Author: Arpi Talalian

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Thursday


Constitutional referendum, inter-state scandals, Erdogan aggression's
display in US: 2017 in Turkey



YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. 2017 was historical for Turkey in a
sense that based on the results of the constitutional referendum that
country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan eventually succeeded in
changing the country’s governance system from parliamentary to
presidential one. Such change will enable Erdogan to govern the
country in the upcoming years and concentrate all the levers in his
hands.

ARMENPRESS tried to identity the most important and key events held in
Turkey during 2017.

Terrorism on New Year’s Eve

2017 started in Turkey on the New Year’s Eve by the terror attack in
the Reina night club in Istanbul on January 1. 39 people were killed
and 70 were wounded in the terror attack. The Islamic State terrorist
group assumed responsibility for the attack.

The author of the terror attack was arrested on January 16. He is to
face live imprisonment.

Constitutional referendum

The constitutional referendum was held in Turkey on April 16 with
51.4% in favor and 48.59% against. As a result the country shifted
from the parliamentary system to the presidential one. The referendum
aimed at further concentrating the power in the hands of Erdogan and
his ruling Justice and Development party. After these changes Erdogan
can remain in power until 2029.

Overall, 18 articles of the current Constitution will change. The main
changes will come into force starting from 2019.

However, some provisions of the new Constitution started to be applied
immediately after its adoption. In particular, the talk is about to
allow the country’s president have a party affiliation. During the
extraordinary session of the Justice and Development party on May 21
Erdogan after a 33-month pause again returned to the ruling party.

Although the opposition announced the results of the constitutional
referendum as being fake, the referendum results remained unchanged.

Scandal involving ministers

The passing year was also distinguished by inter-state scandals
involving Turkish ministers. Some European countries, including
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Netherlands banned the
Turkish ministers’ entry to their countries. The Turkish political
figures planned to visit European countries on the 1st anniversary of
the failed military coup attempt in Turkey and meet with the Turkish
community representatives.

However, the Netherlands on March 11 withdrew the permission to land
the plane transporting Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The
Netherlands government announced that they took such a step since
Cavusoglu’s visit was “putting the public order and security under
risk”.

The Netherlands was followed by Germany and Austria which cancelled
the speeches of the Turkish ministers and events with their
participation. In particular, the speeches of the Turkish President
were banned in the German cities of Dortmund, Oberhausen, Cologne and
Düsseldorf.

Of course, official Ankara strongly reacted to this incident by
sending notes of complaint and threatening to cut the relations.

Germany withdrew its troops from Incirlik airbase

The existing tension in the Turkish-German relations after the
adoption of the Armenian Genocide recognition resolution by the
Bundestag in 2016 continued this year as well. Already this year after
banning the speeches of the Turkish political figures in Germany the
tension reached culmination over the issue of the visit of German
lawmakers to the Incirlik airbase.

Official Ankara again banned the German parliamentary delegation’s
visit to their troops in the airbase. In response to the decision of
the Turkish side the Bundestag on June 22 adopted a decision by
majority of votes to withdraw its troops from the Incirlik airbase.
For the first time in history the German army withdrew its troops from
the airbase of NATO member state and transported to the airbase of
Jordan, which is not a member of NATO. The last German troops left
Turkey in September.

Establishment of new party by Meral Akşener

2017 was significant in the Turkish political life by the
establishment of new political party: famous Turkish politician,
former defense minister Meral Akşenerestablished the Good party. It’s
worth mentioning that hundreds of former members of the Nationalist
Movement party joined the Good party who were not satisfied with the
current policy of the nationalist party, in particular, with the fact
that the Nationalist Movement party closely cooperates with Erdogan
and the political force led by him.

Meral Akşeneris expected to be Erdogan’s main rival in the upcoming
2019 presidential election.

Erdogan’s dictatoriship demonstrated in Washington D.C.

Erdogan, who constantly violates the fundamental human rights and
freedoms, tried to “export his policy” to the United States. In
particular, on May 16 the whole world witnessed how Erdogan’s security
details attacked peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Embassy in
Washington D.C. who were complaining against Erdogan’s policy.

As a result of the attack a number of wounded people, including
Armenians were hospitalized.

The video of the attack shows that Erdogan personally gives the order
for the attack.

The Washington Mayor and Police Chief on June 15 announced declaring
arrest warrants for 12 supporters of Erdogan. Two Turkish citizens
involved in the attack have been immediately arrested. During the
December court hearings they pleaded guilty for the attack.

The world’s biggest prison for journalists

Like the previous year, this year as well the restrictions on
fundamental human rights and freedoms continued in Turkey. During 2017
dozens of local and foreign journalists have been arrested. It’s not a
coincidence that Turkey was ranked 155th among the 179 countries in
the Media Freedom Index 2017 of the Reporters Without Borders
organization. The organization again recognized Turkey as the “world’s
biggest prison for journalists”.

Araks Kasyan

Iranian Government News
December 21, 2017 Thursday


Azeri FM: Tehran, Baku cooperation on energy to expand



Tehran: The official news agency of Iran (IRNA) has issued following news:

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Republic Elmar Mammadyarov said on
Wednesday cooperation between Tehran and Baku in the field of energy
is to be expanded. He added that the two sides intend to make optimum
use of the existing capacities in the fields of energy, transport and
tourism.



In a joint press conference with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts,
Mammadyarov said at the 5th ministerial meeting a joint statement was
signed, which was common political stances on Quds City, and expansion
of trilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and culture.

'We considered the issue of Palestine and Quds in the trilateral
meeting,' he continued that the three countries cannot accept the
recent US decision to this form and in this connection a draft
resolution was submitted to the UN General Assembly and the three
countries are to vote positive to the resolution.

He added that President Aliyev stated Azerbaijan Republic stance on
Quds in Istanbul meeting and called for revision of US president Trump
decision.

Concerning Karabakh dispute, Mammadyarov said that in the mid-January
the new round of talks between foreign ministers of Azerbaijan
Republic and Armenia will be held.

'Our former negotiation in Vienna took eight hours', he said.

The 5th trilateral foreign ministers meeting of Iran, Turkey and
Azerbaijan Republic was held in Baku on Wednesday and by issuing a
statement wrapped up its work.

The next meeting will be held in Turkey.

Agence France Presse
 Friday 4:27 AM GMT


This Christmas, Raqa's churches demined but deserted

Raqa, Syria, Dec 22 2017

Two historic churches in Syria's Raqa will be declared free of
explosives just in time for Christmas, but the devastation in the city
has left no one to celebrate in them.

As its three-year reign over Raqa came to an end in October, the
Islamic State group planted bobby traps all across the city, including
in the two main cathedrals.

Deminers are now giving the houses of worship one last sweep to make
them safe, but they remain in a terrible state and church officials
say will not hold traditional Christmas services this year.

The Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs in Raqa's city centre is
barely recognisable, the cross atop its clock tower destroyed by
jihadists years ago.

After IS took over Raqa in 2014, it used the church as a prison,
digging an underground tunnel to travel undetected beneath an adjacent
park.

Now, a six-person team from the Roj Mine Control Organisation -- a
non-governmental organisation working in Kurdish-held areas -- use
handheld detectors to track down the last of the mines in the church.

"With the holidays coming up, our aim is for our Christian brothers to
come back to practice their traditions," said technician Abdulhamid
Ayo, 33.

He and his colleagues were dressed in khaki uniforms, a red band on
their arm emblazoned with a skull.

"There are thousands of mines in the city. We've been able to clear
half of Raqa and have removed 1,300 mines so far," Ayo said.

- 'Nothing but ruins' -

A US-backed offensive ousted IS from Raqa in October but the city has
been left ravaged by fighting, and only a small percentage of its
pre-war population has returned as the year draws to a close.

"There's absolutely nothing planned in Raqa," said Boutros Mariati of
the Armenian Catholic diocese in Aleppo, which oversees the Church of
the Martyrs.

"The church is in ruins. Christians are going to visit, but there is
no one living there."

Messages scrawled on walls around the city warn of "Danger! Mines!",
and hidden explosives claim the lives of civilians nearly every day.

Behind Martyrs' Church, 65-year-old Nayef al-Madfaa, a Muslim, is one
of the few people to have returned -- taking the risk to check on his
property.

"They destroyed the church, and we no longer find happiness in
anything," said Madfaa.

"There never used to be a difference in Raqa between Muslims and
Christians. We lived all together, happy."

Gesturing to the deserted homes of his Christian neighbours, he sighed.

"All the Christians fled Raqa."

Thousands of Armenians and Syriac Christians once lived in Raqa,
making up around one percent of the city's predominantly Sunni Arab
population.

"They used to put the Christmas tree on this corner here, and all the
kids would enter the church with their parents," Madfaa recalled,
saying his grandchildren would get gifts from the church on Christmas.

"There was joy everywhere -- but we were all kicked out. Everyone was
displaced," he added.

"When I look out and see nothing but ruins and destruction, I get sad."

When IS seized Raqa in 2014, Christians and other minorities fled,
fearing the choice between converting to Islam, paying a tax called
jizya, or being put to death.

- 'No more Christians' -

After finishing work at the Church of the Martyrs, the demining team
began sweeping the famed Greek Catholic Church of the Annunciation in
the Thakana district.

An empty alcove on the side of the church that once housed a statue of
the Virgin Mary is now marked with Islamist graffiti reading "God is
Great, Glory to God."

In 2013, jihadists entered the church and torched the interior,
daubing their extremist slogans over the now partially-destroyed
walls.

"Daesh (IS) made this church a weapons warehouse during the clashes.
It burned all the books and Bibles that were inside," said Mahmoud
al-Jumaa, 23.

The Thakana resident riding by on his motorcycle with a friend stopped
to look at the damaged church.

"When the clashes got intense, they blew it up and yelled, 'God is
greater than all the infidels, and we will blow up this church so that
(US President Donald) Trump cannot pray in it,'" Jumaa said.

He, too, has pleasant memories of living alongside Raqa's Christians.

"We were the church's neighbours and used to celebrate with our
Christian brothers during their holidays, and they did the same for
us," he told AFP.

"But now, there are no more Christians. They all left, and with them
the celebrations and beautiful Christmas holidays."

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Friday


Turkey needs to save its own face: Armenia's Ashotyan on Zurich Protocols


YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Armen Ashotyan - chairman of the
parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, vice-president of
the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, says the Armenian-Turkish
relations remain in a completely political, diplomatic and economic
deadlock, reports Armenpress.

During the meeting with reporters on December 22, Armen Ashotyan said
the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, which were signed by the initiative of
the Armenian side, will no longer be a part of the political agenda
starting from spring of 2018.

“The activeness through which the Turkish side tries to justify the
failure of the Protocols, shows that Turkey needs to save its own
face. All efforts to save its own face are doomed to failure since
everyone knows which side failed the Armenian-Turkish normalization
process”, Armen Ashotyan said, adding that the Turkish side obviously
links the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations with the
Artsakh conflict. “Let’s once again record a historical reality that
Azerbaijan is just another Turkey in the region, for Armenia and the
Armenian people”, he said.

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Friday


Historical witnesses: 40-century-old cup of Armenia's Karashamb village



YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. 35% of the national collection
consisting of 400.000 items in the History Museum of Armenia are
archaeological items excavated in Armenia. Among them are wooden
carriages of the Bronze Age, ritual hearths excavated from the tribal
leaders’ mausoleums, bronze sculptures, weapons, jewelry, tableware,
cups and belts made of multi-layered scenes that testify the beliefs
of ancestors, cosmic perceptions, beliefs symbolizing the idea of sun,
water an fertility.

ARMENPRESS launches a new project where the exclusive findings kept in
the History Museum and their histories will be presented. Let’s start
the list from 10 the most interesting cups, and then will go to the
history of swords.

The 40-century-old cup of Karashamb which depicts a whole myth

More than 40-century-old cup has a unique place in the archeological
collection of the History Museum of Armenia which was found in 1987 by
archeologist Vahan Hovhannisyan during the excavations in Karashamb
village.

Julieta Karapetyan, senior researcher at the archaeological department
of the History Museum of Armenia, told Armenpress that the silver cup
has been discovered in the “royal” tomb together with other numerous
valuable items. It is a unique example of the ancient Eastern
iconography and has a unique significance in understanding the
spiritual and material culture of the Bronze Age Armenia. “The
presence of the cup proves that the region has been a serious
production and cultural center”, she said, adding that the cup of
Karashamb is the most ancient monument.

Julieta Karapetyan said that the Karashamb cup is also a unique sample
of applied art. The craftsman managed to present the myth on the cup
with all details and with exceptional skills. Images of 25 people, 36
animals and more than 60 different subjects are depicted on the cup.

The cup of Karashamb has been displayed in different museums of the
world, in particular, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York,
the History Museum of Russia and etc.