PanARMENIAN.Net – Canadian city of Kingston hosted the 2nd gathering of the Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary Coordination Committee.

At the meeting, the representatives of Canadian-Armenian parties, organizations and churches discussed raising Genocide awareness in Canada, as well as commemoration events slated for 2013-2015.

18:14, 1 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars was conceived as a story of how humanity triumphs over prejudice. But since it also touches on Azerbaijan, it has become yet another subject for the toxic feud between the two nations. According to the material published by IWPR the film caused Azerbaijani hysteria.

The film, If Only Everyone, is about an Armenian man who helps a half-Russian, half-Armenian woman to go to her father’s grave and plant a tree there. The father died in the early-1990s conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which pitted Armenians against Azerbaijanis.

Since a ceasefire was signed in 1994, Karabakh has been controlled by an Armenian administration. No peace deal has been signed, and little progress has been made towards an agreement on a final status for Karabakh. The Armenians – who call it Artsakh – are not prepared to cede control, while Azerbaijan demands the restoration of sovereignty over Karabakh. The film’s protagonists have to cross over the front line from Armenian-held to Azerbaijani-held territory. There they befriend a local shepherd, an Azerbaijani, who asks them to plant a tree on his son’s grave when they return to the Armenian side. “This story perhaps touches on the most sensitive issue for our nation today – Artsakh. Why did people die, what was the war about, what motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers; others are still searching,” a synopsis on the film’s website says. “But these questions eclipse the real lives of real people, who we often think about the least, unfortunately.”

The Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Science accepts a single submission from each country for the best foreign-language film prize, and its members vote for a shortlist and then the winner. This year, a record 71 films have been accepted as submissions, including entries from Azerbaijan as well as Armenia. In Azerbaijan, writer Elchin Huseynbayli, insists that the idea for the film was stolen from his 2010 story “Dazzled by the Sun”, but twisted to make the Azerbaijanis appear as the aggressors. “The story for the film was written in early 2010, and filming began in spring 2010. Before we wrote the story, we met people who had lived through the war. It was after our meetings and talks with these people that the idea of the film was born,” he told IWPR. “We could similarly accuse the Azerbaijanis of stealing the story of our film longing, where the main hero crossed a border to die in his homeland.” Poghosyan said the film sought to encourage harmony and peace between different peoples. The chair of the Armenian National Film Academy, David Muradyan, said its members chose the film by secret ballot, adding, “I am saddened that the Azerbaijanis are trying to politicise this and put pressure on the Oscars committee. This kind of behavior is unprecedented and runs contrary to all rules of good manners.

“We proposed this film as a work of art, and nothing more. This film has no message other than a humanitarian one,” he said.

ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

o.cengiz@todayszaman.com

On Nov. 24, 25 and 26, International Association to Fight Unfounded Armenian Allegations (ASİM-DER) head Göksel Gülbey published the street addresses and contact information of Armenian foundations, schools and churches active in Turkey via his Twitter account.

Try to imagine what it would mean if a neo-Nazi — or any other extreme right-wing organization — in Germany were to do the same with details about the addresses and telephone numbers of Jewish synagogues, foundations, schools and so on.

Actually, no matter where in the world it happens, when racist organizations get hold of contact information belonging to vulnerable minority groups and then purposefully disclose it, it always means the same thing: Go and “beat people up, hit them or at the very least, make them very uncomfortable and worried.”

Prior to the release of this contact information, Göksel Gülbey was involved in a series of incidents targeting Armenians. In fact, in one case, Gülbey made a formal complaint to the Interior Ministry about the number of Armenian foundations active in Turkey (57), asking in his complaint, “Is there really a need for this many Armenian foundations?”

Another incident in the past involves the fake execution by Göksel Gülbey and other ASİM-DER leaders of a plaster model of Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan. When the association’s activities are examined more closely, it in fact appears that their problem lies more in the actual existence of Armenians rather than any “Armenian allegations.”

In democratic societies the world around, there are generally two limitations placed on freedom of expression. One of these has to do with open invitations to violence, and the other with racist rhetoric that spreads hatred and enmity targeting specific groups. Turkey’s history is filled with incidents in which minority groups were targeted for attacks. And while debates may rage about what the limitations to freedom of expression are, and what certain rhetoric means in practical terms, you cannot overlook such a history and its legacy.

You would not have to know much about Turkish history to understand that addresses and telephone numbers belonging to Armenian organizations, when published on the Web by extremist rightist organizations, turn people into targets, and that this was in fact the goal. Our prosecutors should move into immediate action and start investigations into the matter, but I have never witnessed the laws of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) used this way.

As I have written before in this column, the application of former Article 312, the infamous article of the TCK on provoking hatred and enmity, now Article 216, in cases in which people encourage hatred and enmity against minorities and other vulnerable groups has proven an exception rather than a rule. Despite a history marked by frequent painful episodes of this type, prosecutors and judges ignore and overlook just how serious the results of rhetoric, expressions and announcements can be when they target certain groups.

They do not want to understand the potential seriousness of these situations. They do not want to see that words or rhetoric aimed at the majority are in fact much different in a practical sense from words or rhetoric targeting minority groups, and that these things can lead to very different results. At this point, there are some civil society organizations preparing to open legal cases against the above-mentioned use of Twitter. I do hope that the legal system will spring into action here. For as long as we are unable to prevent rhetoric on hatred that targets minorities, we will not be able to prevent hate crimes. And this is the truth, one which we know from a history marked by these episodes.

Turkey has voiced its disappointment after a publication from senior Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) figure Murat Karayılan was promoted in Athens on Nov. 28 and displayed at the Greek Defense Ministry’s War Museum.

In a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Nov. 30, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu personally conveyed his unease over the incident during a telephone conversation with his Greek counterpart, Dimitris Avramopoulos, on Nov. 29.

The incident “has formed an extremely unfortunate development in regards to cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism,” the ministry said.

“This incident is also worrying as it showed that some circles who are annoyed with the improvement of the Turkish-Greek friendship are still active,” it said, warning that giving the outlawed PKK opportunities to promote “terrorism propaganda” was not in line with international agreements, as the PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by both the European Union and NATO.

At the end of the official part of his visit to Armenia, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) on Thursday, November 29.

The Turkmen leader and the delegation accompanying him familiarized themselves with the exhibits.

Speaking to Matenadaran employees, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov highly evaluated the activities of the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in the development of world science and culture.

When one of the Matenadaran employees noted that there is a large Armenian community in Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said, “The Armenians living in our country speak Turkmen better than our fellow citizens of other nationalities. Being a dentist, I have had frequent contacts with Armenians within the framework of my job, and I can say that they are good specialists.”