Download the Word file – Read in Armenian and Russian

Lusine Sahakyan, PH.D., Yerevan State University

ABSTRACT

Toponyms represent persistent linguistic facts, which have major historical and political significance. The rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey realized the strategic importance of the toponyms and carried out consistent policies towards their distortion and appropriation. Aiming to assimilate the toponyms of the newly conquered territories, the Ottoman authorities translated them into Turkish from their original languages or transformed the local dialectal place-names by the principle of contamination to make them sound like Turkish word-forms. Other methods of appropriation included the etymological misinterpretation and renaming and displacing the former toponyms altogether. The focus of the present article is the place-name transformation policies of the Ottoman Empire and its successor, the Republic of Turkey. The decree by the Minister of War Enver Pasha issued on January 5, 1916 with the orders to totally change the “non-Muslim” place-names is for the first time presented in English, Armenian and Russian translations. The article also deals with the artificially created term of “Eastern Anatolia” as a substitute for Western Armenia, the political objectives of the pro-Turkish circles as well as the consequences of putting the mentioned ersatz term into circulation.

Continue Reading »

Source: USA Armenian Life Magazine, weekly issue #1188, January 1-7, 2010, p. 7

In 2008, the Caucasus Institute foundation published a book in Yerevan entitled “Caucasus Neighborhood: Turkey and The South Caucasus.” The chief editor of the said book is Aleksandr Iskandaryan – the director of the Caucasus Institute. The volume consists of analytical papers that were presented during a conference which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from August 1 to August 4 of 2008. The conference was organized by the Caucasus Institute.

Continue Reading »

Republished in the USA Armenian Life Magazine weekly, #1188 January 9, 2009
Stepan Sargsyan
“ARARAT” Center for Strategic Research

For the first time during these latest negotiations surrounding the Armenian-Turkish conflict an Armenian official engaged in a public debate to defend the Protocols and fielded unscripted questions directly from the audience in Los Angeles. The U.S.-based Diaspora organization called ARPA Institute had organized a debate between the Honorable Consul General of the Republic of Armenia to Los Angeles Grigor Hovhannissian and two Diaspora academics. Dr. Richard Hovannisian moderated the debate. The Consul General deserves a lot of praise for agreeing to discuss the Armenian-Turkish conflict and the recently signed Protocols in such a public forum, despite the persistent efforts by his superiors in Armenia, namely President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan, to avoid having any meaningful public discussion with the Armenian people regarding this issue. It must be noted that a lot of heartache and mistrust could have been avoided had these discussions been held prior to agreeing to the Roadmap and drafting the Protocols.
Continue Reading »

December 21, 2009

Dear Friend,
As 2009 draws to its close, we would like to share with you the achievements and successes of the “ARARAT” Center for Strategic Research (“ARARAT”) in this passing year and thank you for your continued support of our activities.
Ever since its establishment in 2006, “ARARAT” has become a leading Armenian think-tank on strategy and security. Complement the word “leading” with the words “independent” and “national” and you will attest to a phenomenon so singular (yet vitally important) in the nascent Armenian strategic-political thought: a leading independent think-tank, which defines, analyzes and advocates the needs and demands of Armenia’s national security from an exclusively Armenian perspective – YOUR perspective.
In such a short span of its existence, “ARARAT” can lay claim to these distinctive achievements:

• Laying solid intellectual ground for the establishment of the Armenian school of strategic thought;
• Identifying the fundamental elements of Armenia’s national security;
• Exploring and defining the cornerstones of the Armenian identity; and
• Disseminating truthful information about Armenia and the Armenians.

Continue Reading »

Source: Foreign Policy (www.foreignpolicy.com), 09.10.2009
BY CHRISTIAN CARYL

Pop quiz: Can you name one part of the world where the United States and the Russian Federation have been making common cause? Correct answer: in Turkey and Armenia, where the two powers have been collaborating of late.

And that’s only one of the many remarkable twists to emerge from a diplomatic quest that, for sheer complexity and emotional explosiveness, is likely rivaled only by the search for peace in the Middle East. It has been a wild ride, and it’s not over yet. Ankara and Yerevan are signing two historic agreements that could pave the way toward a major diplomatic rapprochement and an opening of the two countries’ common 325-kilometer border, which has been closed for the past 16 years.

“I think we’re seeing a series of high-water marks in a long process,” says the International Crisis Group’s Hugh Pope. “Considering where we’ve come from 10 years ago to where we are today, it’s nothing short of amazing.”

Continue Reading »

The topic of Armenian identity is a popular one. Everyone has a strong opinion about it. Yet, it is this very popularity that obfuscates the debate with the multitude of interpretations that are often unfounded and even factually wrong. One such article by a certain Tamar Kevonian titled “Who is an Armenian?” was recently published on the web page of the English edition of Asbarez.com ¹ . In a nutshell, the reader of this article comes away with the impression that just about anyone in this world may consider himself or herself Armenian, if he or she wishes to be one, or if he or she has ever wished Armenia well (silently or out loud? – I am still confused about that). However, this article not only makes pretentious claims with a hostile tone towards the Armenian Apostolic Church, but these claims are based on false statements regarding our reality and Armenian history.
First of all, she states that the legend taught to Armenian children today does not include the fact that St. Gregory was the son of Anak, the assassin of King Trdat’s father. This is false. The many readers of Tamar’s article refute her statement in their own comments under her article. Besides, it is interesting to know how did Tamar, who knows history at best at the level of an amateur, found out such a dearly held secret, yet other Armenians have been kept in the dark about this historical detail?
Continue Reading »

13 November 2009

Los Angeles

In the month of September the Armenian public learned of a blatant case of denial of the Armenian Genocide within Armenia. A court case was initiated by the “ARARAT” Center for Strategic Research against the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute and its director Alexander Iskandaryan for publishing and disseminating denialist literature. Unfortunately, as the initiators of this court case noted during the press-conference, this was not the only such instance of Armenian Genocide denial within Armenia. Another case of such denial transpired recently. A journalist named Emil Danielyan, a citizen and resident of Armenia, in his article about Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech before the Armenian National Congress leadership, intentionally refused to use the word genocide when referring to the Armenian Genocide (http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1875375.html). His expression of choice was the “1915 mass killings and deportations” so ubiquitous in English-language publications supportive of the Turkish denialist position. Furthermore, a news service operating in Armenia and staffed by Armenians, the Azatutyun radio station, published this article without any editing or disclaimers, assuming the responsibility of the content.

Continue Reading »

Download the Word file – Read the Armenian original.

September 17, 2009
Yerevan, Armenia

STATEMENT OF CLAIM

(Claim to Compel Refutation of Publication Questioning Veracity of the Genocide, Prohibiting the Use of the Word Genocide in Quotation Marks and Compensation for Damage)

In 2008, the “Caucasus Institute” Foundation (hereinafter referred to as “Foundation”) published a Book in Yerevan titled “Caucasus Neighborhood: Turkey and The South Caucasus”, ISBN 978-99941-2-220-2, Russian version “Кавказское соседство: Турция и Южный Кавказ”, ISBN 978-99941-2-180-9] (hereinafter “Book”). Pursuant to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the copyright notice in the Book, the Foundation holds the exclusive copyright to these publications. The editor of the Book is Aleksandr Iskandaryan – Director of “Caucasus Institute” Foundation – and the editorial board includes Nina Iskandaryan, Sergey Minasyan and Vitali Kisin. Their legal status with respect to the book is regulated by national legislation on intellectual property and international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia.

Continue Reading »

Source. Armenianow.com, 02.10.2009
Gayane Mkrtchyan

President Serzh Sargsyan’s majority coalition in the National Assembly defended his continuing policy of rapprochement with Turkey as the issue came up for discussion at a special parliamentary hearing on Thursday.

Addressing an audience that also included non-parliamentary politicians, academicians and experts, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan stressed that Armenia initiated normalization with Turkey based on the understanding that it will proceed without preconditions.

Continue Reading »

Read also in Armenian

Download the article

This article is a slightly updated version of the Armenian original
published in AZG daily on December 13, 2008.

Preamble
With the independence of Armenia in 1991 the Armenian Question returned to the international arena, but no longer as an issue of salvation of Western Armenians as it was known towards the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries. There were no more Armenians in the western part of Armenia. They had been exterminated in the course of the genocide carried out from 1893 to 1923 in three main phases (1893-1896, 1909, 1915-1923). During the Soviet period several of the eastern regions of Armenia were depopulated of their Armenian inhabitants as well, including Nakhijevan and Northern Artsakh.
Continue Reading »

Bloomberg, By Michael Heath

April 23 (Bloomberg) — Turkey and Armenia agreed on a “road map” to normalize relations, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara said after reconciliation talks between the neighbors who share a bloody history and whose border is shut.

The negotiations, mediated by Switzerland, “have achieved tangible progress and mutual understanding,” the ministry said in a statement late yesterday. The announcement came as Armenia marks the anniversary of the alleged genocide in 1915 of 1.5 million of its people by Turks in ceremonies tomorrow.

Continue Reading »

The Ararat Center for Strategic Research is running a series of interviews about the latest interstate developments between Armenia and Turkey. The list of participants includes representatives of the general public, as well as state officials, politicians, public figures and experts.

Anyone willing to participate in the survey can answer the questions at the following address: info@ararat-center.org. In your response, please indicate your name, age (optional), profession and place of residence.

Continue Reading »

ARMENIA’S DE FACTO BORDERS:
A COMMENT BY OUR CORRESPONDENT TO THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE

This is encouraging and promising, even though it’s happening nearly 15 years after the event! Showing the non-existent borders (at least since 1994!) of the NKAO (Nagorno Karabagh Autonomous Oblast) by Armenian H1TV, Meteo or any other TV, or the HAAF’s (Hayastan All Armenia Fund) calendars and maps or any other official or semi official Armenian Republic or Diaspora publication, in my view, must be considered outright treason. How else can one define deliberate propagation of false information so consistently regarding such a strategic and vitally important issue as ones own borders?!
Continue Reading »