TURKS REMEMBER SLAIN JOURNALIST HRANT DINK !

TURKS REMEMBER SLAIN JOURNALIST HRANT DINK

BBC NEWS - Bolis - Thousands of people have gathered in the Turkish city of Istanbul to commemorate the murder last year of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Flowers were laid and candles lit in the street where Mr Dink was shot dead, while a huge picture of him covered part of the building where he worked. Mr Dink campaigned for his country to confront the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I. Observers say Mr Dink's stance made him a hate figure for Turkish nationalists. Nineteen people, including two leaders of an ultra-nationalist group, are currently on trial for his murder at a court in Istanbul. The trial, which began in July, is being held behind closed doors because the alleged gunman, Ogun Samast, is 17 years old. Mr Dink's family has accused the authorities of collusion, and the court is also considering allegations of a cover-up. Target At a short ceremony led by Mr Dink's close friends and family, crowds of people marked his murder at 1457 (1257 GMT) on 19 January 2007 with a moment of silence outside the offices of the Agos newspaper. You are here for justice today - a scream for justice rises from your silence. Rakel Dink Dozens of carnations and candles were laid at the spot where the 53-year-old died. A huge photograph of Mr Dink covered the newspaper's building, while mourners in the street pinned smaller pictures to their chests. "We are at the pavement where they tried to clean his blood with soap," Mr Dink's widow, Rakel, said in an emotional address from a window in the newspaper's office. "You are here for justice today. A scream for justice rises from your silence." The murder of Mr Dink triggered widespread anger and shock in Turkey, and caused massive crowds to take to the streets, chanting: "We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dinks." Mr Dink was a hate figure for extreme nationalists and had received death threats before he was killed. He was well-known for writing articles about the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide, as some countries have done. Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but it denies any genocide, saying the deaths happened during widespread fighting in World War I. But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says his friends believe it was his conviction under the controversial Article 301 - for "insulting Turkishness" - that singled him out as a target. Dink murder still divides Turks A year after the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul finds that the Turkish nationalism he challenged remains a potent force. "Why was I chosen as a target?" That is the now prophetic-sounding title of an article written by Hrant Dink some time before his murder. The Turkish-Armenian writer was referring to his trial and conviction for "insulting Turkishness". A year later Hrant Dink became a physical target, when he was shot and killed in the street. A teenage nationalist, now on trial, has admitted killing him. To mark the first anniversary of his murder on 19 January, 19 Turkish celebrities have recorded a selection of his articles onto tape. They are now part of an audio exhibition in an Istanbul side-street, where photos of Hrant Dink gaze down from all the walls. "The best way to make people know about Hrant Dink is to let him talk himself, with his articles," explains Sibil Cekmen. She is one of a group of young Turkish Armenians who organised the event. "I think what's most important is that we remember Hrant Dink not only by crying every 19 January, but by remembering why he was killed and what he was saying. By taking his legacy and carrying it to the future," she says. 'We're all Hrant Dink' It was Hrant Dink's stance on the mass killing of Ottoman Armenians by Turks in 1915 that led to his murder. Armenia and more than 20 other countries say it was genocide; Turkey - equally adamant - denies that. Hrant Dink believed - and wrote - that Turkey must confront and examine that chapter of its past for the sake of all its citizens, including the Armenians. We have to go on, but I have no reason to be hopeful Karin Friend of Hrant Dink To some Turks, that was intolerable. Hrant Dink was shot from behind in broad daylight, just a few metres from the office of his Turkish and Armenian language newspaper, Agos. A teenage boy from northern Turkey is on trial for murder. The writer's killing provoked a mass protest in Istanbul. Tens of thousands of Turks took to the streets. As the coffin passed they shouted "We're all Hrant Dink, we're all Armenian!" It was an unprecedented act of solidarity with Istanbul's tiny Armenian community. Hrant Dink's close friend, Karin, calls that a miracle in the current nationalistic climate in Turkey. But she does not feel that spirit has since spread. "Let's look. There are more trials; there was a song praising the murder. There are all these attacks against Christian clergy. Do we have anything to be positive about?" Karin asks. "It was one of the darkest years, but what can we do? We have to go on. But I have no reason to be hopeful." Like many, Karin believes Hrant Dink was singled out for murder after his trial for "insulting Turkishness", under the now notorious Article 301 of the penal code. "It was the beginning of the end," she says. "It was a sign - this man is a target, do what you want. That was the message, and the message was understood." Scars of history Under pressure from the EU to guarantee free speech, the government has pledged repeatedly to amend the law. So far it is just talk. Article 301 was used against at least 55 more people in 2007, according to a new report from the organisation Bianet, which monitors press freedoms. "In Turkey everyone knows they can talk about sensitive issues, but they also know they will probably end up in court," says Bianet editor Erol Onderoglu. "It's a high price to pay." "We want just to speak and write freely. If people like Hrant Dink want to say what happened in 1915 was genocide, then it's not necessary to stop the debate with a stupid article of law," he adds. But Hrant Dink has not been silenced. At the exhibition where his articles are displayed this week there is a notebook in one corner. Inside, visitors have written him messages. An Armenian man describes how he was taught to keep quiet about the events of 1915. "Now I am clear in my thoughts, but I can't voice them," he writes. "When will I be able to speak out?" And a couple of pages on, there is a message from a Turk. It is addressed to "Brother Hrant". "They can kill you, but they cannot kill your ideas - your thoughts," Onur writes. "They can't stop those of us who agree with you expressing your views, unless they kill each and every one of us. "We miss you. Sleep in peace." Story from BBC NEWS: KARABAKH GOVERNMENT UNVEILS REFORMS Young prime minister sets ambitious targets for 2008. By Ashot Beglarian in Stepanakert The new government of the de facto republic of Nagorny Karabakh has embarked on a programme of economic revival, spearheaded by the 34-year-old prime minister Araik Harutyunian. Since the government was formed after the election of Bako Sahakian as the new leader of the territory in July, it has had to deal with two crises. The first was an outbreak of the disease known as "African plague" that affects pigs. The new prime minister set up an emergency committee to deal with the disease and pigs were destroyed and burned. The epidemic was localised, though not without farmers suffering big losses. Most Karabakhis had to forego their traditional New Year dinner of barbecued pork. The other crisis is still continuing. This winter has also been unusually harsh, and freezing temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees have put Karabakh's infrastructure under severe strain. Roads were blocked by heavy snow, some parts of the capital Stepanakert were without water and several villages lost power. The roads were cleared and power restored fairly quickly. A more serious problem was that the heavy frosts all but paralysed the water system, with reservoirs freezing over and burst pipes in a network that has not been repaired for decades. Some apartment blocks are being supplied with water by fire-engines and emergency workers, and soldiers are thawing out major water-pipes. The new government has 11 ministries. The former ministry of education, culture and sport has been divided into two ministries, one for education and science, and the other for culture and youth affairs, so as to stimulate support for science and scholarship. "The main criterion in forming the new cabinet was professionalism," said Harutyunian. He said time would tell how the work of his government differed from his predecessors, but local Karabakh Armenians have already been impressed by its energy. "There were a lot of good promises during the election campaign," said Artakh Khachatrian, who lives in Stepanakert. "If even half of them are carried out, the people and the state will win." Harutyunian is a trained economist and businessman who used to own the largest wine and spirits producer in Karabakh, Karabakh Gold. He has said it is a "matter of honour" for him to work to raise the standard of living in a region where many people still live in poverty, and he has promised that the economy will grow by 15 per cent in 2008. "Our aim is to revitalise the moral and psychological climate in the republic, restore trust in the authorities and establish social justice and solidarity," he said. In the past, Nagorny Karabakh was heavily reliant on subsidies from Armenia, but the government insists that this is no longer the case and that, although the two economies are closely integrated, most revenue is raised in Karabakh itself. This year, there are promises to raise social welfare benefits across the board. The new social welfare minister, Narine Azatian, said social spending this year will rise by 50 per cent and exceed the entire government budget for 2003. She said the average monthly labour benefit payment would be 23,800 drams (about 80 US dollars) up from 14,150 drams (47 dollars) last year. All other social spending will also rise, with the minimum wage rising from 20 to 25,000 drams (66 to 83 dollars). The government has also identified agriculture and energy as key sectors needing reform. "In developing our economy, we are putting the main emphasis on agriculture because we are an agrarian country," said Harutyunian. Spending on agriculture is set to increase by 28 per cent this year. There are plans to build two new hydroelectric power plants in the Martakert region in 2008 to make Karabakh more self-sufficient in energy. Other programmes include building a children's hospital and regional hospitals to improve the health system and investing in a new housing construction programme for Karabakh's villages. For the first time, mortgages will also be available in 2008, enabling people to buy houses at interest rates of no more than six per cent. There are plans to invest in the town of Shushi (known to Azerbaijanis as Shusha) to attract tourism and possibly moving government agencies there. The prime minister is hoping to boost the economy by establishing an anti-monopoly commission whose job is to stimulate competition and protect the rights of suppliers and consumers. "We are anticipating fines for any violations of the economic competition rules," said Vache Adamian, head of the commission. "For example, for abusing a privileged position or receiving state assistance contrary to the law, there will be a fine of two per cent of one's income from the previous year." It is too early to say which, if any, of the many promises made by the government will prove successful in 2008, but the new government seems to be enjoying public support at the moment, and Harutyunian is personally a popular figure. Mikhail Sarkisian, a refugee from Baku who now lives in the village of Haikavan, said the prime minister came with a good reputation from when he was a member of parliament. "On the scale of a whole state it's hard to please everyone, but I hope that he carries out his duties with honour," said Sarkisian. Ashot Beglarian is a freelance journalist in Nagorny Karabakh. The terminology used in this article was chosen by IWPR, not the author.

CAUTION OVER ARMENIAN VISITS TO BAKU
The increasing frequency with which Armenians are visiting Azerbaijan does not mean a thaw in relations is under way.
By Vahan Ishkhanian in Yerevan

A series of visits by Armenians to the Azerbaijani capital Baku have raised hopes that relations between the two countries might be easing, but commentators warn that in reality such trips have little wider political significance.

The two former Soviet republics have had virtually no contact since the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh began in 1988. A decade ago, there was an increase in informal exchange visits, but these subsequently stopped again.

In the autumn of 2007, after a break of several years, there were three notable Armenian visits to the Azerbaijani capital. The first trip involved a group of interior ministry officials from Yerevan, the second the Armenian national wrestling team and the third was by member parliament Stepan Safarian.

On September 6, a delegation consisting of Armenian police chief Haik Harutyunian and three other senior officials attended a meeting of the interior ministers' council of the Commonwealth of Independent States, hosted in Baku.

Between September 15 and 24, a 31-member delegation from Armenia took part in the World Wrestling Championship in the Azerbaijani capital.

Then, on October 3, deputy Stepan Safarian went to Baku to participate in a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, BSEC. He was the first Armenian parliamentarian to visit the country since his colleague Viktor Dallakian attended another BSEC event in Baku in 2001.

All the Armenians were escorted around Baku by security guards, a practice that also applies when Azerbaijanis visit Armenia.

Safarian said that his visit almost came to an end as he was checking in for his flight to Baku at Tbilisi airport in Georgia. An Azerbaijani airline official told him, "I can't allow you to board the plane, because you are an Armenian."

Only after a phone call was made to Baku did the airline agree to allow Safarian to embark. He said other members of the BSEC assembly were surprised to see him arriving in Baku alone.

When the wrestlers visited, they were escorted from the moment they got on a plane in Georgia and were not allowed to go anywhere on their own.

The general secretary of Armenia's wrestling federation, Lyova Vardanian, recalled, "We were seated at the front of the plane and told to speak quietly, or in Russian."

"When we landed, four security service officers got up and blocked us off from the other passengers. When we got off, there were 50 or 60 people waiting for us. All the way through the tournament, we were under observation and even escorted to the toilet. There were people with us, in front of us and behind us."

The Armenians' best hope, junior world champion Arsen Julfalakian, did not win any prizes. The team said that the hostile atmosphere made it difficult for them to compete.

"During the competition, the mood in the hall was indescribable," said Vardanian. "The hall shook as people stamped their feet and shouted, regardless of whether we were wrestling with Azerbaijanis or other nationalities. Every time the word 'Armenia' was uttered, and after every Armenian surname, the hall began to whistle."

Any Armenian visiting Azerbaijan gets an especially hostile reception from the Karabakh Liberation Organisation, which wants to see a military re-conquest of Nagorny Karabakh.

Akif Nagi, who heads the organisation, also lashes out at Azerbaijanis who visit Armenia.

"Those who travel to Armenia, or especially to Nagorny Karabakh, and those who open their doors to Armenians are just traitors," he said.

Deputy Safarian said that, despite the hostility of many Azerbaijanis, it was useful for him to make the trip to Baku.

"There is a generation of people [on either side] who have never seen an Armenian or an Azerbaijani in their life," he said.

Azerbaijanis tend to visit Armenia more often than the other way round. The authorities in Yerevan say they want to encourage bilateral contacts - a strategy that many Azerbaijanis say is just a way of trying to freeze an unjust status quo in the Armenians' favour.

The Yerevan Press Club has organised a number of exchange visits by journalists, often in partnership with the Baku Press Club.

The head of the Armenian club, Boris Navasardian, has previously made four trips to Baku but he says it has been impossible to arrange any trips by Armenian journalists to Azerbaijan for the past six years.

"We haven't been able to go to Baku under a programme that we launched in 2002," said Navasardian. "Since then we've modified the programme and we hold the meetings in Tbilisi, Turkey or Cyprus instead of Baku."

Navasardian said he was well received in Baku on the whole, but that attitudes had already begun to harden during his last visit.

"Over time, the press reaction became harsher and more critical," he said. "During my last visit, the situation was more tense and there was a flood of negative information about us. All the same, I never felt persecuted in Baku and the only unpleasant thing was that our movements were restricted."

Navasardian said that the latest visits which took place in 2007 did not denote a warming in relations, but rather a pragmatic attitude on the part of the Azerbaijani authorities who were keen to stage international events.

"Azerbaijan needs to tackle international problems and for example turn Baku into a sporting centre and raise its international profile - a bid has been made to hold the Olympic Games in 2016," he said. "Azerbaijan will therefore allow Armenian delegations to visit the country."

He said that the general tendency was for relations to worsen rather than improve, as Baku continued to insist the status quo over Nagorny Karabakh was unacceptable.

Spokesmen for the two foreign ministries agreed that people should not make too much of the visits.

The press secretary of the Armenian foreign ministry, Vladimir Karapetian, told IWPR the trips were not to be seen as a positive sign.

"In the past seven years, Azerbaijan's position has not undergone the slightest change - it still rules out any bilateral contact, and ties this to resolving the Karabakh conflict," he said.

According to Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim, "It will only be possible to resume diplomatic relations with Armenia after that country releases our lands and recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. But if we are talking about international events, then both sides ought to take part in them. They can take place in Armenia or Azerbaijan, and there is no mechanism to stop any country taking part in them."

Well known Azerbaijani journalist Zamin Haji, himself a refugee from the Fizuli district which is currently under Armenian control, insists that person-to-person contacts are vital if both populations are to overcome the misconceptions they have about each other.

"We and the Armenians are so like one another that our fight is like a person fighting against himself," he said. "Isn't it better to renew our relationship with one another? To get together and ask all the residents of Karabakh - Azerbaijani and Armenian alike - what they, the ordinary Karabakh people, want and how they want to live in the future?"

Vahan Ishkhanian is a reporter with Armenianow.com in Yerevan. Samira Ahmedbeyli in Baku contributed to this article, which was produced as part of IWPR's EU-funded Cross Caucasus Journalism Network.

AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT DONATES 300,000 EUROS WORTH EQUIPMENT TO GYUMRI HOSPITAL
ARMENPRESS
Jan 22, 2008

GYUMRI, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS; The government of Austria donated
over 300,000 euros worth modern mobile infant transport incubators
and respiratory devices to a children's hospital in Armenia's second
largest town of Gyumri.

The hospital was built by Austria in the wake of the 1988 quake that
razed the town to ground.

Ashik Daribaldian, head of infant rehabilitation division of the
hospital, said to Armenpress the donation is very important for safe
transpiration of infants.

He said the advantage of the donation is that the incubators can
easily move to a hospital early born infants. He said the staff had
a training course in Austria.

Transporting sick or premature infants may be necessary between
hospitals or between different locations in the same hospital. A
transport incubator provides a temperature-controlled, mobile
environment for the baby which is run from an independent power supply
or the dc supply provided in ambulances and helicopters. The incubators
have a means of controlling the humidification level in the enclosure.