Author: Andres-Papazian

Azerbaijan and Armenia swapped one prisoner each

yerkir.am
16:14 – 17.03.2011

Azerbaijan and Armenia swapped one prisoner each on Thursday through
the mediation of the Red Cross.

Armenia returned Azerbaijani soldier Anar Hajiyev, who was captured on
10 May 2009.

Azerbaijan returned Armenia civilian Artur Badalyan, detained in
Gadabey District on 9 May 2009.

The exchange began at 14.00 in neutral territory between the
Armenian-occupied village of Bash Garvand and the villages of Tazakand
in Agdam District and Husanli in Tartar District, which remain under
Azerbaijani control.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross,
members of Azerbaijan’s State Commission for Prisoners of War,
Hostages and Missing Persons and military representatives were present
at the handover.

One Azerbaijani serviceman remains in prison in Armenia – Junior
Sergeant Roman Huseynov who was captured by Armenian armed forces on
27 August.

Eight Armenian citizens are held in Azerbaijan: three are soldiers who
have said they want to leave for a third country, rather than return
home, and five are members of one family who crossed the border
voluntarily.

Three Armenian soldiers – Grant Markosyan, Rafik Tevonyan and Vartan
Sargsyan – were recently sent from Azerbaijan to a third country
through UN mediation, it emerged today.

From: A. Papazian

Nowruz: Armenian youth more tolerant on Iranians inflow than older people
Both generations speak out against settlement of Iranians in Armenia.

On March 21-28 the tourist inflow in Armenia will reach a record high,
with over 20.000 Iranian tourists to arrive in Armenia for Nowruz
(Muslim New Year) celebrations.

March 21, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The response of local population to Iranians celebrating Nowruz in
Armenian capital varies, some are irritated, others glad; some
indifferent to the presence of foreigners in the country, others
unaware as to the reason for overflow of Iranian tourists.

The results of the poll, initiated by PanARMENIAN.Net show Armenian
youth is more tolerant on the arrival of Iranians during Nowruz than
the older generation.

Those aged 18-20 have no idea about Nowrus and are indifferent to
Iranians’ visits.

In contrast to them, 21-29 age group responds positively to the visits
of Iranian tourists, which, as they say, promote development of
economy and tourism in Armenia. According to official data, Armenia’s
budget is replenished by USD 20 000 at Nowruz days. However, those who
do not object to the visits stipulate conditions, `the tourists must
observe the laws of the country they visit.’ Many noted that in recent
years, some Iranians violated public order, with ensuing conflict
incidents reported.

Another group of people aging from 30 to 40 categorically oppose the
inflow of Iranian tourists, saying that there are plenty of
Azerbaijanis among them, what is inadmissible. `The National Security
Service should establish control over the process of arrival and
departure of the Iranian citizens,’ one of the respondents insisted.

There also people who criticize those opposing to the arrival of
Iranian tourists. The Armenian nation is scattered all over the world
and it’s ignoble to oppose arrival of tourists from another country,
according to them.

However it’s noteworthy that all of those surveyed spoke out against
settlement of Iranians in Armenia, what can cause a number of
problems, including demands to build mosques, schools and cultural
centers.

Mariam Matnishyan / PanARMENIAN News

From: A. Papazian

International institutions praise Armenian state revenue committee activity

March 26, 2011 – 14:51 AMT 10:51 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The Armenian state revenue committee has held a presentation of
reforms it carried out for the improvement of business environment in
the country.

The event was attended by representatives of various international
institutions, including UN, World Bank, IMF, USAID,EBRD, ADB and OSCE
Office in Yerevan.

Committee deputy chairmen Arthur Afrikyan and Artashes Beybutyan
presented the large-scale reforms implemented in tax and customs
sectors, including introduction of `one-window’ system for business
registration.

The participants praised the committee’s cooperation with the
internationals organizations.

From: A. Papazian

Turkey, Georgia explore new strategy

25/03/2011

Turkey is about to initiate a passport-free zone with neighbouring
Georgia for the first time in its history.

By Alakbar Raufoglu for Southeast European Times — 03/25/11

Georgians could soon enter Turkey without passports. [Maia
Metskhvarishvili/SETimes]

In an unprecedented step, Turkey is drafting a strategy that will
include passport-less travel with Georgia, an administrative official
informed SETimes.

“This is going to be an outstanding change for our region,”
Turkish-Georgian Friendship Group Chairman Celal Elbay said. “Like in
the EU, our citizens will be able to travel to each other with only
state Ids.”

The so-called “United Caucasus” project was discussed by Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili in Tbilisi last month.

Since then, Elbay and his team have visited Tbilisi twice to follow up
on Ankara’s strategy of initiatives regarding the integration of the
two countries’ economies.

“We open doors towards each other in order to bring peace and
development and economic strength to our region,” he said.

Georgia shares longstanding historical ties and burgeoning trade with
Turkey. Tbilisi’s precarious geopolitical relationship with Russia is
also a significant factor driving its calculations.

Under the strategy, Georgia proposes to unify the alliance between the
three South Caucasus countries and Turkey. Ankara’s ambitions are to
spread its Georgia initiatives throughout the Caucasus in the future.

“Turkey and Georgia can extend mini-EU type co-operation in the
region, by involving the other neighbouring countries, but this idea
needs time,” Sinan Ogan, chairman of the Ankara-based Turkish Centre
for International Relations and Strategic Analysis, told SETimes.
“Without solving the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the
Caucasus Union [will fail].”

“Rather than focusing on a vision that will not be reachable in the
foreseeable future, more energy should be expended on resolving
existing conflicts and developing more productive bilateral relations
in the South Caucasus,” agreed Janusz Bugajski of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.

“Although the idea [Caucasus Union] may be admirable, it would be
difficult to unify a region that is beset by inter-state conflicts,
separatist struggles, and an interfering Russian government that seeks
to exploit regional disputes to promote its state ambitions,” he told
SETimes.

“Turkey and Georgia enjoy many areas of political, security, economic,
energy, transportation and cultural co-operation, coupled with a
border policy that will render passports irrelevant,” said John
Sitilides, a government affairs strategist with Trilogy Advisors LLC
in Washington.

Deepening co-operation and simplified border crossings are a far cry
from a union of states. “The nations of the Caucasus will need to
anchor themselves in surer sovereign structures, and more enduring
institutional relationships,” he added.

MIT Centre for International Studies Executive Director John Tirman
believes Turkey should strive to develop open economic relations in
the Caucasus, but a political union is not going to happen in the next
decade, if ever.

“Normal diplomatic relations, free trade zones, and settlement of
outstanding grievances need to come first,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

Police may allow opposition to enter Liberty Square on April 8 – Alike Sargsyan
14:57 – 26.03.11

The police may allow opposition to enter Liberty Square on April 8,
the Chief of Police has said.

Speaking to Tert.am, Alik Sargsyan said that he does not currently
rule out the possibility that the police would allow the participants
of the rally to be organized by the Armenian National Congress to
continue it on Liberty Square.

`At this moment I don’t rule it out. We will see what the situation
will be like,’ said Sargsyan. `In any case we are doing everything not
to spark any conflict-prone situations. Nor there is such need.’

Liberty Square has traditionally been an arena for demonstrations.
After the 1 March 2008 post-election clashes that left at least 10
killed and dozens wounded.

It was closed for the construction of an underground parking lot and
re-opened in spring 2010. Since then the Yerevan Municipality has
repeatedly rejected opposition’s bid to sanction it a rally there. But
during the April 17 ally the police allowed the opposition ANC to
continue the rally on Liberty Square.

Alik Sargsyan further downplayed a widespread view that the venue of a
rally directly affects the number of the participants.

`The Liberty Square will in no way increase or decrease the number of
the participants of the rally. They [the opposition] will have the
same number they have now. It does not matter whether [the rally] is
near the Matenadaran or not,’ Sargsyan said.

According to him, the prestige of the police is being undermined each
time when a rally sanctioned by the authorities is being shifted into
another venue.

`As a result of these negotiations [like the March 17 rally ones] we
are giving way. I don’t know how the people perceive this concession;
in any case the concession has nothing to do with the weaknesses of
the police,’ Sargsyan explained.

`We just want there to be any conflict, and the participants of the
rally are our people, and we don’t want any opposition, scuffles,’ he
said.

Sargsyan also mentioned he regretted that the fact that the police
allowed the opposition to enter the Liberty Square on March 17 and
continue the rally there was perceived as a weakness of the police.

`Had we not wanted, we would have not allowed [it]. But we released
that there is no need to come into conflict. We did allow, as we have
been doing numerous times,’ said Alik Sargsyan.

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

Turkish Prime Minister afraid of unpublished books, MP says

March 26, 2011 – 13:01 AMT 09:01 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

A Turkish court issued an order for all draft copies of a jailed
journalist’s yet unpublished book to be confiscated.

The court ordered police to seize all draft documents and copies of
investigative journalist Ahmet Sik’s book, which reportedly focuses on
the influence of an Islamic group within the police force. Sik was
jailed earlier this month – along with six other journalists – accused
of links to an alleged hardline secularist plot to topple Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in 2003. Their arrests drew
expressions of concern from Western governments and international
media rights groups.

Some 400 people, including other journalists, politicians and military
officers, are already on trial, accused of membership in an alleged
terror network, called Ergenekon, which prosecutors say conspired to
provoke public unrest and trigger a coup to bring down the government.

Critics say the government is using the case to round up government
opponents, an accusation Erdogan rejects. The government has backed
the investigation, saying it is strengthening democracy.

Police raided and searched the premises of an Istanbul publishing
house. Ahmet Oz, an editor at the publishing house told reporters
police had destroyed an electronic copy of the draft from a computer.
Police also seized a copy from Sik’s colleague and friend, Ertugrul
Mavioglu, the journalist said. Sik had sent him a copy to read,
seeking his opinions.

The confiscation order comes weeks after a prosecutor investigating
the case insisted none of the journalists were detained for any of
their writings and said he had evidence on the journalists which he
was unable to disclose. Sik’s lawyer had said the journalist planned
to name the book “The Army of the Imam,” after influential Islamic
preacher, Fethullah Gulen, who is believed to have millions of
followers in Turkey.

The journalist suggested that his detention was linked to his book,
shouting “anyone who touches (Gulen) burns” as he was being taken away
by police on March 3, The Associated Press reports.

`It’s for the first time when an unpublished book is being eliminated.
Prime Minister is scared of even unwritten books,’ Cumhuriyet quoted
an opposition MP as saying.

From: A. Papazian

Spain goes contrary to EP recognition of Armenian Genocide

March 26, 2011 – 13:15 AMT 09:15 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The Spanish parliament overruled a petition regarding the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey between 1915 and 1923.
The votes from the PSOE, PP, CiU and UPN paralyzed the motion
presented by independentists (ERC) and nationalists (PNV).

In relation to this matter, the Armenian National Committee of Spain
made the following considerations: – President Rodriguez Zapatero
presented the Alliance of Civilizations to United Nations in 2004. We
believe asking Turkey to assume their responsibility of the Armenian
genocide falls within the context of this proposal, and by overruling
the petition of Recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Spanish
parliament has invalidated this Alliance. Also, Turkey who had
accepted this Alliance, contradicts it by refusing to recognize the
Genocide.

– In relation to the statement which declares that there are other
priorities on the political agenda with Armenia, we would like to
point out that most of the problems which Armenia encounters at the
moment are directly related to Turkey not assuming their historical
responsibilities toward the Armenian people. The solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh’s conflict is connected to this matter, a condition
that Turkey imposed on Armenia for the signing of the 2009 protocols.

– Turkey and Azerbaijan continue with their anti-Armenian policy with
the closing of their borders imposed by Turkey, which prevents the
development of Armenia and the systematic destruction of cultural and
religious monuments of Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan).

– With this overruling, Spain separates itself from the position
adopted in 1987 by the European Parliament which recognized the
genocide committed by Turkey.

– Condemning crimes against humanity is not related to historical
revisionism, denouncing any act of racism and xenophobia, which the
European Union advises, is a priority for any political organization,
with independence of its ideological views.

– The passing of time does not lessen the seriousness of the facts and
it is everyone’s responsibility to stop the statements which are used
to justify impunity. We do not want retaliation, we demand historical
justice.

From: A. Papazian

Official Baku fears Stepanakert airport opening
Dictators, in general, love to shoot down passenger planes, and in
this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than Muammar Gaddafi.

Opening of the airport in Stepanakert may and must become a cold
shower for the excessively belligerent Azerbaijani officials, who use
any information from Artsakh to show their warlike character to the
world. And it should be noted that this belligerence is ungrounded
and, most obviously, is designed for the Azeri population, as Baku is
incapable of intimidating the people of Karabakh.

March 22, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Opening of the airport is dedicated to liberation of Shushi, and no
one doubts that it will open exactly on May 9. According to head of
the Department of Civil Aviation of NKR, Dmitry Atbashyan, by this
date Stepanakert airport will be fully ready for operation. The very
next day after Atbashyan’s statement, director of the State Civil
Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan Arif Mammadov announced
Azerbaijan would shoot down the aircraft that would be landing at the
Stepanakert airport. The Azeri side has already managed to complain to
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). `We notified
that the airspace over Karabakh is closed. The Law on Aviation
envisages physical destruction of airplanes landing on this
territory,’ Mammadov said. Moreover, official Baku considers itself
entitled `to destroy any planes that will come to land at the airport
of Stepanakert’. According to Mammadov, the ICAO management
recommended making every effort to avoid possible negative effects in
the region. In ordinary language, ICAO warned Azerbaijan against use
of force. Let us note that dictators, in general, love to shoot down
passenger planes, and in this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than
Muammar Gaddafi. The difference is that the Libyan leader did shoot
down planes, while Ilham Aliyev fears. But just in case, there are
statements made on behalf of Aliyev, and they should be taken
seriously by the international community. One may even say that
Official Baku fears opening of the Stepanakert airport, as it may
become another window on the world for Nagorno-Karabakh. It is also
possible that thanks to the airport there will rise the number of
people who want to travel to Karabakh and it is what Ilham Aliyev does
not approve of. Neither is it excluded that the `black list’ of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will expand…

Apparently, this attack of Baku against the Republic of Artsakh was
not well thought out, for the leadership through Arif Mammadov
received a response from U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza, who apparently
surprised everyone in Azerbaijan by declaring about the
inadmissibility of using force against civilian aircraft en route to
Nagorno Karabakh. Once again Baku forgot the simple truth: no matter
how well an ambassador treats his host country, the most essential
thing for him is interests of the country he represents, in this case,
those of the United States. The USA that turns a blind eye and a deaf
ear to the arming of Azerbaijan, its bellicose rhetoric, violation of
the ceasefire regime, finally made it clear to Aliyev that its
patience is not unlimited. Baku is given freedom of action, but only
within well-defined borders. Washington is well aware that even the
attempt to shoot down a civilian airplane in the sky over Artsakh
would definitely result in war. `We urge the sides to work together to
resolve all issues of commercial aviation safety prior to the planned
opening of a new airport in Nagorno-Karabakh,’ the diplomat said in an
interview to RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service. `Any slight attempt
Azerbaijan might take will be fraught with unpredictable consequences
for Azerbaijan itself,’ declared David Babayan, head of the Central
Information Department at the Office of the President of Artsakh.

And what will come out of this is quite easy to predict. Russia and
Iran will not stand by, Turkey and the United States, either. As a
result there will break out a regional war that could easily spread
throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, the more so when under
the current circumstances striking a match is enough to blow up half
the world.

`Azerbaijan seeks to scare Artsakh people into refraining from airport
services. We are resolute in our intention to open the airport, no
matter whom it vexes in Azerbaijan. And if Azerbaijan makes even a
slight attempt to carry out her intentions, it is going to be fraught
with unpredictable consequences for this country itself,’ Babayan
stressed.

Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News

From: A. Papazian

Ara Papian: OSCE MG trying to resurrecting Stalinism in a single region alone

March 26, 2011 – 10:32 AMT 06:32 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

One of the most important fundaments of maintaining order is
functioning within one’s own mandate, within one’s own area of
authority. This applies as well, without any qualifications, to bodies
established as per international law and working in the realm of
international relations, head of Head of the Modus Vivendi Centre,
historian Ara Papian said in his article titled `The Co-chairs are
Simply the Mediators or, An Attempt at Resurrecting Stalinism in a
Single Region Alone.’

`Nevertheless, it appears that this simple truth is being dismissed
ever increasingly by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The latest
testament to such an approach is the expression `the seven occupied
territories of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh (NK)’ found in
the report of the co-chairs of the 24th of March, 2011. It is evident
that, by such phrasing, this group has clearly functioned outside of
its authority and violated its own mandate,’ Mr. Papian said.

`No-one has authorised this group of co-chairs to decide the status or
fate of any piece of territory. Who has given that group the right to
even equate what they refer to as `Nagorno-Karabakh’ with the former
Autonomous Oblast of Mountainous Karabakh of the erstwhile USSR? That
is to be decided by the parties in dispute. The authority of the
co-chairs is limited to mediation, that is, to benefit the process of
negotiations founded on the exclusion of the use of force. That is
absolutely and clearly codified in the mandate of the co-chairs of the
Minsk Group: `Promoting a resolution of the conflict without the use
of force and in particular facilitating negotiations for a peaceful
and comprehensive settlement’ [Mandate of the Co-Chairmen of the
Conference on Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of OSCE (`Minsk
Group’, Vienna, 23 March 1995, DOC.525/95)]’. None of the fifteen
clauses of this mandate provide for the co-chairs to come to some
final decision or to make any sort of ruling on anything.’

He went on saying: `It is even more extraordinary and perfectly
baseless to refer to territories surrounding the former Autonomous
Oblast of Mountainous Karabakh as `territories of Azerbaijan’. I
imagine that the co-chairs, as high-ranking and experienced diplomats,
are more aware than I am that the legal possession of any territory in
international law is decided by the title to territory and not by
administrative boundaries. If they or anyone else could cite any
international legal document – again, any international, and, again,
any legal document, as opposed to the decision of some political party
– that the title to even a square inch of the current territory of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has ever been recognised as belonging to the
Republic of Azerbaijan, I would publicly apologise for my ignorance.
And if that cannot be done, then I am correct and consequently no one,
and certainly not any mediating group, has the right to make use of
such baseless wording.’

`A question may arise: what kind of phrasing to use, then? I believe
it would be most appropriate to say, `the territories adjacent to
former the Autonomous Oblast of Mountainous Karabakh’, without
mentioning `Azerbaijan’, as the AOMK (or NKAO, to use its Russian
abbreviation) was an autonomous unit within the Soviet Union, which
was subject to the entire country’s authority in an indirect manner;
that is to say, it was an administrative unit of the USSR through yet
another administrative unit of the USSR. As a reminder, the Soviet
Union had a four-tier administrative organisation and, independent of
the tier level of the administrative unit, each administrative unit
was considered the same in terms of title: all of those administrative
units were subject to one and the same authority, namely, the
sovereignty of the USSR,’ Mr. Papian said.

`Let me also emphasise that the administrative boundaries set by
Stalin could never act as legal bases for the delimitation of
frontiers of states, as international law makes clear, that ex injuria
jus non oritur, that is, law does not arise out of injustice. And let
me remind the forgetful that the very OSCE which authorised the
co-chairs equated Stalinism with Nazism in its resolution `Divided
Europe Reunited’ at Vilnius on the 3rd of July, 2009. Is anyone in
Europe ready today to return to the boundaries set by Hitler? So why
would one think that it is acceptable to resurrect the crimes carried
out by Stalin in the southern Caucasus?’

From: A. Papazian

Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers meeting postponed

March 26, 2011 – 10:57 AMT 06:57 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The meeting between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan that was scheduled for March 25 has been postponed for a
later date, Interfax reported quoting a Russian diplomat as saying.

The date of the trilateral meeting was postponed because of its being
inconvenient for one of the sides, the source said.

From: A. Papazian