Author: Topchian Jane

DETENTION OF GENERALS ACCELERATES TURKEY’S POLITICAL SHOWDOWN

Asbarez
s-accelerates-turkeys-political-showdown/
Feb 23rd, 2010

ANKARA (RFE/RL)-Turkey’s Islamist-rooted ruling party has dramatically
upped the stakes in its showdown with the secularist establishment
by detaining more than 50 current and former military commanders.

For decades, the military has been considered the guardian of
the secular order established by the republic founder and revered
army officer, Mustafa Kemal. The first president of Turkey is known
throughout the country simply as Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks,"
and his adherents as "Kemalists."

On February 22, the long-established order suffered a significant
blow when 21 generals were detained, including former navy chief
Admiral Ozden Ornek, former air force chief General Ibrahim Firtina,
and former 1st Army commander General Ergin Saygun. Most of the others
detained were colonels.

The detentions are by far the most sensational single event in the
government’s investigation of the "Ergenekon" network, an alleged
gang of top military officials who sought for decades to act as a
shadow government and determine the country’s political course.

According to Turkish press reports, the new round of detentions may
be linked to a plan by Ergenekon members to carry out a military coup
against the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party in 2003.

The plot for the coup, code-named "Balyoz" (Sledgehammer), allegedly
involved plans to spark unrest by bombing two major mosques in Istanbul
and staging an assault on a military museum by attackers disguised
as Islamic fundamentalists.

‘Uncharted Territory’

The detentions have electrified Turkey as the most sweeping move to
date by the Islamist-rooted AK to redefine the Turkish republic by
challenging the traditional dominance of the military as its protector.

That protection to date has included the military’s toppling of four
governments since 1960 in the name of safeguarding the republic’s
Kemalist secular identity. Ozgur Ogrit, a correspondent for "Hurriyet
Daily News" in Istanbul, says it is impossible to predict what will
happen next.

"This is uncharted territory for Turkey because, since last month,
everyday you see the same phrase in the headlines: for the first
time in Turkey, for the first time in republican history, for the
first time this general came to give testimony, or this general was
arrested, or a secret room of the military was inspected," Ogrit says.

"I don’t think anyone in Turkey can tell you where we are going to
go from here."

Dividing Turkey

The Ergenekon investigation, launched in 2007, is causing huge
divisions within Turkey as the pro-AK and pro-Kemalist camps have
squared off in political and media circles.

The division has equally reached into the once solidly Kemalist
bastions of the military, judiciary, and bureaucracy – the three legs
of the traditional Turkish state – making it still more impossible
to predict how the showdown will end.

The Ergenekon case has divided Turks on many levels of society. The
detentions of the generals come close on the heels of a fierce battle
within the judiciary itself between prosecutors determined to push
ahead with the Ergenekon investigation and those who see the affair
as a political tool for the AK to punish secular opponents.

The battle within the judiciary came to a head last week as the
Higher Board of Judges and Prosecutors condemned the arrest of
a prosecutor who had been charged by colleagues with belonging
to Ergenekon himself. The arrested prosecutor, Ilhan Cihaner, had
launched a probe into the Islamic community.

After the board removed four other prosecutors from an investigation
into Cihaner, the AK-led government condemned the board for delivering
a "heavy blow" against justice.

Turkey’s Future In The Balance

But if tit-for-tat moves like those have at times risked making the
public weary of the now years-long political crisis over the Ergenekon
investigation, this week’s detention of some 50 commanders guarantees
the affair a new and long life.

"People had been asking why, if the Ergenekon gang was supposed to
be planning a coup, the investigation was bringing in journalists,
scholars, writers, but where were the soldiers who would carry out
the coup? And that was a very fair question," Ogrit notes. "Now,
they have started to go after the top generals and now, I think,
the case is meaningful once more."

The credibility of the Ergenekon investigation had waned as it focused
on soft targets without any immediate indication it would reach the
alleged core Ergenekon group itself.

At times, the arrests or detentions of secularist journalists, writers,
and academics, appeared to rely upon increasingly dubious anonymous
letters and secret witnesses. Some suspects accused the police of
fabricating evidence.

But now, with the stakes dramatically raised, the question of whether
the investigation would reach some of the country’s most powerful
current and former members of the military is answered.

And instead, the question for the months ahead has become whether
the AK has the political strength to bring the detained commanders
to trial and whether, if convicted, the verdicts would still be
overturned by the old-guard Supreme Court of Appeals.

The answer will tell much about the future direction in which Turkey
will go. That direction now is generally seen inside Turkey itself as
a choice between two poles: the traditional Kemalist secular state vs.

an Islamic order that critics say would usher in Shari’a law.

But the reality may ultimately be an identity at a point somewhere
along this continuum that has not yet been determined. And part of
the process of determining that point may be exactly the political
crisis now rocking the country.

GOVERNMENT, ARTISTS IN SOLIDARITY WITH DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE

Today’s Zaman
Feb 23 2010
Turkey

Following a successful breakfast meeting hosted by Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday morning, artists from Turkey’s music world
who were in attendance have expressed support for the government’s
democratic initiative, which aims to improve standards of democracy,
freedoms and respect for human rights in Turkey.

Erdogan’s invitation to leading artists comprising famous composers,
songwriters and singers seems to have been well received. Speaking to
Today’s Zaman, participants continued to express hope for the future
of the country and thus pledge support for advancing the democratic
initiative. Sixty-two important names from Turkey’s music world were
present at the Prime Ministry’s working office the day of the event.

Garo Mafyan, a composer of Armenian descent, said directly discussing
an important problem of the country with the head of its executive
branch was very important for them. "We are not accustomed to having
such meetings. This is the first time in Turkey’s history since the
late Turgut Ozal that a prime minister is sharing something with
artists. We were delighted by the meeting, and it was important for
us. Just like he [Erdogan] asked us, we should take on the role of
helping to solve the problem and explain the initiative to people
wherever we go," Mafyan said.

Erdogan during the event had requested that the artists convey the
good intentions behind the initiative to all corners of the country
and to every citizen through their art.

Onur Akın, a famous singer, stated that the meeting was important
and promised support for the initiative. "We have a serious internal
quarrel in our country. Ending this war between brothers is our
priority. We are ready to help out," he said

Agreeing with Akın and Mafyan on the significance of the event, Emel
Sayın, a well-respected authority in Turkish classical music, added
that she was hopeful for the future as Turkey has been courageously
trying to overcome its internal and external problems.

Ozdemir Erdogan and Bulent Ortacgil, famous composers and singers,
touched upon how kindly and eloquently Erdogan spoke on Saturday. Both
of them said the prime minister’s speech was very respectful and to
the point.

CC WENT TO CONSULTATION ROOM

sd
01:30 pm | February 23, 2010

Politics

Head of the legal department at the National Assembly and defendant
of the claim by "A1" at the Constitutional Court Ashot Khachatryan
believes that the CC will quash the claim by "A1+".

"A1+" demands that the CC recognize Part 1 of Article 204/28 of the
Civil Trial Code that prohibits RA citizens from exercising their
right to defense in a trial and fulfill the verdicts reached by the
European Court in Armenia as anti-constitutional.

"The CC has already recognized Part 1 of the article as
anti-constitutional and that served as grounds for us to petition the
CC to quash the case," Ashot Khachatryan told "A1+". Accepting Part 1
of Article 204/28 of the Civil Trial Code as grounds, the Cassation
Court refused to fulfill the demand of the European Court’s verdict
favoring "A1+" in June 2008.

So, you find that the Cassation Court accepted Part 1 of Article 204/28
of the Civil Trial Code to impede the fulfillment of the European
Court’s verdict favoring "A1+" as an anti-constitutional norm as
grounds? In response, Ashot Khachatryan avoided responding and said:
"Let’s wait for the court’s decision."

The high-level court, that is, the CC, is examining the claim of
"A1+" through a written procedure. In the previous trial where the
NA representative claimed that the CC had already recognized Part
1 of Article 208/24 of the Civil Trial Code as anti-constitutional,
President of the CC Gagik Harutyunyan demanded explanations from him
as to why the anti-constitutional norm had remained in the code to
this day. Not receiving any explanation from the NA representative
today, the CC went to the consultation room.

In the previous trial, defendant, Head of the Legal Division at
the National Assembly Ashot Khachatryan announced that the CC had
already recognized Part 1 of Article 204/28 of the Civil Trial Code as
anti-constitutional; in other words, the Cassation Court had denied
the claim filed by "A1+", accepting the already non-existing norm as
a basis.

Representatives of the case of "A1+" Artak Zeynalyan and Ara Ghazaryan
claimed that the CC had not recognized Part 1 of Article 204/28
of the Civil Trial Code as anti-constitutional. "Otherwise, the CC
wouldn’t have accepted the claim by "A1+" as a case. I repeat-this
is not just the issue of "A1+". This will be a strategic decision
that will solve the issue of fulfilling all the verdicts reached by
the European Court in Armenia," said Artak Zeynalyan.

ON THE TOPICAL ISSUES OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN ISTANBUL
Ruben Melkonyan

mp;nid=2333
22 February 2010

Among the Armenian communities outside Armenia the community in
Istanbul, which now faced very serious problems, has always played
an important role. It should be mentioned that among the Armenian
communities spread all over the Ottoman Empire only community in
Istanbul had survived after the Genocide and expanded on the account of
the Armenians who came from the provinces. While in Turkish provinces
the Armenian community live had not re-established (the only exception
is, at some extent, Armenia village of Vakifli).

The immigration among the Armenians of Istanbul and Turkey in general
had been of a permanent character and it is due to this fact that
today in Turkey there are officially only 55-60 thousand Armenians
who face a number of problems some of which are especially dangerous
because they threaten the future of the community.

Language issue. One of the most important problems of the Armenian
community in Istanbul is the situation with the Armenian language:
the number of people speaking Armenian is decreasing. This phenomenon
is connected with different factors but an important place should
also be allotted to the policy carried out by the state which is not
always benevolent to the fact that people do not speak Turkish, to
say the least. As a manifestation of the state policy we can remember
"Compatriot, speak Turkish" actions which were wide spread in different
years and which aim was banning the usage of any other language except
the Turkish in public places. All these were accompanied by different
persecutions. The decrease of the usage of the Armenian in public
places was followed by using of Turkish language at home. During one
internal communal discussion about the decay of the Armenian language
the opinion was sounded that Armenian language turned into a kind of
"intermediate" language and had "a status which is weaker than the
mother tongue but stronger than the foreign language". There is
also an opinion that today the Armenian "is not a language of the
Armenian community but a language of the teachers". One of the most
vivid examples of the decay of level of Armenian language speaking
is the sermon in Turkish in the Armenian churches of Istanbul which
today has turned into a common phenomenon.

The study has been carried out recently in the Armenian community in
Istanbul in order to find out what language they speak according to
the scale of age. Such is the picture:

Scale of age 13-18 19-24 25-34 35-44 45-60 60+ Total Armenian (%)
26.7 8.8 17.5 22.4 22.2 33.3 18.4 Turkish (%) 73.3 90.0 77.5 76.6
76.6 66.7 80.1

>From the table above it becomes clear that only 18% of the community
speaks Armenian and 90% of youth speaks Turkish.

The issue of the mixed marriages. Generally, the internal marriages
(endogamy) are wide spread among the Armenians and the attempts are
also made to preserve it outside Armenia. In the community in Istanbul
great attention is also paid to internal marriages but a number of
processes going on influence this phenomenon too: the level of the
mixed marriages in the community has reached the 40-50%. All this
is really bothering and it also should be taken into consideration
that the mixed marriages arouse a number of problems, particularly,
the problems of religious and national identity of the children born
from such marriages.

The issue of the Patriarchate. The Armenian Patriarchate of
Istanbul plays important role in the life of the Armenian community:
de-facto the Patriarch is accepted by the Turkish authorities as
a leader of the Armenian community. It is not a secret that the
incumbent Patriarch Mesrob Mutafian is hopelessly sick and cannot
manage the community. According to the church charter in such cases
the joint-ruler patriarch should be elected and according to the
Turkish law the permission to elect the patriarch is given by the
administration of Istanbul to which the application was submitted
by the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul but no response has been
received yet. The candidates to the post of the joint ruler patriarch
are know – the Primate of the Gugarats Diocese Bishop Sepuh Chuldjian,
the Primate of German Diocese Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan and the
representative of the Patriarchy of Istanbul Archbishop Aram Ateshian.

Let us mention that the Istanbul Patriarchate is also partially
responsible for the thousands of the citizens of Armenia working
in Turkey and having legal problems. And Turkish authorities do not
miss a chance to speculate on the issue of the citizens of Armenia who
illegally live in Turkey and constantly exaggerate their number. And in
one of his recent statements the prime-minister Erdogan even mentioned
the number of 100 thousand which has nothing do with the reality.

Many other problems and de-facto absence of the Patriarch put the
Armenians of Istanbul into a rather difficult position which even
more aggravates the situation in the community. Thus, it can be
supposed that the election of the active and national patriarch may
contribute seriously to the prevention of crisis of Armenian community
in Istanbul.

At the same time, unfortunately, the passivity in regard to the
national and religious issues can be seen in the community. In case
of such development the issues get even more burning and the community
face the threat of assimilation and loss of national character.

While examining the processes going on in today’s community in Istanbul
we arrive at a conclusion that the community can be divided into
several conditional groups in accordance with the stance in regard
to the community life and problems:

1. Indifferent group – this group is not interested in the community,
national problems; it is more occupied with their everyday issues and
their belonging to the Armenian community is mostly of conditional
character.

2. Adapting group – this group, which is the majority, became
very adapting and even sometimes frightened due to the policy of
persecutions carried out by the Turkish authorities for decades. For
them the identification with the Armenians of Diaspora and Armenians
from Armenians are very often undesirable.

3. Active group – this group, which is the smallest, mostly consists
of the young people of liberal views and tending for the changes.

It should be mentioned that the position and the attitude of Armenia
towards the Armenians in Turkey should be differentiated because the
most of the Armenians living in that country do not consider themselves
the Armenians of Diaspora and they have grounded motivations for that
(e.g. most of the centers of population of Armenia where they came
from today form a part of Turkey).

At the same time let us mention that the interest of Armenia in
community, spiritual and cultural live of the Armenians in Turkey is
as natural as the interest of any national state in their compatriots
living abroad (as, e.g. the interest of Turkey in Turks living in
Europe). We also believe that the mending of the relations between
Armenia and Turkey will contribute to the solution of a number of
issues facing Armenian community in Turkey.

CYPRUS INVESTORS BUY NICOSIA PROPERTY FOR RECORD 18.25 MLN

ANSAmed
February 22, 2010 Monday 11:35 AM CET

(ANSAmed) Cyprus Investors have paid the highest price for an
inner-city plot in Nicosia when they bought a parcel of 2,000 sq.m.

off Makarios Avenue for a record EUR 18.25 mln, as Financial Mirror
reports. The plot that looks on to Stassicratous, Mnassiadou and
Princess De Tyra streets, has a market value of EUR 22 mln, as per
two different valuers.

It is currently being used as a parking lot next to the Enosi Neon
Trust house. In addition to a transfer fee of EUR 1.45 mln, the
purchase from Takis Kazolides also generated EUR 3.2 mln in capital
gains tax, which left the Inland Revenue Service and Finance Minister
Charilaos Stavrakis very pleased. The deal went ahead despite the
economic crisis, suggesting that there are bargain deals to be made
and reinforcing the principle that property in Cyprus hardly ever loses
value. The buyer, HAYASA Properties Ltd, along with its sister company,
HAYASA Productions, a music and digital media company of French and
Cypriot Armenians, also holds another property on Stasikratous street
that will be transformed into a premium parking project to provide
luxury and secure facility on monthly corporate agreements and will
also be available for event hosting. A company official said that the
new purchase will be developed into a multi-storey venture that will
include a modern boutique hotel, commercial and residential space and
the capability to rise up to 18 floors with five underground levels.

SAMVEL ARABAJYAN: RAISE OF GAS PRICES IS AN OBJECTIVE REALITY
Nelly Danielyan

"Radiolur"
22.02.2010 18:00

Member of Public Service Regulatory Commission (PSRC) Samvel Arabajyan
considers that the increase of gas tariffs in Armenia is an "objective
necessity."

The interested parties have carried out professional analysis of
the issue of increase of tariffs, Samvel Arabajyan told a press
conference today.

"I will personally vote for increase of gas prices," the PSRC member
stated.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

THE FIRST HONORARY CONSUL OF ARMENIA FOR DER ZOR VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

On Wednesday 17 February 2010, Souren Vartanian visited His Holiness Aram I
to thank him for welcoming him as the first Honorary Ambassador of Armenia
for Der Zor. The message was read by Bishop Shahan Sarkissian, Prelate of
the Diocese of Aleppo and Syria. In the message, His Holiness said that this
new position will strengthen the commitment of the Armenian people to the
memory of the martyrs of the genocide and will remind the world of the
history of the Catholicosate in Cilicia and its people.

The Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. Harout Vartanian, the Chairman of the
Council of the Martyrs’ Church in Der Zor, and a member of the Board of the
Der Zor Monument.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

EU ENVOY: ARMENIA MAY BE ROUTE FOR FUTURE PIPELINE

armradio.am
20.02.2010 13:45

The normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia and
the opening of their sealed border are expected to have positive
repercussions in the energy field for both countries, according to the
EU’s special representative for Central Asia, Pierre Morel. Armenia
could also be a route for a future pipeline, he says

There are many options for new Caspian-Turkish energy pipelines due
to the "mobile energy landscape," according to a senior European Union
official who predicts Armenia could be the site of a future network.

"There have been different options. Things have not been fixed up
to now. The greatest idea to say is well, in the future, why not use
Armenia as a way for other pipelines," Pierre Morel, the EU’s special
representative for Central Asia, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review.

The normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia and
the opening of the sealed border are expected to have positive
repercussions in the energy field for both Armenia and Turkey. While
the detente would allow Armenia to become a possible transit route for
energy pipelines shipping oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to Turkey’s
Mediterranean coast, it would also help make Turkey a major energy hub.

EXPERTS: TURKEY IS UNLIKELY TO CONTINUE NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

Trend
Feb 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Despite the possible rapid ratification of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols in the Armenian parliament, Ankara is unlikely to continue
the process of normalization the relations with Yerevan, experts said.

"Spirit of the protocols after changes made by the Constitutional Court
of Armenia, does not correspond with the policy of Turkey. The Turkish
government is unlikely to continue the topic of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols in future, Head of the Turkish Center for International
Relations and Strategic Analysis Turksam, Sinan Ogan, said.

The protocols on the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations will
be submitted for a preliminary discussion in the Armenian parliament’s
Standing Committee on Foreign Relations on February 19, the National
Assembly Committee on Foreign Relations chairman Armen Rustamian said,
PanARMENIAN.Net. reported.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were broken due
to Armenian claims of an alleged genocide and its occupation of
Azerbaijani lands. Their border closed in 1993.

On January 12 Armenia’s Constitutional Court confirmed that obligations
reflected in the Armenian-Turkish protocols correspond with the basic
law of the country. However, there is no need for a joint commission
that will investigate the events that occurred during the Ottoman
Empire in 1915, and that Armenia would never back down the requirement
of recognition of the so-called "genocide."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned if the Armenian
Constitutional Court does not reverse its decision on the protocols
between the two countries, the relations between Ankara and Yerevan
may be corrupted.

According to experts, the reason that the procedure for ratifying
the protocols was so prolonged, is that the party most likely will
not continue the process of normalization, despite external pressure.

Four months have passed since the signing of Armenian-Turkish protocols
in Zurich. Hope for the normalization of relations between the two
neighbors has already disappeared, commentator Guillaume Perrier told
Le Monde, InoPress reported.

Turkish foreign policy was very naive with regard to Armenia. They
believed that they can trust Armenia in the issue of protocols,
and built the entire foreign policy on this assertion, Ogan said.

"However, Armenia does not agree with resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, and has not tried to maintain the spirit of the protocols
in general, amending the item on genocide. Afterwards, Turkey is
unlikely to continue the process of normalization with Armenia",
Ogan told Trend News over phone from Istanbul.

The fact that the Armenian-Turkish protocols have not been ratified
and discussed in the Turkish Parliament, will only deepen the already
existing "crisis of confidence", Armenian Center for National and
International Studies Director Richard Giragosian said.

"There is a deep gap between the two sides, as Armenia is quite
prepared to execute the conditions of the protocols. Turkey now seems
to be striving to find political reasons to get away from this,"
Giragosian told Trend News via e-mail.

However, according to observers, even if the Armenian parliament
ratifies the protocols, one can hardly expect the same action from
Turkey.

According to Ogan, Armenia will do its utmost to continue to put
pressure on Ankara and gain time. However, Armenia does not agree
with resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and has not tried to
maintain the spirit of the protocols in general, amending the item on
"genocide". It was a reason for Turkey to think about the advisability
of talks, experts said.

"Right now, Armenia is trying to hold out until April, by ratifying
the Protocols in its parliament. Afterwards, the pressure will be
made on Turkey by Western observers, Ogan said.

Despite the fact that the Armenian political elite called Turkey for
ratification prior to the procedure in its parliament, I am sure that
Armenian parliamentarians will do it sooner.

However, now foreign observers will not be able to influence Turkey’s
decision, Giragosian said.

"Status of the Protocols is now a hostage of Turkey’s domestic policy.

The fact that the fate of the protocol now depends on progress in
Turkey’s domestic policy, also means that neither the Americans nor
the EU, Russia, even Armenia can affect the outcome," Giragosian said.

Even if the Armenian parliament ratifies the Armenian-Turkish
protocols, we can hardly expect an equivalent response from the
Turkish parliament, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins
University Director Svante Cornell said.

According to Cornell, one must take into account the fact that if
the Armenian parliament ratified the protocols, it will be another
step to increase pressure on Turkey, which seeks Yerevan.

"Pressure on Turkey will grow, but despite this, Ankara is unlikely to
continue the process of normalization of the Turkey-Armenia relations
without solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.

R. Hafizoglu contributed to this article.

TATARSTAN STUDENTS MEET POETESS ANNA BARSEGHYAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.02.2010 11:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The winner of Russia’s Golden Pen, poetess,
translator and publicist Anna Barseghyan paid a visit to Naberezhnie
Chelny, Tatarstan, to meet with the teaching staff and students of
the city’s branch of Moscow State University of Culture and Arts,
reported Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia.

During a 2-hour meeting, Anna Barseghyan answered numerous questions
and told about future plans.

"I started writing poems in 7 and I always knew that my home will be
filled with music and books," she said. "I haven’t written fiction
before but I plan to publish a collection of short stories, a narrative
and a essay."