Author: Antonian Lara

ARINC CONFIDENT ABOUT THE START OF EU TALKS ON OCT 3
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 12 2005
Turkish Parliament Speaker expressed yesterday his confidence about
the start of negotiations between Turkey and the European Union on
Oct 3, as scheduled.
Arinc made the remarks at a press conference at the conclusion of
the Second World Parliament Speakers’ Conference in New York .
“There are some circles in the EU who don’t wish to see Turkey in
the Union ,” said Arinc. “We are bothered by the acts and statements
of some European politicians who have made the issue of Turkey into
fodder for domestic political debates.”
Arinc also touched on the recent street demonstrations in various
Turkish cities, saying, “These will not deter Turkey from its path of
democracy and freedom. The Turkish government is taking the necessary
steps so that such demonstrations will not hurt democracy or innocent
citizens.”
Arinc: Instead of being rewarded, Turkish Cypriots were punished
Arinc also held a press conference in New York on Saturday where he
said the Turkish Cypriots who voted in favor of a solution in Cyprus
last year were punished instead of getting a reward.
He also touched on the controversial Armenian genocide issue,
condemning the one-sided recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide
claims by some parliaments.

MPAA: Kids Can’t Handle “Truth”
by Josh Grossberg
Sep 9, 2005, 10:30 AM PT
Two’s company but three’s definitely a crowd.
That’s the verdict of the Motion Picture Association of America, whose
Ratings and Classifications Board has upheld the dreaded _NC-17
rating_ (,1,17213,00.html) it
slapped on Canadian filmmaker _Atom Egoyan_
( es/0,127,31877,00.html) ‘s
new art-house drama, Where the Truth Lies, because it featured a
ménage à trois.
The movie, which stars _Kevin Bacon_
(,128,102,00.html) , _Colin
Firth_ (,128,537 0,00.html) ,
_Rachel Blanchard_
( o/0,128,38399,00.html) and
_Alison Lohman_
( ,128,71269,00.html) , makes
its North American debut next week at the _Toronto Film Festival_
(,1,16931,00.html) .
It follows a popular 1950s-era comedy duo (Bacon and Firth) whose
career is derailed after they engage in a night of debauchery,
including a threesome with a beautiful woman who turns up dead the
next day in their hotel suite.
After reviewing Truth last month, the MPAA’s Ratings and
Classifications Board gave the picture an NC-17, which means no one
under the age of 17 is allowed admission, citing “some explicit
sexuality” involving Bacon, Firthand Blanchard.
The decision prompted protests from independent distributor ThinkFilm,
which claimed the three-way was artfully choreographed by Egoyan and
is central to the movie’s mystery. The company also noted that the
rating severely hampered the flick’s commercial prospects, since many
exhibitors refuse to book NC-17-rated fare.
ThinkFilm appealed and on Wednesday the filmmaker and Blanchard went
beforea 10-member panel in Los Angeles to make their case. Egoyan
argued that he filmed the ménage in a sustained master shot and that
trimming it would be nearly impossible without losing the scene’s
intent, which anchors the storyline.
An NC-17 is an “unwarranted response given the story it’s telling and
the way it needed to be told,” Egoyan told the Associated Press. “We
couldn’t trim any more without destroying the heart of the movie.”
Blanchard added that she had no problem shedding her inhibitions,
since the scene was vital to the integrity of the drama being played
out.
“The film is basically about the power of celebrity and the abuse of
that power,” she told the wire service. “It sort of expands on how
abusing that power sexually has consequences. It’s a redeeming film
and it has a positive message.”
Unfortunately their arguments failed to make the cut. The appeals
board voted 6-4 to overturn the NC-17 rating and give it an R,
falling one vote short of the required two-thirds majority.
Despite the setback, Where the Truth Lies will still be released
uncut. Because ThinkFilm is not an MPAA signatory like the major
studios, it has the option of issuing the movie unrated, and,
according to chairman Robert Santos, that’s exactly what the company
intends to do.
That’s the same strategy the distributor recently employed with its
potty-mouthed documentary The Aristocrats, in which a who’s-who of
comedians riff on the same dirty joke. Nonetheless, ThinkFilm faces an
uphill battle at the box office, since many exhibitors outside major
cities typically shy away from screening unrated films, and media
outlets don’t like to advertise such fare.
Another problem possibly hindering profitability: ThinkFilms is
contractually required to deliver an R-rated version to Columbia
TriStar Home Video. No word yet whether the film will need to be
chopped for its DVD release.
Where The Truth Lies is set to open in New York and Los Angeles on
Oct. 14 before expanding one week later to whatever U.S. theaters
agree to book it. E! Entertainment Television, Inc.

Armenian leader welcomes sports complex deal with Russian company
Arminfo
9 Sep 05
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today received the president of
the Russian construction holding BAMO, Murad Muradyan, who has bought
the Karen Demirchyan sports and concert complex. A relevant agreement
was signed today between the management of the holding and the state
property department of the Armenian government.
During the meeting, Kocharyan expressed his satisfaction with the
deal, the presidential press service told Arminfo news agency. In
turn, the new owner of the sports and concert complex assured the head
of state that he will rigorously keep his commitments stipulated by
the deal.
The two parties noted the importance of the fact that the
implementation of the investment programme of the sports and concert
complex will open new opportunities for the development of Armenia’s
cultural and sports life.
It must be remembered that BAMO has bought the sports and concert
complex for 5.7m dollars. The government decided to sell the complex
on 25 August this year.
[Passage omitted: Details of BAMO’s obligations]

WAHRHEIT DURCH GERICHTSBESCHLUß?; DIE SCHWEIZ IN DER KLEMME: AN DEN TURKEN ZEIGT SICH DAS DILEMMA DER ANTIRASSISTISCHEN STAATSRASON
Jurg Altwegg
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
8. September 2005
GENF, 7. September
Seit Jahren sind die Beziehungen zwischen der Schweiz und der Turkei
schlecht. In der Schweiz laufen Untersuchungen der Staatsanwaltschaft
gegen den Prasidenten der Turkischen Historischen Gesellschaft, Yusuf
Halacoglu, wie gegen den Vorsitzenden der turkischen Arbeiterpartei,
Dogu Perincek: Beiden wird vorgeworfen, den Genozid an den Armeniern
zu leugnen. Verargert uber die Schweiz ist die Turkei auch Orhan
Pamuks wegen, der sich kaum zwei Monate nach der Verleihung des
Friedenspreises vor einem Gericht verantworten muß. Ihm droht eine
Gefangnisstrafe, weil er in einem Interview im Magazin des Zurcher
“Tages-Anzeigers” erklart hatte, in der Turkei seien 30 000 Kurden
und eine Million Armenier ermordet worden.
Pikant wird die Lage dadurch, daß in beiden Landern versucht wird,
offizielle Versionen der historischen “Wahrheit” mit der Gewalt
von Gerichtsbeschlussen durchzusetzen. Mit welchem Recht, darf
man sich in der Turkei fragen, erregt man sich in der Schweiz
uber das Verfahren gegen Pamuk, wenn man selbst spiegelverkehrte
Äußerungen zum Anlaß fur analoge Verfahren nimmt? Die Schweiz tut
sich schwer mit ihrem Antirassismusgesetz und ganz besonders mit
einem Artikel, der das Leugnen von “Volkermord und anderen Verbrechen
gegen die Menschlichkeit” unter Strafe stellt. Konnen oder mussen
die Strafverfahren die demokratischen Debatten und historische
Untersuchungen ersetzen?
Das Gesetz entstand zu Beginn der neunziger Jahre im Zug neuer
antisemitischer Äußerungen. Der jetzige Innenminister Christoph
Blocher wurde damals des Antisemitismus, sein journalistischer
Gegenspieler Frank A. Meyer noch kurzlich des Rassismus gegen den
Islam bezichtigt. Seit Jahren muß sich der Publizist Frank Lubke vor
wechselnden Gerichten fur einen offenen Brief verantworten, in dem er
Attentate “als Beispiel fur die islamistisch-arabisch-palastinensischen
Wahnsinnsschlachtereien gegen die judisch-israelische Zivilbevolkerung”
bezeichnete. Ob das Gesetz wirklich zum Schutz der Minderheiten
beitragt, erscheint ungewiß. Die vielen Affaren vergiften jedenfalls
das Klima.
Die Spannungen mit der Turkei dauern seit Jahren an. Staatsbesuche
wurden verschoben – und nachgeholt. Im Juni kam eine Delegation der
Außenpolitischen Kommission des turkischen Parlaments in die Schweiz.
Man konne von der Bevolkerung nicht erwarten, daß sie die Großvater
zu Kriminellen erklare, teilte man den Schweizern mit.
Ministerprasident Erdogan habe eine Historikerkommission eingesetzt,
welche ganz nach dem Beispiel von Jean-Francois Bergiers “Unabhangiger
Expertenkommission Schweiz Zweiter Weltkrieg” die Volkermord-Vorwurfe
abklaren werde. Die Große Kammer des Schweizer Parlaments hat – wie
Frankreich, wie der Europarat – die Massaker, deren Opfer die Armenier
waren, per Abstimmung vor zwei Jahren zum Genozid erklart. Es gibt
auch entsprechende Gerichtsurteile: In juristischer Hinsicht scheinen
die Falle Halacoglu und Perincek klar, die Äußerungen beider erfullen
offenkundig den Strafbestand.
Schweizer Politiker verweisen auf die Gewaltentrennung.
Nun wird auch das fragwurdige Gesetz wieder diskutiert. Die
“Auschwitz-Lugner”, schreibt der Historiker Georg Kreis in der
Zeitschrift “Tachles”, bestreiten nicht nur die Tatsache der sechs
Millionen Toten: “Sie werfen den Opfern und ihren Nachkommen auch vor,
mit der Fabrikation dieser ,Legende’ politischen und pekuniaren Gewinn
erzielen zu wollen.” Das sei Antisemitismus. Kreis erkennt an, “daß man
antirassistische Normen nicht als Schutz einzig fur Juden ernst nehmen
darf”, ein solches “Privileg” wurde auch von den Juden abgelehnt:
“Es gibt aber in den europaischen Gesellschaften aus Rucksicht auf die
historische Schuld die Neigung, gegenuber antijudischer Diffamierung
besonders sensibel zu sein. Die muslimische Minderheit etwa, der
gegenuber Europa nicht in dieser Weise schuldig geworden ist, kommt
nicht in gleichem Maß in den Genuß einer solchen Sensibilitat.”
Das Gesetz, mit dem sich die Schweiz ein gutes Gewissen verschaffen
wollte, hat Ungeister geweckt, die sie nicht mehr los wird. “Die
Leugnung des Genozids an den Armeniern ist wohl nicht ein taugliches
Objekt, um die Gleichbehandlung einzufordern und durchzuexerzieren”,
befindet der Historiker Kreis. Mit dieser Formulierung ist er nun
selbst unter Beschuß geraten. Denn zumindest vor dem Gesetz mußten
auch alle Genozide gleich sein.
–Boundary_(ID_XIl7b5ykPJHeB03ee4qE/w)–

TURKISH-EU RELATIONS: A WAR OF NERVES?
Cem Oguz
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug 8 2005
Last December, the European Council announced that Turkey had
fulfilled the Copenhagen political criteria and the EU would open
accession negotiations with Turkey on Oct. 3 this year. However, in
the same statement that gave Turkey the green light, it was clearly
underlined that the negotiations were to be an “open-ended process,
the outcome of which can’t be guaranteed beforehand.” Paradoxically,
it had to be ensured that Turkey would be fully “anchored in European
structures through the strongest possible bond,” even if it fails
“to assume in full all the obligations of membership.”
Given that these two prerequisites were accepted at the time by
the Turkish government, there’s indeed substantial irony in hearing
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, as well as Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul’s, recent statements such as the “EU shouldn’t toy
with Turkey” or “Turkey would walk away from the EU for good,”
if there were attempts to water down its membership. Apparently,
similar to that prevailing sentiment among EU circles, there’s also
confusion in the higher echelons of the Justice and Development (AK)
Party government. I’m willing to assume that such statements are
either tactical maneuvers or, as characterized by political analysts
close to the government, must be part of sincere warnings rather
than empty threats. Yet it seems that, so far, they’re destined to
remain vain efforts. What I find more important is Erdogan’s remark of
“Turkey has nothing more to give.”
Readers will probably remember that a short while ago I wrote that none
of the so-called concessions on the issues relevant to EU accession
had created a notable outcry in Turkey. But I warned, as many other
people possessed of common sense did, that the honeymoon seemed to
be over and popular disappointment in Turkey was rapidly growing. At
present anger has reached such a level that almost the entire country
is engulfed by anti-EU feelings, although some domestic, as well as
foreign, circles are choosing to ignore it. Last week, I visited some
remote villages in the Taurus mountains and astonishingly witnessed
that even among the villagers living there the current stage of
relations with the EU unleashes powerful emotions. The question then
should be: What’s changed so quickly?
The answer is very simple: First of all, Turks, by and large, have
lost their hope, and secondly the repercussions of radical changes on
sensitive issues have eventually started to affect their daily lives.
The recent rise in attacks by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), for instance, is linked by a considerable number of ordinary
Turks to the biased attitude, as well as support, of EU circles.
Suffice to say that the EU right now is associated with the notion
of instability. Apparently, it’s the US administration that has
realized how acute the danger is. Washington, facing rising criticism
from the Turkish establishment about PKK hideouts in northern Iraq,
recently announced that it will help the Turkish government to combat
the PKK on European soil. Isn’t it a paradox to mention Europe,
while the Turkish fingers were pointing at Iraq? Washington can
indeed be accused of willing to deflect attention from itself. But
it’s not that simple. The US authorities are fully aware that
the surge of nationalism in Turkey, as well as reactions towards
the broadly-defined West, the EU in particular, must be balanced,
before it turns out to be detrimental to the interests of each party
concerned. It shouldn’t be allowed to reach a level that would result
in an ultimate breakaway. In that regard, they seem to be supported by
some prudent EU members. Measures recently applied by Germany against
the PKK, for instance, are a precise example of that phenomenon.
Some EU members, in turn, once again appear to be in denial about
the depth of rising discontent as well as reaction in Turkey.
Irreversible concessions on Cyprus, the Armenian allegations, and
minority issues are the three main subjects that have been the cause
of agonizing debates between Brussels and Ankara. They’re adding to
popular indignation in Turkey. Obviously, however, they’ll be used
increasingly by ardent Turkey-skeptics in Europe to block its full
membership. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, for instance,
sarcastically claims that he’s in favor of Turkey’s membership process,
as long as Ankara “has a calm and peaceful relationship with the whole
of Europe” and “as quickly as possible commits itself to the road of
recognizing [Greek] Cyprus.” Are we talking about the same southern
Cyprus that’s solely responsible for the current deadlock subsequent
to Kofi Annan’s efforts for a peaceful resolution on the island?
In the meantime, Turkish people have run out of patience and are
becoming more disgusted with each passing day. They’re tired of
endless conditions and aren’t willing to make more concessions
without concrete results. Inevitably, this leads to political
extremism in Turkey and the radicalization of Turkish politics.
Nationalist sentiments are running high. In such a milieu, Erdogan,
who’s based his party’s as well as the government’s entire vision
on the ideal of Turkey’s full membership, can’t simply say “enough”
and turn his back on EU prospects. People would then question why
sacrifices were made or concessions were given. At this point,
it’s Erdogan himself who’s believed to be playing to the gallery.
Consequently, it seems that there might be a war of nerves between
the Erdogan government and Turkey-skeptics in Europe, each trying to
leave responsibility for failure in the hands of the other side. This
stubborn war will probably continue until one side finally just gives
up. Whether this becomes a long-term disagreement and doors will be
closed to each other forever, is right now in the hands of visionary,
honest, and sincere circles in the EU itself.

TURKISH OFFICERS IN RETIREMENT SHOULD INTERPRET “GENOCIDE” TERM
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6. ARMINFO. About 300 Turkish officers in retirement
intend to take active part at “Armenia in period of Ottoman empire
downfall” forthcoming conference in Istanbul, as Turkish “Zaman”
informs, Head of Turkish retired officers Union, divisional general
in retirement Rza Kyuchugogly stated.
Kyuchugogly noted that he has sent a proper letter to conference
organizers and informed on their wish to take active part at both
the conference and the discussions. In his words, officers are
tuned resolutely enough and certainly will participate there. Both
Kyuchugogly and Union members prove their certainty with the importance
of the forthcoming conference in the interests of Turkey’s future. “If
this action are being organized under a slogan that the Armenian
issue will be given democratic explanation, we consider necessary our
participation there. If they use “Genocide” word, in fact groundlessly
blaming Turkey in its fulfillment, we at least will demand to interpret
“Genocide” term”, he stated.

HUNGARIAN ORGANIST WINS COMPETITION IN RUSSIA
Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
September 5, 2005
Moscow, September 5 (MTI) – A Hungarian organist won the fourth
Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition in Kaliningrad,
Russia this weekend.
Out of 19 participants, the 25 year-old Istvan Matyas won the first
prize and the accompanying USD 5,000 award.
Tariverdiev (1931-1996) was born in an Armenian family in Tbilisi and
became popular in the 1960 for revolutionarising Soviet film music.
He wrote his compositions for organ in the mid-1980s, inspired by
global problems such as the nuclear catastrophe in Chernobyl.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH INTRODUCES CURRENCY
Pan Armenian News
03.09.2005, “PanARMENIAN Network” analytical department
The NKR dram will be considered a means of payment in Armenia too.
During the opening ceremony of “The history of Armenian dram”
exhibition held in Stepanakert, the chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan confirmed that in the nearest future
the national currency of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will be put into
circulation. According to Tigran Sargsyan, Karabakh dram will probably
be considered as a means of payment in Armenia too.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Initially the introduction of Karabakh dram was
aimed at the propaganda of Karabakh state system. Banknotes produced
by unrecognized countries are greatly valued by numismatists all over
the world. Money is an attribute of sovereignty. NKR is an established
country and the existence of own currency will become another symbol of
sovereignty. However it is fairly obvious that in terms of economy the
issue of Karabakh dram does not have special importance. The economy
of Karabakh is fully integrated to the economy of Armenia and the
introduction of Karabakh dram is not aimed at making any economical
changes. This is why it looks like the unexpected announcement of
Tigran Sargsyan simply means that Karabakh dram will serve as some
sort of a substitute to Armenian dram. Being equated to “AMD” “NKD”
will only replace “AMD” in the operations in the home market. It
should be noted that by its design the Karabakh dram is very much
alike Armenian dram.
The decision on the issue of Karabakh currency was made last year. The
banknotes were printed last winter but have not been officially
put into circulation. However, 2 and 10 dram Karabakh coins can be
bought on numismatic auctions through internet shops. For example
the “eBay” internet shop sells 2 dram coins for 0.99 pounds. Thus,
for the government of Nagorno-Karabakh the introduction of NKD is not
only a way to propagandize national state system but also an income
source for the state budget.
Azerbaijan’s reaction to the issue of Karabakh currency was very
painful and was about to provoke diplomatic scandal. Official Baku
applied with protest to the US Department of State and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Austria. (The banknotes were printed by the
American “Education Coin Company” and “Austrian State Printing Works”)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan demanded to pass all the
printed banknotes to the Embassy of Azerbaijan. The US Department of
State promised to support in fulfilling the demand. However, it is
known that NKD banknotes are already at the disposal of the Central
Bank of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and not the special services of
Azerbaijan.
>>From unrecognized countries the Prednestrovian Moldavian Republic
is still the only one that has issued its own currency. (Abkhazia
and Osetia use Russian roubles). Tiraspol recently celebrated the
10th anniversary of their currency which is by the way called rouble
and is printed in Poland. At present there are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100,
200 and 500 rouble banknotes and change coins in the circulation. The
exchange rate is 8 roubles for 1 US dollar. The Prednestrovian case
shows that the currency of an unrecognized country can be established
and Karabakh will soon prove that once again.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE VISITED ODESSA
Pan Armenian News
05.09.2005 07:43
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On invitation of Mayor of Odessa E. Gurvits Armenian
Ambassador to Ukraine Armen Khachatrian paid a call to Odessa August
1-4, RA MFA press center reported. Within the framework of the
festivities A.
Khachatrian met with governor of the Odessa region V. Tsushko and
Mayor of Odessa E. Gurvits. The interlocutors discussed a wide range
of issues referring to the development of the Armenian-Ukrainian
relations. In part, they noted the vital importance of the
Ilichevsk-Poti ferry line. During the visit Armen Khachatrian also
met with the representatives of the local Armenian community.

ILHAM ALIYEV IS READY TO GUARANTEE “KARABAKH ARMENIAN COMMUNITY’S SECURITY”
DeFacto, Armenia
Sept 5 2005
During the interview for Hurriyet newspaper (Turkey) Azeri President
Ilham Aliyev said Baku was ready to guarantee “Karabakh Armenian
community’s security”.
“I told Kocharyan we were ready to guarantee Karabakh Armenian
community’s security. I stressed Baku would not allow the community
to face any danger”, stated Aliyev.
In his words, “Azerbaijan is very strong, and Armenia will not manage
to withstand its onslaught”. “However, we do not want a war, as a
lot of people will die. I believe we’ll recover our lands sooner or
later. Let no one doubt it”, said Aliyev.
Commenting on the outcomes of the Kazan meeting with RA President
Robert Kocharyan Ilham Aliyev said there had been no results so far.
“The Armenians are waiting for us to grant independence to them.
However, it is impossible. The maintenance of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity is of primary importance for us”, noted Azeri President.
He stated after the Kazan meeting he had felt some easing in
Kocharyan’s stand; however, it was not enough for the conflict’s
settlement, Freedom Radio Station reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress