ARTICLE BY HARUTYUN ARAKELYAN
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՅԱՐՈՒԹԻՒՆ ԱՌԱՔԵԼԵԱՆԷՆ
ԵՐԵՒԱՆ, ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ
Haykakan Lernashkharhi Vtangavor Khagheri Shourj By Harutyun Arakelyan_Page_1.jpg
Haykakan Lernashkharhi Vtangavor Khagheri Shourj By Harutyun Arakelyan_Page_2.jpg
Haykakan Lernashkharhi Vtangavor Khagheri Shourj By Harutyun Arakelyan_Page_3.jpg
Haykakan Lernashkharhi Vtangavor Khagheri Shourj By Harutyun Arakelyan_Page_4.jpg
Rant Number 401 24 June 2010
‘War is hell’. Thus spake General Sherman. He would say that, wouldn’t he? The ruthless author of a cruel scorched earth policy against the South in the American Civil War, he much aggravated the viciousness of conflict. I worry that Yamin Zakaria, author of Suicide Bombings – Jihad or Terrorism, may, no doubt unwittingly, run the same risk.
Suicide bombers are not the exclusive prerogative of Muslims. Yamin is right to point that out. Tamils and others have engaged in it, too. Also, terrorism is perpetrated by states, not just by non state movements and individuals. I agree. Then self-defence is justified. Resistance to oppression, invasion, persecution and the like are morally righteous ends. But what about the means to those ends? Their status must be scrutinised, also. And that is where Yamin’s arguments fall grievously short.
Suicide, Yamin allows, is forbidden in Islam but there are other types of self-killing which are not. The type which is suicide bombing is legitimate ‘...as a weapon of conflict for the defence of the community.’ Such fighters are martyrs, he says. Problem is, suicide bombers often target other members of the Muslim Umma, like Shias in Pakistan and Iraq. Can one really become a martyr by killing fellow Muslims?
Yamin makes much of the notion of asymmetrical conflict. One in which states fight non state actors. In these conflicts suicide bombing ‘is the weapon of the weaker party’. To many a Brit, it may sound prima facie fair. Got to be on the side of the underdog, no? He gives plenty of instances, e.g. against US military ships and bases. Those suicide attackers could be construed as ‘weaker’, by military criteria. But a less plausible case is that of Richard Reid, the bungling shoe bomber. The convert who sought to blow himself up in a civilian aircraft. In what way, precisely, were his harmless fellow passengers ‘the stronger party’? Just because they were more numerous? Or consider Nigerian Abdulmutallab, another failed bomber. His Christmas day present was to try and destroy himself and the other passengers over Detroit. Was he ‘weaker’ because he did not dispose of anti-aircraft missiles? Don’t get this, Yamin, sorry.
Furthermore, if suicide is not really at issue here but jihad, I would like to ask about the chaps who wanted to blow up the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London in 2007. Hundreds of young people were dancing there. Surely innocent? Not according to one of the bombers. ‘Slags...are not innocent’ he is reported as saying. Now, the priest cares not a jot for promiscuous persons but he cares even less, far less, for mass murder. No. Not at all.
What is at stake here is of course the most crucial, basic principle in the ethics of conflict. That of non combatant immunity. In International Law, Geneva and Hague Conventions and in common morality, civilians are treated as innocent, i.e. are entitled to immunity from direct attack. Civilian passengers in commercial airplanes, office workers in the City and Manhattan, Tube and Subway travellers are innocent. And to kill the innocent is murder, with or without suicide. The laws of Christianity concur.
‘Are Civilians Innocent?’ Yamin asks. He argues that the term innocent ‘is misleading, as it implies civilians do not have a role in waging wars’. He seems unaware of relevant, seminal discussions in ethical literature. Like philosopher Thomas Nagel’s essay, War and Massacre. The innocence at issue here is not moral innocence. In a democracy, war is a ‘people’s choice’, Yamin claims, and that entails their responsibility, making them somewhat liable to attack. But that is irrelevant. It is not a question of civilians being immune from moral guilt. Where that so, it would be right to kill a wicked but non combatant school teacher or hot-dog seller amongst the enemy, whereas, say, a conscript soldier who pointed a gun at you sorrowfully, ‘with a heavy heart’, would have to be spared. The notion of innocence relevant to the notion of non combatant immunity is not that. Innocent means ‘currently harmless’. It is contrasted not with morally guilty but with doing harm. So, babes at arms, children are innocent non combatants even though one day they may wear a uniform and fight you. Women are innocent non combatants even if they bear children who one day will be soldiers. Sick and old people – the same. They are all harmless, because they pose no immediate threat. Therefore they are entitled to immunity from direct attack. ‘Innocent civilian’ is not just a term of propaganda, dear Yamin. It lays down a fundamental limit, one that distinguishes humanity from barbarism. Hope you’ll get that one day, insh’allah.
What about reciprocity? What if the enemy transgresses against you? Appealing to Islamic texts, Yamin contends that is all right to punish the enemy in a similar way. This must be for Muslims to argue. But I remember this Turkish Cypriot guy in Ankara, Mustafa. He told me, ‘My town’s Greeks waylaid us many a time when I was a boy. One day my father wanted to pay them back. I refuse to join the expedition. “My son, they have done to us so many times. We only this once.” Yet I felt it was wrong. Whatever the excuse, what is wrong is always wrong.’ Good Mustafa! God be praised for Muslims like him!
Still, Yamin’s book is interesting. His arguments are clearly organised and set out. (Pity there is no index, though.) The sections on Islamic legal verdicts on suicide bombing, replete with Qur’anic quotes and Prophetic hadiths, is well worth studying. Still, I am bemused by discussion of retribution for rape and sodomy – by stick and hammer? Wallahi! A bit gross.
Yamin and I have never met but we have exchanged polemical e-mails, on and off, for years. His views are often so radical – he quotes distinguished authorities like Usama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri - that I have occasionally wondered whether he is a hoax. Or perhaps a British Intelligence proxy? An anonymous female way back warned me about this problematical person: ‘Beware Yamin! He hates Christians and delights in deceiving you’, she wrote. So what? If true, that would make sense. Christians have been hated by the world since the beginning, so...what’s new?
Revd Frank Julian Gelli
ARTICLE BY HAROUT SASSOUNIAN
LOS ANGELES, U.S.A.
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՅԱՐՈՒԹ ՍԱՍՈՒՆԵԱՆԷՆ
ԼՈՍ ԱՆՃԵԼԸՍ, Մ. ՆԱՀԱՆԳՆԵՐ
Senate Should Scrutinize Bryza By Harout Sassounian_Page_1.jpg
Senate Should Scrutinize Bryza By Harout Sassounian_Page_2.jpg
Senate Should Scrutinize Bryza By Harout Sassounian_Page_3.jpg
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FOUR ARMENIAN SOLDIERS
KILLED IN KARABAKH FIGHTING
YEREVAN (AFP - By Mariam Harutunian) - Four Armenian soldiers have been killed in fighting in Karabakh, Armenia’s Defence Ministry said on June 19.
“Four soldiers of the Karabakh Defence Army were killed and four wounded on Friday as a result of fighting with an Azerbaijani armed reconnaissance group,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The statement noted that an Azerbaijani soldier had also been killed in the fighting. Azerbaijani authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.
The statement said an armed group of Azerbaijani soldiers entered the region late Friday night and then retreated into Azerbaijani-controlled territory after the fighting.
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian condemned the incident as “an open provocation” aimed at disrupting negotiations.
“Clearly it was a pre-planned action, which shows once again the true face of Baku, which is doing its utmost to disrupt the negotiating process,” Nalbandian told AFP.
He noted that the incident occurred immediately after a meeting Thursday in Saint Petersburg between Armenian President Serge Sargsyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Nalbandian said Baku was trying to “disrupt the negotiations using provocative statements and threat of war. ”Aliyev earlier this month threatened to withdraw from foreign-backed peace talks after he accused Armenia of stalling the negotiations.
Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said Friday that an Azerbaijani soldier had been killed in fighting with Armenian forces near Karabakh earlier this week.
Baku has repeatedly warned that it is prepared to restore Azerbaijani control over Karabakh by force. On Friday Azerbaijan’s parliament approved a revised 2010 state budget boosting defence spending by a third, as it pursues an arms build-up that has seen it nearly double defence spending in the last two years.
sassounianArmenians Must Take Bold,
Pre-emptive Measures to
Counter all Hostile Acts
By Harut Sassounian - Publisher, The California Courier -read article here
1. Cause the suspension of the peace talks, thus delaying the resolution of the conflict rather than expediting the negotiating process.
2. Lead Armenia to eventually abandon all peace talks, since it has little to gain from these negotiations. Azerbaijan is the one that desperately needs to negotiate in order to secure concessions from Armenia.
3. Signal to the world that the government of Azerbaijan is not interested in finding a negotiated settlement to the conflict and is responsible for its collapse.
4. Discredit the good faith effort of the mediating countries – France, Russia and the United States.
5. Force Armenia to initiate military action, causing a disproportionate amount of destruction, even damaging the oil pipelines, in order to discourage Azerbaijan from further attacks.
TURKEY SEEKS PEACE WITH ARMENIA, SAYS DAVUTOGLU
news.am - June 18 2010 - Turkey wants peace and friendship with Armenia and Greece, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu said, receiving an "Award for Public Service" by the Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Davutoglu noted that Turkey's ideals are clear, Radikal reported.
Delivering a speech at the awarding ceremony, Davutoglu stated that Turkey does not want either embargo or walls or nuclear weapons.
Turkey does not want any antagonism. "We want old friends and friends of future. Thus, we adhere to this position in relations with Armenia and Greece," Turkish FM noted.
According to him, overall 35 agreements have been signed between Turkey and Greece throughout history, whereas 22 agreements were signed last time during one day. "We will sign such agreements with Armenia as well. It is our goal," he added.
UNDERWATER RESEARCH BEGINS IN LAKE SEVAN THIS WEEK
Aysor - June 17 2010 - Underwater research will be conducted in Lake Sevan from June 21 to 30, 2010.
This French-Armenian mission will be carried out by two authors of the program - Claude Tulumjian (initiator) and Stephan Kojayan (assistant), in cooperation with research centers affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and state structures engaged in resolving the problems in Lake Sevan.
According to the mission members, the underwater research aims at getting specimens for scientists (water, gas, sediments, slime), video films and photographs, holding fauna registration (fish, crayfish) and flora description, getting topographic data to be used for underwater archaeological excavations or geological researches, discovering underwater caves and holding stream measurements.
The program relates to the following spheres: hydro-geology and fish breeding, geological sciences, ecological and noosphere researches, archaeology and ethnography, cave science and history and collaborates with the Ayas Nautical Research Club led by Karen Balayan.
All of the data will be provided to Armenian scientists for conducting researches, the results of which directly relate to ecological balance of this fresh water reservoir which is of much
strategic importance and regional significance.
The data will also make it possible to raise local population's awareness on Lake Sevan, through reports and notifications.
FIRST CEREMONY IN SOURP KHACH CHURCH
IN AKHTAMAR ON LAKE VAN IN SEPTEMBER
Munir Karaloglu, the governor of the eastern province of Van, said they would open the Akhtamar Church to worship in September 2010. "We expect all Armenian citizens to a prayer at the Akhtamar Church on September 12, 2010," Karaloglu told AA correspondent. The Akhamar Church on Akhtamar Island on Lake Van was opened in 2007 as a museum after it was restored by the Turkish government between May 2005 and October 2006. The restoration costed 1.7 million USD (2.6 million Turkish liras). Karaloglu said he had contacted the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for opening of the church to worship, and they would invite all Armenians to the prayer in 2010. Then Turkish Culture & Tourism Minister Atilla Koc, then Armenian Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjan, and Mesrob II, the patriarch of Turkish Armenians, participated in the inauguration ceremony on March 29, 2007. The Akhtamar Church was constructed by architect bishop Manuel between 915 and 921 A.D. under the supervision of King Gagik I. Among the important pieces of Armenian architecture, the church draws attraction with its stone workmanship and the relieves on its walls.
Tonight at K-Cineplex at The Mall of Cyprus
ARTICLE BY DR. GEORGE PARSEGHIAN
DAMASCUS, SYRIA
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ՏՈՔԹ. ՃՕՐՃ ԲԱՐՍԵՂԵԱՆ-ԷՆ
ԴԱՄԱՍԿՈՍ, ՍՈՒՐԻԱ
Menk Temograd Endanik Enk By Dr. George Parseghian_Page_1.jpg
Menk Temograd Endanik Enk By Dr. George Parseghian_Page_2.jpg
Menk Temograd Endanik Enk By Dr. George Parseghian_Page_3.jpg
RFE/RL Report
World Bank Official Urges Action Against Armenian `Shadow Economy'
Armenia -- Aristomene Varoudakis, head of World Bank's Yerevan office,
27Nov2009
18.06.2010
Ruben Meloyan
A senior official from the World Bank urged the Armenian authorities
on Friday to clamp down on what he described as a huge informal sector
of the domestic economy.
Aristomene Varoudakis, the head of the bank's Yerevan office, said the
shadow economy and the resulting tax evasion is one of the most
serious problems hampering Armenia's economic development.
`I have no number to give you, but what I am hearing from different
analysts is that the shadow economy in Armenia could be an equivalent
of as much as 35 or 40 percent of GDP,' Varoudakis told a news
conference. `And of course, it is a very important challenge to
formalize this informal economy so as to increase tax revenues and be
able to pay for much needed social services.'
Varoudakis said companies involved in the shadow sector would also
benefit from the legalization and transparency of their
operations. `And people working for those businesses will be better
protected,' he argued.
Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have long been
pressing the Armenian authorities to improve tax collection. The
authorities' tax revenues have grown steadily and considerably since
the late 1990s, but they remain very modest in relative terms. The
revenue total was equivalent to only about 16.5 percent of GDP last
year.
The Armenian government and Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian in
particular have repeatedly declared improved tax administration a top
priority. But as a senior IMF official stated in April, government
efforts have still not lived up to the fund's expectations.
Varoudakis said government action is especially needed in Armenia's
export-oriented mining industry. `Now the mining sector is rather
undertaxed in Armenia,' he said. `Taxation regime in the Armenian
mining sector is way below the international best standards.'
The World Bank official said the government has pledged to remedy the
situation with major changes in Armenia's tax legislation regulating
the work of mining companies. The planned reform will be financed from
a $25 million budgetary loan which the bank plans to allocate to the
government this year, he said.
ARMENIA: THE PROPER WAY TO PAY YOUR RESPECTS
Jack Aslanian
Guardian Weekly
Tuesday 16 March 2010 09.00 GMT
Guardian Weekly reader Jack Aslanian details the elaborate and
expensive funeral tradition in Armenia, where an average funeral
wreath can cost $100 - the monthly income of a teacher
People gather at a ceremony marking the anniversary of mass killings
of Armenians in 1915. Photograph: Reuters
In wide angle, the colours of winter Yerevan are made up of shades of
grey, punctuated by black cars and people's clothes. Close up, however,
one is struck by extravagant fashion. Yerevan is aflutter with the
embodiments of pages from fashion magazines. Here glamour seems to
be a matter of personal dignity, as too are expensive funerals.
An average funeral wreath can set back a sympathiser around $100 -
the monthly income of a teacher. For the bereaved family too, a
funeral is costly, and long. For a start, three memorial meals must
be held in the first week after the death.
On the eve of the funeral, a wake is held in the deceased's home.
Outside the entrance to the building, wreaths flank the doorway.
A black-draped platform in the living room supports the open casket,
surrounded by bouquets; the lid is propped upright.
After people have paid their respects, family and close friends remain,
taking it in turns to keep the nightlong vigil. In the morning,
mourners regather before going to the cemetery.
Until recently, corteges marched down the middle of city streets.
Holding the open coffin high and displaying the deceased's photograph,
pallbearers set the pace to the accompaniment of a brass band or,
lately considered nationally more authentic, the wailful tones of
the doudouk. But increasing traffic in central Yerevan has meant that
now the coffin is carried three times round the deceased's block. At
the funeral I attended, the pallbearers stopped outside the entrance
and rotated the open casket overhead six times before putting it into
the hearse.
A traditional Armenian Christian funeral (imitating Christ's interment)
requires women to distance themselves before the coffin is closed
and lowered into the grave. They return the next day.
By the seventh day after her death (another day that is marked),
all 12 wreaths had disappeared from Astghig H's graveside.
A local explained that scavengers take the wreaths to sell the foam
rings and supporting tripods to florists to reuse. My indignation had
to be suppressed. The priest had begun blessing the departed's tomb
and soul. At the memorial lunch that followed, discussing robbery
and disturbing the spirits would have been undignified, as would
effusively praising the food.
TURKEY LEADER ERDOGAN CLAIMS MUSLIMS CANNOT
COMMIT GENOCIDE
examiner.com
June 15 2010
I was minding my own business, reading an essay from one of my favorite
writers. And, then he mentions this:
"In a similar vein, Erdogan has warmly embraced Sudan's leader,
Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir has been accused of genocide by the
International Criminal Court. Erdogan's response? 'A Muslim can never
commit genocide.'"
Oh no, here we go again. Another Muslim leader who does not seem to
have his finger on the pulse--any pulse.
Recep Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey is taking his country
right off a cliff, an Muslim extremist cliff. Turkey, the only secular
Muslim democracy in the Middle East, a member of NATO and a valued
member of the region has in recent years being throwing rocks and
breaking windows in the west.
And, this is all due to their present government led by Erdogan. That
he can come up with a statement like that indicates he is really out
of touch with reality.
Does he actually think the world would respect a comment like that?
I think Erdogan's comments would be argued vociferously by the
Darfurians, Syrian Jews, the Kurds or any one of a number of peoples
today or in history. It is such an outrageous comment for a head of
state to say, that I just don't know where to begin to refute it. .
Especially for a Turkish leader to insinuate that somehow Muslims
are high above the rest of the peoples on Earth and are incapable
of committing those atrocities. I would remind Erdogan that his own
people carried on one of the most infamous genocides in history, twice
against the Armenians, in 1895 and 1915. Hell, his own grandfather
probably took part in the killing.
That just adds to the contemptible assertion that somehow "they"
are not capable of genocide.
What if Angela Merkel was a Holocaust denier? I tend to think the
world would react with the suitable condemnations. So, why are we
all so silent about Erdogan's remarks.
It's frightening to think if a leader of a nation would not admit to
committing genocide then how much easier is it for him to order it
and justify it in his own mind and pass that on to his peoples.
The question is what do we do about it? His nation's status in NATO
ought to be brought up for review. I doubt this would happen in the
present administration but the American government, the main governing
power in NATO should place Turkey on notice.
After all this is not the first provocation. His alliances with
American enemies like Iran cannot be avoided. If necessary, Turkey
should be thrown out of NATO and all the codes should be changed to
disable any advantage he would have if we ever go to war with him.
Oh, how do we get into these messes?
Genocide 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl8sMDZkyXc&feature=PlayList&p=C19E20177778A4E8&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=48
Genocide 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJI0HQLHlX4&feature=related
Genocide 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E51OUnvvSf8&feature=related
With respect to the Armenian community I present this video. I wonder
how Erdogan would weasel his way out of denying this one.
BRANDY SALES DECLINE IN MAIN MARKET KEEPS ON
Aysor
June 15 2010
Armenia
"This year is very difficult in the respect of sales, as compared
with the previous year, we have another 26 percent decline both in
the main, Russian market and in the global market," Yerevan Brandy
Company Director General Ara Grigoryan declared.
According to A. Grigoryan, the data comparison of pre-crisis year 2008
and first 5 months of year 2010 makes it clear that Ararat Armenian
brandy sales decline has reached 55 percent. He said that unlike
Armenian market, which is small yet is being restored, the 2 main
markets, Russian and Ukrainian, where company production is sold,
stay on decline.
Therefore the company undertakes a number of measures - starting from
change in pricing policy up to change in brandy form, some marketing
events, etc.
As to the amount of grapes to be purchased, according to A. Grigoryan,
this year YBC either did not need grapes or in consideration of the
decline needed 14-15 tons only, but the company has made a decision
to purchase 29 thousand tons of grapes as it is the amount the plant
can store.
ARTICLE BY DR. ARAMAIS MIRZAKHANIAN
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
ՅՕԴՈՒԱԾ ԴՈԿՏ. ԱՐԱՄԱՅԻՍ ՄԻՐԶԱԽԱՆԵԱՆԷՆ
ՍԹՈՔՀՈԼՄ, ՇՈՒԷՏ
Voch Otaralezou Dprotznerin By Dr. Aramais Mirzakhanian.jpg
