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08/29/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) No Karabagh Accord Announced after Kocharian, Aliyev Summit 2) Demonstrators Rally in Baku to Demand Free Elections, Exiled Guliyev on Ballot 3) Final Debates on Constitution Reforms Begin Pre November Vote in Armenia 4) Wisman Names Armenia Squad for World Cup 5) SKEPTIK SINIKIAN/ LIBRARIANS AT THE GATES: THE BLUE PILL BLUES 1) No Karabagh Accord Announced after Kocharian, Aliyev Summit (RFE/RL)Armenia and Azerbaijan have made contradictory statements on the meeting between their presidents that took place in Russia over the weekend. International mediators had hoped the talks would mark a turning point in their protracted search for a solution to the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev did not speak to journalists after their talks in the Russian city of Kazan on Saturday, and it is unclear whether or not they reached any formal or informal agreements on Karabagh. Reports from Kazan said the two leaders conferred in a tête-à-tête format for an hour before being joined by French, Russian and US diplomats spearheading the peace process. Kocharian, according to his spokesman Victor Soghomonian, came away satisfied from the meeting held on the sidelines of a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. "The Armenian side assesses the meeting in Kazan positively and considers it a positive development in the negotiating process," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Soghomonian as saying. The official added that Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan and Vartan Oskanian of Armenia will continue that process "based on the agreements reached in Kazan." He did not say what those agreements are. "In general, I cannot say that there has been any major progress or breakthrough," Mammadyarov said for his part, according to the Azeri ANS television. "We did not reach any agreement." "I think that we, both Armenia and Azerbaijan, need a couple of weeks to analyze the thoughts voiced by the two sides and think what the results may be and whether we are prepared for any progress or not," he added. Mammadyarov and Oskanian held talks in Moscow earlier in the week to prepare for the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit and appeared satisfied with their results. Highlighting the importance of the Kazan meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Aliyev and Kocharian August 25 to urge them to make mutual concessions that will pave the way for a Karabagh peace deal. Regional observers believe that Aliyev and Kocharian will not announce any compromise deals until November, which will see parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and a constitutional referendum in Armenia. It is widely assumed that opposition groups in both countries would exploit unpopular concessions on Karabagh in their struggle against the ruling regimes. 2) Demonstrators Rally in Baku to Demand Free Elections, Exiled Guliyev on Ballot MOSCOW (Combined Sources)A large number of demonstrators rallied in Azerbaijan's capital Baku Saturday to demand free and democratic parliamentary elections while an opposition leader was registered to run in the November poll. About 15,000 protesters paraded through the center of Baku to demand changes to the country's election laws to guarantee a fair parliamentary poll on November 6, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. The rally, organized by the opposition electoral alliance grouping the Musavat party, the People's Front and the Democratic Party, proceeded without incidents. Protesters requested equal conditions for all candidates and permission for opposition leaders, including former president Ayaz Mutalibov and former parliament speaker Rasul Guliyev, to return to Azerbaijan without being arrested. Mutalibov, who served as president in 1991-92, has been living in exile in Russia since his resignation. Guliyev, who was the subject of a fraud investigation and has lived in exile in the United States since 1996, faces criminal charges on his return to Azerbaijan. However, Guliyev, who heads the Democratic Party, was registered Saturday to run in the elections. Mekhriban Aliyeva, wife of President Ilham Aliyev, is one of 109 candidates from the ruling New Azerbaijan party vying for the 125 seats in the Milli Majlis, the parliament. 3) Final Debates on Constitution Reforms Begin Pre November Vote in Armenia YEREVAN(RFE/RL)--Opposition leaders suspended their 18-month boycott of parliament on Monday as it began final debates on draft amendments to Armenia's constitution that are due to be put to a referendum in November. Their approval by the majority of lawmakers is almost certain. The debates were broadcast live on national television on Monday, featuring only two of the 39 deputies registered to address the parliament, suggesting the proceedings could take at least two more days. The session began with an angry dispute between the parliament leadership and some opposition lawmakers over procedural matters. Speaker Artur Baghdasarian told them they were hampering discussions by raising insignificant issues, and emphasized the proposed reforms enjoy the backing of the Council of Europe and in particular its advisory body on constitutional law, the Venice Commission. The commission's Italian secretary, Gianni Buquicchio, did not make it to Yerevan to address the parliament and urge Armenians to vote for the proposed amendments. According to the head of the Council of Europe office in Armenia, Bojana Urumova, he simply missed a connecting flight to Yerevan at the weekend. "The Venice Commission believes in this text and supports it fully," Urumova told the parliament, speaking on behalf of Buquicchio. The constitutional reform is also supported by the European Union and the United States. "The United States supports the efforts of all those who have been involved in the process of attempting to amend the current Armenian Constitution, and encourages all parties to engage in responsible and constructive debate on this issue," US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans said in a statement published by Yerevan newspapers on Saturday. "In our view the current package represents a notable step forward, but its approval is of course a matter for the voters of the Republic of Armenia to decide," Evans added. 4) Wisman Names Armenia Squad for World Cup (uefa.com)--Armenia coach Henk Wisman has named a 21-man squad for the September FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Captain Harutyun Vardanyan returns after a year on the sidelines with a knee injury, while FC Banants's Samvel Melkonyan and FC Pyunik's Armen Tigranyan hope to make their debuts. ARMENIA SQUAD Goalkeepers: Roman Berezovski (FC Dinamo Moskva), Gevorg Kasparov (FC Pyunik). Defenders: Valery Aleksanyan (FC Pyunik), Sargis Hovsepyan (FC Pyunik), Robert Arzumanyan (FC Pyunik), Alexander Tadevosyan (FC Pyunik), Harutyun Vardanyan (FC Aarau), Karen Dokhoyan (FC Krylya Sovetov Samara), Yegishe Melikyan (FC Metalurh Donetsk). Midfielders: Agvan Lazarian (FC Pyunik), Romik Khachatryan (OFI Crete FC), David Grigoryan (FC Yesil Bogatyr Petropavlovsk), Karen Aleksanyan (CSF Zimbru Chisinau), Hamlet Mkhitaryan (FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk), Armen Tigranyan (FC Pyunik), Samvel Melkonyan (FC Banants). Forwards: Edgar Manucharyan (AFC Ajax), Ara Hakobyan (FC Stal Alchevsk), Aram Hakobyan (FC Banants), Aram Voskanyan (FC Yesil Bogatyr Petropavlovsk),Galust Petrosyan (CSF Zimbru Chisinau). 5) LIBRARIANS AT THE GATES: THE BLUE PILL BLUES Before we get to the meat of this week's column, I just want to point out to all my readers that if you search "Turkish drug money" on Google.com today, my last article is in the top five results. Thank you. Thank you. No really, I couldn't have done it without you, my loyal readers. Anyway, time to get the Sinikian show on the road. If you thought last week's column was the stuff Hollywood summer blockbusters are made of--drug money bribing politicians, international espionage, intrigue, attractive FBI agents, and the mean bosses who double cross them--then you'll love this week. The plot? A one armed man of such prestige and power is revealed to everyone. Never have heroes. They'll only let you down. Remember that because it will save you a whole lot of grief in life. It's a lesson I was reminded of last week when I read about the most recent scandal to rock the world of Armenian academia. I know that most of my readers spend as much time reading Armenian news as they spend probably debating various interpretations of the evolution of the market economy in the early American colonies prior to the Revolutionary War. Did I lose you? I thought so. I promise not to do that again. Fine. I'll cut to the chase. But first, a little background. Remember Bob Dole? You might remember him as the famous Senator from that state named after the legendary seventies rock 'n' roll band Kansas. He was a great war hero, having been wounded in the Second World War. He ran for President a few times. But his real claim to fame amongst Armenians was that he was their bestest friend in the whooole WIDE world. It was the perfect relationship. It was a love story worthy of a Hollywood movie. A young war hero comes back home with a horrible injury that will cause him to lose his arm. A young doctor tells the boy that he can save his arm from amputation, and through multiple surgeries and therapy sessions helps the kid keep his arm, but not fully useable. The kid and his hometown rally to scrap and save pennies to pay the doctor who refuses to accept a dime. The only thing this guy asks of the young soldier is to be a kind human being and remember the stories he'd heard during the long therapy sessions about the doctor's homeland and his people--Armenia. The young soldier gets involved in politics attaining the highest position in the Senate and running for President--not just once but twice. He's a national figure and a well respected politician and leader. He keeps the promise to the Armenian doctor and fights for the rights of Armenians while in the Senate 'til the day he retires. He leaves office with a heavy heart because as hard as he tries, he's unable to achieve the one thing he had wanted to do so badly: to pass a bill setting the historical record straight about the Armenian Genocide. Now flash forward to 2005. A young Turkish-Kurd scholar by the name of Yektan Turkyilmaz is arrested in Armenia on suspicion of smuggling rare books out of the country. This incident gets more complicated by the fact that Turkyilmaz is a "pro-Genocide" scholar. WOW! Can you imagine someone who actually accepts the historical facts as they actually happened? Someone give this guy a medal... not! Anyway, what really gets my blood boiling is the fact that Senator Bob Dole, the same young man who rose to national prominence and defended the Armenian Cause in Senate, writes a scathing letter to the Armenian Government lambasting them over a number of issues related to human rights violations. The distinguished gentleman from Kansas has sunk even lower than when he was hawking the little blue pill (Viagra) in magazine, newspaper and television advertisements. I'm going to refrain at this point from making any jokes related to erectile dysfunction, partly because it's a serious issue not to be joked about (snickering) and partly out of a fear that if I did make any jokes about it, then karma would come back to bite me in the voreeg. Here's a quote from the Senator's letter which can be viewed at "Yekten's detention seems to highlight problems sighted in numerous human rights reports about Armenia, including those of Freedom House and the US State Department. Your detention of Yektan for seven weeks on any grounds would draw attention to failings in Armenia's democratic evolution." If you're still confused, this is what happened: Yekten tried to smuggle some books out of the country and was arrested. Sen. Dole, whose wife is now the Senator from North Carolina and a graduate of Duke University, wrote a letter to Armenia calling the government a bunch of idiots for enforcing such ridiculous laws like not allowing books out of Armenia. Let's just say that those were the kindest of words in Senator Dole's letter. The rest of it sounded like an angry diatribe that a controlling ex-boyfriend would write to their former girlfriend-almost-fiancee. This is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to dragging Dr. Vartan Gregorian into this mess, somehow Raffi Hovanissian has gotten involved as well, going so far as to appear in front of the court to criticize the government for arresting Yekten. The average person, after reading all of this and the A-list of people lining up in support of Yekten, may quickly assume that not only is Yekten an innocent Turkish scholar who is being railroaded by corrupt Armenian officials, but that the Armenian government is on rung above a dictatorship run by the Three Stooges on the ladder of fair and democratic governments. Nothing could be further from the truth. Does Armenia have problems? Yes. Is it a prefect country? No. Is Yekten being railroaded by corrupt Armenian officials? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! This Skeptik has, from very reliable sources who wish to remain unnamed, learned that our friend Yekten is involved in the smuggling of rare and antique books for personal profit. The Armenian government has known this and has been keeping an eye on this man who uses his credentials as a well-known scholar to travel into Armenia, purchase books illegally and some legally from unsuspecting desperate salespeople trying to make a living, and turns around to sell them to private collectors abroad. And I'm not just talking about 1987 copies of Brezhnev's memoirs translated to Armenian but really rare volumes of which only few copies remain around the world. In fact, this is a growing problem in Armenia. While Armenia's economy continues to struggle, many crooks have resorted to selling off national treasures for a fist full of dollars--they don't even have the dignity to deal in Drams. It's very similar to Egyptians selling off rare artifacts to tourists just to make a few bucks. For anyone wondering, this is absolutely illegal and tourists are usually informed of these rules before they enter into a country. Armenia, with its rich literary history, is no exception. Our books are as precious as the churches and castles we've built. I doubt Senator Bob Dole knows about any of this. He's too busy to get involved in the nitty-gritty details of such a case. I doubt Dr. Vartan Grigorian or Raffi Hovanissian knew either. But that is all the more reason for them to have given the benefit of doubt to the folks in Armenia who are trying to do their job instead of jumping on the bandwagon to kiss up to a Turkish scholar who has finally "seen the light" and come around to acknowledging the validity of the Armenian Genocide. This is becoming an epidemic in our community, where Armenian scholars who have been doing legitimate research on the Genocide are treated with less respect than a placemat at Denny's, while Turkish scholars who accept the Genocide are hailed as the greatest thing since pocket pita bread. I'm not picking sides here. I, personally, am guilty of checking out a few books from my own public library and never returning them. (The difference is that I didn't turn around and sell those books at the used bookstore). But what I am saying is that everyone should just chill out. Put the bottle of blue pills down and chill out! Skeptik Sinikian's library card was revoked due to excessive late fees. He is currently working off his penalties by reading his past columns to children at the local library as part of his community service. If you would like to email him or read his past articles, contact him at SkeptikSinikian@aol.com or visit All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. --Boundary_(ID_jLpiY6CXp72UrxzJTl9R1w)--