Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

Turkish Press
April 30 2005
Press Scan
ERDOGAN: POLITICAL RELATIONS CAN BE SET UP WITH YEREVAN
MILLIYET- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a historic opening
and said political relations could be set up with Yerevan.
Erdogan gave the message that, ”while on the one side, historians
work on Armenian issue, political relations can be carried out on the
other side.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Die Türkei sieht sich immer noch als Opfer
Die Türkei sieht sich immer noch als Opfer
Ankara fordert die Ã-ffnung aller Archive, um die Wahrheit über
die “armenische Tragödie” herauszufinden
von Boris Kalnoky
In Eriwan hängt eine Fotowand mit Bildern von 90 noch lebenden
Zeitzeugen
Foto: dpa
Istanbul – Wer dem türkischen AuÃ=9Fenminister Abdullah Gül
lange genug zuhört, dem beginnt die Türkei leid zu tun. Eine
kleine Gruppe geistig verwirrter Menschen, die nicht mehr wissen, wer
sie sind, bringt das unschuldige Land mit bösartigen Lügen in
derartige politische Bedrängnis, daÃ=9F am Ende noch der ersehnte
EU-Beitritt darunter leiden könnte.
Die Irren, von denen die Rede ist, sind “gewisse Teile der armenischen
Diaspora”, sagt Gül, “die an Schuldkomplexen und
Identitätsproblemen leiden”. Sie, die groÃ=9Fe Worte schwingen,
um Gerechtigkeit für ihr Volk zu fordern, weigern sich selbst,
irgend etwas für ihr Volk zu tun: “Ihren ganzen Reichtum, den sie
im Westen erworben hatten, müÃ=9Ften sie nach Armenien bringen.
Sie müÃ=9Ften selbst in die Heimat zurückkehren, wie die
Juden das mit Israel machen”, giftet Gül. Aber nein, die
Exil-Armenier sind zu geizig und bequem. Statt dessen verbreiten sie
Lügen über einen Völkermord, der, so Gül, nie
stattgefunden hat.
Am Sonntag gedenken die Armenier des groÃ=9Fen Sterbens, das vor 90
Jahren begann. Sie selbst und weite Teile der Weltöffentlichkeit
nennen es den ersten Völkermord der modernen Geschichte. Gül
und die türkische Regierung nennen es, wie alle türkischen
Regierungen seit den Greueltaten, neutral und ohne Schuldgefühle
eine “Tragödie”.
Insbesondere Gül hat jedoch erkannt, daÃ=9F die Genozidfrage
allmählich zu einem ernsten diplomatischen Problem wird.
Europäische Länder und Politiker, die einen EU-Beitritt der
Türkei verhindern wollen, fordern als Vorbedingung ein
Schuldeingeständnis, das politischen Selbstmord für jede
türkische Regierung bedeuten würde. Die Armenier nutzen
ihrerseits die Gunst der Stunde und drängen die Parlamente der
Staaten immer erfolgreicher dazu, die Massaker von 1915 bis 1923
offiziell als “Völkermord” anzuerkennen.
Die Türkei hat bislang nie mehr als defensive Allgemeinheiten zu
der Debatte beigetragen. Es herrschte Krieg, die Armenier machten mit
dem Feind gemeinsame Sache, daher war die Regierung gezwungen, sie zu
deportieren, lautet die Argumentation. Der Rest sei eine Folge
unglücklicher Umstände gewesen – mörderische Angriffe der
Lokalbevölkerung gegen die Deportierten, mangelnde Hygiene und
versagende Bürokraten, die aber oft für ihre Haltung vor
Gericht zur Verantwortung gezogen, teilweise sogar hingerichtet worden
seien.
DaÃ=9F das nicht genügt, hat Gül erkannt. Er steht an der
Spitze einer neuen türkischen Kampagne, die die
Weltöffentlichkeit mit Fakten und Argumenten überzeugen will,
daÃ=9F zwar viel Blut vergossen wurde, aber kein Völkermord
stattgefunden hat. Zentrale StoÃ=9Frichtung dieser Strategie ist die
Forderung, “alle Archive zu öffnen”. Dann werde man sehen, wer
recht hat.
Es ist ein geschickter Schachzug. Die Türkei hat wirklich ihre
Archive geöffnet, “sogar die Militärarchive”, sagt Gül.
“Wir sind dabei vollkommen ehrlich. Wenn wir etwas verstecken oder
zerstören würden und erst dann die Historiker an die Dokumente
lassen, dann würden die Experten das sofort merken. Wir sind also
völlig offen in dieser Sache.” Er fordert nun auch “Frankreich,
Deutschland und Armenien” auf, ihre Archive vorbehaltlos zu öffnen
und von Historikern auswerten zu lassen. Das richtet sich vor allem
gegen Armenien, das bislang offenbar keinen freien Zugang zu seinen
Archiven gewährt. Das zeigt die Türkei in gutem Licht, und
Armenien sieht so aus, als habe es etwas zu verbergen. Gül droht
nun gar, “wir werden versuchen, die Ã-ffnung der Archive zu
erzwingen”.
Die türkischen Staatsarchive haben es ihrerseits mit der “Wahrheit”
so eilig, daÃ=9F sie gar nicht erst auf die Historiker warten.
Kürzlich wurde aus Archivquellen eine Liste von Massakern an
türkischen Zivilisten durch armenische Gruppen zusammengetragen.
Laut türkischen Medienberichten ergibt sich daraus die
atemberaubende Opferzahl von mehr als einer halben Million
türkischer Zivilisten. Nach herkömmlicher türkischer
Auffassung starben “nur” etwa 300 000 Armenier in jenen Jahren. Ein
Genozid nicht also an Armeniern, sondern an Türken?
Man muÃ=9F schon genau hinsehen, um die entscheidende Schwachstelle
der türkischen Taktik zu erkennen. Die Staatsarchive enthalten
wahrscheinlich wirklich keinen Hinweis darauf, daÃ=9F die Vernichtung
eines groÃ=9Fen Teiles der armenischen Bevölkerung Staatspolitik
war, weil die Staatsorgane nicht mit der Umsetzung des Völkermordes
betraut waren. Neutrale, der Türkei wohlgesinnte Historiker wie
Erik J. Zürcher (Turkey – a Modern History, 1993, jüngste
Ausgabe 2001) weisen darauf hin, daÃ=9F die Opferzahlen wohl irgendwo
zwischen den Angaben beider Lager liegen, vermutlich bei 600 000 bis 800
000 Menschenleben, und daÃ=9F weder der formale Verwaltungsapparat
noch das Militär Order hatten, die Armenier als Volk zu
liquidieren.
Ein “innerer Kreis” der damals regierenden Jungtürken unter Leitung
von Innenminister Talaat Pascha habe jedoch vermutlich sehr wohl
beabsichtigt, die Armenier unter dem Deckmantel der Deportationen
auszurotten. Mit der Umsetzung seien jedoch weder Staat noch
Militär, sondern die ideologisch verläÃ=9Flicheren internen
Parteistrukturen betraut worden, vor allem die sogenannte
Spezialorganisation, ein ZusammenschluÃ=9F jungtürkischer
Offiziere, die in vielen Konflikten im In- und Ausland bereits als
Untergrundorganisation gewirkt hatten. Und hier kommt der springende
Punkt: Die Archive dieser Organisation sind zerstört, und jene der
Jungtürken (das Komitee für Einheit und Fortschritt) gelten
als verloren.
Die Ã-ffnung der türkischen Staatsarchive sieht mithin sehr gut
aus, ist aber vermutlich irrelevant. Wenn es je türkische Dokumente
gab, die einen Genozid belegen, dann waren sie nie dort.
Artikel erschienen am Sa, 23. April 2005
Artikel drucken
© WELT.de 1995 – 2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan News Service
March 29 2005
JEWISH DIASPORA MAY TAKE QARABAQ CONFLICT TO U.S. CONGRESS DEBATE
2005-03-29 09:23
Jewish diaspora in the United States of America may bring Daqliq
Qarabaq issue to discussion of Congress. President of `Veinberg’ fund
of Jewish community in America Sheyd Steller visiting Azerbaijan said
he will appeal to the Congress regarding the issue. Mr. Sheyd Steller
said he needs to collect detailed information on the conflict before
suggesting discussion at Congress and other international
organizations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPE MOURNS THE POPE WHO HELPED REUNITE A CONTINENT
Agence France Press
Friday, 8 April 2005
ZAGREB, April 8 (AFP) – Europeans Friday took time out to remember
Pope John Paul II, credited with setting in motion a chain of events
which led to the collapse of communism and the reunification of a
continent torn apart by war.
Around Europe, almost a year since 10 mostly communist countries
joined the European Union swelling the EU family to 25 nations,
people were remembering the role played by the pope in modern post-war
European history.
In Zagreb, the flag was flying at half-mast above the city’s imposing
cathedral, where dozens of candles were lit inside in remembrance of
the pontiff.
“When I learnt of his death, I felt as if I had lost someone very
close,” said businessman Miljenko Berislavic, watching the pope’s
funeral in Rome on a television screen in one of the city’s cafes.
Croatians, like many peoples in the region, felt overwhelming gratitude
towards Pope John Paul II, for his support as it struggled for its
independence from Yugoslavia in the bloody 1991-95 conflict.
Pope John Paul II, who was born in Poland, was the first eastern
European to be appointed at the head of the Roman Catholic church.
He was never to forget his roots, and during his first visit to Poland
in 1979 just after being appointed, he appeared before the crowds
and said: “May the spirit come down and renew the face of this land.”
His words were interpreted by many as an exhortation to stand up to
the oppressive communist regime.
The fledgling Solidarity union movement took strength from the pope’s
words, and a decade later the Berlin Wall fell, leading to the collapse
of the Soviet Union and its grip on eastern Europe.
In mostly Orthodox Ukraine, churches in the Catholic west of the
country were packed to mark the funeral of the man revered for leading
a revival of Catholicism after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
“This day is the hardest in my life,” Ganna Kovalets, a 76-year-old
Greco Catholic worshipper said at one of the churches, with tears in
her eyes. “There is an emptiness in my soul.”
In Russia hundreds were watching the funeral in silence on a giant
screen in the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the centre
of Moscow.
Some were crying, others had their heads bent in prayer, in front of
a large photo of John Paul II, after Russian television refused to
broadcast the ceremony live.
“The pope for me was a moral voice and it is a great misfortune and
injustice that he could not come to Russia,” said museum employee
Yevgenia.
The Russian Orthodox church had refused to allow the pope to visit
the country, judging the time was not right.
In France, thousands of people applauded outside the Notre Dame
cathedral when the pope’s coffin was shown on giant screens inside
and outside the church being borne aloft in Rome.
A few hundred people also gathered at the Sacre Coeur which towers
above the French capital. There were similar gatherings across France,
and in churches in parts of Germany, particularly the Catholic
strongholds in the south.
Despite reluctance from the Serbian authorities, the funeral was
broadcast live in Belgrade as it was in Bulgaria.
Church bells also tolled across the Czech Republic at midday, with
flags on public buildings, including the building of the Czech Senate,
flying at half-mast as the country, like Hungary, observed a day of
national mourning.
Meanwhile, gypsies in Romania announced they were postponing for a day
an international festival as a mark of respect for the late pontiff.
“John Paul II worked a lot for multi-cultural respect. For us his
26-year pontificate was historic. The Roma people of all religions
in Romania loved him a lot,” said Roma leader Aven Amentza.
In largely Roman Catholic countries, such as Spain and Portugal,
bells tolled and special masses were held, although most people
appeared to have chosen to watch the pope’s funeral in their own homes.
In Lisbon, a giant television screen was set up outside a Roman
Catholic church in the heart of the Portuguese capital, and the
small crowd stood in silence or quietly prayed as they listened to
the proceedings.
And in a small orphanage in northern Armenia built with the pope’s
help after the 1988 earthquake, the pope’s death was being felt as
a very personal loss.
“We prayed for the peace of the pope’s soul. It is a great loss for
all the Catholics in the whole world. He was an exceptional spiritual
leader with his humanism and courage,” said Sister Aruciak.
In Brussels, the heart of the European Union, the bells tolled and
all the flags on the European institutions were flying at half-mast.
But in the Netherlands and Britain, ceremonies were more low-key with
only a few hundred people turning out for special masses.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
Eastern United States
P.O. Box 1066
New York, NY 10040
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 917 428 1918
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
David Phillips Refuses to Disclose Author of Report
At a brown bag lunch on March 29 at New York University’s School for
Global Studies, David Phillips discussed what he saw as the results
of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, which he moderated
and wrote about in his book, Unsilencing the Past. TARC generated
world-wide Armenian opposition in both the Diaspora and the Republic
of Armenia for its role in interfering with international efforts to
gain recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
During his talk, Phillips highlighted a report, which the International
Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) commissioned an anonymous author
to write. The report alleged that the United Nations Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide could not be
retroactively applied to the Armenian Genocide. The author of this
report has remained unknown. When Phillips was asked who wrote the
report, he answered, “That will not be disclosed,” and would not
explain the reasons for keeping the author’s name a secret.
Phillips was joined by International Center for Transitional Justice
Legal Expert Paul van Zyl, who asked Phillips whether denying the
applicability of the Armenian Genocide to the UN Convention on Genocide
was not the same as denying theapplicability of the Holocaust to it,
as both genocides occurred before the Convention was adopted by the
United Nations. Phillips insisted that it was not the same thing,
referring to documents Bernard Lewis had shown him in an attempt to
shed doubt on whether the Armenian Genocide occurred. On June 21,
1995, a French court condemned Lewis for his statements denying the
Armenian Genocide in the French press.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan, Armenia appeal to UN over ceasefire violations

Baku, March 30, AssA-Irada
Azerbaijan has appealed to the United Nations over the frequent ceasefire
violations by Armenia. Yerevan has appealed to the UN with the same allegation
against Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told local
ATV channel.
The OSCE chairman’s special envoy Anzhei Kaspshik has said he is concerned
with the persistent ceasefire breaches on the frontline. Kaspshik said he would
hold talks with Minister Mammadyarov in the coming days and another monitoring
will be held on the frontline soon.
The monitoring is aimed at preventing the ceasefire violations. Talks are
currently underway on returning the three Azeri soldiers held in Armenian
captivity, the OSCE chairman’s envoy said.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MEETING OF BILATERAL COMMISSION FOR DEMARCATION OF BORDER BETWEEN
AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA
TBILISI. MARCH 28. ARMINFO-BLACK SEA PRESS. Today a two-day meeting of
the Azerbaijanian-Georgian Commission for Delimitation of the
Azerbaijan/Georgia border began in Tbilisi, the Azerbaijanian State
Committee for Land and Cartography reports. The sides will continue
working on coordinating the coordinates of the interstate border.
Garib Mamedov, the chairman of the State Committee for Land and
Cartography, said that the sides had prepared a topographic map of
border sections that had been discussed by the countries. He added
that of 24 sections on the Azerbaijanian-Georgian border under
discussion by the sides agreement had been achieved only on five of
them.
He said that part of the Keshish-Dag territory on which monastery
complex is belonged to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is not going to cede it
to Georgia, as it is of strategic importance. From there territories
of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia are well seen. Presently the exact
border extension between Georgia and Azerbaijan had been coordinated
by about 40%.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Paradise Post, CA
March 17 2005
Want a unique holiday? Try Turkish delight!
By April Blankfort

Photos by Lowell Blankfort
The enormous 16th century Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, with
its multiplicity of domes and four towering minarets, adjoins
Istanbuls exotic great market and overlooks a port on Bosphorus,
where boats take visitors an hour away to the Black Sea.

Looking for a very special holiday this year? Try Turkey. Former Post
co-owner Lowell Blankfort and his wife April, who’ve been to lots of
places, did last year and discovered it was among the most
fascinating, varied and exotic tourist meccas on earth,
There are many Turkeys to choose from, depending upon one’s travel
tastes and budgets. The following article is intended to give you the
flavor of how it was for one couple, the Blankforts, traveling
independently. Read on
Jottings from a Turkish notebook
The Ciragan Palace Hotel is, perhaps, Istanbul’s most sumptuous. A
sultan’s palace in the 19th and early 20th cemturies when Turkey’s
Ottoman Empire ruled much of the world, it sprawls along the banks of
the Bosphorus whose waters lap at its terrace steps. Its rooms are
luxurious and shut out the noise from the busy streets outside. Their
price can be negotiated down from the stratospheric to the possible.
Not so the prices on the menus. This is the trap we found ourselves
caught in on the first night of our three weeks in Turkey.
Unwilling to consider paying the equivalent of $16 for a bowl of
soup, we sought pity from the hotel concierge. Where to eat on a
budget? He condescended to draw a map and, after a short walk, we
found a street crammed with small restaurants. Lured into one by the
view, we had a table on a balcony from which we could watch, from
Europe, the ferries arriving from the Asian shore of the city across
the river.
Lights twinkled onto the dark surface of this ancient waterway and,
in the distance, brilliantly colored wedding fireworks etched the
night sky. The platters of fresh seafood kept coming until we could
eat no more. Even counting the wine, the cost per head was little
more than the Cirgan’s bowl of soup.
In the morning, finding that breakfast was a wallet-blowing $36 per
person, we hit the road again. This time we took the opposite
direction. Twelve minutes of walking took us to an area beneath the
Galata bridge that sweeps from our European side to the Asian.
Narrow streets led to the water’s edge with plenty of open-air cafes.
Sleepy waiters swept the cobbles and set out tables and chairs. It
was too early for Turks, but we were ready for the small cups of
bitter coffee and plates of white cheese, black olives, bread and
tomatoes that constitute a good Turkish breakfast.
This area is called Ortakoy and it is worth seeking out for it sums
up the richness of Turkey’s history and culture. Coexisting
peacefully within its confines are a mosque, synagogue and church.
Surrounding them are newly renovated old houses now turned into
trendy boutiques, art galleries and caf-bars.
Sometimes it is worth staying at an impossibly expensive hotel where
you are driven out to find your own way to food and drink.
Once we discovered a way to survive starvation we could concentrate
on exploring Istanbul. Old etchings of the city had made it familiar
to me from my English childhood. The domes and minarets of the
mosques, the vaulted lanes in the bazaars, the little boats sailing
the Bosphorus are still there.
To me, Istanbul is still one of the most beautiful cities in the
world. To sit on the caf terrace of the Topkapi Palace will convince
even the harshest critic. This was the residence of the sultans until
the 19th century. Spread beneath your view is the Bosphorus with
ferry boats bustling between Europe and Asia. The tiled roofs of old
houses cascade down the hillsides mingling with flowering trees and
untidy gardens.
Nevertheless, you have little time to linger at a table – history is
calling.
Turkey is a wonderful tangled ball of history’s wool. To begin with
it is split by the Bosphorus, the fabled waterway that divides Europe
and Asia. Nine thousand years ago the earliest urban culture
flourished there. Later civilizations from the Hittite to the Greek
and Persian paraded through, leaving plenty to furnish the present
museums and fill the history books.
North of Manchuria, in the emptiest of wastelands, the Chinese took
note of a people called “Tu-kueh,” the Turks. It took 7,000 years of
history before the present inhabitants arrived. Compared with other
Mediterranean nations they are newcomers.
Turks are concerned with identifying themselves. The Armenian we meet
in the bazaar is one of them. Sitting amidst his gleaming stock of
antique brass and copper, he says he is both Turk and Armenian. Close
to a million of his Armenian forebears died in battles with the Turks
early in the last century.
“The Armenians survive by toughness. We give no quarter,” says our
merchant friend. “There is always discrimination against us despite
laws against it. Sure, we can apply to join the army or police. But
when we take the exams and pass, they don’t employ us. Still, we go
on applying. After all, we are Turks too.”
It takes the best part of a long day to tour the Topkapi palace
although some laggards only want to look in on the Treasury with the
famed dagger (from the movie of the same name). You can’t blame them
because an 86 carat diamond is hard to pass by. Still, I find it hard
to be too impressed; the sheer quantity of jeweled vessels, weapons,
gilded cabinetry, as well as their size, makes it hard to take it all
in. An interest in minimalism overtakes me and I slink away to
inspect the rest of this massive palace which really served as both
haven and prison for the sultan and his fabled harem.
In this maze of courtyards and tiled rooms intrigues flourished.
Heirs to the throne were strangled with a silken thread and
concubines died from boredom. Black eunuchs, the uglier the better,
were employed to rule the ladies and keep them chaste from all except
the sultan. In such an effete system it is hard to believe that the
Ottomans lasted as long as they did – more than 400 years..
The mosques are the beauty marks on the face of Istanbul.
One of the loveliest is the Blue Mosque built in 1619 by Sultan
Ahmet. Famed for its magnificent blue Izmik tiles, it is like
standing inside a monumental sapphire.
Ahmet flouted convention and insisted on six minarets, previously
allowed only in the holy city of Mecca. For penance, his abject
architect had to make a trip to Mecca to build a seventh following a
storm of protest from the faithful. Still, the six minarets make it
easy to find your way when you get lost in the muddle of streets and
alleyways of old “Stamboul”.
The great Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent sits proudly like a
crown on the head of the city. It is the icon with which the city is
most identified. After the feverish decoration of Topkapi, its
simplicity is as refreshing as a cool lemonade on a hot day.
But it is not an original mosque that fascinated me most but a former
church. Turkey is an Islamic republic and all around reminds you of
this until visiting Santa Sofia, built by Emperor Justinian in the
6th century and once the greatest church in Christendom. It remained
so until Islam took it over in the 15th century and turned it into a
mosque.
Turkey has a wonderful way of bringing opposites together: sweet and
tart in food, curves and lines in architecture and diverse religions.
Despite damage over the centuries, it is surprising to find Christian
art surviving in such a public place of Muslim veneration.
There is still an outstanding and massive mosaic of the Virgin
cradling Jesus with Emperor Constantine offering her the city, then
named Constantinople after him.
Thanks to modern Turkey’s founder Kemal Ataturk, who restored the
mosaics in 1933, they survive under what has been described as the
most superb dome in Europe.
Surely, this is what the world now seeks – a place where Muslim and
Christian spiritualities connect. Thanks to Turkish Muslims this
great church still stands and inspires.
The best way to experience the Bosphorus is to do what we do – take a
water bus.
We buy tickets for a three-hour journey and our driver will meet us
to take us back to the city. No industry or developers have yet
spoiled the lovely waterside. Wooded hills, little villages and old
Ottoman houses line the banks.
We buy cold drinks from the boat’s kiosk and sit with other
passengers. Children hang over the railings and wave to people
lunching in the cafs on land. A wandering vendor sells simit. This
golden, sesame crusted ring of bread keeps hunger at bay and is sold
everywhere from morning till night.
The boat points up towards the Black Sea and we pass merchant ships
sailing down from Ukraine. Narrow as it is, the Bosphorus is an
international waterway.
We pass five former Ottoman palaces, including our own hotel, plus
four castles and picturesque villages, only one of which we have time
to visit. Here we found our idea of a castle in Rumeli Hisar. Its
solid stone walls and towers that once guarded these waters from
Turkey’s enemies climb the hillside.
We clamber up and down the chiseled stairs feeling like Harry Potter
characters in yet another adventure. However, there is nothing more
threatening than the flower and trees. The place is empty of tourists
and we have it to ourselves.
***
A good guide is a traveler’s eyes and ears; he or she also becomes
your nanny and guardian. In over 30 years of traveling together,
Lowell and I have had our share of the good, the bad and the ugly.
Our trips are complex. We seldom join groups and we need a lot of
organization on the ground, even though some trips are planned a year
in advance.
Enter Beko, a 38-year-old man with the face of a merry pixie and grin
from here to there. He is an absolute genius who meets us at the
Istanbul airport and mollycoddles us for almost three weeks when he
waves goodbye. Beko was provided us by Ghingis (“Chuck”) Aras, at Flo
USA Turkish tour agency in Heathrow, Fla., who acted as our pre-trip
adviser and arranger.
Beko, whose real name is Berkant Topal, has degrees in archaeology
and economics. He has registered half a dozen archeological sites.
English is his second language but he speaks it better than many
native Americans. He has been the guide for three American presidents
visiting Turkey, both George Bushes and Bill Clinton. (Of these, he
says the first George Bush was the most attentive and knowledgeable).
History and his little son are Beko’s passions. His wife also could
be a passion but, sadly, she could not live with a man who is always
somewhere else. When not enthusing over ancient ruins or political
venues, he is on his cell phone organizing dinner at a special
restaurant or checking that the next hotel has the amenities we want.
When we take off for Diyarbakir without him, he whiles away our four
days’ absence meeting and greeting a U.S. tour group and taking them
to the famous World War I battlefield, Gallipoli. Fresh as a daisy,
the same day he bids them farewell he welcomes us and heads back to
Gallipoli on another three-hour car trip with us.
There is little in which Beko is not knowledgeable and interested.
Africa is our next trip and I wish he could be our eyes and ears
there too.
***
Cappadocia, a fairytale-like region in central Turkey, is a magnet
for tourists. Cappadocia is full of caves. It is a region formed by
three erupting volcanoes 10 million years ago. Over time it has
become a lunar landscape of soft porous stone called tufa. Tufa has
been sculpted by wind and rain into fascinating shapes, many called
“fairy chimneys.” The inhabitants found tufa easy to work with and
cut out caves to live in.
Christians living there made cave churches. When Arab armies came
thundering through in the seventh century, the people went
underground into their caves and survived by rolling stone wheel-like
doors across the entrances. Although many people have left their
caves because of dilapidation, there are still plenty to see and
visit.
Lowell wanted to stay in a cave. One with a bathroom, hot water and
comfortable beds. We found it in a hotel carved into the tufa. The
rooms were high-ceilinged and cozy with plenty of room. There was no
sign of anything sinister. No creepy-crawlies. No bears. Just hot
water, electricity and a good shower.
Although the area looks barren and dry, the mineral-rich soil is
fertile and forms a prime agricultural region with orchard and
vineyards. The latter produce good wines; Turks pay little attention
to Islamic strictures against drinking alcohol.
***
In Cappadocia we experience true Turkish hospitality. Our hosts are
the family of Ghengis Aras, the Florida fount of Turkish wisdom.
Theirs is a charming house set in a garden in the town of Kayseri.
Upstairs they usher us onto a wide balcony that runs along the width
of the building . On this balcony a shaded table awaits. It is laden
with dishes of food and baskets of breads.
There seem to be hundreds of stuffed vine leaves, tiny eggplants
stewed with tomatoes and onions and delicately spiced char-broiled
vegetables. There are flaky pastry pies and a wonderful soup to begin
with. There is something that looks like a gigantic pizza covered
with ground lamb that has to be cooked in a special oven which they
take me to see in the kitchen. The dishes never seem to empty and
they bring fresh plates piled with little cakes made with honey,
walnuts, pistachios and rose water.
Our hostess has prepared all this with help only from her daughter.
She hardly sits through the meal always checking that we and her
family are eating without cease. Afterwards, someone brings a tray of
tiny cups filled with sweet, black coffee. They offer cigarettes of
fragrant Turkish tobacco. Politely, we decline but in smoke-filled
Turkey it isn’t yet politically correct to ignore smoking.
***
Dyarbakir in Turkey’s southeast is like taking a magic carpet into
the past. Cities like Istanbul and Ankara are modern, full of
Western-style buildings and shops so it is easy to feel at home. But
in Dyabakir we are in the old Turkey of myth and fairy tale.
The ancient Tigris river flows by its monumental black city walls,
wending its way toward Iraq and Baghdad. Traditional life flourishes
in its narrow streets. Old men wear old-fashioned baggy pants and
many women wear headscarves and a few are veiled, openly flouting the
secular law against this.
The population is mostly Kurdish. The Kurds chafe at Turkish rule and
are cautious in dealing with foreigners. However, courtesy is always
present. Seeing our camera, one elderly man, a prize photo subject
with his twirling moustache, voluminous pants and elegant shirt,
draws up, shoulders back. After the camera clicks he gravely salutes
the photographer and proudly marches away.
Our window on the third floor of the Class Hotel looks straight onto
the street running past the market. Early each morning I stand by it
to watch. At first the shops are shuttered and the occasional
pedestrian saunters past. One by one shopkeepers arrive and the
shutters clatter up announcing that business is beginning.
Men struggle with barrows top heavy with the largest watermelons I
have ever seen. Small boys with trays of sesame bread rings balanced
on their heads trot by briskly with shrill cries of ” Simit! Simit!”
Shopkeepers sit on small stools outside their doors sipping tea and
motion the simit boys to bring them breakfast.
Later on, elderly couples, the woman lagging behind, arrive with
shopping bags. Young women carry their prune-eyed babies and
disappear into the dark market beyond. People shop each day for fresh
vegetables, fruits and meat. Frozen dinners are not on the menus
tonight or any other night.
Now I know that I am in the Orient I have always loved. This is
Turkey’s Asian face and bears scant resemblance to its European
sliver a thousand miles to the east.
***
It is early evening and we sit with others in what used to be an inn
for travelers. The walls are thick and high and there is very little
light. We are waiting for the Dervishes to perform their ceremony. In
the West we call them “Whirling Dervishes” and from afar their
practice seems mysterious and perhaps a little frightening. This
small group has come from a distant town and we are fortunate to be
here on this night.
Dervishes are the followers of the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi.
They believe that their way is the way to seek and achieve a mystical
union with God.
In the half dark the mostly-male group silently enters dressed in
floor-sweeping black cloaks and tall white hats. All in white, in
their full skirts in the gray light, they look like ghosts.
In the West people think the Dervishes whirl madly, lose control and
end in a kind of seizure. They don’t. As they whirl, their skirts
blow out into large white bells. The men’s heads rest dreamily on
their shoulders, eyes half-closed, a gentle expression on their
faces. There is no frenzy, no loss of control. The music ends. They
return to their line. The black cloaks are slipped on. Softly the
dancers disappear into the dark.
***
Snapshots from my mind’s
camera:
The graves in Gallipoli where the dead lie from both sides, Turkish
and Australian, in that devastating World War I battle. The quiet
beats in our ears like muffled drums. There is only the sad splash of
the sea falling like tears onto the beach below.
Lowell and I tripping on one of Ankara’s notoriously uneven
sidewalks. He falls first and my legs tangle with his. As we are on a
slope, gravity pulls us down into a heap. It’s like a comedy routine.
I have to laugh but not so the passersby. We are picked up, dusted
down, queried as to our well-being. It’s as if we are precious
treasure. Turks care.
The elegant man sitting next to me on the plane from Dyarbakir to
Ankara. His English is minimal but his charm well-versed.
“How old you are?” he asks. “Forty-eight?”
I laugh. “I wish.”
Later, I use my lipstick. When I finish, he taps my arm.
“Ah, now 42!”
Mehmet, the masseur in Ankara’s Gordion Hotel. About 5 feet tall and
3 feet wide, he hands me the towels.
I am a massage junkie and have been pummeled from Bali to Swaziland
No one has ever bettered Mehmet. His hands take no prisoners. I am,
literally, putty in his hands.
When I totter out an hour later, every ache and creak accumulated
from three weeks of sitting in cars and planes has been left behind
on his table …
***
FINAL WORD: I have to admit that I was forever prejudiced against the
Turks. When I began to travel in my 20s I heard of Turkish atrocities
from Egyptians who pointed out how Turks had damaged their
archeological sites. Then horror stories from the Greeks, the
Armenians, the Syrians, the Albanians. Were they liked anywhere?
Then, lured by cheap, colorful vacations, Westerners began to
“discover” Turkey. They regaled me with tales of the friendly Turk.
Still, I was doubtful. How could they be? Weren’t they the “terrible
Turks” who took no prisoners in the Korean War? The thieving Turks of
yesteryears?
Well. I stand corrected. My friends were right. Throughout our three
weeks we encountered nothing but kindness and care.
There was the man hurrying to us when we stopped the car to rest near
a vineyard. We feared he was coming to beg. What a joke! His hands
were full of bunches of grapes to refresh the foreign visitors.
And then there was the wife of a minor official we were interviewing.
She had brought us tea and the usual honey-soaked cakes. Then, as we
stood to leave, she gave me a parcel of tissue paper. Inside was an
exquisitely crocheted shawl of soft gray wool flecked with silver.
She had made it herself for her daughter but wanted me to have it.
“I make for her another,” she laughed. Now, her shawl keeps me as
warm as the friendship of that gesture.
Do I like Turks? Does a duck quack?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, March 7, 2005
In this issue:
U.S. Ambassador Evans: Armenia is on the right track
Leading critic of Azeri government’s anti-Armenian mongering killed
Turkish Ministry renames wild animals bearing “separatist” names
U.S. ENVOY: ARMENIA ON RIGHT TRACK
The United States Ambassador to Armenia John Evans described Armenia
as “on the right track along several important vectors.” Evans made
the remark last month during a speaking tour of universities and
Armenian-American communities in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Washington, DC. Evans said that while progress was
often uneven and there were problematic areas, there have already
been significant accomplishments.
Speaking at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC Evans said that
U.S.-Armenia relations were good when he took his post in Yerevan
last August and that they continue to strengthen. He particularly
noted Armenia’s deployment with the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Evans
said that he fully realized that this decision was complicated by
concerns over the safety of the Armenian community in Iraq and came
after much internal debate. Evans also noted that the overall
U.S.-Armenia security partnership, including cooperation on
counter-proliferation, was developing quite rapidly.
Evans along with Robin Phillips, the Armenia Director for the Agency
for International Development (USAID), spoke of significant economic
progress made by Armenia. The Armenian economy has now recovered from
its post-independence crisis. Unlike the past, when much of the
production was geared for the Soviet military-industrial complex, 80
percent of Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) today is generated
by the private sector. With double-digit economic growth in the past
four years, poverty levels have fallen from close to 50 percent in
2002 to about 40 percent last year. Evans identified corruption as an
issue that is widely perceived as a significant problem. He added
that he was encouraged by President Robert Kocharian’s pledge to
fight unfair revenue collection and tax evasion.
Evans also touched on Armenia’s foreign policy challenges. On the
Karabakh conflict, Evans said he was “very slightly encouraged” with
continued talks between Armenian and Azeri officials, but that the
overall outlook for settlement was not very promising because of the
lack of mutual trust and continued bellicose rhetoric. While speaking
at the University of California, Berkeley, Evans noted that while
U.S. policy was to recognize the territorial integrity of other
states “everybody realizes that Karabakh can’t be given back to
Azerbaijan.”
Evans further noted that the United States continues to hope for
“evolution in Turkey” that would lead to a change in its policy
towards Armenia. He further stressed that the murders and
deportations of over one million Armenians from Ottoman Turkey should
be properly characterized as Genocide. (Sources: ANC-San Francisco
2-19; R&I Report 2-23; RFE/RL Armenia Report 2-25)
LEADING DOMESTIC CRITIC OF AZERBAIJAN’S ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICIES
MURDERED
Azerbaijan’s leading opposition journalist known for his harsh
criticism of the Azeri government’s domestic and foreign policies was
murdered last week. Elmar Huseinov, 38, was shot four times,
including once in his mouth in what appeared to be a contract killing
just outside his apartment door. Reports from Huseinov’s family and
friends, who were first on the scene, said that electricity in the
building went out and that his cell phone was switched off by a
government-controlled company shortly before the murder.
The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan called Huseinov’s death a “great loss”
and urged that “everything possible” be done to locate the
perpetrators. U.S. Ambassador Reno Harnish called Huseinov a true
patriot, who wanted to see his country free and democratic. A leading
opposition figure Ali Kerimov accused the government of orchestrating
the murder, calling it an “act of state terror.” Both Harnish and
Kerimov made their remarks at Huseinov’s funeral attended by
thousands of mourners. The government, meanwhile, claimed the murder
was a “provocation” by unnamed forces and promised a thorough
investigation. Past murders of Azeri government critics were either
left unsolved or resulted in dubious prosecutions of government
opponents.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) noted in a
statement that the murder comes amid a broad government crackdown on
the media and opposition activists. Observers believe that following
recent government changes in Georgia and Ukraine, the Azeri
government is nervous that domestic opposition groups may restart
protests with Western support. Pro-Aliyev politicians have accused
Western democracy organizations and even BP, a leading Western
investor in Caspian oil, of helping the Azeri opposition foment
unrest.
Huseinov was the founder and chief editor of the Monitor, a weekly
publication that, in addition to investigative reporting of the Azeri
government’s domestic corruption, was virtually the sole Azeri
publication to publish articles that opposed the government’s
anti-Armenian actions and rhetoric. The magazine accused the
government of instigating the anti-Armenian hysteria and its articles
repeatedly called the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s threats to
launch a new war in Karabakh a “bluff,” the Azeri army not ready for
war and the government’s entire approach to the conflict as
counterproductive to its resolution. As a result, the government
repeatedly fined and periodically shut down the Monitor, with
Husseinov and other authors accused of treason and “insulting Azeri
national dignity,” imprisoned and assaulted.
The Monitor countered the dominant trends in Azeri media, by
repeatedly condemning anti-Armenian violence in Azerbaijan since the
late 1980s and exposing government complicity, including that by the
late President Heydar Aliyev and his associates. In its recent
issues, the magazine criticized anti-Armenian vandalism in Azerbaijan
and linked senior Azeri officials to terrorism and narcotics
trafficking. Last week’s issue was due to feature a report on a
Monitor correspondent’s trip to Karabakh. The correspondent, Eynullah
Fatullayev, who was himself a target of an assassination attempt last
summer, said in his interview after returning from Karabakh that he
was pleasantly surprised with democratic and economic progress made
there. He noted that Armenians were tolerant towards Azeris, and that
Azerbaijan should focus on settlement of the conflict now.
Azeri President Aliyev said last year that he was “not in a hurry” to
settle the conflict, but would instead use oil revenues to build-up
the military and intensify an anti-Armenian public relations campaign
to coerce Armenians into concessions. (Sources: Armenia This Week
1-24-03, 1-23-04, 11-15-04, 2-7; Zerkalo 2-23, 3-5; Ekho 3-1;
Associated Press (AP) 3-2, 3; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
3-2, 3, 5; CPJ.org 3-2; Day.az 3-3; R&I Report 3-7)
A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
122 C Street, N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 393-3434
FAX (202) 638-4904
E-Mail [email protected] WEB
Monday, March 7, 2005
Separatist animals curbed
Environment and Forest Ministry acts on animal names considered a
threat to Turkey’s unitary state
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
The Environment and Forest Ministry has announced that it has changed
animal names that contain the words “Kurdistan” and “Armenia,” which
they considered threatened Turkey’s unitary state. Meanwhile, a
United Nations Development Program official objected, noting that the
change needed to be cited in relevant literature to come into effect.
Some animals, whose Latin names included “separatist” words, have
become a source of concern.
The names of red fox, wild sheep and roe deer were officially changed
by the ministry on Friday.
>From now on, the Latin name of red fox will be Vulpes Vulpes, instead
of Vulpes Vulpes Kurdistanicum, wild sheep will be known as Ovis
Orien Anatolicus, instead of Ovis Armeniana and Roe deer will be
called Capreolus Caprelus Capreolus, instead of Capreolus Capreolus
Armenius.
In a ministry statement, it was said that the changes were made,
because the names were selected intentionally to pose a threat to the
unitary state, and the foreign academics had acted very prejudicial.
UNDP rejects the change:
A UNDP official, who was asked about the changes by daily Hürriyet,
said the ministry had to make a valid case for the changes and make
sure the changes were cited in literature, before they could be
considered official. The official said that it was up to the
scientist who made the discovery to name the animal.
Environment and Forest Ministry Nature Preservation Department chief
Professor Mustafa Kemal Yalinkiliç admitted that scientific names
could not be chosen by anyone, but claimed that certain games were
being played over Turkey. He said these academics were using such
names to argue that Armenians or Kurds used to live in these regions.
–Boundary_(ID_1otu+CS65/17tRNYS8ENOw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri soldier wounded in ceasefire breach
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 11 2005
Baku, February 10, AssA-Irada
Samir Bakirov, a soldier in the Azerbaijan Army, was wounded after
Armenian military units fired at the positions of the Azerbaijani
military units located in Shikhlar settlement of the Aghdam District
on Wednesday night. The health condition of the hospitalized soldier is
satisfactory, a source from the Ministry of Defence told AssA-Irada.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress