Category: News

 

 

 

The issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide has created internal tension in Germany. The discussions before and after April 24 seem to be frozen now. Last week the Lefts addressed a letter to the ruling coalition, requesting an answer as to when the discussions on the issue will continue.

Three bills on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide are pending at the Bundestag. It’s not yet clear whether the final document will describe the historic facts as ‘genocide’ or not.

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Turkish German lawmaker Hasan Burgucuoglu, member of Hamburg’s regional parliament confessed that “discussions on the bill drag out because of the efforts of Turkey.”

“A day before the discussions at the Bundestag, Davutoglu called Chancellor Angela Merkel several times to ask not to utter the word genocide,” he said.

The three bills at the Bundestag have been submitted by the Lefts, the Green Party and the ruling coalition.

Representative of the Party of Lefts Hasan Burgucuoglu did not say exactly when the bills will be finalized and put on a vote, but noted that “if it’s left to the Government, they will drag it out for years.” He added, however, that both the Lefts and the Greens have a clear position on the issue and will pursue the consideration and adoption of the resolution.

“We’ll not allow the German authorities to throw dust in the eyes of people and undertake steps only on April 24 to flatter the Armenians,” the lawmaker said.

Hasan Burgucuoglu is a former political prisoner, who fled Turkey to escape persecution because of his clear stance on the Armenian Genocide. Despite this, he considers himself a descendant of the ancestors with a dirty biography.

The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed deep concern over continuing restrictions placed on freedom of media and freedom of speech in Turkey and urged the country’s leaders to immediately abide by their commitment to upholding these liberties.
“Turkey’s stated goal is to be a modern, European state, but its record on freedom of expression remains incompatible with that goal,” Santos said.

The OSCE PA’s democracy and human rights Chair noted that Turkey continues to have one of the highest numbers of imprisoned journalists among OSCE participating States, despite notable releases last year, and makes more requests to Twitter to remove content than any other country. She also referenced other forms of pressure on and intimidation of journalists, which often result in self-censorship, as causes for concern.

“To cite alleged insults to the president or state as justification for punishing reporters or restricting social media is to openly admit political motivation. Citing problematic anti-terrorism and telecommunications legislation to clamp down on journalism and free speech does not make these actions any more acceptable.

“During the current election campaign period and beyond, the Turkish government and courts must demonstrate respect for dissenting views, whether spoken, printed or posted online. Doing so is essential if Turkey wants to take democracy seriously,” Santos said.

Santos indicated her openness to engaging with Turkish colleagues in the OSCE PA and with Turkish authorities on the topic of freedom of expression and other civil liberties- and democracy-related issues in the country.

On the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, the parliament of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on Tuesday adopted a joint resolution condemning the genocide, 

In the Rhineland-Palatinate capital city of Mainz, all parliament factions used the term “genocide” to describe what occurred in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Our common goal must be to contribute to reconciliation, understanding and awareness,” the speakers said.

“This is not solely about remembering the victims, but the need to look ahead. Our joint objective is to achieve reconciliation, mutual understanding, and recognition. That is why we support the development of Armenian-Turkish relations.”

Factions call on the Rhineland-Palatinate state government to promote initiatives and projects to address the events of 1915-16 and the German co-responsibility.

The resolution calls to remember the Armenian Genocide that occurred 100 years ago. The [Rhineland-Palatinate] parliament factions condemn the Ottoman Empire’s actions that led to the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians.

 

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was one of the key topics NATO official, James Appathurai commented on in his interview with AzerNews.

Appathurai, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, put a broad focus on efforts towards ending the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute.

NATO has repeatedly voiced its preference for a peaceful settlement over an armed intervention when it comes to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s genuine resolution. The military alliance sees no direct involvement in the negotiation process seeking to find a peace-based end to the conflict.

“NATO has no direct role in the political process to find a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Instead, we support the Minsk process,” he said.

“We are concerned about the deterioring situation on the ground. There is no military solution to the conflict, and I hope that the political process will yield results. The NATO framework can only play a supplementary role – allows for contacts between politicians, diplomats and military from Armenia and Azerbaijan in the margins of multilateral meetings. I hope such contacts can have a positive impact, and I was pleased to see that President Serzh Sargsyan and President Ilham Aliyev met in the margins of last year’s NATO Summit in Wales,” he said.

 

 

The Queen has spoken of her happiness that her latest great-grandchild, Princess Charlotte, was a girl, the Daily Mail reports.

Chatting at the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the season today, the monarch said she was delighted to have another little girl in the family.

The Queen visited the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s new baby at Kensington Palace before she was taken by her parents to Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home.

The Queen’s remarks at the Buckingham Palace garden party are the first time she has expressed any public opinion about the birth of the new princess, born just over a week ago, who is fourth in line to the throne.

The sun shone as around 8,000 people dressed in their finery poured into the grounds of the Palace to enjoy the afternoon party.

At least 43 people have been killed and 20 injured in a gun attack on a bus carrying Ismaili Shia Muslims in the Pakistani city of Karachi, police say, the BBC reports.

A police official said six gunmen on motorcycles stopped the bus and fired indiscriminately at passengers.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has condemned the attack and ordered an investigation.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban called Jundullah has said it carried out the attack.

About 60 people were on board the bus when it was stopped in the Safoora Goth area of Karachi on its way to an Ismaili Shia place of worship, police said.

“The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are willing to meet more frequently,” US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in an interview with the Voice of America.

“We have no date yet, but both Presidents have declared they would like to intensify the dialogue. We are looking for an opportunity now to organize such a discussion,” he said.

“The role of the Co-Chairs is to frame that discussion,” he said, adding that the mediators hope to visit the region soon to prepare the meeting of the Presidents.

Positively assessing the results of the recent meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Warlick said “I believe both President Sargsyan and President Aliyev are willing to solve the issue through negotiations.”

“The conflict has claimed too many human lives. We want to put an end to this,” the Co-Chair said.

Warlick did not rule out that the Co-Chairs could hold meetings in Nagorno Karabakh during the forthcoming visit.

A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, two weeks after more than 8,000 people were killed in a devastating quake, the BBC reports.

The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazar, near Mount Everest.

The US Geological Survey said it had a magnitude of 7.3. An earthquake on 25 April, centred in western Nepal, had a magnitude of 7.8.

The latest tremor was felt as far away as the Indian capital Delhi, as well as Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Strong tremors were felt in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, which was badly damaged in last month’s earthquake.

The epicentre of the latest earthquake was 83km (52 miles) east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.

The Turkish government has hired former CIA Director Porter Goss for lobbying activities, according to a form filed with the US Department of Justice that was published online, reports.

The form, filed pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, was published on Friday by The Intercept, an online publication that focuses on reporting on the documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

Goss, who served as the CIA director from 2004 to 2006 under the George W. Bush administration, registered through his new employer, Dickstein Shapiro, a law firm which The Intercept said has a long standing relationship with the Turkish government.

According to the form, Goss will “provide counsel in connection with the extension and strengthening of the Turkish-American relationship in a number of key areas that are the subject of debate in Congress, including trade, energy security, counter-terrorism efforts and efforts to build regional stability in the broader Middle East and Europe; educate Members of Congress and the Administration on issues of importance to Turkey; notify Turkey of any action in Congress or the Executive Branch on issues of importance to Turkey; and prepare analyses of developments in Congress and the Executive Branch on issues of importance to Turkey.”

The form, dated April 23, indicates that Goss’ services will continue indefinitely.

The Intercept report called Goss’ decision to work for the Turkish government as an “odd choice” for the ex-CIA director, who once declared “there is no viable alternative to freedom – only freedom offers men and women the opportunity to reach their full potential,” given the poor press freedom record of the Turkish government, which has arrested dozens of journalists, has violently suppressed peaceful protests and has censored social media.

Picasso’s Women of Algiers has become the most expensive painting to sell at auction, going for $179.3m (£115m) at Christie’s in New York, the BBC reports.

Eleven minutes of prolonged bidding from telephone buyers preceded the final sale – for much more than its pre-sale estimate of $140m.

The evening sale also featured Alberto Giacometti’s life-size sculpture Pointing Man, which set a record as the most expensive sculpture, at $141.3m.

The buyers chose to remain anonymous.

The Picasso oil painting is a vibrant, cubist depiction of nude courtesans, and is part of a 15-work series the Spanish artist created in 1954-55 designated with the letters A to O.

The final price of $179,365,000 includes Christie’s commission of just over 12%.

The previous world record for a painting sold at auction was $142.4m, for British painter Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud.

That sold at Christie’s in 2013.

Experts believe the investment value of art is behind the high prices.

“I don’t really see an end to it, unless interest rates drop sharply, which I don’t see happening in the near future,” said Manhattan dealer Richard Feigen.