Author: Jalatian Sonya

Daily Star – Lebanon
Dec 22 2008

Armenian heritage thrashed out on angry guitars

By Matthew Mosley
Special to The Daily Star
Monday, December 22, 2008

BEIRUT: "I don’t want to blow my own trumpet," says Eileen
Khatchadourian after her recent Beirut show, "but I don’t think that
Armenian music has ever been treated like this before."

The vocalist may well be correct. As a folk tradition, Armenian songs
have been variously re-interpreted down the years, but her Beirut
audience had never before heard it filtered through the angry guitars
and feedback loops of alternative rock. This week Khatchadourian
launched her new album, "Midan," with two shows at Achrafieh’s Monnot
Theater. In literary Armenian, midan means "home."

The album is a homecoming for Khatchadourian in more ways than
one. Not only does it consist of re-interpretations of the Armenian
songs that are part of the vocalist’s heritage, but she says that when
making this album she felt she had finally found a place to call her
own.

"I never stay long in any one place," Khatchadourian told The Daily
Star. "I divide my time between Lebanon, Montreal, Paris, Belgium and
the Cote d’Ivoire. I do not feel like I belong anywhere. With this
album I finally created my own space, and now I’m inviting people to
join me."

Born in Beirut in 1978, Khatchadourian was the lead singer of pianist
Guy Manoukian’s ensemble from 1999 through 2006. "We sang covers. I
was not really happy with this. I needed to find my own artistic
identity," she explains. "It’s wonderful to have achieved this with
‘Midan.’"

The capacity crowd at Monnot Theater on Wednesday were palpably
excited at the prospect of witnessing this new identity. As dry ice
swirled through the auditorium and Khatchadourian’s band began to
produce riffs from the edges of the stage, there was a real sense of
expectation.

Khatchadourian’s entrance did not disappoint. Looking as though she’d
just raided the dressing-up box, she sported a wonderfully flouncy
creation designed by young Beirut hotshot Krikor Jabotian.

Khatchadourian’s voice was equally impressive. Rich and confident, it
was a match to the ostentatious guitars and percussion. Sometimes
lamenting, sometimes aggressive, it seemed to exist on its own plane
and added real interest to the material.

The particular brand of alt-rock played by Khatchadourian’s band, all
head-banging guitar chords and mosh-pit percussion, is somewhat marred
by its association with the navel-gazing of pimply teens. It is, at
least initially, a curious choice for vehicle of the re-birth of
Armenian music.

But the somewhat aggressive edge to all those thrashing guitars is
appropriate for Khatchadourian’s purpose. "When you are a minority you
have to fight," she explained. "This is part of my battle to defend my
heritage."

The album is constructed with a youthful audience in mind. "I wanted
to repackage these songs for a new generation," said
Khatchadourian. "The songs are more easily accessible in this form."
On Wednesday Khatchadourian paused between each song to say a few
words about its derivation, fulfilling the educational aspect of her
project.

It should be said that Wednesday’s audience spanned the generations –
old and young alike appeared to be enjoying themselves. The Monnot
Theater was a slightly unsuitable venue for such "youthful" music. The
loud, thrashing chords demand some head-jerking at the very least,
which all becomes a bit self-conscious when sitting politely in a
theater. Only Khatchadourian had freedom to jump around on stage.

It was a conscious decision to hold the concert in a more formal
setting. "Since this is an avant-gout I really wanted people to listen
to the music," she explained. "I didn’t want people to be drinking and
chatting. In Europe bands hold concerts in theatres all the time. I
really like the idea"

The visuals became a redeeming feature for any uncomfortable audience
members. VJs Gabi Ferneine and Amin Dora projected a wonderful series
of images onto a screen behind the band. Desert landscapes,
androgynous youths holding flowers, contemporary dancers and undersea
adventures were inter-cut, reversed, frozen and overlaid, making a
diverting spectacle. But occasionally the application of dry ice was
so zealous as to obscure the diversion.

The final song of the evening, "Oror" ("Lullaby"), was also the
best. This is one of the songs that kicked the whole project off. At
the Dubai Jazz Festival in 2008, Khatchadourian and her band played
"Oror" and "Karouna" ("Spring"), which is now the first song on the
album. The warm reception convinced Khatchadourian she was on the
right path, and this path led ultimately to "Midan."

"Oror" begins with a wonderfully haywire melody that wouldn’t sound
out of place on the soundtrack of a Tim Burton film. Soon the guitars
come crashing in, almost theatrical with their exaggerated,
angst-ridden wall of sound.

Khatchadorian’s voice floats over the top in an elegiac lament.
Suddenly everything ceases. Khatchadourian places her fingers to her
lips: "Shhhhhhhh." The audience disobeyed this instruction and gave
way to rapturous applause.

Eileen Khatchadourian’s "Midan" is released through the independent
label Incognito.

p?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=9859 9

Azerbaijan moves to scrap presidential term limits

By AIDA SULTANOVA, Associated Press

Fri Dec 19, 2008

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan’s parliament voted Friday to scrap
presidential term limits, potentially prolonging a dynasty that has
led the oil-rich Caspian Sea country for 15 years.

Parliament, dominated by allies of President Ilham Aliyev ,
overwhelmingly backed a proposal for a nationwide referendum that
would also postpone elections in the event of war. The vote was 95 to
4, with one abstention.

Aliyev won a second five-year term by a landslide in October, but the
vote was boycotted by the opposition and criticized by international
observers as falling short of democratic standards. He succeeded his
father, who ruled Azerbaijan as the Communist Party boss during the
Soviet times and then as president from 1993-2003.

The authoritarian leader’s beleaguered critics say scrapping the
current limit of two straight terms would be undemocratic. The
opposition party Umid said Thursday that it would violate the
country’s international commitments to uphold political freedoms.

The U.S. and European Union are courting Azerbaijan because of its
Caspian Sea oilfields and strategic location along a corridor for
westward energy exports bypassing Russia and the Mideast . They have
expressed concern, however, about the government’s treatment of
opponents and the media.

The proposed amendments face a review by Azerbaijan ‘s Constitutional
Court , after which parliament would set a date for a vote. Past
election results indicate approval would be likely, but a vote could
prompt opposition protests.

The timing of the initiative may signal government concerns that the
global economic troubles and the plunging drop in the price of oil,
Azerbaijan ‘s main export, could weaken its position.

Other oil-rich ex-Soviet republics have implemented similar changes.

Lawmakers in Kazakhstan last year waived term limits for the
long-ruling president, and the Kremlin is moving to extend the
presidential term in Russia from four years to six.

AZG Armenian Daily #237, 20/12/2008

Genocides

DENIAL OF THE GENOCIDE IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENCE IN THE TERRITORY OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION

Similar decision was made at the meeting of the EU member countries’
Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs in November 2008.

According to the CNNTurk, after the meeting of the Ministers the
European Council made a decision to pass a bill criminalizing the
denial of the fact of Genocide. The law will be put into circulation
in the EU member countries in the course of two years.

According to the law, everyone who publicly denies the fact of the
Genocide and the crimes against the humanity will be sent to prison
for 1-3 years.

CNNTurk adds that the law imposes punishment on the denial of the
genocides that were committed after 1938; it does not embrace the
Armenian Genocide.

Translated by L.H.

PRESS RELEASE
"YERKIR", UNION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR REPATRIATION AND
SETTLEMENT
12 Sayat-Nova ave., apt. 4, Yerevan, Armenia

Contact: Robert Tatoyan,
Tel. +(374 10) 46 50 21; +(374 94) 36 17 93
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

December 19, 2008
Yerevan, Armenia

NEW PERSECUTIONS AGAINST THE RELATIVES AND SUPPORTERS OF JAVAKHK ARMENIAN
POLITICAL ACTIVISTS VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN AND GOURGEN SHIRINYAN

The next court sittings of the trial of the Armenian political activists
Vahagn Chakhalyan (the leader of the "United Javakhk" Democratic Alliance"
political movement), his father – Rouben Chakhalyan and his juvenile
brother – Armen Chakhalyan, as well as the trial of Gourgen Shirinyan, his
father- Harutyun Shirinyan, and his aunt- Karine Shirinyan are to be held on
December 24.

Till then the Georgian authorities continue to impose pressure on the
Chakhalyans’ and Shirinyans’ relatives and supporters, as well as on the
members of the "United Javakhk" Democratic Alliance", some of whom are
involved in Chakhalyan’s trial as witnesses.

– Legal proceedings were brought against Gurgen Shirinyan’s cousin –
Arthur Nahapetyan, who undertook to arrange the payment to the attorney
dealing with Shirinyans’ case. He is accused of swindling and is waiting for
the trial to be held on December 19.

– Vahagn Chakhalyan’s cousin – Varsham Chakhalyan was sentenced to
five years imprisonment with conditions of probation, and was released on
bail of 10,000 lari /about 6,135 USD/.

– The manufacture of the Metal & Plastic Doors and Windows that
belongs to Ruben Chakhalyan still remains closed.

– After about 5 months of imprisonment two new proceedings were
brought against Vahagn Chakhalyan by the police of Akhalkalaki and Borzhomi,
based on some facts that took place in spring of 2006. In order to gather
material on the new charges, the police occasionally calls the members of
the "United Javakhk" Democratic Alliance", the relatives and supporters of
Vahagn Chakhalyan, threatening them and forcing them to give evidence
against Vahagn Chakhalyan.

Undertaking the above-mentioned activities the Georgian authorities pursue
the following objectives:

– To undermine the economic conditions of the Chakhalyans’ and Shirinyans’
relatives in order to weaken their resolve to resist.

– To terrorize the current and future witnesses drawn in by the defense in
order to prohibit them from participation in court proceedings, or, at
least, to prevent them from giving undesirable testimony.

Proceeding from the above-said, "Yerkir" Union calls upon the Human Rights
Defender of Georgia Sozar Subari, the OSCE Mission in Georgia, and other
international structures and human rights organizations to study the facts
presented by our organization, to give a corresponding assessment of the
on-going events, to impose pressure on Georgian authorities and particularly
on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Justice of the Republic of Georgia,
in order to stop the persecutions of the Armenian minority of Javakheti and
to release all the political prisoners.

LEVON ARONIAN BEATS VASILI IVANCHUK IN 7TH TOUR OF SUPERTOURNAMENT OF CHINA

Noyan Tapan

Dec 18, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The 21-class Chess Supertournament
continues in the city of Nan Czin, China. 7th tour’s games took place
on December 18. Levon Aronian (Armenia) beat Vasili Ivanchuk (the
Ukraine), Sergei Movsisian (Slovakia) was defeated by Pyotr Svidler
(Russia), and the Bu Ksianji (China) – Vesselin Topalov (Bulgaria)
game ended in a draw.

Topalov and Ksianji are in the lead with 4.5 points each. Aronian
has gained 4 points, Svidler 3 points, Movsisian and Ivanchuk have
2.5 points each.

ARMENIA, RUSSIA SHOULD ANNOUNCE THEIR PREPAREDNESS FOR REAL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT, SAYS AMERICAN EXPERT

Trend
Dec 19 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 19/ Trend News, R. Novruzov/ Armenia and
Russia should announce their preparedness for talks with Azerbaijan to
really settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said S.Frederick Starr,
American expert on the South Caucasus and Central Asia and head of
Central Asia – Caucasus Institute.

"The fact that Russia originally acted as initiator of the conflict and
later became mediator in the resolution of the conflict is, at least,
strange," Starr said to Trend News in Baku on Dec 19.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

American political expert described activities of the OSCE Minsk Group
as failure because of differences between two co-chair countries –
Russia and the United States.

The expert described activeness of conflicting sides in talks
especially with the active participation of Russia and precisely
Moscow Declaration by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia as
Russia’s strive to "wipe nose of U.S."

Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia Ilham Aliyev, Serzh
Sarkisyan and Dmitry Medvedev signed a declaration at the end of their
meeting in Main Dorf castle near Moscow on November 2. Presidents
of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to make joint efforts to
normalize the situation in the Caucasus.

VIVACELL-MTS PROVIDED FUNDS FOR BUILDING A BOILER HOUSE, ACQUISITION AND INSTALLATION OF HEATING SYSTEM IN ST. KHACH CHURCH OF APARAN

Lragir.am
19:59:12 – 17/12/2008

St. Khach, which is known as Kasakh basilica among local population,
is a 4th century basilica building. A shard of the Crown of Thorns
is placed on the altar. In 2001, when the building underwent major
restoration, the church revitalized it mission of uniting people and
became a place where people could come, find guidance and belief,
and receive spiritual education. But the church temporary ceases
its activities during frozy winters of Aragatzotn marz (region). And
since the building of the church is unique, the installation of the
heating needed to be carried out in a way as to avoid damage to this
precious ancient structure.

"The Armenian Apostolic Church for centuries was carrying out
its mission of uniting the Armenian people all over the world and
preserving the Armenian identity. Being corporate citizen we must
preserve this spiritual and cultural heritage, to ensure uninterrupted
experience of future generations with the culture", – VivaCell-MTS
General Manager noted.

SENIOR CHINESE LEGISLATOR MEETS ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CHAIRMAN

Xinhua

Dec 16 2008
China

BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — Li Jianguo, vice chairman of China’s
National People’s Congress Standing Committee, met here Tuesday with
a delegation from the Armenian National Assembly.

The delegation is led by chairman Ovik Abramyan, who is invited by
China’s top legislator Wu Bangguo for a five-day official good-will
visit to China from Dec. 15 to 19.

TURKEY AND EUROPE: THE DECISIVE YEAR AHEAD

International Crisis Group
=5796&l=1
Dec 15 2008
Belgium

Turkey is entering a critical year, in which its prospects for
European Union (EU) membership are at make or break stage. Domestic
crises over the past two years have slowed national reform, betrayed
the promise of a new constitution and undermined the political will
needed to pursue accession negotiations. Its leaders show scant sign
of changing course, at least before the March 2009 local elections,
and EU states are applying little pressure to reinvigorate reform. Both
sides need to recall how much they have to gain from each other and
move quickly on several fronts to break out of this downward spiral
before one or the other breaks off the negotiations, which could then
well prove impossible to start again.

The dangers to Turkey of this loss of EU-bound momentum are already
evident: weak reform performance, new tensions between Turks and Kurds,
polarisation in politics and the potential loss of the principal anchor
of this decade’s economic miracle. For Europe, the cost would be longer
term: less easy access to one of the biggest and fastest-growing nearby
markets, likely new tensions over Cyprus and loss of leverage that real
partnership with Turkey offers in helping to stabilise the Middle East,
strengthen EU energy security and reach out to the Muslim world.

Paradoxically, the reform program went off course in 2005 concurrently
with the launch of EU membership negotiations. A first reason was
bitterness that the Republic of Cyprus was allowed to enter in
2004, even though it was Turkish Cypriots, with Ankara’s support,
who voted for the reunification deal (the Annan Plan) backed
by the UN, the U.S. and the EU itself, while the Greek Cypriots
voted it down. Then the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – Justice
and Development Party) government lost motivation as France and
Germany worked to block Turkey’s EU ambitions. It was disappointed
by the failure of the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the
Constitutional Court’s rejection of a hard-fought amendment to allow
women university students to wear headscarves. It was also distracted
by need to concentrate on other Constitutional Court cases brought by
the secularist establishment that narrowly failed to block the AKP’s
choice of president and to ban the party but deepened the polarisation
of domestic politics and institutions. Simultaneously an up­surge
in attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) focused attention
increasingly on security issues.

Turkey now pledges to relaunch reforms with a new National Program
for Adopting the EU Body of Law (the acquis communautaire). The draft
text focuses on anti-corruption measures through regulation of state
tenders and state incentives, judicial reform and more democratic laws
governing political parties and elections. In particular, AKP officials
mention lowering the 10 per cent national electoral threshold for a
party to enter parliament; allowing 100 of that body’s 550 seats to
be determined by nationwide proportional voting; and lengthening the
short daily broadcasts in Kurdish and liberalising their content.

However, such plans are years late and fall short of EU expectations
expressed in a 2007 Accession Partnership document and the European
Commission’s annual progress reports. While the EU seeks many
changes within a one- or two-year timeframe, Turkey envisages longer
horizons. Instead of showing determined political commitment to the EU
process, some top Turkish leaders have preferred to adopt an injured
tone of complaint about Brussels’ demands and criticism. Above all,
implementation has lagged: despite brave talk that it would replace
the Copenhagen Criteria the EU has used since the early 1990s to
assess a candidate’s status with its own "Ankara Criteria", Turkey has
passed only one sixth of a self-developed list of 119 legal reform
measures announced in April 2007. Most disappointingly, the AKP has
also dropped its prime promise in that year’s election campaign of
a new, truly democratic constitution.

This slowdown comes just as Turkey’s initiatives to encourage
openness and calm tensions in the region are showing how much it can
do to advance EU foreign policy goals. Ankara has helped de-escalate
crises over Iran’s nuclear policy and Lebanon; mediated proximity
talks between Syria and Israel; and opened a new process of contacts
with Armenia and cooperation with Iraqi Kurds. It is also supporting
promising new talks on the reunification of Cyprus, where a settlement
could provide a critical breakthrough for its relationship with the EU
over the next year. Such initiatives helped win Turkey a two-year seat
on the UN Security Council from January 2009. Conversely, however, a
failure to live up to the commitment made in 2005 to open seaports and
airports to Greek Cypriot traffic in 2009 would risk anti-membership
EU states seeking to suspend Turkey’s accession negotiations.

EU member states should seize the chance to fix past mistakes over
Cyprus by prioritising success in the new negotiations on the island
and do more to encourage Turkey to revitalise its reform effort. EU
politicians must stop pushing the qualifying bar ever higher for
Turkey and restate that they stand by their promise of full membership
once all criteria are fulfilled. For its part, Turkey should be
less sensitive to slights and stop treating the EU as a monolithic
bloc. It should take care to avoid the trap of self-exclusion, keep
its foot in the still open door and, like the UK and Spain before it,
refuse to take "no" for an answer.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government of Turkey:

1. Recommit to EU-compliant reforms at the highest executive level;
immediately approve and begin implementation of the draft National
Program for Adopting the EU Body of Law; and re-establish trust between
parliamentary parties and cooperation on the EU membership goal.

2. Sustain full support for the current round of talks on a Cyprus
settlement and avoid navy intervention against oil exploration in
waters claimed by Greece or the Republic of Cyprus.

3. Broaden the policy of inclusion towards the Turkish Kurds by both
sustaining economic development plans in Kurdish-majority areas and
developing wider cultural and language rights.

4. Extend freedoms and equal rights for members of all faiths in
choice of religious instruction at school, access to seminaries and
status of places of worship.

5. Sponsor and encourage an inclusive process of national discussion
leading to the adoption of a new, less authoritarian civilian
constitution and reform political party and electoral legislation to
increase transparency and representation.

To the EU and Governments of EU Member States:

6. Reassert firmly and often that Turkey can achieve full membership of
the EU when it has fulfilled all criteria; lift unofficial blocks on
the screening and opening of negotiating chapters; and familiarise
Turkish companies with the requirements, benefits and costs of
complying with the EU body of law.

7. Take a greater, even-handed interest in Cyprus settlement talks;
send senior officials to visit both community leaders in their
offices on the island; underline willingness to give financial support
for a solution; and consider delaying oil exploration in contested
territorial waters while talks are under way.

8. Support and coordinate with recent Turkish foreign policy
initiatives to de-escalate crises in the Caucasus and the Middle East.

9. Crack down more firmly on financing from Europe of the Kurdish
militant group the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party); ensure that requests
in relation to the arrest and extradition of suspects accused of
terrorist attacks in Turkey are fairly dealt with.

10. Encourage Turkey to ensure that steps in support of more freedom of
religion are taken not just for non-Muslim minorities but also involve
a commitment to the rights of Muslims, including non-mainstream faiths
like the Alevis.

–Boundary_(ID_CEW9tGQlAP2jKU5oXtCELA)–

THE COMPELLING CASE OF TURKEY’S CONSTITUTION
By Liam Hardy

Today’s Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Turkish Foreign Minister and chief negotiator for
the EU Ali Babacan, speaking at a NATO foreign ministers meeting two
weeks ago, mentioned that the Turkish Constitution as it stands now
will not help Turkey move forward with its reform agenda.

This resonates with a statement made in September by EU Commissioner
for Enlargement Olli Rehn that constitutional reform would greatly
accelerate Turkey’s EU accession process and could "break the cycle"
of political crises in the country — such as last year’s presidential
election crisis and this year’s Constitutional Court case to disband
the ruling political party.

Although debate over changing the Constitution has waned immensely
over the past year, Babacan has rightly called attention to an issue
that has important implications for Turkey. The current Constitution,
which was implemented under Turkish military rule in 1982, has caused
some serious headaches. Many elements within Turkey argue that the
current Constitution limits basic rights and freedoms, including the
freedom of speech, religious expression and association.

Both for internal steadiness as well as greater EU compatibility,
debate has focused in the past on creating a new constitution that
functions more democratically and better ensures the rights and
freedoms of all Turkish citizens. A renewed energy must emerge from
Turkey’s political parties and civil society for action to take place
anytime soon. However, recent history and the government’s current
workload also make this a challenging task.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) made an
effort to draft a new constitution after the 2007 elections, but the
party made some serious missteps. They attempted to create a draft in
secrecy without involving other political parties or institutions. The
draft was then leaked to the press.

Soon thereafter, the constitutional amendments to allow headscarves
in universities and the trial charging the AK Party for violating
secularism created a major distraction. Meanwhile, other events have
taken center stage: increased violence from the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK), the Russia-Georgia conflict, renewed ties with Armenia,
mediation between Syria and Israel, the global economic crisis and
the scandal surrounding the clandestine group Ergenekon, which some
allege was plotting a coup and others believe was an excuse used by
the government to arrest its critics.

As a result, debate over a new constitution has been sitting on
the shelf.

More conservative Turks have argued that the current Constitution
has been amended so frequently (79 articles have been changed and 13
amendments added in 26 years), that only some additional amendments
would be necessary. Others, particularly in academia and civil society,
insist that a constitutional convention should be called and a complete
revision generated, claiming that the spirit of the document needs
to be renewed.

A new draft would most likely strengthen the parliamentary system,
reduce powers of the presidency, reform the judicial process and
clearly define individual freedoms.

An attempt to renew Turkey’s Constitution could be as daunting, and
perhaps as dangerous, as open heart surgery. However, many sectors
of society have been calling for change, claiming that Turkey
has progressed far beyond its days of military rule and that its
Constitution must reflect this.

Yet, convincing political leaders that such reforms are necessary
sooner rather than later, and sustaining the political will to
carry them out, will be challenging. Still stinging from the
embarrassment of the recent attempts to change the Constitution,
those in power are unlikely to risk taking up this issue again in the
near future. Additionally, there are many regional issues involving
Turkey that will keep the government occupied.

However, judging from the comments of Foreign Minister Babacan and
other leaders, addressing challenges and moving ahead with reforms
must be done within a solid constitutional framework, and a renewed
and vibrant debate over the Constitution would be healthy for Turkey’s
future.

*Liam Hardy is an independent researcher on issues related to Turkey
and the region. This article was written for the Common Ground News
Service (CGNews).