Month: June 2005

Azerbaijan looks to Turkey as model for cult of dead leader
By Vincent Boland
FT
June 4 2005 03:00
Between a supermarket and a hardwarestore on a busy street close to
the centre of Baku, a poster high on an advertising hoarding provides
a glimpse of what the emerging hub of the Caspian Sea oil industry
might yet become: a country built in the image of one man.
The poster displays portraits of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s late
president and, in the words of his son, “founder of an independent
Azeri state”, and of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who really did create
the republic of Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
That the supermarket is Turkish-owned is not coincidental. The
juxtaposition of these two men is no accident either. Azerbaijan and
Turkey are bonded by ethnicity, language, religion and culture. Both
countries emerged from empires – Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union,
Turkey from its Ottoman imperial past.
Now, a growing cult of personality around Aliyev bears striking
parallels to, and may be a conscious attempt to emulate, the cult of
Ataturk, “father of the Turks”, whose legacy still resonates in his
country three generations after his death in 1938.
In Baku, signs of the emerging cult of Aliyev, who died in 2003,
are everywhere. His portrait glowers from posters at traffic
intersections. The airport, schools and factories are named after
him. His bust is in public buildings.
Last week a vast oil pipeline that is the key to Azerbaijan’s
future wealth was solemnly inaugurated as the Heydar Aliyev
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline.
The man guiding this memorialisation of Aliyev is his son, Ilham
Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s current president. At the ceremony to open the
pipeline, Aliyev the younger gave an emotional speech in memory of
his father.
“He was the architect, the strategist of Azerbaijan,” he told
an audience that included the presidents of Turkey, Georgia and
Kazakhstan.
The old man was not present because “destiny has decided otherwise,
but his ideas are eternal for us”.
Azeris are wearily familiar with the cult of personality from their
days as citizens of the Soviet Union. According to some western
observers in Baku, they may also be torn between their Soviet and
Turkish heritage, giving the parallels between the personality cults
of Aliyev and Ataturk added potency.
Some Azeris make the comparison explicit. Samir Sharifov, executive
director of the State Oil Fund in Baku, says that, just as Ataturk
rescued Turkey from occupation and destruction after the first world
war, Aliyev saved Azerbaijan from the same fate after independence from
the Soviet Union and a war with Armenia over the disputed territory
of Nagorno Karabakh. “Heydar Aliyev did for Azerbaijan what Ataturk
did for Turkey,” he says.
Is the parallel justified? The two men could hardly be more
different. Ataturk was one of the great figures of the interwar years
in Europe, forcing Turkey to modernise and turn westward. His legacy
today is a democratic Turkey.
Aliyev was an apparatchik, the first non-Russian to head a KGB
operation in a Soviet republic (Azerbaijan), who climbed the Soviet
power apparatus to become a member of the Politburo. He was not the
first president of independent Azerbaijan, but the third, coming
to power in 1993 after internal unrest that he was instrumental in
fomenting. He changed the constitution to allow his son to succeed him.
Aliyev appears to have left Azerbaijan as a hereditary autocracy
that “he rules from beyond the grave”, as a western official in Baku
puts it.
Nasib Nassibli, director of the Foundation for Azerbaijani Studies in
Baku, points out that Aliyev could have chosen to model his country
on Turkey’s democratic system.
But, from instinct and training, “Heydar Aliyev didn’t like the Turkish
version of democracy.” What appealed, instead, was the memorialisation
of Ataturk, who has been dead for nearly 70 years but is still alive
in Turkey.
“The people of Azerbaijan need to feel that Heydar Aliyev is still
alive,” Prof Nassibli says. “Turkey has given us a very bad example.”

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Concern
‘RA GOVERNMENT DOOMS THOUSANDS OF PENSIONERS TO HUNGER’
Accumulation of Signatures against Social Cards
RA Government had doomed to hunger thousands of pensioners. This
statement was made by the Armenian Constitutional Law Enforcement
Center on June 2.The government doesn’t deprive them of the right
to receive pensions, but they don’t pay it, as the pensioners have
no social cards. According to the data, submitted by RA Social
Security Minister, 600 thousand Armenian citizens refused to take
social cards. Gevorg Manukian, Head of ACLE, applied to RA National
Assembly for permission to apply to RA Constitutional Court to define
the law on Social cards. The appeal was signed by 30 deputies of RA
Parliament. They failed to accumulate the required 44 signatures. The
representatives of ACLE submitted a bill on making amendments to the
abovementioned law, accumulating 70 signatures given by the lectors of
ARF Dashnaktsutiun and Republican Party of Armenia. ACLE is determined
to organize a large-scale accumulation of signatures. The members of
the center are sure that they will gather thousands of signatures,
as the law was forced to the people. They believe that this action
will turn into an unofficial referendum for the law on social cards
and RA citizens will vote “against” that.
By Nana Petrosian

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Diaspora
GRADUATION CEREMONY AT MELKONIAN INSTITUTION
>>From Our Own Correspondent
On Thursday 19th of May a Memo was posted at the Melkonian, inviting
staff (Teachers, Supervisors, etc) to this years “Graduation Ceremony
and Dinner” to be held the Hilton Park Hotel!
Staff was told that employees were all invited, along with their
spouses to the dinner at the 5 star hotel.
Each graduating student would also be allowed to invite up to 4 guests.
The majority of the teachers along with the students were absolutely
livid on reading this, final insult to them, with much murmurings of
boycotting the ceremony.
The 7th formers were then asked to a meeting with the “Principal”,
to discuss the ceremony.
They were told that the move was due to concerns about security, that
it was a fait accompli, the hotel being already booked and paid for;
that the decision is final.
In other words, the usual tactics employed by Gordon and his
entourage. The students’ argument for having the ceremony at the
school as in past years fell on deaf ears, with all attempts by the
7th formers to make them see logic and reconsider being dismissed
out of hand.
Thus we are faced with a graduation, the last graduation, without
the powerful presence of the Melkonian brothers’ caring stare.
Who would have thought that a maniac, driven by Bush-style paranoia
about terrorism, would do this to a group of young adults, a group
whose only wish is to be allowed to graduate with dignity and following
years of tradition.

Russia never considered relocating military bases to Abkhazia – envoy
ITAR-TASS news agency
3 Jun 05
Moscow, 3 June: “Abkhazia was not considered” as a possible location
to move Russian bases withdrawing from Georgian territory to, Russian
Foreign Ministry special envoy Igor Savolskiy announced today.
Answering a question from journalists about the possible relocation
of Russian military hardware from Batumi and Akhalkalaki to Abkhazia
(Gudauta) or Armenia (Gyumri), Savolskiy stressed that “Abkhazia was
not discussed”.
“Armenia was discussed, as the base at Akhalkalaki is 100 km away from
our base in Gyumri,” the diplomat said. “Military hardware can be
moved from one Russian base to another and this will not create any
fundamentally new situation. All the concerns that this will somehow
strengthen the Armenian army are unfounded,” Savolskiy stressed.
According to him, the question of handing over Russian military
hardware to Armenia “was not considered, it will only be relocated
to the Russian military base”.

How they stand
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jun 04, 2005
Group One
P W D L F A Pts
Holland 6 5 1 0 14 3 16
Czech Republic 6 5 0 1 14 5 15
Romania 7 4 1 2 12 8 13
Finland 6 3 0 3 13 10 9
FYR Macedonia 7 1 2 4 7 9 5
Armenia 7 1 1 5 4 15 4
Andorra 7 1 1 5 3 17 4
Today Armenia v Macedonia, Czech Republic v Andorra, Netherlands v
Romania. Wednesday Czech Republic v Macedonia, Finland v Netherlands,
Romania v Armenia.
Group Two
P W D L F A Pts
Ukraine 7 5 2 0 12 3 17
Greece 7 4 2 1 12 6 14
Turkey 7 3 3 1 13 7 12
Denmark 7 2 3 2 10 7 9
Albania 7 2 0 5 3 11 6
Georgia 6 1 2 3 8 13 5
Kazakhstan 5 0 0 5 2 13
Fixtures:Today Albania v Georgia, Turkey v Greece, Ukraine v
Kazakhstan Wednesday Denmark v Albania, Greece v Ukraine, Kazakhstan
v Turkey.
Group Three
P W D L F A Pts
Portugal 6 4 2 0 21 4 14
Slovakia 6 4 2 0 18 5 14
Russia 6 3 2 1 13 10 11
Latvia 6 3 1 2 14 12 10
Estonia 7 2 2 3 10 14 8
Liechtenstein 6 1 1 4 9 16 4
Luxembourg 7 0 0 7 4 28
Today Estonia v Liechtenstein, Portugal v Slovakia, Russia v Latvia.
Wednesday Estonia v Portugal, Latvia v Liechtenstein, Luxembourg v
Slovakia.
Group Four
P W D L F A Pts
France 6 2 4 0 5 1 10
Israel 6 2 4 0 8 6 10
Switzerland 5 2 3 0 10 3 9
Rep of Ireland 5 2 3 0 7 2 9
Cyprus 6 0 1 5 4 12 1
Faroe Islands 4 0 1 3 2 12 1
Today Faroe Islands v Switzerland, Republic of Ireland v Israel.
Wednesday Faroe Islands v Republic of Ireland.
Group Five
P W D L F A Pts
Italy 5 4 0 1 9 5 12
Norway 5 2 2 1 6 3 8
Slovenia 5 2 2 1 5 4 8
Belarus 4 1 2 1 9 6 5
Scotland 4 0 2 2 1 4 2
Moldova 5 0 2 3 1 9 2
Today Belarus v Slovenia, Norway v Italy, Scotland v Moldova.
Wednesday Belarus v Scotland.
Group Six
P W D L F A Pts
England 6 5 1 0 13 3 16
Poland 6 5 0 1 19 5 15
Austria 6 3 2 1 11 8 11
Northern Ireland 6 0 3 3 5 13 3
Wales 6 0 2 4 5 11 2
Azerbaijan 6 0 2 4 1 14 2
Today Azerbaijan v Poland.
Group Seven
P W D L F A Pts
Serbia-Mont’gro 5 3 2 0 10 0 11
Spain 5 2 3 0 8 1 9
Lithuania 5 2 3 0 7 2 9
Belgium 5 2 1 2 7 7 7
Bosnia-H 4 0 3 1 3 6 3
San Marino 6 0 0 6 1 20
Today San Marino v Bos-Herz, Serb-Mont v Belgium, Spain v Lithuania.
Wednesday Spain v Bos-Herz.
Group Eight
P W D L F A Pts
Croatia 5 4 1 0 13 2 13
Sweden 5 4 0 1 17 2 12
Bulgaria 5 2 2 1 10 8 8
Hungary 5 2 1 2 6 9 7
Iceland 5 0 1 4 4 14 1
Malta 5 0 1 4 1 16 1
Today Bulgaria v Croatia, Iceland v Hungary, Sweden v Malta.
Wednesday Iceland v Malta.

PROTESTS OVER POSTPONEMENT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISTANBUL CONFERENCE CONTINUE
Pan Armenian News
04.06.2005 04:15
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Union of Middle East Studies US-based academic
organization has sent a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan protesting against the postponement of the conference on
the Armenian issue, organized by Bosphorus Istanbul University, for
an unknown period of time. As reported by NTV Turkish company, the
letter signed by 2600 scholars of the Union expresses concern over
the Turkish Government’s attitude to the discussion of the Armenian
Genocide issue. The authors of the letter urged the Prime Minister
of Turkey – a Council of Europe member state – to contribute for the
conference over the Armenian issue to be held as soon as possible.

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Interview
CHAIRMAN OF WAC ARA ABRAHAMIAN SHARING WITH HIS THOUGHTS ON RUSSIA,
DEMOCRACY AND ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
(beginning in previous issue)
– Is that possible that an “orange” revolution will take place
in Armenia?
– I think today’s situation in Armenia is hardly favorable for such
a revolution. It usually comes with elections. There is still much
time for parliamentary and presidential elections in Armenia. It is
important for an “orange” revolution that there is a united opposition
with one leader. It also requires involvement of external powers and
weak and disunited authorities. Many elements that go hand in hand
with “orange” revolution are absent in Armenia. Besides, Armenia’s
political elite understands that there is the Nagorno Karabakh issue
which may suffer in case of political crises. Thus, the opposition
does not neglect Karabakh issue while defining its stance against
the authorities. But, as President Bush said in his speech at the
International Republican, USA will perhaps back suchlike revolutions
and regime changes in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. I want to
believe that he meant Georgia and Azerbaijan but not Armenia. I think
neither the US nor Russia are interested to see revolution in Armenia.
– How do you see Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution?
– The resolution is obvious for us, Armenians. We certainly would
like to set right the historic injustice, when ancient Armenian region
was deliberately handed over to Azerbaijan by the Party’s decision —
a decision that no one had right to take. For us it is obvious that
Nagorno Karabakh is part of Armenia. By making concession, I think it
would be possible to recognize Karabakh a sovereign unite, a small
state, which will have good-neighborly relations with Azerbaijan
and close brotherly ties with Armenia. The Minsk group co-chairs
make different offers to push the settlement forward. But it’s not
the time and the place for detailed discussion of these offers,
particularly in case when they are not thoroughly elaborated.
– Is that possible that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan will
break out?
– That threat is always hanging, as Azerbaijan is getting ready
for parliamentary elections in November. If the opposition exerts
too much pressure the authorities may provoke break of the truce in
order to unite the nation and keep the opposition away from taking
the wheel. Much will depend on America’s and Russia’s behavior. Will
they take a tough position not to allow a war that will destabilize
the region? In view of the newly built Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,
such destabilization would play into hands of neither oil companies
nor the Western states with their huge investments in the pipeline.
– What do you think of Turkish Prime Minister’s letter to Armenian
President with a proposal of a joint Armenian-Turkish group to study
archive documents connected with the events in the beginning of
20th century?
– I think that the fact of Turkish Prime Minister’s appeal to
Armenian President should be greeted. Unfortunately, Turkey takes such
steps only after feeling international community’s pressure. Without
Washington’s pressure that would be no Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission. Without European Union’s pressure, without European
Parliament’s precondition of Armenian Genocide recognition the Turkish
side would hardly take any step to remove that painful issue which
separates the two nations.
I think that Armenian President is right saying that it is not the
time to discuss archive documents and that it is not an issue for
the historians to study. Today the Armenian-Turkish relations are a
political issue. Politicians and diplomats have to treat it but not
the historians.
At any rate, Armenian side has no doubt that there was a genocide. No
Armenians are left in our historic homeland, their property was
appropriated, many monuments were ruined and the people spread all
over the world. It’s ridiculous to return to historical studies today
when 2 dozens of states and international organizations recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
– How do you see the improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations?
– I think that those relations should improve based on the
international law and should include a few elements: Genocide
recognition by Turkey, material reparation to Genocide survivors and
territorial concession to Armenia.
I think that small material reparation (there are very few survivors
today that could present their documents to Turkish authorities),
construction of a memorial at the place of massive massacres and
return of a symbolic territory comprising the Mount Ararat, Armenian’s
medieval capital of Ani could be a good ground for talks.
At all events, the World Armenian Congress has created a commission of
specialists that should elaborate a pan-Armenian approach and demand
to this issue. It will also decide the size of reparation. I think
we will have final and summarized recommendations to submit to the
Armenian authorities and the Armenian Diaspora.

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Turkey
TRIAL OVER LAWYER AYHAN TO LAUNCH IN ANKARA
He is Charged With Uttering ‘Armenian Massacres’
Daily Azg has informed the readers about the new Turkish penal
code which prosecutes for recalling the Armenian Genocide. In an
article titled “Lawsuit for Uttering Armenian Massacres” on June 3
Milliyet newspaper confirmed our information. The person to stand
the trial was lawyer Medeni Ayhan who made a speech at the session
of the Union of Lawyers of Ankara on October 17 2004 where he said,
“As a representative of Kurdish nation and a citizen of Kurdistan I
defend Kurds’ right for an independent state”.
Basing on these words of Ayhan, the Prosecutor’s Office of Ankara
filed a lawsuit against him in February applying the 312d article
of the old penal code as the new one was not yet in force. Following
the new penal code the same Prosecutor’s Office accused Ayhan for the
following sentence: “The Ottoman Empire carried out the massacre of
one and a half million Armenians by the hands of Hamidian horsemen
and Ittihat Party members. I sympathize with the Armenian people and
bow my head in homage to the victims”.
The statement about the “Armenian massacres” gave the Ankara
prosecutor’s Office a cause for the second lawsuit against Ayhan
this time applying the 216th article of the new penal code, which
is the replication of the 312d article, Milliyet claims. Though the
chairman of Ankara’s Union of Lawyers, Vedat A. Josar, said concerning
Ayhan’s speech that “even astonishing ideas may have adherents”, the
Supreme Headquarters of Turkish armed forces brought a suit against
the defendant applying the 305th article of the penal code.
This means that along with the expression “Armenian genocide” the
“Armenian massacres” is also viewed as a penal action prosecuted by two
— 216 and 305 — articles. The trial of lawyer Medeni Ayhan launched
yesterday and is proceeding in accordance with the new penal code.
Milliyet points out that it was in the first time in the country that
“opining for the fact of Armenian massacres” is considered a crime. “If
Ayhan is condemned for his views then the 216th article of the new
penal code can be applied for those putting forward views opposing
the state thesis. Thus, many intellectuals holding to different views
than the official one will face trial as Ayhan”.
By Hakob Chakrian

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Region
MOSCOW SENDS NOTE TO BAKU
Pyotor Burdikin, Temporary Representative of Russia in Azerbaijan,
said that the transportation of the heavy artillery from the Russian
military bases in Georgia to Russian Military Station #102 in Gyumri
doesn’t mean that Russia hands its armament to Armenia. The relevant
note send to Baku says that the matter is about transportation of the
armament from one Russian military station to another. Burdikin said
that Georgia and other states apply pressure over Moscow, demanding
to withdraw the military stations as soon as possible. Thus, Russia
has no way out, except for transferring the part of the armament to
the Russian military station in Gyumri. The Russian diplomat said
that the process will have no impact on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement. He added that it is not directed against a third country
and doesn’t violate international treaties.
Earlier, Baku sent a note to Moscow, expressing concern about
transferring a part of the Russian heavy artillery to the Gyumri
based military station.

GEORGIA NEEDS ARMENIA’S SUPPORT IN ISSUE OF ABKHAZIA
AZG Armenian Daily #102, 04/06/2005
Neighbors
Novosti agency informed that Konstantin Gabashvili, chairman of
Committee of External relations at Georgian Parliament, stated that
the Georgian side hopes that Armenia will assist them in talking over
Russia in issue of return of the Georgian refugees to Abkhazia. “If
Armenia joins us in our efforts, using its good relations with Russia,
I think we will be a success. We can convince Russia to begin the
return of the Georgian refugees to Galli and Ochamchi regions as soon
as the Abkhazian rail road opens,” Gabashvili said. Turkey Continues
Studying Kocharian’s Letter
Turkish Daly News informed that Namik Tan, speaker of Turkish Foreign
Ministry, stated that Ankara continues studying the letter of RA
President Robert Kocharian. According to the letter, RA President
suggested to establish natural relations between Armenia and Turkey
without any pre-conditions. Tan emphasized that the Turkish side will
take into account “the positive steps” of Armenia, when evaluating
the letter. The speaker said that the exchange of letters between
Armenia and Turkey gave some hopes for unfolding dialogue between the
two states, but these hopes were lost, when Kocharian touched upon
“the supposed genocide” in his speech at CE Summit in Warsaw.