Monday, August 8, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

Armenian Weekly Editor’s Conversation with President Gul Highlighted in Turkish Media

by Asbarez Staff
March 31, 2010
in Community, News
1
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Armenian Weekly Editor Khatchig Mouradian

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian’s “Dispatches from Turkey,” a series of five blog posts he wrote during his trips to Istanbul, Ankara, Kars, and Ani in March, have received a significant amount of attention not only in Armenia and the diaspora but also in Turkey.

Mouradian, who was part of a nine-member delegation of U.S. commentators and analysts visiting Turkey at the invitation of TEPAV (Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey), wrote about his conversation with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the reactions to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement about deporting Armenians from Turkey, and several related issues in his dispatches, which were cited in the mainstream Turkish papers Zaman, Milliyet, and Hurriyet, among others.

***

In an article in Today’s Zaman titled “Harsh rhetoric heralds gloomy spring for normalization,” which appeared on March 21, an entire section discusses Mouradian’s “Dispatch #2.” This section is reprinted here.

Spirit, hearts and politics

And yet, damage has been done here and there, and the government should make clear whether it wants to make peace with only with citizens of Armenia or the entire Armenian nation, despite the Armenian Diaspora’s actions, which are hampering the normalization process—without forgetting its own Armenian citizens, who are not guests, but people of this country.

Khatchig Mouradian is an Armenian writer who arrived in Turkey on Wednesday as part of a delegation of U.S. commentators and analysts visiting the country at the invitation of the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV).

In an article posted on the Armenian Weekly website titled “Memleketine Hosgeldin” (Welcome to Your Country), Mouradian said the title was inspired by what a Turkish journalist told him when she learned of his arrival in Turkey.

Recalling Erdogan’s recent remarks, Mouradian argues, “Turkish diplomats and commentators do not view Armenians as a single monolithic block, but as three supposedly homogeneous blocks.”

Mouradian lists those groups: “The Armenians living in Turkey [mainly in Istanbul] comprise the first group. … In Turkey, these Armenians are regarded as ‘our Armenians,’ or the ‘good Armenians,’ as long as they do not speak out about the genocide and the continued discrimination they face. … The citizens of Armenia, the second group, are, according to the dominant rhetoric in Turkey, the ‘neighbors’ (the ‘poor Armenians’), who are under difficult economic conditions and do not mind forgetting the past and moving on, if the Armenian diaspora leaves them alone. The diaspora Armenians, the third group, are the ‘bad Armenians’.”

Mouradian’s arguments are controversial, but this doesn’t change the fact that many hearts have been broken.

***

On March 29, Milliyet published an article titled “Cankaya’da neler konusuldu?” by Asli Aydintasbas, where the author devotes a section to Mouradian’s conversation with Gul about the Armenian Genocide following the official meeting.

A shorter version (in English) of the same article appeared in Hurriyet Daily News under the title “What was really talked about in Cankaya”? The article begins:

At a meeting with former U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Morton Abromowitz and the Forbes magazine’s Claudia Rosett, whose statements were denied over the weekend by the Presidential Office in Cankaya, and with numerous American commentators, President Abdullah Gul talked about the pain and sorrow felt during the 1915 Armenian events and of Turks living in the Balkans. As leaving, he said “I salute your elderly in the family,” to the Armenian decent journalist Khatchig Mouradian who told the story of his family left Turkey in 1915.

***

On March 19, in a column by Amberin Zaman in Taraf about Erdogan’s threat to deport Armenians, there was a reference to an earlier trip taken by Mouradian and Zaman to the Der Zor desert. Below is the English translation of the concluding paragraph of the column (the entire column will be published by the Weekly later this week):

I recommend to those who are interested in our history that they go to the Der Zor desert in Syria. You know, the desert to which the Committee of Progress and Union sent hundreds of thousands of Armenians, women, elderly, and children alike. There are other horrible truths that shine as bright as the sun there. There are mass graves that the Armenians claim to belong to their ancestors and bones breaking out of the soil. I saw those bones. I am not in a position to prove whom they belong to. That is not the main issue anyway. The main issue is what those bones mean to millions of Armenians. My Armenian friend Khatchig Mouradian, who was there with me, said that his biggest dream was to one day pray, mourn, with his Turkish friends, for his relatives who died in that desert. I can almost hear the whispers of those tormented souls wandering on Der Zor: “It is you who are distorting the past…”

 

Asbarez Staff

Asbarez Staff

Next Post

Turkish Historian Affirms Armenian Genocide

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

As Ankara Warns Yerevan, Erdogan Declares Artsakh Part of Azerbaijan

As Ankara Warns Yerevan, Erdogan Declares Artsakh Part of Azerbaijan

6 hours ago
Massis Kabob to Open First Standalone Restaurant in Glendale

Massis Kabob to Open First Standalone Restaurant in Glendale

6 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • August 8, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to