GROUP AIMS TO BLOCK ANTENNAS
By Christina Pazzanese, Globe Correspondent

Boston Globe, MA
Dec 8 2006

Neighbors fight plan for 12 more

A proposal to erect a dozen cellular antennas atop an office building
in Watertown’s Coolidge Square has prompted neighbors to say enough
is enough.

Resident Norman Adler objected to a plan by Sprint Nextel to put
antennas on the 80 Bigelow Ave. office building at a Zoning Board
of Appeals hearing last week . Adler filed a petition signed by 125
residents. Council president Clyde Younger and councilors Angeline
Kounelis and Marilyn Petitto Devaney spoke in support of the neighbors.

Adler, who lives nearby in the Coolidge Village Condominiums complex,
said neighbors, including a large number of seniors, oppose the
antennas on the grounds that they would decrease property values,
block views, and be aesthetically "discordant" with the surroundings.

"Something is wrong here," said Adler. "We shouldn’t be exposing kids
to this."

The neighborhood includes five schools, a public park, several multi
family residences, and four churches. Adler noted that other cities,
including New York City, have limited cellular antennas so close
to schools.

The zoning board, which has been considering the plan since October,
is scheduled to resume hearing the matter Jan. 3.

Alegria Caragay, who also lives in the Village condos, said the
application should be denied because the town already has more than 100
antennas, 59 of which are within a half-mile radius of Coolidge Square.

Caragay said the company’s contention that it needs antennas to fill
a service gap is unfounded.

She recently surveyed 25 people at the Arsenal Mall, a local Shaw’s
supermarket, and around the Hosmer School to ask about their cellular
service. A dozen people told her they used Sprint or Nextel , and of
those, only one reported trouble with reception , said Caragay, adding
she believes the company wants to fill gaps in Cambridge and Belmont.

Mark Elliott, a spokesman for Sprint, said the antennas were necessary
but declined to say how many customers would be affected or quantify
how much better their cellular reception will be if the antennas go up.

Local zoning ordinances cannot be used by the board to deny such
applications, said Harry Vlachos, the zoning board chairman. "We have
to look at them case by case, and they have to show there is a need."

The US Telecom Act of 1996 prohibits zoning officials from basing
a denial on the grounds that cellular antennas may harm residents’
health, he said.

Vlachos said he was concerned about the affect on the skyline of
adding the antennas. "That building is already higher than what’s
normally allowed," he said.

The four-story building, which is owned by the Armenian Cultural
Society , houses the Armenian National Committee of America (Eastern
Region) , the Armenian Youth Federation , and the Hairenik Association
Bookstore . It is nearly 40 feet tall, putting it 10 feet above the
town’s 30-foot limit for a neighborhood business zone, said Nancy
Scott, zoning enforcement officer. The antennas would add another 15
feet above the maximum allowed under zoning rules, she said .

Zoning board members have also raised concerns about the placement
of a ground-level electronic cabinet. Originally, the cabinet was to
take up a parking space, but officials pointed out that the building
already lacks the minimum 15 spaces — another issue that will have
to be addressed.

Sprint Nextel attorney Ricardo Sousa could not be reached for
comment. But Watertown attorney Ara H. Margosian, who represents the
building owner, said he was only hired to protect the rights of the
property owner, not push the zoning board for a permit. "You won’t
be able to see antennas on top of the roof," he said.

Despite Adler’s perception that the town has been "very permissive"
in giving out permits to cellular providers, Vlachos said that’s
simply not the case. "I don’t think anyone’s coming to Watertown to
put up antennas," he said.

"We’re encouraged the thing has not gone through at this point,"
said Adler .

In 2003, Sprint sued the town after the zoning board denied its
application to put six antennas at the former Rosary Academy . The
company was eventually allowed to install one antenna, said Scott.

The board denied T-Mobile’s request to erect a 120-foot antenna tower
atop the Oakley Country Club in 2004. The company filed suit but
dropped it after the town allowed four antennas elsewhere, said Scott.

‘SCREAMERS’ A LOUD AND CARNAGE-FILLED HISTORY LESSON
By Evan Henerson, Staff Writer

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Dec 8 2006

There’s no masking filmmaker Carla Garapedian’s outrage. It comes
barreling across the screen with every note thrashed out by political
rockers System of a Down, with every bit of politicspeak from past
U.S. presidents, and with all those corpses lying wide-eyed and
decaying along dusty roads and in makeshift graves.

The end credits of Garapedian’s documentary "Screamers" – which
examines the world’s history of genocides in the 20th and 21st
centuries – contains a huge body count of casualties: 1.5 million
Armenians dead, 2 million Cambodians, 400,000 and counting in Darfur.

And you get the sense that, had she the resources and screen time,
the director might have thrown every last corpse up on screen. The
effect, alas, quickly becomes numbing.

Cutting between the carnage and the commentators who acknowledge
that, yes, the United States has a rather shoddy history of genocide
intervention, Garapedian takes us on the road with System of a Down.

The Grammy-winning rock band whose members – like Garapedian – have
Armenian lineage, deliver music with a message.

They take action off stage as well, lobbying House Speaker Dennis
Hastert to bring an Armenian genocide recognition bill to the floor.

(During his one on-camera moment in the Capitol, the speaker meets
System lead singer Serj Tankian and politely blows him off).

Tankian’s direct link to the carnage of 1915 is his 96-year-old
grandfather, Stepan Haytayan, whose memories of the death march from
Efkere are partially recounted in "Screamers." The late scenes between
the rocker activist and the wizened old man whose very being fuels
the band’s quest, are quietly touching.

Less so, the rest of the film. Garapedian has lined up an assortment of
erudite and well-spoken contributors (most notably Harvard University
genocide expert Samantha Power) to drive home our nation’s culpability
in the global carnage. By trying to bring the Holocaust, Pol Pot’s
Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur onto the same 91-minute canvas,
the director has perhaps cast her net too wide, leaving her outrage
over Armenia less sharply drawn.

That said, through "Screamers," Garapedian and producer Peter McAlevey
offer much to ponder, not to mention a group with more than fame on
its mind.

SCREAMERS Our rating: (R: disturbing images, language) Starring:
System of a Down.

Director: Carla Garapedian.

Running time: 1 hr. 31 min.

Playing: Mann Chinese 6, Glendale Marketplace 4, Mann Criterion
Santa Monica.

In a nutshell: The unending cycle of genocide told through System of
a Down’s music, social commentators and footage of enough corpses to
fill up a dozen cemeteries.

NAGORNO KARABAKH SEEKS COMMON CAUSE WITH PRIDNESTROVIE
By Jason Cooper

Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review, Moldova
Dec 8 2006

A delegation from Nagorno Karabakh’s parliament (shown) supports PMR,
while Armenia strongly criticizes MoldovaTIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times)
– Pridnestrovie, also known as Transdnistria, has much in common
with Nagorno Karabakh. That was the conclusion by a top NKR Armenian
delegate to Tiraspol, speaking at a news conference in a run-up to
Sunday’s presidential elections.

" – The two countries have much in common. Both of them are
self-sufficient states with all inseparable attributes," Yuri
Hayrapetian, the chairman of the committee on state and legal issues
at the Nagorno Karabakh National Assembly, told a news conference in
Tiraspol. Yuri Hayrapetian and NKR government representative Garry
Jahangirian arrived in Tiraspol to observe the presidential election
due on December 10.

The NKR delegates are going to attend the polling stations and meet
with the Armenian community of Pridnestrovie, often alternately also
called Transdniester in English or Transnistria in Romanian.

" – Both Transdnistria and Nagorno Karabakh are not yet perceived by
the international community as full subjects of international law.

But both states formed and asserted their independence and have
survived bloody wars. Both are under economic blockades, and both
have experienced economic and political hardships," Hayrapetian said.

However, he also remarked that unlike Pridnestrovie, Nagorno Karabakh
has a supporter which defends its interests at international level,
renders it financial assistance, and has a common border with NKR. He
was referring to the Republic of Armenia. And although Moldova is
often quick to assert that in Pridnestrovie’s case, Russia is that
kind of supporter, Hayrapetian pointed out that this was not the
case. Russia does not unequivocally defend Pridnestrovie’s interests
at the international level, does not automatically render financial
assistance, and does not in the least share any kind of common border
with Pridnestrovie. Although Pridnestrovie does consider Russia a
friend, the relationship is much less clear-cut than in the case of
Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia.

" – The other difference is complete absence of any interaction between
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, the borders with which make the front
line and actually we are still in state of war. At least in this case,
Transdnistria and Moldova has maintained some kind of dialogue. In
our case, the negotiations with Azerbaijan proceeded limply. Instead,
we decided to build our state in accordance with our interests,"
Yuri Hayrapetian said.

Armenia criticizes Moldova Meanwhile, Armenia has issued a strongly
worded statement against Moldova and two other states, noting that
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are meddling into an issue that doesn’t
concern them.

" – Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are playing into the hands of
Azerbaijan by meddling into an issue which does not concern them,"
said Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian when commenting on
GUAM’s statement about referendum in Nagorno Karabakh.

In his words, the Moldova-backed statement does not have anything
with reality.

" – During a decade and a half, in a situation of no-peace and
no-war, and to their credit, the people and authorities of Nagorno
Karabakh have built a lawful, well-regulated internal governance
system. They have built political institutions; through elections
they have selected their own authorities and developed a legislative
framework. Today, they have recognized the need for a basic law, and
chosen the internationally accepted practice of a referendum as the
only acceptable way to collectively adopt that basic law. Azerbaijan
claims that exercising a vote is an obstruction to the peace process.

Just the opposite. At the core of the negotiations to reach a peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is the right of the people
of Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination. What really obstructs
the process is the Azerbaijani overreaction to Karabakh’s democratic
activities, their refusal to engage Nagorno Karabakh in peace talks,
their repeated militaristic calls and their persistent efforts to
sidetrack the Minsk Group negotiation process," reports the press
office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

On Sunday, Pridnestrovie’s voters go to the polls in a democratic
election to freely and fairly choose a president. It is the fourth
such election in the young country’s 16 year history. (With information
from PanArmenian Network)

Article URL:

ORHAN PAMUK SAYS ‘NO COMMENT’ TO ARMENIAN QUESTION

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 8 2006

Speaking to the press on the Nobel Prize in Sweden, Turkish novelist
Orhan Pamuk avoided commenting on the Armenian issue.

Pamuk came to Sweden to receive his Nobel Prize in Literature with
his daughter Ruya and stayed at the Grand Hotel.

Pamuk made a press statement at Norstedts Publishing, which published
Pamuk’s books in Sweden. Over 100 media members from all over the
world followed the press conference.

Reporters asked questions to Pamuk, who was very excited about
the prize.

A journalist reminded Pamuk of his controversial remarks on the
alleged Armenian genocide. When asked about his views on the issue,
Pamuk was reluctant to discuss politics and simply said, "no comment."

Before coming to Sweden, Pamuk had said he would focus on global
issues, not just Turkey.

Pamuk will deliver his Nobel speech on Thursday and receive his prize
on Sunday.

The laureate said he would return to Istanbul as soon as he received
the prize.

Japan to Build Prisons Without Guards By Cihan News Agency, Tokyo
zaman.com

A new type of prison is being constructed in Japan next spring in
the southern Japanese city of Yamaguchi.

Instead of concrete walls, a wire fence will be used. Infrared sensors
will be used for surveillance. And instead of prison guards, prisoners
will carry surveillance tools attached to their uniforms.

The devices will enable constant computerized surveillance of
prisoners. Nonetheless, only prisoners convicted under minor charges
will be kept in the prison.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT: SCREAMERS DIRECTOR AND SYSTEM OF A DOWN JOIN FORCES TO DECRY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Gabriel San Roman

Orange County Weekly, CA
Dec 8 2006

On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turkish government began a systematic
campaign of arrests, deportation, and annihilation against the Armenian
people. By 1923, mass killings had claimed the lives of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians in what became the first genocide of the 20th
century. To this day, the Turkish government continues to deny that
genocide took place, and despite numerous nations recognizing the
Armenian Genocide, the United States, after 91 years, has yet to
officially recognize it.

Activists in the States have tried to reverse the U.S. government’s
shameful stance. All-Armenian and Grammy Award-winning rock group
System of a Down has used its influence to raise awareness about the
genocide, and now documentary filmmaker Carla Garapedian, herself an
Armenian American, chronicles the band’s activism and the history of
the Armenian Genocide in her new film Screamers, which opens Friday
in Orange.

I recently talked with Garapedian and System of a Down drummer John
Dolmayan about the project.

OC Weekly: Carla, a documentary featuring System of a Down titled
Screamers will carry the connotation of what Serj Tankian and Daron
Malakian do on stage, but it has a different meaning, doesn’t it?

Carla Garapedian: It does. I got the term from Samantha Power’s
Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem From Hell: America in the Age
of Genocide. She very cleverly tells the story of genocide in the last
century. Powers argues that in each case of genocide, whether it’s
the Armenian genocide or what’s going on in Darfur, Sudan, now, there
are always individuals who raise the alarm and say this is going on
and we have to do something about it. She calls those people screamers.

Why did you choose to explore the Armenian Genocide through the prism
of System of a Down?

Garapedian: All the members of System of a Down are grandchildren of
genocide survivors, as I am. They have a very strong sense of their
cultural identity and the denial of the genocide. I didn’t think about
making a film on genocide until I heard their music and learned about
them. They’re a worldwide phenomenon and they are affecting how young
people think about politics. It struck me that this band was having an
effect that was really different. It made me think that using their
music, passion and energy might help me tell the story of genocide
in the last century.

John, why did System of a Down decide to be a part of this film?

John Dolmayan: We didn’t do this movie for any other reason than to
do what we felt was a commitment we have to follow through with.

Being Armenian, I feel very strongly about genocide and injustice. I
was compelled to be a part of this. I’m proud of the film. I think
the film came out well. It didn’t come off preachy; just informative.

How personal is the Armenian Genocide recognition cause for you? Did
your activism on this issue begin before System of a Down was formed?

Dolmayan: It’s a very personal issue for all of us in the band. I
don’t know if I would consider myself an activist, even to this day.

As a human being, not just an Armenian, I believe that genocide is
wrong. If that makes me an activist, I guess that’s the definition of
it. It’s very personal for us. We each had a loss of family members,
a loss of our history, and a loss of our ancestry. We can only date
our families back to a certain extent. It deeply motivated us in our
lives to prevent other genocides from taking place.

There’s a scene in Screamers where you and Serj approached Congressman
Dennis Hastert about the Armenian Genocide resolution in a respectful
manner. Did you feel like Hastert blew you off?

Dolmayan: I think that he did what most politicians do. First of all,
he didn’t acknowledge the letter Serj and I handed in him in Chicago.

It was obvious he read it at some point. He’s just doing what
politicians do. Most of their lives are spent distorting truth.

Carla, what audience do you hope to reach with Friday’s opening at
the Block in Orange?

Garapedian: There are many fans of the band in Orange County, and
they were really critical in the early days of System of a Down’s
success. We want to show the film to pay homage and thank those fans
who supported the band in the early days, although this isn’t a System
of a Down movie; it features them. Also, there are many Armenians in
Orange County, and the film is going to get its start by appealing
to those core audiences. By going to the film in its first weekend,
people will be sending a message out to the rest of the country that
there can be a film about genocide and the message will also be sent
that there are people who care about this issue. That’s what I’m
hoping to do in Orange County.

Gabriel San Roman is the assistant producer of Uprising, a popular
prime time radio program on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.

ing-to-scream-about/26345/

RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT WITHDRAWN FROM GEORGIA PLACED IN ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN BORDER LINE

Today, Azerbaijan
Dec 8 2006

Russian military equipment, as well as armored carrier, Bradley
Fighting Vehicle and vehicles were placed in the military bases in
Armenia-Azerbaijan border line, Ijevan, Tavush and Vardenis.

No information if these technical equipment and vehicles have been
given to Armenian Armed Forces.

An agreement is expected to be reached on the exploitation of these
military supplies by Armenians, APA reports quoting to military
sources.

Defense Ministry Press Service Chief, Colonel Ramiz Malikov told the
APA that they condemn Russia’s act. He said that they are aware of this
and they have already informed international organizations about it.

"This act has a negative influence on talks and tenses the situation
in the South Caucasus," he said.

URL:

ARMENIA: CLIMATE OF SELF-CENSORSHIP
By Gegham Vardanian in Yerevan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Dec 8 2006

Armenian television channels play to the tune of government and
big business.

In Armenian television today, the rules of news journalism are known
to everybody. Journalists say it is a climate not of direct official
control, but of pervasive self-censorship.

"Now everyone knows exactly what to do," said journalist Tigran
Paskevichyan. "There are entertainment programmes, music, films and
so on, but no one thinks about public and political debate."

If in Azerbaijan and Georgia the battle is happening now, in Armenia
the crunch moment occurred four years ago when the politically
independent A1 + television channel was taken off the air. Other
stations took this as a signal to resign themselves to official
control and exercise political caution.

A1 + was stripped of its broadcasting license on April 2, 2002. A week
later, as human rights activists and journalists were rallying to the
support of the station, 17 media outlets released a statement, in which
they insisted that freedom of speech was not in any danger in Armenia.

"This statement was a public declaration of submission, in which the
media said it was better to obey rather than find themselves in the
position of А1+," said Mesrop Movsesian, chairman of the company.

"After 2002, all the TV companies began to be afraid and everybody
understood that there was a certain line along which they had
to walk, and any step to the right or to the left would not be
tolerated. Speaking figuratively, they could be shot without warning,"
said Mesrop Harutyunian, a media expert with the Yerevan Press Club.

Most television channels are now extremely selective in their news
coverage, ignoring opposition figures such as former parliamentary
speaker Artur Baghdasarian.

"For example, when visiting the French University, the foreign minister
of France was accompanied by Arthur Baghdasarian, chairman of the
university’s board of trustees," said Harutyunian. "However, most TV
reports were edited so as to avoid showing Artur Baghdasarian. This
is straightforward censorship."

A recent US State Department report summed this up, "The authorities
continu[e] to maintain tight control over the state-owned Armenian
Public Television and virtually all private channels, which are owned
by businesspeople loyal to [Armenian president Robert] Kocharian and
rarely air reports critical of his administration. Their reporters
are believed to operate under editorial censorship."

Television professionals say much of the pressure on them is
informal and comes either directly from politicians or via the
presidentially-appointed national television and radio commission.

Gegham Manukian, a member of parliament and consultant with
Yerkir-Media television, said broadcasting bosses are invited now and
then for informal meetings or dinners in the presidential residence.

"These are not meetings in the strict sense of the word, no
instructions are given," he said. "Actually, it is up to the leader
himself to decide whether he will do this or that. Naturally, this
will have an effect. But sometimes useful and important issues are
also discussed there."

Armenia has 61 television stations, of which 17 are in Yerevan. Many
of them focus on children’s programming, culture or music. Several,
such as ALM or Kentron TV, which now occupies the frequency once held
by A1 +, are owned by wealthy businessmen.

Shamiram Aghabekian, deputy chairman of Armenia’s national television
and radio commission, agreed to be interviewed by IWPR only on the
condition that what she said was understood as her personal opinion.

She conceded that television exercised self-censorship, but said this
was normal.

"The owners of our TV companies are mostly very rich people –
oligarchs," she said. "They see that the authorities have created
favourable conditions for them to do business, and, naturally, they
don’t want a change of government. The current government suits the
owners of television stations perfectly."

Regional television channels are more vulnerable targets for the
authorities because of their poor finances.

"We receive threats very frequently," said the head of one regional
station, who asked to be identified by the changed name, Baghdasar.

Regional television bosses say that Grigor Amalian, the chairman of
the national television and radio commission, told them recently that
they should rebroadcast the programmes of Kentron TV, which is owned
by people associated with Armenia’s leading oligarch Gagik Tsarukian.

"Amalian said that he would not object to seeing Kentron TV broadcast
in the regions and that they were ready to pay for this," said
Bagdasar. "We thought about it and asked for a very big price. They
haven’t yet got back to us."

Manukian said that money is a crucial part of the picture, as rich
Armenians are able to buy up favourable airtime.

For example, in the last two months, most Armenian television
channels broadcast a series of reports about a businessmen involved
in politics, who was distributing seed potatoes and organising free
medical consultation services in villages. The reports had the look
of being paid advertising.

Journalist Tigran Paskevichyan said the convergence of commercial
and political interests on Armenian television was having a corrosive
effect.

"Who would pay money [to a television channel] and say, ‘Say what you
want about poverty and the catastrophic situation in the regions of
Armenia’? No one of course," he said.

Gegham Vardanian is a reporter for Internews in Yerevan.

GARABAGH ‘REFERENDUM’ QUESTIONS PEACE TALKS, OFFICIAL SAYS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 8 2006

The so-called referendum in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region
under Armenian occupation, scheduled for December 10, questions the
negotiating process on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and once again
proves the insincere position of the Armenian side, an Azeri official
has said.

These plans represent proof that Yerevan is engaged in "playing a
multi-lateral game", the head of the President’s Office international
relations department, Novruz Mammadov, told journalists.

"But regardless of what games they play, they will not be able to win
and reap dividends. Some international organizations and countries
have already expressed their opinion to that end. The world community
will never accept this show being staged by Armenians as a serious
legal act," Mammadov said.

Upper Garabagh is an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a
1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities that killed an estimated
30,000 people and ousted about a million out of their homes. The
peace talks are brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the
United States, Russia and France.

DEBATE ON ‘MINORITIES’ LAW WORRIES TURKEY’S JEWS
By Yigal Schleifer, Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The Jewish Journal of greater L.A, CA
Dec 8 2006

Jewish and Christian leaders were optimistic when the Turkish
Parliament began debating a bill regulating minority foundations
and organizations.

The draft version — part of a reform effort driven by Turkey’s bid
for European Union membership — contained provisions making it easier
for minority groups to operate and reacquire properties that had been
confiscated by the state.

But after a heated debate on the measure, with many parliamentarians
objecting to its liberal approach, the version that passed Parliament
offered little improvement over the past. In any case, the bill was
then vetoed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who felt it gave minority
foundations too much freedom.

The debate illustrates Turkey’s continuing struggle with the issue
of its non-Muslim minorities. But since Turkey must harmonize its
laws with the European Union’s if it hopes to gain admission to
the 25-member union, the question of minority foundations and how
to regulate them is certain to come up again, and could prove yet
another sticking point in the currently troubled relations between
Ankara and Brussels.

Turkey’s Jewish community, for example, has had 22 of its foundations
— synagogues and other property in Istanbul and in parts of Turkey
where Jews no longer live — taken away.

Like the old law, which was filled with bureaucratic hurdles and
burdens, the proposed one would have forbidden minority communities
from joining international organizations.

Now that Sezer, a staunch secularist who often is critical of
E.U.-inspired legislation, has vetoed the new bill, it goes back
to Parliament or must be shelved. Still, most disturbing for some
was the tone of the debate in Parliament, much of it centering on
whether allowing minority groups greater rights would give foreign
powers more influence in Turkey.

The legal thinking behind the proposal was the same as that behind
the older, more restrictive version, said Ester Zonana, a lawyer who
advises Turkey’s Jewish community — "approaching minority foundations
with a lack of trust."

For example, the law offered no way for minority groups to reclaim or
seek restitution for the thousands of properties — schools, synagogues
and churches, cemeteries and other real estate — confiscated by the
state in recent decades.

When the question of property restitution came up, some
parliamentarians asked whether allowing Turks of Greek origin to
reclaim property could force Turkey to hand back Istanbul’s historic
Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine church turned into a mosque by the Ottomans
and then a state museum in 1935.

A member of the government even came to Parliament to report that
Turkey holds documentation that proves the monument rightfully belongs
to it.

"I was very angry during the debate," said Mihail Vasiliadis, editor
of Apoyevmatini, a daily Greek newspaper based in Istanbul. "They were
not treating us as citizens. Why should I be treated differently than
a Muslim?"

The government, which is led by the liberal Islamic Justice and
Development Party, argued that reform is needed when it comes to how
minority foundations are handled.

"We are a nation that believes everyone has rights," Deputy Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin told Parliament.

Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit to Turkey last week shone a
spotlight on the question of religious freedom in the country. Some
3,000 Orthodox Christians remain in Turkey, with another 70,000
Armenians and 25,000 Jews.

The pope offered his support for Christians in Turkey, whom he
called "a small minority which faces many challenges and difficulties
daily." The pope’s visit also included a meeting with Turkey’s chief
rabbi, Ishak Haleva, at the Vatican’s consulate in Istanbul.

Though they are guaranteed the same rights as Muslim citizens,
Christians and Jews in Turkey long have complained about the legal
hurdles they face.

The Orthodox patriarchate — which has been in Istanbul for 1,700
years, since the city was known as Constantinople, capital of the
Byzantine Empire — is the frequent target of nationalist protests.

Grenades have been lobbed over its walls.

In recent decades the patriarchate has seen numerous properties,
including schools and cemeteries, confiscated by the state. Its
theological seminary was closed down in 1971 and has yet to be
reopened, leaving the patriarchate unable to train clergy.

Ankara also refuses to recognize the patriarchate’s status as
ecumenical, or global, saying it is responsible only for tending its
dwindling flock in Turkey.

"Minority rights of non-Muslims is the issue that we have had the
least progress on over the last six or seven years," said Ioannis
Grigoriadis, an assistant professor of political science at Isik
University here. "It’s a common theme in all the" reports on Turkey’s
E.U. membership bids.

"Other difficult issues have been dealt with more successfully, while
with the issue of non-Muslim minorities that has not been the case,"
he said.

Turkish historians trace suspicion of minority communities back to the
tumultuous period after World War I, when Greece invaded the nascent
Turkish state and other Western powers tried to carve up what remained
of the decaying Ottoman Empire. At the time, the minorities were seen
as being allied with the West.

In the early days of the Turkish republic, efforts were made to
bring all religious foundations, Muslim and non-Muslim, under the
government’s control, according to Elcin Macar, a professor at
Istanbul’s Yildiz Technical University who specializes in minority
issues.

But in the 1960s and ’70s, particularly as the Cyprus conflict became
more tense, the Turkish government moved toward greater restrictions
on non-Muslim communities, with Turkish courts issuing decisions that
allowed for the large-scale confiscation of minority properties.

"I believe that these decisions were not made in harmony with the law,"
Macar said. "They were discriminatory."

Although he believes there has been some improvement in minority
communities’ legal standing, Macar said the underlying suspicion of
them continues.

"The minority is still seen as a dangerous thing for us," he said.

KARABAKH PREPARING FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 8 2006

The Democratic and Hayrenik factions and the ARF-Movement 88 group
of the NKR National Assembly adopted a joint statement connected
with the upcoming referendum on constitution. "On December 10,
2006 a referendum on the adoption of Constitution will be held in
Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Over the past years about 500 laws have
been adopted, including constitutional laws. It is time to set down
the real basis for public order, organization of the society, the
relations of person and state," runs the statement.

The analysis of 15 years of experience of NKR as an independent state,
which survived through the war that was imposed on it, the success
as well as difficulty of the reform of the society and settlement
of economic problems show that there is no alternative to the track
it has taken. The basis of a democratic society and free market
economy was created in a short period of history. The system of public
administration, democratization and promotion of political reforms,the
development and strengthening of the principles and mechanisms of
market economy, the reform of the legal basis, establishment of the
institutions of civil society, the adoption of the European principles
of local government are the result of the path we have already passed,
stated the Karabakh parliament members.

"The presidential, parliamentary and local elections, which preceded
the constitutional referendum, were a serious test on mature democracy,
commitment to free and transparent elections compliant with European
principles and proved that the line adopted by NKR is irreversible. The
characteristic feature of the development of the state is the urge
of the society for renovation. In this respect, the referendum on
December 10 will become a logical summary of the stage of political
self-organization of the society, which started 15 years ago and was
marked by the expression of the will of people in connection with the
independence. The adoption of the Constitution of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic is the imperative of the time. It will enable not only to set
down the basic principles of sovereignty in the Constitution and mark
the new stage of development of our Republic but will also become an
impetus for the establishment and development of new, more liberal
principles and the civil society.

Our people have the right to decide the fate of the present and
future generations by expressing their will freely, and we expect
that the international community, which upholds the right of nations
for self-determination, and principles of civilized cooperation
will appreciate duly the referendum on the NKR Constitution," runs
the statement.

By the way, already 278 polling stations have been opened, including
one at the Representation of NKR to Armenia, where the NKR citizens
living temporarily or staying in Armenia, will vote.

The draft constitution of NKR was published in the Azat Artsakh
newspaper and distributed in the regions. Besides, 3500 copies of
the draft were printed and distributed in the communities. "I cannot
say how these were used. The heads of communities and the regional
administrations attended to this. Our recent visit to the regions of
Martakert and Hadrut showed that there is activity in these regions.

When the idea is explained, people understand that we need to adopt
the Constitution. Meanwhile, some people even don’t know why it is
adopted," said the chair of the Central Commission on Constitution
Sergey Nasibyan in an interview with the Azat Artsakh.

According to the bylaws, the roundup of the preliminary results of
the constitution will be on the next day, within 28 hours. And the
final results will become known within three days. All the citizens
aged 18 and up are eligible, including the military servicemen. The
Constitution will be adopted if at least half of 60 thousand voters
vote for the constitution.