Month: September 2013

PROBLEMS OF ARMENIA JOINING THE CUSTOMS UNION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 13 2013

13 September 2013 – 11:52am
By Vestnik Kavkaza

After the statement by President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan that his
country intends to join the Customs Union, representatives of the
Russian government and the Eurasian Economic Commission are conducting
talks to define the parameters of the process. Russian Premier Dmitry
Medvedev has recently stated that Yerevan joining the CU is complicated
because Armenia has no common border with the countries of the union.

The coordinator of the working group of the Center for the Study
of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Urals-Volga Region under the
Oriental Sciences Institute of the RAS, Alexander Skakov, and the
head of the Finance and Economics course of the Institute of Modern
Development, Nikita Maslennikov, told Vestnik Kavkaza about their
views on the prospects of Armenia joining the CU.

Vestnik Kavkaza: How long will the process of association take place?

Will the union withstand the Armenian economy, as Russia is discussing
reduction of the budget today?

Alexander Skakov: It is a serious question. I think Russia will
withstand it, because Armenia is a very small country, the population
is not big. Integration ties between Russia and Armenia are quite
strong, it won’t be a serious challenge for the Russian budget. As for
how long it will take, the question is also interesting and difficult.

The CU is not a developed organization, it is just trying to form
itself. And there are serious problems. Today there are problems
between Russia and Belarus. Such problems can occur further and there
is no guarantee they would be overcome soon. So I think the point is
not in Armenia, but in the development of the situation in the CU in
general. Whether it can pass through these problems and turn into a
real integration entity.

Vestnik Kavkaza: What are chances of the CU becoming a serious
organization?

Alexander Skakov: I think it depends on the situation in Russia,
first of all. If Russia’s economy doesn’t balance between recession
and stagnation, the chances for the CU increase. If the situation in
the Russian economy worsens, it will influence the CU’s chances very
negatively. The situations in the economies of Kazakhstan and Belarus
are much less important. In Belarus the economic situation is tense,
we know it well. In Kazakhstan it is better, but a lot depends on the
raw character of Kazakhstan’s economy, as this negatively influences
its prospects. There are many questions and unclear places.

Vestnik Kavkaza: How will Armenia joining the CU influence the union?

Nikita Maslennikov: Of course, it will improve the CU, make its
construction more stable. Armenia is not the only candidate, and
after the decision made in the republic it is most probable that
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will do the same. Then we can assume that
by 2015-2016 the union will include six states. This means a more
receptive market, not only the trade market, but also the capital
market and labour market. So, the construction of the Customs Union,
and later the Eurasian Economic Space, becomes more and more stable
and gets more chances for successful development.

At the same time, there should be documents, accession rules, necessary
procedures by mid-2014. It will mean real accession of Armenia to the
CU. I think the step is positive both for the Union itself and the
Republic of Armenia. We should take new deep steps in the sphere of
integration. I think the presence of Armenia in the CU, with their
economic potential, will speed up processes which are underdeveloped.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN STATE MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN INTEGRATION MEETS ARMENIAN FM

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Sept 13 2013

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 13 Sep.’13 / 15:01

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Georgian State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration,
Alexi Petriashvili, who is in Yerevan for a third Informal Eastern
Partnership Dialogue, met Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
on September 12.

“The [Armenian Foreign] Minister spoke about the Armenian leadership’s
willingness to join the [Russian-led] Customs Union and he reviewed the
processes related to this issue,” Petriashvili said after the meeting.

“I want to note, that Armenia’s willingness to join the Customs
Union and the fact that Georgia will be the part of the deep and
comprehensive free trade area [DCFTA] in frames of the Association
Agreement with the EU, cannot impede bilateral relations between
Armenia and Georgia,” he added.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a press release that upcoming
Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius was discussed, as well as
bilateral relations.

“Both sides expressed their satisfaction and underlined that relations
between Armenia and Georgia today are on high level in political,
economic and humanitarian areas. The common willingness to continue
efforts for expanding and deepening beneficial cooperation was
reaffirmed,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

Yerevan hosts on September 13 the third Informal Eastern Partnership
Dialogue. Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood
Policy Å tefan Fule also participates in the meeting, which brings
together ministers and senior officials from the Eastern Partnership
countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week, Fule
said Customs Union membership “is not compatible” with EU’s deep and
comprehensive free trade area because of “legal impossibilities”.

“It may certainly be possible for members of the Eastern Partnership
to increase their cooperation with the Customs Union, perhaps
as observers; and participation in a DCFTA is of course fully
compatible with our partners’ existing free trade agreements with
other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states,” he said.

He also said that development of the Russian-initiated Eurasian
Economic Union project “must respect our partners’ sovereign
decisions.”

He said that any threats and pressure exercised by Russia on the
Eastern Partnership countries “are unacceptable”.

“This applies to all forms of pressure, including: the possible misuse
of energy pricing; artificial trade obstacles such as import bans of
dubious WTO compatibility and cumbersome customs procedures; military
cooperation and security guarantees; and the instrumentalisation of
protracted conflicts,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS

The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 13 2013

By Messenger Staff Friday, September 13 Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
has recently stated that according to official statistics, around
80,000 people emigrate from Armenia annually. According to Aliyev,
in five to six years not more than 1 million people will remain in
Armenia. Azerbaijan and Turkey keep Armenia in isolation and Aliyev
claims that this will continue until Armenia de-occupies the disputed
region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA HOPES TO RECEIVE CHEAP GAS FROM RUSSIA

The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 13 2013

By Messenger Staff
Friday, September 13

Armen Movsisyan, Armenia’s energy minister, has spoken about the
possibility of gas from Russia being subsidized. Movsisyan explained
that Russian state energy company Gazprom has decided to sell natural
gas to Armenia at $270 per thousand cubic meters. Movsisyan expressed
his hope that 30% of this amount will be subsidized. The minister
expressed his confidence that as soon as Armenia enters the Eurasian
Union the price of natural gas from Russia will fall to $189 per
thousand cubic meters.

HRANT DINK MURDER CASE HAS REGRESSED, LAWYER SAYS AHEAD OF RETRIAL

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 13 2013

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

The case on Hrant Dink’s murder has not advanced but regressed, one
of the lawyers representing the Turkish-Armenian journalist said,
as the retrial is set to start next week.

“We are currently much further behind of the starting point of the
trial,” Fethiye Cetin told reporters during a press conference on
Sept. 13, arguing that in the initial trial the indictment already
defined the organization as “terrorist” while in the retrial, this
aspect of the case would be reviewed.

Cetin, who published this month a book about the unknown facts
of the case (“Utanc Duyuyorum: Hrant Dink Cinayetinin Yargýsý,”
“I Feel Ashamed: The Judgment of the Hrant Dink Murder”) explained
that the Supreme Court had defined the motive of the organization as
“political” rather than “terrorist” in its verdict that led to the
retrial of the case.

The Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittals of top
suspects, including Yasin Hayal, who was charged with being the
instigator of the assassination and the “leader of a terrorist
organization.” Hayal and other suspects such as Erhan Tuncel and
Ersin Yolcu will also be retried.

“According to the Supreme Court, this organization was established
in 2004 by Yasin Hayal. It comprises Erhan Tuncel, Ersin Yolcu,
Ahmet Ýskender and Ogun Samast, whom they use as the triggerman of
the murder. […] However it is defined as only established with a
political motive, to punish Hrant Dink,” Cetin said. For a murder to
be considered a “terrorist act,” it would have to be committed with
a clear aim against the state of the public order, according to the
Turkish Penal Code.

“The Supreme Court has made a mistake in its definition of the
nature and the aim of the organization,” Cetin said, adding that
it could take the court many years of trial to rule on the “terror
organization” aspect.

Dink, the renowned editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot in front of his
office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.

Following the convictions of Samast and Hayal for the murder, a high
criminal court had dismissed charges related to “armed terrorist
organization.” Later, the Supreme Court verdict defined the acts of
all suspects in the case under “an organization formed to commit crime”
according to the Turkish Penal Code’s Article 220.

Cetin argues in her book that the killing order was given by the
Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MÝT) via an encrypted
message.

September/13/2013

ARMENIA TO EXTEND LIFE OF AGEING METSAMOR NUCLEAR PLANT UNTIL 2026

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 13 2013

YEREVAN – Agence France-Presse

Metsamor nuclear plant is located only 16 kilometers to the Turkish
border. Hurriyet photo

Armenia said Sept. 13 it would extend the life of its ageing nuclear
power plant, despite safety concerns over the Soviet-era facility in
an active seismic zone.

“The atomic power station will operate until 2026,” Armenia’s energy
minister Armen Movsisyan told journalists. Earlier this month,
President Serzh Sarkisian reached an agreement with Russian state
nuclear agency Rosatom to help keep the plant running beyond its
original closing date of 2016. Last year, Armenia had postponed the
plant’s closure until 2020.

The European Union has repeatedly called for the plant to be closed
down, arguing that it poses a threat to the region.

Armenian authorities say that the plant has undergone considerable
renovations over the past decade and has been passed fit by the
International Atomic Energy Agency.

Built in the 1970s, the Metsamor plant is located in one of the most
earthquake-prone regions on the planet, some 30 kilometres (19 miles)
west of Yerevan. The facility – which provides the tiny Caucasus
nation with around 40 percent of its power – was closed for around
seven years following a devastating earthquake in 1988.

Movsisyan said that a new facility would be built over the next decade
to eventually replace the Metsamor plant.

September/13/2013

RENEWED DINK TRIAL UNLIKELY TO LEAD TO TRIAL OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 13 2013

13 September 2013 /YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ~^AN, Ä°STANBUL Although a new trial
is set to start on Sept. 17 in regards to the Hrant Dink murder case
after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that
dismissed the existence of an organized criminal network in the case,
the new process is most likely to put the case at a worse standpoint
than before because the initial trial had been launched on the premise
of a terrorist organization, but the high court decision says it is
an armed organization that formed to commit a specific crime.

“When the Supreme Court of Appeals decision came out, it sounded
good because it overturned the decision of the lower court, which
found no evidence that a terrorist organization was involved in
the assassination of Dink, but the fact is that although the high
court says there is an armed organization, it limits that terrorist
organization’s scope, members and aims, putting us in a position worse
than back to square one,” said Fethiye Cetin, chief lawyer on behalf
of the family of Dink, at a press conference on Friday organized by
Hrant’s Friends, who held demonstrations before each trial demanding
justice during the five-year-long trial in the Dink case.

The 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals in May overturned
the lower court ruling acquitting the suspects of forming a terrorist
organization, but it said they were guilty of forming an illegal and
armed organization to commit a crime in line with Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) Article 220.

“According to the 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, that
organization was established in 2004 by Yasin Hayal with political
motives and it consists of a few other people, including Erhan Tuncel,
and since those ultranationalist people were all angry at Dink,
who was put on trial with the accusation of ‘insulting Turkishness,’
they wanted to punish Dink,” Cetin said.

She also pointed out discrepancies in the explanation of the ruling.

One such discrepancy, she explained, is that Dink was not even
sentenced in 2004 for the crime that was attributed to him.

In addition, she said that the 14th High Criminal Court, which will
hold its first hearing on Tuesday in the new case, is most likely
to act within the limits drawn by the Supreme Court of Appeals and,
as a result, people who seek justice will suffer for a few more years.

“The verdict of the high court for us has been like living with a
bad illness rather than dying; however, somebody from the Dink family
said that this result will kill us miserably through great suffering,”
Cetin added. “The murder can never be solved unless public officials
complicit in the murder are brought to justice.”

Dink, the late editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, was
shot dead on Jan. 19, 2007, by ultranationalist teenager Ogun Samast
outside the offices of his newspaper in Ä°stanbul in broad daylight.

The hitman Samast was tried in a juvenile court because he was a minor
at the time of the crime and sentenced to nearly 23 years in prison.

As a result of the Ä°stanbul 14th High Criminal Court’s ruling issued
on Jan. 17 of last year, Hayal was given a life sentence for inciting
Samast to commit murder. Tuncel, who worked as an informant for the
Trabzon Police Department, was found not guilty of the murder and
was acquitted.

The judge at the time said they acquitted the suspects of organized
crime charges, but this does not mean that there was no organization
involved, rather that there was not enough evidence to prove the
actions of this organization.

Dink’s lawyers had submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeals
arguing that the court ruling violated the TCK by acknowledging the
existence of a criminal organization but concluding it could not be
located as it remains secret, adding that the court ignored evidence
of the organization in the case.

As the verdict of the lower court was met with outrage by civil
society groups, politicians and others, tens of thousands of people
marched in protest.

Hakan Bakırcıoglu, another lawyer representing the family of Dink,
explained at the same press conference on Friday that the lawyers for
the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the case presented evidence
indicating that Samast was not acting alone and have documented that
the police force in Trabzon, where most of the suspects are from and
where the assassination plot was hatched, and the Ä°stanbul Police
Department knew about the murder.

The lawyers have been expressing their frustration that there may have
been attempts to protect the suspects. A lengthy list of suspicious
irregularities in the Dink murder investigation, including deleted
records and hidden files, suggestive of a police cover-up attempt,
has marred the judicial process.

Since the day of the murder, mounting evidence has indicated that the
police were tipped off about the assassination plot some months before
the actual attack. Ä°stanbul’s police chief has also acknowledged
that there was a tip-off about a possible attack on Dink, but said
its priority level was too low for his department to take it seriously.

The European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR] ruled in Sept. 2010
that Turkey had failed to investigate and prosecute those who were
responsible for Dink’s murder and this constitutes a violation of
Dink’s right to life.

There are many questions remain to be answered, Cetin said; for
example, why Zekeriya Oz, the former prosecutor conducting the
investigation into Ergenekon — the clandestine network of coup
plotters — did not merge the main Dink case with the Ergenekon case.

“Was that because the Ergenekon case was intentionally limited to
punish only coup plotters? Is there a tacit agreement to cover other
actions of Ergenekon which was likened to Gladio but no acts of it —
other than the [2007] attack at the Council of State — were brought
to light? Where are its assassinations and murders?” she asked,
adding that those questions should be answered by prosecutors.

Garo Paylan, member of the group Hrant’s Friends, said at the press
conference that they will again meet on Tuesday at the court which
will hold its new hearing on the Dink case and repeat their calls
for justice.

“Our slogan is ‘leave the fake performance, prosecute those who are
primarily liable,” he said.

SCANDAL AT THE TRIAL OF CHIEF EDITOR OF `TOLYSHI SADO` NEWSPAPER, HILAL MAMEDOV

Turan Information Agency
September 12, 2013 Thursday

Baku/11.09.13/Turan : It was an emotionally tense situation at
the September 11 hearing of Hilal Mamedov, editor of the newspaper
“Tolyshi Sado”, in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. This was brought
on by the final word of prosecutor Tural Yusifov.

The prosecutor expressed his opinion that the judicial investigation
proved the guilt of Mamedov on all three counts of treason, inciting
ethnic hatred and illegal drug trade.

According to the prosecutor, Mamedov in 1992 was recruited by Iranian
intelligence services in detriment of the independence and territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan.

In the summer of 1993, according to the investigation, ” Mamedov
actively promoted the declaration of Talysh – Mugan Republic and
after the failure of this separatist movement fled to St. Petersburg.

A statement by the Attorney was accompanied by indignant remarks from
the audience such as, “it’s a lie,” and, “It ‘s not true .”

When the attorney spoke of ties, Mamedov had with the Armenian
community of Russia finally enraged supporters of the accused.

The entire audience rose to their feet, and accused the Public
Prosecutor of criminal defamation and insult of Mamedov and the
Talysh people.

“This is discrimination based on nationality,” “This is a provocation,”
” This is not respect for the memory of Talysh men, who died in
defense of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh war “.

The Indignation by Mamedov supporters was so emotional the prosecutor
was forced to retreat, followed by the judges.

Mamedov himself urged his supporters to remain calm, but his forced
withdrawal from the court caused tempers to rise even more. Judicial
guards had great difficulty in calming people down and clear the room.

In this case, the judicial officers were correct.

Later, Mamedov supporters were invited back into the room and judge
Azer Orujov urged them to remain calm and allow the prosecutor to
complete the statement.

The judge emphasized that this is a mere statement by the prosecutor
and solutions will be made by the judges.

In response to demands from the audience to “remove the Armenian
question” the judge agreed, saying “this question is removed.”

After returning to the hall, the prosecutor limited the charges to
illegal drug trade.

He asked the court to declare Mamedov guilty under articles 274
(treason ) and 283.2.2 (incitement of national, racial or religious
hatred) and 234.4.3 (illegal manufacture, production, acquisition ,
storage, transportation , transfer or sale of narcotic drugs in large
size) of the Criminal Code, which assumes a maximum penalty of 3 to
10 to 15 years in prison.

However, taking into account the mitigating circumstances, that he is
the only breadwinner in the family, and his health status and age,
the prosecutor offered to condemn Mamedov to 6 years imprisonment,
serving his sentence in a maximum security prison.

Speeches by the lawyers are set for September 25.

Lawyer Ramiz Mamedov expressed his disagreement with the prosecutor’s
statement, calling it absurd.

According to him, the prosecutor did not express his attitude to the
many arguments made by the defense, including the fact that the proof
was obtained illegally.

The lawyer believes that the court should acquit the defendant. -06D-

***

At today’s hearing of the editor of Tolyshi newspaper Sado Hilal
Mamedov the public prosecutor asked the court to sentence Mamedov to
six years in prison.

This provoked a strong reaction from the audience, after which the
prosecutor actually ran out of the courtroom.

The process will continue with speeches by advocates.

* Hilal Mamedov was arrested on June 21, 2012 on charges of illegal
possession of drugs. Then he was also charged with treason and inciting
ethnic hatred. Amnesty International has found him a “prisoner of
conscience.” -16/06D-

BAKU SAYS DIRECT DIALOGUE WITH YEREVAN REQUIRES ‘SERIOUS PREPARATIONS, SERIOUS ISSUES’

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 13 2013

By Sara Rajabova

Direct dialogue between Baku and Yerevan should not be “a goal in
itself”, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev
said during a working visit to Armenia, Armenian media reported on
September 13.

Mammadguliyev is attending informal dialog being held within the
Eastern Partnership.

“There was dialogue but now it is suspended. As for direct dialogue,
it all depends on how the preparations for it will be made. There
should be serious preparations, serious issues. It should not be a
meeting just for the sake of meeting. There should be discussions with
some decisions. It is up to the presidents,” the deputy minister said.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in
conflict which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Peace talks,
mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group,
are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk
Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. However, the
negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

A precarious ceasefire, reached after a lengthy war that displaced
over a million Azerbaijanis, has been in place between the two South
Caucasus countries since 1994. Since the hostilities, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven
surrounding districts.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.

NATO SEEKS SPEEDY RESOLUTION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 13 2013

13 September 2013, 18:48 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

NATO wants the soonest resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and
Central Asia James Appathurai told Trend news agency on September 13.

“The resolution of the conflict is very important, but it is possible
only through the political methods,” Appathurai said. “Therefore,
NATO supports the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group.”

Speaking about the possible role of NATO in solution of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Appathurai said it is too early to talk
about the role of any organization or a country in the resolution
of the conflict while the two parties have not agreed upon the main
principles on the settlement of the conflict.

“It is clear that the term of “frozen conflict” doesn’t reflect
the reality well. Both parties often report about the violation
of ceasefire regime. There are serious loses among military and
civilians,” he said.

The situation on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani armed
forces remains tense due to frequent ceasefire violations by the
Armenian troops.

A precarious ceasefire, reached after a lengthy war that displaced
over a million Azerbaijanis, has been in place between the two South
Caucasus countries since 1994. Since the hostilities, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven
surrounding districts.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia’s
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.