Month: April 2007

Turkish general calls for military assault in Iraq
By Michael Kuser in Istanbul and Guy Dinmore in Washington

FT
April 13 2007 03:00

Turkey’s top general called yesterday for military intervention in
northern Iraq in comments that will increase regional tensions –
already high after a series of verbal exchanges between Turkish and
Kurdish leaders.

General Yasar Buyukanit, Turkey’s chief of staff, said he believed
that Turkish troops had to move across the border to combat rebels
from the Kurdish Workers party (PKK).

Ankara accuses the Kurdish regional government of northern Iraq of
harbouring the rebels – an allegation the regional government denies.

"From the military point of view, a [military] operation in northern
Iraq must be made," said Gen Buyukanit. He added, however, that he had
not yet submitted a request to parliament and that "no political
decision has been made yet".

The US has been anxious to avoid such an operation, which it believes
would further destabilise Iraq and the region. But Gen Buyukanit’s
comments seemed designed to increase the pressure on both Turkey’s
political leadership – ahead of a presidential election next month –
and Washington to allow such a move.

The Bush administration has repeatedly told Ankara that such a move
would not be productive. While Washington believes that some of the
rhetoric from the Turkish military is tied up with internal politics
in advance of the presidential election, US officials also assess
there is a chance that Turkey will move into northern Iraq – but not
imminently.

The European Union, whose influence over Ankara has been reduced by
the troubles over Turkey’s EU membership negotiations, has also made
clear that it does not want a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq.

But tensions have recently mounted, partly because of the PKK’s
continued operations in Turkey and partly because of the debate in
Iraq over the division of power between the country’s regional
governments.

Gen Buyukanit’s statement followed a threat by Massoud Barzani, leader
of the Kurdish autonomous region, to "interfere" in Turkey’s
south-east if Turkey "interfered" in his Kurdish area. The Turkish
armed forces also sent a note of protest to the national government in
Baghdad this week, requesting action against the Kurdish rebels.

The US is pressing Mr Barzani to deal with the threat posed by the
PKK. A US official in Washington told the Financial Times yesterday
that recent comments by Mr Barzani were "dangerous, provocative and
unhelpful".

Turkish officials complain that their main concern – the establishment
of an independent Kurdish state – is coming closer day by day, despite
US public commitment to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq.

Gen Buyukanit made veiled references to the US as the party that had
let the Kurds in northern Iraq become "spoiled" to such an extent that
their leader could threaten Turkey.

When asked by a local reporter about Mr Barzani and Turkey’s alliance
with the US, the general said: "He [Mr Barzani] is at a very low level
and I look to the one who enables him to speak so, who enables the
division of Iraq, which is the greatest threat to the region."

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +322 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +322 732 70 27
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
April 13, 2007
Contact: Vartenie ECHO
Tel: +322 732 70 26

A TOP-RANKING UN OFFICER CEDES TO TURKEY’S DENIAL

The European Armenian Federation calls upon the United Nations to
reverse its decision to cancel an exhibition dedicated to the Tutsi
genocide.

In a letter sent to Mr Kiyotaka Akasaka, a U.N. General
Undersecretary, the European Armenian Federation protested against his
decision to cancel an exhibition on the 13th anniversary of the Tutsi
genocide in Rwanda that would have taken place in the international
organisation’s buildings in New York.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Aegis Trust NGO, would have been
inaugurated on Monday 9th April by Mr Ban Ki-Moon, the General
Secretary of the United Nations. In order to illustrate the Tutsi
genocide, the exhibition recalled the historical continuity of
genocidal processes; in this regard, one of the displayed panels said
that `after the First World War, during which one million Armenians
were killed in Turkey, the Polish lawyer Raphaël Lemkin urged the
Society of Nations to recognize barbarian crimes as international
crimes’.

However, after pressure from Turkey, which was caused by this allusion
to the Armenian Genocide, Mr Akasaka unacceptably decided to cancel
the exhibition on his own initiative.

`Your decision, as reported by the press, is a severe retreat that
questions the credibility of your institution’ wrote Hilda Tchoboian,
the chairperson of the European Armenian Federation. `It would be
immoral and politically dangerous for an exhibition, which actually
aims at preventing genocides and denouncing the heinous ideologies
leading to them, to allow, under your auspices, the triumph of denial
that is supposed to be opposed by the United Nations’ continued the
chairperson of the Federation.

In the past, the UN successfully resisted Turkey’s denial: despite ten
years of threats and various manoeuvres from the Turkish government, a
report prepared by the British Benjamin Whitaker, mentioning the
Armenian genocide among past genocides, was adopted in August 1985 by
a specialist subcommittee at the United Nations. `We solemnly ask Mr
Akasaka to reconsider his decision and to allow this exhibition to
proceed, without any censorship or alteration, in compliance with the
leading principles of the United Nations’ concluded Tchoboian.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia president stresses support to Arab causes – Egyptian agency

MENA news agency
14 Apr 07

Cairo, 14 April: Armenia will keep supporting the Arab issues at the regional
and international gatherings, said Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.
He told MENA on Saturday that Armenia has been a supporter for Arab causes at
the international organizations.
Earlier in the day, the visiting Armenian president held talks with Arab
League Secretary-General Amr Musa.
The talks tackled means of boosting bilateral ties as well as exchanging
views about a draft of important issues, Kocharyan said.

Football: Bolton’s Iranian bridging the cultural gulf: Andranik Teymourian’s
goals have finally made him feel at home in England, he tells Daniel Taylor
DANIEL TAYLOR, The Guardian – United Kingdom
Published: Apr 14, 2007

It was a balmy summer evening in Nuremberg when Andranik Teymourian
first came to the attention of Sam Allardyce. Iran were on their way
to a 3-1 defeat against Mexico and an early exit from the World Cup
finals but for the one Christian in an otherwise Muslim team it was to
be a night that opened the door to a new life.

Bolton Wanderers parted with pounds 255,000 to prise Teymourian away
from FC AbooMoslem, a Mashhad-based club partly funded by the Iranian
military, and there have been the first indications recently that
Allardyce has unearthed a bargain. Teymourian has needed time to
acclimatise, which is probably only to be expected for a 24-year-old
from Tehran with only the most basic grasp of English, but he has now
forced his way into a side that travels to Arsenal today still
harbouring aspirations of beating them to the Premiership’s fourth
spot – and a place in next season’s Champions League qualifying
stages.

Teymourian, or "Ando" as he has become known to his team-mates, has
also scored his first Premiership goals, netting twice in Bolton’s 3-1
win at Wigan Athletic last weekend, and it is a measure of his
popularity in Iran that his match-winning contribution has been shown
every hour, on the hour, on the nation’s television news channels.

"To be the only Iranian playing in England makes me feel very proud,"
he says. "I’m hoping I can be a good advert for English football and
particularly for Bolton Wanderers. My photograph has been in all the
Iranian newspapers and the goals are being replayed all the time. Not
many people in Iran knew much of Bolton but I hope there will be
people in Tehran wearing Bolton shirts the next time I go home."

An athletic, predominantly right-sided midfielder, Teymourian is
regarded by Allardyce as "a player of immense potential" and the
fittest professional at the Reebok Stadium by some distance. The
fitness coaches set him four different endurance tests on his first
day at the club and had to stop him after the first to tell him he
needed to pace himself. A puzzled Teymourian asked his interpreter, a
pizza shop owner from Burnley, to explain: "This is the speed at which
he always goes."

"The culture is not massively different for me in England because what
I was doing in Iran I now do here," Teymourian says. "The only problem
is the language barrier and for the first five or six months that was
really hard. It’s getting easier now, though, and I’ve picked up a lot
of the football terms.

"The most important thing for me was to understand my manager and,
after that, to learn the other things. Sometimes people here speak
really fast and because of their strong accents I don’t understand
much. But I understand part of what Sam Allardyce is saying now and we
get along really well."

It helps him, he says, that he has an entourage of Iranian friends
living in the north-west. Acclimatising, however, cannot always have
been easy given the recent hostilities between his native country and
his adopted one. "I came here to play football and I don’t want to
talk about the political side of it," Teymourian, whose family are of
Armenian descent, makes clear early in his interview. "That’s a dif
ferent thing altogether. I am not a politician. All I will say is that
the Iranians are good people. You have to have a connection with them,
you have to talk to them more and then you will know what sort of
people they are."

He is hopeful, he says, that other clubs will take Bolton’s lead and
start exploring the Iranian Premier League for new players. "I think
there are other players who can come over but maybe they have to show
themselves in big tournaments such as the World Cup. I am certainly
very happy in Bolton. It is like a family and I am really grateful to
all the players and the coaches and my manager for the way they have
helped me. They have done their best to make me feel welcome and it is
very appreciated.

"After the World Cup I had plenty of offers from Arab and German teams
but I wanted to play in England because the way the teams play
football here you will not see anywhere else in the world. All the top
clubs – Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool – are always
on television back in Iran and I love their style of play. The Iranian
television channels are not sophisticated enough to show the lower
division teams but the Premiership is always shown and I saw my style
suiting English football better than anywhere else. I want to improve
my game and I know this is the best place to do that."

PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING FOR THE HMEM REGIONAL GAMES IN CYPRUS

Gibrahayer – Nicosia April 11, 2007 – HMEM-AYMA is performing the
final touches for what is destined to be one of the most active &
exciting weekends in the recent history of our community. More than
100 youths, members of HMEM men’s football and girls’ basketball
teams, along with HMEM World, Regional and Local brass, will be
arriving to Cyprus to take part in the HMEM Regional Games organised
by the Cyprus Chapter of this World-wide Armenian Sports Organisation,
AYMA.

A total of four football teams and four basketball teams will be
participating, including the host teams, AYMA Football team under
coach Vazken Bodigian, and the much-promising HMEM-AYMA Basketball
team under coach/captain Markrid Kazandjian.

AYMA’s football team is not a new participant in HMEM games. Its first
participation was to the 6th Pan-HMEM games which took place in 2001,
in Beirut, Lebanon. Bodigian’s boys, having Andrew Konyalian as
Captain, will be called to play host and gain a ticket to the finals.

The HMEM-AYMA "newcomer" has been the surprise-talk of the past
week. After beating first-division strong hold ETHA in a friendly
match last Friday, spirits are running high within the AYMA committee,
the coach and the girls. A re-match has been scheduled for coming
Friday, at 9:00 p.m. at the "Evangelos Florakis" closed stadium.

Our guest teams

AYMA will be playing host to HMEM Lebanon’s football & basketball
teams, HMEM Kuwait’s football & basketball teams, HMEM Holy-Land’s
football team and Damascus’ basketball team.

All are due here with hopes of scoring success in the sports field, as
well as forging ties with their brothers & sisters of AYMA, which
rejoined the HMEM family in recent years.

Speaking to Gibrahayer, HMEM-AYMA president Dr. Antranik Ashdjian
stressed: "Our aim is to give Armenian-Cypriot youth and our community
in general, the opportunity to acquaint with the sports and social
privileges which come with our membership in HMEM. We are at a
geographical position that allows us to become a centre-point and not
the isolated, closed and introverted society of the past."

"An unforgettable weekend"

The weekend of 28th & 29th April will indeed be a unique one. Arrivals
will start as early as Thursday 26th. "Our guests will be here to
interact with our youth, and our Community members. They are NOT going
to be anyone’s "private" or "exclusive" guests, to be ferried around
secretly or to private functions. Every function we organise, every
excursion, shopping spree, lunch or dinner. they may be joined by our
community’s members. That is the whole aim.

Interaction. Interaction. And more Interaction," Ashdjian pointed out.

Friday will be dedicated to excursion and/or shopping, while the main
sports events will take place on Saturday.

"Having four teams in each sport makes it easier for us to hold a
two-round competition. We want the games to end in one day, so that
all our marzigs can freely participate & enjoy themselves at the KEF
we have in store for Saturday evening."

Semi-finals will take place concurrently on Saturday morning, while
the basketball & football finals scheduled for the afternoon will be
kept apart so as to encourage spectators to be present at both.

The evening KEF at "I Yitonia ton Asmaton" in Aglandja will include
the presentation of the Cups to the winners of the games. The
highlight will come when Hratch Gaydzagian, accompanied by Seto &
Shake Baghdassarian and Vahe Simonian, will take the stage & lead us
into a real KEF. "We have tried to book as large a place as possible,
with the best price we could get, so that more people can
participate. How many times do you get the opportunity to be on the
same dance floor with 100+ Armenian youths from other communities?"
said Ashdjian, reminding that booking in advance would be a wise move,
bearing in mind the response from Armenian Cypriot youth initial
responses.

Sunday will include an official visit of all the participating
delegations to the Armenian Prelature and the Armenian Genocide
Monument, followed by a BBQ Party at AYMA. While in the afternoon all
guests will participate in the ARF-Dashnaktsoutiun Day celebration at
the PASYDY Amphitheatre.

Teams will begin departing on Sunday evening, with remaining ones
having excursions or other activities on Monday, again with the
participation of community members.

We are certain, it will be a weekend that none of us will forget.

HAMAZKAYIN ENSEMBLE’S PERFORMANCE ON APRIL 21

Gibrahayer – Nicosia – After a one year break, the Hamazkayin Cyprus
"Oshagan" Chapter is back and presents a new program of Armenian
dances with the Sipan Dance Ensemble at the Strovolos Municipality
Hall under Director/Choreographer Janna Tahmizian.

Over the past six years, the Sipan dancers have turned from a group of
amateur dancers to what we have all repeatedly witnessed over the last
years – a dance ensemble that has excelled to levels of excellence.

The over sixty dancers that have been buzzing in the corridors and
halls of AYMA for their everyday practises are now ready to show our
community their show of the year.

Let us all support this effort, that perhaps carries the most
important expression of Armenian tradition and culture in teenagers of
our community.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am

18:11 13/04/2007

PRIME MINISTER ESCAPES PERMANENT DEMONSTRATORS IN CIVILIZED MANNER

Today Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan received several groups, who
constantly stage a demonstration in front of the building of the
Government. Residents of sales zone and pilots, who have not received
wages, were in the demonstrators. Three delegates were selected from
each group to meet with the prime minister. It should be noted that TV
companies have shot the meeting of the prime minister and the
citizens.

The `messenger’, who had come from the office of the premier, had
hande over to the demonstrator pilots the time and the place of the
meeting, who, first of all, on behalf of Serge Sargsyan, had
congratulated the pilots on the professional holiday. The prime
minister has not promised anything concrete. For example, he said to
the pilots that he will concern the problem on the payment of the
wages after the parliamentary elections, and more exactly, after May
15. The pilots have agreed.

To our question `Are they going to continue their demonstrations in
front of the government every Thursday?’ one of the pilots answered:
`Now we don’t have moral right to do that’.

Source: Panorama.am

Iraqi Kurdish parliament discusses tensions with Turkey
YAHYA BARZANJI, AP Worldstream
Published: Apr 14, 2007

Iraq’s Kurds are ready for talks with Turkey but will not accept any
Turkish military interference in Iraq, the prime minister of the
Kurdish regional government said Saturday.

Nechervan Barzani spoke after the Kurdish parliament held a meeting to
discuss rising tensions with Turkey. The leader of the Kurdish
autonomous region, Massoud Barzani, has suggested Iraqi Kurds would
interfere in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast if the country
meddled in Iraq’s affairs.

"We are ready to sit with them for a dialogue at any time and in any
place," said Nechervan Barzani, who is the nephew of the Kurdish
president. "We don’t accept any military interference inside Iraq’s
territory."

On Friday, Turkish troops killed four armed Kurdish guerrillas who had
crossed over the border from northern Iraq, according to Turkey’s
government-owned Anatolia news agency. The guerrillas were killed in a
gunbattle that broke out among troops and a group of about 15 rebels
near the town of Semdinli on the Iraqi border, Anatolia said.

The deaths bring to 17 the number of guerrillas killed this week in
clashes in Turkey’s southeast. Earlier in the week, the head of
Turkey’s armed forces requested permission to launch an operation into
northern Iraq to attack the Kurdish rebels at their bases there.

"Threats do not solve the problems. We are neighbors and should solve
our problems through dialogue," the prime minister said.

Close to 40,000 people have died in fighting since autonomy-seeking
rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, took up arms against
the Turkish state in 1984.

Turkey has "three-stage plan" to invade Iraqi Kurdistan Region – paper

Aso, Kirkuk
14 Apr 07

Turkey has prepared "a three-stage plan" against the Kurdistan
Regional Government, the independent daily newspaper Aso reported on
14 April. The Turks would begin with "political pressure, then, in the
second stage, they would close the air space and Ibrahim Khalil border
crossing point; in the third stage, they would enter the Kurdistan
Region."

The paper also said the US opposes Turkish threats.

Aso quoted Kurdish expert in Turkish issues Yusif Goran as saying that
the "recent decisions by the Turkish National Security Council
coincide with the recent political tension between the regional
government and Turkey". He added: "Through using the threat card, the
Turks try to show that they have other options for intervention."
Turkey was capable of implementing some phases of the plan if the
current situation remained unchanged; but the Turks said that they
would not attack without European Union and the UN approval.

Goran told Aso that Turkey would not be able to carry out such an
operation without the agreement of Iraq and the US. The Turks did not
threaten the regional government directly, because doing so would be
considered a kind of formal recognition of the region and this fact
"represents Turkey’s weakness".

Aso said that Goran believed the Kurds had to concentrate their
efforts on improving the relationship with Turkey in the interest of
both sides, because Turks demanded action from the Iraqi government
towards finding solutions to the issue of the Kurdistan Workers’
Party. Otherwise, they would implement their plan.

Russia launches new nuclear submarine

12:04|15/ 04/ 2007

SEVERODVINSK (northern Russia), April 15 (RIA Novosti) – A
fourth-generation strategic nuclear submarine was launched during a
special ceremony at a shipbuilding yard in northern Russia Sunday.

The Yury Dolgoruky, a Borey-class nuclear missile submarine, was built
at the Sevmash plant in the northern Arkhangelsk Region. It will be
equipped with the Bulava ballistic missile, which is adapted from the
Topol-M (SS-27).

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Russian First Deputy Prime
Minister Sergei Ivanov said the Yury Dolgoruky was actually Russia’s
first new-generation strategic nuclear submarine in the past 17 years.

"You have accomplished a great deed as you have proved that our
ship-building continues to develop and Russia is able to produce such
unique armament systems," Ivanov told the Sevmash shipbuilders.

The first deputy prime minister earlier said the submarine will
undergo sea trials in 2007 and will be fully equipped with weaponry in
2008. After that, it will become operational in the Russian Navy.

The submarine has a length of 170 meters (580 feet), a body diameter
around 13 meters (42 feet), and a submerged speed of about 29
knots. It can carry up to 16 ballistic missiles.

Two other Borey-class nuclear submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and the
Vladimir Monomakh, are currently under construction at the Sevmash
plant, with a fourth submarine on the future production schedule list.

President Vladimir Putin said in March last year that Russia’s
submarine fleet is a major component of Russia’s defense policy, and
that fourth-generation submarines armed with Bulava missiles would
form the core of an entire fleet of modern submarines.