Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Trend Daily News (Azerbaijan)
September 9, 2011 Friday 6:23 PM GMT +4

Azerbaijani delegation resumes its participation in Economic Forum in
Krynica Zdroj

Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 9 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /

The Azerbaijani delegation resumed its participation in the XXI
Economic Forum in Krynica Zdroj, Deputy Dean of the History Department
at Moscow State University, Chief Editor of Vestnik Kavkaza and Trend
Expert Council member Alexei Vlasov said.

The organizers persuaded the Azerbaijani delegation to return after
the materials dissatisfying the Azerbaijani speakers were removed.
However, the course of the panel continued in a very tense atmosphere.

The Azerbaijani delegation has left the South Caucasus Panel at the
XXI Economic Forum in Krynica Zdroj , Poland.

The Azerbaijani delegation left the event as a protest to the stand of
photos and materials , where the Azerbaijani territory was shown as
the Armenian lands, placed before a moderator.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

From: Baghdasarian

news.az, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2011

Signature collection campaign in Turkey to extradite Ramil Safarov to home
Sat 10 September 2011 07:16 GMT | 3:16 Local Time

Signature collection campaign will be mounted in Turkey to extradite
Ramil Safarov, an officer of the Azerbaijani army who killed an
Armenian army officer for insulting Azerbaijani flag in Hungary, to
Azerbaijan.

The statement issued by the Igdir-based Center for Combating
Groundless Armenian Claims says that the incident happened as Ramil
Safarov, who was in Hungary as part of the NATO training, could not
tolerate serious insult by the Armenian officer.

It would be more appropriate for Hungary, neutral state which respects
rule of law, to decide to extradite the Azerbaijani officer to his
home so that he will serve remaining part of his sentence in
Azerbaijan, the statement says.

So, the Center for Combating Groundless Armenian Claims plans to mount
signature collection campaign in all cities across Turkey and keep
this issue on spotlight of media.

Gun.Az

From: Baghdasarian

United Press International UPI
September 9, 2011 Friday 2:23 PM EST

Israel to cooperate with Turkey’s rivals

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 9

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he will take harsh
measures against Turkey’s decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with
Israel, a report said.

Israeli officials said Turkey is trying to exploit the diplomatic
dispute to promote Turkey’s status in the Muslim world, Ynetnews
reported Thursday.

Turkey has demanded an apology from Israel for the death of nine
Turkish nationals on a ship trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of
Gaza.

Lieberman said he will urge all Israeli military veterans to refrain
from traveling to Turkey and facilitate cooperation with the Armenians
— Turkey’s historic rivals. He said he also plans to meet with the
Turkish rebel group PKK to “cooperate with them and boost them in
every possible area.”

“We’ll exact a price from (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip)
Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with Israel doesn’t pay
off,” Lieberman said. “Turkey better treat us with respect and common
decency.”

Turkey does not appear to be backing down from the diplomatic rift,
with Turkish President Abdullah Gul accusing Israel of being an
ungrateful burden to its allies, Hurriyet News reported Thursday.

He said democracy is on the ascent in the Middle East and “Israel must
think about an honorable peace.”

From: Baghdasarian

World War 4 Report
Sept 10 2011

Israel to use Armenian genocide as political ammo against Turkey?

Submitted by WW4 Report on Sat, 09/10/2011 – 13:42.

Returning to a prospect first raised after last year’s flotilla
affair, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has broached
supporting recognition by the US Senate of the Armenian genocide as
part of a diplomatic offensive against Turkey, the Hebrew-language
daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sept. 9. The report came ahead of a
meeting of a meeting of Foreign Ministry officials to discuss Israel’s
response to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to
downgrade Ankara’s diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. Amazingly,
the report also claimed Lieberman had suggested that Israel back the
PKK Kurdish guerillas (which will doubtless fuel the endless
conspiracy theories in Turkish nationalist circles that the Kurds are
the pawns of a Zionist conspiracy against the Muslim world). (AFP,
Sept. 10; YNet, Sept. 9)

Showdown at UN looms
The White House is meanwhile keeping up the pressure on Palestinian
authorities to drop their plan to put statehood to a vote at the
United Nations this month. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is said
to be weighing whether to apply through the 15-member Security Council
for full membership – which the United States has vowed to veto – or to go
directly to the 193-member General Assembly, where there is no veto
and a pro-Palestinian majority. The General Assembly cannot grant UN
membership to Palestine, however; it can only declare it to be an
observer state. But this would still allow Palestine to join a host of
international agencies and treaty groups – including the International
Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, where it could
bring complaints against Israel. The Palestinians have been seeking
admission to the ICC for nearly two years, and the chief prosecutor,
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has indicated that General Assembly acceptance
would make the difference. (Although a further jurisdictional dilemma
is raised by the fact that Israel is not a member of the ICC.) (NYT,
Sept. 9)

More “price tag” attacks
On Sept. 8, the IDF reported new “price tag” by presumed far right
settlers on Palestinian targets in the West Bank. In the first
incident, a mosque in the West Bank village of Yitma, near Nablus, was
vandalized with graffiti. In the second incident, two Palestinian
vehicles were torched in the village of Kablan. Vandals also broke
into an army base outside the Beit El settlement, slashing tires and
breaking windows on 13 vehicles. It was the first such “price-tag”
attack against an IDF base, and drew major condemnation from the
Israeli government. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “This was
an abhorrent crime directed against commanders and vehicles, the
mission of which is to protect the lives of Israeli civilians in Judea
and Samaria.” The attacks came after the IDF razed three homes at the
Migron settler outpost. (JP, Sept. 10)

From: Baghdasarian

news.am, Armenia
Sept 10 2011

PACE to discuss Armenia: democratic institutions and pre-natal sex selection

September 10, 2011 | 16:40

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will discuss the
issues related to Armenia during the session scheduled for October 3-7
in Strasbourg.

Co-Rapporteurs on Armenia John Prescott and Axel Fischer will present
a report on democratic institutions in Armenia, the PACE official
website reports. The European parliamentarians are expected to hold
debates and vote on the document on October 7.

The plenary session’s agenda also includes observation of the
parliamentary elections in Turkey and cooperation between the Council
of Europe and the emerging democracies in the Arab world.

The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men will present a
draft resolution based on the report by Doris Stump on pre-natal sex
selection. The Committee has already warned that pre-natal sex
selection has reached `worrying proportions’ in several Council of
Europe member states, in particular Albania, Armenia and Azerbaijan
where the ratio is 112 boys for 100 girls, and in Georgia where the
ratio is 111 boys for 100 girls.

The Committee calls on these four countries to `investigate the causes
and reasons behind skewed sex ratios at birth’ and to step up their
efforts to `raise the status of women in society’.

From: Baghdasarian

news.am, Armenia
Sept 10 2011

Armenian Defense Minister discusses prospects for bilateral
cooperation with Poland

September 10, 2011 | 11:58

YEREVAN. – During his official visit to Poland between September 7 and
9, Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan had meetings with his
Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak, head of National Security Bureau
Stanislaw Koziej, and head of Defense Committee of the Polish
parliament Stanislaw Wziatek.

During the meetings, the parties discussed the prospects for the
enlargement of Armenian-Polish bilateral military cooperation. They
also exchanged views on the politico-military situation in the South
Caucasus, the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and
the activities of the Afghanistan International Security Assistance
Force, Ministry’s press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The parties also reached accordance on the signing of military and
technical-military cooperation between Armenia and Poland, and the
expansion of cooperation in military education.

On the first day of its visit, the delegation led by Armenia’s
Minister of Defense visited the International Defence Industry
Exhibition held in the city of Kielce. Seyran Ohanyan conveyed his
impressions on this exhibition to officials of Poland’s defense sphere
and also discussed the possibilities for establishing Armenian-Polish
joint enterprises, and developing cooperation in defense acquisitions
and in scientific research and experimental construction.

During his official visit to Poland, Armenian Minister of Defense
Seyran Ohanyan also met with representatives of Warsaw’s Armenian
community. At this meeting, he spoke about the problems and
development projects of the Armenian Armed Forces, the current
situation at the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani
military troops, and Armenia’s security challenges.

Ohanyan also paid a visit to the history museum of the Polish army and
laid a wreath to the Unknown Soldier Memorial.

The delegation led by Armenia’s Minister of Defense returned to
Armenia on Saturday.

From: Baghdasarian

Military expert: Turkey uses NATO to procure weaponry

September 10, 2011 – 14:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkey is using NATO to procure weaponry it wouldn’t
otherwise be able to afford, according to an Armenian military expert.

As Artsrun Hovhannisyan told a news conference in Yerevan, `having
failed at attempts to gain military independence, Turkey is using NATO
financing to obtain weaponry.’

`NATO missile defense system deployment will largely contribute to
Ankara’s military might, raising concerns of Iran and Israel,’ he
said.

Turkey has agreed to deploy an early warning radar system by the end
of the year as part of NATO’s missile defense program for Europe. It
is aimed at countering the threat of missile attacks from Iran.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran will not tolerate
any aggression against its national interests.

Vahidi said, `we regard the presence of the Americans and the
Westerners as troublesome, which would undermine security in Muslim
countries and harm their interests.’

From: Baghdasarian

WikiLeaks did disservice to all Armenian presidents, MP says

September 10, 2011 – 13:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The head of Heritage opposition party parliamentary
group commented on WikiLeaks publications, revealing the practices of
Armenian presidents (Levon Ter-Petrossian, Robert Kocharian and Serzh
Sargsyan).

As Stepan Safaryan told a news conference in Yerevan, the publications
rendered the presidents highly vulnerable.

`The whistle blowing website did a special disservice to
Ter-Petrossian, who used foreign policy problems to complicate
Sargsyan’s situation. According to publications, elections were a mere
pretext for Ter-Petrossian to escalate tensions,’ Safaryan noted.

`I doubt that, in full knowledge of revelations made, Ter-Petrossian
will risk exacerbating the situation,’ Safaryan said.

From: Baghdasarian

Karabakh People Cheated by VTB Bank

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:11:57 – 10/09/2011

People cheated by VTB Bank rallied in front of the president office in
Stepanakert, NKR. They threaten by lynching in case their issue is not
settled.

Three years ago ten people deposited 30 million drams in this Russian
bank. They received their copies of documentation and the contract.
VTB left Karabakh for `political reasons’ and was replaced by Ameria
Bank.

In reality, the reasons are not political. Audit revealed
machinations, and the chief financier was remanded in custody for six
months but was released later, while the manager of the bank avoided
prosecution.

Three years ago the lenders applied to the law-enforcement bodies of
Karabakh. They were asked to submit their documents, contracts and
promised to address the issue. For the past three years, they have
inquired with the law-enforcement bodies and received the same
response that the documents are under examination and investigation is
underway.

One of the lenders, Armen Danielyan, told us the Yerevan-based
branches of VTB say there are no such deposits in their bank. In fact,
the management of the branch in Stepanakert had forged the documents,
even though they were sealed.

Vardan Yeramishyan who has deposited 10 million drams cannot get back
his money to buy an apartment.A group of people demand a meeting with
the president. If this time they fail to solve their problem, they
will lynch, they say.

From: Baghdasarian

ISRAEL MOVING FOR PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ?

Gibrahayer
9/9/2011

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has formulated a series of
reciprocal measures in response to Turkey’s latest anti-Israeli moves,
and one possible beneficiary could be Turkey’s long-time rival,
Armenia.

huliq.com – Michael Santo – 09.09.2011 – On Thursday, senior Foreign
Ministry officials met in preparation for a Saturday meeting with
Lieberman. The goal of the weekend meeting is to develop a response to
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent threats toward
Israel and his decision to downgrade Ankara’s diplomatic ties with
Jerusalem. Foreign Ministry officials said, after the meeting, that
they believe Turkey is attempting to increase its stature in the
Muslim world, rather than seeking an Israeli apology, as Ankara
claims.
One interesting move could potentially lead to a favorable
result for Armenia. It’s believed that during Lieberman’s upcoming
visit to the United States later this month he will meet with leaders
of the Armenian lobby. It’s possible he will propose anti-Turkish
legislation in the U.S. Congress, although how far that would go
considering Turkey’s importance to the U.S, is unclear.
Among the suggested implications for possibly increased backing
of Armenia by Israel would be promotion of international recognition
of the Armenian genocide. Turkey still refuses to use the word
genocide when referring to the events, despite repeated calls by the
international community, particularly in recent history. Another
possible move by Israel could be supporting Armenia in its dispute
with Turkey over control of Mount Ararat.
Another group that might see advantages from an Israeli
response to Turkey would be the Kurds, as Lieberman is reportedly
planning meet with the heads of the Kurdish rebel group PKK in order
to `cooperate with them and boost them in every possible area.’ It;’s
anticipated that the Kurds will ask Israel for military aid in the
form of training and arms. Such a move would constitute Israel backing
a foreign insurgency and be viewed a major anti-Turkish move it Israel
were to agree to it.
The intensification of bad will between Turkey and Israel came
to a head last week, when a UN probe into the “flotilla incident”
found Israel’s naval blockade to be legal although it criticized
Israel for using “excessive” force in the raid. Israel continues to
refuse to apologize for the bloody incident, and called the report’s
conclusions a vindication of its stance.

That response angered Turkey, which expelled Israel’s ambassador,
suspended military agreements with Israel and warned it was
considering legal action against Israel at the International Criminal
Court.
Lieberman said `We’ll exact a price from [Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip] Erdogan that will prove to him that messing with
Israel doesn’t pay off. Turkey must treat us with respect and common
decency.’

From: Baghdasarian