Month: December 2008

, Turkey
Dec 21 2008

Armenia apology campaign "unfair", Turkish speaker says

Turkish speaker Toptan, said Sunday, in regard to the incidents of
1915, that it was unfair to try to convict Turkey without a trial and
bring this country to the point of apologizing.

Sunday, 21 December 2008 12:41

The Speaker of Turkish Parliament, Koksal Toptan, said Sunday, in
regard to the incidents of 1915, that it was unfair to try to convict
Turkey without a trial and bring this country to the point of
apologizing.

Speaking to reporters prior to his departure from Ankara’s Esenboga
International Airport for Macedonia, Toptan said that he could not
understand Turkish citizens who initiated an "apology" campaign on the
incidents of 1915.

Those, who signed the apology declaration, issued such declaration in
the name of freedom of expression but they could not tolerate
criticisms against them, Toptan said.

I just can not understand such an attitude, Toptan said.

AA

From: "Katia M. Peltekian" <[email protected]>
Subject: Iran, Armenia To Build Oil Pipeline

Zawya, United Arab Emirates
Dec 21 2008

Iran, Armenia To Build Oil Pipeline

21 December 2008

Iran and Armenia will start building an oil pipeline in 2009 which
starts from the Iranian city of Tabriz and continues to the Armenian
city of Eraskh, a senior Iranian official said. The remarks were made
during a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
and visiting Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen
Movsisian.

From Tabriz Oil Refinery, Armenia will receive benzene and diesel, and
for facilitating business activities, Armenia will open a consulate in
Tabriz. The Ministers also discussed the possibility of building a
hydro electro power station on Aras River, Fars News Agency reported.

Oil Refinery
Earlier Movsisian stated that Iran, Armenia and Russia had planned to
construct an oil refinery in the city of Eraskh. However, Russia later
withdrew from the project, effectively frustrating it.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said that a ministry
delegation will travel to Turkey to discuss construction of a pipeline
to take Iran’s gas to Europe. Nozari said Iran and Turkey are aiming
to set up a joint venture for the construction of two pipelines
transporting natural gas from the Islamic Republic to the Turkish and
Greek borders.

The joint venture was discussed as Nozari–en route to attend a
crucial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)–made a
stop off in Ankara and met with his Turkish counterpart Hilmi Guler
last Tuesday.

The two ministers met in an effort to advance a broader memorandum of
understanding, signed in November, which includes Turkish
participation in developing three phases of the South Pars gas field.

Nozari said that an oil ministry delegation will travel to Turkey by
the end of next week to discuss construction of the pipeline and other
details included in the agreement.

Responding to a question on the level of Iranian natural gas exports
to Europe, he said, "Within the framework of the agreement, it’s been
decided to guarantee the company constructing the pipeline, from the
Iranian border to the Greek border, for delivery of 30 to 35 million
cubic meters of gas a day."

Peace Pipeline
Meantime, Iran and India have resumed negotiation over the
long-awaited 7.4 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline
project in New Delhi.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh met with
Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss ways to break the
deadlock over the giant project also called the ‘peace pipeline’.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have hobbled talks on the peace
pipeline, based on which Iran intends to supply gas to the two nuclear
power rivals after laying a 2,600-kilometer pipeline. The IPI gas
pipeline project has been delayed by repeated disputes over prices and
transit fees.

The pipeline is expected to initially transfer 60 million cubic meters
of natural gas per day from Iran to Pakistan and India. Earlier, both
sides decided to set up a trilateral ministerial mechanism to resolve
obstacles facing the project.

Under the mechanism, the meeting between India, Pakistan and Iran will
be held to address different issues related to the plan. The decision,
taken after a request from India to Iran, reflects New Delhi’s
willingness to go ahead with the project to fulfill its energy needs.

In June, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who met
Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora, said that the two sides have resolved
all bilateral issues.

© Iran Daily 2008

53401/Iran,%20Armenia%20To%20Build%20Oil%20Pipelin e

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 21 2008

We should thank the racist CHP deputy

IHSAN YILMAZ

Several Turkish intellectuals have started a signature campaign with
regards to the Armenian massacre in 1915, apologizing to
Armenians. There have been mixed reactions to the campaign. While some
have said they also felt sorry for what happened but did not feel
personally responsible for something they did not take part in and
never supported and so on, some ultra-nationalists among us have
fiercely opposed the campaign and tried to belittle, to say the least,
the signatories. But, there was one reaction from Republican People’s
Party (CHP) ?Ä?°zmir deputy Canan Ar?Ä?±tman that deserves to be in the
spotlight and given detailed treatment.

President Abdullah G?Ã?¼l was asked last week about the campaign, and he
responded that there is freedom of speech in the country and everyone
is entitled to their views. Ms. Ar?Ä?±tman took this statement as
rubberstamping the campaign and said that Mr. G?Ã?¼l should advocate for
the Turkish people, not the Armenian nation. She then said there
should be a reason behind Mr. G?Ã?¼l’s so-called pro-Armenian stance,
and she advised the press to research Mr. G?Ã?¼l’s mother’s ancestors,
implying that Mr. G?Ã?¼l has Armenian blood.

Ms. Ar?Ä?±tman is doing Turkish democracy a service by drawing attention
to the racist and fascist inheritance of her party, the CHP, which is
the ideological successor of the Ottoman period’s Union and Progress
(?Ä?°ttihad ve Terakki) Party. This party and its three leaders — Enver
Pa?Å?a, Cemal Pasha and Talat Pasha — are being held responsible
for the Armenian massacre, for they ruled the country between 1908 and
1918, and they ordered the forced emigration of the Armenians from
eastern Turkey, which resulted in many thousands of these Armenians
dying because of the harsh conditions of murderous attacks by
Ergenekon-like gangs.

The Union and Progress Party was established as an underground
organization in the Balkans by over-enthusiastic Young Turks who were
mostly either medical or military schools students or graduates. Most
of these Young Turks were Turkish nationalists in the multiethnic
Ottoman state. Similar to today’s radical Islamists, who are mostly
graduates of technical subjects, these Young Turks hated the ulema
(religious scholars) for their moderate stance and despised the
Ottoman rulers. As they were also mostly positivists, they did not
believe in any religion but were ready to use it for instrumental
purposes to mobilize the masses against the rulers. The Young Turks
believed that the country was in danger, and indeed it was. But they
also believed that to save the country, anything else was only a mere
detail. By looking at what they did in retrospect, one understands
that democracy, human rights, legitimacy, the sanctity of innocent
lives, etc., were all ignorable details in the eyes of these Young
Turks. After constantly criticizing Sultan Abd?Ã?¼lhamid II’s rule as
undemocratic and repressive, these Young Turks pressured the sultan to
start the second constitutional period in 1908.

After the elections, the Young Turks’ Union and Progress Party came to
power. In a very short time, they staged a military coup against the
establishment, toppled the sultan, closed down all opposition parties
and established a dictatorship. They followed very radical nationalist
policies and did not allow any non-Turks to infiltrate their inner
circle. Under their rule, the Ottoman state was dismantled, and they
took us to war in 1914 to support the Germans. Their nationalist
rhetoric disillusioned many loyal Arabs and other ethnic groups. When
some Armenians started a rebellion for independence in eastern Turkey,
the Young Turks reacted harshly and forcibly removed all Armenians
from the region. After the establishment of the republic, their
ideology, albeit in a modified form, continued with the CHP. What
Ms. Ar?Ä?±tman is doing today is simply revering her ideological and
political Young Turk fathers and their "accomplishments."

For decades, people like Ms. Ar?Ä?±tman have tried to convince
Westerners that they were the only full-humans in the country and that
they were trying to modernize the ignorant and obscurantist
masses. They still have friends in Western quarters who call the
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leaders Islamo-fascists. We
should thank Ms. Ar?Ä?±tman for reminding us once again who the real
fascists and racists were, obsessed with blood, in Turkey. When we
know this history, we should not be surprised by the ultra-nationalist
and racist rhetoric of Ergenekonians and their supporters among the
elite circles.

21.12.2008

Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 21 2008

Event of the Week
Intellectuals’ campaign of apology rouses heated debates

An apology campaign launched by three intellectuals — Baskın
Oran, Cengiz Aktar and Ali BayramoÄ?lu — for the Ottoman
killings of Armenians in 1915, has dominated the national agenda in
Turkey throughout the past week, with many exchanging harsh statements
in favor or against the campaign.

The text of the intellectuals’ apology, which people were able to sign
via a Web site, said: `My conscience does not accept the insensitivity
showed to and the denial of the great catastrophe that Ottoman
Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for
my part, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian
brothers. I apologize to them.’

On Monday, a group of retired Turkish ambassadors signed a
declaration urging the intellectuals `not to be a part of an insidious
plan against Turkish national interests.’ The group of retired
diplomats, which includes former Foreign Ministry Undersecretaries
Korkmaz Haktanır, Å?ükrü ElekdaÄ? and
Onur Ã-ymen, in a counter-declaration stressed that the move was a
`disrespectful act toward Turkish history and its martyrs.’ State
officials also made statements criticizing the campaign.

When asked on Wednesday about the campaign, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip ErdoÄ?an claimed that those who had committed crimes
could apologize but that the state and the nation did not have to take
part in the apology. `We cannot accept this just because some writers
have launched a campaign,’ ErdoÄ?an said, continuing: `I don’t
accept such a campaign, I don’t support this campaign, and I am not
taking part in it. We did not any commit crimes, so we don’t need to
apologize.’ When asked about his opinion of the campaign on the same
day, President Abdullah Gül said Turkey is a country in which
the freedom of expression is alive and well.

On Friday, Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan said the
campaign was an unjust act against Turkey. `Those signing it first
condemn Turkey and later apologize for this condemnation,’ he said,
adding that Turkish diplomats have, in the past, been killed by
Armenian terrorist organizations. `Who will apologize for their
deaths? This is why I think it would be better to not have this
campaign,’ he said. Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, the head of the
General Staff’s communications department, on Friday in a regular
press briefing, described the campaign as `definitely not right.’
`Apologizing is not only wrong, it is behavior that can produce
harmful results,’ he said in response to a question about the
campaign.

Dec. 13

A pileup killed four and wounded three in Ã`mraniye when a driver
tried to avoid hitting a wild pig that ran onto the road. Witnesses
said a pack of wild pigs scurried across the road, causing the
collision. The road was temporarily closed while teams worked to clear
the road and remove the vehicles.

A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) had
talks with Massoud Barzani, the head of the regional Kurdish
administration in northern Iraq. The meeting took place at Barzani’s
residence in the resort town of Salahaddin, the Web site of the
Peyamner news agency, affiliated with Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP), reported.

Dec. 14

As of Nov. 1, there were 101,100 convicts and detainees in Turkish
prisons and detention centers, according to information from the
Justice Ministry’s General Directorate of Prisons and Detention
Houses. The figure represented the highest number of detainees in the
past 39 years.

In the past three days, seven fires occurred in mosques in
Ä°stanbul, with five of them occurring on the same day. Police
and firefighters said the cause of the fires may have been faulty
electrical wiring; however, arson has not been ruled out.

Dec. 15

A retired general considered one of the most important suspects in the
trial of Ergenekon, a clandestine network with links to
behind-the-scenes intelligence units whose members are charged with
plotting to overthrow the government, refused to answer questions
directed at him by the prosecution and co-plaintiff lawyers at the
Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal Court in the 26th hearing of the
trial, which started in late October. Veli Küçük,
a retired brigadier general believed by the prosecution to be a
higher-up in the Ergenekon organization, denied all accusations
against him, including the prosecution’s claim that he was the founder
of a clandestine, unofficial and largely illegitimate intelligence
unit in the gendarmerie, known to the public as JÄ°TEM.

More than 130 people were killed and almost 700 were injured in
traffic accidents during the nine-day national holiday to mark the
Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).

Dec. 16

Retired Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, considered one of
the most important suspects in the trial against Ergenekon, a
clandestine criminal network charged with plotting to overthrow the
government, refused to answer questions directed at him on the second
day of his cross examination at the Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal
Court in the 27th hearing of the trial, which started in late October
in the Ä°stanbul township of Silivri.

The Supreme Court of Appeals overruled a local court’s decision
regarding a shooting that left a senior judge of the Council of State
dead in 2006 and demanded that links between the shooting and
Ergenekon, a criminal network accused of attempting to overthrow the
government, be investigated. The 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of
Appeals voted unanimously against the Council of State ruling handed
down by the Ankara 11th Higher Criminal Court. The high court ordered
that the Council of State shooting and a hand grenade attack at a
newspaper be merged and investigated in light of a suggested link
established between them and the Ergenekon network.

President Abdullah Gül postponed a long-planned visit to
neighboring Iraq due to a recurring ear ailment, his office said.

A group of retired Turkish ambassadors signed a declaration urging
intellectuals Baskın Oran, Cengiz Aktar and Ali
BayramoÄ?lu, who had recently launched a campaign to apologize
for the Ottoman killings of Armenians in 1915, `not to be a part of an
insidious plan against Turkish national interests.’ Some Turkish
intellectuals had recently begun to collect signatures for a statement
that contained a personal apology for the events of 1915, on which the
Armenian claims of genocide are based. But the group of retired
diplomats, which includes former Foreign Ministry undersecretaries
Korkmaz Haktanır, Å?ükrü ElekdaÄ? and
Onur Ã-ymen, in a counter-declaration stressed that the move was a
`disrespectful act toward Turkish history and its martyrs.’

During 2009 budget talks in Parliament, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an directed harsh criticism at Democratic Society Party
(DTP) officials, accusing them of resurrecting Nazism in
Turkey. Tension was high when DTP officials claimed the governing
party had a `chauvinist mindset.’ ErdoÄ?an, in response, lashed
out at the pro-Kurdish party, saying: `Threats will bring no good to
you. It is you who has a chauvinist mindset. You have resurrected
Nazism in this country.’

Dec. 17

Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an objected to a campaign initiated by a
group of intellectuals to apologize for the killings of Armenians at
the hands of Ottomans during World War I, saying the campaign was
wrong and was `messing things up.’ When asked about the campaign,
ErdoÄ?an claimed that those who committed crimes should
apologize but that the state and the nation have no such problem.

The deputy head of the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat)
dismissed criticism of the recent addition of 6 million new names to
the general voter database in the run-up to local elections. Speaking
with Today’s Zaman, TurkStat Deputy Chairman Ã-mer Toprak said
allegations suggesting that 6 million voters were added to the AKS
address-based registration database in a single night were
unfounded. `We did not register anyone as a voter who we could not
contact,’ Toprak said, adding that the number of voters in Turkey has
remained far below the population over 18 years of age in past
elections. `For the first time there are as many voters as there
should be in line with the population aged 18 and above.’

A leading Armenian diaspora organization based in the United States
welcomed a public apology by a group of Turkish intellectuals and
academics for the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I,
suggesting that it represents a step toward recognition of Armenian
claims that the Ottoman-era killings constituted `genocide.’ `An
irreversible trend has commenced in Turkey,’ Bryan Ardouny, executive
director of the Washington-based Armenian Assembly of America, was
quoted as saying in a statement posted on the organization’s Web site.

After exchanging harsh words and directing strong accusations at one
another for days, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek and
Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentary group deputy chairman
Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?l u debated for a second
time on a private television station. The two politicians were
supposed to settle an argument over claims of corruption in a debate
broadcast live on Star TV and moderated by journalist UÄ?ur
Dündar. The debate, however, fell short of revealing the truth,
with neither side admitting to allegations put forward by the other or
showing sound evidence to prove their accusations.

Dec. 18

Turkey’s e-State Portal project, which makes it possible to complete a
wide range of bureaucratic procedures for various state agencies
online with minimal effort, was launched in the Ministry of Education
Assembly Hall in Ankara. Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister
ErdoÄ?an said, `The primary aim of the e-State Portal project,
which paves the way for the transition to an information society, is
minimizing bureaucracy and ensuring that our state offers fast and
quality service to citizens and businesses.’

Eighteen people were taken into custody in Ä°stanbul by teams
from the Ä°stanbul Counterterrorism and Intelligence Directorate
on charges of preparing to launch terrorist attacks.

Turkey’s budget deficit reached YTL 8.3 billion in the first 11 months
of the year with a deficit of YTL 3.4 billion for November, the
Finance Ministry announced. The latest deficit figures indicate that,
despite these high numbers, this year’s deficit still remains below
last year’s levels. In the first 11 months of 2007 the budget deficit
hit YTL 9.7 billion. This year’s numbers represent a 14.8 percent
drop.

A popular Turkish singer was acquitted of charges against her for
having made anti-military remarks during a TV program earlier this
year. A Bakırköy court ruled on that Bülent Ersoy
be acquitted of charges of trying to turn the public against
obligatory military service. The court pointed to freedom of speech as
the rationale for the ruling.

Dec. 19

Turkey’s slow progress toward eventual European Union membership took
a small step forward as it opened negotiations with the 27-country
bloc in two more areas of reforms needed for entry. With the opening
of the chapters on media reform and the free movement of capital, 10
of the total 35 chapters have been opened. Ankara has provisionally
completed negotiations on only one chapter.

Thirty-eight individuals suspected of membership in al-Qaeda were
detained in multiple police operations in three Turkish provinces,
Ä°stanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah announced.

21 December 2008, Sunday

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax, Russia
Dec 20 2008

Two people convicted for March unrest in Yerevan appeal for pardon

YEREVAN Dec 20

Two people convicted for involvement in the March 1, 2008 unrest in
Yerevan have appealed to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan for pardon,
Armen Khachatrian, a coordinator of the Service of Legal Support for
Political Prisoners, said on Radio Liberty on Saturday.

"One of the convicts, Karen Tarkhanian, has been sentenced to four
years in prison for organizing mass unrest. He almost lost his vision
behind bars and has serious problems with his health. The other
convict, Avetik Grechian, is serving his sentence for illegal carrying
of weapons. The circumstances that have prompted him to appeal to the
president have yet to be clarified," Khachatrian said.

The Armenian president amnestied three convicts serving their terms
for involvement in the March events in Yerevan on December 8.

"They were sentenced to three to three and a half years for resisting
police and taking violent actions," presidential press secretary
Samvel Farmanian said.

va

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
December 20, 2008 Saturday
Final Edition

Aronian binds up Ivanchuk

by Deen Hergott, Citizen Special

There are two major events running this week — the Pearl Spring
double round-robin in Nanjing, China, and the FIDE Grand Prix event in
Elista, Kalmykia. The Elista event has been somewhat marred by the
withdrawal of several top players as a result of FIDE’s change in
regulations for the Grand Prix, but it remains a very strong field
nonetheless.

Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan is the early leader in
Elista with 2.5/3. In Nanjing, the competitors enter the second half
of their event with a three-way tie for first: GMs Bu Xiangzhi of
China, Levon Aronian of Armenia, and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria have
3 out of 5 points each.

Aronian-Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine): Maroczy Bind

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.e4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nc2!?

Allowing an early …Nxd4 tends to provide Black with an easier
time. Black is slightly cramped and as such tends to benefit from some
exchanges.

7…Bg7 8.Be2 Nd7 9.Bd2 a5 10.0-0 Nc5 11.Qc1!

Multi-purpose. Clears the d1-square for a rook, prepares B/d2-h6, and
guards the sensitive b2-square along the long diagonal. Ivanchuk’s
reaction is a bit extreme, and probably not that good, as it leaves
Black’s K-side permanently compromised.

11…h5?! 12.Rd1 Bd7 13.Ne1!?

A bit mysterious, but White is likely just making room for his Q-side
to untangle. With the g5-square weakened, White’s knight may have a
future heading that way.

13…Nd4 14.Bf1 0-0 15.Bg5 Bc6 16.Nd5 Re8 17.f3

Simple and strong, bolstering the centre. The duo of pawns on c4 and
e4 define the "bind" aspect of the Maroczy Bind. White can profit from
his extra manoeuvring space to slowly build up his position behind the
lines.

17…b5!? 18.Be3 Nce6?!

This is too clumsy, and 18…e5!?, staking out some influence in the
centre, is probably a better call. Even if White can manage B/e3xd4
and win a pawn, Black will always have some counterchances on the dark
squares, and his pieces will remain more active than in the game.

19.Qd2 bxc4 20.Bxc4 Rb8 21.Kh1 Nb5 22.Rac1 Nc5?! 23.b4!

A well-timed punch. Black’s forces get into a real mess now.

23…axb4 24.Nxb4 Qb6

Very awkward, but 24…Bd7 25.Bxc5 and 24…Ba8 25.Bxc5 dxc5 26.Bxf7+!
win on the spot, the latter due to 26…Kxf7 27.Qf4+.

25.Ned3 Na3 26.Bb3! Ba8

Black cannot avoid losing material, but it is shocking how quickly his
position completely collapses.

27.Nxc5 dxc5 28.Bxc5 Qa5 29.Qf4 e6 30.Rd7 Rf8 31.Rxf7!

Even better than winning the Exchange on f8; this destroys the King’s
pawn shelter as well. A powerful game by Armenia’s No. 1.

31…Rxf7 32.Qxb8+ Kh7 33.Bxe6 Black Resigns.

Russia starts S-300 missile supplies to Iran – Iranian MP

16:10 | 21/ 12/ 2008

TEHRAN, December 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has started the supplies of
components for S-300 air defense systems to Iran, a senior Iranian
lawmaker said on Sunday.

Esmaeil Kosari, deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on
national security and foreign policy told the Iranian news agency IRNA
that Iran and Russia had held negotiations for several years on the
purchase of S-300 air defense systems and had finalized a deal.

Kosari said the Islamic Republic would deploy S-300 surface-to-air
missile systems to strengthen national defense on border areas.

Iran recently took delivery of 29 Russian-made Tor-M1 air defense
missile systems under a $700-million contract signed in late 2005.
Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar
operators and crew commanders.

The U.S. and Israel, which have consistently refused to rule out the
possibility of military action against Iran, were earlier alarmed by
media reports, which started circulating as early as 2005, on the
possible delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran, as these
systems could greatly improve Iranian defenses against any air strike
on its strategically important sites, including nuclear facilities.

The advanced version of the S-300 missile system, called S-300PMU1
(SA-20 Gargoyle), has a range of over 150 kilometers (over 100 miles)
and can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low and high
altitudes, making the system an effective tool for warding off possible
air strikes.

The Islamic Republic has conducted several high-profile war games this
year, including a three-day series of Air Force and missile defense
exercises on September 15-18, while promising swift retaliation in the
event of any act of aggression against the country.

Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild UN Security
Council sanctions for defying demands to halt uranium enrichment, which
it says it needs purely for electricity generation despite Western
accusations that the program is geared toward weapon production.

In Order that Energetic System Works with Great Profit

December 17, 2008

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department

Today, the NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan has conducted a
conference with participation of the executives of the Republic’s
energetic system. During the conference the results of 2008 were
summarized and the tasks for 2009 were outlined. The data of this year
were presented by Valeri Balayan, the Head of the Department of
Industrial Infrastructures adjunct to the NKR Government. He
particularly noted that in 2008 more than 350 mln drams investments
were made in the energetic system, while according to the affirmed
programme, this index should have formed 850 mln drams. The investment
underfulfillment was justified by the technical unavailability of the
system. However, according to other indices some changes for the better
were recorded. It was underlined that in 2008 the technical damages in
the energetic system of the Republic decreased by 9.6 percent in
comparison with the previous year and the total index of the year will
form 15.7 percent. It was noted for comparison that in 2006 the
energetic losses formed 24.9 percent. According to Valeri Balayan’s
assurance the experience of the past few days (when gas supply was
considerably reduced in the Republic) showed that the energetic system
today is more secure and is ready to operate regularly under more
overladen conditions. According to the Chief Executive of the sphere
some technical and organizational improvements should be introduced in
the electricity system of the Republic reducing the commercial losses
to 1-2 percent and the technical ones to 14 percent.

Appraising the achievements of the year in the energetic sphere at
their true worth the NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan simultaneously
expressed his dissatisfaction with the insufficient work of separate
regional branches. He addressed his remarks mainly to the regional
electro-distributive systems of Martakert, Askeran and Hadrout
demanding to take necessary steps to improve the situation. The Head of
the Government emphasized that it is necessary to have such an
energetic system, which will not be a burden for the state, moreover,
will work with great profit and will safely secure the economic
development of the Republic.

Congratulating the power engineering specialists in connection with the
forthcoming professional holiday the NKR Prime Minister charged the
executives of the sphere with the tasks to considerably reduce the
losses in the electro-distributive systems, to apply relevant punitive
measures and to present organizational proposals. The Prime Minister
demanded as well to form and to present the activity programme of the
system for 2009 with detailed estimate and development tendencies.

Iran set to build 5 new nuclear reactors

press tv
Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:17:21 GMT

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting the Natanz nuclear
enrichment facility
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEO) says the country plans to
construct five additional nuclear reactors in the next five years.

AEO Deputy Head Mohammad Qannad revealed Sunday that the agency has
been tasked with meeting 10 percent of the country’s energy demand —
approximately 20,000 megawatts — through nuclear energy in the near
future.

"For the next five years, Iran plans to produce 5,000 megawatts of
[nuclear] energy," he added.

Iran suffers from an electricity shortage and adopted a rationing
program in the summer to ease the problem by scheduling power outages
across urban and rural areas in the country.

Over the past decade, Russia has been helping Iran with the
construction of its first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the
southern Iranian city of Bushehr.

Experts in the country have also begun creating designs for the second
Iranian nuclear plant — located in Darkhovin in the southern province
of Khuzestan.

Over 5,000 centrifuges are currently operational in the country. AEO
Head Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, however, announced plans in November to
install 50,000 centrifuges in the country’s nuclear facilities in a
period of five years.

The US, Israel and their European allies accuse Iran of having military
objectives in the pursuit of its nuclear program and claim that the
amount of UF6 at the country’s disposal is "enough for a bomb".

According to Qannad, Iran is currently ranked seventh amongst countries
capable of producing uranium hexafluoride (UF6).

Although UF6 gas can be used both in the production of fuel for nuclear
reactors and nuclear weapons, all nuclear activities at Iranian nuclear
facilities are controlled through the 24-hour surveillance of the
International Atomic Energy Agency — the UN body pertinent to probing
nuclear programs.

The UN nuclear watchdog conceded in its latest report that Iran has
managed to enrich uranium-235 to a level "less than 5 percent" — a
rate consistent with the development of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear
arms production, meanwhile, requires an enrichment level of above 90
percent.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Study the Armenian Genocide with confidence, Ara Sarafian suggests

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by Ara Sarafian

Published: Thursday December 18, 2008

Sir:

On November 26, 2008, Hurriyet Daily News published an article based
on an interview titled, "Sarafian: Focus on the Diaspora." This
interview followed a conference I participated in organized by the
International Hrant Dink Foundation at Bosphorus University, Istanbul,
on Adana in the late Ottoman period.

The Hurriyet Daily News article caused anxiety in some Armenian
circles because of the apparent harshness of my statements as they had
been rendered in the Turkish press. The most forceful response came
from my detractors in Internet chat groups.

Given the interest created by the Hurriyet Daily News article in some
Armenian circles, I would like to disclose the substance of my
interview for your information. Below are the key points:

1. Context: Turkey today

Turkey is going through a period of change. It is true that many of
the old anti-Armenian voices are still around, and one can still see
restrictions on free speech in Turkey. However, there are also
significant alternative voices being heard from academics,
journalists, lawyers, diplomats, and ordinary people. This
multiplicity of voices seems to be part of the democratization process
of Turkey.

Twenty years ago Turkish state intellectuals were denying the Armenian
Genocide by saying that nothing happened in 1915; if there were
killings, they were Turks killed by Armenians; that Armenian Genocide
allegations were the product of Armenian terrorism or a Soviet
conspiracy to destabilize Turkey. The official Turkish thesis on the
Armenian Genocide was prescribed by the state with no alternative
voices or dissent allowed.

Today, the Armenian Genocide debate has already shifted inside Turkey.
It is now quite normal to hear that "terrible things happened to
Armenians in 1915", that Armenians were poorly treated, that there
were massacres, etc. Turkish citizens are also more and more aware of
the contribution of Armenians to Ottoman-Turkish identity and
culture. Most of the protagonists making a case for the gradual
rehabilitation of Armenians are Turkish liberal intellectuals. This
change has been part of a process that is still in progress.

Armenian intellectuals can play a positive role in engaging
Turkish-Armenian debates as they open up by setting the tone for
better understanding of a shared past, including practical ways to
address the legacy of 1915. A sensitive Armenian approach can foster a
positive outcome in Turkey, while a coarse response will close minds
and play into the hands of Turkish chauvinists.

2. Diaspora-Armenia scholarship

Over the past 25 years, practically all cutting-edge scholarship on
the Armenian Genocide has taken place outside of Armenia. A good part
of this work was done by diaspora Armenians, and many non-Armenians
were nurtured or benefited by the efforts of diaspora Armenians. The
diaspora is at the core of the Armenian Genocide debate. If Prime
Minister Erdogan’s government is looking for an engaging strategy to
resolve the Armenian Genocide issue, it has to address the diaspora as
much as the Armenian government.

3. Partisan scholarship, prosecutorial approach

Our understanding of the Armenian Genocide has been influenced by
partisan scholarship because a number of academic institutions and
political parties in Armenian communities, such as in the United
States or Great Britain, have nurtured a prosecutorial approach to the
subject. Consequently, some important elements of the events of 1915
have been distorted. The main thrust of the prosecutorial approach has
been the assertion that the genocide of Armenians was executed with
the thoroughness of the Nazi Holocaust, and that all Turks and Kurds
were involved in the genocidal process. This approach is best
exemplified by Vahakn Dadrian’s The
< 6?ie=3DUTF8&tag=3Darmenrepor-20&link_code= 3Das3&camp=3D211189&creative=3D373489& creativeASIN=3D1571816666>
History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to
Anatolia to the Caucasus.’ border=3D0>

4. The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust

The Armenian Genocide is not the same as the Holocaust. The Young
Turks did not have the apparatus to carry out a genocide on par with
the Holocaust. It is also a fact that many Ottoman officials,
including governors, sub-governors, military personnel, police chiefs,
and gendarmes saved thousands of Armenians during the Genocide. Most
Armenians from the province of Adana, for example, were not
killed. This very basic fact is elided in the works of prominent
Armenian historians. There are other examples too. The "Holocaust
model" of the Armenian Genocide is fundamentally flawed.

5. Archives

Key "Armenian archives" on the Armenian Genocide remain closed to
critical scholars. This matter concerns all scholars and should be
subject to scrutiny. The most important examples are the archives of
the Jerusalem Patriarchate, which include materials from Ottoman
Turkey related to the Genocide. Partisan scholars have used these
archives in their work, though their assertions can not be checked. In
the 1980s the Zoryan Institute collected the private papers of
individuals in the diaspora, yet the materials have remained under
lock and key. Such standards should not be acceptable within our
communities. We should object to them as we object to any manipulation
of Ottoman archives in Turkey today.

6. Diaspora and Turkey

As Turkey continues to examine various taboos, more and more Turks are
discovering their human, material, and historical ties to
Armenians. If Turkey continues to develop in this direction, with
freedom of thought and expression, there is no reason why diaspora
Armenians cannot be brought into public and academic debates in
Turkey. The Armenian diaspora is historically rooted in Turkey.

7. Playing the victims of the Armenian Genocide

The present generation of Armenians cannot assume the victim role when
discussing Turkish-Armenian relations. Given the seriousness of the
subject, academics and community activists should be expected to be
well informed about their subject matter and give fair consideration
to all parties. The Genocide issue is not a simple question of
justice for Armenians, but a case of justice for everyone. This
attitude is essential for the peaceful resolution of past
differences. There is no room for ignorance and bigotry.

8. Freedom of thought, freedom of expression in Armenia

Recent events have shown once more that freedom of expression is not
something that is universally respected in Armenia. In the past weeks
we have heard of the brutal beating of Edik Baghdasaryan, chief editor
of Hetq and the president of the Investigative Journalists’
Association of Armenia. His beating was preceded by attempts to
harass and intimidate him with impunity. This is not the first time
that people have been intimidated and beaten for their critical views
in Armenia. In my opinion this lack of freedom has restricted critical
research in Armenia on the Armenian Genocide.

9. Joint commission

Prime Minister Erdogan has suggested that a commission of historians
should be formed by the Turkish and Armenian governments to examine
the events of 1915. I would propose an alternative as follows: (1)
Relevant archives in Turkey should be open to researchers, with
special procedures to allow them ready access to records; (2)
Independent groups of specialists from different disciplines should be
funded to collaborate on specific projects related to 1915; (3) The
work of such groups should be open to the scrutiny of third parties;
(4) Academic excellence should be the governing criteria in putting
research teams together, not ethnicity, citizenship, or horse-trading
among Turkish and Armenian bureaucrats; (5) The examination of
archival records should not be limited to Ottoman records but include
other archives outside of Turkey.