Month: January 2009

London Conference:Turkish–Armenian Relations: 30Jan 2009

You Are Kindly Invited To Attend An Evening Conference Entitled :

‘TURKISH – ARMENIAN RELATIONS’
Friday, 30th January 2009, 6 pm for 6.45pm*

Refreshments available from 6 pm in the Senior Dining Room
(Located in the Old Building, 5th Floor, opposite the East Building)

New Theatre, E171 East Building
London School of Economics
Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE

GUEST SPEAKERS . .

Prof. Jeremy Salt

The ‘Armenian Question’ 1878-1918: a Counter-Narrative

‘Somewhere between three and four million Ottoman civilians are thought to have died during the First World War. The causes of death of both Muslims and Christians – massacre, malnutrition, exposure and disease – were the same for all but while the suffering of Christians, and especially the Armenians, has been firmly embedded in the western historical, political and cultural mainstream, the fate of the Muslims, nearly a century later, remains invisible and unexamined. The need is long overdue for deconstruction and recontextualisation of the ‘Armenian question’. This talk will look at some of the issues involved’.

“The Ottoman archives remain largely unconsulted. When so much is missing from the fundamental source material, no historical narrative can be called complete and no conclusions can be called balanced.” Jeremy Salt

Sükrü Server Aya
Globalization of Ethical and Humane Values

The theme of the speaker is the huge distortion of information distributed by press and TV media, causing misjudgements for many incidents of the past and present. The speaker gives a few examples from the past and present and stresses the importance of a ‘global understanding and agreement of the same humane and ethical values’ for a happier peaceful future!

“This study may be interpreted as a token for humane values, common to all, such as decency, not lying – cheating – swindling – stealing – slandering etc. and promotes the need for trust, compassion, respect for other humans, disregarding their ethnicity, nationality or faiths, beyond their control or personal preferences!” Sukru S. Aya

Chaired By
Prof. Belma Baskett

The Way Forward
This conference has been organised in the memory of 34 Turkish diplomats and other innocent victims who were murdered by various Armenian terrorist groups, while serving abroad between 1973 and 1994 and whose only crime was being born ‘Turkish’.
Most of the perpetrators have never been brought to justice, of the few that were,
only some were imprisoned and given very light sentences.

Non – Members Welcome

Attendance is free but by registration only. Please register by 28th January at [email protected]
or telephone 07788 908 803

*6.00 pm Refreshments (Senior Dining Room, Old Building, 5th Floor, opposite the East Building)
6.45 pm Conference (New Theatre – E171 East Building)

Organised by THE FEDERATION OF TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS UK
www.turkishfederationuk.com

LSE CONFERENCE GUEST SPEAKERS
Prof Jeremy Salt: Jeremy Salt runs courses on the modern Middle East and media and propaganda in the Department of Political Science at Bilkent University, Ankara. He has taught at the University of Melbourne, where he took his PhD in Middle Eastern studies, and Boğazici (Bosphorus) University in Istanbul. His publications include Imperialism, Evangelism and the Ottoman Armenians 1878-1896 (Frank Cass, London, 1993), a study of the involvement of foreign governments and missionary organizations in the development of the ‘Armenian question’ in the late 19th century. He also writes on the politics of the modern Middle East, with an emphasis on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Unmaking of the Middle East. A History of Western Disorder in Arab LandsHe (University of California Press, July 2008) studies the involvement of the ‘West’ in the Middle East over the past two centuries. Journals in which his articles have appeared include The Muslim World, Current History, Middle Eastern Studies, Journal of Palestine Studies, Third World Quarterly and the International Journal of Turkish Studies.

Sükrü Server Aya: Born in 1930, he has been living in Istanbul since 1939. He is a graduate of the reputed Robert College founded in 1863 by Protestant Missionaries, now Bogazici University. After two years in engineering school, he had to quit and work abroad to support his family, he returned after two years of work with a Dutch and Swiss Company, and graduated in 1953 with a BA in Literature instead of Mechanical Engineering. By profession, he was an importer-distributor of engine rebuilding machinery and shop equipment and has been a globetrotter on business and pleasure visiting nearly all industrial countries. He had and has many friends of Armenian ethnicity and after 1985, being a fair history reader, started to read on the Turkish – Armenian history, in which his graduating school was instrumental in the past. In 2004, after a biased article was published in National Geographic Magazine, he started to put together various excerpts from mainly anti-Turkish English readings. His book “The Genocide of Truth” was presented in Istanbul in April 2008 as a publication of Istanbul Commerce University and has been distributed for free, mostly overseas. A shortened Turkish version of the same book was just presented in Istanbul in mid January 2009 under the title “Genocide Traders and Truth”.

Chair: Prof. Belma Ötüş Baskett : Born in Istanbul and educated at Robert College, Istanbul; Faculty of Languages, Ankara University; University of California, Berkeley, has degrees in B.S., Honors Diploma, MA, PhD. Lecturer for 23 years at Middle East Technical University, Ankara; Michigan University(12 years), Visiting Prof. at University of Pittsburgh, Kansai Gakuin University and Kobe College, Japan; Bilkent University, Ankara; University of Surrey at Roehampton for 2 years. She has written and translated many books as well as monographs; Editor of Ufuk magazine and Turkish Area Studies Review, has more than 60 articles published in Turkey, USA, UK, Austria and Spain. President of International Society for Contemporary Literature and Theatre.

January 24, 2009
Israel, Turkey and the politics of genocide

GERALD CAPLAN

Globe and Mail Update

January 23, 2009 at 1:34 PM EST

President Obama — I love saying those words — has momentarily united the world. Almost. Among the exceptions, though barely noticed by the mainstream media, is the estrangement of Turkey and Israel, previously staunch allies in the turbulent Middle East.

At first blush, this alliance may seem counterintuitive, but in fact it makes good strategic sense for both countries. Israel gets a warm working relationship with one of the largest Muslim countries in the world, while enriching Israel’s all-important industrial-military complex. Less than two months ago, for instance, came the news of a deal worth $140-million to Israeli firms to upgrade Turkey’s air force. In the hard-boiled, realpolitik terms that determine Israel’s strategies, it’s a no-brainer. Almost.

In return, Turkey gets military, economic and diplomatic benefits. But it also gets something less tangible, something that matters deeply for reasons hard for outsiders to grasp. As part of the Faustian bargain between the two countries, a succession of Israeli governments of all stripes has adamantly refused to recognize that in 1915 the Turkish government was responsible for launching a genocide against its Armenian minority. Some 2.5-million Armenian women, men and children were successfully killed.

I should make clear that this Israeli position is not held casually. On the contrary. Over the years Israelis, with a few notably courageous exceptions, have actually worked against attempts to safeguard the memory of the Armenian genocide. (The bible on this issue is the excellent book by an Israeli, Yair Auron, called The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide, 2003.)

For many, this may well be a pretty esoteric sidebar to the world’s many crises. But readers need to understand that every Turkish government for almost a century now has passionately denied that a genocide took place at all. Yet the vast majority of disinterested scholars of genocide have publicly affirmed that it was indeed a genocide, one of the small number in the 20th century (with the Holocaust and Rwanda) that have incontestably met the definition set down in the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention.

For Armenians in the Western world, even after 94 years, nothing is more important than persuading other governments to recognize this. For Turkish authorities, even after 94 years, nothing is more important than preventing that recognition. In that pursuit, Israel has been perhaps Turkey’s most powerful ally. After all, if the keepers of the memory of the Holocaust don’t acknowledge 1915, why should anyone else?

But the Israeli-Turkish bargain goes well beyond Israel. Not only is Israel, of all the unlikely states in the world, a genocide denier, but also many established Jewish organizations in other countries, especially the United States, have followed suit. In the United States, those who argue that denying the Holocaust is psychologically tantamount to a second holocaust have taken the lead in pressuring presidents and Congress against recognizing the reality of 1915. Resolutions calling for recognition are regularly pushed by American-Armenians and their many supporters. Jewish groups regularly lead the opposition. Some believe that members of these groups in fact understand perfectly well the rights and wrongs of the case. But a mindset that backs any and all Israeli government initiatives trumps all else. And successfully. Repeated attempts in Congress to pass this resolution has failed, even though the list of nations that now recognizes the Armenian genocide has grown steadily and, thanks to Stephen Harper, now includes Canada.

It is this rather unseemly, if not unholy, Israeli-Turkish deal that has been among the many victims of the latest Israeli attack on Gaza. Whether the Israelis anticipated it or not, the Turkish government turned against its erstwhile ally with a vengeance, pulling few punches. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan accused Israel of “perpetrating inhuman actions which would bring it to self-destruction. Allah will sooner or later punish those who transgress the rights of innocents.” Mr. Erdogan described Israel’s attack on Gaza as “savagery” and a “crime against humanity.”

Israel formally described this language as “unacceptable” and certain Israeli media outlets have raised the stakes. The Jerusalem Post editorialized that given Turkey’s record of killing tens of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq, “we’re not convinced that Turkey has earned the right to lecture Israelis about human rights.” Israel’s deputy foreign minister was even more pointed: “Erdogan says that genocide is taking place in Gaza. We [Israel] will then recognize the Armenian-related events as genocide.” Suddenly, genocide turns into a geopolitical pawn.

It isn’t easy to choose a winner in the cynicism stakes here. Here’s what one Turkish columnist, Barcin Yinanc, shrewdly wrote: “When April comes, I can imagine the [Turkish] government instructing its Ambassador to Israel to mobilize the Israeli government to stop the Armenian initiatives in the U.S. Congress. I can hear some Israelis telling the Turkish Ambassador to go talk to Hamas to lobby the Congress.”

I’m guessing some readers work on the naïve assumption that an event is deemed genocidal based on the facts of the case. Silly you. In the real world, you call it genocide if it bolsters your interests. If it doesn’t, it’s not. It’s actually the same story as with preventing genocide.

What happens now? Candidate Obama twice pledged that he would recognize the Armenian claim of genocide. But so had candidate George W. Bush eight years earlier, until he was elected and faced the Turkish/Jewish lobby. Armenian-Americans and their backers are already pressing Mr. Obama to fulfill his pledge. With the Turkish-Israeli alliance deeply strained, the position of the leading Jewish organizations is very much in question this time. Whatever the outcome, be sure that politics, not genocide, will be the decisive factor.

Gerald Caplan, author of The Betrayal of Africa, writes frequently on issues related to genocide.

January 24, 2009
Israel-Turkey diplomatic spat worsens, despite end of Gaza fighting

By Barak Ravid

HAARETZ.COM

The crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey, which began when the Gaza operation began three weeks ago, is getting worse. A political source in Jerusalem said that the head of the political-security bureau at the Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad, refused to meet with Ahmet Davutoglu, the senior foreign policy adviser to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while the two were in Cairo last week.

Last Thursday, Amos Gilad visited Cairo for talks with Egypt’s Omar Suleiman on a cease-fire agreement. At the time, Davutoglu, who had served as a mediator in Israel’s talks with Syria in Istanbul, was in touch with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal, who is based on Damascus.

At the start of the Gaza operation, Erdogan instructed Davutoglu to serve as a conduit between Hamas and the West and also try to involve Turkey in the cease-fire negotiations. Egypt expressed its reservations at Turkey’s involvement and refused even to allow Davutoglu to sit in on talks with senior Hamas officials in Cairo.

But it turns out that not only Egypt refused to have exchanges with Davutoglu. So did Israel. A political source in Jerusalem said that on Thursday, when Gilad was in Cairo, the Turkish ambassador to Egypt called his Israeli counterpart, Shalom Cohen. The Turkish ambassador asked for a meeting between Davutoglu and Gilad to deliver a message from Hamas. The political source said the Turks “asked for even a five-minute meeting” and that the ambassador called back several times.

The Turkish request was relayed to Gilad by the Israeli ambassador, but he refused to meet with Davutoglu. The Israeli political source said the reason for the refusal was the deterioration in relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, stemming from the unprecedented verbal attacks by Erdogan on Israel.

The source added that another reason was the unwillingness to allow the Turks to intervene in the cease-fire talks and the wish to rely solely on the Egyptian channel.

Erdogan’s attacks on Israel in recent weeks have been particularly fierce, with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert specifically targeted for what the Turkish leader called “lying to him and acting behind his back.”

The words of the leader of the AKP, Turkey’s ruling Islamist party, were a source of anger among Turkey’s military, where there is concern that the rift would undermine the strategic ties with Israel.

January 23, 2009
CONF./CFP- The Turkic World, the Caucasus, and Iran, July 10-12, Yerevan

International Conference
The Turkic World, the Caucasus, and Iran: Civilisational Crossroads of
Interactions
July 10-12, 2009
Yerevan, Armenia
http://www.armacad.org/civilizationica

The International Journal Iran and the Caucasus
(; Brill: Leiden-Boston), the Department of
Iranian Studies at Yerevan State University, the Makhtumquli Feraqi
Centre for Turkic Studies at ARYA International University (Yerevan),
the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (Armenian
Branch), in collaboration with the International Society for the Study
of Iran and the Caucasus (ISSIC;
http://www.armacad.org/iranocaucasica), Caucasian Centre for Iranian
Studies (Yerevan), the Armenian-Turkmen Cooperation Centre “Partev”
(Yerevan), and the Armenian Association for Academic Partnership and
Support – ARMACAD (http://www.armacad.org/; Yerevan) are organising an
international conference entitled “The Turkic World, the Caucasus, and
Iran: Civilisational Crossroads of Interactions”.

The Conference will be held on July 10-12, 2009.
Venue: ARYA International University, Yerevan, Armenia.

The region of civilisational interactions from Central Asia to Eastern
Europe and from Southern Russia to Iran has been one of the focal
geographical points in world history. The main cultural, political and
civilisational players in this domain have been the Iranian and Turkic
peoples, while the Caucasus and the Transcaucasian region with their
cultural, ethnographical and linguistic uniqueness have served as a
connecting link and an arena for wars and peaceful cohabitation.
Though the main stress of the conference will be on cultures,
histories (including archaeology, etc.), languages and the literatures
of this vast area, presentations on modern political and regional
issues, as well as the human ecology topics are also welcomed. The
conference seeks to emphasise links between the Turkic world, the
Caucasus, and Iran.

Working languages – English and Russian.

Abstracts (not to exceed 300 words) are to be submitted via the web
form (http://www.armacad.org/civilizationica/abstracts.php) by
February 20, 2009. A brief biography, including contact details, is
also to be included.

Once your materials have been submitted, a confirmation letter will be
returned. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within 7 days,
then we have not received your materials. Only in this case, please
contact: [email protected]

A notification of acceptance will be sent by March 30, 2009.

All whose abstracts are accepted for presentation at the conference
have to send to the Conference Organising Committee 10 Euros before
June 10 in order to ensure their participation. This amount of money
will be reduced from the participation fee.

Participation Fee:

The conference participation fee is 70 Euros and a reduced rate of 35
Euros for postgraduate students. Participants from the Caucasus and
Central Asia will pay 35 Euros.

For further information do not hesitate to contact:

Dr. Khachik Gevorgyan,
Secretary of the Organising Committee
[email protected]

Makhtumquli Feraqi Centre for Turkic Studies,
Arya International University
Shahamiryanneri street, 18/2
Yerevan
Armenia
Tel: +374 (10) 44-35-85
Fax: +374 (10) 44-23-07
www.arya.am
Email: [email protected]

International Organising Committee

Prof. Dr. Garnik Asatrian (Yerevan)
Prof. Dr. Uwe Blaesing (Leiden)
Prof. Dr. Ralph Kautz (Vienna)
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Livshits (Saint Petersburg)
Prof. Dr. Levon Zekiyan (Venice)
Prof. Dr. Said Amir Arjomand (New York)
Prof. Dr. Murtazali Gadjiev (Makhachkala)
Prof. Dr. Rovshan Rahmoni (Dushanbe)
Prof. Dr. George Sanikidze (Tbilisi)
Dr. Gulnara Aitpaeva (Bishkek)
Dr. Behrooz Bakhtiari (Tehran)
Dr. Habib Borjian (New York)
Dr. Babak Rezvani (Amsterdam)
Dr. Mher Gyulumian (Yerevan)
Dr. Mahmoud Joneydi Ja’fari (Tehran)
Dr. Seyyed Said Jalali (Tehran)
Dr. Kakajan Janbekov (Ashgabat)
Dr. Filiz Kiral (Istanbul)
Dr. Irina Natchkebia (Tbilisi)
Dr. Vahram Petrosian (Yerevan)
Dr. Tamerlan Salbiev (Vladikavkaz)
Dr. Alexander Safarian (Yerevan)

January 23, 2009
Too Big to Fail Or Too Big to Save?

We now have two economic and political philosophies dominating the agenda in Washington.
The first chaired by John M Keynes and championed by FDR are now known as Keynesians. Their valid point is that when business falters; the government should step in and create jobs so that the money flows from the poor to the top or wealthy. This can done by primarily taxing the more affluent segment of our society, or redistribution of the wealth. The problem here is that this stimulates tax avoidance schemes that show little improvement to the economy and cuts back on needed revenues over time. The Social Security and Medicare programs are now teetering on insolvency. Instead of refining it, politicians have bastardized it beyond recognition. One politician once remarked to me “If FDR knew what LBJ is doing he would be spinning in his grave.”

The monetarist headed by Milton Freedman and championed by Ronald Reagan, believe is less government interference, lower taxes and more business freedom. In this case the wealthy eagerly invested their monies and new research begat new inventions. 100 years of inventions and progress has been compressed into 10 years. Products that we enjoy today were not around 10 years ago.
The main problem here is that we did not appoint any umpires or inspector generals to hold back certain greedy individuals that would create many bubbles that are bursting among us today
Following the old rules will simply foster the “Too big to Fail” syndrome will rack future havoc on our societies as well as the present.

Our politicians are eager for as showdown battle. This could be an epic struggle for glory and fame, but as in the clash of all battles – the public loses. As this battle unfolds there will probably be more burst of bubbles.

Right now everyone in Washington is throwing around trillions of dollars on pet projects and ensuing and assuring reelection at the public expenses. We should have term limits of say 12 years and that would curtail the hedonistic atmosphere that prevails in our Congress today. If a Congressman knew they had term limits they would consider it a badge of honor to serve the public. Members would be able to say “calm down” and not let tings get out of hand. Everyone wins. Term limits could be set up by drawing straws. I believe this would entice greater sense of responsibility among our public representatives.
Our problem today is that the public is tapped out and so are our governments. This is true of most world economies I believe. Who is going to buy our debt? Why bid on a billion bonds when you know there will be another billion coming down the road at a higher rate?

I received an answer to this question through my email. At first I thought it was a joke, but I started thinking about it. Our economy is the largest in the world by sheer size. You have to combine the next four largest just to equal ours. Europe and Asia depend upon us. So here was the answer in the email. Take the 100 trillion dollars and instead of bailing out the greedy people, divide the trillion dollars among United States citizens. A 100 trillion divided by our population, approximately 304 million comes out to a little over $328,947.37 for every individual. There would be some provisos. First they would have to promise to pay down their debts. Mortgages and credit cards and only allow debit cards thereafter. Free cash must be deposited in a bank and any purchases would be made for cash. No borrowing. Then they would be expected to pay their fair share of income tax. No Tim Geithner here. Anyone convicted of tax fraud faces 10 years jail term and funds and trust held by the entire family will be confiscated. Only the slimiest individuals would put their kids at risk.

This would also encourage other governments to spread their wealth around. Taxes would have to be paid and banks would have to invest and they must put a certain portion into the newly issued government bonds. States and local communities could decide where and what projects to invest in. with local banks lending the funds.

It is much easier to watch a local business spend your tax dollars efficiently that watching the federal government. The simple fact is that there are less people to watch!

Now after the wealth has been distributed, much business will become solvent and healthy. Others that showed a lack of leadership will probably die on the vine. There will be many more to assume the leadership and lessons so generations will be learned.

During the Panic of 1907 JP Morgan instructed all the NYC bankers to give him their books by Friday and on Monday morning he would tell the presidents who was solvent, who would merge and who was worthless. The Knickerbocker Trust was deemed worthless. It was at that time the nation’s oldest bank. Everyone did as he said without a peep. That was real power and respect.
So “Too big to Fail” has no historical precedent along with “Too big to save”. Sometimes the market place does the governments work. Xerox is reported to have turned down the personal computer because it would compete with their copying machine. IBM downgraded their person computer for years because their main frame was the big money earner.

My point is that if we start bailing out large inefficient corporations then this country could end up wallowing in non performing bureaucratic cesspools.
We are destined to become the economic and political power of the 21st century, but first we must show the world we are internally strong and can make self sacrifices in order to improve the common good.
Once all debts paid down then the recipients can figure out how much taxes they owe. Then they are free to spend it what ever way they want. This will provide new orders for varied businesses and really jump start the economy for it will produce honest demand.
Then the US Government can put out for bid 100 trillion dollars of bonds with varied maturities and the savings banks will be ready buyers in order to pay their depositors. Instead of facing a prospect of bidders wanted we will probably face the welcomed problem of allotted the issues that that there is an equal distribution
During biblical times the slaves were individuals who could not pay back their debts so they had to work them off. It is better than having illegal usury rates.
This process would instantly halt deflation, but inflation is farther away since goods will be purchased at the cheapest price.
Large corporations will have to start making sure that their pipeline is full with orders. Those depending upon large orders might someday find their pipeline is empty because they did not cultivate the smaller growing accounts. A nickel can be a dime; a dime can be a quarter etc,
One sign of a market top is when financial institutions cater to Wealth Management accounts only. The little guy is the seed that NEEDS TO BE PLANTED.
In order to create a MORE stable form of government we must not bail out the greedy. Their demise will be tragic lessons for future generations. We must also set up a global reorganization of security laws to protect the investor. Countries that do not endorse these safeguards will have be allowed to our markets. This includes their citizens.
Countries that renege of corporate contracts will eventually have armed aggression. Countries that trade among each other fairly should have a hard time declaring war on each other since the person public pocket book is involved. One does not want to cut off its family food supply.
So the redistribution of wealth can be done more easily, honestly, and quickly by Congress authorizing the distribution of a $100,000,000.000 among the US citizens who speak English.
We should have a public program free of charge or how to protect your wealth from unscrupulous money changers.
You might laugh at the 100 trillion figure, but if we let our Congress run wild with THEIR pet projects we will be at that figure in just a few years and our currency will be debased and gold will have risen beyond even the most optimistic price,
If you agree with me email this letter to your Congress person and Senator. I am emailing this also to the Federal Reserve because I know they run a tight ship. A few months ago I emailed about the “Uptick Rule” to the SEC and the Federal Reserve. Within a day I had an answer from the Federal Reserve. I have yet to hear from the SEC.
Cheerio!!!

Richard C De Graff
256 Ashford Road
Eastford Ct 06242
860-522-7171 Main Office
800-821-6665 Watts
860-315-7413 Home/Office
[email protected] 1/21/2009 12:22:56 PM

This report has been prepared from original sources and data which we believe reliable but we make no representation to its accuracy or completeness. Coburn & Meredith Inc. its subsidiaries and or officers may from time to time acquire, hold, sell a position discussed in this publications, and we may act as principal for our own account or as agent for both the buyer and seller.

January 23, 2009
Chief of Poland’s General Staff: “Nagorno Karabakh conflict can be settled only in the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan”

On January 23 Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev received chief of the General Staff of the armed forces of Poland, general Franchishek Gagor, said the press service for the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan.

As is reported, the meeting was attended by Poland’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Kshishtof Krayevski. (more…)

January 23, 2009