn’t a precondition. It’s an issue that’s there and
won’t go away, it’s our moral obligation to pursue recognition. But
that shouldn’t impede the normalization of our relations. As long as
the Armenians don’t say that unless Turkey recognizes the genocide we
won’t normalize our relations, Turkey shouldn’t say the reverse, that
Armenia should drop the complaint of genocide. Neither side should put
any preconditions. We pursue recognition; Turkey is pursuing policies
of denialism. I really cannot see the reason why the borders cannot
be opened, so that our people would interact. That certainly would
create more favorable conditions, so that we can address those issues
in a more constructive manner at the government level and create new
memories that certainly will create a more constructive manner.

TNA: But do you think it’s democratic to punish someone who argues
against the genocide thesis?

OSKANYAN: But is it democratic to punish those in Turkey who say the
events of 1915 are genocide?

Article 301

TNA: Do you think it’s a crime to say this in Turkey?

OSKANYAN: But the law is there, Orhan Pamuk, Hirant Dink (a
famous novelist and an ethnic Armenian writer-editor both charged
under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, TCK, for "insulting
Turkishness"), and the others. What I’m trying to say here are two
things: One, Turkey isn’t in any position to criticize the French
Parliament’s decision (in September, passing a bill criminalizing
denial of the genocide allegations), second, the French Parliament’s
decision is a reaction to the Turkish denialism. It is as simple as
that. That has come as a community request, so that the law will be
passed. But the French parliamentarians did it in reaction. If you
listened to the arguments before the vote, the main issue was your
Article 301. I was listening to the debate, and every single speaker
said it’s because there’s Article 301 in Turkey. So it’s a reaction.

Because the frustration among the Armenian people is the fact that
the events 1915 are denied. And every Armenian would say that it’s a
fact that genocide denial hurts. And it’s natural that Armenians will
react the way they were reacting. They will go to the parliaments of
the countries they’re living in and try to past these similar laws, and
some parliaments will listen to their citizens and the laws will pass.

TNA: Do you think the wording is that important, even though everyone
thinks that 1915 was a real tragedy and everyone must be sorry
for that?

OSKANYAN: No, certainly it’s, it’s important… We’ve got to call
things by their names, you can’t just devalue what happened. Because
as we speak, there are similar acts that are being committed. That
is a whole study, if you say that this is a criminal act, then there
would not have been the scholarship on genocide. It’s a convention,
it has a clear definition and it has become a science.

TNA: Even Turkish journalists are very critical of Article 301. If
it were changed or eliminated altogether, do you think it would
be positive?

OSKANYAN: You know the positive step will be when Turkish scholars
will step out, and once they are all outspoken and have no more fear
to call things by their names, we will see it. That will make for
more healthy discourse without fear of punishment between Turkish
scholars. So there will be more exchanges of ideas, more seminars,
more conferences, and Armenians will be invited too. So that taboo
will be removed when 301 is removed. I’m not saying that without
recognition the Armenians will be satisfied, but we will create
the normal conditions. We have to find a democratic environment for
this discourse.

Pamuk’s novels

TNA: Have you read any of Orhan Pamuk’s novels?

OSKANYAN: Well, actually I have "Istanbul: Memories and the City"
and "Snow" on my desk so I’m planning to read them soon.

TNA: But they haven’t been translated into Armenian, so will you be
reading them in English?

OSKA: I think they will be translated soon, but for now I’ll be
reading them in English.

TNA: When we were talking about positive steps to be taken, some in
Turkey say that the Armenian Constitution has articles referring to
your Declaration of Independence which speaks of "Western Armenia,"
meaning Turkish territories. And they also bring up how the Armenian
Republic has yet to recognize the Treaty of Kars (which defines the
Turkish Republic’s eastern borders).

OSKANYAN: The Treaty of Kars is in force as far as I’m concerned.

Because Armenia is a successor in recognizing the Soviet treaties.

And as long as any treaty hasn’t been renounced officially or replaced
by a new one, it has been in force. But the problem is that the
agreement has been violated so much by the Turkish side. If a legal
expert looks at this agreement and the way it’s been implemented,
I’m not sure if the legal experts would conclude that this is a
valid treaty. The violation is from the Turkish side, (because of)
having closed its borders with Armenia, and this is a violation of
the Treaty of Kars.

Armenian Constitution

TNA: And what of the Armenian Constitution referring to the Declaration
of Independence?

OSKANYAN: First of all let’s be correct, it’s not the Constitution,
but the Constitution makes reference to our Declaration of
Independence. The Declaration of Independence has one phrase that if
we look carefully I don’t think it reflects what you think it does.

If you read it carefully, word for word, maybe you should look at it.

It’s a general statement about our past, not necessarily a statement
about our future claims.

TNA: Earlier this year I visited Akhdamar Island in Van and had the
chance to see the perfectly renovated Armenian church there. Do you
think the Ani ruins in Kars could also be renovated through a joint
initiative? Our culture minister told me they don’t have the budget to
do this, but that the Armenians wouldn’t allocate money either because
they have their own economic difficulties, and the Armenian diaspora
wouldn’t be interested because they have other issues to deal with,
meaning their efforts to provoke world parliaments against Turkey.

OSKANYAN: Tell me if the Turkish government will agree to make Ani
a common visiting ground for Armenians and Turks. The money would
certainly come from international organizations. That would be an
ideal confidence-building measure between Armenia and Turkey, an
ideal cooperation between our two peoples. It’s a common history.

It’s on your territory; it’s been our historic capital. It can be
a common visiting ground for tourists from both sides. I’ve been
suggesting this to the Turkish governments. Open the borders, so that
at least we can visit Ani. We can simply start with no Armenians
or Turks, but with foreign visitors who carry foreign national
passports. Imagine, you have tourists from America coming to Turkey
and they can come to Ani, cross the border and go to Armenia and
vice versa is possible too. But there’s a wall there, an imaginary
wall that Turks have erected, and that’s very unfortunate. Ani can
be a symbol of our cooperation and we call on Turkey to revise its
position on this issue, but there’s been no response.

TNA: If there isn’t even agreement among the world’s leading historians
and experts on the 1915 tragedy, what was wrong with Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan’s call last year to set up a joint committee of
historians and experts to deal with the issue together?

OSKANYAN: I’ve got to be very honest with you here, we think it’s
not a genuine proposal, it’s a smokescreen for Europeans to think
that Turkey has made a positive step. Let me explain why we think
it’s a smokescreen.

Because of three reasons. One, there’s already such a commission like
many Turkish scholars, Armenians and foreign scholars have debated
the issue, they have discussed the issue and they have declared their
position. Those scholars wrote a letter to Prime Minister Erdogan
when he issued this invitation and they said: Mr. Prime Minister,
that issue has been already studied by different scholars and the
conclusions are very clear. It is a genocide, so there’s no need
for further discussion. And second, with the law within Article 301,
you can’t be serious about such recommendations. I guess that if your
scholars are on the commission, study this topic, they can’t accept
that it’s a genocide. This is what it is. You have 301, that says if
you say there’s a genocide or even discuss the issue of the events of
1915, you can be punished. It’s not compatible. Then today there’s a
vacuum between the Turkish and Armenian governments, between those
two states, because there’s no diplomatic relations. The border is
even closed. So how do you imagine creating that commission among
historians? How will they meet? Where? How will they interact? So
there are many problems to be dealt with correctly.

TNA: Do you believe that someday a Turkish government will admit that
Turks once committed genocide? If not, and if this issue remains a
stubborn obstacle freezing Turkish-Armenian relations, do you see
any way out in the future?

OSKANYAN: The way out isn’t to set preconditions before each other.

This is the way out. The rest will run in its normal course. Turkey
is willing to become an EU member so all those laws, limiting society
will be eliminated eventually, so the path towards a more healthy
discourse will be opened, even to discuss the genocide. So now the
task isn’t to put forth any preconditions. And it’s very unfortunate
that many opportunities are being missed. So that we can’t normalize
our relations.

TNA: You’ve had many face-to-face meetings with our Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul, so why do you think no concrete steps have followed?

OSKANYAN: We started very well with him but then things backtracked
because of the preconditions. Karabakh, genocide and the rest of it.

Once Turkey understands that its strategic interests are more
important than their narrow ethnic interests, I believe things will
change. Today unfortunately Turkey is being guided by Azerbaijan’s
demands, by their Azerbaijani brothers’ narrow ethnic interest,s but
Turks don’t understand that there are broader interests, regional
interests that are good for Turkey, good for the region and good for
Europe. Turkey uses these opportunities to become a bridge between
East and West as it always claimed to be. Between the East and West,
between the Caucasus and Europe.

TNA: The last time I was here I came across a long line in front of
the American Embassy and I learned that every day dozens of families
are leaving Armenia. Now, coming back here five years later I asked
about the situation, but some people joked that there aren’t many
people left in Armenia so there aren’t any lines. How do you see the
future of your country?

OSKANYAN: I’m very optimistic about Armenia’s future and that the
future can be achieved much quicker if we have normal ties with Turkey
and Azerbaijan.

TNA: Would you also like to say some words about Nagorno Karabakh
and why the UN resolutions on it haven’t been implemented by your
government?

OSKANYAN: The UN resolutions are absolutely unhelpful. First there’s
no UN resolution yet and if it happens I believe it will hurt the
process. But if you mean the Security Council resolutions, which put
obligations on both sides, I believe that Armenia has done much more
on behalf of itself, but I can’t say the same for the Azerbaijanis.

TNA: So do you have any message to the man on the street in Turkey?

OSKANYAN: We have to change this status quo, we have to normalize
our relations without any preconditions.

MGR FRANCESCHINI: TURKS ARE MISSING POPE

AsiaNews.it, Italy
Dec 4 2006

The president of the Turkey’s bishops’ conference told how after
Ephesus, Benedict XVI "could at last be a religious leader through
and through" and how he won people’s hearts. And there were evident
signs of communion with the Orthodox Patriarch.

Ankara (AsiaNews) – Thanks to his gestures in Turkey in last week’s
visit, the Pope has managed to overcome the attitude of hostility
that many awaited him with. This is what Mgr Ruggero Franceschini,
president of Turkey’s bishops’ conference and the archbishop of
Smyrna, told AsiaNews. The archbishop accompanied Benedict XVI from
the very first steps of his journey in Turkish territory. Three days
after the pope’s departure from Istanbul, he is still taking in the
climate of joy and satisfaction. There are many signs, small and big,
of a climate of relaxation and serenity. Mgr Franceschini said: "I
am an optimist by nature but I am not one to be deluded. I looked in
the eyes of people many times, and every time I found expressions of
sympathy for the Pope. I cannot deny how tense the Holy Father himself
was in Ankara, during the political diplomatic meetings; it was the
spiritual immersion in Ephesus, especially as he took in the display
of affection and goodwill by the people, which calmed him. At last,
from being a political leader, a role that is not really his and
that certainly embarrassed him even if it was undertaken very well,
he could be a religious leader through and through.

Immediately, as soon as the Eucharistic celebration at Mary’s house
was over, he could exclaim joyfully: ‘Now I feel I can speak freely
and that I can express all my faith in God, I do my part and he
will do his.’" The archbishop continued: "I can truly say that I
saw him abandon himself into the hands of God and that this voyage
turned out to be a great success. The welcome from everyone was
especially marvelous, starting from his descent from the Mountain of
the Nightingale where Meryem Ana is situated. There were many people
– obviously Muslim, including many veiled women – who rushed to the
sides of the road so they could see and greet him. It was a popular
manifestation that offered, in all simplicity, a humane welcome of
reconciliation, and it enabled one to forget the other manifestation
against the pope, the gathering in Istanbul on the Sunday before
his arrival. Christians then took heart: this encouragement, this
reawakening, was needed, especially by Christians in Smyrna, who
do not have big problems to face as do Christians in other parts of
Turkey. But they tend to rest on their laurels; faith is no longer the
deepest dimension of their lives. They were roused by the Pope who
reminded them of the example of Don Andrea who wanted to be a seed
and who shed his blood in this land." Mgr Franceschini continued:
"Even the attitude of the civil authorities has been interesting:
some – with evident political intent – sought to gain the support
and sympathy of the Pope, even to the extent of affirming things
that Benedict XVI had not said. But others allowed themselves to be
led by their hearts, like the vice prime minister and various chief
officials and mayors, who were infected by people’s enthusiasm.

The mayor of Smyrna was exemplary, he affirmed that this was a great
day for him, and some civil leaders who went to shake the Pope’s hand
in Ephesus were hard pressed to keep back their tears of emotion.

Religious authorities also showed respect and esteem. The religious
affairs chief amazed people. After his hard words about the speech
in Regensburg, he had the courage to say there was the need to work
together for peace and dialogue, forgetting the past… But the Muftì
of Istanbul was still warmer and more affectionate as he welcomed
Benedict XVI in the Blue Mosque with such simplicity and sympathy.

The shared prayer was the right ending for a meeting between wise
people who are careful to pay mutual respect. It was no coincidence
that they exchanged the same symbol: a dove, sign of peace."

"The Orthodox, then, were affectionate in every way; they put
everything at our disposal, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate turned
out to be a welcoming and open environment where people from all the
world merged together, including the Korean metropolitan with many of
his faithful. They came from so far away precisely to underline their
communion with Patriarch Bartholomew I and the Pope. I was amazed,
finally, at the large crowd that gathered at the Armenian Patriarchate
and there too, by the warm welcome shown by the stupendous Armenian
choir." The president of the Turkish episcopate said: "This was the
most beautiful success of the visit: the Pope managed to win over the
hearts of all. A comment by a television journalist Mihat Bereket was
significant: "The unwanted Pope has become a Pope we will miss!" Mgr
Ruggero added optimistically: "We cannot tell now what the fruits of
this visit will be, but certainly this new esteem for Pope Ratzinger
will serve to give birth to something positive and lasting."

–Boundary_(ID_40g2wPkPqf92IJgSh6k r/w)–