Month: March 2009

Crimean Tatars Demonstrate On Land Issue

March 30, 2009

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — About two thousand Crimean Tatar activists demonstrated in front of the building of Crimea’s Council of Ministers, demanding that the government take concrete steps to provide land for Tatar repatriates, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service reports.

A leader of the Crimean Tatar community, Daniyal Ametov, told journalists that future protests will be held in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Ametov said the government of Ukraine has not implemented all the chapters of the presidential decree on creating a commission to solve the land issue for the Crimean Tatar repatriates.

The Crimean Tatars were deported to Central Asia by the regime of Josef Stalin in the 1940s. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they returned to the Crimean peninsula, where about 265,000 of them now live. Some 10,000 Crimean Tatars are struggling to acquire land to live on.

https://www.rferl.org/a/Crimean_Tatars_Demonstrate_On_Land_Issue/1564654.html

March 31, 2009
Day of Azerbaijanis’ Genocide marked in Central Asia

Astana. Tashkent. Dushanbe. Laman Agayeva – APA. March 31 – Day of Azerbaijanis’ Genocide was also marked in Central Asia countries, APA reports. Kazakh intellectuals, members of Azerbaijani, Turkish, Ingush, Kyrgyz, Ukrainian and Georgian Diaspora attended the event in Azerbaijani embassy in Kazakhstan. Advisor of the embassy Nizami Rustamov, first secretary Namig Bakhshaliyev said hundreds of Azerbaijanis towns and villages, over 150 Azerbaijani-populated villages in the mountainous part of Karabakh were destroyed during March happenings, 50,000 Azerbaijanis were killed in Shusha, about 30,000 civilians were killed in Baku. Georgian charge d’affaires in Kazakhstan Zurab Kozmava said he perceived the terrible acts committed against Azerbaijanis and added that Georgian people had also undergone terror and aggression. President of Kazakhstan Azerbaijanis Union Vidadi Salahov said terrible happenings in the Caucasus always came from Russian imperialist circles. Chairman of Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Friendship Association Askhad Shakirov said he believed that unbiased political legal assessment will be given to the violence committed against Azerbaijanis, perpetrators will be punished. Similar events were held in Azerbaijani embassies in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

March 31, 2009
Azerbaijanis killed by Armenians

Baku. Ilhama Isabalayeva–APA. The Institute of History after Abbasgulu Aga Bakikhanov will publish the history of Iravan khanate in near future, director of the institute Yagub Mahmudov said, APA reports. The book will contain all materials about the history of Armenian movement to Iravan khanate. “The history of this khanate is very important. The Armenians established their state in the territory of this khanate in 1918”.

Mahmudov noted that six-volume “History of Karabakh”, “Historic monuments of Nakhchivan” and toponyms changed in Armenia by the local soviet power were published in six languages and spread throughout the world. He said all efforts of the Azerbaijani researchers were directed toward the history of our lost lands. “Fatahali Khan Khoyski and other leaders of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established the emergency commission in 1918 to draw up list of victims of the genocide. There are protocols about their names, surnames, age and property. We have to publish those documents and to deliver it to the world. We are expected to publicize the list this year”.

March 31, 2009
G.U.P. Leader Yazicioglu buried

[ 31 Mar 2009 19:30 ]
Ankara – APA. Leader of Turkey’s Great Unity Party (BBP), MP Muhsin Yazicioglu, who died in helicopter crash on March 25, has been buried in Ankara today, APA reports.

Yazicioglu’s coffin was taken to Turkish parliament and an official ceremony was held there. Chairman of parliament Koksal Toptan, parliamentarians, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ministers, chairman of the Constitutional Court Hashim Kilic, chief of Turkish General Staff Ilker Basbug, deputy chief Hasan Igsiz, leader of Republican People’s Party Deniz Baykal, leader of Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahceli, leader of Felicity (Saadet) Party Numan Kurtulmush, ex-president Suleyman Demirel, former Prime Minister Tansu Chiller, Muhsin Yazicioglu’s mother, sister, wife, son, daughter, close relatives, members of BBP from various parts of the country attended the ceremony.
Following this, the coffin was taken to Kocatepe mosque. Tens of thousands of people attended the ceremony. Chairman of Religious Affairs Directorate Ali Bardakoglu performed the funeral salat. After the ceremony the coffin was taken to the office of BBP. BBP leadership and party members bid farewell to their leader. In accordance with his will, Muhsin Yazicioglu was buried in “Tacettin Dergah”. Famous Turkish poet, author of the hymn’s words Mehmet Akif Ersoy was also buried there.

March 31, 2009
Six Armenians Elected in Turkish Local Polls

Azbarez .. Published: Monday March 30, 2009

ISTANBUL (Marmara)–During this weekend’s municipal election in Turkey, six Armenians were elected to local and regional bodies in and around Istanbul, including a seat in the Istanbul City Council, making this one of the most unprecedented local elections in recent history for Turkey.

Some 12 candidates of Armenian descent took part in the elections representing both the ruling and opposition parties.

In the end, Raffi-Hermon Araks, Hovhannes Garabedian, Yervant Ouzouzian, Harutiun Edgunes, Bedros Avedikian and Vazken Baren were elected to various local and regional bodies, with the latter two garnering a seat in the Istanbul City Council.

March 31, 2009
U.S. WILLING TO FACILITATE KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan met MG OSCE Co-Chair, US Secretary of State Assistant Matthew Bryza. Matthew Bryza passed the message of US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to Armenian Foreign Minister. The message detailed issues of US-Armenian relations, normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties. Hillary Clinton expressed her readiness to promote peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

The parties also focused on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement negotiation process.

March 31, 2009