Month: December 2008

DALOGLU: THE ARMENIAN TRAGEDY
Tulin Daloglu

Washington Times
/24/the-armenian-tragedy/
Dec 24 2008
DC

Congress ponders genocide bill: But was it genocide?

In a recent action alert, Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) wrote that "[t]he Turkish government, which has outlawed
discussion of the Armenian genocide within its borders, is exporting
its undemocratic free-speech restrictions to the United States by
imposing a ‘gag-rule’ on congressional consideration and adoption
of the Armenian Genocide Resolution." This kind of talk will soon –
once again – dominate the U.S.-Turkey relationship.

Armenia, the world´s oldest Christian nation, is best known for its
mountains and monasteries, but Yerevan abounds with urban diversions
and hums with a youth-driven café and disco scene. CNS Photo courtesy
of CM Communications.

President-elect Barack Obama will have to decide by April 24,
Armenian Remembrance Day, whether he will keep the promise he made
to his Armenian-American constituents to call their World War I loss
a "genocide." Congress will make its decision separately – either
before or after the president’s annual statement. This issue has
come before Congress many times over the last three decades, and for
various reasons those bills did not pass. President Reagan used the
word "genocide" once, in his 1981 annual statement. But he did not
continue to use it throughout his presidency. Some think Mr. Obama
will choose to follow in Mr. Reagan’s footsteps.

The issue of the Armenian "genocide" has proven to be a thorny one for
all sides. Winston Churchill once said, "A fanatic is someone who can’t
change his mind, and won’t change the subject." Unfortunately, this
issue has created fanatics. And in such an environment, the chance for
people to gain a fuller understanding of their past and hopefully begin
to heal is being delayed. It’s not clear whether people are demanding
an acknowledgement of past atrocities, or if they simply want revenge.

If the "genocide" bill in Congress is written with a moral duty in
mind, why is it so focused on the Armenian tragedy and not those
suffered by others – for example, the Ukrainians? Studies show that
an estimated 25,000 people died daily at the height of the Ukrainian
famine in 1933. By the end of that year, nearly 25 percent of the
Ukrainian population is thought to have perished. Russia refuses to
call this a "genocide." Or, take a look at how many American Indians
were killed on this land. Sen. Daniel Inouye, Hawaii Democrat, once
said, population levels are 90 percent below what they were when
Columbus landed. For that matter, what about North Korea? Congress
passed the North Korean Human Rights Act almost three years ago despite
significant criticism. Yet since then, Congress has not been able to
use the bill as leverage, or as a tool to end human rights abuses in
North Korea – because it feared that North Korea would withdraw from
nuclear talks.

The White House and Congress need to clarify why they believe a
"genocide" bill would help people to move on, and what other good it
would do.

The ANCA seems to regard all developments in Turkey as tu quoque. It
is, however, no longer taboo to discuss the issue in public. But
it took a long time, and many unfortunate incidents, to get to
this point. The issue is now being discussed in every household, in
universities and in the newspapers. Now almost everyone feels pressured
to take sides. Recently, 100 Turkish academics and journalists started
an Internet campaign, "We apologize" (), which
stated that they apologize for the Great Tragedy that Armenians
suffered under the Ottoman rule. So far, more than 15,000 Turks
have publicly offered their support by attaching their names to
this statement.

University professor Cengiz Aktar, the father of this idea, told
me that since the murder of Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, he has felt a duty to start a dialogue
– and to do something about the issue. "This is a private, civilian
expression of our feelings about what happened to the Armenians who
once lived on this land," he told me. "This has nothing to do with
the bills that are before the U.S. Congress. … If the U.S. Congress
passes the bill this year, then we will think what to say about
it." University professor Soli Ozel agreed, saying, "If they were to
free Turkey of the pressures [of these bills], we would be able to
talk about the issue in a more desirable way." Turkey still has issues
when it comes to freedom of speech, but on this matter, it’s like a
free-for-all for people to say whatever they wish. Unfortunately, that
freedom hasn’t always extended to the U.S. Pressure from the Armenian
community forced Georgetown University to cancel a speech to students
by Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, the Armenian patriarch of Istanbul,
last year. There was concern that the archbishop might challenge the
notion that Armenians were innocent victims of the Ottomans.

If Mr. Obama’s presidency will be defined by change, his first order
of business with NATO ally Turkey should not be about whether to
call what happened to the Armenians "genocide." It should be about
bringing definitive clarity both to the end of World War I for Turkey,
and about how Turkey and the West move forward into the 21st century.

–Boundary_(ID_qS4R7ycLugNQHNuoOnzmug)–

CHP UNDER FIRE FOR TOLERATING RACIST ARITMAN

Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=162099&bolum=103
Dec 24 2008
Turkey

The lack of any serious action from the Republican People’s Party
(CHP) administration against reckless statements made by a party
deputy about the ethnic roots of President Abdullah Gul has angered
many intellectuals and politicians.

The row started last week, when CHP İzmir deputy Canan Arıtman
harshly criticized Gul for not objecting to an apology campaign
launched by Turkish intellectuals over the killings of Anatolian
Armenians at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire in 1915,
which Armenians claim constituted genocide. Arıtman said Gul was
rubberstamping the campaign because of his ethnic origins. "We see
that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah Gul should be the
president of the entire Turkish nation, not just of those sharing his
ethnicity. Investigate the ethnic origins of the president’s mother
and you will see," she said.

In response, President Gul released a statement in which he said that
both his mother’s side and his father’s side were Muslim and Turkish,
according to centuries of genealogical records. Gul also filed a
lawsuit against Arıtman.

Gul’s statement, however, fell short of stopping Arıtman from
stepping up her criticisms. The CHP deputy subsequently said Gul should
prove his Turkish origins through DNA tests. Arıtman’s incessant and
reckless statements about Gul’s ethnic roots have drawn harsh reactions
from the Turkish society, with many accusing the CHP deputy of acting
like a fascist politician. Many intellectuals and politicians, however,
have directed their criticism at the CHP administration for failing
to impose any sanctions on Arıtman to stop her from making any other
racist statements.

"Arıtman’s statements about President Gul are no different from
those of a racist. She is explicitly saying that being Armenian is a
fault. Such a statement necessitates moral and political sanctions,
as well as legal ones. The CHP administration reacted to Arıtman’s
statements, but this reaction was not strong enough to stop her. What
the CHP administration should do is take action and make Arıtman
stop talking about sensitive issues through an intra-party sanction,"
said Ali Bayramoglu, a columnist for the Yeni Å~^afak daily and also
one of the supporters of the apology campaign.

The CHP administration issued a warning to Arıtman earlier this week
after she appeared on two TV programs to discuss her remarks about
Gul’s ethnic roots. Party leader Deniz Baykal asked Arıtman not to
make any other statements to the press without the CHP administration’s
permission.

Ä°hsan Dagı, a professor at the Middle East Technical University’s
(ODTU) international relations department, pointed to increasing
racism among secularist segments of Turkish society as the origin
of Arıtman’s remarks. "The CHP deputy shows us all the extent to
which the trend of racism has expanded among secularists. Arıtman
is a female deputy from Ä°zmir, known as Turkey’s oldest cosmopolitan
city. Given the fact that she is a woman coming from Ä°zmir, I would
have expected her to act in a more reconciliatory manner on such
issues," Dagı said.

Yıldıray Ogur, a columnist for the Taraf daily, called on CHP
officials to immediately expel the reckless politician from the
party. "I am not sure if the CHP dares do such a thing. What is more
fearsome in the debate over Gul’s ethnicity is that a so-called modern
female politician is acting like a fascist," he argued.

Ogur is not the only Turkish intellectual to ask the CHP administration
to expel Arıtman from its ranks. Hasan Bulent Kahraman, from the Sabah
daily, wrote in one of his columns earlier this week that what Arıtman
had said about President Gul is could not be accepted by any decent
democratic organization, let alone a social democratic political party.

"Social democracy does not question ethnic identity. Unfortunately,
we don’t have such an understanding of social democracy. For now,
let’s just put aside the question of what kind of harmony could emerge
between neo-nationalism and social democracy, because Arıtman’s
approach is beyond that question and is related to an issue of ethnic
origins in the real sense. Arıtman is a racist. What place can racism
and questioning ethnic origins have in social democracy?" Kahraman
wrote.

Milliyet’s Semih Ä°diz criticized CHP leader Deniz Baykal for falling
short of strongly criticizing Arıtman. "Baykal’s attitude, although
he had said people’s ethnicities and religious beliefs were not
important to him, undoubtedly pleased Arıtman. Or else she should
have been immediately expelled from the party, which claims to be a
social democratic party," Ä°diz remarked.

Politicians object to Arıtman’s racist stance

Several politicians from diverse ideological backgrounds have expressed
disapproval of Arıtman’s statements, saying the Turkish nation would
not agree with such a racist discourse.

Two deputies from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP),
Sırrı Sakık and Å~^erafettin Halis, said labeling people based on
their ethnicities is unacceptable. "It was a similar stance that led
German dictator Adolf Hitler to burn thousands of people of Jewish
origin. Arıtman sees Armenians as enemies. The CHP should rid itself
of such beliefs," they said.

Edibe Sözen, from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
deemed Arıtman’s remarks "disrespectful." "Politics is an art of
discourse. Hers is not a discourse that can be appreciated," she said.

Arıtman drew the ire of CHP politicians, as well, with many
stressing that they don’t share her ideas. "Arıtman made a very
wrong statement. I don’t approve of such talk of ethnicity," CHP
Chief Accountant Mustafa Ozyurek said.

CHP Adana deputy Hulusi Guvel criticized the party administration
for failing to act in the face of Arıtman’s statements. "I asked CHP
officials to take action against Arıtman. However, I don’t know what
they will do. No step has been taken against her yet. But we cannot
turn a blind eye to what she said. These remarks do not conform to
the political line of a social democratic party," he said.

Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) leader Ufuk Uras indicated that
it was a shame to see people engaging in politics based on ethnicity.

Democratic Left Party (DSP) Ä°zmir deputy Recai Birgun recalled
that the CHP keeps criticizing the pro-Kurdish DTP for its ethnic
politics. "There is a difference between criticizing people and
disdaining ethnic groups. I don’t think that CHP administration
will punish Arıtman, because they are not sincere in any of their
initiatives," he remarked.

–Boundary_(ID_skeJqNwonUTsofZDVdrU/A)- –

ARMENIAN TEAM RETURNS TO MOUNT ARARAT EMBLEM

Today’s Zaman
Dec 24 2008
Turkey

The Armenian national soccer team, which had replaced its emblem
featuring a silhouette of Turkey’s Mount Ararat, known in Turkey as
Mount Agrı, ahead of a match against Turkey in a World Cup qualifying
game in September, has recently started to use the old emblem again.

The previously new emblem of the Armenian national team, featuring
a tiger and a lion instead of the silhouette of Mount Ararat, was
introduced to the public at a September press conference in Yerevan,
with Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan saying
that the change of emblem was due to demands from football fan
associations. Hayrapetyan also said at the time that the previous
emblem was not popular among fans of the national team.

Armenian officials had dismissed a connection between the new emblem
and the upcoming match; however, the change was widely considered to
be a gesture of goodwill by the Armenian side ahead of the match on
Sept. 6. Turkish President Abdullah Gul broke his country’s foreign
policy taboo by visiting Armenia to watch the soccer game. The visit
paved the way for contact between Turkey and Armenia, which have had
no formal ties since 1993.

Since then, public criticism of the Armenian Football Federation’s
decision to change the previous emblem has surfaced in Turkey’s
estranged neighbor. The federation has decided to return to its
previous emblem, which features a stylized representation of Mount
Ararat.

One of the conditions Ankara expects Yerevan to fulfill to
normalize relations is formal recognition of the current border
with Turkey. Turkish decision-makers are concerned that the Armenian
administration has claims on Turkish territory, and the depiction of
Mount Ararat on the Armenian national team emblem has been interpreted
by some as a sign of Armenian irredentist desires.

Sarksyan thanks Turkish people for help during 1988 quake

It has emerged meanwhile that Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan sent
a message to his Turkish counterpart on the 20th anniversary of the
disastrous Spitak earthquake, expressing his gratitude for the Turkish
people’s help to Armenian people at the time.

Dec. 7 marked the 20th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake, which
flattened towns and villages across swathes of the then-Soviet
Socialist Republic of Armenia, killing 25,000 people and leaving tens
of thousands homeless.

The world turned its attention to the tragedy in his country soon
after the earthquake, Sarksyan noted in his message, adding that this
proved that "grief is not one-sided."

Sarksyan said that both he and the Armenian people have been grateful
to Turkish people and the government of the Turkish Republic for
their assistance in the aftermath of the Spitak earthquake.

"We are sure that human actions will always be remembered, will
increase clemency and will enlighten the world," he said.

–Boundary_(ID_xSMIB1WTnFGmRydkKER2fQ)–

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA DISCUSS SITUATION IN THE REGION

The Messenger
Dec 24 2008
Georgia

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze discussed
issues of bilateral cooperation and the situation in the region after
the developments in August on Monday.

"We discussed both tete-a-tete and in a broader format the problems our
countries are facing," Mamedyarov stated at the joint news conference
after the meeting. "First of all, we discussed the situation in the
region against the background of recent developments in Georgia. I
described the current state of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. The broader spectrum of bilateral relations was
also discussed," he added.

According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, the development
of cooperation within the GUAM, UN and OSCE frameworks was also
discussed. "We emphasized the growth in commodity turnover between
the two states. It increased by 86% last year and was worth USD
700 million," the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan stated. "We also
touched on the issue of humanitarian and cultural cooperation and
the situation with Azerbaijani schools in Georgia," Mammadyarov
stated. Grigol Vashadze, in turn, said there was mutual understanding
on the issues discussed.

SAAKASHVILI PLEDGES TO HELP MINORITIES
By Etuna Tsotniashvili

The Messenger
Dec 24 2008
Georgia

"Every ethnic group in Georgia should feel that they are
representatives of the country," President Saakashvili stated at a
meeting with the staff of news programme National Moambe, which is
broadcast in various languages, on December 22.

The President said the Georgian Government should take additional
measures to help ethnic minority groups to learn the Georgian language
better, something which would make it easier for them to integrate
with Georgian society. "We should improve the process of learning
the Georgian language for ethnic minorities, or rather, I would say
‘so-called ethnic minorities’ because I don’t accept such a term. I
don’t think they are either minorities or should be separated out
by ethnicity, but the learning of the Georgian language should be
enhanced in Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and other regions of Georgia
where other ethnic group representatives live," he said.

Saakashvili talked about those teachers who work in areas populated
by minority ethnic groups and stated that after consultation with the
Education Minister the decision was made to increase the salaries of
teachers to GEL 1,000. "This will enable us to attract professionals
to teach there," he said.

Saakashvili said that the Ministry of Education made a very serious
mistake in expecting minority ethnic students to pass national entry
exams of the same standard as those for native Georgian speakers and
promised that this mistake will be rectified soon. "We should give
them special privileges to help them pass entry exams. Several hundred
representatives of minority ethnic groups should study at Georgian
higher educational institutions under the simplified programmes,"
he said, adding that the Government should create some incentives
for ethnic minorities so that they will stay in Georgia and continue
studying in local universities and institutions rather than going to
Baku or Yerevan.

At the end of his speech Saakashvili stated that Georgia’s
de-occupation will come soon and the unity previously created with
various ethnic groups will be decisive. The enemy called us everything
they could, but did not call us chauvinists or nationalists or accuse
us of pursuing ethnically discriminatory policies. "They failed
because such a position is totally unacceptable for the present
Georgian authorities, me personally, our nation and our multi-ethnic
society," Saakashvili said. "Our multi-ethnicity is not our weakness;
it is Georgia’s greatest wealth and strength," he added.

IRAN, ARMENIA REVIEW WAYS TO BOOST TIES

Tehran Times
Dec 25 2008
Iran

MOSCOW (IRNA) — Deputy Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for
international affairs Ali Baqeri held talks with the Armenian senior
officials on ways to expand mutual ties.

In his meeting with Armenia’s Secretary of National Security Council
Arthur Baghdasaryan, the country’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and
Defense Edward Nalbandian and Seyran Ohanyan respectively, Baqeri
called expansion of Iran-Armenia ties as a need for the Middle
East region.

Expressing Iran’s readiness for fostering constructive regional
cooperation, Baqeri said that interference of foreigners is ""the
biggest damage"" to the regional stability.

The Iranian official said that the right way to restore peace and
tranquility in the region is the security and political interaction
among the regional states.

Meanwhile, Baghdasaryan stressed forming a strategic committee of
Tehran-Yerevan national security councils.

He said that the committee would be an effective mechanism for the
two countries’ strategic relations.

Ali Baqeri is visiting Armenia since December 23 to attend the first
meeting of Iran-Armenia joint committee.

FORGET ARMENIA, TURKS SHOULD CONDEMN AMERICAN INDIAN GENOCIDE
by James (Cem) Ryan

OpEdNews
RGET-ARMENIA-TURKS-SHOU-by-James-Cem-Ryan-081224-4 48.html
Dec 25 2008
PA

Turkey is beset on all sides by the shock doctrine strategy
of the west, and from within by its US-backed marionette
government. Now the Armenian Genocide issue has once again bubbled
to the surface. Apologize! Apologize! yell the so-called Turkish
liberals, egos stroked and, no doubt, palms greased by their western
puppeteers. It’s the same old drama with the same stodgy cast burbling
the same trite lines. As usual, the government does nothing, thus
contributing to the confusion, apathy, and fear that stalk the
land. But that’s the whole idea isn’t it?

Turkish people, instead of handwringing and moaning, ACT! Turkish
people, you heirs of the Ataturk Revolution, Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk gave you the right (and responsibility) to save your
country. ( e2.html
) Fight the rush-to-judgment efforts of the Armenian Genocide
lobby. Every "Turkish child of future generations"- should demand
that their parliament immediately enact a resolution that condemns
the American Indian Genocide. Turkish people"-ACT! Defend your country
against the dark powers that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk foresaw over eighty
years ago. The facts of the catastrophe done to the American Indians
are in plain sight and beyond dispute. Spain, Portugal, England,
and, most importantly, the United States of America should stand
condemned in the eyes of the world for the crimes committed against
the aboriginal population in the Americas.

Upwards of 200 million Indians lost their lives on the combined
North, Central, and South American continents after Columbus landed in
1492. The Indians in South and Central America were mostly enslaved to
extract precious metals. The Indians in North America were displaced,
starved, and slaughtered to make way for the enormous flow of European
immigrants. Vast numbers died from European diseases, perhaps the first
weapon of mass destruction, in this case, biological warfare. Surely
Turkey has the right to defend itself from the Western claims of
genocide, given the historically bloody hand of the West.

>From approximately 15-18 million North American Indians present in
the days of Columbus, only 190,000 were left in the territorial
United States in 1890. The destruction of the Southern Indians
(the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek tribes) resulted in
the seizure and clearance of their enormously fertile forest lands
(the Southern black belt) in order to expand both slavery and cotton
production in Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. In this manner,
the red and black races were displaced, enslaved, and murdered in
order for white America to prosper. The proof of this assertion is
fully documented and unassailable.

On the other hand, Turkey has welcomed warmly the persecuted minorities
of many nations. The same year that the destruction of the American
Indians began, 1492, Turkey’s Sultan Bayezit II accepted the Jews
expelled from Spain and Portugal. Similar compassion was render to Jews
centuries who fled Hitler’s genocide. Surely Turkey has the right,
the responsibility, and moral authority to counter the orchestrated,
poorly documented, rush-to-judgment of the Armenian Lobby and its
collaborators, both western and Turkish.

The horrific destruction of the sophisticated Native American
cultural system was encouraged by the government of the United States,
particularly under the administration of that so-called champion of
so-called democracy, Andrew Jackson. By 1890, the American Indians
were finished. Their numbers had been reduced by 98 percent over the
400 years since Columbus landed. By 1890 the United States government
had seized 98 percent of their land. No greater genocide or land grab
has existed in the history of the world. Surely Turkey has the right
to challenge the unproven claim of so-called genocide by affirming
through parliamentary resolution the well-documented genocide of an
entire race of people by an act of policy by the government of the
United States of America.

It is high time that Turkey takes the offensive on the matter of
genocide. In this day of widespread destruction, it is high time to
remind America, Americans, and their government, that they are up
to their ancestral elbows in the blood of the American Indians. The
Turkish government must condemn the American Indian Genocide, or itself
be condemned. And if you, the Turkish people, think that makes you
a traitor, then read again Nazım Hikmet’s magnificent poem, Vatan
Haini ("Traitor"-) below, along with Ataturk’s statement of your
"primary duty."- Cem Ryan, Ph.D.

–Boundary_(ID_5I/imjieqO1BtQHmiZEozQ)–

IRAN’S TOP SECURITY OFFICIAL TO VISIT ARMENIA IN 2009

Fars News Agency
Dec 25 2008
Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary
Saeed Jalili will pay an official visit to Armenia in 2009.

The decision was made during a meeting between visiting Iranian SNSC
Undersecretary Ali Bagheri and Armenia’s National Security Council
(SNC) Secretary Arthur Baghdasaryan in Yerevan on Tuesday.

The parties discussed a broad framework of issues related to the
deepening of relations between Iran and Armenia, stressing the
importance of considering those issues in the context of both regional
and international relations.

The two sides also agreed that the two countries have a great potential
for cooperation.

Reference was also made at the meeting to the construction of
the Iran-Armenia railway, an oil pipeline, as well as Tehran’s
participation in the construction of the Yerevan-Batumi highway.

The interlocutors underlined the necessity of raising the strategic
level of the two countries’ relations.

Ali Bagheri and Arthur Baghdasaryan emphasized the importance of taking
practical steps towards accomplishment of the agreements reached and
noted that it could be greatly promoted by the establishment of a
special committee between the Iranian and Armenian Security Councils.

Arthur Baghdasaryan invited his Iranian counterpart to pay an official
visit to Armenia. The visit will take place in 2009.

AZERBAIJAN: SKEPTICISM ON A POTENTIAL KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IN 2009
Shahin Abbasov

EurasiaNet
Dec 25 2008
NY

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – the organization that is
overseeing the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process – seem increasingly
optimistic about the chances for a settlement in 2009. But experts
in Baku remain cautious that the long-running dilemmas that have held
up a settlement can finally be solved in the coming year.

While political experts in Baku believe that there is long way to
go to reach comprehensive resolution, they emphasize two important
results of the end of 2008: Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia caused Western powers to understand that it is dangerous to
keep the Karabakh conflict frozen. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. In addition, Azerbaijani officials have come to
understand that attempting a military solution to the conflict could
create more problems than it solves.

Meetings on December 4 involving the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers, along with representatives of the Minsk Group, resulted in
a declaration in which all sides pledged to work for a comprehensive
agreement on outstanding issues within the next few months. "We call
for intensification of efforts to complete the process of harmonization
of basic principles of resolution in the upcoming few months and then
to start work over the draft of comprehensive peace agreement between
Azerbaijan and Armenia," the document reads.

The co-chairs countries also called Baku and Yerevan to work with
each other for stabilization of a ceasefire regime on the frontline
and other measures to strengthen mutual confidence.

Matthew Bryza, the US co-chair in the Minsk Group called the
declaration "an important document," but added that it would not be
accurate to call it a "crucial point."

"The process is going in the right direction and we all see progress,"
Bryza was quoted as saying by the Turan news agency in Helsinki on
December 4. "However, there are still serious disagreements."

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials are still engaging in mutual
recrimination. For example, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an
interview broadcast by the Italian RAI channel said that he would not
rule out the use of force as a means to solve the conflict. Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, in turn, criticized Aliyev for
not disavowing a military option. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov later insisted that the framework under discussion
specifies that a settlement will be rooted in the principle of
preserving Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive].

Details of the negotiating framework remain sketchy. But the talks are
widely believed to be revolving around a deal in which Azerbaijan’s
occupied territories are returned in exchange for a deferred referendum
on the future political status of Nagorno-Karabakh. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Despite the ongoing maneuvering, Minsk Group representatives are
optimistic that a settlement can be found. Bryza said on December 9
that contacts between President Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart,
Serzh Sargsyan, are better far better than they had been with
Sargsyan’s predecessor, Robert Kocharian. "It is obvious," he said.

Bernard Fassier, the French co-chair of the Minsk Group also said to
EurasiaNet in Paris on December 6 that there is mutual trust between
Aliyev and Sargsyan. Fassier said that foreign ministers of the United
States, Russia and France have offered an approximate schedule for the
completion of work on basic principles, with the aim of wrapping up
that stage by mid-2009. "Then the work over a draft of a comprehensive
peace agreement could begin," the French diplomat said.

However, political analysts in Baku express doubts that a peace treaty
can be finalized in 2009. Elhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas research
center, a Baku-based think tank explains that both Azerbaijan and
Armenia may lack the political will to make necessary compromises. "The
sides are even differently interpreting the ‘Madrid principles’
that shows that we are still far from any comprehensive resolution,"
Shahingolu said in a December 21 interview. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive].

Another expert, Rauf Mirkadirov, a political columnist of the
Baku-based Zerkalo daily, is also cautious about a breakthrough in
2009. "The remaining issues – Nagorno-Karabakh’s status and a land
corridor between Armenia and Karabakh – will hardly be easy to solve
in the near future," Mirkadirov said.

Editor’s Note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance correspondent
based in Baku. He is also a board member of the Open Society
Institute-Azerbaijan.

STEPAN DEMIRCHYAN: "IT IS WRONG THAT NAGORNO KARABAKH IS LEFT BEYOND THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS"

Today.Az
olitics/49796.html
Dec 25 2008
Azerbaijan

"It is not correct that Karabakh is left beyond the negotiation
process and next year the diplomatic efforts of powers must aim to
involve Karabakh into the negotiation process as its full party,
said head of the Popular Party of Armenia Stepan Demirchyan, drawing
conclusions of the external policy of Armenia in the passing year.

The three principles, presented by Armenia in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict, according to Demirchyan, are admissible, yet the
problem is whether the powers will support these principles.

"Unilateral and inadmissible concessions will not be recognized by
our public either in Armenia or Karabakh", said he.

As for the Armenian-Turkish relations, Demirchyan noted that the
football diplomacy did not give special results, as Turkey continues
to bind the improvement of bilateral relations with the resolution of
the Karabakh problem. According to Demirchyan, the idea of creation
of the commission of historians, as the "Armenian genocide" is a fact
and it must be recognized.

"The football diplomacy did not attain a breakthrough in the bilateral
relations, though the initiative of the Turkish intellectuals,
via which they apologize to Armenians for "genocide" is welcomed",
said Demirchyan.