Anatolian Times, Turkey
Oct 2 2005

Sezer: Turkey Will Contribute To E.U. With Its Sound Economy

ANKARA – Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has indicated, ”it is
obvious that Turkey will contribute to the European Union (EU) with
its sound economy. We hope EU countries to take into consideration
this fact.”
The new parliamentary term started with the opening remarks of Sezer
in the parliament today.

Sezer stressed, ”Turkish parliament is one of the most important
guaranties of the Republic today, as it was in the past.”

-EU-

Sezer said that Europe-Atlantic link constituted an important
dimension of Turkish foreign policy, noting, ”within this framework,
Turkey’s EU process, the country’s relations with the United States
and our position in NATO are primary items of the country’s foreign
policy agenda.”

Noting that it was foreseen that Turkey would start officially
membership negotiations with the EU two days later, Sezer said that
there were still some uncertainties on some points, although there
was little time left for start of membership talks (scheduled to
start on October 3rd). He indicated that it was not easy to reach
this stage, adding that it was obvious that the following process
would not be easy, either.

Sezer said that Turkish nation would not accept additional
conditions, noting, ”the process has started and no backward step
should be taken. Turkey is determined to be a full member of the EU
and it will complete this process by protecting its national
interests and national honor. If this process is delayed, Europe will
lose much more than Turkey. Because Turkey is determined to upgrade
living standards of its people.”

”Turkey which adopted contemporary and universal values fulfilled
its responsibilities on its road to the EU. No one will benefit from
prejudices,” he stressed.

Sezer stated that Turkey aimed to reach EU criteria also in
education, noting that the period of obligatory education should be
increased to 12 years.

-”TERROR DOES NOT HAVE RELIGION OR NATIONALITY”-

Stressing that terrorism with its global dimension became primary
threat against world peace and stability, Sezer said, ”terror does
not have geography, religion or nationality.”

Sezer said that there was a global fight against terrorism, stating
that there should be international cooperation in fight against it.
He underlined that Turkey was against every kind of terror.

Sezer indicated that presence of terrorist organization PKK in the
north of Iraq was an unacceptable situation for Turkey, stating that
they thought that this situation was known by Iraqi and the U.S.
administrations.

”We are determined to take necessary measures in our borders. Its
(terrorist organization’s) components in Iraq should also be cleared
to eliminate terrorist organization completely. We expect relevant
parties to take into consideration our concerns on this issue,”
Sezer underlined.

-ECONOMY-

Noting that there have been pleasing developments in Turkish economy
recently, Sezer stated that growth rate became 9.9 percent last year
and gross national product per capita increased to 4.172 USD.

Sezer underlined that positive developments in the economy also
continued in 2005, adding that yet unemployment was still a problem.
He stressed that measures should be taken to increase employment
opportunities as soon as possible.

Sezer said that new technology, new investment and new employment
opportunities should be created during privatization process.

-UNITED STATES-

Sezer said, ”another issue which we attach importance besides EU is
relations with the United States. Relations with the EU and the
United States are completing each other. Turkey-U.S. relations
include all elements which a strong partnership necessitates. The two
countries act with common understanding in many issues like fight
against terrorism, solution of Arab-Israel clash, settlement of
stability in Caucasia and Central Asia as well as solution of Cyprus
question. NATO is also an important corner stone in cooperation
between Turkey and the U.S.”

-GREECE-

”The basis in relations with neighbors is stability and harmony. We
have the will to develop our relations with Greece on the basis of
mutual respect, confidence and friendship. We wish Greece to continue
its efforts to show the same will and to protect dialogue milieu.
Developments in relations ease solution of bilateral problems. Such a
development is beneficial not only for Turkey and Greece but also for
the region,” said Sezer.

-CYPRUS-

Sezer noted, ”regarding Cyprus issue, Turkish side exerted efforts
for solution. However, Greek Cypriot side, under the directions of
their administrators, rejected lasting solution as well as Annan
Plan. Greek Cypriot side is allowed to use EU membership as a force
of sanction against Turkey, and also isolation over Turkish Cypriots
continues, and these are not just. We see that Greek Cypriot side is
not willing for solution. The only reason for this is that Greek
Cypriot administration is not forced for solution. Its EU membership
is the most tangible example of that.”

-BALKANS-

”Turkey attaches great importance to protection of stability in the
Balkans. We will continue to support reconstruction and development
activities of some Balkan countries and to protect peace in the
region. Also, we hope Greek government will act with responsibility
for solution of problems of our kinsmen in western Thrace,” said
Sezer.

-RUSSIA-

Sezer noted, ”Russian Federation is one of the key countries of
Eurasian region. Relations between Turkey and Russian Federation,
which are two important countries of Black Sea region, have developed
in recent period. Potential in mutual commerce and tourism is
significant. Our relations are further deepened through high-level
visits as well as bilateral, regional and international policies.”

-EURASIA-

”Eurasia is also important in Turkey’s multilateral foreign policy.
Unity of Europe and Asia through energy and transportation corridors
as well as creating a new momentum for economic growth are basis of
Turkey’s stance towards Eurasia. Turkey has close relations with
Azerbaijan and Georgia,” said Sezer.

-ARMENIA-

Sezer said, ”Armenia’s stance towards its relations with neighbors
(…) –despite the basic principles of international law and good
neighborhood– has become an obstacle to develop our relations with
Armenia. Upper Karabakh and Abkhazia problems are main obstacles
before peace and stability of southern Caucasia. Peaceful solution to
these problems will contribute to settlement of political stability
in the region. Turkey tries to make every type of contribution to
this issue. Upper Karabakh problem which emerged after Armenia’s
occupation of Azerbaijani land should be solved. Turkey is ready to
support a solution which will be accepted by both sides regarding
Upper Karabakh problem.”

-IRAQ-

”We believe that only an equal government structure without making
any discrimination among different religions, sects and ethnic in
Iraq can be successful in Iraq,” said Sezer. Turkey’s intense
dialogue with all sections of Iraq would continue in order to
contribute to preparation of the Iraqi constitution, he added.

-KIRKUK-

Sezer said that Iraqis, themselves, should determine the future of
Kirkuk city in Iraq, stressing that if any group tries to claim
ownership over the city this would lead to an ethnic chaos and
regional instability. Turkey could not stay indifferent in that
respect, Sezer said.

-LASTING PEACE IN MIDDLE EAST-

President Sezer stressed that Turkey was ready to extend all sorts of
aid to conflicting sides in the region particularly for settlement of
Palestine-Israeli conflict.

-AFGHANISTAN HAS SPECIAL IMPORTANCE-

Turkey also attributed importance to Central Asian countries, Sezer
said noting that ”Afghanistan has special importance for Turkey due
to historical ties.” Turkey extended full support to Afghanistan’s
reconstruction and it also commanded ISAF twice, he noted.

-RELATIONS WITH ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES-

President Sezer also referred to the importance of developing
relations with Asia-Pacific countries particularly with Japan and
China and stressed that Turkey’s function would be very critical in
respect of connection of Asia and Europe by energy corridors,
railways and highways and for creating new regional dynamics.

-TURKEY’S GOALS-

Sezer also mentioned some of the goals of Turkey:”being a member of
the European Union (EU), strengthening the position of being a
regional power and also becoming a global power, being among the ten
biggest economies of the world with a sustainable development,
becoming an information society, being among the leading countries of
the world in science and technology and protecting the power of the
Turkish Armed Forces.”

Referring to some difficulties on the way to reach these goals, Sezer
said that ”we must increase our sensitivity towards the chaos and
tension caused by separatist terrorism and fundamentalism in the
society and don’t allow them to threaten the internal peace. We
should deal with this problem by having a national security
understanding.”

Sezer added that Turkey wanted to improve its relations with all of
its neighbours in a positive way.

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 2 2005

Turkey and EU: One More Push!
View: Selcuk GULTASLI

The rule that “every draft the EU prepares about Turkey does not get
its final form without getting toughened’ did not change. Where did
the Cyprus declaration begin, and where did it end? The EU virtually
said to the Greek Cypriots “Write it down, we will put a signature on
it.”

The declaration for which the Greek Cypriots, with the support of the
French, took EU as hostage turned out to be a legally binding paper
despite the British rhetoric that “it is not a legally binding
document and will be forgotten within six months, why give a damn?”
Moreover, even if the EU does ever forget something, it will be
decisions for the benefit of Turkey. The commitment givenby Greece
back in 1981 that she would not interfere in Turkey-EU relations, the
declaration from France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy in 1998
declaring that “the Greek Cypriots will not become a member of the EU
before a solution is reached in Cyprus”, the Council’s decisions that
will bring an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots in 2004
were all too easily forgotten.

The framework document is also becoming more stringent. It has not
yet been approved, and it probably won’t be until the last days and
many elements -excluding the privileged partnership that Turkey
cannot accept- will be introduced into this document.

The situation is as follows: Those who had been promised for 46 years
will announce their engagement on October 3. The EU part does all it
can to ensure that the engagement will not end up with a marriage. It
will sit at the table of engagement, just because it promised once,
but it prepares many pretexts in order to toss the ring away just
after the engagement. Turkey, too, is not happy as it sits at the
table, she is convinced that the EU is unwillingly sitting at the
table. In this case, almost everybody foresees that the negotiations
will fail to continue even if they do start on October 3 and that
this will halt, anyway, in 2006 when the additional protocol is
revised.

The EU made the negotiations “unsustainable” with the declaration of
Cyprus, and allowed the UN ground for a possible solution to erode
and most importantly confirmed that it now sees the issue from a
Greek Cypriot view. From now on, in the Cyprus issue the EU cannot go
beyond the parameters cited in the declaration. The Greek Cypriots
will get what they want unless the political atmosphere in Europe
goes through a radical change-which is impossible in the short term.

The next crisis pending between the EU and Turkey is the additional
protocol waiting to be approved in the Assembly. As the screening
process will start on October 3, negotiations will most probably
start at the end of the term presidency of the UK, namely in
December.

And in the worst case scenario, the start of negotiations will take
place following the scanning process and this will happen in the term
presidency of Austria. There is no need to offer any detailed
explanation of how Austria, which has the hysteria that the Turks
besieged Vienna for the third time, will approach the negotiations.
As the Greek Cypriots will ask the additional protocol to be approved
and implemented immediately after October 3, Turkey will face a
serious dilemma before it can even start the real negotiations.

As the opponents in Europe have plenty of supporters in Turkey,
sabotaging the negotiations will become easier. The guardians of the
established system whose entire comfort will be overwhelmed with the
start of negotiations will clearly show their European allies that
“Turkey has not changed” with a few provocations just as happened at
the Armenian conference. And in the words of Fuat Pasha that are even
more relevant today, `They from the outside, we from the inside,
together’ will obstruct the start of negotiations! Come on guys!

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 2 2005

42-Year Old EU Journey at Critical Crossroads
By ALI IHSAN AYDIN

Turkey’s European Union (EU) journey began with the Ankara agreement
signed in 1963. If accession negotiations begin on October 3, the
long period of “promise for marriage” without engagement will finally
be concluded.

The engagement period, which is predicted to last 10 to 15 years,
will begin, but no one knows whether this process will end in
marriage. Ankara says, “Let’s not water down business from the start;
engagement is for marriage.” EU is confused. It wants to insert the
condition, “Let’s remain friends if we do not marry” to the treaty.

The relations were frozen following the coup

Turkey, which preferred to stand with the West in regards to its
foreign policy following the World War II by becoming a member of the
European Council in 1949 and of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in 1952, applied to the European Economic
Community (EEC) for membership in 1959, during the premiership of
Adnan Menderes.

The EEC accepted the membership applications of Ankara and Athens in
the same year. The Ankara treaty, which is considered to be the
starting point of Turkey-EU relations, was signed three years later,
in 1963.

The Treaty, seen as a mark of Europe’s positive answer towards
Turkey’s marriage offer, envisaged a three-staged process of
preparation, transition and conclusion. Turkey would become a member
of the EEC only after passing through these stages.

Turkey could complete the transition period, which began with the
Value Added Protocol signed in 1973, with a 10 years delay, in 1995.

According to the Ankara Agreement, the transition period could last
up to 12 years. The relations with the EEC followed a path with ups
and downs bearing on the political developments in Turkey. EEC
decided to freeze its relations with Turkey on 22 January 1982,
following the military coup in Turkey.

Ozal’s demand satisfied in 1999

In the meantime, Greece, which had applied for EEC membership
together with Turkey in 1959, obtained full membership in 1981.

Three years before Greece was accepted, EEC called Turkey to
immediately file an application for full membership. However, Bulent
Ecevit, the Prime Minister of the period, declined the offer,
addressing the EEC representative who came to communicate the
invitation with: “We do not think to enter the EEC. For, if we enter
the EEC we will become your market. Our economy cannot stand this
partnership.”

Ankara made its application to the union for full membership in 1987
during the prime ministry of Turgut Ozal. However, the European
Commission (EC) rejected Turkey’s application in 1989 on the grounds
that the EEC could not accept it as a new member until it created its
own internal market.

Turkey continued to knock on EU’s door in the following years and
accomplished the 22 year period of transition on its way towards the
EU with the Customs Union Agreement in 1995 and started the final
period. The only target forTurkey from then on has been full
membership, which was also a target in the Ankara Agreement.

Turkey’s manner reflected

The EU announced Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria,
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the Greek Cyprus as candidate
countries in the summit of presidents and the prime ministers in
Luxembourg in 1997. However, it did not give the candidacy status to
Turkey. In the summit, it simply noted Turkey was able to become a
candidate. As a response to this decision, Ankara suspended its
political relations with the EU.

The EU summit on 10-11 December 1999 in Helsinki started a new period
for EU-Turkey relations.

Turkey was accepted as a candidate in the summit. However, it is
noted that there were several reforms that Turkey had to accomplish
before becoming a member of the EU. Turkey started an expansive
reform process after the summit in order to accomplish the EU
criteria and has been continuing this process ever since. The
coalition government under the prime ministry of Ecevit abolished the
death penalty in 2002 as a historic step towards the EU. The
Copenhagen Summit on 12-13 December 2002 moved Turkey closer to the
EU. The council finally decided that negotiations would start without
any delays if Turkey accomplished the Copenhagen political criteria
by the December 2004 Summit. The Summit also decided that 10 new
candidates including Greek Cyprus would be members of the EU on 1 May
2004. As Greek Cyprus became a member of the EU, the, principle that
countries with boundary problems cannot be members of the EU was
violated.

December 17: Maddening night

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, that took office
in November 2002, showed great determination in the EU proccess and
passed the reform packages, which enabled Turkey to accomplish the
Copenhagen Criteria.. The European Commission noted on 6 October 2004
that Turkey fulfilled the political criteria and advised that the
negotiations should start.

The European Council (EC) decided on 17 December 2004 in Brussels on
the recommendation of the Commission that Turkey’s full-membership
negotiations should begin on 3 October 2005. The Council, however,
stipulated that Turkey must sign the Additional Protocol, which
extends the Customs Union Agreement to the new ten countries
including Greek Cypriots. The summit saw some crisis for a while due
to the fact that some members tried to win further concessions from
Turkey. The Turkish group, under the leadership of Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, set forth their final opinion in
scathing terms and left the room. British Prime Minister Tony Blair
managed to convince Erdogan to return to the meeting.

Last minute again, war of nerves again

Turkey signed the Additional Protocol on 29 July 2005, which
stipulated that the Customs Union should cover the 10 new European
Union (EU) member countries. Ankara issued a declaration saying that
the signing of the protocol does not mean the recognition of the
Greek Cypriots. As France showed a huge reaction to the declaration,
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin just emphasized the need
for Turkey to recognize the Greek Cypriots in order to be part of the
EU. The European Council did not, however, specify that Turkey’s
recognition of the Greek Cypriots was a prerequisite for the
negotiations, but the pressure on Turkey just began to increase. The
EU decided to publish a “counter declaration” in response to Turkey’s
refusal to acknowledge the Greek Cypriots. The EU member countries
had difficulty in reaching an absolute agreement about the counter
declaration, which specifies that Turkey should allow the Greek
Cypriots to use airports and seaports. Twenty-five EU member
countries were also unable to reach a definite agreement on “The
Framework Document”, which is intended to be a set of specifications
of the negotiations. The reason for the lack of agreement between
these countries resulted from Austria’s proposal of privileged
partnership. It is argued that Austria intended this proposal in
order to make it possible for Croatia to resume its previously
suspended negotiations. The EU Public Works Council will meet on
Sunday October 2 in Luxemburg to approve the Framework Document. The
document discloses that Turkey will not be eligible for a
full-membership before 2014 and the negotiations are open-ended.
Turkish officials refuse to go to Luxemburg as long as the content of
the Framework Document is unclear, adding that Turkey will not agree
to any option other than full-membership.

On the other hand, the EP took a decision at the general meeting on
September 28 in Luxemburg to postpone the approval of the Additional
Protocol to a later date, asking Turkey to acknowledge the so-called
‘Armenian genocide’.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA
Oct 2 2005

Do Turks want the EU, and does EU want them?
Sunday, October 02, 2005

By Karl Vick, The Washington Post

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The exhibit opened 50 years to the day after the
mayhem it chronicled in the cobblestone street right outside the
gallery.

Captured on black-and-white glossies was a modern-day pogrom, a
massive, state-sponsored assault on a foreign community that awoke on
the morning of Sept. 6, 1955, still feeling safe in Istanbul. By
sunset a day later, a mob of perhaps 100,000 Turks had attacked
foreigners’ homes, schools and churches, and filled whole streets
with the contents of the ruined shops that lined them. In the
aftermath of the attack, a city for centuries renowned for its
diversity steadily purged itself of almost everyone who could not
claim to be Turkish.

The exhibit at Karsi Artworks attempts to confront that history,
dubbed the Events of Sept. 6-7, in the era before “ethnic cleansing”
entered the popular lexicon. But when ultranationalist thugs swarmed
into the gallery on opening night — throwing eggs, tearing down
photos and chanting “Love it or leave it!” — the question became
whether it really is history at all.

“Just like what happened 50 years ago,” said Mahmut Erol Celik, a
retired civil servant emerging from the defaced exhibit. “It’s the
same mentality. That’s what’s so embarrassing.”

Appearances have lately counted for a lot in Turkey. Under intense
international scrutiny, its government hopes to begin negotiations
Oct. 3 that should conclude with Turkey as a member of the European
Union. Even if the process takes 15 years, as many predict, the
result would apparently fulfill an ambition such as that which drove
modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who preached that the
country’s future lay firmly with the West.

But questions arise almost daily about whether either side wants to
proceed. Europe’s mixed feelings about absorbing Turkey’s large, poor
and overwhelmingly Muslim population are well known. But Turkey
harbors its own ambivalence, apparently rooted in the recurring
question of how much the country cares about the world beyond its own
borders.

That question came up again this month, when a Turkish court made
headlines by barring a handful of scholars from gathering to discuss
the deaths in 1915 of perhaps a million ethnic Armenians, in
circumstances that Armenia and many independent scholars describe as
genocide but Turkey calls the consequences of war.

The disagreement has poisoned relations between the neighboring
nations for decades with an obsessiveness that overtakes Turkish
efforts to appear poised. This summer, readers of Time magazine’s
international edition found a DVD tucked into a four-page ad for
Turkish tourism. The disc included 13 minutes of commercials and an
hour-long propaganda film accusing Armenians of slaughtering Turks.

“It’s not a polemic,” said a spokeswoman for the Ankara Chamber of
Commerce, which paid for the disorienting mix of polished commercials
and grainy footage of dead bodies. “We just wanted to position Turkey
on this issue.”

Last May, the prospect of scholars gathering for an independent
assessment of the controversy brought a chilling warning from
Turkey’s justice minister, who called them “traitors.” After
objections from the EU, the scrapped conference was rescheduled and
was finally held this past month, but not without an accompanying
demonstration by Turkish nationalists.

“There is no other country which harms its own interests this much,”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said.

But then few other countries are so nationalistic. Turks are raised
to believe that Turkey is surrounded by enemies and can rely only on
itself. The unitary notion of the state views all citizens as ethnic
Turks and regards any other presence as a dire threat.

WebIndia, India
Oct 2 2005

Genocide? Turkey’s last Armenian village unmoved
Vakifli Turkey | October 02, 2005 9:31:51 AM IST

The European Parliament might want Turkey to recognise a 1915
massacre of Armenians as genocide, but the people of the last
remaining Armenian village in the country have other things on their
minds — oranges.

Of all the towns and villages once inhabited by Armenians across
eastern Turkey under the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire, only the
picturesque village of Vakifli remains, nestled in the foothills of
the Musa Mountains overlooking the eastern corner of the
Mediterranean Sea and within sight of the Syrian border.

For the influential Armenian diaspora, Musa Mountain is a source of
pride as one of the few places where Christian Armenians resisted
deportations that killed many thousands.

The European Parliament this week became the latest international
body to call on Turkey to recognise the killings as genocide; a
political slap in the face for Ankara which is due to start European
Union membership talks yesterday.

”Of course it saddens us when the European Parliament makes such a
decision,” said Vakifli village headman Berc Kartun ”Isn’t it over
yet? … Ninety years have passed and as an Armenian, I think it
should be over and done with.” Smoking and playing cards in the
plain, white-walled tea-house surrounded by lush orange groves
stretching down to the shores of the Mediterranean, other villagers
said they were sick of foreigners harping on about genocide.

”Are there any citizens of Turkey who think that way, any Armenians
here who think that way?” asked 72-year-old Musa Emekliyan. ”What I
am worried about it is what will happen to my oranges, will they sell
this year.”

RAIN NOT RESOLUTIONS

Turkey sees an international campaign led by the Armenian diaspora to
blacken its name behind the claims of genocide.

Turkish nationalists also fear the EU’s calls for minority rights are
a repeat of Western meddling that ended in war and the break-up of
the Ottoman Empire.

With Russian forces advancing across the eastern frontier, in 1915
Istanbul’s Ottoman rulers ordered local Armenians to be sent to Syria
and Lebanon, fearing they might side with the Russians. Many were
killed or died from deprivation.

Boston Globe
Oct 2 2005

Criticism grows as legislatures press for courses on races
By Michael Gormley, Associated Press | October 2, 2005

ALBANY, N.Y. — State legislators are directing schools to teach
students more about the struggles and triumphs of different races and
ethnic groups, and some critics are objecting.

A mission in New York will examine whether the ”physical and
psychological terrorism” against Africans in the slave trade is being
adequately taught in schools.

The commission is named for the slave ship Amistad, which was
commandeered by slaves who eventually won their freedom in a US
Supreme Court ruling.

The recommendations could mean rewriting textbooks, which may
influence educators in other states, according to the National
Council for the Social Studies.

Other states have approved similar measures, the National Conference
of State Legislatures says.

In Illinois, an Amistad commission was also created this year, and
lessons on the Holocaust were added. In New Mexico, the Legislature
required that Indian education lessons be bolstered in kindergarten
through Grade 6.

In 2001, New Jersey created an Amistad commission, as well as a
Commission on Italian and Americans of Italian Heritage Culture and
Education to advise those involved in making policy.

In California, a Cesar Chavez Day was created in 2000; schools were
directed to include lessons about the farm labor activist. Also in
2000, schools in Rhode Island were directed to teach about genocide
and human rights violations, including the slave trade, the Irish
potato famine, the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s, the
Holocaust, and Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime in wartime Italy.

Virginia directed schools that year to teach about the
accomplishments of people from different backgrounds and races.

But while most legislatures approve curriculum changes recommended by
education departments, teachers, and researchers, New York’s Amistad
Commission is a case of the Legislature trying to circumvent the
state’s policy-setting Board of Regents, according to the law’s
cosponsor.

”We feel there is, indeed, a void in our education curriculum in New
York state when it comes to the issue of slavery and the
dehumanization of Africans,” said Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr., a
Brooklyn Democrat.

Critics say that the goal of the commission is laudable but that
teachers have limited time to teach history. They also say educators
are needed on the panel to determine feasibility.

San Bernardino Sun, CA
Los Angeles Daily News
Oct 2 2005

Development of Armenian alphabet focus of new exhibition

Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer

GLENDALE – The Armenian alphabet was created 1,600 years ago by
Mesrop Mashtots, a monk, theologian and linguist who was interested
in translating the Bible into native tongue.
The alphabet strengthened Armenia’s church and its kingdom and
started a national literature that continues today.

The Glendale Central Library opened Saturday a monthlong display on
the development of the Armenian alphabet, one of several planned for
this month in the Glendale area.

“What it’s made me realize is the significance of the book and the
significance of writing to the Armenian culture,” said Nancy
Hunt-Coffey, Glendale’s director of libraries.

“Writing and the manuscripts are valued in the same way that we value
priceless works of art. The writing is sort of inextricably tied to
(Armenian) cultural development in the same way that the great
artists are tied to western development.”

The display features dozens of books and more than 50 pieces of art,
including prints, sculptures and pottery. Material for the display
comes from the Matenadaran book depository in Armenia.

Armenian alphabet expert Nona Manoukian from the Glendale Public
Library visited Matenadaran recently and brought back the material.

The display, which runs through Oct. 31, also highlights the Glendale
Public Library’s acquisition nearly a year ago of 12,500 Armenian
books donated by the now defunct American Armenian International
College in La Verne.

Librarians are still going through the collection and have begun
putting some of the books on shelves. Some of the more academic books
will go to local universities. The library had 4,000 Armenian books
before the donation.

“It’s a tremendous infusion of resources that are in high demand,”
Hunt-Coffey said.

Today, the Alex Theatre will host a celebration of the 1,600th
anniversary of the creation of the Armenian alphabet.

The free program is presented by the Hamazkayin Educational &
Cultural Society, and it will feature keynote speakers from UCLA and
UC Berkeley and performances by dancers and musicians.

On Oct. 6, His Holiness Aram I, the Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, will visit the Homenetmen
Glendale Ararat Chapter for the opening of its exhibition on the
Armenian alphabet.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Oct. 7-9.

“Since its creation, the letters were never changed or reformed,
making the Armenian language one of the most extremely precise
languages,” said Armond Gorgorian, executive director of the
Homenetmen chapter.

Homenetmen is an an international Armenian youth organization.

IF YOU GO

A display of Armenian arts and culture runs through Oct. 31 at the
Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St.

The Hamazkayin Educational & Cultural Society will present a
Celebration of the 1,600th Anniversary of the Armenian Alphabet, 6
p.m. today at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Free.

The Homenetmen art exhibition on the Armenian alphabet will open to
the public Oct. 7-9 at Homenetmen’s Ararat Chapter, 3347 N. San
Fernando Road, Los Angeles. His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia, will mark the opening of the exhibit at an
invitation-only ceremony at 7 p.m. Oct. 6.

Newsweek
Oct 2 2005

The Enemies Within
Not all Turks want to join the European Union.

By Owen Matthews And Sami Kohen

10, 2005 issue – It looked like the bad old days when Turkey’s
universities were hot-beds of political strife. On one side of the
police barriers were dozens of young students, many with their mouths
taped shut to symbolize their support for free speech. On the other
was an older crowd of about 200 ulkucu – mostly mustached
ultranationalists waving Turkish flags and banners. Slogans were
chanted, then abuse; a few missiles sailed through the air. In
between, some rather bewildered international historians scuttled
into a conference hall amid shouts of “Traitors!” Their subject? The
fate of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenians during World War I.

In truth, it wasn’t 1915 that roused such passions last week at
Istanbul’s Bilgi University. The real issue is what kind of country
Turkey will become. There are those who want Turkey to openly examine
its past, rid itself of the legacy of military rule and become truly
European. And there are others, mostly conservative nationalists, who
cling to the past and fear that interference from Brussels will
change their way of life and undermine Turkey’s independence.

It’s no coincidence that the Armenian flap erupted just days before
the start of Turkey’s formal negotiations to join the European Union.
It was, in fact, a well-orchestrated plan, set in motion by a man
named Kemal Kerincsiz, a lawyer with links to the Nationalist Action
Party, who filed a complaint that a conference on the Armenian issue
would violate Turkish laws on insulting the state and its founder,
Kemal Ataturk. A panel of like-minded judges agreed, and banned it.
“Those at home and abroad who want to obstruct us are making their
last efforts,” railed Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a
leading advocate of joining the EU, when he heard of the court’s
order. Citing the damage the banning would do to Turkey’s image at
such a sensitive moment, Gul and his government quickly circumvented
the ruling, and the conference went ahead – but not without
accomplishing exactly what the obstructionists had hoped.

This was not the only such incident. Over the last two months,
Turkish nationalists and their sympathizers in the judiciary and
state bureaucracy have done their utmost to sabotage Turkey’s efforts
to present itself as a modern European nation. They have succeeded in
lodging criminal charges against a prominent publisher, Ragip
Zarakolu, for allegedly “insulting Turkish identity and the security
forces,” because he was about to publish translations of two American
books on the Armenian massacres. And last month prosecutors filed
similar charges against Turkey’s leading novelist, Orhan Pamuk, for
“insulting the state” after he told a Swiss magazine that “a million
Armenians were killed” in 1915. Though few expect him to be thrown in
jail, the case brought back memories of military rule, when tens of
thousands of intellectuals were imprisoned. “Right or wrong,” says
Pamuk, “don’t people have the right to express their ideas peacefully
in this Turkey?”

All this is fodder for skeptics who say Turkey is not ready to join
Europe. Almost unwittingly, “the rejectionists in Turkey and in the
EU seem to have formed an unholy alliance,” says Dr. Can Baydorol, an
EU expert at Bilgi University. And though Turkey’s ultranationalists
are on the political fringe, there’s a danger that their views could
become mainstream. Gripes about Europe are already common. One is
that the EU is all take and no give: “We have a monster in front of
us,” complains Emin Colasan, a columnist at the popular centrist
daily Hurriyet. “Whatever we give does not satisfy it.” Another is
that the EU does not keep its word. Negotiations for full membership
were supposed to begin without conditions. Now various EU members are
trying to renege. No issue is more touchy than divided Cyprus. Ankara
bent over backward to promote a U.N. unification plan, only to see it
defeated by the Greek Cypriots – who are now using their position
inside the Union to lobby against Turkey.

Two thirds of Turks still want to join the EU, according to a recent
poll by the German Marshall Fund. But that’s down from 73 percent
last year, and EU foot-dragging will push those numbers down further.
And for all their pro-Europeanism, top officials in the ruling
Justice and Development Party say they could well walk away if the EU
continues to erect new obstacles to Turkey’s membership. Even if it
doesn’t, the rigors of accession may well dampen Turks’ enthusiasm.
Complying with Brussels’s 80,000 pages of EU law (covering everything
from air quality to street-food hygiene and the strength of
cigarettes) will not be easy – or popular. All that’s grist for those
who want the project to fail.

Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency, Iran
Oct 2 2005

Armenians Bury Their History
Scientists say Syunik region sites are being destroyed, instead of
preserved.

ArmeniaNow, 2 October 2005 — A joint Armenian-American-British
archeological expedition has found another example of the destruction
of ancient Armenian monuments. This time, though, it is neither in
Georgia nor in Azerbaijan (where monuments and churches have been
destroyed), but in the Syunik marz of Armenia.

In the village of Shaghat, 22 kilometers from the town of Sisian, the
archeologists from the Institute for Archeology and Ethnography of
the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, University of Michigan
and the Sheffield University in England discovered a rich
archeological material while at a test excavation in 2004. The
detailed examination of the finding was planned for 2005.

But when the expedition returned to the village it found the 1
hectare territory totally ruined by bulldozers.

`The smallest piece of clay or stone of archeological interest is
very important to us, so can you imagine what it means turning a
hectare of territory upside down,’ says archeologist, Professor Susan
Alcock, regretfully pointing out to the pieces of decorated vase of
Bronze Age that has narrowly escaped the bulldozer.

Numerous monuments with cultural layers typical of different ages
were found during the excavations on a territory of approximately 5
square kilometers in Shaghat and neighboring Balak.

`We are especially interested in the discovered settlements of Middle
Bronze Age,’ says senior scientist Mkrtych Zardaryan from the
Institute for Archeology and Ethnography of the NAS. `There are many
tombs that have been preserved from those times, but this is the only
settlement until now discovered in the Middle East,’

But rather than a fertile ground from which scientists might
embellish history of the region, the site is being turned into a
cemetery.

Shaghat village head Hovik Mkhitaryan turned the tractors loose on
the property to clear it for a graveyard, because the land in
shifting in the village’s old one. (Some charge, too, that the sudden
interest in creating a new cemetery comes suspiciously close to
election time, when the village head might need to curry favor among
voters.)

`I addressed the government for allotting land under the new
cemetery. I have not done anything illegal. Moreover, I have suffered
damages myself – who should pay for the fuel for my car?’ says
Mkhitaryan.

According to Mkhitaryan he has proper permission by the government of
RA. But the map, reduced several times on the submitted document,
does not show the ruined territory at all.

According to Hrahat Hakobjanyan, representative of the Syunik
regional Service for Preservation of Historical Monuments, the
Shaghat case happened due to a lack of proper mapping of monuments.

Karen Tunyan, head of the Sisian regional branch of State Cadastre
said new maps have been received only two weeks ago including
`territories under state protection’ highlighted with green.

`But the lack of indication on the map also has no justification, for
the head of the village is responsible for being aware of each stone
in his community; besides the head of the village himself used to dig
here and there with a spade in his hand in search of treasures, like
all the rest of the village. That is to say, they knew clearly there
were old settlements in the territory,’ says Hakobjanyan.

Syunik has long been known as a region rich in ancient historical
remains, including a citadels settlement from the time of
fifth-century Prince Andovk Syuni.

`The northern slope and the foot of Shaghat are constantly destroyed
by the residents; time after time people decide to find the treasures
of Prince Andovk Syuni. People must understand that these old
settlements and the castle are more precious than the imaginary
treasures,’ says Mkrtych Zardaryan.

According to him the Shaghat case is one among hundreds.

An Armenian-French archeological expedition making excavations in the
Inner Godedzor ancient settlement in the village of Angeghakot 13
kilometers from Sisian also has problems since part of the ancient
settlement territory is a stone mining area.

`We learnt about the ancient settlement in 2003 when the cultural
layers were destroyed during mining. Fortunately, our expedition was
working in the neighborhood. The test excavations showed that we deal
with an interesting settlement of late Copper and Stone Age,’ says
senior scientist of the Institute for Archeology and Ethnography of
the RA NAS Pavel Avetisyan.

Archeologists from the Maison de l’Orient at Lyon University and the
Institute for Archeology and Ethnography of the RA NAS found ceramics
belonging to the Obeyid culture of the 5th millennium here.

According to Avetisyan the close ties between historic Armenia and
Mesopotamia and Syria are proved for the first time by material
facts, although it has been mentioned in historical documents for
many times.

The upper layer of the ancient settlement has disclosed for the first
a settlement of late Eneolithic era that has served as grounds for
the creation and the development of Kura-Arax culture in these
territories.

`The Kura-Arax culture is a huge cultural phenomenon of early Bronze
Age of 4-3 millennia BC typical to northern and sout Caucasus. Until
today its origins and hotbed of formation were not found,’ says
Avetisyan.

Archeologists are concerned that these and other important archeology
sites are being carelessly destroyed.

`We have appealed to all proper bodies, the case is in the marz
prosecutor’s office, but the stone mine works day and night,’ says
Avetisyan. `This is a state crime before everybody’s eyes.”

Michigan University professor John Cherry who has worked in Greece,
Turkey, Italy and other countries, says it is too bad that the
Armenians show such disregard for the riches of their own past.

`As far as I know, they try to develop the tourism industry here and
such monuments are the best means to do that. Syunik is almost not
studied and is very rich in historical monuments,’ Cherry says. `If
it continues this way many ancient settlements may be destroyed
without being studied.’

;section=2

ARMENIAN STUDIES PROGRAM AT THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY
Contact: Prof. Michael E. Stone ([email protected])
Dr. Sergio La Porta <[email protected]>
Web:

Hebrew University Armenian Faculty Attend International Conference

Jerusalem – From 7-9 September, over 60 scholars of Armenian Studies
gathered in Vitoria, Spain for the Tenth General Conference of the
Association Internationale des Etudes Armeniennes (AIEA). AIEA, which
was founded in 1980 by Professor Michael Stone of the Hebrew University
and Professor J.J.S. Weitenberg of Leiden University in Holland, is an
organization of scholars of Armenian Studies, with its centre in
Europe. The suggestion to found the organization was made by Dr. Nira
Stone. Professor Michael Stone is Honourary Life President of AIEA.

The meeting was attended by scholars from all over Europe, America,
Armenia and the Middle East. From the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Dr. Sergio La Porta, Professor Michael Stone and doctoral student
Mikayel Arakelian all presented lectures, while Dr. Nira Stone also
participated. They met there Hebrew University Armenian Studies PhD
graduate, Professor Peter Cowe of UCLA, and former Armenian Studies
student Pablo Trojiano who teaches at the Compultensian University in
Madrid. Former visiting researcher Prof. Theo van Lint, Gulbenkian
Professor of Armenian at Oxford University also joined in the Hebrew
University reunion.

All the Armenian Studies faculty from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem’s Armenian Studies program were there and they all brought
home new and stimulating ideas. They were able to discuss matters with
colleagues, and as a result new directions of cooperative work are
emerging and will soon be announced. The lectures of the Hebrew
University team were enthusiastically received and garnered very
positive reactions.

Professor Stone devoted his lecture to his recently completed
translation of the medieval Armenian epic poem about Adam and Eve,
written by Arakel of Siunik at the beginning of the fifteenth century.
The poem, a complex composition of quite startling beauty, contains
over 5,500 lines of poetry, which Professor Stone translated into
English poetry. It is presently being considered for publication.

Quite different, but equally stimulating, Dr. Sergio La Porta presented
a paper on `The Earliest Armenian Scholia on the Works Attributed to
Dionysius the Areopagite.’ Dr. La Porta reported on his most recent
progress in the preparation of an edition and translation of the
Armenian commentary on this highly influential work. He proposed a new
date for the composition of the comments as well as challenging their
modern attributions. In addition to providing a linguistic analysis of
the scholia, Dr. La Porta posited the locus of their production and the
context in which they were composed.

Mikayel Arakelian described in detail the catalogue he has prepared of
illuminated late medieval Armenian manuscripts in Germany. This very
thorough work will make known several hundred unknown or little known
manuscripts, describing their character, context and particularly their
artistic character. Mikayel is writing his doctoral thesis on the
Armenian art of New Julfa.

______________________________
The Armenian Studies program at the Hebrew University was established
in 1966. It offers BA, MA and PhD degrees. For further information
contact Prof. Michael E. Stone ([email protected]) or Dr. Sergio
La Porta ([email protected]). The Jerusalem Armenian StudiesWeb Site
is: