Turks fear they may have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency investments after Fodex, a local trading platform, suspended operations and its CEO allegedly flew out of the country.

Users of the exchange have filed complaints with the Turkish authorities alleging fraud. The company’s platform is inaccessible and prosecutors in Istanbul have started an investigation, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.

Turks have been buying cryptocurrencies in record amounts to help boost returns from their savings after the lira lost about half of its value against the dollar since a currency crisis in 2018 and inflation surged to over 16 percent.

Fodex has 400,000 users, 350,000 of whom are active, said Abdullah Üsame Ceran, a lawyer who has filed a criminal complaint against Fatih Faruk Özer, the founder and CEO, alleging “aggravated fraud”, Anadolu said.

The company, established in 2017, announced on Wednesday that it had closed its trading platform for four to five days after receiving partnership offers from a globally renowned bank and fund management companies. Customers should not be concerned, will be kept informed, and should “ignore negative news on the internet”, it said via a statement on Twitter.  

Istanbul prosecutors are appealing to employees to come forward to help with the investigation, Anadolu reported.

Oğuz Evren Kılıç, a lawyer and columnist who is representing an unspecified number of complainants, said the assets of users remained irretrievable. Özer, who is also founder of the company, left the country on a commercial flight from Istanbul at 5:57 p.m. on Tuesday, Kılıç said on Twitter.

“Pyramid schemes are being established in this area” and the government is determined to regulate the industry, said Cemil Ertem, senior economic adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Bloomberg.

Trading volumes in Bitcoin between the start of February and March 24 hit 218 billion liras ($19 billion) from a little over 7 billion liras in the same period of 2020, the Guardian newspaper reported last week, citing an analysis of data by Reuters.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Monitoring Committee has issued a statement during Thursday’s session, in which it called on Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian captives. The statement reads as follows:

“The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the developments since the trilateral statement of 9-10 November 2020 are of great importance to the Council of Europe and have been closely followed by the Monitoring Committee. In co-ordination with other relevant committees it has heard from representatives of both countries as well as independent experts, and the co-rapporteurs for Armenia and Azerbaijan have regularly made joint statements on the developments taking place.

The Committee is convinced that the national parliament of both countries can and should play an important role in the urgently needed confidence building measures, the reconciliation process and the resumption of concrete peace negotiations between the parties. It therefore welcomes the progress made with the implementation of the trilateral statement but expresses its concern about reports that not all persons detained in the context of this conflict have been exchanged. In addition, the Committee considers that both parties should reinforce their cooperation and communication aimed at demining the concerned areas, with a view to ensuring safety of civilians.

The Committee reiterates that the clear intention of article 8 of the trilateral statement was the exchange of all detained persons, without distinction as to the status that these people assigned by one of the parties. Underscoring the concerns expressed by the European Court of Human Rights with respect to 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan the Committee calls upon Azerbaijan to ensure that all Armenian detainees are released without delay into the care of the Armenian authorities.

In the views of the Committee, the establishment of an independent international mission responsible for investigating the conflict and allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations during the recent hostilities is essential to create an environment that is conducive to reconciliation and the establishment of genuine peace. Cultural heritage is important to all parties to the conflict and the urgent establishment of the necessary mechanisms to ensure its protection and renovation is a priority. The Committee has therefore charged its Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States to explore more in detail concrete mechanisms for these two issues.

Finally, the Committee calls both parties to constructively engage with the relevant international institutions, in particular the OSCE Minsk Group with a view to fully implementing the trilateral statement, and start the peace negotiations.”

President Joe Biden is poised to recognize the killings of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as a genocide, according to reports, in what will be a historically symbolic move.

Biden will make the announcement this Friday, 24 April—the day on which the victims of the genocide are commemorated around the world. He is expected to use the term “genocide” but that may change at the last minute due to considerations of the U.S. relationship with Turkey, according to Reuters.

One of the most vocal advocates of recognition is reality TV star Kim Kardashian. She’s of Armenian descent on her father’s side and has long highlighted the genocide through trips, social media posts and campaigns.

In March this year, Kardashian and other members of her family shared Instagram posts calling on Biden to recognize the genocide, garnering praise from the Armenian National Committee of America.

On April 24 last year, she commemorated the event on Twitter by sharing poems written by the grandchildren of survivors.

“Today is the 105th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and I’m so proud that America has recognized this,” she said, likely referring to a non-binding resolution passed unanimously by the Senate. The House passed also passed a similar measure in 2019.

The genocide began in 1915 during World War I but there is disagreement about when it ended, with various sources saying 1917, 1922 or 1923. It is estimated that around one million to 1.5 million people died.

Kardashian traveled to a museum dedicated to the genocide in October 2019 and shared her thoughts about the event on Twitter.

“Visiting the Armenian Genocide Museum was extremely emotional. I can’t believe with all of the photos from the massacres and published literature during this time that people still try to deny this ever happened. We will never forget that 1.5 million Armenians were murdered,” she said.

Kardashian’s commitment to commemorating the genocide is long-standing. She pushed unsuccessfully for former President Barack Obama to use the term “genocide” to describe the killings in a 2015 op-ed for Time magazine for the 100th anniversary of the event.

“I would like President Obama to use the word genocide. It’s very disappointing he hasn’t used it as President. We thought it was going to happen this year. I feel like we’re close—but we’re definitely moving in the right direction,” she wrote.

“It’s time for Turkey to recognize it. It’s not the fault of the people who live there now,” she added. The Turkish government acknowledges that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces at the time but disputes the figures and denies that the killings were carried out systematically.

In 2016, she wrote a letter in response to a Wall Street Journal ad taken out by a group denying the genocide, Fact Check Armenia. It was later reprinted as a full-page ad in The New York Times by the Armenian Educational Foundation.

TURKEY’S Islamist government has stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the churches in one city and declaring them state property.

By NICK GUTTERIDGE

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken control of six churches in the war-torn southeastern city of Diyarbakir in his latest move to squash freedom of speech and religious movement. 

The state-sanctioned seizure is just the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel for its 80 million citizens.

Included in the seizures are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years old.

They have now effectively become state property – meaning they are run by the government – in a country with a dire human rights record where about 98 percent of the population is Muslim.

The order to seize the churches was made on March 25 by Erdogan’s council of ministers, according to the website World Watch Monitor. 

They claim it was made on the grounds that authorities intend to rebuild and restore the historical centre of the city, which has been partially destroyed by 10 months of urban conflict between government forces and militants from the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). 

But the seizures have outraged worshippers at the churches, who fear a government coup against their religion are now threatening to take legal action against the decision. 

Ahmet Guvener, pastor of Diyarbakir Protestant Church, said: “The government didn’t take over these pieces of property in order to protect them. They did so to acquire them.”

And the Diyarbakir Bar Association – which represents Christians worshipping at one of the churches, has now officially filed an appeal the government’s action.

In a statement the group said: “Among the expropriated plots, there are structures belonging to public institutions … and places of worship and residences considered as historical and cultural heritage. 

“This decision, which seems to be made by the request of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning without any reason or justification, is unacceptable within the limits of constitutional order.”

Local government officials are also thought to be critical of the decision, claiming that the seizures lack legal justification and will cause cultural damage to the town. 

In response ministers have insisted the order to take control of the churches was not religiously motivated, pointing out that they have also occupied a number of historic mosques in the city. 

But, unlike Christian churches which are maintained by the generosity of their congregations, all mosques in Turkey are state-backed and funded, meaning their futures are secure. 

Reacting to the seizure Victoria Coates, who is foreign policy advisor to US Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, said the seizure fits into a pattern in the Middle East, where Christians are systematically displaced and persecuted.

She told PJ Media: “What’s happening in southern Turkey is all too typical in the Middle East today, as ancient Christian communities are displaced and persecuted by sectarian violence. 

“The government of Turkey should move swiftly to return these churches to their rightful owners, and not take advantage of the situation to seize them permanently.”

Erdogan has courted open controversy in recent months with the seizure of opposition newspaper Zaman, which has unsurprisingly since toed a sycophantic pro-government line. 

His apparently anti-democratic moves have provoked outrage in Europe, where politicians have been left bowing and scraping at his feet in a desperate bid to resolve the migrant chaos. 

As part of a deal designed to stem the flow of people entering the continent EU leaders have promised to open up Europe to 80 million Turks and to accelerate talks on the country joining the 28-nation bloc. 

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663089/Islamist-Turkey-Erdogan-seize-Christian-churches-Diyarbakir-persecution-state-property

The Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) being held in Azerbaijan in the wake of the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) remain a key concern after the signing of the November 10 ceasefire, says Grigory Trofimchuk, a Moscow-based expert specializing in regional and international affairs. 

According to him the document does not stipulate clear-cut procedures for those persons’ repatriation after the cessation of hostilities.  

In an interview with Tert.am, Trofimchuk highlighted also the absence of a specifically defined timetable and map for the unblocking of regional communications.

“Yerevan and Baku hold contrary positions on different issues, with Russia remaining in the middle,” he said, commenting on the Russian representatives’ somewhat strange behaviour at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

At the latest plenary session in Strasbourg, none of the Russian delegation members backed the proposal for the Armenian POWs’ return, with most voting “against” and the rest abstaining from the process.

“Moscow may not be totally content with [Armenian Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan’s behaviour after November 10, as he continues adhering to his preferred ‘unpredictable style’ as though nothing had happened,” Trofimchuk explained.

He also pointed out to other concerns, including the operation of US-funded biological labs on the territory of Armenia. “Those laboratories receive funding not only from the United States but also from Pentagon proper. Moreover, those laboratories are functioning against the backdrop of the seemingly endless quarantine in Armenia, arousing a natural suspicion as to whether they have anything to do with the replication of the COVID-19 strains. I don’t say those details could have been the cause of such a vote at the PACE but they may potentially create a negative background,” he added.

“A1” talked to Siranuysh Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners in the ECHR, about the issue of Armenian prisoners of war being held in Azerbaijan.

• Mrs. Sahakyan, in recent days the issue of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan was raised in PACE and Euronest. What do you think these discussions can do for the return of prisoners?
• I think such structures can become actors, they have been quite effectively involved in other conflicts, they have provided real results. It just depends on what tools they will use within the framework of their mandate, how seriously and consistently they will deal with the problem. At least in connection with yesterday’s discussions, I can say that there are no great expectations, because only the discussion procedure was used, which provides discussions on the issue, publicity of the results, but leaves no room for a serious process in the future. As a result of some other processes, questions can be raised, including sanctions, suspension of membership.
• Has the international community received the signal that Azerbaijan is keeping Armenian prisoners of war illegally?
• I think the information issue is resolved, of course, they may not know some nuances, not be aware of all the manifestations of the humanitarian catastrophe, but at least the fact that there is a prisoner of war problem in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, , this is clear. The information can not be acted upon yet, additional diplomatic and political work is needed, where the actions taken may be related to the interests of one or several states. In order for politicians to “harm” the interests of Azerbaijan or the countries supporting it for the protection of the rights of Armenians, they must make sense of their actions, which can take place exclusively as a result of active political and diplomatic work.
• What new information can you provide about the case of prisoners of war being examined at the ECHR?
• We have managed to get the Committee of Ministers to deal with the issue at the same time as the ECHR, as Azerbaijan does not cooperate properly with the court, does not meet the deadlines set by the court in terms of providing information about the detainees. Of course, the court has already notified the Committee of Ministers, but it continues its normal litigation, there are communications, exchange of new information, etc., that is, the legal process continues, it is in an intensive stage, in parallel, we are waiting for new results. In the Committee of Ministers, where the Republic of Armenia is officially represented at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We have to see what results our diplomatic corps will be able to provide based on the court actions.
• Are the statements of the Azerbaijani side that there are no other prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, they are saboteurs, touched upon in the legal processes?
• These statements can be discussed in legal proceedings insofar as they become official positions in the ECHR. There is a discrepancy from this point of view ․ Some of the positions that Azerbaijan presents publicly are not reflected in the legal positions of the state; it is clear that if they have not become official legal positions, we ignore them because we understand that they are statements to foreign and internal audiences in politics It is presented that they have no legal consequences.
• According to your calculations, how many prisoners of war and civilians are currently being held in Azerbaijan?
• According to our calculations, we have about 120 cases of captivity of clearly proven people, about 80 cases with indirect evidence.
• How many have been approved by Azerbaijan?

A little over -70.

There is a stir at the moment in the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia.

As per Armenian News-NEWS.am’s information, PM Nikol Pashinyan has demanded that NSS director Armen Abazyan “gather” the organizers and activists of the protests against him in Syunik Province.

According to our information, the NSS is currently compiling the list of these individuals.

Also, the NSS has been instructed to detain the Syunik community leaders who have demanded Pashinyan’s resignation and joined the Reviving Armenia party of Vahe Hakobyan, the former governor of Syunik.

To note, Nikol Pashinyan, who on Wednesday visited Syunik Province, was greeted by the residents of Meghri, Agarak, and Kapan towns with insults, and calling him a traitor, a Turk, and a capitulator. Also, Pashinyan could not enter Kajaran because the locals had blocked the motorway leading to this town.

Residents of Kajaran, a town in Armenia’s Syunik Province, on Wednesday held a protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to the town. 

They blocked the major roads leading to Kajaran, as well as the inter-town roads in an effort to block the premier’s entry into the town.

“[Azerbaijani Presdent] Aliyev threatens to use force against Syunik, and we do not want Nikol to set foot on our land after breaking the backbone of Syunik,” one of the protesting residents said.

Ahead of Pashinyan’s visit, the protesters were chanting “Nikol the traitor!”.

Later it became clear that Nikol Pashinyan cut short his visit to Kajaran amid the protests and left Meghri taking a different route.

“Nikol once again proved that he is a coward, a man licking shoes of the Turks. He has no right to desecrate the land of Syunik,” one of the citizens said.