Author: Antonian Lara

AZERI PRESIDENT SAYS PEACEKEEPERS MAY BE DEPLOYED IN KARABAKH

ANS TV, Baku
4 May 07

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that peacekeepers may be
deployed in the disputed area of Nagornyy Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s ANS TV at 1000 gmt on 4 May showed Aliyev telling
displaced persons in an unspecified location what the TV described as
"main principles" of the Nagornyy Karabakh talks that have been kept
secret so far.

"Peacekeeping forces may be brought. What is more, this has not been
our desire, we do not find it necessary. However, we see that Armenia
is very much afraid of us and wants to ensure its security there. In
principle, we do not mind peacekeepers being temporarily deployed
there," Aliyev said.

Turkey

The battle for Turkey’s soul

May 3rd 2007
The Economist print edition

If Turks have to choose, democracy is more important than secularism
AT A time when Muslim fundamentalism seems to be on the rise all around the
world, the sight of somewhere between half a million and a million people
marching through Istanbul in defence of secularism is a remarkable one. But
then Turkey is a remarkable place. As a mainly Muslim country that practises
full secular democracy, it is a working refutation of the widespread belief
that Islam and democracy are incompatible.

That’s not the only reason why Turkey matters. It is a big and strategically
important country, has the largest army in NATO after America’s, offers a
crucial energy route into Europe that avoids Russia and is the source of
much of the water in the Middle East. If the negotiations under way for its
entry into the European Union succeed, it will be the EU’s biggest country
by population. But the reason that the world’s eyes are fixed on it this
week is the possibility that the army might intervene to limit Islam’s role
in government. For if Turkey cannot reconcile Islam and democracy, who can?

Cyber soldiers
Over the years Turkish democracy has shown itself to be vibrant yet fragile.
A string of military coups and interventions stand as testimony to the
army’s self-appointed role as the guardian of Kemal Ataturk’s secular
republic. The most recent instance came a mere ten years ago-the so-called
post-modern coup that led to the ousting of a previous moderate Islamist
government.

On April 27th the army suggested that it might do the same again. Just
before midnight, after a day of inconclusive parliamentary voting for a new
president, the army’s general staff posted a declaration on its website that
attacked the nomination of Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister, for the
presidency, and hinted none too subtly at a possible coup against the mildly
Islamist Justice and Development (AK) government led by Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the prime minister who nominated Mr Gul. On May 1st the
constitutional court annulled the first round of parliamentary voting for
the president, saying not enough members were present. Mr Erdogan promptly
said he would call a snap parliamentary election. Street protests, first in
Ankara and then in Istanbul, have heightened tension. The cities’ coffee
houses are buzzing with conspiracy theories.

Given the fractious state of the main opposition parties, and his
government’s record over the past four years, pollsters expect Mr Erdogan to
win another thumping majority. He may then choose to stick with Mr Gul for
the presidency, or he may look for another candidate. But he is unlikely to
pick one who meets the objections of the army and the secularists.

Turkey’s secularists have always mistrusted the AK Party, which has Islamist
roots and in government has sometimes toyed with moderate Islamist measures.
They especially dislike Mr Gul and Mr Erdogan because their wives sport the
Muslim headscarf, which in Ataturk’s republic is banned in public buildings.
They fret at the prospect of such people controlling not only the government
and parliament, as now, but the presidency as well. They fear that once the
AK Party has got that triple crown, it will show its true colours-and that
they will be rather greener. Given that a fundamental reading of Islamic
texts sees no distinction between religion and the state, and that
fundamentalism is spreading in the Muslim world, it is understandable that
people should entertain such fears.

Yet they do not justify a military intervention such as that of April 27th.
However desirable it may be to preserve Ataturk’s secular legacy, that
cannot come at the expense of overriding the normal process of
democracy-even if that process produces bad, ineffective, corrupt or mildly
Islamist governments. Algeria, where 150,000 people died in a civil war
after an election which Islamists won was annulled in 1992, holds a sharp
lesson about what can happen when soldiers suppress popular will. Of course,
Turkey is not Algeria; but armies everywhere should beware of subverting
elections. It is up to voters, not soldiers, to punish governments-and they
will now have the opportunity to do so in Turkey.

They may not want to. Mr Erdogan’s government has been Turkey’s most
successful in half a century. After years of macroeconomic instability,
growth has been steady and strong, inflation has been controlled and foreign
investment has shot up. Even more impressive are the judicial and
constitutional reforms that the AK government has pushed through. Corruption
remains a blemish, but there is no sign of the government trying to overturn
Turkey’s secular order. The record amply justifies Mr Erdogan’s biggest
achievement: to persuade the EU to open membership talks, over 40 years
after a much less impressive Turkey first expressed its wish to join.

Who cares what Europe thinks?
Unfortunately, the EU’s enthusiasm for Turkish entry, never high, has
visibly waned. Were Nicolas Sarkozy to win the French presidency on May 6th,
that would be another setback to Turkey’s ambitions: he is categorically
against the notion of it ever joining the EU.

In practice there is no chance of Turkey actually signing on the dotted line
for another decade. But the perception in the country that so many current
members are against it matters, for it reduces the EU’s influence. Were the
prospects of EU membership obviously brighter, the army would not have
intervened as brutally. As it is, the EU’s mild condemnation was shrugged
off in Ankara, especially when the Americans said nothing at all. Their
influence in Turkey is also much diminished, mainly because the war in Iraq
has inflamed anti-American feeling.

Given the West’s declining influence on their country’s actions, Turks
themselves must resolve their political crisis. The best way to do that
would be to reject the army’s intervention by re-electing the AK Party. The
secularists’ fears of the creeping Islamisation are understandable; but the
AK Party’s record does not justify it, and military intervention is no way
to avert it. For the sake of the state they are trying to protect, Turkey’s
soldiers should stay out of politics.

SECURITY MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE MILITARY DEMONSTRATION

KarabakhOpen
03-05-2007 10:36:21

A military demonstration will be launched in Stepanakert on May 9. The
previous show of force in Karabakh was held 10 years ago. This show
of force will be the biggest ever in Karabakh, said the NKR minister
of defense Seyran Ohanyan.

The necessary security measures were taken. "Besides, a military
demonstration is also demonstration of readiness. It has happened
that in case of provocation the military left the show for an
operation," said Seyran Ohanyan, who is the chair of the commission
for organization of celebration of May 9.

Foreign military and reporters have been invited to the
demonstration. " Thanks to the analytical offices more is known about
the Karabakh army abroad than in Karabakh itself," said Seyran Ohanyan.

WHAT KIND OF WATER DRINK FRENCH PEOPLE, HOW AND WHERE DO THEY GET IT FROM? HOW MUCH DO THEY PAY FOR IT?

AZG Armenian Daily
03/05/2007

In 2005 "Yerevan Water and Sewerage" company’s 10-year Lease Contract
was awarded to the French biggest company ‘Generale des Eaux’,
‘Viola water’ in 2006.

The company has 150 years of experience in the sphere of water
supply. It was founded in 1853 and signed its first contract in
Lion. Jan Patris Puarie, director of the branch of South-East Europe
and Middle Asia, told about this to the members of the Armenian
delegation: officials and specialists of the water supply sphere,
reporters and representatives of NGOs, who were invited to France.

The branches of ‘Viola’ Co. are not only in France, i.e. Paris,
Marcel, Lion, etc., but also in such biggest cities as Prague, Berlin,
Bucharest and also Yerevan.

Private operators organize water supply of 75 percent of population
in Paris, and the leader of this sphere is ‘Viola’ Co., the second
one is ‘Suez’ and the third – ‘Soar’, which was awarded a four-year
management contract in Armenia, in 2004.

In order to see how the water supply service is organized in France,
we visited one of the stations of the company. Before the water gets
to the consumer it passes a long way of cleansing and filtering. 1m3
of this water costs from 3 up to 3.5 Euros. 32 % of this price is
sewerage cost. Prices of water in different places are different in
France. It depends on the quality, territory and other conditions. The
prices are in the range of 1.5 to 4 Euros. According to Jan Patris
Puarie, a French family of four members pays only 0.8% of its budget
for water supply service.

French has got a high level of consumer service in this sphere. We
saw it in Lion; all the complaints of the subscribers immediately
appear on the electronic screen, here you can see how many phone
calls are registered at that moment, how many workers are free,
who are ready to answer the calls, and how many calls are already
answered. Besides of these, in the computers of the company are
registered all the data of the subscribers and shown the figures of
their water measurers. We asked Jan Patris Puarie, if we could hope
for having the same management system in Armenia. The answer was:
"We will have half of it".

H.RES.106 IMPORTANT NOT ONLY FOR ARMENIA AND DIASPORA BUT ALSO FOR U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2007 17:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The Resolution includes 30 findings which accurately
recount the United States’ own record in response to and in recognition
of the Genocide. The sooner Congress acknowledges that record the
better – until then the United States is a legitimate target of
criticism that it will even change its own history for the sake of
short term political expediency, in this case because of fear of
the Turkish retaliation. That does not help the United States, nor
is it reflective of the American people and the type of government
they want. For Armenia, the sooner the United States reaffirms its
record and stays on the right side of the issue, the better the United
States-Armenia relationship will be," he said.

NKR PRESIDENT AND RA DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSSED MILITARY COOPERATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.04.2007 15:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian
congratulated Mikael Harutyunyan on the appointment Armenian Defense
Minister and wished him every success in the office. NKR Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanyan was also present at the meeting, the NKR
President’s press service reported. The interlocutors discussed
cooperation between the Armed Forces of Armenia and Karabakh and
maintenance of ceasefire at the contact line.

The NKR President and RA Defense Minister also referred to the
preparation work for festivities dedicated to the Victory Day, Day
of Shushi Liberation and Day of NKR Defense Army celebrated May 9.

COMMENTARIES: CANCELLED GENOCIDE EVENT AT THE U.N.

Greek News, Greece
April 30 2007

The April 13 editorial on the canceled Genocide exhibit at the United
Nations rightfully criticizes the United Nations for succumbing to
Turkish pressure. We would like to point out however, that in addition
to the Armenians, there was likewise a conspiracy of Genocide directed
toward the Greek and Assyrian populations by the authorities of the
crumbling Ottoman Empire. As early as 1914, Greeks living on the
coasts of Asia Minor were summarily deported into the interior, and
eventually Greeks along with Assyrians fell victim to forced death
marches, massacres, and starvation.

The horrific atrocities of the Ottoman Empire were acknowledged as
can be seen by the initial efforts to free the Christian populations
from Turkish rule. Plans were conceived for the establishment of an
independent Armenian Republic, while Greece was officially invited by
the Great Powers to take possession of Smyrna and Eastern Thrace. In
addition, Constantinople was occupied by the Great Powers, thus putting
an end to Turkish rule. The later tragedies which led to the burning
of the free Greek City of Smyrna and the massacre of its Greek and
Armenian populations by Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal,
and the subsequent slaughter of Greeks and Armenians throughout
Anatolia bear witness to the illegal status of the Turkish Kemalists,
and the program for Genocide intended to eliminate once and for all
the native Christian populations whose democratic demands emanating
from the simple desire to merely exist conflicted with Turkish demands
to maintain territory inhabited by non-Muslim populations.

The subsequent abomination referred to as "Exchange of populations" by
the representatives of the Great Powers led to the forcible uprooting
and destruction of 1,000,000 Greeks from lands that their ancestors
had resided in for 3,000 years. Indeed, Genocide is the proper label
for the policies that were adopted toward Greeks and Assyrians, as
well as Armenians. The cowardly capitulation to the Turkish Kemalists
by the Great Powers stands as an example of appeasement and cruelty
by the West that condemned entire peoples to unspeakable terror
and suffering. The legacy of this appalling example of indifference
to the suffering of innocents remain with America and Europe to the
present day. Turkish ultranationalists maintain a firm hold on Turkey,
and neighboring states unable to defend themselves such as Syria and
Cyprus have fallen prey to the expansionist legacy that Mustafa Kemal
left behind in Turkey, and that now appears to threaten the democratic
ambitions of the Kurds in Nothern Iraq who are being targeted by the
Turkish paramilitary State.

Theodore G. Karakostas [email protected] Member of HEC Executive
Council

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MIDDLE EAST FOR TURKEY
View by Osman Bahadir Dincer

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 30 2007

When we hear the phrase "Middle East"; we are immediately reminded
of "problems". In this regard, Palestinian Issue is the first one
we remember among the others. For many people "Middle East" means
Palestinian Issue.

This problem is one of the most important motivations that strengthens
the religious radicalism and escalate the violence in the region and
in the whole Muslim World, as well. This problem lies on the bases
of many problems emerging in the Middle East. Actually, even last war
in Lebanon and the tensions between Iran and the U.S. and Israel are
partially results of Palestinian Israeli conflict.

This conflict has a priority to be solved. We can not imagine stability
in the region without solving this key problem.

Palestinian Issue has become an issue exploited by many diverse
circles in the sake of their own interests. For instance, not only
the Arab leaders misusing the deadlock of the issue in their internal
politics but also some terrorist groups justifying their activities
due to this problem obviously have been exploiting the conflict.

Counter to the general understanding, this issue is not a problem
of just Arabs and Israelis. Middle Eastern problems, particularly
the Palestinian Issue, are very critical for Turkey as well. Then,
why the Palestinian Issue (regarding to the Middle East) is really
important for Turkey?

If we remember the days that we were discussing sending our troops
to Lebanon in the UN Peace Force, it can be easily grasped that
the debates were beyond just sending troops. In those days the real
debate was how the relations between Turkey and Middle East should
be shaped in terms of foreign policy. There were many opinions. On
the one hand some argued that ‘we should avoid the crisis in the
region’, on the other hand some argued that ‘we must appear in the
region as a power’. Each group was supporting its ideas with logical
justifications. However, in this essay, I will not focus on these
discussions. Generally, I will try to clarify the current importance
of Palestinian Issue rather than its historical meaning for Turkey
(I accept that Palestinian Issue is the basis for all the other
problems in the region).

The complexities of Middle East, its dividedness, its segregated,
marginalized and isolated societies have been affecting Turkey
profoundly not only in terms of security but also in terms of internal
politics, economics and foreign politics.

The sense of mistrust toward Western World, religious radicalism
and the fundamentalist movements have found bases of spreading
and being strengthened in Turkey by referring to and exploiting
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Hence, the settlement of this problem
is closely related to the domestic security and the foreign relations
of Turkey.

Palestinian Issue destroys the regional stability and even drives the
neighboring states into concrete struggles. Unfortunately, this means
perpetual instability or possibility of threat of war around Turkey.

Palestinian Issue provides terrorist organizations a great flexibility
of maneuver. For instance, PKK and some other organizations have
taken advantage of the deficiencies of power caused by Palestinian
Issue and utilized the terrorist networks provided by Palestinian
Issue. Moreover, Palestinian Issue has been functioning as if it is an
ideological school for the terrorist organizations. It can be easily
said that there is no any terrorist organization which has never
trained in this ideological school. Many domestic/external terrorist
organizations carrying out attacks against Turkey either emerged in
this region or ideologically were fed by this problem. In this sense,
PKK, DHKP-C or some Armenian organizations are typical examples.

Palestinian Issue terrorizes not only the Palestine and Israel but
also the whole region. It prevents the regional cooperation and foreign
investments. For instance, the Middle East is one of the worst regions
in the world drawing attention in terms of foreign investment (except
oil). Regarding to the regional co-operations and integrations, the
Middle East is at the bottom level among the other regions. In this
regard, we can not deny the role of Palestinian Issue.

Palestinian Issue averts the normalization process in the Arab World
including the southern neighbors of Turkey. Reactional and emotional
bearings make the possibility of strategic, political and economical
co-operations with these countries impossible. As a result of this,
Turkey’s southern border is always faced with a threat.

The permanency of Palestinian Issue raises the emotions of loneness and
‘damnification’ in Turkish society. The simply arm-based policies of
Israel and U.S, their attempts to expose some policies, violation of
international law and not being aware of justice lessen the trust to
the international relations and laws in the Turkish public opinion.

Palestinian Issue plays an accelerative role in every political,
ethnical, religious and armed events taking place in the region
and the Islamic World. For instance, Palestinian Issue is the most
referenced issue in Al Qaeda’s operations. Al Qaeda is one of the best
(!) exploiters of this issue by the way.

Palestinian Issue has an important role even in the Iraqi case. If
the problems in Iraq and Palestine can not be solved, the region
between Iraq and Palestine -Jordan- also can be "Palestinized". It
means that a chaotic atmosphere in the whole region – a wide area
from Mediterranean to Persian Gulf- is not a remote possibility.

In short, counter to the general expectation, Palestinian Issue has
many impacts on Turkey. Turkey’s foreign policies, domestic political
balances, security and economy are directly affected. Historically,
it is obviously known that this issue is deeply related to Turkey. In
addition to that, as it can be understood by the explanations mentioned
above, Turkey is bound to improve its relations with the region. Turkey
should be involved in the politics of region profoundly.

All the issues in the region -Iraq, Lebanon or Palestine and Israel-
have deep impacts on Turkey. Turkey has neglected its possible roles
in the region for several years. It is the fact that there were many
mutual mistakes in the past. Yet, now the important thing is trying to
improve the relations embarked to get better recently. In this regard,
policy makers should be aware of the importance of being involved in
the region and should be more creative and eager in policy making.

"MARSHAL BAGHRAMYAN" MEDALS TO VETERANS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

ArmRadio.am
01.05.2007 14:22

On the occasion of the Victory and Peace Day, on May 2 RA Defense
Minister Mikhael Harutyunyan will award "Marshal Baghramyan" medals
to the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, Press Secretary of RA
Ministry of Defense, Colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan informs.

BUSH DOESN’T MENTION THE WORD "GENOCIDE"

Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
May 1 2007

April 24, US President, George Bush, extended his "deepest condolence"
to Armenian nation in connection with 92nd anniversary of the events
of 1915 in Ottoman Empire. At the same time he promised to promote
democratic and economic reforms in this Republic.

As observers note, US President never mentioned the word "genocide".

Head of American administration declared that USA adheres to
cooperation with Azerbaijan and Armenia in an effort to peacefully
regulate Nagorni Garabagh conflict.

Early this year group of American lawmakers presented resolution
to the Congress, urging US administration to recognize the fact of
genocide of Armenians in 1915 during the time of Ottoman Empire.

Though resolution has no compulsory force, its adoption fraught with
aggravation of relations with Turkey, old strategic partners of US.

Attempts to introduce this legislative initiative in the Congress
have been made several times, even during Clinton’s administration,
however, they failed to succeed.

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