Author: nina hovnanian

TURKEY SLAMS US REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

Trend
March 22 2012
Azerbaijan

Turkey criticized a US report on religious freedoms that listed Turkey
among the world’s worst violators of religious freedoms, saying it
considers the document “null and void.”, Today’s Zaman reported.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the report, prepared
by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF), fails to acknowledge steps that Turkey has taken in recent
years to protect religious freedoms and minority rights. “No impartial
observer could take allegations in this report, which intentionally
turns a blind eye to the steps forward and the political will that has
constituted the basis for the reforms, seriously,” the statement said.

“This report is null and void for us.”

The report grouped Turkey among 15 other nations in its “countries of
particular concern” category for “systematic and egregious limitations”
of religious freedoms. The ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey’s
less-severe status as a watch-listed country in years past.

The report also listed Tajikistan, Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt,
Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam in its “countries of particular
concern” category.

The ministry also criticized the USCIRF for failing to examine
growing Islamophobia in Europe, noting that the fundamental religious
freedoms of Muslims in Europe are being called into question by
certain politicians and that mosques are being attacked. It added
that the USCIRF report focused on only “one religion” and that its
motives were “purely political.”

The report itself has been followed by controversy after five members
of the nine-member commission declared the document was published
despite their objections to its release. Five members of the USCIRF
initially agreed to group Turkey among “countries of particular
concern,” but one of the commissioners, Don Argue, later changed his
mind. Even though this changed the balance of votes, Argue’s position
is not reflected in the document released on Wednesday.

“This result is due to procedural issues which could have easily
been accommodated, as there was ample time to reflect this change,”
the five members who voted against grouping Turkey among countries
of particular concern said in a statement on Wednesday. “We regret
the failure of the Annual Report to accurately reflect the majority
view of commissioners with respect to Turkey,” they said.

Turkey has taken steps in recent years to confront its long-standing
legacy of minority discrimination, to broaden dialogue with
non-Muslims, to repatriate confiscated property and to draft a new
constitution with a broader definition of citizenship.

Namık Tan, Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, had earlier responded
to the report’s criticism, saying, “Any unbiased eye will immediately
realize that that’s not where Turkey belongs in the USCIRF annual
report.”

Turkey’s population of nearly 75 million people, mostly Muslims,
includes about 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians; 20,000 Jews;
15,000 Assyrians and about 3,500 Greek Orthodox Christians. The Turkish
Parliament, which is in the process of collecting views from various
groups with regards to a new constitution the country is currently
drafting to free itself from the military-designed Constitution of
1982, has asked for the suggestions of religious minorities as well.

TURKISH AMBASSADOR STRONGLY REJECTS US REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS IN TURKEY

Anadolu Agency
March 21 2012
Turkey

WASHINGTON (AA) -March 21, 2012 -Turkey’s ambassador in Washington
lashed out at suggestions in a report by a US commission on religious
freedoms, saying the report’s comments over Turkey was politically
motivated.

“Any independent consideration would acknowledge that Turkey does not
belong to the place the commission designates for it. Listing Turkey
among ‘countries of particular concern’ is unjust and unexpected,”
Namik Tan told the Anadolu Agency.

US Commission on International Religious Freedoms, or USCIRF, in its
2011 report listed Turkey among “countries of particular concern,”
or CPCs, which also included countries such as North Korea, Eritrea,
Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Vietnam.

Tan said Turkey had a made a major reform in 2011 to give religious
communities their properties back which he said was also lauded by
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, adding that Turkey was far
better than many of the countries on the CPC list.

“The US Department of State said in its latest annual report on
religious freedoms that the Turkish government had taken significant
steps to expand religious freedoms in the country. And now the USCIRF
includes Turkey on the CPC listed which I believe deals a major blow
to the credibility of the commission and raises questions that the
move was politically motivated,” Tan said.

The USCIRF report criticized Turkey of “failing to legally recognize
religious minority communities, such as the Alevis, the Greek,
Armenian, and Syriac Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic and
Protestant Churches, and the Jewish community.”

YOU WON’T GET RICH (BUT YOU MIGHT GET A FREE TURKEY)
by Jack Grove

The Times Higher Education Supplement
March 22, 2012

Global study shows scholars’ salaries fail to match pay in many other
professions. Jack Grove reports.

Academic salaries are no longer sufficient to attract the brightest
and best into the sector, according to the co-author of a new global
survey of higher education pay.

Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher
Education at Boston College, said that academic pay lagged behind
that of many other professionals, with pay gaps most pronounced in
senior posts.

His comments preface the publication next month of a report on academic
pay in 28 countries, titled Paying the Professoriate, jointly authored
by academics at Boston College and the Higher School of Economics
in Russia.

The study considered average salaries for academics in full-time
permanent posts at public universities worldwide, adjusted to reflect
the cost of living in each country. It indicated whether an academic
salary was enough to allow scholars to live a “middle-class” lifestyle.

Canada topped the pay league, with academics receiving an average of
$7,196 (£ 4,537) a month before tax, when figures were adjusted for
purchasing-power parity.

The UK finished in seventh place – behind Italy, South Africa, India,
the US and Saudi Arabia – with academics being paid $5,943 a month
on average, just ahead of Australia, the Netherlands and Germany.

The lowest paid were academics in Armenia, who earned about $538
a month – less than a tenth of UK pay. Slightly better off were
their peers in Russia ($617) and China ($720). The report noted that
moonlighting was rife in these countries.

In many countries, professorial pay was also significantly lower than
the salaries awarded to senior figures in a number of professions,
said Professor Altbach.

“You can tell the health of a higher education system by whether
it can recruit the best and brightest within society” – and in most
countries they cannot, he said.

“In low-paid countries, academics get as much moonlighting in a second
job as they get for their normal salary. In average-paid countries,
most rely on some extra work, which is ultimately bad for the system
as they are not fully focused on their main role.”

Professor Altbach noted that national variations in salaries
contributed to a global brain drain from countries where academics
were less well paid.

“Even where academic salaries compare relatively well with general
wages, as in India, the much higher base salaries in North America
or Europe lure many Indians abroad,” he said.

In many countries, universities were competing with law and
accountancy firms to attract good staff, he noted, but salaries in
those professions had risen so much that the higher education sector
was struggling to keep up.

“Even the salaries of law professors, who are paid a third more than
other professors, do not compare favourably to someone employed at
a half-decent law firm,” he said.

“School superintendents will earn much more than the people training
them at universities.”

However, academics at the very top of their fields did have the
potential to command high salaries, Professor Altbach said.

“(Those at) the top of the professoriate are part of a global labour
market for academics. Their salaries can be very high, but this is
not true for the vast majority.”

The data used in the study took into account extracurricular pay,
pension payments and other fringe benefits.

The report also highlighted facets of academic pay that were unique
to specific countries. Some Indian academics received a bonus for
having a vasectomy or hysterectomy, the study said, while Mexican
scholars traditionally receive a frozen turkey at Christmas.

Salaries for academic staff at private universities, such as Ivy
League institutions in the US, were not considered in the study. But
those scholars were not necessarily better paid, noted Professor
Altbach. Academics at for-profit institutions in Brazil and China were
often on lower rates of pay than those at state universities, he said.

Paul Curran, vice-chancellor of City University London, who chairs
the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, which negotiates
academic pay, said he believed that comparisons between countries
were difficult, but he welcomed the report.

“The UK’s academic staff are highly valued and committed professionals
with reward packages and contracts that reflect this,” Professor
Curran said.

But Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union,
said that despite punching above their weight globally, UK academics
were paid less than contemporaries in “key comparator countries”.

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA INTRODUCES 16 CANDIDATES IN 15 DISTRICTS

Vestnik Kavkaza
March 23 2012
Russia

Prosperous Armenia has introduced 16 candidates in 15 districts,
according to the majority system. two candidates will run for
parliament at the 14th district, News.am reports.

They are Ashot Tonoyan (N3), Vagan Karapetyan (N6), Napoleon Azizyan
(N9), Grigory Markaryan (N11), Leva Khachatryan (N12), Bazmaser
Arakelyan (N14), Alexander Akopyan (N14), Tigran Stepanyan (N16),
Saakyan Eduard (N23), David Kocharyan (N25), Melik Manukyan (N26),
Murad Guloyan (N27), Gagik Tsarukyan (N28), Martun Grigoryan (N34),
Samvel Balasanyan (N35), Musheg Petrosyan (N36).

The proportional list of Prosperous Armenia has 165 candidates.

OSCE MG URGES AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA TO PREPARE POPULATIONS FOR PEACE, NOT WAR

Vestnik Kavkaza
March 22 2012
Russia

The foreign ministers of the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk
Group have made a statement on the 20th anniversary of mediating the
Nagorno-Karabakh process, urging the conflicting sides to show the
political will needed for settling the problem.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe signed the joint
statement. They urged the sides to start work on a framework agreement
based on the Helsinki principles, non-use of force, territorial
unity, equality, the UN Charter and the norms and principles of the
international law.

Any prolonging of a resolution of the conflict causes more suffering
for people affected by the war.

Presidents Medvedev, Obama and Sarkozy confirmed in a joint statement
in Deauville on 24 May 2011 that settling the conflict through
negotiations would bring peace, stability and rapprochement.

Progress was made in the joint statements of the presidents in Aquila
in 2009, Muskoka in 2010 and Deauville in 2011.

Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry
Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan made a joint statement in Sochi on 23
January 2012, confirming their commitment to speeding up the peace
process.

TURKISH SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS JAIL TIME FOR JOURNALIST’S MURDER
Carsten Hoffmann

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
March 21, 2012 Wednesday
Germany

March 21–ISTANBUL — Turkey’s supreme court upheld Wednesday a jail
sentence of 22 years and 10 months for the murder of Hrant Fink,
an Armenian-Turkish journalist shot dead in 2007, the Andalou news
agency reported.

An Istanbul court had handed down the sentence for convict Ogun
Samast in July, but also ruled that the murder was not part of an
organized conspiracy.

However, Dink’s family and human rights lawyers expressed outrage at
the time, demanding a full resolution of the case, including evidence
of possible connections to Turkish security forces.

Dink, the publisher of the Turkish-Armenia weekly Agos, had been
targeted by Turkish ultranationalists for calling the Ottoman-era
massacre of Armenians a genocide, a political taboo in Turkey.

He had received several threats ahead of his murder.

The European Court of Human Rights decided in 2010 that the government
in Ankara had failed in its obligation to protect Dink’s life,
stating that Turkish authorities had been informed of the murder
plans of Turkish nationalists.

ARMENIA: POLITICS EMBRACES ENTERTAINERS AND MEDIA TYPES
Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet.org
March 22 2012
NY

With voter interest lagging in Armenia this election season, parties
are trying to inject an element of show business into politics.

The names of celebrities, from both the performing arts and media, dot
the slates of pro-government and opposition parties alike. Armenia’s
parliamentary vote will be held May 6.

Over a dozen broadcast and print journalists are in the running for
a seat in Armenia’s 131-member parliament, primarily for parties
currently in power. So far, one popular singer has joined them,
and some prominent TV actresses say that the governing Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) has approached them about their interest in
appearing on the legislative stage.

Among the candidates for the RPA are Karen Ghazarian, the president
of Sharm Holding, an advertising-media-production company. Also on the
slate are public television’s First News anchor Samvel Farmanian, the
privately owned Armenia TV’s commentator Gagik Mkrtchian, Armenia TV
producer Vahe Ghazarian, and Aravot newspaper reporter Margarit Esaian.

The Armenian National Congress, the country’s largest opposition group,
features Haikakan Zhamanak newspaper editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinian,
who was imprisoned following the post-2008 presidential election
clashes with police, and newspaper reporter Gayane Arustamian.

168 Hours editor-in-chief Satik Seyranian and Chorrord Inqnishkhutin
reporter Gohar Vezirian are running as non-partisan candidates.

In a February survey by the polling firm Sociometer, more respondents
said they were not following the elections, or had no interest at all
in politics (40 percent of 1,650 respondents), than expressed support
for the leading party in the governing coalition, the Republican Party
(16 percent).

Another member of the governing coalition, Prosperous Armenia,
headed by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, garnered 14.7-percent support,
with ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s opposition Armenian National
Congress at a distant 3.5 percent. The support decreased still further
for government coalition member Orinats Yerkir, and the opposition
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, Heritage Party and
Free Democrats.

Sociometer Director Aharon Adibekian commented that bringing in media
and show-business figures “is definitely a PR move by which the parties
are trying to boost the attractiveness of the elections [for voters].”

Some Armenian analysts agree, adding that the introduction of
celebrity candidates may also be an attempt to move away from the
clubby atmosphere of parliament in which politicians, when present,
nap or play games on their computers.

“When political parties lack authority in the eyes of ordinary people,
and trust toward them is decreasing, political parties try to make
use of the situation by introducing figures outside of politics —
intellectuals, singers, artists, who will, in fact, act as props,”
argued independent political analyst Yervand Bozoyan.

Pop singer Shushan Petrosyan, a candidate on the RPA slate, says she
is taking her candidacy duties as seriously as any stage appearance.

“They say I’m romantic, but I want to introduce real changes,”
Petrosyan insisted. A frequent participant in past RPA campaign videos
and concerts, she said that she intends to focus on cultural issues
in parliament, and looks on her mission as “a creative one.”

The entertainer ranks 16th in the Republican Party of Armenia’s
list of candidates, right after Gen. Manvel Grigoryan, a onetime
deputy defense minister who is often likened to a feudal lord for his
extensive business interests and military connections. The number of
individuals on the party list who actually become MPs will be based
on the percentage of the popular vote received by the RPA.

Some Yerevan voters are befuddled by Petrosyan’s candidacy. “I cannot
understand what Shushan Petrosyan is going to get out of being in
parliament,” commented 41-year-old shop clerk Lida Avagian. “Better
for her to keep singing.”

Reporter-turned-politician Naira Zohrabian, a senior Prosperous
Armenia Party MP who, like Pashinian, once worked with this reporter at
Haikakan Zhamanak, says she also does not understand why entertainment
industry figures are now interested in running for parliament. At the
same time, she asserted that journalists have a justifiable reason
for doing so.

“The current parliament is just disastrous in terms of political
quality,” said Zohrabian. “I think this was a pragmatic calculation .

. . Taking into account the lack of orators in parliament, they
try to recruit new people to their factions … [and] that is not a
bad trend.”

Analysts see no problem with the idea of journalists entering
politics. Journalists are at least “literate,” said independent
political analyst Karen Kocharian. “These journalists are better
aware of legislation.”

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.

OSCE/ODIHR OPENS MISSION TO ASSESS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

States News Service
March 22, 2012 Thursday

The following information was released by the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE):

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
today opened an election observation mission for the parliamentary
elections to be held in Armenia on 6 May.

The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Armenian
authorities.

The mission is led by Radmila ekerinska and consists of 13
international experts based in Yerevan and 24 long-term observers to
be deployed throughout the country. In addition, ODIHR will request
250 short-term observers to monitor election-day proceedings and the
counting process.

Observers will assess these elections for compliance with principles
for democratic electoral processes, including the commitments
agreed to by all the OSCE participating States, as well as national
legislation. The mission will analyse the legislative framework and its
implementation, and will follow campaign activities, media coverage,
and the work of the election administration and relevant government
bodies, as well as the resolution of election disputes.

As part of the observation process, the mission will meet with
relevant authorities, candidates, political parties, the judiciary,
civil society and the media.

Short-term observers arriving for election day will be deployed
in teams of two throughout the country to monitor the opening of
polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation
of results.

For election-day observation, the ODIHR election observation mission
will also join efforts with the delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly and other parliamentary delegations.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued
on the day after the elections.

ODIHR will issue a final report about two months after the end of
the electoral process.

SCHMIDT DROPS DEFAMATION SUIT

Gannett News Service
March 22, 2012 Thursday

Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, has dropped her $6.8 million
defamation lawsuit against long-time political opponent David
Krikorian, who ran against her in 2008 and again this year.

“It’s time to move on,” Schmidt’s spokesman, Barrett J. Brunsman,
said of the congresswoman’s decision to withdraw her defamation claim
against Krikorian, originally filed in June 2010 in Clermont County
Common Pleas Court.

Krikorian said he was surprised but happy to hear the case had been
dropped. “Anytime you can remove a $6.8 million pending lawsuit
against you, no matter how frivolous, it’s a good thing,” he said.

Schmidt filed the lawsuit after Krikorian claimed in the 2008 race
that she had taken “blood money” from the government of Turkey in
exchange for her opposition to efforts that would label as “genocide”
the killings of Armenians living in Turkey during World War I.

Schmidt also filed two complaints in May 2009 with the Ohio Elections
Commission, charging Krikorian with making false statements. The
commission ruled in her favor, reprimanding Krikorian for making
statements it determined were inaccurate.

The Schmidt-Krikorian legal tangle also spilled over into a
congressional ethics inquiry, because of questions about who was
paying Schmidt’s attorneys’ fees. The House ethics committee ruled
last summer that Schmidt had unknowingly received about $500,000 in
legal fees, paid on her behalf by the Turkish Coalition of America.

While clearing Schmidt of wrongdoing, the committee said the funds
represented an improper gift and instructed her to repay the funds.

Schmidt has since said the fees amounted to about $440,000.

Schmidt’s defamation suit was proceeding, with the two parties filing
motions and girding for trial. At the same time, Schmidt and Krikorian
were headed for another political showdown in the 2012 House race.

But Krikorian, who ran as a Democrat, lost in the March 6 primary to
William R. Smith, a political unknown. And Schmidt was defeated in
the GOP race by Cincinnati doctor and Iraq war veteran Brad Wenstrup.

Schmidt’s election loss raised questions about whether she will
repay her outstanding legal tab. Once she is out of office, she has
no obligation to comply with the House ethics committee’s ruling. As
a lame-duck lawmaker, it will be harder for her to raise money for
her legal expense trust, an account she set up to repay the money.

Brunsman said he didn’t know if the prospect of racking up more legal
bills prompted her decision to drop the defamation case. “I’m not
aware of whether that was a factor,” he said.

Asked if this was the beginning of the end of the years-long legal
and political battle between Schmidt and Krikorian, Brunsman noted
that Schmidt still has the right to refile the case if she wants.

WEBSITE, WHERE ARMENIAN GIRLS OFFER SEX SERVICES, BLOCKED

14:00 . 23/03

22 years old Andranik H. who was summoned to the general police
department for fight against organized crime, has acknowledged having
created website.

Andranik admitted posting on the mentioned website data on Armenian
prostitutes taken from different internet dating sites, the prices
for intimate services, photos, as well as telephone numbers agreeing
with the latter ones, giving them an opportunity to establish a
direct contact with clients, contributing to their involvement in
prostitution.

According to the release of the police, Andranik H. surrendered the
computer with which he created and edited the mentioned website. The
computer was sent to the National Expertise Bureau of RA National
Academy of Sciences for expertise.

The website is blocked. An investigation was launched.