Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

Armenian herbal teas to be exported to Germany

Tatoyan Vazgen 
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
Armenian herbal teas to be exported to Germany
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Mountain Tea and Antaram, two
Armenian herbal tea producers, have signed an export deal with German
TeeGschwendner on the sidelines of the BIOFACH 2018 agricultural food
expo in Nuremberg, Germany.
LukasParobij, an executive of the German tea company, said they found
out about the Armenian producers through the organic agriculture
project of NABU and ACBA Credit Agricole Bank. “I think the project
created very good opportunities and prospects both for Armenian
organic tea producers and for us”, he said.
In addition to the exports deal, the agreement also implies staff training.
“This is TeeGschwendner’s first regional project, and I can say that
we found what we were looking for in Armenia”, he added.
The German company operates more than 130 specialized stores in 7
countries across 4 continents.
English –translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan

Chess: The country breeding a generation of chess whizz kids

Tatoyan Vazgen
BBC, UK
Feb 18 2018

Since 2011, all children in Armenia from six to eight years old have had compulsory chess lessons. For one boy it’s paying off, reports Emma Levine.

I was trapped. Surrounded on all sides, and there was no escape. The king’s capture was imminent – and my bishop was of no use this time. “Shakh yev mat,” Mikhael announced triumphantly. Check mate – and my victor was just 11 years old.

It wasn’t surprising – a few days earlier Mikhael had been crowned the national schools’ chess champion, adding to his other trophies.

He’d been playing since he was five.

“I learned from my father and grandfather – and then, weekly lessons in school,” he told me in the family’s apartment in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.

Image captionMikhael beat Emma in just eight minutes

One of his heroes is compatriot Levon Aronian. This charismatic 35-year-old, one of Armenia’s many grandmasters, was once number two in the world – a superstar and national hero in a country not accustomed to sporting success.

Mikhael’s mum, Nara, proudly shows me her son’s trophies and medals.

“Mikhael wants to be a world champion. He watches international games to perfect his chess,” she told me over tiny cups of soorj – strong Armenian coffee. “We don’t put pressure on him – it’s what he loves doing and that’s the most important thing.”

Nara travels with her son to all his tournaments, including going abroad.

Image captionGrandmaster Levon Aronian was number two in the world in 2014

“I can’t beat him any more!” his older brother, Khachatur, tells me ruefully.

“Mikhael has this amazing knack of getting inside an opponent. If he gets beaten he’ll analyse their moves and their game, and knows instinctively how to beat them next time.

“And,” he adds, “he memorises every game, and recreates it on the board.”

The child is constantly making strategic decisions, assessing the situation before making a move – I think this is a great benefit for society

Smbat Lputian, President of the Armenian Chess Academy

Mikhael’s perseverance is paying off. He’s racing up the national chess rankings for youth players. In a couple of years he could be one of the world’s youngest-ever grandmasters.

Since 2011, all children in Armenia from six to eight years old have compulsory chess lessons. It’s the first country in the world to include it on the national curriculum.

To see more young stars I head to Chess House on a packed marshrutka – or minibus.

Yerevan has an ancient history – it’s actually 28 years older than Rome. But there’s little evidence of that now. The marshrutka weaves through Republic Square, which is encircled by elegant 20th-Century government buildings and museums built from pink volcanic tufa stone.

But in construction-mad Yerevan, you’re never far away from a crane or deafening drill. Recent years have seen the government reneging on its promise to protect historic buildings – embarking instead on urban development on a mammoth scale.

I jump off the marshrutka at Circular Park, a leafy respite.

Here, I join a handful of spectators watching several elderly men perch at rickety wooden tables, playing chess with their pals. I head past them to Chess House and the real hub of activity – upstairs in the main hall, rows of long tables are lined with chess sets, with about 200 children deep in play.

The room is silent, the children’s behaviour impeccable, with no tantrums or raised voices. All look utterly immersed in the games – which last up to two hours – their faces wearing the serious expressions of professionals. The children record every move in their notebooks.

Image captionA supervisor watches children playing games at the chess school

But when 10-year-old Davit makes a blunder, there are tears – and then a motherly arm around his shoulder from Maria, one of the supervisors. “They are just children, after all!” she says, smiling.

Downstairs in the waiting area, scores of parents, grandmothers and a few uncles wait patiently for the children to emerge from the hall, once their matches are over. You can feel tension mounting as each one walks slowly down the carpeted steps to greet their mum. Win lose, or draw, each gets a hug.

Image captionWin, lose, or draw, each child gets a hug when they come out

In the main entrance is a bust of Tigran Petrosian, the chess world champion from 1963 to 1969.

“Armenia has always enjoyed a strong link with chess, but Tigran’s victories were the revolution for us,” explained Smbat Lputian, president of the Armenian Chess Academy. He shows me around the academy, a smart three-storey building in dazzling white, in a neighbourhood otherwise dominated by Soviet-era grey apartment blocks.

“Since our independence from the USSR in 1991, we have made fantastic progress,” he says proudly. With a population of a little over three million, Armenia has one of the highest numbers of chess grandmasters, per capita, in the world.

Image captionChess academy teacher Tigran congratulates a young opponent

Lputian was the driving force behind making chess mandatory in schools, with the support of the Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan.

“So what was the main reason?” I asked him.

“The most important quality of chess is that it’s a fair game, so young children start learning a game which is clean and honourable, and it teaches them good behaviour. The child is constantly making strategic decisions – assessing the situation before making a move.” He paused. “I think this is a great benefit for society as a whole.”

Armenia now has more than 3,000 qualified trained chess teachers in its schools. Many other countries want to follow suit, according to Lputian. He tells me excitedly about a new chess scientific research institute, due to open in Yerevan later this year, where scientists and psychologists will research the impact of chess in the learning process.

Through their dedication, Mikhael and thousands more children here have helped put Armenia on the chess-playing map. And at least I can console myself that I was beaten by a potential grandmaster.

All photographs by Emma Levine

F18News: Azerbaijan – Sufis raided, initial fine, Protestants raided

Tatoyan Vazgen 
FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
=================================================
Tuesday 6 February 2018
AZERBAIJAN: SUFIS RAIDED, INITIAL FINE, PROTESTANTS RAIDED
Sufi Muslim Rashad Abidov was fined in Sheki for hosting a religious
meeting raided by police, but managed to overturn the fine on appeal.
Police raided Star in the East Pentecostal Church in Gyanja during Sunday
worship. Police phoned the schools of children present. Fines might follow.
AZERBAIJAN: SUFIS RAIDED, INITIAL FINE, PROTESTANTS RAIDED
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
In December 2017, Sufi Muslim Rashad Abidov, whose home in the northern
town of Sheki was raided by police during a religious meeting, managed to
overturn the large fine handed down for holding a meeting without state
permission. Police had brought the case rather than officials of the State
Committee for Work with Religious Organisations.
On 28 January 2018, police raided a Sunday worship service of a Protestant
church in Azerbaijan's second city Gyanja. Police phoned the schools of
children present at the service. Fines might follow (see below).
On 31 January, Azerbaijan's Constitutional Court in the capital Baku wrote
to Baptist pastor Hamid Shabanov in Aliabad in the northern Zakatala
[Zaqatala] District to tell him it would not be considering his further
appeal against a large fine for meeting for worship without state
permission handed down in December 2016. Pastor Shabanov - a former
prisoner of conscience - must now pay the fine of more than three months'
average wages for those in formal work. Another Baptist from the same
church, Mehman Agamammadov, has now paid all three instalments of his fine.
Their Baptist church in Aliabad has been seeking registration - in vain -
since 1994. Police and state officials have warned church members not to
meet. "If we meet again for worship, we'll get double the fine," Pastor
Shabanov told Forum 18 officials had warned them (see below).
Strict controls
The government imposes severe controls on who is allowed to meet for
worship and where. All religious communities must have state registration
before they can legally function. However, many communities (like the
Baptist church in Aliabad) are arbitrarily denied such registration. Muslim
communities outside the framework of the state-backed Muslim Board are
banned, although this is not enshrined in any law (see Forum 18's
Azerbaijan religious freedom survey
<
Fines are typically 1,500 Manats (6,900 Norwegian Kroner, 715 Euros or 890
US Dollars). This represents nearly three months' average wages for those
with a formal job. However, for those in rural areas, those without a
formal job, or pensioners, such fines represent a far heavier financial
burden.
Officials from the police, State Security Service (SSS) secret police,
State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations, and Religious
Affairs Commissions attached to city or district administrations frequently
raid meetings for worship and help punish those exercising their right to
freedom of religion or belief (see F18News 18 December 2017
<
Criminal prosecutions
These raids come as prisoner of conscience Imam Serdar Babayev is
challenging his three-year prison term handed down in July 2017 to punish
him for leading services in a Shia Muslim mosque after gaining his
religious education abroad. His first appeal failed in September 2017 (see
F18News 18 December 2017
<
 The Supreme Court in
the capital Baku is due to begin hearing his latest appeal on the morning
of 13 February (see forthcoming F18News article).
Another prisoner of conscience, Shia Muslim Taleh Bagirov, is facing a
further criminal case. His trial at Baku's Qaradag District Court began on
6 February on charges of illegally having memory cards with the Koran and
Koranic-related material while in prison. The trial is due to resume on the
morning of 13 February, his lawyer Javad Javadov told Forum 18 from Baku on
6 February (see forthcoming F18News article).
Bagirov, seized during an armed police assault on the village of Nardaran
near Baku in November 2015, is already serving a 20-year jail term for
leading the Muslim Unity Movement (see F18News 9 February 2017
<
Sheki: Police raid Sufi meeting, fine eventually overturned
On 18 August 2017, Police in the northern town of Sheki raided the home of
44-year-old Rashad Abidov at the behest of Chief Criminal Investigator
Major Ilham Mammadov. Investigator Lieutenant Ayaz Bayramov led the raid,
where officers found Sufi Muslims meeting without state permission.
Officers seized 13 books by the Turkish Sufi leaders Imam Iskender Ali Mihr
and Abdulcabbar Boran, as well as discs and three computers.
On 10 October 2017, Investigator Bayramov intended to open a criminal case
against Abidov but this was rejected. On 23 October 2017, Captain Shamil
Bazarov instead opened a case against him under Administrative Code Article
515.0.2. This punishes "Violating legislation on holding religious
meetings, marches, and other religious ceremonies". The fine for
individuals for this "offence" is between 1,500 and 2,000 Manats.
The case against Abidov was handed to Sheki District Court. On 14 November
2017, Judge Jahid Imanov found him guilty and fined him 1,500 Manats (6,900
Norwegian Kroner, 715 Euros or 890 US Dollars).
Abidov appealed against the fine to Sheki Appeal Court. On 15 December 2017
Judge Rafail Aliyev upheld Abidov's appeal, as the wrong officials had
prepared the administrative case, according to the decision seen by Forum
18. A 3 May 2017 presidential decree said only State Committee officials
could prepare cases for court under Administrative Code Article 515 (all
parts) and Article 516.0.1. Police had prepared the case against Abidov.
Lieutenant Bayramov of Sheki Police refused to explain why officers had
raided Abidov's home, seized religious literature and other items, tried to
bring a criminal case and then brought an administrative case because he
was hosting a meeting with others in his home about his faith. "No criminal
case is underway," he told Forum 18 on 6 February 2018 via a colleague. The
colleague then said he refused to answer any other questions and left the
office.
Officers told Forum 18 the same day that Major Mammadov and Captain Bazarov
were out of the office. The duty officer told Forum 18 that the raid on
Abidov's home and the case against him "did not happen".
Taleh Abdullayev, the representative in Sheki of the State Committee,
refused to answer any of Forum 18's questions about the August 2017 raid -
including whether or not he or his colleagues had been present - about what
had happened to the religious literature seized from Abidov and why he was
originally fined. "Don't call here again," he told Forum 18 on 6 February
before putting the phone down.
Gyanja: Police raid worship meeting
On 28 January, Police in Gyanja's Nizami District raided the Sunday meeting
for worship of Star in the East Pentecostal Church, held in the home of
45-year-old church member Adalat Sariyev. About 100 people - 40 of them
children - were present at the meeting when the police arrived, Report.az
news website noted on 30 January.
"The invasion came during the service, and officers filmed everyone present
with video-cameras and took their personal details, including of children,"
one church member told Forum 18 from Gyanja.
Police detained Sariyev and sent information about him to the State
Committee for Work with Religious Organisations, Report.az noted. 
Following the raid, schools attended by the children received calls from
the police, church members told Forum 18.
The man who answered the phone of Nizami District Police chief - who would
not give his name - refused to explain why officers raided a meeting for
worship in a home. "Ask the Interior Ministry," he told Forum 18 on 5
February. The officer then admitted that local police, not officers from
the Ministry in Baku, had conducted the raid, but still refused to explain
why it had been launched. "We work according to the laws of Azerbaijan," he
insisted and then put the phone down. 
An official of the Gyanja branch of the State Committee, who refused to
give his name, told Forum 18 on 5 February that the head of the branch Asif
Aliyev was away for the whole of the week. The official insisted the police
had raided the church "to take a look only" and to "ask questions" of
Sariyev.
Asked what church members had done wrong to merit a police raid during a
religious meeting, the official responded: "They didn't do anything wrong.
They simply have no registration." The official refused to explain why a
religious community should be raided for meeting for worship without state
registration. He claimed Sariyev would face no court case.
Like many Protestant churches (as well as non-Muslim Board mosques, and
communities of other faiths), Star in the East Church in Gyanja does not
have state registration.
Church members do not know whether Sariyev or others will face any court
case. "Nothing is certain at the moment," church members told Forum 18.
"From what officials say it is possible some further action will follow."
Aliabad: Constitutional Court refuses to consider appeal
On 31 January, Azerbaijan's Constitutional Court Baku wrote to 61-year-old
Baptist pastor Hamid Shabanov in Aliabad to tell him it would not be
considering his further appeal against a fine of 1,500 Manats for meeting
for worship without state permission handed down in December 2016.
"The Constitutional Court wrote to say that I lodged the appeal too late,"
Pastor Shabanov told Forum 18 from Aliabad on 6 February. "I must now pay
the fine. The law demands that I pay - they warned me that if I don't,
they'll be further action."
Another Baptist from the same church, Mehman Agamammadov, has now paid all
three instalments of his 1,500 Manat-fine at the insistence of the court
bailiff. Despite being repeatedly refused the written decision and despite
objecting to being fined for exercising his right to freedom of religion or
belief he paid the first instalment of 500 Manats in early December 2017
(see F18News 15 December 2017
<
 "Mehman has now paid
the other two instalments," Pastor Shabanov told Forum 18.
The fines followed a November 2016 raid by police and the local State
Committee official on an "illegal" meeting for prayer in Pastor Shabanov's
home. Police detained more than 30 adults and children present, after which
16 women and 10 men were questioned at the local police station until 10 pm
at night. Police sent confiscated religious literature to the State
Committee in Baku for alleged "expert analysis". The literature was all
returned the following month.
In a 15-minute hearing on 12 December 2016, Zakatala District Court found
both Pastor Shabanov and Agamammadov guilty and fined them each the minimum
fine, 1,500 Manats. Both Baptists were punished under Administrative Code
Article 515.0.2 ("Violating legislation on holding religious meetings,
marches, and other religious ceremonies").
Pastor Shabanov managed to get the written decision only in January 2017.
Agamammadov never received the written decision, despite repeated attempts
to get it from the court. Pastor Shabanov lodged his appeal to the
Constitutional Court in October 2017 after Sheki Appeal Court refused in
June 2017 to extend the period for him to lodge his appeal against the
December 2016 fine (see F18News 17 January 2017
<
The Aliabad Baptist Church has been seeking registration - in vain - since
1994. Former prisoner of conscience Pastor Shabanov was held in pre-trial
detention from June to November 2008. In February 2009 he was given a
two-year suspended sentence on charges he and his fellow-Baptists insisted
were fabricated. He was arrested a month after another Aliabad Pastor, Zaur
Balaev, was freed after nearly a year in prison on false charges (see
F18News 12 February 2009
<
The Aliabad Church has been unable to meet together for worship since the
November 2016 raid. In November 2017, the head of the State Committee Legal
Department Sabina Allahverdiyeva wrote to the Church warning that it cannot
meet for worship without state registration (see F18News 15 December 2017
<
"If we meet again for worship, we'll get double the fine," Pastor Shabanov
quoted officials as having told church members, he told Forum 18. (END)
For background information see Forum 18's Azerbaijan religious freedom
survey at 
<
More coverage of freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Azerbaijan is
at 
<
A compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments can be found at
<
For a personal commentary, by an Azeri Protestant, on how the international
community can help establish religious freedom in Azerbaijan, see
<
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
<
Twitter @Forum_18
Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService
All Forum 18 News Service material may be referred to, quoted from, or
republished in full, if Forum 18  is credited as the
source.
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.
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Music: Alexey Hekimyan’s favourite songs to be presented for first time accompanied by symphony orchestra

Tatoyan Vazgen
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 27 2018
Culture 14:26 27/01/2018 Armenia

The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, headed by its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Sergey Smbatyan, will present the favourite and anticipated songs by Alexey Hekimyan, a renowned Armenian-Russian composer.

The concert, dedicated to the famous composer’s 90th anniversary, is scheduled for the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan on February 2, at 19:00. 

The concert is held under high patronage of the First Lady of the Republic of Armenia Rita Sargsyan, with the support of Armenia’s Ministry of Culture, the orchestra’s press service reported.

During the exceptional evening favourite singers will present Alexey Hekimyan’s songs with new interpretation. The special guests of the concert are Vakhtang Kikabidze and Nani Bregvadze. 

Vakhtang Kikabidze, Nani Bregvadze, Shushan Petrosyan, Arsen Safaryan, Artur Ispiryan, Arsen Grigoryan, Arman Hovhannisyan, Vardan Badalyan, Hamlet Gevorgyan, Edgar Khachatryan, Masha Mnjoyan, the Voices of Artsakh, the soloists of the State Song Theatre of Armenia will perform with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra.

Alexey Hekimyan’s favourite songs will be presented for the first time accompanied by the symphony orchestra and with new instrumentation.

Armenian Church celebrates Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

Tatoyan Vazgen
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 15 2018

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist, Araratian Patriarchal Diocese reports. The birth is described in detail in the Gospel, according to Like (Lk 1:5-25). One day Zechariah, father of St John the Baptist, was doing his work as a priest in the Temple and was burning incense on the altar. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and said that God had heard his prayer and his wife would bear him a son. Zechariah had to name him John. Zechariah didn’t believe the angel as he was and old man, and his wife was old, too. And because he hadn’t believed the angel he became unable to speak and remained silent until the birth of John.

St. John the Baptist, who should baptize the Savior, had been aware and rejoiced for the birth of Jesus even before his birth. According to the Evangelist, when St. Mary, Holy Mother of God, visited Elizabeth, mother of St John the Baptist, the latter, being filled with the Holy Spirit cried out, “Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me? For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness” (Lk 1:43-44).

Continuation of the words of Elizabeth are the message of this feast addressed to all Christians throughout the world, “How happy you are to believe that the Lord’s message to you will come true!” (Lk 1:45).

Music: Meet KÁRYYN, the digital adventurer who inspired Björk

Tatoyan Vazgen
The Irish Times
Jan 6 2018
 
 
Meet KÁRYYN, the digital adventurer who inspired Björk
 
The Syrian-Armenian-American’s minimal music captures childhood memories of Aleppo and seems to come from a another dimension
 
Louise Bruton
 
KÁRYYN: time to get acquainted with her work – and how to say her name. Photograph: Derek Hutchison
 
 
 
In what appears to be a highly-stylised pronunciation of Karen, the composer and vocalist KÁRYYN will initially have you at a loss as to how to say her name and will then swiftly leave you speechless with her layered and ambient music.
 
Based in Los Angeles, the Syrian-Armenian-American’s music is minimal, but with its overlapping vocals, gentle orbing synths and rigid electronic interference, it makes for an all-enveloping experience. She trips up over the set rules of music, and takes us to a place that feels like a different dimension. Oh, yes. We’re going intergalactic with this one.
 
Also, Björk includes the composition KÁRYYN did on the Of Light opera (co-written by Samantha Shay, who is under the mentorship of Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic, no less) as one of her inspirations from 2017. If Björk is inspired by your work, then you’ve absolutely nailed it.

In 2017, she released the singles Aleppo, Purgatory (both from her Quanta series) and Moving Masses, from Of Light, through her own label Antevasin (a Sanskrit word that translates to “one who lives at the border”). With a promise of new material to surface this year, it’s time to get acquainted with her work.

Aleppo captures her childhood memories of visiting relatives in Syria, and she laments the city she once knew so well, contrasting it with the one that’s crumbling down. The various crunches and blips that you hear over her fragile voices are intended to echo the destruction we see played out on the news.

The pining, delicate strums of Binary feel isolated, and conjure up the quest for a soulmate between the 1s and the 0s, which should feel dystopian, but, when we’re looking to be paired up and matched online – to find love in the abyss – Binary is our hollow reality.

Supping from the same cup as FKA Twigs and Zola Jesus, KÁRYYN’s music ensnares your brain and jolts your senses. It’s an immersive experience and her sounds leave a barely there but altogether heavy imprint on your brain.

If we were ever invited round to his Killiney gaff for dinner, we now have a debate locked and loaded for him. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he said: “I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good.”

Girly. It’s hard to know what his definition of girly is. Is it sensitivity? Is it synths? Is it wearing high heels? But if he’s worried about girliness stepping in and taking the place of the angry, male voice in the charts, I suggest he prepares himself for a new type of rage. The fearless and boundless rage of girls and women that are finally having their say in a society that was built to silence them. Take that, Bono.

Armenian Church celebrates today Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ

Tatoyan Vazgen
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 6 2018
Society 11:45 06/01/2018

On January 6, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ.

The Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6. In Armenian tradition, this feast day commemorates not only the birth of Christ, but also His baptism by John the Baptist. The latter is remembered through the “Blessing of Water” ceremony, which follows the Divine Liturgy on January 6.

On the eve of the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Jrakalouyts Divine Liturgy (the lighting of the lamps service) is celebrated in honor of the manifestation of Jesus as the Son of God (theophany). It is custom for the faithful to hold lit candles during this special service.
On the following day, the mystery of our Lord’s baptism in the River Jordan is remembered in the ceremony of the Jurorhnek, or the “Blessing of Water.”

In ancient times, this ceremony was celebrated by the riverside or sea shore, but, for various reasons, it was later confined to the interior of the churches. During the ceremony, the cross is dipped in water, recalling Christ’s immersion in the Jordan River. Blessed oil, or Holy Chrism (Muron), is poured into the water from a dove-shaped container, symbolizing the appearance at the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaiming to all that Jesus is His Son.

The Holy Chrism is prepared in Holy Etchmiadzin and is blessed by the Catholicos assisted by the bishops. Muron contains olive oil, balsam and the essence of forty different flowers and herbs. At the end of the ceremony, members of the congregation are given the blessed water to drink, thereby sharing in the life giving act of Christ. As water is essential to the life of the body, drinking the blessed water is a reminder that participation in the acts of Christ is essential for eternal life.

Turkish press: Turkey cannot bribe or blackmail the Council of Europe

Tatoyan Vazgen
By BARÇIN YİNANÇ

Turkey is a founding member of the Council of Europe, which remains one of the strongest institutions anchoring Turkey to Europe.

Ankara accepted the right to individual petition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 1987. Turkey is therefore committed to abide by universal (not just European) democratic standards. This is one of the most important assets and symbols distinguishing Turkey from other third world countries, mainly the autocracies and dictatorships of the Middle East.

However, Turkey recently informed the Council of Europe that it will withdraw from being one of the six major donors to the European body.

The ostensible justification for the move is unease over an award given to a suspected member of the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), believed to have orchestrated Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recently awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2017 to Murat Arslan, the former chair of the Judges and Prosecutors Union (YARSAV), who has been arrested since 2016 over links to FETÖ.

However, experts familiar with the issue believe that Turkey was mainly reacting against PACE’s decision to bring Turkey under monitoring again. PACE voted in April last year to reintroduce (for the first time in 13 years) the monitoring process for Turkey, arguing that constitutional amendments significantly expanding the powers of the presidency “do not comply with the fundamental understanding of democracy.”

The declaration of the state of emergency, the state of emergency decree laws, and the detentions of MPs and journalists have all paved the way to the reinstitution of the monitoring process.

I cannot blame PACE for reinstituting the monitoring process on Turkey, though I must say that I find its decision in the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize highly controversial.

But ultimately we cannot judge the Council of Europe and its institutions based on our liking of its individual decisions. We cannot applaud, for instance, the ECHR’s ruling against Switzerland for its law criminalizing denial of Armenian genocide claims while also denouncing it when it rules against Turkey over long trials and detention times.

It is therefore tremendously unfortunate for Turkey to withdraw from being one of the major donors of the Council of Europe. The Ankara government should not shape its approach towards the Council of Europe based on Europe’s approach to Turkey, but rather over the Council’s main mission of overseeing that its 47 members abide by democratic standards.

After all, the Council of Europe is one of the multilateral organizations used by Turkey to fight against growing racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia in many European countries. Indeed, prominent Turkish academic Gün Kut has since 1996 served as member of the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and was also from 2004-2007 a member of the Management and Executive Board of the EU Monitoring Center (EUMC), representing the Council of Europe. What’s more, the ECHR has also served as a legitimate international remedy to address rights violations against people of Turkish descent in Europe, as we have seen in the case of Greece.

More importantly, it is unethical to decrease funding in an act that appears to be an attempt to bribe or blackmail the Council of Europe. A move that could be read as saying “I’ll pay up if you don’t criticize me but won’t pay up if you do” is very damaging in terms of Turkey’s credibility and reputation.

Barçın Yinanç, hdn, opinion

In Geogria, Sarkisian Advances Regional Cooperation

Tatoyan Vazgen
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6 hours ago

President Serzh Sarkisian and his Georgian counterpart Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili during a press conference Tuesday

TBILISI—President Serzh Sarkisian on Tuesday traveled to neighboring Georgia, where he touched on security concerns in the region and how advanced Armenia-Georgia cooperation can further enhance the two countries’ ability to address those international challenges.

During a meeting held at the Presidential Palace of Georgia, the Presidents of Georgia and Armenia discussed bilateral political cooperation and deepening relations and reiterated the importance of Serzh Sarkisian’s visit as a proof of the high level of bilateral political relations.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said his country welcomed the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union, saying that Georgia sees the agreement as a positive message from the EU and an as impetus for new opportunities for mutual cooperation.

During a press conference following the meeting, the two leaders spoke about some of the highlights of their conversation, both emphasizing the need to advance neighborly relations, with Sarkisian saying that “a number of promising projects” would allow for such a development.

“The Armenian-Georgian relations have been developing in the course of a quarter of a century on the basis of rich cultural traditions, interrelated history and a common value system,” said Sarkisian.

“Georgia is particularly attractive to Armenians, as we have true friendly sentiments toward the Georgian people. It’s no coincidence that most Armenians prefer to spend their vacation in Georgia,” added Sarkisian.

The sides also reportedly discussed the implementation of programs in IT sector, creation of joint industrial enterprises. Sarkisain said he briefed his Georgian counterpart on the opportunities created by Armenia’s free trade zones as an access to the Eurasian Economic Union markets. He made a special reference to the newly launched free economic zone on the Iranian border, which will enable Georgians to export their goods and services to the Iran.

The Presidents of the two countries also referred to issues of regional security and stability. “In this context we attached importance to maintaining a balanced and constructive stance on sensitive issues. We share the opinion that a comprehensive and long-term settlement of existing conflicts is possible exceptionally in a peaceful way within the framework of agreed formats and through negotiations,” Sarkisian told reporters.

President Sarkisian meets with Ilia II, the leader of the Georgian Church

While in Tbilisi, Sarkisian also visited Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, Georgia’s pontiff and congratulated on his 40-year leadership of the church.

The parties attached importance to the role of the Armenian Apostolic and the Georgian Orthodox Churches in the development of good-neighborly relations between the two countries.

President Sarkisian tours Hovhanes Toumanian’s library in Tbilisi

Accompanied by first lady Rita Sarkisian, the president visited the Hovhannes Tumanian House Museum and Cultural Center.

The president and first lady were treated to a traditional tea party at the Toumanian Museum and Cultural Center

Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, Primate of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Director of the Tounamian Center Gissane Hovsepyan led a tour of the facility and updated the president and the first lady on the recently-completed renovations, as well as efforts to engage the Armenian community of Georgia in the center’s activities.

After watching a film about the center’s history and ongoing activities, the Sarkisian were taken to the house’s southern balcony where Tumanian used to receive guests. The tour continued with a visit to the author’s private library and a traditional tea party, that is said to have been a mainstay of the Tumanian House.