POPE URGES TURKISH CHRISTIANS TO MEET ‘MANY CHALLENGES’
by Malcolm Moore in Ephesus

The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
November 30, 2006 Thursday

THE Pope drew attention to the plight of Turkey’s tiny Christian
community yesterday and paid tribute to a Catholic priest who was
shot dead earlier this year.

On the second day of his four-day trip, the Pope visited a shrine in
Ephesus where the Virgin is said to have spent her final days. The
small stone house, which has been converted into a church, is close
to Turkey’s only significant Catholic community, at Izmir. A few
hundred locals were invited to pray with the Pope.

During the outdoor mass, under a canopy of flowers in the Vatican’s
colours of yellow and white, the Pope appeared to be nursing a cold,
coughing often and wiping his nose.

"Let us sing joyfully, even when we’re tested by difficulties and
dangers, as we have learned from the fine witness given by the Rev
Andrea Santoro, whom I am pleased to recall in this celebration,"
he said.

Fr Santoro was shot in February by a teenager as he knelt in prayer at
his church in Trabzon on the Black Sea. The Pope encouraged Turkey’s
"little flock" of Christians to stand firm in the face of "many
challenges and daily difficulties".

Out of Turkey’s 70 million people, who are mostly Muslims, only 20,000
are Roman Catholic. Another 65,000 are Armenian Orthodox Christians,
3,500 are Protestant and 2,000 are Greek Orthodox.

The Christian minority has faced a series of persecutions. A Catholic
priest in Izmir was harassed during the Danish cartoon controversy
and bulldozers arrived to level his church. In July, a priest was
stabbed in Samsun.

The Pope appealed again for understanding between Muslims and
Christians, citing Mary as a figure that united the two faiths.

Turkish security forces cordoned off the hill on which the shrine
stands. Snipers patrolled the surrounding forest and trees were
whitewashed to remove possible cover for assassins.

The trip has been dogged by controversy since September, when the
Pope made comments in which he appeared to link Islam with violence.

VISIT ‘A GREAT BOOST’ FOR MARGINALISED CHRISTIANS

The Irish Times
November 30, 2006 Thursday

TURKEY: Patsy McGarry meets an Irish priest in Istanbul who will
concelebrate Mass with the pope

Pope Benedict’s visit to Turkey will help bring about "renewed respect"
between Muslims and Christians, Irish Dominican priest Fr Paul Lawlor
said in Istanbul yesterday.

Fr Lawlor, who will concelebrate Mass with the pope in the Cathedral
of the Holy Spirit tomorrow, has been based in the Turkish metropolis
since November last year.

A native of Tralee, Co Kerry, he served with the Dominicans in Tehran
from 1974 until all foreign clergy were expelled in 1980.

The pope’s visit, he said, would also be "a great boost for Christians
of this area of Turkey, who could feel marginalised".

He pointed out that the Catholic Church was not recognised in Turkey,
which created ownership problems when it came to property and meant
Catholic clergy could not wear clerical dress in public.

Other Christian churches, such as the Armenian and Orthodox churches,
were recognised and so could wear clerical dress, for instance, but
recognition also meant coming under the state’s religious affairs
directorate, which maintained tight control over all recognised
religions in Turkey.

However, the other churches had other problems too in that, for
instance, all Orthodox seminaries had been closed by the state some
decades ago.

In theory there was complete religious freedom in Turkey, he said,
and it was true that a Muslim there who converted to Christianity
was not made to suffer repercussions, unlike the case in Iran, for
instance, where such a person could face execution.

But Muslims in Turkey had become "very defensive and sensitive" where
their religion was concerned and feared the rise of Islamophobia in
the West. Particular areas of Istanbul had become strongly Islamic
in culture and were places where Christians would feel "very excluded".

On the other hand, there were Christians among the Greek Orthodox
and Armenians who did not consider themselves Turkish and would not
allow any part of their liturgy to be in Turkish, he said.

There are an estimated 100,000-plus Christians in Turkey and Istanbul,
approximately 32,000 of whom are Roman Catholic. "The Christian
community is very scattered into so many little groups," Fr Lawlor
said. Among them are Chaldeans, Armenians, Greek and Turk Orthodox.

All had felt some repercussions since the Muhammad cartoons controversy
last year and again following the pope’s Regensburg address last
September, he said. Both had generated "resentment" towards Christians
in Turkey.

That Regensburg address may also have been the reason why a meeting
by President Mohammad Khatami of Iran with the pope was cancelled by
Iran’s supreme leader, he felt. Fr Lawlor was to accompany Mr Khatami
on the visit, as he speaks Farsi.

A newer group of Christians in Istanbul were the "thousands" of
Chaldeans who had fled Baghdad and Mosul since the war began in Iraq.

Some of their priests had been killed and their churches bombed. Fr
Lawlor described their situation as "tragic", with parents accompanying
children to schools set up by the Catholic charity Caritas in Istanbul
"because their houses are so cold and they cannot heat them".

He and other priests in the Dominican community say Mass for them,
at least part of which is in Aramaic.

In their own Church of St Peter and Paul in the Galata Gate area
of Istanbul, they have upwards of 50 at Mass every Sunday, with a
far larger number tending to treat the church and its grounds as the
centre of their community. It is in the Genoese quarter of Istanbul,
where the Dominicans have been since the 12th century.

Currently there are five priests in the community, including Fr
Lawlor. Two are doing further study at Istanbul university while also
trying to restore the community’s library.

Another member, Fr Giuseppe, was organist at the pope’s Mass in
Ephesus yesterday and regularly gives concerts in the Church of St
Peter and St Paul. The community superior, Fr Lorenzo, is also vicar
of the diocese and has been in Turkey for 32 years, 23 of them at
the St Peter and Paul community, where all live in frugal comfort.

Fr Lawlor has regular contact with another Irish priest in Istanbul,
Rev Ian Sherwood from Wicklow, who is of the Anglican tradition.

Fr Lawlor described him as "an amazing character". Rev Sherwood is
based at the nearby Crimean Memorial Church, which he had restored
completely.

TURKISH PRESIDENT VETOES EU-INSPIRED LAW ON NON-MUSLIM PROPERTIES

Agence France Presse — English
November 29, 2006 Wednesday 3:49 PM GMT

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Wednesday sent back
to parliament for reconsideration a bill aimed at improving the
property rights of Turkey’s tiny Christian and Jewish communities,
a key European Union demand.

Sezer’s veto coincided with a European Commission recommendation to
suspend membership talks with Turkey in several areas as a result of
a trade row over Cyprus.

Christian minority rights are expected to figure high on the agenda
of talks between Pope Benedict XVI, currently on a visit to Turkey,
and community representatives he will meet in Istanbul late Wednesday
and Thursday.

Sezer objected to nine provisions in the overhauled Foundations Law,
which, he said, give foundations broad economic rights that go beyond
the objective of charity work.

"It is not possible to define foundations… as economic actors
or models of political and social organization or non-governmental
organizations," he said.

The main aim of the bill passed by parliament in early November was
to pave the way for mainly Greek, Armenian and Jewish foundations to
recover properties seized by the state since 1974 under a controversial
court ruling.

Community representatives welcomed the bill, but said it fell short
of fully meeting their expectations.

The legislation also aimed to loosen tight state control over all
foundations in the country and broadening their rights on property
and administration.

LET THE ONE WHO SETTLES THE KARABAKH ISSUE CAST A STONE AT KOCHARYAN AND ALIYEV
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

The statisticians of the meetings of Kocharyan and Aliyev are in a
much better state than the historians of the same meetings, if there
are such. Every year enables the statisticians to add two more points
to the statistics of meetings, whereas the historians can tell nothing
to the generations about the contents of these meetings because as a
rule it is not revealed. In this respect, it was pointless to expect
that the meeting in Minsk on November 28 would be different. It is
possible that we may hear the echos of this meeting, or it is possible
that the echo of all these meetings will be the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict for which the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
meet. But since nothing is reported about these meetings, and the
conflict is simply moved from one year to another, we may conclude
that the presidents meet for another purpose than the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

Therefore, perhaps, it is pointless to accuse them. Let the one who
settles the Karabakh issue cast the first stone at Kocharyan and
Aliyev. The current process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict is
not realistic, therefore a new settlement should be considered. And
for a new settlement it is necessary to demolish the existing process
settlement. In other words, it is necessary to spark a new conflict
and get down to resolving it. There seems to be no other option. And
if the presidents meet to resolve the problem of Karabakh, currently
their goal – the presidents are ostensibly considering this variant –
is to turn the settlement into a conflict to reach its settlement
afterwards. The point is that any proposal on settlement does not
differ from the present "unsettled" state. The proposals that have
been offered are even more disputable, considering the status quo
and the history of its formation. The settlement should be acceptable
for the publics. The agreement of the presidents must take the test
of their publics too.

Besides the fact that the offered proposals on the settlement of
the conflict are actually as unacceptable as the current situation,
the publics have got used to the existing situation. In Armenia, in
Karabakh and in Azerbaijan people no longer wait for the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict in planning their future and work out their
programs and prospects considering the present situation. In other
words, in order to make the agreement of the presidents acceptable for
the societies, it should be better than the present reality, moreover,
so good that it does not contradict to the vision of the societies for
their future, based on the status quo. In this case, it is apparent
that in order to make their agreement on the proposals on settlement
acceptable for the societies the presidents and the mediators have
to make the current situation worse than the offered proposals. And
if the presidents meet with a sincere wish to reach a settlement,
it means they are discussing the way of reaching settlement at the
price of deteriorating the situation. In this sense, if the suggestion
that the settlement does not worry the presidents, and they meet for
quite another purpose is true, it is rather favorable. In this case,
these meetings should be encouraged, and everything should be done for
them to have a good time together and not remember about the confict
over Karabakh. It is possible that this is what the mediators are
busy doing.

THE ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPER IS RECOVERING, DOCTORS SAY

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

The health condition of the Armenian peacekeeper Georgy Nalbandyan,
who was seriously injured in Iraq on November 12, has considerably
improved, Mediamax agency reports.

During the past 10 days Lieutenant Georgy Nalbandyan underwent two
surgeries in the Landstuhl medical center near the American Ramstein
military base of Germany.

The peaqcekeeper’s doctor told Mediamax that the patient is rapidly
recovering.

The doctor informed that Georgy Nalbandyan will recover in 2-4 weeks.

He did not rule out that next week Nalbandyan will try to wear the
temporary artificial limb.

ARMENIA IS ASPIRING TO BRING THE RELATIONS WITH NATO TO A QUALITATIVELY HIGHER LEVEL

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"We are aspiring to bring our relations with NATO to a qualitatively
higher level," declared RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan,
Mediamax reports.

"Armenia perceive the relations with NATO as an important component
of the European integration policy. The development of Armenia’s
cooperation with NATO immediately proceeds from the interests of
regional security, and Armenia will continue the joint accomplishment
of programs with the organization. We are aspiring to bring our
relations with the alliance to a qualitatively higher level," said
Andranik Margaryan.

Commenting on Georgia’s aspiration to join NATO, the Aremnain Prime
Minister said that "membership to this or that international structure
is the sovereign right of every country, and in this context we have
a comprehensive approach to Georgia’s wish to join NATO."

"It is important not to allow new divisions occur in our complex
region,, where there are a number of unresolved conflicts. Our position
proceeds from this principle," said Andranik Margaryan.

SPEAKING OF PASSING THE IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE TO ANY OPERATOR IS PREMATURE

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"Russia has its bases to raise gas prices, which are conditioned
by a number of factors," RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan said
in an interview with Moscow based "Kommersant" newspaper, Mediamax
agency reports.

"At the same time out strategic partnership should be safe from the
current political and economic conjuncture and should be based on
the logic of long-term cooperation," Andranik Margaryan said.

In response to the question whether Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will
be given to "Gazprom" and when it can take place, the Prime Minister
said, "the construction of the pipeline has not been completed yet,
and speaking of giving it to any operator, including "Gazprom" is
premature. For a long time Armenia and Iran have been successfully
cooperating in the energy sphere, and the Iran-Armenia pipeline is one
of the pivotal bilateral energy programs," the Prime Minister stated.

ANDRANIK MARGARYAN: THE POTENTIAL OF NORMALIZING RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS NOT EXHAUSTED

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"The potential of normalizing the relations between Moscow and
Tbilisi has not been exhausted," Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan said in an interview with "Kommersant" newspaper, Mediamax
agency reports.

"We are interested in the rapid resolution of the disputable issues
in Russian-Georgian relations., since the cooperation between Russia
and Georgia is one of the most important components of security in
the region, without which it is hard to imagine the accomplishment of
mutually beneficial economic programs in the region," said Andranik
Margaryan.

IRAN ISSUES FATWA ON AZERI WRITER

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

One of Iran’s most senior clergymen has issued a fatwa on an Azeri
writer said to have insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

The call on Muslims to murder Rafiq Tagi, who writes for Azerbaijan’s
Senet newspaper, echoes the Iranian fatwa against Indian writer Salman
Rushdie, BBC reports.

It was issued by the conservative Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Fazel
Lankarani.

The writings of Rafiq Tagi sparked recent demonstrations outside the
Azerbaijani Embassy in the Iranian capital, Teheran.

The Iranian media is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Lankarani’s
followers inside the Republic of Azerbaijan wrote to him asking for
advice about what they called "the apostate writer".

They accuse the Azeri writer of portraying Christianity as superior
to Islam and Europe as superior to the Middle East.

They allege that he has ridiculed all the sanctities of Islam and
done it knowingly, fully aware of the consequences of his action.

In response, Grand Ayatollah Lankarani is said to have issued a fatwa
calling for the death of the writer and also the person responsible
for publishing his articles.

Earlier, an Iranian cleric had offered his house as a reward to anyone
who killed the Azeri writer.

But this latest fatwa comes from one of the dozen or so Grand
Ayatollahs in Iran, who has a large following.

An Azerbaijani court sentenced the writer Rafiq and his publisher to
two months in jail for an article which was illustrated by the same
cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad originally published in Denmark that
caused outcry in the Muslim world.

MEETING OF CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR REFERENDUM
Laura Grigorian

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 30 2006

On November 27 the Central Commission for Referendum on Constitution
held a meeting in Stepanakert. The divisional commissions 8 and
22 participated in the meeting. The chair of the commission Sergey
Nasibian said the focal issue today is to hold a referendum on December
10 on a high level, and gave the members of the divisional commissions
explanations on their duties on these days. In particular, he asked
them to check once again the voting registers.

It was informed that the ballots are ready, and soon the sample
and the right way of filing in the ballot will be shown on Artsakh
Channel. The chair of the Central Commission for Referendum called
the chairs of the divisional commissions not to go to extremes and
consider the ballots as invalid if the tick is not exactly within
the space for marking but it is clear what the voter wanted to say.

During the parliamentary election last year 5000 ballots were
considered invalid for similar reasons. According to Sergey Nasibian,
the polling boots will be placed on December 9. In order to avoid
crowding inside the polling station, Sergey Nasibian proposed hanging
the voting registers outside the polling stations because the polling
stations were crowded for this reason. The voting will start at 8
o’clock on December 10. There will be observers. The chair of the
Central Commission assured that the results of the voting will be
released every three hours.