Month: November 2006

TURKEY SUSPENDS MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 16 2006
Turkish Land Forces Commander Ilker Basbug announced that Turkey has
suspended military relations with France following hot debates after
the French Parliament adopted a draft bill making it a crime to deny
that Turks committed genocide against Armenians last century.
In October, the French National Assembly; the lower house of the
French parliament, passed a much-debated bill that carries up to one
year in prison for anyone who denies that the World War I killings
of Armenians during the late Ottoman period were genocide.
Gen. Ilker Basbug made his remarks at a reception held on Wednesday
evening on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the foundation of
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. “Relations with France in
the military field have been suspended,” Basbug told reporters.
In response to a question over possible military visits, “There
are no high-level (military) visits between the two countries,”
the general remarked.
The bill, adopted with 106 “yes” votes to 19 “no,” still requires
the approval of the French senate and president to become law.
On Oct. 18, Turkish Parliament adopted a joint declaration after
debating the bill. “The French National Assembly has not only inflicted
great damage on bilateral ties but has also dealt a blow to efforts to
normalize our ties with Armenia,” the declaration said. It added the
bill would have serious effects on political, economic and military
ties with France and on Armenia itself.
This recent move is seen as another link in escalating tension with
France, a key member of the European Union, at a time when EU hopeful
Turkey’s accession talks to become a member of the 25-member bloc
look increasingly troubled.
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ANDRANIK MARKARYAN: ILHAM ALIYEV AND ROBERT KOCHARIAN’S MEETING MAY BE A STEP FORWARD IN THE SETTLEMENT OF THE CONFLICT
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
“The meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents may be a step
forward in the settlement of the conflict,” Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Markaryan told journalists, APA reports.
“The meeting may be a step forward and we may come to the conclusion
that Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers have come to an
agreement on some questions. Of course these problems will be widely
discussed on the level of presidents. I would welcome such a meeting,”
he said.
In the assembly of the Foreign Ministers of both countries held
in Brussels OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs proposed the meeting of two
presidents.

TURKEY CUTS FRANCE OFF OVER ARMENIA
Gareth Cartman
Paris Link, France
Nov 16 2006
The issue of the proposed law penalising denial of the Armenian
genocide continues to rumble on. Turkey has cut off military ties
with France, one of its main suppliers.
Turkey’s continued belligerence in the face of a law proposed by the
French Assemblee National has resulted in the freezing of military
relations between the two countries. The proposal, which proposed
criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide during the First World
War, has no chance of becoming law, and was voted through the lower
house thanks to mass abstention.
General Ilker Basbug, the Turkish commander, announced the suspension
last night, adding that there would be no military visits between the
two countries and that none had been planned. Turkey, for so long a
customer of France’s armament production, has already taken a strong
line against France, encouraging consumer boycotts and suspending
business deals.
The proposed law has received international criticism, with the EU
claiming that it has harmed negotiations with Turkey. Internally,
the proposal has been given a lukewarm reception, with President
Jacques Chirac privately fuming at the attempt to pass the law through
parliament. Chirac attempted to calm the situation in a conversation
with Prime Minister Erdogan, and will annul the proposal if it gets
through the senate.
The issue further clouds Turkey’s increasingly small chances of
joining the European Union. Ankara maintains that the word genocide
is unfair and that killings took place on both sides in what it calls
ethnic conflicts. Armenians, backed by most international historians,
claim that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred as the Ottoman Empire
came to an end.
CLE/1409/2006-11-16.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO SUMMARY
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
Writer and statesman Vano Siradeghian’s sixtieth anniversary will
be celebrated on Monday. As a media, we don’t want to be engaged in
anyone’s apology, even in his birthday. We simply fix the reality.
And the reality is that Vano, as well as the rest of members of
“Karabakh committee” are a politician of revolutionary period with all
his inherent mistakes. He is one of those politicians who intended and
achieved the revolution but not of those ones who take advantage of
its results. Negative is much more than positive in every revolution,
willfulness, injustice, despotism are unavoidable there. But let’s
compare how the ’90’s of the previous century passed in Georgia and
Azerbaijan, and we’ll be sure that the team where Vano Siradeghian
played a core role was much more responsible and wiser.
Why do the current authorities hate Vano and why did launch a
propagandizing hysteria against him after coming to power? I think,
besides the aspiration to black the past, psychological complexes
also play a great role here. In post revolutionary period, dull, more
common people come to replace politicians of large scale, and they
express their dullness in rage towards the formers. A medium pupil
may keep silence for 10 years and wait when his excellent classmate
will miss and give him and opportunity to demonstrate his envy. Just
in the same nowadays intellectuals /for example Levon Ananian/ for
pleasing the authority complain how ANM has pursued them by “they
were bad but you are good” transparent pretext.
As every bright person, Vano also mustn’t be identified with his
party. And more, when the opposition was holding demonstrations in 1994
against Vano, the ANM ruling cliques exulted at the curses addressed
to him. And the opposite, when the first scenes of rat race became
visible he began ruling the ANM, and if there is a party by that name,
it is Vano’s merit.
I’m sure, his political biography isn’t over yet, and so it isn’t
the time to summarize. Let’s simply congratulate his birth anniversary.

NKR SPEAKER ASHOT GHULIAN CONGRATULATED SPEAKER OF US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 16 2006
The speaker of the NKR National Assembly Ashot Ghulian congratulated
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives. In his
message, the speaker stated that this important victory is evidence to
the trust of the Americans in the ability of the Democrats to promote
democracy, overcome internal and external challenges the American
nation is facing. Ashot Ghulian appreciated the moral support to the
democratic movement and humanitarian aid the United States gives to
Nagorno Karabakh to help eliminate the consequences of the destructive
Azerbaijani aggression, as well as the U.S. engagement in the
talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group. Ashot Ghulian reasserted
the commitment of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and its people to the
democratic values, human rights and building of a civil society, who
believe that the U.S. will continue to uphold freedom and democracy
and assist in strengthening and developing Nagorno Karabakh.

MEETINGS OF NKR PRESIDENT IN UNITED STATED (NEW YORK)
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 16 2006
The people of NKR will never give up their independence, and for
the sake of lasting peace, stability and economic development we are
ready for a serious dialogue and cooperation with all the interested
parties, stated NKR President Arkady Ghukassian in his interviews
with the Novoye Russkoye Slovo and the Inner City Press Newspapers,
as well as the Ararat and the AGBU magazines in the United States.
With regard to the present stage of the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Arkady Ghukassian mentioned the
non-constructive stance of the Azerbaijani president, namely
the fact that he rejects direct talks with Nagorno Karabakh and
establishment of an atmosphere of confidence in the conflict area,
which impedes the final settlement of the problem. On these days,
NKR President Arkady Ghukassian is visiting the United States for the
preparations for the telethon of donations for the reconstruction of
NKR on November 23 in the US. In the framework of these preparations,
Arkady Ghukassian met with the primate of the Eastern Diocese of
North America Archbishop Oshakan Choloyan. After the meeting, the
president participated in a reception. The representatives of the
Armenian Relief Society, Armenian General Sport Union, the Armenian
Educational and Cultural Union Hamazgayin, the Central Committee of the
ARF Dashnaktsutyun, as well as a number of other organizations were
present. The president also met with Archbishop Khazhak Parsamian,
as well as the heads of several organizations cooperating with the
Eastern Diocese, including the Armenian Relief Fund. During the
meetings the archbishops asserted their willingness to help Artsakh
overcome the problems it is facing. For his part, the president of
NKR dwelled on state building, economic development and promotion of
democracy in Nagorno Karabakh. Arkady Ghukassian highly appreciated
the assistance of the Armenian Diaspora to the reconstruction and
development of the economy of NKR. Emphasizing the importance of
consistency in the reconstruction and development of the social
and economic infrastructure, he called the representatives of the
Diaspora to contribute to the reconstruction of the settlements in
Artsakh. Arkady Ghukassian also met with the American benefactors
Hakob Koyumjian and Harutiun Mekhchian and discussed the enlargement
of the humanitarian projects and business projects in NKR.

MEETINGS ARE BASIS FOR FUTURE COOPERATION
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 16 2006
The NKR minister of education, culture and sport Kamo Atayan and the
rector of Artsakh State University Hamlet Grogorian visited France
and Moscow from October 24 to November 4. They were invited to France
to take part in the conference devoted to the 15th anniversary of the
Independence of NKR. Before the conference the NKR delegation visited
the city of Meudon where they met with the mayor. The minister of
education said they discussed questions of mutual interest with the
mayor. The city has a college which trains specialists for services.
The mayor of Meudon advised to visit the college and discuss
possibilities of cooperation. Kamo Atayan said the college combines
theory and practice, and on graduation the alumni are ready to work.
The minister said they will use this practice in the new vocational
college in Stepanakert. And the first step will be starting to teach
French at the college to communicate with the invited specialists.
For the equipment, this is the most complicated problem because it
requires immense costs. Kamo Atayan raised this issue in a meeting
with a group of Armenian businessmen in France, organized by Hovik
Gevorgian, the NKR representative to France. Kamo Atayan says they
were interested in everything, from premises to the teaching staff
and placement of students. They proposed supporting the construction
of the new compound for the vocational college. The project of the
compound will be sent to France as soon as it is ready. In Paris,
the NKR delegation visited the Armenian Lyceum, met with the teachers
and students. The number of students tends to grow. The fact that
children come to this school from as far as 350 km shows that the
Armenian families want their children to get Armenian education.
After staying in Paris for two days the delegation left for the
city of Lille to participate in the conference devoted to the 15th
anniversary of the Independence of NKR held at University Charles
de Gaulle. The participants represented different universities and
nationalities. There were also Turkish professors. Hamlet Grigorian,
the rector of Artsakh State University made a report entitled
“Reflections and Forecast on the Settlement of the NKR Issue”
and Kamo Atayan reported on the achievements and problems of the
NKR system of education. The fate of the unrecognized countries of
the South Caucasus and in the world sparked a debate. The members
of our delegation say the debate came to the conclusion that the
self-determination of nations is superior to territorial integrity.
In Moscow, the NKR delegation met with the staff of Lomonosov
University and discussed possibilities of cooperation. They had a
productive meeting with the directors of the institutes of the Russian
Academy of Education. At the Public Chamber of Russia Kamo Atayan and
Hamlet Grigorian were awarded the medal of peace and humanism in the
Caucasus. They also met with the leadership of the Union of Armenians
of Russia. Two months ago the leadership of the Union had visited NKR
and made an arrangement on supporting Artsakh State University with
equipment, construction of a gym and financial aid to students. The
Union of Armenians of Russia transferred some money to ASU for grants
to talented students who cannot afford to pay for their education,
thereby implementing part of their project. The minister of education
says the meetings in Moscow and France provided certain basis for
further cooperation, and there are great expectations.

NKR SPEAKER MET WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 16 2006
On November 9 NKR Speaker Ashot Ghulian met with some representatives
of youth NGOs of Artsakh on the eve of the international day of the
youth. The speaker of the National Assembly emphasized the role of
the youth NGOs in building a civil society and promoting democracy
in all the spheres of life. He also appreciated that the problems
put forward by these NGOs are relevant to the needs of the society,
and are directed at the resolution of problems in parallel with the
efforts of the government. The speaker of the National Assembly
also asserted the willingness of the leadership of the country,
including the parliament to assist in the development of the youth
organizations. The speaker of parliament answered the questions of
the participants of the meeting on enhancing government control on the
education of the young generation, employment of young people, housing
of young families, establishment of a youth parliament in NKR, etc.

US APPROACH TOWARD NKR DIFFERS FROM THAT TOWARD OTHER UNRECOGNIZED REPUBLICS
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
US position on the referendum in NKR varies from that on the possible
referendum in South Ossetia. Head of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro
Manoyan noted in a press conference today that the US policy on other
post-Soviet conflicts does not apply to Nagorno Karabakh. “It does
not mean that the White House cannot have a denialist position,
but the fact is that Nagorno Karabakh is the only conflict zone,
the only unrecognized republic, which annually receives filve million
USD from the United States,” he added.

KIRO MANOYAN: ARMENIA CAN LEGALLY RETURN ITS HISTORIC LANDS
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
The Sevres Agreement is the only legal document, which can fairly
satisfy Armenia’s claims on its historic lands in international
structures, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro Manoyan said in a
press conference today. He agrees with the former Armenian Ambassador
to Canada Ara Papyan’s idea of returning the Armenian lands in a
legal way. “Ara Papyan’s approach is quite realistic, since according
to Article 89 of the Sevres Agreement, US President Woodrow Wilson
was entrusted to clarify the border between Armenia and Turkey and
he allocated more than 160 thousand sq. km to Armenia,” he noted,
adding that the Agreement is a legal document.
Turning to the question of Turkey’s accession to the European Union,
Kiro Manoyan noted that it comes from the US interests. However,
it’s not in the authority of the US to suggest terms and requirements
of accession. “As far as the accession process is underway, and the
EU sets its requirements, the Armenian lobby has the right to demand
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and exert pressures on Turkey,”
said Kiro Manoyan.