Month: June 2009

DEFENSE MINISTRY: ARMENIAN SOLDIERS WHO PASSED TO AZERBAIJANI TERRITORY VOLUNTARILY, SPOKE OF THE INTOLERABLE CONDITIONS IN THEIR ARMY

Today.Az
805.html
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

"During interrogation two soldiers of the Armenian armed forces Ogan
Harutyunyan and Gevorg Tomosyan expressed intention to be transferred
to a third country", said representative of the Ministry of Defense
of Azerbaijan Teymur Abdullayev.

According to T. Abdullayev, they spoke of the unbearable conditions
in the Armenian army, the poor relationship between the soldiers,
low quality food, served to soldiers.

"They said that there are unbearable situation in their army, so they
decided to go voluntarily to the territory of Azerbaijan. According
to them, other Armenian soldiers who passed to Azerbaijani territory
before did it for the same reason – as a sign of protest against
unbearable conditions in the Armenian army.

They are still being interrogated, and it is unclear what their
destiny will be. As only three days have passed since their passing
to our territory, it is now early to speak of whether they will be
transferred to a third country or no", announced Abdullayev.

DAVUTOGLU EXPECTS OBAMA MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS TO CHANGE ‘ATMOSPHERE’

Today’s Zaman
June 3 2009
Turkey

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu voiced expectations on Monday that
US President Barack Obama’s upcoming message to the Muslim world,
which he will deliver later this week, is likely to build on the
remarks he made to the Turkish Parliament in April.

Obama is set to deliver a speech on Thursday in Cairo as part of a
push to improve US relations with Muslims. Davutoglu, in an interview
held with Dow Jones Newswires in Washington, said he predicted Obama’s
speech will expand upon his April 6 remarks in Turkey, in which Obama
said the US "is not at war with Islam."

"You are changing the psychological atmosphere, which is a must,"
Davutoglu was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires, which noted
that the interview was held between meetings with US officials.

"One small but meaningful change for Turkey: Obama has called the
US relationship with Turkey a ‘model’ partnership, moving away from
the usual description of a strategic partnership between the US and
the secular, Muslim country that straddles Asia and Europe," the Dow
Jones report highlighted.

During his two-day landmark visit to Turkey, Obama refrained
from employing the frequently used "strategic partnership" term to
define the relations between Turkey and the United States, but rather
suggested building a ‘model partnership’ between Turkey and the United
States with a unity based on ideals and values.

"Before, it was seen as a military relationship," Davutoglu was quoted
as saying, while he also said that now he hoped the relationship with
the US will be a fuller one that encompasses cultural and economic
issues, as well as military and diplomatic matters.

While in Turkey, Obama said: "I think where there’s the most promise
is in the idea that Turkey and the United States can build a model
partnership, one in which a majority Christian and a majority Muslim
nation, a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents
can come together; we can create a modern international community that
is respectful, secure and prosperous. This is extremely important."

In a message sent to the ongoing 28th Annual Conference on US-Turkish
Relations held in the Washington area, President Abdullah Gul referred
to Obama’s visit to Turkey as "evidence of the vital partnership
between Turkey and the US."

In Washington, Davutoglu had talks with Obama administration officials
to coordinate some of the stickiest foreign policy questions in
his region.

On Monday, Davutoglu met with the Obama administration’s national
security adviser, James Jones, and the US special representative to
Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. He planned to meet Dennis
Ross, the special envoy to Iran, on Tuesday, as well as Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Davutuglu’s visit comes as Turkey takes over the United Nations
Security Council’s rotating presidency, which begins Monday. He is
scheduled to proceed to New York on Wednesday after delivering a
speech at the American-Turkish Council conference on Tuesday evening.

Davutoglu, meanwhile, downplayed potential stumbling blocks such
as prospects for the passage of a US congressional resolution to
officially recognize the killings of Anatolian-Armenians during World
War I as genocide, saying he doesn’t expect it will clear Congress.

AZERBAIJANI STATE COMMITTEE NOT EXCLUDE IMPORT OF FOOD STUFFS FROM ARMENIA

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 3 2009

The current controversy over a bill in the Knesset designed to make
it illegal to commemorate Nakba Day should raise awareness of what
exactly Nakba day has come to entail, and why some elected officials
find it such a provocation.

Last Independence Day, as millions celebrated with barbecues and
family trips to national parks, another group of Jewish Israelis
were making a different sort of pilgrimage – to Kafrayn, a former
Arab village southeast of Haifa. Once there, they were joined by
Palestinians from east Jerusalem and Israeli Arab activists from
all over the country. Speeches were given and Palestinian flags were
waved. Keffiyehs were a dress code requirement.

Among the groups present was Zochrot, an organization whose
publications are sometimes funded by the Mennonite church, and
which hosts tours to ruined Arab villages which existed before
1948. Zochrot’s Jewish leaders, such as Noga Kadmon, have dedicated
their lives to preserving the memory of these villages, arranging
for elderly descendants to visit them, erecting signs to memorialize
them and bringing Jews to them to teach about the Nakba. They produce
small booklets about the villages in Hebrew, English and Arabic.

Another organization present at the Nakba day tour of Kafrayn was
the Defending the Displaced Palestinians’ Rights Society. Its booklet
has "Nakba 61st anniversary: We shall return" emblazoned across its
front. It is only in Arabic. Where it is produced and who supports
it are not clear. What is clear is that while the message of Zochrot
appears to be about memorializing history and understanding the
narrative of the "other," the message of DDPRS is about eliminating
Israel as a state. However the Israeli Jews present at the Nakba-day
events did not openly oppose the distribution of this anti-Israel
material.

THE TRAGEDY here is that by commemorating the Nakba on their own
Independence Day, these Israeli Jews have negated their own state’s
existence. The cynical manipulation of Nakba day to coincide with Yom
Ha’atzmaut is deliberate. Palestinians actually commemorate Nakba
day twice, once on the Independence Day which is celebrated by the
Hebrew calendar, and again on May 15, the Gregorian calendar’s date of
Israeli independence. Thus those Israeli Jews who wish to commemorate
the Nakba can actually do so on May 15 and still reserve Independence
Day to celebrate the existence of a Jewish state. That would be an
act of genuine coexistence. By choosing not to do so, these Israelis
are not preaching coexistence but merely the existence of one group
and its narrative: the Palestinians.

This profound disconnect from the story of Israel and the Jewish people
points to the tragedy of many coexistence groups. Further evidence
of the tragedy of the coexistence project is clear from examining the
village of Neveh Shalom-Wahat al-Salaam, a "binational community" of
"Jewish and Palestinian Israelis" located near Latrun, built on land
leased from the Trappist monastery and supported partly by donations
from abroad. Over the years the voting patterns at the village show
that while it was once a Meretz stronghold, in 2009, 35% supported
Hadash and 29% voted Balad (22% supported Meretz). During the Gaza
war, Shulamit Aloni addressed a "gathering to mourn and protest"
and called the IDF a "brutal and hedonistic army of conquest." The
village’s "humanitarian aid" project only gives to Palestinians.

In 2004 Howard Shippin, a resident, wrote about a "Tale of two buses"
in which he compares the hardship of waiting at checkpoints and the
security barrier with the suicide bombing of Bus 14 in Jerusalem,
in which eight people were murdered. He said the murder "can be
understood."

Coexistence is an important value. But coexisting at the expense
of erasing one’s own identity and "understanding" why someone would
murder people from your own community is not coexistence, it is simply
becoming the other, in this case a Palestinian. Those Israeli Jews who
can’t take one day a year to celebrate their state are not coexisting;
they are simply part of the nationalist cause of others.

The same is true of Neveh Shalom: It is not an "oasis of peace"
– it is an oasis of extreme anti-Israel hatred; its dialogues are
entirely composed of people speaking to those who agree with them;
and its humanitarian aid only helps one side of the conflict. Its
voting record is proof enough of the fact that coexistence has resulted
simply in Arab nationalism. That is not a model, it is a perversion
of the entire concept.

The writer is a PhD student in geography at the Hebrew University
and runs the Terra Incognita Journal blog. [email protected]

COMMENTARY: A NEW OTTOMAN EMPIRE?
Asli Aydintasbas

Forbes
02/ahmet-davutoglu-turkey-obama-opinions-contribut ors-ottoman-empire.html
June 2 2009

ISTANBUL — This week, Turkey assumed the presidency of the United
Nation’s Security Council, and while that may just be a passing story
in most countries, here it is a big deal.

"This is very important and a big responsibility for our country,"
said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu–and he should
know. Davutoglu has been the chief architect of Turkey’s neo-imperial
foreign policy that envisions a far greater role for this pro-western
Islamic country than as an aspiring second-tier member of the
European club.

No one was surprised last month when Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan appointed his longtime political adviser Davutoglu as the
Foreign Minister. The soft-talking professor–who was also an adviser
to President Abdullah Gul–has largely been responsible for reshaping
Turkey’s foreign policy over the past six years, moving it away from
its isolationist roots and toward a role as a self-declared regional
power broker in the Middle East.

Turks love the spotlight that has come from efforts to mediate
between Israelis and Syrians, act as peacekeepers in Lebanon and host
high-profile world dignitaries. They got a kick out of seeing their
globetrotting leader Erdogan in a face-off with Israeli President
Shimon Peres in Davos.

The official television station TRT has recently started to refer to
Turkey as a "global power." These days, the book du jour in Turkish
power circles is Stratfor founder George Friedman’s The Next 100 Years:
A Forecast for the 21st Century. It predicts the rise of a hegemonic
Turkish empire in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire.

All that talk may be premature, but not for Davutoglu.

Meeting the Turkish foreign minister, you would never guess that
you are talking to one of the most powerful figures in the Middle
East. Davutoglu is a short, even-tempered man in his fifties who talks,
in fact nearly mumbles, with a relaxing half-smile that gives you the
momentary hope that the world’s most vicious problems are actually
not that difficult to solve. He is more avuncular than imposing,
more monotonous than charismatic.

>>From Damascus to Tel Aviv, regional leaders have been talking to him
as the best private channel to the decision-makers in Ankara–making
him the most influential consigliore in the history of the modern
republic. His book Strategic Depth is a must-read for diplomats
coming to Turkey. He has been at the heart of every critical
diplomatic initiative over the last few years–from lobbying to
attain U.N. Security Council membership for Turkey to conducting
secret Israeli-Syrian mediation efforts.

It’s not power for power’s sake. There is a whole political theory
behind the Davutoglu Doctrine. In a nutshell, instead of defining
Turkey as the eastern flank of the Transatlantic Alliance, Davutoglu
sees it as a pivotal country ("merkez ulke"), the centerpoint of
concentric power circles. The governing Justice and Development
Party, or AKP, does not see the European Union as an end goal, and
does not regard Turkey’s western orientation as its sole strategic
axis. Instead, they talk of multiple axes of alliances to solidify
Turkey’s leadership in the Muslim world.

But not everyone is happy about the New Turkey. To his critics,
Davutoglu is responsible for the neo-Ottomanist revisionism in
foreign policy that values Muslim solidarity over the secular nation’s
long-standing alliance with the West. He was partly blamed in media
for Turkey’s refusal to open a northern front for U.S. troops in the
Iraq war, as well as Ankara’s controversial invitation to Hamas leader
Khaled Mashal in 2006.

Davutoglu defended both decisions by pointing out that Turkey,
in each case, made more gains than losses. Ankara currently differs
from the European and American positions on numerous issues, including
relations with Russia, the role of Hamas in Israeli-Palestinian issues
and Darfur, where the AKP government openly supports the regime of
President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International
Criminal Court.

But even his critics agree, AKP reign has somehow elevated Turkey’s
stature as a democratic Muslim country and an independent actor in
the Middle East. Among his fans, including leading members of the
Islamist-oriented governing party, he has somewhat of a cult following,
"Before AKP, no one in the mainstream media had heard of his name,
but in our circles he was a legend. We used to think of him as the
next Ozal," says a conservative journalist with close ties to the
government.

Born in Konya, Turkey’s conservative heartland, Davutoglu is a pious
man who has spent a good chunk of his academic career teaching in
Malaysia–somewhat unusual among Turkish academics, who gravitate
toward European and American colleges for academic research. South
Asia’s brand of Islamic politics, marked with the growth of religion
within a democratic framework, impacted his thinking on state and
society. He has been very active in the Balkans with efforts to help
Muslims in the Bosnian war. His particular view of Turkey as seen
from the outside has led to the development of an unconventional
understanding of its place in the world stage.

Davutoglu’s vision somewhat differs from traditional Turkish foreign
policy. Weary of troubling imperial baggage and decades of wars,
the modern Turkish republic, founded in 1923, has predominantly
been isolationist–aimed at anchoring Turkey to the "civilized"
West and untangling it from the "backward" lands to the East. The
AKP challenges this view and sees an active role in the Middle East
as an asset for Turkey’s relations with the West.

Under AKP, Turkey has been delving into areas that its traditional
westward-looking foreign policy establishment considered off-limits,
acting as a power-broker in far off disputes from Afghanistan to
Palestine. In doing so, it certainly has become more enmeshed in
the Muslim world, sometimes even positioning itself as the spokesman
for the Islamic world, as reflected in Erdogan’s outburst in Davos
against Peres, or Turkey’s reluctance to accept Danish Prime Minister
Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the head of NATO, due to his stance during
the Danish cartoon crisis.

When Davutoglu coined the term "Neighborhood Rapprochement Policy"
back in 2003, the idea of Turkey becoming friends with its arch
enemies–like Syria, a rogue state that hosted Kurdish guerilla leader
Abdullah Ocalan for many years, Iran, whose efforts to export Islamic
revolution threatened Turkey’s secular foundations, or Armenia, with
its unyielding diaspora lobbying against Turkey–seemed pointless,
at best.

Today, Turkey is best of friends with historical enemies Greece,
Syria and Iran, on course to normalize its relations with Armenia
and even talking to the Kurdish regional government in northern
Iraq. Journalists who used to scoff at Davutoglu’s theories nowadays
generously throw around his terminology, like "zero conflict with
neighbors," "flexible focal point" and, of course, Turkey as a
"global power."

Conservatives who tend to credit Davutoglu with raising Turkey’s
influence through a non-aligned foreign policy were encouraged by
President Barack Obama’s visit here in April. Speaking to lawmakers
in Ankara, Obama said, "Turkey’s greatness lies in your ability to be
at the center of things. This is not where East and West divide–this
is where they come together." He sounded almost like Davutoglu himself.

One major problem with Davutoglu’s policies has always been the
question of what would happen domestically if Turkey traded its
place in the West in return for a greater regional role. While
Turks enjoy their high-profile role in the Middle East, there are
pitfalls. Typically the farther a nation moves from the West and
its mechanisms, the more likely it is to see a rise in illiberal
tendencies.

Russia, for example, is a very important country, but its independent
status is precisely what makes it impossible for the U.S. to pressure
Vladimir Putin or Dmitry Medvedev for accountability when it comes
to corruption, a free press or democratic norms.

What if Turkey were no longer a candidate for E.U. membership. Would
human rights be as closely monitored? Media freedoms and minority
rights still protected? Women’s rights guaranteed?

No one knows the answer. But Turks seem to like the ride.

Asli Aydintasbas is an Istanbul-based journalist and former Ankara
bureau chief of the newspaper Sabah.

MUDSLINGING AHEAD OF LEBANON VOTE

Maktoob
004661/Mudslinging_ahead_of_Lebanon_vote/Article.h tm
June 3 2009

With just days to go before Lebanon’s general election, mudslinging is
at a peak as candidates trade insults touching on religion, corruption
and even each other’s personal lives.

One candidate calling an opponent "a thief" on national television and
another accusing a contender of spying for Israel, all is fair game
in the battle pitting a Western-backed faction against a Hezbollah-led
alliance supported by Iran and Syria.

"I would say that it’s crunch time, do-or-die, go-for-broke," said
Elias Muhanna, editor of the political blog Qifa Nabki. "You might
as well sling all the mud you can before Sunday."

And sling the mud they have before the June 7 vote – on billboards,
television talk shows, campaign rallies and in private meetings
secretly caught on tape.

One audio-recording broadcast on television has an official badmouthing
the country’s Armenian community, whose main political bloc has
decided to support Hezbollah’s faction during the election.

"F— the Armenians," the official is overheard saying in the
recording. "What do they have to do with us?"

Candidate Nayla Tueni, 26, was in the hot seat this week after a
rumour that she had converted to Islam spread like wildfire.

Tueni, a Greek Orthodox who is seeking to fill the seat left by her
slain father Gebran Tueni, was forced to go on air to refute the
allegation, even displaying a document showing she had not renounced
her faith.

Religion plays a key role on all levels in Lebanon and the country’s
top government positions and the 128 seats in parliament are allocated
along confessional lines.

The president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a
Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.

Seats in parliament are equally divided between Christians and Muslims.

Mudslinging in the run-up to the vote has not been restricted to
political foes with even allies slamming each other.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a member of the ruling majority,
was recently red-faced over remarks he made during a meeting with
religious leaders of his community during which he denigrated his
Maronite Christian allies, calling them a "bad breed".

Jumblatt later downplayed his comments saying they were unintentional
and taken out of context.

With tempers running high, some political leaders have not spared
their own constituents.

A video making the rounds on television and on YouTube has Christian
leader Sleiman Franjieh, who is allied with Hezbollah, calling a
group of his followers "dogs" and "donkeys" as he warns them to
refrain from violence on election day.

"I have 30,000 idiots in this village, that’s what I have," an angry
Franjieh is seen telling a small crowd in his stronghold of Zgharta,
in northern Lebanon. "If one of you dares raise his fist (during the
election), you’ll have to answer to me."

TEXAS BAPTIST TEAM DISCOVERS ONGOING NEEDS IN ARMENIA
By Crystal Donahue

Dallas Baptist Standard
option=com_content&task=view&id=9637&I temid=53
June 3 2009
TX

GYUMRI, Armenia–Three Texas Baptists on a fact-finding mission
to Armenia discovered a country lacking resources and medical
attention–and a people still devastated by a catastrophe that struck
their nation two decades ago.

A 1988 earthquake killed more than 60,000 people, injured 15,000 and
left 500,000 homeless in Armenia. Karen Morrow, Cooperative Baptist
Fellowship’s strategic coordinator for unreached Middle-Eastern people
groups; Linda Fredrikson, children’s minister at Lakeshore Drive
Baptist Church in Weatherford; and Warren Hatley, a Dallas surgeon
who works in occupational medicine, participated in the exploratory
mission to determine how Christians in the United States can respond
to Armenia’s needs.

"It was a vision trip," Morrow said. "The logistical part was the
main thing. We wanted to be able to come back (to the United States)
and recruit doctors, nurses and dentists, but we needed to be able
to tell them what’s there first."

The mission team worked through Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and
in partnership with the Armenian Christian Medical Association,
a grassroots movement founded in 2006 by surgeon Jany Haddad and
Executive Director Kristina Ashrafyan.

"CBF has partnered with the Baptist church Haddad is a member
of in Syria on several projects over the past six years," Morrow
said. "Dr. Haddad invited us to come and see what God was doing
in Armenia … and partner with ACMA to bring in medical personnel
to help increase the level of training of Armenian doctors, nurses
and dentists."

Haddad is joined by more than 25 other medical volunteers who donate
their equipment, money and time to make trips twice a year to offer
free medical services to the Armenian people.

On his most recent trip, Haddad completed 117 outpatient surgeries in
five days. The procedures–including hernia repairs, thyroid surgeries
and gallbladder removals–were performed free of charge.

The Texas Baptist mission team recognized the opportunity to send
in specialized medical professionals to provide advanced training to
Armenian doctors and nurses.

"Part of our strategy is not to do the work ourselves, but to help
facilitate others to do the work," Morrow said.

The Armenian Christian Medical Association and the CBF hope to
enlist medical professionals representing different specialties to
hold seminars and lectures to help equip Armenians with additional
training and knowledge in crisis and trauma management.

"We want people to know that we love Jesus Christ and he calls us to
serve in this manner," Morrow said. ACMA and Haddad "lay the gospel
out for patients … and God is blessing their work. It’s a very
well-coordinated system that seeks to serve the people."

Even though American volunteers can share freely the gospel, they
can expect some obstacles, Hatley said.

"It’s hard to get into Armenia because there are no direct flights,"
he said.

Additionally, not all Armenians speak English.

"It was frustrating not being able to communicate directly with the
people … but surgery transcends the language barrier … and there
were translators to help."

Despite those minor complications, Hatley said "it was a great
opportunity to bless others with the skills you have and use every
day."

The blessings were more than the mission team had expected. In fact,
Fredrikson had never even desired to do mission work abroad, but God
had different plans for the licensed professional counselor.

"Several months ago, I heard the Lord say: "Get a passport. The
world is mine and I am going to show you things. … There is danger,
but there is safety in my hands."

In obedience, Fredrikson traveled with Morrow as a part of a prayer
team for a women’s conference. But shortly after the women’s arrival
to Turkey, Fredrikson felt led to do more.

In the first 48 hours, without any sleep, she wrote four children’s
programs, spoke at a Turkish women’s conference on trauma crisis
training, visited an orphanage, answered questions, led a Bible study
for 50 people and was interviewed on television.

Even though she felt unprepared, God provided and guided, especially
when she and Morrow went to a hospital located at the epicenter of
the earthquake in Armenia, Fredrikson said.

"When we got there, they put a doctor’s coat on me and ushered us into
the surgery room where Dr. Haddad was performing surgeries," she said.

"Most of the patients were women. I noticed many of them were terrified
… and had tears in their eyes."

Fredrikson gestured to them to ask if they needed prayer. Even though
they didn’t understand English, they agreed and closed their eyes.

"I could see peace come over them as the Holy Spirit was moving,"
she said.

The Armenians were thankful for their American visitors. The women were
made honorary members of the Armenian Christian Medical Association,
which is sanctioned by the Armenian government.

God continued to work in unimaginable ways, Fredrikson said. In a
small village church one Sunday, she and Morrow were asked to pray
for the people after the service.

At another community, Fredrikson faced social and ethical
questions. One woman said: "I am pregnant. I already have eight
children and my husband doesn’t want any more. My husband wants to
kill it, is that all right?"

Another asked: "When I pray, God gives me visions. Is that
OK?" Fredrikson said God provided answers for her to share with
the people.

The next day, Fredrikson spoke for a program at the University in
Yerevon. Afterwards, one of the professors invited Fredrikson and
Morrow to her small, earthquake-damaged house for tea. After seeing
the woman’s living conditions, 15 people to one house with open
rooms under unfavorable weather conditions, Fredrikson thought,
"How do these people survive?" It made her realize how blessed she is.

"I experienced God in more of a real way than I ever have before
… and it was the most wonderful experience I’ve ever hard," she said.

Her prayer on the trip was to have spiritual eyes and ears, which
she feels God gave her.

"I believe I was seeing through the eyes of Jesus," Fredrikson said. "I
feel such a connection to the Armenian people. …(God) said to me:
‘Well of course you do. I am in you, and I am in them. You are bonded
together through the Spirit.’"

Volunteers became aware of the sense of impending danger Armenians
feel because they live on a fault line and know another earthquake
could occur any time.

"It’s a time bomb waiting to happen," Morrow said. "It’s not a matter
of if it will happen; it’s a matter of when."

Fredrikson, Morrow and Hatley expressed thanks for the evangelism
opportunities they had, and they look forward to watching God move
in Armenia though medical evangelism in the future.

"We were able to see God at work," Morrow said. "It came from listening
to God’s still small voice, being willing to say ‘yes’ even when we
didn’t know what his plan was and then walking in faith."

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SLAMS WESTERN ELECTION OBSERVERS

AzerNews Weekly
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Armenian ex-president, opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian has
directed pounding criticism at the international observers who have
positively assessed Sunday`s municipal polls held in the capital,
Yerevan.

"Council of Europe observers who say the election complied with
European standards are ridiculing either themselves or the Armenian
people," Ter-Petrosian argued.

With nearly all votes counted, the Central Election Commission
announced that Armenia`s ruling Republican Party has won, gaining 46%
of the vote, while Ter-Petrosian, who heads the opposition Armenian
National Congress, came third, winning only 17%. This enables the
Republican Party`s incumbent to retain his post as mayor of Yerevan,
dashing the opposition`s hopes to win enough seats for Ter-Petrosian
to be elected.

Ter-Petrosian claimed the fact that Western countries had delegated
only 15 observers clearly shows that they did not take the elections
seriously.

"If bribes, beatings and kidnappings of local observers, bringing
masses of people from the regions to vote in lieu of Yerevan residents
and rigging the election outcomes are European standards, then we
don`t need them," the opposition leader said ironically. "Let them
apply those standards in their own countries."

The opposition is riled the most by the feedback from the CE Congress
of Local and Regional Authorities, which was the only international
group that observed the poll. The 12-people-strong mission that
monitored the polling in about 200 ballot stations in Yerevan, told
a news conference following the election that it was a commendable
step forward in comparison with the 2008 presidential election in
Armenia. They pointed to some violations, but said they were not
serious enough to influence the overall outcome of the elections.

We recall that violence escalated in the South Caucasus republic
following the February 2008 poll. The opposition refused to recognize
the outcome of the presidential election won by former Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian, taking to the streets. Scores of people were killed,
injured and arrested during the putdown of the mass protests on
March 1-2.

Journalists labeled the mayoral election as one "in which media
representatives were subjected to pressure the most." Commenting on
the statement, the head of the Congress observation delegation to
Yerevan, Nigel Mermagen, said the allegations would be taken into
account in its final assessment to be announced during the Congress`
fall session in mid-October.

The election was the first local poll for Yerevan`s mayor`s office
in the South Caucasus republic`s history. Mayors had previously been
appointed by the president.

The final election outcomes will be announced in a week.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA’S EX-LEADER SEEKING JOB IN PHONE COMPANY

AzerNews Weekly
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Armenia`s former president, Robert Kocharian, is likely to begin a
new career working for a telecommunication company, Russian media
reported. He has been nominated to the Board of Directors of AFK
Sistema, a major Russian telephone company. A source from the company
has confirmed the report, saying 13 people have been nominated to
membership on the Board. The final make-up of the board will be
approved by shareholders on June 27.

Kocharian has been jobless since being succeeded as Armenian
president by Serzh Sarkisian. Some time ago it was reported that he
was considering a career with Russia`s gas giant, Gazprom.

MOSCOW LAUDS EFFORTS TO ADVANCE DIALOG ON GARABAGH

AzerNews Weekly
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

The meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders due in
St.-Petersburg, Russia on Thursday displays the resolve of the
two governments to continue dialog on settling the Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict, the Russian president`s spokeswoman has said.

Natalya Timakova told journalists that talks of Presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Serzh Sarkisian with their Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev
demonstrate the continuation of the process that started with the
signing of a declaration on Garabagh settlement in Moscow last fall.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders signed the document on
November 2, 2008 after trilateral talks held on President Medvedev`s
initiative. The first document inked by the two heads of state in
the past 16 years, it called for a political solution of the Garabagh
conflict through further dialog brokered by the mediating OSCE Minsk
Group (MG).

Timakova pointed out the significance of Presidents Aliyev and Serzh
Sarkisian coming to St.-Petersburg, saying this will enable the parties
to convene again and discuss the current state of the peace process.

"The very fact that dialog continues, the sides` displaying readiness
for it and their accepting Russia`s mediating role in this is
important," the presidential spokesperson said.

According to the MG co-chairs, the parties have provided their consent
for the upcoming presidential meeting. Shortly before the talks,
the two leaders are scheduled to meet with the Russian president.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for nearly
two decades. Peace talks that kicked off after hostilities in the
early 1990s have brought little tangible result so far but are still
under way. The negotiations are mediated through the MG by Russia,
the United States and France.

MENDING TURKISH-ARMENIAN TIES TO DRAG ON FOR YEARS: CRISIS GROUP REP

AzerNews Weekly
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Hopes for a speedy normalization of strained relations between Turkey
and Armenia, marred by history-long tensions, have been shattered,
says a representative of an international group working to prevent
conflicts worldwide.

CNN Turk TV channel quoted Sabine Freizer, the International Crisis
Group (ICG) Europe Program Director, as saying that relations between
the two countries were to normalize by August 2009. However, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s comments during a visit to Baku
May 12-13 that Turkey will not open up its border with Armenia before
the occupation of Azerbaijani territories ends had somewhat set back
the normalization process, she believes.

According to Freizer, Erdogan`s statement appears to conclude that
the mending of Ankara-Yerevan ties will be prolonged for several
more years.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to its occupation
of Azerbaijani territories and its claims on alleged World War I-era
genocide. However, there have lately been signs of normalization
in Ankara-Yerevan ties. The two countries` leaders attended a 2010
World Cup qualifying soccer match together in Yerevan in September
2008. Since then, diplomatic efforts aimed at mending ties intensified,
and some reports circulated earlier that Turkey would soon open its
border with Armenia, sparking an outcry in Azerbaijan.