Month: September 2006

RUSSIA ELECTRICITY GIANT TO INVEST $20 MLN IN ARMENIA POWER GRID

RIA Novosti, Russia
September 26, 2006

YEREVAN, September 26 (RIA Novosti) – A subsidiary of Unified Energy
System [RTS: EESR] said Tuesday it would invest $20 million in
Armenia’s electric power grid by the end of the year.

On Tuesday Inter RAO UES officially took possession of 100% shares in
Armenian Electric Power Networks JSC servicing about 913,000 consumers
in the South Caucasus republic.

Yevgeny Tod, director general of Inter RAO UES, said the investment
would focus on projects designed to cut electric power losses, improve
energy supplies and upgrade power units of the Armenian power grid.

RAO UES owns 60% of stock in Inter RAO UES and the Federal Agency for
Nuclear Power holds 40%. The company, which has an authorized capital
of 160 billion rubles ($6 billion), handles imports and exports of
electric power, and runs energy assets in and outside Russia.

Sunday, September 24, 2006
*************************************************
THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL
*****************************************
An elegantly dressed, coiffed, and bejeweled lady on Armenian TV spouting all the predictable clichés, among them:
“There is corruption in Armenia, certainly! But then there is corruption everywhere, including Canada.”
With one important difference: in Canada, when exposed, the corrupt are fired, sometimes even arrested, tried and jailed. Also, I have never heard a Canadian justify corruption by saying there is corruption everywhere.
*
“We shouldn’t judge our brothers in the Homeland. Are we better than they?”
True! We are not. We too are at the mercy of charlatans with their perennial Panchoonie punch line, “Mi kich pogh oughargetsek” (Send us a little money); and because I have been saying this, I have become persona non grata, and in the eyes of our chauvinists, an enemy of the people. Besides, if we don’t judge the corrupt, in a way we judge and condemn the victims at the mercy of bloodsucking parasites.
*
“The police stop and give you a ticket for traffic violations you didn’t commit.”
This may explain why everyone wants to emigrate except the police, who, according to a recent visitor “are the fattest and ugliest men I have ever seen.”
*
“It may take two generations for our brothers in the Homeland to abandon their Soviet ways.”
Who benefits from this kind of talk? Surely not the victims. As for their victimizers: it is almost as if they were given a license to carry on with the full protection and consent of the people for another forty or fifty years – a license for which they didn’t even apply.
I have said this before and it bears repeating: our national sport is the blame-game: we blame the “red” massacres on the Turks and on the indifference of the Great Powers; the “white” massacre (exodus from the Homeland and assimilation in the Diaspora) on “social, economic, and political conditions beyond our control”; our tribalism on our climate and geography; and now, our corruption on the Kremlin. During the Soviet era I don’t remember any one of our chic Bolsheviks in the Diaspora complaining about Soviet corruption. On the contrary. We were told we were in the best of hands and we never had it so good.
*
“Let’s not forget that, as a state, Armenia is only a new-born child.”
And yet, when it suits us, we claim to be one of the oldest civilizations, after which we brag about the fact that at a time when most of Europe lived in huts and caves, we enjoyed a Golden Age.
*
To those who explain and justify our criminal conduct, may I remind them that evil triumphs only when the majority adopt a passive stance and they justify their cowardice, moral moronism, and absence of vision by engaging in charlatanism.
#
Monday, September 25, 2006
**********************************************
ODIAN’S ARMENIANS
**********************************
On reading Yervant Odian’s COUNCILMAN’S WIFE (first serialized at the turn of the last century, later published in book form in 1921) one thing becomes abundantly clear: the Armenian community of Istanbul consisted of morally bankrupt schemers (I am being politically correct now, because “a bunch of degenerates” would be closer to the truth) who spent their lives backbiting and plotting against one another.
What has changed? As far as I can see, only one thing: we no longer have writers like Odian willing to write about what they see and experience. What we have instead are academics and self-appointed pundits who, afraid to deal with the dark side of our collective existence (please note that I am not saying community life) feel more comfortable and safe writing about the past, and if it’s not the Middle Ages, it’s the massacres, as if we were “history”– I use the word in its colloquial meaning.
*
Julien Green (1900-1998), Francophone American writer, on death: “It is only the liberation of the spirit from the flesh.”
*
On biography: “Slices of cold mutton.”
*
On first impressions: “They are not to be resisted or ignored. One should never come to terms with vulgar people and vulgar not only in manner but also in spirit.”
*
On the self: “We are strangers to ourselves from the day we are born, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to understand and adjust ourselves to him.”
*
On life: “What happens in the world is of little interest. What happens within, that’s what really counts.”
***
Bernard-Henri Levy (contemporary French philosopher): “Only jackasses and the dead have nothing to hide.”
***
Abdelwahab Meddeb (Tunisian writer and professor of literature): “Islamism is the most absolute fascism ever conceived by man.”
#
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
*********************************************
ON CORRUPTION AND RELATED ATROCITIES
****************************************************
If we need two generations to de-Sovietize ourselves, how many generations do we need to de-Ottomanize ourselves?
*
Corruption and cancer have this in common: unless surgically removed, they metastasize.
*
Where the corrupt are in charge, honesty will be outlawed.
Where the mediocre are in charge, excellence will be suppressed. Which is why to adopt a passive stance towards the corrupt and the mediocre is to condemn the nation to the death of a thousand cuts. As for those who like to brag about our resilience, adaptability, and instinct for survival: I suggest, to drag on a degraded existence is worse than death.
*
Do I repeat myself? Why not? How many times are our clichés and fallacies repeated? And I don’t mean harmless, infantile, and meaningless clichés, like first nation this and first nation that, but dangerous ones, like the one about two generations mentioned above….
*
Instead of meritocracy we have mediocracy, and instead of honesty we have charlatanism. A corrupt power structure conducts a genocidal policy towards all honest men as surely as Talaat did towards all innocent women and children. Now then, go ahead and parrot the two generations cliché with a clear conscience, if you can.
*
We were morally and politically right to rise against the Ottoman Empire. But we were dead wrong in our reliance on the verbal commitments of the Great Powers. Which means that even our so-called heroes behaved like dupes; even our so-called revolutionaries lacked self-reliance. And what could be more cowardly than heroes and revolutionaries who are afraid of free speech?
*
If you make a study of censorship and its victims (from Socrates to Solzhenitsyn) you may notice that its aim is to silence not charlatans and liars but men of integrity and truth. My final question is: Do you really believe some day in forty or fifty years our charlatans and parasites will see the light and usher in another Golden Age?
#
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
**********************************************
CONFESSIONS AND ADMISSIONS
********************************************
Somewhere along the line I decided that I knew not only everything I needed to know but also what others needed to know, and ever since then my life has been a concatenation of blunders, among them my decision to be not just a writer but an Armenian writer. I know now that the certainty of being right is the greatest source of error.
*
Socrates spent his entire life proving that we use words without knowing their meaning. When asked what he would do first were he called upon to rule a nation, Confucius is said to have replied, “To correct language.” In our own days, semanticists tell us we don’t even know how to use such simple and common words as “to be.” For example, one should not say “I am not good at math,” but “I didn’t receive good grades in math.”
*
What is history? What else but the clash of two sets of charlatans and their dupes?
*
Not being a historian I must rely on the testimony of historians, and when these historians contradict one another, common sense tells me to rely on historians who are in a better position to be objective and impartial. This automatically excludes all nationalist, tribal, and partisan historians.
*
In his efforts to silence me, one of our flunkeys with “leadership qualities” (if you can imagine such an absurdity), once said to me: “Do you really think you are the only writer who has been unfairly treated?” To which I replied: “Of course not. That’s why I speak with the strength of many.”
*
Since dialogue is anti-Armenian, it follows it is a waste of time to reason with a man you can silence.
#
##

TURKISH PM VOWS TO CONTINUE REFORMS ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS

People’s Daily Online, China
Sept 27 2006

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Tuesday that his
government would continue reforms on the country’s fundamental rights
and freedoms, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"One of the most important aspects of our European Union (EU) process
is to establish fundamental rights and freedoms in Turkey, " Erdogan,
who is also the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP), said at a parliamentary group meeting of the AKP.

"As you all know, it is not enough to change laws to establish
fundamental rights and freedoms. It requires a mental change, and
such a change takes time," he was quoted by Anatolia as saying.

Referring to the much-debated Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code,
which sets out up to three years in jail penalties for insulting the
Turkish Republic, Erdogan signaled an amendment on the article.

"If legitimate rights and freedoms are limited while we try to prevent
offensive acts in implementation of the Article 301 of the Penal Code,
we will make the necessary amendments to the article," Erdogan said.

Last week, the European Commission Representative to Turkey Hansjoerg
Kretschmer criticized Turkish army’s habit of intervening in many
civil affairs, including education and religion, attributing the lack
of expression freedom to Article 301.

"We insist that Article 301, which is the reason for the filing
of court cases on a number of people over expressing their ideas
in a democratic manner, should be removed or at least rewritten,"
said Kretschmer.

Noting that relations between Turkey and the EU have gained a dimension
when the bloc started entry negotiations with Turkey on Oct. 3, 2005,
Erdogan underlined that the EU adjustment laws would be high on agenda
in the new legislative year.

He also expressed the government’s determination in maintaining the
reform process without any interruption.

Erdogan’s remarks came as the report on Turkey’s progress towards
accession to the EU and the reforms, which was prepared by European
Parliament (EP) Turkey Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings, is being discussed
in the EP on Tuesday. The voting of the report is to take place
on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee
approved Camiel Eurlings’ report on Turkey, which calls on Turkey to
recognize the Armenians genocide in the period between 1915 and 1923,
and to open its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.

The draft report also insists that there are persistent shortcomings in
areas such as freedom of expression, religious, minority and women’s
rights in Turkey.

CIS FORCES STAGE DRILL AT NUCLEAR PLANT SECURITY IN ARMENIA

People’s Daily Online, China
Sept 27 2006

Security forces from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
started an exercise on Tuesday in Armenia which focused on ensuring
the security of nuclear power plants.

The drill, code-named Atom Anti-Terror 2006, aimed "to reveal and
destroy sabotage groups that infiltrated the territory of Armenia and
seized a nuclear power plant in the city of Metsamor," Boris Mylnikov,
chief of the CIS Antiterrorist Center, was quoted as saying by the
Itar-Tass news agency.

The exercise is being conducted at the Armyanskaya nuclear power
plant and runs through Friday.

Forces from the Armenian National Security Service and Russian Federal
Security Service’s special task center will act as "terrorists"
secretly moving in Armenia with plans to seize the Armyanskaya plant,
Mylnikov said.

When the "terrorists" were spotted, an Armenian motorized infantry
battalion and special forces would join hands to free the "seized"
nuclear power plant, he said.

TURKISH GENERAL INSISTS ARMY HAS ROLE IN POLITICS
Ian Traynor

The Guardian, UK
Sept 27 2006

A leading Turkish general issued a stinging attack on the centre-right
government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan by warning that the danger of
Islamism in the country was reaching "alarming" levels.

Defying EU demands for the military to keep out of politics, General
Ilker Basbug, chief of land forces, warned the Erdogan government that
the top brass still saw itself as the ultimate arbiter of Turkey’s
secularist constitution.

"The Turkish armed forces have always taken sides and will continue
to do so in protecting the national state, the unitary state and the
secular state," he told a ceremony for cadets at a military academy
in Ankara. Islamists were "patiently and systematically" seeking to
erode the secularist order.

The robust defence of the military’s role in Turkish politics is
certain to affect an EU assessment of Turkey’s bid to eventually join
the EU.

The European commission is to issue a report card on Turkey in
November, delayed from next month, and is concerned about curbs on
freedom of expression, persecution of the large Kurdish minority
and the military’s interference in democratic politics, as well as
Turkey’s dispute with the EU members Greece and Cyprus over trade.

Other incidents yesterday showed Turkey ignoring EU criticism,
suggesting a rise in hostility ahead of elections next year.

Prosecutors filed new charges against the Turkish Armenian editor Hrant
Dink for "denigrating Turkishness", an article in the penal code used
to muzzle writers and journalists and which Brussels wants scrapped.

In the largest Kurdish city in Turkey, Diyarbakir, the state put 56
Kurdish mayors on trial for appealing to Denmark to allow a Kurdish
exile television station to keep broadcasting.

INTER RAO UES BECOMES OWNER OF ARMENIAN ELECTRIC POWER GRID

Itar-Tass News Agency, Russia
Sept 26 2006

YEREVAN, September 26 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Inter RAO UES has come
to stay in Armenia, a country of economic growth, Chairman of the
Board of Directors Andrei Rappoport said on Tuesday.

The company has become the owner of the Armenian electric power grid,
which regulates the national distribution and selling of electricity.

Some 36,000 kilometers of power lines make deliveries to over 913,000
clients. The company is one of the largest taxpayers in Armenia.

"Inter RAO UES has made enough investments to feel comfortable,"
he said. Apart from the renovation of power lines and equipment, the
company will draft a program of future investments and a development
strategy.

Being the owner of a large part of the Armenian energy system, Inter
RAO UES will guarantee the stable deliveries of electric power,
he said.

"The skills and experience of Inter RAO UES in Russia and CIS countries
will upgrade the energy security of the republic," Armenian Deputy
Energy Minister Iosif Isayan said.

Inter RAO UES acquired the entire stock of the Armenian Electric
Power Grids from the British-based Midland Resources Holding for $73
million. The Britons were in control of the Armenian company for the
past four years. The collection of electricity payments increased
to 99.4%, while electricity losses reduced from 21 to 16.1% over
that period.

The Unified Energy System of Russia (UES) owns 60% of electricity
facilities in Armenia, including the Sevan-Razdan cascade of hydropower
plants, company general director Yevgeny Dod told Itar-Tass. The
board of directors has approved the investment of $20 million in the
Armenian electric power grids.

The Russian company also manages finances of the Armenian nuclear
power plant. The power plant has overcome a crisis and become profit
making with the Russian company’s help, Dod said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

POPE’S VISIT TO TURKEY: A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY?

Zenit News Agency, Italy
Sept 26 2006

Interview With Bishop L. Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia

ROME, SEPT. 26, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The apostolic vicar of Anatolia
believes that Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey in November might be a
unique occasion to give a clear address on relations between Islam
and Christianity.

In this interview with ZENIT last Friday, Bishop Luigi Padovese, 59,
an assiduous scholar of the Church in Turkey, sketched a picture of
the state of that country, destination of the Pope’s fifth apostolic
trip abroad.

As apostolic vicar of Anatolia, he has been threatened and, four
months ago, a motorcyclist tried to run over him. He now has a police
escort when he goes out, which the Italian ambassador requested from
the governor of Antioch.

The bishop’s region of Anatolia is where an Italian missionary,
Father Andrea Santoro, was slain last February.

Q: What is the situation in Turkey?

Bishop Padovese: Turkey presents a composite picture, where the
presence of nationalist groups and the growing phenomenon of
Islamization, triggered by an economic situation that has been
degenerating, has fueled a closed attitude both in regard to
Christianity as well as to Europe.

We might think that in Turkey everyone is in favor of [the country’s]
entry into Europe, but instead, I am beginning to see that it isn’t
like that.

There are Muslim groups that believe that Turkey’s rapprochement to
Europe might make it lose its Muslim identity. In Turkey today, to be
a good Turk means to be a good Muslim. For such people, Turkey’s entry
into Europe might mean to be a good Turk but no longer a good Muslim.

Q: Do you think Muslims fear modernity?

Bishop Padovese: They use the instruments of modernity, but fear
losing their national identity, fruit of the work of conquest of
[Kemal] Ataturk [the first president of Turkey].

In my opinion, Turkish democracy, deep down, does not accept other
voices: It is democratic but in unison. This is explains why, all told,
minorities are hard-pressed to be accepted and recognized.

Q: And what is the situation with the Orthodox?

Bishop Padovese: The relationship with the Orthodox is quite good
because we are experiencing the same problems.

There is a certain accord linked to common problems, though I must
say that in regard to the Pope’s visit, the Ecumenical and Armenian
patriarchates have taken a stance that seems almost like a distancing
— an action justified for reasons of prudence, because in Turkey
there is no inclination to subtleties and no distinction is made
between Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants. Seen from outside, it
looks like a desire to wash one’s hands; seen from within, it is a
way of shielding the community from dangers and threats.

Q: What can be said about the Catholic community in Turkey?

Bishop Padovese: The Catholic presence is very limited and concentrated
in great centers: Istanbul, Smyrna, Mersin and Ankara, especially
among diplomats. There are parishes here and there, but frequented
by a few hundred faithful.

There is a Latin, Armenian-Catholic, Chaldean-Catholic and
Syro-Catholic Christianity. They belong to the Tradition and the
expressions of the different rights are kept, though in numerical
terms they are few.

Q: How do you assess the Holy Father’s forthcoming visit?

Bishop Padovese: The Holy Father’s visit is delicate — not problematic
due to questions of an ecumenical character, because from this point
of view an accord has already been reached. Moreover, there will be a
joint declaration by the Bishop of Rome and the patriarch of Istanbul.

The more complex questions regard the relationship between Christianity
and Islam, and what the Pontiff thinks of Turkey’s eventual entry into
Europe. Turkish media criticized the then Cardinal Ratzinger because,
according to them he is not in favor of Turkey’s entry into Europe.

Q: What do you think of the reactions to the lesson Benedict XVI gave
at the University of Regensburg?

Bishop Padovese: I fear that some in Turkey might wish to organize
a protest in view of the Pope’s arrival. For the fundamentalists it
is a very tempting occasion.

I read a statement of the person in charge of Turkish religious
affairs, who specified that Turkey will receive the Pontiff but as
a head of state, which means that the figure of the religious leader
fades into the background.

There are those who would prefer that the Pontiff not go to Turkey;
however, it is no longer an issue of opening a window to the Muslim
world but a balcony, to deliver a clear address on relations between
Islam and Christianity.

I am convinced that what was a problem might become an unrepeatable
occasion, a unique opportunity, because all the media of the Arab
countries will focus on what the Pope says. Some won’t be happy,
but at least they will refer to what the Holy Father affirms.

Q: In what way can the Western Christian community help the small
Turkish flock?

Bishop Padovese: We are a reality without a voice. The problem, which
the Pontiff also expressed on the occasion of Father Santoro’s death,
is that we are in Turkey without means of social communication.

Protestants have a TV channel and two or three radio stations. We
have nothing. This means that we cannot take a position and are even
unable to rectify anything falsely written or said against us. To
make rectifications I have had to contract a lawyer full time. I have
requested rectifications from two newspapers and they have done so, and
another, to avoid prosecution, will meet with me to present excuses.

Q: How is dialogue with Islam progressing?

Bishop Padovese: The situation is complicated because Islam has an
idea of reality that is all-encompassing and absorbing. And the
absolutism that Muslims advocate does not allow for any form of
dialogue or compromise.

There is a relationship with some people of the Muslim world. The
greatest problem is linked to the difficulty of different levels of
cultural and theological preparation. There are Islamic schools of
theology, but I have the impression that they are not at the level
of our own; we do not meet on the same plane.

The fact is that Islam does not allow exegesis of the Koran, while
Christianity allows exegesis of sacred Scripture.

So it happens that there is no true dialogue, only mutual knowledge.

A gathering of information from one side and the other, what we do
and what they do, but this isn’t genuine dialogue.

There is dialogue and cooperation in charitable and social works, but
when it comes to theological questions, then we are very far behind.

We have organized congresses on the images of Jesus and Mary in Islam,
but there were few Muslim participants — only people of a certain
cultural formation. Those imams with little theological preparation
did not participate. This is one of the big problems.

There is very little theological activity in Islam, which differs
according to the different schools. The difference is that we
Christians have a guiding magisterium; [Muslims], instead, don’t have
it and it is individual theologians who decide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY PASSES EU-BACKED LAW ON MINORITY SCHOOLS, BUT REMOVES KEY PASSAGE ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TO ATTEND

International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Sept 26 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.

The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.

Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.

The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.

The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.

The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.

Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.

The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.

The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.

"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.

The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."

The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."

After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.

Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.

The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.

In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.

The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.

Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.

Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.

ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.

The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.

Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.

The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.

The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.

The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.

Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.

The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.

The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.

"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.

The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."

The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."

After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.

Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.

The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.

In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.

The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.

Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.

Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN EXCHANGE ACCUSATIONS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH DURING UN DEBATE

UN News Centre
Sept 26 2006

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other during addresses to the
United Nations General Assembly of not being interested in achieving
a lasting peace settlement in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Elmar Mammadyarov, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, told the Assembly
yesterday that a recent joint environmental operation between the
two countries to tackle major fires inside Nagorno-Karabakh has been
"the only positive development so far."

"The occupying forces have to withdraw from the occupied territories
and necessary conditions have to be in place to allow secure
and dignified return of the Azerbaijani displaced persons to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding territories of Azerbaijan,"
he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s status can only be defined "through peaceful,
democratic and legal process with direct participation and consent
of both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities," he said, adding
that the region’s economic development must be strengthened and its
inter-communal relations enhanced.

But "it is difficult to hope for a breakthrough in the negotiations
when Armenia rejects face-to-face meetings and refuses to take a
constructive approach to solve existing problems."

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said yesterday that "the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh chose long ago not to be represented by the
Government of Azerbaijan. They were the victims of state violence, they
defended themselves, and succeeded against great odds, only to hear
the State cry foul and claim sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Mr. Oskanian said that last December Azerbaijan destroyed or removed
thousands of hand-sculpted mediaeval Armenian tombstones.

"Such destruction, in an area with no Armenians, at a distance from
Nagorno-Karabakh and any conflict areas, is a callous demonstration
that Azerbaijan’s attitude towards tolerance, human values, cultural
treasures, cooperation or even peace, has not changed."

He added that "one cannot blame us for thinking that Azerbaijan is
not ready or interested in a negotiated peace."

OSCE OFFICE FACILITATES DISCUSSION ON MEDIA SELF-REGULATION IN ARMENIA

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Sept 26 2006

YEREVAN, 25 September 2006 – Media accountability and best practices
regarding self-regulation mechanisms, particularly for public
broadcasters, were discussed at a meeting that took place in Yerevan
over the weekend.

It brought together journalists and managers of the Public TV and Radio
Company of Armenia (PTRC) and other Armenian media, representatives
of international and non-governmental organizations.

They discussed the possibility of introducing an internal
ombudsperson’s institution for the public broadcaster, professional
ethics and the need to develop a professional Code of Conduct in
the PTRC.

"Journalistic ethics and self-regulation play a significant role
in the development of a professional, independent and accountable
media," said Blanka Hancilova, Democratization Programme Officer at
the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "We hope that this meeting helped to
identify mechanisms for institutionalizing media self-regulation,
which will enhance compliance with professional ethics."

Boris Navasardian, President of the Yerevan Press Club, added: "Media
self-regulation in Armenia will not only raise accountability of the
different news outlets, but will also strengthen their independence."

The two-day event, "Introduction of self-regulatory mechanisms in
Armenian media," was organized by the OSCE Office, the Yerevan Press
Club, PTRC, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization’s Office in Moscow.

Jeffrey Dvorkin, the first ombudsman of the U.S. National Public Radio
and executive director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists,
and Ian Mayes, president of the international Organization of News
Ombudsmen and the Guardian newspaper ombudsman shared their experience.