Author: Jalatian Sonya

TURKEY AND THE MIDDLE EAST: AMBITIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

International Crisis Group
April 7 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Turkey is launching initiative after ambitious initiative aimed
at stabilising the Middle East. Building on the successes of its
normalisation with Syria and Iraq, it is facilitating efforts to reduce
conflicts, expanding visa-free travel, ramping up trade, integrating
infrastructure, forging strategic relationships and engaging in
multilateral regional platforms. For some, this new activism is
evidence that Turkey is turning from its traditional allies in Europe
and the United States. In fact, its increased role in the Middle East
is a complement to and even dependent on its ties to the West.

This report assesses Turkey’s growing engagement with the Middle East
within the broader frame of Turkish foreign and trade policy. The
process is still in its infancy, faces official scepticism in Arab
governments and has divided opinion among Turkey’s Western allies.

Yet, the attempts to grow the regional economy, create interdependence
and foster peace have positive potential. At a time when negotiations
to join the European Union (EU) have faltered, Ankara has adopted
early EU gradualist integration tactics for post-Second World War
peace in Europe as a model for strengthening long-term stability and
healing the divisions of the Middle East.

Turkey’s self-declared "zero-problem" foreign policy to end disputes
with its neighbours has worked well in Syria and Iraq, and its
facilitation role in some Middle East conflicts has booked some
success, for instance in hosting Syria-Israel proximity talks in 2008.

Ankara has been less effective, however, in intractable matters
like the dispute between Fatah and Hamas. The sharpening tone of
Turkey-Israel relations has raised Turkish leaders’ popularity among
Middle Eastern publics but has undermined trust among traditional
allies in Washington, Brussels and even some Arab capitals.

Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP)
leaders’ rhetoric, and their new regional activism extending from
Persian Gulf states to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Organisation of
the Islamic Conference (OIC), have given rise to perceptions that they
have changed Turkey’s fundamental Westward direction to become part of
an Islamist bloc, are attempting to revive the Ottoman Empire or have
"turned to the East". These are incorrect. The basic trends in the
country’s regional activism seen today were well established before
AKP came to power, and NATO membership and the relationship with the
U.S. remain pillars of Turkish policy.

While Turkey is bitter over attacks by France, Germany and others on
its EU negotiation process between 2005 and 2008, half of its trade
is still with the EU, and less than one quarter of its exports go to
Middle East states – a proportion typical for the past twenty years.

The global nature of Turkey’s realignment is underlined by the fact
that Russia and Greece have been among the biggest beneficiaries of
its regional trade boom.

Nevertheless, since the end of the Cold War, Turkey has been shifting
its foreign policy priority from hard security concerns to soft
power and commercial interests and moving away from being a kind of
NATO-backed regional gendarme to a more independent player determined
to use a plethora of regional integration tools in order to be taken
seriously on its own account. Turkey’s U.S. and EU partners should
support these efforts towards stabilisation through integration.

Ankara has many balls in the air and sometimes promises more than it
can deliver, over-sells what it has achieved and seeks a role far
away when critical problems remain unsolved at home. Turkey’s new
prominence is partly attributable to confusion in the region after the
U.S. invasion of Iraq, a situation that is not necessarily permanent.

Some Middle Eastern governments are also wary of the impact on their
own publics of emotional Turkish rhetoric against Israel or about
implicit claims to represent the whole Muslim world.

Turkey should sustain the positive dynamics of its balanced
relationships with all actors in the neighbourhood and its efforts
to apply innovatively the tactics of early EU-style integration
with Middle East neighbours. While doing so, however, it should
pay attention to messaging, both internationally, to ensure that
gains with Middle Eastern public opinion are not undercut by loss of
trust among traditional allies, and domestically, to ensure that all
Turkish constituencies are included, informed and committed to new
regional projects over the long term. Also, it will gain credibility
and sustainability for its ambitions if it can solve disputes close
to home first, like Cyprus and Armenia.

Middle Eastern elites worry about any sign of Ankara turning its back
on its EU accession process. Much of their recent fascination with
Turkey’s achievements derives from the higher standards, greater
prosperity, broader democracy, legitimacy of civilian rulers,
advances towards real secularism and successful reforms that have
resulted from negotiating for membership of the EU. At the same time,
Turkey and its leaders enjoy unprecedented popularity and prestige in
Middle Eastern public opinion, notably thanks to their readiness to
stand up to Israel. Turkey’s new strength, its experience in building
a strong modern economy and its ambition to trade and integrate with
its neighbours offer a better chance than most to bring more stability
and reduce the conflicts that have plagued the Middle East for so long.

UK GENERAL ELECTION – ARMENIAN CONNECTIONS

The CAIA have established that the following Labour Party candidates
are standing in the General Election that has just been called,
all with sitting Conservative MPs::

Hratche Koundarjian standing for Lewes Website address:

Hattie Ajderian standing for Bath Website address:

Cath Arakelian Standing in Chingford & Woodford Green Website address

Also, a group of young Armenians will give some assistance to Andrew
Dismore MP.

It is to be hoped that he will return and re-introduce an Armenian
Genocide Bill (the current one falls away with the dissolution of
parliament)

Counselor Bassam Mahfouz , a Christian from Beirut.

Standing for Ealing & Acton.

He has promised to work to recognise the Genocide and is currently
working with the Armenian Church to install a Genocide Monument
in Ealing.

Andrew Drake from Liberal Democrats also attended a CAIA Easter
event and is standing for Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth, Osterley
& Hounslow.

CAMPAIGN ‘1000 CITIES, 1000 LIVES’ TO FOCUS ON ‘URBANIZATION AND HEALTH’

ArmInfo
2010-04-07 12:02:00

ArmInfo. World Health Day is marked today

As the UN Resident Coordinator Dafina Gercheva said, this year slogan
of the World Health Day is "1000 cities – 1000 lives". ‘The problem
of "urbanization and health" will be paid great attention as it is
still relevant today practically in all the cities of the world. City
population is growing. For instance, if in 1926 19% of the population
of the republic lived in Yerevan, today they are 64%’, – she said
and added that this year the cities will be offered to open a part
of their streets for health activities and close them for the motor
transport. This will make it possible to create an area for holding
events, meeting friends, neighbours and family members. 11 April
is the perfect date for such events and 9 April is an alternative
for the towns where Sunday is a working day. ‘What will be done in
the zones free from cars, depends on creative people and the wishes
and priorities of a city. One or several events may be conducted’,
– Gercheva said. Moreover, they are going to gather 1000 stories of
urban health champions to illustrate what people are doing to improve
health in their cities. ‘We hope that Armenia will also take part in
these actions’, – she said.

ARMENIANS INSPIRE LEONARDO DA VINCI IN PAINTING HIS FAMOUS "THE LAST SUPPER"

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 6, 2010 – 20:17 AMT 15:17 GMT

After the death of Leonardo Da Vinci, three components which connect
Da Vinci with Armenia were found: namely, the unique Armenian Bagaran
style church plans, the "Armenian Letters", and the portraits of
three Armenian heads, Melkon Armen Nercissian Khandjian from the
U.S. Aquarian Millennium Armenological Institute wrote in his article.

The Armenian church style known as Bagaran plan, is uniquely Armenian
architectural concept where four columns are used to support a square
upon which it becomes possible to build a dome.

"The scholars who accept the fact that Leonardo travelled through
Armenia, propose that he personally saw and copied the basic design
church structures and by making certain improvements he formulated
the sketches which abound in his notebook. This Bagaran style churches
are absent in Cilician Armenia, where most agree he may have visited.

The origianal Bagaran style church or rather chapel, was built in
the 7th century, 624-631, on the right shore of Akhurian River in
East Armenia during the Bagratunian Kingdom. "Bag-aran" means the
"abode of god," the author said.

According to Melkon Armen Nercissian Khandjian, this style of
architecture can be seen in Eastern Armenia, notably in the churches
of Edjmiyadzin built in 301-304 and renovation of the same in 484.

Therefore, the roots of Bagaran style may go to pre-Christian
heathenism period.

The Bagaran church style may have spread westward, even to Europe,
under the Byzantine Armenian/Macedonian Emperors of the 9th century.

The church Germine-de-Pres was built by Armenian architect Odo le
Messin for the French monarch Charlemagne. Empress Teophano, of
Armenian descent, built Bagaran style two churches in Germany. Her
daughter Theophano built a church in same style in Kohn, Germany.

Armenian emigrants built Bagaran planned churches in Belgium, Italy
and Byzantium. Chapel of San Satiro in Milan, was based on Bagaran
plan, and was known to Leonardo.

"In the "Codex Atlanticus", there are two pages of handwritten,
mirror-image, letters later entitled as "Armenian Letters." Leonardo
describes his visit to the Cilician Taurus Mountains and draws sketches
of Armenian mountains and valleys," the article reads.

"Da Vinci historians are puzzled about his interest and detailed
descriptions of faraway Armenia. Some have suggested that his
ancestors came from Armenia. Others advance the theory that he
personally travelled across Armenia. Others propose that he received
information about Armenia from fellow travellers and merchants, and
especially from descriptions made by his close friend Benedito Dei,
a merchant and the ambassador of Italy to the Ottoman Sultan.

Some historians do not agree that Da Vinci travelled through Armenia.

They consider his "Letters of Armenia" as information collected for a
novel he was going to write. Others insist that he indeed travelled
through Armenia, made the sketches of some Armenian churches and
mountain sceneries.

Leonardo writes about his massive construction project in Syria for
the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. His correspondence with the lieuteneant
of the Sultan is addressed as "Devatgar"-~Vthe title of high official
at the court. He mentions his visit to the city of Kalindra and
the Taurus Mountain range. Leonardo calls these mountains Caucasian
Mountains and explains that on his visit to the shores of Caspian Sea,
the natives told him that their mountains are also called Caucasus
and are the real Caucasian Range.

"His descriptions of the mountains in Asia Minor, Cilician Turus
Mountains (high points of Arnos and Artev) to East Armenia as far as
Erzerum, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, beyond to the Black Sea and
the Caspian Sea accompanied with drawings is a strong indication that
he knew Armenia very well, " Mr. Armen Nercissian Khandjian wrote.

In a letter to Sultan Bayazid II, Leonardo, in 1502, proposes to build
a bridge across Pera to Constantinople. Again a good indication that
he visited the area. Even though those who oppose Leonardo’s visit
to Armenia and consider his information on Armenia as notes for
his novel on the end of the world, admit that his descriptions are
genuine and real depictions of Armenian Highlands. Could all these
have come to him from ancient writers, his merchant friend Dei,
other travellers or Armenians residing in Milan? Perhaps some, but
not all. His knowledge and sketches are vivid and substantial. He
must have travelled if not across but at least through "Western
Armenia." Through the years 1481-1487, there are no records in his
biography about his whereabouts. These may well be the years he was
travelling through Armenia in service of the Mameluke Sultan.

"It is intersting that Leonardo sketched the profile of three
Armenian faces. It is not known what was his interest in them,"
the artile reads.

"The book by author Dan Brown (2004), and the same named motion
picture produced by director Ron Howard (2006), created a never before
seen sensation in America and abroad. The novel THE DA VINCI CODE,
uncovers the great secret that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene,
had children from her, the descendants of whom are alive even today.

This secret was supposedly known to Da Vinci who in a secret coded
message represented her in his painting of "THE LAST SUPPER."

The author of this article proposes that not only Leonardo Da Vinci
was well familliar with Armenian art and architecture, but must have
certainly gotten his idea of "The Last Supper" (painted in 1495-1498)
from an illuminated Armenian Bible manuscript (dated 1038, of Vanian
school). This Armenian manuscript is the first and probably the only
painting that shows among the desciples a woman, Mary Magdalene,
lovingly leaning her head on the shoulder of Jesus! Da Vinci may
certainly have been influenced by this idea of Jesus at the table
scene showing a feminine looking desciple sitting on his left.

"Another Armenian manuscript, (dated as late 13th to early 14th
century, from Artsakh), shows Jesus (his figure missing in a lost
page)) surrounded by eleven apostles (only heads are shown) around
a round table, with Mary Magdalene drawn separately but completing
the position of the twelfth desciple. In yet another manuscript,
"The Ascension" (dated 1287, from Cilicia, and attributed to Toros
Roslin), Jesus is shown ascending to heaven, with Mary, his mother,
at the base of the scene surrounded by 13, not 12, desciples! At a
prominent position is a portrait of a woman with braided hair and a
hair band!

This is no other than Mary Magdalene!" the scolar wrote.

"All these Armenian illuminated miniature paintins are several
centuries earlier than Da Vinci’s "Last Supper." It is as if the
Armenian artists are using a hidden code to give Mary Magdalene a
prominent position among the desciples. Perhaps, these must be taken
as the oldest and boldest representation of Mary Magdalene as a very
close person to Jesus, discretely suggesting their marital status!

These paintings, pages from Armenian Bibles, were produced by
Armenian illuminators from Armenian Cilicia, Armenian Van and Armenian
Artsakh-~Vencompassing the western extreme, through central to the
eastern border of the Armenian Highlands.

Accrding to the scolar, if Leonardo travelled through Armenia and
studied Armenian church architecture, then certainly he came across
and studied the above mentioned or similar illuminations which may
have been the source of his Magdalene as an exalted female apostle of
Jesus. There may have been many such manuscripts but due to constant
wars and the ravages of Mongol-Turk-Tartar invaders who burned and
destroyed Armenian literary and art treasures, these most valuable
cultural inheritance were forever lost. During the Armenian Genocide
by the Turks, 1985-1923, the Turks destroyed all Bibles and illuminated
manuscripts they could lay their genocidal hands on.

In 301 A.D. Armenia became the first nation to accept Christianity
as her national religion. The Armenian Alphabet was formed in 406 A.D..

Thereafter, Armenian illuminated bible and manuscript art
bloomed. The earliest Armenian illuminated manuscript in existence
is the Edjmiyadzin Gospel which consists of two illuminations-~Vone
from 6th-7th centuries and the other 898. The second is Queen Mlke’s
Gospel of 862 A.D., Vaspurakan. The earliest Armenian "Last Supper"
is from the Gospel of 1041. In the Gladzor Gospel, 14th. century,
"the Last Supper" shows heads only, with an old, grey haired apostle
leaning on Jesus’s left shoulder. John, the beardless young man,
sits at the end of the table, second from the last desciple!

It is clear that the Armenian illuminators gave the honor of sitting
next to Jesus to John, or an old desciple or Mary Magdalene, reflecting
their personal interpretation of the last supper and the influence of
the Armenian church at their times," concluded Melkon Armen Nercissian
Khandjian.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: IN PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS WE FOLLOW THE ‘EVERYTHING IS COMPARATIVE PRINCIPLE

ArmInfo
2010-04-06 19:48:00

ArmInfo. In the human rights sector Armenia has lots of problems yet
and can hardly solve all of them at once. So, here we follow the
"everything is comparative" principle, President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan said while meeting with President of FIDH Souyer Belassen
today.

The press service of the President quotes him as saying: "If today
we have more such problems than we had a few years ago, it means that
the work of our government needs to be revised. If there is progress,
it means that we are working in the right direction."

Sargsyan highly appreciated the support of FIDH and welcomed its
initiative to hold a forum in Armenia.

Belassen thanked Sargsyan for Armenia’s efforts to organize the forum
on a proper level. She said that it is a historic event. Yerevan
has turned into human rights capital and this is a big advantage
for Armenia.

The forum "Justice: New Challenges – the Right to an Effective
Remedy before an Independent Tribunal" has been organized by FIDH in
cooperation with Civil Society Institute with a view to discuss and
develop mechanisms for legal protections of offence victims struggling
for justice. NGOs from all over the world are taking part in the forum.

TURKISH FM: TURKISH DELEGATION PLANS TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN LOBBY IF TRIP TO U.S MADE

Today
html
April 1 2010
Azerbaijan

If a decision to visit the U.S. is made, the Turkish delegation
plans to hold meetings with representatives of the Armenian lobby,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the media.

The final decision on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to
the U.S. will be announced April 2.

Erdogan canceled his visit to Washington, which was scheduled for
April 11, because the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives adopted the resolution on "genocide" April 11.

After the resolution was adopted in the committee of the Congress,
Erdogan said that his visit to the United States remains in question.

It is not ruled out that official representative of the Turkish
government will go to participate in an international summit on
nuclear security.

KAREN BECKARYAN: THE PROBABILITY OF RATIFICATION OF THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS HAS REDUCED
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
02.04.2010 17:15

The probability of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols
has reduced, but has not reached zero, President of the European
Integration NGO Karen Beckaryan told a press conference today. His
predictions about the ratification of the protocols in February-March
did not come true.

What can change in the possible establishment of
Armenian-Turkish relations in 10 days? Some analysts consider that
Sargsyan-Obama-Erdogan meeting in Washington could revitalize the
process. Those, who are less optimistic, say it’s useless to continue
the process, since Turkey obviously shows that it does not intend to
ratify the protocols.

Erdogan’s statement about expelling the Armenian from Turkey created
a negative atmosphere in the process. According to Karen Beckaryan,
it was a racist call, and in response to that the Armenian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs had to urge its citizens to refrain from visiting
Turkey.

Karen Beckaryanis is not sure an updated Madrid document exists. Not
ruling out the possibility of resumption of war, he attached importance
to the involvement of Karabakh in the talks.

ARMENIAN CHURCHES JOIN TO HELP BALA CYNWYD GIRL
By David O’Reilly

Philadelphia Inquirer
9667202.html
April 1 2010

For more than 1,000 years, Armenians have celebrated Easter with
cries of "Chrisdos haryav," "He is risen."

But on Sunday, Armenians at five local churches will be invited to
participate in an Easter ritual most have never experienced. They
will be asked to swab their mouths in a DNA search for a bone-marrow
donor who could save an ailing 4-year-old girl from Bala Cynwyd.

"We chose the day because many people will be here," said the Rev.

Hakob Gevorgyan, pastor of Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in
Cheltenham. He predicted that from 300 to 400 people would turn out
for Easter liturgy at his church alone.

Eight Armenian churches in California, two in Boston, and one in
Washington are also participating in the search for a donor.

In August 2008, Charlotte Conybear’s parents first noticed bruises
on her legs.

"We were not too concerned at first," Ellen Conybear said Wednesday
as her daughter, pale with dark eyes, drew with crayons at the
kitchen table.

"She was 21/2 and playing in a new playground," father Jeff said. "We
thought she was just being more active."

Tests at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia at first suggested ITP,
a relatively benign blood disorder. But later tests revealed aplastic
anemia, a potentially fatal failure of the bone marrow to generate
sufficient blood platelets and red and white blood cells.

"They told us her bone marrow was empty," Jeff Conybear said.

"We took her out of day care right away," said her mother, a lawyer
on maternity leave with 3-week-old daughter Caroline. "If she ever
hit her head, it could be very serious."

Drug therapy in May failed to improve Charlotte’s rapidly declining
platelet count, but doctors assured her parents that there would be
no difficulty finding a bone-marrow donor.

But they were startled to discover there were no DNA matches among
the thousands of potential donors in the national registry.

The doctors asked about the Conybears’ ethnic backgrounds, which
includes English, Polish, and Italian. "When I mentioned I was
also part Armenian, they went, ‘Ah,’ " said Ellen Conybear, whose
family name was Jerrehian. Armenians have DNA features distinct from
Europeans, and different genetic diseases.

So the doctors turned to the national registry of bone-marrow donors
of Armenian descent and found just partial matches, which they said
they would use only in a crisis.

Tests on Charlotte’s 2-year-old brother, Jack, showed he was not a
match. Caroline is too young to even consider, and parents are not
suitable donors.

The prospects of finding a match seemed bleak until November,
when Ellen’s brother Dean Jerrehian checked in to a trade show at a
Rhode Island hotel and discovered that it was hosting a bone-marrow
registration drive.

Weeks later, Jerrehian, who makes and sells yoga mats, was on a sales
trip to San Francisco and asked a yoga studio to host a similar drive
among local Armenians.

But when Aline Aghababian, 39, of San Francisco, saw the fliers in her
neighborhood promoting the one-day effort, "it made my heart sink,"
she said.

"We don’t have many Armenians in our neighborhood," she said. "I was
in a panic for them. I’m a mother, and all I could think of was what
they were going through."

Aghababian called Jerrehian the night before the registration. "I
said, ‘This is not going to work here. Have you tried contacting any
[Armenian] community groups?’ "

Jerrehian said he and his family were not active in the Armenian
community or its churches. So Aghababian, who is active in hers,
began phoning Armenian churches around San Francisco, asking whether
they would agree to a registration drive on Easter.

"They all said yes, immediately," she said.

Stunned by the response, the Conybears, who are Lutheran, began
calling the Philadelphia area’s Armenian churches.

"Some said yes right away," Ellen Conybear said. "A few said they
thought Easter would be too busy, but when they learned the others
were doing it, they said, ‘Yes, we have to do this.’ "

Gevorgyan, the pastor of Holy Trinty, said his church would invite
members to take the test during the coffee hour after liturgy.

The test consists of swabs taken of the inner cheek with cotton-tipped
sticks. The sticks, bearing the owners’ DNA, go to a national
laboratory for testing and registration.

Donors must be between 18 and 60 and available to donate bone marrow
and blood promptly if notified they are the right match. Charlotte’s
treatment might require the donor to give only blood, from which stem
cells are extracted.

The Conybears expect the Easter effort to yield thousands of tests and
at least a few matches. But their prayers won’t stop if they find one.

"We’re not really sure" of Charlotte’s prognosis if she gets a
transplant, her father said. "We’re told it’s decent."

The Conybears expect to learn in a few weeks whether they have a
match. Meanwhile, on Sunday, they plan to attend Easter services at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ardmore, then visit some of the Orthodox
churches where the donor drive is taking place.

"We want to put Charlotte’s face out there," Ellen Conybear said,
"so people know who it is they’re helping."

ELECT THOSE WHO WILL CONSIDER JAVAKHQ-ARMENIANS’ INTERESTS: JAVAKHQ MOVEMENT

Tert.am
19:02 ~U 30.03.10

On March 27, Javakhk People’s Movement held a conference. Among the
participants were 200 current and former members, representatives
from NGOs in Javakhq and Javakhq-Armenian public figures.

The participants prepared a statement calling on the Georgian
authorities to do the following: ~U stop political and judicial
persecutions of Javakhq-Armenian political and public figures ~U
restore justice by reviewing all the unlawful verdicts reached in
relation to those people’s activities ~U set free Javakhq-Armenian
political prisoner Vahagn Chakhalyan ~U don’t prevent local
self-governing bodies from implementing their duties defined by law
~U lift the ban on the use of the Armenian language in all spheres of
public life ~U grant Armenian regional language status ~U privilege
the founding of the Armenian-Georgian University in Akhalkalaki
with Armenian as the language of study and instruction ~U give the
Armenian Apostolic Church legal status and return to it all the places
of worship that were illegally taken from the Church during Soviet rule

The statement also calls on Javakhq-Armenians to give their vote in
the May 30 election of local self-governing bodies to those parties
and individuals who will include in their election platforms the
above-mentioned problems faced by the Armenian people and will
implement solutions to those issues.

The movement also calls on the Georgian authorities not to hinder
the participation of those parties in the election who will consider
the interests of Javakhq-Armenians, and also ensure a free and fair
election.

READERS VOTED FOR THE MOST DISREPUTABLE

0/surveys
08:53 pm | March 30, 2010

Social

Based on a survey by "A1+", 54.3% of people say the judicial branch
of government as the most disreputable in Armenia.

20.4% considered the National Assembly to be the most disreputable,
while 13.2% said the government is the most disreputable.

12.1% qualified mass media outlets-the fourth power-as the most
disreputable. There were a total of 1,384 readers participating in
the survey.

This week we suggest answering the following question: Is it possible
to see change of power in Armenia this year?

Dear readers, if you would like to make comments in addition
to responding to the question, please send your comments to
[email protected].

We look forward to your active participation.