Author: Andres-Papazian

BILL ON KARABAKH’S RECOGNITION SCOURGE FOR AZERBAIJAN, MP SAYS

news.am
Dec 7 2010
Armenia

The draft amendments to international agreements aim at providing
for legal agreements between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, MP Victor
Dallakyan stated in RA National Assembly on December 7.

Speaking of Karabakh peace process, Dallakyan stressed the status-quo
in the Karabakh conflict zone will be maintained in the future. He
pointed out three concrete ways of Karabakh conflict resolution,
particularly the formation of a single state, formation of a
confederative republic and recognition of Karabakh’s independence.

However, the MP emphasized it is still early to recognize Karabakh.

“At the OSCE Summit in Astana, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
clearly stressed that in case of Azerbaijani military aggression
Armenia will have no alternative, but to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh
as an independent state. The bill on Karabakh’s recognition should
always be on the parliamentary agenda as a scourge for Azerbaijan,”
the MP said.

According to him, Karabakh conflict has acquired the form of economic
confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A country which will
build a more competitive economy and create a more democratic society
will win this struggle,” Dallakyan underscored.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN CB TO TOUGHEN MONETARY POLICY

news.am
Dec 7 2010
Armenia

At its December 7 sitting, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) decided to leave the annual refinancing rate unchanged.

The CBA press service reports that 1.6% inflation was registered
this November as compared with this October, with annual inflation
reaching 9.6% (a 0.5% rise).

The CBA Board believes that the reason for the annual inflation is
still the rise in food in international and agricultural markets. By
the end of November, the share of the rise in prices for fruit,
vegetables, meat, dairy and baked products in the annual inflation
has constituted 6.7%.

The CBA Board forecasts a stronger influence of inflation and
inflationary expectations, which may soon play a crucial role in
forming information environment.

The CBA Board members pointed out that the ongoing processes in
the Armenian economy are not the cause of inflationary pressures,
as demand slowly recovers.

The CBA Board pointed out the reducing probability of inflation
remaining within the target during the period.

Considering the impact the monetary policy has on gross demand, with
aggravating supply factors and secondary influence, the CB Board
believes monetary terms are likely to be toughened.

From: A. Papazian

WE HAVE TO DO NOTHING BUT SAY WE ARE READY FOR WAR, SHIRAK TOROSYAN SAYS

news.am
Dec 7 2010
Armenia

The most important message of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s
speech in Astana was the point that Yerevan will recognize Karabakh in
case of Baku’s military aggression, Armenian MP, member of Republican
Party, Shirak Torosyan said in the parliament today.

He stressed that the Armenian side does not want war. “However,
in response to our pacifism, Azerbaijan replies by military aggression.

We have to do nothing but say we are ready for war,” Torosyan stated.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY REMAINS INDIFFERENT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
by Mahir Zeynalov

Today’s Zaman
Dec 5 2010
Turkey

Before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton departed for Astana to
attend the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
summit, many claimed back home in the US that Europe’s largest security
watchdog “is not of any use at all”.

Amid such increasing concerns regarding the whole structure of
the organization, one should also be worried if mechanisms used by
this organization would be proper platforms to resolve conflicts,
particularly those dealing with ethnic animosities, decades-long
hostilities and persistent hatred. Besides being a platform
for reconciliation, the OSCE summit this week has turned into a
battleground between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his
Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, as usual, again traded abusive
language and threats over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – the most
bloody and protracted conflict in the post-Soviet space. Armenia, in
a surprising move, vowed to recognize the self-declared, unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent entity if Azerbaijan matches its
war rhetoric with a military offensive by resuming war.

President Abdullah Gul, in an interview with Reuters this week, said
Turkey is playing an increasing role in ex-Soviet states. “Even though
there is no breakthrough point (in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict)
at the moment, there are some positive steps taking place,” Gul said.

“There is a silent, but very determined diplomacy.”

But views differ on whether Turkey has the capability to deal with this
conflict. Turkey has played a very significant role in pushing Iran
back to the negotiating table with the international community over
its suspected nuclear programme. Similarly, Turkey also continues
to play a constructive role in Iraq and the Balkans. The country
also successfully mediated between Israel and Syria in 2008-2009 but
did little with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh, and many argue this has
something to do with Russian hesitation to let Turkey become involved
in the matter.

Hasan Koni, an expert on Turkish foreign policy from Galatasaray
University, said Turkish foreign policy is now designed in a way
that is set to compromise on a wide range of issues to achieve a
breakthrough, which could be true for the Cyprus problem, the Kurdish
issue and Nagorno-Karabakh, as he explained how Turkey could exert
its influence to settle Nagorno-Karabakh.

He argued that the OSCE Minsk Group had been established to keep the
leaders of the two sides talking, using delaying tactics [to prevent
any outbreak of war]. “I have ‘wrestled with France’ as I was an
adviser to a (foreign minister) in the mid-1990s when the EU member
state worked assiduously to stop the peace process between Azerbaijan
and Armenia, through the use of the alleged Armenian genocide issue,”
he said. The primary goal of France, Koni said, is to block Turkey’s
route to Central Asian energy resources and prevent better ties with
Turkic countries.

There are nearly 400,000 ethnic Armenians living in France, and the
country made denying the so-called Armenian genocide a crime several
years ago.

Koni alleged that Russia has many military bases in Nagorno-Karabakh
that help it command an extensive area in the Caucasus region. The
country has also been a historical and long-established ally of
Armenia. Koni also said the Armenian lobby in the US makes this
country antagonistic to Turkey and Azerbaijan on the Armenian issue.

“These are the co-chairs of the Minsk Group. A complete ‘delaying’
tactic,” Koni said.

Drawing a pessimistic and bleak picture, Koni said as a member of
the OSCE Minsk Group there is less that Turkey can do because Turkey
is now in a position that allows it to step back with regard to many
issues that it is involved in to reach a deal rather than moving on
the offensive.

Talks over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh are very analogous to the
Middle East peace process between Israel and Palestine in terms of
the methods used to keep the sides talking. Russia is continually re
warding Armenia to make it stay at the negotiating table and push the
Azerbaijani side to keep talking as a way to prevent Azerbaijan from
resuming the war against Armenia.

Azerbaijan, as a result, is trying to persuade the international
community that the conflict poses an imminent danger to security in
the region, including vulnerable energy routes, in a bid to elevate
the dispute to international platforms for discussion.

Koni said even four consecutive United Nations Security Council
resolutions would not really mean anything because these resolutions
are being deliberately used by major powers.

While Armenia placed massive military power into the provinces adjacent
to Nagorno-Karabakh, where no single Armenian lived, the UN Security
Council adopted four resolutions, calling on the aggressor state to
withdraw its troops from the occupied territories. These resolutions
have not yet been implemented.

Vefa Guluzade, a former foreign policy aide of the late Azerbaijani
President Haydar Aliyev, said Azerbaijan is working hard to resolve the
issue as soon as possible and is consequently making huge concessions.

Azerbaijan earlier pledged “the highest autonomy ever on earth” for
Karabakh Armenians if they agree to stay inside Azerbaijan. Guluzade
said they enjoyed autonomous status during the Soviet period even
though it was a facade, a fake independence, lacking the privileges
that a normal autonomous state would have, but “this is a big
compromise already” because Azerbaijan will give them more than they
have ever had before.

Noting that Russia is a primary stumbling block in resolution of the
conflict – as the country constantly provides every type of aid to its
ally, Guluzade said Azerbaijan and Armenia would become members of NATO
if they resolve this problem. “Russia does not want this,” he added.

Both under the auspices of former President Vladimir Putin and Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev, Aliyev and Sarksyan met numerous times
to agree to discuss basic principles to establish a foundation for
a settlement of the dispute.

Guluzade said all talks through Russian mediation have failed to yield
any tangible results, adding that Aliyev is very constructive during
the talks, but that Russia constantly pushes Azerbaijan to keep talking
to its arch foe. According to the Azerbaijani side, it would be a good
thing if there was a breakthrough. But talks have gone on for decades
and Azerbaijan believes that resuming war is a more effective way
of solving problems there. Russia thus pushes Azerbaijan to talk as
a tactic to distract it from war. Dismissing any optimism regarding
peace talks under OSCE Minsk Group mediation, Guluzade quipped that
the talks are doomed to fail “until Russia disappears.”

Speaking about Turkey’s role in bringing the protracted conflict to
the attention of the international community, Guluzade said Turkey is
sincere and seeks justice. “But this is not how things work,” he said.

Acknowledging that Turkish leadership has intensified its
activities and wishes to spearhead a process that will address the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the current government, Guluzade said
Turkey simply does not have that capacity now.

He also praised the current government for taking the issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh seriously. The former adviser said Turkey previously
remained indifferent to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories in
the early 1990s. Former Prime Minister of Turkey Suleyman Demirel
did not speak out when the Khojali massacre, a mass slaughter of
ethnic Azerbaijanis in Khojali town in Karabakh, where more than 700
civilians, including 100 children, were killed in couple of hours,
was committed.

Now both sides are talking for the sake of talking, as the alternative
would be a war. The Turkish leadership and the international community
should pay more attention to this small spot to urgently address
the conflict instead of 18 years of diplomatic overtures that have
produced almost nothing thus far.

From: A. Papazian

Published on EurasiaNet.org ()

December 6, 2010 – 4:53pm

Armenian Diaspora groups are feeling a need to broaden and deepen
their commitment to helping Armenia’s political and economic
development. Participants at a Diaspora conference, held in Los
Angeles on December 4, focused not only on such hot-button issues as
Genocide recognition, they discussed ways to help Armenia battle
corruption, promote tax reform and encourage the development of civil
rights.

Many attending the one-day academic event, which was convened to
discuss issues relating to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation [5]’s
120-year history, expressed concern about Armenia’s present economic
and diplomatic situation. The Armenian economy is struggling to
recover [6] from the 2008 global financial crisis, while Yerevan’s
efforts to normalize relations with its two hostile neighbors —
Turkey and Azerbaijan — remain stalemated. The event was co-sponsored
by the University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian
Studies and the academic journal, The Armenian Review.

Participants generally lauded the Armenian government’s conduct in the
foreign policy sphere, in particular Yerevan’s decision to suspend
efforts to normalize relations [7] with Turkey. Some experts at the
conference maintained that the question of the 1915 mass slaughter of
Armenians in Ottoman-era Turkey, a tragedy that Diaspora groups insist
meets the criteria for genocide, remains a stumbling block for the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram
Hamparian hoped for more sober assessment in Washington, Ankara and
Yerevan to develop a framework for better relations. `The foundation
for any meaningful Turkish-Armenian relations is a truthful and just
resolution of the Armenian Genocide,’ Hamparian said. `The
[Armenian-Turkish normalization] protocols failed by and large because
they tried to avoid that reality.’

Domestic issues, in particular widespread corruption and inequitable
income distribution, generated a lot of discussion at the
conference. Hrair Dekmejian, director of USC Institute of Armenian
Studies, suggested that Armenia’s national security could be enhanced
by reducing graft and closing the income gap. Other attendees took aim
at the Armenian tax code.

Recent changes in Armenia’s individual tax code eliminated a deduction
from the gross income before tax, and introduced something of a flat
tax, imposing similar rates across a variety of income brackets. Ara
Khanjian, a professor of economics at Ventura College who has worked
at the Economic Ministry of Armenia, described the new framework as
`extreme’ and `unfair,’ especially for low-income Armenians. He went
on to suggest that, as the Armenian economy struggles to regain a
sense of equilibrium, the Armenian government needed to take a more
active stance in the regulation of commerce.

Dekmejian, the USC institute director, said the ability of various
Diaspora organizations to assist Armenia’s recovery would benefit from
greater coordination and more outreach. `There are huge numbers of
Armenians [abroad] who have nothing to do with anything Armenian,’ he
said.

Conference co-organizer, Asbed Kotchikian, the editor of The Armenian
Review, cautioned members of the Diaspora against being quick to judge
the actions of the Armenian government. He added that members of the
Diaspora tend to have a romanticized notion of their homeland and
harbor unrealistic expectations concerning the capabilities of the
government in Yerevan. `What gives you the right, living here in Los
Angeles, to decide whether or not Armenia should open the border with
Turkey?’ Kotchikian, who has lived and taught in Armenia, said,
referring to the Diaspora community in the United States. `If you
haven’t had experience living in a state, being a citizen where your
rights are being violated and so on, you cannot have strong feelings
about it.’

According to Kotchikian, the violence in Yerevan that followed the
2008 presidential elections [8] has awakened desires among many in the
Diaspora community to promote civil rights and environmental
protection in Armenia. =80=9CIt’s very fascinating to see in the last
two years the number of people talking about these things or trying to
do something,’ he said.

Editor’s note: Liana Aghajanian is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

Liana Aghajanian
Armenia
Armenia
Armenian Diaspora
2010 © Eurasianet

Source URL:

Links:
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[2]
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[4]
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From: A. Papazian

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
Ingrid Peterson, Administrator
University of Michigan
1080 S. University, Suite 3633
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Phone: 734.763.0622; Fax: 734.763.4918
email: [email protected]

Call for Papers:

Third Annual Graduate Student International Workshop:
“Armenian Subjects in the Medieval and Early Modern Islamic World”

This year’s workshop will be held on May 5-7th, 2011 and will focus on
Armenians as agents living in the Arab, Ottoman and Safavi worlds. We
invite graduate students, from all over the world, who work in the
disciplines of history, literature, and art history to send an
Abstract (250 words) describing your proposed talk. We particularly
encourage students who are studying Armenians as integrated subjects
of Muslim empires and who analyze the ways Armenian sources can offer
a different, or more complex understanding of medieval and early
modern Muslim societies and cultures.

Please send an Abstract along with a CV to: Due February 15th, 2011

Armenian Studies Program
University of Michigan
1080 South University Ave., Suite 3633
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
USA

Fax: 734.763.4918
Email: [email protected]

From: A. Papazian

Only President Aliyev emerges from WikiLeaks ‘with dignity’

Mon 06 December 2010 14:04 GMT |

Vladimir Socor
News.Az interviews Vladimir Socor, senior fellow on the Eurasia
Programme at US thinktank the Jamestown Foundation.

Last week’s OSCE summit in Astana paid considerable attention to the
Karabakh settlement, although the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
did not meet at the summit. What is the OSCE’s role in the conflict
resolution?

The resolution of the conflict does not depend on the OSCE. This
organization can only confirm the resolution by means of the Minsk
Group. The Minsk Group can bring the parties to a resolution and only
afterwards can the OSCE confirm it. The OSCE is playing a purely
symbolical role. This is just the arena for public statements, rather
than resolution. The Minsk Group has not been able to do anything in
the past two decades. Some achievements on paper in the form of the
Madrid principles were accepted by Azerbaijan and not accepted by
Armenia. Armenia did not give any official response to these
principles. This means a refusal from Yerevan. In the past few years
Russia and especially President Medvedev have taken a leading role in
contacts in diplomatic negotiations. The United States, not to mention
France, are playing a secondary role in the settlement. This is not
natural.

Considering the well known priorities (I think these priorities are
wrong) of Afghanistan, Iraq, confrontation with Iran, as well as other
unlucky efforts, the South Caucasus and Caspian region have lost
attention. Instead of taking this region as a high priority in its
policy, the United States is engaged in these unlucky efforts in the
other regions. As a result, Russia is playing (at least, symbolically)
the leading role in negotiations on the Karabakh conflict. But this
has not always been the case. We all remember that the United States
took the initiative under President Clinton. At the meeting in Key
West nine years ago the United States was close to resolution of this
conflict. I think when the United States realizes that they will not
be able to do much in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or the confrontation with
Iran, when they go back to foreign policy concentrated on Europe and
the South Caucasus, then the United States will be able to play a
leading role, including in the resolution of the conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

What has caused the Wikileaks scandal and what are its possible
implications for Azerbaijan?

I am sure that there was no plot to distribute this material. I am
confident that this is a sign of the weakness of the US government
that a young person of low rank could access this volume of
confidential material. This is just a sign of the weakness of the
organization of the US government. It’s not a plot.

As for the content of this material, I think that all those named are
discredited, except for President Aliyev. Only President Aliyev passed
this exam with dignity.

Why do I say this? Judging from the quotes, everything he said is
balanced, moderate and clever. He is a dignified representative of
Azerbaijan’s state interests. Everything he said is true. As an
expert, I can confirm what he said. He was right and he was not trying
to abuse anyone, he just represented the state interests of
Azerbaijan. Almost everything he said there, he had said earlier in
his public statements.

The things he did not said in public and just said in these private
talks include two aspects. Azerbaijan allegedly does not want Turkey
to purchase Azerbaijani gas at a lower price and resell it at a high
price. But we already know this is the policy of Azerbaijan. However,
President Aliyev has never said this is a sharp form in public. But
it’s entirely reasonable and everyone, including the European Union,
understands this. The EU agrees with Baku’s position. So there is
nothing terrible in this.

Meanwhile, the second aspect, which the president might have said less
harshly in public, is related to relations between Azerbaijan and
Iran. The president attempted to explain to the US negotiators that
the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are not so clear. On the one
hand, Iran is a strong country and important neighbour and partner,
and in this connection Azerbaijan has many common interests with it,
but on the other hand there are potential threats coming from Iran to
Azerbaijan. The president described these potential threats. This is
also a very reasonable and balanced position. The president takes care
of the interests of his country and this is quite natural. The
representatives of other states, quoted by WikiLeaks, say anything at
all, insult others, just waste time in these empty, sometimes abusive,
talks on WikiLeaks. President Aliyev’s words are different. He does
not insult or waste time, he talks about specifics.

The Turkish press have interpreted Ilham Aliyev’s remarks quoted on
WikiLeaks as if he is against Turkey’s transformation into a big
transit country. How would you comment on this?

As far as I understand it, this is a great misunderstanding in the
Turkish press after WikiLeaks. This is completely untrue. Experts on
energy have understood what President Aliyev said. In reality, he said
Azerbaijan is against Turkey buying Azerbaijani gas cheaply in the
East and then reselling it at a high price in the West. This would
mean that in this case Turkey would be distribution hub. In other
words, it’s is a country that has no gas, buys it cheaply and resells
it at a higher price and keeps gas in underground gas reservoirs.

This is Azerbaijan’s position, which is supported by the EU.
Azerbaijan completely supports Turkey’s growth into a major transit
country and this is quite a different issue. This means that
Azerbaijan will have direct contact with Azerbaijani gas consumers in
Europe via Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkey offers transit services for which
it receives transit income from Azerbaijan.

This is a concept of the European Union and Azerbaijan is in favour of
it. There are no cases in Europe of a country importing gas and
reselling it at a higher price. European countries offer transit
services for a specific fee.

This is what President Aliyev said, judging from WikiLeaks. But
journalists who are not specialists in energy did not understand the
word hub, used by the Azerbaijani leader. In addition, Azerbaijan
really wants Turkey to be a big transit country, including for
Azerbaijani oil and Azerbaijani gas. Azerbaijan has launched the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines for Turkey to
become a transit country, including for Azerbaijani resources. No
country wants to depend on one energy corridor and Azerbaijan is no
exception. Azerbaijan, as President Aliyev said, like any other
country does not want to `put all its all eggs in one basket’. This
practice is applied everywhere and there is no reason for Turkey to be
angry about what is quite normal. Even Turkey wants to import energy
via different corridors, not only from Azerbaijan but also from Russia
and Iran. Thus, this scandal in the Turkish press has no grounds. I
think there are people that are interested in spoiling relations
between Turkey and Azerbaijan. But Turkish public opinion should
understand the gap between a distribution centre and a transit country
and should understand the concept of the diversification of corridors
both from the Azerbaijani side and Turkey.

Leyla Tagiyeva

From: A. Papazian

NGO Appeals to Armenian Government to Register Families Left Homeless from
1988 Earthquake

Epress.am ()
Dec. 6, 2010

Shirak Center NGO has sent an appeal letter to RA President Serzh
Sargsyan and RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan (no relation), in which
it proposes to make amendments to the government decisions that define
the registration procedure for families left homeless as a result of
the 1988 earthquake.

In the appeal letter, the NGO notes that thousands of families left
Armenia and, in particular, the earthquake zone mainly due to harsh
socioeconomic conditions, unemployment and homelessness in the years
following the earthquake.

“Among them are hundreds of families who lost their home in the
earthquake; however, they have not yet been compensated by the
state. And many such families, during re-registration, being outside
of Armenia are not registered in the waiting lists and are basically
deprived of the right to receive an apartment, since the government
decisions that define the registration procedure for families left
homeless as a result of the earthquake designated the deadline for
accepting appeals as Dec. 15, 2008.

“More so, according to the same decisions, obligations for state
assistance for the extraordinary provision of apartments for those who
didn’t present an appeal before the deadline are considered
suspended. Unfortunately, this decision also affects the dozens of
homeless families who left the homeland after 2008, as a result of
which the families left homeless from the earthquake but deprived of
homeless status who returned to the homeland in the last 2 years are
forced to leave Armenia again.

“By the way, many of the immigrated families don’t even have temporary
dwellings and live in rented apartments or with their relatives,”
reads the appeal letter.

Shirak Center NGO expects that the Armenian government will pay
immediate attention to the aforementioned concerns and make amendments
to the registration procedure so that families who lost their home
during the earthquake, but who temporarily left Armenia (or for other
reasons were not included in the lists) can be included in the waiting
lists and receive compensation for their loss.

From: A. Papazian

Armenian Citizens Already Raised 3.5 Million Drams for People’s TV

Epress.am ()
Dec. 6, 2010

Armenia’s TV viewership is not that pleased with what numerous TV
stations are offering them, and it can be said that our television
broadcasts are moving in a very one-sided direction not only in
political terms, but also in terms of net content, said Board of
Trustees of the People’s TV Foundation and Yerevan Press Club (YPC)
President Boris Navasardian, speaking to journalists today about the
idea behind creating People’s TV.

“We even have such an issue that the public, perhaps, can’t really
picture what it expects from television. At the same time,
particularly in Armenia’s marzes [provinces, the regions], television
for many remains not the main, but the only source of information,”
said Navasardian.

Thus, according to the YPC president, the idea was born for creating a
people’s TV, which can also in this case occupy a part of A1+ TV
broadcasting. Note that the People’s TV Foundation aims to support A1+
in the broadcast licensing competitions.

Noting that in many countries, citizens pay for public television,
Navasardian emphasized: “If, really, the people and the public wanted
to have that which they don’t have today, they have to be prepared to
support this type of television in some way.”

It was important for the Foundation’s Board to first find out how the
public perceives the idea of paying for the programs it wants.

About 20,000 citizens expressed their support, even going so far as to
transfer a symbolic amount, said Navasardian: according to preliminary
data, the amount that’s been received is close to 3.5 million drams
(about $9,722 US). The collecting of donations will continue till the
end of this year, after which, according to A1+ President Mesrop
Movsesian, a specific program will be presented to the public.

“Whether A1+ will win [the broadcast licensing competition] or not, it
won’t affect the process because A1+ today also broadcasts
online. However, I consider that it’s too soon to withdraw from [TV]
broadcasting and frequency and our struggle continues. I have serious
hopes that we will win and this [paid-for] order will be on air,” said
Movsesian.

In the opinion of People’s TV Foundation board member and chair of
Gyumri’s Asparez Journalists’ Club Levon Barseghian, there is only one
body that has a large influence on the National Committee of TV and
Radio (NCTR) of the Republic of Armenia: the presidential
palace. “However Baghramyan 26 [the address of Armenia’s presidential
palace] finds it, that’s how the committee will be guided.”

However, Barseghian believes that decision-makers will provide a
broadcast license to the TV station that has the opportunity of
“making that channel really popular.”

The People’s TV Foundation was launched on Oct. 18. It aims to promote
freedom of expression and to support A1+ TV company, which is taking
part in the broadcast licensing competitions, according to the Yerevan
Press Club. As it has been reported, the competitions, announced by
the National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR) on July 20,
2010, will be held in Armenia for the first time and are stipulated by
the digital switchover from analogue broadcasting.

A1+ was deprived of its broadcast license in April 2002. The TV
company had taken part in all the broadcast licensing competitions,
but every time its bids were scored lower by the NCTR than those of
its rivals.

From: A. Papazian

Envoy to Azerbaijan says WikiLeaks won’t put strain on relations

06 December 2010, Monday
LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU

Turkey’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Hulusi Kilic, has told reporters
that Turkish-Azerbaijani relations will not be affected by the recent
release of sensitive US diplomatic cables that have sparked a global
reaction.

`I don’t think that information published on WikiLeaks will negatively
effect Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation,’ Kilic said just a day after
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
denied there was any truth to the content of the secret cables
regarding Aliyev’s alleged statements during their meetings in Astana.

Cables leaked by WikiLeaks late last Sunday revealed that Aliyev had
expressed distaste toward Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
government, calling Turkish foreign policy `naive’ and its initiatives
a `failure.’ The Azerbaijani side asserted that Aliyev did not speak
of third countries during his meetings with US administration
officials. `Aliyev, as a rule, does not usually talk about third
countries in his meetings,’ said Novruz Mammadov, the head of
international relations at the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.

Aliyev also denied making any of the remarks critical of Turkish
leadership which were released by WikiLeaks during his meeting with
Gul in Astana on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit. Gul then told reporters that
Aliyev expressed his dismay over the content of the cables and he
responded that the Turkish leadership did not believe in the accuracy
of these cables.

Ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey had become strained after the
latter took a bold and brave step to reconcile with Armenia to end
decades of hostilities at the expense of alienating Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan expressed its discontent toward the reconciliation between
Turkey and Armenia, which also included the opening of the borders,
which Azerbaijan declared to be `conflicting with its national
interests.’

Speaking about the historic and strategic relationship between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, Kilic said Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are
not so vulnerable that they will be adversely affected by the
WikiLeaks releases. `The released WikiLeaks cables cannot harm close
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations,’ Kilic concluded.

Meanwhile, Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan deplored the speculations on
Friday that it has any affiliation with former press attache of
Turkish embassy in Baku, Turgut Er, following his much-cited and
controversial book on Azerbaijan.

The embassy said although Turkish embassy does not hold the view
written in the book, it caused a concern. It said statements in the
book by Er is his personal views, reiterating its respect to former
late President Haydar Aliyev, whom Er was very critical in his book.

Er was previously declared as `persona non grata’ in Azerbaijan by
Aliyev, accused of helping coup attempts in mid-1990s against the
government. Er’s recently published book in Turkey has caused a wide
outrage in Azerbaijan rather than Turkey, but observers say the book
is an incendiary, ill-intentioned and provocative and is aimed to
cause relations between the two countries deteriorate.

From: A. Papazian