Author: Mamian George

RUBEN SAFRASTIAN: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES SHOULD RAISE ISSUE OF SECURITY
OF ARMENIANS IN TURKEY

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The murder of
Hrant Dink will not change the current trends in the Armenian-Turkish
relations. This opinion was expressed by Ruben Safrastian, Director of
the RA NAS Institute of Oriental Studies, Turklogust, during the
January 20 press conference.

According to him, talks about opening the Armenian-Turkish border are
not realistic and this opportunity is remote. He said that no
political force in Turkey has spoken in favor of the border’s
opening. Moreover, Turkish business circles, especially big capital
representatives who are mainly in the Tusiat organization, are against
opening the border.

Safrastian said that the Armenian authorities should try to raise the
issue of security of the Armenian community both before the Turkish
government and in international bodies. In his words, by the Treaty of
Lausanne the Turkish authorities are obliged to ensure the security of
the Armenian people’s small section that still lives in Turkey. "I
think this is an occasion when Armenia should take respective steps in
international bodies," the Turkologist noted.

Houston Chronicle, TX
Jan 19 2007

In Turkey, a year of attacks and trials

By The Associated Press

– – Jan. 19, 2007: Hrant Dink, editor of the Turkish-Armenian
newspaper Agos, is slain by a gunman in Istanbul.

_ Dec. 19, 2006: Writer Ipek Calislar acquitted of insulting Turkey’s
founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in a biography in which she said
Ataturk dressed as a woman to escape an assassination attempt.

_ Nov. 1, 2006: Archaeologist Ilmiye Cig acquitted of inciting
religious hatred by claiming that Islamic-style head scarves were
first used more than 5,000 years ago by priestesses initiating young
men into sex.

_ Sept. 21, 2006: Author Elif Safak acquitted of "insulting
Turkishness" for her fictional characters’ statements about the
killings of Armenians.

_ July 27, 2006: Writer and journalist Perihan Magden acquitted of
turning people against military service by defending a conscientious
objector in her weekly magazine column.

_ July 11, 2006: A court confirmed a six-month sentence imposed on
Dink for "attempting to influence the judiciary" after his newspaper
ran articles criticizing a law that makes it a crime to "insult
Turkishness."

_ Feb. 7, 2006: A trial adjourned for five prominent Turkish
journalists charged with insulting the country’s courts by
criticizing the court-ordered closure of an academic conference on
the Armenian issue. Two nationalist lawyers are removed after a fight
breaks out in the courtroom.

_ Jan. 23, 2006: A court drops charges of "insulting Turkishness"
against author Orhan Pamuk on a technicality. Pamuk was charged after
discussing the deaths of Armenians in Turkey with a Swiss newspaper.
He won the Nobel Prize for literature later in the year.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
January 20, 2007

His Holiness Karekin II Condemns Assassination of Hrant Dink
Requiem Service to be offered in all Armenian Churches

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
sent a letter today to His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople, on the tragic assassination in Istanbul
yesterday of journalist Hrant Dink, editor of the Agos weekly newspaper.  On
behalf of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Supreme Spiritual
Council of the Armenian Church, His Holiness expressed his sympathies to
Patriarch Mesrob, the family and friends of Hrant Dink, the editorial staff
of Agos weekly and all Armenians living in Turkey.

His Holiness’ letter states in part:  "We learned of Hrant Dink’s
assassination yesterday with deep sorrow.  His untimely and tragic death has
shocked us all.  We and all our people grieve the loss of yet another
intellectual who has become an innocent victim.  In the strongest of terms,
we condemn this clandestine assassination which took from our people a
graceful and courageous son, who faithfully brought his service with his pen
for the love of a just, free and peaceful life and better world.  We also
expect that the authorities of Turkey will uncover and punish the
individuals responsible for this crime to the fullest extent of the law."

By order of the Pontiff of All Armenians, following the Divine Liturgy on
Sunday, January 21, a special Repose of Souls service will be offered in the
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin and all Armenian Church dioceses
throughout the world, asking for rest for the soul of Hrant Dink of blessed
memory.

Blessed be the memory of the righteous.

New Anatolian, Turkey
Jan 18 2007

Armenian genocide resolution circulating this week in Washington

The New Anatolian / Washington with agencies
18 January 2007

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A draft resolution seeking recognition of the so-called Armenian
genocide is likely to be approved by the U.S. House of
Representatives this week, while a top U.S. diplomat in Ankara says
the Bush administration will oppose the draft.

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson told daily Sabah that President
George W. Bush would strongly oppose any resolution on the so-called
Armenian genocide, adding that he would also warn members of U.S.
Congress against the possible negative outcomes of such a move.

"The Bush administration cannot guarantee that the resolution does
not get adopted, but I think President Bush would strongly oppose
such a resolution, just as President Clinton did in the past," Wilson
said. "The administration will do everything to prevent that
resolution from coming to the Congress floor."

With Democrats taking control of the U.S. Congress following their
election victory late last year, prospects have increased that
lawmakers will approve a resolution recognizing the World War I-era
forced deportation and deaths of Armenians as genocide.

Democratic Congressmen Adam Schiff and Frank Pallone, joined by
Republican Congressmen George Radanovich and Joe Knollenberg, have
recently prepared a draft resolution, expecting more than 150 members
of the House of Representatives to back the draft.

If accepted on the committee level, the draft will then be submitted
to the floor of the House for general approval. The powerful Armenian
lobby is pushing to have a vote occur prior to April 24, which they
recognize as a day marking the "genocide."

Nancy Pelosi, the new Democratic speaker of the House, has in the
past voiced her support for such a resolution.

The Bush administration fears that even congressional debate on the
genocide claims could damage relations with Turkey, a moderate Muslim
nation that is a NATO member and an important strategic ally.

In Washington, Armenian-American groups have been pressing for years
for a resolution on the genocide issue. The House of Representatives’
International Relations Committee last year endorsed two resolutions
classifying the killings as genocide. But the House leadership,
controlled by Bush’s Republican Party, prevented a vote by the full
chamber.

The genocide claim was the key issue as the Senate considered the
ambassadorial nomination of Hoagland to replace John Evans, who
reportedly had his tour of duty cut short because, in a social
setting, he referred to the killings as genocide.

Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, blocked the
nomination over Hoagland’s refusal to use the word genocide at his
confirmation hearing in June. With Democrats taking over the Senate,
it will be even more difficult now for the Bush administration to
circumvent Menendez’s objections.

Turkey strongly opposes the claims that its predecessor state, the
Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a planned genocide.
The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated and that
Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the
empire’s collapse and the World War I conditions. Ankara’s proposal
to Yerevan to set up a joint commission of historians to study events
of 1915 is still awaiting a positive response from the Armenian side.

Azeri Press Agency
Jan 18 2007

SOLDIER SHOT DEAD IN ARMENIAN CEASE-FIRE VIOLATION, AZERI MINISTRY
SAYS

Fuzuli, 18 January: The Armenian armed forces fired on the positions
of the Azerbaijani army near the village of Asagi Abdurrahmanli in
Fuzuli District at around 2300 [1900 gmt] on 17 January.

According to information from the Karabakh bureau of APA news agency,
Sahin Aliyev, a warrant officer of the Azerbaijani army who had been
called up by the military enlistment office of Samux District, was
shot dead in the cease-fire violation. The Defence Ministry has
confirmed the report.

TURKISH AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION TO JOINTLY STRUGGLE AGAINST BILL ON
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN U.S. CONGRESS

ANKARA, JANUARY 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Turkish
Republican-People’s opposition and Justice and Development ruling
parties that never reach an agreement on any issue, henceforth will
jointly struggle against adoption of the bill on Armenian Genocide in
U.S. Congress.

For this purpose, on January 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
met with Republican-People’s Party Vice-Chairman, Onur Eoymen and
Vice-Chairman of party’s parliamentary faction, Ali Topuz. The meeting
participants made a decision to jointly struggle against possible
ratification of the Armenian bill in the U.S. legislative body.

According to the Turkie daily, five pro-governmental and opposition
deputies from Turkish Grand National Assembly Foreign Relations
Committee will leave for Washington one of these days, where they will
have meetings with members of Congress House of Representatives and
Senate.

Another parliamentary delegation will leave for Washington for the
purpose of carrying on a propaganda against the Armenian bill.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 19, 2007
2:54 PM
CONTACT: _Amnesty International_ ()

Turkey: Turkish-Armenian Journalist Murdered

LONDON – January 19 – Amnesty International deplores the murder today
of the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The
organization believes that he was targeted because of his work as a
journalist who championed freedom of expression.

Hrant Dink, editor of the newspaper Agos and contributor to the
influential daily Zaman, was reportedly shot three times today in
Istanbul outside the Agos offices. Hrant Dink, 53, was a passionate
promoter of the universality of human rights who appeared on different
platforms with human rights activists, journalists and intellectuals
across the political spectrum. Best known for his willingness to
debate openly and critically issues of Armenian identity and official
versions of history in Turkey relating to the massacres of Armenians
in 1915, Hrant Dink also wrote widely on issues of democratization and
human rights.

"In Turkey there are still a number of harsh laws which endorse the
suppression of freedom of speech. These laws, coupled with the
persisting official statements by senior government, state and
military officials condemning critical debate and dissenting opinion,
create an atmosphere in which violent attacks can take place," said
Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at
Amnesty International.

Last year, Hrant Dink was prosecuted for the third time on charges of
=80=9C denigrating Turkishness’ under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code. Amnesty International called for the repeal of that law and
condemned his prosecution as part of a pattern of judicial harassment
against him for peacefully expressing his dissenting opinion. Hrant
Dink had already been given a six-month suspended prison sentence in
July 2006 following an October 2005 conviction on charges of
`denigrating Turkishness’.

Amnesty International calls on the Turkish authorities to condemn all
forms of intolerance, to uphold the rights of all citizens of the
Turkish Republic and to investigate the murder of Hrant Dink
thoroughly and impartially, to make the findings of the investigation
public and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice in accordance
with international fair trial standards.

For further information about Amnesty International’s concerns
regarding Article 301 please see Turkey: Article 301: How the law on
`denigrating Turkishness’ is an insult to free expression (AI Index:
EUR 44/003/2006).

###

CHARLES AZNAVOUR PARTOOK IN PARIS PROCESSING "TOGETHER AGAINST THE DENIAL"

Yerevan, January 18. ArmInfo. Charles Aznavour, the prominent French
singer of Armenian origins, and the group of cultural workers of
France participated in the protest processing – "Together Against
the Denial" in Paris yesterday, organized by the Council of Armenian
Public Organizations of France and a number of European organizations.

About 1500 participants of the processing claimed that French Senate
ratified the draft law on criminalization the denial of Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915. The draft law was adopted by the
lower chamber of French Parliament. MP Nicola Sarkozy Devedjian, the
Advisor of Foreign Minister of France and the candidate for French
Presidency, and Francois Roland, Representative of Socialist Party
of France, came out with speech.

National Assembly of France adopted the draft law on criminalization
for denial of the Armenian Genocide. They’ve adopted alike sanctions
for denial of Holocaust.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, OSCE OFFICIAL DISCUSS PARLIAMENTARY POLLS

Armenian Public Television
Jan 16 2007

Armenian President Robert Kocharian received the director of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights [ODIHR],
Ambassador Christian Strohal, today. The sides discussed cooperation
between Armenia and the ODIHR during the forthcoming parliamentary
election in Yerevan.

The president said that the Armenian authorities are interested in
organizing free and fair election.

The sides also discussed activities of an observation mission in
the election. Kocharian said that Armenia wants it be made up of
international observers.

CSTO UNEASY ABOUT GEORGIA’S NATO MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Armenpress
Jan 16 2007

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: Nikolai Bordyuzha, the chief secretary
of the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), said the organization would be forced to review its approaches
regarding the national interests of its member countries and change
also its security priorities when Georgia joins NATO.

"Georgia’s plans to become a NATO member, vehemently advocated and
pressed for by its leadership and NATO’s welcome reaction are a
signal of alarm for the region’s security and stability," Bordyuzha
was quoted by Russian Interfax news agency as saying.

"We cannot predict exactly when Georgia’s plans will become true
but when it happens we will have to react to that kind of serious
geo-strategic change in the region,’ he said.

The CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.