Author: Antonian Lara

PM: EAST-WEST RAILWAY LINK SIGNIFICANT STEP

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 8 2007

A key agreement on the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku (KTB) railway project was
signed yesterday at a ceremony with the participation of the Turkish
premier, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev.

The project aims to provide continuous, safe and fast cargo and
passenger transportation between Asia and Europe.

Erdogan, at a press conference before his visit to Tbilisi,
characterized the project as a "significant step."

He stressed that the KTB railway project would yield new
opportunities. "I will also have bilateral meetings with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
during my stay. We will especially discuss recent developments in
the Southern Caucasus," he stated.

Erdogan added that he believed his visit would boost relations with
regional countries.

Erdogan will hold talks with Saakashvili and Aliyev and also attend
the inauguration of the Tbilisi International Airport, which was
constructed by Turkish-Austrian consortium Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV).

The KTB project aims to join the railroad networks of Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Turkey to further strengthen cooperation between these
three countries. Many analysts have described the project as important
as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project.

The project aims at providing continuous, safe and fast cargo and
passenger transportation between Asia and Europe through connecting
the railways of the People’s Republic of China and Kazakhstan in the
east, through Turkey’s Marmaray (Commuter Rail Mass Transit System)
to the European railway system in the west.

Professor Suha Bolukbasi, who works on Caucasus and Central Asian
politics at Middle East Technical University (METU), told The New
Anatolian on Monday that Turkey has good relations among Azerbaijan
and Georgia, stressing that this project will help to strengthen and
deepen cooperation among these countries. He described the project
as a constructive step in Turkey’s regional interest.

"The project aims to unhook post-Soviet countries from the Russian
Federation’s impact. It also helps the European Union and the U.S. to
establish effective relations with post-Soviet countries," he said.

Bolukbasi stressed that the European Union attaches importance to the
initiative, saying, "Through the project, Turkey’s position with the
EU will be strengthened along with Caucasus relations. Turkey will
play a more influential role in its region."

The framework agreement for this wide regional cooperation project
will be signed tomorrow in Tbilisi, Georgia, with the participation
of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan.

A total of 76 kilometers of the project will be built in Turkey. The
project’s infrastructure will be constructed as a double-track railway
line, while the superstructure will be realized as a single-track line.

The Turkish part of the project will cost an estimated YTL 380 million,
with YTL 40 million appropriated in the state budget for this year. In
1998 Turkish State Railways (TCDD) carried out a tender for the
project, but later cancelled it.

Azerbaijan will lend $200 million to Georgia to finance construction
of its portion of the railway linking Azerbaijan with Turkey, under
an agreement signed in Tbilisi last month.

Georgia will have to repay the loan with 1 percent annual interest
within 25 years. Georgian officials said last week that they plan
to use the revenues from the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway to cover
the loan. The construction of the KTB project is expected to begin
in June and finish in two years.

Armenian opposition Armenia, which has diplomatic problems with both
Turkey and Azerbaijan, has criticized the move. Armenian presidential
spokesperson Viktor Sogomonian branded the project as politically
motivated.

"Armenia has been always guided by the economic effectiveness of
projects," he said at a news conference last month, adding that
Yerevan will continue to oppose construction of the railway and will
use negotiations at different levels as a lever of influence.

TURKEY URGED TO TACKLE PKK PROBLEM THROUGH DIALOGUE WITH IRAQI KURDS

Southeast European Times, MD
Feb 8 2007

The best way to deal with separatist Kurdish rebels staging attacks
on Turkish territory from bases in northern Iraq would involve
dialogue with the Kurdish regional government, rather than military
intervention, a top US diplomat said on Wednesday (February 7th).

"I think there are serious risks if Turkey moves in, and I hope that
we’re able to work with Turkey so this choice can be avoided," the
AP quoted US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried as saying in
an interview broadcast on CNN-Turk.

The fight against militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
who use northern Iraq’s Kurdish region as a launch pad for attacks
on Turkish territory, topped the agenda of Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul’s talks with US officials in Washington this week.

Outlawed in Turkey, the PKK is considered a terrorist organisation
by both the United States and the EU.

Gul, who began his six-day visit to the United States on Monday,
called for greater US co-operation.

"We have conveyed to US officials that they are late in taking action
in northern Iraq, and the Turkish people want to see an action," Gul
said in a statement late Tuesday. "US officials are aware of this," he
added hours after his meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Last August, Washington appointed retired General Joseph Ralston,
a former NATO supreme allied commander, as the co-ordinator of US
efforts to deal with the PKK.

"In terms of the PKK, I think that everybody is in agreement that we
want to try to resolve this issue," State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack told reporters during a briefing Tuesday. "General Ralston
is working to decrease those tensions on both sides of the border."

Another key issue on Gul’s agenda was a non-binding US congressional
resolution, likely to be discussed in March, that condemns the
killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the waning days of the
Ottoman empire as genocide. Such resolutions have no direct bearing
on policy and no legal impact. Nevertheless, the minister warned,
the bill could seriously affect ties.

"I believe that Turkish-American relations should not be taken hostage
by this issue," Gul said. [But] "I see this as a real threat to our
relationship."

The White House has opposed similar legislation in the past. On
Wednesday, McCormack said the administration understands the
sensitivities in Turkey, in communities in the United States and in
other parts of the world, and has conveyed Ankara’s concerns.

Other issues Gul and Rice discussed on Tuesday included Lebanon,
Iran, the Middle East, Turkish-EU relations and Kosovo. On Monday,
the Turkish foreign minister met with Vice President Dick Cheney,
Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the president’s National Security
Adviser, Stephen Hadley.

PETERSON BOAT COMING BACK: COUNTY MUST STORE EVIDENCE FOR YEARS OF APPEAL PROCESS
Garth Stapley

The Modesto Bee – California – KRTBN
Published: Feb 07, 2007

Scott Peterson’s fishing boat soon should be moved to Modesto from
where his double-murder trial took place in San Mateo County.

But don’t expect media cameras to capture the moment.

"For security reasons, we are not releasing any dates that may be
involved in that transfer," said John Goold, Stanislaus County chief
deputy district attorney.

Camera crews scrambled for images of the boat when it was used as
evidence in Peterson’s blockbuster trial, which took place throughout
much of 2004.

Proceedings were in Redwood City because of pervasive publicity in
and around Modesto.

Authorities said the fertilizer salesman dumped his pregnant wife’s
body into San Francisco Bay from the 14-foot Gamefisher just before
Christmas 2002. The remains of mother and son were recovered near
Peterson’s boating route four months later, and he arrived on death
row in March 2005.

Prosecutors must store the boat during Peterson’s appeals, Stanislaus
County Superior Court Judge Marie Silveira ruled in December. Death
sentence appeals typically require a couple of decades or longer.

Prosecutors initially objected to the move, not so much because
storing a boat and trailer poses a hassle. They were worried that
the judge had granted San Mateo County’s request to unload the boat
without giving Peterson’s defense team a chance to weigh in.

Silveira recently reaffirmed the decision that it will return to
Stanislaus County.

"We are now satisfied that the courts have complied with the notice
requirements of the law regarding transferring this evidence,"
Goold said.

"Our goal from the outset was to protect the record of the conviction,
and we believe that has been done."

The law sometimes allows photographs of evidence for use in
appeals. But Los Angeles defense attorney Mark Geragos previously
objected to that method.

On national television Saturday, Geragos said he is certain his client
eventually will prevail.

"I don’t have any doubt that the verdict in that case will be reversed
on a number of grounds," Geragos said on CNN’s "Larry King Live."

Geragos did not elaborate. He appeared on the cable talk show to
discuss a new book exploring aspects of justice for which Geragos
had written an essay about the Armenian genocide in Turkey.

Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at 578-2390 or
[email protected].

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT REQUIRES NECESSARY PUBLIC ATMOSPHERE

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Feb 7 2007

YEREVAN, February 7. /ARKA/. The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict requires the formation of a necessary public atmosphere Head
of the Foreign Relations Commission, RA Parliament, Armen Rustamyan
stated at a meeting with a delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly led by Chairman Horan Lenmarker.

The Public Relations Department, RA Parliament, reports that
Rustamyan pointed out an important role of international structures
and parliamentary organizations in settling the conflict. He said that
it is not only the contents of the proposed solutions, but also the
formation of a necessary public atmosphere, namely, how the authorities
are preparing the countries’ public for compromises, that is important.

Rustamyan also stressed that the EU policy envisages open borders
and societies, free trade. Therefore, the conflicts can be settled
on condition of cooperation, particularly parliamentary and economic
cooperation.

In his turn, Lenmarker pointed out the necessity of intensifying the
dialogue between countries, stressing the importance of parliamentary
diplomacy and development of interparliamentary elections.

WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL CLUB OF YEREVAN TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO ORRAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 07 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Members of Women’s International
Club functioning in Yerevan led by club chairwoman visited Orran
charity NGO’s office on February 7. The club unites wives of heads of
international organizations functioning in Armenia. As Noyan Tapan
correspondent was informed by organization’s Spokesperson Susanna
Manukian, the visit’s goal was to find out on the spot what assistance
the club can provide to the organization’s beneficiaries. "If we want
to live in a moral world, all of us are responsible for children who
have appeared in streets," club’s chairwoman said. Orran’s founder
Armine Hovannisian presented organization’s activities and daily life,
as well as problems and troubles of beneficiary children and their
families to club members. Orran founded in 2000 by Raffi and Armine
Hovannisians during its activity has provided charity and humanitarian
aid to more than 1500 families and children caring for their food,
clothes, psychological assistance, education. Currently 75 children
and 50 old people are involved in Orran’s programs.

Ottawa Citizen
February 3, 2007 Saturday
Final Edition

Turkey: Officer suspended after posing with Dink suspect

Four police officers have been suspended from duty after posing in
front of a Turkish flag with the suspected murderer of an ethnic
Armenian journalist. Another four security police have been
transferred to other duties after film of the incident was shown on
Turkish television. It shows officials, some in uniform, arm-in-arm
with Ogun Samast, who has confessed to the murder of Hrant Dink, the
editor of Agos, a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper. Mr. Dink, 52,
was hated by ultra-nationalists for his writings about the mass
killing of Armenians on Ottoman soil during the First World War.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Serbia rejects UN plan on Kosovo
03.02.2007 13:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There’s been a predictably mixed reaction to a
proposal that puts Kosovo on a path to independence from Serbia. UN
special envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveiled a plan that avoids the word
‘independent’, but implies eventual sovereignty. Applauded by Kosovo,
the idea is flatly rejected by Serbia.

European Commision President Jose Manuel Barroso declared his support
for the plan and urged the two parties to use it as a basis for
constructive talks. Ahtisaari said his suggestions aim to address
what he calls the "dire economic situation" in the province. Kosovan
Prime Minister Agim Ceku welcomed steps that would give Pristina
access to international bodies and allow it its own flag and anthem.

But while Serbian President Boris Tadic agrees on what the plan
implies, he is categorically opposed to it: "It opens the possibility
for Kosovo’s independence. Serbia, and I as its President will never
accept that."

Ahtisaari said Belgrade and Pristina had one more chance to agree but
that he was "not terribly optimistic" that would happen in his
lifetime, reports EuroNews.

NATIONAL UNITY CHAIRMAN HEARD ABOUT ATTEMPT UPON GAGIK TSARUKIAN’S
LIFE FROM OTHERS

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 1, National Unity Party
Chairman and head of the parliamentary faction of the same name,
Artashes Geghamian was called to RA Prosecutor General’s Office. He
gave explanations about the grounds of his statements about attempt
upon life of Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous Armenia) Party Chairman
Gagik Tsarukian. RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian reported this
at the February 2 sitting of collegium of RA Prosecutor General’s
Office.

In his words, in his explanation A.Geghamian did not present any fact,
on the basis of which a criminal case can be instituted. "In his
explanations Geghamian said that he has heard about it from many
sources: strange conversations, meetings with his electors, at cafes,"
A.Hovsepian said.

Meanwhile, RA Prosecutor General said that A.Geghamian cannot be
called to account for slander, as the latter "did not invent obviously
false information but heard it from various sources."

World Politics Watch
Feb 2 2007

Hrant Dink: Silenced in the Shadow of Turkey’s Penal Code 301

Handan T. Satiroglu | Bio | 02 Feb 2007
World Politics Watch Exclusive

Since shortly before the inception of the Turkish Republic, in 1923,
a journalist has been murdered on average every 1.5 years in Turkey,
columnist Oktay Eksi recently lamented in the Hurriyet newspaper. In
the last 15 years alone, according to a recent report of the New
York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, "18 Turkish journalists
have been killed for their work, making it the deadliest country in
the world for journalists." Like a blow from an axe, the murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink two weeks ago has cut yet
another deep gash into Turkey’s already embattled democratization and
intellectual freedom.

The assassination of Dink, editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based
Armenian newspaper Agos, reflects a hard fact masked by Turkey’s
recent democratic reforms during its EU bid: Turkey is in the throes
of a profound identity conflict. On the one hand, its archaic,
oppressive political machinery lies decadent and gasping under the
weight of recent European-inspired reforms that have resulted in
democratic changes. Yet, conversely, the reforms have been met with a
fresh burst of nationalist backlash. The draconian Turkish Penal Code
Article 301, making it a crime to insult "Turkishness," has further
nourished Turkish extreme nationalism. Since the article was
introduced in 2005 — replacing an even more strident law — more
than 96 writers and intellectuals have been persecuted, including
high-profile cases such as novelist Elif Shafak, slain leftist
journalist Ahmet Taner, and the late Dink, who was prosecuted three
times under 301 for addressing Turkish-Armenian issues squarely.

In a case that resonated around the world, the article first exploded
into the international limelight when it was invoked against the
Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk for his comments made to a Swiss
newspaper. "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were
murdered," he claimed in his infamous interview with Tages Anzeiger.
"Hardly anyone dares mention it, so I do. And that’s why I’m hated."
With mounting pressure from the EU, the judge later dismissed the
case over a legal technicality.

But the defeat of the case of the Nobel Laureate is of little
consolation for the countless individuals — artists, writers,
dissidents, lawyers and students — who presently face charges for
voicing views that can be construed as "an insult to the Turkish
state or identity." Take the example of publisher Abdullah Yilmaz. He
faces a possible jail sentence for issuing a Turkish edition of the
best-selling novel "The Witches of Smyrna," authored by Greek writer
Mara Meimaridi. The novel allegedly paints Turks in a negative light,
and reportedly "describes parts of the Turkish quarter of Izmir as
‘dirty’." More recently, publishers of the Turkish translation of
"Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky have been brought to trial on
the grounds that that the editors and translators of the book openly
denigrated Turkish identity, the Turkish Republic and parliament. The
organizer of the festival of arts in Istanbul, Halil Altindere, has
also been recently brought to court. His crime? Public humiliation of
the Turkish army in a photographic exhibit.

In and atmosphere of growing restrictions on intellectual freedom,
Hrant Dink was among those charged under Article 301. In July 2006,
he was given a six-month suspended sentence for "denigrating Turkish
identity" in one of his articles on the Ottoman-Armenian diaspora.
Shortly after the six month suspended sentence, a new case opened.
Like the novelist Orhan Pamuk, he was set to stand trial for
referring to the 1915 massacre of Armenians as "genocide" during a
July interview with Reuters. Dink was awaiting his trial on such
charges at the time of his assassination. He had always maintained
that his goal was to reconcile the bitter tensions between Turkish
and Armenian societies. Amidst a deluge of hate mail and threats that
mounted to what he called "psychological torture," he continued his
work as an editor at Agos with courage and grace. "The memory of my
computer is filled with angry, threatening lines sent by citizens
from this sector," he wrote wistfully in his last column. "I feel
frightened as a dove but I know that in this country people do not
touch and disturb the doves. The doves continue their lives in the
middle of the cities. Yes indeed a bit frightened but at the same
time free."

Tragically, he was wrong. He was one was one of dozens of writers who
was sacrificed and made out to be a criminal in the shadow of Article
301, where Turkey’s burgeoning populist ultra-nationalists perceived
him to be a traitor and an enemy of the country. For the 100,000 who,
after his death, marched solemnly in a show of solidarity, there was
a clear connection between the Orwellian, catch-all provision and his
cold-blooded assassination. "Article 301 is the killer," read the
black and white placards written in Armenian on one side, and Turkish
on the other side. Many believe the criminilization of differing
opinions has emboldened radicals and led them to falsely believe that
the state implicitly supports their actions. "To be charged under
Article 301 is to be branded an enemy of Turkey, to become a figure
of hate and a target for fanatics and extremists," writes Lucy
Popescu in the Guardian. "The law is completely contrary to
international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression
and endangers the lives of those charged under it." Suat Kiniklioglu,
director of the German Marshall Fund’s office in Ankara ventures a
similar opinion in an interview with EurasiaNet: "The atmosphere that
prompted [the assassin] to go after Hrant Dink with a gun was really
the result of the atmosphere created by the trials brought on by
article 301. In that respect, the government will need now to really
take article 301 seriously."

And thus, the question remains: Will Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
government repeal the penal code anytime soon — if ever? Formerly at
the forefront of democratic reforms that propelled Turkey towards the
European Union, the government now is preoccupied with courting the
nationalist vote. With presidential elections looming in May,
followed closely by parliamentary polls in November, it seems highly
unlikely that Erdogan’s party AKP will abolish the law in question,
given its immense popularity with nationalist voters. As Stephen
Kinzer points out in the Boston Globe: "Nationalist rhetoric is again
surfacing in political speeches and militant newspapers. Much of it
contains ugly insinuations that Armenians, Kurds, and members of
other minority groups threaten Turkey’s national unity and its very
survival." AKP has increasing felt compelled to use rhetoric that
gravitates towards the ultra-nationalist end of the spectrum to drown
out the ultra-nationalist voice coming forth from various other
politicians on the far-right.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan might be a nationalist and an avid
supporter of Article, but he is also an artful politician who seeks
to wed the EU. So, it is hardly surprising that he promptly condemned
the murder. "A bullet has been fired at democracy and freedom of
expression," he said in a televised news conference as the dire news
spread around the world. The assassination he said "was an attack on
our peace and stability," adding that the "treacherous hands" behind
the shooting would be swiftly brought to justice. However, paying lip
service to freedom of speech or protection of minorities is barely
enough to transform the current climate of rising nationalist
sentiments. The wave of anger and sorrow that gushed forth from both
Turks and Armenians in reaction to Dink’s murder give Erdogan and his
clan a chance to rethink Article 301, which plays the paramount role
in fomenting Turkey’s culture of ultra-nationalism.

Handan T. Satiroglu is a sociologist and writer who divides her time
between the U.S. and Europe.

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PanARMENIAN.Net

Putin could not find sphere where Russia and Armenia have unsolved problems
01.02.2007 16:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Our relations with Armenian nation are the
best. Our relations develop in all directions-both in the sphere of
politics, and economy and security, since Armenia is a CSTO
(Collective Security Treaty Organization) member,’ stated Russian
President Vladimir Putin during his annual press conference in
Moscow. `As to large investments, they are investments to the energy
sphere. As you know, we turned into market price formation with
Armenia too, but part of the price is covered by property subject to
privatization. And we participate in the construction of the gas
pipeline from Iran. We also work in the power network on Armenian
territory. We participate … in hydroenergetics. But it is not
enough, of course. Armenian president during his last visit to Sochi
left some questions. It concerns both diamond industry, and
production, `stressed the head of Russian State. `We realize a
program, which concerns the covering of debts with shares of factories
subject to privatization, and we are going to reanimate those
factories, which corresponding Russian companies got. Generally, you
know, practically our relations in all spheres are developing very
actively. It’s even difficult for me… difficult to find any sphere,
where we could have unsettled problems today. Though, when we were
negotiating over energy issues it was very difficult for us too. But
anyhow, we came to a mutually acceptable solution,’ Vladimir Putin
stressed.