Author: Antonian Lara

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: IF TURKEY OPENS THE BOUNDARY AND ESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA, IT WILL GREATLY CONTRIBUTE TO SETTLING KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2008-10-27 13:51:00

ArmInfo. ‘Russia is one of OSCE MG co-chairs. The invitation of
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his activity are rather logical>,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview with Armenian
Public Television when asked about the initiative of a trilateral
meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russia presidents in Moscow.

‘First of all, I’d like to highlight that the settlement process
is within the frames of OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of Madrid
Principles. It has been repeatedly mentioned and I reiterate that
there is no alternative to mediation of OSCE MG. And the mess that
is being created around this cannot contribute to the process. I
reiterate that the only mediators are OSCE MG co-chairs. Armenia
has not applied to any other state for mediation. Russia is one of
the OSCE MG co-chair-states and the invitation of Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev and his activity in the process re quite logical’,
Serzh Sargsyan said.

Asked about the statement by Turkish President Abdullah Gul allowing a
conclusion that President of Armenia was allegedly the first to apply
to Turkish president for contribution to the negotiations process,
Serzh Sargsyan said he does not like commenting on statements
of other figures especially when press publishes extracts of the
context of a citation. ‘The reality is that OSCE MG is the only
mediator, but we do not refuse from assistance. I am sure Turkey can
contribute to the Karabakh conflict settlement process and I think
it currently does. The visit of Gul to Yerevan, the continuation of
the Armenian-Turkish negotiations is a good example for settlement
of complicate tasks. I am sure if Turkey opens the boundary and
establishes diplomatic relations with Armenia, it will greatly
contribute to settling Karabakh conflict’, President of Armenia said.

OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE IMPLEMENTS A NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN MILITARY-POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRATIC, AND OTHER SPHERES

Noyan Tapan
Oct 24, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Settlement of the conflicts and
improval of the situation in the region first of all depends on
the extent of confidence. Some countries in the region speak for
settlement of conflicts and only then speak about establishment of
cooperation, that is, "put the cart before the horse," while normal
regional cooperation should be established at first. Ambassador
Sergei Kapinos, the Head of OSCE Yerevan Office, stated on October 24,
commenting upon the situation formed in the process of settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

At the same time the diplomat emphasized that the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh settlement is not within the activity mandate of OSCE
Yerevan Office, it is task of Minsk Group. S. Kapinos said that
military-political, economic, ecological directions, as well as the
situation in the sphere of human rights and democratic processes on
the whole are the main directions of the activity of the office.

Among projects in the military-political sphere being implemented
in the region, S. Kapinos singled out a pilot project on creation of
Police named communal or territorial. "We try to change the activity
methods of the Police, to make it more democratic and professional." In
his words, OSCE has already provided much means within the framework of
the project, including computers and educational supplies. Assistance
to the RA National Assembly in exercising democratic control over the
armed forces is another important project in the military-political
sphere carried out by OSCE Yerevan Office.

S. Kapinos stated that in the sphere of democracy and human rights
OSCE Yerevan Office carries out projects aimed at ensuring freedom of
expression, holds a monitoring of legal proceedings, much importance
is also attached to problems of migration.

As regards efficiency of OSCE’s activity in the issue of assistance
to development of democracy under the lack of political will of the
Armenian authorities, S. Kapinos said that much depends on maturity,
self-organization of society and on presence of organizations that
are engaged in protection of human rights and rights of individual
groups or classes of society.

AGAIN THAT BRAISE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
24 Oct 2008
Armenia

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman
Mathew Braise announced yesterday that the USA is trying to reach
such an agreement on the settlement of Karabakh conflict, which will
defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Next week the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen are planning to visit the
region of conflict.

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN: "KARABAKH WILL NEVER BE INDEPENDENT, AZERBAIJAN WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE IT. NEITHER IN FIVE, TEN NOR IN TWENTY YEARS. NEVER"

Today.Az
24 October 2008 [17:37]
Azerbaijan

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev thanked the Azerbaijani people
for his re-election during his inauguration ceremony in Baku Friday.

"I am grateful to the Azerbaijani people for voting for me. I pledge to
spare no efforts for the development of the country and improvement
of people’s welfare", said I.Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony
according to Interfax-Azerbaijan.

He also thanked the ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan for holding the
electoral campaign. "I am also grateful to other candidates who
congratulated me with the victory", said I.Aliyev.

"I hope these elections will play a role in strengthening the election
culture, bringing new traditions and after that the political struggle
will be only civilian", said Aliyev.

He noted that great progress has been recorded in all directions in
Azerbaijan through the past five years. "Azerbaijan has consolidated
its positions and political and economic reforms as well as the
democratization process are held successfully. Today Azerbaijan has
intensified its position in the world community. We base our policy
on national interests, national dignity, national conscience and
tolerance. All people in Azerbaijan live in conditions of peace. Civil
solidarity has fully established in Azerbaijan", said Aliyev.

"Our policy is clear. All our actions are aimed at strengthening the
country, deepening of economic reforms and raising people’s welfare. We
have done a huge work in the sphere of international affairs. We
are interested in building mutually profitable relations with all
countries. The countries, cooperating with us in the region are
satisfied with this cooperation. We want the neighbor states to live
in conditions of peace and cooperation", said the head of the state.

"We are interested in continuation of friendly relations with
all countries. Our relations and positions in the international
organizations have deepened. I do not doubt that in the future our
policy will be more flexible and purposeful and in the result our
international position will further strengthen", said Aliyev.

Nagorno Karabakh will never be independent, said President of
Azerbaijan while speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Baku Friday.

"Karabakh will never be independent. Azerbaijan will never recognize
it. Neither in five, ten, nor in twenty years. Never", said I.Aliyev.

He noted that the talks on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict are held in the framework of the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan.

"The undertaken steps have promoted the consolidation of our
position. Today, the world understands that the conflicts must find
their solution in this region. This can happen only in the framework
of the international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan",
said Aliyev.

"Azerbaijan will never agree to the cessation of its lands. And we,
by strengthening our territorial integrity, will attain the return
of the occupied lands. International law and historical justice is on
our side. The cooperation with Armenia is out of the question unless
our lands are liberated", said Aliyev.

He noted that the potential of the peaceful talks have not been
exhausted yet.

"We are interested in continuation of talks, our hopes have not
melted away yet, we still consider that the talks may promote the
just resolution of the conflict", said Aliyev.

"The opposition side must accept the reality, which implies that
it is difficult and even impossible to rival Azerbaijan today. Our
political and economic potential, economic streng, international
law and justice is on our side, strengthening our positions. I am
sure that in the result of all these factors and our active policy,
our lands will be liberated", said the head of the state.

He noted that through the past five years the potential of the
Armed Forces of Azerbaijan has strongly consolidated. "The level of
preparation and professionalism has grown much. Construction will
also accelerate in the future. Much has been done for improvement of
the material and technical basis of the army. In 2003 the military
spendings of the country made $163 mln while in 2008 this amount
reached $1,085,000,000 and in the coming years these expenses will
grow. The draft budget for 2009 will envision greater amounts for the
armed forces and, thus, by creating a strong army, we are accelerating
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. All these factors play
their role and the opposite side should know and it really knows
that Azerbaijan is a strong state. We are strong both economically
and politically", said the head of the state.

"Azerbaijan has settled all the issues of its energy security",
said President Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony.

"We have settled all tasks, set before us. Today Azerbaijan has
settled issues of energy security by 100%", said Aliyev noting that
this is a problem which raises the world community’s concerns today.

At the same time, I.Aliyev said that the oil strategy of Azerbaijan
was of great use for the country. The country is participating in
the successfully implemented large regional oil and gas projects,
owing to which Azerbaijan has turned into the gas exporting country.

"These projects will ensure the long-term, successful and stable
development of Azerbaijan", noted the President.

The head of the state said that oil and gas extraction has grown
significantly through the past five years.

"In 2003 oil production was 15.4 mln tons, this year oil production
must top 50 mln tons. In 2003 gas extraction made 5.5 bln cubic meters,
while this year it will top 20 bln cubic meters. It is a significant
rise, attained through a short period of time", said Aliyev.

According to the head of the state, Azerbaijan has ensured its
multi-directional energy policy and today export of energy sources
is conducted by means of seven oil and gas pipelines in different
directions.

"Energy policy ensures our economic security and enabled us to
successfully implement the creative and infrastructural projects. We
are fully confident that we will further live within an independent
state, basing on these achievements", said Aliyev.

He noted that "today Azerbaijan is really an independent state".

"We are holding an independent policy. Both internal and external
policy serves the interests of the Azerbaijani people", concluded
the President.

NATURALIZED VOTERS CRITICAL IN FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS, STUDY SAYS
By Michael Doyle

McClatchy Washington Bureau
October 23, 2008
DC

WASHINGTON — Naturalized citizens in the San Joaquin Valley could
decide future elections, immigrant advocates conclude in a revealing
report issued Thursday.

Nearly one in six voting-age residents in some Valley congressional
districts are foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizens, the new report
shows. This is twice the national average and could shape Valley
politics for years to come.

"We have the ability to carry an election," Tuyet G. Duong, the
daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, declared Thursday. "We’re a force
to contend with."

Duong is senior staff attorney with the Asian American Justice Center,
which helped release the new immigrant voting study. The report
is apparently the first to tally both naturalized citizens and the
children of immigrants, a combined population the report’s authors
dub the New Americans.

"This new immigrant population is just exploding," said research
analyst Rob Paral, the report’s chief author.

This is certainly the case in California, where two years ago 24
percent of all registered voters were naturalized Americans or the
children of immigrants who have arrived since 1965. This far exceeded
any other state and marked an increase from 22 percent in 2004.

California’s 18th Congressional District exemplifies the trend,
stretching from Stockton to Merced and into a sliver of Fresno
County. Nearly 16 percent of the district’s voting-age residents are
naturalized U.S. citizens, the new report shows.

By contrast, only 7.5 percent of voting-age residents nationwide are
naturalized citizens.

The population is similar in the neighboring 20th Congressional
District, which includes Kings County and portions of Fresno and Kern
counties. Slightly more than 14 percent of the district’s registered
voters are naturalized U.S. citizens, the study shows.

"It’s not that everyone comes from Mexico," noted Mike Lynch,
a Modesto-based public policy consultant and former congressional
staffer. "This part of the country has an enormous number of ethnic
groups. We have Armenians. We have Sikhs. We have Ukrainians. We
have Portuguese."

Populations, in turn, drive political agendas. Attuned to
Armenian-American voters, the Valley’s lawmakers have always been in
the forefront of efforts to pass a controversial Armenian genocide
commemoration. Heeding conservative Hmong residents, Valley politicians
denounce the socialist Laotian government. The Congressional Portuguese
Caucus is rooted in the region.

"The Portuguese culture is thriving in the San Joaquin Valley, and
there are many festas (cq) throughout the year, family reunions,
the exchanges of those traditions and the ties that bind us quite
well," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said last month as the House passed
a resolution commemorating Portuguese immigration.

Naturalization also burdens Valley congressional offices, where
staffers report they spend considerable time helping immigrants
navigate citizenship hurdles. Latino and Asian immigrants dominate
the rolls of recently naturalized U.S. citizens living in California.

In some parts of the state, the so-called New Americans are even more
of an electoral force — at least, they could be. Naturalized citizens
account for more than one-third of the voting-age populations in some
San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California congressional districts,
according to the study based on Census Bureau data and surveys.

Relatively weak voting turnout, though, also undermines the immigrants’
potential. Sixty-one percent of naturalized U.S. citizens voted in
2004, compared to 73 percent of other Americans.

The report titled "The New American Electorate" was released by the
Washington-based Immigration Policy Center and is meant to serve a
political agenda. The group is part of a foundation created by the
American Immigration Lawyers Association, which supports comprehensive
legislation that legalizes illegal immigrants. The legislation has
stalled on Capitol Hill and advocates hope to regain momentum.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDER ON APPROVING CREATION OF FACT FINDING GROUP

ARMENPRESS
Oct 23, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
signed an order on October 23 on approving the creation of fact
finding group and rule of organization of the latter’s activity.

Presidential press service told Armenpress that the order enters into
force from the next day of the official publication.

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ANKARA AND YEREVAN WILL CONTINUE "NOISELESSLY"

AZG Armenian Daily
23/10/2008

Armenia-Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan announced in an interview to
Turkish NTV channel that negotiations between Ankara and Yerevan
would continue "noiselessly".

"The diplomatic relations with Armenia started last year. Turkish
President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Yerevan transformed it into
political dialogue. But as both societies are sensitive about it,
we will continue the talks noiselessly", he said.

To the question, if a meeting of the two Foreign Ministers is
anticipated in the framework of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation’s
session in Tirana, Babacan answered that in case of Armenian Foreign
Minister’s participation in the session, they don’t exclude the
meeting of the two Foreign Ministers, "Armenpress" reported.

RUSSIA NEUTERING THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AFTER INVASION OF GEORGIA
By Vladimir Socor

Georgiandaily
October 21, 2008
NY

September 25, 2008

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), which opens
its autumn session in Strasbourg on September 29, can hardly afford
to ignore Russia’s invasion of Georgia and its consequences.

A motion is pending at PACE to "reconsider the Russian delegation’s
credentials, on grounds of serious violations of the basic principles
of the Council of Europe" (PACE doc. 11703, September 12).

Those violations are understood to include military aggression against
Georgia, a unique case in which a Council of Europe member state has
openly invaded, dismembered, and occupied the territory of another
CE member state. Such a resort to force openly breaches Russia’s
1996 accession commitment to the CE to settle disputes by peaceful
means. Compounding the breach of CE commitments, Russian military and
paramilitary forces have ethnically cleansed the Georgian population
from South Ossetia (at least one third of that territory’s population)
and from the Russian-declared "security zone" beyond South Ossetia,
in Georgia’s interior.

PACE had for many years tolerated the use of force against Georgia
and other CE member states. Russia’s military occupation in varying
degrees of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, as well as the
Armenian seizure of Azerbaijani territories, with mass-scale ethnic
cleansing of Georgians and Azeris, were practically ignored by PACE
since the 1990s. Russia’s breach of commitments to the Council of
Europe found its counterpart in the CE’s abdication of its own mandate
and mission in those cases.

The motion now pending does, however, offer PACE a chance to regain
some degree of credibility. If adopted, the motion could lead to
suspension of the Russian delegation’s right to vote and other
rights of representation. It could also result in a recommendation
to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to suspend Russia’s
membership in the CE.

Twenty-four members of PACE from 14 member countries are co-sponsors
of the motion. They include 13 Liberals (the motion originated in
the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe–ALDE group), seven
Christian-Democrats, and four others. Fifteen of the co-sponsors are
from Central and East European countries.

For its part, Russia counts on the passivity or tacit support
of PACE members from large West European delegations that favor
business-as-usual with Moscow. Considering PACE’s voting arithmetic,
the motion may indeed crash against an immovable majority of delegates.

Realizing, however, that it can not take that attitude for granted
after invading Georgia, the Russians are using intimidation tactics
on PACE and indirectly on Western Europe. The leaders of Russia’s
delegation to PACE, Konstantin Kosachev and Mikhail Margelov, are
threatening that Russia will withdraw from PACE and the Council
of Europe altogether if that motion is adopted. The threat also
implies that Russia would discontinue its annual contribution of 23
million Euros ($34 million) to the organization’s budget. Kosachev
and Margelov have denounced the pending motion in their "Sovietspeak"
as a "provocation against the Russian people," a hint that the Russian
government itself would take retaliatory steps (Interfax, September
15, 16; RIAN, September 18).

Semi-official spokesmen for Russian policy sound dire in their
warnings. Writing in the Russian government’s newspaper, the
Berlin-based Alexander Rahr warns that adoption of the motion at
PACE would jeopardize Russia’s anti-terrorism cooperation with
Europe, undermine the Russia-Europe "energy alliance" [a code term
for European dependence on Russian energy deliveries], and entail
"heavy costs to the European business community." Rahr, however,
expresses confidence that France and Germany would not allow such a
turn of events to develop (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, September 16).

In a similar vein, Boris Makarenko of the Center for Political
Technologies warns of a "deterioration of oil and gas cooperation" and
"jeopardy to the corridor for supplying NATO forces in Afghanistan"
via Russian territory, if PACE adopts that motion (Kommersant,
September 20). Overkill warnings of this type target not so much the
PACE delegates as the political leaderships and governments in West
European countries.

An ad-hoc committee of nine PACE members visited Russia and Georgia
from September 22 to 25 on a fact-finding exercise. While in Moscow
the group’s rapporteur, Luc van den Brande of Belgium, hastened to
predict the outcome of PACE’s debate on the pending motion: "I am
convinced that a great majority of PACE members would not accept [it]"
(Itar-Tass, September 24). Even if the prejudging is improper under
the circumstances, the prediction is almost certainly on the mark.

Moscow, however, would prefer that Tbilisi be the first to
blink. Russian delegates and a few allies are hinting to retaliate
by challenging the Georgian delegation’s credentials, if the motion
that challenges the Russian credentials is put to a vote in the
assembly. The Russians would not move directly in that case, but
would prefer to use proxies, only 10 of whom would be sufficient for
a challenge motion against the Georgian delegation’s credentials.

This tactic could result in a tit-for-tat battle over procedural
details, distracting attention from the profound implications of
Russia’s invasion and ultimately placing the aggressor state and
the target state on a seemingly equivalent footing. Faced with this
prospect, the Georgian side and the motion’s sponsors may have to
reconsider or even desist. In that case, Moscow would have demonstrated
its continuing ability to influence PACE’s inner workings directly
or indirectly.

ARIF YUNUSOV: "BY MOST PARAMETERS TODAY AZERBAIJAN IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE UNITED STATES, WESTERN EUROPE AND EVEN RUSSIA THAN ARMENIA AND ARMENIANS"

Today.Az
22 October 2008 [13:12]
Azerbaijan

"After the war with Georgia, present-day Russia considers that it
can change the international relations by way of force", said famous
conflict expert and political scientist Arif Yunusov.

According to him, in such a situation Azerbaijan’s policy should be
extremely cautious.

"On the one hand, we must not yield to provocations and act carelessly,
like the Georgian leadership recently did, we must attempt to settle
emerging problems in relations with Russia by political and diplomatic
means and attract the leading western countries to our side.

Commenting on the statement of famous Russian political scientist
Stanislav Belkovski who said that it is not urgent to speak of the
inviolability of borders after the collapse of several states and
appearance of many new ones, Yunusov said though states are permanently
collapsing and being created, it does not mean that international
laws have been annulled.

"The collapse of any country is profitable for someone, but this
is a different issue. In fact, the collapse and creation of new
states is still regulated by the international law. Of course,
these international laws are often violated, but nevertheless,
all, including Russia, try to justify their actions by referring
to international laws, which is understandable, for otherwise there
would be a chaos in the world", said the political scientist.

At the same time, he said after Kosovo and the recent recognition of
independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia, it is necessary
to review most things in the concept of international security and
the basic principles of the OSCE. "If it is not done, the process of
diffusion of international law may really start", said Yunusov.

As for Nagorno Karabakh he said the process of recognition of
independence of Nagorno Karabakh does not been apparent.

"It is admitted that the unilateral actions against Azerbaijan,
failure to take into consideration his interests may damage the
interests of most countries in the region.

We should not confuse two things: sympathies and antipathies. The
whole Christian world, beginning from western countries and to Russia,
are sympathizing Armenia and if everything was based on sympathies,
Nagorno Karabakh would have been recognized independent or annexed to
Armenia long before. But international relations are built on interests
both national and state, where Azerbaijan’s interests should be taken
into account.

By most parameters today Azerbaijan is more important for the United
States, Western Europe and even Russia than Armenia and Armenians,
though it does not mean that this will last forever. We must know
the real distribution of powers in the region and conduct a careful
external policy", said the political expert.

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS DISMAYED BY SWISS COURT’S GENOCIDE RULING

Today’s Zaman
23 October 2008, Thursday
Turkey

A Swiss court’s ruling against three Turks for their denial of
allegations of an Armenian genocide has drawn ire from liberal
intellectuals in Turkey, including Professor Baskın Oran.

The court, in Winterthur, ordered Workers Party (Ä°P) Europe
representative Ali Mercan to pay a fine of 4,500 Swiss francs
($3,900). Two others were ordered to pay 3,600 Swiss francs each for
violating anti-racism legislation.

During a demonstration in June of last year, Mercan had denied Armenian
claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The other two
Turks were co-organizers of the demonstration.

"Now, wait and see how this massive attack on the freedom of expression
will strengthen fascists in Turkey and elsewhere, and how non-Muslims,
Alevis, Kurds, leftists and liberals will suffer more under this
heavy blow. Maybe this is what is being aimed at by certain circles,"
Oran wrote for a discussion network on the Internet.

Oran himself was prosecuted two years ago under infamous Article 301
of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) on charges of "insulting Turkishness"
for a report on minorities and cultural reports he had prepared for the
Prime Ministry. The report maintained that Turkey’s understanding of
minority rights lagged behind universal norms and proposed far-reaching
amendments to the Constitution and related laws. He was acquitted of
the charges but continued to be threatened by radical groups.

"I cannot see any difference between our courts, which are punishing
people who are saying ‘genocide,’ and the Swiss court. Actually,
the Swiss court is even guiltier than ours because their tradition of
freedom of speech is stronger than ours," Oran said in an interview
with Today’s Zaman. He also pointed out that the Swiss court’s verdict
would have a negative effective on freedom of speech in Turkey, since
the circles that already oppose freedoms will use the verdict to show
that there are limitations to freedom of speech even in a European
country like Switzerland.

"In the present situation it is totally impossible to get rid of
Article 301," Oran added.

In the past there have been many court cases against intellectuals
under the article. As part of Turkey’s ongoing European Union accession
process, the government amended the law and introduced a requirement
under which prosecutors must seek authorization from the Ministry of
Justice before initiating a court case under the article.

Yusuf AlataÅ~_, a lawyer and a former chairman of the Human Rights
Association (Ä°HD), stressed that in Europe the borders of freedom
of thought are determined by racism but that the verdict of the Swiss
court was against freedom of speech.

"There is no conclusion from any international body regarding the
genocide. Until there is such a decision, it is normal that some people
will claim that it is genocide and others will argue the opposite,"
AlataÅ~_ said.

–Boundary_(ID_m7YUAFLSR97O9dWehsWXwQ)–