Author: Nargizian David

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
February 1, 2007 Thursday

Armenia is not going to join NATO – defence ministry

The Armenian Defence Ministry said on Thursday that the republic is
not going to join NATO.

“The task of the membership in NATO is not set in Armenia’s foreign
policy agenda,” the ministry’s press service said on Thursday.

The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies will hold
a seminar in Armenia on February 5-7.

Some of mass media said, citing the center, that Armenia’s joining
NATO is to be discussed at the meeting.

“This does not correspond to reality and does not ensue from the
spirit of Armenia’s individual partnership with NATO and from the
interests of the republic’s relations with the Marshall center,” the
Defence Ministry said.

AZG Armenian Daily #018, 01/02/2007

Turk-Azeri Affairs

MEMORIAL OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH FRIENDSHIP NOT TO BE ERECTED

"Trend news agency, referring to the Azerbaijani
Embassy in Turkey, said that the Ambassador of
Azerbaijan in Ankara Zair HAshimov, on his visit to
Kars" met with the Governor Mehmet Ufuk Erden, the
commander of the 14th mechanized brigade, Erjan Okan
and the Head of municipality, Naif Elibeioghlu. At all
the meetings, the Ambassador informed his
interlocutors of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh.
Three representatives of Turkey have assured the
Azerbaijani Ambassador of impossibility of opening the
Turkish-Armenian border. During negotiations, it has
succeeded to achieve the stopping of erection of a
monument in the center of Kars devoted to the
friendship between Turkey and Armenia, a decision made
by the municipality of Kars.

Turkish Daily News , Turkey
Jan 30 2007

What Others Say
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Do you know these facts?:

by Emin PAZARCI, Bugün

Turkey has been arguing about Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) for days. What is this article about? Why do they want to
change it? Here’s what it says: Insulting Turkishness, the republic,
the Parliament, the government, the judiciary, military and security
agencies is punishable with a jail sentence from six months to two
years.’ The article also says, `Expressions of thoughts meant to be
criticism cannot be subject to judicial review.’ It is rather
obvious that Article 301 does not ban expressing a thought. It only
regulates insulting or denigrating these institutions. This is the
article they want removed. What is more, similar articles existent in
the penal codes of many European countries. Let’s take a look at who
wants it removed. A demonstration was held in Yerevan following the
killing of Hrant Dink. Only Armenians joined this demonstration,
which protested against Turkey. The protesters unfurled banners
demanding that 301 be abolished. There was another demonstration
organized by the Armenian diaspora, known for its activities against
Turkey, in France on Jan. 27. Participants of that demonstration were
also against 301. In 1970s and 1980s, Armenian militants killed 40
Turkish diplomats abroad. Yerevan didn’t even condemn these murders.
Nobody from Armenia participated in the funerals of our martyrs. On
the contrary, the Armenian government encouraged and praised the
terrorist organization Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of
Armenia (ASALA) in its statements. The Armenians, which blame us all
as Turks, occupied the Karabağ region of Azerbaijan. Some
Western countries aided them and they committed mass murders there.
The West, which pressures us to remove 301, doesn’t even move a
finger when it comes to Yerevan’s occupation of Karabağ. Turkey
is accused of having closed the Armenian border. Armenia on the other
hand demands part of our territory. It does not recognize the Turkish
borders which it wants opened. In addition, it adds the genocide
allegations against us. The West is walking over us when they should
be walking over Armenia. We should view discussions regarding
Article 301 in light of these facts. Only then can you see why they
want 301 to be abolished!

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 26 2007

ARMENIA’S PREMIER GRADES MINISTRY OF JUSTICE "EXCELLENT" IN 2006

YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Prime Minister gave an
"excellent" grade to the RA Ministry of Justice in 2006, RA
Government’s Public Relation Department said.
RA Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan reported that one the
important events of last year was the conference of CE Ministers of
Justice held in Yerevan. The conference discussed the protection of
victims’ interests, status and rights.
Harutyunyan said that the task groups elaborated the legislation
package on bankruptcy and the draft judicial code, which were
introduced to the National Assembly.
The Minister pointed out that the bill "On Prosecutor’s Office" is
being drafted.
The report introduces the work performed by all the Ministry
subdivisions. In particular, the department of judicial and legal
reforms worked out the amendments to a number of laws to harmonize
them with the RA Constitution. The control department worked out a
package of bills on accelerated prosecution for ensuring the second
stage of reforms of the RA Prosecutor’s Office.
Harutyunyan said that the Service of Enforcement of Court Decrees
introduced an e-mail system in all the regional departments, and
AMD145.5mln worth property was sold by means of forced electronic
auctions during the last few months of 2006.
Harutyunyan said that, under a credit program of judicial and legal
reforms, the buildings of minor courts were put into service in the
Arabkir, Kanaker-Zeytun and Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan, as
well as in Echmiadzin, the Armavir region. The construction of the
minor court in the Shengavit community of Yerevan is over. L.M. -0–

ARFD HAS REAL CHANCES FOR SUCCESS AT MAY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN
ARMENIA

Yerevan, January 29. ArmInfo. ARF Dashnaktsoutyun has real chances to
achieve serious results at the May parliamentary elections in Armenia,
says the member of ARFD bureau Hrant Margaryan.

"I am sure that ARFD will not be in minority," says Margaryan. He notes
that the party’s ticket will consist mostly of well-known politicians.

Margaryan is not going to run for a parliamentary seat. As regards the
single-mandate system, he says that ARFD objects to this system and is
not going to focus on it during the elections.

Margaryan says that Deputy DM Artur Agabekyan may be included in the
party’s ticket, of course, after his resignation. As regards the
possibility of his nomination for Defense Minister after the elections,
Margaryan says that it is early to speak about it yet. He says that
Armenian FM Vardan Oskanyan has not applied for ARFD membership but if
he does ARFD will consider his application.

PRIME MINISTER ASSESSES 2006 ACTIVITIES OF RA URBAN DEVELOPMENT
MINISTRY AS "SATISFACTORY"

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2006, about 54 million 200
thousand drams (about 148 thousand USD) was transferred to the state
and community budgets as a result of bringing the activities of
urban development subjects to the legal field. By the annul report
submitted by the RA Ministry of Urban Development on January 25,
last year 761 persons received apartment puschase certificates at the
expense of state budgetary resources, 74 of whom got an apartment or
residential house.

According to the report, in 2006, the packages of master plans of
29 urban and rural communities were developed and then approved
by the Armenian government. The ministry continued the process of
creating a single system of normative and technical documents on urban
development, as well as inventory or construction of areas adjacent
to 4 major highways of the country was done.

The RA prime minister instructed the ministry to examine the
implementation of the 2005-2006 program of providing refugees with
apartments. He also instructed to increase control over the seismic
resistance of builings and constructions and the observation of urban
development norms.

The prime minister assessed the 2006 activities of the RA Ministry
of Urban Development as "satisfactory".

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Jan 22 2007

Turk and Armenian: Hrant Dink and Talat Pasha Murders

Monday , 22 January 2007

View by Sedat LACINER (U.S.A.K.)

Hrant Dink is the first and the only Armenian victim murdered by a
politically-motivated Turk in the history of the Turkish Republic. We
hope it’s the last. The investigation continues but we don’t think
this murder is related with the Armenian problem. It’s also
impossible to evaluate the situation as racism. Right after the
murder, both Turkish government and the Turkish people are getting
along with this incident in a good way. After the murder, all of the
Turkish newspapers cursed the incident. Lots of people marched in
Ankara and Istanbul shouting ‘we are all Armenians, we are all Hrant
Dink’. All of the newspapers in Turkey headlined the murder. Hurriyet
for instance declared the murderer as a ‘Traitor to the Motherland’
and Sabah daily headlined the murder as ‘The biggest treason’. Other
headlines were similar. Not even one single Turkish newspaper
including the ultra-nationalist ones protected the killer. Even the
most fanatic nationalists didn’t see the killer as a hero. On the
contrary, the killer was seen as a ‘traitor’ and an ‘ignorant boy
used by the underground and dark powers’.

Turkey has been accused for its possible responsibility in the murder
by foreign press without a cause. Some accused Turkey even of being
racist. All these claims and accusations have no base and just. Omer
Celik, one of the closest deputies to President Erdogan, has recently
offered to put Turkish flag on Mr. Dink’s coffin, a common tradition
for the martyrs’ and famous statesmen’ funerals. No one raised any
objection to this brave idea but lots of people thought that this was
a great idea. As the most important symbol for a nation is a ‘flag’,
it’s unfair to blame the Turkish people of being racist or
anti-Armenian who want to put their pure flag on the coffin of an
Armenian Turkish citizen, Hrant Dink.

President of Turkey, Turkish ministers, governor of Istanbul and top
level officials of security bureaucracy all condemned the murder.
Murderer was caught in 32 hours. President Erdogan said that ‘Dink
was the son of this land’. The main opposition party leader Baykal
expressed his despair by saying ‘We couldn’t let him live’. Almost
every politician’s common attitude was to curse the murderer and they
took the side of Dink. Even the ultra nationalist Turks saw the
murder as the ‘agent of the dark powers’. Not even one politician was
happy of the homicide. No one saw the murderer as a hero. The person
who notified the police was the murder’s own father. None of his
relatives said he did a good job. Their common attitude about the
murder was that it was unacceptable and their son was used by the
evil others. In other words even the killer’s most close relatives
didn’t saw him as a hero and didn’t back him up.

***

There is another story on the other side of the medallion.

When Talat Pasha, the Minister of Interior of the Ottoman Empire, was
killed by an Armenian named Sogomon Tehliryan on March 15 1921 on a
crowded Berlin street (Germany), the attitude of the Armenians were
not similar to the attitude of today’s Turkey people. Ironically
there are many similarities between the murders of Talat Pasha and of
Hrant Dink. As the Turkish historian Murat Bardakci wrote in Sabah
newspaper dated 21 January 2007, both victims were shot from the back
of their head. The bases of the shooes of the both victims were
tattered and holed. Both murders were committed in daylight and on a
crowded street. After the Talat Pasha Murder Tehliryan, the Armenian
murderer was declared as a hero and even today the Diaspora Armenians
and Armenians from Armenia see Tehliryan as a great hero. It was not
just the Armenians but also the German Court strangely judged the
victim instead of the killer. The Armenian murderer was set free
after a short trial. Tehliryan was not the only murderer and
terrorist who were declared as a hero by the Armenians. Lots of the
Armenian terrorists were declared as heroes afterwards. The Armenian
history is full of murderer heroes. Moreover Western courts committed
law crimes again and again and set the Armenian killers free. For
example the Armenian terrorist Max Kilnajian, who attempted to kill
the Turkish ambassador in Bern city, was sentenced to two years by
the French court and released shortly after the verdict. The mostly
known Armenian terrorist Monte Melkonyan made lots of armed attacks
against the Turkish diplomats. In these attacks lots of people were
killed. But the French court released Melkonyan after 3 years in
prison. Afterwards Mr. Melkonyan joined the Karabakh War against
Azerbaijan and he murdered lots of people in that war. But Melkonyan
has not been a terrorist or a murderer for Armenians, he has been
hero to be respected and followed. Armenia gave salaries to many
terrorists and protected them. Unfortunately, while these truths are
clear, Armenia and Armenian Diaspora is blaming Republic of Turkey
for the Hrant Dink murder.

***

The murder of Hrant Dink is one of the most dramatic murders of our
history. But it’s unfair to exert pressure about Armenian problem by
using this unfortunate murder. Also the Armenian Diaspora, who is
blaming Turkey, was criticized many times by Hrant Dink himself. They
were talking about Dink as a "traitor" and "servant of the Turkey"
before, but now they are mongering on his death. Actually this is
what they have done all the time. They are always using the
reciprocal massacres to get the benefit out of it.

I am really sorry about Mr. Dink’s death. Because from now on, it’s
hard to find an Armenian like him. Because he was a Turkish Armenian.
He was son of this land. He was not making politics on death. He was
working for the peoples who live. We have to do just like this from
now on. We must not use the dead as an interest. We must not use a
barbarous murder to attack each others.

22 January 2007

Trns. by Zerin Acar and Kemal Tuzcu (JTW)

Le Matin, France
21 janvier 2007 dimanche
Édition Demanche

La Turquie sous le choc;
ASSASSINAT Les réactions sont nombreuses après le meurtre du
journaliste Hrant Dink

par Burçin Gercek; Baumgartner

INDIGNATION La mort de Hrant Dink provoque un courant de
protestations en Turquie. La communauté internationale dénonce aussi
le meurtre de ce journaliste engagé

Istanbul

«Nous sommes tous des Hrant Dink, nous sommes tous des Arméniens!»
Dans un pays où prononcer le mot «arménien» pourrait être considéré
jusqu’à récemment comme une insulte, le slogan des centaines de
personnes réunies à Istanbul vendredi soir aurait sûrement fait
plaisir au journaliste qui a dédié sa vie à la réconciliation des
deux peuples. Plusieurs fois poursuivi par la justice à cause de ses
propos sur le génocide arménien, Hrant Dink a été tué par balles
vendredi à Istanbul devant le siège du journal Agos dont il était
directeur de la publication. La Turquie retourne-t-elle dans ses
années noires où des secteurs obscurs de l’appareil d’Etat surnommé
«l’Etat profond» commanditaient le meurtre des journalistes et des
opposants? «Cet assassinat sert les intérêts de ceux qui veulent
empêcher la démocratisation de la Turquie en créant des tensions»,
répond Fethiye Cetin, avocate de Hrant Dink et défenseur des droits
des minorités. «Les procès ouverts contre lui visaient à le rendre
«ennemi de la nation turque» aux yeux de la population. Ils ont
atteint leur but». L’auteur présumé du crime, qui a été filmé en
prenant la fuite par une caméra de surveillance, est actuellement
recherché.

Accusé de «traîtrise»

Le journaliste d’origine arménienne sentait la menace arriver. «Je
sens que des forces obscures ont décidé de m’infliger une bonne
leçon», écrivait-il dans un de ses derniers articles. Sa «faute»
était de s’exprimer sur des sujets brûlants: jamais il ne mche ses
mots pour parler du génocide arménien qu’Ankara refuse de
reconnaître. La question kurde, les droits des minorités non
chrétiennes, les journalistes emprisonnés, la fermeture de la
frontière arméno-turque: autant de sujets sensibles qu’il traitera
dans son journal et qui le rendront cible des milieux nationalistes.
Alors que sa photo est publiée à la Une des journaux d’extrême droite
qui l’accusaient de «traîtrise», il attire en même temps les foudres
de la diaspora arménienne à cause de son appel au dialogue avec la
population turque. Son active participation aux débats sur le
génocide arménien lui vaut l’acharnement de la justice. De nombreux
procès sont ouverts pour «insulte à l’identité turque». Parce qu’il a
appelé les Arméniens à se débarrasser de la haine des Turcs qui les
«empoisonnent», il sera condamné à six mois de prison avec sursis.
Des groupes nationalistes l’attaquent physiquement devant le
tribunal.

Droits bafoués

Pour ce défenseur des droits des minorités, se sentir dans son propre
pays comme un citoyen à part entière a toujours été problématique. Il
n’obtiendra jamais de grade lors de son service militaire à cause de
ses origines arméniennes. Le camp d’été pour les orphelins qu’il
dirigera plus tard sera confisqué par l’Etat comme de nombreux biens
appartenant à des minorités non musulmanes. L’assassinat de Hrant
Dink a provoqué une forte émotion chez l’opinion publique turque, qui
reste pourtant souvent insensible aux droits bafoués des minorités.
«Cette balle a été tirée contre la Turquie» a titré le journal
Milliyet. Des milliers de personnes se sont spontanément rassemblés
vendredi soir devant le journal Agos en scandant: «L’Etat assassin
rendra des comptes». Les obsèques de Dink, qui seront organisés
mardi, devraient se transformer en une manifestation de masse contre
les crimes de «l’Etat profond».

Crime haineux

Hier, les réactions internationales ont été vigoureuses. Par exemple,
le Conseil de l’Europe s’est déclaré profondément choqué et attristé
par cet assassinat. «Je m’associe au Premier ministre Recep Tayyip
Erdogan dans sa condamnation de ce crime haineux et salue son
engagement à faire traduire les coupables en justice», a ajouté Terry
Davis, le secrétaire général du Conseil qui a aussi souligné: «Il est
important que les citoyens de tous les pays aient le droit de
débattre librement de leur histoire nationale».

Turkey must confront its past

Leader
Sunday January 21, 2007
_The Observer_ ()

Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist, was last week gunned down
outside the offices of the newspaper he edited. His offence was to
write about the deaths of millions of Armenians forcibly displaced
during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, and treat it for what it
was – a crime. To call it a genocide is not unreasonable, but it is
illegal in Turkey. It constitutes an ‘insult’ to the nation, a crime
for which Dink was convicted in 2005 and for which many other Turkish
writers and journalists have been jailed.

Thousands of Turks have rallied to express their horror at the
killing.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rightly described it as a ‘bullet
fired at democracy’. But Turkey is a strange kind of democracy, where
secularism comes attached to militant nationalism and a personality
cult around Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the post-Ottoman founder of the
country. To demean him is also a crime.

The brittleness of this system, and the injustice it engenders, are
key reasons why the European Union is cautious in negotiations over
Turkey’s bid to join the club. EU membership is conditional on, among
other things, progress in respecting basic human rights.

The Turkish state is, of course, not responsible for Mr Dink’s
death. But official reluctance to allow open discussion of inglorious
episodes in the country’s past creates a climate in which journalists
are easily branded traitors. That must change, not just for the sake
of Turkey’s EU membership, but out of respect for the majority of
Turks, who were outraged by Mr Dink’s killing and who deserve a freer
democracy.

BBC News
Jan. 20, 2007

Hrant Dink murder suspect named
The authorities in Turkey say they have identified the chief suspect in the
murder of Hrant Dink, a prominent journalist of Armenian descent.
The suspect, named as Ogun Samas, was reportedly identified by his father who
saw his picture on television and then informed the police.
Mr Dink, 53, had written extensively about the mass killing of Armenians by
Turks during World War 1.
He was shot dead outside his newspaper offices in Istanbul on Friday.

The governor of Istanbul named Mr Samas as the man whose image was captured
on security cameras close to where Mr Dink was killed.
Police released very clear images of a young man with an angular face and
thin beard.
In one image he is seen running from the scene, tucking what officials say is
a gun into his belt.
Mr Samas’ family, from the Black Sea town of Trabzon, are now being
questioned by police.
The governor said 12 people are currently being questioned in connection with
the murder.
"Genocide"
Mr Dink’s murder has shocked Turkey where Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has
vowed repeatedly that the authorities will do whatever it takes to catch the
killer.

Journalists and politicians in Turkey have expressed outrage at the killing,
which many described as a political assassination, while the US, EU, France,
and several human rights groups also voiced shock and condemnation.
Mr Dink had received multiple death threats from nationalists because of his
views on the mass killings of Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman
Empire.
He was convicted in October 2005 for writing about the Armenian "genocide" in
1915, a claim denied by the authorities in Ankara.
The issue is a sensitive subject in both Armenia and Turkey. Many Armenians
have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide.

Questions
The Armenian government has condemned Mr Dink’s murder.
"Following the Murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the
European Union."
— Tigran Torosyan, Armenian Parliament Speaker

Its president, Robert Kocharian, said the killing "raises numerous questions
and deserves the strongest condemnation".

"We hope that the Turkish authorities will do everything possible to find and
punish the culprit strictly in accordance with the law."
The speaker of Armenia’s parliament, Tigran Torosyan went even further.
"Following the murder, Turkey should not even dream about joining the
European Union," the Armenian news agency Arminfo quoted him as saying.
The two countries still have no official relations since Armenia gained
independence after the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Story from BBC NEWS:
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Published: 2007/01/20 20:51:24 GMT

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