Author: Topchian Jane

No U.S. missiles on Armenian soil – deputy FM

14:01|09/ 03/ 2007

YEREVAN, March 9 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia’s deputy foreign minister
said Friday the Caucasus state was not considering the possibility of
deploying elements of a U.S. missile defense system on its soil.

A senior Pentagon official said March 1 that the United States would
like to deploy a radar base in the post-Soviet Caucasus, without
specifying in which country. The statement further strained relations
with Moscow already unnerved by earlier reports of U.S. plans to
deploy elements of a missile shield in Central Europe.

"I would like to make an official statement that we have not received
any inquiries or proposals on that score from the U.S. or NATO
commanders," Arman Kirakosyan said.

He said Armenia’s Foreign Ministry was unaware whether such proposals
had been made to Georgia and Azerbaijan, the ex-Soviet states in the
region that Russia has singled out as the most probable sites for a
U.S. radar.

Both Georgia and Azerbaijan have said they know nothing of the plans.

Kirakosyan said Washington was unlikely to approach Yerevan with such
a proposal in the future.

Armenia is a member of a post-Soviet security group, the Collective
Security Treaty Organization, which is dominated by Russia and
believed to have been created as a way of preventing NATO’s further
eastward expansion.

The Caucasus state has also sought closer ties with NATO under an
individual partnership program, which envisions joint exercises and
training for the Armenian military.

But in Armenia’s territorial conflict with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, the alliance has tended to back the latter, saying
that the region is under Armenian "military occupation." Conversely,
Moscow is more supportive of Armenia on the issue.

Russia, which is anxious about NATO bases emerging in former
Communist-bloc countries and ex-Soviet republics, has blasted plans to
deploy anti-missile systems in Poland, the Czech Republic and the
Caucasus as a national security threat and a destabilizing factor in
the world.

Washington said the defenses would be designed to counter possible
strikes from Iran, which is involved in long-running disputes with the
international community over its nuclear programs.

Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society – Boston Chapter
47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472
Contact: Ara Nazarian
Phone: 617.924.8849
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

The Armenian Homeland and Diaspora: Reflections of Two Filmmakers
March 23, 2007, 7:00 PM
24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-4700

Cambridge, MA – March 4, 2007 – The Boston chapter of Hamazkayin
Armenian Educational and Cultural Society in conjunction with Amaras Art
Alliance and the Harvard Film Archive is proud to present a new series
"The Armenian Homeland and Diaspora: Reflections of Two Filmmakers."
This program offers two very different reflections on the contemporary
Armenian society. Examining the dialectical divide between Western and
Eastern Armenians, these nonfiction portraits reveal the richness of
Armenian culture both within the homeland and throughout Diasporic
communities. Director Nigol Bezjian, whose previous films include The
Hour of the Gray Horse (1984) and Chickpeas (1992), will be at the HFA
to discuss his films and answer questions from the audience.
Additionally, Nora Nercessian from the Yerevan International Film
Festival – Golden Apricot, will deliver the opening remarks. The
program will conclude with a small reception.

The Armenian Homeland and Diaspora: Reflections of Two Filmmakers
Screening Schedule

March 23 (Friday) 7 pm

Return of the Poet (Poeti Veradardze)

Directed by Harutyun Khachatryan

Armenia 2005, color, 35mm, 82 min.

Armenian with English subtitles

A truly cinematic oddity, this unique, virtually wordless documentary
explores the legacy of Armenian poet and folk singer Ashugh Jivani.
Eschewing conventional biography the filmmaker first follows the
creation of a statue of the great poet, painstakingly hewn from a
seemingly impervious chunk of rock. He then accompanies the statue’s
peculiar journey, and "so begins a cross-country odyssey in which
sculptor and poet revisit ancient Armenian sites and traditions, folk
dances, churchyards, peasants on carts and shantytowns filled with the
poor and unemployed… Khachatryan leaves much unsaid and implicit,
letting the viewer marvel at the timeless scenery as the statue glides
by with its expression of supernatural calm." (Variety)

Roads full of Apricots

Directed by Nigol Bezjian

Lebanon 2001, video, color, 35 min.

Addressing questions of cultural identity amidst tragic historical
circumstances, this documentary relates the filmmaker’s personal
experience of being displaced from his civil war-torn country to a more
universal exploration of memory. Using archival images, roads full of
Apricots is a tribute to history, films, literature, and the inner
experience of nostalgia.

Verve

Directed by Nigol Bezjian

Lebanon 2002, video, color, 15 min.

A reflection on folk dancing, whose ancient art form is one of the many
ways in which Armenian culture has persevered in the face of national
tragedy. Detailing the gentle, understated movements and passions of the
dancer, Bezjian excerpts several dances, including a mesmerizing
performance by Shakeh Avanessian.

###

About the co-presenters:

Boston Chapter of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural
Society

With the reemergence of the Republic of Armenia as an independent
nation, the role and function of Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and
Educational Society in general and Hamazkayin-Boston in particular had
to be re-assessed to reflect the new realities facing the Armenians in
Diaspora and in Armenia.

With this in mind, Hamazkayin-Boston aims to uphold the ethnic identity
and cultural heritage of the Armenian community in the Greater Boston
Area by: cultivating and promoting local, national and international
Armenian arts; celebrating important educational and cultural milestones
in our history; and engaging the youth and the young professionals in
our community to raise interest and awareness toward educational and
cultural issues of importance to the Armenian community and cultivate
the next generation of local and national community leaders.

Hamazkayin-Boston holds bi-weekly meetings on Monday evening at their
Hamasdegh Library, located on the second floor of the Armenian
Educational and Cultural Center (ACEC) on 47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown,
MA. Our doors are open to all who would like to help promote our
cultural treasures. For more information please visit our website
, call us at 617.924.8849 or email us at
[email protected].

Amaras Art Alliance

The mission of Amaras Art Alliance is to facilitate the exchange of
ideas and expressions between the American and Armenian cultures through
performances, exhibits, lectures, publications, children’s art camps,
youth cultural travel tours and funding of special programs.

It is the wish of the organization to create opportunities for people
to observe, get involved and enjoy the traditions of both cultures –
from folk to the fine arts.

For more information please visit or 617.733.7162.

Harvard Film Archive
The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) provides the faculty and students of
Harvard University and the greater scholarly community with academic
research services and a public film program that offers audiences the
opportunity to view international and independent films and to interact
with filmmakers and artists. Film series are scheduled year-round and
include retrospectives of distinguished directors and actors, surveys of
important periods and movements, and in-depth explorations of historic
themes and contemporary issues. Screenings of films from the HFA
collection as well as those from other collections are held in the HFA
Cinematheque, a 210-seat theater with state-of-the-art equipment.The HFA
frequently brings filmmakers to introduce and discuss their work, and
over the years has hosted such renowned artists as photographer and
filmmaker William Klein, Swedish actress Bibi Andersson, Canadian
director Atom Egoyan, independent filmmaker Harmony Korine, the "Father
of African Cinema" Ousamane Sembene, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami,
and actor-director Tommy Lee Jones, among others.Established with the
assistance of the Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the
Humanities in 1979, the Harvard Film Archive has grown into a rich
resource for scholars and filmmakers. Its extensive collection includes
16mm and 35mm film prints, as well as rare video materials, vintage film
posters, and promotional materials. As an affiliate of the
International Federation of Film Archives, the HFA also has access to
film prints from over a hundred repositories.

BELEAGUERED AND BESIEGED; TURKEY’S PRO-EUROPEAN ELITE IS THE TARGET OF A GROWING WAVE OF VIOLENT ULTRA-NATIONALISM
By Owen Matthews; With Sami Kohen in Istanbul

Newsweek International
March 5, 2007

The threats have been arriving daily, often via e-mail. "You traitors
to Turkey have had your day," reads one. "Stop prostituting yourself
and your country to foreigners or you will face the consequences."

Not long ago, E, a prominent Turkish writer, would have shrugged off
such missives–as did his friend Hrank Dink, the editor of Agos,
Turkey’s main Armenian-language newspaper, who for years had been
a target of nationalist hate-mail. But after Dink was shot dead
last month by a 17-year-old ultranationalist assassin, the threats
suddenly became deadly serious. "Things are changing in Turkey, very
much for the worse," says E, asking that his name not be used for
fear of reprisals. "Before Dink’s murder, I always spoke out against
nationalism and narrow-mindedness. Now I fear for my life."

A wave of violence is sweeping Turkey, targeting its modern,
pro-European elite. Prominent liberals like Can Dundar, a columnist at
the newspaper Milliyet who supported a 100,000-strong march in Istanbul
protesting Dink’s killing, have received warnings to "be smart" and
tone down their coverage. Nobel Prize-winning writer Orhan Pamuk,
vilified by nationalists for comments he made last year condemning
the massacres of Ottoman Armenians in 1915, canceled a reading tour
in Germany and has left Turkey for self-imposed exile in the United
States. Many other academics and journalists have been given police
protection.

It’s not only intellectuals who feel beseiged. Turkey’s ruling AK
Party faces the same peril–a nationalist backlash that is undermining
four years of sweeping progress. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, once feared by Turkey’s pro-Western elite for his Islamist
background, finds himself fighting to protect liberal values on
everything from human rights and free expression to membership in the
European Union. Erdogan condemned Dink’s murder as "a bullet fired
at the heart of Turkish democracy." The killers, he said, were "not
nationalists but racists," bent on isolating Turkey from the modern
world. But the evidence is mounting that the tide is turning against
him and his European agenda.

The nationalists have a growing list of grievances. Chief among them:
that Erdogan, prodded by Brussels, granted more cultural rights to
the country’s 13 million Kurds. But instead of peace, the last year
has seen an upsurge in Kurdish guerrilla attacks on Turkish soldiers.

That’s given rise, in turn, to a number of anti-Kurdish nationalist
groups. The leader of one such group, the Patriotic Forces in Mersin,
an ethnically mixed town in the largely Kurdish southeast, recently
called on "Turkish patriots" to take to the streets to prevent Kurds
from "taking over." Worse, Erdogan’s entire EU project was called
into question last December when Brussels partially suspended talks
in a dispute over Cyprus. After so many sacrifices for Brussels’
sake, many Turks considered it "a slap in the face," says Naci Tunc,
an activist for the Nationalist Action Party, or MHP.

With national elections this fall, Erdogan himself is under intense
political pressure to take a more nationalist line. Recent polls in
Milliyet show that support for the MHP has risen to 14.1 percent, up
from 8.4 percent in the 2003 vote, while support for the AK Party has
slipped from 33 percent to 26. A bellwether of just how far Erodogan is
willing to go in accommodating the nationalists involves the notorious
Article 301, a provision of the national legal code that criminalizes
"denigrating Turkishness" and has been used to prosecute dozens
of journalists and writers, including Pamuk. Brussels insists that
it must go; all of Turkey’s opposition parties, chasing nationalist
votes, insist it must stay. "We want to change the article," says a
senior member of Erdogan’s cabinet. "But we are alone."

Another test comes in April, when Erdogan must decide whether or not to
run for president–a largely symbolic post, but one which carries veto
power over all legislation. The president is elected by Parliament,
where Erdogan enjoys a comfortable majority. But as a former Islamist,
imprisoned as recently 1999 for sedition, he faces strong opposition
from conservatives in Turkey’s politically powerful and staunchly
secular military, judiciary and bureaucracy–collectively known as the
"deep state." They insist on a more moderate, secular president as
a counterbalance to Erdogan, or whom-ever the AK Party might choose
to succeed him.

Perhaps not even Erdogan himself, as yet, knows whether he will
indeed make a play for the presidency. But if he does, Islamist-hating
nationalist radicals are sure to be inflamed.

Dangerously, there’s evidence linking many of Turkey’s
ultranationalists to the Army and security forces. A video leaked to
the media earlier this month showed Dink’s 17-year-old killer, Ogun
Samast, posing with smiling police officers and holding a Turkish
flag after his arrest. An internal investigation has also shown that
warnings of plans to kill Dink were ignored by Istanbul police–though
it’s not clear whether due to negligence or malice.

Erdogan is too canny a politician to antagonize the country’s Army
to the point that an old-style coup becomes likely. But at the same
time, he must tread carefully. Last week the chief of the military
General Staff, Yasar Buyukanit, spoke out against those who sought to
"split the state." It was a clear warning to pro-Armenian liberals and
separatist Kurds, but most of all to Erdogan as he considers the thorny
problems of reforming Article 301 and whether to run for president.

It’s a delicate balancing act. He must at once crack down on
ultranationalist thuggery, without alienating an increasingly
nationalist electorate. And he needs to continue with his government’s
program of reform, lest Turkey’s EU bid fail irrecoverably. As
resistance to his policies continues to grow more violent, that job
will become vastly more difficult–if not impossible.

Bradenton Herald, FL
March 2 2007

Armenian art celebrated at Louvre
JENNY BARCHFIELD
Associated Press

PARIS – Mongolian dragons, Persian peacocks and radiating Arabic
stars are just some of the foreign motifs that embellish Armenia’s
sacred Christian relics – showing how the oft-invaded nation has
drawn on outside influences to strengthen its own identity.

A new exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris showcases the
resilience of Armenian culture. "Armenia Sacra," which runs through
May 21, brings together more than 200 of the country’s most
spectacular religious objects, many of which survived and flourished
during centuries of foreign domination.

Geographically, Armenia is at a crossroads, long tucked between the
rival Roman and Persian empires, and later dominated by Russia and
the Soviet Union.

"They’re stuck right in the middle of things," said Ioanna Rapti, one
of the exhibit’s curators. "They borrowed foreign tastes, motifs and
symbols, adapting them to fit their own culture."

Objects in the exhibition – which include dozens of manuscripts, a
national specialty – come from museums throughout Armenia and beyond.
Relatively small and portable, manuscripts were often taken abroad by
Armenians fleeing the recurring invasions.

Other times, they were removed from the country for more sinister
reasons.

"When hostile powers pillaged Armenia, they often took manuscripts
hostage," Rapti said. "Armenians had to pay large ransoms to get them
back."

Thank goodness they did. The exhibit’s manuscripts, with their
intricate texts and hand-painted miniatures, are stunning. They are
also a remarkable record of Armenian thought, culture and history.

Widely considered to be the world’s oldest Christian state, Armenia
adopted Christianity as its national faith in 301 A.D. A thick, 1569
volume tells the fable of the country’s conversion: In a
color-drenched miniature, a monk appears to cast a spell over a boar
draped in the purple cloak of royalty.

The monk is Saint Gregory, who would become Armenia’s patron; the
wild pig represents the country’s fourth century king, Tiridate IV,
who according to legend became a boar after he persecuted early
Christians. He supposedly recovered his human form upon embracing
Christianity, which he made the state religion.

A miniature from a 1776 manuscript depicts a fifth century monk,
national hero Mesrop Mashtots, hunched over a desk, developing the
Armenian alphabet. Mashtots looks hard at work, though legend has it
that all he did was copy down the letters God revealed to him.

The alphabet is at the heart of Armenian identity. The rounded,
horseshoe-shaped letters emblazon not only the manuscripts, but also
more unlikely objects such as reliquaries, pulpits and carved doors.

Other objects testify to the imprint left by Mongolian, Ottoman and
Arab invaders.

Chinese dragons grimace from the yellowing page of a 13th century
manuscript. The dragon is thought to have entered Armenia on the
backs of Mongolian invaders, delicately embroidered on their silk
gowns. Arab-influenced stars radiate across a 12th century monastery
door, while exotic animals like elephants, peacocks and unicorns
march around its walnut frame.

The exhibit also features some 30 "khatchkars" – massive stone slabs
carved with lace-fine crosses – that dotted the Armenian plateau as
early as the fourth century. Some were tombstones.

One, the Djulfe Khatchkar, comes from a cemetery in Nakhichevan, an
enclave of neighboring Azerbaijan separated from the rest of the
country by Armenian territory. Armenia claims Azerbaijani soldiers
have systematically destroyed Armenian crosses there over the past
few years. The issue is sensitive, and last year, Azerbaijani
officials denied a report that the cemetery had vanished.

Rapti said the Djulfe Khatchkar is one of the cemetery’s few
survivors.

The exhibition is part of the so-called year of Armenia in France, an
initiative promoting Armenian culture. French President Jacques
Chirac and his Armenian counterpart, President Robert Kocharian,
inaugurated the exhibit, which Chirac called "sublime."

It "shows the singularity of Armenian civilization, which throughout
its tumultuous history gave the world masterpieces," the French
leader said.

For curator Rapti, the show is helping to boost Armenian moral.

"It shows they are not alone, although they are a little country with
very little power," she said.

Ïðàî ûáîðà, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
March 3 2007

Turkey to Support Azerbaijani Position Relating to Armenia-Azerbaijan
Conflict
03.03.2007

Turkey intends to support just position of Azerbaijan relating to
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Ambassador of Turkey to Russia,
Tashkent Kurtulush, stated it for AzerTaj.
Particularly, Ambassador underlined, that Turkey as fraternal and
friendly state naturally supports position of Azerbaijan protecting
its interests at diplomatic level. `Armenia occupied 20% of
Azerbaijani territories. It is unjust as there is no occupation of
territories of one state by another in today’s world practice. Turkey
advocates territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and return of occupied
Garabagh territories to jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. We believe in
solving of this conflict within the frames of territorial and
political integrity of Azerbaijan and on the basis of principles of
international law. We hope for peace regulation of this conflict in
near future’, Turkish Ambassador said.
Answering question on Armenian genocide related claims to Turkey
Ambassador said that Armenia doesn’t want to improve relations and
cooperation with Turkey, and there is no decision in this respect.
On commenting the fact that recently Armenia curtseys before Turkey
to establish bilateral relations, Tashkent Kurtulush declared that
there is no ground for it. `For improvement of relations between
Turkey and Armenia first of all Armenia should fulfill some
conditions and refuse non-friendly policy’, diplomat stressed.
Turkish Ambassador to Russia also said that Turkey grieves over
innocent victims of Khojali tragedy together with fraternal
Azerbaijan. Accordingly to him, commemoration events dedicated to
victims were held in his country like in Azerbaijan.

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 3 2007

US Muslim leader to visit Turkey

Ankara, 3 March: American Muslim leader Wallace Deen Muhammad will
pay a visit to Turkey on 6 March.

Egemen Bagis, an MP from Justice and Development Party (AKP) and
chairman of Turkey-USA Interparliamentary Friendship Group, said that
Wallace Deen Muhammad, whom he describes as the "most important
Muslim leader in USA", will come to Turkey upon his invitation.

Stressing that USA was one of the most important crossroads for the
"Alliance of Civilizations" initiative led by Turkey, Bagis said
visit of Muhammad, who is the religious leader of nearly 2.5 million
black Muslims in USA, mainly aimed at the improvement of Turkey-USA
relations, as well as the establishment of a closer contact and
cooperation between the Turkish people in USA and Muslim Americans.

Bagis also stated that they expected a remarkable contribution from
Muhammad to their efforts which aimed to raise the voice of the
Turkish people in USA, especially nowadays, while they were
struggling against the so-called genocide allegations of the Armenian
lobby.

Wallace Deen Muhammad will hold talks with representatives of
education, language, diplomacy, politics and business circles during
his three-day visit to Turkey, Bagis added.

2 PARTIES PLACE NOMINATION ORDERS WITH RA CEC AS OF 13:00, MARCH 2

Noyan Tapan
Mar 02 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Two orders, from the "Zhoghovrdavarakan
Ughi" ("Democratic Path") party and the Democratic Party of
Armenia, for nomination at the coming parliamentary elections by
the proportional electoral system were placed with the RA Central
Electoral Commission as of 13:00, March 2.

Tsovinar Khachatrian, the CEC Press Secretary informed the Noyan
Tapan correspondent about it. There are 35 candidates in the list of
the "Zhoghovrdavarakan Ughi" party. The list is headed by the party
Chairman, RA National Assembly independent deputy Manuk Gasparian, and
"Azgayin Zhoghovrdavarneri Dashink" (National Democrates’ Alliance)
party Chairman, NA "Ardaroutiun" (Justice) faction member Arshak
Sadoyan is the second in the list. There are 34 candidates in the DPA
pre-electoral list. It is headed by party Chairman, RA NA "Ardaroutiun"
faction member Aram Sargsian.

"MA GRAND-MèRE TURQUE ETAIT ARMENIENNE"
by Ariane Chemin (Istanbul, envoyee speciale)

Le Monde, France
27 fevrier 2007 mardi

Petites filles enlevees après le genocide de 1915, epouses converties,
les " Armeniennes cachees " etaient souvent seules a connaître la
verite de leurs origines. La Turquie decouvre ce passe interdit

Si quelqu’un, chez les Pacalioglu, n’avait eu cette drôle d’idee,
il y a trois ans, de dresser un arbre genealogique de la famille,
Rahsan Cebe, agent immobilier, ne pourrait dire aujourd’hui a tous
ses riches clients internationaux : " Je suis pour trois quarts
turque et pour un quart armenienne. " Elle n’aurait pas retrouve
son cousin francais de Californie, Alain Tascan, dont elle ignorait
jusqu’a l’existence. L’histoire de sa grand-mère serait restee la où
elle est depuis un siècle, enfermee dans le secret de la famille.

Dans le salon bourgeois du très chic quartier Bebek, sur le detroit
du Bosphore, Rahsan Cebe, belle femme rieuse de 40 ans, est aussi
prolixe que sa mère reste discrète, ecoutant silencieusement ce recit
qu’elle ne veut pas entendre, fixant le pied du fauteuil d’en face,
comme pour masquer son malaise. " N’est-ce pas, maman, que ca t’enerve
que ton boucher t’appelle "Madame" comme pour les chretiennes, et
non "hanim", comme pour les musulmanes ?, la taquine gentiment sa
fille. Tu me demandes toujours pourquoi ce traitement, comme si tu
n’avais pas devine. Je sais bien que ca te contrarie… "

Nous sommes en 2003. La famille veut immortaliser sur papier – et sur
Internet – les ramifications de sa vaste parentèle, afin que chaque
invite de la grande fete qui se prepare, retrouve sa juste place. La
grand-mère de Rahsan, morte fin 2006, va alors sur ses 90 ans : elle
est l’heroïne de la reunion. Sur le projet d’arbre genealogique,
sa petite-fille Rahsan decouvre, sous la photo de sa grand-mère,
un nom inconnu, " Nevin Tascan ". Stupefaite, elle entre dans une
colère folle. " Mais ca n’a jamais ete le nom de ma grand-mère, ca ! "

De fait, pour tout le monde, la vieille dame s’appelait Nevin
Pacalioglu, puisqu’elle avait epouse – " par amour " et entre les
deux guerres – un certain monsieur Pacaliogliu. Oublies son nom
et prenom de petite Armenienne ! Comme d’autres a cette epoque, le
patronyme armenien, Asdgik Tascan, s’etait dissous dans l’ideologie
ultranationaliste du regime de Mustafa Kemal, le futur Ataturk. "
La nommer aujourd’hui Nevin Tascan, avec son prenom turc et son
patronyme armenien, c’est insinuer qu’elle a divorce de grand-père.

Ce qui est faux ", fulmine sa petite-fille Rahsan. " Zut ! Si elle
avait ete francaise ou americaine, on aurait ete fiers d’elle. La,
on la cachait ! A l’epoque, grand-mère etait encore vivante. Si elle
avait vu ca, ca l’aurait tuee. "

L’histoire de cette femme n’est pas unique. La grand-mère " turque
" de Rahsan etait en fait une " Armenienne cachee ". Depuis quelques
annees, les revelations de ce type ne font plus exception. En Turquie,
aujourd’hui, chacun sait que depuis un siècle, pour epouser un Turc,
les chretiennes devaient, soit se convertir a l’islam, soit donner
le change et vivre comme les musulmans. On ignorait en revanche
l’incroyable histoire de ces petites Armeniennes soustraites a leurs
parents pendant le genocide de 1915, enlevees par les bourreaux dans
les provinces reculees de l’Empire, parfois sauvees par des civils
turcs compatissants.

Ces filles venaient agrandir les familles, combler des epouses
steriles. Parfois meme, ces jeunes gavour (" infidèles ") devaient
remplacer les epouses un peu defraîchies des pachas et des beys, la
classe superieure de l’epoque. " Les plus appreciees etaient celles
qui frequentaient les ecoles de missionnaires francais ou anglais ",
precise l’historien Raymond Kevorkian, auteur du Genocide des Armeniens
(Odile Jacob, 2006).

Souvent, seule la famille la plus proche etait au courant. Adultes, les
orphelines devaient pratiquer leur religion chretienne en catimini. "
Tout le monde savait que la grand-mère de Rahsan etait armenienne,
confie Selcuk Erez, ecrivain stambouliote et oncle de la jeune
femme. Mais on n’en parlait pas, pour ne pas l’offenser. " Les 50
000 Armeniens qui vivent aujourd’hui en Turquie – ils etaient deux
millions en 1914 et 300 000 après le genocide – le savent : dans ce
pays peuple a 98 % de musulmans, le terme " armenien ", qui designait
jadis les citoyens de seconde zone, autrement dit les dhimmis, reste
peu flatteur.

Parfois, les " Armeniennes cachees " etaient purement et simplement
converties par leur famille d’adoption. En grandissant, celles qui
avaient garde le souvenir de leurs origines restaient seules avec
leur secret, l’emportant dans la tombe ou le livrant comme un legs
a leur descendance, avec leur dernier soupir.

Ce fut le cas de la grand-mère de Fethiye Cetin, avocate de 56
ans et porte-parole du droit des minorites au barreau d’Istanbul,
amie et conseil du journaliste turc d’origine armenienne, Hrant
Dink, assassine le 19 janvier. Avec sept reeditions et près de 20
000 exemplaires vendus en deux ans dans un pays où on lit peu, Le
Livre de ma grand-mère, recit de cet accouchement très particulier,
represente, en soi, un evenement politique. A Kars, ville-garnison
qui jouxte la frontière avec l’Armenie, " l’unique exemplaire achete
par la bibliothèque est passe dans les mains de 70 personnes. Pour
une petite ville comme ca, c’est enorme ", se rejouit l’auteure,
première etonnee de son succès (l’ouvrage a ete traduit en francais
par les Editions de l’Aube).

La verite, Fethiye Cetin l’a apprise a 25 ans. Un jour, sa grand-mère
Seher, une vraie paysanne turque avait toujours cru l’avocate, evoque,
après mille detours, d’eventuels parents qu’elle pourrait avoir aux
Etats-Unis. Fethiye rit sans comprendre. La vieille dame se confesse
doucement. Son vrai nom, dit-elle, est Heranousch Gadarian.

En 1916, a l’âge de 10 ans, elle a assiste au massacre de sa famille, a
Cermik, dans le sud de la Turquie. " Ma grand-mère, poursuit l’avocate,
m’a alors raconte comment les femmes de son village etaient parquees
dans la cour de l’eglise. Les gendarmes turcs coupaient la gorge des
hommes et ils les jetaient dans le Tigre. Puis ils encadrèrent femmes
et enfants pour une longue marche vers la mort. "

Attisee par ces horreurs, la memoire de la vieille dame reste très
precise. " Un homme a cheval, le caporal des gendarmes de Cermik,
etait interesse par moi, raconte-t-elle. Les femmes les plus âgees
tentaient de persuader les jeunes mamans : "Nos enfants meurent un
a un. Personne ne sortira vivant de cette folle marche. Donnez les
vôtres, vous sauverez leur vie." Ma mère ne voulait pas. Le caporal
a alors tente de m’arracher a elle. En vain. Mon petit frère,
que ma mère tenait par l’autre main, se met a pleurer. Ma mère se
laisse distraire, le gendarme en profite, me hisse sur son cheval
et m’emmène. " Heranousch Gadarian deviendra la fille de la maison,
sous l’oeil contrarie de l’epouse du gendarme.

Fethiye Cetin decide de raconter cette histoire dans un livre. Il y a
trois ans, elle envoie les epreuves de son ouvrage a Hrant Dink, son
ami et client. " Publions-le chez nous ! ", s’enthousiasme le patron
d’Agos, seul hebdomadaire armeno-turc. Fethiye Cetin prefère un autre
editeur, Metis, un peu intello, mais 100 % turc. " Je ne voulais pas
que mon livre soit marque "armenien", ou militant, explique-t-elle.

Je ne voulais pas entrer dans la querelle du genocide, je voulais
raconter les souffrances de ces gens. Apparement, j’ai eu raison.

Cela a reveille des souvenirs devenus très vagues. Avec le livre,
c’est redevenu concret. Redevenu de chair et d’os. "

Reconnaissance et reminiscence prennent toujours corps sur des
details. Les petits-enfants se souviennent de ces " je-ne-sais-quoi "
qui trahissaient l’" armenite " de leur grand-mère. Ils se rappellent
ces petits riens parsemes comme des miettes de madeleine sur les tables
ou oublies dans les phrases de leurs chères aïeules anatoliennes.

" Quand j’etais enfant, je vivais a Maden, comme Fethiye ", se souvient
Hasan, qui vend des ouvrages scolaires. " La ville comptait encore
35 000 habitants et beaucoup de familles armeniennes. Pour celle de
Fethiye, bien que ma grand-mère ait ete l’amie de la sienne, je ne
savais pas. Quand je suis arrive a Istanbul, j’ai vu qu’on vendait
partout du "corek" " – en armenien "tcherek", une brioche doree au
jaune d’oeuf et saupoudree de cumin noir. " A Maden, c’etait special,
cette brioche. Très peu de personnes en mangeaient, et seulement a
Pâques, ajoute-t-il devant un verre de cafe. Je me souviens qu’il y
en avait chez la grand-mère de Fethiye. Maintenant que je sais tout,
je dechiffre. "

Il y avait aussi ces vides etranges autour des vieilles femmes, " cette
absence de frères, de soeurs, de parents, de relations ", note Rahsan
Cebe. " Je me souviens que j’appelais ma grand-mère "mine", version
turque de "yaya", la grand-mère armenienne. " Mais la vraie difference
est culturelle. " Ma mère a 70 ans, elle a fonde l’entreprise où elle
travaille toujours. C’est ma grand-mère qui voulait ca. Souvent,
ma mère me dit : "Si ton grand-père n’avait pas disparu si tôt,
jamais je n’aurais pu aller etudier dans une universite americaine,
jamais je n’aurais pu devenir agent immobilier international. Ca
n’aurait pas ete possible." " La mère l’interrompt a ce point de
l’histoire. " A l’ecole, a Istanbul, tout le monde savait que tu etais
armenienne. Les ragots, tu comprends. Il y avait des profs armeniens,
tu etais bavarde, dissipee, mais ils te chouchoutaient. Ils etaient
gentils avec toi ", glisse-t-elle pour la première fois de sa vie.

Fethiye Cetin a aussi des souvenirs d’ecole. " Quand je rapportais
de bonnes notes, ma grand-mère etait fière : "Toi, tu viens de chez
nous. Tu tiens de mon côte de la famille", se rappelle-t-elle. Je
croyais qu’elle me flattait, parce que j’etais moins jolie que ma
soeur. Je n’avais pas le recul pour comprendre ce qu’elle voulait me
dire. " Elle ne comprenait pas non plus pourquoi, quand elle etait en
colère contre son mari, la vieille dame marmonnait : " Bre, musurman
! " – (" Espèce de musulman ! "). Ni pourquoi, en passant devant le
cimetière de Maden, elle repetait : " Ce n’est pas des morts qu’il
faut avoir peur, mais des vivants. "

D’autres, comme Sarkis Cerkezyan, 90 ans, beau vieillard a cheveux
blancs qui est l’un des derniers survivants du genocide, se rappellent
que certains designaient les jeunes rescapes des massacres comme des
kilic artig, autrement dit, " les restes de l’epee ". Ne au debut de
1916 en plein desert de Syrie, sur la route de Der Zor – destination
finale des convois de deportes -, le vieil homme continue : " Dans
la bouche d’un Turc, ce sobriquet sonnait comme une insulte. "

Pour beaucoup, le livre de Fethiye Cetin a constitue une revelation.

Des centaines de lettres et de mails sont arrivees chez l’auteure.

Des dizaines de personnes se sont rendues, bouleversees, a son
cabinet. Des femmes, surtout. " Le genocide armenien est une histoire
de femmes ", souligne Raymond Kevorkian. " Les hommes sont morts,
elles portent tout. " Le livre a agi comme un sesame et leve un
tabou. On ecrit a l’avocate qu’on va tout lui raconter.

Elle repond : " "Ecrivez vous-meme". Moi aussi, au depart, j’avais
cherche une "plume". C’etait une erreur. J’ai pleure chaque jour en
ecrivant ce livre. Depuis, je dors mieux. " Encore rares, toujours
discrets, les " coming out " armeniens doivent evidemment beaucoup au
contexte politique. " L’interessant est que, ces dernières annees,
la jeune generation s’est mise a lire des livres, a suivre des
conferences ", se felicite Raffi Hermonn, premier vice-president
non musulman de l’Association turque des droits de l’homme (IDH). "
Dans les annees 1950, pour les Sylvie Vartan, Alain Prost et autres
Balladur, il etait presque honteux d’etre armenien. On changeait son
nom, on ne disait rien. Tout cela est en train de changer. La fin des
ideologies internationalistes n’est peut-etre pas non plus etrangère
a cette redecouverte des identites, y compris chez des militants
d’extreme gauche… ", sourit-il.

Fethiye Cetin rencherit : " Je pense que, si j’avais apporte mon
manuscrit a une maison d’edition il y a quelques annees elle ne
l’aurait pas accepte. Depuis 1999, le processus d’integration a
l’Union europeenne facilite les choses. "

Pour preuve, le billet publie il y a un an par Bekir Coskun,
editorialiste au quotidien a gros tirage Hurriyet, et intitule " Ma
question armenienne ". Dans les limites du politiquement correct impose
par un Etat qui punit toute reference au genocide armenien comme une "
insulte a l’identite turque ", le journaliste turc racontait lui aussi
" l’armenite " cachee de sa grand-mère. " Je n’ai aucune information
personnelle sur l’histoire du million d’Armeniens en question. Je
connais juste une histoire armenienne, ecrit Bekir Coskun. Après la
mort de ma mère, mon père, qui etait fonctionnaire, nous a emmenes,
ma soeur et moi, vivre chez notre grand-mère (…).

Je sais qu’elle a pris grand soin de nous. Elle n’etait pas comme les
tantes et autres femmes de la maison, poursuit-il. Elle avait un long
cou, un corps mince et des yeux saisissants. Son nom etait Ummuhan.

(…) Chacun l’a aimee. Ses points de vue et conseils etaient
recherches. J’ai toujours attache une attention particulière au fait
que mon père, qui etait autoritaire et strict, lui faisait confiance
et la respectait. " Et puis, " le temps a passe, nous avons decouvert
qu’elle n’etait pas notre vraie grand-mère. Elle etait venue dans cette
maison remplacer la vraie qui etait morte. (…) Mon grand-père l’avait
epousee, après l’avoir extraite de la masse des familles armeniennes
qui avaient ete forcees de s’exiler en Syrie. (…) Alors, nous
avons commence a comprendre la tristesse qui se refletait dans ses
yeux quand elle nous etreignait. "

Bekir Coskun a une conclusion très personnelle : " Peu importe ce qui
a ete fait aux Armeniens, ou pourquoi les gens s’affrontent sur ce
sujet a present. Mais je voudrais savoir, ajoute-t-il, quelle force a
separe ma grand-mère, jeune fille, de son nid, de sa maison, de son
foyer. Je voudrais savoir qui est responsable de la douleur qu’elle
a essaye de nous cacher et de la longue vie d’exil qu’elle a dû mener.

Je ne sais rien sur l’histoire de ce million d’Armeniens. Sauf
celle-ci. La femme triste que j’ai tant aimee. Mon Armenienne a moi. "

Cela n’a jamais ete facile, en Turquie, " de se lever et de dire :
ma grand-mère est armenienne ", relève Rahsan Cebe. " Hrant Dink a
beaucoup fait pour que cette parole se libère ", estime l’historien
Raymond Kevorkian. Le regain nationaliste turc que son assassinat a
reflete risque pourtant de brider d’autres confessions malaisees. "
Nous ne savons pas beaucoup de choses, parce que ces femmes ne parlent
pas beaucoup. Elles ont peur ", explique Maÿda Saris, a la direction
d’Agos. " Il faut aussi qu’elles se souviennent, c’est-a-dire qu’elles
aient eu au moins 3 ans en 1915 ", note M. Kevorkian. " Beaucoup s’en
vont sans jamais parler… "

Avant de s’eteindre, en 2000, a l’âge de 95 ans, Heranousch,
la grand-mère de Fethiye, a chante pour la première fois de sa
vie : quand on a retrouve la trace de son frère aux Etats-Unis et
qu’on lui a annonce que sa nièce americaine s’appelle, elle aussi,
Heranousch… Convertie, elle a ete enterree dans un carre musulman.

Rahsan Cebe, elle, a pu organiser, en 2004, a Istanbul, la grande
fete de famille dont revait sa grand-mère. " C’est mon vrai mariage
", a souffle l’aïeule. Et puis, en voyant pour la première fois les
enfants de son frère, elle a eu ce soupir : " Voila pourquoi Dieu
voulait que je vive jusqu’a ce jour ! " Deux ans plus tard, la vieille
dame s’est eteinte. Elle a eu droit a une double ceremonie funèbre :
une a l’eglise, l’autre a la mosquee. C’etait sa volonte.

–Boundary_(ID_8gMASiYEcJ56z73WlmFH+w)–

37 ARMENIAN FAMILIES TO BE PROVIDED WITH APARTMENTS IN 2007 AS PART OF CHURCH-LED BENEVOLENT PROGRAM

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Feb 26 2007

YEREVAN, February 26. /ARKA/. Armenian Habitat NGO’s press office
told ARKA News Agency on Thursday that apartments will be given to
37 Armenian families in 2007 as part of a construction program led
by Armenian Apostolic Church leader Catholicos Garegin II.

The program will be implemented between April and October 2007 in
Khor-Virap, Marmarashen, Norabats, Khachik, Shatine, Margahovit
and Shahumyan.

The program is reported to be implemented with close cooperation with
Armenian Church dioceses and Armenians worldwide.

The organization implements the program in an effort to help homeless
families.

On April 20, 2006, Armenian Apostolic Church and International
Habitat signed a cooperation agreement in a bid to provide homeless
and low-income families with apartments.

NO ONE WILL BENEFIT FROM A RESOLUTION IN US CONGRESS ON ARMENIAN …

Turkish Press
Feb 26 2007

MARDIN – No one will benefit from a resolution in the United States
Congress on Armenian topic, U.S. Consul General in southern city of
Adana Eric F. Green said on Tuesday in south-eastern city of Mardin.

Green paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Mardin today.

We will meet with representatives from the business community,
political parties and NGOs in Mardin and have a chance to learn about
economic and political developments in the region, told Green.

Asked what he thinks on an Armenian resolution in the U.S. Congress,
Green replied that "the American administration does not believe such
a resolution would be beneficial. I believe that bilateral relations
between Turkey and Armenia will provide an opportunity to evaluate
the incidents of the past. U.S.-Turkish relations are highly important
for us. The Armenian resolution will benefit no one."

In response to a question on terrorist PKK organization, Green stressed
that the USA is in constant contact with "our Turkish partners. North
of Iraq must begin to have stability so that terrorist acts against
Turkey in the region may be eradicated."