Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMED FORCES RECEIVE NEW IDENTIFIERS OF EXPLOSIVE DEVICES

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
January 25, 2012 Wednesday

Representative of the Defense Ministry for the Southern Military
District Colonel Igor Gorbul reported that the ministry started
purchasing identifiers Korshun.

He said, “At the end of 2011, mechanized infantry brigades in Stavropol
Territory and in Volgograd Region, as well as at military bases abroad
(Armenia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Ukraine (Crimea) received more
than 100 portable detectors of proximity explosive devices Korshun
that allowed remote finding of explosive devices.”

The device allows remote detection of explosive devices that contain
radio electronic components or ready-made lethal elements. He adds
that Korshun provides for detection of explosive devices and their
disarming regardless of whether they are in a switched on or switched
off condition.

The time of preparation of the device for work does not exceed ten
minutes. Along with this, it can work for more than eight hours without
interruption at ambient temperature from -30 to -50 degrees and at
relative humidity of 95%. The speed of movement of a sapper during
the search may amount up to three kilometers an hour. The weight of
the device is about five kilograms.

Source: Rosbalt news agency, January 23, 2012

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN FM COMING TO LITHUANIA

Baltic News Service
January 25, 2012 Wednesday 12:09 PM EET
BNS

VILNIUS, Jan 25, BNS – Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
is coming to Lithuania on Thursday.

During his stay in Vilnius, he is scheduled to meet with Lithuania’s
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis
and top leaders of the country’s parliament, the Foreign Ministry said.

According to the press release, the meeting between Nalbandian and
Azubalis should focus on development of bilateral ties, the two
diplomacy chiefs should also sign an agreement on cultural cooperation.

Nalbandian was last in Lithuania during the opening of the Armenian
Embassy in Vilnius on Nov. 26 last year.

He will come to Vilnius en route from Latvia.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH MILITARY CAPTURE AZERI SOLDIER – ICRC

Interfax
Jan 25 2012
Russia

An Azeri soldier has been captured by the armed forces of breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh, said Shakhla Gakhramanova, spokeswoman for the
International Committee of the Red Cross office in Azerbaijan.

“The Committee’s office in Khankendi [the Azeri name of the town
of Stepanakert] received information from the relevant authorities
of Nagorno-Karabakh regarding the capture of an Azeri soldier. Our
committee representatives will visit the soldier at the first available
opportunity,” the ICRC official told Interfax.

Gakhramanova declined to give the name of the captured soldier.

From: A. Papazian

FRANCE ACCUSED OF ‘RACIST’ LEGISLATION
by Alexander Christie-Miller

The Times (London)
Jan 25 2012
UK

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a furious
attack against France, accusing it of passing “racist” legislation
to outlaw genocide denial.

In an indication of the deepening crisis between the two Nato allies,
Mr Erdogan threatened to punish Paris for the law passed by the French
Senate on Monday that makes it illegal to deny that the massacre of
some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 was genocide.

“The proposal adopted in France is tantamount to discrimination and
racism, and it massacres freedom of thought,” Mr Erdogan said in a
speech to members of his ruling Justice and Development Party.

He warned that Ankara would retaliate “step by step, without any
retreat” and impose unspecified sanctions on France if President
Nicolas Sarkozy Enhanced Coverage LinkingNicolas Sarkozy -Search
using:Biographies Plus NewsNews, Most Recent 60 Dayssigns the Bill
into law, as he is obliged to do within two weeks.

“Those who fall silent against such measures will be turning a deaf ear
to the footsteps of approaching fascism in Europe,” Mr Erdogan added.

The legislation makes it an offence punishable by prison to deny any
genocide formally regarded as such by France, including the so-called
Armenian Genocide, formally recognised by 20 nations, although not
by Britain.

Under the law, genocide denial in France will now carry a jail term
of up to one year, and a (EURO)45,000 (£37,500) fine.

Turkey has long claimed that the pogroms in which up to 1.5 million
Armenians died in eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1916 were not
a genocide, arguing that the killings occurred in the context of
an interethnic conflict in which many Turks also died. But a broad
consensus of international historians believe the killings were part
of a campaign of systematic extermination.

Turkish media and large sections of the public have reacted with
fury to the law. The daily Sozcu newspaper ran with the headline
“Sarkozy the Satan”.

Ankara Municipality has vowed to abolish French street names in the
city and to erect a memorial close to the French embassy to commemorate
France’s own “genocide” during its colonial occupation of Algeria.

Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister who has publicly opposed the
genocide Bill, called for Turkey to show restraint. “Today I’d like to
call on our Turkish friends to keep their composure,” he said. “I have
to say I’m convinced that we will return to constructive relations –
I extend my hand, I hope it will be taken one day.”

But Ankara has warned that unless the Bill is challenged by France’s
Constitutional Court – a measure requiring the support of 60 senators –
then it will introduce a prearranged programme of as yet unspecified
sanctions.

“If the Bill is not taken to the Constitutional Council and finalised,
Turkish-French relations will be dealt a heavy blow,” said the Turkish
President, Abdullah Gul.

From: A. Papazian

ERDOGAN SHOULD RESIGN OVER ARMENIA ROW

EurActiv

Jan 26 2012

Erdogan should have followed a rational and strategic approach
regarding the French bill on Armenian genocide. Instead, he acts
like a small kid in the sandbox, writes Michael Kambeck from European
Friends of Armenia.

Michael Kambeck is Secretary General of the Brussels based NGO European
Friends of Armenia. The following was sent exclusively to EurActiv.

“The hysteria in Turkey over the French bill prohibiting the denial
of the Armenian Genocide could hardly be more self-damaging or more
revealing. Readers of the official Turkish statement of 24 January
will be struck by a tone unworthy of a strong and mature nation
and rather be reminded of speeches of some of those Arabic leaders,
who have recently been ousted by their people.

France is allegedly “damaging the freedom of expression in a
tactless manner”, says Turkey, which has just today (25 January 2012)
received another condemning report from Reporters Without Borders
for its further weakening media freedom, dropping down to place 148
out of 178 (France is on 38, Armenia on 75, Azerbaijan on 162). The
French law does the opposite of what the Turkish government claims.It
protects freedom.

France has, together with the country I know best, Germany, for many
years had such laws against the denial of the Holocaust. This has
neither stopped researchers on this issue nor journalistic freedom,
even where journalists took views which I personally would find
inappropriate. But such laws DO protect against blatant hardliners
and their propaganda, who generally practice the politisation that
Prime Minister Erdogan so loudly condemns these days.

He accuses Sarkozy of fishing for Armenian votes, while omitting
the large number of voters with a Turkish background but a French
passport. The Armenian Genocide has long been recognised by France,
as by many other European states and the European Parliament.

This has been done in view of overwhelming evidence, while in Turkey
archives still remain closed, documents still disappear and journalists
writing about 1915, like Hrant Dink, face the opposite of freedom. The
new French law simply brings the prosecution in line with the earlier
recognition decision. The German Bundestag is allegedly considering
a similar move and should do so.

The European ideal of tolerance needs intolerance vis-a-vis
intolerance. Genocide is the ultimate intolerance. Free democracies
need to be strong in their defence against those who seek to undermine
that freedom.

While the law does not mention Turkey and President Sarkozy even sent
a conciliatory letter to the Turkish government, Erdogan’s reaction
was a whole list of threats, calling the law “an unjust action,
which disregards human values and public conscience”… “No one
should doubt our Government’s principled approach in this issue”
the MFA refers to the announced retaliation measures.

Such words do not sound like the communication of a mature and
proud nation, it sounds like a vexed child in a sand box, saying
“He started first!”. Turkey kills its relations with France and
blames France for it. Instead, Turkey would have had the chance to
run a different policy, even a very nationalistic one (which I would
deem wrong but at least clever): Turkey could have opened the border
with Armenia and with that started a process of debating the issue,
which no international player would have liked to interfere with.

Turkey could state, how ever they classify the “events of 1915”, that
this was during the Ottoman Empire and hence only indirectly concerns
modern Turkey. Turkey could have focussed on its national interests
by gaining support from the international community for securing a
deal which limits possible Armenian damage claims and embarking on
a course of a genuine zero-problem-policy with its neighbours.

Instead, that zero-problem-policy has visibly failed all around
and Turkey is today mainly known for being “loud”. It destroyed its
interests with the EU and sends enraging and mobilising signals to
the Armenian Diaspora around the world and to its own minorities,
especially to the Kurds in its poorer East.

All this has a high price for Turkey and all this has been dominated
neither by Turkey’s Foreign Minister nor by the President. In the
interest of the Turkish nation, you would have to call upon Prime
Minister Erdogan to resign.

And as even long-standing friends of Turkey, like MEP and Turkey
rapporteur Oomen-Ruijten, become publicly more and more frustrated
and critical, France and the EU seem to have little to lose, as long
as Mr Erdogan is in power. The only light comes from the Turkish
intelligentsia, which means that civil society is today our best hope
for saving Turkey’s modernisation.”

From: A. Papazian

ARARAT MKRTCHYAN: “TALKS BETWEEN OPPOSITION AND GOVERNMENT LAID FOUNDATION FOR NEW POLITICAL CULTURE IN ARMENIA”
Interview by Susanna Petrosyan

Vestnik Kavkaza

Jan 26 2012
Russia

Ex-Health Minister of Armenia and member of social-democratic party
‘Gnchak’ Ararat Lazarian told VK correspondent about his summary of
2011 and made some predictions for 2012.

– What were the most important events in the political life of Armenia
last year?

– The ruling coalition completely failed to observe its election
promises, as well as the development program for 2008-2012. The
new budget for 2012 simply doesn’t have the funds to carry out
the program. Even the PM admitted the high level of poverty and
emigration. Different international monitoring organizations also
agree that the state of affairs in Armenia is deplorable.

As for the Armenian National Congress, it had made a number of
decisive steps towards forming a true civic society in our country. By
increasing constitutional pressure on the government, the opposition
managed to free political convicts, to freely organize rallies and
political meetings. And most importantly, it managed to open up a
direct dialog with the government. In my opinion these talks between
opposition and government laid foundation to the new political culture
in Armenia.

– Do you think this dialog will also influence the outcome of the
future elections in a positive manner?

– Of course, if the parties learn to compromise, they will try to reach
an agreement in the face of serious challenges. Despite harsh rhetoric,
I believe there will be open pre-election TV-debates that would ensure
the highest level of elections’ transparency possible in Armenia.

– How would you characterize the developments within the ruling
coalition?

– After the events of March, 1 of 2008 there exist certain tensions
between the two parties that form the ruling coalition – the
‘Prosperous Armenia’ party and the Republican Party of Armenia. In the
second half of 2011 the rift became more obvious. The latest arrests of
‘Prosperous Armenia’ members became the culmination of this face-off.

I think this conflict will only escalate. The President and the
Republican Party of Armenia try to make the ‘Prosperous Armenia’
party members participate in the elections in the RPA’s lists, at it
will certainly cause some resistance.

As for the third nominal member of the ruling coalition, the “State
of law” party, it is not a self-standing political force, it agrees
with the Republican Party on all important matters.

– What is the role of recent high officials’ resignations in this
process?

– I don’t think there was any political background to these
resignations. It looked more like an interior conflict within the
ruling elite, and the resignations were aimed at strengthening of
the President’s authority.

– You’ve mentioned that the authorities failed to observe their
promises. But the Armenian National Congress also failed to reach its
goal posed in 2011 – to change the power in the country. So what is
the atmosphere in the opposition camp today?

– 2011 was a hard and eventful for the opposition. The ANC is
undergoing the process of consolidation and restructing. Some
politicians left the association, but it didn’t have any major impact.

Yes, the ANC couldn’t constitutionally change the power, but it is
still possible that current critical situation in economy combined
with ANC’s efforts would lead to early elections.

– What can you tell us about the political year 2011 in general?

– I think it wasn’t successful for our country.

– What event will be the most important one in 2012, how do you think?

– The parliamentary elections scheduled for May and the presidential
elections that are supposed to take place 8 months later. The
presidential campaigning will begin right after the parliamentary
polls.

From: A. Papazian

AS TURKEY AND FRANCE CLASH OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAW, ANKARA PLOTS NEXT MOVE
By Sedat Ergin

Worldcrunch

Jan 25 2012

The French Senate passed a controversial law this week that makes it
a crime to deny that Armenians were victims of a Turkish genocide.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan had angry words for France, but a
closer look shows Ankara may have another strategy in the works.

ISTANBUL – The French Senate’s approval this week of a bill making it
a crime to deny that Turkey committed genocide against Armenians has
pushed the Paris-Ankara diplomatic standoff to a new phase. On one
side is the Turkish government; on the other, a three-way coalition
of President Nicolas Sarkozy, his Socialist party rival Francois
Hollande and the Armenian lobby.

The turf of this struggle has now moved from the halls of Parliament
to the heart of French law.

But it is first worth noting that Ankara’s response to the Senate
decision has been far more controlled than the virulent reaction first
shown when the bill was accepted by the French Parliament in December.

One explanation of this more moderate reaction was that Ankara has
delayed putting into motion a ‘plan of action’ intended to truly
retaliate against France. Speaking to his party’s members of Parliament
on Tuesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government’s
reaction would depend on how the situation evolved, and that at this
stage they would be “patient.” This suggests there is no great rush
regarding sanctions.

Even though he used phrases such as ‘racist’ and ‘the footsteps of
fascism’ when referring to Sarkozy, the Prime Minister’s main message
was that the issue would not shake Turkey. Erdogan said “Turkey would
not stoop to quarrel with a small racist mentality.” He added that
Ankara would “act with the reason and reserve suitable to a great
country,”.

The Prime Minister also noted that it would take 60 signatures for the
Constitutional Council, which is charged with preserving the principles
of the French Constitution, to object to the bill. This suggests that
he doesn’t want to burn bridges with those French lawmakers who are
close to Turkey.

Three options, two roads

A roadmap with three options is taking shape for Turkey.

The first, as the Prime Minister suggested, is for 60 representatives
of the French Senate or 60 members from Parliament to apply to the
Constitutional Council with an objection on grounds that the bill
violates the French Constitution.

This would need the support of about two-thirds of the 87 senators who
voted in favor of Turkey in Monday night’s vote. It seems that there
is a group of Senators prepared to do this. On the other hand, both
Sarkozy and Hollande, who are facing off in the French presidential
election, are each applying significant pressure on their parties to
prevent this.

There is one significant detail to note. Even without reaching
the threshold, if the Senators express their will to do this, the
Constitutional Council can apply to the government and ask that the
law be suspended without taking effect. If a formal petition is made,
the law would likewise need to be suspended.

What if this effort doesn’t produce a result? The Constitutional
Council has one more option to exercise its power: in 2008, a change
to the French Constitution gave French citizens the right to apply
directly to the Council if there was a situation which was potentially
unconstitutional.

In this case, a Turkish or French citizen who has said the events of
1915 were not a genocide and has been penalized for this by a lower
court could apply to the Constitutional Council. But this objection
would first need to pass a higher court. If, in the final analysis,
the Constitutional Court found this person justified, it would be a
considerable victory for Turkey in France.

Let us imagine that this route was taken and that the Constitutional
Court nonetheless rejected this citizen’s appeal. There would then
be one more path to take: an appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights in Strasbourg.

In this event, the European tribunal would need to ascertain whether
this law violates the European Convention on Human Rights. If it
does reach this stage, this case would undoubtedly be one of the most
critical files the European institution has ever taken up.

Whichever route is followed, it is without question that Ankara is just
at the beginning of a long, drawn-out, extremely difficult process.

From: A. Papazian

THE SENATE BILL MAY MAKE TURKEY RETURN TO NEGOTIATIONS WITH ARMENIA
Anna Balyan

“Radiolur”
26.01.2012 15:20

The bill adopted by the French Senate may make Turkey return to
negotiations with Armenia, Director of the Center for Regional Studies
Richard Giragosian told a press conference today.

According to him, there can be two motives: Turkey will either wish to
use the negotiations with Armenia to stop the process of recognition
of the Armenian Genocide or will try to escape its own foreign policy
problems by shifting the attention from the East to the West.

The analyst noted that “Turkey must come to understand that Armenia’s
patience is not endless.” “Besides, Armenia may change its mind and
decide not to negotiate without preconditions,” he added.

Richard Giragosian considers that if Vladimir Putin comes to power
in Russia, the methods of settlement of the Karabakh conflict will
sharply change. According to him, Putin is less tolerant and his
mediating efforts may be restricted to organizing a meeting between
the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and exerting pressure on
both parties.

Richard Giragosian recalled that an Azerbaijani Officer yielded himself
prisoner to the Armenian side and a murder attempt was organized
against the Israeli Ambassador. According to him, this means that
Azerbaijan is a source of danger because of its instability unlike
Armenia, which is a supporter of peace and stability.

From: A. Papazian

ARTSAKH PAYS TRIBUTE TO KARINTAK HEROES

Panorama.am
26/01/2012

The Artsakh youth paid tribute to the heroes of Karintak village
of NKR. They visited and laid a wreath at the memorial for Karintak
heroes.

An Azerbaijani battalion comprising 179 soldiers attacked Karintak
village on January 26, 1992. 27 Armenian soldiers fought in Karintak.

They managed to defeat the Azerbaijani battalion.

The Azerbaijani side lost 79 soldiers, 40 were wounded, and the rest
fled the battlefield.

The Armenian side lost 7 soldiers.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA CONTINUES TECHNICAL RE-EQUIPMENT OF ARMED FORCES – HEAD OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

news.am
January 26, 2012 | 13:19

YEREVAN.- Technical re-equipment of the Armenian Army is improved
every day, said head of parliamentary committee on defense and national
security Hrayr Karapetyan.

Hrayr Karapetyan met with the journalists on the eve of the Army Day
celebrated on January 28.

He stressed that new technologies are introduced, bringing an example
of the Armenia-produced unmanned aerial vehicle presented during the
last year’s military parade.

“Other states, including our neighbors, spend millions to purchase
drones, particularly those produced in Israel. Meanwhile, Armenia
is producing the unmanned aerial vehicles itself,” he said during
a Thursday press conference dedicated to 20th anniversary of the
Armenian Army.

From: A. Papazian