There is a cottage industry on Youtube - people take clips from the movie Downfall and put funny closed captioning.
Having spent about an hour talking to a call center in India last Sunday and going nowhere (not really their fault but the policies of the American corporation that shall remain unnamed), this video cracked me up.
On April 23 dashnaks burnt a Turkis flag and the pictures of their president, PM and the FM. The next day, the Turkish version of dashnaks burnt the Armenian flag and the picture of the self-declared president SS.
I find the whole thing very tasteless and it reminds me of the way Hamas or the Iranian nationalists act. I see very little positive impact that such acts achieve - they don't even toast marshmallows on the fire to make s'mores.
I even find burning your own country's flag tasteless, too. All said and done, it's still an expression of speech and should be legal to do.
"There is no need for torture if there are confessions and material evidence".
Alik Sargsian, Chief of Armenian Police, Yerevan, April 21, 2010 link
The background on the issue on Martuni or Bust
[...] Հայաստանի բլոգերներից Սամվել Մարտիրոսյանն ասում է, սակայն, որ Հայաստանում լրատվական ուղղվածությամբ սոցիալական կայքերը ժողովրդականություն չեն վայելում, հայկական նման միակ կայքը` khosq.com-ը, ստեղծվել է 2008-ի մարտյան իրադարձությունների ամենաթեժ շրջանում, սակայն այդ կայքի կյանքը կարճ էր, այն շատ արագ վերածվեց ոչ թե քննարկումների, այլ բախումների հարթակի եւ այլեւս չի գործում: [...] More on Radio Liberty
I just watched some footage of the Police Parade. While the posters they have placed around Yerevan send a message that they are bad-asses and should not be messed with, the reality is that they look quite miserable. The regular cops seem to be extremely bored while their chiefs have threatening speeches. And the parade looks like a low-budget Soviet movie from the 50-s, complete with a poorly rehearsed march, bad music and a female MC touting the virtues of each police department marching at the time.
This would be very funny if these guys were not the ones who abused their citizens on a daily basis and killed them from time to time (the latest being a witness to a crime who was stabbed and killed while being interrogated at the Central Police Precinct in Yerevan).
see the parade at http://www.azatutyun.am/video/6932.html
| hide details Apr 12 (1 day ago)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, April 13, 2010 5:00-7:00pm IUPUI Kelley School of Bussines Room BS 2000 801 West Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN Organized by ATAA and TSA Information: 812.391.4838 |
| There has been a big question as to what really took place on April 24, 1915, in the Ottoman Empire. Various ethnic interest groups have offered conflicting versions of the events. On April 24, 1915, 235 leaders out of 77,735 Armenians of Istanbul were moved to and placed under house arrest in the Anatolian city of Çankırı. They were free to move about the city in the day time, and confined to house arrest at night. All were eventually released. One died due to natural causes. Two were murdered by two hooligans, who were tried and executed for their crimes. In May 1915, many Armenians in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire were relocated from the war zones in response to the Armenian Revolt which reached its most destructive point in the Van Revolt of March 1915. In June 1915, the relocation reached port cities in Western Anatolia, where Armenian rebels were importing and transporting arms and ammunition to Armenian nationalists in the east. In November 1915, the relocation ended. The relocation was a military response to a military problem. Having initially "slaughtered about 120,000 non-Armenians" in Eastern Anatolia, as recorded even by the British, and seized control of the Ottoman city of Van, with the backing of the invading Russians, the Armenians posed a great military danger to the 3rd, 4th, and the 6th Ottoman armies, as well as to the Ottoman civilian Muslim and Jewish populations. There is absolutely no similarity between the Armenian case and the Holocaust, as Jews never engaged in an armed revolt to create a Jewish state in Germany. To equate the Armenian case with genocide, is to dilute the definition of genocide and understate the suffering of the Jews. Whether the events of 1915 constitute genocide is not a political question, where truth may be sacrificed for election purposes at Congressional district levels. History and jurisprudence have their own methodologies that should be respected by all. In an ATAA national speaking tour, Prof. Türkkaya Ataöv, a highly respected historian and professor will give a lecture on the political landscape and events of April 24, 1915 which will serve to enlighten the general public with a view toward reconciliation based on truth. Details of this lecture are included herein. |
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| Biographical Sketch of Prof. Dr. Türkkaya Ataöv Türkkaya Ataöv is Professor Emeritus in International Relations at Ankara University, Turkey. He did his graduate work in the United States, where he received two M.A.s (NYU & Syracuse Univ.) and a Ph.D. (1959, Syracuse U., NY). He taught at Ankara Univ. for more than four decades and lectured in several American, British, Russian, German, Dutch, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, African and Australian universities. He is the author of close to 140 books (most of which have been in foreign languages and printed in Europe or in the Americas), a few hundred academic treatises, and a few thousand newspaper articles. His writings have been translated into 20 languages and appeared in 17 European, 13 Asian, 5 African, and 3 American states and Australia. He was elected to central executive positions of UN-related international organizations, dealing with racial discrimination, human rights, terrorism, nuclear war, and exchange of prisoners of war. Professor Ataöv published 80 books or booklets on the Armenian issue, was invited (as "witness of authority") by the Paris court to the two (1984 & 1985) trials of Armenian terrorists, participated in the UN (1985) Geneva meetings of the Human Rights Commission on the Genocide Convention, and partook in several meetings of the European Parliament that dealt with the Armenian issue. Professor Ataöv received 17 academic awards or medals in recognition of his published works and activities. They include two (Italian and Federal Yugoslavian) presidential medals, two UN-affiliated awards, and several honorary doctorates and academic citations. |
In the video is Vahagn Chakhalian who is protesting the living conditions of people in Javakhq in the office of the head of the electoral commission. In particular, he complains that the Rose Revolution has not reached Javakhq in three years since Sahakashvili's election and the people there continue to be oppressed by the corrupt administrators.
Chakhalian is now a political prisoner in Georgia accused of several crimes under "article 236.1 (purchase and possession of arms), article 225.2 (participation in disorders), article 226 (organization of public disorders), article 353.2 (resistance to police officer or public agent) and article 239.2b (hooliganism)" (purchase and possession of arms is a popular method of jailing undesirable people in the region).
Obviously, the case is flimsy and the Europeans have noticed it.
What an idiot. Perhaps more illogical and racist than Galust Sahakian.
Daily media digest by RFE/RL
«Առավոտ»-ը գրում է. - «Երեւանում գտնվող Մարդու իրավունքների միջազգային ֆեդերացիայի անդամները թե' համաժողովի ժամանակ եւ թե' հանրահավաքում իրենց մտահոգությունը հայտնեցին Հայաստանում մարդու իրավունքների վիճակի կապակցությամբ: Եվ ահա հանրապետական պատգամավոր Վազգեն Կարախանյանը որոշեց արժանի հակահարված հասցնել իրավապաշտպաններին՝ հատկապես առանձնացնելով նրանց, ովքեր մաշկի սեւ գույն ունեն: Պատգամավորի հակափաստարկը հետեւյալն է. «Ակամայից հիշեցի պատմության որոշ դրվագներ, երբ նույն սեւամորթ իրավապաշտպանի պապերի օրոք 1915 թվականին ցեղասպանություն տեղի ունեցավ, եւ նրանց պապերը ներողամտորեն ժպտում էին եւ ինչ-որ տեղ հավանություն էին տալիս»: Հիշեցնենք, որ Երեւան ժամանած իրավապաշտպանները ներկայացնում են, մասնավորապես, Չադը, Սենեգալը եւ Նիգերիան: Հասկանալու համար, թե ինչով էին զբաղված նրանց պապերը 1915 թվականին, պետք է հաշվի առնել, որ 20-րդ դարի սկզբին այդ երկրները Ֆրանսիայի եւ Բրիտանիայի գաղութներն էին: Շատ հավանական է, հետեւաբար, որ վերոհիշյալ իրավապաշպանների պապերը խնդրո առարկա ժամանակահատվածում ստրուկ էին եւ առավոտից մինչ երեկո աշխատում էին սուրճի կամ, ասենք, մանդարինի պլանտացիաներում: Տրամաբանական կլինի ենթադրել, որ այդ վիճակում գտնվելով՝ նրանք որեւէ տրամադրություն չունեին ներողամտորեն ժպտալու, եւ առավել քան հնարավոր է, որ այդ պապերը ընդհանրապես չգիտեին, թե ինչ է կատարվում այլ մայրցամաքում գտնվող Օսմանյան կայսրությունում»:
Radio Liberty reports.
[quote]No reason was given for the cancellation.[end quote]
When he was scheduled to have a speech at the FIDH, I was surprised at his audacity. I mean, this is a person who has no idea what human rights are and is responsible for horrendous amount of misery in Armenia and wanted to go and try to BS about human rights.
Obviously, he is not as self-assured as I thought he was.
There is one word that I simply cannot stand on the blogs originating in Armenia. That word is "Камрад" (or "Камрадесса" for females). It's a transliteration of the word "comrade" - an old Soviet term. In Armenian, the words comrade and friend are the same so the bloggers use "comrade" instead of "friend". To add insult to the injury, they use a Russian version.
It's truly a disgusting habit - another remnant of the Soviet past.
In my country there are 170,000 Armenians. Seventy thousand of them are citizens. We tolerate 100,000 more. So, what am I going to do tomorrow? If necessary I will tell the 100,000: OK, time to go back to your country. Why? They are not my citizens. I am not obliged to keep them in my country.
Yesterday Gayane Babayan, a reporter in Yerevan, was hit and killed by a drunk driver. Incidentally, she was the recipient of the "Tigran Hayrapetian" award for excellence in journalism in 2009 (Tigran Hayrapetian was hit and killed by a driver but his case was more an intentional removal of an undesirable person than an accident).
Gayane will be missed.
