Armenian News

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PREHISTORIC FIND BOLSTERS ARMENIAN PRIDE
Proof of human ingenuity five millennia ago fits Armenians sense

of themselves as ancient nation.
By Gayane Hakobyan

The discovery of a shoe dating back over 5,000 years has boosted Armenians

pride in their ancient heritage, as well as pleasure at being in the headlines for

a positive reason. More practically, the find could encourage greater foreign

interest in Armenia and its archaeological heritage.

The moccasin, made from a single piece of cowhide, was found in a cave in

the tiny village of Areni in the Vayots Dzor region in 2008. It shot to fame only

recently, when recent carbon dating shows that it could be 5,600 years old.

That makes it the world's oldest item of all-leather footwear, although sandals

found in Missouri date back still further.

In Armenia, many are pleased that their country has made international news

for a reason other than its troubled relations with neighbours Turkey and

Azerbaijan.

In Areni itself, revelations about the age of the shoe have created a lot of

excitement.

"As a local, I'm very pleased. It fills me with pride to know that this ancient

shoe was found here, in our cave," said resident Sergei Sukiasyan.

"Nothing like this has been found here before. Until now, Areni was known

for its grapes and wine, but news of this old shoe has gone around the whole

world, and that makes me very happy,"

Residents hope the discovery will bring more visitors to their region, tourists

as well as archeologists.

"The cave isn't the only place that contains ancient artifacts. For example,

there's also the Church of the Virgin Mary," said Asya Simonyan, also from

the village.

Boris Gasparyan led the team of archaeologists who made the discovery,

and believes it will benefit the country as a whole.

"Many prestigious publications as well as scientific bodies are now talking

about Armenia. People who haven't heard of it are probably looking for it on

a map right now," he said. "It's the same effect as when our chess players or

athletes win a world championship. It's another way of promoting Armenia,

and why not change the world's perception of us? People need to realise

Armenia isn't just about the genocide, earthquakes and so on. We've also

got things that are worth travelling to see."

Armenians proudly trace their history back to Biblical times, and Mount

Ararat, a symbol of national identity although it is located just over the border

in Turkey, is where Noah's Ark traditionally came to rest. As part of a wider

region that was a cradle of civilisation, it is a rich source of ancient artifacts.

"The fact that Armenia is one of the locations where early civilisation took

shape is well known, so we're not surprised by a find like this," said Hranush

Kharatyan, an ethnographer at Yerevan State University.

"I wouldn't say that [this find] is what shapes or defines our self-image."

For non-archeaologists, however, the shoe seems to be doing just that.

"This is as it should be. We are an ancient nation and every now and again

we discover ancient artifacts. Let everyone know that our history spans the

centuries," said Yerevan economist Eduard Poghosyan.

Plans are already afoot to put the artifact on public display.

"The ancient shoe is currently undergoing a special cleaning procedure and

will soon be exhibited at the [National History] Museum," said Anelka

Grigoryan, director of the Armenia's History Institute.

The lack of funding for sciences in this impoverished former Soviet republic

means that the fragile shoe is at risk of disintegration.

"When the shoe was found, it was soft. It has started drying out and if it isn't

conserved properly, we could lose it in ten years," said Gregory Areshian,

an American archeologist of Armenian descent from the Cotsen Institute of

Archaeology at the University of California.

Gayane Hakobyan is a reporter with www.a1plus.am online.

KARABAKH CLASH FOLLOWS FAILED TALKS
Shootings on front line show fragility of peace and difficulty of

moving towards deal.
By Karine Ohanyan, Sabuhi Mammadli

A firefight in Nagorny Karabakh a day after a high-level round of peace talks

has brought tensions to the boil and highlighted the inability of regional

leaders to negotiate a settlement through diplomatic means.

The June 18 incident left four Armenian and two Azerbaijani soldiers dead,

in a confrontation that was the most serious violation of the ceasefire in two

years.

Political leaders in Baku and Nagorny Karabakh traded accusations, with

neither side accepting responsibility for provoking the incident. But there

was general agreement that the violence was a consequence of failed

negotiations held in St. Petersburg the previous day between the presidents

of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

The leadership of the unrecognised Nagorny Karabakh state accused an

Azerbaijani reconnaissance party of crossing the ceasefire line under the

cover darkness.

In Baku, Mubariz Qurbanli of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party denied this

version of events was true.

"Armenia sees that the peace talks have come to a dead end, so it is trying

to spin incidents like this instead," he said. "Armenia deliberately disseminates

false information and alleges that Azerbaijan has breached the ceasefire

agreement in order to cover up its diplomatic defeats through such lies."

Rasim Musabekov, a political analyst in Baku, said it was the Armenian

leadership's refusal to accept the terms of a peace proposal known as the

'Madrid Principles' that led to the clash.

"Armenia has yet to declare its position on the updated Madrid Principles. It's

clear Armenia's heart isn't in it, because it wants full independence for Nagorny

Karabakh. That's why its approach to the peace talks at this stage has been

obstructionist. When its negotiators come up against disagreements, they

resort to military rhetoric," he said.

Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, agreed

that the timing was no coincidence, but said it was Azerbaijan that was stalling.

"This attack, and the events preceding it the meeting between the three leaders

in St Petersburg... are vivid examples of Azerbaijan's stance," he said. "This

incident can be attributed to jumpiness on the part of Azerbaijan. It's an attempt

to ratchet up the level of threats, and to reach new heights of blackmail."

Meanwhile, international negotiators from the Organisation for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, who are working with Azerbaijan and Armenia

to broker a deal, sought to cool tempers but said the incident was a deliberate

and unacceptable attempt to derail talks.

"The incident took place immediately after the meeting between the presidents

of Armenia and Azerbaijan," said a statement from the OSCE's Minsk Group,

which plays the lead role in mediating in the Karabakh conflict. "The use of

military force, particularly at this moment, can only be seen as an attempt to

damage the peace process."

Over one million people on both sides were displaced in the gruelling four-year

war over Nagorny Karabakh, which ended which a ceasefire in 1994 which left

the Armenians in control of most of Karabakh region as well as seven adjacent

districts of Azerbaijan. Although it runs its own affairs, the Nagorny Karabakh

Republic does not enjoy international recognition.

Under the Madrid Principles, the Armenian administration in Nagorny Karabakh

would cede control of some of these surrounding districts to Azerbaijan, and

would be granted an intermediate form of autonomy just short of full independence.

Following the failed talks, the authorities in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Karabakh

appeared to settle back into mutual threats and recriminations.

"This conflict is not frozen. I'm unable to say that such incidents will not be repeated

in future," said Azerbaijan's foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

His Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian responded by saying "the latest

incident has once again shown the true face of Baku, which is doing anything it

can to derail the negotiation process".

In Stepanakert, a Senor Hasratyan, spokesman for Nagorny Karabakh's defence

ministry, said, "We accept that war could break out even tonight. We are

condemned to always having to be prepared for war. As much as we want peace,

we must respect war, because ours is a war of survival."

Karine Ohanyan is a journalist with Armedia online. Sabuhi Mammadli is a

journalist with the Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq.

TURKISH TV SAYS BANNED ARMENIAN SONG FOR LACKING DOCUMENTATIONS
by Armen Hareyan
HULIQ.com
July 12 2010

Turkish Public TV TRT has denied broadcasting one of the songs by an
Armenian singer Alex Tartaryan who is a citizen of Turkey, report
various Turkish language newspapers today. The TV channel released
a statement saying it did not refuse the broadcast just because the
song is in Armenian.

According to Turkish language Vatan TRT has decided not to broadcast
Alex Tartaryan's Filled with Sorrow (Aciyla Dolu) song during a
program called The Trace. The program the Armenian song on the album
would be objectionable.

Alex told Vatan that he is quite surprised to hear about the ban
because his song does not contain any political message. The words
were written by his father Hayko for a choir and is about love. Hayko
was a very famous Turkish Armenian singer in 1980s.

He added that banning the song is not an answer and that it has to
be to the public to decide if the song is proper or no.

After much media coverage on the topic TRT broke its silence with a
release. It denied banning the song just because it is in Armenian
language. TRT has an Armenian language programs.

"TRT is an enlightened and liberal corporation. Banning a song
from being broadcast just because it is [in] Armenian is out of the
question," the Turkish Public Broadcasting said on Monday. "It is also
unreasonable for a corporation that has an Armenian radio station to
ban an Armenian song."

The release went further saying the song was denied because it lacked
proper documentations on translation. According to the Turkish law
if the public TV is going to broadcast a song in a language other
than Turkish two certified translations are needed. TRT said it has
approved nine songs from Alex Tataryan's album "Ä°z." The only song
that has not approved so far is the one in Armenian language.

The Armenian Weekly

Barsoumian: Turkish TV Program Suspended for Comments on Genocide
By: Nanore Barsoumian

At 8 p.m. on July 13, television viewers in Turkey who tune in to watch Haberturk

TV station’s “Teke Tek” (“One to One”) debate show will instead see a program

prepared by the Turkish state’s television and radio monitoring agency, the RTUK.

Teke Tek was recently penalized by the RTUK for comments made by Sevan

Nisanyan on the topic of the Armenian Genocide. The episode in question aired

on March 9, less than a week after the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee

passed the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

Teke Tek is a debate program hosted and moderated by Fatih Altayli. The two

guests on the March 9 episode were Yusuf Halacoglu, the former president of the

Turkish Institute of History and a notorious genocide denier, and Sevan Nisanyan,

an Armenian-Turkish linguist, writer, and lecturer, and columnist for the Turkish

daily Taraf and Armenian Agos newspapers. Nisanyan recently published a book

titled The Country that Forgets Its Name, a study on around 30,000 place names

in Turkey and their Turkification.

During the March 9 debate, Nisanyan said, “Terrible events happened in 1915.

A whole society who had been living here for thousands of years was expelled

from their home country and was subjected to tyranny and injustice. … The state

policies in Turkey say that this is a lie and that they do not care about our feelings.

I think these policies have softened a little throughout the past two to three years.

At least, they stepped back from completely ignoring it. But when we look at

recent speeches of the government, we see very clearly that the basic mentality

has not changed.”

Nisanyan’s comments were, according to the RTUK, overly critical and “humiliated

the Republic of Turkey.” The RTUK decision to fine the station and cancel the

July 13 showing of Teke Tek was made on June 15 (June 16 by some accounts)

and Haberturk was informed of it on June 21. The notification of the punishment

was signed by Arslan Narin, the RTUK’s legal advisor.

According to the Turkish bianet.org, which monitors and covers media freedom

issues in the country, the July 13th program by the RTUK will be preceded by an

announcement and explanation of Teke Tek’s suspension, along with the display

—at 10-minute intervals—of the official laws that have been broken.

The RTUK cited Article 4(i) of Law No. 3984 and No. 4756, which forbid broadcasters

to “exceed the limits of criticism and insult an institution,” and which, according to

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is worded in such a vague manner that it allows

officials to draw “subjective—usually ultraconservative—interpretation that prevents

Turkish society from tackling vital issues.”

Habeturk has the right to appeal the case with the Administrative Court.
Nisanyan responds

The Armenian Weekly asked Nisanyan to share his reaction to the RTUK’s decision.

“The Turkish Old Guard is desperate,” he said. “There is whole regiment of mostly

elderly apparatchiks who are simply shocked by the changes taking place in the

country, and they are reacting in mostly incoherent and irrational ways.”

“The program I took part in would be simply unimaginable in this country two years

ago. Now most people, especially of the younger generation, find it perfectly

acceptable and interesting, while the Old Guard rants and raves and foams at the

mouth. One cannot blame them. Their world is collapsing around them.”

Nisanyan said he didn’t have any hesitation when accepting to be on the show.

“I only regret I wasn’t as sharp and combative as I could be on that program. I

would probably take a stronger stand if I were invited again,” he said.

Haberturk responds
On Thurs., June 24, Haberturk, which also publishes its own newspaper,

responded to the punishment in an article. The decision, it said, shows that the

RTUK thinks the moderator should disprove the ideas presented by his/her

guests, even during intellectual discussions, and sees the failure to do so as

a breach of the principles of publication.

The article also stated that the RTUK is banning the airing of the program

because of Nisanyan, who is not a representative of the Armenian lobby and

is a Turkish citizen, and a known figure whose views have been published in

the books he has authored.

Over 150 readers commented on the article. One disgruntled reader wrote,

“This is what AKP’s democracy is all about! Let everyone shut up and only we

are going to talk! You only listen and give us your votes.” Another wrote, “I believe

the RTUK should make a decision to remove from the map the countries that

accept the Armenian position.” While another wrote, “I had watched this program.

Nisanyan spoke in such a ridiculous way that I lost my mind. I kiss the hands of

Yusuf Hodja. There wasn’t anything worth discussing because [Nisanyan] was

conveying ideas that were entirely from a fantasy land. But Yusuf Hodja was

giving the proper responses.”

Some simply wrote, “Shame on the RTUK,” and some expressed the view that

if Nisanyan was saying anything wrong, there were people on the panel to

respond to him, and that there was no need for such steps to be taken by the

RTUK.

Reporters Without Borders condemns punishment
In a June 29 statement, Reporters Without Borders condemned the RTUK’s

decision, stating that “[it] regards this disproportionate punishment as censorship

pure and simple, and calls on the RTUK to rescind the decision.” Reporters

Without Borders said it “regret[s] that a regulatory body should assume it has

the right to decide the terms in which an historical event can be discussed.”

About RTUK
The RTUK was founded in 1994 to monitor and regulate television and radio

broadcasts. The agency, which is headquartered in Ankara, has nine members

who are elected by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It also has local

offices in Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Diyarbakir, and Van. Since its establishment,

the agency has been responsible for closing down stations that have allegedly

aired separatist propaganda.

A new law has also placed the internet under the watch of the RTUK. Service

providers, websites, and users now fear tighter control and increased reprisals.

Media censorship in Turkey
In recent reports,* Turkey has been called a relentless suppressor of freedom

of speech and one of the worst offenders of cyber censorship, along with Iran,

North Korea, and at times China. Retaliations against broadcasters, journalists,

and writers—from the authorities, individuals or groups—are also frequent in

Turkey. In a 2010 report, Reporters Without Borders said there is a special

hotline for reporting forbidden online material, and that between October 2008

and May 2009, the number of calls rose from 25,000 to 80,000.

Columnist and poet Ataol Behramoglu is facing a possible sentence and fine

of 20,000 lira (~12,576 USD) in damages to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip

Erdogan for criticizing the Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a

program on CNN Turk on Jan. 2. On June 9, the Ankara court rejected

Behramoglu’s lawyer’s argument that since the comments were made during

a debate show as a response to the question “Are we going towards

democracy or dictatorship?” they were protected under the right to free

expression.

The latest eyebrow raiser is Turkey’s ban on some Google pages for the

company’s refusal to remove clips off the video-sharing website

YouTube.com, which is owned by Google, Inc. Some of the offending clips

shed an unfavorable light on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is viewed as the

father of modern-day Turkey. In 2008, authorities in Turkey banned access

to YouTube and in June 2010, they blocked access to Google pages that

shared the same IP addresses as YouTube. Google offered to block the

“offensive” YouTube clips in Turkey, but this was rejected by Turkish

authorities who demanded their complete removal from the site. Turkey

has also accused the company of registering in Turkey and paying local taxes.

Meanwhile, in May 2010, under Articles 314-3 of the criminal code and Article

7-2 of the anti-terrorist law, authorities convicted the editor of Turkey’s only

Kurdish daily newspaper, Vedat Kursun, giving him a sentence of 166.5 years

in prison for 103 counts of spreading terrorist propaganda for the Kurdish

Workers’ Party (PKK). Most recently, the newspaper had published an article

in which it referred to the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, as “the Kurdish

people’s leader.” Ozan Kilinc, who took over as editor after Kursun, was himself

sentenced to 21 years and 3 months in prison on Feb. 10.

The weekly Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos has faced both brutality and

harassment. In 2007, its editor, Hrant Dink, was fatally shot by a 17-year-old

Turkish nationalist extremist.

Dink had been prosecuted three times for “insulting Turkishness” and received

numerous death threats. In February 2010, the newspaper’s website was

hacked, reportedly by individuals who admired Dink’s killer.

Endnote:
*Richard Howitt, a British member of the European Parliament and advocate

of Turkey’s European Union membership, has warned Turkey that it cannot be

considered as a serious candidate to the EU as long as the internet continues

to be censored in the country. Howitt said the ban puts “the country alongside

Iran, North Korea, and Vietnam as one of the world’s worst offenders for cyber

censorship,” as reported by the Associated Press. Boston’s national public

radio station, WBUR, noted that the censorship was being likened to ones

imposed in Iran and at times China.