Month: November 2009

DOCUMENTARY REFLECTS BORDER WISHES OF TURKS, ARMENIANS

Today’s Zaman
Nov 9 2009
Turkey

A documentary titled "Aras Kıyılarında" (Aras Banks) reflects
the common desire of Turks and Armenians for the border between the
two countries to be opened through the story of a Turkish boy and an
Armenian girl who meet online, attempt to run a business and share
an emotional bond.

The documentary, the title of which refers to the Aras River that flows
along Turkey’s Armenian border, was shot in Kars’ Arpacay district,
which is on the border, Yerevan and Ankara in cooperation with the
Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC) and the Armenia
Marketing Association and sponsored by the American embassies in
Turkey and Armenia.

Undertaking the production of the movie with Armenian Aram
Navarsardyan, TABDC board member Serdar Dinler told the Anatolia news
agency in late October that shooting of the movie was completed in 12
months. Explaining that the names of the main characters, Tamar and
Aras, are common and known in both countries, Dinler noted that it
is sad that a river acts as a border, adding, "Think of a river that
flows for years, but no one can fish or swim in it or picnic near it."

While stating that people living near the river wish that the border
were opened, Dinler said he believes that the current ties between
Turkish and Armenian people would be further strengthened by the
opening of the border and that both peoples would also benefit
financially from the opening. Dinler added that they are currently
in talks with media institutions about screening the film.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGASSI DESCRIBES HATE FOR TENNIS, ADMITS HE WAS LIVING A LIE

Las Vegas Sun
Nov 9 2009
NV

Andre Agassi speaks after a loss at the 1997 U.S. Open in New York.

His autobiography contains an admission that he used crystal meth
that year.

To fans. To opponents. To tennis authorities. To first wife Brooke
Shields. To friends, including Barbra Streisand. To the media. And,
he says, to himself.

"I can’t live with that anymore," Agassi said in a telephone interview
with The Associated Press.

"These lies — some of them came, certainly, out of fear. A lot of
them came out of real confusion. A lot of it was thinking out loud. A
lot of it was just getting stuff wrong. And a lot of it started with
lies to myself," Agassi said. "When I retired from tennis, I had the
opportunity, the time, the energy, to turn a real hard lens on myself."

His book "Open," in stores Monday, allows Agassi to unburden himself
of secrets he’s carried for years. Secrets about using crystal meth,
about evading punishment for a failed drug test, about wearing a
hairpiece, about what he calls a long-standing hatred of tennis.

Agassi described the memoir, a compelling read crafted by Pulitzer
Prize winner J.R. Moehringer from tape recordings of the eight-time
Grand Slam champion’s taped recollections, as part of his "atonement
for where I’ve been in my life."

As he retraces that life in present tense — and without quotation
marks, because "this is reconstructed dialogue," as he put it —
Agassi sets out to explain himself and describe his journey from
ninth-grade dropout to founder of a prep school in Las Vegas. He
writes about his courtship of tennis star Steffi Graf, now his wife
and the mother of their two children.

Along the way, he offers critical words for rivals such as Pete
Sampras, Michael Chang and Boris Becker; discusses "tanking" matches;
and poignantly describes his childhood fear of his father ("shrill
and stern and filled with rage"), who Agassi told the AP refused to
read the book.

Agassi recounts how, when he was a kid, his father would give him
Excedrin before matches because it contained caffeine. Once, Agassi
writes, his father gave him what Agassi believes to be speed. He also
writes at various points about using marijuana and alcohol. Speaking
to the AP, Agassi called crystal meth "a performance inhibitor" and
said, "Everything I earned on the tennis court, I actually had to
probably earn more than I needed to, because of many of the things
I did to myself."

Agassi further talked about his drug use during a "60 Minutes" on
CBS News interview with Katie Couric that aired Sunday night. The
segment opened with footage of Agassi and wife Steffi Graf playing
tennis at Darling Tennis Center, a public facility near their home
in Northwest Las Vegas.

Agassi said during the television interview that he couldn’t recall
how many times he used meth, but said it was for the better part of
1997. "It was way more than it should have been."

The segment, the first of a two part series, is mostly about his
dislike with tennis from an early age and how he wanted to quit.

Agassi said he father drove him hard because he believed tennis was
the quickest road to the American dream for the Armenian-American.

"It was really scaring, especially for a 7-year-old," he said. "It
was an unnecessary burden for a child, but one I carried."

Agassi said his drug use came at a point in his life where he didn’t
think too highly of himself. In addition to his unhappiness in tennis,
he wasn’t satisfied with his relationship with actress Brooke Shields.

The couple eventually divorced after less than two years of marriage.

"I was living in fraud. I was just living in hell," Agassi said.

Asked by the AP whether he ever took performance-enhancing substances
as a professional, Agassi — who retired in 2006 — replied, with a
light chuckle, "No. No. The answer is ‘No.’"

He is not surprised by the negative reactions to some of the book’s
revelations. Martina Navratilova, for example, likened Agassi to
baseball’s Roger Clemens; Roger Federer referred to material in the
book as "a bit of a pity."

Agassi understands such responses, he told the AP, because, "You’ve
got to remember: I spent many years angry and disappointed at myself."

He said he simply felt compelled to confess to using crystal meth
"a lot" in 1997, failing a doping test that year, lying to the
men’s tennis tour about how the drug entered his system and avoiding
punishment.

"How can you tell people to not hide from truth when you hide from
it?" Agassi said in the interview. "While I know this story cuts
against the grain of one’s perceptions of me, it is the true me. And
I believe in that authenticity."

He added: "I have no regrets about what’s in there."

There are plenty of fascinating passages, aside from the excerpts
sold to magazines and newspapers as part of the publicity push to
help sell books. Agassi used the word "sensationalized" repeatedly
during the 20-minute interview to describe those excerpts.

He hopes people will read the entire book so they can appreciate what
he called its "power."

"It’s about me learning how to commit fully, despite the fear of
failure," he said. "It’s a person waking up in a life that they didn’t
choose, in a life that they maybe don’t want, and not being sure how
to take ownership of their own life, and figuring that out."

The book also is about tennis:

â~@¢ On Sampras: Agassi says Sampras "sounds more robotic than"
a parrot.

At his depths, Agassi thinks: "I envy Pete’s dullness. I wish I could
emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack
of need for inspiration." Agassi tells of betting coach Brad Gilbert
about how much Sampras tipped a parking valet; they ask the valet,
who says $1; Agassi’s conclusion: "We could not be more different,
Pete and I."

â~@¢ On Chang: "He thanks God — credits God — for the win, which
offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God
should side against me, that God should be in Chang’s box, feels
ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous
stroke." When Chang wins the 1989 French Open, Agassi thinks, "I feel
sickened. How could Chang, of all people, have won a slam before me?"

â~@¢ On other opponents: Agassi writes about holding grudges against
Becker (who Agassi says blew kisses at Shields during a match), Jim
Courier, Thomas Muster, Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Jeff Tarango (who Agassi
says cheated during a match between them when Agassi was 8).

â~@¢ On "tanking:" Agassi says he lost on purpose against Chang in
the Australian Open semifinals one year so he wouldn’t have to face
Becker in the final, writing: "It’s almost harder than winning. You
have to lose in such a way that the crowd can’t tell." He also says
of sports writers: "They never get it right. When I tank, they say
I’m not good enough; when I’m not good enough, they say I tank."

â~@¢ On his fake hair: Of the 1990 French Open final, Agassi writes,
"Warming up before the match, I pray. Not for a win, but for my
hairpiece to stay on."

â~@¢ On the 1999 French Open final, which he won to complete a career
Grand Slam: "I’ve already obsessed about this tournament for the last
10 years. I can’t bear the idea of obsessing about it for another
eighty. … If I don’t win this thing right now, I’ll never be happy,
truly happy, again."

Las Vegas Sun reporter Ray Brewer contributed to this report.

SEN. REID PRESSURES ADMINISTRATION OVER ARMENIA-TURKEY DEAL
By Kevin Bogardus

The Hill
-pressures-administration-on-armenia-turkey-deal
N ov 8 2009
DC

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has applied subtle pressure
on the Obama administration over a U.S.-brokered deal between Armenia
and Turkey.

In an Oct. 20 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Reid said she should meet with Armenian-American leaders to hear their
concerns about the agreement between the two countries. Activists are
particularly worried about one provision of the agreement that would
set up a historical commission to review the events surrounding the
massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks
during World War I.

"I have received many letters from Nevadans who do not support the
creation of an international commission to examine the historical
record on the genocide and who believe that the agreements are unfair
to Armenia," Reid wrote to Clinton, including a sample letter from
one of his constituents.

"Given the serious nature of the community’s concerns, I felt it
was important to raise them directly with you. The commission is
particularly sensitive to the Armenian-American community since the
Armenian genocide has never been recognized by Turkey," Reid wrote.

The Democratic leader then encouraged Clinton to meet with activists
from the Armenian community.

Lawmakers are gathering co-sponsors for resolutions that would
recognize the early 19th century massacre as genocide. Last week, Rep.

Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) signed onto the House resolution and Sen.

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) added his name to the list of co-sponsors
to the Senate version.

The House resolution, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.),
now has 135 co-sponsors while the Senate version, introduced by Sen.

Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) in late October, has six co-sponsors.

Reid is not listed as a co-sponsor yet of the Senate resolution. But
he said in a separate Oct. 30 letter to an Armenian-American activist
that he recognizes the killings as genocide.

"I have always, and will continue to, recognize the terrible atrocities
that took place in 1915 as genocide. As I said to those gathered
for the Armenian American Cultural Society of Las Vegas’ annual
commemoration on April 19, 2009, I believe that the United States
should acknowledge the Armenian Genocide," Reid wrote in the letter.

Despite the historic agreement reached between Armenia and Turkey
last month, both sides are preparing for a lobbying battle over the
resolutions. The Turkish government opposes the resolutions and has
threatened relations with the United States over the measures in the
past. Because of potential retaliation by Turkey, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.) retreated from bringing the resolution up for a floor vote
in 2007.

The letters were released to reporters on Friday by the Armenian
National Committee of America.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ATALAY: COUNCIL OF STATE ATTACK WAS A PROVOCATION

Today’s Zaman
Nov 9 2009
Turkey

In a speech delivered at the Justice and Development Party’s (AK
Party) Academy of Politics on Friday, Interior Minister BeÅ~_ir Atalay
said the Council of State attack was a provocation orchestrated by
a single organization.

Recently established by the AK Party to enhance the awareness of
politics in Turkey, the academy hosted Atalay in its fourth session
on Friday to speak about politics in Turkey. During his speech, Atalay
touched on the issues that have been largely debated among the public
and developments in Turkey in the past six months, recent democratic
initiatives, Turkish-Armenian relations, the fight against terrorism
and the ruling government’s strict policy on revealing criminal acts
and assassinations.

Atalay said light has been shed on the darkness of previous periods
and that the AK Party will not leave anything in doubt during its
tenure. Noting that the Council of State attack was revealed to be
an organized provocation against the AK Party in 2006, Atalay said
everything during their term will be very open and transparent. "We
will leave no criminals unidentified," Atalay stated.

In addition, speaking about terrorism, Atalay said the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization’s financial resources and
extensions in Europe have been largely undermined. "Even France has
started arresting [people connected with the PKK]. The PKK is no longer
able to get any resources from European countries." Atalay said their
only goal is to put an end to terrorism and establish brotherhood.

He said that although they have conducted cross-border operations over
the last two years, terrorism, which has both political and commercial
aspects, has not yet come to an end. Atalay stressed the damage
caused by terrorism, saying: "Twenty-five years have passed. Tens
of thousands of people have died. The cost has been enormous. Our
resources will be exhausted in fighting against terrorism,"

Asserting that Turkey’s two big problems are the Armenian diaspora
and the PKK terrorist organization, Atalay said Turkey and Azerbaijan
are the same. "No steps will be taken unless a development is seen
in Nagorno-Karabakh [a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and
Armenia]," Atalay said.

JUNTA ELIMINATION PROCESS: UNPRECEDENTED DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF TURKEY ARE BEING EXPERIENCED IN ANKARA.

Today’s Zaman
Nov 9 2009
Turkey

The most critical question is what will happen to the junta. Another
important subject is the democratic initiative. Let’s start with the
second issue. Parliament will convene to discuss a very important
agenda item tomorrow. In one sense, it will mark the beginning of
the most important stage in solving the quarter-century-old curse of
terror within the frame of the Kurdish problem. In another sense, it
will expand the scope of the frame into a democratic initiative that
will search for a solution to all human rights problems concerning
social groups. An additional step will be taken to determine the
details of the National Unity Project, which will make religious,
ethnic and social groups a positive part of the country.

The opposition is trying to influence the public by focusing on the
terror aspect of the initiative, but the process is not limited to
just these issues. The third and fourth steps of the initiative will
search for a solution to Turkey’s diplomatic and economic problems.

Asked what their thoughts are on the expansion of the framework,
Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
officials were reluctant to estimate the scope of the plan. A CHP
official said, "If the framework is going to be expanded so much, won’t
people say, ‘These are responsibilities you need to take care of as a
government anyway,’ and ask, ‘If you can’t address these issues without
starting an initiative process then why did you become a government’?"

An official from the MHP predicts that expanding the scope of the
framework will reduce its chances of being successful. "You can’t
solve a problem by pleasing everyone and managing everyone. If you’re
planning to open the border with Armenia, then you have to think
about how you will offend the Azeris," the MHP official said.

Erdogan continues to say, "The initiative is a process, not a
package." He also says this process includes Turkey’s chronic
problems. To emphasize the broad spectrum of the process, he talks
about the "unemployment problem" as well.

An important member of the Cabinet indirectly answered CHP and MHP
officials’ questions by explaining that their search for solutions to
problems did not begin with the launch of debates on the initiative
in recent months. He also said that the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) has been searching for solutions to the country’s chronic
problems ever since it became the ruling power and has pursued those
that could be implemented immediately. "But some problems were so
complicated that, without discriminating against any party, politics
needed to deal with the social aspects of these problems with civil
society organizations. These issues accumulated in a basket, and our
people knew the main reasons for the accumulation. When we begin to
solve the problems, they will know the details as well. The opposition
made a very big strategic mistake with the issue of terror, which is
the most important of these issues. They intentionally did not partake
in this radical solution process. The public will assess this as well."

The CHP and MHP are trying to politicize the decision to address the
initiative in Parliament on Nov. 10 (the anniversary of Ataturk’s
death). AK Party executives are responding with Ataturk’s popular
phrase, "peace at home, peace in the world," conveying messages about
the initiative’s diplomatic dimension as well.

I spoke with a member of the Cabinet who is very close to Erdogan
about the important question of what will happen to the junta.

Emphasizing the prime minister’s determination, the Cabinet member
said: "It will be eliminated. There is no other alternative." He also
stated that after Erdogan returned from his trip to Pakistan and Iran,
where he communicated important messages, he met with Chief of General
Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ~_bug and said: "What is this mess? Clean it up."

BaÅ~_bug, who asked for some time, apparently said the junta put him
in a tough spot, recalling that he had referred to an action plan
proving the existence of the junta as simply a "piece of paper."

An important member of the Cabinet to whom I mentioned the news about
attempts to distort the process said, "The prime minister emphasized
during our group meeting that these attempts were useless."

Indeed, Ankara is truly experiencing historic days.

——————————————- ————————————-
GMO trade and CHP’s swordsmanship

Both the ruling power and the main opposition are criticizing each
other over the issue of genetically modified organisms (GMO). I spoke
with people who have the most knowledge about the issue on both sides.

The ruling power and the opposition are actually defending the same
idea. Both sides are expressing the downsides of GMOs and do not want
these products, which pose a threat to human health, the environment
and Turkey’s biodiversity, to be allowed to enter Turkey.

The CHP wants a bio safety law to be implemented to prevent GMOs
from entering Turkey. As for AK Party officials, who say the law is
still in the making, they argue that it was necessary to introduce a
regulation in the meantime and say it was appropriate for the Ministry
of Agriculture to introduce it.

Harsh accusations are being put forward over the regulation. During
his group meeting, CHP leader Deniz Baykal accused the government of
setting up a trap against the public on this issue and vowed to do
everything in his power to ensure that the regulation is abolished.

Noting that goods with GMOs that previously freely entered the country
have been stopped at customs after the statute was made effective, an
AK Party executive said that by attempting to abolish the regulation
the CHP was acting like a swordsman for GMO vendors.

Even CHP deputies concede that companies that can’t get their GMO
products into the country are knocking on the CHP’s door instead
of criticizing the statute themselves. The Ministry of Agriculture
has launched a new plan to prevent speculation in the public about
the regulation. Even if the CHP stops trying to get the regulation
abolished, it seems unlikely that it will be able to escape the
accusation of acting like a hired gun.

——————————————– ————————————
Why are the MHP’s founders disgruntled?

The MHP, which held its ninth party congress over the weekend, wants
to overcome a critical threshold. The excitement of party officials who
said they would organize a democratic congress shows the importance of
this threshold to be passed. The MHP had two important goals it wanted
to achieve in the last congress before the general elections. One
was to change the party program; the other was to update the party’s
bylaws. Party commissions worked for several weeks to prepare a new
party program and completely change the bylaws.

Noting that this is a kind of tradition, party executives said they
change the party’s program and bylaws every 10 years according to
the party’s current needs. This time they prepared a completely new
set of bylaws and program "in line with both the party’s needs and
society’s demands."

The founders of the 40-year-old MHP are extremely disturbed with the
bylaw changes. Their biggest concern has to do with the removal of
Article 43, which leader Alparslan TurkeÅ~_ had ordered be included
in the bylaws. Noting that Article 43 prevents tyranny by leaders
by allowing a person to be elected as party chairman a maximum of
five times, the MHP founders highlighted the problems with opening
the way for MHP leader Devlet Bahceli to be elected leader again and
again until his death.

Of the 30 people that founded the MHP, 21 are still living. Speaking
on behalf of the living 21 founders prior to the congress, lawyer
Faruk Evirgen emphasized that his party was becoming undemocratic.

"People with different views are being silenced by unfair expulsion
and threats. I am not sure if we as the founders will be able to
enter the hall of the congress. They are also going to prevent a rival
candidate from being chosen. They are going to prevent delegates who
they think might vote for someone other than Bahceli from entering
the hall. Unfortunately, our party has not been able to escape this
kind of thinking," he said.

The one point that the founders are especially upset over is that
they haven’t been given an office in the party’s headquarters, which
they set up with very limited resources. Founder Kemal İnandı said,
"I just can’t accept the disloyalty that we are facing after all the
sacrifices we made."

In response to the claim that they are being influenced by some circles
that want to weaken the MHP, Evirgen said: "We are not speaking on
behalf of anyone. We are speaking with our own free will.

All it takes to understand the error in clearing the way for one
single person to be the chairman until he dies is to internalize the
democratic culture."

TALAS’ LAST ARMENIAN FIRM ON STAYING

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 8 2009
Turkey

Despite being the only Armenian left in Kayseri’s Talas distrcit,
Karnikoglu is determined not to leave. Coming from a well-known family,
he says he will breathe his last breath here

Sarkis Karnikoglu’s love for Kayseri has gained him a claim to fame:
According to local legend, he is the last Armenian in the city’s
Talas district.

Karnikoglu, 50, attends the Sunday ceremony at the Church of
St. Gregory the Illuminator and helps tend to the church daily. Sarkis
lives a few kilometers from the city center in the Talas district.

"My family is one of the oldest and well-known families in this city,"
Karnikoglu told Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "I have never
had any intention of leaving this place. I will breathe my last
breath here."

A favorite in Talas

Sporting sharp, dark suits and a moustache, Karnikoglu is one of
the most colorful personalities in the district. Everyone knows him
in Talas and around the historical church; all the locals have his
phone number and address. When he is near the church, people greet him
and ask how he is doing. He even draws attention from the children,
who surround him when he enters town.

Karnikoglu enjoys the attention and is happy to be recognized by
the locals.

"I would feel like a fish out of water if I were somewhere other than
Kayseri," Karnikoglu said. "I wouldn’t be able to breathe. I am the
last member of my family."

Loyalty of friends

The members of Karnikoglu’s family were baptized and married at the
Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, as were their funerals. He
spent his childhood playing in the church garden.

"All my memories are here," Karnikoglu said. He had close friends,
the children of neighbors, when he was a kid and still has close ties
with those who are still alive.

"Everyone thinks I live here alone, but I am not alone because my
childhood friends see me as their brother," he said. "I never feel
alone. I have a big family."

Migration to US, Europe

According to Karnikoglu, Kayseri used to be home to numerous Armenian
families until the end of the 1960s. "Most of them migrated, mostly
to the United States and Europe, until the late 1980s," Karnikoglu
said, gazing at the church during a ceremony. "This garden used to
be packed during Sunday ceremonies 45 years ago."

Dilacar surname from Ataturk

Kayseri has been home to many well-known Armenians. Karnikoglu shared
some of the names, born in Kayseri and famous around Turkey and the
world. Known for his studies on the Turkish language, secretary-general
of the Turkish Language Foundation Hagop Martayan is one of them.

After the surname law was established, the founder of the Turkish
Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, honored Martayan by giving him the
surname "Dilacar," which is related to language.

Other prominent families of Kayseri are the Balyan and Gulbenkyan
families.

The Balyans were Ottoman architects. Many of the palaces, mosques,
churches and villas in Istanbul carry the Balyan signature. The
Gulbenkyans, who were mostly traders, have a huge art collection
exhibited in Portugal’s Lisbon at the Kalust Gulbenkyan Foundation
and Museum. The family played a big role in international oil trade.

POLITICS PLAY LEADING ROLE AT BLESSING OF ARMENIAN CHURCH

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 8 2009
Turkey

At the benediction of Kayseri’s historic church politics were on the
leading role. Officiating the ceremony, on behalf of Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate, Archishop Aram AteÅ~_yan says Turkish Armenians should
be considered as something seperate when the topic is convergence
between Turkey and Armenia. ‘The church was renovated by the community
not by the state’ Politics played a leading role at the benediction
of Kayseri’s Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

Archishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, who was officiating at the ceremony on
behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, started his blessings
in Armenian and continued in Turkish. At the benediction, witnessed
by members of the international and local media, AteÅ~_yan also
delivered a speech that touched on several important issues for the
Turkish-Armenian community.

"Turkish-Armenians should be considered a separate group when the
topic is the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

These topics are different from each other," AteÅ~_yan said, adding
that Turkish Armenians are not bounded by Turkey’s relations with the
Armenian diaspora or Armenia itself. "We don’t want to be included
in the process because we are children of this country."

Calling out to the packed community inside the church, many of whom
were Turkish-Armenians from Istanbul, AteÅ~_yan continued his speech:
"You, the Istanbul Armenians, will continue to be loyal to this
country. As citizens of this country, you must ask for support from
the state in solving your problems."

AteÅ~_yan expressed regret about a story titled "This is the
difference," which was published in the daily Hurriyet last Monday.

"The story stated that our church was renovated by the state and that
it was only then opened for worship. They were trying to relate the
restoration to the relations between Armenia and Turkey, when in fact
the church was restored with the financial support of the community.

Moreover, it was never closed to religious services.

"The community doesn’t ask for support from the government because
they are concerned that churches might be renovated into museums, as
in the case of Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van,"
he said. "That’s why they organized the renovation and financed it."

Governor, mayor absent

The Turkish-Armenian community members from Istanbul arrived in Kayseri
on Oct. 7 in a group of roughly 300. Four buses arrived in Kayseri,
one of which was organized by Istanbul’s Bakırköy municipality. The
community did not answer questions from members of the press, citing
the long journey from Istanbul. Kayseri Gov. Mevlut Bilici and
Mayor Mehmet Ozhaseki did not attend either Saturday’s benediction
or Sunday’s services, although they were invited by the community
administration. The municipality’s press officer declined to answer
the Daily News’ questions.

But there were some politicians in attendance at the ceremonies. A
Kayseri deputy from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP,
Å~^efki Kutluoglu, was among them. After a one-hour meeting with the
administration board of the church, Kutluoglu answered some questions,
saying that his family was from Kayseri and that he remembered how
peaceful the atmosphere was in the town when he was a child.

‘Community restored the church’

Historically, the central Anatolian town of Kayseri was home to
numerous churches and monasteries. The last church left standing in
the city is the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Representing
the administrative board of the church, Arsen AÅ~_ık also reacted
to last Monday’s reports concerning the restoration of the church.

"Most of the financial support came from Istanbul Armenians, who
struggled a great deal to pool together money for the restoration,"
AÅ~_ık said, adding that he thinks the public confuses the church in
Kayseri with the Church of the Holy Cross. "First of all, the public
should know that St. Gregory the Illuminator wasn’t an abandoned
or destroyed church. And second of all, the state did not help with
the restoration."

The restorations of the two churches are not alike. The Church of the
Holy Cross on Akdamar Island was restored in 2007 by then-Culture
Minister Atilla Koc. Relations were strained between Turkey,
Turkish-Armenians and the Armenian diaspora when the church was
restored and opened as a museum without placing a cross atop its dome.

But current Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay announced that the
cross would be replaced and the building would be opened shortly for
religious services.

Church managed from Istanbul

There is one person currently living in Kayseri as a representative
of the Armenian community. The church itself is managed by Istanbul
Armenians who used to live in Kayseri.

The members instigated a legal process to transfer management of the
church to Istanbul, after they realized there was no community left
in Kayseri.

The Istanbul community identified a loophole in the law, first proving
there weren’t any members of the community left in Kayseri and then
stating that the church could be managed by a selected council. The
result was undertaken on behalf of the community. Now the council
consists of three members and four associate members.

"The administrative board is responsible for everything from the
priest’s wages to the money spent for the restoration," AÅ~_ık
said. He served for the church as a board member for many years and
is one of the community members with extensive information on the
church’s history. AÅ~_ık claimed that the bell was stolen and was
traced by the community.

"After many years, it was determined that the bell is in Argaeus
[Erciyes Dagı]. People claim that it was there until 1983, but now
no one really knows where it is," he said.

BOX

Last churches in Anatolia

The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator is one of the last two
Armenian churches in Anatolia that have a foundation looking after its
welfare. The other one is in Hatay’s Samanlıdag district. The church
has been open since 1191. Built of a special stone named "kevenk,"
the church draws attention with its design and craftsmanship.

CAUCASUS’ FROZEN CONFLICTS NOT SO FROZEN, SOKOR SAYS
Author: Vladimir Sokor

NewEurope – neurope.eu
-frozen-conflicts-not-so-frozen-Sokor-says-/97375. php
Nov 9 2009

Many foreign experts are concerned today about how Kazakhstan is going
to work in 2010 as the OSCE chair. Astana has hosted an international
conference to discuss the mission Kazakhstan is going to take on in two
months. The range of questions discussed at the conference was broad:
regional security, energy, economy, and human rights. Among the foreign
speakers invited to the conference was an analyst from the Jamestown
Foundation, Vladimir Sokor. The speakers at the one-day conference
in Astana were representatives of a working group on preparation for
Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship, formed by two American institutes –
CSIS and IND. IND is the Institute of New Democracy, Washington. CSIS
is the Center for Strategic and International Studies, also in
Washington. It is a US leading consulting and analytical institute
on foreign politics. Sokor is one of the analysts making the working
group. His speech was titled The Frozen Conflicts in OSCE Space. Next
year Kazakhstan will have to decide on a tangle of complex and knotty
problems connected with the well-known conflicts, including Georgia
and South Ossetia, Moldova, and Nagorno Karabach.

Sokor gave an exclusive interview to New Europe Correspondent in
Astana Kulpash Konyrova about the OSCE, conflicts in the Caucasus
and the Nabucco gas pipeline.

Mr. Sokor, at the very beginning of your speech you said that "the
expectations of Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship should not be too
high". Why do think so?

What I mean is that Kazakhstan will inherit not only the privileges
and powers, but also the deficiencies that have had place over the
entire period of OSCE operations. It is a known fact that over the
past 16 years OSCE has had failed to negotiate resolutions for some
conflicts in the OSCE space. Secondly, let us remember that the last
successful chairmanship of the OSCE was nine years ago, when Romania
held that post. Those countries that came after it did not deliver.

The evaluation given to them by the experts was just that –
disappointment. It is not a secret that some countries set just one
goal for themselves – to survive the 12 months of chairmanship. That
is why they kept to the following tactic: just not to make bad mistakes
and not to harm the organization itself. So, considering this difficult
legacy, I say that the expectations of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship
should not be too high. In my view, that task Kazakhstan is facing is
to try to improve the situation and to achieve better results from
the earlier decisions on conflict resolution. For example, today we
all see that the well-known Medvedev-Sarkozy plan on the Georgia –
Ossetia conflict is not being fulfilled.

Can you once again name and characterize those frozen conflicts that
Kazakhstan should pay attention to in the future?

First of all, the experts are no longer using the term "frozen
conflict" as "frozen" means that nobody is dealing with it. The term
that is used now is "protracted conflicts". Second, it should be noted
that many of the conflicts that I will talk about below had started
as internal, but since the 1990s, they have mutated and grown into
international conflicts. The most sensitive issues that Kazakhstan
will have to address include Afghanistan, Georgia and Ossetia,
Nagorno-Karabach, Crimea, Moldova, and the Balkans, where the latest
developments have shown the signs that the conflict may erupt with a
new force again. As far as the characteristics of the conflicts are
concerned, the most urgent and sensitive issue today is territorial
integrity and recognition of international borders. Thus, in 2008,
Russia demanded that the territorial integrity of Georgia should
be respected. However, it does not recognize its unity. Instead,
it recognizes two new states (South Ossetia and Abkhazia – note by
NE) that made part of Georgia before. As is known, no OSCE country,
including your Kazakhstan, has recognized these states. The problem of
territorial integrity lies in the core of another Caucasus conflict,
Nagorno-Karabach. In my speech at the conference I noted that some
progress could be seen on this conflict, thanks, on one side, to the
internal policy of the country (the Azerbaijan government), and to
the initiative of the new US Administration, on the other side. The
White House has made an attempt to resolve this conflict quickly. Its
essence was to open the border between Turkey and Armenia. And the US
has succeeded in breaking the first barrier, as Turkey has agreed to
make this step. However, we should remember that the opening of the
borders between Turkey and Armenia was linked, according to the earlier
agreements reached on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabach conflict,
to the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabach. So
for Kazakhstan, as the OSCE chairman next year, it is important to
note that these two processes – the opening of the borders and the
withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Nagorno Karabach – should
be simultaneous.

Going back to the theme of the Caucasus, I cannot but ask about
the Nabucco project. It is not a secret that this project causes
disagreements on different levels between the West and Russia.

The Nabucco gas pipeline is just a part of an ambitious EU project The
Southern Corridor that also includes several other new pipelines. On
the whole, the proposed capacity of the Southern Corridor is designed
to deliver 80 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year. The
project relies on the gas from Central Asia. This is why the main
political goal of the European Union today is to provide a direct
access to Europe for the Central Asian resources, bypassing Russia,
through the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. But what are the capabilities
of the Central Asian countries? Let’s start from Kazakhstan. From a
conversation with the Kazakh officials from the Ministry of Energy I
have understood that the Republic currently has no spare volumes of
gas to join this project. The main hopes are placed on the promising
reserves of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

However, the inclusion of that same Turkmenistan in the Nabucco
project is presently under a question mark, as this gas pipeline
is designed mainly for gas from Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Egypt. And it
has very little room for the Central Asian gas. If the European Union
offers to that same Turkmenistan the annual volumes of 5 billion cubic
meters of gas in Nabucco (the designed annual capacity of Nabucco is
30 to 31 billion cubic meters), it will make no sense for Turkmenistan
to spoil its relationship with Russia for such a small volume. That
is why the Southern Corridor is proposed, to make it beneficial for
the Central Asian republics to go by this route.

But why cook a hare before catching him… Nabucco is not even
built yet…

The European Union has now noticeably intensified its efforts on this
project and has started concrete actions.

LARGE NUMBER OF AZERBAIJANI YOUTH WORK FOR LEADING UK BANKS: AMBASSADOR

Today
s/57332.html
Nov 9 2009
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the United Kingdom
Fakhraddin Gurbanov.

Day.Az: How would you describe development of ties between Azerbaijan
and the UK in recent years?

Fakhraddin Gurbanov: The current relations between Azerbaijan and
the UK are developing rapidly in all directions. In recent years,
the relations and mutual visits at the highest level have become more
frequent. In this regard, I would like to mention President Ilham
Aliyev’s visit to the UK in July this year. Meetings and negotiations
conducted during this visit brought the bilateral relations to a
new level.

During the visit, the Azerbaijani president held talks with prime
minister, Queen Elizabeth II, as well as business circles of the United
Kingdom and noted a need for a unified position on several important
issues, broader economic cooperation and promising opportunities.

A clear objective was defined as a result of the meeting – implementing
certain activities to establish closer relations between the two
countries.

Q: In what areas the two countries have developed relations? In what
areas the countries lack cooperation for one reason or another?

A: Of course, development of bilateral ties depends on economic
opportunities and infrastructure in Azerbaijan and in the UK. Today,
I can confidently say we see close economic links between the
two countries and the business communities of both countries are
determined to use all available capabilities of countries to implement
all new projects.

Azerbaijan – United Kingdom Business Council was established in
London recently. The council aims to unite the leading companies of
the two countries to implement joint projects. As a result, second
trade mission of business people of the United Kingdom is expected
to visit Azerbaijan in November

Moreover, Mayor of City, London’s financial center, visit Azerbaijan
accompanied by UK business people in July. The visit by mayor of
financial center, which houses the leading financial institutions
and investment banks around the world, talks held with the guests
and the meeting regarding the financial services industry encourages
further cooperation.

Is also worth noting that candidates for coming elections to the
British Parliament, representatives of one of the prophetic British
parties, tripped to Baku in September this year. The important is
that recent events in the South Caucasus region, Azerbaijan’s role in
energy security and Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were
discussed during the annual conferences of the three major British
political parties due to efforts of Europe-Azerbaijan Society and
our embassy.

A number of events were also held in the cultural and humanitarian
sphere. We place great attention to promotion of Azerbaijan
culture in Britain. Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations including of
Europe-Azerbaijan Society, Odlar Yurdu Society, Azerbaijan House,
‘Caspian Khazri’ make a significant contribution to the common cause.

Q: How many Azerbaijanis live in the UK? In which cities and areas
they are mostly settled? Are there Azerbaijanis in Scotland, Northern
Ireland and Wales?

A: Azerbaijanis live not only in London, as many believe, but
throughout the UK. Students from Azerbaijan receive education in many
leading universities in England, Wales and Scotland.

Considerable number of Azerbaijanis work in large petrochemical
enterprises in the city of Aberdeen which is an oil center of Britain.

Azerbaijanis also work in other spheres of the UK, where they achieve
significant success. Large number of Azerbaijani young people work
for leading UK banks.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAIRMAN OF IRANIAN PARLIAMENT’S COMMISSION: "IRAN SUPPORTS SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY"

APA
Nov 9 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev – APA. Members of the Azerbaijani
parliament’s committee for social policy met with the delegation of
Iranian parliament led by Suleyman Jafarzadeh, chairman of social
affairs commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran,
the parliament’s press service told APA. The members of Iranian
parliamentary delegation acquainted themselves with the conference
hall of Azerbaijani parliament, the new building, appreciated the
conditions created for the parliamentarians.

Chairman of the commission Hadi Rajabli gave information about
the parliament’s legislative base, the activity of the commission,
law making process, democratic state-building, free civil society,
protection of human rights, freedom of expression and media. He
underlined that Iran and Azerbaijan have high-level economic,
humanitarian and interparliamentary relations.

Suleyman Jafarzadeh gave information about the structure, legislative
base of Iranian parliament. He spoke about the importance of
mutual activity of the parliament’s related committees, exchange
of experience. The guest said Iran is interested in extending the
relations with its close neighbor and friend Azerbaijan.

"Iran supports solution to Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh
conflict within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,"
he said.