Having reduced every Armenian monument to dust in indigenous Armenian regions, Azerbaijan’s authoritarian president Ilham Aliyev has now hired a world-known artist to design a center in honor of his father, former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev. Both Aliyevs are believed to have ordered the destruction of the world’s largest medieval Armenian cemetery that was finalized in 2005.

According to the Scotsman:

AZERBAIJAN’S ruling elite has grown rich from oil and now it is to acquire the ultimate status symbol: a monument to the president’s father designed by one of the world’s most sought-after architects.

The Azeri government has commissioned Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-born Briton best known for designing a cutting-edge plant for the carmaker BMW in Leipzig, to build a cultural centre in honour of Heydar Aliyev, the man who founded the ruling dynasty.

The undulating glass and aluminium structure will rise up alongside oil-blackened Soviet-era factories in the capital of a country that just a few years ago was in economic chaos and reeling from a war with its neighbour, Armenia.

It will also deepen the posthumous cult of personality around the former KGB officer who ran Azerbaijan for three decades before his death in 2003. His son, Ilham Aliyev, a reformed playboy, took over the presidency.

“This centre will be an example of respect for the legacy of Heydar Aliyev and become a symbol of Azerbaijan’s modern capital,” Ilham Aliyev said at a ceremony marking the start of work.

[…]

The first and last American Congressman who was a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust died at the age of 80. A champion of human rights Rep. Lantos will be remembered for his courage to speak the truth.

From the New York Times:

Representative Tom Lantos of California, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress, died on Monday. He was 80.

[…]

The congressman was known as a strong defender of human rights, an ardent supporter of Israel and an outspoken critic of Communism. He also worked for stronger protections for animals and the environment.

“Tom was a living reminder,” President Bush said in a statement Monday, “that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men.”

Mr. Bush called Mr. Lantos “a man of character and a champion of human rights,” and cited his role as a founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, created in 1983.

Mr. Lantos voted in 2002 to authorize the Bush administration to use force against Iraq. But as Foreign Affairs chairman he criticized the administration’s handling of the war and was a co-sponsor of a resolution last year opposing Mr. Bush’s buildup of troops.

It was his defense of human rights, though, that most clearly defined a Congressional career that lasted nearly three decades. That focus was an outgrowth of his experience during the Holocaust, in which much of his family, including his mother, perished.

Mr. Lantos, a Hungarian-born Jew who was 16 when the Nazis occupied his native country, once said his entire life had served as preparation for the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Though he held the post for little more than a year, the committee took a number of bold steps in that time, demanding, for instance, that the government of Japan apologize for wartime sex slavery by its military and declaring Turkey’s mass killing of Armenians in World War I an act of genocide, a move that angered the Bush administration and nearly provoked a confrontation with the Turkish government.

He was frequently critical of China, citing its record on human rights, and was arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington in 2006 during a protest against the mass killings in Darfur.

[…]

Armenian-American activist Annie Totah – a member of Hillary Clinton’s finance committee – has sent an e-mail to Jewish circles citing a classic anti-Obama article that says the Illinois senator’s “full name alone conveys the biographical fact that he has some elements of a Muslim background.”

The controversial article further states that “[i]f a white candidate belonged to a church where the minister promoted an anti-black, anti-Semitic theology he would be roundly subject to criticism.” Totah’s cited article has been condemned by many Jewish leaders, one saying it provides “a preview of what the GOP smear campaign would look like should Obama win the Democratic nomination.”

ARMENPAC Images: Annie Totah with the Clintons

Ben Smith at Politico, who has received a copy of Totah’s e-mail, writes on his blog:

[…] 

I’ve obtained a copy of an e-mail from Annie Totah, a Washington society figure and Armenian-American activist who’s also a member of Clinton’s finance committee. The e-mail, titled “Barack Obama’s Poor Record on Israel,” went to a list that includes Anne Ayalon, wife of the former Israeli ambassador.

“Please read the attached important and very disturbing article on Barak [sic] Obama. Please vote wisely in the Primaries,” the e-mail read, attaching a long piece from the American Thinker blog that’s become central to the sub-rosa anti-Obama chatter.

The American Thinker calls speculation that Obama is actually a Muslim “overheated” (!) and “unfair,” and never crosses the line into the more outlandish stuff you can find elsewhere on the Web. But it does go well beyond anything the Clinton campaign has touched (and more obvious elements of Obama’s position, like his words and votes), and draws together a long litany of items from his church (which it says Obama joined out of expedience) to the fact that former Knick Allan Houston raised money for him to make the case that he’s a “disquieting” candidate when it comes to Israel.

Annie Totah is the Co-chair of ARMENPAC, a recently-formed Armenian-American lobbying group that is yet to catch up with the mother organization it broke from, AAA, and especially ANCA.

The claim that Hillary Clinton has received support from an ultra-nationalist Turkish filmmaker, that I wrote about on February 2, 2008, has made it to the New York Post:

February 11, 2008 — SEN. Hillary Clinton has gotten cozy with a Turkish-born businessman whom some have described as anti-Semitic. Clinton’s campaign Web site identifies Mehmet Celebi as one of her “HillRaisers” – someone who has raised at least $100,000 for her presidential bid. This despite Celebi’s controversial producing credit on “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq” – a 2006 movie that depicted a Jewish doctor removing the vital organs of civilian prisoners to sell to wealthy transplant patients overseas. “In accordance with the old anti-Semitic canard, the movie portrays Jewish-American doctors as forcibly harvesting organs from Muslims to give them to Jews,” noted Detroit lawyer and columnist Debbie Schlussel observes on her blog. Clinton spokesman Jay Carson didn’t get back to us for comment.

According to Debbie Sclussel’s blog, who is quoted in the New York Post article, the story was broken by Gateway Pundit who wrote about the story on February 6, 2008. The latter blog’s reference to the story was The Kurdish Media that wrote about the Clinton affair hours after my original post.

Not that I want to become a breaker of a Clinton scandal… Anyhow, the actual credit should go to the people who made the YouTube video that was my source when I first wrote of the affair.

Discussing nationalism and particularly the fascist Turkish group known as the Grey Wolves, Mental Notes from a Feisty Turkish Girl, a blog I wrote about a few days ago, concludes that denial of minority rights in Turkey and the persecution of those who publicly acknowledge the Armenian genocide is the continuation of the latter. 

The blogger also raises the question of Turkish-European identity stating that she herself is very confused:

[…] 

Well, 99% of Turkish people claim to be Muslim. Most of these people cannot recite anything from the Koran, explain Islamic history or advances in technology nor can they truly explain what secularism is, or even democracy for that matter. I have asked. Secularism in Turkey means there can be no other religion except Islam, but it should be kept to oneself. Completely confusing. Turkish Democracy means secularism.

Authors and journalists like, Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak, have been systematically targeted in Turkey simply for speaking their truths. The genocide continues, my friends. Turkey’s only hope for an honest EU membership, is acceptance of the past and the rebuilding of the many burnt bridges. Turkey at this juncture is not ready for the EU. Turkey first needs to accept and protect its own diversity, as the Copenhagen Criteria calls for, before it can even dream of calling itself European, if indeed that is who she really is.

I don’t know about everybody else, but I can say for myself, I am tired of pretending to be European. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I can relate to the issue of European identity especially when some Armenians militantly proclaim themselves Europeans and other claim the exact opposite. But it becomes more frustrating when “real Europeans” ask you whether you consider yourself European.

Past summer, for example, I met two Dutch visitors in Armenia who asked me whether I considered Armenia part of Europe or Asia. I told them that I refused to answer that question because of its Eurocentric connotation. “European” is unreservedly thought to be “progressive” and “positive” something that reflects the actual cultural oppression of the rest of the world by Europe. The latter often forgets that many of its “inventions” didn’t start in Europe – including much of women’s rights, which started – or were first institutionalized – in some of the Native American communities.

Had the Turkish blogger from Seattle been a nationalist, she would feel better about being European since as Native Americans are Turks, women’s rights come from Turkey! OK just kidding 🙂

I only noticed today that Azg Daily, a Yerevan-based publication, published my latest Armenian column on human trafficking and oppression of women in Armenia in its Nov 29, 2007, issue.

Այսօր, 2007 թվականին, աշխարհում կան ավելի շատ ստրուկներ, քան 200 տարի առաջ: Ի տարբերություն 1600-ականներին եւ հետագա տարիներին Աֆրիկայից բռնի փախցրած եւ Ամերիկայում ստրկության մատնված միլիոնավոր մարդկանց, մերօրյա ստրուկները հաճախ լքում են իրենց տները հոժար կամքով՝ բարեկեցիկ ապագա ստեղծելու երազներով:

[Today, in 2007, there are more slaves in the world than 200 years ago. In contrast to the millions of people kidnapped from Africa and forced into slavery in America in the 1600s, modern slaves often leave their homes with their own will with dreams for a better future.]

[…]

Անապահով ընտանիքներից լինելուց բացի թրաֆիկինգի զոհերին միացնում է նաեւ այլ փաստ՝ կին լինելը: Լինելով հանցանք ամբողջ մարդկության դեմ՝ թրաֆիկինգը նաեւ կանանց ճնշման միջոց է եւ ինչ-որ չափով այդ ճնշման հետեւանք: Հայաստանը նախկին սովետական երկրների հետ համեմատած ունի կանանց նվազագույն ներկայացուցչությունը օրենսդրական մարմնում. Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային Ժողովի անդամների հինգ տոկոսն է ընդամենը կին, երբ կանայք կազմում են նույն հանրապետության բնակչության կեսից ավելին:

[Aside from being from impoverished families, there is something else that unites victims of human (sex) trafficking – being women. Being a crime against all humanity, human trafficking is also a way of oppression against women and a result of the same oppression. In comparison to other former Soviet countries, Armenia has the lowest percentage of female lawmakers: only 5% of members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia are women while females constitute more than half of the population of the same republic.]

[…]

Բայց կանանց հանդեպ բռնությունը ժխտելու մեջ կա նաեւ ինչ-որ պատվի խնդիր, ու եթե ժխտում են, ուրեմն գիտեն, որ սխալ են: Անցած տարի, երբ որոշ հասարակական կազմակերպություններ պարզեցին, որ հայաստանցի կանանց մոտավորապես կեսը ֆիզիկական բռնության են ենթարկվել, Ազգային Ժողովի 95 տոկոս կազմող տղամարդ անդամներից մեկն ասաց, որ ճնշման հարցը բարձրացնող կազմակերպությունները պարզապես գրանտներ են ուզում եւ իջեցնում են Հայաստանի վարկը հանուն իրենց գրպանների: «Նրանք չպետք է ներկայացնեն Հայաստանն ինչ-որ աֆրիկյան ցեղ, որտեղ մարդիկ իրար ուտում են»:

[There is some “pride” in the denial of (the fact of) oppression against women. And if there is denial, then [men] know they are wrong. Last year, when several NGOs found out that about half of Armenia’s women had been subjected to physical brutality in the past year, a member of the 95% men-controlled parliament said that these non-profits simply seek grants and hurt Armenia’s image for the sake of their pockets. “They shouldn’t present Armenia as some African tribe where people eat each other.”

[…]

Interestingly, I had originally written this piece for the newsletter of one of Armenia’s university student governments. The student leaders, all exclusively male, refused to publish the opinion piece in a newsletter that is perhaps not read by more than a few dozen students.

Although in the same month that I wrote this short column I had been published in the world’s leading historic magazine -which recently contacted me asking if I were ready to submit another article – I thought that even reaching to one student in Armenia would have been important.

Anyhow, I never heard of any reaction to my piece on human trafficking but I am still glad that Azg published something that would be generally considered radical feminism in Armenia (and humanism in most of the world).

During a visit to Germany Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyid Erdogan has denied the deliberate annihilation of late Ottoman Turkey’s Armenian population stating that it is not in Turkish culture to commit genocide.

According to the TurkishPress:

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said [in Munich] on Saturday there was no such thing like genocide in Turkish culture and civilization.

Erdogan replied to questions on several matters after his speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy in Germany.

In regard to Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, Erdogan said, “there is no such thing like genocide in our culture. We cannot accept it. We are ready to discuss the matter by the means of documents.”

[…]

Erdogan’s racist explanation for his government’s denial of the Armenian genocide must have raised eyebrows in Germany since the statement suggests that committing genocide is in the perpetrator’s group culture and civilization.

Bloomberg also reports Erdogan’s denial of the Armenian genocide but doesn’t reference the Turkish PM’s reference to culture.

Asked about the massacre of Armenians in Turkey in 1915, Erdogan said Armenia should open its archives on the period.

”There was no genocide and there is no way we can accept this,” Erdogan said, adding that declarations of some western parliaments that the killing of Armenians had been a genocide ”is not acceptable.” The parliaments of France and a number of other countries have passed resolutions declaring the Armenian massacres were genocide.

Ironically, the automated Google ad on the TurkishPress.com page on Erdogan’s nationalist comments links to the DNA Ancestry Project. Perhaps Mr. Erdogan should form an international commission to prove that it is not in Turkish DNA to commit genocide.

Interestingly, the topic of being capable of committing genocide was in the Armenian press last week. A Hetq.am columnist askes (in Armenian) whether Armenians are capable of genocide and argues that Armenia’s poor democratic record, the government’s treatment of its people and the people’s treatment of each other (especially on regional basis) suggests that Armenians are, indeed, capable of genocide.  In terms of Armenia’s largest minorities, especially the Yezidis, the author says that they have been denied opportunity to be part of Armenia’s socio-economic culture and are, thus, not “important” enough to be considered for elimination. (I must add that Armenians have committed cultural genocide against the Roma (“Gypsies”) who are known in Armenian as “Bosha” – but almost every Armenian thinks Bosha is an insult and not an ethnic group.)  

So, Mr. Erdogan, if you consider Turks human (and you should) then they are, too, capable of genocide.

via Political Humor:

“Bill Clinton lashed out at Barack Obama yesterday, he accused him of running a fairy tale campaign. It’s a fairy tale in which a horny king tries to get his queen elected to the White House so he can go out and fornicate with maidens, and then a handsome black prince comes along and screws the whole thing up for him. So, you can see why he’s very upset.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“Well, congratulations to Barack Obama, the big winner of the Democratic caucus. Stunning victory. He got 57% of the youth vote, 35% of the female vote, and 100% of Iowa’s black vote, a guy named Larry.” –Jay Leno

“Isn’t that amazing, Obama and Cheney related? Dick Cheney now has more blacks and gays in his own family than in the entire Republican Party.” –Jay Leno

“During an interview, Vice President Dick Cheney’s wife said that Vice President Cheney and Barack Obama are actually distant cousins. When Dick Cheney found out, he said, ‘I knew there was something creepy about that guy.'” –Conan O’Brien

“Senator Barack Obama was in Los Angeles last night for a huge campaign fundraiser. That shows you what a great country this is — when an African-American with a Kansas mother and a Kenyan father, who spent time growing up in Indonesia and is running for president, spending time in a state where Spanish-speaking people have elected an Austrian governor.” –Jay Leno

“Senator Hillary Clinton is back from her fact-finding trip to Iraq. She had to cut the trip short because she had to address a growing threat here at home — Barack Obama.” –Jay Leno

“Barack Obama said today that politics has become too gummed up by money and influence … and then he had to leave to attend a fundraiser.” –Jay Leno

From an anonymous contributor:  

While caucusing in a small Midwestern town, some Obama supporters changed their mind.

“Clinton has more experience than Obama,” said one. “I think Clinton deserves a 3rd term.”

Another one suggested that voting for Hillary will be like killing two stones with one bird (well, democrats like birds) or something like, “Vote one, get one free.”

And someone mentioned this cartoon from Politico: