Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

NOBEL PRIZE WAS VICTORY FOR OUTSPOKEN NOVELIST
By Laura T. Ryan – Staff writer

Syracuse Post Standard, NY
Oct 18 2006

Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s prize was a win for intellectual
freedom, says Colgate professor.

The awarding of a Nobel Prize to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk
constitutes a victory to those who seek the freedom to acknowledge
Turkey’s bloody past, according to a Colgate University professor.

Last year, Pamuk was put on criminal trial for "insulting" Turkey,
by telling a Swiss newspaper his country needed to acknowledge its
role in the deaths of 1 million Armenians in 1915 and the more recent
killing of 30,000 Kurds in the 1980s.

The case eventually was thrown out.

"First andforemost, one gets a Nobel Prize for one’s art, but . . . I
think (Pamuk’s case) became a manifestation of Turkey’s struggle
with intellectual freedom and issues surrounding democracy and human
rights," said Peter Balakian, director of Colgate’s Center for Ethics
and World Societies and the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor
of the Humanities.

Balakian, a New Jersey native of Armenian descent, also is the author
of "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response"
(2003) and "Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian
Past" (1997), which won a PEN/Martha Albrand Prize for Memoir.

Pamuk becamea lightning rod for those issues, Balakian said, and
his trial "became a cause celebre because it embodied the issues of
democracy which Turkey is failing to fully embrace, in its refusal
to acknowledge the past and its intimidation and punishment of those
who do, like Pamuk and others."

Fellow Turkish novelist Elif Shafak faced similar charges for
statements made by a fictional character in her novel "The Bastard
of Istanbul." She was acquitted last month.

Turkish publisher Zagip Zarakolu, meanwhile, faces up to 13 years in
prison for publishing books that deal with the Armenian genocide. He
published Balakian’s "Burning Tigris" in Turkey last year.

"Pamuk is part of a larger intellectual moment in Turkish culture,
a more forceful challenging of state taboos," Balakian said. "And
(writers like Pamuk and Shafak) are the hope for the future. So much
of this has been amplified by the Turks’ desire to join the European
Union, and Europe is making it clear, unless there’s intellectual
freedom, joining Europe is not going to be possible."

Arpena Mesrobian,former director of Syracuse University Press
and author of the 2000 book, "Like One Family: The Armenians of
Syracuse," said she, too, was pleased the Nobel committee chose to
honor Pamuk’s contributions at a time when his comments had landed
him in controversy.

"I think it’s delightful they reached out and chose something that
most people might not encounter," Mesrobian said.

Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
12 Oct 06

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER CRITICIZES ADOPTION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAW
BY FRANCE

Ankara, 12 October: "France will live with this shame," said Turkish
FM Abdullah Gul when commenting on the resolution on the so-called
Armenian genocide adopted by the French parliament today.

Gul and Afghan FM Rangin Dadfar Spanta held a joint press conference
after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry residence in Ankara.

FM Gul stated that France cannot define itself as "the homeland of
freedoms" from now on.

Noting that Turkey will not underestimate this development, Gul said
that Turkey will take every type of measure.

"I hope that France will take a backward step from this dead end," he
added.

On the other hand, Gul said: "We are very pleased that a Turk has won
such a prize" when referring to prominent Turkish novelist Orhan
Pamuk, who won the 2006 Nobel Prize for literature.

"This is an important development for Turkey’s promotion," he added.

Focus News, Bulgaria
Oct 13 2006

Milliyet, Turkey: EU Calls on Turkey to Keep Calm over France’s
Passing a Bill on Armenian Genocide

13 October 2006 | 11:30 | FOCUS News Agency

Strasbourg/ Ankara. European Parliamentary rapporteur Camiel Eurlings
called on Turkey to keep calm about the bill on the Armenian
genocide, which France’s Parliament passed, the Turkish newspaper
Milliyet reports. The MEP said the adoption of the bill would impede
the efforts at abolishing some restrictions on the freedom of thought
and the efforts at doing away with tortures in Turkey.
France’s lower house of parliament approved a bill on Thursday making
it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of
Ottoman Turks. The bill provoked anger in Turkey, which said the vote
would damage ties between the two NATO allies and French firms
operating in Turkey.

IRANIAN STUDENTS MADE A ROW AT A YEREVAN DISCO-CLUB

ARMINFO News Agency
October 10, 2006 Tuesday

A group of Iranian students made a row at one of disco-clubs in
Yerevan.

The press-service of the Armenian Prosecutor General’s office says
that around 3 o’clock AM, October 7, they received a call from the
city-dwellers about a row at the "Sava" disco-club. The officers of
the criminal investigation department found out that the row had been
made by the citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran: students of
the Yerevan State Architectural University, twin brothers Habib and
Muhammad Saravi (born in 1981), students of the Yerevan "Haybusak"
University, Brahimi brothers – Asri (1987) and Faasad (1985), and
Anaida Taimi (1985). The group of the drunk Iranian students made a
number of acts of hooliganism, quarreled with the club’s workers, beat
Director Arthur Matevosyan and broke the glass of the entrance door
with stones. According to the source, the twins were celebrating their
25th anniversary in this original way. The Central Police investigation
department of Armenia has instituted a criminal case under Part 3 of
Article 258 of the Armenian Criminal Code (hooliganism).

GENOCIDE: TURK PREMIER RAPS FRENCH COLONIALISM

Gulf Times, Qatar
Oct 11 2006

Protesters stand under a banner that reads ‘French parliamentarians!

Respect historical truths. Say no to the blackmail of the Armenians’
during a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Ankara
yesterday

ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told France yesterday
to examine its own colonial history instead of drawing up legislation
that will make it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide in
World War I.

Relations between Paris and Ankara have become increasingly strained as
the French parliament prepares to vote tomorrow on a bill that will
impose prison terms on anyone who questions the Armenian genocide
in 1915.

An eventual "yes" vote could also seriously damage Turkey’s ties
with the whole European Union at a time when it is negotiating to
join the 25-nation bloc.

Ankara strongly denies charges that some 1.5mn Armenians perished
in a systematic genocide last century, saying large numbers of both
Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict
raging at that time.

"There can be no legal justification for making it a crime to say a
lie is a lie," Erdogan said in a speech.

"France must look at what has happened in Senegal, Tunisia, Djibouti,
Guinea, Algeria," he added, referring to the time when Paris controlled
large swathes of Africa.

Despite the anger in Ankara, the French parliament moved a step closer
yesterday to approving the bill after the ruling Union for a Popular
Movement (UMP) gave its parliamentarians a free rein in the vote.

The proposed law was drawn up by the opposition Socialist party
and the rightist UMP, which is close to President Jacques Chirac,
had previously snubbed the idea.

Some ministers publicly say there is no need for legislation over the
issue, but the mood within the UMP has toughened since Chirac paid
a state visit to Armenia last month and said Turkey should recognise
the genocide before joining the EU.

UMP party officials expect around 60 of their 362 parliamentarians
to back the motion, with most of the rest likely to skip the debate,
handing victory to the Socialists.

The French parliament has already approved a bill in 2001 which stated
that France recognised the genocide. tomorrow’s vote will strengthen
the bill, laying out a one year prison term and 45,000 euro ($56,570)
fine for anyone denying the massacre.

Around 400,000 people in France have Armenian roots, making it a
powerful lobby, particularly in the south of the country, and some
top French politicians belong to the Armenian diaspora.

In Turkey, the parliamentary justice committee is due to decide today
whether to retaliate by proposing a bill that would criminalise the
denial of genocide in Algeria, which Paris ruled from 1830 to 1962.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has repeatedly called on France
to admit its part in the massacre of 45,000 Algerians who took to the
streets to demand independence as Europe celebrated victory over Nazi
Germany in 1945.

However, Erdogan signalled that Turkey would not pursue a tit-for-tat
policy, although his government has already warned that the bill
would badly damage bilateral ties.

"Some of our friends say ‘France did this, so we should retaliate’.

But we’re not among those who clean dirt with dirt. We’re among those
who clean off the dirt with clean water."

Bilateral trade amounted to nearly $10bn in 2005.

Some politicians have called for the expulsion of Armenians working
illegally in Turkey. Other measures mooted include boycotting French
products and freezing military co-operation.

Fearing a backlash, the spiritual leader of Turkey’s small Armenian
community, Patriarch Mesrob II, urged French restraint.

"All initiatives that prevent freedom of expression will strike a
blow to the process of dialogue between the Turkish and Armenian
communities and will strengthen excessive nationalist and racist
factors on both sides," he said.

Last year, Erdogan proposed a joint commission of Turkish and
Armenian historians to examine what really happened during World War
One. Armenia did not accept the proposal. – Agencies.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR: FRANCE`S PARLIAMENT`S ADOPTING AN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAW NOT TO HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON OSCE`S ACTIVITY
Author: A. Ismayilova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 11 2006

France will not gain from the adoption of the law that will envisage
a criminal responsibility for a denial of the "Armenian Genocide",
Bernard du Chaffaut, France`s Ambassador to Azerbaijan told during
the press-conference held today.

He pointed out that France`s National Assembly is expected to put
forward this draft which was initiated by France`s Socialist Party
for the Parliament`s discussion.

The French Ambassador underlined that if even the national Assembly
adopts this draft, it will not speak that it will certainly put into
force. The Senate`s adoption is also needed for this aim. And even
if the Senate adopts the draft, that will not be an official position
of the French Government.

The French diplomat also pointed out that the adoption of the law
cannot have an influence on France`s relations with Turkey and
many countries, including Azerbaijan. This position will not have
any influence on Turkey`s joining EU, and it should be mentioned
that President Jack Shirak voted "pro" Turkey`s affiliating to
the organization. He also added that according to French laws, the
President has no right to veto any bill adopted by the legislative body
of the country. France has the analogical law concerning Holocaust.

Commenting expressions concerning the demands to expel France from the
team of the Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group on the Azerbaijani-Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Mr.

Chaffaut said that French Co-Chairman Bernard Fasier represents
France`s Government, not its Parliament. Therefore, in his opinion,
France`s expelling from the organization is out of the question.

"Moreover, neither Azerbaijan`s President nor its Foreign Office have
not made any announcement in this connection", he told.

CHAIRMAN OF GREEK UNION OF FRIENDS OF ARMENIA, ARTSAKH AWARDED "MARSHAL BAGHRAMYAN" MEDAL

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 6 2006

YEREVAN, October 6. /ARKA/. The Chairman of the Greek Union of Friends
of Armenia and Artsakh, philanthropist Hrant Basmajan was awarded a
"Marshal Baghramyan" medal.

The medal was conferred on Basmajan for his patriotic activities by
RA Minister of Defense Serge Sargsyan, who was on a visit to Greece.

The ceremony was held at the Armenian Embassy in Greece, during
Minister Sargsyan’s meeting with representatives of the Armenian
community, including members of the organ of trustees "Yerevan"
and Union of Friends of Armenia and Artsakh.

The meeting participants discussed the issues of improving the
professional level of Armenian students studying at Greek military
schools. P.T. -0–

IL FAUT RECONCILIER ARMENIENS ET TURCS
La Chronique D’Alexandre Adler

Le Figaro, France
05 octobre 2006

La visite officielle du president de la Republique en Armenie
represente un geste profond, emouvant et empreint d’une veritable
solennite. Il faut en effet remonter a l’epoque des croisades pour
voir des ancetres de la France actuelle entretenir d’intenses relations
diplomatiques avec le brillant royaume armenien de Cilicie.

Si la France porta avec son alliee russe le nouvel Etat armenien sur
les fonts baptismaux a la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale, on sait
que l’entente de la Turquie kemaliste et de la Russie leniniste empecha
tout simplement cette Republique de vivre, sinon dans le coeur de
tous les Armeniens de la diaspora, qui ont represente une immigration
exemplaire. Tout cela suffirait a donner a cette visite d’Etat une
signification symbolique considerable. Le risque, malgre tout, que
cette initiative revet aujourd’hui, c’est de ranimer les flammes de
la grande querelle armeno-turque a un moment particulièrement delicat
de la negociation entre la Turquie et l’Europe.

Et, de tout cela, comme dans un abcès tumefie et infecte, il faut
parler franchement pour debonder, nettoyer et desinfecter. Tout
d’abord, le problème du genocide. Certes, le terme fut forge de toutes
pièces, au procès de Nuremberg, par le grand avocat juif polonais
Raphaël Lemkin, pour tenter de qualifier un meurtre de masse qui
n’avait pas eu de precedent par son ampleur et sa premeditation.

Meme s’il est possible de montrer que les Turcs et les Kurdes n’ont
procede, en 1915, ni avec la premeditation ni avec la continuite du
dessein exterminateur que l’on voit a l’oeuvre chez les Allemands
nazis et leurs complices divers, il n’est tout simplement pas
humain de refuser au peuple armenien, avec l’emploi de ce terme, un
apaisement moral et un redressement symbolique auquel il a parfaitement
droit. Mais a la condition, puisque l’on veut sortir du solipsisme
moral qui avait conduit naïvement les juifs a se reserver une sorte de
monopole terminologique a la fin de la guerre, d’examiner la tragedie
armenienne dans son ensemble. Rien, bien sûr, n’excuse les crimes
commis par l’armee turque et ses irreguliers kurdes qui massacrèrent,
en quelques mois, la quasi-totalite de la population armenienne des
provinces orientales de l’empire. Mais ce crime s’insère tout de meme
dans une tragedie plus longue qui commence dès le congrès de Berlin
de 1878, lorsque la Russie voisine, qui a annexe sur la Turquie et
la Perse un bon tiers du territoire armenien, dès le debut du XIX e
siècle, s’arroge le droit de representer et de defendre les Armeniens
de Turquie auprès de la Porte. A partir de la, les Armeniens perdent
peu a peu aux yeux de leurs compatriotes ottomans le statut eleve
qui avait ete le leur.

Desormais, les elites armeniennes quittent, contraintes et forcees,
massivement le service de l’Etat turc, et notamment de ses finances,
tandis qu’une minorite substantielle se convertit par patriotisme
a l’islam. Mais dans le vieux pays armenien, où Turcs, Kurdes et
Armeniens vivent alors aussi melanges que chretiens et musulmans en
Bosnie ou en Macedoine, la communaute armenienne paraît de plus en plus
tournee vers la Russie chretienne, au moment pourtant où les grandes
reformes dues au mouvement Jeunes Turcs commencent a affirmer un debut
de laïcite qui permet d’ailleurs a des deputes armeniens de sieger au
Parlement d’Istanbul, après 1908. La catastrophe generalisee commence
en 1911. En Macedoine, en Bulgarie, des Turcs et des musulmans des
Balkans sont massacres en grand nombre après la defaite de l’armee,
creant chez certains militaires une evidente soif de vengeance. La
jeunesse armenienne ne cache pas son desir de s’emanciper d’un empire
moribond et attend l’armee russe en liberatrice. Celle-ci echouera,
livrant les populations civiles armeniennes sans defense a une loi
du talion atroce, acceleree par le desir des tribus kurdes nomades
de s’emparer des terres sedentaires des agriculteurs armeniens. Tel
est le recit terrible de ce drame, auquel chacune des deux nations
en presence devrait pouvoir apporter son temoignage, et d’abord
sous la forme d’un debat historique ouvert. C’est en effet a cette
condition non humiliante que l’opinion turque pourra etre arrachee a
une amnesie qui n’est pas le seul fruit de la propagande mais aussi
d’un traumatisme non cicatrise. C’est ce qui commence a se faire
avec des reunions d’historiens auxquelles le gouvernement d’Ankara
consent a present, de meme que les tribunaux turcs acquittent l’un
après l’autre les ecrivains qui, avec grand courage, soulèvent le
problème armenien. Ne nous faisons aucune illusion : il n’y aura pas
de continuation de ce processus si la Turquie a le sentiment qu’on
l’instrumentalise contre son adhesion a l’Europe, si l’histoire
reelle de cette periode continue d’etre occultee dans sa complexite
et si, enfin, l’Etat armenien independant, reparation enfin survenue
de la longue eclipse de la première nation chretienne de l’Europe,
ne se soumet pas a son tour, en Azerbaïdjan par exemple, a un droit
international qui ne saurait fonctionner dans un seul sens. N’oublions
pas surtout, en France, que le peuple armenien et le peuple turc ont
ete, l’un et l’autre, nos plus proches amis depuis fort longtemps. La
tâche de la France est donc parfaitement simple : il nous faut les
reconcilier. N’oublions pas, en France, que le peuple armenien et le
peuple turc ont ete, l’un et l’autre, nos plus proches amis.

–Boundary_(ID_I+Gh9KW56foGeicXcsMT2w)–

OYP AGAINST ARMENTEL

A1+
[03:19 pm] 05 October, 2006

Today a group of members of Orinats Yerkir Party organised a rally
opposite the government premises against the increase of telephone
tariffs by "ArmenTel".

They condemn "AmenTel" for violating human rights and qualify their
decision as groundless. The participants of the rally claim that the
Greece operator "which provides low-quality connection" hasn’t got the
right to increase the telephone tariffs for a number of reasons. First
of all, they breech the provisions of License 60 and don’t provide
many remote dwelling places with telephone. Besides, the quality of
the connection doesn’t meet the lowest criteria existing all over
the world.

The quality of the Internet connection "seriously hinders the
development of informative technologies" whereas the Internet tariff
in Armenia are the highest in the region. The strikers call on the
government to prevent "ArmenTel" from implementing its subsequent
whim and turn down their decision to increase the tariffs. Otherwise,
they claim to involve large masses into the rally of protest.

ARMENIA TO SET CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT FOR GENOCIDE DENIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.10.2006 18:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A bill on introducing amendments into the RA Penal
Code was passed during the Armenian parliament sitting today. The
bill provides for criminal punishment for denial, justification or
support of genocide or any other crimes against humanity. A fine
from hundred up to three hundreds of minimal salary or deprivation
of liberty up to 4 years is expected to be fixed, reports Yerkir.