Gagrule.net

Gagrule.net News, Views, Interviews worldwide

U.S. Senator urges immediate re-incarceration of Azeri ax-murderer

By

California Senator Barbara Boxer(D-CA) has expressed her outrage over Azerbaijan’s pardon, promotion and praise for convicted axe-murderer Ramil Safarov, and called for his immediate re-incarceration, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a strongly worded letter to President Aliyev, Senator Boxer stressed that Safarov’s release is “deeply disturbing and provocative action has only served to inflame tensions and endanger efforts to forge a lasting peace in the Caucasus.” Calling the Safarov’s pardon a “blatant disregard for the rule of law,” she went on to demand that Aliyev “adhere to the standards of the international law by returning Safarov to jail, where he belongs, for the heinous crime that he committed.”

Last week, during the Center for European Policy Analysis’ U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum, Assistant Secretary of State Phil Gordon told RFE/RL that the State Department continues “to express our dismay and disappointment. We’re not satisfied with what has happened here. In our view this is someone who should have continued to serve out his sentence and certainly we were appalled by the glorification that we heard in some corridors of somebody who was convicted of murder, and so no, we’re not satisfied with the responses.”

Azerbaijani ex-president Heydar Aliyev statue dismantled in Canada

By

September 26, 2012 – 20:36 AMT

Administration of Canadian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake dismantled the statues of Azerbaijani ex-president Heydar Aliyev and his daughter-in-law Mehriban Aliyeva, considering them as monuments to dictators, member of Public Chamber of Canadian representation Hasan Saftarov said.

The step was taken by the town administration in response to Azerbaijani opposition’s campaign.

“With the whole world having declared war against dictatorship, a statue to Heydar Aliyev undermines the image of Canada, as one of the most democratic countries in the world.

“Aliyev is no different from Saddam, Mubarak, Ben Ali, Gaddafi and Assad. For this reason, we request to dismantle and return statues of Heydar Aliyev and his daughter-in-law Mehriban Aliyeva to Azerbaijani authorities,” Azeri opposition’s letter to the mayor’s office reads.

According to the official response by the mayor’s office addressed to Hasan Saftarov, the statues were removed, with the monument to Heydar Aliyev to be restored in case Canadian government and Azerbaijani embassy reached an agreement, Internet gazeta reported.

Hurriyet: Come back, Diyarbakır mayor tells Armenians

By

The mayor of Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality has invited all Armenians (and other non-Muslim peoples) whose ancestors were born in the southeastern province before being forced to flee during the 1915 events to return to the city, Hurriyet writes.

“An Armenian, an Assyrian and a Chaldean, whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers were born in Diyarbakır, have the same right to live in Diyarbakır as I have, as a Kurdish person who was born in Diyarbakır. Come back to your city,” Osman Baydemir told Turkish and Armenian journalists on Sept. 25 on the sidelines of a roundtable conference called “Expanding the Scope of Dialogue: Media and Armenia-Turkey Relations at the Current Stage” that was organized by the Yerevan Press Club in Diyarbakır.

According to “Talat Paşa’s Black Book,” written by the historian Murat Bardakçı, there were 56,166 Armenians living in Diyarbakır before the events of 1915. Baydemir also said “he curses the cruelty of 1915 within his conscience.” “We refuse the legacy of our grandfathers, who took part in this massacre [the events of 1915], we refuse to be a part of what they lived, and we commemorate those of our grandfathers who were opposed to this massacre and cruelty,” said Baydemir, who is from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which is focused on the Kurdish issue.

Many researchers have said the ruling Party of Union and Progress during the Ottoman Empire used Kurdish militias known as the “Hamidiye troops” against the Armenians in the events of 1915.

“Denying the crimes that were committed by some of our grandfathers would be the same as becoming a part of [those crimes]. We first have to accept the sufferings of the people in order to be able to heal the wounds,” the mayor said.

Baydemir said one of his biggest dreams was to construct a common monument in memory of all of those who were lost in the region, including Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Assyrians and Chaldeans up until the 1930s. “I would like to visit this monument with Turks, Armenians and Kurds all together and cry for our lost ones all together. Turks, Kurds, Persians, Arabs – we all have to succeed in negotiation and dialogue in order to be able to live with each other.”

Armenia says damage caused by Azerbaijan ‘beyond measure’

By

The damage caused to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia by Azerbaijan cannot be measured with any numbers, said Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan reacting to reports from Baku that put the cost of the ‘Armenian occupation’ at hundreds of billions of dollars.

“In response to the implementation by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh of their right to self-determination Azerbaijan committed massacres and ethnic cleansings against the Armenian population. It unleashed a large-scale aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh which led to victims, destruction of settlements, infrastructure and occupation of territories,” the Armenian official told the state-run news agency Armenpress.

“And today, by proclaiming an axe-murderer a hero and refusing to withdraw snipers, create mechanisms for investigating border incidents and strengthen the ceasefire regime, the Azerbaijani government is responsible for the loss of life regardless of what ethnicity the victims are. The machinations of numbers, international laws and distorted regional history will not help the Azerbaijani government to avoid responsibility,” concluded Kocharyan.

Azerbaijani dictator is constantly rattling his sword and threatening his peace-loving neighbor: Fresno Bee newspaper

By

14:56, 27 September, 2012

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: American Fresno Bee  daily newspaper dwelled on Azerbaijan and it dictator Ilham Aliyev, identifying  Azerbaijan with  North Korea. As Armenpress reports, the newspaper writes:” There is a despotic dictator in a small, isolated country who has an aversion for democracy and human rights. He is in charge of his country only because his now-deceased father, the former dictator, groomed him to be in charge. This dictator and his inner circle of cronies and kleptocrats are wealthy beyond belief, yet the people he is charged with leading languish in poverty. He is constantly rattling his sword and threatening his peace-loving neighbor. You cannot be faulted if you are immediately picturing North Korea, but you would be wrong. Actually it is Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is the North Korea of the Caucasus, and its dictator, Ilham Aliev, son of the former dictator Heidar Aliev, is wealthy beyond belief while his citizens suffer an opposite fate. On a regular basis he threatens to attack Armenia, its placid Christian neighbor. But Aliev has oil, so he can ignore democracy, rule of law and human rights.So the only difference between Azerbaijan and North Korea is oil, which means that Azerbaijan is a ne’er-do-wrong ally of the United States. Other than that, Azerbaijan and North Korea are pretty much identical”.

Students forced to enroll in religious schools in Istanbul (Imam Gulen)

By

ISTANBUL

By:daily Hürriyet reported

Students living in Istanbul’s European-side district of Sultangazi who failed to earn good enough marks to enter the advanced Anatolian High School system or a vocational school have been enrolled in the religious imam-hatip schools without their knowledge, daily Hürriyet reported.

Nearly 3,000 students were prevented from enrolling the Anatolian and vocational schools following the entrance tests, and most of those were subsequently enrolled in religious imam-hatip schools against their wishes.

One parent claimed that despite selecting vocational schools on the forms, his son was forced to attend an imam-hatip school instead.

“We were told that there were no more vacancies in other schools,” the father told Hürriyet. “My son does not want to attend an imam-hatip. We are Alevis. They disregard that and force everyone to attend imam-hatips.”

Another Alevi parent also claimed that her daughter was enrolled in an imam-hatip even though they had selected three different vocational schools.

Other parents also confirmed that they had selected vocational schools on their forms but that their children were all placed in imam-hatip schools.

“My child doesn’t want to go [to an imam-hatip],” another father said. “They are toying around with their futures.”

Iraq now armed to shoot Turkish jets, says Air Force officers

By

Iraq is now capable of shooting down Turkish jets entering Iraqi airspace to target Kurdish militants, Iraqi Air Force Officer Iskander Witwit recently told the New York Times.

An analysis of the state of Iraq following the Syrian civil conflict appeared in New York Times, where an Iraqi general said Iraqi officials were aware of Turkish jets entering their airspace and that they “resented it.”

Witwit was then quoted as saying that Iraq was now capable of defending itself against these intrusions.

“God willing, we will be arming Iraq with weapons to be able to shoot down those planes,” Witwit said.

The article defined the increase in Turkish jets crossing over as one of Iraq’s major concerns as it was undermining “Iraq’s ability to control its own [air] space.”

In Facing Its Adversaries, America’s Got a Hidden Lever: Armenia

By

BY DANIEL GAYNOR
From The Truman Project

Most Americans wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the largest American embassy in the world is in Baghdad, Iraq. But the second-largest is in a surprising place: Armenia. It begs the question: why?

The best explanation is a real estate mantra: location, location, location. Armenia, a landlocked country with just three million people, might be in the roughest neighborhood in the world. But in America’s eyes, it might be in the most important position of any US ally to advance President Obama’s foreign policy agenda.

What it lacks in natural resources–it has little oil, gas or jewels–it makes up for in geography. Few countries are in better position to shape US foreign policy than Armenia.

Armenia borders Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. As a part of the former Soviet Union, it relies on nearby Russia extensively for trade and military backing. The US has a significant stake in all five countries, and Armenia is now coming into view as a potentially potent lever to advance American aims.

That is, if the Armenians can be won over.

As the US tries to woo Armenia to become a stronger ally in the region, the term “geostrategic” has never been more apt. Armenia is literally at the center of a number of countries that Washington considers among its top priorities. As President Obama tries to accomplish key foreign policy objectives–like preventing Iran from attaining nuclear bombs or seeing democracy flourish in Russia–he’s got to encourage Armenia to play along.

To Armenia’s south, one such issue is unfolding in Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. Last  week, a media skirmish between the US and Israel boiled over when Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated publicly that America had no “moral right” to say whether or not Israel could bomb Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. President Obama reportedly called Netanyahu at 3AM to quell tensions.

America is racing to develop every diplomatic pressure point it can on Iran, lest Israel launch a preemptive attack and embroil America in a third Middle East war in ten years. One of those pressure points goes straight through Armenia.

While the US has cut off formal relations with Iran–Washington talks through Switzerland’s embassy there–it’s no secret that it employs a variety of foreign policy crowbars to influence and destabilize Iran’s ruling regime. Some, like President Obama’s latest round of economic sanctions, are well known. Partnering with Armenia is not, but could have a major impact. Through economic and diplomatic incentives, the US is actively trying to shape Armenia into an ally. As President Obama seeks to economically isolate Iran–his sanctions have cut the value of Iran currency in half–he is trying to regionally isolate the regime, as well. Armenia is key to that strategy.

For Armenia, the game is far less simple. Partnering with the US–with whom it has a good, but not great, relationship–could alienate the few friends Armenia has left in the South Caucasus region. It wants military cooperation with Russia, but economic access to the west.

While it has tried to deepen relations with the European Union and the US, Armenia’s two best friends at the moment are arguably the US’s most challenging adversaries: Russia and Iran. That’s not necessarily because of shared ideologies, or even shared interests; it’s because Armenia doesn’t have many friends to pick from.

Of its four neighbors, two–Turkey and Azerbaijan– have have closed off their borders to Armenia. To go on a road trip, every Armenian must pass through either Tbilisi, Georgia or Tehran, Iran.

Why the frosty reception? Turkey, which the New York Times recently called “the historic nemesis of the Armenians,” is still steaming mad over the negative PR associated with Armenian Genocide. The Turks claim rogue military elements are responsible; Armenians believe the Turkish government is reluctant to take the blame.

In either interpretation, the facts are stark: about 1.5 million Armenians perished in a war with Turkey between 1915 and 1918. The Turks closed off its border in 1993, and with it, a significant chunk of Armenia’s economy disappeared. In the decades since, Armenia has pressed for international recognition of the genocide–and rightfully so–but that has only stoked the fire with the Turks.

But, while one would think that the genocide rift is what led Turkey to close off its border, it’s not. Instead, Turkey is standing in solidarity with another neighbor over a contested territory.

Azerbaijan, another fromer Soviet republic, shut its borders with Armenia after the two battled over an Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan, called Nagorno-Karabakh, in the 1990′s. Today, the territory remains a “semi-autonomous” area; meaning that the Azeris want it back, the Armenians believe they control it, and the Karabakhtis has declared independence (which no country has formally recognized).

Meanwhile, the relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sliding downhill. Last week, Azerbaijan made a deal with Hungary to extradite a convicted Azeri murderer. (The man, eight years ago, nearly decapitated a sleeping Armenian serviceman with an axe at a NATO-sponsored English class.) He was returned under the condition that he would serve at least 25 more years in jail.

Instead, as the New York Times put it, he received “a new apartment, eight years of back pay, a promotion to the rank of major and the status of a national hero.” Uproar in Armenia ensued. Armenia’s President released a statement warning, “The Armenians must not be underestimated. We don’t want a war, but if we have to, we will fight and win.”

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is enjoying the windfall from oil exports. Israel, in particular, has strengthened relations with the Azeris, purchasing 30 percent of their oil from them, as well as selling them over $1.5 billion in military supplies. The US is also a buyer of Azeri oil. As the New York Times points out, Azerbaijan invested more money in its military than Armenia’s entire state budget last year. Hardly the sign of harmonious relations to come.

So far, Armenia’s walked a diplomatic tightrope with skill. As my Lonely Planet travel book explains, “Despite its limited resources, Armenia has become a master at geopolitics. What other country in the world can say it maintains good relations with the US, Russia and Iran?”

Given the cards they’re dealt, Armenia has been a remarkable success story. If America hopes to engender greater cooperation, it’s got to sweeten the deal–through trade agreements, offering economic reforms and encouraging private sector development in Armenia.

Armenia became independent in 1991. Two decades later, it’s still trying to find its footing in the region. It may not have gold, oil, gas or jewels to give to the US. But, instead, it may have something more useful: a strategic position in the most critical—and potentially most dangerous—region in the world.

Daniel Gaynor is Truman’s Writer and Digital Strategist. He can be followed on Twitter @DannyGaynor

Azeri, Turkish-American groups denigrate U.S.-Armenian CEO

By

September 26, 2012 – 13:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Four Azeri and Turkish-American organizations launched a coordinated anti-Armenian campaign last week, attacking the integrity of Mark Hoplamazian, Chief Executive Officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, in order to intimidate him and other Armenian-American executives, Harut Sassounian, Publisher of The California Courier writes in the editorial titled “Azeri and Turkish-American Groups Denigrate U.S.-Armenian Executive.”

The article further reads:

“In a letter to Thomas Pritzker, Executive Chairman of Hyatt Board of Directors, leaders of the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA), Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC), Federation of Turkish-American Associations (FTAA), and Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) accused Hoplamazian of involvement in “ethnic propaganda campaigns.”

The Azeri and Turkish groups attacked Hoplamazian for speaking at the Sept. 22 banquet of “the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), an Armenian-American lobbying group, as a Hyatt executive.” They also expressed their unhappiness that he “serves on the Advisory Board of ‘Facing History and Ourselves,’ a non-profit group that ‘teaches about the Armenian genocide.’”

The four Turkic organizations claimed that “Mr. Hoplamazian’s engagement with ethnic special interest groups that spread antagonisms against Turkey and Azerbaijan may be in violation of the Conflicts of Interest clause of Hyatt’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.” However, a review of the hotel chain’s Code, posted on its website, does not provide the slightest hint that the Hyatt executive violated any of its provisions.

In their letter, the Azeri and Turkish groups made a series of malicious statements by referring to the Armenian Genocide as an “allegation” and “World War I-era inter-communal atrocities.” They falsely alleged that these “atrocities” were “never tried in any tribunal and no intent to exterminate Armenians was ever established. No sentences or court verdicts were issued in terms of the 1948 United Nations Convention on Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.”

By making such ridiculous claims, the leaders of these Turkic organizations simply exposed their ignorance of the basic facts of the Armenian Genocide. They conveniently forgot about the Turkish Military Tribunals of 1919 that sentenced the Turkish ringleaders of the Armenian Genocide to death. U.S., Swiss, and Argentinean Federal Courts have also reaffirmed the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. Furthermore, the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities adopted in 1985 a report classifying the Armenian Genocide as an example of genocide.

The Azeri and Turkish groups also claimed that they represent “over half million Americans of Turkic descent.” This cannot be true simply because there aren’t that many Turkic people living in the United States, according to the latest US census. Even if there were half a million Turkic Americans, it is highly doubtful if all of them would have given their consent to be represented by these organizations for such absurd misadventures. Most probably, these four groups altogether have a tiny fraction of the constituencies they claim!

Clearly, the faulty statements and silly accusations of these Turkic groups are intended to intimidate Hoplamazian and force him to disengage from any involvement in Armenian or genocide-related issues. More ominously, by targeting and making an example of the Hyatt CEO, Azeri and Turkish groups hope to discourage other Armenian-American executives from pursuing similar activities.

In their joint letter, the Azeri and Turkish groups have indirectly threatened Hyatt’s corporate interests by indicating that the company “currently runs a total of four successful hotels in Istanbul, Turkey, and Baku, Azerbaijan.” One wonders if the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey have authorized these two-bit groups to speak on their behalf. Moreover, do these organizations realize that they are undermining the business interests of their native countries by foolishly threatening a global corporation like Hyatt?

It would be highly regrettable if the unwise Azeri and Turkish campaign against prominent Armenian-American executives would start an undesirable chain of events that could lead the Armenian community to take counter-actions against successful Turkish-American businessmen, such as Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of Coca Cola Company.

The Azeri-Turkish letter is highly unlikely to bring any tangible benefits to these groups, as Hyatt’s Board of Directors would most probably dismiss their baseless allegations. More importantly, such a racist assault on the integrity of an exemplary Armenian-American executive would energize Armenians on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide to pursue more vigorously their just demands from both Turkey and Azerbaijan!

Lastly, it is outrageous that these Azeri and Turkish groupings kept totally silent when an Azeri officer axed to death a sleeping Armenian in Budapest, but are now alarmed when an Armenian- American CEO exercises his right to free speech in Beverly Hills!”

Powerful blast rocks eastern Turkish city, seven reportedly killed

By

A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli, killing seven people, media report.

The blast targeted a military vehicle carrying security personnel.

The city is near the country’s Kurdish area and suspicion will automatically fall upon Kurdish rebel group the PKK, says the BBC’s Istanbul correspondent James Reynolds.

Fighting between Turkish troops and the PKK – the Kurdistan Workers’ Party – has escalated in recent months.

Turkish TV stations showed pictures of workers trying to put out fires in two burnt-out vehicles.

Reports said a vehicle carrying explosives was remotely detonated as an armoured vehicle carrying security forces passed by, sending a huge plume of dark smoke over the city.

Several ambulances and fire engines were reported speeding to the site in the Ataturk neighbourhood.

One report, in Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News, said security forces arriving on the scene clashed with suspected PKK militants, with one militant killed.

No-one has yet said they carried out the attack, but Kurdish rebels are active in the city, which is the capital of the province of Tunceli.

‘Hundreds dead’

This incident comes amid a surge in fighting in the three-decade conflict between the military and the PKK which in total has killed more than 40,000 people.

In mid-September, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 500 Kurdish rebels had been “rendered ineffective” by Turkish forces in the space of a month.

Many have died in Turkish aerial campaigns against suspected PKK hideouts in the south-east of the country.

PKK fighters killed 17 Turkish soldiers and injured scores over three days in Bingol province last week.

Earlier this month, one soldier and three Kurdish militants were killed when insurgents attacked army outposts in Tunceli.

This has become the most violent period in fighting with the Kurds since the capture of the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in 1999, our correspondent says.