Month: March 2007

ARMENIAN PRESENCE IN OPENING OF CHURCH IN TURKEY NECESSARY – MINISTER

Arminfo
30 Mar 07

Yerevan, 30 March: The presence of Armenian delegation at a ceremony
to open the Armenian St Cross Church in Turkey was necessary, Armenian
Acting Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan told journalists today.

However, it would be better if Turkey made more specific steps towards
improving the Armenian-Turkish relations, and open the border. This
would be a helpful step in overcoming all the existing problems,
Oskanyan said.

"Let’s not forget that we are talking about an Armenian cultural
monument. It belongs to us, we had to send our delegation at least
to show the world that it is our monument, our church," Oskanyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES US RADAR PLANS ON VISIT TO ARMENIA – PAPER

Iravunk, Yerevan
30 Mar 07

Text of Piruza Meliksetyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Iravunk on
30 March headlined "They also discussed the radar problem"

The one-day visit to Armenia by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
has not been covered very well. But it is clear that the state
functionaries who are very busy would hardly meet up in Tsakhkadzor
just to ski.

A Georgian source of Iravunk says that during his talk with [Armenian
President] Robert Kocharyan who is considered to be a "strategic
partner" of Russia, the American "operator" in the South Caucasus,
Mikheil Saakashvili, also touched (naturally on behalf of the
Americans) on the attitude of Armenia and specifically, Akhalkalaki
towards the American programme to set up a radar station in the
South Caucasus.

He carefully tried to clarify the position of the Armenian leadership
and whether the Armenians of Javakhk [Georgia’s Armenian-populated
region of Javakheti] will oppose this programme. According to the
same source, in return for the loyalty of the Armenian leadership and
Javakhk, Saakashvili even promised that the USA will "turn a blind
eye" to the problem of the legitimacy of the parliamentary election
in Armenia.

TURKEY WARNS OF ‘REPERCUSSIONS’ IF US ARMENIAN BILLS PASS
By Spencer Swartz

Dow Jones Newswires
30 March 07

ANKARA -(Dow Jones)- The United States will witness "repercussions"
from Turkey, a key ally, if the U.S. Congress approves proposals to
categorize the World War I deaths of thousands of Armenians fleeing
the Ottoman Empire as genocide, the Turkish Foreign Minister told
Dow Jones Newswires on Friday.

The Turkish military is also poised to crack down on an armed Kurdish
rebel group that has been in a decades-long conflict with Turkey
if Iraq and the U.S. don’t do more to protect the Turkish border,
Gul said in an interview.

Gul would not say exactly when the Turkish military had entered
northern Iraq to combat the Kurdistan Workers Party or P.K.K.

"From time to time we have gone into the area," he said. "It is
our legitimate right to take all necessary measures to fight this
terrorist group. They are using weapons against us," he said, adding
that Turkey respected Iraq’s territorial sovereignty.

Turkey, an important NATO ally and strategic ally of the U.S., has
urged the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to drop some draft
Armenian bills.

Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, have also asked some Congress
members to abandon the measures, which Turkey considers insults.

Legislatures in 15 countries have approved symbolic measures calling
the Armenian deaths genocide. France passed such a resolution in
October, which resulted in Turkey canceling many defense contracts
with that country.

Gul did not spell out exactly what consequences would follow if
Congress moves forward on the Armenian measures.

"How can politicians over there debate something they know little
about?" he asked. "Do they know the (Ottoman Empire’s) foreign
minister at the time was Armenian, along with many (Ottoman)
ambassadors? … that thousands of Turks also died during this time?"

"If it happens (Congress votes to approve the measure), there will
be repercussions," Gul said. "We have strategic relations with the U.S.

I get along with many people there, but it is my duty to talk about the
consequences of these actions. The measures are an insult to Turkey."

Gul, who spoke on several matters in a 45-minute interview at his
office in the Turkish capital, said Turkey was willing to go to Iran
to mediate a standoff between Iran and Britain after Iran seized
15 sailors and marines last week, if doing so would help resolve
the situation.

"We are in discussions with Iran. We’ve made our opinions known and
we hope this will be resolved soon," he said.

Iran seized the military personnel after, Iranian officials assert,
British boats entered Iranian waters. The British government roundly
denies this and says the personnel were in Iraqi waters.

Gul, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs four years ago, challenged Congress to appoint some members
as third parties to a panel, along with Armenia, on the sensitive
historical question. "They can come here. We’ll open up all the
archives. We’re ready to face the result," he said.

Armenians and many international historians insist that thousands of
Armenians died at the hands of the Turks during the final days of the
Ottoman Empire. But a chasm has existed for decades between Turkey
and many historians outside that country over the circumstances under
which the deaths occurred.

The Ottoman Empire deported Armenians that led to the deaths of
around 1.5 million between 1915 and 1923, according to many historical
estimates.

Most human rights observers have called the period genocide but Turkey
rejects the terminology and says the deaths resulted during a time
of war and followed an Armenian rebellion during which thousands of
Turks died.

Although relations between Turkey and the U.S. have thawed in the
past couple of years, memories are still fresh in Washington of
Turkey’s refusal to approve the Bush Administration’s request to
allow U.S. troops passage from Turkey into Iraq during the 2003
American-led invasion.

Turkey has been frustrated with the Iraqi government and the U.S.over
their refusal to crackdown on the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK,
which Turkey says has grown stronger in relatively peaceful northern
Iraq.

Gul said he believed the U.S.was "shy and embarrassed" by the fact
that it was not doing more to reduce the PKK threat in the region
even though it was battling militants in other parts of the world.

"I’ve told Vice President Cheney: ‘what if there were terrorists in
Mexico coming over the border into the US. What would you do? What
do you expect us to do in this situaton with the PKK?’ "

The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and
the U.S., picked up arms in 1984 to carve out an ethnic homeland in
Southeast Turkey in a campaign that led to the deaths of more than
30,000 civilians.

After the capture of the group’s leader in 1999, the insurgents largely
withdrew from Turkey to neighboring Iran and Syria, but mostly to
northern Iraq, where Turkey fears the group has regrouped.

Gul’s comments come days after Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi
warned against a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq and promised
to prevent cross- border attacks by the rebels.

The U.S. has also warned against Turkish entry into the region as
it fears such a move could lead to tension with local non-combative
Iraqi Kurdish groups — key U.S. allies — and to wider conflict in
a region that has been the only real success story since the U.S.
removed Saddam Hussein from power.

Gul, a founding member of the ruling Justice and Development Party,
said he was optimistic that the restart of discussions this week with
the European Union over Turkey’s decades’ long quest to join the EU
would lead to broader discussions.

"Two chapters are being discussed now and I think we’ll have four
more in the coming weeks," he said.

In the near future, the two governments should discuss economic
and monetary policy issues, culture and education, statistics, and
financial controls, he said.

-By Spencer Swartz, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9357;
spencer.swartz@ dowjones.com

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITALIAN CO. WINS TURKISH HELI CONTRACT
By Selcan Hacaoglu Associated Press Writer

BusinessWeek
March 30 2007

ANKARA, Turkey – Italy’s Agusta Aerospace on Friday won a major
Turkish tender worth $2.7 billion to co-produce attack helicopters
as Turkey sought to diversify resources from its usual supplier _
the United States.

For the first time since they began cooperating in arms sales,
no U.S. companies bid for the contract because of strict Turkish
regulations. The rules stipulate Turkey be given full access to
the aircraft’s specific software codes _ which the U.S. considers a
security risk _ and a guarantee from the provider’s government that
there would be no political obstacles to the sale.

U.S. firms have been the main arms suppliers to Turkey, a key
element of NATO’s southern flank during the Cold War. Turkey, whose
neighbors include Iran, Iraq, Syria and traditional rival Greece,
has been eager to supply its large army, which is also dealing with
a domestic Kurdish insurgency.

The contract is for the co-production of 30 Mangusta A-129 helicopters
with an option for 20 more, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said. The
Turkish model will be named T-129.

The only other company to be shortlisted in the tender was Denel of
South Africa. Franco-German company Eurocopter and Kamov of Russia
were eliminated earlier in the process.

Denel’s Rooivalk helicopter was powered by an engine manufactured by
France _ with whom Turkey suspended military relations in November
in response to proposed French legislation that would criminalize
denying that the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at
the end of World War I amounted to genocide.

Asked whether the use of a French engine in the South African model and
the tensions with France over the Armenian bill negatively affected
the selection process, Gonul said: "all aspects were evaluated,"
private Dogan news agency reported.

But Gonul said the main factor in the decision was the huge price
difference, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. He did
not elaborate.

Turkey imposed new bidding rules for military contracts in 2005, after
it canceled a 2004 tender when a deal for U.S. firm Bell Helicopter
Textron’s "King Cobra" _ a Turkish version of the AH-1Z Super Cobra
used by U.S. Marines _ collapsed over price, technology transfer and
licensing problems.

Turkey went through a low point in defense relations with Washington
following its refusal to host U.S. troops for the invasion of Iraq
in 2003. It has actively sought out other potential arms suppliers,
making Turkey’s business less attractive for U.S. companies.

The new rules also empower Turkey to substitute alternative, locally
manufactured components such as weapon systems, the mission computer,
avionics and electronic warfare suites, and require the supplier to
integrate other systems or equipment built by Turkish companies.

Turkey’s concerns over technological control of its weaponry increased
after it faced arms blockades from several countries because of
human rights problems in its fight against Kurdish guerrillas, while
Washington demanded Turkish progress on human rights as a condition
for arms sales.

Meanwhile, Turkish firm Otokar, which produces armored vehicles, won
a tender of $500 million to develop a main battle tank prototype,
private CNN-Turk television said. If successful, the firm could be
granted the authority to produce tanks to replace Turkey’s aging tanks.

Gonul expressed hope that his country would be allowed to produce
upgraded F-16 warplanes under U.S. license. Turkey had assembled
previous F-16 models under U.S. license.

RUSSIA TO WITHDRAW FROM MILITARY BASE IN GEORGIA

Xinhua, China
March 30 2007

MOSCOW, March 30 (Xinhua) — Russia will start withdraw of military
facilities from its base in Akhakalaki, Georgia, in April12 and
conclude in late May, indicating a new step towards the full pullout
of Russian military bases from the former soviet country.

The military equipment will be transported back to Russia or to Gyumri,
Russian base in Armenia during the pullout, the Itar-Tass news agency
reported on Wednesday. The heavy machinery and armaments have been
sent to Armenia and Russia last year.

Russian servicemen will leave Akhalkalaki and the base will
be transferred to Georgia by July 1, Itar-Tass said, citing a
representative of the base command.

The withdraw from Batumi, Russia’s last military base in Georgia,
started two years ago and will resume within a month and conclude
in 2008.

Russia inherited four military bases in Georgia from the Soviet Union
and has withdrawn two of them. Nearly 3,000 Russian servicemen are
still deployed at Georgia’s Akhalkalaki and Batumi Russian bases.

The two countries signed an agreement in March, 2006, to set out
the deadline and details of the pullout of those bases. Both sides
agreed to complete the phased withdrawal of the Russian bases and
other military installations in Georgia by the end of 2008.

PM’S DEATH HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON ELECTION CAMPAIGN
by Emil Danielyan

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
EurasiaNet, NY
March 30 2007

The late Andranik Markarian may have been too nice to carve out a
real power base in Armenia’s cut-and-thrust political arena. From
EurasiaNet.

As Armenians come to grips with the sudden death of Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian, there are growing indications that his passing
will not have a major impact on parliamentary elections scheduled
for 12 May.

Past experience suggests that that outcome will be decided not so
much by the electorate, but by actions taken by the country’s two
most powerful men: President Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister
Serzh Sarkisian. Throughout his nearly seven-year premiership, the
55-year-old Markarian never seriously challenged their grip on power,
despite earning acclaim for his unassuming demeanor, conciliatory
stance toward the opposition, and openness to independent media.

"The prime minister never played a decisive role in Armenian politics,
and key decisions were mainly made by Kocharian and Sarkisian,"
Aghasi Yenokian, a seasoned political analyst, told EurasiaNet. "The
impact of his death on the election results will therefore be very
small." Some analysts say Markarian, who at the time of his death
also served as chairman of the governing Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA), was widely expected to resign following the upcoming polls.

Sarkisian’s brother Levon, a career diplomat, appeared to confirm
that Markarian’s influence was limited. Speaking with journalists
during Markarian’s state funeral on 28 March, Levon Sarkisian said
that the former prime minister’s death "won’t have a great impact [on
political processes] because, thank God, we have been an independent
state with functioning mechanisms for 15 years."

Serzh Sarkisian is now tipped to be appointed prime minister by
Kocharian. Media reports citing government sources have said the
appointment will be announced in the coming days. Kocharian’s
office and leaders of his loyal majority in parliament, who held
urgent consultations on the matter on 26 March, have not officially
confirmed this yet. Majority leaders have said only that the RPA
will continue to control the post of prime minister at least until
the parliamentary elections.

Sarkisian was named the RPA’s acting chairman earlier this week.

Nominally, he was the number two figure in the party hierarchy prior
to Markarian’s death. But Sarkisian was widely considered the party’s
de facto leader even before the prime minister’s fatal heart attack.

Commentators pointed to the fact that the RPA’s recently publicized
electoral list is dominated by Sarkisian’s wealthy loyalists, most
of whom joined Armenia’s largest "party of power" together with the
powerful defense minister last July.

That development marked the start of Sarkisian’s apparent preparations
for the presidential election due early in 2008. He is expected to
heavily rely on the RPA’s control of most central and local government
bodies, extensive patronage networks, and a strong presence on
election commissions. The use of "administrative resources" proved
decisive in the party’s victory in the 2003 parliamentary elections,
which were marred by reports of widespread fraud. Patronage power
and other forms of influence remain the RPA’s trump cards ahead of
the forthcoming parliamentary voting, which experts say will play a
determining role in the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.

The massive outpouring of sympathy expressed by ordinary Armenians
for the late premier – thousands attended his funeral – showed that
Markarian enjoyed a level of popular support that Sarkisian and other
top Republicans do not necessarily have. "Voters will now associate
the RPA with Serzh Sarkisian, rather than Andranik Markarian,"
Hovannes Galajian, a veteran columnist, commented in his newspaper
Iskakan Iravunk.

This, according to some observers, could damage the party’s popularity,
prompting it to rely on its administrative resources to ensure
the desired result in the 12 May balloting. "The number of the
party’s sincere supporters will shrink," predicted Aram Abrahamian,
editor of the Aravot daily. "There will mainly remain employees of
government agencies whose corrupt bosses depend on authorities, and
force [subordinates] to vote and even falsify elections in favor of
the Republicans."

"The RPA will have to resort to much more vote-rigging than was
planned," agreed Hayk, another paper that is often critical of the
government.

Widespread vote-rigging would increase the likelihood of post-election
unrest in Armenia. Markarian played a major role in easing bitter
standoffs between the government and the opposition in the past. He
was among the few top members of the government camp who seemed
reluctant to attack opposition leaders, and who privately communicated
with even the bitterest foes of the Kocharian-Sarkisian team. This
explains why virtually all prominent opposition members lavished
praise on Markarian in the days following his 25 March death from
heart failure. As opposition lawmaker Stepan Zakarian put it, "Nobody
in Armenia hated him. Both the opposition and pro-government forces
maintained good relationships with the prime minister."

Aram Sarkisian (no relation to the defense minister), the leader
of the most radical opposition party, Republic, believes that
dialogue between the government and the opposition will suffer due
to Markarian’s absence. "Unfortunately, there are very few people in
the government pyramid who have humane skills such [as] the ability
to listen and to forgive," he told RFE/RL.

A lot depends on how Kocharian will behave in this situation. He is
believed to be planning to hand over power to Sarkisian and remain
in government in some capacity after completing his second and final
term in office in less than a year from now. To that end, Kocharian
is reportedly sponsoring another election frontrunner, the populist
Prosperous Armenia Party of businessman Gagik Tsarukian, both as his
new support base and as a counterweight to the RPA. The Armenian
press has for months been speculating about a possible electoral
clash between the two political groups.

But analyst Yenokian is among those who see little prospect for such
confrontation. "Everything continues to be decided by Kocharian and,
to a lesser extent, Sarkisian, and a serious conflict between these
two individuals is, therefore, extremely unlikely," he said.

Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and political analyst.

This is a partner post from EurasiaNet.

U.S. OSCE CO-CHAIRMAN RECOMMENDS AZERBAIJAN TO KEEP PATIENCE

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 30 2007

Georgia, Tbilisi/ Trend , corr. N. Kirtskhalia/ Matthew Bryza, the
U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman recommends Azerbaijan to show and
keep patience until Armenia’s holding its parliamentary elections.

Mr. Bryza has stated in Tbilisi today that Baku should keep patience
and give the Armenian party to hold its parliamentary elections
campaign.

According to him, everybody should expect the acceleration in the
peaceful negotiation process only after Armenia holds its elections.

At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian party should express
its readiness that "after it hold the parliamentary elections,
Armenia will keep on negotiating more intensively".

The American diplomat emphasized that the both parties expressed
wishes to negotiate to each other. "During my last visit to Baku,
I felt that both President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov were ready to keep on the negotiation process. I felt
the same when I was in Yerevan," noted Mr. Bryza.

The American Co-Chairman stressed that each conflict party had
their own slight non-significant details, which they would like to
put on during the peaceful negotiations. "I would like to avoid my
commenting and discussing the negotiations, since it might harm the
issue." Concluded Mr. Bryza.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TSARUKIAN ALLY DISPUTES LOCAL ELECTION DEFEAT
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 30 2007

A political ally of businessman Gagik Tsarukian has asked an Armenian
court to annul the official results of a weekend mayoral election
in the southern town of Armavir that was controversially won by a
candidate of the governing Republican Party (HHK).

Arayik Aghababian, a regional leader of Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia
Party (BHK), was narrowly defeated by Armavir’s incumbent Mayor Ruben
Khlghatian in a first-ever election face-off between Armenia’s two
largest establishment parties.

His defeat came as a serious setback for the BHK and its top leader,
who has spent heavily on Aghababian’s election campaign. It could
also have implications for the party’s performance in the May 12
parliamentary elections.

Aghababian refused to concede defeat, alleging widespread vote
irregularities. However, he failed to lodge any formal complaints to
the local election commission and took legal action instead. "I wasn’t
sure the commission would meet my demands," he explained on Friday.

Aghababian refused to detail the alleged irregularities which he
claims robbed him of victory in the town 30 kilometers southwest
of Yerevan. "We will publicize everything during court hearings,"
he told RFE/RL. "I don’t want to reveal secrets to you right now."

According to the official results, Khlghatian garnered almost 53
percent of the vote, against Aghababian’s 43 percent. The mayor,
who is affiliated with the HHK, insists that he won fair and square.

The HHK and the BHK are seen as the top frontrunners in the unfolding
Armenian parliamentary race. The latter is looking to capitalize on its
wealthy leader’s vast financial resources, while the Republicans, led
by Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, are expected to make the most of
their control of most local governments. The BHK is increasingly viewed
by commentators as the new power base of President Robert Kocharian.

ARMENIA KEEPS UP ROBUST GROWTH
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 30 2007

Armenia’s decade-long economic growth appears to be continuing
unabated, with Gross Domestic Product increasing by 9.4 percent during
the first two months of the year, according the latest government data.

The data released by the National Statistical Service (NSS) show that
the Armenian economy expanded on the back of a continuing boom in
the construction and services sectors that now make up a considerable
share of GDP.

By contrast, the country’s stagnant manufacturing sector shrunk by 1
percent during the same period as a result of a prolonged downturn in
the Armenian diamond-cutting industry. Industrial output excluding
refined diamonds, one of the main Armenian exports, rose by 5.6
percent year on year.

Armenian growth traditionally accelerates in spring, suggesting that
it may well remain in double digits this year. The NSS reported a
13.4 percent growth rate in 2006.

The Armenian government maintains that the double-digit growth,
which began in 2001, has reduced poverty and raised living standards,
despite the uneven distribution of its benefits. According to its
statistics, the average monthly wage reached 68,300 drams ($188)
in January-February, up by 25 percent from the same period in 2006.

In another sign of increased household incomes and expenditures,
net imports jumped by 66 percent to $417 million in January-February,
raising Armenia’s big budget deficit to a new record high. Armenian
exports grew by almost 19 percent to $135.2 million. They were largely
flat in 2006, pushing up the deficit to almost $1.2 billion.

The volume of Armenia’s trade with Russia and other former Soviet
republics nearly doubled to $205.6 million during the period in
question, making them the country’s number one trading partner. By
comparison, Armenia’s commercial exchange with the European Union
totaled almost $200 million.

RULING PARTY SET TO PICK SARKISIAN AS NEW PM
By Irina Hovannisian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 30 2007

Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian moved closer to becoming Armenia’s
new prime minister on Friday as his governing Republican Party (HHK)
said it will likely nominate him for the post.

The HHK’s governing board headed by Sarkisian is scheduled to meet
on Monday and discuss the question of who should succeed Andranik
Markarian, the previous prime minister and party chairman who died
of a heart attack on March 25. HHK leaders and President Robert
Kocharian have reportedly agreed that the next premier should also
be a Republican.

"Since a political agreement has been reached to leave the post of
prime minister to the Republican Party, the April 2 meeting of the HHK
council will discuss and decide the HHK candidate for the post," the
party spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, told RFE/RL. "In all likelihood,
the board will nominate its chairman, Mr. Serzh Sarkisian."

"At this point, no other candidacies are being considered," he said.

Sarkisian was tipped to be appointed prime minister by Kocharian
immediately after Markarian’s sudden death. A source in Kocharian’s
staff told RFE/RL on Monday that a decision on his appointment has
already been made. The presidential press service denied that, however.

Sarkisian was linked with the post even before Markarian’s death.

Observers speculated that he will head the Armenian cabinet after
the May 12 parliamentary elections as part of his reputed plans to
succeed Kocharian as president next year. The HHK’s victory in the
polls is essential for the success of those plans.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress