NOTHING ABOUT KAZAN
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| 17:11:06 | 31-08-2005 | Politics |
The Prague process which started a year ago has considerably approached
the perspectives of settling the Karabakh conflict”, said the Secretary
General of the EU Terry Davis, Azeri internet site day.az reports.
Mr. Davis also voiced his disappointment about the frequent violation
of the ceasefire and losses of both sides. “Many people on both sides
have lost their life”, he mentioned.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE HEAD CALLS FOR FAIR ELECTION IN AZERBAIJAN
Turan news agency
30 Aug 05
Baku, 30 August: There are a number of serious shortcomings in
Azerbaijan in the sphere of freedom of assembly and expression. These
freedoms are the fundamental human rights which should be observed
in democratic countries, Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry
Davis has said in an interview with the Baku-based Council of Europe
information office.
There are also other fields that have to be improved, the
secretary-general said. He said it was important to hold “a
constructive dialogue” between the authorities and the opposition. Both
sides have to show political will in order to normalize relations
and improve the political atmosphere in the country, he said.
After the previous election [presidential election in October 2003],
which was accompanied with flaws, there is no alternative to a free
and fair election in Azerbaijan. To this end, the Council of Europe
has drawn up an action plan in order to make sure that the [6 November
parliamentary] election is held in the right way. It consists of three
sections: revision of the Electoral Code and improvement of election
management; increasing of voters’ awareness with the aim of boosting
public involvement in the election process; promoting of Council of
Europe values through NGOs and the media.
Asked what the Council of Europe would do if the election
was falsified once again, Davis said much would depend on the
conclusion of PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]
observers. “Therefore, I do not want to make decisions in advance,”
he said.
Asked to comment on the situation around the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict as a former PACE reporter on Nagornyy Karabakh, Davis said
he regretted frequent truce violations and losses sustained by both
sides. In Davis’ opinion, the Prague process, which started a year ago,
has made settlement prospects much stronger.
ARMENIA OPPOSES TURKISH-GEORGIAN-AZERI RAILWAY PROJECT
Civil Georgia, Georgia
Aug 31 2005
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said on August 30 that
teh construction of Kars (Turkey)-Akhalkalaki (Georgia) railway
link, which will connect Turkey to Azerbaijan via Georgia, is
“economically senseless” as a railway between Kars-Gyumri (Armenia),
linking Turkish railway with Armenian and further with Georgia already
exists, Armenian media sources reported.
But currently the Kars-Gyumri railway is not operational because
of the trade blockade imposed on Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are in negotiations over
construction of an alternative railway between Kars and Akhalkalaki –
a southern Georgia town in the predominately ethnic Armenian region
of Samtskhe-Javakheti.
“The time will come and regional conflicts will be settled. The
borders will be opened and then we will have two parallel railways in
the region, one of which will become useless. It is not difficult to
guess which one – the one which does not yet exist,” Vardan Oskanian
said at a news briefing in Yerevan.
“We will oppose the implementation of this project… and will do so
mainly through advocating with international organizations that the
project is pointless,” the Armenian Foreign Minister said.
He also said that Armenia will lobby in favor of including the issue
of reopening borders with Armenia in Turkey’s EU accession talks.
GILFORD NATIVE RECEIVES RONA JAFFE WRITERS AWARD
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH
Aug 31 2005
Fiction writer and Gilford native Rebecca Curtis was recently one
of six recipients of the 2005 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Awards,
given annually to women writers in the early stages of their careers.
Now in its 11th year, the Rona Jaffe Awards have helped many women
build successful writing careers by offering financial support at a
critical time.
The awards of $10,000 will be presented to the six recipients in New
York on Sept. 22.
Curtis is working on a collection of stories, mostly set in New
Hampshire where she grew up, focusing on the dangers women face in
society when they have transgressed their roles as daughter, wife,
mother. Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s
and McSweeney’s among other publications.
She said she is “eager to try a different project, one that goes
outside my direct knowledge” and plans to begin a novel based on the
memoirs of Azni Gostonian, an Armenian woman who survived the Turkish
genocide by marrying a Turk and who eventually escaped with the help
of a Turkish woman who befriended her. She ended up in Manchester
where she became a close friend of Curtis’ grandmother.
Curtis plans to use her Writers Award for research and travel to
Armenia.
She teaches at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and has a B.A.
from Pomona College, an M.A. from NYU and an M.F.A. from Syracuse
University. She lives in Brooklyn.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
TURKISH WRITER FACES CHARGES OVER COMMENTS
Benjamin Harvey
Contra Costa Times, CA
Sept 1 2005
ISTANBUL, Turkey – A Turkish novelist has been charged with insulting
his country’s national character and could face prison, his publisher
said Wednesday.
Orhan Pamuk is scheduled to go on trial on Dec. 16 and could face up
to three years in prison for comments on Turkey’s killing of Armenians
and Kurds, publisher Tugrul Pasaoglu said.
Turkish court officials were not immediately available to comment.
“Thirty-thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in these
lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it,” Pamuk was quoted as
saying in an interview with a Swiss newspaper magazine in February.
Armenians claim the the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks around
the time of World War I was the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey vehemently denies an Armenian genocide took place, saying the
death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in a civil war as
the Ottoman Empire collapsed, eventually giving way to the Turkish
Republic in 1923.
The “thirty thousand Kurds” mentioned by Pamuk refers to those killed
since 1984 as Turkey fought a war against armed Kurdish separatists.
The fighting ended in 1999 after a cease-fire was called by the rebels,
but has resumed since then.
Turkey, along with the United States and the European Union, considers
members of the main rebel group – the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or
PKK – terrorists.
Turkey, which has been trying to improve its human rights record as
it vies for membership in the European Union, is extremely sensitive
about both the Armenian and Kurdish issues, and the new Turkish penal
code makes it a crime to denigrate Turkey’s national identity.
Pamuk’s books include the internationally acclaimed “Snow” and “My
Name is Red” and have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Pamuk has not shied away from dealing with Turkey’s more controversial
historical issues, drawing criticism for his statements.
TURKISH WRITER FACES JAIL FOR SPEAKING OUT ON GENOCIDE
RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 1 2005
ANKARA, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – A prominent Turkish writer could
be jailed for speaking out on the Armenian genocide in his homeland
in the early 20th century and the authorities’ handling of the Kurdish
ethnic minority, Istanbul newspapers reported Wednesday.
Referring to the writer’s publisher, the publications wrote that Orhan
Pamuk, 53, faced up to three years behind bars for comments he made
in an interview with a Swiss paper, Tages Anzeiger, in February.
“Thirty thousand Kurds and nearly a million Armenians were massacred
on these lands, and no one, but me, has dared to speak about it,”
the writer said. The interview caused an uproar in Turkey’s political
circles, particularly from nationalistic groups.
Turkey has rejected accusations that nearly 1.5 million Armenians were
killed on its soil in 1915 and Ankara is also very sensitive about
the West’s criticism of its handling of the Kurdish minority problem.
Pamuk, who faces his first court hearing in Istanbul on December 16,
came to prominence in Europe as an intellectual writer. His books
have been translated into 34 languages and published in more than
100 countries.
His novel The White Castle brought him international acclaim and he
has won many international literary awards. This year, Pamuk received
a peace prize from the German publishers and booksellers’ association,
one of the most prestigious literary awards.
TURKISH WRITER FACING CHARGES OVER GENOCIDE CLAIMS
CTV, Canada
Sept 1 2005
ISTANBUL, Turkey – A Turkish novelist has been charged with insulting
his country’s national character and could face prison, his publisher
said Wednesday.
Orhan Pamuk is scheduled to go on trial on Dec. 16 and could face up
to three years in prison for comments on Turkey’s killing of Armenians
and Kurds, publisher Tugrul Pasaoglu said.
Turkish court officials were not immediately available to comment.
“Thirty-thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in these
lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it,” Pamuk was quoted as
saying in an interview with a Swiss newspaper magazine in February.
Armenians claim the the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks around
the time of World War I was the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey vehemently denies an Armenian genocide took place, saying the
death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in a civil war as
the Ottoman Empire collapsed, eventually giving way to the Turkish
Republic in 1923.
The “thirty thousand Kurds” mentioned by Pamuk refers to those killed
since 1984 as Turkey fought a war against armed Kurdish separatists.
The fighting ended in 1999 after a cease-fire was called by the rebels,
but has resumed since then.
Turkey, along with the United States and the European Union, considers
members of the main rebel group – the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or
PKK – terrorists.
Turkey, which has been trying to improve its human rights record as
it vies for membership in the European Union, is extremely sensitive
about both the Armenian and Kurdish issues, and the new Turkish penal
code makes it a crime to denigrate Turkey’s national identity.
Pamuk’s books include the internationally acclaimed “Snow” and “My
Name is Red” and have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Pamuk has not shied away from dealing with Turkey’s more controversial
historical issues, drawing criticism for his statements.
ARMENIAN BUDGET DEFICIT AT 0.2% OF GDP IN 7 MTHS
Interfax, Russia
Aug 31 2005
YEREVAN. Aug 31 (Interfax) – The Armenian budget deficit stood at
1.426 billion dram, or 0.2% of GDP, in January-July 2005, the National
Statistics Service told Interfax.
Revenue and official budget transfers were 191.32 billion dram,
or 20.9% of GDP, in the seven months, up 24.5% year-on-year.
The Armenian budget deficit is expected to be 47.5 billion dram, or
2.3% of GDP, in 2005. Revenue is expected to be 327.92 billion dram,
or 16.2% of GDP, and expenditures will be 375.4 billion dram, or 18.5%
of GDP.
The official exchange rate on August 31 was 471.28 dram/$1.
TURKEY CHARGES ACCLAIMED AUTHOR
Karl Vick
Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
Sept 1 2005
ISTANBUL, Aug. 31 — An acclaimed Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk,
has been charged with the “public denigrating of Turkish identity”
and faces a possible prison sentence of three years, his publisher
said Wednesday.
The charge stems from an interview that Pamuk gave to a Swiss newspaper
in February in which he said certain topics were regarded as off-limits
in Turkey. As examples, he listed the massacre of Armenians in 1915
and the ongoing war between Turkish security forces and Kurdish
guerrillas as examples.
“Thirty-thousand Kurds were killed here, 1 million Armenians as
well. And almost no one talks about it,” Pamuk told the newspaper,
Tages-Anzeiger. “Therefore, I do.”
Turkey considers the Armenian deaths a consequence of war, with severe
casualties on both sides, while Armenians say the deaths constitute
a genocide. Under Turkish law, people can be jailed for differing
with the government’s line on the deaths, as well as on the presence
of Turkish troops in Cyprus, which Turkey invaded in 1974, and other
“fundamental national interests.”
Turkey’s penal code was revised this year in hopes of bringing laws on
freedom of expression closer to international standards, as demanded
by the European Union, which Turkey wants to join. Organizations
representing writers and journalists say more changes are needed.
Pamuk was “just trying to point out that first you have to face it —
a tragedy or a dispute or a problem, at least,” said Tugrul Pasaoglu,
Pamuk’s publisher and an editor at Iletisim Yayinlari, a publishing
house in Istanbul. “If you don’t talk about it, then you can’t find
a solution.”
Pamuk, 53, is the most acclaimed novelist to emerge from Turkey
in at least a generation. His books, including “My Name Is Red,”
have been translated into more than 20 languages. His latest novel,
“Snow,” explores the tensions between Turkey’s rigorously secular
military establishment and political Islam by stranding a lovesick
poet in a snowbound eastern Turkish city during a coup.
In Turkey, however, Pamuk’s international success has been
overshadowed by his comments in Tages-Anzeiger. The remarks incensed
ultranationalists, a powerful force in a country that opinion polls
show may be the world’s most patriotic.
“There is nothing that constitutes a crime in this interview,” said
Nazan Senol, an attorney representing Pamuk, whose court date was
set for Dec. 16. She noted that another state prosecutor’s office
also investigated the allegations and decided against filing charges.
Turgay Evsen, the prosecutor who went forward with the case, earlier
this year filed the same charge against a Turkish journalist of
Armenian heritage, Hrant Dink. Evsen declined to comment on the
Pamuk case.
TURKEY CHARGES NOVELIST OVER REMARKS ABOUT MASS DEATHS
Orhan Pamuk could face three years in prison for speaking about his
nation’s alleged slaying of Armenians and, more recently, Kurds.
By Amberin Zaman, Special to The Times
Los Angeles Times, CA
Sept 1 2005
ANKARA, Turkey – Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s best-known novelists,
has been charged with insulting the nation and its people for speaking
out against the mass deaths of Armenians during and after World War
I and the more recent killings of Kurds, his publisher said Wednesday.
Pamuk will go on trial in December and could face three years in
prison under the country’s revised penal code, which deems denigrating
Turks and Turkey a punishable offense, Iletisim Publishing said in
a written statement.
Officials declined to comment on the charges. Turkish law prohibits
Pamuk from commenting on his case while it is pending.
Pamuk drew nationalist ire here and even received anonymous death
threats after he told the Swiss daily newspaper Tagesanzeiger in an
interview published Feb. 6 that “30,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians
were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it.”
Turkey has long denied that more than 1 million members of its
once thriving Armenian community were the victims of systematic
annihilation between 1915 and 1923. Armenians and many others label
the campaign genocide.
The Turkish government position is that several hundred thousand
Armenians died as a result of exposure, famine and disease as they
journeyed to Syria after being deported for collaborating with invading
Russian forces.
Pamuk’s most recent bestselling novel, “Snow,” explores tensions
between Turkey’s secular elite and religious conservatives.
News of Pamuk’s case came a day before European Union foreign ministers
were scheduled to meet in Wales, mainly to discuss Turkey’s bid to
join the 25-member bloc. The EU has long cited Turkey’s checkered
record on human rights as the chief obstacle to membership.
Turkey won a date to open membership talks after its parliament passed
numerous reforms that, among other steps, eased restrictions on the
language spoken by the country’s large Kurdish minority. The talks
are scheduled to begin Oct. 3. Several countries, including France,
are seeking to block Turkey’s entry amid mounting public opposition
to the inclusion of a large, poor and predominantly Muslim country.
Other critics charge that Turkey’s new penal code, which came into
force in June, still falls short of EU standards by proscribing free
debate of the Armenian tragedy and criticism of Turkey’s 1974 invasion
of the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.
“How can Turkey possibly claim to be a European country if it has
such laws on the books and prosecutors can bring such cases?” British
novelist Maureen Freely, who translated “Snow” to English, said in an
editorial published Wednesday in the Independent, a London newspaper.
Some EU diplomats speculated that the case against Pamuk was timed by
elements within the Turkish government seeking to derail the country’s
membership in the alliance.
“This can only be the work of those within the Turkish state who
stand to lose influence under the [EU-oriented] reform process,”
said a Western diplomat who asked not to be identified, reflecting
a common practice among envoys. “How else can one explain the case
being launched so long after Pamuk’s statement?”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress