Author: Ekmekjian Janet

OPERA SINGER VANNO TADEO TO PERFORM IN ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.11.2009 15:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Renowned tenor Vanno Tadeo (Vahram Tadevosyan)
will present a concert program in Armenia.

"My visit is dedicated to 140th anniversary of Armenian composer
Komitas and 18th independence anniversary. I aim to present the wealth
of Armenian classical music to my compatriots and will do my best to
contribute to the development of Armenian culture," Vahram Tadevosyan
said at November 23 news conference.

According to the singer, the first concert has already been held
in Vanadzor. The second one is planned after enthusiastic welcome
offered by local audience.

Concerts in Gyumri and Yerevan (November 28 and December 14), followed
by master classes, are on the tenor’s agenda. The first part of the
concert will feature foreign composers’ works. The second part is
dedicated to Komitas’ compositions.

In 1996 Vanno Tadeo was invited to Barcelona, and, with the assistance
of the Catolicos of All Armenians Garegin I, participated in F. Vinias
International Tournament, where he was awarded with diploma and Verdi
Prize. For the last 8 years Vanno Tadeo lived in Spain, performing
on major European stages.

CAN’T BUILD COUNTRY ON FEAR, SAYS PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN

Today’s Zaman
Nov 23 2009
Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that his party has
no fear of pushing forward with its democratization reform agenda to
solve the Kurdish question, saying that those looking to spread fears
of disintegration and division were in reality trying to obstruct
democratization.

Speaking at a party caucus in Ankara’s Kızılcahaman on Saturday,
Erdogan said cowardliness would not help Turkey deal with its age-old
problems. He asked: "If Orhan Gazi was afraid, would Bursa have been
established? If Fatih was afraid, would Ä°stanbul have been?" and
said his party would go on with its democratization push without fear.

"You can’t build a country on fear. You can’t build a future on fear.

You can’t build democracy on fear," he said. The prime minister said
they saw their fight for democracy not as a problem of the Justice
and Development Party (AK Party), but a problem of the country.

Erdogan said that in the past, the Turkish nation has seen as many
glories as times when the nation and the country have been in danger.

Stating that the integrity and unity of the Turkish nation have been
tested many times throughout history, he said the Turkish nation has
always succeeded in moving forward and burying past traumas. Even
though the Turkish nation has been able to look optimistically into
the future, some are using past grievances as an instrument of fear,
Erdogan said. "There are those who are making efforts to create a
new society of fear. When history is not enough, they create virtual
fears and imaginary threats."

He said in the AK Party’s seven years in power, he has seen this many
times. "No matter what long-standing issue we tried to tackle, they put
up obstacles in front of us. We said we want to get in the European
Union, they said our national identity is in danger. We said Cyprus,
they said ‘our national interests are under threat’. We said we want
zero problems with our neighbors, they said [Turkey’s foreign policy]
axis is shifting. We said Armenia, they said Sevres. … And now,
we say the process of national unity and brotherhood [referring to
the democratic initiative], they say it is treason, they say it is
separation. The same politics, the same attitude and I am sorry to
say this but they are displaying the same cowardly approach."

He also talked about the recent discussions on alleged illegal
wiretappings of the offices of judiciary members. "Those who are trying
to make this look like it is linked to the government are acting on ill
will, they are trying to influence the public and create confusion,"
he said.

He said the wiretappings had nothing to do with the government. "And
neither could this [link] ever happen." He said the wiretapping
scandal was now in hands of the judiciary and would be sorted out
in the legal process. He said, "We see wiretapping without legal
permission as disrespect for a person, whoever that person might be."

TITAL JNDOYAN APPOINTED MEMBER OF RA CONTROL CHAMBER BOARD

NOYAN TAPAN
NOVEMBER 20, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Under RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s
November 18 decree Tital Jndoyan was appointed a member of the RA
Control Chamber Board for six years. Noyan Tapan was informed about
it by RA President’s Press Office.

STATE OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOWS CRISIS OF WORLD DIPLOMACY – NOVRUZ MAMMADOV

news.az
Nov 20 2009
Azerbaijan

Diplomacy and policy in the contemporary world is going through crisis,
Novruz Mammadov, chief of international department at Azerbaijan’s
presidential administration, told an international conference on
security in the South Caucasus in Baku Friday.

"I think crisis is observed today in diplomacy and policy judging
from the state of the Karabakh conflict settlement", Mammadov said.

He recalled that in 1992 the US Congress adopted amendment 907 to
the Act on Support of Freedom restricting direct state assistance
to Azerbaijan.

"In the result, aggressor Armenia, received over 2.5 bn US assistance,
while the victim Azerbaijan was deprived of that help. Though everyone
knew who suffered more", Mammadov said.

"I have an impression that the West adheres to the position of
providing comprehensive assistance to Armenia, the reasons are not
specified, but it occurs like that", he said.

The official said Azerbaijan is a post-Soviet country that is closely
cooperating with the West.

"But one event drew our particular attention. In October in Zurich
the Foreign Ministers of six leading states found time to spend
several hours to attain signing of protocols between Turkey and
Armenia for opening borders. Is it more important than our conflict",
Mammadov said.

He noted that the representatives of those countries have never
gathered in this format or voiced their position.

"Those representatives of the West who came there said the settlement
proceeds well. What is the use of soothing the world community? Our
president after the next meeting with the Armenian counterpart says
the talks were ineffective, while someone in the West says the conflict
settlement is nearing its close and a progress is attained", he said.

Mammadov noted that Azerbaijan has initially declared a course of
building a jural democratic secular state. "Though there are problems,
but who does not have problems?", he said.

Mammadov complained that after verdict was passed on two young
activists "western press wrote more about it than it does about the
Karabakh conflict. Who needs that?"

He noted that there is no second more important state like Azerbaijan
in the region and the country contributes to a dialogue between the
East and West, which is also in West’s interests.

"But today justice is being defeated in the international relations",
Mammadov said.

He noted that two parties to the conflict cannot be equally right and
said Russia and the United States have differences on most political
issues though they have the same position on the Karabakh conflict.

"This is the only question on which Russia and the United States
fully agree. But Azerbaijan is a strong state capable of settling
all its problems and I do hope that in the future our partners in
the East, West, North and South will adhere to a more just position",
Mammadov said.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER RECEIVES CHAIRMAN OF THE EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION OF SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian National Assembly Speaker
Hovik Abrahamyan received today chairman of the European Organization
of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) Governing Board, president
of the Poland’s Supreme Chamber of Control Jacek Jezierski.

NA public relations department told Armenpress that greeting the guest
Hovik Abrahamyan highlighted his visit ton Armenia both from the point
of view of developing Armenian-Polish bilateral cooperation, and of
participation of Armenia in the works of the European establishments.

Armenian NA speaker asked to convey his warm greetings to the chairmen
of the Polish Senate and Seim, as well as to the prime minister of
the country.

During the conversation the NA speaker said he is satisfied with the
work of the Armenian Oversight Chamber and drew the attention of his
interlocutor to the legislative and practical guarantees directed
toward ensuring the independence of the Armenian Oversight Chamber.

In this pre-context the interlocutors agreed that the most important
factor in the effective activity of the oversight bodies is their
independence. Hovik Abrahamyan presented to the guest the partnership
between the Armenian NA and the Oversight Chamber and its importance
from the point of view of effective implementation of the NA oversight
toward the purposeful expenses of the budget means. He particularly
noted that the NA staff has been included in the Oversight Chamber’s
2010 checking so that the public get convinced in the transparency
of the activity of the country’s legislative body.

Chairman of the Armenian Oversight Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan also took
part in the meeting.

MILITARY DOCUMENTS TO SHINE LIGHT ON ‘DERSIM MASSACRE’

Hurriyet
Nov 18 2009
Turkey

A new book on the 1938 Dersim Operation aims to challenge the official
Republican history on the event with previously unseen photographs,
historically important documents and eye-witness accounts. Hasan
Saltuk’s 600-page book will be released in May in both English
and Turkish

Another taboo of Turkey’s Republican history is about to be broken with
the publication of a book by Hasan Saltuk on the 1938 Dersim Operation.

Saltuk, who is the owner of record label Kalan, a researcher and
an ethnomusicologist, has spent nine years collecting previously
unseen photographs, historically important documents and comments
from soldiers who participated in the operation. He plans to present
his findings in a new 600-page book to be published in both Turkish
and English in May.

He criticized the present state of research in Turkey. "Historians
here cannot go beyond the official ideology; they do not do any
research. Those who do research and know the truth cannot raise a
voice because they are afraid."

Saltuk, who is from one of the oldest families of Dersim, said that
even though he was from a Turkmen tribe on his father’s side, dozens
of their relatives were murdered during the operation.

"My grandmother was pregnant with my mother but she saved herself from
the firing squad at the last minute," Saltuk said in an interview
with the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "Dersim residents
are still afraid to talk. The elderly still think somebody’s going
to come and kill them."

Was the operation planned?

The official historical sources say the 1938 operation in Dersim, now
called Tunceli, was implemented to quash a Kurdish tribal rebellion.

Saltuk, however, performed his research in largely international
archives, especially English and Armenian ones, collecting documents
of historical importance.

"We see in the documents that the Dersim operation was planned;
the reports were prepared in 1920. The law related to the operation
was passed in 1935 and action was taken in 1937. Seyit Rıza and his
friends were hanged on grounds that they were leading a rebellion,"
Saltuk said.

Although the rebellion was labeled a Kurdish tribal insurrection,
Saltuk said the fundamental reason behind the operation was that the
region was home to Tunceli Alevis and that they were merely Armenians
who had changed their identities.

"The official sources say Dersim residents were not paying taxes or
performing military service and that they were always rebelling.

However, we have documents proving the opposite. Ataturk led the
Dersim operation himself," he said.

"Over 13,000 people were killed during the operation and 22,000 were
exiled. Orphaned children were subjected to Turkification policies
in orphanages," Saltuk said.

Soldiers regretful

The book would reprint the comments he found on the back of all
the photographs he obtained. In many cases, the comments expressed
remorse for the events in Dersim. "[Many] felt qualms of conscience for
what was experienced. Some expressed their feelings with the words,
‘I have become a murderer.’ Others wrote, ‘I caused the deaths of
250 people,’" Saltuk said.

The project involved following the trails of surviving soldiers who
participated in the operation, Saltuk said, adding that he saw many who
were unable to adapt to social life. "Many soldiers we [interviewed]
demanded their names be made public after their deaths.

A few people did not mind having their names in the book; some said,
‘They ordered us to kill and we did,’" he said.

He obtained hundreds of original photos and maps alongside two dossiers
of population records from the grandchild – whose name Saltuk withheld
– of a high level civil servant from that era. "The invaluable
documents and photographs in the dossiers reveal the operation in
all its detail. However, it is without doubt that much more striking
files are in the archives of the Turkish General Staff."

‘Taboos will be broken in Turkey’

Touching on the storm of controversy Republican People’s Party, or
CHP, deputy leader Onur Oymen has caused with comments on the Dersim
Operation, Saltuk said, "Actually, Oymen should be congratulated. He
did what the residents of Dersim could not do for years by putting
the subject on the public agenda."

Saltuk said he believes that Turkey has entered an age of great
change. "All the taboos of this country will be broken and, in the
future, there will not be anything that cannot be spoken about."

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO BELGIUM MEETS WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF BELGIUM

ARMENPRESS
Nov 18, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to Belgium
and Netherlands Avet Adonts met November 17 with the chairman of the
House of Representatives of Belgium Patrik Dowlen. Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s Press and Information Department told Armenpress that the
interlocutors said they are pleased with the high level of cooperation
between the two countries and highlighted the partnership between
foreign ministries and parliaments.

The chairman of the Belgian parliament highlighted in the pre-context
of bilateral cooperation the readmission agreement signed between
the two countries and the continuation of the traditional economic
cooperation.

The sides agreed that the role of parliaments is essential for
promoting economic cooperation. The format of parliamentary contact
creates wide opportunities for free contacts in respect of flexible
parliamentary diplomacy.

With the request of the chairman of the Belgian parliament Avet
Adonts presented the economic situation in Armenia, normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations and developments over Karabakh conflict
regulation.

Presenting the pace of implementation of the EU’s Eastern Partnership
Program by Armenia, the ambassador noted particularly the importance
of the support of the chairing country in starting negotiations over
the free trade regime with EU.

The chairman of the House of Representatives assured that the issues
in case of assuming of the EU chairmanship by Belgium will be under
the limelight of the Belgian authorities.

A DEAL, ARF IS SURE

Lragir.am
19/11/09

According to the representative of the ARF Bureau on Hay Dat and
Political issues Kiro Manoyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech was full
of contradictions. One of them is that on the one hand he demands
the president’s resignation and on the other hand he proposes a deal
bringing the example of the Catholicos. The comments of the members
of the Congress in this connection are also contradictory.

The aim of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech was to propose a deal to the
president. The government gives possibility to the HAK to become
a political force and in exchange, the HAK gives up demanding the
president’s resignation, thinks Kiro Manoyan.

According to him, the HAK has the problem to stay alive by the next
election because precedents in different countries showed that colorful
revolutions that the first president wanted to hold are possible only
during elections.

It is not surprising that Levon Ter-Petrosyan criticized the claiming.

He has never understood its essence and has never wanted to. This
criticism is in reality aimed at the ARF because the HAK lost the
oppositional monopoly because of the ARF. Dissatisfied with this,
it tries to harm the Dashnaktsutyun, the ARF member is sure.

PRIME MINISTER WILL START TO USA

NKR Government Information and Public Relations Department
November 16, 2009

On November 18-26, the Prime Minister of the NKR Ara Haroutyunyan and
the delegation headed by him will start to the USA to participate in
the All Armenian fund raising telethon to be organized in the city
of Los Angeles.

Spiritual Leader of Artsakh Diocese Archbishop Paregev Martirosyan,
the Executive Director of All Armenian Fund "Hayastan" Ara Vardanyan,
representatives of state and public circles will leave to the US
as well.

The sum raised during the telethon, as it has been already informed,
will be directed at restoration of Shoushi.

LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS MINISTER RESIGNS

ARKA
November 18, 2009
Yerevan

YEREVAN, November 18, /ARKA/. Armenian labor and social affairs
minister Gevork Petrosian has confirmed today that he has handed in
his resignation. Speaking to journalists he said his move was prompted
by his health condition.

Gevork Petrosian, a member of the Prosperous Armenia party, was
appointed labor and social affairs minister on May 12, 2009 after
his predecessor from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation resigned
following his party’s departure from the ruling coalition.

Naira Zohrabian, a member of the Prosperous Armenia party’s
parliamentary faction, told journalists the most hopeful candidate to
take up the vacated position is Mkhitar Mnatsakanian, whose candidacy
is supported by party chairman Gagik Tsarukian.

Mkhitar Mnatsakanian was elected chairman of the Armenian Red Cross
Society in 2001. He was elected to parliament in 2007 parliamentary
election on the Prosperous Armenia party’s ticket.