Month: June 2005

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ARMENIAN AMBASSADORS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES
YEREVAN, May 31. /ARKA/. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met
Tuesday Armenian Ambassadors to foreign countries. According to
Armenian Presidential Press Service, Armenia’s foreign policy
problems and ways for solution were discussed at the meeting among
other issues. The President thinks systematization of works being
carried out in foreign policy area should be improved for securing
the state’s interests in foreign policy area. Armenian diplomats are
now in Yerevan to attend annual session of ambassadors. M.V. -0–

Russia withdrawing excessive material, arms from Batumi base.
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 31 2005
TBILISI, May 31 (Itar-Tass) — A train with military hardware and
ammunition of the Russian military base in Batumi will depart for
Armenia on Tuesday evening, a representative of the Russian Group of
Forces in the South Caucasus told Itar-Tass.
He said they are carrying away excessive armaments and materiel from
Georgia in accordance with a plan drafted several months before the
completion of the Russian-Georgian negotiations on the military bases’
pullout.
“The withdrawal of military hardware and armaments has been coordinated
with the Georgian authorities,” the source said.
Two trains were sent to the Russian territory in late March – early
April, and this train will carry the equipment to the Russian military
base in Gyumri, he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Oil pipeline completed: a sign of rising great power rivalry in Central Asia
By Peter Symonds –
World Socialist Web Site
May 31 2005
Last week’s ceremony in the Central Asian republic of Azerbaijan to
open the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline received scant coverage in
the international press. Nevertheless the completion of the US-backed
pipeline, which has taken a decade to construct, will inevitably
accelerate the scramble for oil and gas in the Caspian Basin region
and heighten the potential for conflict among rival major powers.
>>From the outset, planning for the oil pipeline was guided not by
immediate economic considerations but long-term US strategic goals.
Since the early 1990s, Washington has been determined to exploit the
unprecedented opportunity opened up by the collapse of the Soviet
Union to establish its hegemony in the key resource-rich region of
Central Asia.
The 1,770 km pipeline, simply known by the acronym BTC, is one of
the world’s longest and cost $4 billion to build. It snakes its way
from the Sangachal oil and gas terminal south of the Azeri capital
of Baku on the Caspian Sea through neighboring Georgia and some of
the most mountainous regions of the Caucasus to finally reach the
Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
As far as Washington was concerned, the chief consideration in
plotting this tortuous path was to undercut the existing pipeline
system in Russia and to avoid Iran, which offers the shortest and
cheapest pipeline route from landlocked Central Asia to a coastline.
The US has maintained an economic blockade of Iran since 1979.
The resulting pipeline route through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey not
only created engineering problems but produced a decade of political
intrigue as the White House, first under Clinton then Bush, sought
to strengthen the US position in each of these countries. In 2003,
the Bush administration backed the so-called Rose Revolution that
ousted former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and installed
openly pro-US Mikhael Saakashvili in his place.
The BTC’s significance was underscored by the presence at the opening
of US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who read out a letter from
US President Bush, along with the presidents of the three countries
involved and also of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. Just
prior to the ceremony, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbeyev
signed a declaration committing his country to transport some of
its huge oil reserves through the pipeline-a move that will create
tension with Moscow.
Lord Browne, chief executive of British Petroleum (BP), was also
present. BP with a 30.1 percent in the pipeline is the leading partner
in the controlling consortium, which also includes the Azerbaijani
state oil company SOCAR (25 percent), Unocal (US, 8.9 percent),
Statoil (Norway, 8.71 percent) and Turkish Petroleum (6.53 percent)
as well as French, Italian, Japanese and other US corporations.
Georgian President Saakashvili highlighted the strategic rivalry
involved in the BTC’s construction when he baldly referred to its
completion as “a geopolitical victory” for the Caspian Basin nations.
The obvious question is: “victory” over whom? The answer is just as
clear: it is a win for Washington and US-aligned Central Asian regimes
over Moscow, which is seeking to retain its economic and strategic
dominance in a region that has been part of Russia then the Soviet
Union for well over a century.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev commented at ceremony: “The
realisation of this project would not have been possible without
constant political support from the US.” American backing for the
pipeline to pass through Georgia has assisted Azerbaijan in isolating
its rival Armenia-also a potential route for a pipeline to Turkey. In
April, the US signed an agreement to provide a further $110 million
in aid to impoverished Georgia. Earlier this month, Bush included
Georgia on his European tour, hailing the “Rose Revolution” and
declaring Saakashvili as “a freedom fighter”.
In his letter read out at the opening ceremony, Bush declared the
pipeline to be “a monumental achievement”. “This pipeline can help
generate balanced economic growth, and provide a foundation for a
prosperous and just society that advances the cause of freedom,” he
stated. In fact, the pipeline will only reinforce the subordination
of the Central Asian republics to the US, heighten social inequality
and buttress the anti-democratic rule of the current regimes.
State within a state
The 50-metre wide corridor, through which the pipeline runs, is a
virtual state within a state. It is governed by the Inter-Governmental
Agreement signed by the participating countries. The agreement largely
exempts BP and its partners from any laws in the three countries by
allowing the consortium to demand compensation should any legislation
(including environmental, social and human rights laws) make the
pipeline less profitable. The pipeline passes through a national park
in Georgia and several other environmentally sensitive sites. Critics
claim that land has been taken from local farmers without proper
compensation.
BP has invested at least $15 billion in Azerbaijan. An article on the
Asia Times website last week commented: “According to Baku’s street
wisdom, the man who really rules Azerbaijan is David Woodward, BP’s
chairman, known as ‘the viceroy’, a walking oil atlas with more than
three decades working for the company from Scotland to Abu Dhabi and
from Alaska to Siberia. Woodward and BP mercilessly spin that BTC is
the cleanest and safest pipeline ever built. Georgian peasants and
English non-governmental organizations beg to differ.”
The Bush administration has not hesitated in supporting the corrupt
Azerbaijan dictatorship. Heydar Aliyev, a long-time Stalinist party
boss, ruled the republic as his personal fiefdom from 1969 as part of
the Soviet Union, then in the 1990s as a separate country. After his
death in 2003, his son Ilham, notorious as a playboy, casino owner
and vice-president of the state oil company SOCAR, took over the
reins. According to Transparency International’s global corruption
index, Azerbaijan ranks 140 out of 146 countries.
On May 21, Azeri riot police waded into an opposition protest of some
500 people with batons, arresting at least 45 people. The demonstration
was called to demand amendments to the country’s electoral laws, the
creation of an independent public broadcaster and the prosecution
of the killer of journalist Elmar Guseinov, a critic of the regime
shot dead in early March outside his apartment. The government banned
the protest, declaring that the timing was “inappropriate” just days
before the pipeline’s opening.
A report by Human Rights Watch last month criticized neighboring
Georgia, hailed this month by Bush as “a beacon of liberty”,
for failing to guarantee the end of torture and duress to extract
confessions from prisoners. “The new government… has taken some steps
to address abusive practices, but these efforts have proven inadequate
to stem them. Moreover, some of the government’s new law enforcement
policies appeared to trigger new allegations of due process violations,
torture and ill-treatment,” it stated.
All three participating countries are desperate for income. The
pipeline will take six months to fill and is projected to reach a
flow of one million barrels a day by 2008. Once fully operational,
Azerbaijan is expected to accrue $29 billion a year in oil revenues
and Georgia and Turkey $600 million and $1.5 billion in annual transit
fees respectively.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the standard of living in
both Georgia and Azerbaijan has plummeted, with the annual average
per capita income currently at just $730 and $710 respectively.
Little or none of the projected pipeline income will be used to end
the social crisis in these countries. One measure of the indifference
to the plight of ordinary people is the consortium’s token spending
on “community and environmental investment”-estimated to be just $30
million compared to construction costs of $4 billion.
As far as Washington is concerned, the pipeline’s projected economic
benefits are just one element of a more far-reaching plan. The BTC is
a convenient lever for the US to extend its political influence and
to buttress its military presence in Central Asia to the detriment
of its rivals-particularly Russia and China. The Bush administration
has already used its “war on terrorism” to establish military bases
for the first time in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Now the US is using
“pipeline security” as the pretext for forging closer military ties
with Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Speculation that the US is seeking to base troops in Azerbaijan was
heightened by last month’s visit to Baku by US Defence Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld. In congressional testimony earlier this year, US
commander in Europe General James Jones declared that the US was
interested in creating a special “Caspian guard” to protect the BTC.
The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the US plans to spend
$100 million on such a force, including the establishment of a command
centre in Baku. Concerned over Russian opposition, Azerbaijan has to
date been reluctant to commit itself.
Russian hostility to Washington’s growing intrusion into Central
Asia was spelled out by Mikhail Margelov, head of the international
affairs committee of the country’s parliamentary upper house.
“Russia’s attitude to proposals made by some politicians that this
task [pipeline security] should actually be delegated to the United
States, is firmly negative. Russia will always oppose the presence
of any foreign military contingents within the countries of the CIS
[Commonwealth of Independent States],” he commented.
Konstantin Kosachyov, a State Duma parliamentarian, pointed to
Washington’s geopolitical ambitions, stating: “It is absolutely obvious
that this project was born for political rather than economic reasons
in order to create a stable alternative for transferring Caspian energy
resources to the West bypassing Russia and some other states, such as
Iran.” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for
international energy cooperation, Igor Yusufov, was due to attends
the BTC opening ceremony but excused himself at the last minute on
the grounds of illness.
The completion of the pipeline is just the first stage in what
will certainly be sharpening rivalry in Central Asia for control
of the region’s largely untapped resources. The Caspian Sea basin
is currently estimated to contain eight percent of the world’s oil
reserves as well as having huge natural gas reserves. A gas pipeline
following the same route is due to be completed next year. An agreement
was signed in March 2005 between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to build
a pipeline across the Caspian Sea connecting the Kashagan offshore
oil field in Kazakhstan to Baku and thus the BTC.
This latter deal highlights the logic of the newly completed BTC
pipeline. Unable to fully utilize the BTC’s capacity simply from
oilfields in Azerbaijan, the BP consortium, with the backing of
Washington, is compelled to seek oil from Kazakhstan and other Central
Asian sources, intensifying competition and potentially leading to
political and military conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
May 31, 2005
___________________
DIOCESE DISCUSSES RIGHTS OF MIDEAST CHRISTIANS WITH PALISTIANIAN
AUTHORITY PRESIDENT ABBAS
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) focused on
rights and security for Middle East Christians during a meeting between
American religious leaders and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, May 26, 2005.
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and ecumenical officer,
represented the Armenian Church in the discussions organized by the
National Council of Churches (NCC). He was one of 15 religious leaders
to attend the meeting.
“I expressed our continued concern and desire for peace in the Middle
East and justice for both the Israelis and Palestinians,” Bishop
Aykazian said. “And we also talked about the security of Christians in
the Holy Land. We know the numbers of Christians in the Holy Land
diminish every day, so we are extremely concerned about their fate and
their well being.”
Earlier this year, Bishop Aykazian was part of a delegation of American
religious leaders who traveled to the Middle East to meet with Israeli
and Palestinian leadership about the need to do more to protect the
area’s Christian minority. That trip was orchestrated by the group
Churches for Middle East Peace.
During the recent meeting in Washington, Bishop Aykazian said the
Palestinian leader told the religious leaders he was grateful for their
efforts to bring about peace in the region.
Also at the meeting was Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the
NCC.
“We were excited about the opportunity to meet with President Abbas and
also look forward to the day when we will be able to meet with (Israeli)
Prime Minister Sharon,” Edgar said in a written statement. “It is
extremely important that we continue to work and pray for peace in the
Holy Land. In spite of the conditions we remain hopeful that peace is
possible.”
ASKING FOR SUPPORT
During his earlier visit to the Holy Land, Bishop Vicken reported that
Christian leaders asked American Christians not to forget about their
plight. One such awareness-raising effort was the meeting with
President Abbas.
Also, the Christian leaders asked for economic support and solidarity
from tourists. Visitors to the Holy Land not only spend money and
support the local economy, but also shows the beleaguered Christians
they are not alone.
The Armenian presence in the Holy Land is ancient and illustrious. The
Armenian Quarter in the Old City has long been a spiritual center of the
Armenian Church.
Relatedly, the St. Vartan Cathedral “Avaks” senior-citizen group is
planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this summer, from August 23 to
31. For more information, contact Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St.
Vartan Cathedral, by calling (212) 686-0710 ext. 53.
— 5/31/05
# # #

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
May 31, 2005
___________________
CATHOLICOS TO HELP BUILD HOMES WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, will travel to Michigan from June 21 to 22, 2005, to
participate in Habitat for Humanity’s annual Jimmy Carter Work Project.
The Catholicos will build homes alongside former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter.
The visit is the latest effort to encourage the work of Habitat for
Humanity by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern).
Two years ago Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and ecumenical
officer, took leaders of Habitat for Humanity to Armenia to see how
their organization could work with the Armenian Church.
Last year he traveled to Armenia with a delegation that included the
state leaders of Habitat for Humanity in Michigan, who invited the
Catholicos to travel to Michigan this summer for the construction blitz
with President Carter.
“While working alongside President Carter, the Catholicos will have a
chance to discuss the involvement of the Armenian Church in the efforts
of Habitat for Humanity in Armenia,” Bishop Aykazian said. “Hopefully
that will foster a closer relationship between the two organizations,
because there is a real need for housing in Armenia.”
Recent reports suggest that 40 percent of Armenia’s population lives in
substandard housing. Part of the donation made by volunteers this
summer in Michigan will go toward funding Habitat for Humanity projects
in Armenia.
Bishop Aykazian recently had the honor of blessing the 100th home
completed by Habitat for Humanity Armenia. And many parishes around the
Diocese have organized trips to Armenia during which they volunteer to
build homes for Habitat for Humanity.
While in Michigan, the Catholicos will also meet with community leaders
and faithful.
“We all know there is a need for quality homes in Armenia, and I think
the visit by the Catholicos and his work with President Carter will draw
attention to that, and help us work to combat that problem,” Bishop
Aykazian said. “It will draw the attention not only of the general
public, but of the Armenian community as well. We are the ones who need
to give our support first. It is up to us to begin addressing this
serious issue in our homeland.”
— 5/31/05
# # #

‘I have no Intention to Run for Presidential Office’
Zaman (Istanbul)
05.29.2005 Sunday
POLITICS
ISTANBUL — Turkish Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek said that those,
who believe he “intends to become president “, try to set a trap for
the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Emphasizing that he has no problems with his party, Cicek noted:
“I have no such intention. No one should fall into this trap. I
am ready for any kind of sacrifice for the unity and integrity
of my party. I would not do any business against my party and the
government. ” Minister Cicek also expressed that his remark “This is
a stab in the back against Turkish nation”, as he uttered to defined
a conference on Armenians that was planned to be conducted at the
Bogazici (Bosphorous) University, should be evaluated within the
framework of freedom of thought.
It has been claimed that Cicek had exhibited a different attitude
than his party during negotiations regarding the new Turkish Penal
Code (TCK) in order to become president in 2007. Answering Zaman’s
questions, the Minister of Justice stressed that these claims are
only gossip. Cicek indicated that the political circles that are
disturbed with the AKP want to stir the party and similar attempts
would increase as presidential elections approach.
My remarks should be considered within the framework of freedom of
thought as well.’
Minister of Justice Cicek has also sat on the agenda by his tough
statements about the conference on Armenians that was to be held at the
Bosphorous University. After Cicek’s statement “This is a stab in the
back against Turkish nation”, the conference was cancelled. Standing
behind his statements, Cicek does not believe that relations with the
European Union (EU) will be damaged. He notes: “Why would my reaction
affect the EU negatively? My remarks should be evaluated within the
framework of freedom of thought. There has been prepared a law, which
makes saying ‘Turks did not commit genocide’ a crime in Brussels,
the EU’s capital. Why is saying this free but objecting to this is a
crime? This is also a freedom of thought. I am a politician. I have
thoughts and ideas. I have to express them.”

Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem
Prof. Israel Charny, Executive Director
Prof. Yair Auron, Associate Director
Marc Sherman, M.L.S., Assistant Director
Contact: P.0.B. 10311 91102 Jerusalem, Israel
TEL/FAX: 011-972-2672-0424 phone/fax
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE MAY 30, 2005
The Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Israel
protests the Turkish Government’s cancellation of an important
scholarly conference on “the Armenian question” sponsored by a
consortium of Turkish universities, which was to have been conducted
in Turkish at one of the universities with an expected attendance of
more than 700 registrants.
The program titles of many of the presentations made it very clear that
many of the scholars addressing the conference intended to recognize
the historical validity of what is known in history in the free world
as “the Armenian Genocide.”
They were going to do so despite the fact that current Turkish law
prescribes jail sentences of several years for statements either
about the Armenian Genocide or calling for Turkey withdrawing from
Cypress. These speakers are loyal Turks who love their country and
want to see it advance and grow. Several of them have written about
the importance for Turkey itself to achieve a free society, with
guaranteed academic freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of ideas;
and thus also for Turkey to demonstrate its readiness to be accepted
in the European Union.
Our Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem was perhaps
the first in the world to hold an interdisciplinary, multiple ethnic
conference on the genocides of all peoples when we convened the “First
International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide” in 1982.
Six lectures out of a total of 300 at our conference were scheduled
to deal with the Armenian Genocide. As reported in many stories in
the New York Times and other world press, Turkey pressured Israel
to remove these six lectures, the government of Israel shamefully
complied, and when we refused to do so the government attempted with
considerable use of government powers to close our conference down
entirely. Fortunately, even when Israel errs, it is overall a genuine
democracy, and our insistence on holding the conference including the
lectures on the Armenian Genocide could not be broken. The process
of our resistance and success has been honored many times in articles
and books by many writers ever since (for example, in the Yale Review).
The Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide calls on all governments
of the world to strive for a high level of accuracy, objectivity and
transparency about genocidal massacres and genocides, including by
its own peoples for many of our peoples in our shared Earth-world
have committed genocidal atrocities against others. In the long run,
the goal of human life, and all government, should be to protect
human lives more and more.
Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem
Prof. Israel Charny, Executive Director
Prof. Yair Auron, Associate Director
Marc Sherman, M.L.S., Assistant Director
####

Turkish Press
May 31 2005
Press Review:
STAR
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH US SENATOR
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received US Senator
Chuck Hagel. Present also at the one-hour meeting were Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul and US Deputy Commander for US Forces in Europe
Gen. Charles Wald. Bilateral relations, regional issues, as well
as the fight against terrorism and the Cyprus issue were reportedly
taken up during the talks. Hagel stated that US officials were looking
forward to Erdogan’s planned US visit next week. In addition, the
Turkish premier praised President George W. Bush and the US Congress’
recent stance against the Armenian genocide allegations. /Star/

BAKU AND ASTANA PLAY IT SAFE IN CASPIAN OIL BATTLE
By Marat Yermukanov
Jamestown Foundation
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
May 31 2005
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Until Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a landmark
trip to Baku on May 25, marking Kazakhstan’s decisive move towards
joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project, bilateral relations
between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan had shown few signs of progress.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev visited Kazakhstan in March 2004,
a meeting that produced a joint statement on friendly relations
and strategic partnership directed at safeguarding stability in the
Caspian region and rooting out terrorist organizations that could
undermine the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. At that time, Nazarbayev went out of his
way to pledge Astana’s readiness to mediate Azerbaijani-Armenian talks
on Karabakh. Armenian President Robert Kocharian reacted angrily to
this indiscreet remark, stating, “Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be a part
of Azerbaijan” (Kontinent, March 30, 2004).
Although Nazarbayev’s arrival for the BTC launch was generally welcomed
by project participants as a positive sign, Kazakhstan has not signed
the requisite intergovernmental agreement with Azerbaijan specifying
conditions for transporting Kazakh oil through the BTC pipeline. In
his talks with Aliev, Nazarbayev stressed the priority of economic
interests in bilateral relations and sidestepped the thorny issues of
terrorism and separatism. Nazarbayev had good reason to be sure that
the talks would be productive. Oil experts estimate that Azerbaijan
alone cannot provide enough oil to operate the BTC pipeline at its
full capacity of 50 million tons of oil. In the future, the total
annual oil output of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan could reach 220 tons,
but not before Kazakhstan starts commercial development of the Kashagan
oil deposits in 2008 (Delovaya nedelya, May 26).
One of the reasons Kazakhstan was reluctant to climb on the BTC
bandwagon until the last moment was believed to be the high costs of
pumping oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. On his recent
visit to Astana and subsequent trip to Baku, Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili removed that hurdle by convincing BTC shareholders to lower
transportation tariffs for Kazakhstan to $3.30 per barrel. But even
this moderately low tariff is less attractive than the transportation
costs charged by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which
Astana currently uses to ship the bulk of the oil produced by the
Tengiz-Chevroil joint venture. The fact that the BTC pipeline passes
through volatile regions in the North Caucasus and eastern Turkey
makes the prospect of using that route even grimmer for Kazakhstan.
Astana’s hesitancy about joining the BTC project for so long seems
to be primarily the political uncertainty of the route. Even after
the hearty handshaking with BTC shareholders at the Azeri Sangachal
oil terminal, Nazarbayev has left his options open for backtracking
regarding the current route, as well as the maritime route to Iran,
Azerbaijan, and Russia as an alternative to highly politicized BTC
route. Nor has Kazakhstan ruled out, despite all political risks it
may entail, the construction of a pipeline to Iran via Turkmenistan.
The Iranian option would be incomparably cheaper than the BTC
pipeline, which demands up to $3 billion to build oil transportation
infrastructure in western Kazakhstan. Astana will have to pour millions
of dollars into the projected 700-kilometer pipeline that is to
link oil producing Atyrau (western Kazakhstan) with Atyrau seaport,
from where the oil will be delivered to Sangachal oil terminal in
Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan depends on Russia for oil tankers, as creating
its own shipbuilding industry is not economically feasible for this
landlocked country. Astana needs only five high-capacity tankers to
service the Atyrau-Sangachal oil transport route. All these economic
and political factors may force Kazakhstan to make a hard choice
between competing powers (Novoye Pokolenie, May 27).
In recent months Russia, in its drive to raise the annual capacity of
the CPC to 67 million tons, has incessantly pressured Kazakhstan to
increase the amount of oil pumped through the CPC pipeline. To achieve
that target Russia is planning to build ten additional oil refineries.
Notably, just a few weeks before Nazarbayev’s departure for Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, a man known for his close
personal links to Russian energy oligarchs, unexpectedly announced
at a cabinet meeting that recent talks with Moscow on increasing the
amount of Kazakh oil through the CPC pipeline had led nowhere, and
therefore Kazakhstan would have to look for other routes. Although
he did not specify the BTC, it was clear that Tbilisi and Baku had
some role in that change of heart.
However, Azerbaijan also finds it difficult to cut the cord with
Russia, as it currently lets 5 million tons of its oil flow through
the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline via Russia. In his remarks at the
opening ceremony for the BTC project, President Aliev said that the
doors to the BTC pipeline were open for everyone, including Russia
(Panorama, May 27).
Not surprisingly, these words resonated with the often-emphasized
multi-vector oil policy of President Nazarbayev, who was the only
one in Baku to stress the importance of diversified export routes
for the Caspian region’s hydrocarbons.
It is still too early to determine how oil cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will be shaped in the future. But they share
at least one common interest: the search for a safe course ahead of
the impending battle for oil.

Journey to Kars
TDN
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
.. and lots of other interesting places .
An archaeologist escorts ex-pats and Turks to rarely visited historic
sites in eastern Anatolia
Susanne Fowler
ANI, Turkey
The sun was beating down on the blustery plateau at Ani, the deserted
ancient city on the Turkish side of the Armenian border, as archaeology
professor Geoffrey Summers led an international group of 40 on a tour
of the historic landscape.
The Istanbul Friends of ARIT (American Research Institute in Turkey)
organized the recent trip to Urartian, Armenian and Seljuk sites in
rugged eastern Anatolia. Highlights included a morning hike through
the ruins at Ani, a stop at Akdamar Island on Lake Van and a visit
to the Ishak Pasha Palace in the hills above Dogubeyazit. Our group
departed by air from Istanbul on a Thursday morning and landed in
Van after circling overhead for about 20 minutes because of a storm
passing over the city.
Wasting no time, Summers, a professor of archaeology at Middle East
Technical University in Ankara, introduced the travelers to Urartian
carvings and other artifacts at the Van museum. Then, it was back on
the bus to reach the ruins of an Urartian fortress in Anzaf, north
of Van. The region was part of the kingdom of Urartu almost 3,000
years ago.
After a hearty kebab lunch, the group trudged up slippery rocks to
get a closer look at the Van citadel and the cuneiform inscriptions
on the outer stonewalls of the fortress.
The next day began with stops at an Urartian citadel at CavuÅ~_tepe
and a medieval castle at HoÅ~_ap.
Following a lunch of grilled trout, the group boarded a ferry to
examine carvings on the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on Akdamar Island in a postcard-like setting on turquoise Lake Van. A
few hearty participants even went swimming off the rocky shore.
Day three saw a scary stroll across a wooden footbridge — worthy
of an Indiana Jones movie — to check out the Muradiye waterfalls. A
drive afterward to the windswept Ishak Pasha Palace found it crowded
with holiday weekend visitors.
The drive to Kars offered great views of Mt. Ararat, its peak clearly
visible thanks to minimally cloudy skies.
Our tour wrapped up with a scenic drive through emerald valleys and
rust-colored gorges to Erzurum and onto our way home.
One of the treats of the trip was having access to Summers,
a personable expert. Some of the travelers eventually had their
fill of ruins, however, and adjusted their Sunday schedule to spend
more time wandering around the streets of Kars in search of places
mentioned in Orhan Pamuk’s novel “Snow.”
–Boundary_(ID_+1GP276lRkA9bN8RPnH/Xw)–