Tag: Politics

ARMENIANS OF TURKEY PRAY FOR THE SAKE OF ‘ARMENIA OPENING’

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ARMENIANS OF TURKEY PRAY FOR THE SAKE OF ‘ARMENIA OPENING’

Tuesday, 03 November 2009

Armenians of Turkey will bless the protocols that Turkey and Armenia signed on October 11 in the homeland of President Abdullah Gul, Kayseri. Religious ceremony will be held in the Surp Krikor Lusavoric Armenian Church in Kayseri.

Turkish-Armenians will pray for the sake of Turkey-Armenia protocols in an Armenian church in Kayseri. Armenian community will hold the first Sunday prayer in the church which is newly restored. The prayer will be leaded by Deputy Patriarch Aram Ateshian.

TURKEY’S SECOND CHURCH GESTURE

After restoring Armenian Akdamar church spending $1,5 million, Turkey makes another gesture and restores Surp Krikor Lusarevic Armenian Church in Kayseri, which is known as the first Armenian Church in Anatolia.

The restoration work will be completed next week. Surp Krikor Armenian Church Foundation Chairman Zadik Toker invited people of Kayseri to the opening ceremony of the Church next week. Toker said, “Our church is very important as it is the first church of Armenian people in Anatolia. The Church was partially restored in 1996. Icons and themes in the church is restored in accordance with theiroriginals.”

US Armenians hope for failure of Ankara-Yerevan deal

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

ÜMİT ENGİNSOY

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

American-Armenians and their congressional backers are keen on the ‘genocide’ recognition, not the creation of normalized ties between Turkey and Armenia, diplomats and experts say. Armenians will try to persuade the world that it’s the Turks that stopped the process, an expert argue Armenian-Americans and their backers in Congress are hoping for the collapse of a normalization deal between Turkey and Armenia so they can continue to lobby for U.S. recognition of what they term the “Armenian genocide,” diplomats and analysts said.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed historic protocols on Oct. 10 that called for the creation of normal diplomatic relations between the two neighbors and the reopening of their shared land border. Their parliaments must first ratify the deal before the provisions go into effect.

Before reopening the land border, which has remained closed for 16 years, Turkey wants to see some progress toward the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ankara’s close ally.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan’s borders, has been under Armenian occupation since a war in the early 1990s.

Reopening border key matter

Yerevan, however, seeks to keep the normalization deal with Turkey and the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as completely separate processes, urging Turkey to reopen the border as soon as possible. Diaspora Armenians, meanwhile, also staunchly oppose any concessions on Karabakh.

But without progress on the Karabakh matter, it will be extremely difficult for Ankara to move to reopen the border. “If there’s no progress on Karabakh, Turkey simply can’t reopen the border with Armenia, which will effectively mean that the reconciliation process will have failed,” one Washington-based analyst said. “If this happens, it will be important to see which side will be blamed for the derailed process. The Armenians will try to persuade the world that it’s the Turks that stopped the process.”

In that case, U.S. Armenians and their backers in Congress will seek to punish Turkey in Congress, the analyst said.

Armenian efforts in Congress

A resolution urging the United States to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide has been pending in the House of Representatives, Congress’ lower chamber, since February.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator John Ensign introduced a similar resolution in the Senate, Congress’ upper chamber, last month.

“Pro-Armenian lawmakers in both sides of Congress will step up efforts for genocide recognition in the event of the collapse of the Ankara-Yerevan deal,” said the analyst.

“Any formal U.S. genocide recognition would kill the normalization process,” one Turkish diplomat said.

But U.S. Armenians and their congressional backers are keen on genocide recognition, not the creation of normalized Ankara-Yerevan ties,” said the analyst.

“So there’s a major trap jeopardizing the reconciliation process, and that trap can be prevented only if there’s progress on the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute,” the analyst said.

November 6, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Calls on Clinton

to Meet with Armenian-American Leaders

By Asbarez Staff on Nov 2nd, 2009

In Letter to ANCA-Nevada, Senator Reid Reports that he has Shared Community Concerns over Protocols with Secretary Clinton

WASHINGTON–Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has formally shared the reservations of the Silver State’s Armenian community regarding the dangers of the recently signed Turkey-Armenia Protocols with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a October 30, 2009 letter to ANCA-Nevada activist Razmig Libarian, the Senate leader reported that he had recently written to Secretary Clinton to pass along the concerns of his state’s citizens of Armenian heritage, and to encourage her to meet directly with the national leadership of the Armenian American community regarding the state of Turkey-Armenia relations.

In his letter to Secretary Clinton, dated October 20, 2009, Senator Reid wrote: “I am sure you are aware that this agreement has raised concerns in the Armenian community inside the United States. I have received many letters from Nevadans who do not support the creation of an international commission to examine the historical record on the genocide and who believe that the agreements are unfair to Armenia. (I have included a sample letter below). Given the serious nature of the community’s concerns, I felt it was important to raise them directly with you. The commission is particularly sensitive to the Armenian-American community since the Armenian genocide has never been recognized by Turkey.”

Despite the high profile of Armenia-Turkey ties in the Obama-Biden Administration’s foreign policy agenda, neither President Obama nor Secretary Clinton has met with the Armenian American community leadership.

The full text of both letters is provided below.

October 30, 2009
Dear Mr. Libarian:

Thank you for contacting me about your concerns regarding relations between Armenia and Turkey. I appreciate hearing from you.

I have always, and will continue to, recognize the terrible atrocities that took place in 1915 as genocide. As I said to those gathered for the Armenian American Cultural Society of Las Vegas’ annual commemoration on April 19, 2009, I believe that the United States should acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

On September 1, 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed protocols that expressed a desire to establish diplomatic relations between the two nations and open the border to trade. Final agreement is pending the ratification of the protocols by each country’s Parliament. As you note, these protocols also called for the formation of a commission to study the Armenian genocide.

I certainly appreciate the concerns that you raise in your letter and believe that it is important that the specifics issues you raise about the historical commission are taken into consideration. I recently wrote to Secretary Clinton to let her know about the concerns I have heard from my constituents on this issue, and included a sample copy of letters I have received. I also asked her to meet with the Armenian-American community to discuss these issues. The full text of my letter to Hilary Clinton is below.

Thank you once again for contacting me, and I hope you will continue to keep in touch. My best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID
United States Senator
Nevada

TEXT OF SENATOR REID’S LETTER TO SECRETARY CLINTON

October 20, 2009

The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
Department of State
22001 C Street, NW
Room 7226
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I am writing about the recent agreement to establish normal diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia. I know you have personally been involved in the negotiation of this agreement and
appreciate your attention on the issues I am raising today.

I am sure you are aware that this agreement has raised concerns in the Armenian community inside the United States. I have received many letters from Nevadans who do not support the creation of an international commission to examine the historical record on the genocide and who believe that the agreements are unfair to Armenia. (I have included a sample letter below). Given the serious nature of the community’s concerns, I felt it was important to raise them directly with you. The commission is particularly sensitive to the Armenian-American community since the Armenian genocide has never been recognized by Turkey.

I would also respectfully suggest that you meet directly with Armenian-American groups so they have an opportunity to share their views with you. Thank you again for your consideration of this request and your interest in this important national security issue.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID
United States Senator

November 6, 2009
Creationism in Islam

Where religion is taking Turkey can be seen even by unbiased foreigners.

Let us in Turkey wake up and step up into the 21st century.

DEMIRTAS BAYAR

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Science

Creationism, Minus a Young Earth, Emerges in the Islamic World

By KENNETH CHANG

Published: November 2, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. — Creationism is growing in the Muslim world, from Turkey to Pakistan to Indonesia, international academics said last month as they gathered here to discuss the topic.

But, they said, young-Earth creationists, who believe God created the universe, Earth and life just a few thousand years ago, are rare, if not nonexistent.

One reason is that although the Koran, the holy text of Islam, says the universe was created in six days, the next line adds that a day, in this instance, is metaphorical: “a thousand years of your reckoning.”

By contrast, some Christian creationists find in the Bible a strict chronology that requires a 6,000-year-old Earth and thus object not only to evolution but also to much of modern geology and cosmology, which say the Earth and the universe are billions of years old.

“Views of scientific evolution are clearly influenced by underlying religious beliefs,” said Salman Hameed, who convened the two-day conference here at Hampshire College, where he is a professor of integrated science and humanities. “There is no young-Earth creationism.”

But that does not mean that all of evolution fits Islam or that all Muslims happily accept the findings of modern biology. More and more seem to be joining the ranks of the so-called old-Earth creationists. They do not quarrel with astronomers and geologists, just biologists, insisting that life is the creation of God, not the happenstance consequence of random occurrences.

The debate over evolution is only now gaining prominence in many Islamic countries as education improves and more students are exposed to the ideas of modern biology.

The degree of acceptance of evolution varies among Islamic countries.

Research led by the Evolution Education Research Center at McGill University, in Montreal, found that high school biology textbooks in Pakistan covered the theory of evolution. Quotations from the Koran at the beginning of the chapters are chosen to suggest that the religion and the theory coexist harmoniously.

In a survey of 2,527 Pakistani high school students conducted by the McGill researchers and their international collaborators, 28 percent of the students agreed with the creationist sentiment, “Evolution is not a well-accepted scientific fact.” More than 60 percent disagreed, and the rest were not sure.

Eighty-six percent agreed with this statement: “Millions of fossils show that life has existed for billions of years and changed over time.”

The situation in Turkey is different and changed only in the past couple of decades. One of the conference participants, Taner Edis, said he never encountered creationist undertones when he was growing up in Turkey in the 1970s. “I first noticed creationism when I came to America for graduate school,” said Dr. Edis, now a professor of physics at Truman State University in Missouri. He thought it an American oddity.

Some years later, while browsing a bookstore on a visit to Turkey, Dr. Edis found books about creationism filed in the science section. “It actually caught me by surprise,” he said.

In Turkey, officially a secular government but now ruled by an Islamic party, the teaching of evolution has largely disappeared, at least below the university level, and the science curriculum in public schools is written in deference to religious beliefs, Dr. Edis said.

Harun Yahya, a Turkish creationist of the old-Earth variety, has gained prominence in Turkey and elsewhere. A quarter of a world away, most of the biology teachers in Indonesia use Mr. Yahya’s creationist books in their classrooms, the McGill researchers found, although some said they did that to provide counterarguments to materials their students were reading anyway.

In the McGill research, fewer students in Indonesia than in Pakistan thought evolution a well-accepted scientific fact, yet 85 percent agreed that fossils showed that life had existed for billions of years and changed over time.

The quality of biology education “varies highly depending on what country you’re in and what school you’re in,” said Jason R. Wiles, a professor of biology at Syracuse University and associate director of the McGill center.

In addition, the situation in Iran, where the Shiite sect of Islam dominates, may be far different than in neighboring Iraq, where Sunnis are more numerous. There is no single leader, like the Roman Catholic pope, who can dictate an official view that holds for all Muslims.

November 6, 2009
Apigian-Kessel: Armenians and Greeks Band to Support Rep. Gary Peters

By Betty Apigian-Kessel on October 30, 2009

Congressman Gary Peters (D) of Michigan‘s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives was the guest of honor at a highly successful fundraiser dinner on Sept. 28 at Ginopolis’s Restaurant in Farmington Hills, Mich. The event was jointly sponsored by the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Michigan and members of the area’s substantial Greek American community. It was an opportunity to get to know Peters, who will be making another run for Congress next year.

Peters, 50, a life-long Oakland County resident, has accrued an admirable record of accomplishment since earning his B.A. in political science from Michigan’s Alma College (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), his MBA from the University of Detroit, and a law degree from Wayne State University.

The married father of three children has been a political science professor and a highly successful financial adviser, has served in the Michigan Senate, appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm as Michigan Lottery commissioner, and adding to his illustrious list of accomplishments is the fact that he served in the United States Navy from 1993 to 2000, and 2001-05 as lieutenant commander.

That evening, Peters’ introduction was by his mentor Paul Jingozian, a noted area financial investment adviser, presently serving as branch manager of Morgan Stanley in Birmingham. Jingozian brought the audience up to date on how he first met Peters: “In 1980, I had a mandate to go out and hire the brightest students for Merrill Lynch, and academically Gary was at the top of the list. I hired him immediately. He started out in the Rochester office working from the basement. He was studying law at the same time and beginning to gain an interest in politics. “ According to Jongozian, clients loved the hard working, customer-oriented Peters who had a passion for helping people, and he soon rose to the position of manager.

Jongozian’s mentoring included introducing Peters to the Armenian community by way of the annual golf outing sponsored by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

According to Jingozian, Peters told him, “I’m not about making a lot of money,” and soon parlayed his interest in politics into a successful run for the Michigan Senate and eventually the U.S. Congress.

Peters grabbed the headlines in a hard-fought race in 2008 when he defeated long-time Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg for the 9th District Congressional seat in wealthy Oakland County northwest of Detroit, which began shifting from a predominately Republican stronghold to a Democratic one.

ANC chairman Ned Apigian also took part in the evening’s introductions by presenting Peters with best-selling author Peter Balakian’s book The Burning Tigris, “making the Armenian case known to the world.”

Apigian was good naturedly chided by Greek community leader and attorney Ted Andris, who rose to add levity to the evening, much to the amusement of the guests, by declaring the strong presence of Greeks as well as Armenians, although they “did not come bearing gifts.”

Author Bob Koolakian also presented Peters with his book, Struggle for Justice.

An item of great importance was the announcement that Peters had joined the Armenian and Greek Caucus. Attorney Basil Simon rose to commend Peters for his support of Greek interests concerning the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus. Much work remains in getting the U.S. to acknowledge the grievances of the Greek and Armenian American communities against the present Turkish government.

There is strength in numbers and Assyrians should not be left out of inclusion in these grievances, as they too were part of the genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks.

Peters was introduced to the guests as they arrived and immediately impressed them with his friendliness. Everyone wanted to get to know this new congressman and what his views were on the many pressing problems facing this great land which gave our immigrant generation refuge.

He answered questions intelligently, unfalteringly. He is a convincing speaker. “We have huge challenges ahead of us. Please discuss any issues you want,” he said. “As a member of the Financial Services Committee, we are working on Wall Street regulations. It was unfathomable about what happened in the auto industry, job losses, and our economy in Michigan. We have to get the economy going here.”

Peters is a member of the Science and Technology Committee. “We have incredible engineering brain power here. We have more engineers in southeast Michigan than any other part of the country. I introduced a bill for Advance Vehicle Technology Plan with over 315 votes supporting the bill. We are in a race with the Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese right now,” he said.

The congressman answered questions about Social Security, Obama’s healthcare plan with public option, and what is fact, what is reality. He commented that we have under-invested in science and engineering especially with regard to young women, and that was a major concern he wanted to work to reverse.

Twelve thousand dollars was raised to fund Peters’ run for re-election next year, an indication that he has garnered strong support from his constituents. There was an overall feeling that a mutually beneficial working relationship between Peters and the Greek and Armenian communities has been established. We wish him well.

One burning question remains. What if Peters runs for president in the future? He seems to have the qualities we want in a leader. Will he then honor the memory of our Armenian ancestors, who helped make America the great nation it is, by unequivocally stating that a genocide was committed against the Armenian nation? Then he will truly be deserved to be called a man of his word.

November 6, 2009
Aznavour Demands Western Armenian Lands

By Asbarez Staff on Nov 3rd, 2009

YEREVAN (Yerkir)—Western Armenian lands must be returned to Armenia, said Armenia’s Ambasador to Switzerland, famous singer Charles Aznavour in an interview with Italy’s RIA3 television channel.

“When I was born, in 1924, [they] promised Armenia the return of lands. I am 85 years old and I cannot wait much longer,” said Aznavour.

“In 1924, Stalin promised Armenia the return of Erzeroum, Erzngan, Sebastia, Kharpert, Dikranagert, Bitlis, Van, Moush… The ‘Wilsonian Armenia’ also included regions of Trabizon, Erzeroum, Van and Bitlis,” said Aznavour while welcoming the prospects for establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.

“It would be pleasant to see open borders in the last part of my life,” added Aznavour.

November 6, 2009
Senate Resolution Reshuffles Political Cards in Ankara, Yerevan and Beyond

On October 21, while introducing the Armenia-Turkey Protocols to the Turkish Parliament for ratification, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu exposed his government’s true intentions.

Davutoglu stated that Armenia’s acceptance of the agreement, calling for the study of historical archives, indicated that Armenians no longer insisted on their unilateral interpretation of history. He further stated that the Protocols safeguarded Turkey’s territorial integrity from any future Armenian claims by reconfirming the present borders based on past treaties, and that the agreement would contribute to the “liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories,” meaning Karabagh (Artsakh).

While it is understandable that Davutoglu would try to put the best possible spin on the Protocols in order to secure their ratification by the Turkish Parliament, the three advantages he cited are exactly the reasons why most Armenians have so vehemently objected to this agreement.

As expected, Davutoglu was severely criticized by the opposition parties in Parliament that reject the Protocols. The most unexpected attack, however, came from Selahattin Demirtas, head of the Kurdish faction (DTP) in Parliament, who took the government to task for distorting and denying the facts of “the Armenian massacres.” Such a criticism has never been voiced before in the Turkish Parliament. Demirtas brazenly continued: “We believe that we now need to address an issue that has caused so much suffering to the Armenian people — one of the key problems facing the Republic of Turkey. A hundred years ago, the Ittihad Party, with a policy of Islamizing and Turkifying the entire Anatolia, sought to eliminate the non-Muslims, particularly the Armenian people, from these lands through exile, expulsion, deportation and massacres.”

Ignoring the insults hurled by members of the ruling party (AKP) and others, Demirtas condemned the government’s policy of denial that had the aim of escaping the consequences of this “tragedy,” prompting the creation of “a fake history.” He noted that the persecutions and massacres of Armenians were presented as if they never happened. “We need to speak about all of these things and correct the record,” Demirtas concluded.

Immediately after addressing the Turkish Parliament, Davutoglu flew to Baku in order to quell the Azerbaijani uproar over the signing of the Protocols. Realizing the depth of their anger, Davutoglu was forced to make several outlandish declarations: “Azerbaijan’s lands are sacred for us and their liberation is Turkey’s utmost priority. We will not change our position even if the sky falls down to earth!” He also assured them that “if need be, 72 million Turks are ready to die in Azerbaijan!” Azerbaijan’s leaders, however, were not too impressed with Davutoglu’s highly inflated pronouncements. They continued to shut down mosques financed by Turkey, removed Turkey’s flags from a monument for Turkish martyrs in Baku, and threatened to raise the price of gas sold to Turkey.

While Davutoglu had his hands full in Baku, a news flash from Washington came to reshuffle Ankara’s political cards. A Resolution was introduced in the U.S. Senate that called for the reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. This unexpected development sent a powerful message not only to Turkey, but also to the leaders of Armenia, Russia, the European Union and the United States.

To their dismay, Turkish leaders discovered that the Protocols would not put an end to the pursuit of recognition and justice for the crime of genocide committed by their ancestors.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy was alarmed by this unexpected development and wasted no time in condemning the Senate Resolution during a Voice of America interview. He called the timing of the Resolution “regrettable” and “unfortunate,” coming just one day after the introduction of the Protocols in the Turkish Parliament. The esteemed Ambassador failed to indicate, however, when would be a better time to introduce such a Resolution!

Turkey’s leaders are now caught in the horns of a dilemma. If they rush to ratify the Protocols in order to prevent the House and Senate Resolutions from gaining political support, they would alienate their oil-rich Azerbaijani “brothers” for not having delivered on their promises on Karabagh. On the other hand, if Turkish leaders delay ratification until after April 24 — waiting for Armenia to make concessions on Artsakh — they would run the risk of having either the House or the Senate or both pass the Genocide Resolutions. Since 2010 is an election year for all House Members and a third of the Senate, members of Congress are usually more responsive to their constituents, raising the likelihood of the passage of the Genocide Resolutions. Furthermore, even if Pres. Obama has no intention of keeping his campaign promise on the Armenian Genocide, he would feel compelled to pressure the Turks to ratify the Protocols before April 24, with or without concessions from Armenia on Artsakh, in order to provide a face-saving cover for his next “Meds Yeghern” statement!

Therefore, if Armenia’s leaders stand firm on their repeated public commitments not to make concessions on Artsakh linked to the Protocols, they would be in the driver’s seat in terms of controlling Ankara’s next steps.

Pres. Sargsyan must also keep his solemn promise not to allow the Protocols to undermine Armenia’s efforts for genocide recognition. A good start to demonstrate the Armenian President’s resolve on this issue is to send a letter to the leadership of the House and the Senate, encouraging them to pass the pending Resolutions. It should be noted that the Turkish government has never hesitated to use its considerable political muscle to lobby against past Congressional Resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. Sending a simple letter of support to the U.S. Congress is the least Pres. Sargsyan could do!

The Armenian government’s backing for the newly-introduced Senate Resolution would also send a message to Washington, Moscow and beyond that Armenia is not giving up on its historic rights, even though it is being pressured to make major concessions in other areas.

It is high time for Armenian leaders to reassess the nation’s difficult predicament and take all necessary measures to avoid further missteps.

October 27, 2009