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Aleppo Armenians are trying to repair their damaged houses: Jirayr Reisyan

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12:40, 10 October, 2012

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS: The situation in Aleppo central parts and Christian districts is calm. October 10 morning was also peaceful. Yet the sounds of shells are heard in the outskirts, Berio National Primacy press secretary Jirayr  Reisyan told in the briefing with Armenpress.

In the words of Reisyan our compatriots are joining efforts to clear out and repair their house as much as  they could. At the same time the population is still in panic and cannot indulge in major renovation works afraid of possible shocks. ” One can witness various scenes in Aleppo different districts. Many of them are deserted. Nor Village district is also deserted with ruins of destroyed buildings, closed shops, cafes.There is no access to Close market adjacent territories” Reisyan noted. Yet there are several districts Mokampoy inclusive that are living their normal life. The cafes and shops are open, there is electricity. The streets are populous, no matter people are cautious.

In the words of our compatriot no shelling orchestrated in capital Damascus, however people are afraid of possible blasts. More than 30 thousand people were killed in the course of 18 months ongoing clashes in Syria, including three dozen Syrian Armenians.

”Grandma’s Tattoos” film making a sensation in Turkey to be shown in several countries

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09:50, 10 October, 2012

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS: ”Grandma’ s Tattoos” film making a great sensation in Turkey is expanding its geography. As Sweden Armenian Filmmaker Suzanne Khardalian told in the briefing with Armenpress the film had greater progress than in was expected. ” I was much surprised when I learnt the film is going to be demonstrated in those countries, which comes to prove the audience aware of the film history is growing. ”Grandma’ s Tattoos” film for eighth times was shown by ” Al Jazeera ” channel which has millions of viewers” the film’s director stated. Dwelling on Turkish response Khardalian underscored Turkey twice made attempts to hinder the demonstration of the film, yet they failed.

”Grandma’ s Tattoos”  film was shown in Istanbul, Sweden regardless the efforts taken by the Turkey. Within the frame of “Shushi Art Project” the film was demonstrated in Shushi’s Narekatsi Art Institute and in the words of the filmmaker  recorded a great success.

Speaking about new projects and films Sweden Armenian filmmaker did not wish to open the brackets only hinted  the screening of one of her films will take place in Arabic countries and is most probable to be completed in 2014.

Being Armenian is not insult, Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Mothers Is Armenian

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October 01, 2012 | 00:14

ISTANBUL. – An Istanbul court made a ruling on the lawsuit filed by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had sued the author of the book entitled “Engineer Kemal: Son of Dersim Armenian [Woman] Yemus” and noted that a slander campaign was launched against him by way of ethnic identity.

The court, however, ruled that the harsh and crude expressions used in the book are within the parameters of freedom of speech specified by the European Convention on Human Rights, Istanbul’s Agos Armenian bilingual weekly reports.

According to the ruling, the expressions used in the book do not jeopardize Kilicdaroglu’s political career and his professional and personal life.

To note, the aforesaid book was distributed in the Turkish parliament in February 2011, and it included offensive expressions against the CHP leader, and his mother’s being Armenian was portrayed from an offensive point of view.

As a result, Kemal Kilicdaroglu had filed a claim for compensation and demanded that the court order the collection of the book’s copies from bookstores.

Shades of Obama

Kılıçdaroğlu is a member of the minority Alevi sect that is particular to Turkey. (The Alevis are known for their liberal interpretation of Islam; they neither fast during Ramadan nor pray in mosques). He hails from a humble family in Tunceli, a largely Alevi and Kurdish province in the southeast that is notorious for its popular rebellions. His mother is said to be an ethnic Armenian. (His wife, a maternal cousin, must therefore be half Armenian.) Kılıçdaroğlu told me in an interview that he was not Kurdish but from a Turkmen tribe that migrated from Iran centuries ago. Yet his family speaks a Kurdish dialect known as Zazaki.

This diverse background invites comparisons with President Obama. Yet, like Obama, the CHP leader plays his background down and, despite it, managed to claw his way into the Turkish bureaucracy, where he held several influential posts. An economist by training, Kılıçdaroğlu rose through the ranks of the Finance Ministry and became the head of the Social Security Agency before entering politics in 1999.

Report: Turkish jets strike PKK bases in Iraq

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Firat news

8 October 2012 / AP, ANKARA
A news report says Turkish jets have struck the terrorist Kurdisan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in two separate cross-border raids in northern Iraq, prompting Iraq to vow to take “diplomatic” steps against Ankara for violating its sovereignty.

Turkey has frequently struck targets of the autonomy-seeking PKK, in northern Iraq. But with relations between Turkey and Iraq deteriorating, Baghdad recently warned Turkey against operations on its territory.

Turkish media reported on Monday that 12 F-16 fighter jets, which took off from Diyarbakır military airbase, struck four PKK targets and anti-aircraft batteries along the border with Turkey and on Mount Qandil, on the Iraqi-Iranian border. The strikes occurred on Sunday.

There was no official confirmation of the raids, which were also reported by Firat news, a website close to the terrorist organization.

No casualties were initially reported.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Monday the Turkish air strikes were a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

“Turkey should respect the principles of good neighborliness,” he said in Moscow. “These Turkish attacks on Iraqi territories are not acceptable and we will take the necessary diplomatic measures.”

Kurdish terrorists fighting for self-rule in Turkey’s Southeast use northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict between the terrorists and Turkish security forces since 1984.

“We do understand the reasons behind such acts, yet we do not tolerate such breaches,” Dabbagh said.

In Iraq, Ahmet Deniz, a spokesman for the terrorist organization, said the Turkish warplanes had struck bases on Qandil that had long been abandoned, as well as some villages in the area. He said the bases were deserted after previous strikes and that there were no casualties in the latest round.

Turkey’s opposition leader calls FM ‘an idiot’

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Main oppoisiton Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu slammed Turkey’s foreign policy decisions today, calling Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu “an idiot,” daily Hürriyet reported.

“Who is on Turkey’s side? Hamas, Barzani, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Syria has Brazil, Iran, Russia and China on its side,” Kılıçdaroğlu said. “Is this ‘strategic depth,’ or strategic blindness? The process that resulted in Turkey’s becoming part of such a meaningless balance comes from a foreign minister whose incompotence is known by the entire world. You don’t need deep knowledge to know that. You have to be a real idiot to do that.”

Remembering Armenia’s Pak Shuka Market

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Yerevan’s historic Pak Shuka came under demolition late last month much to the opposition of activists who questioned the legality of the construction amid rumors the 100-year-old structure was going to be turned into a supermarket.

A key stopping point for tourists who come to delight their appetites in the markets fresh and dry produce, the Pak Shuka or “Closed Market” caused a social media firestorm as photos of the demolition spread on Facebook, prompting Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan to address the issue via the networking site and through an official statement posted on the city’s website, which revealed that construction, tearing part of the Shuka’s historical roof, was carried out without a license.

The market is now under surveillance and any further construction has been stopped, but activists are insistent on being part any decision making process involving the market’s future.

you can read more on ianyanmag.com web side.

http://www.ianyanmag.com/2012/06/16/slideshow-remembering-armenias-pak-shuka-market/

 

The price for denial about the events of 1915 Artical by: Orhan Kemal Cengis

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By:  Orhan Kemal Cengis

Around three or four years ago, when watching a presentation at Toronto University in Canada, I felt some emotions that are still now very difficult to describe. It was as though someone had asked Salvador Dali to draw some images of the whole Armenian issue, which were then used by this young man to make a presentation to us.

It is somewhere in the middle of the desert in Mexico. They are moving forward, passing between gigantic cactuses. Each man wears an enormous sombrero on his head, and each is heading towards a giant monument. We see that they stand in silent respect when the reach the front of the monument. Speaking a strongly-accented English, this young Mexican-Armenian’s presentation is about the “Armenian Genocide Memorial Ceremonies.” The photographs are somehow surreal; the young man points to the sombreroed men in one image, and says “These men are mostly Armenians who originated from places like Van and Muş in Turkey.” When he says this, I am completely blown away.

There are so many things in life that we finally understand on first encountering them. … Just at the moment when you are most unprepared, when you are not really focused on anything, some reality or deep truth transcends your internal walls of defense and sits deep in your heart. For me, when it comes to Armenian issues, there is this instance of the sombrero-wearing Mexican-Armenian men or the young Armenian working at the reception desk of a hotel in Yerevan, a youth who had never even been to Turkey, but who described himself as being from Van. Or the 100-year-old woman I met in Boston whose eyes misted over when talking about her love for her Turkish neighbors, but also about the terrible deeds done by some thugs way back when.

One of the most important things I have realized in between all of these encounters I have had with the Armenian issue is that we have cut all of our emotional ties when it comes to facing the “Armenian tragedy.” Just as we are completely disinterested in what the truth about 1915 really is, we also reject the option of actually encountering emotionally that event we prefer to label “relocation.” Even in the “officially-accepted” version of events, we do not want to accept or grasp that people were forcibly removed from their homes, made to wander hungry in the streets and pushed from their country. We thus in no way are able to feel what it must have been like for an elderly Armenian woman to be pulled by her arms from the home where she had spent her life, forced onto the street and watch as nearly half of her family perishes on the road, while the other half has to put down roots in places where the language and culture are completely foreign to them.

There is no doubt a price to be paid for all this lack of feeling and this constant state of denial. What this denial really does is to prevent our own maturation. It also creates a false sense of pride. And in our attempts to defend this false pride, we wind up belittling ourselves, retriggering over and over our “defense mechanisms.”

With its arms wrapped tightly around this neurosis centering on a refusal to confront the past, Turkey is easy to manipulate due to this neurosis. No matter which of its buttons are pushed, it is always clear what Turkey will do on this front, and it is always known that it will inevitably do the same thing. The option of behaving any other way does not exist. Turkey pays millions of dollars to lobbies every year to convince parliaments of other countries — countries that are convinced that what occurred was a clear genocide — not to pursue the matter. And since our budget is not transparent, we are actually unable to see the true proportions of this “diet of shame.”

According to the Armenpress news agency, Elizabeth Chuljyian, the media secretary of the Armenian National Committee of American (ANCA), sends regular letters to members of the US Senate, as well as holding frequent meetings with them, in order to increase support in this important governmental body for ANCA’s cause.

With Syria and Iran looming large on the agenda this year, it is most likely that once again, the US Senate will not put forth a decision on the Armenian issue. But what about later, a few years from now? I do believe that in the long run, the policy of denial on the part of Turkey will wind up — especially when certain international balances shift — being derailed. If only we could shoulder the idea and the reality of a sincere encounter and perhaps just listen to the story of a Mexican-Armenian whose origins were in Van. If this could happen, so many things could change. Not only would we as a society mature, but Turkey as a whole would be rescued from the very real danger of slamming up against the rocks as a result of the inevitable international winds.

In this particular arena, Turkey is so strongly guided by its fears that it does not dare even consider thinking about the real problem and some of the real solutions at hand. This being the case, my personal hope is that Turkey’s ever growing sense of self-confidence be used to take some steps towards lasting and effective solutions on this front.

Bundestag Vice President: It is necessary that Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide

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09:32, 3 October, 2012

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS: Germany has been developing relations with Armenia for about 20 years. The relations are normal and non-problematic, which might be activated in all the platforms. More serious contribution by the Governments, Parliaments, more serious contribution in the field of economy and civilized society should be made. This is what we need to achieve the abovementioned goals.

It was stated at the exclusive interview given to Armenpress by the Vice President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse.

 

What impressions do you have completing your visit to Armenia?

This is my first visit to Armenia. It is a very beautiful and interesting country. We have had different meetings with the President of the Republic of Armenia, the Parliament and the Government officials, as well as the deputies of different political parties. This was a very informative visit. It is quite important that the political visits of the Armenian side to Germany become more active. Thus, the key issues and the situation of the country will become more comprehensible for us.

 

Mr. Thierse, does Germany intend to criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide, as France is trying to do?

 The position of Germany is quite clear. We condemn all similar crimes. In case of Armenia we have adopted a special resolution to be presented. Condemnation of such crimes by Germany plays a significant role in our country. We implement the necessary actions to remember all the crimes of the 20th century. And these crimes begin with the massacres towards the Armenians.

 

Do not you think that Turkey should follow the action of Germany, recognizing the Holocaust and recognize its own guilt in implementation of the Genocide?

 Certainly, I think that Turkey should do that, but we cannot control and order from abroad. This is a process demanding serious efforts. The self-critical knowledge should reach the Turkish society.

 

Germany has already recognized the independence of the South Sudan and Kosovo. Is there any similar intention concerning the Nagorno Karabakh independence?

 No, there is not any intention in that direction, as the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict regulation issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be achieved in the far Berlin. Implementation of such actions by us would not be so smart. If we do such thing, we would have overestimated our power. Europe tries to settle the issue with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group. Maybe Germany could assist the efforts but I do not think that we play a considerable role in the process in that case.

 

The entire world, including different European structures, condemn the actions of Azerbaijan releasing and giving a national hero to the assassin Ramil Safarov. Do not you think that it is necessary to pass from condemnation to concrete punishment, for example, deprive Azerbaijan of the opportunity to participate in the negotiations around the European Union Association Agreement?

I do not think that Armenia is interested in worsening of the relations with Azerbaijan. I think, on the contrary, Armenia aims at establishing peace. The attitude towards Ramil Safarov is scandalous. Everybody is unanimous in that issue. We should take into account that it is the demonstration of weakness and not the strength of the Azerbaijani regime. And Armenia as well should understand that.

 

But do not you think that by implementing sanctions it will be possible to prevent the further similar actions by Azerbaijan?

 I do not think that by adoption of this or that resolution we can prevent anybody from doing something if he wants it.

 

After the numerous visits in Armenia have you outlined any new programs of economic cooperation with Armenia?

In 2012 German-Armenian economic discussions will be held in Frankfurt. In their framework it will be clarified what possible investments should be made and what conditions should be created to make investments in Armenia, so that there would be a large inflow of German funds.

We should discuss which fields of the Armenian economy are more attractive for the further investments. But there is a big problem here; it is the small volumes of the Armenian market and the closed borders. The largest prerequisite in Armenia is the favorable climate for the investments.

The Vice President of the German Bundestag, who are in Armenia for the first time, visited the Museum Institute of the Armenian Genocide, got acquainted with the documents and documentaries proving the Armenian Genocide and made an inscription in the memorial book of the “Honorary guests”, stating “We condemn the Genocide and demand to establish peace and protect human rights”.

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Turkish officials reach for YouTube’s joystick (Reporters Without Borders has previously lambasted Turkey for claiming to be democratic while “arbitrarily censoring content” online)

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Vids posted in Google’s vault now tightly curbed by Ankara laws
By Kelly Fiveash, Networks Correspondent • Get more from this author
Posted in Media, 3rd October 2012 13:01 GMT

Google has given in to demands from Turkey to operate YouTube under a Turkish web domain, thus allowing the country’s officials to patrol its content and the country’s courts to throw out whatever is deemed objectionable.

As noted by Reuters, the move not only means that Ankara can exercise more rigid control over the material published on Mountain View’s video-sharing website but that the company will now be required to pay taxes to the Turkish government.

For several years now, Turkey has repeatedly blocked and then reinstated YouTube over rows involving some of the content posted on the site, which has included a naughty clip of a Turkish politician in a hotel room with a female party member and a another vid that apparently flung insults at the country’s founding father.

The testy relationship between Turkey and Google – which in the past has declined to remove contentious material from YouTube because it hadn’t been found to infringe anyone’s copyright – looks as though it’s finally settling down after the search and ad giant agreed to concessions with government officials in Ankara.

YouTube blackouts in Turkey had been commonplace because the country’s law states that prosecutors can seek a court-ordered shutdown of any website deemed liable to incite suicide, paedophilia, drug usage, obscenity, prostitution, or the aforementioned attacking of the memory of the republic’s founding father.

From now on in, the site will operate under the “com.tr” domain, Ankara’s transport and communications minister Binali Yildirim said.

He described the change as “an important development”. The politician added that that Turkey had, over the years, made it clear to internet companies that if they wanted to operate in the country, they also needed to be “resident here”.

What this means is that Google, which will now pay taxes in Turkey, will be subjected to implementing court decisions and agreeing to kill content deemed “objectionable”, Yildirim said.

It’s a move that will undoubtedly worry freedom of expression and human rights advocates.

Google said in a brief statement that “locally relevant content” would now be served up to netizens in Turkey who access the company’s video-sharing site. It failed to mention the political opposition YouTube has faced in Turkey.

Reporters Without Borders has previously lambasted Turkey for claiming to be democratic while “arbitrarily censoring content” online. The same organisation released a statement on Tuesday about the current situation in Brazil, where YouTube videos have been blocked by Google following pressure from politicians in the Latin American country. ®

The Visionary Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian

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The Visionary Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian

In 1895 at the time of the first anti-Armenian pogroms, Calouste Gulbenkian left his homeland to seek refuge in Egypt.  Luckily for him his wife’s family were able to charter a ship to take the whole extended family into exile.  As the son-in-law of the main client he was able to be very helpful to a fellow passenger, Alexandre Mantachoff, one of the most prominent personalities in the Russian oil fields.  In Egypt Calouste Gulbenkian met Nubar Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt and his wife’s cousin.  This double association (Mantachoff-Nubar) allowed him access to influential British and Russian businessmen in the oil world.  The young Calouste quickly learned the complexities of this circle and showed a prodigious feeling for business and diplomacy.

At this time the strategic and economic significance of the Middle East was completely unknown.  However Gulbenkian foresaw the importance of the region’s oil reserves; he had the vision and persuasive skills to influence both international investors and the Ottoman government, arguing for rational organisation to exploit this new resource. In addition, he played a crucial role in the founding of the Royal Dutch Shell Group and was influential in the Russian and North and South American oil industries.
Alongside his pivotal role in shaping the early oil industry, Gulbenkian was a true internationalist and played an important political role, helping the Ottomans, British, Persians, French and Armenians.  He started by working on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, when he was appointed the Financial and Economic Advisor to the Ottoman embassies in Paris and London in 1898.  In 1902 he acquired British citizenship, which enabled him to bring together the interests of his homeland and his adopted country, leveraging the enormous influence that Britain had in the Ottoman Empire. He was to live 23 years in London and then 20 in France–but continued to return to his office in London using an Armenian passport specially issued to him by the consular office in Paris–before finally spending the last 13 years of his life in Lisbon.
Following World War I, Gulbenkian was appointed as the Persian Trade and Diplomatic Representative in Paris, a post he held for 24 years. France is still indebted to him for his tireless efforts to protect the country’s oil interests. However the biggest beneficiaries of his diplomatic efforts were the Armenians.  Almost eliminated by the Young Turks under the cover of the First World War, the Armenians hoped for a protected country of their own but lost out to broader British and French interests.  Calouste Gulbenkian played a vital role in the defense of his fellow citizens in the negotiations that ultimately led to the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) and later on to the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).