Month: June 2005

Germany’s Turks lose their sense of belonging
By Bertrand Benoit
FT
June 25 2005 03:00
It is boiling hot in the Anadolu kebab shop on Wiener Strasse, but the
sweat lining Muzaffer Topal’s brow is not only induced by the grill
glowing behind his back.

“When the going got tough in the cold war, there was never any
question about what side Turkey was on,” he says, wiping his face with
a towel. “Some people seem to have a hard time remembering.”
As Germany prepares for a general election scheduled for September, a
mix of anxiety and resignation is spreading through Berlin’s
120,000-strong Turkish community.
While the campaign has yet to get going in earnest, immigration,
Turkey’s plan to join the European Union and the mass murder of
Armenians by Turks 90 years ago have been high on the political agenda
lately.
Politicians, social workers and analysts say the debates, coming amid
rising doubt about Germany’s ability to integrate its large foreign
population, could push the country’s otherwise placid and apolitical
1.9m Turks towards the edge of the political mainstream.
Chiefly responsible is the opposition Christian Democratic Union,
frontrunner to win the poll. Under Angela Merkel, its leader, it has
made opposition to Turkey’s EU membership a central plank of its
campaign.
In the Kreuzberg borough, which is 30 per cent Turkish, the position
is seen as a betrayal, especially among the few Turks who, like Mr
Topal, are members of the CDU, a party that once embraced Turkey as a
Nato ally. “If Turkey does not belong in Europe,” he says, “what do
you think it means for the Turks who live here? It means they do not
belong here.”
Partly because of its Christian label, the CDU has not traditionally
been a political home for Germany’s 600,000 voters of Turkish origin,
who have historically favoured the Social Democrats.
The CDU toned down the Turkish issue at an election last month in the
state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which boasts some of the largest
Turkish communities in the country. Yet it has no such qualms ahead of
the general election. This week, Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy
parliamentary leader, said immigration should become a focus of the
electoral campaign.
Turkish resentment, meanwhile, is also beginning to turn against the
SPD because of its insistence that Turkey should atone for the 1915
massacres of its Armenian citizens.
“Unemployment is driving the younger ones into the mosques,” says
Johannes Neuwirth, a teacher at Kreuzberg’s Eberhard-Klein high
school, where 80 percent of the 350 pupils are of Turkish origin – the
remaining 20 per cent have Arab backgrounds, mainly
Palestinian. “There is a risk that they will seek political haven in
Turkish nationalism or religious fundamentalism.”
While the foreign pop-ulation, after rising three-fold between 1970
and 1995, has since been falling, politicians have expressed alarm at
the development of “parallel societies” – self-made ghettos
linguistically, economically and culturally insulated from their
German environment.
As one CDU insider confides: “We have made huge mistakes in terms of
integration. We did not put enough pressure on immigrants to speak the
language and abide by the rules, and we failed to open education and
the labour market to them. Now we have a powder keg.”
While economic integration matters, it is not sufficient, says Bülent
Arslan, head of the DTF, a German-Turkish group within the CDU:
“Political participation is hugely important. Right now there are too
many Turks who do not feel attracted to any political party.”
As Mr Topal warns, while Germany has yet to experience any racial
unrest, it is in a fragile state of equilibrium. “We Turks have
adopted western values. But we can do without them if we have to.”

Scotsman, UK
June 25 2005
Nalbandian eyes his second final
ALAN PATTULLO
LIKE Andy Murray, David Nalbandian knows what it is to cause a stir
in his very first Wimbledon. The Argentine arrived at SW19 in 2002 a
genuine unknown and made stealthy progress into the final, where he
was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt.
It is possible for his young Scottish opponent today to emulate the
feat. Possible, even, for him to exceed it. But Murray himself has
judged it unlikely. Asked how he thinks he might fare, Murray replied
that he should lose comfortably against a player he ranked among his
boyhood favourites.
When Nalbandian’s name came to the fore, Murray was only 15, an
impressionable youngster about to set out on a tennis odyssey which
would begin to take shape at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona,
and then bring him here to Wimbledon.
Nalbandian, on the other hand, hadn’t heard much about Murray until
the Dunblane teenager started appearing on the front page of national
newspapers this week. “I didn’t know him before so I can’t tell you
too much,” said Nalbandian, a man of few words, after his
second-round victory over Karol Kucera. Although his reticence is
well known on the tour, he has a particular reason for his solemn
bearing this week. Nalbandian is still mourning as his father,
Nolberto, died recently.
The pony-tailed Nalbandian gives the impression of a man focused on
what he is doing, and unfussed by the media circus. But his lack of
profile shouldn’t obscure the danger which lurks for Murray.
Nalbandian’s five victories over Roger Federer point to a man on a
level above mediocre. “I think I can get there [the Wimbledon final]
again,” Nalbandian said this week. “Why not this year?”
Even the mere mention of his birthplace is enough to give many Scots
nightmares. Nalbandian was born on New Year’s day in 1982 in a place
called Cordoba, scene of Scotland’s infamous 3-1 defeat by Peru in
the 1978 World Cup finals. His Armenian grandfather built a tennis
court in his back yard but it wasn’t until his first appearance at
Wimbledon that he experienced a proper grass court. Indeed, in order
to prepare for his appearance three years ago he asked his club in
Buenos Aires to draw out some tennis lines on a nearby cricket pitch.
Although Nalbandian has slipped down the rankings again in the past
year – he entered this tournament at No 19 in the world – he is still
a more than handy operator, as his last 16 finish at the French Open
last month confirmed. And he knows what to expect today, if not in
terms of Murray’s game then with regard to the partisan Centre Court
which is likely to await him. He lost in four sets to Tim Henman in
2003 at the fourth- round stage, and knows a similar outcome will be
equally popular today.
“I think this is going to be the same,” he said. “But it gives you
extra motivation. I like the pressure.”

The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
June 24, 2005 Friday
Final Edition
Sabah star understands struggles with tradition
Katherine Monk, CanWest News Service
Thinking about the “immigrant experience” is one of Arsinee
Khanjian’s favourite pastimes, especially as it relates to women. As
a child of Armenian heritage who grew up in Lebanon, and then moved
to Canada as a young woman, Khanjian has witnessed the struggle
against cultural assimilation from a variety of perspectives.
She cares about the issue of identity vis-a-vis traditional values,
and as a proud Canadian, she stands in awe at the accomplishments of
our mosaic, hyphen-happy model. That’s why she was so interested in
making Sabah, the first film from Toronto-based writer-director Ruba
Nadda, which deals with a 40-year-old Muslim woman’s belated “coming
of age.”
Sabah falls for a white Canadian cabinet-maker, leaving her stuck
between her love of family and her desire for romance.
“I’ve always felt close to the issues the script embraces. They are
issues I grew up with and I’m familiar with, like how do you adjust
as a woman in society when you’re coming from a completely different
value system? How do you balance the sense of the past with the needs
of the future? The specifics of the story are different from my life,
but the overall issues are very much the same,” says Khanjian.
Nadda was a complete unknown when she submitted the script to
Khanjian through her husband, Atom Egoyan. Egoyan’s film production
company received the script, which requested Khanjian in the lead.
“I didn’t want it to become a commentary on the whole Muslim
community. I really was looking to Sabah as a way of speaking to
issues within the family, and not as a means of judging the values of
an entire community. We spent a lot of time refining these dilemmas
so it was respectful of the environment,” she says.
Khanjian says she and Nadda decided to focus on moments where Sabah
suddenly reinterprets her reality. After living with her family for
40 years, there comes a moment when she looks back on the girl she
once was — and the person she imagined becoming. That moment of
personal recognition sets Sabah on a whole new life tangent.
She falls in love. She has sex. Yet, as joyful as most of these
events are, there are consequences to her actions that reach beyond
her own life, and into the lives of those around her.
“It’s a delicate thing as far as where to draw the lines. Even though
this is a personal story, there are larger issues that come into
play. That’s OK, I think it’s when you’re trying to make a large
statement that’s not grounded in an individual story that you run
into trouble. It’s difficult to reflect a larger, collective
experience . . . and still make a great film.”

A1plus
| 19:14:19 | 24-06-2005 | Politics | PACE SUMMER SESSION 2005 |
VENICE COMMISSION WORK RECORDED SERIOUS PROGRESS
According to the agreements reached as a result of the meeting of the Venice
Commission working group and the Armenian delegation, up to June 7 the head
of the Armenian delegation to COE must represent to the Venice Commission
the draft Constitution which must reflect the content of the document
adopted as a result of today’s discussions.
`The document especially underlines that the final draft must preserve the
principle of checks and balances. Till July 25, 2005 the Venice Commission
must evaluate the renewed draft Constitution’, said expert of Constitutional
right Vardan Petrosyan who took part in the session. He also mentioned that
the Armenian authorities must take into account possible offers by the
Venice Commission.
The draft Constitution must be represented to the second reading of the NA
in August. The third reading must take place as soon as possible, and the
Referendum must be organized in November, 2005. `I think, today’s session of
the Venice Commission working group recorded serious progress, as the
document adopted as a result of today’s discussions outlines the principles
of solution of all the three main issues. Now the principles must be turned
into clear-cut articles’, said Mr. Pogosyan.

A1plus
| 18:56:11 | 24-06-2005 | Politics |
HMAYAK HOVHANNISYAN ABOUT THE SOUTH CAUCASIAN «APPENDIX»
Today the Political Debate Club organized a seminar in hotel Congress about
the isolation of Armenia from regional programs.
The first reporter was NA deputy Hmayak Hovhannisyan, and the second was to
be a representative of the government or the coalition, but the club had not
managed to come to an agreement with a reporter from the coalition. Hmayak
Hovhannisyan represented his opinion alone. He repeated that our country is
completely left out of regional developments and has turned into an
«appendix».
Deputy Hovhannisyan quoted an American theoretic who has considered Ukraine,
Southern Korea, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan political-geographical centers.
And the political-geographical centers, according to Hovhannisyan, are the
countries which are of particular interest for China, Japan, India, USA,
France, and Germany. The quotation was made with the aim of proving that
Armenia is not of any interest for any country, and the opposition must not
wait for an impetus from abroad to start revolution.
He said, «USA does not mean to drive Russia out of the region, they simply
do not allow Russia or Turkey to become super powers in the region, and
Russia has already put up with the situation».
As for the countries which are not considered political-geographical centers
but are undertaking democratic changes (Georgia, Moldova, Iraq, and
Kyrgyzstan), Hmayak Hovhannisyan said, `Moldova is the country where the
West realized changes without investing resources, Iraq had oil, Georgia is
an interim country which helps to realize regional programs, and the events
of Kyrgyzstan were to created background to realize the same changes in
Uzbekistan’.
Hmayak Hovhannisyan gave special importance to Uzbekistan among the CIS
countries, by which the interest of the world towards the country is
conditioned.

A1plus
| 18:22:39 | 24-06-2005 | Politics | PACE SUMMER SESSION 2005 |
«GOOD DAY FOR ARMENIA AND COE»
«Today is a fine day both for Armenia and the COE. We did wonderful work
with the Armenian delegation and came to an agreement about all the issues»,
said the Venice Commission secretary Gianni Buquicchio after the end of the
session of the Venice Commission working group with the Armenian delegation.
Mr. Buquicchio mentioned that in all the three disputable issues which refer
to the power distribution, independence of court power and the Yerevan
mayor, and agreement has been reached with the Armenian delegation.
The Venice Commission Constitutional Rights department head Simona
Granata-Mengini, referring to the Yerevan problem, mentioned that the main
issue is no decide the status of Yerevan. «In this matter we came to an
agreement that in the Constitution the principle of Yerevan being a local
self-governing body must be stipulated, and the Yerevan mayor must be
elected. The order of election must be stated by law. The European standards
allow us to elect the mayor both directly and indirectly», she said.
Mrs. Granata-Mengini underlined that the most important thing is to
stipulate the principle of electing the Yerevan mayor by the Constitution.
«If it is stipulated that Yerevan is a community, that is enough, as by
another article in the Constitution it is stated that the community heads
are elected. There will be no problems if the Yerevan mayor is elected in a
different way. What is importnat is that he must be elected».

A1plus
| 17:44:44 | 24-06-2005 | Politics |
VAZGEN MANOUKYAN STARTED MOBILIZATION
«Today only people with limited abilities are at power», announced Vazgen
Manoukyan today during the National Democratic Union 16th session. According
to Mr. Manoukyan these people do what they can and still are surprised at
why people are displeased with them. And the people will be displeased as
long as the majority consists of those with limited abilities.
Vazgen Manoukyan announced that the struggle authorities-opposition is that
of types. «The people of their type are struggling with us, and we must
unite and announce mobilization». Vazgen Manoukyan is sure that Armenia can
be competitive not only in the region but also in the whole world. He
reminded about the past of our country when Armenia without having a sea had
200 ships and competed with Greece.
In the struggle of the «types» Vazgen Manoukyan sees 4 allies – the people
who are wise, the clever part of the authorities, the youth the majority of
which is cleverer than people in the Soviet times, and finally the West.
According to Vazgen Manoukyan, the values of the West are our values, those
which are losing the struggle now.
Vazgen Manoukyan announced that he wants to start mobilization of NDU
because he sees the fault of the party in the situation created. «We were
guilty too for standing aside sometimes, but it is impossible to struggle
alone, we must unite».

AZG Armenian Daily #117, 25/06/2005
Constitution
DAYS OF TRIAL IN STRASBURG
‘We achieved total-lot results as regards changes’
The most overwrought day in the work of Armenian delegation at the PACE was
perhaps June 23. The delegation managed to avoid 2 dangerous offers that
could be fatal for Armenia once adopted.
On June 23, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe verified the
draft project of a monitoring commission on Armenian constitution. A session
of the monitoring commission discussed 3 proposals concerning the draft put
forward by Turkish and Azeri representatives and one by Dutch deputy Erik
Jurgens. The proposal of Turks and Azeris was hotly discussed during 2 days.
They suggested jotting down in the constitution that Armenia recognizes the
internationally recognized borders of other states. But, as parliament
vice-speaker Tigran Torosian said, “we managed to turn the offer down in a
fierce fighting”. The proposal was voted down by only one prevailing vote of
Matias Jorse, head of Liberal-Democratic block at CE. Upon Jurgens’
proposal, the Assembly called on Armenia to hold a referendum not later than
in November 2005.
“I think that it’s a rather fine draft and may lay serious foundation for a
successful referendum. Of course, we have to work on the draft”.
Discussions of the Venice Commission and the Armenian delegation followed.
“Azeris, having been warned that they will not be empowered in PACE once
elections fail, tried to include suchlike proviso in our draft. But their
attempts crushed down. This was not only the most nervous but also the most
successful day of the Armenian delegation as we managed to neutralize 2
dangerous proposals”, Tigran Torosian said.
By Karine Danielian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #117, 25/06/2005
Armenia-CE
ARMENIAN REFERENDUM AND AZERBAIJANI ELECTIONS IN THE LIMELIGHT OF COUNCIL OF
EUROPE
Diego Freitas do Amaral, chairman of committee of ministers of the Council
of Europe and foreign minister of Portugal, stated that the CE will pay
special attention to Armenia and Azerbaijan in coming months. According to
Mediamax agency, do Amaral reminded in his speech at the PACE session that
the documents adopted in Warsaw are to delineate CE’s further actions.
“Firstly, we have to make sure that the participating states match CE’s
standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. For that reason
we’ll take the South Caucasian region in our limelight for the coming months
considering important developments connected with referendum on constitution
in Armenia and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in November”, he said.
Ekho newspaper of Baku informed that the June 22 session of PACE discussed 2
issues concerning Azerbaijan: functioning of democratic institutions and the
issue of political prisoners. A member of the PACE Monitoring Committee
Andreas Gross said that there is a group of people within the Azerbaijani
authorities that tries to stand against reforms. “On the threshold of
parliamentary elections we need to bring change into the situation otherwise
Azerbaijan will appear in dangerous position. Azeri deputies do nor agree
with us but the Azeri people does agree”, Gross said. PACE will not confirm
Azeri delegation’s mandate unless elections are just.
The US Congress has also discussed the issue of free elections in
Azerbaijan. The House of Representatives discussed a draft demanding “free
and just elections in Azerbaijan”. The draft reads, “The House of
Representatives calls on Azerbaijani authorities to guarantee complete
participation of oppositional parties including opposition members who were
arrested during the period prior to the elections of 2005”.

AZG Armenian Daily #117, 25/06/2005
NATO
NATO: MORE THAN A NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
Military-Political Organization Getting Ready to ‘Swallow’ New Zones in
South Caucasus, Mediterranean and Middle East
On June 23, Nato secretary general made a speech at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated that Nato
might apply force to defend democracy if necessary. “Defending democracy is
essential for out Treaty. If military actions are necessary for supporting
democracy we’ll go for that but without violating [international] laws. The
Balkans are now in peace as we did not hesitate to take up arms”, he said.
Nato is living through a period of changes, getting involved in processes
that were alien to it during the Cold War and in 1990s. If formerly Nato’s
major task was to protect the US and its European allies from the possible
attack of the Soviet Union, then today the Organization is expanding to the
east — South Caucasus, Middle East and North Africa. In effect, Nato,
headed by US, dictates the rules of play to states not included in the
organization.
Nato’s headquarters of Allied Forces in Europe is situated in Mons, Belgium.
A military official advised to forget the role that Nato played before the
end of the Cold War, when the Organization “was a club of western
democracies” and the US and its allies sought to protect themselves from
possible assault.
Today, Nato faces a number of “destabilizing and risky factors” and the
Treaty takes steps to withstand the threats.
By the end of the Cold War Nato, in fact, found itself in idleness. Many
analysts even predicted the Organization’s decline. But Nato did not break
up but instead enlarged gulping 10 new states and launching projects to
develop relations with non-member states.
An American Nato official in Brussels headquarters says that the Treaty does
not intend to bother Russia but welcomes the readiness of South Caucasian
states to cooperate with Nato. He says that Nato’s primary goals for near
future are to expand to South Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia.
The expansion of Nato to territories of traditionally Russian influence is
emerging as an irreversible progression. We may like it or dislike but
cannot disregard the reality.
By Tatoul Hakobian in Belgium