Author: Antonian Lara

HEAD OF LOS ANGELES CENTER OF TOLERANCE: "AZERBAIJAN IS A TOLERANT COUNTRY, WHERE EVERYONE CAN PRACTICE HIS RELIGION WITHOUT ANY RESTRICTIONS"

Today.Az
July 23 2008
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with head of Los Angeles Tolerance, rabbi Abraham
Cooper, visiting Azerbaijan.

– What’s your impressions of the meetings, held in Baku?

– I have good impressions of the visit. My first visit to Baku took
place in 1972. I am glad that the city has changed. I witnessed the
development, which is rejoicing. Baku residents are optimists, they are
confident about their future, Currently, Azerbaijan is an oil exporting
country. Oil revenues are used for the future of the country, its youth
and it is a positive fact. The country’s economy is being developed.

– What is the main purpose of your visit to Azerbaijan?

– The main purpose was the meeting with religious leaders. I
was planning to discuss measures, need to prevent religious
extremism. Before Azerbaijan I visited Indonesia, Oman and held
meetings with the leaderships of these countries at which I also
discussed prevention of religious extremism.

We have a tolerance museum of Los Angeles and I invited head of the
Caucasus Muslims Department Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazade to our city
and offerred him to visit the museum. We are going to arrange a visit
to religious leaders to Los Angeles. We want to explain to the US
community that Azerbaijan is a tolerant country, where everyone can
practice his religious without any restrictions.

The situation has reversed in Azerbaijan as compared to 10 years
ago, when there was no interest in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has common
borders with Iran, a country where radical Islam dominates. But it
is positive that Azerbaijan is tolerant and freedom of conscience is
not violated here, despite the neighborhood with such a country.

I have today visited Sinagogue and met with Jews, showing interest
in conditions for religious rituals and practicing their religion. I
am glad that unlike the Soviet times, Azerbaijan has freedom of
conscience. In this view, my visit to Azerbaijan was useful.

My meeting with the religious leaders was a kind of a singal to the
world community that Azerbaijan is a tolerant country.

– What have you witnessed in Azerbaijan?

– I have visited the Sangachal terminal. Therefore, I was informed
in details about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. In Sangachal I
witnessed application of high degree of security. BTC unites several
states and this is an excellent indicator of cooperation.

– Do you have information about the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict?

– I am asked this question by every Azerbaijani, whom I meet in
Azerbaijan. I can say that 90% of US community does not know about
this conflict. I think Azerbaijanis should primaruly inform the
US community in details about their country and especially about
this conflict. The United States are mostly well informed about the
"genocide of Armenians". It would be good if Azerbaijanis held work
for informing Americans about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

– What would you say about the level of relations between Azerbaijani
and Jewish Diasporas in the United States?

– Frankly speaking, I do not have information regarding the number
of Azerbaijanis, residing in the United States. As for the relations
between the communities, I can say that ties are narrow. I hope the
ties will develop which will give grounds for fruitful cooperation. On
the whole, Azerbaijanis and Jews maintain historical ties. Many Jews
have been residing in Azerbaijan. Our peoples are friends to each
others and I think this friendship will expand.

ARMENIAN MINISTER DISCUSSED "POLITICAL CRISIS" DURING RECENT US VISIT

Haykakan Zhamanak
July 22 2008
Armenia

"You will not manage to conceal"

The Armenian Foreign Ministry is issuing peculiar statements on the
details of the [recent] visit by Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard
Nalbandyan to the USA. The US embassy in Armenia issued a statement
on the visit yesterday [21 July].

The American side, of course, covered the details of the visit
which were never included in the statements by the Armenian Foreign
Ministry. For instance, the embassy statement says that the major topic
of the discussions Nalbandyan held in the USA was "Armenia’s progress
in overcoming the political crisis which emerged as a result of the
[19 February] presidential election". "US officials voiced concern
over the arrests and persecution of opposition political figures,
over freedom of assembly and freedom of the press; responded to calls
by the international community to conduct a trustworthy investigation
into the 1-2 March events [unrest in Yerevan]. These issues will be
discussed at a session of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s board
which will be held in September and will be presided by [US] Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice," the statement by the US embassy says.

AZERBAIJAN HOPES TURKISH POLICY ON ARMENIA REMAINS UNCHANGED

ANS TV
July 21 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has expressed the hope that its key ally, Turkey, will not
change its policy towards Armenia, the country with which Azerbaijan
has been at war since the early 1990s.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest at
the capture of Azerbaijan’s Nagornyy Karabakh region and several
adjacent territories by Armenian-backed separatists. Ankara insists
that Armenians pull their troops out of these territories and give
up their attempts to secure international recognition of the 1915
killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as genocide.

"[Turkish Foreign Minister Ali] Babacan has said that the Turkish
policy is unchangeable. Therefore, we hope that Turkey’s actions will
be based on this policy," Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman
Xazar Ibrahim told reporters on 21 July. His comments were broadcast
by ANS TV.

"Turkey has its official position and we want all steps to be taken
within that format," Ibrahim said.

He also called for coordination of Turkish-Azerbaijani policies.

"Turkey and Azerbaijan are friendly and brotherly countries. Therefore,
we think that the coordination of our policies is very important,"
Ibrahim said.

The statement came following reports that Turkish and Armenian
diplomats met secretly in Switzerland earlier this month to normalize
ties.

MUNICIPALITY DID NOT AUTHORISE MEETING

Panorama.am
15:29 19/07/2008

On July 14 Artak Zeynalyan, the authorized person of RA citizen Levon
Ter-Petrosyan and the president of "Republic" party Aram Sargsyan
applied to the Municipality of Yerevan informing that on August
1 a mass meeting is organized to start from Freedom Square or the
territory nearby Matenadaran building and will finish with a rally.

According to the official website of the Municipality, the
meeting has not been authorized to take place in the mentioned
territories. Instead the Municipality offered the organizers to
conduct it in the territories near Hrazdan or Dinamo sport stadiums.

LAUNCHING OF DORA SAKAYAN’S TEXTBOOK "EASTERN ARMENIAN FOR THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD"

AZG Armenian Daily
22/07/2008

Education

The launch ceremony of "Eastern Armenian for the English-speaking
world"(EA), authored by Dr. Dora Sakayan, was held in California, at
the Glendale Public Library on Friday, May 16, 2008. The textbook was
published in Fall 2007 by the Yerevan State University (YSU) press upon
the recommendation of the Armenian Philology Faculty Senate of YSU. The
event was organized jointly by the Consulate General of the Republic
of Armenia and the Tekeyan Cultural Association, Los Angeles Chapter.

With an opening address on the importance of the preservation of
the Armenian language in the Diaspora, and particularly of Eastern
Armenian in the Greater Los Angeles area, Parsegh Kartalian, the Master
of Ceremonies, welcomed Dr. Sakayan and a great number of guests,
University faculty members, educators, teachers and representatives
of cultural and educational institutions to this unique presentation.

Armen Liloyan, Consul General of the Republic of Armenia, Los Angeles,
bestowed high praise on Dr. Sakayan for the fulfillment of a formidable
task, namely for making such a remarkable and long-awaited addition
to the tools of Armenian language instruction. Mr. Liloyan traced
Dr. Sakayan’s outstanding contributions to the teaching of foreign
languages in general, and Armenian (both Eastern and Western branches)
in particular.

Dr. Anahid Aramouni Keshishian, UCLA, presented a brief biography
of Dr. Dora Sakayan to the audience, outlining her most significant
scholarly achievements and the national and international rewards
she has received thus far. She went on to say that Sakayan’s name
is well known in scholarly circles in Armenia and abroad. Formerly
the long-standing Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at
Yerevan State University, Dr. Sakayan has been living in Montreal,
Canada since 1975, where, working as a Professor of German Studies
at McGill University, she has contributed immensely to the field of
Armenology. She is the author of "Modern Western Armenian for the
English- Speaking World", several monographs, articles and textbooks.

Sakayan defined her book as an introductory, yet complete first-year
course of Eastern Armenian for adults in the English-speaking
world, a handbook for both the prospective teacher and the student
of Armenian. The comprehensive guidance given in this textbook, as
well as in the accompanying CD, she maintained, would allow motivated
learners to use it for self -instruction as well. She indicated that
the book incorporates recent achievements of applied linguistics
into the instruction of Eastern Armenian, whereby Grammar is treated
not as a goal, but rather as an important aspect in mastering the
language. Other linguistic areas such as pragmatics, word formation,
pronunciation, orthography, etc., were also given due attention in
the book.

In response to the audience’s suggestion to speak also about
the appendix of the book, which is a book in itself for its rich
reference material, Dr. Sakayan described the various sections of
the appendix, singling out particularly the central part, which
represents an anthology of carefully collected samples of Eastern
Armenian folklore, prose and poetry, the latter entries appearing
always in English translation. Dora Sakayan then gave a reading of
her English translation of Sylva Kaputikian’s famous poem "Words to my
son", and concluded her speech with the words: "Eastern Armenian for
the English-speaking world– along with its counterpart for Western
Armenian — is the most important work of my life. The twin books
reflect my pedagogical and scholarly experience of 55 years and my
everlasting love for our magnificent language."

At the close of her speech, Dr. Sakayan responded to questions from
the audience. Some of her answers elicited enthusiastic applause. The
evening was concluded with a reception and book-signing.

"EXPO-RUSSIA" INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
17:03 18/07/2008

October 31-November 2 Russian "Expo-Russia" industrial exhibition
will take place in Government House, in Yerevan. The organizers of
the exhibition are "Abroad-Expo" (Russia) and "Multi Group" concern
(Armenia).

According to Davit Vardanov, the chairman of the exhibition committee
said that Russia has been a trustworthy colleague for Armenia in
economy. "Observing the dynamic development of Armenian and Russian
relationship, we understood that a serious business event should be
organized to improve the economic relationship of these countries,"
he said.

The principle topics of the exhibition are construction, energy,
metallurgy, vehicle construction, transport and techniques, oil,
gas and medical affairs.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, USA DEPUTY STATE SECRETARY DISCUSS COOPERATION

ARKA
July 17

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan met with United States
Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel
Fried as part of his official visit to the USA.

The two discussed Armenian-American cooperation, regional security and
stability issues, a representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
reported.

Nalbandyan and Fried also exchanged views over the reasons and
aftermath of the post-election developments in Armenia, as well as
the moves of Armenian authorities to settle he situation.

COUP PLOT AGAINST ECEVIT SPARKS DEBATE

Zaman Online
July 18 2008
Turkey

Relying on parts of the Ergenekon indictment leaked to the press,
newspapers reported yesterday that the Ergenekon gang, a crime network
suspected of plotting to topple the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party), tried to overthrow the coalition government of the
late Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who served between 1999 and 2002.

The leader of Ecevit’s Democratic Left Party (DSP), Zeki Sezer,
also confirmed that several retired senior generals at the time had
"expressed their wish" to see Ecevit resign. Although there is now
a general consensus that the generals put some pressure on Ecevit to
urge him to resign, it is a matter of discussion whether this was a
coup attempt and whether those generals had any links to Ergenekon.

Radikal’s Murat Yetkin, a journalist who closely followed the Ecevit
government, admits that high-ranking military officers pressured the
late prime minister in 2001 to resign; however, he says he has no idea
whether those generals were part of the Ergenekon organization. "I
personally witnessed them meddling in politics, though it was not
tantamount to a military coup," says Yetkin. Since the full text of
the Ergenekon indictment has not yet been made public, he says it
is hard to know whether allegations about a coup attempt against
Ecevit’s government are this pressure he witnessed or something
entirely different. According to Yetkin, Ecevit did not take any
action against these military officers back then and that his lack
of influence in the decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAÅ~^)
of 2002 proves as much.

Sabah’s Ergun Babahan complains that those who defend Ergenekon today
by downplaying the allegations walked hand in hand in the past to
unseat Ecevit. Among those who took part in this plot at that time,
he says, were some commanders, retired generals, leading figures
in the business sector and, inevitably, the media. "They headlined
reckless news about Ecevit’s health after he was hospitalized [in
an attempt to have him resign]," says Babahan, adding that the same
circles are at work again today since they have rolled up their
sleeves and are trying to trivialize the Ergenekon case and remove
it from Turkey’s agenda. The reason these circles are uneasy with the
Ergenekon investigation, in his view, is their concern that their real
face will come to light as a result of this operation. "They want to
make you believe that a group of idle youth killed Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink and an attack against the Council of State in
2006 [which left a senior judge dead] was the work of a religious
fundamentalist who wanted to protest a ban on Muslim headscarves. They
also suggest that the bombs [which had the same serial number as
those belonging to the Ergenekon gang] hurled at the Cumhuriyet
newspaper were accidentally thrown there. They do not want to ask
for an accounting of these incidents because they were personally
involved in them. Let them first say what they did to Ecevit, and
then we can talk about today," says Babahan.

Vatan daily’s Bilal Cetin asked Husamettin Ozkan, the deputy prime
minister in Ecevit’s government and a close ally of Ecevit, about
a coup attempt against Ecevit’s government in which Ozkan allegedly
demanded to take over the prime ministry from Ecevit. Cetin, quoting
Ozkan, says: "Never, ever. None of the commanders of the time even
made such an implication. These allegations were only brought forward
by Radikal columnist Murat Yetkin. I heard this only from him. Other
than this, no one said anything to me about it." Cetin, referring
to what Yetkin wrote, says it is very obvious that the commanders of
the time had voiced wishes to see Ecevit resign; however, it is not
certain whether this was tantamount to a coup attempt.

–Boundary_(ID_ER3DhNaCqbHOGptNpb54UA)–

EXPERT MIKHAIL ALEXANDROV: "VICTORY OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION WOULD MEAN CHANGE OF THE POLITICAL COURSE AND, AS A RESULT, LOSS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH"

Today.Az
16 July 2008

"The victory of opposition would mean change of the direction in the
Armenian political course, orientation for the West, and, as a result,
loss of Nagorno Karabakh and collapse of the military and political
alliance with Russia", considers chief of Caucasus Department of CIS
states Institute Mukhail Alexandrov.

"Though it was not envisioned in the announcements of the opposition,
but the key difference in the approaches of the sides to the issue on
Nagorno Karabakh proves tht Levon Ter-Petrosyan and its surroundings
intend to change the direction of the foreign political development",
said Alexandrov at the Novosti international press center in Yerevan.

He noted that Russia was closely watching the presidential elections
in Armenia and reckoning on preservation of the foreign political
course, therefore, the events in Armenia caused serious concerns,
which were not peculiar of the society, however.

"Though the election campaign in Armenia was widely covered by Russia
mass media, no one mentioned the tragedy of the situation and that
the global interests are staked on in case opposition wins", said
the Russian expert.

Alexandrov voiced satisfaction that situation in Armenia has calmed
down and there are no more mass protests and clashes in the society,
"though separate outbursts are still observed".

"The new leadership has consolidated its position and I do not think
any dramatic events are possible", noted Alexandrov adding that
"preservation of the authorities is what satisfied us".

ARMENIAN MINISTER, US SECRETARY OF STATE DISCUSS KARABAKH, TIES WITH TURKEY

Mediamax News Agency
July 15 2008
Armenia

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edvard Nalbandyan and US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice highly assessed the efforts of
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in the settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry today, during the meeting, which took place in Washington DC
on 14 July, Rice and Nalbandyan stated the importance of continuing
the talks based on the Madrid proposals, which make it possible to
reach progress in the peace process.

The Armenian foreign minister stated the readiness of the Armenian side
to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without preconditions
and to open the border, and informed the US secretary of state of
the efforts taken by Yerevan in this direction.

Edvard Nalbandyan expressed his hope that the candidature of the
new US ambassador to Armenia would be approved in the near future by
the Senate.

On 14 July, the Armenian foreign minister also held meeting with the
US president’s Deputy Assistant on National Security James Jeffrey
and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, Howard Berman.