Author: Madatian Greg

HAYK DEMOYAN: ILHAM ALIYEV MIGHT STAKE HIS ALL AND START A WAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.03.2010 17:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ilham Aliyev might stake his all and start a war,
for the lack of any other resources to preserve power, Armenian
Genocide Museum director Hayk Demoyan said.

As Hayk Demoyan told a news conference in Yerevan, commenting on
the possibility of Armenia-Azerbaijan war, should the war start, it
will be a short one, being immediately stopped by the international
community, like it was the case with 2008’s Russia-Georgia war.

"Ilham Aliyev has to realize his army is under the influence of
Turkish officers and generals, who are, quite traditionally, capable
of overthrowing their rulers at any point," Demoyan said, adding that
under the influence of Turkish generals, the ruling Nakhichevan clan
will have to face the grim prospect of the change of power whether
Azerbaijan wins the war or it doesn’t.

As Demoyan noted, Azeri president has to be concerned about the
perspectives of winning the war, running the risk of being picked
as a target by generals. "No reasonable politician would start a
war in the region, what with his unstable position. War is generals’
and not politicians’ business, even less so Ilham Aliyev’s chose to
spend holidays in Turkey during the war," Armenian Genocide Museum
Director stated.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out back in 1991, when, subsequent
to the demand for self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh people,
Azerbaijani authorities attempted to resolve the issue through ethnic
cleansings, carried out by Soviet security forces (KGB special units)
under the pretext of the implementation of the passport regime and by
launching of large-scale military operations, which left thousands dead
and caused considerable material damage. A cease-fire agreement was
established in 1994. Negotiations on the settlement of the conflict are
being conducted under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen
(Russia, USA, France) and on the basis of their Madrid proposals,
presented in November, 2007.

Azerbaijan has not yet implemented the 4 resolutions of the UN
Security Council adopted in 1993, by continuing to provoke arms race
in the region and openly violating on of the basic principles of the
international law non-use of force or threat of force.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: "THE FACT OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS NOT NEGOTIABLE"

APA
March 24 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. "The fact of the Armenian Genocide is not negotiable",
said head of Media Relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
Tigran Balayan, commenting on the statement by U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton to establish a "historical commission", APA
reports quoting Novosti Armenia.

"Armenia is not discussed and will not discuss the fact of Genocide",
– said Balayan. To him, in the minutes of the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations, provides for a subcommittee, which will
restore trust between the two countries.

The program of the First channel "Posner" U.S. Secretary of State
said that Armenia and Turkey have agreed on the organization of the
historical commission, which "would deal with all matters relating
to the past."

Armenian Genocide of 1915 is the first genocide of the twentieth
century. Turkey has traditionally rejected the accusations in the
massacre of nearly a half million Armenians during the First World
War and extremely sensitive to criticism from the West to question
the Armenian genocide.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many countries,
particularly Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the lower house
of parliament in Italy, the majority of U.S. states, parliaments of
Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, Wales, Swiss National Council, the
House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada and the Sejm of Poland.

Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide is celebrated annually
on April 24.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Nalbandian Davutoglu
October 10, 2009 in Zurich have signed a protocol on establishing
diplomatic relations and Protocol for the development of bilateral
relations. Documents must be approved by the parliaments of both
countries, after which provides for opening of Armenian-Turkish
border. At the moment the documents submitted for ratification in
Armenia and in Turkey.

Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 on the initiative
of official Ankara. The complex relationship between the two countries
were due in particular to support Ankara’s position of Azerbaijan
in the Karabakh issue, as well as an acute reaction to Turkey’s
process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide
in Ottoman Empire.

MINISTER OF DIASPORA TO HAVE MEETINGS IN SYRIA AND LEBANON

462/lang/en
2010-03-22

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS: Hranush Hakobyan, RA minister of
Diaspora, will pay official visit to the Syrian Arab Republic. Mrs.

Hakobyan is in the delegation led by RA President Serzh Sargsyan, who
is on official visit in Syria from March 22 to 24. An official from
Public Relations and press department of RA Diaspora Ministry reported
Armenpress that Mrs. Hakobyan will meet with the representatives of
the Armenian communities of Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.

Diaspora Minister will visit Lebanon March 25-29. In the Lebanese town
of Anjar Mrs. Hakobyan will meet with the mayor Sebuh Skayan, teachers,
heads of various establishments, etc. The next day the minister will
visit editorial offices of several Armenian dailies and radio stations-
‘Azdak'(Impulse), ‘Vana Dzayn'(Voice of Van), ‘Zartonk'(Regeneration),
‘Ararat’, ‘Radio Sevan’. She will meet with lecturers of Haykazyan
University and then will participate in the opening ceremony of
‘Grigor Narekatsi’ cultural center of Catholic Church.

On the fifth day in Lebanon the Minister will visit Armenian schools
and orphanages. Official meetings with the Culture Minister of Lebanon,
board representatives of AGBU Lebanese office and other organizations
are scheduled.

TEGHOUT SUPPORTERS WENT ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR SAKE OF JUSTICE

ArmInfo
2010-03-22 18:33:00

ArmInfo. On 23 March at 11:00 Teghout Supporters Group will
announce a protest demonstration and one-day-long hunger strike
"For the Sake of Restoring Justice" timed to the first hearing of
the Administrative Court of RA on "EcoDar" NGO’s lawsuit against the
Armenian Government near the Administrative Court of RA. Appeals of
a number of governmental body decisions are the substantiation of
this lawsuit that refer to establishing Ð~B’Ñ’ Company Project (a
part of Vallex Group Company) for the development of Teghout Copper
and Molybdenum Mine.

"We want to draw attention to these proceedings and we hope that
the court will recover the justice. A number of laws were violated
when the government adopted this decision, but they didn’t take
into consideration that the ecosystem of the Teghout forest will be
destroyed, water will disappear and the local population will suffer.

We hope that at last the voice of the public will be listened to,"
said Youth Green Movement activist Mariam Sukhudyan during her
interview with EcoLur.

Reminder: the Administrative Court twice rejected the lawsuit and
decided to try it only after the decision of the Cassation Court of RA.

VARDAN OSKANYAN RECALLS 1998 CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT

Lragir.am
19/03/10

March 18, the former Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan gave
interviews to A1+ news web portal and Capital paper expressing his
opinions about the situation over the Karabakh issue settlement.

He said that it is evident that completely other conditions are formed
over the NKR issue settlement. Changes are evident on two levels –
changes of situation and content. As a result of the Armenian and
Turkish process, much is changed, which brought about changes of
content. Turkey got involved in this process and this circumstance
could not but be reflected in the negotiating document.

In his interview to A1+, Oskanyan noted that if in reality Azerbaijan
said its `yes’ and Armenia keeps silent, this means that this document
is not in our favor and a serious change of NKR conflict situation is
present. Vardan Oskanyan notices some danger in the NKR negotiation
for Armenia determined by not only the Armenian and Turkish process
and the quality of the negotiation, but also by the home situation in
Armenia and the economic-political tension.

Oskanyan says during the last two years, we made steps back and so it
may continue other 10 years. The second possible script is to survive
with 1-2 percent of economic increase. The third scenario is the
elimination of economic monopolies eliminating at the same time the
political ones.

According to Vardan Oskanyan, there are two things to do to come out
of the situation- concrete- indirect and conceptual – ideological.

`If the reality is the way I suppose, Armenia must refuse any document
contradicting its interests. On the other hand, it has to present a
constructive proposal’, says Oskanyan attaching importance to the fact
that the proposal has to be perceivable for the mediators and be in
accord with our interests.

`We do not need to wait for the development of the process, but we
need to take up sharp steps. We need change of stresses and stances
which is to be grounded. Such a change happened in 1998 as a result of
the change of government’, Vardan Oskanyan tells Capital.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 21 2010

PM meets artists, backtracks on Armenian workers

Sunday, March 21, 2010
ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an departed from the expected script
in a weekend meeting with the stars of Turkey’s cinema world, offering
praise to a late director of the radical left, defending the value of
artistic expression and retreating from threats earlier in the week to
deport undocumented Armenian workers.

ErdoÄ?an as a culture aficionado also drew broadly from international
cinema, citing the power of film to change societies and the
perceptions of long-held positions. The meeting at Istanbul’s
Dolmabahçe Palace with some 63 actors, artists and television
personalities was billed as a bid to gather support for the
`democratic initiative’ that aims to solve the decades-old Kurdish
problem.

Following a breakfast with the actors and directors, he continued with
an afternoon program with radio producers and programmers at the
Istanbul office of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP.

Among the biggest surprises for guests was ErdoÄ?an’s robust praise for
Yılmaz Güney, a Marxist director and icon of the very tendencies in
Turkish politics that have often clashed with the prime minister’s
social and political conservatism.

`If authorities of this country had lent an ear to Güney’s movies,
today Turkey would be in a different place,’ ErdoÄ?an said of the
novelist and actor of Kurdish descent who died in exile in Paris in
September 1984. `Theater and cinema have always been ahead of the
public. They have undertaken a courage that is miles ahead of politics
and political language,’ DoÄ?an news agency quoted him as saying.

The assembled stars included TV game show host Mehmet Ali Erbil,
director Mustafa Altıoklar and others from Turkey’s cultural "A list."
There were also 23 no-shows on the list of invitees, including
directors Sinan �etin and Zeki Demirkubuz and actors Müjde Ar, Halil
Ergün and Ayten Gökçer.

Movies that change the world

`For the past two centuries, we have witnessed that books, movies, TV
series and plays have the power to change life,’ ErdoÄ?an said. `An
artist is a person who hears, sees and feels what others cannot … As
the government, we are trying to put onto the agenda, without ulterior
motives, what artists have been voicing for years.’

ErdoÄ?an cited `Dances With Wolves’ as a movie that altered
perspectives on Native Americans, as well as `Malcolm X’ and
`Mississippi Burning’ as films that helped improve the situation of
African-Americans in the U.S.

Furthermore, he said `The Message’ was a movie that had helped change
the world’s perspective on Islam.

The prime minister, who threatened last Tuesday to expel undocumented
Armenian workers if foreign parliaments continued to pass resolutions
recognizing Armenian `genocide’ claims, struck a different note during
Saturday’s gathering.

ErdoÄ?an said his remarks were aimed "at drawing the world’s attention
to our tolerant approach toward those people" and that he did not
intend to `take such a step immediately."

"What I am saying is that those who pass these baseless resolutions
should see the humanitarian perspective from which we look at the
problem. They should not meddle in our ties with our neighbors," he
said.

`We are not speaking about citizens or immigrants or refugees. Still,
we have shown good will. We have displayed tolerance toward some needy
people and we will continue to do so. But we cannot stay silent when
some people take actions to tarnish the honor of Turkey and the
Turkish people, while we are displaying good will and tolerance."

Speaking against discrimination

Noting the problems of minorities, the prime minister thanked Tomris
GiritlioÄ?lu, a director who has highlighted the issue with films
`Salkım Hanımın Taneleri’ (The Beads of Salkım Hanım) and `Güz
Sancısı’ (Autumn Pain).

`I have said the state has been rough toward minorities that we have
been living together with for thousands of years,’ ErdoÄ?an said. `It
was me who first said the events of Sept. 6-7, 1955 [in which mobs
attacked Istanbul’s Greek community and also targeted Jews and
Armenians], constitute a heavy burden on our shoulders. Every citizen
of this country is a first-class citizen. We will not accept or
tolerate any discrimination toward them.’

After ErdoÄ?an’s speech, 25 artists voiced their opinions, largely on
the Kurdish issue. Author and columnist İclal Aydın, herself of
Kurdish origin, said she condemned those who block the path of the
initiative, while Yılmaz ErdoÄ?an, a popular Kurdish director,
screenwriter and actor, said he saw the process as one of
`normalization’ for Turkey.

According to the daily Milliyet, actors Cem Ã-zer and Oktay Kaynarca
raised tension at the meeting with the former saying that having
Kurdish origin provides `privileges’ in the art world, while the
latter said there was no Kurdish issue in Turkey.

The prime minister intervened before the argument became more serious,
Milliyet reported.

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 19 2010

Unveiling ErdoÄ?an’s real face

Friday, March 19, 2010
Mustafa AKYOL

Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an said something just terrible. As a reaction to
the international pressure on Turkey to recognize the ethnic cleansing
of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as genocide, he threatened the illegal
Armenian immigrants in Turkey with deportation. `If necessary,’ he
said to the BBC, `I am going to tell these 100,000, `come on, back to
your country’.’

As terrible as this statement was, the pattern that it reflects was so
typical of ErdoÄ?an: He is a man of strong words, and while two out of
three things he says is pretty good, the third one messes things up.

Just last year, for example, he had criticized the `fascist mentality’
that considers minorities as a threat. Just two days before the
now-infamous deportation statement, he met with members of the Roma
community in Turkey and embraced them in a way that no Turkish prime
has ever done.

Similarly, on one hand, he is the prime minister who realized some of
the most extensive liberalization reforms in Turkey. On the other
hand, he is one of most intolerant politicians towards media
criticism.

The half glass:

Why ErdoÄ?an is so erratic is a good question to ask. His ideological
enemies often find the answer in his `secret agenda.’ The argument
here is that ErdoÄ?an is actually craving for an Islamist dictatorship,
but is hiding this behind a façade of democratization, liberalization
and EU-orientation. But once in a while the mask falls apart and
ErdoÄ?an’s `real face’ unveils itself.

I think that the reality is less cartoonish and more complex. And
ErdoÄ?an’s `real face’ is the total sum of all those contradictory
positions.

To begin with, I believe that the AKP’s transformation from Islamism
to a post-Islamist `conservative democrat’ party is genuine. So is
ErdoÄ?an’s wish to make Turkey a member of the EU, or something similar
to an EU member state. But there are three factors which hinder this
evolution.

The first is ErdoÄ?an’s personality and background. He is an archetypal
man of `KasımpaÅ?a,’ the Istanbul neighborhood of underdogs and machos.
This makes ErdoÄ?an bold and brave, but also confrontational and
imposing. It also makes him quite pragmatic, yet incoherent.

The second factor is the residual effects of his Islamist background.
This, as I have written before, comes out mostly in foreign policy and
in the form of `Muslimism’ ‘ an emotional affinity to our `Muslim
brothers’ regardless of what they do. I actually like and support the
great bulk of the AKP foreign policy, but some of its excesses, such
the whitewashing of the Sudanese regime’s atrocities in Darfur, falls
into the `Muslimism’ tendency that I criticize. (By the way, this
tendency is not a direct outcome of being a good Muslim. The latter, I
rather believe, requires the upholding of rights and justice against
anybody, including our `Muslim brothers.’)

The third factor which taints ErdoÄ?an and his party is what I have
called `Ankara-ization’ ‘ their adaptation of some of the
old-fashioned discourses of the Turkish state. Their recent tone on
the controversy over the tragic fate Ottoman Armenians is the perfect
example. But this `Ankara-ization’ stems not only from the dusty
corridors of the Turkish capital but also the deep-seated norms of the
Turkish society. Nationalism is the most common value in Turkey, and a
government which goes directly against its main pillars (such as the
rejection of the G word for 1915) can probably not survive the next
election.

But if Turkey is so trapped in nationalism, and if even the AKP ‘ the
least nationalist one among major parties ‘ succumbs to its pressures,
is there simply no hope for the evolution of a more open-minded and
self-critical mainstream political movement?

The hope for change:

No, no, things are not that bad. And the best hope comes from nothing
but what created the full half of the AKP glass in the first place:
Muslim liberalism. Etyen Mahcupyan, Turkey’s most prominent Armenian
intellectual, was making this very case in his column in daily Taraf
last Wednesday. `It will be surprising to many that religion can play
a liberalizing role,’ he first noted:

`But if the main pillar of an authoritarian regime in a country is the
suppression of religiosity, it should not be surprising that the
emancipation of religiosity from authority has a liberating effect.’

Then, pointing to the recent tendency in the pro-Islamic media to
question the official narrative on the fate of Armenians, Mahcupyan
also wrote:

`Most people look at the reformism of the AKP, compare it with other
parties, and give the government more credit than what it deserves.
But the AKP is a result of liberalization [among Muslims] rather than
being its driving force. On the other hand, it has the blocks,
worries, fears, and the state reflexes caused by its position as the
governing party in Turkey. That’s why its attitude on the Armenian
issue is increasingly falling behind the ethical norms of the Muslim
camp¦ [Yet] as Turkey’s Muslims build the self-confidence to face
themselves, the dullness of the party which represent them will also
decrease.’

Well said, Mr. Mahcupyan. Well said

Western Gazette series, UK
March 18, 2010

Armenian pupils’ desire to learn impresses UK teachers

A Teacher has spoken of her eye-opening trip to observe teaching
techniques in the republic of Armenia.

Year five teacher at Mere Primary School, Deborah Shannon, braved
temperatures of -10C last month when she visited eight primary schools
during a week in the former Soviet republic as part of the
International Teacher Programme.

Now back in Mere, Mrs Shannon, 31, has been telling her pupils about
the differences and similarities between Armenian and English schools.

She said: "I went with eight other teachers from Wiltshire as part of
a programme run by the British Council, the nation’s international
cultural relations body, during the February half term.

"The schools in the capital, Yerevan, gave us an amazing welcome and
each one of them performed a play entirely in English.

"We were very impressed with the way the teachers and pupils were able
to stretch their resources so far to get the maximum value out of
them. It did make me realise that back at home we sometimes lose focus
on the actual act of learning because we have so many materials to
use.

"The country has had a very difficult history and struggled over the
years to maintain independence as it is geographically encircled by
Georgia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan, but the people are fiercely
patriotic."

Mrs Shannon has taught at Mere for three years and previously worked
as an English teacher in Indonesia, Oman and Eritrea. She added: "I’m
a pretty experienced traveller, as were many of the teachers on the
trip, but we agreed that we had never been anywhere quite like
Armenia. They have a very distinct culture and sense of identity, but
they are also influenced a lot by their neighbours.

"Under Soviet rule, Armenian education was very formalised and rigid,
with children sitting in rows for every lesson and not encouraged to
be creative. The country’s economy was devastated in 1988 by an
earthquake and it has still not fully recovered, so the people there
are quite poor. But they’ve made good progress despite this and now
they’re doing things in much the same way that we are, with more
emphasis on group work and encouraging creativity. The teachers were
incredibly dedicated and we hope that we can establish strong links
with some of the schools so that they can come to visit us in Mere one
day to see for themselves how we do things over here.

"One thing that struck me was that the Armenian children are
absolutely desperate to learn. It is a contrast to back at home where
it can be difficult to hold the children’s attention at times because
they have so many distractions in their lives with television and
computer games, although my current class is excellent."

Mrs Shannon said she took her pupils to London’s Natural History
Museum recently and when they returned to school, the head teacher had
received two emails from passengers on the train praising the
children’s behaviour.

PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA CONSECRATES FOUNDATION STONE OF RUSSIAN CHURCH IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
March 19, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Patriarch of
Moscow and All Russia Kirill I on March 18 consecrated the foundation
stone of a Russian Orthodox church, while the Catholicos of All
Armenians Karekin II offered his prayers.

The ceremony was attended by ambassadors accredited to Armenia, Ara
Abrahamian – a Russia-based benefactor of the church, and numerous
believers.

"Today we consecrated a new Orthodox church in Yerevan where the
representative mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in Armenia
will be located. It is a significant event, long-awaited by all
of us," Patriarch Kirill I stated in his speech. According to him,
in addition to being a new place to offer prayers, this church will
become another haven of the friendship and cooperation of the two
Churches and the two peoples.

Then the Catholicos of All Armenians delivered his speech of blessings.

Following the ceremony, Patriarch Kirill I and Catholicos Karekin
II went to Yerevan State University (YSU) where they met with the
management, teaching staff, and students of the university. During the
meeting, the title of YSU Honorary Doctor was conferred on Patriarch
Kirill I, after which the presentation of the Armenian translations
of his books "The Word of the Pastor" and "Freedom and Responsibility"
took place.

Those present had the opportunity to hear Patriarch Kirill’s ideas
about Christian values and their role nowadays, as well as about
various social problems.

IN THE ARMENIAN ISSUE WE HARVEST WHAT WE PLANTED ON SEPT. 12

Hurriyet
March 18 2010
Turkey

The poll in Sweden took me back to the 1980s. As I saw how the Swedish
parliamentarians of Kurdish origin influenced the poll, I thought of
the military regime.

The September 12 military regime has done the greatest harm to this
country by forcing thousands of Kurdish origin, leftists or those
who shared a different view to leave the country.

About that time I was the editor for European Affairs at Milliyet and
lived in Brussels. I would monitor issues discussed in the European
Congress and Parliament regarding Turkey. I know because I personally
witnessed them.

Those who had to give up their passports and were deported from the
country have formed a "Contra Turkish lobby."

Some were Kurdish nationalists, some DHKP-C members, some Assyrian,
some communist activists but not terrorists and all opposing formal
ideology. They were forced to give up their citizenship when they
fled the country trying to escape the police or military.

We ourselves drove these people away who were left stateless and
depending on the country they fled to. Due to reactions experienced
they conducted all the necessary propaganda. They became friends with
politicians and journalists of the country they were staying at.

People in those countries believed everything they said about Turkey.

No matter what formal authority said it could not convince anyone
of the opposite. For foreigners those Turks who were opposing the
military regime in their country were more credible.

For many years we had to pay the price for this. But nevertheless they
were not all that wrong. Much later they obtained their citizenship
back but the children and grand children of the deported people
couldn’t forget what the Turkish State had done to their families. Now
they are taking revenge.

Why aren’t they released by the court pending a trial?

We do not share the same world with most of those people involved
in the Erenekon case. There are those among them who conducted a
conspiracy against me and tried to ruin my live. But I still am
defending them. And there are also those who I now personally and
like very much even if we don’t share the same opinion.

For example, Mustafa Balbay.

Mustafa has been under arrest for one year now.

And it is not for sure how long his case will last. Again regarding
the same case he was first arrested then released. He never made
an attempt to flee. Although he knew he was going to be arrested he
waited for the police. And he did not temper with evidence. He was
neither in the mood nor had he really the means to do it.

Why is he still under arrest?

Can’t he be released by the court pending a trial?

Would he temper with evidence now?

There are many in the same situation like Mustafa Balbay.

The public desires a punishment for the guilty by the end of this
trial but also would like to be satisfied regarding this issue. They
no longer accept the imprisonment of those who have not been caught
with a bomb held in their hand or in their homes or whose position
cannot clearly be identified on the line that separates opposing from
overthrowing the government.

If they are detained because they fear a contra propaganda, then that’s
even worse. No one should have the right to treat people like that.

This situation bothers all of us.

It is only natural that the decision is up to the judge. But then
there is the conscience of the public that is equally important to
the result of the case.

As stories are published about arresting everybody that passes their
way, about lives being destroyed by trials lasting for many years
and about people who are acquitted in the end, we see that it only
hurts our judiciary.

Now it’s about time that the judiciary does some fine-tuning.

We’ll die in an earthquake but nobody cares…

It is unbelievable…

Please take a look at this scenario…

There is nothing new to it. For many years attention is being drawn to
the same subject. Especially in the past, everybody who is an expert
in this field writes about it.

"An earthquake is on its way, if you don’t take precautions we’ll die,"
they say.

Nobody takes any action.

Prof. Dr. Celal Å~^engör and Prof. Okan Tuysuz were hosted at 32.Gun
and cried it out.

They screamed and yelled.

On a map they demonstratively pointed at places that will be hit by
an earthquake. Prof. Dr. Celal Å~^engör said, "I am a prophet of
doom but can’t attract anybody’s attention."

Nobody got curious.

Previously people would listen more carefully and in order to prevent
society from panicking we would implicitly talk about a possibility
of earthquakes.

In time experts noticed that Turkey is very susceptible for earthquakes
but people nearly everywhere were unprepared. So they started to become
loud. They created scenarios full of disaster to scare people. And
as earthquakes took place they increased the dose.

There was still no panicking, people still watched… and still
doing watching. Even those who are the most conscious and civilized
or value life the most do not care.

Let’s make an inventory and we’ll see that those who have their homes
check for resistance, for enforcement, for prevention measures won’t
exceed the number of fingers of one hand.

Can you imagine that no one takes any action even though it is known
that an earthquake the size of about 7 will hit and 90,000 people will
die in Istanbul and more than half of the city will be destroyed in
case it happens?

That is why I say "Unbelievable"…" and saying "You may not value
your own life but think of your children, grandchildren and those who
are valuable to you" does not work either. The "Don’t worry nothing
will happen to us… and there is no need to worry or spend money
for an earthquake that will take place in 50 days or 50 years,"
mentality prevails.