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Iranian-Armenian MP: Religious minorities enjoy equal rights in Iran

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Representatives of religious minorities enjoy equal rights in Iran, Armenian MP in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Karen Khanlarian told Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA in an interview.

Referring to the rights of religious minorities in Iran, the Armenian MP said, in part, “According to the Iranian Constitution, religious minorities enjoy equal rights. Religious minorities are represented in Majlis by their deputies, who, like other MPs, have equal legislative rights.”

We will remind that Iranian ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Raiesi stated recently during a conference at Matenadaran under the title “Two nations, two cultures and two religions, “The Armenians and Iranians proved during history that the two peoples professing two divine religions, Christianity and Islam, have lived side by side in absolute peace and calm. Currently Iranian-Armenians are represented in Iranian Majlis by two MPs – those from northern and southern Iranian-Armenian communities (Tehran and Isfahan).”

Highway being built in place of Armenian cemetery in Turkey

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It was revealed during the construction of a highway in Siirt Province’s Eruh District in Turkey that the highway lays through the territory of an Armenian cemetery, Turkish news agency Dogan reported.

Bones from about 100 graves have come up to the surface of the ground as a result of the construction works. Local villagers collected them and put them back into the graves as far as possible.

One of the residents of Kayabogaz village said to Dogan, “Some of the bones are still on the surface of the ground. Part of the graves have remained open. We know that it is an Armenian cemetery and there is an Armenian church on the hill above it. Armenians lived here years ago. But no one lives there now.”

The villagers complained that it is about a month that the Turkish authorities have been ignoring this problem.

Armenia’s Oscar entry enrages Azerbaijan

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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.

Revealing too much: info belonging to Armenian groups online In Turkey

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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.

Ankara disappointed at PKK publication in Greek museum

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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.

Turkmen President: Armenians living in our country speak Turkmen better than our fellow citizens of other nationalities

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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.”

Armenian Genocide history taught at Turkey-based French lyceum

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November 30, 2012 – 16:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – According to French curriculum, history of the Armenian Genocide is a mandatory subject at all French schools, including abroad. Genocide history is also taught at Ankara-based Charles de Gaulle French lyceum.

According to Nouvelles d`Arménie, member of Nationalist Movement Party (NMP) Özcan Yeniçeri issued an address to Turkish Ministry of National Education to clarify if the textbook has been approved and if Education Minister Ömer Dinçer is aware of the inclusion of Genocide history in the lyceum curriculum.

UN war crimes tribunal acquits former Kosovo PM Haradinaj (Another Turkish criminal goes free)

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29 November 2012 / AP/REUTERS, THE HAGUE
A UN war crimes tribunal on Thursday acquitted the former prime minister of Kosovo and two of his former Kosovo Liberation Army comrades for the second time of murdering and torturing Serbs and their supporters in Kosovo’s war for independence.

The verdicts came in the UN court’s first ever retrial, which was ordered after appeals judges branded the 2008 acquittal of former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and KLA fighter Idriz Balaj and the conviction of a third KLA commander, Lahi Brahimaj a “miscarriage of justice” because of widespread intimidation of prosecution witnesses.

The acquittals clear the way for a return to the political scene for Haradinaj, seen before his 2005 indictment as a unifying force in deeply divided Kosovo, but could complicate talks between Pristina and Belgrade on Kosovo’s future.

Wants to return to power

His British lawyer, Ben Emmerson, confirmed that Haradinaj wants to return to power.

“With the consent of the people, he will soon be resuming his rightful position as the political leader of the country,” Emmerson told reporters at the court.

Emmerson said Haradinaj told him he wants to lead a government representing all ethnic groups in Kosovo. “It is time, he says, for reconciliation.”

Applause rang around the courtroom’s public gallery, packed with supporters of the three defendants, when Presiding Judge Bakone Moloto delivered the vedicts.

In Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, supporters set off fireworks and honked car horns. Others danced and clapped as they watched the verdicts on a giant screen.

The three men were to be released and returned to Kosovo later Thursday.

“Finally, after eight long years and two lengthy trials, this tribunal has done justice to Ramush Haradinaj, to his co-accused and to the people of Kosovo,” Emmerson said.

Moloto said Serbs and their suspected supporters were beaten at a KLA compound in Kosovo and at least one of them died of his injuries. However, he said that there was no evidence Haradinaj was involved in the attacks or was part of a criminal conspiracy to mistreat civilians as a way of consolidating KLA control of part of Kosovo.

In fact, Moloto said, Haradinaj reprimanded one KLA fighter for abusing a Kosovo Albanian man, telling the fighter: “No such thing should happen anymore because this is damaging our cause.”

Another witness told the court Haradinaj gave him food and accommodation before releasing him to his family.

Haradinaj quit as Kosovo’s prime minister in 2005 after just 100 days in office when his indictment was announced by the tribunal, but he remains popular at home.

Kosovo posters

In Kosovo, large posters welcoming him back were hung well before the decision was announced in The Hague. Speculation was rife that Haradinaj would join the country’s ruling coalition of former fellow fighter but current political rival, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci as he looks to broaden the range of participants and share public responsibility in crucial talks with Serbia.

For Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, which has been in decline since his trial, the return could herald a new era.

“We do hope that he will take a lot of opportunities and a lot of management in the state because we see that Kosovo has huge challenges ahead and therefore he has a role to play,” said Besnik Tahiri, an official in Haradinaj’s AAK party. “Hopefully he will continue where he was when he left [as PM] in 2005.”

Serbian officials and media had been anticipating for days that Haradinaj would be acquitted less than two weeks after two Croatian generals were cleared of charges of killing and deporting Serbs in a 1995 military blitz, a judgment that sparked rage in Belgrade, where many see the tribunal as anti-Serb.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said before Thursday’s announcement that Haradinaj’s acquittal would have serious consequences for the EU-brokered negotiations between him and his Kosovo counterpart Thaci. But Dacic suggested that Serbia would not pull out of the talks that are expected to resume in early December.

“There are enough reasons to delay or cancel all that, but what would we gain? Nothing.” Dacic has said. “We are not participating in the talks as a favor to someone, we are doing it for ourselves.”

Serbia’s government spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic called the verdicts “another heavy blow for justice, dialogue and reconciliation in the region,” and predicted they would trigger a storm of discontent among Serbs, particularly those in Kosovo.

“Haradinaj’s acquittal means an amnesty for crimes against Serbs,” he said.

Belgrade’s liberal radio and TV station B-92 carried the headline, “A fresh slap in the face: Haradinaj freed.”

Ultra-nationalist group targets Turkey’s Armenians

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28 November 2012 / HANIFE SEVDE KÖSE / E. BARIŞ ALTINTAŞ, İSTANBUL
An ultra-right group mainly active in the social media has been targeting Armenian agencies, schools, churches, foundations and individuals in Turkey as part of an anti-Armenian hate campaign.

Reactions by social media users have mounted over provocative tweets from the chairman of a group that calls itself the International Association to Fight Unfounded Armenian Allegations (ASİM-DER). He has recently been actively targeting Armenians and Turkish-Armenian institutions on Twitter, claiming that these groups are part of a conspiracy supported by the Armenian diaspora against Turkey.

ASİM-DER Chairman Göksel Gülbey has been tweeting the names of Turkish-Armenian schools, churches and foundations, which civil society members say is tantamount to turning them into targets for ultra-nationalists in a country where prominent figures of Armenian descent as well as Christians involved in missionary activities have become targets of violence. The 2007 killings of three Bible publishers in Malatya, the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the 2006 murder of an Italian priest in Trabzon are some of the painful examples of the ultra-nationalist threat.

The group, founded in 2002, has been actively holding conferences and organizing events to promote its cause, with its chairman saying they had provisional and regional branches as well as a few chapters located abroad. But it came under the national media spotlight earlier this week, mostly due to the recent tweets.

According to Taraf columnist Markar Esayan, the campaign is part of a larger plan to create an anti-minority atmosphere. Esayan, in remarks to Today’s Zaman, recalled Turkey’s past experiences with the demonization of Turkish Armenians and said, “These Turkish-Armenian schools [whose addresses have been tweeted by Gülbey] were established under the control of the Ministry of Education. I have also studied in one of these schools and worked as a supervisor afterwards. On the one hand, too much importance shouldn’t be attached to such campaigns, but on the other hand, those responsible [for provocative claims] should be held accountable for their claims,” he said, adding that prosecutors should act.

Rober Koptaş, editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, also asserted that ASİM-DER’s presence is the product of a deeper and darker mentality than mere nationalism. Koptaş said: “Gülbey argues that the existence of Armenian institutions is proof of Turkey’s freedom and tolerance. So, according to [Gülbey], the activities of Armenian institutions in Turkey are not acceptable as they pursue ‘demonic’ goals. … This approach, which associates the Armenian ethnicity directly with hostility and malignity, is a threat to our national peace.”

Koptaş also noted that illegal structures nested within the state hierarchy in Turkey — referred to as the “deep state” — frequently resort to anti-minority campaigns to create chaos and achieve their shady goals. The involvement of such groups was also evident in the trial regarding Dink’s murder. After a lengthy process, the court found that the killer and one man who was found guilty of inciting the shooter to undertake the murder had acted alone, although a large body of evidence indicated an organized-crime link. The judge who heard the case later told the media that he was also certain that the two hadn’t acted alone, but accused the prosecution of failing to prove it properly.

“Turkey cannot afford a new wave of hostility against its Armenian citizens,” warned Koptaş.

ASİM-DER Chairman Gülbey denied the claims that his organization was “targeting” any groups. He said the lists he tweeted consisted of publicly disclosed address data about Turkish-Armenian institutions, saying there are too many in Turkey. “When we said in a press statement that there are 57 foundations, 21 schools and 15 associations, we were accused of lying and exaggerating numbers.” He said they had to share the names and address information to refute these claims.

In response to a question on whether he would feel responsible if an assault occurred on any of the organizations he publicly tweeted about, Gülbey didn’t directly respond, but said he wondered if any Armenian organizations would be upset if he was attacked by an Armenian radical.

He also said they were “concerned” that these groups were associated with the Armenian diaspora, admitting that his group’s statements were only “allegations” with no solid proof.

Several rights groups are preparing to file a criminal complaint against ASİM-DER with prosecutors this week.

“Safarov step” of Azerbaijani side is not acceptable: Rector of a Turkish University

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17:10, 29 November, 2012

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The release and honoring of murderer Safarov by the Azerbaijani side is unacceptable. The Rector of the Kadir Has University of Turkey Dr. Mustafa Aydin expressed this conviction. Dr. Mustafa Aydin visited Armenia to partake in the annual international forum “Dynamics of Regional Security in the South Caucasus”, which kicked off in Yerevan on November 29.

Among other things Mustafa Aydin underscored that despite the fact that Azerbaijan and Turkey are strategic partners, but such a step of their staunch ally is neither comprehensible, nor acceptable. As reports “Armenpress” the Rector of the Kadir Has University of Turkey emphasized: “Azerbaijan should not undertake such a step.”

At the same time he does not share the viewpoint of the Turkish authorities regarding the closed borders with Armenia. Aydin stated: “Notwithstanding I realize that we must spare no effort for it, but the border must be opened, we must undertake a number of steps for it. There is no hostility between the Turkish and Armenian peoples.” He also admitted that Azerbaijani issues have negative impact on the Armenian-Turkish relations as well.

Referring to the intolerant announcements and speeches of the Prime Minister of Turkey the Turkish political scientist noted that Erdoğan has his own convictions and “they do not always coincide with ours.”