Author: Varosian Antranik

NEW OSCE CHAIRMAN HOPES FOR PROGRESS IN SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT NEXT YEAR

Trend
Dec 24 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 24/ Trend News, E. Ostapenko/ OSCE (Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe) hope that there will be
progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict next year.

"We hope in 2009 we will see progress in this direction," Dora
Bakoyannis, new OSCE chairman and Greek foreign minister, said in
her interview with Trend News.

The OSCE chairman-in-office and Finnish foreign minister Alexander
Stubb officially handed over office of the chairman to the Greek
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis at the meeting of the OSCE foreign
ministers held in Helsinki on Dec. 4. Greece will start OSCE
chairmanship on Jan. 1.

Bakoyannis said Greece believes that frequent meetings between
Azerbaijani and Armenian representatives will lead to the establishment
of mutual confidence which essential to solve the conflict.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

"Greece fully supports these efforts and encourages constructive
engagement from both parties, in line with the Statement delivered at
the Helsinki Summit earlier this month by the French Foreign Minister
on behalf of the European Union," Bakoyannis said.

The last statement by the foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chair countries says the Moscow declaration signed by the sides
opens new and promising stage in the general striving to establish
peace in the South Caucasus.

The sides confirmed their commitment to achieving resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the Minsk Group and in line with the
Basic Principles elaborated by the co-chairmen through cooperation
with the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders on basis of their proposals
made in Madrid last year.

The Moscow Declaration signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia
and Armenia in Moscow on Nov. 2 calls for reinforcing activities of
the sides to achieve peace in the region within the OSCE Minsk Group.

"We firmly support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all
States, within their internationally recognized borders," Bakoyannis
said.

OSCE also cannot ignore the human pain caused by the current
situation. We believe that to help the establishment of security
and stability in the region, the thousands of Internally Displaced
Persons must return to their homes, she said.

POST-SOVIET SECURITY BLOC UNAWARE OF U.S. PLANS FOR C.ASIA BASES

RIA Novosti
15:03 | 18/ 12/ 2008

MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – The head of a post-Soviet security
bloc said on Thursday he had no information about the possible
deployment of new U.S. military bases in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan.

A senior Russian military official expressed concern on Tuesday about
what he said were U.S. plans to set up military bases in the former
Soviet republics.

"This is the first time I have heard about the deployment of such
bases, and I cannot confirm this information," said Nikolai Bordyuzha,
general secretary of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO).

He added that "any such decision" would have to be agreed on with
the CSTO.

"The Secretariat has received no such notification," he said.

The CSTO is a security grouping comprising the former Soviet republics
of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan,
and Tajikistan.

The press secretary of the U.S. embassy in Uzbekistan said earlier
on Thursday that the U.S. administration had no plans to deploy any
military bases in Uzbekistan.

The Kazakh Defense Ministry also denied any knowledge of U.S. plans
to deploy military bases in the country.

"We know nothing about such plans, and we cannot confirm this
information," a ministry source said.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed
Forces said on Tuesday that, "The U.S. has opened bases in Romania
and Bulgaria, and according to our information plans to establish
them in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan."

Former Soviet republics in Central Asia have been the focus of
increased rivalry between Moscow and Washington of late.

The United States has recently stepped up ties with oil-rich
Kazakhstan, which allowed U.S. planes to fly over its territory during
the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and also contributed troops
to Iraq.

Observers in Russia say that Washington will need more bases in
countries neighboring Afghanistan due to president-elect Barack
Obama’s plans to increase the U.S. military presence in the war-ravaged
country by 20,000 troops.

The U.S. has run an airbase in Kyrgyzstan since the war in Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan expelled U.S. troops from its airbase in 2005, but has
recently sought closer ties with the U.S. and other Western powers.

Gen. Makarov also blamed Washington for pushing Georgia and Ukraine
toward NATO membership. He said Russia had been surrounded by the
military alliance’s forces.

The statement came amid an ongoing dispute over Washington’s
plans to place a missile base in Poland and a radar in the Czech
Republic. Moscow opposes the plans as a threat to its national
security. The U.S. says the missile defenses are needed to counter
possible strikes from "rogue" states.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS RULED THAT TURKEY HAD VIOLATED PROPERTY RIGHTS OF TWO ARMENIAN FOUNDATIONS IN ISTANBUL

ArmInfo
2008-12-17 17:56:00

ArmInfo. The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that
Turkey had violated the property rights of two Armenian foundations
in Istanbul.

As the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" says, the Board of Governors
of the Samatya Surp Kevork Armenian Church, School and Cemetery and
the Foundation for the Armenian Hospital in Yedikule appealed to the
Strasbourg-based court, claiming the decisions made by the Turkish
courts, setting aside their title to property they had acquired by
donation, violated their property rights under the European Convention
on Human Rights.

The two Armenian foundations were established by Imperial Decree in
1832 under the Ottoman Empire and founded under modern Turkish law,
the newspaper says.

37,800 PEOPLE SCREENED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ARMENIAN EYECARE PROJECT

armradio.am
17.12.2008 17:05

The Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) completed its 2008 mission
providing eye care services to the population of two districts in
Yerevan (Ajapnyak and Arabkir) and four regions in Armenia (Armavir,
Vayots Dzor, Syunik and Ararat). The activities were carried out
within the framework of the Primary and Ophthalmologic Health Care
Alliance with USAID. As a separate project, the AECP also visited
Nagorno Karabagh to provide eye care services.

A total 37,800 people were screened, including 23,400 children;
more than 6,000 eyeglasses were distributed; 1,086 people received
surgical or laser treatment on the Mobile Eye Hospital. In addition,
the AECP conducted eye screenings in prisons in Yerevan, Kosh and Sevan
in cooperation with the Armenian International Ophthalmic Association.

Nearly fifty ophthalmologists from Yerevan and regional polyclinics
of Armenia participated in an ophthalmology vocational training. The
training was initiated by the AECP jointly with the Academy for
Educational Development and Malayan Ophthalmologic Centre. The project
was carried out within the framework of the USAID funded Human and
Institutional Capacity Development project.

Along with the screenings, the AECP conducted public education
sessions for school-children, teachers, parents, and nurses at the
schools of the Ajapnyak and Arabkir communities, as well as Ar mavir
and Vayots Dzdor regions. The AECP organized sessions on eye care and
safety also with the students of Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin
and Yerevan State Pedagogical University. Overall more than 4,600
children and 530 adults participated in the eye care and safety
training sessions. More than 41,000 handouts were distributed during
the meetings and eye screenings.

To alert the public about vision problems, the AECP announced a
monthly celebration of the World Sight day. The celebrations started
on September 9, with a charitable exhibition of Seda Bekaryan’s art
works. In addition, AECP organized a briefing for the media, where they
received information about the current situation in eye care in Armenia
and the research results of screenings that the AECP conducted from
2003 to 2007. On World Sight Day (October 9), the AECP medical teams
conducted eye screening of about 100 beneficiaries of the "Armenian
Union of People with Disabilities" in Arabkir district of Yerevan.

The AECP 2009 mission envisages screenings in a selected district
in Yerevan during winter. Starting from spring of 2009, the AECP
will conduct medical outreach in the regions of Kotayk, Tavush,
Lori and Shirak.

ECHR RULES AGAINST TURKEY IN ARMENIAN PROPERTY OWNERSHIP CASE

Hurriyet
Dec 16 2008
Turkey

The European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that
Turkey violated the property rights of two Armenian foundations in
Istanbul. (UPDATED)

The Board of Governors of the Samatya Surp Kevork Armenian Church,
School and Cemetery and the Foundation for the Armenian Hospital in
Yedikule appealed to the Strasbourg-based court claiming the decision
taken by Turkish courts setting aside their title to property acquired
as a donation, violated their property rights under the European
Human Rights Convention.

The Turkish court’s rulings set aside the title of properties donated
to the two foundations on the grounds that their founding charter
did not give them the right to acquire immovable property. The two
Armenian foundations were established by Imperial Decree in 1832
under the Ottoman Empire and founded under modern Turkish law.

According to the ruling, Turkey must return the titles of all
properties to each foundation and pay compensation of 600,000 euro
to the Samatya Foundation and 275,000 euro to the Yedikule Foundation.

The charter of both foundations complies with the provisions of the
Lausanne Treaty affording protection to foundations that provide
public services for religious minorities.

The ECHR said Turkey had violated the protection of property rights
defined under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the convention.

Turkey has the right to appeal the ECHR decision in a higher
authority. No announcement has been made as yet.

WB TO ASSIST INITIATIVES OF RA MINISTRY OF DIASPORA AFFAIRS

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 16:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Minister of Diaspora Affairs Hranush
Hakobian met Tuesday with Aristomene Varoudakis, the head of WB
Office in Yerevan to discuss programs that can be launched jointly,
specifically in the education sector.

Mr. Varoudakis informed of numerous projects to be launched within
next 4 years to improve preschool and school systems.

The officials also referred to organization of TV space bridges and
conferences, reported the press office of the Ministry of Diaspora
Affairs.

SCENE AND HEARD: THE RISE OF SLAVIC RAP
John McDonnell

Guardian
Monday 15 December 2008
UK

I thought Armenian rapper Kro was one of a kind when I wrote about
him recently. But he’s just the tip of the iceberg

I recently stumbled across the above video of an Armenian rapper
based in LA called Kro. As you can see, he uses lots of the cliched US
gangsta rap iconography like fast cars, wads of cash, his mean-looking
"homies" throwing up gang signs, plus that age-old rap video trick
of superimposing yourself next to a large purring lion, which you
are pretending to stroke.

Deciding that Kro was simply too special to have any counterparts,
I assumed his broken English gangsta rap with traditional eastern
European folk crooning shtick had to be an anomaly – until I received
an email from a journalist called Charlie Amter, who writes about
nightlife for the Los Angeles Times. After seeing the video on my
blog, Charlie wrote to inform me that there was a thriving Armenian
rap scene in and around LA: "Los Angeles is rife with Armenian rappers
who have dreams of ‘making it’ in the rap game. Some have aspirations
of crossing over into the commercial realm, but most seem content
to make videos that are passed around on YouTube, giving them fame
in their communities. Armenians who grew up here have adopted rap
as their music, just as easily as they have adopted the Los Angeles
Lakers as =0 D their team."

There are an estimated 1.5 million Armenians living in the United
States and it is in California where you will find the largest
Armenian-American population. Heavily influenced by the historic west
coast hip-hop scene, young Armenian men in and around LA have been
making their own form of gangsta rap. The heart of this scene resides
in Armenian hotspots like the San Fernando Valley and Glendale –
a city where over a quarter of the residents are Armenian.

I have been trawling the internet in search of some of these rappers –
and have discovered they are almost all as, erm, unique as Kro. The
standouts include Apostles – a pair of identikit cannabis-adorned
doo-rag-wearing rhymers who make PJ & Duncan look like Biggie and 2Pac,
a dense-looking chap called 118 whose cheesy rhymes are apparently
supposed to be sexy, and Super Sako, who looks like a cross between
DJ Khaled and Airport’s Jeremy Spake, but is the most accomplished
lyricist out of all the Armenian rappers I have encountered (ie he
is able to string a slightly coherent sentence together).

The homoeroticism in lots of US rap is also evident but these
Armenian guys often take it to another level. Some of the videos are
so overtly camp it’s hard to tell whether or not they are spoofs. But,
according to Charlie Amter, they are deadly serious about their music:
"Laugh at your own peril – everyone in LA knows that Armenian guys
are not to be fucked with.

These guys may not have the best flows, but you can bet they know
how to fight. And some have guns."

LA also has a large Russian contingent who appreciate some home grown
eastern European rap. Last year a Kiev-born promoter flew Russia’s
most popular rapper, the award-winning Seryoga (accolades include
a gong for best ringtone at the MTV Russia Music Awards in 2005,
don’t you know), from Moscow to play a packed club on Sunset Strip,
with tickets starting at $60.

Seryoga, who has been labelled the Slavic Eminem, has sold well
over a million albums worldwide and his debut LP went to number one
in countries including Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Just like his
Armenian pals, Seryoga also has a penchant for some traditional folk
instrumentation and crooning in his tracks. His music is much more
agreeable though. In fact, I’ve repeatedly found myself humming
the tune to songs like Gangsta No More over the past couple of
days. There’s something about a wistful accordion riff which strangely
complements a polished hip-hop beat.

With the help of an excellent blog about lesser-known hip-hop scenes
from around the world (hiphopattack.blogspot.com), I’ve come across
lots more rappers from eastern and central Europe. None so far has
been able to match the affecting and thought-provoking rhymes of
Hungarian rapper and YouTube sensation Speak (you know, the "Yeah,
c’mo n" guy) but there are a few with unusual names.

Broken English, it seems, isn’t just used in the rhymes of these
rappers.

One Russian artist called Ligalize has decided to adopt the
bastardised language for his moniker, and I’m hoping it was a case
of something being lost in translation with the unfortunately-titled
Polish MC Molesta. It’s not all bad names and silly pseudonyms,
though. Bulgarian rapper Mechoka has the best hip-hop album title
I have ever encountered: Gladna Mechka Horo Ne Igrae (Hungry Bear
Doesn’t Dance).

As talented and respected a rapper as Lil Wayne may be, I don’t think
he’ll be coming up with a title to match this any time soon.

MALTA’S LABOR PARTY REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 13:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The government of Malta intends to institute a day of
remembrance in which parliament will rise to commemorate the victims
of genocide and crimes against humanity. But the government has no
intention of tabling a motion to condemn the Armenian Genocide, as
proposed by Labor Party spokesperson Noel Farrugia during parliamentary
hearing last week, Malta Today reports.

Foreign Minister Tonio Borg insists that Malta is under no obligation
to condemn the Armenian genocide, but would be abiding by a 21-year-old
resolution approved by the European Parliament calling on all EU
member states "to dedicate a day to the memory of the genocide and
crimes against humanity perpetrated in the 20th century, specifically
against the Armenians and Jews."

Farrugia asked Tonio Borg whether the government intends to present
a motion to condemn the Armenian genocide, committed by the Ottoman
Empire between 1915 and 1917, when up to 1.5 million of Armenians
were massacred.

A substantial part of the Armenian population was forcibly removed
from Armenia and Anatolia to Syria, where the vast majority was sent
into the desert to die of thirst and hunger. The entire wealth of
the Armenian people was expropriated.

Turkey strongly denies that the Armenians were the victim of genocide
and has reacted harshly when resolutions condemning the Armenian
Genocide were passed by parliaments in 21 different countries.

Officials change Eurovision voting rules

BERLIN, Dec. 13 (UPI) — New rules for voting in the Eurovision music
competition are to be implemented in an effort to keep people from selecting a
winner based solely on nationality.

The German publication Der Spiegel said that in recent years Eastern
European Eurovision Song Contest fans have voted by _phone_
( 8/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules/U PI-19411229176489/#) in blocs, helping Eastern European countries dominate the
international competition regardless of the talent of the contestants.
Voting patterns have affected the decision regarding where the competition
is held and kept it largely in the former Eastern Bloc during the last decade.
Eurovision organizers decided to change the rules for 2009, so the viewer
voting results will be combined with the decisions of juries, made up of people
with _musical_
( 008/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules /UPI-19411229176489/#) backgrounds, from each
country to determine the outcome, the newspaper said.
"Those who care (about the contest) will have had it up to here with the
blatant political voting from the former satellites of the U.S.S.R. that awarded
this year’s event to Russia," the _BBC’s_
( 8/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules/U PI-19411229176489/#)
longtime Eurovision presenter, Terry Wogan, recently wrote in Britain’s
Sunday Telegraph.
Der Spiegel added that Wogan threatened to quit if changes weren’t made.
The next Eurovision contest is slated to take place in Moscow May 16.

The Roanoke Times (Virginia)
December 11, 2008 Thursday
Metro Edition

GENOCIDE AND ORIGINAL SIN

EDITORIAL; John Long; Pg. B9

This week marks the 60th anniversary of a landmark piece of
international legislation: the United Nations Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I wish I could say
the document had been as successful in preventing mass killings as the
authors intended it to be.

The preamble of the treaty describes genocide as an "odious scourge
. . . condemned by the civilized world." No argument on my end so
far. The convention further defines genocide as "acts committed with
intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial
or religious group." The killing of large numbers of individuals for
their indelible identity (race, religion, etc.) obviously qualifies,
as would such practices as forced sterilization or abortion designed
to eliminate a specific group. But left out of this definition are
other justifications for mass governmental murder, such as political
differences or economic distinctions.

I was thinking about the subject not long ago after attending a
lecture at Roanoke College on the subject of 20th century
genocides. Eric Weitz of the University of Minnesota was the speaker,
and he attempted to answer the question "Why was the 20th century the
century of genocides?" Indeed the last century was the most bloody on
record. Six million Jews (and millions of others) killed by Hitler’s
Holocaust; 800,000 deaths more recently in Rwanda; 2 million in 1970s
Cambodia; a million and a half forgotten Armenians in Turkey during
World War I. It’s a depressing litany of numbers that could go on for
pages.

Professor R.J. Rummel of Hawaii was perhaps more descriptive when he
coined the term "democide." He defined it simply as the killing of
humans by government. And by his count, government was one of the most
prolific killers of the last century. Let Rummel’s estimate sink in
for a bit: 262 million 20th century people killed by governments,
usually their own.

Dr. Weitz’s explanations for 20th century genocide ranged from the
modern conception of race to the rise of nationalism and imperialism
in the 19th century to the advances in biological science that helped
some justify the "inferiority" of another group. Weitz also pointed
out that genocide is not carried out solely by a few fanatics: Large
numbers of non-killers have to be complicit in such geno- (or demo-)
cide.

His remark reminded me of a quote by C.S. Lewis that the greatest evil
"is not done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see
its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded,
carried and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted
offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and
smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice."

Overall, I thought Weitz did an admirable job of covering his topic in
a short address, but I left thinking there were other answers to the
question of the day. For instance, he did not touch on industrial
technology, which has made it so much more practical, affordable and
hygienic to massacre thousands of people.

But more frighteningly, it seems that one common denominator in every
one of the 262 million murders was overlooked: They were all
perpetrated by people. Humans, unmoored from any traditional sense of
right and wrong, killing other humans with soulless efficiency.

Perhaps the fatal flaw is not in expansive government, as Rummel
speculates, or in inequitable prejudices toward other groups, as Weitz
opined, or in the cold efficiency of modern bureaucrats, as Lewis’
quote suggests. Perhaps the flaw is in ourselves. Once upon a less
politically correct time it was called original sin. And if that’s the
case there’s not much hope of human institutions, inevitably afflicted
by the same flaw, fixing the problem.

Here we again see the wisdom of our Founding Fathers — though they
never heard the term genocide, they instinctively knew that power
should be divided, not concentrated in one potentially abusive
institution. Absolute power corrupts — and too often kills —
absolutely.

The U.N. Genocide Convention has been able to punish some genocidal
criminals, but has not been — perhaps cannot be — a preventative
measure. For that, I can only look toward the little baby whose birth
we’ll celebrate later this month.

Long, a Roanoke Times columnist, is director of the Salem Museum and
teaches history at Roanoke College.