Kramnik wins Mikhail Tal Memorial 2009
15.11.2009 17:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik won the Mikhail
Tal Memorial 2009, making a draw with Ukraine’s Vasily Ivanchuk in the
final round. Armenia’s Levon Aronian defeated India’s Viswanathan
Anand.
The final standings: Kramnik – 6 points; Ivanchuk, Karlsen – 5.5
points; Anand, Aronian – 5 points; Gelfand 4.5 points; Ponomarev – 4
points; Svidler – 3.5 points; Morozevich, Leko – 3 points.
Independent: Armenia emerging from troubled times
15.11.2009 17:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Independent has published an article titled
"Armenia’s latest struggle – the battle for tourists."
"This country is emerging from troubled times. The ceasefire is
holding with Azerbaijan and the border with Turkey is due to reopen.
Now it’s welcoming new visitors," Mark Leftly writes in his article,
which goes on:
"Armenia and its easterly neighbor, Azerbaijan, are technically still
at war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Most importantly, Armenia’s
old enemy to the west, Turkey, supported Azerbaijan and closed its
330km (205 mile) long border with the land-locked country. Finally, in
October, some real progress was made on economic and diplomatic
co-operation between the countries, with the signing of protocols that
will soon open up a common border.
A result of cultural and religious tension, the genocide is generally
said to have started in 1915 in the wake of divided Armenian loyalties
in the First World War. The museum’s fluent English-speaking guide
shows me exhibits related to Armenians who had won Olympic medals for
the Ottomans in 1912, and then a gruesome photograph of their
countrymen being hanged by that empire in Aleppo four years later.
There are proclamations condemning genocide from international
leaders, including a recent letter from California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Turkey denies Armenia’s version of events, and it is this that divides
Yerevan today. Unless Turkey acknowledges the genocide, many Armenians
do not want to sign any agreement with their old enemy. Interestingly,
the museum’s guide does not take this view. "It is natural for
neighbors to have good relations in a global world," it says."
Fars News Agency, Iran
Nov 15 2009
Iran’s Gas Exports to Armenia Resumed
TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian gas official announced that the country has
resumed its gas exports to Armenia after technical problems were
resolved.
"After removal of technical and facility-related problems and also
after Armenia announced its readiness, the exports of gas to the
country were resumed today," Manager of Operation for Transferring
Iran’s Gas in the 8th Zone Valiollah Dini told FNA on Saturday.
He underlined that 1 million cubic meters of natural gas has been
supplied to Armenia from Nourdooz station during the last 24 hours.
The official added that the four gas stations have been prepared for
exporting gas to Armenia.
The eighth zone which launched operation 30 years ago in west of Iran
is dedicated to gas exports.
The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was inaugurated three years ago by
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Last Hero of the Soviet Union residing in Armenia passed away
15.11.2009 17:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Suren Sargsyan, the last of 103 Heroes of the Soviet
Union residing in Armenia passed away in Yerevan on November 15.
Sargsyan celebrated his 85th birthday on October 1. He was honored
with the supreme order in 1945.
Bashar al-Assad expressed relief over the signature of
Armenian-Turkish agreement
15.11.2009 17:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Receiving Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness
Karekin II, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed relief over the
signature of the normalization of relations agreement between Turkey
and Armenia which will positively affect the region’s peoples and
future.
The historical relations connecting the Syrian and Armenian peoples,
were reviewed during the meeting, where His Holiness Catholicos
stressed the importance of the recent visit paid by President al-Assad
to Armenia and the good impression it has left in the hearts of the
Armenian people.
He highly appreciated Syria’s embracement of the Armenians as a
full-fledged Syrian citizens who contribute in the development and
prosperity of their country.
President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday stressed Syria’s keenness on
upgrading its relations with Armenia in all fields to match the
distinguished relations between peoples of the two countries and its
determination to contribute in all what would push relations among
countries of the region forward, Champress reported.
PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenian authorities will never agree to Turkey’s co-chairmanship in
OSCE Minsk Group
Inner policy review on the events 09.11.09-14.11.09
14.11.2009 GMT+04:00
Major events of the past week were the responses of various Armenian
political parties to external factors, particularly to the statements
of Turkish officials, and several political parties’ assessment of the
state budget of Armenia for the year of 2010.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The political week in Armenia started with a
high-level meeting between the leaders of three traditional Armenian
parties. Participating in the meeting were Chairman of the Social
Democratic Hunchakian Party Central Executive Setrak Adjemian,
Chairman of the Armenian Democratic Liberal (Ramgavar-Azatagan party)
Central Executive Mike Kharabian and the ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Bureau
Chairman Hrant Markarian, who discussed the current state of
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and other pan-Armenian
issues.
This week President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has not yet submitted
the Armenian-Turkish Protocols to the Constitutional Court of Armenia.
According to Spokesman of the Constitutional Court Hovhannes Papikyan
it is yet unknown when the document will be submitted.
Earlier this week, various statements by Turkish and Azerbaijani MPs
on the possibility of Turkey’s co-chairmanship in the OSCE Minsk Group
were discussed by Spokesman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
Eduard Sharmazanov, who told PanARMENIAN.Net that such statements `are
conditioned by morbid imagination and stupidity of their authors’.
`The Armenian authorities will never agree to Turkey’s co-chairmanship
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation. It is our position and we
are not going to change it,’ underlined the RPA spokesman. A similar
view was expressed by another representative of the Republican Party
of Armenia Lernik Alexanian. `Direct participation of Turkey in the
works of the OSCE Minsk Group is excluded,’ declared Alexanian at a
press conference in Yerevan.
In the middle of the week his view on the issue expressed also Leader
of the National Neoconservative Movement of Armenia (NNM) Eduard
Abrahamyan. `Baku’s dream to see her `elder brother’ Turkey as
Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group is unrealistic,’ he told
PanARMENIAN.Net and added that `change of the OSCE MG format depends
not only on Azerbaijan but on Armenia as well.’
Certain sharpness to the debate on the Armenian-Turkish Protocols was
added by Director of the Armenian Center for Basic Sciences, Member of
the Defense and National Security Commission of the Public Council
Simon Kamsarakan, who addressed an open letter to Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan on the inconsistency between the Armenian and English
versions of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols. Moreover, in his opinion,
the Armenian version of the initialed Protocols differs substantially
from the already signed Protocol, placed on the official website of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. `A simple comparison of
the texts makes it clear that this is not a result of inaccurate
translation, but an obvious deception,’ noted Kamsarakan. Member of RA
Public Council on Defense and National Security submitted another open
letter to Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan, informing the Armenian
FM that he has already requested Prosecutor General to institute an
action against the Minister for violating the constitutional order and
abusing his authority to the detriment of Armenia’s national security
and defense.
His stance to the Armenian-Turkish Protocols expressed also leader of
the People’s Party of Armenia Tigran Karapetyan. `We are opposed to
the current process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations
since Armenia does not conduct an independent policy, but determines
her steps with Turkey’s position,’ – leader of People’s Party declared
at a joint news conference in Yerevan. Karapetyan aldo noted that
pro-opposition forces which do not actively oppose ratification of the
Protocols, assist authorities some way or another. `First of all, I
mean the Armenian National Congress (ANC), which is silent now,’
Karapetyan stressed.
However, some political scientists of Armenia favor early ratification
by Armenia, without waiting for the decision of the Turkish
Parliament. According to Head of the Analytical Center on
Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) Stepan Grigoryan,
`Protracting the ratification process, Yerevan may provoke the
inclusion of Karabakh issue into the talks with Ankara. In this case,
Azerbaijan will receive additional time to exert pressure on Turkey on
the issue of Karabakh.’ He added that Armenian MPs, representing
coalition forces, in all probability have received a `signal’ from the
Government not to ratify the Protocols ahead of Turkish Parliament.
Grigoryan believes that the Turkish side will ratify the documents as
soon as the Protocols are approved and ratified by Armenia. Grigoryan
also stressed that the border will be opened within terms envisaged in
the Protocols.
Once again, his weighty opinion in this dispute expressed Head of the
Armenian Delegation in OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Member of the
parliamentary faction `Prosperous Armenia’ Aram Safaryan. `National
Assembly of Armenia will ratify the Protocols, after the Turkish
Parliament. If the Turkish parliament ratifies the protocols without
preconditions, the Armenian National Assembly will do the same. If
Turkey sets preconditions and tries to link the process to Karabakh,
the Armenian Parliament will do the same, Safaryan stated in an
interview with the correspondent of PanARMENIAN.Net, stressing that
such spirit prevails among Coalition MPs of Armenia.
A kind of neutrality expressed the Armenian National Congress, saying
it would avoid a political extremism in the Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement. During the meeting, ANC activist Ex-President Levon
Ter-Petrosian reiterated that the ANC stands for normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions. He described the
current process of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement as sensitive and
requiring great responsibility both from the authorities and the
opposition. He also noted that the ANC will continue to be guided by
that awareness, avoiding reckless actions and political extremism.
In the mid-week youth wing activists of `Heritage’ party and
representatives of public organizations gathered near the
Constitutional Court of Armenia to protest against Armenian-Turkish
Protocols. Protest was attended by `Heritage’ faction MP Zaruhi
Postanjyan, representatives of Teghut group initiative and `Lawyers
for Human Rights’ NGO. Next day, on November 13, MP of the
parliamentary faction of the Heritage Party Zaruhi Postanjyan issued a
statement addressed to the Chief of Police, Alik Sargsyan, Attorney
General Aghvan Hovsepyan and Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan, claiming
that on November 12 at the law enforcement bodies had exerted pressure
on the protesters forcing them to move to the opposite sidewalk of
Baghramyan Avenue. The MP also noted that after the protest action
held before the Constitutional Court, the police hindered the
protesters to enter the Presidential Residence with anti-Turkish
posters.
Toward the end of the week the Armenian Government once again opposed
the bill on recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic independence,
initiated by the Heritage party. `At the moment recognition of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic independence appears inexpedient to us,’
declared Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan,
speaking at a regular meeting of the Government of Armenia.
On Friday, November 13, several political parties of Armenia made a
statement, assessing the draft law on State budget for 2010. His
concern about the declining funds on Armenian defense for 2010
expressed the party `Heritage’. `The State Budget of 2010 will provide
116 billion drams to the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. In 2009 the
indicator was 146 billion. In the current state of events, security
issues should be given more attention,’ declared Chairman of the party
Armen Martirosyan. He also criticized the cost reduction in social
sphere. A similar assessment was made also by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun.
This week her diplomatic mission in Armenia completed Resident
Coordinator of UN headquarters in Armenia Consuelo Vidal. The Armenian
leadership thanked Consuelo Vidal for her four years of productive
work and support programs aimed at Armenia’s development. On the
occasion of the completion of her diplomatic mission, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia awarded Consuelo Vidal with a commemorative
medal.
Review by Mikhail Balayan
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Nov 15 2009
Western Turkey in the East: New Turkish Foreign Policy
European Union With Turkey
Sunday, 15 November 2009
By Sedat LACINER
Turkey’s location impacts too much its foreign policy for the ages.
First of all, Anatolia is a special place between the continents of
Asia, Europe, and Africa. It was always an important place for the
Romans, for the Greeks, Arabs, Iranians, and Russians. It has always
been between important sea ways and trade routes. Anatolia is a
passage between different cultures and religions. If a country is
located in such a special place, it needs a special foreign policy to
protect its interests and to maintain its relations with the
neighboring regions. The Anatolian political and economic order needs
to be integrated with that of the Balkans and the Caucasus, and with
that of today’s Middle Eastern systems, for otherwise it cannot
maintain its sovereignty, development, independence, or peace. Turks,
during the Ottoman era, first integrated the Anatolian territories and
then moved to the territories that connect Anatolia to Europe, Asia,
and northern Africa. That is why the first sultans of the Ottoman
Empire gave great importance to integrating the Balkans and Asia Minor
before integrating the Black Sea region and the Caucasian and Middle
Eastern territories nearby.
Now, times have changed. Today, you cannot conquer countries by
invading them; this is not the way to protect your interests. Wars,
territorial wars, are not effective to unite peoples and countries.
>From satellite systems to the communication revolution to the
transportation revolution, the needs of the information age are
completely different than those of the past regarding foreign
relations. Today’s Turkey still needs to integrate the surrounding
regions, but the methods will be different, and in today’s world
Turkey cannot impose its ideas and policies on the surrounding
countries. Turkey, unlike the Ottoman Empire, should not dictate
policies and should not aim to be a hegemonic state in the region.
Turkey first needs to integrate the surrounding regions, which had
collapsed by the First World War. The global powers’ mistakes during
the 20th century unfortunately increased the disintegration of the
region. For example, in the Middle East, the deadly impacts of the
Palestinian-Israel problem and the wrongs of the great powers
regarding the region decreased democracy, tolerance, co-operation,
stability and economic development. The leaders of these countries are
afraid of each other.
There is a huge problem of mistrust among the leaders of the region,
and they look for friends outside the region instead of concentrating
on cooperation and dialogue amongst themselves. Turkey was one such
country at the end of the Cold War. But with the disintegration of the
Soviet Union and the collapse of the bipolar system, Turkey gained
more room to maneuver in the region and discovered that the main
problem was mistrust between regional countries. Turkey understood
that regional countries had to develop a common understanding to solve
their own problems and that regional, local prescriptions instead of
outside powers’ solutions were needed. But the problem during the
1990s was that Turkey’s economy was limited, and Turkey’s problems
with the neighboring countries were still hot and fresh. For instance,
the PKK terrorism problem between Turkey and Syria was a very big
barrier between the two countries. Syria was supporting PKK terrorists
against Turkey, and it was impossible for the two countries to develop
a close friendship. With the death of Hafez al-Assad, Syria changed.
And after the 1999 earthquake, the 2001 economic crisis in Turkey, and
the grave political changes following these events, Turkey also
changed. Both states need each other. Syria seeks to break the
isolation and to integrate with the rest of the world. However the
problems with Israel prevent its integration attempts with the West.
Turkey plays a crucial role in normalization process of the country.
Similarly co-operation with Syria helps Turkey in security and trade
areas. Syria is a gateway to the Arab world. Good relations between to
countries encourage the other Arab states to develop their relations
with Turkey. Furthermore both state sees the Kurdish issue as a common
problem. US President George W. Bush’s wrongs in the Middle East
feared both Turkey and Syria and these two states made co-operation to
prevent the deadly effects of the US’ Iraq politics during the Bush
era.
* DIRECTION OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY CHANGED OVER TIME?
With the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) government, Turkey
declared a new foreign policy understanding. The architect of this new
foreign policy understanding is Ahmet Davutoglu, an International
Relations professor. He calls his understanding `strategic depth’, or
a `zero problem with neighbors foreign policy’. Although we must
accept the change, actually this is not a deviation from the Turkish
foreign policy orthodoxy. There is a great continuation in Turkish
foreign policy understanding and implementation. The only difference
is that as Turkey and the world have changed over the years, Turkey’s
relations with the outside world have evolved accordingly. In the
1950s, for example, Turkey was quite a poor country, and although the
Turkish football team had qualified to participate in the World Cup
tournament in 1950, it was in Latin America, and Turkey did not have
the financial resources to send its football team to the tournament.
Imagine how poor Turkey was. (Now we have money, but our football team
cannot qualify for the tournament!) The financial power of a country
certainly shapes its diplomacy and external relations. Now, the
Turkish foreign minister, president, prime minister, each of the heads
of the Turkish military forces, have their own jets. Turkey’s foreign
policy infrastructure has also been much improved with the economic
boom in the Turkish economy, and this has created political
improvements as well.
Turkey, after the AK Party’s rise to power, first aimed to solve its
problems with neighboring countries. First, Turkey started a dialogue
process and created new dialogue channels. Syria-Turkey relations
would be a perfect example of this new foreign policy understanding.
Since 2003, Turkish high ranked politicians have visited Damascus more
than 100 times. This is unusual for the Middle East region, whose
leaders normally do not visit each other so frequently. For example,
Iranian president Ahmadinejad visited Istanbul last year for the first
time in nearly 12 years. When President Abdullah Gul visited Saudi
Arabia he became the first Turkish President who visited the country
in last 19 years. But in Western European political life, the German
and French prime ministers see each other two or three times every
month, sometimes every week. There are many occasions for European
prime ministers to meet, such as the NATO summits, UN, OECD, World
Bank, IMF, G7, G20, European Union meetings, historical days and their
own bilateral negotiations and meetings. Turkey that’s why
concentrates on more visits between the regional countries. Moreover
if any leader has problem with another one in the region Turkey
involves the problem and make efforts to overcome the distrust or
animosity between the leaders as we experienced in Syrian-Saudi
leaders case. It can be said that the dialogue and strengthening of
the communication ways are at the heart of the new Turkish
understanding.
Apart from Syria, Turkey has made efforts to improve its relations
with Iraq and Iran too. But the problem with Iraq was that it was in a
state of conflict and war, and it was almost impossible to improve
relations, especially in the economic and political areas. The problem
with Iran is trust. Historically, Turkey and Iran have been completely
different leaders of the Muslim countries. Turkey has been the leader
of the Sunni Muslims and Iran has been the leader of the Shia
communities. Turkey has always represented a more moderate religious
understanding. As a matter of fact, the ethnic difference between the
countries is not so large. More than 30 percent of the Iranian
population is Turkish origin ` Azeri and Turkmen. And until the 20th
century, Iran had been governed by Turkish leaders for centuries. One
example of this relationship is the famous war between Yavuz Sultan
Selim and Shah Ismail. Yavuz Sultan Selim was one of the greatest
Ottoman Sultans, and Shah Ismail was the greatest Iranian Shah. Shah
Ismail was Turkish, as was, of course, Yavuz. Yavuz would send a
letter in Persian and Ismail would respond with a letter in Turkish,
for the Iranian palace leaders spoke Turkish until the 20th century.
The two countries’ ethnic compositions are very similar, but the
problem is they represent completely different religious
understandings. Istanbul was the capital of moderate, or liberal,
religious understanding.
The biggest problem between Turkey and Iran today is mistrust. Some of
the Iranians still see Turkey as an agent of the Western world, as an
agent of the United States and the European Union, and they think that
Turkey may undermine Iranian sovereignty and Iranian dominance in the
region. Even during the Ottoman time, though the Ottomans were
stronger than the Iranians, Iran cooperated with the Vatican, the
center of Christianity. Iran cooperated with Christian countries
against Muslim countries. It is even the case now that Iran’s one of
the closest allies is Russia. And in the conflict between Azerbaijanis
and Armenians, Iran has better relations with the Christian Armenians.
This is not a matter only of religion; the realpolitik side must be
taken into account as well. Turkey is trying to alleviate the mistrust
between the two countries, saying `Forget the past; let’s create the
future.’ For the new Turkish understanding Iran is not a competitor
but one of the most important partners in the Middle East for Turkey.
Turkey first aims to solve its hot and current problems. Then the
second step of this understanding is to set up a foundation for future
political cooperation. Turkey does not start with the sensitive
political issues. Turkey is not involving itself in the internal
problems of other countries. First of all it is trying to establish
economic cooperation and trying to increase social relations between
the countries and between the societies. The aim is to establish
long-lasting dialogue and cooperation, or the institutionalization of
regional cooperation. Maybe economic integration would be possible
after that, but it is still early for such cooperation. We need a safe
base for the politics and economic-social tools will provide that
needed base for the leaders.
* FIRST TRADE, NOT POLITICS
In the past, the regional states mostly discussed, or argued about,
`big’ political problems. But now, Turkey is not talking about
politics, but also economics, as well as technical questions such as
transportation infrastructure, visas regimes, and tourism. As a matter
of fact this is the spirit of the EU. After World War II, the EU
countries began to cooperate on economic and technical matters, and
the spillover effect eventually led to more and more political
cooperation. In 2009 Turkey and Syria for example reached a visa-free
partnership after many co-operation efforts.
Turkey applied to the EU (EEC at that time) in 1959 and we have many
written agreements between the EU and Turkey. Turkey is now in full
membership negotiations. But although Turkey and the EU have been
partners for more than a half-century, they have not been able to
reach a visa-free agreement. So Turkey-Syria relations have progressed
faster than Turkey-EU relations, at least with respect to the visa
process. Some say we cannot establish Schengen regime, but we have
Shamgan, in reference to the Turkish name for Damascus, Sham.
Another success is the establishment of common cabinet meetings
between Turkey and Syria, and of course between Turkey and Iraq.
Usually countries cannot establish such cabinet meetings, and very few
countries in the world have done so. For example, Germany and France
have common cabinet meetings. Now Turkey and Syria, and Turkey and
Iraq have common cabinet meetings, and ministers meet at least once a
month.
Turkey further does not `allow’ any conflict between its neighboring
countries. For example, Baghdad accused Damascus of `encouraging’
terrorism inside Iraq. Damascus denied the accusation and the
relations strained. Turkey immediately got involved and asked them not
to go to the media. The Turkish foreign minister visited Damascus and
Baghdad and convinced the leaders to come to Istanbul and Ankara to
solve the problem. Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s king Abdullah and Syria’s
Bashar al-Assad had a disagreement, and both leaders were so reluctant
to get together. Turkey persuaded Assad to visit Saudi Arabia first;
he agreed on the condition of the Saudi Arabian king returning the
visit. So, thanks to Turkey’s efforts, the two leaders solved the
issue and paid mutual visits for the first time in more than five
years.
* TURKISH ECONOMY AS THE DETERMANT OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Turkish economy, in terms of trade, direct Turkish investments,
foreign investments in Turkey, tourism, industrial production etc.,
has boomed in the last five-six years. Growing economy directly affect
Turkey’s external relations and increase capabilities of Turkish
diplomacy. The economy also strengthens Turkey’s soft power over its
region. Millions of people thanks to tourism come to Turkey and visit
seaside resorts; Iranians, Israelis, Arabs, Russians, Georgians etc.
enjoy the Turkish way of life.
Turkish cultural products are also part of its soft power and affect
the Middle Eastern societies. For example, in the Arab world the most
popular television drama series are recently Turkish (like `GümüȔ,
`Nur’ in Arabic; `Years of Loss’; `Bouquet of Flowers’ etc.), and
Turkish satellite TV shows have an audience of millions in the region.
Turkish soaps such as `Nur’, , which was first dubbed into the Syrian
Arabic dialect to be broadcast on Arab satellite channels rapidly
captured the attention of various groups of society, not only women.
These drama series have previously been dubbed into German, Romanian
and other European languages to be broadcast in Europe.
Tourism and culture relations are not just business; they affect
culture, political understanding and many other things. The television
dramas for example deal with social issues within the framework of
overlapping stories and dramatic plots for suspense. These series look
at issues such as love, family values, society, unemployment, poverty
and greed from a Turkish angle.
Turkey with its success stories and export products shapes these
countries, these societies’ structures, but not by imposing or
dictating change. Turkey knows each country has its own story. If you
try to change their leaders, their regimes, you cannot get results you
expect. We need time and we need different methods. Of course the
improvement of democracy, human rights standards, and transparency all
are Turkish foreign policy’s preferences, but Turkey or any other
country should not dictate something to these countries. Turkey is
trying to be a model and therefore first has to improve itself before
dictating democracy or human rights standards to other countries.
First, Turkey is improving its own political life, maturing its own
political culture, and it gives inspiration to other countries. For
example, Iranians, Syrians, even Saudi Arabians look at the Turkish
experience and they see that the Turks are Muslim, Turks are Middle
Eastern, Turks are like us, and they can be democratic, they can be
rich, they can be like the Western nations, so all are possible.
Turkey shows other nations that such a path is possible, that liberal
democracy and liberal economy with a huge Muslim population (as seen
in the Turkish experience) do not cause instability and chaos. Arabs
and Persians fear instability and chaos, and are afraid that more
democracy, more rights may cause anarchy. But Turkey proves the
reverse is true.
The second thing that the Turkish experience proves is that true
friendship, reliable partnership between Turkey and the Western
countries is possible. There are not many success stories between the
West and the Muslim world. Al Qaeda and other extremist violent
terrorist organizations argue that the Western people are enemies of
the Muslim people. The United States and European countries, they
argue, aim to undermine Islam and to take natural resources without
paying anything. If Turkey can be successful in its relations with the
EU, for example if Turkey can be a full member of the EU, with its
Turkish identity and Muslim religion, it will be a success story and a
model, an inspiration for the rest of the Muslim countries.
* TURKEY DOES NOT CHALLENGE THE WEST AND WESTERN VALUES
Lately, there have been claims that Turkey is shifting its foreign
policy focus. Some columnists have recently argued that Turkey’s
foreign policy direction is changing, that the new government is
shifting Turkish foreign policy from the West to the East. I disagree.
Turkey is expanding its foreign policy, not shifting it.
Turkey applied to the EU for full membership, and in 2005 EU leaders
confirmed Turkey’s standing and decided that Turkey’s human rights
standards, economic development, and political maturity were
sufficient for full EU membership. The negotiation process was set up
to improve the details. So, in principle, Turkey could be a full
member of the EU. As a matter today Turkey’s economy and political
life are much better than some of the EU members. But Germany’s
Merkel, France’s Sarkozy, and some other leaders in some of the EU
countries are preventing Turkey’s membership. If EU countries were to
accept Turkey as a full member today, Turkey would be ready to be a EU
country. The current government has no problem with the West, or the
EU and, when compared with previous Turkish governments, Turkey is
much closer to EU membership. The problem in becoming an EU country, a
full Western country, is not on the Turkish but the EU side. As
President Abdullah Gul underlined in his USAK Speech on 4 November
2009 one who is interested in Turkey’s ultimate direction should look
at the values of Turkey not the appearance. Turkey strengthens its
Western values, like democracy and liberal economy.
Turkish – European interaction started almost a thousand years ago and
Turkey immensely influenced the continent’s political, economic,
social and cultural life. In return, the Renaissance, Reformation,
Enlightenment and the French Revolution played a crucial part in the
transformation of Ottoman Empire, and the creation of modern Turkey.
Both sides shaped each other and a European history cannot be written
without Turks. It is obvious that Turks are European for the
centuries. Europe is a deniable part of Turkish identity and at the
same time Europe is the homeland of the Turkish people. Integration
with Euro-Atlantic institutions stood out as a prime objective for
Turkey and it was among the founding members of the United Nations and
the Council of Europe and attained memberships to the OECD and NATO.
Turkey was a pivotal member of the NATO alliance during the tense
years of the Cold War. Turks protected the Western Europeans and the
free world from the Soviet threat at a high cost. Turkey still
actively contributes to efforts to protect the Western values in the
world and to bring lasting peace, stability and prosperity to regions
ranging from Afghanistan to the Balkans, Caucasus and the Middle East.
In 1963, Turkey signed an Association Agreement, which set joining the
European Communities as a goal. Accession negotiations with the EU
were initiated in 2005. Turkey has launched a national mobilization to
do what needs to be done. Every Ministry, every state institution, the
academia, the civil society is engaged with a view to bringing all of
our country into this modernization project. Moreover Turkey starts a
campaign against the militarist factors (deep state) inside the state.
Moreover the new Turkish policies regarding the Kurdish issue,
Armenian issue and the human rights were beyond the EU’s imagination.
In brief Turkey continues its reforms but generally the EU is falling
short in its performance. It is obvious that Turkey’s activism in the
east does not keep back Turkey from the EU direction.
* WHY SYRIA AND IRAN?
The second thing some columnists in the Western media ask is why
Turkey is improving its relations with Syria and Iran, the most
problematic countries in the world. It seems they are right; maybe
Turkey should improve its relations with so-called `better countries’,
like France, Germany, or Italy, but the problem is that Turkey’s
neighbors are Syria and Iran, not Germany or France. We cannot change
our neighbors. Maybe `these neighbors are from Hell’ as the West sees
them, but they are still our neighbors. States cannot change their
locations. We have to first change our neighbors’ nature if we are not
happy with them and then we have to `tame’, I think, these countries
and persuade them to cooperate. Turkey has to make them true
neighbors, genuine and truthful partners. If Turkey were between
France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, then of course everything
would be different. But our neighbors are relatively poor and
problematic countries; they are not fully democratic. We are so close
to Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Israel etc. Turkey has to accept its
situation and change it with time. Turkey should not be accused of
improving its relations with its neighbors. And it should be
remembered that France for example has better economic relations with
many Middle Eastern countries than Turkey has. So, do we accuse France
of shifting its foreign policy to the East? No. Every country has the
right to improve its relations with any other country in the world.
And if something is acceptable for France, it should be acceptable for
Turkey as well.
* Sedat Laciner: BA (Ankara), MA (Sheffield), PhD (King’s College London)
Language Edit by Kaitlin Mackenzie
2/western-turkey-in-the-east-new-turkish-foreign-p olicy.html
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Nov 16 2009
Raging Bull’s low profile belies his remarkable achievements
Daniel Lewis
November 16, 2009
Once in a generation fighting machine ¦ Victor Darchinyan, after
defeating Mexico’s Cristian Mijares last year.
Photo: AP
HE GETS mobbed on the streets of Los Angeles and in his native
Armenia. Yet in his adopted homeland of Australia, he can walk down
the streets of Marrickville, where he owns Jeff Fenech’s famous old
gym, and not get so much as a knowing sideways glance. Welcome to the
weird world of Victor Darchinyan.
Unlike some other high-profile Australian boxers, Darchinyan’s level
of fame here seems to be in inverse proportion to the number of
quality opponents he sends to the canvas.
Pound for pound, Darchinyan is widely rated one of the world’s
toughest and most exciting fighters.
In his 35 professional bouts, he has lost just twice and drawn once,
while 26 of his 32 victories have come by knockout. It is a remarkable
achievement against other highly ranked boxers.
Aficionados of the sweet science have no doubt Darchinyan is special
and highly deserving of an accolade such as the Herald’s Sports
Performer of the Year award, presented by Colonial First State.
Jamie Pandaram, who covers boxing for the Herald, wrote in February
that Darchinyan was ”better than Jeff Fenech, more comprehensive than
Kostya Tszyu. When Vic Darchinyan finally hangs up the gloves, he will
be recognised as the greatest pugilist ever to fight for Australia.
”Darchinyan is a once in a generation fighting machine who glides
above the other two because he has the hunger of one and the smarts of
the other. When Darchinyan fights, never is it more evident that here
is a man attempting to break another’s will while showing
unquestionable loyalty to his own.
”He has stopped three former world champions in succession in the
lighter weight divisions, a feat as difficult as winning three
successive Melbourne Cups.”
Born in 1976, multilingual, university educated, a former soldier and
just 166 centimetres tall, Darchinyan is nicknamed ”Raging Bull”
because of his performance in the ring – a southpaw with a knockout
punch in both explosive hands. But he is also entitled to rage about
his lack of recognition in Australia.
As one magazine profile noted earlier this year: ”Despite the Raging
Bull nickname, world titles and fabulous knockout record, Darchinyan
gets fewer autograph requests here than Sydney FC’s second-choice
goalkeeper.”
Another reporter who strolled through Martin Place at lunchtime with
Darchinyan six months ago saw just one well-wisher come forward to
congratulate the super-flyweight titleholder: ”Despite recently
making the short list for the prestigious Laureus World Sportsman of
the Year Award, he is just another face lost in the hustle and bustle
of cafes, buskers and business people.”
As Darchinyan has acknowledged, his low profile locally is in large
part due to the fact he often fights overseas and his bouts are shown
on pay-per-view television.
His first professional fight was in 2000 at Sydney’s Star City Casino.
He took the Australian flyweight title the following year and in 2004
beat Columbian Irene Pacheco in Florida to claim his first world
title, the IBF flyweight belt. A year ago, in the super-flyweight
division, he unified the IBF, WBA, WBC belts by mauling glamour boy
Cristian Mijares of Mexico in a bout in California.
In Darchinyan’s most recent fight, in July, he suffered his second
defeat, beaten on points in Florida by Ghana’s Joseph Agbeko as he
tried to climb another weight division to claim the IBF bantamweight
title.
Despite lucrative offers to call the US and Armenia home, Darchinyan
has stayed loyal to Australia, saying he loves life here despite the
lack of public acclaim. His Australian romance began when he met
Fenech while representing Armenia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He took
out citizenship in 2004.
Fenech, a three-division world champion and Darchinyan’s former
trainer, predicted years ago that the Raging Bull would be regarded as
an all-time great in the lower weight divisions. Even Australian Idol
star Guy Sebastian reckons he should win the Sports Performer of the
Year because: ”He is one of the great unsung legends of Australian
boxing.”
Australians recognised Sebastian as a talented young singer. An
honourable step in rightfully recognising Darchinyan as an Australian
sporting idol would be to ”Vote 1 Vic”.
Business Intelligence Middle East (press release) , UAE
Nov 15 2009
Guy Manoukian live on stage in Dubai
Source: BI-ME , Author: BI-ME staff
Posted: Sun November 15, 2009 3:07 pm
UAE. Coveted Lebanese-Armenian pianist and composer, Guy Manoukian, a
world-renowned musician, will be performing live at The Palladium in
Dubai Media City at an exclusive concert on November 20th.
With infectious beats and contemporary arrangements, Manoukian will
perform alongside an Armenian and Lebanese singer, treating the
audience to a combination of modern and traditional styles of music,
often described as a fusion of oriental flair.
He will be accompanied by of 15 band members including violinists,
percussionists and a flutist.
Cathryn Gaspar, CEO of Full House the Dubai-based production company
responsible for bringing the charismatic artist over to Dubai
commented: `We are absolutely delighted to be bringing such a
talented, award-winning musician to the UAE.
We are looking forward to a very special evening, Guy has many
thousands of fans throughout the region and his summer concert was a
sellout at the Beiteddine festival in Lebanon.’
Manoukian, who began playing the piano at age four, appeared on
television at age six and performed at the Lebanese presidential
palace when he was just seven years of age, has risen through the
ranks of music through his sheer talent and ambition.
He has composed and produced a wide array of musical albums which have
been successful both regionally and globally including his most recent
album, Assouman (Armenian for blue sky), being a best seller in
Lebanon and the UAE.
Winner of best dance album awards at the Arab Music Awards and the
Armenian Music Awards among others, Guy is the first artist from the
Middle East to be endorsed by Yamaha and has performed around the
world from Sydney to Beirut. He has also worked with international
superstars such as Wyclef Jean, 50 Cent, Raul Di Blasio and French
rapper Diams and Shakira.
Guy Manoukian will be performing at the Palladium in Dubai Media City
on Friday 20th November. Doors open at 7.30pm and performances start
at 8.30pm.
Ticket prices start at AED195 and are available from the box office at
The Palladium and Virgin Megastore. Alternatively log on to
.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Right Vision News
November 12, 2009 Thursday
Turkey:Why Minister Davutoglu went to France
Pakistan
Pakistan, Nov. 12 — Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmet Davuto?lu had a very
busy October, during which he took so many trips that I cannot recall
the number. Some of these visits brought him to Iraq, Iran, Syria,
Pakistan and several Balkan countries.There also were historically
unprecedented events last month such as a visit to Serbia and the
Armenian opening. Even though these trips were quick and generally
one-day working visits, their preparation certainly took a long time.
What is worth noting is that synchronized developments around these
visits were commented on by international experts as proof of Turkey’s
determination to re-establish its influence in the historical Ottoman
geography.Mr. Davuto?lu’s travel plans for November include many EU
countries and the United States. As we are not able to talk about a
new kind of relationship to be established with EU countries, we
cannot say that he has another "opening" in mind toward these
countries. As for the US, Ankara and Washington concluded several
treaties just after Barack Obama’s inauguration. So there isn’t any
new situation to be discussed there, either. However, we must expect
international commentators to claim that Turkey has tried to put back
on track the EU accession process through these visits.Let’s imagine
for a moment that Turkey’s objective is indeed to become very
influential in the territories that belonged to the Ottoman Empire. To
claim that, we also have to admit that any other actor doesn’t have
some kind of influence in the same area or that there aren’t any other
actors who are fighting with each other in different manners to get or
to preserve their influence in these regions.One may think: How would
it hurt anyone if Turkey becomes a source of stability for this
immense geography? However, it seems that Turkey’s openings are being
watched with concern by some actors who don’t care about the stability
it can generate and who don’t want Turkey to become too influential
because they only want to understand whom Turkey will share this
influence with and in what degree this can limit others’ room to
maneuver.Before anything, we must emphasize one fact: Turkey is
probably establishing a new kind of relationship in the surrounding
region, which happens to be the Ottoman Empire’s geography, but it is
not doing it single handedly. It acts as the strategic partner of
Russia and the US. These two great powers are a part of this very
process, and there is a balance of interdependence and mutual
understanding. As Turkey doesn’t intend to "integrate" into Russia or
the US, it’s choosing to develop a strategic partnership with them.
Consequently, it doesn’t try to establish a strategic partnership with
the EU because it simply wants to fully integrate into the European
family. But as this "family" keeps ostracizing its distant cousin, it
perceives Ankara’s openings toward Turkey’s neighbors as this
country’s effort to replace the family with a new family. In other
words, as long as the EU keeps pushing Turkey away, it’s normal to
expect Turkey to seek new channels for its economic and financial
development and political stability. Besides, these openings would be
needed anyway if Turkey were already an EU member.The main reason for
the astonishment emanating from Turkey’s recent foreign policy
actions, which are, in fact, quite natural, is that this process is
not conducted in coordination with the EU. But here is the point: If
the EU refuses to contribute to or join Turkey’s openings, this will
mean that it has decided not to include Turkey within the EU. So it’s
not senseless for Mr. Davuto?lu to start his November schedule with a
trip to Paris. He wanted to detect Europe’s decision.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Right Vision News.