Armenian News‏

ANCA PLACES TURKEY IN 'GENOCIDE AXIS' WITH SUDAN
Today's Zaman
Feb 23 2009
Turkey

An influential Armenian-American group has stepped up its campaign
for recognition of claims that 1.5 million Armenians were subjected
to genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th
century, telling US congressmen that Turkey is part of an emerging
"axis of genocide" with Sudan.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) said in a statement
that it had alerted members of Congress last week that "Ankara
is playing an increasingly dangerous role in blocking decisive
international action to end the genocide in Darfur," claiming that
Ankara has been selling lethal weaponry to Sudan, providing diplomatic
support for the Sudanese government in the face of international
criticism over its Darfur policy and using its UN Security Council
membership "to block anti-genocide efforts."

Human rights groups criticize Turkey for its close ties with Sudan,
whose leader, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted at the International
Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity
in Darfur. Turkish leaders have avoided accusing Sudan of genocide,
calling instead for an end to Darfur's "humanitarian tragedy."

The American-Armenian lobby groups, of which ANCA is one of the
strongest, have been pressuring the US Congress to pass a resolution
recognizing their claims that World War I-era events in Anatolia
constituted genocide. The pressure on the US administration is also
high, as April 24, when Armenians say the genocide campaign started
in 1915, is approaching.

American presidents issue messages on this day every year, but no
president has ever used the word genocide in his message. Turks
cheered election of Barack Obama as US president, but Ankara is wary
that relations could receive a serious blow if he goes ahead with
his election campaign promises and supports claims that up to 1.5
million Armenians were victims of a systematic genocide campaign in
the Ottoman Empire.

The "genocide axis" claims spread by ANCA are likely to upset Ankara,
but the Turkish government may find a recent speech by a pro-Armenian
congressman even more appalling. Republican Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.,
co-chairman of the Armenian Caucus, said in a Feb. 13 speech on the
House floor that Turkey was guilty of "hypocrisy" as it levels human
rights charges against Israel for its Gaza operation in January while
it continues to deny the "Armenian genocide." Rep. Pallone (D-NJ)
sharply criticized Turkey's hypocrisy in leveling human rights charges
against Israel even as it continues to deny the Armenian genocide
and strengthen its ties to the genocidal Sudanese regime, ANCA
reported. "For a nation that for 94 years has practiced wide-spread
genocide denial of the killing of one-and-a-half million Armenians,
hypocrisy runs deep today in Ankara," Pallone said, according to
a statement from ANCA. "The Turkish people need to step back and
question their skewed understanding of genocide. Look in the mirror,
look at your own history, come to terms with the fact that 1.5 million
Armenians died and when contemporary genocides, like Darfur, take
place it must be denounced."

2008 Seen As `Worst Year' For Armenian Media
By Astghik Bedevian

Press freedom in Armenia slumped in 2008 to the lowest level observed
since the country's independence, a Yerevan-based media watchdog said in
a annual report released on Tuesday.

`Whenever the political situation in the country escalates, as a rule,
attacks on mass media become more frequent,' read the report by the
Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech said. `But 2008 was unprecedented
not only in terms of the number of violations of the rights of
journalists and media outlets but also the imposition of censorship on
mass media.'

The report referred to an effective government ban on independent
reporting that was part of a three-week state of emergency imposed in
Yerevan following the March 1, 2008 deadly clashes between opposition
protesters and security forces. Most Armenian newspapers chose to
suspend publication, refusing to agree to a government censorship of
their content.

The report denounced the censorship as illegal and unprecedented. `Never
before had there been such strict censorship in this country,' said
Mesrop Harutiunian, a Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech expert. He
cited this as a key reason why he considers 2008 the `worst year' for
the local media.

The Committee also reported a sharp rise in violent attacks on Armenian
journalists. It registered 18 such incidents in 2008.

ARMENIANS "GREET" ALIYEV IN ATHENS
Azad Or
Feb 24, 2009

Athens (Azad Or) - Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and his delegation
were met with angry Armenian protesters when they arrived at the
Greek Chamber of Commerce for a meeting of Azeri and Greek business
leaders, in the presence of Greek President Carolos Papoulias and
Prime Minister Karamanlis.

The Armenian community of Greece heeded the call from the ARF
Dashnaktsoutiun Youth Organization and, gathered at the venue an hour
before the scheduled meeting by the Azeri president.

With Armenian tri-colours and the Karabakh flags waving, a large
banner that read "Aliyev, Stop the Aggression. Nagorno-Karabakh
is Already Independent," the crowd chanted "Karabakh is Armenian"
catching the Aliyev off guard as he exited his vehicle.

The Armenian community of Greece - especially the youth - had gathered
to raise their voices against the visit of the Azeri president
to Greece.

Aliyev's Azeri security team was very aggressive toward the protesters
and pushed the Azad Or editor and Armenian photographers back and
stopped them, as representatives of the press, from entering the
building.

The Greek police also held back protesters, who refused to move from
their positions.

Soon thereafter, President Papoulias arrived and was greeted by
cheers from the protesters, who stayed put until the conclu sion
of the conference and Aliyev's quick exit from the venue, where the
protesters continued their protest slogans.

During the meeting, Aliyev reiterated his anti-Armenian rhetoric,
saying that "Armenia has invaded and is occupying Azeri lands."

You can view the demonstration and the way the Armenians of Greece
greeted the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev by clicking here

TENSIONS ON EVE OF YEREVAN RALLY
Armenia braces for protests commemorating violent break-up of

opposition demonstration.
By Karine Asatrian in Yerevan

Opposition activists will defy the authorities on March 1 to mark the

anniversary of a police crackdown on protesters last year that left ten

people dead.

Both sides of the political divide hope there will be no repeat of last

year's violence, but observers say there has been no significant easing

of the tensions that caused the mass protests a year ago.

Last year's protests were the result of opposition anger over the results

of February 19 presidential elections, which they say were stolen by

now-president Serzh Sargsian.

The then president imposed a state of emergency after the demonstration,

restricted the media, and sent in troops and armed police - resulting in

the deaths of eight opposition protesters and two policemen.

"The political crisis in Armenia has still not been overcome," said

Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan.

Indeed, opposition anger has been heightened by the police investigation

into the events. Prosecutors say they have opened 90 criminal cases

against 110 people. Courts have already ruled on 97 cases involving

101 people, and five people remain on the run.

The most high-profile detainees, seven opposition leaders, remain

behind bars, awaiting trial. Their cases have been repeatedly postponed.

No police have been charged in relation to the deaths.

"The Armenian authorities' response to the March 1 events has been

one-sided," said Human Rights Watch in a damning report published

earlier this month.

"While they have investigated, prosecuted, and convicted dozens of

opposition members, sometimes in flawed and politically motivated

trials, for organising the demonstration and participating in violent disorder,

they have not prosecuted a single representative of the authorities for

excessive use of force. The Office of the Public Prosecutor has also

dismissed all allegations of ill-treatment and torture in detention as

unfounded."

The opposition says its supporters were engaged in lawful protests

on March 1 and were subjected to an unprovoked attack, despite calls

from the international community for a peaceful resolution of the political

crisis.

The authorities, however, say they were forced to act after receiving

information that weapons had been distributed among the demonstrators

and that "mass riots" were planned.

The trouble began early on the morning, when police moved in on several

hundred protesters sleeping in tents pitched on Freedom Square in central

Yerevan. They cleared the square quickly, but subsequent protests

continued all day, culminating in the state of emergency being proclaimed.

The government has promised a full probe into the events, and prosecutors

have occasionally reported on the results of their own investigations, but

have come no closer to announcing arrest warrants.

"I am not accusing anyone. I just want to know who killed my son. I want

to know the truth," said Aghasi Tadevosian, whose son Hamlet was one

of the policemen killed in the clashes.

His words were echoed by the bereaved parents of those on the other

side of the lines.

"Leaving political convictions aside, Armenians were killed by their

fellow-countrymen. I am sure that the time will come when all those to

blame for the crimes of March 1, as well as those before and after that

day, will be punished," said Robert Harutiunian, whose son Samvel died.

Under pressure from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,

the government has agreed to alter two controversial articles in their criminal

code under which the seven detained opposition leaders are charged,

but most opposition figures say nothing of significance has changed in

the last year to prevent protests bursting out once more.

"Dialogue required actions, and not just promises. If the authorities were

genuinely prepared for this, then first of all they would free the political

prisoners, which must be their side of the dialogue. Secondly, we must

uncover the circumstances around the deaths of ten innocent people,

specifically the murderers and who gave the orders," said Armen

Martirosian, the leader of the Heritage Party's Parliamentary group,

the only opposition presence in parliament.

"There are already experts who could be deployed quickly to uncover

the crime. But they have not done this, which means they do not want to

solve these murders."

City hall refused to give opposition parties permission to protest on the

anniversary of the crackdown. Artak Zeynalian, representative of the

opposition Armenian National Congress, said 58 political prisoners

remained in prison and that the Yerevan authorities had already turned

down 100 requests to hold protests about it.

He said that the opposition activists would gather at 3 pm in central

Yerevan on March 1 anyway, and that they had warned police of their

intentions.

Eduard Sharmazanov, a member of parliament from the ruling

Republican Party, said he expected the demonstration to pass peacefully,

and hoped the police would allow the protesters to express their views.

"I am far from the opinion that we must have an exclusive ruling class.

If we are a country without a strong opposition, we won't have a strong

government," he said.

Karine Asatrian is a journalist from A1+ television, and a member of

IWPR's Cross Caucasus Journalism Network project funded by the European Union
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