Month: March 2007

AMBASSADOR: MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA COMMENCED IN GENEVA

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 14 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Ismaylova / The meeting of the
Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia,
Vardan Oskanyan, has commenced in Geneva.

The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland, Elchin Amirbeyov,
said that the meeting would continue for approximately 2 hours. The
meeting is also attended by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (
USA, France and Russia).

On 13 March, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan held an unofficial
meeting with the co-chairs. On the evening of 14 March, Mammadyarov
will leave for Dushanbe to accompany the President of Azerbaijan on
his official visit to Tajikistan.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV MEETS WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 14 2007

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for
Geneva to attend the negotiating process for the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Ministry’s Press Service told
the APA.

The Minister met with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Bernard Fassier,
Yuri Merzlyakov and Matthew Bryza at the night of March 13 to 14.

Before the meeting, the co-chairs had a meeting and specified the
issues to be discussed at the negotiations.

Today Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers will have a meeting
in Geneva.

TURKEY DENIES NEWS STORIES ON YEREVAN-VAN DIRECT FLIGHTS

Today, Azerbaijan
March 14 2007

Turkey on Wednesday denied the news stories that direct flights would
be allowed from Armenian capital Yerevan to eastern Turkish city of
Van for the inauguration ceremony of the Akdamar Armenian Church.

Technical preparations are underway, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
spokesman Levent Bilman said at a weekly press briefing while
commenting on the inauguration of the church, which is on Akdamar
Island on Van Lake.

The Akdamar Church was constructed between 915 AD to 921 AD under
the supervision of King Gagik I and it was renovated by a Turkish
company in 2006.

The Church will be opened on March 29. Among the important pieces
of Armenian architecture, the church draws attraction with its stone
workmanship and reliefs on its walls, the semi-official Anatolia news
agency reported.

Earlier, Van Governor Niyazi Tanilir said that an international
inauguration ceremony would be held, noting that culture ministers
of several countries, members of national and international media
organizations and representatives of Armenian community around the
world are expected to participate in the ceremony.

Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic relations and their
border has been closed since 1993 because of the Armenia’s conflict
with Azerbaijan, a key Turkish ally, over the disputed enclave of
Nagorno Karabakh.

Turkish-Armenia relations in modern times were also strongly affected
by the alleged Armenia genocide during the Turkish Ottoman period
between the Year 1915 and 1923.

Turkey has always denied that the Armenians were subjected to genocide
in the period. However, it does acknowledge that up to 300,000
Armenians, and an even higher number of Muslims, died during fighting
and efforts to relocate populations away from the war zone in eastern
Turkey.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA DEBATES ITS RELATIONS WITH US, IRAN
Haroutiun Khachatrian

EurasiaNet, NY
March 14 2007

Fears are growing in Armenia that a military conflict between the
United States and Iran could materialize, forcing Yerevan to choose
between the two sides. Both Washington and Tehran are presently key
political and economic partners for the South Caucasus state.

Iran is probably the most important country among Armenia’s neighbors,
a position encouraged by Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockade of Armenia’s
borders for over a decade. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. Despite the differences in their political systems,
Western-oriented Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have
maintained a steady friendship and have expanded their economic
cooperation in recent years. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive].

Against this backdrop, belligerent rhetoric used by Bush administration
officials when discussing Iran’s controversial nuclear research
program has prompted serious concern in Yerevan. [For background
see the Eurasia Inside archive]. Although US officials insist that
Washington has no intention of launching a preemptive strike against
Iran, local media throughout the South Caucasus presented such a
scenario as a very real possibility. For example, the March 8 issue
of the Armenian daily Zhamanak Yerevan pondered "Will Armenia be
included in the Iranian turbulence?"

A recent statement of Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the US Missile
Defense Agency, that an anti-missile radar defense system in the
South Caucasus would be "useful, but not essential" has fueled these
concerns. The Armenian public has largely interpreted Obering’s words
as another sign of increasing tensions in the region, and a tip-off
that Washington intends to counter not only Iran, but also Russia.

[For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Of all three South Caucasus states, Armenia alone has clearly expressed
opposition to the prospect of such a deployment. "Armenia, as a
member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, does not want
an increase of armament[s] in the region," Gen. Mikael Haroutiunian,
chief of staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, told reporters on March 5.

Analysts and politicians alike share the opinion that a military
response to Iran would be highly dangerous for Armenia. "Iran has
a very important stabilizing role in the region, including in the
relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan," Armen Ashotian, a member of
the parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia,
told the Noyan Tapan news agency on March 6. He expressed a concern
that preparations for Armenia’s May 12 parliamentary elections may
distract its political elite from preparing to face the danger of
such a conflict.

Like officials in Georgia and Azerbaijan, political leaders in Yerevan
have given no sign that it believes a conflict between the US and
Iran is possible. Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told reporters
on March 9 that the Iranian issue was not discussed during his March
5 meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington
DC. Oskanian also reaffirmed the commitment of his government to the
foreign policy of "complementarity," the attempt to remain on good
terms with all three regional powers – the US, Russia and Iran.

Meanwhile, one political scientist, Levon Melik-Shahnazarian,
has already come up with likely scenarios for what he sees as an
inevitable US attack against Iran. Among the options, according
to Melik-Shahnazarian, recently named the director of the DeFacto
news agency, are "pinpoint hits" on Iranian nuclear facilities (a
scenario, he warns, that could pose "a new Chernobyl" for Armenia),
and land invasion and domestic uprisings using Iran’s large ethnic
Azeri population.

Not all Armenian analysts share this widespread pessimism about
how US-Iran relations could affect Armenia, however. A US attack on
Iran would do little to change Iranian policy on nuclear development
or decrease the Islamic Republic’s influence on the region, noted
Aleksander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Media Institute in
Yerevan, in a March 13 interview with Noyan Tapan. "It seems to me
that the role of rational thinking is not small in American politics,"
Iskandarian added.

Nonetheless, defining Armenia’s alliances in such a tangle is
a problem whose existence few analysts dispute. The policy of
"complementarity" must be abandoned as "no longer suitable" for the
current situation in the South Caucasus, argued political scientist
Melik-Shahnazarian. Andranik Migranian, a Moscow-based political
scientist, shares this view, telling Shant TV on March 5 that Armenia
cannot continue to keep silent, "hoping that the problems may be
resolved by themselves."

Abandoning the policy, though, could force a clear-cut choice to
be made about where Armenia’s sympathies lie, observers say. The
pro-Western Zhamanak Yerevan daily has posited that Armenia should
side with the West, or risk losing to Azerbaijan territories that it
controls south of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aleksander Iskandarian of the Caucasus Media Institute, however,
contends that another consideration should come into play. Washington
understands, he said, that Armenia has no other option but to cooperate
with Iran, and does not wish to reinforce the country’s traditional
dependence on Russia.

"If Armenia hangs on one thread only, the Russian one, it will have
much less room for maneuver than in case of having any second thread
to hang on," Iskandarian commented. "With more freedom, Armenia will
have a better opportunity to follow its natural path of development,
to the West."

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE AND ROBERT GATES CALL FOR CONGRESS NOT TO APPROVE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 14 2007

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pentagon’s chief Robert
Gates have written to the House of Representatives, APA’s US bureau
reports.

In the letter to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican leader
John Boehner and House Foreign Affairs Committee chief Tom Lantos,
both senior officials called for the congressmen not to approve
the bill on false Armenian genocide. Rice noted that the adoption
of mentioned bill will seriously harm Turkey-US relations and US’s
international relations system.

The analogical ideas have been mentioned in the letter written by
the Secretary of Defense.

ARMENIAN CHURCH STARTS IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Interfax, Russia
March 14 2007

Yerevan, March 14, Interfax – The foundation stone of a new Armenian
church was laid in the northern Iraqi town of Duhok.

The ceremony was held within the framework of the Armenian Apostolic
Church’s Archbishop Avag Asatourian of Iraq visiting the northern
part of the country, the press service of Holy Etchmiadzin said.

Following the Armenian Church’s ancient tradition, Archbishop Avag
blessed 16 cornerstones for the future church. The ceremony was
attended by the local Armenian community and some clergy from other
churches.

Before the US led coalition forces invaded Iraq, there had been c.
20,000 Armenians, many of whom were later to leave for neighboring
countries, Western Europe and the US. Currently 12,000 to 16,000
Armenians are estimated to remain in Iraq, mainly in Baghdad, Basra
and in the northern part of the country.

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RICE AND GATES WRITE JOINT LETTER TO US HOUSE WARNING ON THE ARMENIAN BILL

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 14 2007

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert
Gates have written a joint letter to the US House of Representatives
warning of possible serious consequences to the passage of the
so-called Armenian genocide bill.

According to reports, the letter, which carries the signatures of
both Gates and Rice, was sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority
Leader John Boehner, and Tom Lantos, the head of the House Foreign
Relations Committee.

Rice and Gates warn in their letter that Turkish-American relations
could be deeply harmed by the passage of the bill, and that US
interests will also be damaged. The Armenian bill was presented to
the House at the end of January, and it is still not known exactly
when it will stand for debate and possible approval.

YEREVAN CRITICAL OF US BAN ON JERMUK MINERAL WATER

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 14 2007

YEREVAN, March 13 (Itar-Tass) — Yerevan regards the U.S. sanitary
authorities’ decision to bar the Armenian mineral water Jermuk from
U.S. market as "anti-Armenian designs" and "encroachment on the
Armenian prestige".

Claims by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that Jermuk allegedly
contains high doses of arsenic dangerous for health "cause plenty of
questions," adviser to the Jermuk Group administration Edgar Kazarian
said on Tuesday.

Strangely, the American agency drew the conclusion from a test of
only one 0.5-liter bottle, he said. Judging by the bottle photograph,
it was a counterfeit Jermuk, as "there is no mineral water with such
a label on the Armenian market," he said.

There may be a political aspect to the problem, as well, Kazarian
said. "Mineral water, which is a consumer product, becomes an
instrument for solving political problems," he said.

"We have been regularly exporting Jermuk to the United States for
seven years, and we could not have done that without permission from
respective U.S. agencies," he said.

Kazarian wondered why the dangerous concentration of arsenic was
found just now.

As known, all mineral waters of Armenia contain arsenic. "Armenian
water has a curative effect thanks to this biologically active
microelement," said deputy chief of the Armenian Health Ministry’s
State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service Marietta Basilisian.

In her words, the content of arsenic in Jermuk does not exceed the
national standards.

OTTOMAN ROGUE IS LATEST TURKISH MOVIE HERO
By Daren Butler

Reuters, UK
March 14 2007

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish cinema audiences love their heroes and the
brawling, roguish womanizer Yandim Ali — who takes on British forces
occupying Istanbul in "The Last Ottoman" — fits the bill perfectly.

The film, set during the break-up of the Ottoman Empire at the end
of World War One, taps into a growing wave of nationalism in Turkish
cinema which has fed on historical themes and current issues such as
the war in neighboring Iraq.

Exploiting the popularity of Turkish television stars, local films
are now mounting a major challenge to the Hollywood productions which
used to dominate cinema screens here.

The mass-market local productions are also much more of a hit with
audiences at home than the Turkish art house movies that have won
critical acclaim abroad.

Mustafa Sevki Dogan, director of "The Last Ottoman," is under no
illusions about the recipe for success with his central character,
based on a popular comic strip hero.

"Yandim Ali is a great hero and heroism is something which always
appeals to us … Maybe we follow this path because we know the make-up
of our people and know there is a majority that likes nationalist
films," he told Reuters.

In his film, Yandim Ali evolves from a loveable rogue to a hero of
the country’s liberation from foreign forces, inspired by the example
of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

But Dogan said it was important to guard against extreme nationalism
in the cinema. Ultra-nationalists have been blamed in Turkey for
a number of crimes, most recently the murder of prominent Turkish
Armenian editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul.

"I am against all excessive nationalism," Dogan said.

ANTI-AMERICAN FEELING

Dogan also had a hand in the creation of a television series which
last year spawned Turkey’s most successful film, the controversial
"Valley of the Wolves-Iraq," whose hero Polat Alemdar single-handedly
battles U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Wolves film, with a record budget of $10 million, drew on
anti-American sentiment in Turkey after a real-life incident in Iraq
when U.S. forces arrested and hooded Turkish special forces, causing
widespread anger and a diplomatic incident.

"The subject was a matter of pride for Turkish people and was seen
as a way of getting revenge … It became clear that audiences could
be attracted with such films. It has become something of a fashion,"
said film critic Ugur Vardan.

"Valley of the Wolves" is one of two Turkish films to draw a
four-million-strong audience. It eclipsed the science-fiction comedy
G.O.R.A., in which comedian Cem Yilmaz’s character fights to escape
the clutches of the aliens who abducted him.

Alongside "The Last Ottoman," the other box-office success this
year has been "The Masked Five in Iraq" in which a clumsy Turkish
gang outwits U.S. forces in Iraq to divert oil resources from there
to Turkey.

Such mass-appeal films have in Turkey eclipsed the critical acclaim
which some Turkish art house movies have earned abroad.

One of the first major successes was Yilmaz Guney’s "Yol" (Road)
which won the Golden Palm at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival with its
harsh portrayal of life after the 1980 coup.

More recently, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film "Uzak" (Far) won the Cannes
Grand Jury and best actor awards in 2003 but drew a local audience
of just 30,000, said film producer Mehmet Soyarslan.

"This is not enough to keep the Turkish cinema industry on its feet.

Unfortunately films like this do not attract audiences in Turkey,"
he told Reuters at the offices of his company Ozen Film, one of
Turkey’s leading film companies.

DECLINE AND REVIVAL

He said critical success has had to take a back seat while the local
film industry is developed to compete with bigger-budget foreign
productions.

Turkish cinema fell into decline in the mid-1970s with the spread
of television. As a result, the number of cinema screens fell from
several thousand to around just 250. By the time it began to recover
in the late 1980s there were few producers and directors to make films,
and few people willing to invest.

Only in 1996 did cinema take a leap forward with the success of the
film Eskiya, which drew an audience of more than 2.5 million people
with its portrayal of the life of a bandit following his release from
jail after a 35-year sentence.

"The Turkish cinema’s audience had been a sleeping giant and at
that time it woke up. What was needed then was the food to feed it,"
Soyarslan said.

The number of locally made films has now doubled to around 30
annually. Audiences of these films account for some 50 percent of
box office receipts.

The last decade has also seen the domestic film industry progressing
technically and the next step is to achieve greater international
success for local films.

"Now we must try and open up internationally… I believe that Turkish
cinema can now be compared with world cinema in terms of its technical
standards and tempo," Soyarslan said.

QATAR-ARMENIA MINISTERIAL PANEL

Peninsula On-line, Qatar
March 14 2007

Doha ~U The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani yesterday
issued an instrument of ratification approving the agreement signed
between Qatar and Armenia in Doha on April 22, 2002 to set up a
joint ministerial committee. The Emir also issued an instruments
of ratification approving a Qatari-Armenian economic, trading and
technical agreement, an air transport agreement and an agreement for
mutual agricultural cooperation as signed in Doha, April 22, 2002.

The Emir also issued two instruments of ratification approving two
Qatari-Armenian agreements signed in Doha on April 22, 2002, the
first on the avoidance of double taxation and tax evasion and the
other provides for mutual encouragement and protection of investment.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress