Keith Olbermann (American sportscaster, news anchor, and political commentator) delivers an amazing emotional Special Comment on the outcome of California's voting of "Proposition 8" which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry:
"This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives. [...]
I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage.
If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal... in 1967.
1967.
The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry...black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.
You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are... gay. [...]
You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.
You don't have to help it, you don't have to applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know. It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow person just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too." More...
For more on this topic - see Unzipped: Gay Armenia
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Gay marriage is a question of love
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Macho church: fight erupts between Armenian and Greek monks in Jerusalem
Just watched this on the BBC. Bizarre!
BBC reports: Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.
Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.
Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.
Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.
Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday's clash.
Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.
The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies. More...
BBC reports: Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.
Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.
Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.
Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.
Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday's clash.
Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.
The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies. More...
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Will Samantha Power return as foreign policy advisor to Obama?
Some Jewish sources speculate on Obama’s foreign policy team saying that it will be “centrist” and “pragmatic”, the real meaning of which will be known after the president-elect takes the office in January.Among potential candidates for Obama’s foreign policy team is Samantha Power (i.e. her return after the resignation during the pre-election campaign when she called Hillary Clinton a “monster”).
Samantha Power is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and renowned anti-genocide and human rights activist. In 2004, Power was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 top scientists and thinkers of that year. She is pretty influential and considered as “pro-Armenian”. Turkey will certainly prefer to see her out of the team. In February 2008, Samantha Power has taped a “powerful 5-minute video reviewing presidential hopeful Barack Obama's support for Armenian issues, and encouraging Armenian Americans to vote for him in the upcoming primaries”, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
According to British sources, the Irish-born professor “was a key member of Obama's foreign policy team and one of his closest aides.” “If Obama makes it to the White House, Miss Power - who was cited by Men's Vogue as one of the most beautiful women in the world - was expected to take a crucial role in redefining the Anglo-American relationship.”
*photo - via Mail Online
Friday, 7 November 2008
Isakhan Ashurov: "Tough Azerbaijani defense lawyer takes aim at injustice, corruption"
If only we have more people like Isakhan Ashurov... This is an amazing profile of Azeri defence lawyer, a very rare one.
*via RFE/RL
Famous for both his honesty and his short temper, Isakhan Ashurov handles controversial cases that other lawyers either can't -- or won't.
BAKU -- Isakhan Ashurov is one of the most prominent defense lawyers in Azerbaijan, yet he has very few successful cases in his portfolio.
In fact, most of his clients are serving prison terms.
"The number of cases I have lost in Azerbaijani courts is not important to me," Ashurov says, "since I know the verdicts are decided before the cases have been launched."
What matters, he says, is “whether I am able to defeat the propaganda machine of the government and save the reputation of the person [I am defending], who is facing not only a corrupt court but also a mostly government-controlled media, which tries to justify the unfair court decisions. It is much more important to win the process, no matter what the sentence is." […]
Ashurov, 53, routinely receives death threats due to his choice of clients and his willingness to speak out.
A former police chief famous both for his honesty and his short temper, Ashurov has also become known as a critic of corruption in law enforcement, a stance also unlikely to win him many friends.
“Who likes Ashurov?" asks political analyst Hikmet Hajizadeh, director of the pro-democracy FAR Center. "Almost everyone does, except those who have heard from him the truth to their face. He is unlikely to compromise his principles. These days, there is a deficit of these type of people. But if we have too many Ashurovs, the system may collapse." […]
Angered Muslims, 'Betrayed' The Motherland
Ashurov recently took on two controversial, and challenging, cases.
In April 2007, he defended two Azerbaijani journalists, Rafiq Tagi and his editor, Samir Sadagatogulu, who were accused of insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in an article titled "Europe and Us.” An Iranian ayatollah issued a fatwah against him. […]
In another media-freedom case, in May 2007, Ashurov defended Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the Russian-language weekly "Realniy Azerbaijan." Fatullayev was accused of insulting the country's military forces by publishing an interview with an Armenian military officer, who accused Azerbaijani forces of responsibility for a 1992 massacre of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the settlement of Khojaly during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Fatullayev was found guilty and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
He was subsequently sentenced by another court to eight years in jail on charges he incited terrorism by noting that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline could be targeted if Iran was attacked by the United States.
"April and May [2007] were difficult," Ashurov recalls. "In one case, I had to face angry Muslims calling me a kafer [infidel] and accusing me of defending kafers. In another, a group of refugees, orchestrated by the government, called me a betrayer of the motherland for defending Eynulla Fatullayev."
A Man Of Integrity
Such insults against Ashurov amuse Chingiz Tanriverdiyev.
Tanriverdiyev served in the Azerbaijani police force for more than 20 years and first met Ashurov in 1978 when Ashurov was a police investigator in the district of Qazax, on the border with Georgia. Tanriverdiyev served under Ashurov when the latter became Qazax police chief in 1992, just as the war over Nagorno-Karabakh was escalating and many villages in the district were coming under fire.
Tanriverdiyev says Ashurov made it clear to his officers that he would not tolerate violence against civilians, regardless of their ethnicity.
"I remember his first conversation with us as police chief in 1992, when he said he wanted us to help restore the image of the police force," Tanriverdiyev says. "After the war started, he said he would punish anyone who harmed Armenian civilians. He would say, 'You fight against those who have arms.' "
Ashurov remembers the case in 1992 when one OMON special police officer brought him a "gift."
“It was a human ear in a cigarette pack," Ashurov says. "I found out that the officer had cut off the ear of an Armenian peasant and had brought the person, with his bleeding head, as a prisoner. He explained that this was the least he could do in return for what Armenian soldiers had done to Azerbaijani villagers. That was awful.
"I apologized to the peasant in front of the whole police staff. The person who did that was arrested, so no one would ever dare to think about harming civilians in retaliation for what the armed forces had done."
Even today, many citizens in Qasax say Ashurov's tenure as chief was the only period when they really respected the police.
"I remember that when we'd ask our children who they would like to be in the future, they would answer, 'I will be Ashurov,' " says Qazax resident Ilaha Gadimova. "Not the police, [but] Ashurov.” […]
photo - via RFE/RL
*via RFE/RL
Famous for both his honesty and his short temper, Isakhan Ashurov handles controversial cases that other lawyers either can't -- or won't.
BAKU -- Isakhan Ashurov is one of the most prominent defense lawyers in Azerbaijan, yet he has very few successful cases in his portfolio.
In fact, most of his clients are serving prison terms.
"The number of cases I have lost in Azerbaijani courts is not important to me," Ashurov says, "since I know the verdicts are decided before the cases have been launched."
What matters, he says, is “whether I am able to defeat the propaganda machine of the government and save the reputation of the person [I am defending], who is facing not only a corrupt court but also a mostly government-controlled media, which tries to justify the unfair court decisions. It is much more important to win the process, no matter what the sentence is." […]
Ashurov, 53, routinely receives death threats due to his choice of clients and his willingness to speak out.
A former police chief famous both for his honesty and his short temper, Ashurov has also become known as a critic of corruption in law enforcement, a stance also unlikely to win him many friends.
“Who likes Ashurov?" asks political analyst Hikmet Hajizadeh, director of the pro-democracy FAR Center. "Almost everyone does, except those who have heard from him the truth to their face. He is unlikely to compromise his principles. These days, there is a deficit of these type of people. But if we have too many Ashurovs, the system may collapse." […]
Angered Muslims, 'Betrayed' The Motherland
Ashurov recently took on two controversial, and challenging, cases.
In April 2007, he defended two Azerbaijani journalists, Rafiq Tagi and his editor, Samir Sadagatogulu, who were accused of insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in an article titled "Europe and Us.” An Iranian ayatollah issued a fatwah against him. […]
In another media-freedom case, in May 2007, Ashurov defended Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the Russian-language weekly "Realniy Azerbaijan." Fatullayev was accused of insulting the country's military forces by publishing an interview with an Armenian military officer, who accused Azerbaijani forces of responsibility for a 1992 massacre of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the settlement of Khojaly during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Fatullayev was found guilty and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
He was subsequently sentenced by another court to eight years in jail on charges he incited terrorism by noting that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline could be targeted if Iran was attacked by the United States.
"April and May [2007] were difficult," Ashurov recalls. "In one case, I had to face angry Muslims calling me a kafer [infidel] and accusing me of defending kafers. In another, a group of refugees, orchestrated by the government, called me a betrayer of the motherland for defending Eynulla Fatullayev."
A Man Of Integrity
Such insults against Ashurov amuse Chingiz Tanriverdiyev.
Tanriverdiyev served in the Azerbaijani police force for more than 20 years and first met Ashurov in 1978 when Ashurov was a police investigator in the district of Qazax, on the border with Georgia. Tanriverdiyev served under Ashurov when the latter became Qazax police chief in 1992, just as the war over Nagorno-Karabakh was escalating and many villages in the district were coming under fire.
Tanriverdiyev says Ashurov made it clear to his officers that he would not tolerate violence against civilians, regardless of their ethnicity.
"I remember his first conversation with us as police chief in 1992, when he said he wanted us to help restore the image of the police force," Tanriverdiyev says. "After the war started, he said he would punish anyone who harmed Armenian civilians. He would say, 'You fight against those who have arms.' "
Ashurov remembers the case in 1992 when one OMON special police officer brought him a "gift."
“It was a human ear in a cigarette pack," Ashurov says. "I found out that the officer had cut off the ear of an Armenian peasant and had brought the person, with his bleeding head, as a prisoner. He explained that this was the least he could do in return for what Armenian soldiers had done to Azerbaijani villagers. That was awful.
"I apologized to the peasant in front of the whole police staff. The person who did that was arrested, so no one would ever dare to think about harming civilians in retaliation for what the armed forces had done."
Even today, many citizens in Qasax say Ashurov's tenure as chief was the only period when they really respected the police.
"I remember that when we'd ask our children who they would like to be in the future, they would answer, 'I will be Ashurov,' " says Qazax resident Ilaha Gadimova. "Not the police, [but] Ashurov.” […]
photo - via RFE/RL
NYT questions Georgian account on war with Russia
Another huge blow to Saakashvili’s administration. Following recent BBC report, now The New York Times questions “Georgia claims on Russia war”:
Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.
Instead, the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm.
The accounts are neither fully conclusive nor broad enough to settle the many lingering disputes over blame in a war that hardened relations between the Kremlin and the West. But they raise questions about the accuracy and honesty of Georgia’s insistence that its shelling of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, was a precise operation. Georgia has variously defended the shelling as necessary to stop heavy Ossetian shelling of Georgian villages, bring order to the region or counter a Russian invasion. More...
Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.
Instead, the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm.
The accounts are neither fully conclusive nor broad enough to settle the many lingering disputes over blame in a war that hardened relations between the Kremlin and the West. But they raise questions about the accuracy and honesty of Georgia’s insistence that its shelling of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, was a precise operation. Georgia has variously defended the shelling as necessary to stop heavy Ossetian shelling of Georgian villages, bring order to the region or counter a Russian invasion. More...
US presidential election in Armenia
Via E-channel: On November 5, early in the morning the US ambassador to Armenia was watching the results of the US presidential elections with her Armenian colleagues, political and public figures, and journalists. Ambassador Marie Jovanovitch expressed her congratulations to her fellow countrymen in relation with the election of the new president. Almost all the representatives of Armenian parties were pleased with the choice of Americans. According to them, the election of a black president is a good lesson of democracy and tolerance for the other countries. [Hopefully, they meant Armenia too]
*/emphasis mine/
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Did Obama’s victory in the US elections make opening borders with Armenia a priority for Turkey?
Following recent statements on expected “extraordinary decisions”, “new climate” and “new developments” between Turkey and Armenia, some Turkish reports suggest that Obama’s victory in the US presidential election made opening borders with Armenia a mater of priority and strategic importance.
Today’s Zaman reports:
Democrat Barack Obama's landslide victory in the US election is a dream come true for most ordinary Turks, but it could mean more pressure on the government to speed up reforms for a better state of human rights in the country.
It is also likely to spell a definite end for the long-held Turkish policy of dealing with Armenian claims of genocide through counter-measures to suppress pro-genocide resolutions in Congress. [...]
Turkey has managed for decades to block Armenian efforts to win US recognition for genocide claims, but with the White House readying for an Obama era, it is high time for Ankara to promote a more comprehensive policy that goes far beyond addressing immediate challenges at the US Congress, experts say. Many fear that Obama’s use of the G-word in his next message for April 24 -- a traditional occasion when US presidents commemorate Armenians who perished in Anatolia in the last century -- could shatter Turkey-US ties and that following up on a recent drive for dialogue with Armenia might be the only way to save relations from a catastrophe.
“There is nothing to be afraid of; Turkey should trust itself. What needs to be done is further improving the relations with Yerevan and marginalizing the Armenian diaspora in the United States,” said Ömer Taşpınar, an expert on Turkey with the Washington-based Brookings Institution and a Today’s Zaman columnist. “By opening borders with Armenia and taking other appropriate steps, Turkey will have the trump card in its hands.”
President Abdullah Gül paid a landmark visit to Armenia in September, and officials of the two countries, which currently have no formal ties, have been having talks since then on normalizing relations.
Marc Grossman, a former US ambassador to Turkey, advised the Turkish government to keep improving ties with Armenia during a teleconference at the US Embassy in Ankara early on Wednesday. Dialogue and open borders with Armenia will give Turkey an advantage in discussing the issue with the Obama administration, he said.
Today’s Zaman reports:
Democrat Barack Obama's landslide victory in the US election is a dream come true for most ordinary Turks, but it could mean more pressure on the government to speed up reforms for a better state of human rights in the country.
It is also likely to spell a definite end for the long-held Turkish policy of dealing with Armenian claims of genocide through counter-measures to suppress pro-genocide resolutions in Congress. [...]
Turkey has managed for decades to block Armenian efforts to win US recognition for genocide claims, but with the White House readying for an Obama era, it is high time for Ankara to promote a more comprehensive policy that goes far beyond addressing immediate challenges at the US Congress, experts say. Many fear that Obama’s use of the G-word in his next message for April 24 -- a traditional occasion when US presidents commemorate Armenians who perished in Anatolia in the last century -- could shatter Turkey-US ties and that following up on a recent drive for dialogue with Armenia might be the only way to save relations from a catastrophe.
“There is nothing to be afraid of; Turkey should trust itself. What needs to be done is further improving the relations with Yerevan and marginalizing the Armenian diaspora in the United States,” said Ömer Taşpınar, an expert on Turkey with the Washington-based Brookings Institution and a Today’s Zaman columnist. “By opening borders with Armenia and taking other appropriate steps, Turkey will have the trump card in its hands.”
President Abdullah Gül paid a landmark visit to Armenia in September, and officials of the two countries, which currently have no formal ties, have been having talks since then on normalizing relations.
Marc Grossman, a former US ambassador to Turkey, advised the Turkish government to keep improving ties with Armenia during a teleconference at the US Embassy in Ankara early on Wednesday. Dialogue and open borders with Armenia will give Turkey an advantage in discussing the issue with the Obama administration, he said.
Turkey-UK scandal: uncovered evidence of orphanage children abuses in Istanbul
BBC reports: The Duchess of York has been accused by a Turkish minister of smearing Turkey's image during a television documentary about orphanages.Nimet Cubukcu, minister for women and family, claimed the programme's "smudge campaign" was timed to coincide with a report on Turkey's bid to join the EU. [...]
ITV spokeswoman Julia Fields said the documentary was justified.
"This is a valid area of public interest at a time when the UK government is endorsing the accession of Turkey into the EU, a process which is conditional in part on Turkey improving its human rights record with children."
Pictures from the ITV1 programme Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission, which were released earlier this week, showed Princess Eugenie crying after seeing the plight of abandoned youngsters at a centre in Istanbul.
Afterwards the princess said the experience had made her "so angry", and her "eyes had been opened".
She wore a disguise of a black wig and headscarf to visit a second home, the Saray institution near the Turkish capital, Ankara, where more than 700 disabled children are housed.
Inside, she and the reporting team found children tied to their beds or left in cots all day.
One child, who was not allowed outside, was discovered crawling along the corridor to feel the sun on his face.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK is aware of the human rights situation in Turkey and works bilaterally and together with EU partners to encourage key reforms in this area."
Also - here and here here
*In photo (via BBC) - The duchess disguised in a wig and headscarf
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Inspirational: "I am American"
They proved that impossible is possible in America. They proved that ‘American dream’ exists. With all its shortcomings, this was a huge democratic exercise.
Over the last decade, and especially last years, US reputation fell down below the lowest possible denominator. It became a bad tone to say "I am American". No longer. At least for now, for me it sounds more like a compliment. Now they may proudly say: "I am American".
I knew that November is going to be a special month for me. It indeed turned out to be very special for personal/professional reasons. It's now very special for the 4th November too, double, triple special. It feels great, inspirational.
Expectations are so high of him that chances to get disappointed are very high too. Beginning of new era, or so I hope.
Over the last decade, and especially last years, US reputation fell down below the lowest possible denominator. It became a bad tone to say "I am American". No longer. At least for now, for me it sounds more like a compliment. Now they may proudly say: "I am American".
I knew that November is going to be a special month for me. It indeed turned out to be very special for personal/professional reasons. It's now very special for the 4th November too, double, triple special. It feels great, inspirational.
Expectations are so high of him that chances to get disappointed are very high too. Beginning of new era, or so I hope.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Let's prove them right!
As The Armenian Vote Goes, So Goes The Nation?
Crazy as it sounds, losing the Armenian vote just might cost McCain the election.
*source: The Stiletto blog
(This political blog supports John McCain! As they explained, "The point of this post was to let the Repubs know that the actions they took a year ago came at a political cost, even though Armenians seemed small enough a group to screw over without any serious consequences.")
**via Armenians for Obama Facebook group
Crazy as it sounds, losing the Armenian vote just might cost McCain the election.
*source: The Stiletto blog
(This political blog supports John McCain! As they explained, "The point of this post was to let the Repubs know that the actions they took a year ago came at a political cost, even though Armenians seemed small enough a group to screw over without any serious consequences.")
**via Armenians for Obama Facebook group
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Empty words: Karabakh talks in Moscow
OK, the only fact of negotiations (not war) taking place is positive, indeed. Armenian and Azeri sides reiterated their readiness to “continue” negotiations, and to continue it under the OSCE Minsk group mediations and according to those (not so) mysterious Madrid principles, full details of which are yet to be disclosed.
Full text of the “Declaration” (in Russian)
I am afraid I do not share excitement of number of news agencies which specifically mention that for the first time in 14-15 years, Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration”. So what? There were always meetings and discussions on various levels, including presidents, over the past decade but nothing came out of the negotiations, for real. The only reason that today Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration” is because this was a meeting initiated by Russia, and (taking into account current geopolitical situation in the region) Russia had to show that it achieved some kind of ‘breakthrough’ even if there is none.
Full text of the “Declaration” (in Russian)
I am afraid I do not share excitement of number of news agencies which specifically mention that for the first time in 14-15 years, Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration”. So what? There were always meetings and discussions on various levels, including presidents, over the past decade but nothing came out of the negotiations, for real. The only reason that today Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration” is because this was a meeting initiated by Russia, and (taking into account current geopolitical situation in the region) Russia had to show that it achieved some kind of ‘breakthrough’ even if there is none.
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Disappointment: Armenian opposition’s fact finding mission nominee
Opposition Armenian National Congress and the Heritage Party issued a statement today (also here) that they will participate in fact finding mission to investigate 1 March events. However, they stated reservations and pledged to re-assess their participation in a month time.
Personnel policy was one of the weakest sides of Ter-Petrosyan administration during his presidency. That was one of the reasons of subsequent disappointment of many of his supporters. I thought that they learned from their own mistakes, and professionalism will be put forward in any further considerations. I know less and cannot comment about Seda Safaryan (parliamentarian opposition Heritage party nominee). However, appointment of Andranik Kocharyan as opposition Armenian National Congress’s nominee for fact finding mission is a troubling sign. Is this the alternative to the current authorities that the opposition promises us?
Andranik Kocharyan was never famous neither for his professional qualities nor personal qualities while serving at various governmental levels in past. If he is the opposition’s choice for fact finding mission to investigate 1 March events, then there is something very wrong with that opposition. They should not then put the blame solely on the authorities for the possible failure of that mission. Disappointing altogether.
Personnel policy was one of the weakest sides of Ter-Petrosyan administration during his presidency. That was one of the reasons of subsequent disappointment of many of his supporters. I thought that they learned from their own mistakes, and professionalism will be put forward in any further considerations. I know less and cannot comment about Seda Safaryan (parliamentarian opposition Heritage party nominee). However, appointment of Andranik Kocharyan as opposition Armenian National Congress’s nominee for fact finding mission is a troubling sign. Is this the alternative to the current authorities that the opposition promises us?
Andranik Kocharyan was never famous neither for his professional qualities nor personal qualities while serving at various governmental levels in past. If he is the opposition’s choice for fact finding mission to investigate 1 March events, then there is something very wrong with that opposition. They should not then put the blame solely on the authorities for the possible failure of that mission. Disappointing altogether.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Only in Georgia...
Matthew Collin posts this amusing photo (by Ana Iaseshvili) from Tbilisi which shows “Georgia's new Minister for Refugees making his preferences clear” in relation to the upcoming US presidential elections. While most people outside the US would prefer Barak Obama’s victory on 4 November, in Georgia - preferences are for John McCain.
No surprises here, as “George Bush remains a popular figure in Georgia" (photo).
No surprises here, as “George Bush remains a popular figure in Georgia" (photo). 
Armenia-Turkey's "new climate": "extraordinary decisions" imminent?
Intrigue of The Day
(ARKA). Armenia is negotiating with Turkey on the opening of borders and establishing relations without any preconditions, said Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian at a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday.
"This means that establishment of relations does not depend on any preconditions, and there is no need to link this issue with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", - he said.
In the meantime, Today's Zaman reports: “We need to be constructive and supportive. Everything has changed in the Caucasus. Everybody is ready to review old attitudes. In my visit [to Armenia], I presented a new climate. When there is a new climate, problems can be solved,” he [Turkey's president Abdullah Gül] said in response to reporters’ questions as to whether he expects concrete steps to be taken between Turkey and Armenia following his visit to Armenia in September.
At a reception on the occasion of the Turkish Republic’s 85th birthday at the Çankaya presidential palace, Gül said he is hopeful and expects new developments.
Gül broke a taboo when he visited Armenia to watch a soccer match between national teams of the two countries. Talks between officials of Turkey and Armenia, which have had no formal ties since 1993, are under way to re-establish relations. Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said this week that the two countries could announce “extraordinary decisions” at any time, emphasizing that there was no real barrier to efforts to normalize ties.
*/emphasis mine/
(ARKA). Armenia is negotiating with Turkey on the opening of borders and establishing relations without any preconditions, said Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian at a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday.
"This means that establishment of relations does not depend on any preconditions, and there is no need to link this issue with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", - he said.
In the meantime, Today's Zaman reports: “We need to be constructive and supportive. Everything has changed in the Caucasus. Everybody is ready to review old attitudes. In my visit [to Armenia], I presented a new climate. When there is a new climate, problems can be solved,” he [Turkey's president Abdullah Gül] said in response to reporters’ questions as to whether he expects concrete steps to be taken between Turkey and Armenia following his visit to Armenia in September.
At a reception on the occasion of the Turkish Republic’s 85th birthday at the Çankaya presidential palace, Gül said he is hopeful and expects new developments.
Gül broke a taboo when he visited Armenia to watch a soccer match between national teams of the two countries. Talks between officials of Turkey and Armenia, which have had no formal ties since 1993, are under way to re-establish relations. Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said this week that the two countries could announce “extraordinary decisions” at any time, emphasizing that there was no real barrier to efforts to normalize ties.
*/emphasis mine/
Halloween in Armenia: political prisoners... on the Northern Avenue
On Friday, 31 October 2008, 2pm, similar protest action of people wearing masks of political prisoners will be held in front of the prosecutor's office in Yerevan.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
BBC: “Georgia may have committed war crimes”
Is this the beginning of the end for Saakashvili’s regime?
In fact, that ‘beginning’ started 1 year ago... It's taking too long, too many devastations, too many lives...
***
The BBC has discovered evidence that Georgia may have committed war crimes in its attack on its breakaway region of South Ossetia in August.
Eyewitnesses have described how its tanks fired directly into an apartment block, and how civilians were shot at as they tried to escape the fighting.
Research by the international investigative organisation Human Rights Watch also points to indiscriminate use of force by the Georgian military, and the possible deliberate targeting of civilians.
Indiscriminate use of force is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and serious violations are considered to be war crimes.
The allegations are now raising concerns among Georgia's supporters in the West.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband [normally a strong supporter of Georgia] has told the BBC the attack on South Ossetia was "reckless". He said he had raised the issue of possible Georgian war crimes with the government in Tbilisi.
The evidence was gathered by the BBC on the first unrestricted visit to South Ossetia by a foreign news organisation since the conflict. More...
Related - President Mikhail Saakashvili has denied that Georgia's armed forces committed war crimes during their attack on South Ossetia in August.
In fact, that ‘beginning’ started 1 year ago... It's taking too long, too many devastations, too many lives...
***
The BBC has discovered evidence that Georgia may have committed war crimes in its attack on its breakaway region of South Ossetia in August.
Eyewitnesses have described how its tanks fired directly into an apartment block, and how civilians were shot at as they tried to escape the fighting.
Research by the international investigative organisation Human Rights Watch also points to indiscriminate use of force by the Georgian military, and the possible deliberate targeting of civilians.
Indiscriminate use of force is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and serious violations are considered to be war crimes.
The allegations are now raising concerns among Georgia's supporters in the West.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband [normally a strong supporter of Georgia] has told the BBC the attack on South Ossetia was "reckless". He said he had raised the issue of possible Georgian war crimes with the government in Tbilisi.
The evidence was gathered by the BBC on the first unrestricted visit to South Ossetia by a foreign news organisation since the conflict. More...
Related - President Mikhail Saakashvili has denied that Georgia's armed forces committed war crimes during their attack on South Ossetia in August.
Revealed: "The Nature Minister’s Private House on the Shores of Sevan"
A few months ago, when the Armenian government was debating the permissible amounts of water that could be drawn from Lake Sevan, the press was full of reports that the agreed upon 360 million cubic meters of water to be extracted wasn’t needed for agricultural irrigation usage but rather to save the numerous property sites of government officials from the rising lake’s waters.At the time, government officials and National Assembly Deputies labeled such allegations as ridiculous and without merit.
The private house pictured here on the shore of Lake Sevan, with its numerous annexes, belongs to Aram Harutyunyan, the Minister of Nature Protection. (The photo depicts only a portion of the private compound). Construction on the house began this year and renovation work is still continuing. The house is located on the road that leads from the village of Shorzha to the Artanish Nature Preserve, a few meters removed from the shoreline. Sources close to “Hetq” claim that one year ago the house site was a part of the Artanish Preserve lands and that it was detached from the Preserve’s boundaries after a decision passed by the government.
*Hetq Online
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