'L.A. Times' M.E. Frantz Quits Suddenly, Without Explanation

By Joe Strupp

Published: June 28, 2007 3:06 PM ET

NEW YORK Los Angeles Times Managing Editor Doug Frantz has quit the paper, the newspaper announced today. In a short Web story, the paper revealed that Frantz, a former New York Times staffer, would leave July 6 after 20 months on the job.

"I felt like I had done as much as I could in this job," Frantz said in the story, which noted that he did not have another position lined up, "but he would like to return to being a reporter."

"My true love is reporting and writing," he added in the report, which offered no explanation for his sudden departure. "This is a great newspaper filled with great people ... I'm sure it will continue to pursue excellence in journalism. I'm sorry I won't be around."

In the Times' report, Editor James O'Shea described Frantz as "a solid leader, guiding the editorial department through some troubled and rugged days. He is an extraordinary journalist and a dedicated editor who cares deeply about the newspaper and the staff."

Frantz gained notice in recent months for a public dispute with former Times staffer Mark Arax over Frantz's decision not to publish a story by Arax on Armenian genocide. Frantz, according to The Fresno (Calif.) Bee, reportedly had withheld the story after determining Arax had taken a position on the issue. Arax claimed discrimination and left the paper earlier this month after reaching an undisclosed settlement with the Times.


Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.

ARMENIA MIGHT TERMINATE RADIO LIBERTY REBROADCASTS

Arminfo
27 Jun 07

Yerevan, 27 June: Representatives of a number of opposition parties have harshly criticized the possible termination of rebroadcasts of the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty on Armenian Public Radio.

"The Armenian government is taking another anti-democratic step, which is prompted, and it is not difficult to suppose, by the upcoming presidential election in the country. They probably want to eliminate the free zone which is not controlled by them and which is used by opposition politicians to freely express their positions," the secretary of the parliamentary faction of the [opposition] Heritage Party, Stepan Safaryan, said.

The opposition parties not represented in parliament also tend to view a bill submitted by the government to parliament "on changes to the law of the Republic of Armenia 'on TV and radio'" as the desire of the authorities to deprive the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty of its airtime for political reasons.

"The case should not be viewed as a legal or judicial matter. This is a political step ahead of the presidential election in February next year. The bill proposed by the government is aimed at depriving the people of the opportunity to receive objective information through the only electronic medium not controlled by the authorities," the secretary of the People's Party of Armenia, Grigor Harutyunyan,
stressed, expressing the official position of the party.

Representative of the Armenian Pan-National Movement Aram Manukyan believes that the authorities have never liked the media that show their weak points in governing the republic, and the forthcoming presidential election only served as a reason to embark on new and specific steps to suppress freedom of speech. "Radio Liberty has not bowed to the authorities, and they want to deprive a wide audience of the opportunity to receive objective information about the events in the republic," Manukyan said.

The head of the Alternative public and political movement and editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, Nikol Pashinyan, was even more categorical. He described the initiative of the government as another step directed at establishing an army of unrestrained dictatorship in Armenia. "When they speak of the necessity not to provide foreign TV and radio stations with local frequencies, they should first vacate the two local VHF frequencies used for broadcasting Russian government TV channels.

The Armenian Service of Radio Liberty, unlike them [the Russian channels], is broadcast in Armenian. Mostly Armenians work there, who report on events in our country," Pashinyan said.

During an emergency session today, the National Assembly will discuss the bill proposed by the government "on changes to the law of the Republic of Armenia 'on TV and radio'". It says the reason is that "the status of the Public TV and Radio Company and its tasks are, in fact, incompatible with the right to give consent to provide frequencies to other broadcasters".

"THAT WAS A MURDER"

A1+
[07:03 pm] 26 June, 2007

"Levon Gulyan was murdered in the police station", announced Mikael Danielyan, the Chairman of the Helsinki Association. He stated that although our authorities signed the document, but nothing was done to prevent violations and their number was increasing.

Jemma Gulyan, widow of Levon Gulyan, noted that human rights were violated, a person was murdered and they did not know who was to account for that and no one was to blame for that. The Prosecutor's Office promised to carry out transparent investigation, however nothing was done.

Ruben Martirosyan, expert of the Helsinki Association, said that the photos of Gulyan's corpse prove that he was tortured and then only thrown out of the window "since they understood that he was already dead".

He has not seen such tortured body before and 20 minutes before the incident Gulyan got serious traumas, hemorrhages on his body prove that. An official investigation was implemented. According to it, at 15.20 he tried to escape, however, a call was received in the Prosecutor's Office that at 14.30 Gulyan was already dead.

The widow of Levon Gulyan mentioned that they did not have the translation of international experts' opinion and they would be released after the translation.

According to her, the experts were not impartial. They were provided only the observations of the Prosecutor's Office.

Son of Hrant Dink threatened with jail

Agence France Presse-June 14, 2007 Thursday - Prosecutors called Thursday for a prison sentence of up to three years for the son of a murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist for reproducing an interview his father gave confirming the Armenian genocide.

The public affairs ministry accuses Arat Dink, editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, and his colleague Serikis Seropyan, of "denigrating the Turkish national identity".

In a July 2006 edition of Agos, they reproduced an interview Hrant Dink gave to a news agency in which he declared that the massacre of Armenians committed between 1915 and 1917 in southeastern Anatolia constituted a genocide.

"Of course I say this is a genocide. Because the result itself identifies what it is and gives it a name. You can see that a people who have been living on these lands for 4,000 years have disappeared. This is self-explanatory," Hrant Dink, then editor of Agos, had said.

At Thursday's hearing Dink accused judges of contributing to his father's death by making him a target thanks to their high-profile judicial proceedings.

"I think it is primitive, absurd and dangerous to consider as an insult to Turkish identity the recognition of a historic event as a genocide," he said, quoted by the Anatolia news agency.

Prosecutors said he should be sentenced to between six months and three years in jail. Hrant Dink, 52, was himself branded a "traitor" by nationalists for urging open debate on the massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire which he labelled as genocide.

He was last year given a six-month suspended sentence for insulting "Turkishness" and faced more charges before being shot dead in January outside the offices of Agos, where he was editor at the time.

The massacre remains a major bone of contention between Armenia and Turkey and two countries and they have not established diplomatic ties since Armenia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ogun Samast, 17, has confessed to shooting Dink. He and 18 other accomplices will be tried from the beginning of July over the murder, believed to have been committed with ultra-nationalist motives.

DIASPORA IS INTERESTED IN RESETTLEMENT OF THESE TERRITORIES

Lragir.am
KarabakhOpen
18-06-2007 11:46:21

We solved the problem by military actions, but we had to go on to settle these territories, said Vahram Gevorgyan, chair of the Promised Land NGO set up in 2000. Because it was not done, the territories became an object of trade, and now their return has become an issue.

The organization implements projects for the settlement of the liberated territories from 2001.

"We have just realized that these territories must be settled. If we had managed to launch settlement with assistance from the Armenians worldwide, the issue of territories would not be under negotiation, and Azerbaijan would not claim to these territories."

The leadership and the political forces, which are now speaking about the necessity of settlement of these territories, either have finally realized its necessity or are making statements for the sake of statements, Vahram Gevorgyan said.

He thinks first the strategic regions should be settled, which the government failed to do. Vahram Gevorgyan is sure that the Diaspora is interested in the settlement of these territories. "We just need a corresponding government policy, and our foreign sponsors will be ready to back this policy."

"Unfortunately, resettlement today is perceived as building houses, meanwhile, it is part of a national strategy, which requires focus and substantial efforts," Vahram Gevorgyan said.

Is the unrecognized state an obstacle to investments from the Diaspora? In answer to this question, Vahram Gevorgyan said although it caused to cancel one of the projects, it cannot be an obstacle.

ARMENIA MUST PROSECUTE OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING, US STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 13 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, NOYAN TAPAN. It is for the third year that Armenia has been included in the US State Department's list of the second - medium group of countries posing danger in terms of human trafficking and thus subject to control, Radio Liberty reported.

According to the 2006 report of the US State Department, Armenia does not make enough effort to establish identities of trafficking victims and to protect them, as well as to reveal possible involvement of officials in cases of human trafficking. Particularly, the Prosecutor General's Office conducted an inadequate investigation into the case of an employee of the body for the fight against human trafficking, as a result of which he was found not guilty, and the matter ended in his demoting and transferring to another body.

Armenia must investigate, prosecute and convict the government officials involved in human trafficking, the State Department states.

According to the report, in 2006, 16 cases of trafficking were investigated in Armenia, which was more by 2 cases than in the previous year. 13 persons were prosecuted in connection with human trafficking cases last year - by 3 persons fewer than in 2005. All 13 persons were sentenced, 9 of them - to 4-5 years' imprisonment.

ON JUNE 12, 1993 MONTE MELKONIAN WAS KILLED

Stepan Sargsyan

KarabakhOpen
12-06-2007 18:05:12

On June 12, 1993 Monte Melkonian was killed during an operation to destroy the military strongholds in the villages of the Aghdam region. Countless more Monte Melkonyans died while liberating Lower Karabakh. Yet those who have entrusted with the job of the security and development of our country declare shamelessly their intention to easily give up what was attained with so mush sacrifice. Those who silently stand next to such declarations and do not utter a single word in opposition are equally guilty of such betrayal as those who loudly promote the return of Lower Karabakh. The memory and sacrifice of our heroes is not respected by merely organizing and attending pompous ceremonies, giving elaborate speeches and laying flowers at the feet of their statues. The true respect is the completion of the job they started, holding on to the land which they liberated and settle it. Yet the current NKR officials have even failed to clearly and openly state that they oppose the return of Lower Karabakh, the territory without which NKR cannot be a viable state and ensure the safety of its citizens even if it's recognized by the international community. Shame on those who want to give away our motherland and annul the sacrifice of Monte, shame on those who want to desecrate the memory of Monte!

SPEGHANI CHOIR RECOGNIZED BEST CHOIR AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL HELD IN MARKTOBERDORF

Noyan Tapan
Jun 12 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, NOYAN TAPAN. With the support of RA Ministry of Culture, the Speghani choir, laureate of international competitions, was recognized "the best choir" and received a diploma at the 10th International Festival of Chamber Choirs held on May 25-30 in Marktoberdorf (Germany). As Sarina Avtandilian, choir's Art Director and conductor, reported at the June 12 press conference, at the festival the choir was included among the best 13 choirs of the world.

S. Avtandilian said that the choir had also took part in the European Festival of Youth Choirs held on May 15-20 in the city of Basel, Switzerland. "Conductors of various nationalities admired choir's performance. Straight after our performance in Marktoberdorf we received invitations to perform on tours in a number of European cities," the choir head said.

At Basel and Marktoberdorf festivals Speghani performed pieces of Armenian sacred medieval music, works by Komitas, Makar Yekmalian, Yervand Yerkanian and modern Armenian composers. In S. Avtandilian's words, foreign spectators especially liked Yervand Yerkanian's Sirius. In his words, Sargis Shahinian, Chairman of Armenian-Swiss Association of Bern, expressed willingness to use that performance of choir in the film about Ani being shot.

It is noteworthy that children of freedom-fighters who perished in the Artsakh war are included in Speghani. In 2004 the choir received the second prize of authoritative competition of choir music held in the Italian city of Arezzo. The choir is the first performer of a number of choir works in Armenia. Speghani performed on tours in Lebanon, Rome, Milan and a number of European cities.

IS ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN UNAWARE OF KARABAKH LAWS?

Lragir.am
12-06-2007 15:50:30

On June 12 the Hayeli Club hosted Kiro Manoyan, who is in charge of the Office of Hay Dat and Political Affairs of the ARF Bureau, and the former prime minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan, to discuss issues related to the Karabakh conflict. The media reported that the presidential candidate Bako Sahakyan is not eligible because he did not reside in Karabakh permanently over the past ten years. Our reporter inquired from the spokesmen what the consequences of registration of an ineligible candidate in Karabakh will be.

The ARF Dashnaktsutyun supports Bako Sahakyan. The representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Kiro Manoyan declined to comment on the laws of Karabakh, but asked: "What did this man do in Moscow? For whom did he work?" We reminded Kiro Manoyan that Bako Sahakyan used to be the representative of the National Security of Armenia, not Karabakh, to the capital of Russia.

"So is it illegal to live in Armenia to run in the presidential election in Karabakh?" Kiro Manoyan asked. Hrant Bagratyan thinks there is a problem. "People from Karabakh can do anything they want, whereas we cannot." Hrant Bagratyan says the provision on permanent residency was set down in the Constitution but not in the legislation, and if the issue is reported to the Constitutional Court, the "Constitutional Court will make a decision depending on whom it wants to please."

YEREVAN DISAPPROVED ARKADY GHUKASYAN

Lragir.am
12-06-2007 16:07:34

The leadership of Armenia does not approve the urge of the president of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasyan to impose Bako Sahakyan on the society of Nagorno-Karabakh, stated Igor Muradyan, political scientist, at the National Press Club on June 12. He says the candidates are two, the candidate of the government Sahakyan and the NKR deputy foreign minister Masis Mayilyan named by a civil initiative, who differs from the government by his determined stance, especially regarding the present borders of NKR.

Muradyan says the NKR president Arkady Ghukasyan is nervous, and it is not clear why because the previous elections in NKR were also competitive.

"For the first time in the history of NKR one of the candidates has a rather determined stance and is not controlled by the government," says Igor Muradyan, pointing to it as the first cause for Arkady Ghukasyan's nervousness. The second reason, he says, is the protest nature of the voting to president. "Nothing of the kind was observed in the previous presidential elections. There was something similar in the parliamentary elections but not in the presidential elections. It also makes him nervous.

But this is not all. The most unpleasant thing is that this election is crucial for the future of the acting president," Igor Muradyan says. He says Ghukasyan hopes to continue his career, but before he leaves he wants to make sure someone will remain in Stepanakert who will be fully controllable.

"Ghukasyan makes a double mistake. First, whoever is elected will not obey Arkady Ghukasyan all the time. It is already a mistake. It's just an assumption, but he must leave in a dignified way, the way he perceives a dignified way. And if this campaign smells defiance, indecency, administrative terror, his future will not be good," Igor Muradyan says, adding that all these things make Arkady Ghukasyan
nervous.

Igor Muradyan says in order to promote his plan Arkady Ghukasyan has launched information terror in Karabakh, when all the media, Igor Muradyan refers to most of them as Ghukasyan's tabloids, are busy with illogical advertisement of the government candidate. Administrative terror is underway as well, and now Arkady Ghukasyan himself meets with officials and instructs them to support Sahakyan, otherwise they will be sacked. Some have been dismissed already. "In addition, they circulate lies that Robert Kocharyan endorses Bako Sahakyan. Now they are spreading other rumors, they say Kocharyan does not make decisions, and Serge Sargsyan makes decisions now. The idea is instilled in the society that the election has already taken place, and there is no need to go to the polling station. They are trying to instill in people that the Armenian government is interested in this issue, it is directly involved in these affairs, and will encourage any violation. I do not want to support anyone, neither does the Armenian government, but frankly speaking it is a lie. This person is in hysteria, and wants to get over this state by all means," Igor Muradyan says about Arkady Ghukasyan. He says in the beginning Robert Kocharyan was against Bako Sahakyan's nomination. "He was cornered, the person could not say he could not be named. He only said let him be elected, he did not say the police, the army should support him. He never said this. It is impossible because the person's relation with someone is quite different. You see?" Igor Muradyan says. He says Arkady Ghukasyan broke down because Armenia does not support him.

"Why not? Because they like or dislike him? No. It makes no different, he is hopeless. The person was outside Armenia for half of the year, at least half of the year. In Dubai, elsewhere. He is fond of traveling. He is fond of being away from home. The parliament of Karabakh decided to provide him with a house and a car, OK, but it also decided to pay two trips. Is there a similar thing in any other country of the world? Even in Latin America. In addition, he is fond of traveling on others' expense," Igor Muradyan says.

The political scientist expects interest, public reaction, dialogue from Armenia towards the process underway in Karabakh, which he thinks is absent.

Igor Muradyan also says Arkady Ghukasyan tries his best to hinder the presidential candidate Masis Mayilyan, but he will fail because there are people with a civil thinking and standpoint in the government.

INFORMATION THAT NKR RESIDENT DELIBERATELY CROSSED BORDER, IS NEXT CANARD OF AZERI MEDIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2007 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The information spread by Azeri media as if 49-year-old resident of Martouni town Valeri Suleymanyan deliberately has crossed the border of Azerbaijan and stated that he does not want to return home, is the next canard, the RA Defense Ministry Press Office reports. Actually Valeri Suleymanyan was lost on April 18 while gathering herbage and he was taken prisoner by Azeri armed forces. He has family in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the RA Defense Ministry Press Office reports, adding that it would be better if the Azeri propaganda machine deals with its domestic problems instead of spreading misinformation. Particularly, just the other day a shooting took place between two soldiers of the zenithal-missile division of Kurdamir garrison. In the result of this incident a recruit, who was serving in this division, received severe wounds, one serviceman died and the situation of a another one is critical.

IS ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN UNAWARE OF KARABAKH LAWS?

Lragir.am
12-06-2007 15:50:30

On June 12 the Hayeli Club hosted Kiro Manoyan, who is in charge of the Office of Hay Dat and Political Affairs of the ARF Bureau, and the former prime minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan, to discuss issues related to the Karabakh conflict. The media reported that the presidential candidate Bako Sahakyan is not eligible because he did not reside in Karabakh permanently over the past ten years. Our reporter inquired from the spokesmen what the consequences of registration of an ineligible candidate in Karabakh will be.

The ARF Dashnaktsutyun supports Bako Sahakyan. The representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Kiro Manoyan declined to comment on the laws of Karabakh, but asked: "What did this man do in Moscow? For whom did he work?" We reminded Kiro Manoyan that Bako Sahakyan used to be the representative of the National Security of Armenia, not Karabakh, to the capital of Russia.

"So is it illegal to live in Armenia to run in the presidential election in Karabakh?" Kiro Manoyan asked. Hrant Bagratyan thinks there is a problem. "People from Karabakh can do anything they want, whereas we cannot." Hrant Bagratyan says the provision on permanent residency was set down in the Constitution but not in the legislation, and if the issue is reported to the Constitutional Court, the "Constitutional Court will make a decision depending on whom it wants to please."

Celebrity Cartoonist Behind Hate Website

Murad Gumen, the Turkish-American author of the attached famous Micky Mouse cartoon is infamous for his part time job - he is the covert webmaster of tallarmeniantale.com, a website that denies the destruction of over a million Christian Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I.

Gumen has been using the pseudo name “Holdwater” in denying the Armenian Genocide and comparing Armenians to rodents. Keeping his real identity secret for many years, Mr. Gumen is now in hot waters.

A Turkish professor of Armenian Genocide, Taner Akcam, is the hunter of Mr. Gumen. Prof. Akcam, author of recent best seller on the Armenian Genocide, was repeatedly called “terrorist” in Mr. Gumen’s website leading to a 4-hour detention of the Turkish historian during a recent trip to Canada.

Prof. Akcam, a long time human rights activist now in exile from his native Turkey, apparently did not endure the personal attacks against him. He did what an average historian would do: go after the documents and sources used on the racist website.

File six in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Institutional Archives, Accession no. 1997-014, box 152 was the answer. This was a personal communication that “Holdwater” made reference to not realizing it was public domain. Making reference to “Holdwater’s” xenophobia that he would lose his job if his identity were revealed, Prof. Akcam the “terrorist” used a nuclear bomb called revealing the truth.

And the truth is - “Holdwater” is Murad Gumen, a celebrity Turkish-American cartoonist and creator of “Wonderguy” (1993) with an unbelievably “wonderful” hate for the Armenian people and the tragedy called genocide that they experienced in 1915.

Taner Akcam’s two articles on Holdwater in English is available at www.blogian.net.

Reports: Russian jury acquits suspected murderer of Armenian teenager

AP Worldstream
Published: Jun 01, 2007

A Moscow region jury has acquitted a man suspected of murdering an Armenian teenager, news reports said Friday.

The verdict comes amid escalating xenophobia and hate crimes in Russia.

A jury at the Moscow Region's Court has found the suspect, Anton Polusmyak, innocent despite the testimony of two witnesses who said he assaulted Artur Sardarian, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.

Officials at the court could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The 19-year-old Armenian was fatally stabbed in the neck and chest in May 2006 by two young men who approached him on a regional commuter train near Moscow. His lawyer said the attackers yelled "Glory to Russia!" and "Long live Russia!"

"The decision is a complete surprise to me and my wife," Sardarian's father, Eduard, told the daily Kommersant. "The jury preferred the opinion of the defense attorneys who claimed Polusmyak spent that night with his friends."

The second suspect's identity has not been established. Sardarian's lawyers said they would appeal the sentence.

Russia has seen a surge in racism and hate crimes in recent years, with a series of attacks on nonwhite or dark-skinned residents, foreigners and Jews.

This year, 31 people were killed and another 203 wounded in apparent hate crimes, said Galina Kozhevnikova of the Sova analytical center.

Rights groups say authorities do little or nothing to combat xenophobia, often prosecuting hate crimes as simple hooliganism.