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Commentary
Turkish Scholar Exposes Ankara's Vain Attempt to Split Armenia from Diaspora
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

In their persistent efforts to distort the facts of the Armenian Genocide,
Turkish denialists resort to all sorts of tricks. Their latest scheme is trying
to drive a wedge between Armenia and the Diaspora by claiming that authorities
in Yerevan are all too willing to forget about the Genocide and reconcile
with Turks, were it not for the "sinister influence" of Diaspora Armenians who
constantly undermine all attempts at reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, during a press conference in Ankara last week,
claimed that "the Armenian Diaspora is plotting. We can see very clearly and
sharply that their efforts are aimed at utilizing [the Armenian Genocide
issue]. This is so obvious. But I also see that the current administration in
Armenia doesn't take part in this."

Significantly, it was Turkish scholar Taner Akcam who exposed the false
arguments of all those who share Prime Minister Erdogan's false notion that Armenia
and the Diaspora are split on the issue of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. In a recent issue of the Turkish newspaper Taraf, Prof. Akcam wrote a
lengthy analysis of Turkish misperceptions and misrepresentations on this issue.
He argued against the view that "good neighbor" Armenia and the "bad" Diaspora
have opposing views on the Armenian Genocide. Prof. Akcam correctly stated
that Armenians everywhere agree that what occurred in 1915 was genocide and feel
that it needs to be acknowledged by Turkey. He noted, however, that there are
differences among Armenians (regardless of where they live) about the
consequences of such an acknowledgement.

Prof. Akcam dismissed the Turkish claim that "the Armenian state has not been
very insistent on the subject of 'recognition of the Genocide.'" Most Turkish
analysts wrongly allege, according to Akcam, that Armenia is a very "good"
neighbor to Turkey and that it reflects its "goodness" by "refraining from use
of the word 'Genocide' and by not demanding 'recognition'" during the course of
Pres. Gul's visit to Armenia last September. Turkish analysts further claim
that "the Armenian state is seriously in the grip of and under the influence of
the 'bad' diaspora." They conclude that "in order to relieve Turkish-Armenian
tension, 'our good neighbor Armenia' must be saved from the 'bad' diaspora."
According to Prof. Akcam, Turkish analysts falsely claim that "the biggest
reason why Armenia has fallen under the influence of the 'bad' diaspora" is
"poorly conceived Turkish policies. As a result, in order to save Armenia from the
diaspora, Turkey must relinquish its bad policies and foster 'good' relations
with Armenia. Consequently, Armenia will be able to distance itself from the
bad policies of the diaspora, policies like 'insisting on recognition of
genocide.'"

Prof. Akcam categorically refuted those allegations by stating that "when it
comes to acknowledging the genocide, Armenia and the diaspora are on the same
page. It is improper to draw a distinction between the sides on an axis of
'those who insist on recognition and those who do not.' It needs to be emphasized
right here, right now, that Armenians everywhere agree that what occurred in
1915 was genocide and they feel that it needs to be acknowledged by Turkey."
Prof. Akcam then acknowledged that there may be legitimate differences among
Armenians, regardless of whether they live in Armenia or the Diaspora, on such
complex subjects as "what does it mean to recognize the genocide?" and "on
the issue of addressing an historical injustice, what steps Turkey might take
that will be considered sufficient?"

Prof. Akcam then wondered which option Turkey should pursue -- the Japanese
or German model -- in confronting its history? The Japanese model, he
explained, would entail a "half-hearted expression" of apology. The German model, on
the other hand, constitutes "acceptance of all consequences that arise from that
acknowledgement, including providing reparations if necessary, would be
required. To follow in Germany's footsteps, Turkey would have to identify the
events of 1915 as genocide and make serious effort to compensate all who were
injured by those events both emotionally and materially." He thus raised the
serious issue of bringing "restorative justice" to the victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

It is high time that Turkish denialists face squarely the brutal history of
their nation and focus their attention on making amends to heal the wounds of
the past rather than seeking to blame the descendants of the victims of the
Armenian Genocide, be they in Armenia or the Diaspora!

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO ASSIGN $250 MILLION ON RECONSTRUCTION

OF DISASTER AREAS
ARKA
Feb 2, 2009

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia's Government plans to assign
$250mln for reconstruction in the 1988 Spitak quake-hit regions,
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said during today's conference on
construction issues.

Ministers and leaders of authorized agencies, Rector of Yerevan
State University of Architecture and Construction (YSUAC), as well
as specialists and private businessmen participated in the discussions.

"These large-scale investments will help restore the disaster areas,"
the premier said, stressing the need for private investments in
the project.

With construction being the most powerful impetus of the country's
economic progress in the past years, it promotes development of other
sectors as well, Sargsyan said, pointing out a considerable decline
in Armenia's construction business due to the global economic crisis.

The premier stressed the importance of the government assistance and
the policy of boosting economy by opening new employment opportunities,
adding construction is in the government's focus.

"Our strategy in this situation is rather simple. The government
must extend its expenditures to open new employment opportunities,"
the premier said, hoping the expenditures would prove to be effective.

International experience has shown that the most profitable
investments are those in infrastruct ures, Sargsyan said, adding new
infrastructures in road construction, agriculture, irrigation and
the system of drinking water are the government's top priorities.

"No one except us can make forecasts of the sector. What are your
assessments and forecasts? What joint activities do you think we need
to undertake to soften the impact of the global economic crisis?" the
premier asked the construction specialists and entrepreneurs.

During the meeting, the RA minister of Urban Development and head of
the industrial department of the RA Ministry of Economy put forth
their proposals on boosting construction, followed by remarks and
suggestions of the private sector. The businessmen presented the
current problems in the sector, touching upon expert assessments
and licensing, as well as a considerable reduction in experienced
construction specialists, procurement of equipment, modernization of
the existing industrial park and challenges in credit markets. The
participants stressed the importance of revising the legislation.

During the conference, the prime minister gave relevant instructions,
pointing out the lack of a program for the development of construction
business and insufficient professional abilities in the field. He
emphasized the role of international support to retraining programs.

Sargsyan charged the ministers of economy and urban development to
make out what kind of technical assistance is necessary to promote
construction bus iness in order to enter into negotiations with
interested international organizations.

Together with the construction specialists, the two ministers are to
elaborate a program to boost construction in Armenia.

The prime minister asked the private sector to collaborate with the
government in facing the existing challenges.

Senior Armenian Police Official Murdered

Colonel Gevorg Mherian, a deputy chief of the Armenian police, was
gunned down outside his Yerevan home late on Tuesday.

Police sources said Mherian, 33, was repeatedly shot in the head by
unknown gunmen as he left an apartment building in the capital where
lived with his family. A senior medical official told local Kentron
television that he was dead by the time an ambulance arrived at the
scene.

Dozens of police and other law-enforcement officials, including
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, rushed there shortly after the
murder. The police did not immediately issue any statements.

Mherian was appointed as deputy police chief in July as part of a
reshuffle of the higher echelon of Armenia's security apparatus
initiated by President Serzh Sarkisian. He had previously served as an
adviser to former President Robert Kocharian monitoring the
implementation of the Armenian government's strategy of combating
corruption.

64% OUT OF TOTAL POPULATION OF ARMENIA ARE URBAN RESIDENTS
ArmInfo
2009-02-02 13:46:00

ArmInfo. As of 1 January 2009 the number of Armenian population
amounted to 3238 thsd people having grown by 0,26%. Incidentally 64%
out of total population of Armenia are urban residents, the rest 36% -
village residents, Armenian National Statistics Service says. Yerevan
continues remaining the most crowed point. A total of 1111 thsd people
lived in Yerevan as of 1 January 2009 against 1107 thsd people as of
1 January 2008.

ARMENIA POSTS 9.4% RISE IN TOURIST VISITS IN 2008
ARKA
Feb 3, 2009

YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. Tourist visits to Armenia last year
rose 9.4% year-on-year to 558,400 (against 510,600 in 2007), the RA
National Statistical Service (NSS) reports.

During the same period, local tourists' visits abroad rose 10.3%
to 515,500.

Cancer On Rise In Armenia
By Lilit Harutiunian

The incidence of cancer in Armenia has grown by at least 50 percent over
the past two decades, a senior medical official said on Wednesday,
singling out smoking and poor diet among the reasons for that.

The latest disease data released by Hayrapet Galstian, director of the
National Center for Oncology, show about 7,300 officially registered
cases of cancer in 2007.

The figure is sharply up from about 5,000 such cases registered in 1985.
The country had a considerably larger population at the time.

According to Galstian, breath cancer accounts for much of the increase,
even if lung cancer remains the most common oenological disease, having
affected about 1,300 Armenians in 2007. `The rate of growth of breast
cancer is now higher than that of lung cancer,' he told journalists,
adding that some 1,100 women were diagnosed with the disease in 2007.

Galstian said high rates of smoking among Armenians and a poor quality
of food consumed by them are the main factors behind the alarming rise.
He admitted that recent years' shrinkage of green areas in Yerevan and
other parts of the country has also contributed to it.

Bangladesh's Last Armenian Prays For Unlikely Future
By Shafiq Alam, AFP

Michael Joseph Martin is guarded about his exact age and reluctant to
accept he will be the last in a long line of Armenians to make a major
contribution to the history of Bangladesh.

Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, was once home to thousands of migrants
from the former Soviet republic who grew to dominate the city's trade
and business life. But Martin, aged in his 70s, is now the only one
left.

"When I die, maybe one of my three daughters will fly in from Canada to
keep our presence here alive," Martin said hopefully, speaking broken
Bengali with a thick accent. "Or perhaps other Armenians will come from
somewhere else."

Martin came to Dhaka in 1942 during World War II, following in the
footsteps of his father who had settled in the region decades earlier.
They joined an Armenian community in Bangladesh dating back to the 16th
century, but now Martin worries about who will look after the large
Armenian church in the city's old quarter.

"This is a blessed place and God won't leave it unprotected and uncared
for," he said of the Church of Holy Resurrection, which was built in
1781 in the Armanitola, or Armenian district.

Martin -- whose full name is Mikel Housep Martirossian -- looks after
the church and its graveyard where 400 of his countrymen are buried,
including his wife who died three years ago. When their children, all
Bangladeshi passport-holders, left the country along, Martin became the
sole remaining Armenian here. He now lives alone in an enormous mansion
in the church grounds.

"When I walk, sometimes I feel spirits moving around. These are the
spirits of my ancestors. They were noble men and women, now resting in
peace," said Martin, who is stooped and frail but retains a detailed
knowledge of the Armenian history in Dhaka.

Marble tombstones display family names such as Sarkies, Manook and
Aratoon from a time when Armenians were Dhaka's wealthiest merchants
with palatial homes who traded jute, spices, indigo and leather. Among
the dead are M. David Alexander, the biggest jute trader of the late
19th century, and Nicholas Peter Poghose who set up Bangladesh's first
private school in the 1830s and died in 1876.

Martin, himself a former trader, said the Armenians, persecuted by Turks
and Persians, were embraced in what is now Bangladesh first by the
Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries and then by the British colonial
empire. Fluent in Persian -- the court language of the Mughals and the
first half of the British empire in India -- Armenians were commonly
lawyers, merchants and officials holding senior public positions.

They were also devout Christians who built some of the most beautiful
churches in the Indian subcontinent. "Their numbers fluctuated with the
prospects in trading in Dhaka," said Muntasir Mamun, a historian at
Dhaka University.

"Sometimes there were several thousand Armenians trading in the Bengal
region. They were always an important community in Dhaka and dominated
the country's trading. They were the who's who in town. They celebrated
all their religious festivals with pomp and style."

The decline came gradually after the British left India and the
subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 with Dhaka becoming the capital of
East Pakistan and then of Bangladesh after it gained independence in
1971.

These days, the Armenian Church holds only occasional services on
important dates in the Orthodox Christian calendar, with a Catholic
priest from a nearby seminary coming in to lead prayers at Christmas.
Martin said the once-busy social scene came to a halt after the last
Orthodox priest left in the late 1960s, but he is determined to ensure
the church's legacy endures.

"Every Sunday was a day of festival for us. Almost every Armenian would
attend the service, no matter how big he was in social position. The
church was the centre of all activities," he said.

"I've seen bad days before, but we always bounced back. I am sure
Armenians will come back here for trade and business. I will then rest
in peace beside my wife."
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