Month: November 2006

KAZAKHSTAN, ARMENIA INK AGREEMENT ON CO-OPERATION BETWEEN OVERSIGHT BODIES
Gazeta, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan today
Nov 7 2006
ASTANA. Kazakhstan and Armenia have inked an agreement on co-operation
between oversight bodies of the two states. Rashid Tussupbekov, General
Prosecutor of Kazakhstan, has signed the agreement from Kazakhstan,
and Agvan Ovsepyan, General Prosecutor of Armenia, from Armenia,
the General Prosecutor’s press service reports.
“The key objective of the agreement is to increase the efficiency of
co-operation between the prosecuting bodies of Kazakhstan and Armenia,”
– a press release distributed Tuesday says. In particular, the sides
“have agreed on regulation of joint activities when oversight functions
protecting the rights and legal interests of citizens are carried out,”
the relapse says.
Mr. Tussupbekov and Mr. Ovsepyan also discussed co-operation in
combating crime at their meeting.
In conclusion of the meeting the General Prosecutor of Armenia,
invited his Kazakhstani counterpart to visit Armenia.

ARONYAN TO MEET WITH AZERI REPRESENTATIVE
A1+
[12:10 pm] 07 November, 2006
Today Armenian chess player Levon Aronyan will meet with Shakiryar
Mamedyarov, a chess player from Azerbaijan in the second phase of
Memorial Tournament of Michael Tall, ex World Chess Champion.
Reminder; the Azeri chess player met with Alexei Shirov in the first
tournament and tied the meeting.
Levon Aronyan beat his Russian representative, Alexander Morozevich in
the first tournament of the Memorial Tournament held in Moscow. Grand
Masters Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomaryov also enjoyed victories. The
other two games of chess ended in a draw.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERIS ARE CONCERNED OVER THE ERECTION OF DALIBALTYAN’S STATUE
A1+
[01:35 pm] 07 November, 2006
The proposal of the Javakhq community to set up a monument to Armenian
General Dalibaltyan, the hero of the Artsakh war, aroused a great
complaint among the Azeris.
“Official Tbilisi will do its best to halt the negative outcome of the
statue unveiling on the Azeri-Georgian relations,” Georgian Ministry
of Culture told “Trend” agency.
Under the Georgian legislation, the Self-Government Bodies are entitled
to make a decision on the erection of statues.
The Azeris’ concern is also determined by the fact that there are
Armenians in the new Georgian Sakrebolo. The Georgian Minister of
Culture says that regarding the possibility of transferring the issue
to the political field they will take into account the interests of
neighbouring Azerbaijan too.

NKR CULTURE DAYS TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA IN NOVEMBER
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 13:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh Republic Culture Days will be held
in Armenia in the second ten days of November. The opening of the
NKR Culture Days in Armenia is scheduled November 13 at the National
Academic Theater after Sundukyan in Yerevan. The week-long events will
also comprise cities of Abovyan, Artashat, Echmiadzin. Best state
ensembles of Artsakh (the historical name of Nagorno Karabakh) will
perform. Chorus, popular, folklore, orchestral art will be presented
to the audience. Within the framework of the NKR Culture Days works of
Karabakh artists will also be exhibited in Armenia, reports IA Regnum.

EXPLORING OPEN STUDIOS IN A CLOSED CITY CROSSES MORE THAN THE GREEN LINE
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Nov 7 2006
JOHN Updike once wrote “What art offers is space”. Of course, he
was talking about inner spaces, the spaces of the imagination and
ideas, to give voice to feelings and emotions that cannot be other
wise expressed.
But this weekend I literally found art in different spaces. A treasure
hunt through the old town of Nicosia on both sides of the Green Line:
like a party game of clues and adventure. It’s been a journey into
alleyways and hidden corners, a chance to meet new people and make
new friends: a maze to find the amazing.
It started in Club Red on Wednesday night and since then I’ve been
wandering in search of studios. Getting lost, getting wet but mostly
getting to know this place more intimately: the interesting by-product
of Open Studios is that it makes you walk where you would normally
never walk. Wine offered, music playing, each studio as individual
as the artist. It makes you make the city your own.
My first open door was near Famagusta Gate, to the studio of Pola
Xadjipapa-McCammon and Christos Christou. Little red arrows drew us
down cobbled streets to find six people sitting round smoking and
drinking in an old house like a private party.
Shyly we entered and were immediately given a glass. I recognised
Christos’ pieces, but Pola`s were new to me and what fascinated me was
a series she’d done on the Cyprus railway. I never even knew Cyprus
had had a railway. The conversation flowed with the wine, like a
private viewing all for us. But more than that, it was personal and
relevant. We asked and she answered, not a lecture or a pretentious
spiel, but a chance to understand the processes and the thoughts
behind a painting.
On Saturday night we walked down Perikleous Street, past the strip
clubs and red light joints, a road I’d normally avoid in the dark,
but just a few hundred metres down and the mood changed. First stop,
Nicholas Panayi’s gallery, with a video installation of baklava
makers mirroring paper makers from China, a few steps further
was Lia Bouyiatzi’s extraordinary space. Huge, larger-than-life
canvasses in black and white of nude women: women beautiful because
of their voluptuous vulnerability. There was something intimate
and inspirational about sitting over yet another glass of wine in a
studio rather than a gallery, paintings propped against walls, among
brushes and books. This project gives you a chance to understand the
personality of the painter in their environment. Nowhere was this more
apparent than on Sunday afternoon when we finally found, through a
torrential downpour, the absolutely magical studio of Ayhatun Atesin
near the Abrahamet Cultural Centre. We wandered at first, confused
by the map, into a derelict house full of mangy cats and old tin
baths, and then, sodden to the bone, saw the next house with its
walls of embedded ceramic shards. We knocked gingerly on the door,
and were greeted by the widest of smiles and the warmest coffee. And
the most extraordinary and beautiful sight: tabletops brimming with
perfectly formed ceramic shoes, like a Manolo Blahnik shop front or a
scene from Cinderella. They would be shipped the next day to Istanbul
for the opening of her exhibition “Silent Walk”. But more than that,
the old house was an Aladdin’s cave of delights: photos, pots, plates
covered in iridescent blues and hues of every tone. Her life’s work,
on every surface a story, no need to talk, just look.
Opening studios within closed walls is crossing more than one divide.
It is opening not just doors but the opportunity to connect across
the line, physically and emotionally. Of course, there is sadness as
you walk, things you’d rather not see but are, nevertheless, reality.
We found ourselves wandering through the totally ruined Armenian
Church in Arabahmet, with its graffitied walls and broken spirit,
just paces from the artists’ studios.
But for those who really want to reclaim their city, artists can give
hope, so get a map, take an open mind, and walk.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE SUPPORTS AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN, GREEK AND RUSSIAN COMMUNITIES OF GEORGIA
Author: A.Ismaylova
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 7 2006
The results of an OSCE-financed project which aimed to promote civic
participation in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia, where there are
many national minorities, will be presented in Tbilisi on November 8,
Trend reports with reference to the OSCE Information Office.
Set up by the association Women of Multinational Georgia, the project
helped establish NGOs focusing on gender, human rights issues,
and democratic development in the Dmanisi, Tsalka, Bolnisi and
Marneuli districts, which are inhabited by Azeri, Armenian, Greek
and Russian communities. Under the project, training courses and
seminars were organized to develop leadership, financial, personnel and
organizational management skills. A newsletter, published in Georgian,
Azeri and Armenian, was also distributed in the Kvemo Kartli region.

ALIYEV: AZERBAIJAN’S POSITION ON SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO GARABAGH CONFLICT REMAINS UNCHANGED
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 7 2006
Being on official visit to Brussels Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev
met with EU Secretary General for the Common Foreign and Security
Policy Javier Solana, APA reports.
After the meeting President noted that this meeting gives chances
to bilateral relations and the discussions on the development
of international relations. Saying that Azerbaijan’s position on
the settlement of Nagorno Garabagh conflict remains unchanged the
President added that the problem must be solved within the frame of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
“This principle is reflected in the international juridical norms;
with the exception of Armenia all countries of the world, international
community recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
We think that Azerbaijan’s occupied territories should be released,
the refugees should return to their motherland and the conflict
should be solved within the restoration of Azerbaijani borders,”
the President said.
Informing of the results of the meeting with Ilham Aliyev Javier
Solana said the discussions were productive. The situations in the
region, Nagorno Garabagh problem, Action Plan to be accepted within
the framework of European Neighborhood Policy, situation in Georgia
were also discussed at the meeting.

TURKISH ARMY KEEPS EYE ON POLITICIANS
By Mark Mardell
BBC News, UK
Nov 7 2006
The tanks are rumbling through the streets of Istanbul and the crowds
are cheering.
Not images from one of the four military coups of the last 50 years,
but celebrations for the birthday of the Turkish republic.
Row upon row of sometimes rather baby-faced young men in smart blue
uniforms march past, carrying trumpets and drums adorned with the
Turkish flag.
Turkey’s army is the second biggest in Nato Their white helmets and
matching spats gleam. Behind them comes a troop of rather harder
looking men shouldering assault rifles.
Then the serious stuff. Angular amphibious landing vehicles trundle
by. Helicopter gunships whirr out of the sky.
The powerful chug of lines of tanks is drowned out by the scream of
fighter bombers overhead.
Above stirring martial music the announcer yells out: “The sun is
yours, the earth is yours, the sky is yours, let victory be your most
sacred desire!”
‘Political force’
It is a reminder that this is one of the largest armies in the world,
more than a million people under its command, in Nato second only in
size to the world’s only superpower.
The army had a semi-colonial mission to the rest of society – and
they’ve never ceased enthusiastically believing that they are the
real civilising elite in Turkey
Prof Hailil Berktay Turkish historian
But it is also a reminder that Turkey’s army is not only a potential
force on the battlefield – it is a real force in day-to-day politics.
Few adult Turks can see this sight without recalling that the last
coup was just nine years ago and was preceded by the coups of 1980,
1971 and 1960.
Senior diplomats say that Turkey has moved beyond coups and the army
would only intervene like that if there was a total economic and
political meltdown.
But no-one thinks the army is about to give up its political role
either.
If the army thinks the politicians are giving in to the rise of
political Islam, Kurdish separatists or are betraying northern Cyprus,
then the politicians will know about it.
EU concerns
It is true that Turkey’s armed forces have swallowed hard in recent
years and accepted a reduction in their power – mainly to please the
European Union, which on the whole they think is a good, if extremely
irritating and naive, thing.
The legacy of Ataturk dominates the military establishment
Since 2001, Turkey’s national security council has had more elected
civilians on its board and the cabinet merely has to “evaluate”
that body’s decisions, rather than “take them into consideration”.
It meets less frequently and the civilian government can now audit
military accounts.
This summer laws were revised so that military courts can no longer
try civilians.
But these look like mere technical details compared to the EU list
of complaints.
In the report being published on 8 November 2006, the European
Commission notes that the armed forces exercise “significant political
influence”, the military has in law “a wide margin of manoeuvre”
within “a broad definition of national security”.
It concludes that the military should stick to speaking about defence
matters and even these statements should only be made under the
authority of the government.
General’s warning
This is very far from what actually happens.
If this building [the state] falls down everything… including
democracy, freedom of speech, human rights… gets crushed
underneath. So the roof has to be strong – the army keeps an eye on it
Edib Baser Retired Turkish general
When the EU condemns the Turkish top brass for making “public
statements to influence areas beyond their responsibilities” it
could well cite last month’s speech by the chief of staff, Gen Yasar
Buyukanit.
He said the Turkish republic and its values were “under heavy attack”
from “people in the highest positions of government” because they
wanted to redefine secularism.
Make no mistake, he does mean the present government. It was elected
by a massive majority and is the first party for years that has been
able to rule without needing to form a coalition.
It is up for election again next year and expected to win again. It
could take the presidency as well.
It was elected promising to bring the headscarf ban to an end,
something the majority of the population want.
But it has not been able to do it. From the women affected to
fundamentalist agitators, no-one I talk to seems the tiniest bit
surprised or even disappointed. They know the army has drawn a
red line.
‘Army is constitution’
Nearly two weeks after the National Day parade, I am watching a debate
in the studios of Crescent TV, an Islamic channel on what is probably
the hottest, longest-running topic in Turkey today – the relationship
between religion and the state.
Republic Day brings an outpouring of patriotic fervour Four earnest men
around a desk listen as a taped report sets the terms of the debate.
The reporter begins: “It’s 83 years since the birth of the Turkish
republic and yet we are still governed by a constitution written
by solders…”
But this perhaps misses the point. In Turkey, the army thinks it is
the constitution.
At least, it takes upon it the function of the constitution in many
countries, seeing itself as the highest arbiter of the state, making
sure that mere democratically elected governments do not stray from
the straight and narrow.
Its sacred driving principle is that the sacred should never become
a driving principle of the state.
It sees itself as a bulwark against political Islam and what it would
regard as surrender to terrorism.
‘Post-modern coup’
A retired four-star general, Edib Baser, who now runs the Institute
for the Study of Ataturk’s Principles and the History of the Republic,
sees the state as a building.
“If this building falls down everything… including democracy,
freedom of speech, human rights… gets crushed underneath. So the
roof has to be strong. The army keeps an eye on it.”
It is instructive to look at the1997 coup, which has been called the
first “post-modern coup”. That is a trendy way of saying the army
made clear its displeasure, and events followed without the need for
much brute force.
Neither the generals nor their puppets took over but the government
resigned and there was a clampdown on political Islam.
Power without responsibility, perhaps, but it is probably more accurate
to say the Turkish army feels it has a responsibility but does not
actually seek direct power.
All armies, perhaps, have a reverential sense of their own history,
but this is especially true in Turkey.
‘Hampstead Liberals’
They were the driving force behind the revolution that modernised
and westernised the country.
In the young Turkish republic, Kemal Ataturk, an army officer all his
life until he became a revolutionary leader, used the army to build
the schools and canals and mosques for grateful villagers.
But his conscript army also educated its solders, making sure they
could read and write before they left its service.
A consequence of this is a rather strange anomaly.
In Turkey, there are liberals in a modern Western sense. But many of
those who you would expect to be “Hampstead Liberals” in Britain are
here among the strongest supporters of the army.
The controversial artist Bedri Baykam tells me: “This government
unfortunately is trying to change every law little by little. It’s
as though we were trying to enter the Iranian Union, not the EU.
“Turkey is the only Muslim country that has democracy, freedom of
speech and an international lifestyle and that is not a coincidence.
It’s because of Ataturk’s ideas and the Turkish army’s care and
attention.”
He has just been on a march in favour of secularism and against the
possibility of the headscarf ban being lifted, and adds: “We do not
want any military coup d’etat, because that would take us 20 or 30
years backwards. But we also don’t want an Islamic coup, because that
would take us 1,000 back. Between 30 and 1,000, I would prefer 30.”
‘Perpetual fear’
Some think that as Turkey changes and becomes more secure as a
secular democracy, then the army will become more relaxed about
Islamic symbols in the public sphere and slowly relinquish its role.
The army itself sometimes says that is its aim and desire. But it
will not be easy.
Professor Hailil Berktay, a historian and expert on the way Turkey
sees its own history, tells me: “The army had a semi-colonial mission
to the rest of society. And they’ve never ceased enthusiastically
believing that they are the real civilising elite in Turkey.”
“They say, ‘We are the ones keeping Pandora’s box closed and preventing
the demons of backwardness, superstition, religious fundamentalism,
Kurdish separatism and Armenian nationalism from emerging.’ It’s this
sense of a civilising and protecting mission that drives them.”
He adds: “The larger problem is the way the rest of Turkish society
has internalised this and lives in perpetual fear of what the military
might do.”
The real test may come next year, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan may decide to run for president.
If he does and wins, the thought of a man whose wife wears a headscarf
living in the presidential palace, a man who was once imprisoned for
words thought to represent militant Islam, occupying the role that
Ataturk first held, may be too much for some officers to bear.
Then again, if these things come to pass and the sky does not fall in,
they may start to relax a little and keep the moaning for the army
mess table.
stm

TURKISH YOUTHS TRIED FOR FIGHT WITH ARMENIANS IN FRANCE
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 7 2006
Three Turkish youths living in the city of Valence in France will
be tried after having fought with Armenians who launched a signature
campaign against Turkey.
The Turkish youths, Yilmaz Cevdet, Zengin Semih and Yilmaz Kamber,
could face a two-year jail sentence. Reportedly, the Turkish boys had
trouble finding a lawyer, even one from Lyon, due to Armenian pressure.
The incident in Valence took place in October 2004. A group of
Armenians opened a stand in front of the municipality building,
launching a signature campaign distributing leaflets.
Opposed, the Turkish youths turned to the police. After no results
from local law enforcement, they went back to the protest area and
an argument broke out between the groups, which later turned into a
fight. Some of the Armenians were reportedly injured during the fight.

INJURIES HIT FINNISH MIDFIELD FOR ARMENIA GAME
Reuters, UK
Nov 7 2006
HELSINKI, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Finland will be without experienced
midfielders Jari Litmanen and Aki Riihilahti on Nov. 15 when they
meet Armenia for a home game in European Championship qualifying.
Long-time national team captain Litmanen, 35, has a thigh injury
and will also have ankle surgery. He is expected to be out until
mid-December. Kaiserslautern’s Riihilahti re-injured his calf muscle
last weekend.
Tottenham’s Teemu Tainio might also miss the group A game in Helsinki,
a Finnish Football Association spokesman said.
Coach Roy Hodgson will announce his squad on Thursday.
After four games, Finland lie second behind Serbia in the group with
eight points. Armenia have one point from three games.