Month: November 2009

U.S. JEWS ASSIST TURKISH AUTHORITIES

news.am
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

Renowned Jewish organization in U.S. keeps on assisting the Turkish
authorities on Armenian cause. Abraham H. Foxman, National Director
of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) informed that their stance on
1915 events remained unchanged and keeps on assisting Ankara on the
matter, Turkish TRT e-source reports. He also expressed hope that
recent tension in Turkish-Jewish relations will be eased, as Turk-Jew
friendship has years’ history.

NEWS.am recalls that recently Abraham Foxman stated that they
recognize the 1915 events committed towards Armenians as Genocide,
however opposed the Armenian resolution enactment in the U.S. Congress.

In September end, Abraham Foxman, National Director of the
Anti-Defamation League was the first official who met with Turkish
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, when he arrived for the UN Summit.

Foxman voiced their assistance to the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

GEORGIA DENIES TALKS WITH RUSSIA OVER REOPENING BORDER

Civil Georgia
Nov 2 2009
Georgia

Georgian Foreign Ministry denied that it was negotiating with Russia
on reopening of Zemo Larsi border crossing point between the two
countries, which was closed down by Moscow in 2006.

Russia’s federal agency in charge of border infrastructure reported
on October 30 that during "working meeting" in the Armenian capital
of Yerevan between Georgian and Russian officials the two sides
"reaffirmed in principle having interest in prompt resumption of
traffic" through Zemo Larsi-Kazbegi border crossing point.

Nino Kalandadze, the Georgian deputy foreign minister, said that the
Georgian Foreign Ministry officials were in Yerevan last week and
held talks on the matter with the Armenian counterparts, but not
with the Russian officials. She said that the issue was discussed
with Armenia as resumption of land traffic between Georgia and Russia
"is of vital importance" for Yerevan.

Russia’s federal agency in charge of the border infrastructure also
said in its press release on October 30 that the Russian delegation at
the meeting was led by deputy head of the agency, Yuri Maltsev, and
the Georgian side was represented by head of the Foreign Ministry’s
European department, Kakha Chitadze.

It also said that the two sides exchanged information about the border
crossing point’s condition and "noted that from the technical point
of view it was ready for reopening." "Results of the working meeting
of experts will be passed on to the Russian and Georgian leadership
for taking final decision," the Russia’s federal agency said.

Land traffic between the two countries was closed with the closure of
Zemo Larsi border crossing point by Russia in July, 2006; two others
are located in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but they are
considered by Georgia to be operating illegally and entry into Abkhazia
and South Ossetia from those points is banned by the Georgian laws.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN RECEIVED THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING FEDERATION RAFAEL MARTINETTI.

president.am
Nov 1 2009
Armenia

President Sargsyan expressed confidence that his visit would become
a strong impetus for cooperation. "Wrestling is one of traditionally
renowned and successful sports in Armenia which is today also gets
due attention, even though, as in all other cases, we would like
of course to see better results," the President of Armenia said and
added, "our National Olympic Committee, the Ministry for Sport, and
the Wrestling Federation are trying to invite even more attention
to this sport. We want more children to get engaged in the sport
of wrestling; towards that end we improve conditions, and strive
to organize international contests in Armenia since all this will
eventually bring the desired results.

The President of Wrestling Federation said that he has been in
wrestling for over thirty years and has always been following the
performances of the Armenian athletes, who have achieved impressive
results, and he knows personally the most recent Armenian champions.

Rafael Martinetti said that the possibility of establishing a school
of wrestling in Yerevan was discussed during his meetings, because
Armenia has produced a number of excellent coaches of wrestling. "The
future of this sport in Armenia is in reliable hands," stressed
Rafael Martinetti.

The two sides discussed also the possibility of conducting the 2010
World Championship of Greco-Roman wrestling in Armenia. President
Sargsyan said that we were interested in organizing international
events of this magnitude in our country and would do our best to
conduct it on the highest level. "It is will be a celebration for
the Armenian fans of wrestling, for the young athletes who will
have the opportunity to see many celebrated athletes and watch their
performance," the President of Armenia noted.

Rafael Martinetti also said that he was following closely the
Armenian-Turkish process of normalization. "As a Swiss national,
I am glad that my country has been able to facilitate the process,"
said Mr. Martinetti.

PETER SEMNEBY’S INTERVIEW ON BENEFITS OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH TIES

Aysor
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

In an interview with reporter of "Vremya novostey" Ivan Sukhov, EU
Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby has talked
about Armenian-Turkish relations and developments in Caucasus.

– The current situation between Armenia and Turkey cannot last
forever, everyone have to adapt to normalization, open borders,
and so on. It’s necessary to consider how to protect and develop own
interests in region under new situation. The war in Georgia showed that
proceeding territorial conflicts bring great risks. This developing
moved Armenian-Turkish relations.

When asked whether Russian influence in Caucasus fines down due to
normalization between Armenia and Turkey, Peter Semneby said so far
as Russia invests in Armenia’s infrastructure and builds railways it
can benefit only from open borders.

– Do you think Armenian-Turkish reconciliation is an achievement of
the Armenian diplomacy? Does Armenia really managed to separate issue
of normalization relations with Turkey and issue of Karabakh?

– This process started moving not only with Armenia’s hand. It’s clear
that this process in Armenia’s interest. The discussions are ongoing
in Turkey. Turkey’s conflict with Armenia limited its opportunities
and influence in South Caucasus. Armenian-Turkish relations and
Karabakh-related items are separate ones, you shouldn’t link them.

Otherwise the process of normalization may stop. Nevertheless, single
development of any mentioned issues affects the overall atmosphere. So
it’s necessary to provide basis for their positive influence on each
other. We believe that Armenian-Turkish reconciliation provides mew
visions for settlement of Karabakh issue.

– What compromises would Armenia and Azerbaijan make to resolve issue
of Karabakh right now?

– Well, I can’t point any particular compromise. All lines are clear
in Madrid principles, which now, after G8 meeting, are known.

– Can Armenian and Turkish leaders convince the public that they take
right steps?

– Armenian leadership faces many challenges simultaneously. The main
opposition against normalization with Turkey comes not from inside
but from those Armenians who live abroad. So I don’t think that any
explosion inside Armenia is possible. Still this is a serious problem
for the Armenian leadership, since the Diaspora plays a major role
for Armenia. It’s necessary to provide Diaspora’s agreement with
Armenia’s interests.

– When Armenia-Turkey border will open?

– It should happen in two month after Parliaments of the two countries
adopt ratification.

– Do you think the protocols will be adopted?

– I believe, yes. It’s Armenia’s vital interest as well as interest
of Turkey. Turkey has started this process not due to any sympathetic
considerations in regard to Armenia, but because it is in the interests
of Turkey itself. This process is within the framework on new Turkish
neighborhood policy. Sure, it’s important to Turkey to take into
account Azerbaijan’s interests. Anyway, after all, to complete this
process is Turkey’s interest.

– How do you think the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation will influence
South Caucasus economy which is locked by Azerbaijani and Central
Asian resources?

– Normalization with Turkey will provide new opportunities and will
have positive impact on security and economy in region.

– Can Armenian-Turkish normalization provide Armenia’s move towards
Euro-Atlantic integration?

– Armenia is already involved in many EU programs; it participates in
Association Agreement within the framework of the Eastern Partnership
as well as in European Neighborhood Policy. The negotiations on
associative UN membership will perhaps soon begin. These programs
will go on regardless of whether the border opens or not.

TURKISH-ARMENIAN SOCCER DIPLOMACY: A DIRECT HIT AT AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN POLICY ARCHITECTURE
Elnur Soltanov

Today
57107.html
Nov 2 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is not happy with the two protocols signed between Armenia
and Turkey on the 10th of October in Zurich, Switzerland. The most
common explanation has been that despite all the verbal promises by
its strategic ally, Baku is not sure that the opening of the borders
will be tied to the partial withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from
the territories in and (especially) around Nagorno-Karabakh. But the
level of disappointment in Azerbaijan cannot be fully explained away
by an unfavorable behavior of the brotherly government.

For Azerbaijan, the Turkish border initiative amounts to more than
that. Namely, it is poised to destroy the foreign policy architecture
Azerbaijan has been meticulously building since the mid-1990s around
Karabakh issue, leaving behind uncertainty and confusion. This is
what makes the repercussions of the Turkish-Armenian conciliation so
unbearable for Azerbaijan.

After military defeats in and around Nagorno-Karabakh between 1992 and
1994 and the concomitant cease-fire freezing the situation lopsidedly
in Armenia’s favor, in the spring of 1994, Azerbaijan started to
pursue a new foreign policy strategy. It may have begun by default,
yet by the mid-2000s it has evolved into a clearly, if unofficially,
defined foreign policy doctrine. The nature of the strategy was simple,
invoking the memories of the Cold War. It was to be built on Armenia’s
economic isolation and strategic marginalization. The situation was
Armenia’s choice to an extent, but Azerbaijan was intent on fully
capitalizing on the trend.

Armenia was to be left out of the regional energy and transport
projects and deprived of the benefits of the burgeoning Turkish
economy. This also meant closer relations with Russia and Iran,
outsiders in the Western-dominated global politics. Azerbaijan,
on the other hand, revitalizing its economy, becoming a significant
link in the Western energy security, and increasing the power of its
military, was to eventually make Armenia more willing to concede on the
negotiating table its enormous gains obtained in the battlefield. The
vision and the resources (which, essentially, were hydrocarbons)
behind the project were coming from Azerbaijan, which also had a
significant degree of control over it.

Until recently, the strategy was paying off to the apprehension
of the Armenian and the satisfaction of the Azerbaijani side. The
enormously expensive and rewarding Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline have already been
successfully completed by 2006. The third main transport link,
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad was slated to be finished by 2011/2012.

When Armenians helped to freeze the international investment flow into
the latest project pointing to the intentional isolation of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, in one of the best indications of its willingness to
spearhead and finance the strategic trend, opened up its treasury
generously offering $220 million to Georgia to be paid back in 25
years with a symbolic interest rate of 1 percent.

The dynamism that the pipelines and hydrocarbon revenues have been
generating has had an economic and geopolitical multiplier effect along
the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey axis, of which Armenia was not a part.

Armenian economy was definitely lagging behind with an associated
demographic downturn. According to CIA Country Report, Azerbaijan’s
economy grew twice as fast as the Armenian economy between 2006 and
2008. Its GDP per capita, almost even with that of Armenia a couple
of years ago, was 30 percent more than Armenia’s $6,300 by 2008.

Azerbaijan’s arms purchases, steadily increasing since the early
2000s was starting to offset Armenian military arsenal, seasonally
flooded by Russia’s huge military transfers. In fact, the military
budget of Azerbaijan could be effectively catching up with the entire
state budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2009.

Partly as a result of continuing economic difficulties and overall
insecurities, Armenia’s population size has been stuck around 3
million, while Azerbaijan has grown by a million since 1994 to over
8 million. According to the International Monetary Fund’s forecasts
these trends are to continue for at least the next five years. The
hard economic blows of the Russian-Georgian war and the global economic
downturn of 2008 were the latest indications of how fragile Armenia’s
situation was compared to that of Azerbaijan.

It is difficult to say how much longer it would have taken for Armenia
(if ever) to be more willing to make concessions. The pace was slow
but the strategy and vision of the Azerbaijani political establishment
was clearly defined and things were, it seemed, moving in the right
direction. It is here that the deep disappointment on the part of
the Azerbaijani government lies.

The Turkish move, and there are many reasons to believe that the
initiative came from Turkey, removed the most fundamental pillar out of
the Azerbaijan’s foreign policy architecture. True, the architecture
was being designed by Azerbaijani vision and built by Azerbaijan’s
relatively rich energy resources. But the fundamental pillar necessary
for the success of the isolation project was Turkey’s willingness to
cooperate in keeping Armenia at bay.

For Azerbaijan the timing of the Turkish initiative makes it especially
worrisome. It began after Azerbaijan’s resource-led projects and
investments have already been made. One does not change the direction
of the multibillion pipelines and railroads overnight.

In the same context, it is only with the completion of the pipelines
in 2006 that a true economic gap started to emerge between Azerbaijan
and Armenia with real security implications. As soon as Azerbaijan’s
foreign policy architecture started to show real signs of success
Turkey defected.

Of course, there could be positive implications to the Turkish-Armenian
conciliation for Azerbaijan, yet it is undefined, unofficial and is as
possible as the opposite result. Despite the Justice and Development
Party, or AKP, government’s verbal promises, Karabakh is not built
into the border initiative which has been internationalized and
already slipping off of Turkey’s control.

What could be gone are not only the clarity of the tools and the
purpose of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy strategy around Karabakh,
but also the relative control Baku had over the overall process
targeting the resolution of the conflict. With the signatures in
Zurich, the future of the occupied lands of Azerbaijan is a function
of the overly internationalized Turkish-Armenian relations. Azerbaijan
has lost the initiative.

>From the Azerbaijani perspective, its clear, controllable, working
and priority strategy has been replaced by an unclear, uncontrollable
and an untested alternative. The status quo around Karabakh, which
is unfavorable to Azerbaijan, is no longer the driving force of
the regional political configurations; it has become an appendix to
the internationalized Turkish-Armenian relations. And Turkey, the
international community and Armenia, in dwindling the order down to
zero, are less concerned about Azerbaijani preferences in the zone
of conflict.

One cannot help but remember that Turkey felt betrayed when the United
States decided to withdraw its Jupiter medium-range nuclear missiles
from Turkish soil to resolve its differences with the Soviet Union
after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The current situation between
Azerbaijan and Turkey is not exactly analogous to the aforementioned.

The latter is only a worse case from the Azerbaijani viewpoint.

In the Jupiter crisis the strategy and resources belonged to a more
powerful ally and Turkey was only trying to beef up its overall
strategic position bandwagoning with the overwhelming global American
initiative. But in the case of Turkey and Azerbaijan, a unilateral move
by a more powerful ally is perceived as wasting Azerbaijan’s resources,
Azerbaijan’s strategy and Azerbaijan’s initiative. It would not be an
exaggeration to say that this strategy was shaping the very identity of
the Azeri foreign policy. One of the biggest and overlooked challenges
of the Turkish-Armenian protocols will be dealing with the destruction
of this foreign policy architecture and identity, and the uncertainty,
confusion and the lack of direction it leaves behind.

PETER SEMNEBY: "IT IS NOT CORRECT TO LINK TURKISH-ARMENIAN NORMALIZATION WITH NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT"

APA
Nov 2 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva – APA. "There is no 100-percent of guarantee
for ratification of the Turkish-Armenian protocols of normalization,
but I am sure that it will be realized", EU Special Representative for
the South Caucasus Peter Semneby said in his interview with Russian
"Vremya Novostey" newspaper during his visit to Russia.

He said ratification of the protocols was meeting interests of both
countries. "It is vital issue for Armenia and meets the Turkish
interests as well. It is an example of Turkey’s new policy toward
its neighbors. Of course, it is important for Turkey to take the
Azerbaijan’s interests into consideration and to hear reaction of
Azerbaijanis to this issue. Turkish-Armenian normalization will
create new opportunities and positively impact on the security
problem in the region". Semneby noted that main protest against the
protocols arises not from the Armenian citizens, but from Armenian
Diaspora. "The Armenian leadership should take the citizens’ interests
into consideration and satisfy the Diaspora. I don’t expect public
outbreak in Armenia, but it is a serious problem for the Armenian
authorities because Diaspora plays important role in Armenia’s life
and it has not univocal attitude to the protocols".

Peter Semneby said it was not correct to link the Turkish-Armenian
normalization with the process of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. "These are two different conflicts and it doesn’t need
to link them with each other. Otherwise the doors opened for the
normalization of the relations can be closed again. It is clearly
seen that any considerable tension in one of these conflicts effect on
common atmosphere. It needs to make it that these processes positively
impact on each other".

CONCERT DEDICATED TO GEORGI SARAJEV’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY IN YEREVAN

Aysor
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

Today at the evening will take place the Gala Concert dedicated to
the musician Georgy Sarajev’s 90th anniversary. The concert will take
place in the concert hall after Aram Khachatryan at the evening 19:00.

G. Sarajev is well known especially by drafting Komitas works.

In the concert the Armenian State Youth Orchestra will participate,
conducted by Sergey Smbatyan.

The anniversary evening of the musician is available for everyone.

ARMENIAN CHURCH MARKS THE COMMEMORATION DAY OF ST. STEPANNOS

Aysor
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

Today Armenian Apostolic Church marks the commemoration day of
Sts. Pontiff of Rome St. Stepannos, the Priests, the Deacons and
the people.

The Pontiff of Rome St. Stepannos (Stephen) was born in Rome. He
was the Bishop of Rome since 254 AD. He has been the deacon of the
martyred Pope of Rome Lukianos and after the Popes’ death has been his
successor. According to the Armenian collection book "Haysmavourk",
St. Stepannos has been a courageous and zealous Pontiff leading his
flock, encouraging the faithful during the persecutions and exhorting
them to remain loyal to their faith. He has converted many heathens
to Christianity, and among the converted were the Prince Nemesios and
his blind daughter. After the latters’ baptism the daughter of the
Prince Nemesios becomes able to see, and the prince, witnessing that
miracle, asks the Pontiff to ordain him as a deacon. Becoming aware of
that fact, the King calls the Prince to him and orders him to offer
sacrifice to the idols. But the Prince refuses, and for the refusal
he is martyred together with his daughter. Another Prince and his
servants, who also were pious Christians, are martyred. According to
"Haysmavourk", 12 clergymen are subjected to torments and are martyred,
and the memory of those blessed clergy is commemorated with the memory
of the Pontiff St. Stepannos.

Once, when the pontiff St. Stepannos was celebrating a Divine Liturgy,
the soldiers surround the Church and wish to break the door. At
that time the Pontiff was giving Holy Communion to the faithful in
attendance. After his taking the Holy Communion the soldiers rush in
and kill the Pontiff in 257 AD.

SCHOOL FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ARMENIAN CULTURE
By Max Zimbert

Glendale News Press
Nov 2 2009
CA

Photo: Patil Kilisian, 3, dances during a performance by the
Hamazkayin Valley Chapter Nairi Dance Group during the 35th
anniversary celebration of Chamlian Armenian School in La Crescenta
on Sunday. (Scott Smeltzer/News-Press)

CRESCENTA VALLEY — Garo Melikian, a father of two, attended the
Armenian Cultural Day festival Sunday to see his daughters recite
poetry, songs and skits in front of a crowd of hundreds at Vahan and
Anoush Chamlian Armenian School.

His fourth-grade daughter, Nairi, is improving her Armenian language
speaking and understanding each year. She and her classmates recited
poems and songs in Armenian, and Melikian could see her improvement.

Watching his daughter perform is what a father lives for, he said.

"She grows and performs much better every year," Melikian said. "It’s a
very proud day for as a parent. That’s why we’ve been taking pictures."

Hundreds of children, parents, grandparents and school teachers
and staff celebrated the annual Cultural Day with an event of songs,
dancing, poetry and food. Students and school staff wore white T-shirts
with the phrase, "School is where culture is kept."

Enrollment remains strong at the first-through-eighth-grade campus.

The school educates roughly 500 students and is one of few Armenian
schools that offers language classes in western and eastern dialects.

"It’s a great show of unity," said Saro Nazarian, chair of the Eastern
Armenian Department. "Encouraging kids to learn their heritage and
history .â~@~B.â~@~B. they recognize how their ancients lived in
their homeland, and that’s what we try to convey to these kids who
were born in the U.S. in a multiethnic society."

The festival celebrates the creation of the Armenian alphabet in the
fifth century, Nazarian said.

"Armenians are one of the most ancient cultures on Earth, and we want
to keep that alive," he said.

The Cultural Day provided valuable learning opportunities for Armenian
language and history instructor Vilma Kouyoumjian’s first-, third-
and sixth-graders.

"This is how they learn," she said. "It’s not a Broadway show, but
it’s fun, and it is memorable."

Her students master the language by repetition and by doing. Many
students read arags, or short Armenian fables, aloud in class.

Kouyoumjian recounted one about a fox that criticized a lion for
producing only one cub. The story is illustrative of quality versus
quantity, Kouyoumjian said.

"The themes can be applied to all humankind," she said. "When they
listen to how you speak [Armenian], they pick up and use your words."

The day was meant to promote a day of belonging and community, said
Carmen Ohanian, who logged countless hours planning the festival with
other parents on the organizing committee.

"It’s a lot of work for parents, but the results we see, it’s why
we send our kids to Armenian school and see them becoming Armenian
American citizens," she said.

Students recited patriotic poems in front of a mural of men and women
in traditional Armenian dress. In the center of the background was
a ripe pomegranate, a sign of prosperity and abundance in Armenian
culture.

"Pomegranates are always broke in half for good luck," said Varouj
Keledjian, who was selling handmade jewelry pieces and bronze
pomegranate sculptures. "There’s supposed to be 365 seeds for every
day of the year. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big — that’s
what they say. I’ve never counted."

Across the yard, Armenian food was being prepared. Parent volunteers
served soujouk, taboule and zahtar, a crepe-style dish with thyme
and sesame seeds. Harissa, a barley and shredded beef dish, was also
available. Three self-serve bowls of cumin, cinnamon and paprika let
eaters add some kick.

Red peppers are an important ingredient in many Armenian dishes,
as are onions and garlic, the cooks said.

Houri Douzjian bakes cookies, turnovers and a lasagna dish using
traditional Armenian recipes. Her cookie recipe calls for mastic,
a Greek and Mediterranean gum, as well as walnuts.

Eighth-graders Arman Shabanian and Allen Dishigrikyan said the food was
the highlight of their day. But they also acknowledged they would soon
be graduating and would miss the friends and teachers they discovered
at Chamlian.

"It’s important to know who we are and important to express that,"
Allen said. "It’s the least we can do."

TURKISH PM: "WE CONSIDER PROBLEMS OF OUR AZERBAIJANI BROTHERS AS OUR OWN"

Today
/57099.html
Nov 2 2009
Azerbaijan

"We do not have any discrepancies with Azerbaijan. Taking advantage
of every opportunity, I reiterate that we consider problems of our
Azerbaijani brothers as our own ones," said Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a TV address to the nation.

Turkish Premier noted Turkey wants the Nagorno-Karabakh problem be
resolved through a dialogue.

He said since the beginning the process of rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia "we have regarded Azerbaijan`s interests as our
own interests".

Erdogan expressed regret that there are people who want to turn both
countries against each other.

He stressed the need for historians to study the problems between
Turks and Armenians.