Today Wednesday, 6 May, the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee will consider resolutions on the Armenian Genocide submitted by the three parliamentary groups.
Expert genocide researcher and German activist Tessa Hoffman said it was still unclear whether the Foreign Affairs Committee will decide whether to propose a resolution after discussing the three resolutions submitted by both parties in power and members
According to the Egyptian newspaper “Al-Misri al-Yom” after the Armenian Genocide Turkey’s continued crimes
The Egyptian newspaper with wide circulation, “Al-Misri al-Yom” published an article by MP Emad Gad also vice president of the Center for Analysis “Al-Ahram” on the Armenian genocide.
Emad Gad affirms that Egypt might follow the example of many other countries and recognize the Armenian genocide carried out by Turkey and to write that “there is no justification to postpone the date of this recognition of the genocide of Armenians. “Under the headline” 100 years after the Armenian Genocide realized by Turkey “, the author presents the data of the genocide and violence of its realization against the Armenian civilian population.” The Turks crimes will not end with the extermination of the Armenians “, he wrote and continue” where the Turks have set foot there were massacres, blood flowed (…) this is what happened in Greece country democracy and philosophy. “
Emad Gad, who recently participated in the Global Forum Yerevan wrote that Turkey is implementing significant means to be born of violence in Europe, Asia and Africa. The Egyptian MP notes however that the important role of Armenian communities, Greek and others to curb the entry of Turkey into the European Union and returns to the Pope’s statement François recognizing the Armenian Genocide and the US Congress efforts to Genocide recognition by Washington. Emad Gad also argues that denial of Turkey received a serious setback for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the European Parliament “international recognition of the Armenian Genocide can not be stopped by Ankara,” he wrote. Finally, the author openly critical of Turkey for its support to the “Muslim Brotherhood” as well as terrorist Islamist groups.
Krikor Amirzayan
Museum Exhibits Armenian Artifacts a Century after Rescue by Russians
BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN
On my way back from the Centennial events in Yerevan last week, I stopped in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to attend the inauguration of an unprecedented exhibit of Armenian artifacts rescued by Russian ethnographers from Western Armenia during the Genocide.
Here is the incredible background story of that unique exhibit. In 1916, during the Russian military campaign which temporarily liberated Western Armenia from Ottoman Turkey, Saint Petersburg’s Russian Museum of Ethnography sought Czar Nicholas II’s permission to dispatch a scholarly expedition to the Van area to collect Armenian artifacts from imminent loss. The Czar gave immediate consent in his handwriting: “Approve. Need to hurry.”
A small team of ethnographers led by Alexander Miller arrived in Van on June 10, 1916, after a lengthy and perilous journey. During their two-week stay, they managed to purchase from local inhabitants a total of 513 objects: 396 Armenian, 110 Assyrian, 5 Kurdish, and 2 Turkish. The artifacts included traditional Armenian costumes, jewelry, and carpets from the City of Van, the towns of Alur, Bitlis, Moks, Mush, Shatakh, and neighboring villages. During their visit, the scholars took 60 photographs of natural landscapes, historical monuments, buildings, and some residents. All of these materials were hauled back to Saint Petersburg under the protection of the Russian military.
Surprisingly, these painstakingly-collected cultural objects remained in the Russian museum’s basement for 100 years and were never displayed! No one seemed to remember their existence, until two years ago, when Armenia’s Consul General Vardan Hakopyan in Saint Petersburg learned about these artifacts and informed the authorities in Armenia, local community leaders, and the Armenian Jewelry Association.
After extensive joint efforts between the Armenian Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum of Ethnography, the items that were kept in storage for a century were finally put on display in Saint Petersburg last week. The Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum published an impressive catalog titled, “Treasures of Western Armenia,” which showcased the artifacts collected from the region of Van in 1916, before its recapture and genocidal destruction by Ottoman Turkish forces.
The exhibit was officially opened on April 27, 2015, at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. It was attended by Vigen Sargsyan, the Armenian President’s Chief of Staff, Olga Kazanskaya, Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Grusman, Director of Russian Museum of Ethnography, Pierre Akkelian, Chairman of Armenian Jewelers Foundation, Gagik Gevorkyan, President of Armenian Jewelry Association, and Karen Mkrtchyan, the Armenian community leader of Saint Petersburg.
Not surprisingly, after it became known that the Museum of Ethnography had in its possession valuable artifacts from the Van region, the Consulate of Turkey in Saint Petersburg contacted the Museum claiming that these items are the property of the Turkish Republic and sought their return. The Museum’s leadership rejected the Turkish request as the objects were purchased from their owners in 1916.
It is ironic that Turkish diplomats had the audacity to request these Armenian artifacts, after having killed their owners, burned their homes, and stolen their possessions! One would hope that the Turkish government would be foolish enough to go ahead and file a lawsuit against the Russian Museum, trying to claim these items. Such a lawsuit would further publicize Turkish responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, the looting of Armenian cultural objects, and occupation of their ancestral homeland!
One hundred years later, another expedition should be dispatched to Turkish museums and libraries to locate and recover all Armenian artifacts, manuscripts and other valuable items plundered during the Genocide. Lawsuits should be filed against all Turkish institutions holding such Armenian materials. If local Turkish courts reject the demand, Armenians should then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in order to recover these long lost and precious fragments of Armenian cultural heritage. Such a legal effort would be yet another means of seeking restitution for the massive Genocide-era losses suffered by Armenians a century ago!
The Russian Museum’s remarkable exhibit should go on tour to Armenian communities around the world: Athens, Beirut, Berlin, Boston, Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Tehran, Toronto, San Francisco, San Paulo, Sydney, Yerevan and many other cities. Let the world see a small sampling of the vast quantities of valuable cultural artifacts that the Armenian nation lost during the Genocide in addition to the 1.5 million human souls.
University of California Irvine Student Government Passes Resolution Calling for Divestment from Turkey
IRVINE, Calif.—On Tuesday, the student government at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), unanimously passed a resolution “to Divest from the Republic of Turkey to End the Perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide.” The resolution ultimately called for UC Irvine, the UC Irvine Foundation, and the University of California to divest $72.6 million dollars worth of University of California bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for its crimes in, and continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Various students of UC Irvine, members of the Armenian Students’ Association (ASA), along with members of the greater Armenian community gathered for the hearing of the resolution and spoke about the university’s investments in the Turkish government, its compliance in genocide denial, and the need for divestment.
“As a descendant of the Armenian Genocide and a UC student, I was so angered and disappointed when I learned that the University of California, a public institution, invests over $70 million dollars in the Turkish government. These UC investment holdings in bonds directly issued in Turkish government ultimately, fund Turkish denialist propaganda and drive efforts of genocide denial,” said Carla Kekejian a third-year English and education sciences double-major at UCI. “Students’ tuition dollars- my tuition dollars- are being invested in the government that denies history and human right violations. I needed to present this resolution so that at least my student government, and my UC, was not complicit in the denial of the Armenian Genocide.”
Along with the citations of the UC’s investments in Turkey, the resolution cited the massacres of the 1915 Armenian Genocide as well as the current Republic of Turkey’s continuous genocide denial campaigns and efforts to hide its crimes against humanity. The resolution also cited how the California State Assembly Public Employment, Retirement, and Social Security (PERSS) recently voted to adopt Assembly Bill 1410 calling for divestment of the State of California’s investments in the Turkish government.
“The UC System should divest from governments who still continue to oppress and deny their atrocities and actions towards another minority,” said Ovsanna Balian, a fourth year double-major in psychology and social behavior and education sciences at UCI.“UC Irvine’s calling of divestment from the Republic of Turkey means a lot to me because I can walk on campus and graduate comfortably knowing that my university wants to divest on the Turkish government. This action of divestment has the potential of decreasing the denial and investments by governments of this genocide and any other genocides. Not only am I presenting this resolution for myself and my family, but I am doing this for all my ancestors that suffered by the hands of the Young Turks.”
The student governments of UCLA and UC Berkeley unanimously passed similar resolutions during January and February of this year. Moreover, just last month, ASUCI unanimously passed A resolution “Commemorating the Armenian Genocide and Condemning its Denial,” raising further awareness on campus about the Armenian Genocide and its need for international recognition.
“The active erasure of Armenian histories and the Armenian genocide has gone on too long. As UC students we should be represented and have agency over where our money is going. Overall, as human beings we cannot allow for the investment into oppressive governments, beyond Armenian people,” said Kristine Jermakian a third-year pharmaceutical sciences and women’s’ studies double major at UCI. The stand against genocide is a human rights issue, not only a student issue, so pushing to divest makes a clear statement of this and a statement that we stand against all unethical investments.”
“As President of the Armenian Students’ Association at UC Irvine, I am very proud of both our Armenian and non-Armenian support we received in Orange County as well as the support of ASUCI, our student government council,” said Aram Akhverdyan fourth year biological sciences major at UCI. “Just because April 24th has passed, that does not mean our campaign for recognition of the Armenian Genocide should end. There are a wide range of ways we can continue the efforts and the passing of this divestment resolution was a significant one.”
The resolution is an initiative started in part by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Western United States- a grassroots community organization dedicated to justice for the Armenian cause and the Armenian people. For any questions, comments or inquiries on the #DivestTurkey campaign, please email divestment@ayfwest.org.
Turkish writers & Journalist address letter to Armenian people (video)
On the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, eight writers from Turkey post this letter to their fellow Armenians.
“It has been a hundred years since hundreds of thousands of Armenians of this land have fallen under the systematic massacre of the Ottoman State. In 1915, women and men, young and old, they lost their lives, their families, and their homes… We, at P24 (Independent Journalism Platform) humbly pay our respect to the fallen and present this letter from eight writer,” the letter says, according to Massis Post.
The short video produced by P24 and directed by Enis Riza carries the messages of Adalet Agaoglu, Ahmet Altan, Oya Baydar, Murat Belge, Hasan Cemal, Cengiz Çandar, Perihan Magden, and Bejan Matur.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum issues statement on Genocide
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) issued a noteworthy statement on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, according to Massis Post.
Headlined “Museum Statement on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,” it starts: “On the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum remembers the suffering of the Armenian people.”
“The Ottoman government, controlled by the Committee of Union and Progress…, systematically eliminated the Armenian ethnic presence in the Anatolia region of its empire,” the statement reads in part.
The USHMM statement also references Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word ‘genocide,’ by explaining that: “The origins of the term ‘genocide’ rest, in part, in the evens of 1915-16 in Anatolia, then part of the Ottoman Turkish empire.”
In addition to the historic statement, the museum now features a ‘Special Focus’ section in its online exhibitions dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, which provides background information, imagery, and select eyewitness testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive. The ‘Special Focus’ also provides links to additional information including a more in-depth description of the Armenian Genocide in the museum’s online Holocaust Encyclopedia.
Viewers are also encouraged to read USHMM historian Dr. Edna Friedberg’s April 17th article about Franz Werfel’s “Forty Days of Musa Dagh” in the Jewish Daily Forward article headlined “How Novel About Armenian Genocide Became Bestseller in Warsaw Ghetto.”
Dedicated in 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national institution for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust.
“On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian National Institute, and the newly launched online Armenian Genocide Museum of America, we thank the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for joining other institutions and organization from around the world in commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The continued attention by USHMM to the Armenian Genocide since its founding through lectures, exhibits, and publications is tremendously appreciated,” stated Assembly co-chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Z. Krikorian.
Armenian Genocide: Let Truth Triumph
By Jagdish N. Singh
I admire Pope Francis. He is not just spiritual or religious. He is courageous too and does not believe in refraining from calling a spade a spade . The Pope has now referred to the 20th century mass killings of Armenians as the first genocide of the 20th century. During a mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica the other day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of those heinous killings, the Pope said, “In the past century our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented tragedies. The first…struck your own Armenian people.” Report Jewish press
Branding the tragedy as a “senseless slaughter,” the Pope preached , “It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester. Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.” Pope Francis also recalled other mass killings of the 20th century – in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
Significantly, in his message to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27) in 2011 then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams too had spoken of the need to remember the atrocities committed against the Jewish people in the Holocaust and even in Britain’s own history. He had stressed the need to remember also the other victims of genocide . Williams was quoted as saying that the works of poets such as Holocaust survivor Paul Celan and Etty Hillesum served to remind the world of the “loss of humanity that remains in our midst to this day…Although other poets have spoken for those killed in Armenia, Cambodia and Darfur, many stories from these and other genocidal events remain untold. Testimony, poetry and autobiography allow us to attend to the distinct stories of individuals rather than trying to comprehend the statistics of different genocides of recent history.”
Pertinently, Archbishop Williams noted that events in medieval Britain, such as the blood libel case against Jews following the mysterious death of William of Norwich in the 12th century or King Edward’s expulsion of all Jews from England were “almost completely lost to public awareness”. He warned , “If the stories are not told over and again, we lose the memory of those who suffered and we risk losing something that protects our humanity.”
It is heartening to learn that more than 20 nations, including Russia , France and Germany, have now come recognize the Armenian genocide. At a ceremony in Armenia, Russian President Vladmin Putin reportedly referred to “mass” killings and used the word “genocide.” Putin said, “ There cannot be any justification for mass murder of people. Today we mourn together with the Armenian people.” French President Francois Hollande said, “ We will never forget the tragedies your people have endured. Important words have already been said in Turkey, but others are still expected so that shared grief can become shared destiny.” German President Joachim Gauck condemned the 1915 killings as genocide and acknowledged that Germany bore partial blame for the bloodletting.
I wonder why American President Barack Obama and some other leaders in the democratic world still shy away from branding the Armenian killings as genocide. In 2006 then Senator Obama had said, “The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.” It is time the American President retained his courage of conviction, spoke the truth in the case and acted in the great American spirit that stands against all kinds of injustice the world over.
Moreover, there is no confusion as to the nature of the Armenian killings. The 1948 UN Geneva Convention clearly defines genocide as “systematic destruction, in whole or part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” President Obama could invoke this definition very well . Over 1.5 million Armenians were estimated to have perished under the Ottoman Empire during World War I. (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_armeniangenocide.html ) . This crime cannot be overlooked .
About the Author: Jagdish N. Singh is an Indian journalist based in New Delhi.
Newington Man Connects With Family’s Role In Armenian Genocide
Roy Zartarian’s father, Charles Zartarian, is seen at center left in a family photograph taken sometime before the genocide in 1915. Charles’ father, Zakar Zartarian, is seen behind him. The two other children in the photograph are Charles’ sisters, both of whom were said to have died of starvation. Their names have been lost. The woman next to Zakar is his wife, Takoohi, who died after the family fled to Russia. The man seated to the left of Zakar is Roy’s great grandfather, Mushegh. Next to Mushegh is his wife, Roy’s great grandmother. Her name is lost. They are also assumed to have died in the genocide. The identity of the woman at far right is unknown.(Photo courtesy Zartarian family)
NEWINGTON — Roy Zartarian always knew his father and grandfather were survivors of the Armenian genocide during World War I, the 100th anniversary of which was marked last month.
His father Charles Zartarian bore the scars of his flight from the Turks: he had just one finger on one hand and two on the other — the result of amputations from frostbite, Zartarian was told. Report courant.com
But the story of their escape remained shrouded in mystery. Neither Zartarian’s father nor his grandfather ever spoke of it.
“I would ask my mother, and she would say he wouldn’t talk about what he experienced,” Zartarian, 68, said.
With his father’s early death of a heart attack in 1955, the tale seemed lost forever.
Fast forward to the mid-2000s. Zartarian’s interest in the Armenian genocide was growing. A database of of Hartford Courant stories had just been put online. On a whim, Zartarian searched his family name.
To his amazement, a Courant story from 1922 came up recounting in agonizing detail his father and grandfather’s horrific ordeal. Headlined “Armenian Boy, Minus Fingers, After Turkish Atrocity, Living Here,” it included a photograph of his father, then about 11.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Zartarian said, struggling to control his emotions. “I was in tears. It answered a lot of questions. I now know how my father and grandfather made it to this country.”
Zartarian’s grandfather was a successful blacksmith in Harput, today Elazig, in central Turkey, part of the Ottoman Empire, according to the article. Then came World War I.
The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany and found itself at war with Russia on its eastern border.
Fearing Armenians, who were Christians rather than Muslims, would side with the Russians, the Turks ordered their deportation and eventual slaughter. An estimated 1.5 million died.
For the Zartarian family, the nightmare began one day in 1915 when a crier went through their town ordering all Armenians to prepare to leave, the article says, an incident Zaratrian said he has corroborated.
The Turks forced-marched the Zartarians and their fellow Armenians to a village where Roy’s grandfather found a Kurd who agreed to hide the family for $500, the Zartarians told the Courant. Over that winter, Zartarian’s father’s two sisters died of starvation, they said.
The article goes on to describe the family’s escape to a Russian-occupied town and later capture by the Turks. Seeing his father’s frozen fingers, a Turkish soldier chopped them off, the article says.
Zartarian said he’s been unable to confirm the story independently.
“I don’t know whether that was embroidered or not for the sake of the news coverage back then,” he said.
The family escaped to Russia where Zartarian’s grandmother died. His father and grandfather, the family’s only survivors, then made their way to Istanbul. There, they learned of a relative in Hartford who sent money for passage to America.
Asked by the Courant reporter in 1922 what he wanted to do for a living, Zartarian’s father replied that he wanted to be a lawyer. He fulfilled his ambition, attending Harvard Law School and becoming an immigration lawyer.
In spite of his disability, Charles Zartarian was able to button buttons, tie his tie, play golf and write. His penmanship was superb, Roy Zartarian said. His father’s old fountain pen is among his most prized possessions.
“His handwriting with two fingers was better than mine with five,” Zartarian said.
Turkey has yet to accept responsibility for the massacre of the Armenians during World War I. Its government continues to deny the genocide.
Turkey still could and should be held responsible its crimes against the Armenians, Zartarian said.
Zartarian has joined other Armenians in Connecticut and worldwide in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the genocide this year. He attended a recent event at the state Capitol and wears a purple wristband emblazoned with a Forget-Me-Not flower and the words, “We Will Never Forget.”
Zartarian talked of the importance of remembrance and human resilience.
“For the longest time, I kept this quiet,” Zartarian said. “With the 100th anniversary, I think it’s time to bring this story out and show how people can overcome and survive and make a new life for themselves.”
Report: Bomb ingredient flows into ISIL-held areas from Turkey
A large amount of fertilizer — a significant ingredient for explosives — is flowing from Turkey into territories held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Syria, amid concerns that Turkey is not doing enough to seal off ISIL’s supply lines, a report has claimed.
The New York Times quoted Mehmet Ayhan, a Turkish opposition politician, as saying, “It is not for farming. It is for bombs.” Reporters for the newspaper witnessed — four times on two recent days — large wooden carts loaded with fertilizer entering the Akçakale border gate and returning empty shortly afterwards.
The fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, is used for agricultural purposes but also by terrorist networks to build powerful explosives. Unlike the Harran and Akçakale districts, the closest Turkish towns to the border, the ISIL-held territories in Syria are dry and arid, making it essential for farmers to use fertilizer to increase productivity, particularly in the spring months.
The news report said few in Akçakale believe the fertilizer is meant to help Syrian farmers, adding that the open transportation of ammonium nitrate into ISIL territory points to “lingering questions about Turkey’s commitment to isolating its jihadist neighbors.”
Ankara has long been accused of fostering ISIL and radical groups in Syria to fight against the Syrian regime. Turkey rejects the accusations, says it is fighting a lonely battle against terrorists in Syria and that it does whatever it takes to impede the flow of foreign fighters from joining the ranks of ISIL. For nearly two months, Turkey has mostly closed all its border gates with Syria, largely because of fears that militants could slip into Turkey and target sensitive areas ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in June.
The newspaper mentioned one Turkish smuggler, now retired, who received $35 a head to move at least 25 foreign fighters for ISIL.
The New York Times said Turkish officials failed to explain why the substance was allowed to cross the border. Mustafa Güçlü, a spokesman for the Akçakale mayor’s office, first denied that any fertilizer was crossing, then said if there was any, it would be for agriculture. One official at the border crossing reportedly said that about 500 Syrians returned home every few days and that each was allowed 30 or 40 bags of low-nitrate fertilizer, “which is less explosive,” the report cited Mustafa Kurt, a café owner, as saying. “Of course they use it to make bombs.”
Egypt, Greece, Greek Cyprus form alliance, isolates Turkey further
While the leaders of regional actors Greece, Egypt and Greek Cyprus, which have been at odds with Turkey, met in nicosia last week for a trilateral meeting to boost security, energy and economic relations, Turkey is increasingly isolating itself by adding the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to the list of regional actors it has offended.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi traveled to Greek Cyprus to meet with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades last Wednesday. El-Sisi had previously hosted Anastasiades and former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras last November in Cairo, declaring new energy cooperation in the region between the three parties.
Analysts closely following Turkey agree that Ankara’s faulty foreign policy in the region helps the formation of such new friendships and contributes to Turkey’s further isolation. Former Turkish foreign minister and architect of its regional policies Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s “zero problems with neighbors” concept has long been a source of mockery in international circles as “zero neighbors,” with Turkey increasing its problematic relations in the region by the day.
During his visit to Greek Cyprus, Tsipras said that Greece would launch consultations with Egypt and Greek Cyprus to establish maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Visiting Nicosia’s southern area, Tsipras said the maritime boundaries would be defined in areas where the consent of third countries was not required.
Maritime zones claimed by countries for commercial research, known as economic exploitation zones (EEZ), are normally governed by the United Nations’ Law of the Sea or bilateral agreements between neighboring states that usually settle on an equidistant boundary. Ankara, which is not a signatory to that convention, questions the jurisdiction of Cyprus’s internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government in exploring for oil and gas.
Greek Cyprus has rebuffed Turkish claims and defined its economic zone in 2004. Since then it has delineated its maritime boundaries with Egypt and Israel, where vast amounts of natural gas have been discovered in the past two years.
Turkey and Greece have been at loggerheads for decades over land, air, sea and seabed borders in parts of the Aegean Sea.
After talks with el-Sisi and Anastasiades, Tsipras said, “We agreed on further consultations for defining our sea zones wherever that is deemed necessary, and obviously where it does not require an understanding and cooperation with third countries.”
The three parties have also agreed to step up cooperation on combatting terrorism amid fears over worsening security conditions in the region, including Libya. El-Sisi, Tsipras and Anastasiades agreed to boost defense and security ties and to discuss relevant information to counter terrorist threats. They expressed “grave concern” over a growing terrorist threat in Libya that may destabilize neighboring countries, adding that they support putting in place a counterterrorism strategy that would run in tandem with the ongoing political process.
Source: Zaman