Month: November 2006

THIS NATIONALIST WAVE IS NOT TEMPORARY
Cengiz Aktar
Turkish Daily News, Turkey
Nov 7 2006
There are various interpretations concerning the rise of nationalist
sentiment. Most believe this wave is temporary and is mainly due
to the elections that will be held next year. It is believed that
the reactions won’t go beyond calls like “Europe, Europe hear our
voice.” In my opinion, the issue goes much deeper, and the rising
nationalism we are witnessing is new and more permanent and structural
than ever before.
The sources that feed today’s nationalism are multiple. Our education
system is certainly one of these. But, the most important factor
is our country opening up and integrating with the world and the
consequent mindset that reacts to this development. Actually, when
a country that was closed to the world until the 1980’s is opened
up so fast it causes a deep social transformation and means new
traditions will enter our lives. For the last 25 years, Turkish
people have begun to see themselves in the mirror and this mirror
constantly shows the deficiencies and deformities of our country,
compared to developed countries.
Actually such a depressing self-evaluation is something that can happen
in any developing and changing country, but the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) processes add to it a substantial
and different meaning.
This twin process has been dominating our daily lives in almost
every way since 1999. Moreover, the achievements on the economic
front thanks to the IMF process are definitely not being reflected
in the way ordinary people live. This failure results in the process
being perceived only as more taxes and unemployment. On the other
hand the EU process is a fabulous Pandora’s box, whose lid is wide
open. It involves a relationship with the EU that allows Turkey to
come face to face with the fact that the innumerable political and
social problems it has tried to solve its own way or to ignore over
the years are simply not being resolved.
We also need to add the realities of the post-Sept. 11 world, the
regional repercussions of the irrational reaction the United States to
the events of Sept. 11 and the natural uproar against the U.S. reaction
to the twin process mentioned above.
Today’s nationalism feeds on the fear of change, is reactionary
and contains no constructive aspects. Its multitude of versions
is discriminatory, isolationist, rejectionist and hate-filled. The
reactions generally abide by the rule of an eye for an eye. If someone
mentions the Armenian genocide, a statute that shows that the real
victims were Turks is erected. If a cartoon about the Prophet Mohammed
appears in Danish dailies, a Catholic priest is shot in Trabzon.
Politicians who are aware of this public mood feed it with political
populism. The IMF discipline has limited the number of economic tools
for populism and this leaves nationalism as the last trump card. The
latest example is the insistence not to amend Turkish Penal Code’s
(TCK) Article 301 that protects the Turkish world from insults.
Just have a look at the public expressions of the nationalist wave:
The “national” reaction against Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk; books
and movies that glorify Turks, such as “Cýlgýn Turkler” (Those
Crazy Turks), “Metal Storm” and “Valley of the Wolves Iraq,” as
opposed to the “antinational” books of Elif Þafak and Orhan Pamuk;
the insults directed against the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy and
the ecumenical patriarch; the incredible lies and accusations that
flood the Internet; the race to produce the biggest Turkish flag;
anti-Jewish and anti-Western sentiments, which have always secretly
existed in our society, spewed at every opportunity and much more.
If we assume Turkey’s transformation process as structural and
impossible to wind back, we come to the conclusion that today’s
nationalist reactionism is equally structural. If we fail to properly
define the reasons behind the variety of nationalist sentiments voiced
by the most coarse or the most intellectual, the classic rightists or
within the Republican People’s Party (CHP), by those who come up with
a Turkish-Islamic synthesis or the secularists, it will become harder
to deal with them in the future and this will increase the possibility
of the country being whisked away to other unpleasant shores.
–Boundary_(ID_OmiABIkBQdlhvmI+6Y6qYQ)–

GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS WITHDRAWAL FROM CIS NOVEMBER 10
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 16:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Georgian Parliament will consider the draft
resolution on Georgia’s withdrawal from the CIS, worked out by the
Democratic Front Faction at its plenary session November 10. The
decision on that was adopted at the session of the Parliament Bureau
on Monday. Democratic Front representative Kakha Kukava believes
when discussing the draft the majority decision will differ from the
principles declared by it. One of the leaders of the former majority
Giga Bokeriya believes that withdrawal from the CIS at this stage will
do more harm than good to the country. Maya Nadiradze also believes
that by that Georgia will give another cause to Russia for irritation
at the talks. By a decree of the Georgian President May 10 a special
Governmental Commission is formed, led by PM Zurab Nogaideli. It was
to study the possible consequences of Georgia’s withdrawal from the
CIS within 2 months, reports Gruzia-Online.

ALIYEV AND SOLANA DISCUSSED KARABAKH ISSUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 16:56 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Being on official visit to Brussels Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev met with EU Secretary General for the Common
Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. After the meeting President
noted that this meeting gives chances to bilateral relations and the
discussions on the development of international relations.
Having said that Azerbaijan’s position on the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh 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 legal
norms; with the exception of Armenia all countries of the world,
the 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 situation in the
region, the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the Action Plan to be accepted
within the framework of European Neighborhood Policy, situation in
Georgia were also discussed at the meeting, APA reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NAZARBAYEV URGED KAZAKH COMPANIES TO INVEST IN ARMENIAN ECONOMY MORE ACTIVELY
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 16:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged Kazakh
companies to invest in Armenian economy more actively. “Kazakhstan
develops at a high rate. I urge you to study the situation in
Armenia, invest and earn money,” Nazarbayev said at a business
forum in Astana. “We discussed bilateral relations with the Armenian
President. Trade and economic relations are the major ones here and
these are at a very low level today,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said. “The
number are so low – $14-15 million, this does not fit either needs
or potential of our countries,” the Kazakh leader added.
In his turn Armenian President Robert Kocharian noted that the
structure of the economies of Kazakhstan and Armenia “could
complement one another.” “We have a normative legal basis for
economic cooperation. The attractive investment climate in Armenia
allows businessmen investing money and being sure that his property
is protected,” the Armenian leader said. He added that banking, IT,
vegetable processing, mining, metallurgy and other fields may be most
attractive to Kazakhstan, reports Kazakhstan Today.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SCHEDULE OF MEASURES ON PREPARATION AND CONDUCT OF A REFERENDUM ON NKR CONSTITUTION MADE
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
The issues referring to the preparation and conduct of a referendum
on the Nagorno-Karabakh Draft Constitution were discussed at the NKR
Central Election Commission today’s sitting.
A schedule of the measures on the referendum’s preparation and conduct,
the forms of the resulting protocols and electors’ lists and other
issues were approved in the course of the sitting, REGNUM Information
Agency reports.
After the sitting the Central Referendum Commission Head Sergey
Nasibian held a seminar with the members of the Central Commission
and the territorial commissions’ heads. He dwelled on the top priority
issues and answered the participants’ questions.

PACE TO DISCUSS SOUTH CAUCASUS DRAFT STABILITY PACT
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 17:17 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Members of the PACE Standing Committee will
discuss the Stability Pact in the South Caucasus in San Marino
November 17. PACE President Rene van der Linden will take part in
the conference.
The draft Stability Pact in the South Caucasus will be introduced at
the meeting. Political Affairs Committee Rapporteur Adrian Severin
(Romania) will make a report on the issue. The draft was adopted by
the Political Affairs Committee October 5, 2006, reports Trend.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSKANIAN DOES NOT HAVE MUCH EXPECTATION FROM MEETING WITH MAMMADYAROV
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 17:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian will leave for Brussels
without “much expectations” but “with certain interest” to have a
recurrent meeting with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov within
the process of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. “There
are some issues subject to discussion on the agenda and I am going
to Brussels without much expectations but with certain interest,
always hoping that we will be able to make positions closer this time
and create conditions for a meeting of the Presidents this year,”
Oskanian told RFE/RL. The Armenian and Azeri FMs will meet in the
Belgian capital November 14.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY TERMS A WEEKLY’S REPORT AS “BLATANT LIE”
Armenpress
Nov 07 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian defense ministry
has denied today a report placed by the weekly Iravunk, run by the
Constitutional Right Union opposition party, which claimed as if
the ministry’s governing board had convened an emergency meeting on
November 4 to discuss defense minister Serzh Sarkisian’s political
agenda.
A brief press release by the defense ministry, disseminated today to
all Armenian media outlets, said the report that appeared in today’s
issue of the weekly, was inconsistent with reality.
The ministry said no emergency meeting had been held on November 4. It
said also the report in the weekly claiming this was ‘a concoction
and a blatant lie.”
The ministry’s press release said, ” The defense ministry has said
on various occasions and many times that the Armenian army is an
apolitical body that does not meddle in political processes.”

OTE HAS NOT OFFICIALLY PRESENTED ARMENTEL BUYER TO ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT YET
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2006 17:35 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OTE Greek company has not presented official
documents on selling 90% of ArmenTel telecommunication company shares
to Russian VimpelCom, Armenian PM Andranik Margaryan stated today. In
his words, “the parties still continue the talks and the Armenian
Government will make comments only after the OTE officially presents
the buyer,” reports Mediamax.
From: Baghdasarian

‘BLACK GARDEN. ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN BETWEEN PEACE AND WAR’ BOOK DISCUSSED IN YEREVAN
By Hakob Chakrian
AZG Armenian Daily
08/11/2006
“Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan between Peace and War” book
by the British journalist Thomas de Vaal was recently discussed
in Yerevan, Monday. The discussion was initiated by the Yerevan
Office of the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting. The
first edition of the book was published in Russian last year, while
at present, the translations in Armenian and Azeri languages are
ready for publication. The book is based on over 100 interviews with
representatives of the sides in the Karabakh conflict. In the course
of the discussion, Thomas de Vaal stated that half of his efforts
were directed to studying the origins of the conflict. According to
him, one of the conclusions is the fact that it was hard to avoid
the conflict in the conditions of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the
author didn’t agree with the people’s people’s opinion that Moscow is
involved in the conflict. He believes that the origin and development
of the Karabakh conflict testifies to the weakness and not to the
strength of the Kremlin. He added that Gorbachev had not been capable
of handling the issue. The author emphasized that Karabakh conflict
became the first stone in the big avalanche of problems that occurred
to the USSR and led to its collapse. Besides, he stated that the
level of hostility between Armenians and Azerbaijanis is still high,
particularly, from the Azeri are very hostile.
However, de Vaal stated that if one tries to consider the two nations
more deeply, one can see that the two nations have more things in
common. To ground his words he pointed out the Sadakhlo market. The
British journalist denied the idea of ancient hatred between the
two nations, saying that it arose only after the certain historical
developments in the 20th century.
He also drew attention to the certain level of the Armenian and Azeri
presidents’ responsibility to their compatriots. Thus, according to
him, the presidents meet, hold good meetings, and when they return
home they represent everything in quite black and white tones. In
connection with this, Thomas de Vaal emphasized the importance of
using the experience of the older generations who still remember the
years of coexistence, as compared with the younger ones who see the
situation in stereotypes, not knowing each other.
In conclusion, the author emphasized that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
is not like those that people need to wait for settlement for years.