Author: Tigranian Ani

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Jan 20 2007

Protests To Condemn Killing Of Dink In Istanbul And Ankara

ISTANBUL/ANKARA – A group of people who held a sit-in protest to
condemn assassination of Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of bilingual
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, in Taksim district marched towards
Sisli district in Istanbul.
Protestors chanted slogans and carried banners reading "All We Are
Hrant Dink" and "We Condemn Those Who Murdered Hrant Dink".

On the other hand, nearly 700 people from several nongovernmental
organizations held a demonstration to protest killing of Dink in
Kizilay Square in Ankara.

Ismail Hakki Tombul, chairman of the Confederation of Public Sector
Labor Unions (KESK), said that Dink was murdered in a disgraceful
attack, noting that the bullet fired at Dink was also fired at those
who wanted to live free in Turkey.

Meanwhile, a group of people gathered in front of Human Rights
Monument in Yuksel Street in Ankara and chanted slogans denouncing
assassination of Dink.

PRESS RELEASE
A.R.F. Youth Organization of Canada
3401 Olivar Asselin
Montréal, Québec, H4J 1L5
Contact: Nanor Nicolian
Tel: 514-927-6901
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

The A.R.F. Youth Organization of Canada Holds Protest in Front the Turkish
Consulate in Montreal

Saturday January 20, 2007. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s Youth
Organization of Canada held a protest in front of the Turkish consulate in
Montreal. It was held in honour of the late Agos newspaper editor Hrant
Dink, who was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday, January 19th.

Despite the cold, more than 100 young Armenians and members of the
community gathered together, to commemorate the tragic death or Hrant
Dink, as well as to publicly condemn the Turkish Government in its
responsibility in allowing such a horrendous act to occur. Among those
present were representatives of the A.R.F. central committee of Canada,
representatives of the A.R.F. Laval and Montreal committees, members of
the A.R.F.Y.O.C. Pegor Ashod and Levon Shant chapters, as well a other
Armenian students and community supporters. Various media groups were also
present, filming, taking pictures, and interviewing some of the protesters
and mourners.

Ms. Annie Arouchian spoke on behalf of the A.R.F. Y.O.C. and the
Canadian-Armenian youth, denouncing the assassination as a political act,
a consequence of a government policy of denial. `This is a sad day for the
entire world, because one more person fell at the hands of a denialist
regime promoting fear and instilling hatred in the souls of the people.
Turkey must be held accountable for its negationnist policies and failure
to ensure the wellbeing of its journalists’, stated Ms. Arouchian.
Following this, Mr. Haytoug Chamlian was invited to speak on behalf of the
Armenian Community of Quebec. ^ This cowardly act is proof that Turkey is
haunted by its criminal past and is afraid to face the truth _, Chamlian
said.

Following the speeches, participants were invited to partake in a small
ceremony to honour the memory of Mr. Dink, by placing candles and flowers
in front of a small memorial created in front of the Turkish Consulate.

`The quick mobilization of the entire community, especially the youth, and
their determination to ensure the success of this event honouring the late
M. Dink, showed once again, that our future generation is ready and able
to take the torch and fight for a cause that is just, fight for human
rights and democracy, fight for justice to be served for the 1.5 million
victims of the Armenian genocide, and all those, like Mr. Dink, who still
fall at the hands of hatred,’ stated Zaven Dersahaguian, vice-president of
the ARF YOC central executive. `May the soul of Hrant Dink rest in peace’.

-30-

Central Executive
ARF YOC

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkey Responsible for Dink’s Murder
20.01.2007 12:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Federation of Armenian Organizations in the
Netherlands (FAON) is shocked to hear of the assassination of Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink living in Turkey. Just last month Dink visited
the Netherlands to receive the Oxfam pen Award. Dink was a brave man,
who was future oriented. In many ways Turkey carries responsibility
for the death of Dink.

By educating generations with the superiority of the Turks and with
the denial of the Armenian Genocide for decades the Turks in fact have
been stirring up Turks against Armenians. Also Turkey didn’t give
protection to Hrant Dink, he was in fact outlawed,’ says the FAON
statement.

Reporters without borders (press release), France
Jan 19 2007

Deep shock over Turkish-Armenian editor’s murder today in Istanbul

Reporters Without Borders said it was deeply shocked by the murder of
Hrant Dink, editor and columnist of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos, who was gunned down by an unidentified man today outside
his newspaper in Istanbul.

`This murder will distress and disturb all those who defend the
freedom of thought and expression in Turkey and elsewhere,’ the press
freedom organisation said. `The Turkish government must weigh the
extreme gravity of this crime and ensure that a thorough
investigation identifies those responsible as quickly as possible.’

Reporters Without Borders added: `This will be a key test for a
country that hopes to join the European Union. No one would
understand if Turkey failed to do everything possible to shed light
on this tragedy.’

Aged 53, Dink was killed by several shots fired at him shortly after
midday as he was outside the premises of his privately-owned
newspaper in Sisli, a district on the European side of Istanbul. The
police said they were looking for a youth aged about 18 or 19 wearing
a jean-jacket and a white beret.

A well-known journalist and one who was respected by his colleagues,
Dink was the target of several prosecutions over his views on the
massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman empire. In 2005, he received
six-month suspended sentence for `humiliating Turkish identity.’ He
was prosecuted against in September 2006 over an interview he gave to
Reuters in which he referred to the massacres in Anatolia during the
First World War as `genocide.’ He had been facing a possible
three-year prison sentence.

Reporters Without Borders is supporting the call issued by the
Coordinating Council of Armenian Organisations in France (CCAF) for a
demonstration at noon tomorrow outside the Turkish embassy on Rue
Ankara in Paris’ 16th district.

HEADS OF LEADING RUSSIAN TRAVEL COMPANIES VISIT ARMENIA

Yerevan, January 19. ArmInfo. The heads of 16 leading Russian travel
companies arrive in Armenia on January 22 to discuss the possibilities
for cooperation with their Armenian partners.

As ArmInfo became aware from reliable sources, the visit of Russian
specialists is carried out by invitation of the Mayor of Tsakhkadzor,
Garun Mirzoyan.

The guests are also accompanied by a group of Russian journalists.
Within the frames of the visit, they will get acquainted with the
tourist infrastructure of Tsakhkadzor, the Armenian kitchen. To note,
the resort town Tsakhkadzor was very popular in the Soviet times among
the Russian tourists, however, the town’s structure became worse after
the USSR collapse. Three years ago, the RA Government had started to
implement the town development program.

Presently, hotel complexes, which meet the international standards,
have been put into operation, the highways are under upgrading.

TURKS CONTRACT MOVIE "40 DAYS OF MYSA DAGH"

Yerevan, January 19. ArmInfo. Turkey’s authorities try their best to
prevent shooting of the "40 Days of Mysa Dagh" movie.

Three thousand e-mails were sent to the famous American actor –
Sylvester Stallone in 30 days, Zaman Turkish newspaper reports
referring to Savash Eilmezi, Chair of the ‘Council on Fight Against
the Groundless Ideas of the Genocide’.

S. Stallone intends to star in the screening of Franz Werfel’s novel
"40 Days of Mysa Dagh".

Alike mails were sent to the following companies: "Metro Golden Mayer
Pictures", "Columbia Pictures" and "Revolution Studies Film" which
arre likely to participate in shooting of the movie.

The mails say that the events decribed in F. Werfel’s novel do not
represent the facts as they are based on tales of Syrian and Lebanese
Armenians who were "organizers of terrorist acts".

The propagandists propose S. Stallone to "come to Erzrum and have a
look who was the victim of the massacre." Zaman says that the mails
were sent to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, and the Congressmen who are the authors of the draft
law on Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915. They all were
called to visit Erzrum to see "tens of common graves of assassinated
Turks."

NIZAMI BAHMANOV: "SHUSHA MONUMENT NOT TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN YEREVAN"

Today, Azerbaijan
Jan 17 2007

"I do not believe that Armenians claim on building monument dedicated
to Shusha in Yerevan will turn to reality. XXI century is not the
century of war, but this is the century of peace and economy. If
they take this step, it will cause the protest of all international
organizations," the chief of Nagorno Karabakh Azerbaijani community
Nizami Behmanov told.

He said that the referendum held in Nagorno Karabakh caused the
reaction of some famous international organizations especially OSCE
Minsk group co-chairs, EU, CE, US State Department and NATO.

"We were the witness of the cases that some monuments were laid and
then removed," he added.

The chief of Azerbaijani delegation in PACE Samad Seyidov told the
APA that Armenia has unconstructive position and does its best to
exert negative influence on the negotiations.

"Azerbaijani delegation will take active part in the discussions of
Armenia’s PACE commitments and will express its position. Robert
Kocharyan’s support separatist Nagorno Karabakh regime and his
congratulations on the 15th anniversary of the occupation of Shusha
are violations of PACE commitments," Seyidov said.

He also stated that several ceremonies were held, books about the
history of the conflict were distributed to the parliamentarians in
the frame of PACE events.

As APA reports, Yerevan major’s office decided to construct monument
dedicated the occupation day of Shusha and tender was announced.

URL:

TRIAL WAS POSTPONED

A1+
[05:24 pm] 17 January, 2007

The court of the first instance of Erebouni and Noubarashen was to
start the trial of Gagik Shamshyan, photo correspondent of "Aravot"
and "Fourth Power".

The trial was postponed until February 2 through the mediation of
Zaruhi Postanjyan, Shamshyan’s advocate.

The advocate is preparing a document referring to the violations
against journalists in the pre-election period. The document will be
sent to several NGOs which will sign it.

Let us remind you that a charge was brought against Gagik Shamshyan
on August 17, 2006, according to three articles of the Criminal
Code. The charge was brought after Gagik Shamshyan turned to court
blaming Noubarashen community head Mher Hovhannisyan for violent
actions against him as a journalist.

IN NEW PARLIAMENT, CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT UNION CHAIRMAN FORESEES PRESENT OPPOSITION TO MAKE MAJORITY

Noyan Tapan
Jan 18 2007

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The opposition will create 2-3 big
alliances during the pre-electoral period, will become a majority in
the new National Assembly, will form a coalition and make a joint
decision on participation in the 2008 president’s elections. Hayk
Babukhanian, the Chairman of the Constitutional Right Union (CRU)
party foresaw this at the January 18 press conference.

In his words, continuing making a part of the "Ardarutiun" (Justice)
bloc, pre-electoral consultations are being held at present with
the "Orinats Yerkir" (Country of Law) and "Dashink" (Alliance)
parties. H.Babukhanian mentioned that the CRU will not betray its
opposing posture and will make an alliance with those forces which
are anxious with the future of the state. In his words, the party
can cooperate with both pro-European and pro-Russian forces led
by democratic ideas. He assured that the cooperation of the CRU
with ruling or pro-governmental parties is excluded. "Our party
has nothing to do with those political structures and unions which
strive for entering the Parliament for solving personal or narrow
party problems," H.Babukhanian stated.

UNEMPLOYMENT LEVEL DROPS TO 7.2 PERCENT

Armenpress
Jan 16 2007

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: By the end of 2006 December
unemployment level in Armenia dropped to 7.2 percent from 7.7 percent
12 months before.

However, it rose in some provinces, particularly in the southernmost
Syunik and Lori in the northeast.

Sona Harutunian, head of the National Employment Service, an
affiliation of the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, said 102,000
jobless people were registered at local employment centers by December
31, 2006 and 84,000 had the unemployed status which means they were
eligible to unemployment benefits.

She said last year employment centers across the country found jobs
for 8,268 people and another 10,250 were offered temporary jobs.

Mrs. Harutunian said though the unemployment level dropped, the
share of young men and women seeking jobs increased 26 percent, but
she explained it by a legislative change that revoked a previously
effective provision which gave the unemployed status only to people
with at least 12 month job record.

Almost half of people who found jobs last year were in the capital
city Yerevan. Mrs. Harutunian said there were vacancies for workers
in Yerevan remaining unfilled for months. In regions there is a demand
fro doctors and school teachers.

The unemployment allowance has risen from 3,900 drams in 2003 to
12,000 Drams.