Author: Toneyan Mark

HARD ROCK HUMORIST

WA today
/music/hard-rock-humorist/2009/01/15/1231608869754 .html
Jan 16 2009
Australia

System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian says the band is "still
on hiatus".

Wit and activism are natural to Serj Tankian, writes Andrew Murfett.

SERJ Tankian’s steadfast political activism often gets in the way of
his sense of humour.

Tankian, the frontman for dormant hard rockers System of a Down, has
long supported an array of causes, including movements related to his
family’s native Armenia and anti-globalisation groups. He has also
been a strong voice against the Bush Administration and its policies
on Iraq.

When EG checked in with him last March, he was collaborating with
fellow rock activist (and close friend) Tom Morello of Rage Against
the Machine on an event at last year’s South by Southwest festival,
in Texas, centred on the moving anti-war documentary Body of War.

With the solo debut Elect the Dead released late in 2007, last year was
spent mostly on the road. There were European festivals, North American
club dates and a new musical he is composing with playwright Steven
Sader. Next week he arrives in Australia to play the Big Day Out.

Elect the Dead sounds, ostensibly, like a System of a Down record. It
features Tankian’s trademark barking vocals and System’s breakneck
guitar playing and percussion. However, it has sold about a tenth of
his band’s regular, million-plus-selling albums.

"You have to be realistic," he says. "You’re almost starting over,
building it back up. If you’re out with System of a Down, you have
a name that will automatically draw millions of people to it."

While Tankian is doing just fine financially, he says: "If I wanted
to print money, I’d be in other businesses not dying like the arts."

Tankian’s humour comes out when he talks about the band he put together
for his solo work. He decided to name it the FCC – the Flying C–ts
of Chaos.

"I was actually going to call the record that, but I thought it might
be a bit much," he says. The album contains the song Beethoven’s C–t.

"Even with System of a Down stuff, we were doing our own thing. With
the solo stuff, I have been even more in control and connected to
the vision. The only problem was we couldn’t use the word `c–t’
on the artwork if we were to be present in certain stores. I’ve done
all of these things with System before and I knew it was just easier
to put stars there and allude to the word."

The name of the band offers an instant ability to subvert the platform
through which he promotes his work. For instance, when reminded of
his band’s appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, Tankian cracks
up laughing.

"Robin Williams was on that night and Jay announced us as Serj
Tankian and the FCC," he recalls, between chuckles. "Robin Williams
kept pestering Leno to tell the audience what the band’s name stands
for. It’s cool to poke fun, I guess."

Meantime, not one for restraint, he made a staggering 14 videos to
promote Elect the Dead.

Now he is focusing on his imminent Big Day Out shows. Tankian has form
with the festival, having played twice before and appearing with both
Tool and Rage Against the Machine on various BDO stages.

In fact System of a Down’s 2002 Big Day Out tour captured the band
at its peak. Insiders suggest there have been few more excitable Big
Day Out crowd reactions than the extraordinary reception given to
the likes of Chop Suey! and Toxicity.

However, when asked about the status of his band, Tankian is mildly
terse: "System is still on hiatus since 2006, nothing’s changed."

The Auckland orchestra gigs are no coincidence. The lanky vocalist
is now also a resident of New Zealand – a home owner in Auckland –
where he spends two to three months a year. So, what is it about New
Zealand he loves so much?

"The first time I toured there, I got a really amazing feeling about
it. The more I explored the country and what it stood for, the more
excited I was to be a part of it. I love it."

He recently began working with the Auckland Philharmonic and has
written string arrangements for all of the songs in Elect the Dead. He
will perform the album in full with a 67-piece orchestra in Auckland
on March 5. The show will be recorded for a possible live album.

"The sound coming out of those instruments is more powerful then
any electronic device," he says. "It’s so emotive. To hear 67
people play my songs and me singing with them, it’s going to be
phenomenal." Alluding to his famed sense of humour, he says his
next solo record will be a more abstract project centred on jazz and
classical music. Er, really?

"Yeah, after the orchestra gig I might do some more of that."

Serj Tankian plays The Palace on January 25 and the Big Day Out on
January 26.

"Robin Williams was on that night and Jay announced us as Serj
Tankian and the FCC," he recalls, between chuckles. "Robin Williams
kept pestering Leno to tell the audience what the band’s name stands
for. It’s cool to poke fun, I guess."

Meantime, not one for restraint, he made a staggering 14 videos to
promote Elect the Dead.

Now he is focusing on his imminent Big Day Out shows. Tankian has form
with the festival, having played twice before and appearing with both
Tool and Rage Against the Machine on various BDO stages.

In fact System of a Down’s 2002 Big Day Out tour captured the band
at its peak. Insiders suggest there have been few more excitable Big
Day Out crowd reactions than the extraordinary reception given to
the likes of Chop Suey! and Toxicity.

However, when asked about the status of his band, Tankian is mildly
terse: "System is still on hiatus since 2006, nothing’s changed."

The Auckland orchestra gigs are no coincidence. The lanky vocalist
is now also a resident of New Zealand – a home owner in Auckland –
where he spends two to three months a year. So, what is it about New
Zealand he loves so much?

"The first time I toured there, I got a really amazing feeling about
it. The more I explored the country and what it stood for, the more
excited I was to be a part of it. I love it."

He recently began working with the Auckland Philharmonic and has
written string arrangements for all of the songs in Elect the Dead. He
will perform the album in full with a 67-piece orchestra in Auckland
on March 5. The show will be recorded for a possible live album.

"The sound coming out of those instruments is more powerful then
any electronic device," he says. "It’s so emotive. To hear 67
people play my songs and me singing with them, it’s going to be
phenomenal." Alluding to his famed sense of humour, he says his
next solo record will be a more abstract project centred on jazz and
classical music. Er, really?

"Yeah, after the orchestra gig I might do some more of that."

Serj Tankian plays The Palace on January 25 and the Big Day Out on
January 26.

EXCAVATIONS DIG DEEPER INTO ERGENEKON STRUCTURE

Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=164048&bolum=101
Jan 14 2009
Turkey

Excavations into sites that are potentially home to Ergenekon arms
caches continued yesterday.

Excavations into sites that are potentially home to arms caches of
Ergenekon, a clandestine organization attempting to create chaos and
undermine stability in order to trigger a coup d’état, continued
yesterday, indicating that the investigation is going to deepen,
with prosecutors reaching more central branches of the organization.

The police yesterday carried out a series of digs in wasteland around
the capital in a search for weapons linked to the Ergenekon terrorist
organization. The excavations are a continuation of earlier digs based
on new documents obtained during police raids on the houses and offices
of arrestees last week. Police on Monday discovered several explosives
and bullets in Ankara in excavations carried out under the auspices
of the Ergenekon investigation. They unearthed 30 hand grenades,
nine smoke bombs and hundreds of G-3 rifle bullets in the garden of
a deserted house in Sincan, an Ankara suburb. The hidden weapons not
only give clues to the organization’s planned attacks in the future,
but also may shed light on past crimes believed to be committed by
the organization.

Yesterday’s excavations started out early in the morning in Yenikent,
an area not far from the site of the cache found in Monday’s digs. The
excavation was briefly halted, as the area is a historical site,
a status given to it only a week ago, but then was restarted when
Turkey’s Museums and Monuments Directorate gave it the green
light. Only the Anatolia news agency and the Turkish Radio and
Television Corporation (TRT) can record footage at the site.

Meanwhile, an ancient jug was found during yesterday’s
excavation. Archeologists are yet to examine the artifact, officials
said.

Lieutenant colonel investigated

The military started an investigation yesterday into Lt. Col. Mustafa
Dönmez, an Ergenekon suspect whose houses in Sakarya and Ankara
were found in last week’s operations to contain dozens of bullets,
hand grenades and weapons. Dönmez, who disappeared last week, turned
himself into the police yesterday.

"The legal investigation regarding the suspect and the seized materials
is continuing in all dimensions," a statement from the military said
on the inquiry into the army officer.

A new wave of detentions last week in the Ergenekon investigation
revealed that the group was planning to assassinate Alevi and Armenian
community leaders, the prime minister and members of the Supreme
Court of Appeals, acts that would have dragged Turkey into chaos if
they had been carried out.

Thirty-seven individuals were detained last week in simultaneous
police operations staged in six cities as part of the ongoing
investigation. The new detainees include military officers, a
controversial academic with a background of left-wing political
activism, the former deputy head of the Police Special Operations Unit,
seven retired generals and the former head of the Higher Education
Board (YOK). The YOK chairman was released after investigation, but
four military officers, the controversial academic and the former
police deputy chief were arrested. Two senior generals were released
pending trial.

Information on weapons in GölbaÅ~_ı

The prosecutors in the case indicated that the police had evidence that
Ergenekon was plotting to kill prominent Alevi community leaders such
as Ali Balkız and Kazım Genc, as well as Sivas Armenian Community
President Minas Durmaz Guler along with a number of journalists.

Prior to Monday, two separate weapons depots were found during last
week’s operations. On Friday the police discovered a weapons cache
buried in a forest in Ankara’s GölbaÅ~_ı district through a map found
in the home of one of the newest suspects. Searches in five other areas
were also launched based on evidence seized by police during sweeps
of homes and offices of suspects. These searches yielded no results.

In GölbaÅ~_ı, officers discovered 30 hand grenades, three
flame-throwers, many plastic explosives, ammunitions for Uzi
machine guns and other ammunition buried close to a road near the
capital, officials said. Separately, a weapons cache was found in
Lt. Col. Dönmez’s Ä°stanbul house.

Weapons found as part of the probe last Friday buried underground in
Ankara’s GölbaÅ~_ı district seem to match assassination plans found
in the home of Ergenekon suspect and former Special Operations Unit
Deputy Chief Ä°brahim Å~^ahin.

Meanwhile the National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) yesterday
confirmed the newspaper reports that Å~^ahin, in his initial testimony
to judges at the 13th High Criminal Court on Sunday, said he had
informed MÄ°T about intelligence prior to an Oct. 3 outlawed Kurdistan
Worker’s Party (PKK) attack on a military outpost that left 17 soldiers
dead. MÄ°T said the agency has no institutional contact with Å~^ahin,
but said Å~^ahin’s intelligence had been carried to the agency through
"a social interaction."

–Boundary_(ID_emDRQ7W/TT3d87+ hF7MDtg)–

ARMENIA ADHERED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF CSTO ACTIVITY

armradio.am
13.01.2009 12:22

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Secretary General
of the Collective Security Treaty organization (CSTO) Nikolay
Bordyuzha. Armenia currently presides over the Organization, and
President of the CSTO Board Serzh Sargsyan discussed with Nikolay
Bordyuzha issues related to the organization of the recurrent summit
of the Organization, and shaping its agenda.

The Armenian President attached importance to the constant
improvement of CSTO activity and noted that it will allow resisting the
contemporary challenges more efficiently. According to Serzh Sarhsyan,
this was the main purpose of the previous non-official summit of SCTO
Heads of State held in Kazakhstan in December.

Noting that the military-political cooperation is one of the pivotal
directions of CSTO activity, President Sargsyan said Armenia will
uphold the efforts for coordinating the joint work, making full and
more effective use of the existing potential.

Reference was made to the main issues the Organization faces and the
ways of their resolution.

ARMENIA: SALES OF YEREVAN COGNAC PLANT INCREASE

Akcyz
December 29, 2008 Monday

Mr. Cedrik Retailleau, CEO of the Yerevan-based cognac plant, has
announced that the financial crisis will slightly affect the expensive
cognac market. The rise of the plant’s sales may slow down in 2008,
but it will not affect the company’s market share. According to
Mr. Retailleau, the increase will reach about 24% in 2008, against
25% in 2008. Russia is the main market of the enterprise. Sales in
Armenia rise as well. At present, they total 3.5mn absolute litres per
year. The company has good opportunities to rise in the niche of lux
products (cognac aged 20) and intends to develop this line. Novelties
are elaborated on the basis of very old alcohol (over 20 years).

France’s Pernod Ricard that has been owning the enterprise during
ten years, has invested around EUR 50mn (US$ 79.12mn) in its
development. It stimulates Armenian grape producers to grow kinds of
grape meant for cognac. Yerevan cognac plant has agreements about
supply with over 5,000 households. Investments in purchase of over
31,000 tons of grape will total EUR 10mn in 2008.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 28 2008

All quiet on EU front, but several foreign policy surprises on eastern
front

It was February 2008 when Foreign Minister Ali Babacan pledged to
surprise all with a new wave of EU reform, while admitting that there
had been a considerable slowdown in the government’s activity
concerning the reforms necessary for the country’s accession to the
EU.

`Reforms concerning the EU were affected because 2007 was an election
year and Parliament was closed for a while. Perhaps 2007 was a lost
year, but Turkey underwent a major test of democracy and emerged from
this test strengthened and having accepted the reforms made so
far. Now there is a new president, Parliament and government. Our
infrastructure for continuing with a new wave of reform is ready,’
Babacan said then. `2008 will be the year of the EU. It will be quite
a different year. You will be surprised.’

That didn’t happen; on the contrary, there has been mutual
disappointment on the EU and Turkish side, with the latter blaming the
former for dragging its feet in opening more chapters although Ankara
has fulfilled all technical requirements.

According to EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, the upcoming year
will be an important litmus test of whether Turkey is serious about
its EU accession goals.

When suspending accession negotiations on eight chapters in 2006
because of Turkey’s refusal to open its air and sea ports to traffic
from Greek Cyprus, the EU said it would review the situation in 2009.

With the government giving no sign of a change in its policy of not
budging on the issue until a permanent resolution is found to the
decades-old Cyprus issue, analysts also do not expect any bold steps
that would satisfy the EU’s expectations, such as a constitutional
reform, at least until after the local elections scheduled for March.

The fact that there have been no positive surprises on the EU front,
contrary to what was suggested by Babacan in early 2008, doesn’t mean
a complete absence of positive surprises in Turkey’s foreign
policy. Actually, there have been several when it comes to Turkey’s
neighbors on the eastern front.

Taking pains in the Caucasus

The rapprochement with its estranged neighbor Armenia, with whom it
has no diplomatic relations, seems to be Turkey’s boldest foreign
policy initiative. Amidst secret talks between Armenian and Turkish
diplomats that reportedly took place in Switzerland in early July, an
open call by Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to Turkey to launch `a
fresh start’ in relations between the estranged neighbors found a
positive response in the Turkish capital.

Eventually, President Abdullah Gül responded positively to
Sarksyan’s invitation to visit Yerevan to watch a game between the
Armenian and Turkish national soccer teams on Sept. 6 in a FIFA World
Cup 2010 qualifying match. The visit made Gül the first Turkish
president to visit the Armenian capital.

Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan in the
early 1990s after a protracted war between Azerbaijan and the
Armenians of the mountainous region that began in the late 1980s. In a
show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, Turkey severed its diplomatic ties
and closed its border with Armenia and announced that Armenian
withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh was a precondition for normalizing
ties.

Gül’s visit started a new period of dialogue with
Armenia. Later in September, on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly in New York, Babacan had three-way talks with Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Preparations for a second such trilateral summit are under way, with
Ambassador Ã`nal Ã?eviköz, the deputy undersecretary
of the Foreign Ministry, having bilateral talks with his Armenian and
Azerbaijani counterparts.

Ankara, which has always described the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a
problem not only for Azerbaijan but also for Turkey and the entire
region, acknowledged that resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will have a positive impact on Armenian-Turkish relations.

In the meantime, a regional platform for the Caucasus initiated by
Turkey has made progress. Deputy foreign ministers of the five member
countries of the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform met on
the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Helsinki in early December. It
was the first time representatives from the group sat around the same
table.

Turkey proposed the platform for conflict resolution in the volatile
Caucasus following a brief war between Russia and Georgia over the
breakaway region of South Ossetia in August. The platform consists of
Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Strategic dialogue with Iraq

A shadow cast over bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey due to
the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) gradually
dispersed during 2008, while Turkey also improved its relations with
the regional Kurdish administration following a long hiatus after the
US invasion of Iraq.

The United States is cooperating with Turkey by providing intelligence
on the PKK in Iraq and allowing Turks to use Iraqi airspace for aerial
strikes on PKK targets in the northern part of the country. The Iraqi
central administration in Baghdad also condemns PKK attacks but says
it has little power in the Kurdish-run north to curb them. A land
operation launched in February into northern Iraq against the PKK was
followed by a landmark visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

In July, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and his Iraqi
counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki, during ErdoÄ?an’s visit to
Baghdad, signed a strategic partnership agreement that commits Turkey
and Iraq to cooperation in the political, economic, energy, water,
cultural, security and military fields. Gül, meanwhile, is
expected to reciprocate Talabani’s visit in early 2009.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in October that the Iraqi Kurds
could be part of a three-way mechanism if the Baghdad administration
agrees. Babacan also said then that Ankara was considering tripartite
consultations with the United States and Iraq on ways to stop PKK
attacks, as proposed by Talabani in a phone conversation with his
Turkish counterpart, Gül, after an Oct. 3 attack by the PKK on
a military outpost located near the border that left 17 soldiers dead.

Last month, during a meeting in Baghdad, senior Iraqi, Turkish and US
officials formed a joint committee to combat the PKK. The trilateral
meeting was also attended by two representatives from the regional
Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, including regional Interior
Minister Karim Sinjari.

The trilateral meeting and Babacan’s remarks followed a meeting in
Baghdad between a Foreign Ministry delegation headed by the Turkish
special envoy for Iraq, Murat Ã-zçelik, and Iraqi Kurdish
leader Massoud Barzani. The meeting broke a taboo in Turkish foreign
policy following several years in which Ankara refused to have talks
with the Kurdish administration, accusing it of supporting the PKK.

Mediation between Israel, Syria

Ankara’s proactive foreign policy in 2008 was not limited to improving
bilateral relations with its neighbors. Back in the spring of this
year, despite news reports concerning Turkey’s mediation between
Israel and Syria, Ankara had been tightlipped concerning its
efforts. The Turkish capital broke its silence in May only after
Israeli and Syrian officials revealed that negotiations were taking
place through Turkey.

The talks are focused on the fate of the Golan Heights, a strategic
plateau which Israel captured in 1967. Damascus wants the whole
territory returned. Israel wants Syria to scale back ties with its
main foes — Iran, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbullah.

Yet talks were suspended about three months ago after Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert decided to resign over a corruption scandal. The
last round of direct talks between Israel and Syria stalled in 2000 in
a dispute over how much of the Golan Heights should go back to Syria.

`We’re not seeking to show off. We do not hold unreasonable
expectations, either. But Turkey will continue its efforts in a calm
manner,’ a senior government official told Today’s Zaman at the time,
displaying the Turkish capital’s sincere eagerness to contribute to
the maintenance of regional peace in the Middle East.

Second summit with Afghanistan, Pakistan

In early December, despite rising regional tension between New Delhi
and Islamabad in the aftermath of the Nov. 26 terrorist attacks on
multiple locations in Mumbai, Ankara managed to host a trilateral
meeting of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan for talks aimed at
boosting cooperation between the two neighbors.

The meeting, which gathered President Gül with his Afghan
counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali
Zardari, in Ä°stanbul, was actually a follow-up to an earlier
trilateral summit in 2007.

In the spring of 2007, Turkey arranged a meeting between Karzai and
his then-Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, after Kabul accused
Islamabad of not doing enough to stop militants from entering
Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Ties between Karzai and Zardari’s governments have improved, with
signs of cooperation among Afghan, Pakistani and foreign troops,
especially in dealing with cross-border movements of fighters and
equipment.

UN Security Council seat

In October, Ankara’s years of unrelenting effort to gain a seat on the
UN Security Council bore fruit. While officials hailed Turkey’s
nonpermanent seat for 2009-2010 as a well-deserved reward for its
diplomatic campaign for more influence in regional politics and
reforms at home, analysts warned that the role in the UN’s main
decision-making body will also mean tough choices for Ankara,
especially on whether its neighbor Iran should face sanctions over its
nuclear program.

The government, which has built good ties with Iran since it first
came to power in 2002, advocates a peaceful solution to the row over
Iran’s nuclear program, but is against nuclear weapons in the Middle
East.

Election to the UN’s powerful decision-making body has been widely
interpreted as a boost for ErdoÄ?an’s government, which has
lobbied intensely for the position since it declared its candidacy in
July 2003.

A more active role will not only give Turkey the power to speak more
forcefully on issues of national concern, such as Cyprus, but will
also put Ankara in a tight spot over Iran’s nuclear program and its
relations with the United States. Turkey has also recently secured
membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the main
international organization reporting on Tehran’s nuclear program.

External anchor and regional influence

Turning back to relations with the EU, which were once described by
Babacan as a vital external anchor for Turkey, all of these active and
progressive foreign policy achievements by Ankara have been generously
lauded by Brussels.

Yet, the EU has also warned that none of these achievements can serve
as a substitute for reforms. During a visit to Ankara in November, a
European Parliament delegation led by Hannes Swoboda, the vice
president of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, made
clear that those bold steps in the foreign policy field could be
accepted as `an addition and complementary to reforms.’

When reminded of this fact by the visiting delegation during their
meeting with Gül, the president conceded, a European Parliament
deputy who was at the meeting told Today’s Zaman.

`Turkey’s strategic importance and regional influence in the East
highly stems from its relation with the EU and its potential
membership in the bloc,’ Gül was quoted as telling the
delegation in response.

2009 will show everyone whether the government will also concede to
this fact in its thorny relationship with Brussels.

28 December 2008, Sunday
EMÄ°NE KART ANKARA

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 28 2008

The Armenian apology campaign and the Ottoman Ergenekon

by IHSAN YILMAZ

The apology regarding the terrible fate of the Armenians in 1915
sparked harsh debates in Turkey. The same sections that vehemently
opposed President Abdullah Gül’s visit to Armenia are this time
blaming the signatories of the campaign. I will now simply repeat what
I had to write during the debates surrounding Gül’s visit. I think we
have to keep reiterating that there are certain sections in the
country — among them the Ergenekonian deep state — that do not want
a solution to the problems with Armenia so that they can meddle with
Turkey’s domestic and foreign politics. Any solution to the Armenian
issue will not make them happy.

This is a simple summary of modern Turkish history. Turkey is
surrounded by enemies and thus we need strong nationalist
authoritarian guardians to protect us. Now, as the Justice and
Development Party’s (AK Party) "zero problems with neighbors policy"
has shown, we can enter into dialogue with our neighbors and talk
about our differences. I hope that we can succeed in doing this with
Armenia as well.

As far as I can see, an overwhelming majority of people do not have
any problem with entering into dialogue with Armenia. Even the
terrible incidents around 1915 and the Armenian Secret Army for the
Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) terror organization’s assassinations of
our diplomats did not change Turks’ positive feelings toward
Armenians. Generally speaking, the remaining Armenians did not face
any hostility from Turks. Yet the state’s position is a completely
different story.

Even in the law, Armenians have not been treated as first-class
citizens. The Turkish state’s definition of citizen has somehow —
unofficially and in practice — been limited to Muslims. Non-Muslim
Turkish citizens could never get sensitive bureaucratic
positions. This is in full contrast to the Ottoman experience. In
terms of diversity and tolerance, the Republic of Turkey is light
years behind the Ottomans.

The state has always denied that there was any Armenian massacre
ordered by the state. I am not a historian and have not studied the
1915 incidents in detail. But whenever I — as an ordinary Turk —
think about the issue, the Turkish state’s treatment of its other
citizens instantly comes to mind and my mind starts drawing
parallels. I know very well that this is not a scientific technique or
instrument utilized by historians, but not every Turk has to be a
historian, and they still have feelings, ideas and opinions on certain
matters.

Yes, whenever I start thinking about the Armenian issue and the
incidents of 1915, the state’s treatment of Kurds in southeastern
Turkey comes to mind. Banning their mother tongue is a prime
example. Could there be any bigger torture than that? Then I remember
thousands of young people — leftist, rightist, Kurdish — who were
continuously tortured in Turkish prisons just after the 1980
coup. Then I remember how Turkey had to pay many thousands of dollars
in compensation on many occasions to our citizens of Kurdish
background just because some of our soldiers made them eat cow dung.

Then I think that if some of our administrators and bureaucrats could
do all of these things to our citizens in this age and time, then
like-minded Ottoman politicians, administrators and bureaucrats would
find it suitable to react to Armenian hostilities — encouraged by the
great powers and Russia — by simply deciding to exile them to Syria
without taking enough precautions about health and safety
issues. Moreover, some "Ottoman Ergenekonians" could easily target
these civilians.

My conscience and my reading of modern Turkey, including the Ergenekon
case, convince me that the Ergenekonian-like ultra-patriots who
thought the country was in danger — and it was indeed in danger —
could easily massacre Armenian civilians and that they would not
really need any legislation or document signed by a minister to do
that. I find it funny when our nationalist historians try to prove
that there are not any documents signed by the Ottoman authorities to
order the Armenian massacre. Did today’s Ergenekonians need such a
document to make Kurdish villagers eat cow dung or to kill many
people?

28.12.2008

SERZH SARGSIAN CONGRATULATED MAESTRO HOVHANNES CHEKIJIAN

AZG Armenian Daily
25/12/2008

Presidential

Armenian President Serzh Sargsian had a telephone conversation December
23 with the famous conductor, art director of the Armenian State
Academic Choir, laureate of various state prizes Hovhannes Chekijian.

Serzh Sargsian congratulated Maestro Chekijian on his 80th anniversary
of birth underlining his incalculable service in development and
spreading of the Armenian culture. The President wished Maestro health,
many happy returns and new achievements in his creative work.

THEY RAPED FEMIDA AND ENJOYED IT – 2
KIMA YEGHIAZARYAN

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
24 Dec 2008
Armenia

Only Closed Hearing

Yesterday Yerevan Criminal Court, under Mnatsakan Martirosyan’s
chairmanship, tried to continue the hearing on the "Case of the Seven",
in the Court of General Jurisdiction of Shengavit Community.

We should remind you that the seven defendants, Alik Arzumanyan,
Myasnik Malkhasyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Sasun Mikaelyan, Suren Sirunyan,
Grigor Voskerchyan, and Shant Harutyunyan are charged with the
organization of the mass disorder and attempts to usurp power.

Why we said, "they tried to continue" because the hearing that started
40 minutes late, was broken after a very short period of time.

Because of the uproar of the relatives of the defendants and the
revolutionary activists, the judge presiding over the hearing, M.

Martirosyan was obliged to stop the process.

We should underscore that the defendants of the "Case of the Seven"
and their supporters, the revolutionary activists who have occupied
the hall of the court, were trying to carry out their strategy of
dismantling the third power.

Yesterday the Chairman came to a decision to apply judicial sanction
against the seven defendants (asked them out of the hall), because
the seven defendants didn’t stand up when the court entered the hall.

The group of the lawyers headed by Arsenyan rebelled against the
sanction and started to shout, saying the behavior of the defendants
is not "hooliganism". They simply wanted to show that they are under
"political persecution" and they don’t trust the Chairman.

No doubt, a very "substantiated" argument. The before mentioned seven
defendants, who consider themselves "political prisoners" are simple
detainees and in this case they must respect the judicial procedure.

Not to jump from their chairs every now and then and fly at the judge,
only because the latter dared to call them "defendant". During the
hearings they become furious when addressed as "defendants".

In general these people’s behavior during the court procedure (they
use all the possible and impossible means to torpedo the process),
wouldn’t be tolerated in any country.

The "political prisoners" who usually hold forth on international
conventions, implementation of laws and legal state, their supporters
and companions-in-arm, actually don’t care a bit about the letter
of law. It is the third hearing under this case, but the judge can’t
even introduce proper order, because the revolutionaries continue to
pressurize the court and the plaintiff, by blackmail and intimidations.

And in the street LTP’s followers are ready to swallow all the
strangers" passing by. As for example last Friday when the furious
activists flew at Albert Bazeyan. Had he not fled the territory on
time the furious crowd would have butchered this political figure.

After all that happened, these people are trying to isolate themselves
from "March 1".

Whereas the impudent behavior that they are manifesting during
the hearings was used with ten times more energy during the spring
developments.

Not only have they privatized the territory of the court, but
also the hall. Yesterday, for example, Arzumanyan’s wife Melissa
Brown was furious by the fact that besides the relatives and the
companions-in-arm of the defendant, there were lots of strangers in
the hall, who have engaged their seats. And as a sign of a protest,
Brown rushed out of the hall shouting something. So they were not
satisfied with the presence of their relatives in the hall they wanted
to house the entire "village" there.

And what about the aggrieved and their relatives? Their presence in
the hearing is also important, isn’t it?

Yesterday the correspondents belonging to Armenian Pan National
Movement organized a protest demonstration; only because the court
attendants didn’t allow them enter the hall.

In any European country, moreover in their favorite European Court,
the journalists follow the court procedure by the monitor installed
in the room near the court hall. Our court has also provided those
conditions but the journalists belonging to Armenian Pan National
Movement didn’t want to sit quietly in the adjacent room, complaining
that the court is hindering their work.

It is evident that one of the leaders of March 1 mass disorder and
the main leader L. Ter-Petrosyan are absolutely not interested in the
normal process of the hearings. Because despite their statements they
don’t want to see the case revealed.

The main court procedure will start only after the "isolation" of
the participants.

There is no other way for shifting the process into a normal path,
than holding close hearings. We will over again become confident of
this fact during the next session on December 27.

‘WE HAVE LITTLE TIME’
Georgiy Garnikovich Aleksanyan: [email protected]

A1+
[04:53 pm] 22 December, 2008

The Moscow City Court has set bail in the amount of 50 million
roubles, upon posting of which my son Vasily Aleksanyan can be
freed from detention. For now I do not wish to discuss whether this
decision is lawful or just. I simply wish to say that the amount of
bail exceeds the financial possibilities of our family. Simply said,
we do not have such funds. Vasily is not able to come up with such
funds himself either, since all his property is under a freezing
order and he remains fatally ill and in detention.

I am forever grateful to all those who have offered assistance to
our family, and to all those who have not been indifferent to the
tragic fate of my son. Both Vasily’s family and his lawyers have been
receiving calls and letters with offers of assistance in collecting
funds to post his bail. For moral reasons we had avoided making any
public appeal for assistance. On the other hand, during our silence
confusion and speculation has arisen in the media concerning the
bank accounts that were opened to collect funds to post bail for
Vasily Aleksanyan.

We have very little time left. Therefore I want to confirm that the
Sberbank bank details published by the radio station Ekho Moscow
are accurate:

BANK DETAILS FOR TRANSFERS IN ROUBLES

Vernadskoe otdelenie Sberbanka Rossii g. Moskvy 7970/01249

BIC: 044525225

Account no.: 30301810038006003818

Corr. Account of Sberbank Russia in the Bank of Russia:
30101810400000000225

Ð~XÐ~]&#xD 0;~]: 7707083893

Ð~ZÐ~^Ð" Ð~^Ð~ZÐ~^Ð~]Ð¥: 96130

Ð~ZÐ~^Ð" Ð~^Ð~ZÐ~_Ð~^: 00032537

Beneficiary: Aleksanyan Georgiy Garnikovich

Beneficiary address: 117571, Moscow, ul. 26 Bakinskikh Komissarov,
d. 7, kor. 4, kv. 101

Beneficiary account no.: 42307810538181109080

BANK DETAILS FOR TRANSFERS IN FOREIGN CURRENCY Recipient bank: SABRRUMM
(SWIFT code for Sberbank Russia)

SBERBANK VERNADSKOE BRANCH 7970 MOSCOW RUSSIAN

Beneficiary Customer:

Account no.: 42307810538181109080

Beneficiary: Aleksanyan Georgiy Garnikovich v Address: 117571, Moscow,
ul. 26 Bakinskikh Komissarov, d. 7, kor. 4, kv.101

I also opened an account in the Armenian bank Ardshininvestbank for
the same purpose.

BANK DETAILS FOR TRANSFERS IN FOREIGN CURRENCY

Recipient bank: ARDSHININVESTBANK

SWIFT: ASHBAM22

Telex: (684) 243286 LALA AM

e-mail: [email protected], Phone/Fax: (3741) 581221, 564152, 581403

AMD: 2470101020170010

USD: 2470101020170020

EUR: 2470101020170030

BANK DETAILS FOR TRANSFERS IN ROUBLES

Recipient bank: ARDSHININVESTBANK SWIFT: ASHBAM22

Telex: (684) 243286 LALA AM

e-mail: [email protected], Phone/Fax: (3741) 581221, 564152, 581403

RUR: 2470101020170040

I ask all those who decide to transfer funds to these accounts to
indicate their bank details. Otherwise you will not be able to receive
your funds back after (in the event that) the bail payment is returned.

I am very grateful to all those that have not been indifferent to
the fate of my son, to all those who write about him, who have taken
part in demonstrations and come to the court hearings, to all those
that have offered their help to pay his bail. It is very difficult
to express my gratitude in words. Thank you very much!

–Boundary_(ID_U/ysYp5yJduayRc9BZSdKQ)–

OSCE TO CLOSE DOWN ITS MISSION IN GEORGIA

Panorama.am
17:05 22/12/2008

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is to close
down its mission in Georgia, announced the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Alexander Stubb. Note that today Russia has blocked the extension
of the OSCE mandate. It means that the OSCE observers should leave
Georgian territory since January 1, 2009.

The Finnish representatives said that it would be impossible to make
any agreements and to prolong the OSCE mission mandate. But still
the negotiations over this issue will be continues in January.