The Justice Department has indicted several top FIFA officials as part of an investigation that alleges widespread corruption in soccer’s governing body over the past two decades, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. They involve bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment as early as Wednesday against more than 10 current and former soccer executives, the law enforcement officials said. Some of those being charged are living abroad and would face extradition to the United States.
The charges are a startling blow to FIFA, a multibillion-dollar organization that governs the world’s most popular sport but has been beset by accusations of corruption and bribery for decades. The inquiry is also a major threat to Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s longtime president who is generally recognized as the most powerful person in sports, though officials said he was not charged. An election, seemingly pre-ordained to give him a fifth term as president, is scheduled for Friday.
The Justice Department was working with law enforcement agencies in Switzerland, where FIFA is based, to coordinate arrests. The investigation is based in the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn
nytimes: To Baku and Back With Freebies congressional junketeers “financed by Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company”
When does a congressional fact-finding trip become an embarrassing junket? Ten House members and 32 of their staff members should be pondering that question now that their all-expenses-paid trip to Baku two years ago has been found by ethics investigators to have been secretly financed by Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company. That would be a violation of House ethics rules and federal law against foreign governments’ intruding into United States policy.
According to an Office of Congressional Ethics report obtained this month by The Washington Post, the congressional junketeers were feted and showered with gifts during a visit to Baku, receiving crystal tea sets, silk scarves, Azerbaijani rugs and thousands of dollars’ worth of hotel and airline fees paid by the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic, known as Socar. Two Texas-based nonprofit groups that promote American-Azerbaijan relations acted as conduits through which Socar allegedly funneled $750,000 to pay the tab while masking the state company’s role, investigators said.
The trip and its postmortem give an idea of how the House ethics process works, or doesn’t work. Lawmakers said they took care to clear the Baku invitation first by obtaining pre-approval from the House Ethics Committee. This committee is not to be confused with the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent entity that investigates outside complaints and was created seven years ago after the congressional junketeering scandals associated with the uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The office was created in part because of the ethics committee’s weak record for vigilance and enforcement. This annoyed many lawmakers, but the Azerbaijan junket has proved the O.C.E.’s worth. In this case, the office found alleged violations of ethics rules and the law, despite the ethics committee’s initial approval of the trip. At one point, according to the reported O.C.E. findings, members of the ethics committee sought to halt the investigation by the independent office and take it on themselves. The office declined the request.
It remains to be seen how the investigation will play out. What’s already clear is the need for the ethics committee to apply far greater scrutiny to trip proposals and their true sponsors when lawmakers seek the cover of pre-approval. In the meantime, the O.C.E. must continue in its vital role of providing oversight and keeping an independent eye on the House.
Source: nytimes
Erdogan can’t tell the deference between king & president “claims Saudi Arabia governed by presidential system”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed while delivering a speech at a pro-government think tank on Monday that Saudi Arabia, governed by a monarchy and ruled by the King, in fact resembles a presidential system.
In defense of a presidential system of government, Erdoğan also claimed that the UK is not a parliamentary democracy but rather a country that is run by an executive president where the queen interferes in the government.
He criticized the election system in the UK, saying it is broke and describing it as unjust.
In January, Erdoğan also uttered similar claims alleging that “nearly all developed countries” are governed by presidential systems.
He spoke at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), a think tank that is close to and financed by the government, asking the SETA academics to do research on the benefits of a presidential system.
Although Erdoğan claimed that the presidential system is the main issue in the election campaign and has strong backing from voters, almost all the polls suggest otherwise. Erdoğan failed to gain traction on his bid to become an executive president as most people list economic woes as their number one concern in the elections.
The president said he is also opposed to a bicameral system if Turkey decides to switch to an executive presidency, saying that a Senate may hamper the work of Parliament as the House of Representatives in the American system often clashes with the Senate.
Turkey: Churches in Karaman aired
Değle ongoing excavations at the site in Karaman was removed from the church in the face three days. In the region, it is expected to open by the end of November, three more visits to the church. Report AGOS
According to the Anatolia news agency reported, 4th and 9th century in the diocese center 45 kilometers from the center of Karaman in Montenegro, has nearly 30 churches in Değle.
Karaman Museum Director Abdulbari Stars, excavations with his statement to relevant journalists, emphasized the metropolitan of its kind in the region, “Our total close to 30 churches, two episcopal our palace, there are ancient cemeteries. We have the interests of the episcopal palace with three churches under study attachments section face the day . We started excavation work in 2015. We will continue to work until 30 November. 3 churches with this study, the mausoleum, we will remove ancient period cemetery of the face the day. in the year 2016 will continue the excavations. Regional religious tourism will be brought to the Karaman tourism in terms of ” he said.
The Armenian Church mcho Arakelots the Mush region (Turkey) Turkish victim treasure hunters …
The Armenian Church of Arakelots monastery (Holy Apostles) of Mush (Western Armenia, now Turkey) continues to deteriorate, victim Turks treasure hunters. According to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, the last monastery church mcho Arakelots located near the town of Arak in the province of Mush is half destroyed, with box gold diggers or “treasure of the Armenians” who dug in the church basement and the walls threaten to collapse. They also dug under Armenian graves.
Arakelots had significant meaning for Armenians. He said that 23 graves were desecrated and that, even inside the church a large hole had been dug. He also filed a complaint against theft of materials of the Armenian Church, including outdoor ornamental stones.
Krikor Amirzayan
Azerbaijan: Baku address criticism against Europe
After leaving the EU summit in Riga in almost slamming the door, Azerbaijan Monday, May 25 comes to a violent indictment against the European Union, accusing it of not having explicitly expressed its support principle of territorial integrity, ie the restoration of the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts under Armenian control. While Armenia has expressed its desire to strengthen its ties with Europe to the extent opportunities left by his support for the Eurasian Union headed by Russia, during the Riga summit dedicated to East European Partnership Program and therefore held with the participation of six former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan openly about taking his distances with Europe. In a statement from its Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan confirmed its dissatisfaction with the references to the Karabakh conflict in the final summit declaration.
“In trying to develop a compromise text on the conflicts affecting some partner states [EU], the authors of the statement could not avoid the pitfall of what might be called the double standards in international practice, “the statement quoted by the Trend news agency. “Azerbaijan expects the EU it expresses a clear and unequivocal position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement text. The Riga Declaration calls for a resolution of ethnic and territorial conflicts in the former USSR “on the basis of principles and norms of international law.” Referring to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it calls for a “political solution based on respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Armenia had not joined this text for not denouncing the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, which would upset its Russian partner and ally, but Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian welcomed the balanced approach concerning Karabakh, stressing that the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was not concerned here, Karabakh has never been part of Azerbaijan. Concerning the Karabakh conflict, the 13-page document simply points out that the EU and six former Soviet republics involved in the Eastern Partnership “fully support” patient efforts for peace made by the States United States, France and Russia.
The Azeri Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov, who represented Azerbaijan at the Riga Summit, had threatened to veto the declaration adopted in the Latvian capital, forcing the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, to call the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev that he brings his minister to better feelings. It was only after this intervention that Elmar Mammadyarov signed the document, including the Councillor for diplomacy Aliyev, Novruz Mammadov, says Friday, May 22 he aroused the “discontent” in Baku, stating that the Azerbaijani authorities had “approved the statement, while expressing their specific position,” position they “will share in writing” in Brussels. As to mark its dissatisfaction and disappointment with the European authorities, back from Riga, Azeri Minister of Foreign Affairs went to Moscow where he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on May 25
The Karabakh issue was high on the agenda, after which Lavrov said Moscow would continue to work towards reaching an agreement acceptable to both parties. The Riga Summit seems to confirm in any case the net cooling of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, tired of criticism of Europeans for its breaches of democracy is tempted to turn to Moscow. Russia is actively courting anyway Azerbaijan, who bought it for billions of dollars on arms in recent years, to the chagrin of Armenia, Russian ally and partner since January within the whole young Eurasian Union.
Gari © armenews.co
Spain’s Santa Margarida recognizes Armenian Genocide
Santa Margarida, municipality in Spain, has joined the Spanish cities that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.
The municipality decided to support recognition of the Armenian Genocide as well as restitution demands. The municipality demands recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Spain, taking into account the resolution adopted by the European Parliament.
Egypt court mulls revoking Bilal Erdoğan’s citizenship, given to him by Morsi
Egypt has been mulling over revoking the Egyptian citizenship granted to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s son Bilal during the term of former President Mohammed Morsi, and a court case concerning the matter continues, in the latest step of rancor that could bring bilateral relations between the two countries to a new low.
The case concerning the possible revocation of Bilal Erdoğan‘s citizenship has been postponed to October, according to Egyptian media.
According to the claims in the Egyptian al-Masry al-Youm daily on Sunday, Morsi, who was ousted from office in a military coup in June 2013, had given Bilal Erdoğan Egyptian citizenship on April 13, 2013, two months prior to the military intervention. Now the case being overseen by the Egyptian Supreme Court over whether to revoke the citizenship of Bilal, among others, has been postponed until October.
The report also claimed that Bilal had used the Egyptian passport issued to him by the previous administration to flee to Georgia after a huge corruption scandal went public on Dec. 17, 2013. The graft investigation, the largest of its kind in Turkey’s history, incriminated four former Cabinet ministers, their families, prominent businesspeople and several members of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan’s family on charges of bribery and transferring gold to Iran in order to undermine US-led sanctions.
According to al-Masry al-Youm, Egyptian citizenship was also granted not only to Bilal Erdoğan but also to several other Turks deemed close to the Hamas administration in Palestine and by extension to the Muslim Brotherhood administration in Egypt. Morsi was sentenced to death in May, nearly three years after he became Egypt’s first freely elected president, on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012.
Bilal Erdoğan claims al-Masry al-Youm report work of ‘parallel structure’
The Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV) denied the allegations on Monday, calling them “slander and lies” and continued by claiming the reports were a part of a “character assassination.” It also stated that Bilal Erdoğan is not an Egyptian citizen and did not use an Egyptian passport to flee to Georgia.
Bilal Erdoğan also claimed that the report in al-Masry al-Youm was the doing of the “parallel structure,” a term invented by his father to vilify the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement. “I will not flee the country I was born in and worked for due to the lies of a network of espionage and treason concealed as a movement [referring to the Hizmet movement], or [one of] their hired gun newspapers,” Bilal was quoted as saying.
Erdoğan and the AK Party government have launched a self-declared war against the Hizmet movement, inspired by the ideas of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, after a corruption probe went public on Dec. 17, 2013, incriminating senior members of the government, the sons of three former ministers and government-affiliated figures as well as family members of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan.
Bilal’s name has been in the spotlight ever since a voice recording surfaced allegedly featuring the voice of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan ordering Bilal to dispose of vast amounts of cash — reportedly as much as $1 billion — during the corruption operation which went public on Dec. 17, 2013. During five wiretapped phone conversations, a voice alleged to be that of Erdoğan is heard telling his son to dispose of large sums of money hidden in several relatives’ homes on the day police raided a number of locations as part of the operation.
Towards the end of the recordings, Bilal Erdoğan tells his father that he and others have “finished the tasks you gave us,” implying that the whole sum was “zeroed.”
Bilal also made headlines more recently when the BMZ Group, a company owned by Bilal and other family members, purchased a tanker at a cost of $18 million. The tanker, given the name “Poet Qabil,” is the fourth acquired by the BMZ group.
Source: ZAMAN
Book Review: ‘Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot That Avenged the Armenian Genocide’
By
By Eric Bogosian
Little, Brown and Company, New York (April 21, 2015), 384 pages
ISBN 978-0316292085; Hardcover, $28.00
Special for the Armenian Weekly
Over the years, the story of Operation Nemesis, the clandestine plot to assassinate the chief architects of the Armenian Genocide, had been told with a certain cloud of mystery and ambiguity hanging over it. While the topic had been discussed and written about in parts, authors were generally hesitant to present an all-encompassing understanding of the often-ignored, true story of Nemesis. Moreover, nearly a century after the project was carried out, the topic continues to remain somewhat taboo in the Armenian community.
Fast forward to 2015, the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which has already seen the publication of several books and volumes that deal with various aspects of the operation. From Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy’s Sacred Justice: The Voices and Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis, which includes narratives, selections from memoirs, and previously unpublished letters, to the graphic novel Operation Nemesis: A Story of Genocide & Revenge by Josh Blaylock (author), Mark Powers (editor), and Hoyt Silva (illustrator), the 100th anniversary of the genocide seems to have provided the perfect opportunity for authors to shed light on the sometimes-murky details of this historical quest for justice.
Renowned actor, novelist, and playwright Eric Bogosian first heard about the assassination of Talaat Pasha about two decades ago. According to Bogosian, the story struck him as “wishful thinking,” which was far from the truth—an Armenian urban legend, of sorts. After some research and investigation, though, Bogosian quickly realized that not only had the assassination taken place, but that it was part of a much more complicated history of secrecy.
Bogosian thought Tehlirian’s story would make a good film, so he decided to dedicate a few months to writing the screenplay. The few months would snowball into more than seven years of meticulous research and study. The result: Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot That Avenged the Armenian Genocide, a 384-page, in-depth history of the conspiracy.
Published in April by Little, Brown and Company, Bogosian’s book aims to go “beyond simply telling the story of this cadre of Armenian assassins by setting the killings in the context of Ottoman and Armenian history.” And it holds true to this promise.
In part one of the three-part book, Bogosian brilliantly paints a thorough picture of Armenian history, with a particular focus on the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire before and during the Armenian Genocide. By drawing on a number of academic and non-academic sources, including several primary sources, such as newspaper articles, memoirs, and letters from the time, Bogosian provides his reader a concise, yet wide-ranging historical context for the operation.
While some may feel that Bogosian dedicates too much of the book to historical background, it seems to be a wise decision on the part of the author, as most readers do not have a sufficient understanding of Armenian history.
In part two of the book, Bogosian details the origins of Nemesis, the story of the assassination of Talaat Pasha, and gives insight into its immediate aftermath. Bogosian does this fiercely, sparing little detail. By employing Tehlirian as his protagonist, he vividly describes the inner-workings of the covert operation, while giving readers an intimate look into a young survivor’s post-traumatic inner world.
Bogosian’s description of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) role as the parent organization of Operation Nemesis is refreshing and crucial, considering it is often ignored or discussed in passing in other English-language works examining the operation. Bogosian openly writes about how the ARF aimed to exploit the assassination strategically to bring international attention to the Armenian Genocide, a reality rarely written about in the past.
Finally, Bogosian brings in a completely ignored facet of the Nemesis story: international intelligence in the context of the plot. Bogosian provides much evidence, for example, that British Intelligence at the time knew exactly where Talaat Pasha was, while in hiding in Berlin.
While part two of the book is captivating to read, it is also straightforward and balanced. Bogosian is careful not to follow the traditional typecast of heroizing Tehlirian (and later, his co-conspirators). Instead, he is able to provide a sober description of the operation in an in-depth and well-explained context.
Many critics, especially those from the Armenian community, will be quick to point to Bogosian’s overuse of the term “assassin” to characterize Tehlirian and his fellow collaborators, and may accuse him of trying to downplay their significance in history. However, Bogosian’s choice to characterize them as such can be considered fair, considering the word “assassin” is defined as “a murderer of an important person in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons.” And that’s exactly what Tehlirian and the rest of the gang were.
In his conclusion, Bogosian points out that the members of Operation Nemesis saw themselves as “holy warriors” carrying out more of a spiritual, rather than strictly political, calling to exact “some fraction of justice” for the destruction of a nation.
Bogosian closes off his masterpiece with the hopes that more serious scholarship examines the “memories we are losing” and the “history we’ve lost,” including the story of Operation Nemesis. What he ignores, however, is the fact that he himself has made a substantial and lasting contribution to the history of Operation Nemesis.
Bogosian’s Operation Nemesis is the result of painstaking and thorough investigation and research. Not only does he offer a comprehensive historical account of the plot, but also successfully changes the traditional narrative on one of the most important and most ignored aspects of post-genocide Armenian history.
Armenian genocide, Irish Gothic infuse international arts fest
Sonorous and plaintive, ancient Armenian chants wrap around the explosively physical performances in Teatr Zar’s “Armine, Sister.” Quirky and richly metaphoric, Áine Ryan’s “Kitty in the Lane” twists its way into another notable entry in the classic Irish rural Gothic genre.
The two shows couldn’t be more different, but they have some things in common besides having been performed Sunday at Fort Mason. Both are American premieres. And both are among the higher profile offerings at this year’s much-expanded San Francisco International Arts Festival.
Ryan, a fresh new Irish voice, is making her U.S. debut with “Kitty,” a critic’s choice at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival and currently on international tour. Produced by her Studio Perform, it’s an exceptionally promising first piece for the 22-year-old actor-playwright. But it has some typical first-time-out flaws, particularly in performance.
Ryan is a magnetic and versatile presence, but her vocal patterns — particularly her use of pauses — are repetitive and her diction can get fuzzy, a problem for American audiences when you’re working in a regional Irish accent. Most of this is nothing that a good director couldn’t fix (none is credited). She has the skill to give her writing the acting it deserves. That’s what’s most memorable about “Kitty.” Ryan, as the young woman running a remote family farm, spins an ever-more-grisly tale with seductively easy grace while waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. Despite the welcome results of its referendum on same-sex marriage, “Kitty” probes how far the country has to go to achieve full gender equality.
Bur there’s no mistaking the vivid theatricality of the intensely focused physical explorations of cycles of inhumane degradation, violence, shattered psyches and rueful memories, tempered with genuine attempts to comfort or care for each other. The extraordinary Ditte Berkeley and Simona Sala anchor a riveting ensemble of women and men — many at times stripped to the waist — filling Zar’s desert temple installation with images of crashing bodies, cascading sand, men felling columns, imprisonment, imperiled babies and, yes, pomegranates.
“Armine,” the program tells us, represents Zar’s first attempt to add narrative to its work, unlike the more abstract “Gospels of Childhood” it brought to the festival in 2011. It would be hard to suss out an actual story. But as a tone poem, “Armine” has an unmistakably strong message and a richly expressive dramatic arc.
Robert Hurwitt is The San Francisco Chronicle’s theater critic. E-mail: rhurwitt@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RobertHurwitt
Armine, Sister: Experimental drama. Created by Teatr Zar. Directed by Jaroslaw Fret. Through May 30. San Francisco International Arts Festival, Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, S.F. 90 minutes. $30. (800) 838-3006. www.sfiaf.org.
Kitty in the Lane: Solo drama. Written and performed by Áine Ryan. Through June 6. San Francisco International Arts Festival, Southside Theater, Building D, Fort Mason, S.F. 90 minutes. $20-$25. (800) 838-3006. www.sfiaf.org.
Source: SFGATE