Month: April 2007

ARMENIA: PREDICTABLE POLITICS AND APATHETIC YOUTH
by Artur Papyan

Global Voices Online, MA
April 9 2007

A lot of things happening in the political landscape of Armenia are
anticipated and predictable "by journalists and people on the street
alike", Notes from Hairenik states, building up his speculations
around the fact, that this predictability in the Armenian politics
leads to apathy, as people do not see their vote as a decisive factor
in bringing change to the country:

When politics is predictable, apathy abound. Supposedly we just have
to take things as they are reported by the Armenian media or by word
of mouth. There’s nothing else to be done except to let it happen,
at least that is the vibe I have been getting.

Despite the overall mode, the blogger insists, that it is the
Armenian citizens who will ultimately determine the course of the
elections. Still in another post here, Notes from Hairenik quotes
The Armenian Weekly newspaper on the topic of political apathy,
especially among the Armenian youth:

Indeed, the trend of people in their twenties is to leave, mostly
because of the common belief that "Armenia is not a country" or that
"there’s nothing here" to keep them. … Even if someone does have a
well-paying job, for instance as a software programmer, leaving the
country is nearly always considered a better option.

Still, the blogger is optimistic, and the youth movement Sksela which
has been covered extensively in the Armenian blogosphere over the
last couple of months has a lot to do with the fact it seems:

However, this is not entirely the case. Although they are a minority,
some youth are clearly trying to become involved in civil society and
build the democratic process. And they are trying to get the message
out to those who are for the most part unaware.

Interestingly, EurasiaNet has recently published Onnik Krikorian’s
article on Sksel a and attempts to target youth in Armenia by political
parties such as Prosperous Armenia.

Youth in newspaper hats stand on street corners and read aloud from
Armenian dailies. Masked young people march by parliament yelling
"Don’t Eat Too Much!" at deputies. It’s election season in Armenia, and
with the parliamentary vote just over a month away, one unconventional
youth group is waging weekly war on widespread political apathy.

MASSACRE DENIAL HURTS TURKEY’S TIES TO WEST
By Andrew Borowiec

The Washington Times
April 9 2007

EU’s common energy policy threatened

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Turkey’s persistent denial of the massacres of
Armenians during World War I is threatening the European Union’s
common energy policy, relations with France and the operations of a
major U.S. base on Turkish territory.

In the latest move to block efforts by the French parliament to brand
the 90-year-old massacres as genocide, Turkey has frozen relations
with Gaz de France, an energy partner in a consortium planning a major
pipeline to bring Caspian Sea natural gas to the heart of Europe,
bypassing Russia.

Shortly before announcing the freeze last week, the government of
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that approval by the U.S.
Congress of a similar bill would cast "a serious shadow" over U.S.
relations with Turkey, a key NATO ally.

Diplomats said the Turkish warning might include restriction of U.S.
military activities at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a logistics and
transportation hub for much of the Middle East. The Bush administration
has urged congressional leaders to consider the strategic implications
of the bill.

Turkey’s refusal to accept responsibility for the deaths of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman empire has dogged its
relations with U.S. and European partners for many years.

Now it has affected plans to construct a 2,000-mile, $6 billion
pipeline project named Nabucco to carry natural gas from Iran and
the Caspian Sea area across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary
to Austria.

The project, slated to start next year, is described as the European
Union’s first significant effort to forge a joint energy policy in
the face of Russia’s use of gas supplies as a weapon in its diplomacy.

Growing nationalism affects Turkish politics

A quarter of natural gas used in Europe comes from Russia, which in
early 2005 turned off the taps to Ukraine in a pricing dispute. Ever
since, the diversification of energy supplies has been an EU priority.

"Turkey knows its value as a major transit country for this project
and is making the most of it," said one diplomatic source. The Turkish
Energy Ministry said the freeze on Gaz de France would be reconsidered
after the French presidential elections in May.

Turkey’s latest move against an EU member country comes at a time
of increasing nationalism and political fervor before a Turkish
presidential vote in May and parliamentary elections that must be
held by November.

Mr. Erdogan, a potential presidential candidate, is apparently working
at solidifying his own and his governing Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) power base.

Nationalism is growing as a factor in Turkish politics, partly
because of the slow pace of membership negotiations with the European
Union. Many Turks think the Europeans don’t want them in their midst.

Strong nationalist feelings are particularly evident when it comes
to the Armenian massacres. Turkey says the Armenians — accused of
cooperating with Russia when it was at war with Turkey — died during a
"resettlement march" to Syria.

Ankara says there were no more than 300,000 victims, as opposed to the
1.5 million cited in most Western documents dealing with the massacres.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UN EXPERT: IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THERE WILL BE PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 9 2007

"I am leaving Azerbaijan with a mixed picture," said Walter Kalin,
the UN Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human Rights of
Internally Displaced Persons at the end of his mission to Azerbaijan.

Having listened to displaced persons in different settlements, the
Representative left with the impression that their basic needs had been
addressed to a significant extent, but "what we need to do is really
to refocus on this situation and take joint action at the international
level to finally reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict."

Azerbaijan suffers from one of the most serious displacement problems
in the world. Tens of thousands of displaced Azerbaijanis continue
to live in run-down, overcrowded collective shelters with completely
inadequate sanitary facilities. So many people have been displaced for
so long, and "unfortunately it doesn’t look like there will be peaceful
solution to the conflict in the very near future," noted Kalin.

The Representative said he was satisfied that some of the worst camps,
where the displaced had spent over a decade in misery, had finally
been closed, and that more dignified conditions had been constructed
in new settlements. He welcomed the Government’s plan to shut down
the remaining tent camps by the end of the year.

"Although to date, the efforts and achievements of the Government of
Azerbaijan in addressing the problem of internal displacement are
impressive, a number of challenges still lie ahead to improve the
living conditions of the displaced populations," said the UN expert
after visiting Baku, Sumgayit, Bilasuvar, Imishli and Sabirabad from
April 2-6, 2007.

The main challenge now lies in the creation of livelihoods. Jobs
were even more difficult to find than in the rest of the country,
because settlements are often isolated from local markets, and
employment in agriculture was not always an option. For this reason,
Mr. Kalin stressed the importance of continued Government support,
through monthly allowances and subsidies, for the victims of forced
displacement.

After the visit Mr. Kalin will present a report on his findings
and recommendations to the Human Rights Council and to the General
Assembly.

"This is very important because the situation of the IDPs in Azerbaijan
is no longer in the headlines and many IDPs feel forgotten and
neglected and to a certain extent it’s true," Kalin said.

"I hope the first impact [of my report) will be that the Government
will take up some of my recommendations and that it will get assistance
and support from the international community in implementing these
recommendations."

The displacement in Azerbaijan is linked to the still unsettled dispute
over Nagorno Karabakh region, fifteen years after the conflict with
Armenia.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV MEETS WITH JORDANIAN COUNTERPART

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 9 2007

Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov visiting Jordan met with
his counterpart Abdel Ilah al-Khatib, Azerbaijani honorary consul to
Lebanon Nazih Gassub, who is accompanying the minister in his visit,
told the APA.

He said that the Ministers discussed the mutual relations, negotiating
process for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
cooperation in the framework of international organizations and
other issues.

Today Mammadyarov will meet with Jordanian Economy Minister and the
mayor of Amman.

RUSSIAN PM CONGRATULATES HIS NEW-APPOINTED ARMENIAN COUNTERPART

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 9 2007

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
sent Friday a message Serge Sargsyan congratulating the latter on
his appointment to the post of Armenian prime minister.

In his message, Fradkov said that Armenian-Russian relations have
considerably developed for recent years.

He pointed out that political ties are increasingly becoming closer
and economic cooperation is growing.

Fradkov also stressed Sargsyan’s contribution to military and economic
cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed hope that Sargsyan will keep doing the same also at the
prime ministerial post.

Fradkov wished success to the newly appointed Armenian PM.

ARMENIAN, CHINESE PRESIDENTS EXCHANGE GREETINGS IN CONNECTIONS WITH 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 9 2007

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Presidents of Armenia and China exchanged
greetings in connection with the 15th anniversary of the establishment
of diplomatic relations between the countries, the press service of
the Armenian Government reported.

The Armenian President Robert Kocharian pointed out in his message
that China is one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s
independence. He emphasized the importance of expanding and developing
the friendly relations with China. He expressed confidence that further
development of cooperation between the two countries will contribute
to well-being of the two peoples.

The greeting message of Chinese President Hu Jintao says that over
the 15 years the relations between Armenia and China have experienced
stable development, and mutual trust has been strengthening. He also
pointed out that development of cooperation comes from life interests
of the two people.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT HOSTS AGBU REPRESENTATIVES

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 9 2007

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan received
Friday members of Central Administrative Assembly of Armenian General
Benevolent Union, AGBU, presidential press service reports.

The president congratulated the guests on 100th anniversary of their
union and expressed appreciation of its contribution to Armenian
nation identity preservation.

Kocharyan and AGBU representatives discussed the union’s initiatives
and said ties between Armenia and Armenian communities worldwide
should become closer.

The president pledge support for all AGBU’s initiatives.

Kocharyan also awarded Mkhitar Heratsi Medal to three members of
the union’s board – Sargis Demirchyan, Garnik Yakubyan and Nazar
Nazaryan.

GENTLEMAN’S WORD

A1+
[05:31 pm] 09 April, 2007

Hayrapet Hayrapetyan, member of the PAP, failed to initiate memorandum
signing to exclude election frauds in constituency 4 of Arabkir
community.

To note, out of 7 candidates of the community only four were present
during today’s press conference; Hayrapet Hayrapetyan /Prosperous
Armenia Party/, Zohrab Zohrabyan /Republican Party/, Hrayr Karapetyan
/ARF Dashnaktsutyun/ and Aram Manukyan /All-Armenian Movement/.

Under the given memorandum, the candidates promise to avoid "Black
PR and appliance of dirty electoral methods.

The struggle is believed to be namely tense in electoral district
4. But now we assure you that you will counter the opposite scene
there, " Hayrapet Hayrapetyan says.

In answer to our question whether the memorandum guarantees that
there won’t be election flaws, Mr. Zohrabyan said, "I don’t like to
wear ties. I am often asked why I don’t wear ties during the meetings
but I say "What is the difference; one shouldn’t cheat people, this
is the most important thing. A gentleman’s word has more weight than
bribe giving".

Aram Manukyan didn’t conceal his mistrust towards the promises of the
pro-governmental forces. "I am not delighted by this procedure. I don’t
think it will work. I don’t believe that the elections will be free
and fair as the livers of the authorities are 1000 times more to hold
"fair elections". If the authorities turn to the opposition to organise
free and transparent elections it already implies that we shall appear
in an abnormal state on the eve of the elections", Mr. Manukyan says.

RUSSIAN ACCOUNTS CHAMBER CONGRATULATES SARGSYAN ON APPOINTMENT AS PRIME MINISTER OF ARMENIA

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 9 2007

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Head of the RF Accounts Chamber Sergey
Stepashin congratulated Serge Sargsyan on his appointment as Prime
Minister.

Stepashin reported in his message that he has known Sargsyan as
a statesman and a loyal patriot, and regards this appointment as
a worthy appreciation of the selflessly devoted activity in the
difficult years of restoration of the Armenian independence.

Stepashin expressed confidence that the Armenian-Russian relations
will keep developing in the interest of both countries.

ARMENIAN HISTORIAN: AKDAMAR CHURCH RE-OPENING A "PEACE-OFFERING" FROM TURKEY

Hurriyet, Turkey
April 9 2007

Armenian historian Ara Sarafian has commented on the mentality guiding
Armenian nationalists, noting that radicalism in the Armenian community
worked the same way it did in the Turkish community, and that many
Armenians had not grasped the significance of the re-opening of the
Akdamar Island Armenian Church on March 29.

Sarafian called the church’s re-opening, which took place after a
long and expensive restoration process carried out by the Turkish
government "an important peace offering." According to Sarafian,
the restoration of the Akdamar Church represents a clear response to
the many accusations of "cultural genocide" lodged by the Armenian
community outside of Turkey. He also noted that the step taken in
opening up the church had caused surprise in this community.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress