Author: Kalashian Nyrie

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 15 2010

Judges in missionary murders case request Cage Plan evidence files

German Ambassador to Turkey Eckart Cuntz was in Malatya to attend the
trial into the assassination of journalist Hrant Dink.
The judges presiding over the trial over the murder of three Christian
missionaries in 2007 have requested the complete evidence file in the
investigation into the Cage Action Plan ahead of a decision over
whether to merge the two cases.

The panel of judges convened yesterday for the 26th hearing in the
trial over the killing of three men working at the Zirve Publishing
House in Malatya on April 18, 2007. In the previous hearing the panel
of judges had said it would rule on whether to combine the files
connected to the Cage Action Plan — detailing secret plans by a unit
within the military to attack and intimidate non-Muslims — with the
ongoing trial over the Malatya murders. The decision is a critical
one, as the lawyers representing the victims’ families have
continually insisted that the murder of the three Christians was not a
simple hate crime but something much deeper. The Cage Action Plan case
indictment has already been added to the Malatya case file, and
yesterday the panel of judges decided to request that the entire Cage
Action Plan case evidence file be sent by the Ä°stanbul 12th High
Criminal Court to the Malatya 3rd High Criminal Court. Following the
review of this evidence the Malatya judges will decide whether the two
cases should be merged.
Observers have drawn a connection — potentially supported by the data
contained within the Cage Plan investigation’s evidence files —
between the murders of the Christians and the 2007 discovery of a
cache of weapons that prompted the beginning of Turkey’s trial of the
century, involving a criminal formation known as Ergenekon nestled
deep within the state that planned a number of acts to create the
preconditions for a military coup d’état — actions that might have
gone so far as assassinating three Christian missionaries.

The judges also accepted a request from the prosecution that the
Malatya court request information on the prison entry date and charges
against Erhan Ã-zel, currently held in Amasya and an eyewitness in the
trial over the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink. The court said it would consider whether to request the
transcript of Ã-zel’s testimony to the Ä°stanbul court and whether to
call him to testify as a witness in Malatya as well.

The European Union has been following developments surrounding Dink’s
assassination, the Malatya murders and the Cage Action Plan
investigation very closely. In the courtroom yesterday attending the
trial proceedings were Susanne Geske, the wife of the murdered German
national, and German Ambassador to Turkey Eckart Cuntz. The next
hearing in the Malatya case has been scheduled for June 25.

In April 2007, Christians Necati Aydın (35), UÄ?ur Yüksel and German
national Tilmann Ekkehart Geske (46) were tied to their chairs,
stabbed and tortured at the Zirve Publishing House before their
throats were slit. The publishing house they worked for printed Bibles
and Christian literature. Among the suspects, Salih Güler, Cuma
Ã-zdemir, Hamit Ã?eker and Abuzer Yıldırım, were caught at the crime
scene and immediately taken into custody, while Emre Günaydın jumped
from a third-story window while attempting to escape from the police
and was taken into custody on a court order after a hospital stay. A
total of nine men have been charged in connection with the murders,
and seven of them are in jail.

15 May 2010, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES Ä°STANBUL

HERITAGE SLAMS AT PACE PRESIDENT DAVUTOGLU

Tert.am
13.05.10

Heritage Party has released a statement to those who avoid visiting
the Genocide Memorial at Tsitsernakaberd.

The statement reads as follow:

"The Heritage Party and its parliamentary fraction consider the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) president Mevlut
Cavusoglu’s decision to not visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial,
at Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan, to be a behavior that is unbecoming
of the head of this prestigious European organization. And during
their meeting with Mr Cavusoglu today, Heritage’s MPs will inform
him about this, in person.

"We deem impermissible the fact that PACE’s current president is acting
against the spirit of the 1987, 2000, 2002 and 2005 decisions by the
European Parliament – the directly elected legislative body of the
European Union, which has formally recognized the Armenian genocide
– and is being guided by a whim that is solely characteristic of a
nationalist. This conduct is also a challenge against the universal
norms, the benchmarks of European values, and the aspirations of
Turkey which pretends to enter into the European family.

"With such demeanor, Mr. Cavusoglu explicitly confesses that he
does not consider himself as the head of an influential institution
– comprising a multinational European family – that pursues the
implementation of democratic processes and the protection of human
rights, but, rather, as a Turkish official who, presently having
assumed the duties of the PACE president, seems to want to make use
of this institution’s leverage for the benefit of Turkey’s nowadays
leaders and Azerbaijan.

In the view of Heritage, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who, because of the fixation
to deny the tragedy of the Armenian people -who have been subjected to
a genocide and have lost their homeland – and disguising his current
official stay in Armenia as that of a working visit and refusing to
stop at Tsitsernakaberd, is one of those Turkish politicians whose
statements and political conduct demonstrate that he is a modern-day
follower of the Kemalist-Bolshevik conspiracy "deal" of the past.

"It is apparent, therefore, as to the objectives Mr. Cavusoglu
is pursuing through his unconcealed steps being taken toward the
new makeup of the PACE subcommittee on the Mountainous Karabagh
Republic affairs. With this statement, Heritage yet again affirms
for this Turkish political figure, and his supporters and probable
"instructors," that the real issue at hand is the de jure international
recognition of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic, which is already
established de facto. And the outstanding matter is the return of
the territories which, defined by Artsakh’s constitution and under
international law, belong to Artsakh and which are under Azerbaijani
occupation to this day. And PACE’s leadership can, and is obligated
to, mediate with the aim of peacefully resolving these questions.

"The Heritage Party once more calls on Armenia’s authorities to
officially recognize the established independence of the Mountainous
Karabagh Republic. And no Turkish official, nor any other foreigner
who refuse visiting Tsitsernakaberd, can erase, or send into oblivion,
the reality of the Armenian Genocide and the Great Dispossession of
Homeland, and the just cause and the truthful vision of all Armenians."

RA GOVERNMENT AMENDS LAW ON TELEVISION AND RADIO

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 13, 2010 – 18:25 AMT 13:25 GMT

On May 13, the Armenian government approved the draft law on amendment
of the RA Law on Television and Radio. The draft law includes a range
of new ideas and provisions arising from the governmental concept on
transfer to digital system of television and radio broadcasting.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stressed that the draft law
has passed a relevant international expertise.

Besides, the Prime Minister noted that the television and radio field
is very sensitive, as it is often used for political purposes. He
said that the draft law allows developing political, cultural and
educational TV programs in the country to meet the needs of all groups
of population and to secure effective competition.

RECORDING GAUHAR JAAN

The Hindu
29071.ece
May 13 2010
India

Vikram Sampath looks like he’s just out of college. His sense of
humour and the bright sparkle in his eyes when he laughs (which
is quite often) belie his twin passions… history and classical
music. Proving it is his second book, ‘My Name Is Gauhar Jaan! The
Life and Times of A Musician.’

Overcoming all kinds of stumbling blocks, Vikram has resurrected the
glory of Gauhar Jaan, a nautch girl from Calcutta and the grand dame
of Indian recorded music. That she was the first Indian to record on a
gramophone is well-known. But how that one bold step changed the face
of Indian music, both here and abroad, is to be read to be understood.

Says Vikram, who takes Carnatic lessons from Jayanthi Kumaresh when
he is not playing financial analyst at an MNC or leafing through
historical documents, "Gauhar Jaan was exceptional in more ways than
one… she created a template to showcase something as expansive as
Hindustani music in just three minutes! Besides, she has recorded
nearly 600 songs in 20 languages. To top it all, she composed several
timeless thumris including the famous ‘Kaise yeh dhoom machayi.’"

Talking about the genesis of ‘My Name…" Vikram, who has been awarded
the prestigious Fellowship at Berlin’s Institute For Advanced Studies,
remembers, "This book is a happy accident. While penning my first
tome, ‘Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars,’
I literally stumbled upon a box of meticulously documented archival
material simply titled ‘Gauhar Jaan.’ My curiosity got the better
of me and I began sifting through the contents. Soon, unearthing her
life story became an obsession."

"Tracking her life took more than two years of my life. Also, India
can be a historian’s nightmare often as there is a paucity of info
on musicians of those days, especially women," recalls Vikram. "But
one name that sprung up at once was that of Dr. Suresh Chandvankar
of the Society of Indian Records Collectors in Mumbai. So I wrote to
him and he sent me some documents and a CD with her songs. As I heard
her voice, I realised that I was listening to the first ever Indian
voice that left an imprint on a shellac disc. It was awesome… "

Vikram’s next stop was Calcutta, where Gauhar spent some of her most
glorious days. He met several people including Mahapara Begum of Rampur
over 110 years, perhaps the only surviving person to have seen Gauhar
in flesh and blood. And bit by bit, this BITS Pilani engineer was
able to piece together once again, the life of the Hindustani vocalist.

Born Eileen Angelina Yeoward, an Armenian Christian (not Jewish as
often perceived) in Azamgarh of the United Provinces, Gauhar Jaan
converted to Islam when her mother Victoria Hemmings became Badi Malka
Jaan after her marriage turned sour. Malka Jaan was a poet in her own
right and her Urdu verses are published as ‘Makhzan-e-ulfat-e-Mallika.’

Stunning looks and a sweet voice were Gauhar’s assets and she used both
to her advantage to reach dizzying heights during her hey day. When
recording expert Frederick Gaisberg spotted her and put her in front
of a horn (which served as a mike), her thumris, dadras, ghazals and
the high-pitched announcement ‘My Name is Gauhar Jaan’ at the end of
the discs created music history.

But ‘…Life was never a straight path for Gauhar Jaan and tragedies
lurked in every turn and corner’ in a way sums up her life. Her
ill-fated choice of men (among them, her secretary Abbas, and Gujarati
stage actor Amrit Keshav Nayak), her flamboyant lifestyle and her
two bitterly fought court battles (one where she had to prove her
parentage!) led to her downfall and penury. And ultimately the gifted
artist died prematurely in 1930, aged 57, in Mysore.

Vikram says, "Stories of her spending Rs. 20,000 for a party when
her cat had a litter and paying a Rs.1,000 fine a day for riding a
four-horse driven buggy on the streets of Calcutta are renowned."

Part-history and part-biography, the book chronicles not just Gauhar
Jaan’s story but also the advent of the gramophone in England,
the decadence that set into the once rich Bengali society and the
Indian Freedom Struggle. The chapter on how the thumri, considered
the ‘bridge between the world of classical and folk traditions’,
became popular, is edifying.

What makes Vikram’s journey remarkable is that a 25-plus youngster
was willing to go to any length and take on such an onerous task to
"place this pioneering artist in a historical perspective, bringing her
memory and contributions to Hindustani music back into the public eye."

(The book comes with a CD of Gauhar Jaan’s soundtracks from original
78 rpms.)

They dared…

In those male-dominated times, the number of women who sang on
gramophones outnumbered the men. Despite their social status,
these women proved to be more daring. Gauhar Jaan led the brigade
in the north while Salem Godavari was a pioneer in the south. Some
of the gramophone celebrities were: Bengali stage artists Hari Moti
and Sushila, Binodini, Acheria, Kiron, RaniKali Jaan, Peara Saheb,
Bhavani, Ammakannu, Salem Papa, Vadammal, Dhanakoti Ammal and of
course, Bangalore Nagarathnammal. Does anybody even remember these

ALL ARMENIAN MEDIA ASSOCIATION CONDEMNS ACTIONS AGAINST JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN NEAR DNESTR

ArmInfo
2010-05-13 11:23:00

ArmInfo. The All Armenian Media Association expresses deep concern over
the political vengeance against Armenian journalist of Near Dnester,
Ernest Vardanyan.

According to the source, the video disseminated by the Ministry of
National Security of Near Dnester, in which Vardanyan supposedly
confessed that he had collaborated with the authorities of Moldova,
is apparently the result of assaults and threats. The journalist
had previously provided information about this in his announcement
in April.

The All Armenian Media Association condemns the imprisonment of
the Armenian journalist and calls on the law-enforcement bodies of
the Republic of Armenia to take advantage of their opportunities to
extenuate the pressures against Ernest Vardanyan. The association also
calls on Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates to take measures in order to
show necessary legal support to the Armenian journalist.

To recall, journalist Ernest Vardanyan arrested on 7 April 2010 in
Tiraspol by the Near Dnestr special services on the charge of treason
against the State and espionage in Moldavia’s favor. According to
official sources, he has admitted his guilt. His guilt admitting
statement was made on public television of Near Dnestr. Vardanyan
confessed that he had been enrolled by Senior Lieutenant Nikolay
Botezatu, an employee of the Information and Security Service
(department responsible for state security) of Moldova in 2001, when we
was a four-year student of the faculty of political and administrative
sciences of the State University of Moldova in Kishinev. Vardanyan
said he had been enrolled by the Information and Security Service
representative, as the latter was threatening to exclude him and his
wife from the University. Vardanyan said that one more employee of
the Information and Security Service of Moldova, representative of
Moldova to the United Control Commission, Ivan Lyakhu was also privy
to the enrollment.

COURSE OF SPRING SOWING IN REPUBLIC

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
May 06, 2010

According to live data, by May 3, 2010, 1434.9 hectares spring sowing
was carried out in the Republic against 3215.3 hectares by the same
period in the previous year.

According to regions, the carried out spring sowing is as follows:
Askeran-486.2, Hadrout-182.5 hectares, Martakert-298.0 hectares,
Martuni-218.7 hectares, Shahoumyan region-22.9 hectares, Shoushi-71.9
hectares, Kashatagh-154.7 hectares.

267.1 hectares of the carried out spring sowing formed areas under
bread grains, 34.0 hectares-maize, 95.6 hectares-cereals, 736.6
hectares-potato, 230.5 hectares-vegetables, 41.5 hectares- melons
and gourds and 29.6 hectares-fodder crops.

Russia and Turkey agree on visa-free travel

12 May, 2010

Moscow and Ankara have signed an agreement to cancel the visa regime between
the two countries as President Dmitry Medvedev is on an official visit to
Turkey to sign strategic deals.

The agreement on mutual cancellation of visas for citizens of the two states
was signed on Wednesday. This step will open "absolutely new opportunities
for promoting tourism," Medvedev announced at a joint media conference
following his meeting with his Turkish counterpart. Russia’s leader dubbed
the move a "truly historic event".

Abdullah Gul, for his part, said he is pleased over such a development in
the bilateral relations.

However, it will be the average Russian traveler who will be happy to hear
the news, as Turkey is one of the most popular destinations for
holidaymakers seeking sun, sea and good service for reasonable prices. Last
year alone, Medvedev reminded, over two million Russians visited Turkey.

Up until now, the process of getting a visa to Turkey was rather simple
compared to that of getting to, for instance, the EU. Upon arrival in the
country, tourists can get permission to cross the border by paying just $20
and getting a stamp in their passport. However, after the agreement is
signed and comes into force, tourists will be able to get into the country
for free and stay there for up to 30 days.

As for when exactly Russian and Turkish voyagers will be able to finally
enjoy visa-free trips, Medvedev said the moment will coincide with the
coming into force of another treaty – the readmission of illegal immigrants.

"The enactment of a visa cancellation agreement with Turkey, this process
will be synchronized with the preparation and enactment of a readmission
agreement. This document is almost ready. I hope that all the necessary
procedures will be finalized and the document [scrapping visas] will come
into force in the near future," Medvedev said as quoted by Interfax news
agency.

Prior to his visit to Ankara, Medvedev was in Syria for talks with President
Bashar al-Asad. In addition to bilateral relations issues, the two discussed
the situation in the Middle East.

During the visit to neighboring Turkey, serious concerns for the
international community have once again come into the spotlight. Israel’s
relations with Arabic countries – in particular between the Palestinian
National Authority and Tel Aviv – and Iranian nuclear policies: these are
the issues that have to be sorted out to bring long-awaited stability to the
region.
According to the Turkish President, Hamas "should be included in the
political process for the settlement of the Middle East problem." Abdullah
Gul is certain that both Russia and Turkey "should draw all the parties
concerned into the negotiating process in the region."

As for Iran with its nuclear ambitions, Medvedev reiterated the position
that Moscow has been maintaining for a while: further efforts should be made
to solve the problem peacefully. At the same time, Tehran should be urged to
act constructively.

"Our position is well known and is similar to that of the Turkish Republic,"
Medvedev said.

The president also repeated the position voiced earlier: the Middle East
should become an area free of nuclear weapons, as any other development may
lead to very grave consequences. Russia, Medvedev said, will continue
contacts with Iran and Israel for the denuclearization of the region.

"We intend to use all our resources to continue contacts with Iran.
Naturally, we will talk on this issue with Israel and other countries
involved in the process," he stressed. "I hope we will be able to find a way
out of this very complicated situation," Medvedev added.

Finally, journalists asked for Medvedev to comment on an issue quite
sensitive to Turkey – its relations with Armenia. The stumbling block is the
Ottoman Empire genocide of the Armenians in 1915 which has been recognized
by over 20 countries including Russia, France, and Canada, but is still
denied by Turkey – the successor of the Ottoman Empire.

The Russian leader calls the topic rather complicated, but still, he is
optimistic.

"I hope both parties will be able to ultimately achieve all the necessary
decisions and restore their relations in full," he said. This would "help
stabilize the situation in our region, actively develop economic relations,
and, as a result, simply increase the living standards in all countries of
the region."

PACE PRESIDENT TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 10, 2010 – 16:43 AMT 11:43 GMT

Head of the Armenian delegation to PACE Davit Harutyunyan said that
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) Mevlut Cavusoglu will arrive in Yerevan on May 12.

Mr. Cavusoglu is expected to meet with the RA President, NA Speaker,
parliamentary groups, head of the RA parliamentary delegation to PACE
and RA Ombudsman, Mr. Harutyunyuan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
May 7, 2010 Friday

Today’s hypocrisy

SECTION: EDITORIAL

The truth is no respecter of diplomacy. And so presidents may feel
obliged to avoid the truth for reasons of state. Which no doubt is why
the current president of the United States did his best to torpedo a
congressional resolution that would finally have recognized the
Armenian genocide of 1915 in Turkey. The slaughter of the Armenians
set the example for even worse genocides as that century went from
horror to horror, but American presidents dare not say so for fear of
offending Turkish sensibilities.

Ankara is still deep in denial even as Turkish historians begin to
come to grips with the bloody truth. When a congressional committee
dared approve a resolution denouncing the genocide, the Turks even
recalled their ambassador briefly.

So this year President Obama carefully avoided calling genocide
genocide when he issued a statement observing Armenian memorial day.
Not that the omission appeased the Turks, who objected even to the
president’s bringing up the subject.

That is always the way with appeasement; it never works. Nor does
trying to overlook the obvious. As a presidential candidate, Barack
Obama spoke openly of recognizing the Armenian genocide. But as
president, he takes care to issue only an inoffensive statement about
the matter. And offends anyway.

Tell the truth and shame the devil, goes the old saying. Instead, the
president has told less than the truth and shamed only himself.

OLD TURKISH-ARMENIAN BRIDGE TO BECOME PEACE PASSAGE

armradio.am
07.05.2010 13:47

Projects for a historical bridge that is expected to connect the
two sides of the Ani ruins between Turkey and Armenia are being
accelerated. International Council of Monuments and Sites Chairman
Gagik Gyurjian says the bridge should become a peace passage between
the two countries. Others, however, say the project’s goals should
be more international.

"We can collaborate with non-governmental organizations away from
the shadow of politics. We do not need to wait for the opening of
borders for a peace passage," chairman of the International Council
of Monuments and Sites Gagik Gyurjian recently told the Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic Review.

Both Turkish and Armenian experts have been focusing on restoration to
the ruins of the ancient city of Ani, situated on the Armenian border
in the eastern province of Kars, and work on the Surp Hac (Holy Cross)
Armenian Church on Akdamar Island in the eastern province of Van.

The two countries should now focus on converting the ruined historic
bridge at Ani into a peace passage joining Turkey and Armenia, Gagik
Gyurjian said, adding that he was ready to start working with Turkish
officials and nongovernmental organizations as soon as possible to
realize the project.