Seta's Armenian Blog: Father of Dink Murder Suspect Claims His Son was Framed by State Officials

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I apologies, for not publish pages 1to 10 of the editorial in Armenian at this time. There are certain files that are impossible for me to publish on this blog because of the format, and this appears to be one of them!

Seta

Father of Dink Murder Suspect Claims His Son was Framed by State Officials

ISTANBUL — Bahattin Hayal, the father of Yasin Hayal, a murder suspect in Hrant Dink trial, claims that his son was tricked by state officials into the murder and he will announce their names, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

He has withdrawn his initial testimony due to fears about his personal safety and expressed no confidence that the case will ever be resolved in its entirety.

“Following the murder, many people who got involved in the incident, including [suspect] Er- han Tuncel, received bonuses,” the suspect’s father said.

Telecommunication Company Fails to Present Crucial Evidence

In other developments with the case, Dink family lawyers emphasized that the Telecommunica- tion Communication Presidency (TIB) had been requested by court several times to provide footage that was important for the determination of certain persons and for the identification of other perpe- trators of the criminal organization. TIB has not yet provided any of the information requested by court which, according to the plaintiff lawyers, was an obstruction of justice. They reiterated the request for the records. “The final opinion as to the accusation cannot be presented as long as the evidence is incomplete”, the lawyers said. There are 63 days left before TIB is going to officially erase these telephone records. If TIB erased the requested records, the most crucial evidence related to the murder of Hrant Dink would be lost.

Armenian Newspaper Editors Skeptical

About Court Ruling On Libel

YEREVAN -- The editors of some of Armenia’s leading newspapers downplayed on Wednesday the significance of a Constitutional Court decision meant to limit a wave of libel lawsuits filed against local media.

The court ruled on Tuesday that media outlets cannot be held liable for their “critical assess- ment of facts” and must generally be ordered to provide “non-material compensation” if they are found guilty of defamation of character. It also said Armenian courts should avoid slapping “dis- proportionately heavy” fines on them.

The Constitutional Court at the same time refused to declare unconstitutional an article of the Armenian Civil Code that allows such penalties. The passage of that article by parliament last year led to a sharp increase in libel cases.

Aram Abrahamian, editor of the “Aravot” daily, said defamation suits will continue to threaten press freedom in the country as long as the controversial clause remains in force. He said he is therefore not satisfied with the court ruling that came in response to an appeal from Karen An- dreasian, the state human rights ombudsman.

“In one of my interviews I said that the recognition of the Armenian genocide by [Turkish President] Abdullah Gul is more likely than a Constitutional Court decision in journalists’ favor ... Unfortunately I was proven right,” Abrahamian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Armine Ohanian, editor of the “Hraparak” daily, was also skeptical, saying that the Constitu- tional Court issued mere “recommendations” that can be ignored by lower-level judges. “In that sense I have serious concerns that this decision will only prove to be a nice wish and remain on pa- per,” she said.

“Hraparak,” which is generally critical of the Armenian government, has fought at least five li- bel suits over the past year. One of them was brought by former President Robert Kocharian. He is seeking 6 million drams ($15,800) in damages for a February article that labeled him as a “blood- thirsty” person.

The paper was also taken to court earlier this month for offensive comments about a lawyer that were posted on its website by anonymous readers. The lawyer, Artur Grigorian, is demanding as much as 18 million drams in damages.

Unlike many newspaper editors, media associations believe that the Civil Code clause does not violate the Armenian constitution and must simply be modified or properly enforced by courts.

Shushan Doydoyan of the Yerevan-based Freedom of Information Center, called Tuesday’s court ruling “an important but insufficient step.” “It doesn’t solve the problem because right from the beginning the ombudsman should have appealed to the National Assembly, rather the Constitu- tional Court,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

Steve Wozniak: I Will Tell Americans About Armenian Intellect

YEREVAN -- Visiting co-founder of Apple Computer Inc Steve Wozniak has said he will tell Americans about the intellect of Armenians upon his return home.

“When I was young I was inspired by the stories I heard about other people doing things... This great IT award is bringing some of those stories and inspiration to young Armenian engineers,” he said. “I want to go back home, and I want to take the stories about the resources here, the intelli- gence, the technology community and tell them to consider expanding, setting up development fa- cilities and training facilities [in Armenia].”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said that deprived of many things Armenia, however, has declared the sector of internet technologies as a priority and is sparing no efforts to reach that goal.

“Looking at Armenians I consider myself as one of you,” said Wozniak. “Once I return home, I will tell them about the Armenian intellect.”

“It’s hard to say that ‘we are Armenia and we are declaring IT sector as a priority’. But Armenia has aspirations,” he said.

At the press conference, Wozniak made a case for nurturing creativity among young people in Armenia as a way to bring success to the country’s IT sector.

He said even his recognition in Armenia could also become a source of inspiration for local commencing engineers.

Wozniak received a state award from President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday at the end of a two- day visit to Armenia. Wozniak is the second person to be awarded by an Armenian president. The first award went to former President of Intel Corporation Craig Barrett.

Further, Wozniak said it was symbolic for him that such an award has been set up by Armenia.

“There is no Nobel Prize in computing. It is symbolic for me that such an award has been set up by the Republic of Armenia. Why? Perhaps, because here there are those youth who can create,” explained Wozniak.

“And the fact that it is the country’s president who awards the prize underlines its importance,” said Steve Wozniak. Wozniak is credited with inventing the Apple 1 and Apple 2 computers in the mid-1970s, which kicked off the personal computer revolution. He left Apple in 1987, after 12 years with the com- pany. In the years since, besides becoming a prominent philanthropist, Wozniak has also invented the first programmable universal remote control, helped create the first wireless Global Positioning System, and nurtured the development of several technology start-ups. He is now the chief scientist for Fusion-io, a data storage and server company.

Armenian Businesswoman Assaulted by Syunik Governor

YEREVAN -- Armenian businesswoman Silva Hambardzumian claims she has been beaten by Suren Khacha- trian, aka Litska, the Governor of Syunik province in Armenia-Marriott Hotel in capital Yerevan.

Informing media outlets about the incident, Hambardzumian said she was having a meeting at the hotel when Suren Khachatrian suddenly came up and started physically assaulting her, without saying a word.

Hambardzumyan also said that it were MPs Khachik Manukian and Samvel Sargsian who intervened and stopped him.

The prosecutors’ investigating arm, the Special Investigative Service (SIS), opened a criminal case on the alle- gations on Tuesday evening. The SIS did that after questioning Hambardzumian in connection with her corruption al- legations made against Khachatrian.

Hambardzumian, who has business interests in Syunik, charged that a mining company owned by the governor misappropriated mining equipment worth more than 100 million drams ($263,000) from another firm belonging to her. She also accused him of bullying an Australian firm to sell a gold mine located in the mountainous region border- ing Iran.

Earlier, she said at a press conference that her mining license had been illegally revoked and accused Suren Khachatrian of standing behind it.

Silva Hambardzumian has also said she will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights to return the $3.5million she claims she invested in that mine in Syunik province. Khachatrian and his extended family have held sway in the regional town of Goris and nearby villages ever since the early 1990s. Independent media outlets in Yerevan have for years implicated them in violent attacks on local business rivals as well as government critics, including a Syunik newspaper editor whose car was set on fire in 2005.

Tateos Agekian

Tateos. A. Agekian was born to an Armenian family in Batum in 1913. After graduating from the Leningrad University, in 1938, he began to work as a school teacher. After some years he began his post-graduate studies, but was interrupted because of the Great Patriotic War. Tateos. A. Agekian par- ticipated in the war as a Chief of Staff of an artillery regiment. After the demobilization, Tateos. A. Agekian returned to the Leningrad University and worked at the Department of Stellar Astronomy. He received the degree of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences in 1947. In 1960, he became a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and later he received the title of Professor. At present, Professor Tateos. A. Agekian is the Head of Laboratory of Stellar Dynamics and Celestial Mechanics of the Astronomical Institute of St. Petersburg University. He died in 2006.

A world famous scientist in stellar statistics,kinematics and dynamics. Tateos.A. Agekian is one of the pioneers of Russian and world Stellar Dynamics. Has found two evolutionary sequences of stellar systems: nearly spherical and strongly flattened. Suggested essentially new method to investi- gate the structure and kinematics of the Milky Way Galaxy. Found a new estimate for the dissipation

rate in stellar clusters. Tateos. A. Agekian gave an exhaustive analysis of the photogravitational inter- action between stars and gas clouds. The results obtained provide a possible explanation for the phe- nomenon of the stellar velocity increase with age. A planet (3862, «Agekian») was named in honor of Tateos Agekian.

Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamian Officially Tenders His Resignation

Haovik Abrahamian exiting Parliament after tendering his resignation

YEREVAN — Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian officially tendered his resignation on Monday, again linking the move with next year’s parliamentary elections.

Abrahamian said on November 2 that President Serzh Sarkisian offered him to step down and become the election campaign manager of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). He said he accepted the offer because he considers the polls scheduled for May 2012 “very important” for Armenia.

Abrahamian dismissed media speculation that he was forced to quit because of being regarded as a backer of former President Robert Kocharian’s possible bid to return to power. The speculation only intensified the next day with the official announcement that Mikael Minasian, Sarkisian’s influential son-in-law, will resign as deputy chief of the presidential administration to “help” the outgoing speaker run the HHK campaign.

Commentators suggested that Minasian will be tasked with helping the president keep a tight rein on Abrahamian and preventing the latter from cooperating with the Prosperous Armenia Party of Gagik Tsarukian.

Abrahamian again cited the need for the proper conduct of the forthcoming elections as he ex- plained his resignation to lawmakers on Monday. “I think it is clear to everyone that our country is entering a period of preparations for the next parliamentary elections,” he said. “Organizing and holding those elections at a high level is a matter of honor for everyone and especially the authori- ties.”

Under Armenian law, Abrahamian will formally cease to head the National Assembly when he reaffirms his resignation on Friday. Samvel Nikoyan, one of his two deputies, is tipped to become the next speaker.

Armenian Ruling Party Loses Local Election

YEREVAN -- In a rare electoral setback for President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party, the long-serving mayor of the northern Armenian town of Ijevan was defeated Sunday by a candidate representing the Prosperous Armenia Party, a key partner in the ruling coalition.

According to preliminary data, in the Sunday vote Nersisyan polled only 38 percent of the vote, while Vardan Galumyan of Prosperous Armenia Party, was backed by 57 percent of the voters.

Nersisian, who has governed the administrative center of Tavush province for over 13 years, cried foul even before the closure of the polls. He accused Ghalumian of handing out vote bribes in the form of cash and flour.

“I have informed law-enforcement bodies about that,” Nersisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian ser- vice (Azatutyun.am). “The whole Ijevan is talking about that.”

Local police detained two men on suspicion of vote buying on Sunday morning. They both were released without charge several hours later. The Ghalumian campaign and senior Prosperous Armenia Party figures, who arrived from Yerevan to monitor the election, strongly denied the vote buying allegations.

Nersisian lodged no formal protests with the local election commission as of Monday after- noon.

The incumbent mayor has been at loggerheads with Ijevan’s municipal council for the past three years. Most of its members, including Ghalumian, have accused him of corruption and mismanage- ment.

PAP representative Vardan Bostanjyan told media last week his party will win a majority if “equal conditions” were ensured in the vote slated for next May. Through a spokesman the RPA disparaged the comment.

‘Self-Criticizing’ Authorities: Will New Tactics and “a Victim’s Image” Ensure Success for

Ruling Party?

By Naira Hayrumyan ArmeniaNow.com

Armenia’s switching to a pre-election mode is being fueled by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and, in particular, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, who is likely to be the second candidate on the party’s slate at next year’s parliamentary polls, next to President Serzh Sargsyan.

Premier Sargsyan has chosen a seemingly win-win tactic – as the current prime minister, he re- lentlessly criticizes the situation in Armenia and states that the RPA, realizing all the flaws, is go- ing to fix them – if it gets elected.

Experts note that thereby the prime minister deprives the opponents of the scope for criticism, as it is hard to criticize someone who admits his fault.

Speaking at the session of the Political Assembly of the European People’s Party in Brussels early last week, Sargsyan said that, for example, in today’s Armenia there is a gap between the de- clared values and the reality. He expressed hope that democratic reforms will help narrow this gap, saying that Armenia must speed up reform and institutional transformation. “The crisis has deep- ened poverty, led to the growth of external debt and inflation,” he emphasized.

Member of the main opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) Zoya Tadevosyan believes that after statements in Brussels Sargsyan should have immediately resigned.

“If a senior official acknowledges that glaring iniquities are present in his country, it means that he does not control the situation,” said the oppositionist. She added that the head of the gov- ernment simply said what others have been talking about for a long time in order to develop an im- age of a victim by means of confession.

Recently, Sargsyan has often reported on what has been done in the past several years. He says that a powerful institution of the ombudsman has been established, e-governance, e-tax reporting

and a transparent mechanism for business registration have been introduced. Reforms are ongoing in the justice system, education, tax and customs administration, a new pension system is being formed. Besides, a program of developing export-oriented industries is being elaborated with the help of the World Bank.

At the same time, the premier does not address the most painful subjects that are of concern to society, in particular the deep oligarchic nature of the economy.

The World Bank estimates that Armenia has a potential to collect 240 billion drams (about $623.3 million) more in taxes. The draft budget for 2012 assumes an increase in the total tax burden by 101 billion drams (around $262 million). This means that the government is trying to get the economy out of the “shadow” gradually, without the so-called “shock therapy”, without hurting “the shadowy agents”. Most of the “shadow”, according to the estimation of international financial insti- tutions, is concentrated in the mining industry. But the new law on mineral resources does not pro- vide for an increase in environmental taxes.

Premier Sargsyan does not mention that for many years the sphere of information technologies has been declared a priority of Armenia’s economy, but its share in Armenia’s export does not in- crease. On the contrary, good programmers simply leave the country because in Armenia they have no conditions for equal competition.

The government likes to point out that in recent years Internet penetration in the country has increased manifold, etc., disregarding the fact that this is true on a global scale which naturally in- cludes Armenia. Anyway, it still remains unclear whether society will swallow this bait of the self-critical pre- election tactics or if the authorities will again need to resort to fraud to get votes.

The EU Advisory Group Calls for Creation of Trade Promotion Organisations in Armenia

The EU Advisory Group has issued a policy paper that studies the impact of the financial support to interna- tional trade and export activities in Armenia and its neighbouring countries.

The paper recommends the creation of a Trade Promotion Organisation as a “one stop shop” service that would centralise and facilitate export activities of Armenian companies.

Success in the export market is vital to the long-term growth of domestic businesses and the economy as a whole. The development of financial tools is recognised as a pre-condition for a successful export market. The objec- tive of a Trade Promotion Organization is thus to enable business export success by providing a comprehensive range of solutions along the Export Process Value Chain.

The establishment of Trade Promotion Organizations is aimed at assisting in overcoming barriers when entering international markets through:

- improving domestic firms’ capabilities to compete at international levels; - creating overall awareness on exporting as a growth and market expansion opportunity; - overcoming the barriers arising at various stages of the Export Process; - co-ordinating export promotion activities of various government and non-government agencies.

The policy paper gives background on international best practices and provides information on the current state of play in Armenia and the wider region. It gives a number of recommendations on the institutional, policy and technical aspects which will contribute to the creation of a “one stop shop” Export Promotion Center.

Maria Romanovna And The Armenian Elite

By Naira Hayrumyan

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimir-ovna Romanova confessed that her mother comes from the Armenian Bagratuni family. Interestingly, this information immediately followed the departure of the grand duchess from Yerevan and a week after newspaper stories on efforts to “restore” the rule of the Russian imperial house in Armenia.

Perhaps, in order to prevent a geopolitical context for this issue, a decision was made to let out the information that Maria Vladimirovna is half-Armenian. In addition, the ethnic background does not matter. There are a lot of Armenians in the world. What matters is that Maria Vladimirovna’s mother has an aristocratic background. In other words, she came to Armenia as the generation of the Armenian princess, rather than Russian tsars.

Even though Maria Vladimirovna tries to avoid politics, it exists at every step. 16

However, it is not the most important thing. The important thing is that it suddenly became known that there are heirs of aristocratic families in Armenia. The absence of such leaves its impact on the Armenian elite, depriving the government of history. After all, despite the Constitutional democracy and other similar things, relationships with monarchy families are sought and found in the biography of every president. In addition, this relationship is important not by itself but because the representatives of aristocracy are considered as special carriers of national culture, their intel- lectual, diplomatic resource, pro-state thinking. Not because their blood is blue, and they are the best, and others cannot keep up with them but because their ancestors carried out state policy for centuries.

The elite of most successful nations these people plan an invisible but an important role. Groups of other people emerge around them who draft and implement around them. There are real patriots, career hunters, philosophers and accidental people and professionals and simply ambitious people among them. They balance each other and God forbid if power appears among career hunters and opportunists.

The Armenian elite are so non-aristocratic that it is often difficult to classify their members. It is difficult to distinguish a furious patriot from an ambitious philosopher because perhaps there are no criteria, benchmarks. Such succession is already noticed in arts and science but not in politics.

Now it is difficult to change something in Armenia because aristocrats spared by the genocide were finally annihilated by the soviet regime. And after independence and market economy the gov- ernment would hardly encourage the return of aristocrats who could have aspirations to property. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the emergence of the new elite which may be proud of being the heir of at least several generations of real statesmen.

Although, Maria Vladimirovna has nothing to do with it.

Lecture by Dr. Kevork Bardakjian:

“How to Petition for Poetic Grace?” Kostandin Erznkatsi’s ‘Strange’ Poem”

ANN ARBOR, MI — University of Michigan Armenian Studies Program presents a public lec- ture by Dr. Kevork Bardakjian on Kostandin Erznkatsi’s ‘Strange’ Poem” titled “How to Petition for Poetic Grace?. The event will be held on Tuesday November 22, 2011 4.00 to 5.30pm, at the Uni- versity of Michigan International Institute, room 1636 (1080 South University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109).

Kostandin Erznkatsi (fl. 1295) is one of the glories of Medieval Armenian lyric poetry. This talk will delve into one of his poems, a vision, long considered by many as ‘strange’ or ‘enigmatic.’ Although many are the visions in the history of Armenian letters, Kostandin’s is unique in that, un- like earlier ones, it is to date the first purely literary vision-poem. This talk is an attempt to pick out a model for the vision, to identify the mysterious, ‘son-clad’ youth bestowing poetic grace on Kostandin, and to look at the poem in the context of Armenian Christian – Islamic relations in Erznka (Erzincan) and the adjacent regions.

Dr. Kevork Bardakjian received his first degree in Armenian studies from the University of Ye- revan, Armenia, and his D.Phil. from Oxford University, England. As a Senior Lecturer and Arme- nian Bibliographer at Harvard University from 1974 to 1987, he taught Armenian literature, lan- guage and culture. In 1987, he became the first holder of the newly-established Marie Manoogian Chair of Armenian Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, and founded as well as directed the University of Michigan Summer Armenian Institute in Yerevan, Armenia (1987-2010). From 1995 to 2007, he was Director of the Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michi- gan. Professor Bardakjian is the current President of the Society for Armenian Studies and has been an active member since his two consecutive terms in the mid-1980s in this same role. He has also served as a member of the editorial boards of various journals of Armenian studies. He has lectured extensively in the US and abroad on various aspects of Armenian literature, language, history and culture, and is the author of a number of books and articles.

Arshile Gorky’s Painting Sold for $902,500 at Christie’s Auction

NEW YORK -- An untitled canvas by the 20th century renowned American-Armenian artist, Ar- shil Gorky, has sold at the Christie’s Auction house for $902,500.

The preliminary price of the painting was reportedly $600,000.

Arshil Gorky was born in the early 1900s (some time between 1902-05) in the village of Khor- gom, situated on the shores of Lake Van. In 1910 his father emigrated to America to avoid the draft, leaving his family behind in the town of Van. In 1922, Gorky enrolled in the New School of Design in Boston, eventually becoming a part-time instructor.

Gorky had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. As such, his works were often spec- ulated to have been informed by the suffering and loss he experienced of the Armenian genocide. His paintings are kept in prominent museums across the United States including the National Gal- lery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (which maintains the Gorky Archive), and in many worldwide, including the Tate in London. (Whitney Museum, Metropolitan Museum etc).

Rome Presents the Treasures of Dvin Medieval Capital of Armenia

Rome has opened its doors to an elaborate exhibition on the city of Dvin, the capital of Armenia between the fifth and ninth centuries on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of independence.

“It was we used to be the capital linking West and East, and it was the capital of the Silk Road. Armenian histo- rian Anania Shirakatsi was saying that there were six commercial roads going out from the city linking to the Silk Road and to different parts of the world,” Rouben Karapetian, Ambassador of Armenia to Italy said in an interview with Romereports.com.

Dvin had 150,000 inhabitants and was an important trade center during medieval times. But in the year 893 an earthquake destroyed the city. The only thing to survive were different works of art and a memory of the city.

These works of art give a sense of greatness the society held, displayed by these glass plates and ceramics, cru- cifixes and pots made of silver and bronze, as well as old coins from the time period and tapestries that tell the life of Christ.

Federal Appeals Court Issues

Futile Order on Insurance Lawsuit

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier

Before the Genocide, thousands of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire bought life insurance from Ameri- can and European companies, so that after their death, their heirs would receive a lump sum payment.

Regrettably, many of these companies refused to keep their end of the bargain when Armenian policyholders perished along with their entire families during the course of the Genocide. In most cases, no next of kin was left behind to file an insurance claim on behalf of the victims. A few families who did file a claim were turned down due to the lack of proper paperwork. Clearly, these companies broke their contractual obligations and enriched themselves by keeping the funds owed to the heirs of insured genocide victims.

Almost a century later, the State of California stepped in to restore justice to the wronged policyholders. Con- sidering the tragic and unnatural circumstance of these deaths, the State approved two successive extensions to the statute of limitations in 2000 and 2011, to allow the heirs of genocide victims additional time to file claims against delinquent insurance companies.

Recognizing the negative publicity that such a lawsuit would generate, the New York Life and AXA Insurance companies quickly reached out of court settlements and paid a total of $37.5 million to the heirs of Armenian policyholders and charitable organizations. In contrast, German insurance companies Victoria and ERGO, backed by the Turkish government, decided to continue ducking their legal and moral responsibilities towards their ill-fated Armenian policyholders and refused to settle their long overdue claims. The German firms de- manded that the lawsuit filed against them in 2003 be dismissed because the California statute included a refer- ence to the Armenian Genocide, which allegedly conflicts with the foreign policy of the federal government on this issue.

A highly unusual series of court decisions ensued after Federal Judge Christina Snyder’s rejection in 2007 of the German insurance companies’ motion to dismiss. In 2009, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court ini- tially sided with the German companies, but then reversed itself in 2010, finding no legal problems with the California statute. Earlier this year, the German companies appealed once again, this time to a larger panel of 11 federal judges. That hearing, granted on November 7, is to be held in San Francisco during the week of Decem- ber 12.

Rehearing this case for the third time is unnecessary because the California statute does not violate federal gov- ernment’s stand on the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, there is no federal policy that bans states from recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Not a single complaint was lodged by any federal official, while more than 40 states adopted resolutions acknowledging the Genocide. In fact the California statute is in line with the federal gov- ernment’s clear record on this issue. One should not forget that the U.S. House of Representatives adopted two resolutions in 1975 and 1984 recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and Pres. Reagan issued a Presidential Proc- lamation on this subject in 1981. In addition, the U.S. Justice Department recognized the Armenian Genocide in a document filed with the World Court in 1951, citing the Armenian mass killings as one of the "outstanding ex- amples of the crime of genocide."

Even though this latest appeal has absolutely no legal merit, the consequences of a negative court decision would not only harm the interests of life insurance claimants, but more importantly, the collective interests of the Armenian people, should the federal appeals court find California’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide to be in conflict with the federal government’s foreign policy. Such a ruling would negate several decades of Armenian-American political activism by reversing all the resolutions on the Armenian Genocide adopted by more than 40 American states.

The federal appeals court should rule in favor of the Armenian plaintiffs. The court could also uphold the Cali- fornia statute by separating the insurance aspect of the case, which is a prerogative of the states, from the unre- lated issue of State vs. Federal powers on Genocide recognition. Should the judges rule against the California statute, however, the Armenian-American community would have no choice but to appeal that verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court.

There is one issue here that is crystal clear: the federal court should force the German insurance companies to make good on their contractual obligations to all policyholders, particularly those who are genocide victims!

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Father of Dink Murder Suspect Claims His Son was Framed by State Officials

He has withdrawn his initial testimony due to fears about his personal safety and expressed no confidence that the case will ever be resolved in its entirety.

“I am in full agreement with the Dink family’s lawyers. I do not believe that the dark side of this case will truly come to light. I cannot look at the faces of the Dink family; it gives me pain,” Bahattin Hayal told reporters after court hearings. Yasin Hayal is alleged to have instigated hitman Ogün Samast to assassinate Dink According to Bahattin Hayal a high-ranking official in the southeastern province of Mardin has fre- quently the criminal organization. TIB has not yet provided any of the information requested by court which, according to the plaintiff lawyers, was an obstruction of justice. They reiterated the request for the records. “The final opinion as to the accusation cannot be presented as long as the evidence is incomplete”, the lawyers said. There are 63 days left before TIB is going to officially erase these telephone records. If TIB erased the requested records, the most crucial evidence related to the murder of Hrant Dink would be lost.