A one thousand year-old Armenian church on the island of Akdamar in Lake Van has been renovated and now reopened by Turkish authorities. Though Armenia and Turkey do not maintain regular diplomatic relations, a delegation of Armenian architects and government… Read moreTurkey: historic Armenian church re-opens in peace gesture
The United Nations observer mission in Georgia has opened an investigation into missile attacks in three remote villages near the Russian border March 11, claiming initial evidence suggested that Russian helicopter gunships were involved. The military action damaged several buildings… Read moreRussia accused in Georgia missile attacks
A disturbing consensus seems to be emerging in Europe that the best reaction to genocide denial is to ban it. In addition to the many European laws against denying the Nazi Holocaust, Bosnia is now considering such a law for… Read moreArmenian genocide denial on trial —in Switzerland
A glimmer of hope is that the outcry following the slaying of Hrant Dink is coming from Turks as well as Armenians. Perhaps his death will not have been in vain—or will there be an inevitable backlash? From the UK-based… Read moreIstanbul: streets filled for slain editor’s funeral
The assassination of Hrant Dink has, fortunately, sparked renewed challenges to the censorious Article 301. But the Turkish state seems to be trying to squelch the debate. Would Dink have wanted his funeral to be used in this manner? From… Read moreTurkey: Article 301 debate on hold as slain editor laid to rest
This is what George Bernard Shaw called “the extreme form of censorship.” From the New York Times, Jan. 19: ISTANBUL — The editor of Turkey’s only Armenian-language newspaper was assassinated today on an Istanbul street. The editor, Hrant Dink, 53,… Read moreArmenian editor assassinated in Turkey
Pretty funny that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has officially congratulated novelist Orhan Pamuk, who has just won the 2006 Nobel Prize for literature, saying the prize would make valuable contributions to promotion of Turkish literature in the world. (Xinhua, Oct…. Read moreArmenian genocide becomes political football —again
The New York Times notes Oct. 6 that charges were dropped against Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, whose fictional character committed the crime of refering to the “Armenian genocide.” But almost simultaneously, charges were brought against another writer, Hrant Dink, who… Read moreTurkish intellectuals in solidarity campaign for persecuted writer
Interesting how Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty uncritically accepts Putin’s talk of a fight against “terrorism.” Basayev was assuredly a bad dude, but the Russian state’s counterinsurgency war in the North Caucasus is hardly less terroristic—and, as this report actually notes,… Read moreChechnya: Shamil Basayev reported killed
A victory for Western designs on Capsian oil 20 years in the making, this heightens the regional contradictions in several ways. It places greater pressure on Turkey to crush the Kurdish PKK insurgents who are making trouble in precisely that… Read moreTrans-Caucasus pipeline in first tanker delivery
How interesting. In an implicit acknowledgement that their hardcore Islamophobe policies are backfiring in Chechya, the Russian authorities are embracing the indigenous peace-loving Sufi tradition as an alternative to the violently intransigent Wahhabism imported from the Arab world. But this… Read moreChechen Sufi revival —between Russian occupation and Wahhabis
One civilian was killed and several injured (both police and civilians) in a clash that erupted when police opened fire on protesters blocking a road in Dagestan’s Dokuzpari district April 25. The protesters, who were demanding the dismisal of a… Read moreNorth Caucasus violence continues; authorities to redraw borders?
