Month: March 2007

Sunday, March 04, 2007
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THE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES
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The only way to make Armenian and Turkish friends is to agree with them. Dare to disagree with them and you run the risk of insulting either Turkishness or Armenishness – two terms that as far as I know no one has ever bothered to define perhaps because they are indefinable — unless of course they mean everything that is good, moral, just, right, humane, civilized, and in general, positive in life. Which would make both nations paragons of virtue and role models to the rest of mankind. And now, imagine if you can, a world inhabited only by Turks and Armenians. It would be hell on earth for critics and dissidents, and heaven on earth for yes-men and brownnosers, who on occasion like to engage in cannibalism. My guess is, after centuries of cohabitation and intermarriage (or is it interfornication?), the pureblooded Turk or Armenian is a figment of our imagination. So must be, by extension, the concepts of Turkishness and Armenishness.
*
The more you learn, the more aware you become of what you don’t know. Only the ignorant brag about their knowledge.
*
Gaston de Levis: “Of all sentiments, pride is the most difficult to fake.”
*
Barbey D’Aurevills: “It is that which we don’t understand that we try to explain.”
*
Paul Léautaud: “I believe in dictionaries.”
#
Monday, March 05, 2007
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FROM MY DIARY
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For two years a best seller in the Arab world, the YACOUBIAN BUILDING by Alaa Al Aswany is now available in English. In a glowing review of this novel in the SPECTATOR I read that the building of the title is named after Hagop Yacoubian, “an Egyptian millionaire and doyen of Cairo’s Armenian community.” The building itself is described as “a ten-storey block of apartments in Suleiman Basha Street.” I would like to hear from anyone who may know more about this fellow countryman.
*
To policeman, lawyers, and judges, the word murder does not have the same meaning as it does to the victims’ family. Something similar could be said of our Turcocentric pundits and the word genocide. In their writing the word is depersonalized and despoiled of its original meaning. It is almost as if our pundits were collaborating with denialists by minimizing the seriousness of the charge.
*
To be effectively brainwashed means to be totally unaware of the fact.
*
Paul Valéry: “A painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.” I think of Gertrude Stein in her old age looking like Picasso’s portrait of her in her younger days; and of Marlon Brando studying Renaissance paintings for expressions and body postures.
*
Victor Hugo: “Some people have libraries the way eunuchs have harems.”
#
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
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BETTE’S COMPLAINT,
AMONG OTHER THINGS
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When two readers insulted me, a third moved in for the kill by saying: “If one man calls you an ass, you may ignore him. But if two men call you an ass, buy a saddle.” And I couldn’t help thinking: Behold a self-satisfied ass and compulsive liar who pretends to enjoy universal popularity just because his mother loves him.
*
A good slogan that speaks to the gut is a hundred times more effective that a thousand irrefutable arguments that speak to the brain.
*
One of Philip Larkin’s lines reads, “groping back to bed after a piss.” Now, that’s what I call real poetry. As for “the eternal snows of Mount Ararat,” Turks can have it.
*
In the same way that bad things happen to good people, bad people happen to good ideas. The nobler the idea or ideology or belief system, the more repulsive perverts it will attract – from Christianity and the Inquisition to Marxism and Stalin.
*
Denis Diderot: “You may ask me to search for the truth, but not to find it.”
*
Bette Davis in her old age as quoted in Penelope Mortimer’s memoirs: “I haven’t had a f*** in ten years.”
#
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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ON ARMENIAN SELF-ESTEEM,
AMONG OTHER THINGS
*****************************************
If he is a loudmouth imbecile and enjoys throwing his weight around, he must be an Armenian. Please note that I am talking about myself now, or rather, the way I am perceived by some of my readers who invariably ascribe my failings to my identity as an Armenian. The implication being, had I been a Patagonian or Hottentot, I would have none of these defects. So much for Armenian self-esteem…
*
I once met a patriotic Armenian whose only source of wisdom was popular Turkish sayings. Which reminds me of Zarian’s observation, “even their filth is picked up from alien gutters.”
*
In an undemocratic or pseudo-democratic state or community, the people are like fish in a tank: they think they are free because they can’t see the walls. Freedom, real freedom, is not to do this, that, or the other. Freedom means participation in power.
*
Balzac: “There are two kinds of fools: speaking fools, and silent fools. The silent are more tolerable.”
*
George Braque: “Truth exists. One can invent only lies.”

THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE HAS LOST ITS CREDIBILITY!
Mahmoud Mobarak

Dar Al Hayat, Lebanon
March 6 2007

Perhaps one of the causes for pessimism about the ‘Permanent Court
of International Justice’, which was established by the League of
Nations after the end of World War I, lies in its name. The Court,
which was supposed to be ‘permanent’, only lasted two decades because
it failed to achieve ‘Justice’ for the peoples of Europe, which led
the European countries to resort to the use of military force as an
alternative. This, in turn, resulted in the outbreak of World War II,
the fall of the foundations of international legality, represented by
the League of Nations and its various bodies, including the ‘Permanent
Court of International Justice’.

Today, more than 60 years after the establishment of its heir, the
‘International Court of Justice’, we receive the recent decision
exonerating Serbia from the charge of committing genocide against the
Muslims of Bosnia/Herzegovina. The issue raises serious questions about
the true ‘justice’ of the highest international judicial institution
vis-a-vis issues affecting Muslims.

There is a clear inconsistency in the court’s senseless ruling,
which acknowledged that a ‘genocide’ had been committed, yet refused
to hold Serbia responsible before the international law, with all
the legal implications. This inconsistency might have drawn out the
International Court of Justice from ruling in a clear legal issue to
throw it into a dirty game of politics.

The slaughter committed by the Serbs against the Muslims during
the period between 1992-1995, killing more than 200,000 Muslims,
constitutes – beyond any controversy – what has come to be known
in international humanitarian law as ‘genocide’, which is the chief
‘crime against humanity’. Silence vis-a-vis such a heinous crime is
tantamount to heresy against the international Law.

However, this ruling has caused serious concern amongst many Muslims
who are still wondering: how long will the West’s bias continue
in classifying crimes according to its whims and desires? Until
when will Muslims remain a victim of attacks in Palestine, Lebanon,
Bosnia/Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Iraq and Somalia, only to
have the chief international organization come along and support these
attacks in its two aspects: the political in the form of the Security
Council, and the legal with the International Court of Justice?

How many victims will it take to satisfy this esteemed court to hold
Serbia responsible for the genocide in Bosnia/Herzegovina? Half a
million Muslims? A million Muslims?

Why is the application of international law only ever applied on weak
countries and Islamic countries, in particular, while the States that
invented these laws remain ‘immune’?

Will France, for example, ever admit that it committed ‘genocide’
in the land of a million martyrs, or will it remain satisfied to
demand the trial of Turkey for the crimes of genocide it was accused
of committing against the Armenians?

Is it not pathetically ironic that the Western countries are fervently
trying to save Darfur from the grip of the ‘savage’ government –
as they describe it – while turning a blind eye to the cries of the
Afghani people, whose country has been completely leveled, with more
than a million Afghans killed and displaced?

Is it justice and equality that the highest political authority in
the world establishes international committees to investigate the
assassination of a former prime minister, while the country of this
former prime minister is destroyed from one end to the other, with
no accountability or supervision?

Is the crime of genocide committed by the US in Iraq, where, up until
now, more than half a million Iraqis have been killed, less important
than the crimes of Saddam and his aides who were executed for the
crime of genocide against 148 persons?

Then again, if Muslim gangs were the ones who committed this genocide
crime, would you have seen the ‘civilized world’ call these acts
anything but ‘barbaric atrocities’ and ‘Islamic fascism’? Would the
Court have hesitated to condemn those gangs and rule against them?

How long will this Western disdain for the lives of Muslims and the
minds of their intellectuals, and non-intellectuals, last?

But what is strange about the judicial ruling issued last Monday is
that the tribunal recognized that ‘genocide’ had occurred, and that
the Serbian President and other Serb government officials were some
of the people involved. But in spite of this, Serbia as a State was
acquitted under the pretext that those who committed the ‘genocide’
bore the title of ‘elements’ of the Serb army. And because the crime
did not take place on Serbian territory, Serbia as a State does not
assume responsibility for the crime.

In reality, the acquittal of Serbia by the International Court
of Justice of any of the international legal implications of a
conviction on charges of ‘genocide’ in the case of Srebrenica is in
truth an acquittal of the UN forces. It also absolves Europe. This is
because the UN forces were in the vicinity, meters from the site of
the massacre of 10,000 Bosnian Muslims in the city Srebrenica, alone.

However, they did not move a muscle, but retreated and left
the area for the Serbian forces to complete their mission after
the Security Council had placed Srebrenica under international
protection. And after the UN troops had disarmed everyone belonging
to the Bosnia/Herzegovinian army, and after French General Philippe
Morillon assured the people of the town of Srebrenica that ‘there is
nothing left to fear’.

In short, then, the decision of the International Court of Justice
to acquit Serbia of the charge of committing genocide against the
Muslims of Bosnia/Herzegovina may not come as surprise, although it
did dash hopes. It comes as no surprise if we bear in mind that a
condemnation of Serbia, making internationally legally responsible
for the genocide could go beyond it to implicate the UN organization
itself – which the International Court of Justice is considered to be
one of its bodies. This is something the former Secretary General of
the UN himself pointed out when he said that ‘the ghost of Srebrenica
will haunt the international organization forever’.

Perhaps it is now appropriate for the Muslim countries to draw
together their disintegration, close their wounds and stop blaming
the West for all their trials and tribulations; beginning by taking
the first step on the road to forming an ‘Islamic Court of Justice’,
whereby all the Muslim countries would agree to its invocations.

There are over 45 Muslim States today, and if we add to this number
the States including influential Muslim minorities, then the number
will total 90 States. This figure is equivalent to nearly half of
the countries of the world. If these countries are collectively
able to achieve an international legal agreement, approved by the
many States from the Third World in Latin America, Africa and Asia,
then perhaps we can begin a new era of international law. In this
way, the disposed Muslims of the world, in Bosnia and elsewhere,
will not have to wait for Western pity to be bestowed on them. Until
this is achieved, the Bosnian man on the street will remain waiting
for justice from the heavens, after losing faith in justice on earth.

*Mahmoud Mubarak is an international jurist.

D/03-2007/Article-20070306-273288e6-c0a8-10ed-003c -9616211e830e/story.html

ARMENIAN CB BOARD REGISTERED THE BRANCHES OF THE "AREGAK" AND "SEF INTERNATIONAL" CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS

Mediamax, Armenia
March 6 2007

Yerevan, March 6 /Mediamax/. The Board of the Central Bank of
Armenia made a decision today on registration of the branches of the
multi-purpose "Aregak" credit organization in Ararat, Abovian and
Yerevan, and the representative "Talin" office of the multi-purpose
"SEF International" credit organization.

As Mediamax was told in the CB press service today, the Board of the
Central Bank permitted the "ITB International Trade Bank" CJSC to
join the international Master Card system.

The CB Board also made changes to the orders "CB total turnover" and
"Business accounting of the CB securities".

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE UNDERSCORES CONTRADICTIONS IN US VOTE ON ARMENIAN CLAIMS

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 6 2007

A recent article in the Washington Post newspaper has called on Turkey
not to take seriously the US Congressional vote on the non-binding
resolution on the so-called Armenian genocide bill.

Post writer Jackson Diehl asserts that Turkey’s behavior regarding the
controversial bill should be "like one of the Western democracies,"
and that Turkey should simply "shrug its shoulders" and move on with
regards to the bill. Diehl also notes in his article that no one much
will place importance on the non-binding Armenian bill, pointing to
another non-binding resolution passed by the House of Representatives
against the Iraq war as an example.

Dielh also uses his article to point to the estimated 70-80 ethnic
Armenian voters who live in US Congressman Adam Schiff’s district,
a fact he asserts helped shaped Schiff’s heavy involvement in the
writing of the bill. Diehl also recalls that many other ethnically
Armenian voters live in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district; Pelosi has
reiterated her support for the bill many times.

At one point in his article, Diehl touches on what he portrays as the
lack of knowledge on the part of most House of Representatives members
to even decide on such a long past subject as the alleged Armenian
genocide. Says Diehl, "Just think, 435 House of Representative members,
most of whom don’t even know the difference between a Sunni and a
Shiite, will decide on whether or not to approve of Adam Schiff’s
version of events which occured 92 years ago in the northeast region
of Turkey."

AZAD REHIMOV: THE MATCHES WITH ARMENIA MAY TAKE PLACE ONLY IN NEUTRAL FIELD

Azeri Press Agency
March 6 2007

"We cannot raise the flag, or play the anthem of a country that has
occupied 20 percent of our lands"

Youth and Sports minister Azad Rehimov interviewed by APA-Sport agency

-Is there any latest news about the place of the matches between
Azerbaijani and Armenian national squads?

-Azerbaijan has over one million refugees and displaced people. Their
parents and relatives were killed by Armenians. We cannot guarantee
that none of them will attack and beat Armenian players during the
matches. We cannot raise the flag, or play the anthem of a country
that has occupied 20 percent of our lands. This is our last decision.

We don’t want Azerbaijan-Armenia matches to take place neither in
Baku nor in Yerevan. Azerbaijan has already expressed its position
to the UEFA. The matches may take place only in neutral field.

– May any problem occur in a neutral field?

– It has been many times that the countries at war played in
neutral fields. If the UEFA passes a decision about the matches
to take place in Baku and Yerevan, we may receive technical 0-3
defeat. We are ready even to admit it. While being in Switzerland,
I asked the UEFA vice-president and chief of the commission for
place of Azerbaijan-Armenia match if any sanction will be imposed on
Azerbaijan in case if Armenian players are injured by the fans. He said
"yes". Then I asked what they want. I asked if they want us to line
soldiers and police officers from airport to the hotel. It is not
a football. How it is possible that our enemies arrive at the hotel
with security. The negotiations are being carried out on the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict between the countries. Any event in the stadium in
Baku may negatively influence the negotiation process. May the UEFA
officials ensure that such events will not ruin the talks?

But we haven’t received any answers yet.

– What do you think about the matches to be in a closed stadium?

– Not all the factors I stated concern the fans. I don’t speak about
raising Armenian flag and playing its national anthem. There are many
refugee families settling in the hostels near the ministry. How can
they be calm if they know Armenians are playing in the other side of
the fence? The guaranty is a very serious issue.

– Why did you accept Armenians’ participation in the world wrestling
championship to take place in September in Baku?

– Armenia has no strong wrestlers. They have included 5 wrestlers from
Ossetia in their national team. They will attend the competition. As
the wrestling is not very popular, no Armenian fan will come to
Baku. Taking into consideration all these factors, we accepted that
they come to Baku. It is possible to ensure security of few Armenian
sportsmen in Sports Concert Complex.

– Armenians in Russian national team also refuse to come to Baku…

– It is up to them. They had also refused to join world boxing cup.

They refuse because they are afraid. Armenian champion Punik club
refused to play against Azerbaijani Neftchi in the Unity Cup last year
in Moscow. They said Russian Federation didn’t guarantee their safety.

– You have proposed to play in Austria, Switzerland or Ukraine. Did
you have any discussions with these countries?

– The AFFA addressed to the football federations of the UEFA member
states when we decided to play in neutral fields. More than half of
the countries gave positive answers. The AFFA chose three of them. I
think this is a right choice.

– Youth and Sports Ministry has announced to build a stadium admitting
70.000 people if Azerbaijan will be allowed to host Olympiad. Have
you choose place for the construction yet?

– There is a large field around the road to the airport. It is possible
to build not only a stadium, but also a Olympian town there.

There are also suitable places in Hovsan and Nobel Avenue. But for
now the main objective is to pass to the second stage among those
who intend to host 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

– What steps are you taking forward on the issue?

– We will present all necessary documents in time. We are working on
this. The other ministries also assist us as well.

– Foreign players are being included in the national football team of
Azerbaijan. How heartily can they play at the matches against Armenia?

– First of all, this is the selection and strategy of the head coach.

As a ministry, we cannot interfere with the plans of the coach. I
think Azerbaijani football needs foreign players now, because we
need better games to attract people and to make football popular in
Azerbaijan. It is a pity that local players cannot play well. It is
good to pick foreign players in the first stage. Thy play, they win
and people become interested and come to the stadium. It makes the
children to be interested in this sport. You can see how well the
national underage teams play. It serves to a gradual development of
football. As for foreigners’ playing heartily, of course, they won’t
be as selfless as Azerbaijanis. But they are paid salary and they
play well. I think they can achieve result.

– But there is no improvement in the national team though foreign
players have included in there…

– The most titled club of the world Real has only two qualified
Spanish players-goalkeeper Iker Casilias and forward Raul Gonsales.

But Real is famous as a Spanish club. Foreign players represent not
their homeland but the team they are playing in.

– 3+2 legionary limit have been put in our clubs. How expedient is
it to pick 6 foreigners in lineup?

– We have proposed the AFFA to discuss the limitation in the
conference, because the appeals and complaints by the clubs should
be reconsidered. It is in AFFA’s authority to put the issue in
discussion of football society. If clubs have proposals on the
limitation of players, it is better to hold a conference. The issue
will be reconsidered on April 26.

– There will be new elections to the AFFA at the end of the year.

Considering the problem that occurred between former leadership of
the federation and the ministry, how would you assess the activity
of current leadership?

– Former leadership of the AFFA had problem with not only the
ministry, but also with whole Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani football has
been entrusted to the AFFA. They operate by analyzing their duties. I
can assess them. Actually, they may be assessed according to the
results. Personally, I think football needs ten years to be improved.

– As far as is known, state officials in the national federations will
be replaced with a business people. Don’t you think this process should
be accelerated in order to ensure the freedom of the federations?

– I should state that our federations are free. If federation
chairman is a state servant, it doesn’t mean this organization is not
free. Sport is not a dividend field in Azerbaijan. The players don’t
earn much salary. The channels spend a great amount to broadcast any
international competition. But they don’t earn enough money from the
ads. Our sportsmen have no deal with foreign companies. Football is
not a beneficial field in Azerbaijan. We spend a lot of money to this
field to develop it. The players have problems which needs someone
to solve them. Youth and Sport ministry does everything possible to
solve financial problems. State officials can afford it. It is not
any financial problems. That’s why the various kinds of sports have
been entrusted to state servants.

– When is the president of Fencing Federation elected?

– We have no candidate who can be engaged in the problems of fencing.

The problems on this field should be raised in state, Parliament or
some ministry. We haven’t chosen anyone-sportsman, businessman or
state servant. We have offered the post to the businessmen as well
as state servants. Some have much work and some intend to be engaged
in other fields.

– Freestyle wrestling and lawn hockey federations are led by the same
person. Azerbaijan has opportunities to be represented in Olympic
Games in both fields. Won’t it be difficult to focus on both fields?

– Minister of Taxes Fazil Mammedov is the president of both
federations. But as we are informed, minister and his deputy have
shared the fields. Thus Fazil Mammedov is engaged in freestyle
wrestling and deputy minister Namig Aliyev is engaged in lawn hockey.

Fazil Mammedov is de-jure the president of both federations. The law
doesn’t forbid this.

– The attention to non-Olympic games differs from Olympic ones. Is
it connected with that non-Olympic games are not so popular?

– Karate is the second most popular sport after football in Azerbaijan
as well as in the world. We cannot say that karate is out of the
attention. 15 karate federations have united lately and formed a
Council. The ministry has allocated money to the Council. The Council
is to inform the ministry about honorary titles, categories of coaches,
foreign passports, military service of the sportsmen and etc. Sambo
was created during the former USSR period. It becomes less popular
in the world. But we contribute to the Sambo Federation and sambo
fighters. We also help chess players, kick boxers and powerlifters
in Azerbaijan. Baku will host European bodybuilding championship in
May. We focus on the organization of the competition and contribute
to it. Of course, there is a difference in financial support to the
Olympic games and non-Olympic games. Olympic sport games are of great
importance for the country.

– Have you taken any measure against the injustice that Azeri chess
player Teymour Radjabov faced in Mexico?

– Foreign Affairs Ministry invited Mexican ambassador to Turkey to
the Azerbaijani embassy in the same country. The embassy expressed
protest against the negligence by Patsuaro city structures to
the robbery. Patsuaro Mayor received Azerbaijan Chess Federation
vice-president Faig Hesenov and presented him a computer as
compensation. He said the event is being investigated by the police
and promised that the robbers will be found soon. Besides, we also
sent a protest letter to the International Chess Federation. We have
also suggested changing the date of competition which world famous
grandmaster doesn’t participate in.

– Sport has not been organized in high level in the Olympic Complexes
in the regions. What measures are you going to take as an adequate?

– The sport is organized well in Olympic Complex in Ganja. It is
never empty. There are always trainings and competitions. Guba
Olympic Complex also often hosts competitions. The complex provides
all opportunities for good training. Sheki Olympic Complex is being
repaired now. The complex in Shamakhi is not so active. But we are
working on it. I wish Mashtaga Olympic Complex to have competitions
more often. Olympic Complex should be near the city. Children shouldn’t
get there by bus or any other vehicles. Some complexes in the regions
are not so active because children there are interested in non-Olympic
games. Some complexes suffer financial problems. We are engaged in
this issue. There is a proposal to give a license to the complexes
free of charge. This will give the ministry an opportunity to be aware
of events in the regional complexes. The Olympic Complexes should be
closely connected and cooperate with federations and ministry.

– There is one more problem that some children are not allowed to
the complex because they don’t afford it.

– We have passed decision that time and dates should be scheduled for
national teams. The sportsmen should train in the complexes free of
charge if they have competitions or trainings in the regions.

Besides, poor children should train in the section of the complexes
free of charge. To organize a two-hour training twice or three times
a week won’t harm the activities of the complex. It won’t be damaged
by sharing 6 or 8 hours for free trainings if the complex operates
and earn all day long.

EXPERT: IF WE MAKE CHINA CLOSER TO US, NO AMERICA WILL FRIGHTEN US

Regnum, Russia
March 6 2007

"Today, many latter-day states formed after the collapse of the USSR
and the Warsaw Treaty want to shift off the burden upon Russia, in
particular, receive oil, gas and other raw materials with which our
country is rich at a cheap price. If they fail to achieve it, they
start blackmailing us threatening to enter NATO and deploy US military
bases and air defense systems in their territories. All this is very
profitable to the United States, as it is going to put pressure upon
Russia this way," Ruslan Abazov, head of the legal committee of the
Kabardino-Balkar Parliament, told a REGNUM correspondent commenting
on a statement of the US administration on intentions to deploy its
air defense systems in Caucasus.

"Georgia and Azerbaijan’s willingness to join NATO has a special
nuance: thus they are trying to put Russia aside in settling problems
of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh. But we shall not be
frightened of them. Unfortunately, we will have to spend more money
for arms instead of settling social issues. Of course, we must continue
talks with those countries to cool them down. Nowadays, Vladimir Putin
has established good ties with Arab countries. If we manage to make
China closer to us, no America will frighten us," Abazov added.

Earlier, on March 2, director of the US Missile Defense Agency Henry
Obering said that in the framework of deploying the air defense in
Eastern Europe, the USA plans to place a radar system in the Caucasus,
but he did not specify where the radar will be placed exactly.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN LAUSANNE, DOGU PERINCEK GOES ON TRAIL FOR DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CLAIMS

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 6 2007

A delegation of 160 people, included former President of Northern
Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, has gone to Switzerland to show support for
the head of Turkey’s Workers’ Party, Dogu Perincek, who is on trial
there for publicly denying Armenian allegations of genocide.

Perincek, who is being tried in Lausanne, was joined in court by a
large group of academicians, historians, retired military officials,
and politicians from Turkey, who left Istanbul on a specially chartered
Turkish Airlines flight for Geneva. Speaking prior to departure at
Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, Denktas told reporters "Thousands of our
Armenian siblings live here under good conditions.

Workers come from Armenia to make a living here, and do so. So
friendship between Turkey and Armenia is necessary on both sides. But
friendship cannot be based on lies and slander."

The general leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party, Dogu Perincek is
on trial in Switzerland for calling Armenian allegations of genocide
in Turkey "an imperialist lie" during a 2005 demonstration in Lausanne.

Reports say Perincek left Turkey for his trial in Lausanne carrying
90 kilos worth of Russian and Armenian documents with him.

DEJA VU AND THE KURDISH QUESTION
Onder Aytac & Emre Uslu

New Anatolian, Turkey
March 6 2007

On Friday, one of the attorneys for inmate terrorist leader Abdullah
Ocalan claimed, "Ocalan’s hair samples were tested and the results
showed that he has been chronically poisoned." This reminded us of
another claim that was raised around this time last year that Ocalan
had had a heart attack in Imrali prison. We therefore needed to once
again check our "lighthouse" to see whether she was writing similar
things last year before Ocalan had the "heart attack." Bingo! In
addition, to Ocalan, Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir too was in the
spotlight last year, just as he has been brought into the spotlight
again this year.

After reminding you what we wrote last year on this subject, we would
like to bring the "poisoning" story to your attention. In our column on
Feb. 2, 2006 we analyzed several developments in the Kurdish questions:

Here is what we wrote last year:

"Let’s first recollect the recent developments, before attempting to
analyze them.

"1) The mayor of Diyarbakir paid a visit to the U.S. from Feb. 5 to 16,
which took place shortly after Iraqi Kurdistan region leader Massoud
Barzani’s visit. He’s the first Kurdish figure — from Turkey — to
visit the U.S. and we assume that this move was made in large part
because of its psychological impact in Turkey. It obviously hasn’t
made much of a splash in the U.S. Except for his meetings with Chris
van Hollen and David Filner, two not particularly prominent Democratic
Party congressmen in Washington D.C., Osman Baydemir didn’t receive
much attention in Washington.

"2) On Feb. 7 the Associated Press falsely reported that terrorist
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan had a heart
attack but survived. This report has an interesting background
dating back to last December. On Dec. 13, one of the ultranationalist
columnists [the ‘lighthouse’] wrote, "Note this: Before March 2006
there will be a new development regarding Ocalan." At the end of
December and around the middle of last month, the same columnist wrote
twice on the same topic, and asked, ‘What if Ocalan’s health gets worse
now?’ In addition to that, in December some magazines also reported
that in the first couple of months this year, ‘Ocalan’s health will
get worse.’ Surprisingly, on Feb. 6, an ultranationalist (Ulusalci,
Kizil Elmaci) webpage reported that Ocalan had a heart attack. A day
after that, AP cited as sources for its report the webpage, which was
again interesting because the page is not particularly known to be
followed by AP every day, and a government official. As soon as the AP
report came out, Ocalan’s lawyers and the PKK started capitalizing on
Ocalan’s health condition to urge its supporters to join the protests
on Feb. 15 to mark the seventh anniversary of Ocalan’s capture. The
Justice Ministry immediately denied the report. In reality, Ocalan
had had no such heart attack.

"3) On Feb. 15, Ocalan and his lawyers had a scheduled meeting. But
the lawyers couldn’t visit Ocalan because local gendarmerie told
them that the boat used to transport the lawyers to Imrali Island,
where Ocalan is imprisoned, was ‘out of order.’ In response to this
development, people in Cizre, a town in the southeastern Sirnak
province, organized a massive violent street demonstration, which
was otherwise unlikely to have been held by them."

Here is how we analyzed these developments last year:

"Despite the fact that Kurdish people in the region are getting more
politicized, it’s also true that they are fed up with violence.

Therefore, they don’t welcome the PKK’s violent tactics. However, the
PKK is also aware that without violence and its oppressive strategy,
and without terrorizing the region, there is no way they can maintain
their political power…

"…Baydemir’s visit to the U.S. is an important development for the
Kurdish issue as well. This visit, we believe, is somehow related to
the question of why people in Diyarbakir didn’t obey the PKK’s calls to
protest on Feb. 15. Although we accept the fact that the urbanization
process in Diyarbakir had a positive impact on diminishing terrorism,
the latest surprising silence toward the PKK’s call in Diyarbakir
cannot be fully explained by the urbanization theory. This is so
because the city’s urbanization process is too new to absorb the
immigrants and change people’s attitude. Yet Baydemir’s visit to the
U.S. could be the very reason behind the city’s silence.

While he was in the U.S., it was very likely for Baydemir to show the
Bush administration that he had as much power as Ocalan to control
the Kurds. In addition, he might have wanted to have demonstrated
to the U.S. that he has no record of involvement in terrorism. By
sending such a signal and by showing his power against Ocalan on the
anniversary of his capture, he proved to the biggest player in the
region, to the U.S., that he was willing to and capable of leading
the Kurdish movement. His modest statements to Voice of America are
indicative of his ambitions to lead the Kurdish movement. On the other
hand, hardliner PKK terrorists accused mayors and municipalities of
being responsible for the failure of the demonstrations, which could
be interpreted as another sign of Baydemir’s ambition."

"…Ocalan’s false heart attack news was obviously an attempt to
agitate his sympathizers for the Feb. 15 demonstrations. Once this
plan failed, after the Justice Ministry’s pre-release denying the
news, it seems that Plan B was initiated. Coincidentally, on Feb. 15,
on the day of the demonstration, the boat was broken and Ocalan’s
lawyers could not make it to their scheduled meeting in the prison.

As a result, the people of Cizre were outraged and organized the
biggest and the most devastating demonstration of the day after
hearing the ‘agitating’ news that the lawyers weren’t allowed to meet
with Ocalan."

Here is what various commentators have written about Baydemir and
Ocalan this year:

On Feb. 22 Fehmi Koru, a renowned journalist under pen name Taha
Kivanc, raised his concerns about Osman Baydemir’s situation, based on
information he obtained in Washington. Here is what Koru had to say:
"The information that I heard about Osman Baydemir in Washington
irritated me and prompted me to ask whether the state security forces
are guarding Mr. Baydemir. After I enquired, I found out that that
despite the General Directorate of Security’s demand to appoint guards
for Baydemir, necessary guards have not been appointed yet. An insider
told me that interesting traffic between Iskenderun and Diyarbakir
is going on, just as the traffic between Trabzon and Istanbul before
[Armenian-origin journalist] Hrant Dink was assassinated." Koru
concludes, "If I were in a decision-making position of, I would guard
Mr. Baydemir against possible assassination attempts."

Of course, you might wonder what our "lighthouse" wrote about possible
developments for this month.

Here is what she wrote on Feb. 22: "It seems that the next two months
will be very difficult, especially March. Aside from chaos scenarios,
intelligence reports predict that on the day of Nevruz, March 21,
the supporters of the PKK and other separatist groups will ignite the
fire on streets in Istanbul, Diyarbakir and Mersin. What measures
will the Istanbul police take against these dangers? Keeping the
emergency situation aside, the police in Istanbul aren’t even capable
of securing streets against everyday crimes."

Perhaps someone has "pushed the button" in Washington! (Remember,
the Ulusalcilar argue that Washington controls everything) After
Ocalan’s lawyer came up with the "poison" claim, the fires on the
streets of Istanbul have been ignited. Here is the result: During the
last three days, PKK supporters have burned four buses in Istanbul
with Molotov cocktails.

The remaining question now is when an assassination attempt against
Osman Baydemir will take place.

Like us, are you too waiting to see Ulusalci groups’ further agitation
attempts in the cities mentioned above?

Then, we are confused: Should we say thank you to our "lighthouse"
for keeping us informed, or should we blame people in her circle for
pushing us into that deja vu feeling once again?

What we are saying is that PKK is losing ground. Thus, Ocalan’s lawyers
want to use such false reports to mobilize their constituencies for
Nevruz celebration on March 21. What we cannot understand is the
attitudes of some circles in Ankara that show some parallels with
the attitudes of Ocalan’s side.

After all, it is time to remember the words of the Turkish Sun Tzu,
Sabri Uzun, who said, "If the thief is in the house, locking the door
will not prevent theft."

WPOST: DOES NONBINDING ARMENIAN RESOLUTION MATTER?

New Anatolian, Turkey
March 6 2007

The New Anatolian / Ankara

A resolution alleging a so-called Armenian genocide expected to
face a vote next month in the U.S. House of Representatives has the
potential to "explode U.S. relations with Turkey," argued Washington
Post columnist Jackson Diehl yesterday.

Assessing the possible impact of a vote on the nonbinding House
resolution describing a "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire beginning
in 1915, the Post columnist asked whether a nonbinding congressional
resolution — one having no legislative effect, unlike measures in
some other countries — really matters.

"The Armenian genocide resolution sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff
does matter, logically or not," Diehl stated, underlining that the
consequences of passage could be deadly serious.

Diehl argued that one of the most important consequences would be
a military restriction on the U.S. capacities in the Middle East,
stating,"Turkey’s powerful military has been hinting that U.S. access
to the Incirlik air base, which plays a key role in the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, could be restricted."

Telling how Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul spent several days
in Washington last month lobbying against the resolution, Diehl stated
that Gul faced powerful opposition in "the well-organized and affluent
Armenian American community, 1.4 million strong, and some powerful
friends — including the new House speaker, Nancy Pelosi."

Diehl characterized the debate in Washington on the Armenian resolution
as "a bizarre mix of frivolity and moral seriousness, of constituent
pandering, far-flung history and front-line foreign policy," stating
that there is also the painful struggle of a deeply nationalist society
in Turkey to come to terms with its past, and in the process become
more of the Western democracy it wants to be.

Speculating on the odds the resolution will be passed, Diehl stated,
"If Pelosi allows the resolution to be brought up, as she has
reportedly pledged to do, it will probably pass."

"Imagine the 435 members of the House, many of whom still don’t know
the difference between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis, solemnly weighing
whether Schiff’s version of events 92 years ago in northeastern Turkey
deserves congressional endorsement."

Diehl cited that Gul warned that a nationalist tidal wave could sweep
Turkey and force the government to downgrade its cooperation with the
United States, which needs Turkey’s help this year to stabilize Iraq
and contain Iran.

Diehl stated, "No wonder the Bush administration as well as even
Democratic-leaning foreign policy experts, such as Clinton-era
ambassador Mark Parris, are trying to stop the resolution."

Diehl stated that maybe Congress has no business debating Turkish
history, and maybe it is doing so for the wrong reasons.

"Yet if Turkey is to become the stable, Western-oriented democracy
that it aspires to be, its politicians will have to learn, at least,
to react the way everyone else does to nonbinding House resolutions:
that is, with a shrug," he concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA ALLOCATES AMD 22.5MLN FOR ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN FIRST SPORTS COMPETITIONS IN BSEC COUNTRIES

Arka News Agency, Armenia
March 6 2007

YEREVAN, March 5. /ARKA/. The RA Government allocated AMD 22.5mln
($63.7ths) for Armenia to participate in the first sports competitions
of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) countries.

The RA Government’s Public Relations service reported that the State
Committee of physical education and sports will receive the money
from the Government’s reserve fund and give it to the "Centre of
Organizing sports events".

The BSEC countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece,
Georgia, Moldavia, Russia, Romania, Turkey and the Ukraine.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress