Author: nina hovnanian

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 16 2013

Thousands of ‘secret Armenians’ living in Anatolia, Argentine journalist writes

ISTANBUL

Hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens living in Istanbul and in
eastern Anatolia are concealing their Armenian roots, an Argentine
journalist of Armenian origin has said.

Avedis Hadjian, a reporter for La Nacion, one of the biggest
newspapers in Argentina, said there was a significant community of a
`mysterious minority known as secret Armenians’ that have converted to
Sunni Islam or Alevism in an effort to blend into society.

Hadjian said no one knew the precise number of `secret Armenians’ in
the country since a majority of them are afraid to reveal their true
identity.

`A secret Armenian in Palu [in the eastern province of Elaz?Ä?±?Ä?] told me
that that `Turkey is still a dangerous place for Armenians,” he said,
adding the secret Armenians typically chose to eschew contact with
members of the Armenian community that are especially active in
Istanbul.

Some of them reject their identity even though they know and accept
that their grandfather or grandmother was an Armenian, while others
hide it from their children, Hadjian said.

Many of the secret Armenians live difficult lives, he said, recounting
the story of Rafael Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, `the last Armenian’ of the northern
province of Amasya, who was brought up as a Christian. Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, who
studied in the same Armenian secondary school as slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, later converted to Islam and
raised his daughter as a Turk despite considering himself an Armenian.

Another `secret Armenian,’ Mehmet Arkan, a lawyer in the southeastern
province of Diyarbak?Ä?±r, told Hadjian that he did not know his roots
until he was 7 years old.

`He fought with a Kurdish child and returned home telling his father
that he had been called `Armenian.’ That’s when his father mentioned
that, as a matter of fact, they were Armenians but that he could not
tell it outside the home,’ the journalist said.

`It is less dangerous to live as an Armenian [now] compared to 10
years ago in Diyarbak?Ä?±r,’ says Arkan, noting that Diyarbak?Ä?±r
Metropolitan Municipality had paid for the restoration of the
historical Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the old city.

Hadjian also noted the story of the Ogassian family, which lived in
the Bagin village in Palu before emigrating to the United States
following the events of 1915. But one of their little children,
Kirkor, stayed in the village after perhaps being abducted by a
Kurdish family.

Kirkor later married another orphan of Armenian origin and converted
to Islam. After a number of years, however, their relatives made
contact with them. Nowadays, Kirkor and his wife have a son who is an
imam in the town of Harput, while their nephew is the archbishop of
the Armenian church in New York, Hadjian said.
February/16/2013

Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey
February 14, 2013 Thursday

AA to cover Greek Cypriot and Armenian elections

AA teams will cover elections on-site on February 17 and 18 ANKARA
Anadolu Agency teams will cover the elections in Greek Cypriot
administration and Armenia that will take place on February 17 and 18
respectively. AA teams will cover the news on-site, and convey them
punctually to its subscribers.

People in Greek Cypriot administration, which has been affected by
economic crisis and on the threshold of bankruptcy, will vote both the
economic stagnation and Christofias administration that does not
approach a solution in Cyprus issue.

If majority of votes cannot be gathered in the first round, the second
round of voting will be held on February 24.

On the other hand, Armenians will elect their new president on February 18.

AA teams, which will cover the elections in Yerevan, will also survey
the possible effects of elections on Turkey-Armenia relations as well
as regional policies.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
February 15, 2013 Friday 11:33 PM GMT+4

Armenian president, chief of Russian General Staff discuss military coop

YEREVAN February 15

– Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday met General-Colonel
Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff
and Russia’s first deputy defense minister, to discuss bilateral
military-technological cooperation.

Sargsyan and Gerasimov also exchanged views on regional and
international security.

States News Service
February 15, 2013 Friday

THE INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION IN ARMENIA TO HOLD
PRESS CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY

STRASBOURG, France

The following information was released by the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE):

The international election observation mission monitoring the
presidential elections in Armenia will present its preliminary
post-election statement at a press conference on Tuesday, 19 February,
in Yerevan.

The international observation mission is a common endeavour involving
the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) and the European Parliament (EP).

The statement will be delivered by Karin Woldseth, the Head of the
PACE delegation, Milan Cabrnoch, the Head of the EP delegation, and
Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR election
observation mission.

This common endeavour comprises some 290 observers from 38 countries,
including 40 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE/ODIHR and
some 200 short-term observers seconded by participating States upon a
request by the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as 24 parliamentarians and staff
from PACE and 10 from the EP.

Live stream of the press conference is available at or at

For further information contact:

Thomas Rymer, OSCE/ODIHR, +374 96 71 84 55 or +48 609 522 266,
[email protected]

Bas Klein, PACE, +374 94 18 88 43 or+33 608 355 455, [email protected]

Emilia Gallego Perona, EP, +374 98 83 09 52 or +32 498 98 13 64
[email protected]

Interfax, Russia
Feb 15 2013

European Parliament delegation arrives in Armenia to monitor Feb 18
presidential election

BRUSSELS. Feb 15

A delegation of six European Parliament members arrived in Yerevan on
Friday to monitor presidential elections slated in Armenia for
February 18.

The European parliamentarians will be working as part of an
international observer mission established by the OSCE Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The mission will have to judge how the 2013 presidential elections and
the election campaign in Armenia comply with international standards
and the national law.

The mission members will meet with the heads of the election
commissions, international and Armenian election monitoring
organizations, NGOs, leading presidential candidates, the leaders of
the factions at the Armenian parliament and journalists. On February
18, they will be present at the polling stations from their opening
until the beginning of the vote counting procedures.

The group of European parliamentarians monitoring the Armenian
elections is headed by Milan Kabrnoch of the Czech Republic.

Only Serzh Sargsyan’s election headquarters operate in Vanadzor and Ijevan
Sat, 02/16/2013 – 19:44
News

PanARMENIAN Photo
`The presidential elections have been actually depreciated’ today
during the meeting with journalists said the head of the Vanadzor
Office of Helsinki Civil Assembly Arthur Saqunts.

`In the course of the election campaign the citizens and especially
schoolchildren were forced to participate in the meetings with the
incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan, destroying the education process.
There was an abuse of administrative resources’ said A. Saqunts.

According to him, calls are being received from the headquarters of
Serzh Sargsyan and without presenting themselves the people ask who
they plan to vote for. 70 percent of the schools are members of the
Republican Party, which means that there was a de facto
“republicaniation” before the elections, and to the question of why
they are doing the observation, Saqunts said that their observation is
done for recording.

Cases were registered when the posters of the presidential candidate
Serzh Sargsyan were spotted in the places not specially allocated for
that, the posters were noticed on the shops in Ijevan.

Summing up the results of January 21 to February 21 HCA observation
Saqunts noted that during the election campaign the election
headquarters of only Serzh Sargyan were operating in Vanadzor and
Ijevan and presenting the calls received from the residents Saqunts
said that financial means were distributed which is prohibited by law.

`Those elections cannot be compared with the ones of 2008 where there
was a competition, and now beside the incumbent president Serzh
Sargsyan everybody entered the elections unprepared’ said Saqunts
adding that in 2008 the public attention and participation was higher.
Currently, the issue is to assure the participation of more than half
of the population in the election’s, because according to him the
participation will be very low, event though many resources were used;
in this case it is not important whether the votes will be for or
against.

Author:
Factinfo

An up-to-date meat processing plant opened at NatFood Company in
cooperation with BSTDB, EBRD and VTB Bank (Armenia)

ARMINFO
Saturday, February 16, 19:26

An up-to-date meat processing plant opened at NatFood Company in
cooperation with Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB),
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and VTB
(Armenia), VTB Bank Armenia told ArmInfo President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony. The source reports that the
plant opened due to constructive cooperation with the above banks that
provided additional financing and restructured the loans provided to
NatFood Company before.

The Armenian authorities have rendered permanent support to the
project. The plant with up-to-date equipment and technologies will
produce a wide assortment of high-quality meat products for local
consumption and export. Activation of the plant will help upgrading
the competitive abilities of the meat processing industry in the
country and creating new jobs. NatFood OJSC is a private meat
processing company. The majority shareholder of the company is the
businessperson Hernik Zakharyants.

EBRD is also a shareholder. The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
(BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. With an authorized capital of
SDR 3 billion, the Bank supports economic development and regional
cooperation by providing trade and project financing, guarantees, and
equity for development projects supporting both public and private
enterprises in its member countries. BSTDB is rated A-/A-2 with stable
outlook by Standard & Poor’s, and A3/P2 with stable outlook by
Moody’s. Since 1991 EBRD has become the largest financial investor in
our region of operations which stretches from central Europe to
central Asia and the southern and eastern Mediterranean. With the
ability and willingness to bear risk on behalf of our clients, it
helps the countries in the region to become open, market economies.
The banks is owned by 64 countries, the European Union and the
European Investment Bank. It has invested in Armenia over 613 million
EUR. VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC has joined VTB Group in April 2004. At
present the second largest bank in Russia, VTB BANK OJSC, is the sole
owner of VTB Bank (Armenia). The bank is traditionally among top
banks in Armenia in terms of a range of key figures. It serves the
largest branch network in the banking system of Armenia – 69 branches,
including 2 mini-branches. The bank is among top three banks in the
Ranking of Armenian Banks prepared by ArmInfo in terms in loans to
economy sectors – over 61% of total loan book.

NewsLook Videos
Deutsche Welle, Germany

Turkey/Armenia: A Life Spent in Hiding

Nearly a century after the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire, an increasing number of Turks of Armenian heritage are
acknowledging their roots. Out of fear of discrimination, many
survivors had converted to Islam and adopted Turkish names. Powered by

Click to view video.

Ceasefire violations sharply increased – Karabakh MOD

NEWS.AM
February 16, 2013 | 17:00

STEPANAKERT. – The adversary violated the ceasefire, at the line of
contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces, around 300
times in the passing week.

During this time, more than 1,500 shots were fired in the direction of
Armenian positions, and by way of different-caliber weapons,
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army press service reports.

The ceasefire violations sharply increased especially in the early
morning hours of, and all through Saturday, during which the vanguard
divisions of the Azerbaijani army fired over 400 shots in the
direction of the Defense Army military positions.

The Defense Army vanguard units, however, did not respond to the
adversary’s such provocative actions, they continued to honor the
ceasefire and confidently carried out their military turn of duty
along the entire length of the line of contact.

AAA: Azerbaijani authorities try to divert attention from anniversary
of Sumgait events by its hostile agitating campaign

13:53 16/02/2013 » SOCIETY

On the eve of the anniversary of Sumgait pogroms, Armenian Assembly
of America (AAA) issued a statement in which was said that Azerbaijani
government is trying to divert attention from the anniversary of the
Sumgait events by its hostile agitating campaign.

`The Azeri government, which has been spreading a virulent
disinformation campaign agitating for war by condoning the slaying of
Armenians, as with the pardon of the murderer Ramil Safarov who axed
to death an Armenian officer in his sleep at a NATO Partnership for
Peace training exercise in Hungary, and ramping up tensions along the
ceasefire line, is aiming to distract attention from the upcoming 25th
anniversary of the atrocities that mark the beginning of the pogroms
against Armenians in Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh,’ the statement
says.

Twenty-five years ago, in the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait (Sumgayit),
longtime Armenian residents were brutally targeted on the basis of
their ethnicity and subjected to unspeakable crimes. According to a
March 1988 article in The Economist, “reports of atrocities, including
the murder and mutilation of pregnant Armenian women and newborn
babies in a maternity hospital, have not been denied. Other reports
speak of gangs of young Azerbaijanis hunting down Armenian families
and committing murder, rape and robbery.” The Azeri government never
saw to the punishment of the perpetrators, the AAA states.

The Assembly mentions that February 28, 2013, marks the 25th
anniversary of the pogroms committed by the Azerbaijani authorities
against its Armenian population and the beginning of the escalation of
violence against the Armenian minority across the entire country of
Azerbaijan and against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh, culminating in
the violent expulsion of 200,000 Armenians from the Azeri capital city
of Baku in January 1990.

`Despite the Azeri government’s assertion that the violence was due to
spontaneous riots, the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad (now Ganja),
Baku, and elsewhere, were a retaliatory attempt to silence and thwart
the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh who lawfully
approached their government on the basis of a new openness in Soviet
society ushered in by President Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost and
perestroika,’ the statement says.

It says that, instead of respecting the legal rights of Armenians,
Azeri mobs targeted Armenians as a group and subjected them to gross
human rights violations reminiscent of practices and policies
resulting in the attempted annihilation of the Armenian population in
neighboring Ottoman Turkey earlier in the century.

`The Sumgait pogrom was widely reported and roundly condemned, but the
violence was never contained. Increasingly anti-Armenian forces acted
with impunity and the pogroms spread across Azerbaijan leading to the
military campaigns of the late 1980s to 1994 to deport the Armenians
of Nagorno Karabakh until a ceasefire agreement was signed by
Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, and Armenia,’ the Assembly reminds.

The statement notes that Hidayat Orujev, a leader of the Communist
Party of Azerbaijan, days before the massacre of Armenians in Sumgait,
stated in an address to the governing Council of the Nagorno Karabakh
Autonomous Region: “If you do not stop campaigning for the unification
of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia, if you don’t sober up, 100,000
Azeris from neighboring districts will break into your houses, torch
your apartments, rape your women, and kill your children.”
The Organization says that Mr. Orujev was appointed State Advisor for
Ethnic Policy by the late President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and
head of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Religious Affairs by current
President Ilham Aliyev.

`The Sumgait pogroms are a reminder of the need to respect the ethnic
and cultural identity of all people without discrimination and
violence,’ concluded the Assembly in its report.

Source: Panorama.am