Author: Zaminian Bedik

GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS: LES JURISTES DE LA CONFEDERATION DANS LE FLOU

Le Temps, Suisse
14 novembre 2006

LOI. Le directeur de l’Office federal de la justice suggère de se
referer a une instance internationale pour decider quels evenements
meriteront la qualification de genocide.

Une instance internationale pour definir les genocides dont la
contestation serait passible des tribunaux en Suisse? C’est ce qu’a
suggere Michael Leupold, le nouveau directeur de l’Office federal
de la justice (OFJ), dans une interview parue dimanche dans la
SonntagsZeitung. Ce n’est pas aux juges de faire l’histoire et
de decider si des evenements historiques doivent etre qualifies
de genocide ou non, a-t-il releve. Pour resoudre le problème,
on pourrait s’en referer a une instance internationale, a explique
Michael Leupold. Tout en soulignant qu’il reste difficile de savoir où
finit la liberte d’expression et où commence la negation reprehensible
d’un genocide, il n’a pas exclu non plus l’hypothèse d’un abandon pur
et simple de la repression du negationnisme – d’ailleurs reclame en
France par nombre d’intellectuels de renom.

La revision de la norme penale contre le racisme, amorcee par
Christoph Blocher en visite officielle a Ankara avec le fracas que
l’on se rappelle, est le premier dossier politiquement chaud pour le
haut fonctionnaire tout juste en place depuis le mois de juillet.

Michael Leupold n’a pu se montrer extremement precis, tant la
reflexion semble en etre a ses debuts au sein du departement de
Christoph Blocher. "Le but est d’eviter aux tribunaux d’avoir a faire
eux-memes oeuvre d’historiens, developpe Folco Galli, porte-parole
de l’OFJ. Il serait imaginable de s’appuyer sur le jugement d’une
cour internationale, ou l’avis d’une commission internationale
d’historiens."

Pour l’heure, meme la question de la presence du president de la
Commission federale contre le racisme, Georg Kreis, au sein du groupe
de travail charge de preparer la reforme, reste floue. Souhaitee par
Pascal Couchepin, elle n’a pas encore fait l’objet d’instructions
que Michael Leupold aurait recues, a declare ce dernier a la
SonntagsZeitung. Le groupe de travail evoque a plusieurs reprises
par Christoph Blocher n’est constitue pour l’heure que d’une seule
personne, a indique Michael Leupold. Mais les superieurs de ce
fonctionnaire reflechissent egalement au problème de manière intensive,
a souligne le directeur de l’OFJ.

De la Shoah au genocide des Armeniens

En acquittant 12 accuses turcs, en 2001, la justice bernoise avait
releve qu’il etait difficile pour un tribunal de se prononcer sur des
evenements dont le caractère de genocide n’etait pas officiellement
admis ni par le parlement federal, ni par le gouvernement, ni
d’ailleurs par l’Assemblee generale de l’ONU ou le Conseil de securite.

L’article 261 bis du Code penal, entre en vigueur en 1995 après avoir
ete accepte en votation populaire l’annee precedente, erige en delit
le fait de nier, minimiser grossièrement ou chercher a justifier
un genocide ou d’autres crimes contre l’humanite. A la difference
de la legislation d’autres pays, les Chambres federales n’ont pas
limite le delit de negationnisme a la Shoah, meme si c’est bien la
contestation de l’existence des chambres a gaz qui est l’origine,
dans de nombreux pays europeens, de lois reprimant les negateurs.

La loi Gayssot de 1990 en France, de meme que la loi belge adoptee
quelques annees plus tard ont chacune limite la repression du
negationnisme au genocide perpetre par le regime nazi.

En 2005, un projet de loi a ete discute en Belgique pour elargir
cette norme a d’autres crimes de masse, dont le genocide des
Armeniens. Cette disposition renvoyait notamment aux genocides reconnus
par l’Assemblee generale ou le Conseil de securite des Nations unies,
ou par un Etat membre de l’Union europeenne. Mais il n’a pu etre
adopte encore, les discussions se poursuivant. En octobre dernier,
l’Assemblee nationale, en France, approuvait en première lecture,
contre l’avis du gouvernement, une loi reprimant specifiquement la
negation du genocide des Armeniens. Mais ce texte ne peut entrer en
vigueur avant que le Senat se prononce, et il est peu probable qu’il
le fasse avant l’election presidentielle du printemps prochain et la
nouvelle legislature.

–Boundary_(ID_0ndZJFiZLYq1LhismeiyR A)–

TOURISTS FROM OVER 60 COUNTRIES VISITED NKR CURRENT YEAR

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 16 2006

In 2006 over 5 000 foreign citizens have visited the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic.

75 % of the Republic’s guests were tourists, the NKR MFA Consular
Service Head Yuri Zakharian told DE FACTO Agency. The tourists from
over 60 countries, mostly the U. S., Canada, Russia, France, Australia,
the U. K., Germany and Italy have visited the Nagorno-Karabakh current
year. Hundreds of people representing research and humanitarian
organizations, business circles and mass media have also visited the
Republic. The citizens of India, Cambodia and Venezuela were among
the NKR’s guests.

Yuri Zakharian mentioned positive dynamics of the growth of the
foreigners’ visits to the NKR registered during the last five years –
about 30 % a year.

CREATIVITY FLOWS FROM FRESNO STATE

Fresno State News, CA
Nov 15 2006

Faculty members and students – past and present – at California State
University, Fresno continue to win awards and critical praise for
their literary and visual arts achievements.

Fresno State alumnus Brian Turner is the most recent honoree. He
received a literary fellowship from the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Lannan
Foundation, which recognizes authors "of distinctive literary merit
who demonstrate potential for continued outstanding work."

The fellowship provides the resources for an individual to focus for
a year on writing. Turner works part-time as an instructor at Fresno
City College.

Turner, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1994 from Fresno
State and master’s of fine arts at the University of Oregon, wrote
"Here, Bullet," a collection of poems published in 2005 about his
Army infantry service in Iraq.

Since publication, "Here, Bullet" (Alice James; $14.95) has won a
Beatrice Hawley Award, the Northern California Award for Poetry,
the Maine Literary Award for Poetry and the PEN Center USA Literary
Award in Poetry.

Other recent creative arts accomplishments with links to Fresno State:

Favorable reviews greeted publication in October of Dr. Lillian
Faderman’s "Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics,
and Lipstick Lesbians" (Basic Books; $27.50) co-authored with Stuart
Timmons. Faderman, an English professor, has written several other
books on lesbian/gay history. This book was named New York Times
Notable Books of the Year. Her previous book, "Naked in the Promised
Land," received the Judy Grahn Award for nonfiction, and a Lambda
Literary Award for memoir.

Steven Church, an assistant professor of English, won the Colorado
Book Award in Creative Nonfiction for "The Guinness Book of Me"
(Simon & Schuster; $23). Church is at work on two books: one based
on the legacy of the 1983 TV drama "The Day After" and what he calls
"a sort of travel and work memoir" chronicling his journeys and time
spent as a tour guide at Arizona’s Meteor Crater and a Rocky Mountain
gold mine. He recently had a short story accepted for publication by
the new literary magazine, Avery.

Dr. Lisa Weston, an English professor, won first and second place
in the Creative Photography competition at the Big Fresno Fair for
what she describes as "found collages" (material from all over that
changes as things happen to it). and changes every day as torn down,
posted or painted over, and weathered by exposure to the elements).

"She took the photographs in London while on sabbatical earlier
this year.

Fresno State graphic design student Mario Garza is the author of
"Stuff on My Cat" (Chronicle Books, $9.95), a book of photos from
his Web site that features patient or lazy cats with things piled
on top of them. The Web site originated with photos of Garza’s plump
feline and soon was attracting submissions from other cat owners with
similar pictures. Garza operates his own graphic design studio/screen
printing shop.

The Canadian Historical Association awarded a Certificate of Merit
in Regional History to Dr. Isabel Kaprielian for her book, "Like
Our Mountains: A History of Armenians in Canada" (McGill-Queen’s
University Press; $59.95). Kaprielian is a professor of history who
specializes in Armenian and immigration history. The citation says
Kaprielian’s "research base is formidable, drawing upon a strong
collection of primary documents, extensive interviews and a wide
range of secondary sources." The book has won praise for both its
scholarship and general-audience appeal.

Former English faculty member Howard Hendrix’s sixth novel, "Spears
of God" (Del Rey/Random House; $14.95) is scheduled to be published
Nov. 28. The new book is a thriller about trying to control meteorites
that may hold secrets about human evolution. Hendrix has scheduled
readings and signings in several California bookstores, including
the Barnes & Noble in Fresno from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 27.

RAMIL SAFAROV TO BE SENTENCED NOVEMBER 17

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 15 2006

On November 17 Pest court headed by judge Tot Tyondyosh will hold
court hearings on prison officers’ claim against Ramil Safarov,
Azerbaijani army officer, who was sentenced to life in prison for
murdering Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Markarian in Hungary, Azerbaijani
Embassy told the APA.

The officers of the Embassy will participate in the court. He will
be sentenced after the witnesses’ testimony. Hungarian lawyer Clara
Fisher will defend his rights on the case.

It should be noted that, while being kept in Hungarian prison in
2004, jailers wanted telephone card from Ramil. But Ramil could
not understand Hungarian which led an incident between them. Eight
police officers tied his hands and used force. Though lawyers for
the Azerbaijani lieutenant appealed to court related to this matter,
the court dismissed the appeal saying there was no evidence. Then
the opposite side claimed that Ramil resisted officials.

BAKU REPORTS PROGRESS IN KARABAKH TALKS

Interfax, Russia
Nov 15 2006

BAKU. Nov 15 (Interfax) – Azerbaijan has welcomed Azeri-Armenian talks
on the Karabakh settlement held in Brussels on Tuesday, Azerbaijan’s
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tair Tagizade told the press.

"Although the talks were difficult, they were very constructive. The
main issue for us is to make at least one step forward in the
negotiating process. The parties made that step this time," Tagizade
said.

"The main achievement is that the talks are continuing and that
the ministers managed to discuss all aspects of the package being
negotiated," the diplomat said, but did not elaborate.

"Azerbaijan’s position is that the settlement cannot be partial. It
must cover all issues or it has no sense at all. The parties have
not been able to come to terms on all aspects of the settlement,"
Tagizade said.

CNN News
Nov 10 2006

Nobel novelist reflects on Turkey

POSTED: 0341 GMT (1141 HKT), November 9, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) — In another life, Orhan Pamuk could have been an
escape artist.

Spend an hour with him, and you quickly wonder if he wants to be
somewhere else, or even someone else. Ask him, and he’ll admit that
not being Orhan Pamuk is a constant fantasy.

But Pamuk has good reason to be himself these days. For years, he has
been regarded as a novelist of exceptional talent. Now, he’s a Nobel
Prize-winning novelist of exceptional talent.

What does that mean for a man who wrote he once believed there was
another Orhan somewhere?

Mostly just relief.

"The beautiful part of this prize is that I’m pleased from now on
nobody else will ask me, ‘Will you get the Nobel Prize?"’ Pamuk says,
laughing.

The Nobel is a coda to an extraordinary decade in the 30-year career
of Turkey’s most famous writer — one of steep rise in global
exposure.

His works have now been translated into more than 40 languages. He
has traveled to more than 20 countries to promote them. Along the
way, he has made his share of political statements, one of which led
to a trial in Turkey on the charge of "insulting Turkishness."
Meanwhile, the drumbeat for the Nobel grew louder and more maddening.

In a recent interview at Columbia University, where he is a fellow,
Pamuk insisted that the Nobel would not change his character or work
habits, but he also expressed exhaustion with the people who comb
everything he says and writes for controversy. He seems unsure if the
Nobel will be more of a shield or a magnifying glass.

"Politics do not influence my work; politics have influenced my life,
actually," he says. "In fact, I am doing my utmost to preserve my
work from politics."

Pamuk is a tall, slender 54-year-old, with a slightly pudgy face,
almond eyes, ill-fitting glasses and rumpled hair. He laughs loudly,
isn’t above wagging his finger over questions he deems objectionable,
and describes himself as a lover of solitude with a restless
imagination.

"I have this urge to stop this life and start afresh," he says. "I am
in a train, and the train goes into a town, or it passes close to
houses. … You see inside the house where a man, a family, a TV is
on, they’re sitting at a table. You see a life there. There’s an
immense impulse to be there, to be them, to be like them."

Pamuk was born into a wealthy family in Istanbul, and defines himself
as Muslim "culturally," with religion never playing much of a role in
his upbringing. In his early 20s, disillusioned with his architecture
studies and painting aspirations, he decided he would write. It was
nearly a decade before he was published.

"Till the age of 30, my father gave me pocket money," he says.

His artistic skills have influenced his structurally complex,
visually piercing novels. He counts among his inspirations Proust and
Tolstoy, and says he loves philosophically and emotionally layered
works such as "The Possessed" and "Anna Karenina"

His own lyrical, dreamlike stories — often drenched in melancholy —
seek harmony in discord, but don’t always find it.

In "Snow," his most overtly political novel, Pamuk writes about the
plight of young Muslim girls who wished to wear headscarves in school
but faced legal obstacles in secular Turkey. In the book, published
in the United States in 2004, every character’s point of view seems
to have merit, and in it, both secularists and Islamists in Turkey
found much to like and hate. The topic was especially touchy,
considering the ongoing debate in Turkey over the country’s bid to
join the European Union, a move Pamuk has openly supported.

The push and pull in Turkey, a country that straddles two continents
and has deep religious and secular convictions, haunt Pamuk’s work.
Besides "Snow," his best-known novels in the United States are "The
Black Book" and "My Name Is Red." Another well-received book,
"Istanbul," is part memoir, part history of the home city Pamuk
adores.

Writing in longhand
Pamuk spends years exploring themes before an idea is transformed
into a book. He plans, designing a blueprint for each section. He
still writes in longhand with a fountain pen.

"One of the wonderful joys of writing novels is not the writing, but
fantasizing about other novels one day you will write," he says. "I
have notebooks, notes, so much material about the novels I may
someday write. Then, of course you realistically know you cannot
write all of these novels. But it’s like fantasizing another life.
… I like doing that."

He doesn’t believe his best work is behind him, but says the Nobel is
unlikely to be a crutch.

"I’m sure that after two months when I write a page that I’m not sure
about the quality, that I will be upset," he says. "I will be
tormented again if I think that the sentence I’m writing is not good.
No Nobel Prize — no nothing helps that. You’re alone there."

He hopes the Nobel, Turkey’s first, has a positive impact on other
Turkish writers, but he is not convinced that it will protect him
from future political persecution, noting that he was already very
famous when he was put on trial last year.

Pamuk was charged after telling a Swiss publication that Turkey was
unwilling to deal with painful parts of its history involving the
massacres of Armenians during World War I, which Turkey insists was
not a genocide, and the killings of many in its Kurdish population.
The charge was dropped on a technicality in January.

He insists that he is merely "a novelist" writing about what he knows
and what interests him, but that others have interpreted his works as
political commentary during what are tense times between the West and
the Muslim world.

Still, it doesn’t take much to make him say something political. It
is as if he can’t bear to not be honest.

"It’s a conscience," said Maureen Freely, who has known Pamuk for
many years and served as a translator for him. "If it’s important,
he’ll say something. It’s something he regards as a duty he can’t run
away from."

When he won the Nobel, some countrymen denigrated him, saying he was
tapped not for his writing but for his politics. His mother’s
happiness was tempered by concern over how Turkish right-wingers
would respond.

"I embrace them," Pamuk says of his detractors. "This is a day of
celebration for me and for Turkey. I’m not going to answer back."

For the last four years, Pamuk has been constructing a novel that "is
not political, not historical." It is a love story about a rich
Istanbul man’s obsession with a poor relative. The working title is
"Museum of Innocence."

But it is something else he is writing that is getting unwanted
attention: his Nobel-prize acceptance speech. He is still thinking
about what to say.

Perhaps when he is officially honored, on December 10 in Stockholm,
Sweden, he will wish to be somewhere else, someone else.

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION APPROVES 2007 ARMENIA ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Noyan Tapan News Agency. Armenia
Nov 9 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The Board of Directors of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation approved Armenia as a country
eligible for assistance in 2007, taking the annual performance
into account. Thomas Adams, Co-chair of the US-Armenia Task Force,
Co-ordinator of the Office of the US Assistance to Europe and Eurasia
of the US State Department, stated this during the November 9 meeting
with the RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian. At the same time he
noted that there are some reservations regarding the declined indices.

A. Margarian assessed as efficient the work of the US-Armenia Task
Force (USATF), noting that various issues related to promotion of
the economic cooperation between the two countries, increasing the
efficiency of the assistance programs implemented by the US government
are discussed at regularly convened sittings of the USATF.

A. Margarian thanked the representative of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation and Thomas Adams, expressing a hope that the existing
problems will be solved thanks to bilateral efforts.

T. Adams said that all the problems to de discussed at the regular
sitting of the USATF have already been considered in detail with
the co-chairs and the ministers interested during this visit. He
presented briefly the results of the meetings with the RA president,
the RA prosecutor general and the minister of energy.

T. Adams also addressed issues related to the strengthening
of democracy and the holding of the upcoming elections in line
with international standards, the US assistance and the Armenian
government’s efforts in this direction, and the fight against
corruption.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT RENOUNCES ITS RIGHT TO BUY 90% OF ARMENTEL’S SHARES

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 9 2006

The Armenian Government has renounced its right to buy 90% of
the shares of the ArmenTel telecom company (169,539,381 shares)
for 341,888,105 EUR sold by the present owner of the company, OTE
(Greece), to Russian Vympelcom.

The press service of the Armenian Government, the Government had this
right according to ArmenTel’s regulations, the law on JSCs and the
contract with OTE. The government has instructed Finance and Economy
Minister Vardan Khachatryan and Chief of Tax Service Felix Tsolakyan
to amicably settle all tax disputes with ArmenTel.

SABANCI: EUROPE NEEDS TURKEY MORE THAN TURKEY NEEDS EUROPE

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Nov 8 2006

ANKARA – "In the long run and in economic terms Europe needs Turkey
more than Turkey needs Europe," Sabanci Holding Chairman Guler Sabanci
has indicated.

In her article published in Financial Times, Sabanci stated, "Turkey
has been an integral part the twists and turns of European history
for 700 years. We should remember this long history of engagement
when discussing Turkey’s European Union membership and negotiations,
which formally began just last year. An EU report on the progress of
the talks, due to be released tomorrow, is being seen by some as a
‘breaking point’."

She underlined, "the progress report is an interim document that
underlines what still remains to be done, as opposed to celebrating
what has been achieved. By its very nature it cannot do justice to
the profound importance of these talks when it comes to facing the
global issues of tomorrow."

"The main challenges facing humanity over the coming century cannot
be tackled at the level of a single nation state. Climatic changes,
potential pandemics, the gap between rich and poor, security and
immigration all are problems that require a governance system that
covers significantly more than current sovereign areas. The EU is a
vaguely understood, but courageous, search for such a new governance
structure. My country has to be a part of this. Turning inward and
trying to close the world out is a backward step, both for the EU
and Turkey," Sabanci indicated.

She noted, "the strategic importance of Turkey within Europe is
undeniable. Its experience with multi-ethnic and multi-denominational
governance structures, geographic position, historical ties with
and knowledge of areas to its south and east, its young population,
access to energy and control of water resources make Turkey a critical
player in the emerging EU."

"The main problem is political. Economic fears are often cited but
those arguments are quite empty. For sure, the current rules of the
EU would require a transfer of resources to Turkey for about 10 to 15
years. However, in plain business terms the discounted present value
of Turkey’s contributions to an ageing Europe beyond that period is
greater than the outlay. In the long run, in economic terms Europe
needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Europe," Sabanci stated.

"We are moving towards a lofty goal but the road there is narrow and
leaves little room for manoeuvre. After 700 years of dealing with
each other, all parties can point to historical reasons for caution.

As the process is not really one of "negotiating" but checking to
see if Turkey fulfils certain conditions for entry, it is by its
very nature unilateral. Any unilateral process is open to all sorts
of misunderstandings that need a conscious effort to prevent or undo.

There are some principles to follow that will make this process
easier," she noted.

"First, unilateral does not – should not – mean ‘arbitrary’ or
‘variable’. If it is seen that way the ‘candidate’ may lose interest.

Something of this nature has been happening to Turkish public opinion,
in particular with respect to Cyprus. After the accession of a
divided Cyprus to the EU – in spite of the Greek Cypriot rejection of
the United Nations plan supported by the EU – the agreement whereby
sanctions on North Cyprus were to be lifted as a first step seems to
have been forgotten. Yet the demands on Turkey remain," Sabanci said.

"Second, there is a need to find a way of providing ‘wiggle room’ for
all parties to allow politicians to win the support of their public.

It is in no one’s interest to push any party into a corner from which
they cannot emerge," she noted.

Sabanci indicated, "third, the EU must avoid blatant asymmetry.

Turkey can not be chastised for parts of its penal code that may
inhibit freedom of expression while member states try to criminalise
historical debate about what happened to Armenian and Turkish
communities during the first world war in a manner that inhibits free
speech and research to expose the truth."

"Fourth, there is a need to keep ‘pressure’ in the system to ensure
that the requisite reforms are being implemented, in particular the
legal protection of the individual. This should not be hard as there
are many non-governmental organizations in Turkey pushing for such
reforms irrespective of the EU talks," she said.

Sabanci added, "most important there is a need for sincerity,
an honest effort on both sides to arrive at a successful result,
Turkey’s accession as a full member."

SCHEDULE OF MEASURES ON PREPARATION AND CONDUCT OF A REFERENDUM ON NKR CONSTITUTION MADE

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006

The issues referring to the preparation and conduct of a referendum
on the Nagorno-Karabakh Draft Constitution were discussed at the NKR
Central Election Commission today’s sitting.

A schedule of the measures on the referendum’s preparation and conduct,
the forms of the resulting protocols and electors’ lists and other
issues were approved in the course of the sitting, REGNUM Information
Agency reports.

After the sitting the Central Referendum Commission Head Sergey
Nasibian held a seminar with the members of the Central Commission
and the territorial commissions’ heads. He dwelled on the top priority
issues and answered the participants’ questions.