Author: Badalian Vardan

EDELMAN TAKES FLOOR IN OZAL CONFERENCE
Anatolian Times
June 22 2006
WASHINGTON D.C. – Eulogizing Turkish leaders Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
Ismet Inonu and Turgut Ozal who managed to bring “times of crisis
to progress of the country”, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Eric
Edelman stressed that the United States needed such an impressive
leadership in Turkey.
Edelman, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey between July
2003-2005, took the floor at traditional “Turgut Ozal” session
organized in Washington D.C. by the Washington Institute for Near
Eastern Policy, a think-tank organization.
Edelman extolled Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who turned Turkey’s face to
the West with his reforms, Ismet Inonu who steered Turkey toward
international organizations like the UN and NATO after the Second
World War, and Turgut Ozal who had Turkey integrate with the world
economically and politically.
-“STRIKING LEADERSHIP CAPACITY-”
Replying to a question about current leadership in Turkey, Edelman
said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan “displayed a
striking capacity in political and economic reforms particularly in
the first period of the government and paved the ways for beginning
of negotiations with the European Union (EU).
Edelman also underscored that the Turkish government at the same
time displayed a valor for a solution in Cyprus based on Annan plan,
“thanks to this courage, for the first time after 40 years, the
parties approach the solution this much,” he indicated.
“However, the process was obstructed after the Greek Cypriot voted
‘no’ in the referendum,” he said.
-“SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE”-
When he was recalled that positive point of view of the Turkish public
towards U.S. administration was at the lowest level (when compared
with the whole world) according to the surveys, Edelman said it would
be advantageous if the administrations of Turkey and the United States
have consistent exchange of views.
-“TURBULENCE IS NOT A SECRET BUT BEING OVERCOME GRADUALLY”-
“Turkish-U.S. relations entail attention of both parties,” Edelman
remarked and noted that both countries should continuously work to
enhance dimensions of bilateral relations and consult each other.
Edelman said, “there are not only Armenia and PKK issues in
Turkish-U.S. relations. Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey’s relations
with Ukraine and Russia and various NATO issues are in question.”
“The United States values Turkish-U.S. relations,” Edelman said and
added that the “turbulence” which started in the wake of September
11 and with Iraq war was not a secret, yet noted that all those were
being overcome gradually.
-“IRAQ SHOULD NOT BE A SHELTER FOR PKK ANYMORE”-
“Our hearts beat together with the families of Turkish citizens
who lost their lives because of PKK terrorism,” Edelman indicated
and noted that Iraq should not be a shelter for the terrorist PKK
organization anymore.
Edelman emphasized that Turkey and the United States were in
collaboration on that matter. “The two countries have never been so
close to each other in exchange of intelligence.”
Edelman said methods other than military force should be sought while
searching for ways to impede acts of terrorism. He said that efforts to
improve economic situation in Turkey’s southeast would be beneficial.
-“ALSO TURKEY IS ON TARGET”-
Pointing out that the United States was determined to resolve Iran
issue through diplomatic ways, Edelman said Washington welcomed
the support that Turkey gives to the process carried out with 3 EU
member countries.
Edelman said it would be the regional countries (in geographical terms)
that would be mostly harmed in case Iran attains nuclear capacity
and stressed that Israel and Turkey were “on the target”.
He said Israel and Turkey were two democratic countries in the region
and contributed to the democratic progress of the region.
-IRAQ-
Edelman acclaimed the efforts that Turkey exerted for stability in Iraq
and particularly the initiative that convened Sunnites in Istanbul.
Asked about the situation of Kirkuk, Edelman said, “this is a very
sensitive issue for Iraqis,” and noted that the decision pertaining
to the situation of the city belonged to Iraqis.
-CYPRUS-EU-
Responding to a comment that Cyprus question obstructed Turkey’s EU
membership, Edelman said this problem was considered a “potential
obstacle” yet joint efforts were underway to resolve the problem.
Edelman stated that the Turkish government displayed “flexibility”
in the past few months on Cyprus question, indicating that the other
party should display the same flexibility.
“The United States has been advocating Turkey’s EU membership since
1963. This is not something new. We have always been consistent,”
Edelman said.
-ATTACK ON COUNCIL OF STATE-
Asked whether the attack on Council of State judges was an attack
against secularism, Edelman said, “I do not make any comment on an
issue which is under investigation.”
-“I SHARE SAME VIEWS WITH MY BOSS”-
Asked if he shared the views of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
who had said, “the insurgents in Iraq would not be so effective if
Turkey had approved March 1 motion,” Edelman said, “I have same views
with my boss.”
-TURKEY-RUSSIA RELATIONS-
Responding to a question, Edelman said improvement of Turkey’s
relations with Russia should not be considered an alternative to its
relations with the West.
“The U.S. is pleased to see that Turkey has constructive relations both
with Russia and Ukraine.” On Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Edelman
said Turkey would play the role of an “energy depot” in the region.

ARMENTEL MAY GET NEW OWNER ALREADY TOMORROW
Yerevan, June 21. ArmInfo. OTE General Assembly, the owner of 90 pct
stake in ArmenTel, will meet tomorrow on June 22 in Athens to adopt
a decision on the sale of its stake. OTE headquarters told ArmInfo.
The source refrained from any comments on the upcoming decision of OTE
before the official report. To note, according to unofficial data, 8
companies applied for the stake. Among them are large Russian companies
“Mobile TeleSystems,” “Vimpelcom,” and “Megaphone” who control over
70 percent of the market in the post-Soviet area.

ARMENIAN SPIRITUAL LEADER IN ISTANBUL
Zaman, Turkey
June 21 2006
Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, came to Istanbul
Tuesday as a guest of Turkey’s Armenians Patriarch Mesrop II and
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew.
Karekin II, welcomed by Bartholomew, will hold week-long meetings
with several leaders.
Karekin II, who traveled from Erivan on Armenian Airlines, was expected
to leave the airport via the VIP Hall at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport,
but left instead in a vehicle convoy for security reasons.
A crowd of nearly 50 gathered at the airport protested the arrival
of Karekin II.

200 INVALID CHILDREN UNDERGO MEDICAL EXAMINATION IN ARMAVIR WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF “HEALTHY START” PROGRAM
Noyan Tapan
Jun 21 2006
ARMAVIR, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Nariri” NGO engaged in problems of
invalid children in the marz of Armavir, in which about 450 children
are involved, showed regular assistance to invalid children on June 20
within the framework of the “Healthy start” program. Invalid children’s
medical examination was organized at the pediatrics department of
the Armavir polyclinical center on that day. Nune Alexanian, the
responsible for the “Arabkir” medical center of Yerevan held the
medical examination. To recap, medical examination of invalid children
was held on the same day in the rural communities of Karakert and
Dalarik as well.
The main goal of the program is to examine invalid children. 200
invalid children already underwent medical examination in the marz
within the framework of the program.
This medical examination will finish late this week, when a group
of doctors of the “Arabkir” center will visit Armavir. The latters
will hold a final medical examination based on examinations of the
whole week.

WORK OF NEWPAPER “SYUNYATS YERKIR” HALTED BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRICIANS
A1+
[02:29 pm] 21 June, 2006
The director and two deputy directors of “Tatev” branch of “Armenian
Electricity Network” CJSC visited the editorial office of newspaper
“Syunyats Yerkir” and deprived them of electricity.
The problem emerged after the newspaper published an article titled
“The energy system of Syunik is corrupted” in the June 15 issue of
the current year.
During the discussion of the article the newspaper offered the heads
of “Tatev” branch to answer the criticism within the framework of
the law if they have something against the material printed in the
newspaper. But the authorities of the branch were not content with
it. By order of Arayik Grigoryan, the director of the branch, the
editorial office was immediately deprived of electricity. As a result
of this the newspapers was forced into a standstill.
“What took place testifies to the fact that the energy system of
Syunik is really fully corrupted. It proves that the terror against the
newspaper which started two years ago still continues”, the statement
of the newspaper says.
The editorship of the newspaper applied to Robert Kocharyan as the
guarantee of the Constitution asking to stop the persecution of the
newspaper and give them a chance to resume work.

GAZPROM’S INTEREST IN GEORGIA’S GAS PIPELINE MAY FADE
RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
June 20 2006
RBC, 20.06.2006, Moscow 17:27:15.Gazprom is still interested in the
acquisition of Georgia’s gas transportation system, but this interest
may fade, Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov declared at a press
conference today. He said Georgian officials were slowing down the
process. According to Ryazanov, the negotiations have been completed,
but the government of Georgia is still thinking the deal over and
hasn’t voiced its final decision yet. “I’m afraid Gazprom’s interest
may fade,” the Deputy CEO of the Russian gas giant reported, adding
that he had no idea what Georgia might need the backbone gas pipeline
for since it was in a terrible condition at present.
Ryazanov also stressed Gazprom still couldn’t ensure a smooth transit
of gas to Armenia via Georgia.

ISTANBUL TO WELCOME HEAD OF ARMENIAN CHURCH
Pravda, Russia
June 20 2006
Karekin II, whose official title is Catholicos of All Armenians, has
issued statements saying Turks committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I. Turkish nationalist protests during
his visit are likely.
Karekin’s official title is Catholicos of All Armenians.
Turkey has no relations with Armenia, and vehemently denies that Turks
committed genocide, saying Armenians who lived under the Ottoman
Empire were killed in internal fighting among ethnic groups as the
empire collapsed, the AP reports.

PLANE’S ENGINE WORKING BEFORE BLACK SEA CRASH
Irish Examiner, Ireland
June 19 2006
The Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea last month
killing all 113 people aboard was intact, with its engines operating
normally and enough fuel to land prior to impact, a Russian
investigating commission said today.
The Armavia Airbus A320 was also under manual control by its pilots
up to the moment of the May 3 pre-dawn catastrophe near the Russian
port of Sochi, the Transport Ministry commission said in a statement.
The commission, which based its conclusions on an analysis of the
plane’s “black box” flight recorders, did not assign blame for
the crash.
Prosecutors have dismissed the possibility that terrorists had brought
the plane down, and officials point to rough weather or pilot error
as the likely cause.
Armavia officials have suggested that air traffic controllers were
at least partly to blame, for giving the pilots improper instructions.
The commission said it planned further analysis of the recorders and
computer modelling to determine a cause. The flight was en route to
Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

AZERBAIJANI ‘FIRE’ FABLE
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
20/06/2006
The recent favorite topic of Azerbaijani online newspapers was “the
conflagration of fields” by Armenians in non-existent bordering
settlements.
Moreover, the made-up tumult grew into accusation and false
denunciation to international structures “on annihilation of Azeri
settlements by the Armenians.”
Perhaps the cause for worry about these extremely dubious settlements
is conflagration in Nagorno Karabakh lowlands that cannot be stifled
because of the firing from the Azeri side.
It should be reminded that a few years ago authorities in Nagorno
Karabakh applied to the Azerbaijani side via the OSCE Minsk Group
suggesting to cooperate in stifling the seasonal fires.
It’s not something new that the Azeri side does not discern methods
used against the Armenian side. If editing of their own officials’
statements is an everyday business, it is perhaps the boredom that
makes Azerbaijani journalists to bring diversity in the anti-Armenian
propaganda by using illogical creativity. Such as declaration of
uncommitted genocide, for one, or “subversive fires”, quotations from
Zori Balayan’s “unwritten book” etc.

TURKS SEE THE PRESENCE OF US TROOPS IN IRAQ GREATER DANGER TO WORLD PEACE THAN IRAN
ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey News network
June 15 2006
Turks see the presence of US troops in Iraq as a greater threat
to Mideast stability than govt in Iran and its nuke ambitions,
according to Pew Research Center’s poll of European and Muslim
countries Turkish support for war in Iraq dropped sharply from 33 pct
in 2002 to 12 percent this year, while 61 pct oppose Iran’s acquiring
nuclear weapons. At 3 pct, Turkey now registers the lowest level of
confidence in President Bush.
As divisions between West and Muslim nations in opinions of Hamas
victory are wider, 44 pct of Turks see Hamas victory as good for the
Palestinian people while 23 pct think the opposite.
Significant part of opinion poll shows that negative views of France
have risen over past year, especially in Muslim-populated countries.
In Turkey, 61 pct feel unfavorably toward France, up from 51 pct
last year
The majority of Turks see the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq as a
greater threat to stability in the Mideast than the controversial
government in Iran, according to a new poll of European and Muslim
countries.
The Pew Research Center’s opinion poll released this week found that
Turks are increasingly turning away from the U.S.-declared “war on
terror.” More than three-quarters of Turks (77 percent) oppose the
U.S.-led war on terror, up from 56 percent in 2004, while 61 percent
of the participants oppose Iran’s acquiring nuclear weapons.
Turkish support for the war in Iraq dropped sharply from 33 percent
in 2002, the beginning of the war, to 12 percent as of 2006.
People in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Russia also rated
America’s continuing involvement in Iraq a worse problem than Iran
and its nuclear ambitions. Views of U.S. troops in Iraq were even
more negative in countries like Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan.
But the war in Iraq trumps the Iranian situation as a perceived
danger to the world at a time when the image of the U.S. and its war
on terrorism continues to drop internationally.
Even in Britain, the U.S.’ closest ally in Iraq, 41 percent of those
surveyed said the U.S. military presence in Iraq was a danger to world
peace and only 34 percent described the Iranian government as a danger.
International opinion on the future of Iraq is generally gloomy.
Majorities in most countries surveyed believe that efforts to establish
a stable democratic government in Iraq will ultimately fail. Pessimism
is strongest in Spain, Turkey, Germany, Jordan, and Egypt — in all
five countries, more than six in 10 respondents believe efforts to
establish democracy will definitely or probably fail.
Iraq is one of many issues that pushes a negative view of the U.S.,
said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
“Last year we saw some good news in countries like Russia and India,”
Kohut said. “That good news being wiped away is a measure of how
difficult a problem this is for the U.S. “Western countries share
some points of view,” Kohut said, noting mutual concerns about
Iran’s development of a nuclear program and the victory of Hamas in
Palestinian elections. “But Iraq continues to be divisive.”
Opinion of Bush has continued to decline in European countries, while
Muslims-populated publics remain strongly opposed to the American
president. At 3 percent, Turkey now registers the lowest level of
confidence in President Bush.
Western European nations and predominantly Muslim nations have sharply
different views on Iran, which the U.S. claims is developing nuclear
weapons.
Concerning majority Muslim-populated countries’ position towards Iran’s
acquiring nuclear weapons, solid majorities in Turkey (61 percent)
and Indonesia (59 percent) oppose it, but people in Egypt and Jordan
are divided, and most Pakistanis (52 percent) favor Iran acquiring
nuclear weapons. In addition, more people in major industrialized
nations than in Muslim-populated countries believe that Iran wants
a nuclear program to develop weapons, not nuclear energy.
West-Muslim divide on Hamas victory
Divisions between the West and the Muslim world in opinions of the
Hamas Party’s victory in Palestine’s January elections are even wider.
Fully 71 percent of Germans and 69 percent of the French feel the
Hamas triumph will be bad for the Palestinian people, among those
who are aware of the issue. Somewhat fewer Americans (50 percent)
express this view, although just 20 percent think the Hamas triumph
will be a good thing for the Palestinians. Among major U.S. allies,
only the British are divided on Hamas’ election — 34 percent say it
will be bad, while 32 percent take a positive view.
By contrast, large majorities in Pakistan (87 percent), Egypt (76
percent), Jordan (68 percent), and Indonesia (61 percent) feel that
the Hamas Party victory will be good for the Palestinian people,
among those who had heard about the election. In addition, the
Muslim-populated publics surveyed generally feel the Hamas triumph
will increase chances of a fair settlement of the Middle East conflict,
a view opposed by the West.
Some 44 percent of Turks meanwhile think that Hamas’ victory is good
for the Palestinian people, while 23 percent think the opposite.
Another significant part of the opinion poll shows that negative views
of France have increased over the past year, especially in majority
Muslim-populated countries. In Turkey, 61 percent feel unfavorably
toward France, up from 51 percent last year.
Riots of disenfranchised Muslim French youth have likely fueled this
perception worldwide, whereas for Turks, French legislation proposing
that rejection of the Armenian “genocide” be outlawed may also have
played a role.