Massis Weekly Online

VOLUME 27, ISSUE 47 (1347)

– Former President Calls On Armenian Citizens To Not Be Intimidated By
The Authorities ?Psychological Pressure And Threats?
– Political Prisoner Zhirayr Sefilian Defends Ter-Petrosian On Karabakh
– OSCE Watchdog Concerned About Harassment And Violence Against
Armenia?s Media
– The State Of Media Freedom In Armenia According To OSCE
– ?Documents Diplomatiques Ottoman: Affaires Armeniennes? Volume III
1895-1896 Edited by Bilal N. Shimshir. Ankara; 1999.
– Postcards, Which Have Become Relics

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– Former President Calls On Armenian Citizens To Not Be Intimidated By
The Authorities ?Psychological Pressure And Threats?

YEREVAN — In a written statement issued on Tuesday, former President
Levon Ter-Petrosian warned that the Armenian police and the National
Security Service (NSS) have been busy in the past three months
subjecting his supporters to ?psychological pressure, intimidation and
threats.? He said thousands of his them have been summoned to regional
offices of the two law-enforcement bodies for that purpose.
Former Foreign Minister Aleksandr Arzumanian told RFE/RL that his
office has documented hundreds of such instances in weekly reports
issued since the beginning of November. ?There are even instances of
people being fired because of supporting the first president,? he said.
The Armenian authorities already sparked controversy by launching
controversial tax crackdowns on a wealthy businessman supporting
Ter-Petrosian and a provincial TV station that broke ranks to air a
September speech by the former president. They also prompted strong
opposition criticism for breaking up a pro-Ter-Petrosian demonstration
in October and arresting its organizers. That was followed by the
beating last month of SDHP "Sarkis Tkhrouni" Youth and Student Union
chairman Narek Galsdyan who was campaigning for the ex-president.
In a weekend speech, Ter-Petrosian portrayed Armenia?s upcoming
presidential election as a showdown between himself and Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian as he received fresh pledges of allegiance from about
two dozen opposition parties over the weekend.
Addressing hundreds of their activists who gathered for a one-day
conference in Yerevan, Ter-Petrosian said he will be Sarkisian?s main
challenger because none of the other opposition candidates has managed
to muster multi-partisan support for their presidential bids. He
claimed that some of them are secretly collaborating with the Armenian
authorities to prevent him from returning to power.
?No other candidate has consolidated so many influential forces,
something which allows one to speak about, if not the emergence of a
single opposition candidate, but at least the formation of a clear
pole opposed to the regime,? he said.Ter-Petrosian dismissed as
fraudulent opinion polls which show him trailing not only Sarkisian
but also other candidates. He argued that he has been the main target
of attacks by pro-government politicians and media in recent weeks.
?Isn?t it obvious that if the published ratings were authentic, there
would be no need for such edginess [on the part of the government] and
Serzh Sarkisian would stand in the elections to the accompaniment of
folk music and a brass band?? he said. Ter-Petrosian?s presidential
bid has so far been endorsed by 17 parties strongly opposed to
Armenia?s present leadership. The former president also denounced as
?bogus candidates? other opposition heavyweights who have refused to
rally around him. In an apparent reference to Artashes Geghamian and
possibly Vazgen Manukian, he said they joined the presidential race on
government orders with the aim of discrediting him and thereby
facilitating a ?reproduction? of the ruling regime. In his speech,
Ter-Petrosian sounded confident about his chances of defeating
Sarkisian, saying that he will visit all regions of Armenia and meet
?as many people as possible? during his election campaign. He also
told loyalists that he will draw on his experience as a leader of the
1988 movement for Nagorno-Karabakh?s unification with Armenia which
brought down the republic?s last Communist government in 1990.
?Our authorities are no more invincible than the government of the
Soviet Union. If we managed to defeat [Soviet leader Mikhail]
Gorbachev, then what prevents us from defeating Robert Kocharian and
Serzh Sarkisian?? he said to rapturous applause.
Hanrapetutyun?s outspoken leader, Aram Sarkisian, appeared to answer
this question in his own speech at the gathering. ?For the ruling
[Sarkisian-Kocharian] pair, retaining power is a matter of life or
death,? Sarkisian said. ?That is why they are gearing up for a fight,
not an election. A fight against Levon Ter-Petrosian.?

– Political Prisoner Zhirayr Sefilian Defends Ter-Petrosian On Karabakh

YEREVAN — Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian?s conciliatory
discourse on Nagorno-Karabakh prompted on Thursday unlikely support
>From a jailed nationalist activist and government critic opposed to
Armenian territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Zhirayr Sefilian, a prominent veteran of the war in Karabakh,
condemned as ?slander? government allegations that Ter-Petrosian is
ready to place the Armenian-populated territory back under Azerbaijani
rule. In a statement released from his prison, Sefilian said although
he has ?serious disagreements? with Ter-Petrosian on the issue, he
believes that the latter ?would not rush to resolve the conflict? in
the event of his victory in the February 19 presidential election. ?I
am categorically against the notion that Levon is a president who
would surrender Artsakh (Karabakh),? he said. ?True, we have serious
disagreements with him on the Artsakh issue, the most important of
them being our refusal to see any document envisaging territorial
concessions on the negotiation table.?
?At the same time I am convinced that deep down, as Armenian people,
Levon Ter-Petrosian and his allies are also against conceding
territories, but because they are more pragmatic than us, they believe
that the conflict can not be resolved without concessions,? he added.
The main aim of Ter-Petrosian?s bid to return to power, continued
Sefilian, is to ?restore our statehood and constitutional order,?
rather than make peace with Azerbaijan. ?Therefore, supporting his
return to power does not mean being in favor of ceding the liberated
territories,? he said.

– OSCE Watchdog Concerned About Harassment And Violence Against
Armenia?s Media

Miklos Haraszti, media freedom representative at the Vienna-based
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, expressed concern
last Friday about harassment and violence against Armenia?s media,
saying there was an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.
The media freedom watchdog also said he was worried that the country?s
Gala TV may stop broadcasting as a result of pressure by authorities
and called on officials to demonstrate goodwill for a compromise
settlement.
?The recent cases of harassment and violence against independent and
opposition media have contributed to an atmosphere of intimidation and
fear in the journalistic community in Armenia,? Haraszti said in a
letter to Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.
Gala TV is facing two lawsuits that could result in the company being
forced to pay about 58,000 euros (US$83,450) into the state budget and
the loss of its right to use its broadcasting tower, according to a
statement issued by Haraszti?s office. ?I trust that the local
authorities will not make arbitrary decisions and demonstrate goodwill
for a compromise settlement so that Gala TV can continue
broadcasting,? Haraszti said in the letter to Oskanian.
In reference to a December 13 explosion at the entrance of Chorrord
Ishkhanutyun, a Yerevan-based opposition newspaper, Haraszti said: ?I
urge Armenia?s law enforcement bodies to punish the perpetrators not
just for the sake of justice but also to give support to freedom of
expression in the country.?

– The State Of Media Freedom In Armenia According To OSCE

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
published Needs Assessment Mission Report ahead of the 19 February
2008 Presidential Election in Armenia. The report also involves the
state of media freedom in Armenia.
According to it, there are about 60 television channels and about 20
radio companies, as well as more than 100 print media publications
(including two state-funded newspapers) in Armenia. However,
television is the most important and influential source of
information. The public service broadcaster H1 is regarded as the most
influential media outlet in Armenia and reaches the whole country.
Some other private channels cover large parts of the country. Print
media has a limited circulation outside Yerevan.
Despite the relatively high number of media outlets in Armenia, a lack
of diversity in viewpoints presented by broadcast media has been
criticized by international organizations dealing with freedom of
expression, including the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Factors affecting the media situation include a high level of
influence over editorial lines by political and business interests,
financial weakness of media outlets because of low advertising
profitability, and legal actions taken against journalists in recent
years. By law, all broadcast media have to provide equal airtime to
contestants during the official campaign period. Recent amendments to
the Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting extended this obligation
to the period before the start of the election campaign. The
amendments also included the obligation to provide impartial and
nonjudgmental information about the pre-election campaigns of
candidates in their information programmes.
Campaign broadcasts on TV and radio have now to be explicitly
identified as such. The amended law has also clarified the role of the
National Commission for Television and Radio (NCTR), which monitors
the broadcast media?s compliance with legal procedures. The NCTR is
now entitled to file a court case against TV or radio companies that
violate legal provisions.
The CEC is obliged to ensure equal access for contestants by random
selection of broadcast slots and order of appearance for both free and
paid airtime.
The relevant lottery will be held on 22 January 2008. Each
presidential candidate is entitled to use up to 60 minutes of free
airtime on public television and up to 120 minutes of free airtime on
public radio. In addition, each candidate may use paid airtime on
public television and public radio: up to 120 minutes and up to 180
minutes respectively.
Rates for political advertisements must be publicly announced,
consistently offered to all contestants and may not be changed during
the election period. Rates were set in November 2007 and range from
100,000 AMD (approx EUR 210) to 130,000 AMD (approx EUR 280), as in
the May 2007 parliamentary elections.
Some OSCE/ODIHR NAM interlocutors expressed concerns about access to
the media before the official start of the campaign on 21 January
2008. Some alleged that obstacles exist for certain opposition
representatives to gain access to media and that an unofficial
blockade against their presence on the media, especially on the public
broadcaster H1, is being enforced. The example of Gyumri-based TV
station Gala was cited which has come under scrutiny from tax
authorities, allegedly because it screened a speech by Levon
Ter-Petrossian at the end of September in which he announced his
intention to run in the presidential election. However, the Chairman
of the NCTR as well as the Executive Director of H1 dispute these
allegations and explicitly stated their aim to provide equitable
access to candidates, particularly once it is known who the nominated
candidates are. Especially H1 vows to fulfill its role as public
broadcaster and to thoroughly cover the presidential election
including possible debates between candidates and a focus on
tabulation and transmission of results on Election Day.
A local non-governmental organization, the Yerevan Press Club, is
conducting media monitoring of the broadcasts of seven television
channels, including H1, and the public radio from 1 October until 15
December, and also plans to monitor the official campaign period. The
Office of the Press Secretary of the President is conducting
monitoring of the political broadcasts of six private television
channels. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is
going to send to Armenia 24 log-time and 250 short-time observers.

– ?Documents Diplomatiques Ottoman: Affaires Armeniennes? Volume III
1895-1896 Edited by Bilal N. Shimshir. Ankara; 1999.

Reviewed by Sarkis Y.Karayan, M.D.

The Turkish Historical Society has published three volumes of
Diplomatic Ottoman Documents on Armenian Affairs, The first volume
comprises documents from 1888-1893; the second volume from 1894-1895;
the third volume is from 1895 to 1896.
The editor of all these volumes is Bilal N. Shimshir. This last volume
was printed in 1999 in Ankara, and is 435 pages. The third volume
available to me is in French , titled ? DOCUMENTS DIPLOMATIQUES
OTTOMANS: Affaires Armeniennes, Volume III, (1895-1996). Edited by
Bilal N. Shimshir. (Býlal N Þimþir).
First about the author. Bilal Shimshir. He has been employed in the
diplomatic service of the Turkish government as ambassador. He has
written several books in Turkish, and his whole effort in these books
has been to prove that the Ottoman Turks did not commit the genocide
of the Armenians during the First World War. On the contrary, he has
repeated the same story that all Turkish writers have been stating ,
namely , it is the Armenians who rebelled against Turkey during the
war, so of course when people fight , there are always casualties, In
this case both Turks and Armenians died.
So what is the fuss about, that Armenians have been making since 1918
about massacres committed by Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman government
published a 416 pages book in French in 1917 titled ?Aspirations et
Agissements Revolutionnaires Des Comites Armeniens avants et après la
proclamation de la Constitutions Ottomane?.
[The aspirations and the revolutionary agitations of the Armenian
committees before and after the proclamation of the Ottoman
Constitution]. The preparation of the book was finished on August 15,
1916 and there is evidence that it was prepared to justify the
genocide that started in early 1915.
The book does not say why the Armenians were not content with the
Ottoman regime, and puts the responsibility of the massacres on the
revolutionary activities of the Armenians. This book violates every
principle of honest historiography, and has served as an example for
all Turkish historians and some western turkophile academics, when
writing about Turkish-Armenian relations during the last quarter of
19th and first two decades of 20th centuries. Shimshir?s writings
follow the pattern set by the above mentioned book in French, namely,
Armenians were trouble makers, and they were punished for it.
Shimshir?s latest book is ?Ermeni Meselesi, 1774-2005. Printed in
Istanbul, 2005.
In his introduction to the book under consideration, ?Documents
Diplomatique Ottoman? volune III, page VIII, Shimshir states that, ?
during the month of November 1895, Armenian revolutionaries and
terrorists caused bloody incidents in the regions of Diarbekir,
Siverek, Malatya, Karput (Kharpert S.K.) Arapkir, Sivas, Merzifon,
Antep, Marash and Mush. In present volume contains documents about
these incidents and revolts by Armenians. These incidents were not of
serious nature, and lasted from one to two days?.
It is not my intention to review all this volume and point out the
errors of Shimshir. I will take only what he has written about Aintab,
and show that Shimshir has invented incidents, and has made the
victimizers , that is the Turks, as victims; and the victims, the
Armenians as victimizers.
The incident of the city of Aintab is mentioned for the first time in
this book on page 127, in a telegraphic massage from Tevfik Pasha,
Ottoman Minister of Foreign Affairs to Morel Bey, Ottoman Charge
d?Affaire in London, dated Nov.22, 1895, and reads in part as follows;
?The investigation in connection with disorders in Aintab revealed
that it was due to the killing of three Moslem Turks by the Armenians.
At present a perfect tranquility reigns in this city?.
On Page 129, a second telegram, dated Nov.23, from Tevfik Pasha to
representatives of Ottoman government in foreign countries informs
that ?A Moslem in Aintab has been wounded by a gun shot by an Armenian?.
On page 135, a third telegram, dated 26 Nov. 1895, from Tevfic Pasha
to the Ottoman Mission in London states; ?Armenian rioters of Aintab
have wounded one soldier and 4 Turks. As a result, some disturbances
occurred in this place?.
The above described incidents ascribed to Armenians of Aintab show
that what Shimshir said in his preface, mentioned above, that bloody
incidents by Armenian revolutionaries took place in Diarbekir, ?
Aintab? in November of 1895 does not correspond to truth. Armenians of
Aintab did not revolt and killed Aintab Turks in 1895. What happened
in Turkey in 1894-96 is known as Hamidian Massacres.
It started in Sassoun region in 1894, and continued in Turkey,
resulting in more than 100,000 killed savagely. On Sept. 30,1895,
massacres started in the capital of Constantinople, and continued,
like a prescribed order, in Trebizond Oct.8; in Ak-Hisar Oct.9;
Gumushhane, Oct. 11; Baiburt Oct. 13; Erzincan, Oct, 21; In Bitlis,
Palu, Diarbekir and Kara Hisar, Oct 25; In Erzerum vilayet Oct. 30; In
Urfa, Oct.27; In Malatya and Arapkir Nov.6; In Kharpert Nov.11; in
Sivas Oct. 12; in Gurun Nov. 10; in Mush and Marzovan and Aintab Nov,
15; Marash Nov. 18; Zile Nov. 18; Gesaria Nov. 30; Birejik Jan 1, of
1896.
I will give only what happened in Aintab as a result of the massacres.
The same can be said about massacres in all the places mentioned
above. In 1895, Aintab had a total population of around 50,000
persons; Turks being 30,000 and Armenians 20,000.
For the Turks, conscription in the Ottoman army was obligatory;
Armenians being Christians were not drafted, as Moslem law did not
allow Christians to bear arms. Thus, in 1895, all the Turks and Kurds
knew how to use military arms. The Armenians in Aintab did not have
bombs or guns. All they had were primitive rifles and a few hand guns.
The massacre of the Armenians and looting of their homes was carried
out by the local Turks from Aintab and surrounding villages, in spite
of the presence of about 200 armed Turkish soldiers.
The human losses of Armenians have been estimated to be about 400 dead
(one of whom was my grandfather, and another was the grandfather of my
cousin). Many more, about a thousand were wounded , during 3-4 days .
The Turkish losses were about 10 dead. Many Armenian houses were
looted. Shimshir does not mention that the majority of the dead were
Armenians. He mentions only a few Turks killed by Armenians. These
were killed most probably in self defense by Armenians.
On page 164, Shimshir gives the following telegraphic communication,
dated December six,1895 from Tevfic Pasha, to Ottoman Mission in
London: I quote; ?The Armenians of Aintab have poured poison into the
drinkable water of the city?. This is absolutely untrue and physically
impossible. There was no water depot or piped water in Aintab that
could be poisoned or contaminated.
Moreover, the Armenians and Turks, as mentioned above, lived side by
side and used the same water source, which was a small river running
into the city. ( See ?Gaziantep Cevre Incelemesi? pp.6,7, and 46, by
Mehmet Solmaz and Hulusi Yetkin, Gaziantep, 1969). If the water source
was poisoned by Armenians, they would be poisoned as much as the Turks
! ( As far as I know, there is no poison that can be used to
contaminate a water source) To conclude: The Ottoman Archives that
have interested historians, seem to be not reliable, and thus useless.
It is not worth the paper that is used to print these so-called
Archives.

– Postcards, Which Have Become Relics

By Krikor Janigian

I recall a letter written in 1911 by Daniel Varoujan from Perknig
[his birthplace near Sebastia] to his friend, a student in Belgium:
?Dear Pierre, I?ve been married for two years already. My wife is
named Araxie, she?s a fair-haired beauty whom I have a bucolic love
for. In addition, I have a one year-old daughter, who?s endowed with a
precocious intelligence. She can already say ?hayrig?; that word fills
me with indescribable joy. I?ve dedicated a poem to her, titled ?To my
Varoujanig.? That?s the name of my little angel, whom I?m so terribly
fond of.?
Varoujan often used to put his little girl on his lap and recite that poem:
Aghvor, aghvor, aghvor vartn im Karunis,
Vor srdis vra patsvetsar,
Yev kezi hed patsir hokis vshdaheghts,
Nor yerazi me baidzar?.
A lovely, lovely, lovely spring rose,
You bloomed on my heart,
Relieving my troubled heart,
Becoming a bright new dream?.
The firstborn child of the great poet, Veronica Varoujan Safrasian, is
now 96 years old, living in the United States. She recently published
a book of reproductions of postcards kept in her family album. The
Armenian texts of the cards, which were mainly holiday greetings, were
translated into English by the well-known translator Aris Sevag.
Varoujan wrote 16 of the 26 cards published, when he was a student,
first in Venice, then in Ghent, and sent them to his mother, father
and brothers. Thanks to [the fine state of the cards? preservation
and] the high quality of the printing, his handwriting that?s now over
100 years old is still quite legible.
The Easter card sent by Varoujan to his mother Takouhi in 1908 from
Ghent is particularly moving:
?Sweet Mother, Christ is risen from the dead. God willing, next Easter
we?ll color eggs red together. I?m hale and hearty. I have a new suit
and my belly is full. Don?t worry. If there is something missing, that
is you. It won?t be too long now. Pray that I pass my exams this year
so that I can come to Perknig in the summer and kiss your two hands,
your two eyes, which get no sleep from watching over me. Hugging you,
jan jigger mayrig [my dear mother], I remain. Your son, Daniel.?
He often tried to match the contents of the cards to their
illustrations, and even created his message in poetic form. On the
front of a card showing swallows on a telephone wire (see accompanying
photo), which he sent to his father Krikor, Varoujan wrote a poem
entitled ?Farewell?:
Hayr, art yes al dzidzernag,
M?yegha bantukhd, dar Asdvadz,
Vor tarnayi voghch, usadz,
Poons hayreni cherm, kaghtsrig.
Mnas parov, hayr im,
Pajanman keri m?e vortit.
Father, now I too have become an emigrant swallow.
I pray to God that I may return an educated man, safe and sound, to my
nesting ground warm and sweet.
Stay well, my father.
I?m a prisoner of separation.
The last card sent by father to son is dated January 7, 1915 (January
20, according to the new calendar). It is interesting to note the
latter?s address on the card: Mr. Daniel Varoujan (Tchiboukkear),
Principal S. K. L. [Sourp Krikor Lusavorich, or St. Gregory the
Illuminator] School, Yeshil St. No. 1, Pera, Constantinople.
In response to his son?s New Year?s greeting card, the father also
sent greetings, promising to ?always pray for your health? and wishing
?may the Lord keep you happy, together with my lovely grandchildren.?
In addition, he expressed hope ?for God to grant total peace to the
entire world? in the New Year.
What happened just three months after this exchange of greetings is
universally known. I have quite another reason for writing about this
album. When I go abroad, I often leaf through such family documents
turned-relics. In particular, I see libraries of old Armenian books
and always ponder, worry over the fate of such riches, in light of the
fact that even the grandchildren of Diasporan Armenian writers, not to
mention their grown-up great-grandchildren, don?t read Armenian. It?s
easy to say, ?Armenia is the final homeland of any given national
value, its rightful heir is the Armenian people.? However, carrying it
out, judging from our cultural values turning to dust in the Diaspora,
is difficult. This is so, despite the fact that we have embassies
throughout the world representing the Republic of Armenia, and
cultural attaches working in them?.This article originally appeared in
one of the November 2007 issues of Yerevan?s Grakan Tert [Literary
Gazette].
Copies of the album, entitled ?The Tchiboukkearians of Perknig,? may
be obtained by writing to: Aris Sevag, 33-39 80th St., Apt. 2, Jackson
Heights, NY 11372 USA. Price, including postage and handling, is $15
USD. (Orders placed from outside the US are payable only by money
order.)

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