Vakit calls on the Government, NGOs, and the Turkish public in general not to remain uninterested in the ongoing internal
conflict in Armenia and urges the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission to send observers to Yerivan to help find a
peaceful solution to the unrest in Armenia.
“Gul’s congratulation generates discontent of historians”, This is what Azerbayjan’s Azadliq Newspaper wrote on 24 of February.
The newspaper wrote: “Views expressed in the letter are inappropriate”.
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Economist starts its report on Armenian election with this “ELECTIONS in former Soviet republics rarely yield surprises. The incumbent wins; the opposition cries foul; it takes to the streets.”
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A leading Turkish university based in Istanbul has started offering classes in Armenian language as part of its course load. Following approval by the Bosphorus University’s senate, three new classes in Armenian language are set to enter the curriculum.
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Yesterday was the first anniversary of Hrand Dink’s killing in front of Agos weekly. News agencies and different media outlets have reports from Turkey. Thousands of people have once again gathered in Istanbul, carrying signs “we are all Armenians”.
BBC’s Sarah Rainsford has a piece on Hrand Dink and why he is considered a controversial figure in Turkey, still a year after his death. There is a dark tone in the article by karin, Hrand’s friend saying:
“It was one of the darkest years, but what can we do? We have to go on. But I have no reason to be hopeful.”
The most Interesting Issue in the past weeks, regarding the Armenian genocide issue, has been how the American media behaved.
Washington post to my idea completely was against the resolution. it published an editorial which was mentioned during the committee hearing and it clearly asked the congress committee to vote against resolution. Washington post even a few days ago published another story called Armenians Who Need Help Today from Editor of Editorial page and criticized the Armenian diaspora for their effort on genocide issue.
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George Bush today after a phone talk with Turkish Prime Minister again opposed to the resolution in Congress to recognize 1915 killings as Genocide. The reason as usual is the strategic importance of Turkey(for possible attack and pressure on Iran?).
I don’t understand this sentence of president Bush: “the events constitute a genocide should be a matter for historical inquiry, not legislation.”
It seems Turkish lobby has succeeded to have the backing of 8 former U.S secretary of states. These secretaries served both democrat and republican governments and names such as Madeline Allbright and henry Kissinger and Collin Powell are among them. This time Armenian foreign ministry also came forward and criticized the move. The battle on the congress resolution on Armenian genocide is heating up more and more. you can read the story here.
Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish Nobel laureate, was in London to promote his new book, other colors. He was accompanied by his daughter and his translator Maureen Freely who was also hrand dink’s friend.
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I’ve grown to admire Elif Shafak’s opinions, especially nowadays as they give us a solid preview of what life can be like for a progressive Turkish contemporary writer/intellectual living and working in a post Hrant Dink world.
Listen to this recent interview on NPR’s Fresh Air radio program and please share your thoughts:
In this particular interview, it was interesting to listen to Shafak’s continued solid stance that the radical Turkish Nationalist movement is really a minority voice that is on the fringes of contemporary Turkish society, a compete opposite of what I originally conceived. There is a lot about Turkish society I have yet to discover, but it seems to be clear that there is this silent majority within the literate groups of Turkey who seem to be intellectually frustrated and actively questioning the official government “feed” about many current issues and past dark historical events. This is a good thing, as it may directly or indirectly propel a richer level of communicative openness and idea-exchange within Turks about various “Armenian” taboo topics in Turkish society such as the Ottoman era Armenian Genocide and the moral legitimacy of Turkey’s current day Armenian economic/border blockade.
Author Elif Shafak was acquitted after being taking to trial for “insulting Turkishness” when a fictional character described the Armenian genocide in her latest book. AFP/Getty Images
Via AKI - After visiting the parent of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink Armenia’s deputy foreign minister Arman Kirakosian announced, that Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without preconditions. Although I did not find any reports in the Armenian media regarding the announcement of high rank Armenian official made in Istambul till the moment I’m writing this lines, I have no basis to doubt that. Moreover, earlier on the day the website of the Armenian Foreign Ministry had released the text of the Message of Sorrow by Minister Oskanian to Hrant Dink’s Family in which we read:
“…Armenians and Turks together can ensure Hrant’s desire for peace across borders, dialogue among peoples and understanding between individuals…” more…
A video grab released by Turkish police shows an image of a man suspected of killing journalist Hrant Dink, one of Turkey’s most prominent ethnic Armenians, as the government came under fire for failing to protect him despite nationalist threats.(AFP/HO)
According to a recent AP news release, Turkish Police detained a suspect early today in the slaying of Hrant Dink, acting on a tip from the boy’s father after his pictures were broadcasted on Turkish television. According to press information provided by the Turkish Police, the suspect’s name is Ogun Samast, a 17 years old caught on a bus in the Black Sea city of Samsun. Samast was apparently on his way from Istanbul back to his hometown of Trabzon.
Reporter Benjamin Harvey of the Associated Press also notes that Dink’s secretary had also identified the young man in the photograph as the same person who had requested a meeting with Dink the day he was killed. The man said he was a student at Ankara University. The request was refused, and the secretary said she saw him waiting in front of a bank about an hour before Dink was killed.
It would be interesting to find out if this teen acted alone or had ties to a group. I doubt we will ever know the authentic truth.
It’s been a very difficult news event for me to follow and reflect upon. From what I can gather, this man was very much loved and respected by not only community ethnic Armenians but by the activist/progressive Turkish community.
The most significant memory I have of Dink was in last years American-PBS documentary film on Genocide where I think Dink describes Turks as being a kind (pari) people. I may be wrong with my recollection of what he specifically stated, but his intentions gave me impression that he was a unifier and not a divider. It is important to remember what Hrant Dink stood for, what he fought for and what he achieved for both Turkey and her minority Armenian community.
I have been following the developments on the assassination of Hrant Dink over the past hours. I am both surprised and proud that so many people came out and showed their support for this man. I must confess that I only really familiarised myself with his work just a couple of days ago, as part of research for a University project I’m doing on Armenian Genocide - however, his dedication and inspiration did impress me.
Just a couple of reflections on the reports we are hearing. According to BBC sources, Robert Kocharyan, Armenian President, is quoted as stating that this murder “raises serious questions” in Turkey. This much is true, but what exact questions these are, is left unmentioned.
I also read reports of Tigran Torosyan - the Speaker of Parliament, who was quoted as stating “Following this, Turkey should not even dream about joining the European Union..”
Whilst this is a tragedy, and a great, great loss. I wonder if there are some people who may seek to use this event as both publicity for the Armenian Genocide ( lets face it, it has been on major news screens today) , and also a chance to insult Turkey. I worry that statements like that of Tigran Torosyan do nothing but agitate an already tense situation. It is naieve to consider that the assassination of Hrant Dink should make Turkey not “even dream” of European Union entry. It is also a bad reflection on the Armenian official position - and I am waiting to hear a comment that suggests this is some kind of Armenian perpertration. It is really time for our Armenian politicians to think carefully about the way they react to this murder.
I hope I got my point accross, I’d be interested to know what our readers think about the possible aftershocks of this assassination.
Shocking news of the murder of Hrant Dink, journalist, editor of Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos:
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Journalist Hrant Dink, one of the most prominent voices of Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community, was killed by a gunman Friday at the entrance to his newspaper’s offices, police said.
Hrant Dink, a 53-year-old Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, had gone on trial numerous times for speaking out about the mass killings of Armenians by Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. He had also received threats from nationalists, who viewed him as a traitor.
Other sources: BBC: Turkish-Armenian writer shot dead | ArmeniaNow: Hrant Dink Murdered: Turkish-Armenian journalist shot dead in Istanbul | A1plus: “DISGUSTING CRIME” ; OSCE APPALLED BY MURDER OF HRANT DINK | iArarat: Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink Murdered in Turkey | Oneworld Multimedia: Hrant Dink Shot Dead in Istanbul
Today as I read the newspaper, Serzh Sarkisyan’s comments struck me as unbelievably short sighted and almost comical. I was reading a week old paper and in it Serzh said that he does not see Russia’s acquiring of Armenia’s utilities as dangerous. He continued to say that he does not see Russia using its economic interests, implying that Russia is not using its economic power to control Armenia. What? Serzh, are you living in the same country as I am?
On October 12, 2006 – French Parliament passed a bill criminalizing the denial of the fact, that the Ottoman Turkish Empire committed Genocide against Armenians in 1915. On the same date the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.
It is indisputable, that Turkey should acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and bear the full consequences as stated by the International Law after a subsequent action at the International Criminal Court.
Censorship and lynching are not appropriate anymore, not in Europe! And this is something the ‘European’ Turkey should remember before making all the fuss about the Genocide Bill in France. As OKTAY EKSI has duly noted in HURRIYET, “We stress that France is a disgrace to the civilised world. However, it is a precondition for Turkey, which tells others that ‘what you are doing is shameful in terms of freedom of expression’ first of all to get rid of its own sources of shame.”
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Armenia is in a very interesting part of the world. As most of you know it is in the Southern Caucuses but this is a new designation. As I travel around the country and see the 1000 year old monuments of the silk trail with Armenian and Arabic languages, it brings up a time when Mother Russia was an unknown neighbor and Armenia was very much part of what is today called the Middle East.
Via Bloomberg:
Turkey Prosecutes More Writers, Jeopardizing EU Membership Bid
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — Five of Turkey’s best-known columnists go on trial at an Istanbul court today, in a freedom- of-speech case that threatens to derail the country’s bid to join the European Union.Hasan Cemal of the Milliyet newspaper and Ismet Berkan, Murat Belge, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katircioglu of the daily Radikal face up to 10 years in prison. They criticized a judge for halting a September conference to discuss Armenian claims of genocide by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
“These curbs are unacceptable if Turkey wants to prove that it’s democratic,'’ said Oktay Eksi, head of the Turkish Press Council, in an interview on Feb. 2. “We will continue to fight these restrictions until we, or the EU, persuade the government to abolish them.'’
European Union officials say Turkey must conform to Western norms of free expression so as not to jeopardize membership talks that started on Oct. 3. Turkey last month dropped charges against prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, who had questioned Turkey’s role in the killing of more than 1 million Armenians nine decades ago.
Hetq brings a good story about a Turkish company involved in gold prospecting work in the Sotk Mines, at Armenia’s strategic corner between Lake Sevan and Kelbajar:
Certain aspects of the work of the Ararat Gold Recovery Company (AGRC), owned by Sterlite Gold, are worrisome. The principal stockholder of the company, Indian-born London billionaire Anil Agarwal, is known for questionable dealings (See also: Anil Agarwal Takes the Shine Off Armenian Gold).
In 2005 a Turkish company, Spektra Jeotek, was commissioned by Sterlite Gold and explored the Sotk mine, located in the region bordering Azerbaijan, for quite a long period of time. Although the official website of Sterlite Gold contains information about the foreign partners that work with the company, there is no information about the work done by this Turkish company in Armenia on the site.
It was a Turkish company, then, that performed the exploration of this strategically important mine. Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia. Moreover, Turkey consistently defends Azerbaijan’s interests and makes various demands on Armenia. It is hard to understand why a Turkish company was chosen to explore the mine. According to our information, the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia was not informed about the Turkish company’s stay in Armenia either. The NSS learned about it just a day before the Spektra Jeotek representatives left the country.
Okay, so this NGO International Crisis Group puts out press releases on NK occasionally.
Their website says:
Crisis Group’s approach is grounded in field research. Teams of political analysts are located within or close by countries at risk of outbreak, escalation or recurrence of violent conflict. Based on information and assessments from the field, Crisis Group produces regular analytical reports containing practical recommendations targeted at key international decision-takers. Crisis Group also publishes CrisisWatch, a 12-page monthly bulletin, providing a succinct regular update on the state of play in all the most significant situations of conflict or potential conflict around the world.
Crisis Group’s reports and briefing papers are distributed widely by email and printed copy to officials in foreign ministries and international organisations and made generally available at the same time via the organisation’s Internet site, www.crisisgroup.org. Crisis Group works closely with governments and those who influence them, including the media, to highlight its crisis analyses and to generate support for its policy prescriptions.
And, more importantly, here’s what Wikipedia says:
Crisis Group is chaired by former British politician and European Commissioner for External Affairs, Chris Patten (Lord Patten of Barnes). Its President and Chief Executive since January 2000 has been former Foreign Minister of Australia, Gareth Evans.
Crisis Group is funded through donations by western governments, various foundations and organisations (many based in the US), corporations, and individuals.
So far, doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
Well, defacto.am reports in ICG today:
From the very beginning the Group’s representatives have behaved very cool. For a short period of time they managed to “deal” with an ancient bloody conflict and presented a report with their recommendations. Moreover, the ICG representatives’ reports are becoming more and more imperative, categorical and even provocative. What kind of organization is International Crisis Group that it actually speaks on behalf of RA government?
What’s the crime in being cool? When has it spoken on behalf of the Armenian government?
MORTON ABRAMOVITS, one of the founders of ICG: former Assistant of the U. S. State Secretary, the U. S. ex Ambassador to Turkey. Morton Abramovits visited Ankara as a member of International Crisis Group. A quotation from an article published in Hurriet:”Till Turkish soldiers are in Cyprus violation is ruled out there”.
So what? That quote sounds badly translated. It doesn’t even make sense.
ZBIGNEV BZHEZINSKI, former National Security Adviser to the U. S. President, a member of American – Azeri Trade House Honorable Board.
Okay, worth noting, but not worth freaking out about.
STEFEN SOLARTS is also one of the founders and ICG vice President. He is one of the most influential lobbyists in the U.S., actively defends Turkish interests.
Never heard the name. I’d need to see a reference to this information.
Then there are some people who work on Turkish EU groups… not a big deal.
WILLIAM SHOWCROSS – his name is mentioned among those who unleashed a war in Iraq.
So what does that have to do with NK?
KENNETH ADELMAN – a member of American Committee for Peace in Chechnya. Isn’t it strange for the organization positioned itself as a peacemaking one?
Who cares?
Levon Ter – Petrosyan’s former press secretary is International Crisis Group representative in Armenia.
I’m glad s/he has a job!
Defacto says “due to the newspaper space’s limited character we do not make a reference to the information’s primary sources” — well, publish them on the internet then!
I’m not trying to defend the ICG, rather, question the reporting of defacto. If they’d show sources, I’d be a-okay, but not showing sources? What the heck?
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