Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

UPSET KID!
Yusuf Kanli

Hurriyet
March 17 2010
Turkey

The alleged Armenian genocide bills popping up in legislatures of
some friendly countries enraged the Turkish nation and proved once
again that, when and if we can find a "common enemy," political
differences, die-hard animosities and even the secularist-Islamist
polarization can all be temporarily brushed aside, and a "national
front" is immediately established against the "external common threat."

Once again this happened after first the United States House of
Representatives Foreign Relations Committee adopted a non-binding
resolution condemning Ottoman Turkey for undertaking genocide against
its Armenian population during and immediately after the World War I.

Then the parliament of Sweden adopted a resolution enhancing the
scope of the alleged genocide and apart from Armenians, placing some
other minority ethnic groups among the victims of the alleged crime
against humanity.

The "non-binding" nature of the resolutions was of no comfort to
Turkey, particularly because of the timing of such hostile acts from
friendly parliaments and information pouring in, headed by the House
of Commons of Britain, about similar nasty developments are likely
to come from some other allies of this country.

Furthermore, the Jewish background of the U.S. House committee chairman
who staged a mockery administration and extended the voting session
sufficient enough to get the resolution approved and three "ethnic
Turkish" parliamentarians voting in favor of the resolution in the
Swedish parliament were "too much to digest" for most Turks.

It did not take much for the Islamist-conservative media to start
running articles that those three ethnic-Turkish Swedish deputies were
indeed "non-Turks" and that one of them was of Armenian background,
the other was a Christian and the third one was a Sabbatean, a sect
members of which are Muslim in public life but Jewish in private.

Perhaps it was a consolation for Islamist conservative and
racist-nationalist Turks that the "three traitors" were not
ethnic Turks, though some officious politicians – not necessarily
conservatives but from the supposed "left wing" as well – started
demanding that those three Swedish deputies should be stripped of
Turkish nationality if they had double citizenship.

Such demands are of course funny and indeed resemble an attitude as
if we are kids disgruntled with attitudes of some other boys in a
game and take our toys and leave the playground.

But, hold on! Unfortunately, developments in London during Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s short working visit demonstrated that
there might be no limit in our spoiled childish attitudes. Of course
Turkey may feel ashamed a while later of what is sad (hopefully will
not be done) by the premier. First on an interview with the Turkish
service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, and later
at a news conference together with British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown, Erdogan warned that if resolutions on the alleged Armenian
genocide continue to be adopted by parliaments of other countries,
Turkey might feel compelled to expel some 100,000 Armenian citizens
who have been illegally residing and working in Turkey.

This odd idea was first raised by main opposition Republican People’s
Party, or CHP deputy, retired ambassador Å~^ukru Elekdag some four
years ago. At the time, from left to right, Islamists to secularists,
everyone with some brains had opposed the suggestion of Elekdag.

Recently, a similar attitude was voiced by CHP deputy Canan Arıtman,
when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was briefing the parliamentary
foreign relations commission on the Swedish resolution. Arıtman is
famous with such provocative approaches to issues. She was the deputy
who a while ago had claimed that President Abdullah Gul’s grandmother
was an Armenian (as if it would make a difference if she indeed was)
and ignited a major controversy at the end of which her party had to
apologize to the president.

How wise was it for Erdogan to use the same childish and indeed ugly
sentence smelling blackmail? An administration has the right and
indeed duty to fight with illegal immigration, but since when does
struggling with immigration becomes a foreign policy tool or bargain
chip in relations with other countries?

Turkey does not deserve such attitudes. There is no sense in getting
engaged in oddities just for the sake of reacting to some unpleasant
developments. No one has the right, even if he is the prime minister,
to engage in acts belittling Turkey in front of the international
community.

A prime minister has no right to behave as if he is an upset kid!
From: Baghdasarian

ALL FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS TO USE ARMENIAN CURRENCY, SAYS RA STATE REVENUE COMMITTEE

Tert.am
12:48 ~U 19.03.10

The State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia states that
according to the "RA Law about Currency Regulation and Currency
Control," any transactions in the country, such as quotations, trade,
delivery of service, salary payment must be conducted exclusively
using Armenia’s national currency, the dram.

When the law is violated the first time, according to the "RA Law about
Administrative Legal Violations," a 2 million AMD fine will be imposed
on the violator. Should the violation be repeated for a second time
within the same year, then the fine will be doubled to 4 million AMD.

RA State Revenue Committee urges Armenian entrepreneurs to respect
the Armenian national monetary unit, to observe the law, and evade
transactions with foreign currencies to avoid fines and save money.
From: Baghdasarian

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN INVITES HIS SLOVAK COUNTERPART TO ARMENIA

Armradio.am
18.03.2010 18:23

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Foreign Minister of
Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak, and his delegation.

Greeting the guests, President Sargsyan hailed the high level of
bilateral relations and noted that Armenia is interested in the
deepening of cooperation with Slovakia. Serzh Sargsyan said the two
countries have no problems and this provides for a good basis for
developing cooperation.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the adoption of a resolution
condemning the Armenian Genocide by the Parliament of Slovakia.

President Sargsyan voiced hope that the Foreign Minister’s visit
would also contribute to the reinforcement of relations. The Armenian
President invited his Slovak counterpart to Armenia.

Miroslav Lajcak noted, in turn, that much has been done on the
political level, but there is still a great potential, especially
in the fields of trade and economy. He voiced hope that the
Armenian-Slovakian business forum would create new opportunities for
the expansion of business ties between the two countries.

The Armenian President and the Slovak Foreign Minister exchanged views
on Armenia-EU cooperation and the steps to be taken in that direction.

The interlocutors agreed that the Eastern Partnership Program opens
new perspectives for the deepening of the Armenian-Slovakian relations
in bilateral and multilateral formats.

Upon the request of the Foreign Minister of Slovakia, Serzh Sargsyan
presented the latest developments in the negotiations on the Karabakh
conflict settlement, and the stance of official Yerevan. President
Sargsyan welcomed Slovakia’s balanced position on issues of our region.
From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH ARMENIANS BLAME ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES

news.az
March 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Armenian citizens that are residing illegally in Turkey have criticized
government, Armenian lobby for worsening of relations with Turkey.

"We are ordinary people, we have never dealt with policy and we do
not want to suffer because of the Armenian politicians and lobbies.

Armenians residing in the United States, Europe and Russia are very
rich and they do not care about us. The lobby and our corrupted
government are doing everything to complicate our life. If living
conditions in Armenia were good, we would have earned a living in
our homeland, not here. We are grateful to Turkey that it provided
us with this opportunity", an Armenian citizen on temporary residence
in Istanbul told in her interview with Turkish Kanal1 TV channel.

Another Armenian citizen baking sweets in the Istanbul Aksaray quarter
said she does not want to leave Turkey. "I have been here for about
four years. I earn money here and then I send it to Yerevan where most
of my relatives are jobless. I ask not to send us back. We are doomed
to famine in Armenia. This is the government that should be blamed,
while people in Armenia have nothing to do with it", she said.

Another Armenian citizen-Emma Kirakosyan working at the transport
company told Hurriyet that there are no problems between Turks and
Armenians, there are problems between the governments. She also said
several buses are sent from Istanbul via Turkey.

"Most drivers are Armenians, they are earning a living. Do not deprive
them of a loaf of bread", she said.
From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY THREATENS TO KICK OUT ARMENIAN MIGRANTS

EUobserver.com
29710
March 18 2010

Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that some 100,000
Armenians working illegally in his country could be expelled "if
necessary," as historic tensions over mass killings in World War I
bubble up on the EU’s fringe.

Ottoman Turks killed hundreds of thousands of Armenians in 1915.

Ankara has staunchly refused to accept that the events amount to
actions "genocide." But recent parliamentary resolutions in the US
and Sweden have urged the Turkish government to accept the terminology.

Turkey’s reconciliation with Armenia is on hold (Photo: zz77)

Ankara retaliated by recalling its ambassador from Washington and by
strongly criticising Stockholm.

But in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Mr Erdogan went a
step further, saying that the resolutions "harm the Armenian people
as well …and things become deadlocked."

He threatened to deport 100,000 Armenian migrants who have no residence
or working permits in Turkey.

Mr Erdogan said that out of the 170,000 Armenians living in the
country just "70,000 are Turkish citizens.".

"We are turning a blind eye to the remaining 100,000 …Tomorrow,
I may tell these 100,000 to go back to their country, if it becomes
necessary," he said.

His Armenian counterpart, Tigran Sarkisian, reacted by saying that such
comments "do not help to improve relations between our two states."

Ankara was last year praised by the EU for its "historic" decision
to unfreeze diplomatic relations with Yerevan, under an agreement
signed in October 2009.

Normalising relations with its neighbours is an important step in
Turkey’s EU accession bid. The union is also keen for Turkish diplomacy
to help pacify the South Caucasus region, a strategic energy corridor.

The Turkish-Armenian agreement is still pending ratification in both
parliaments and things seem to have been put on hold for now, however.

During his first visit to Turkey on Monday, enlargement commissioner
Stefan Fuele voiced support for the reconciliation efforts and warned
against politicising historic events.

"As someone who is coming from former Czechoslovakia, from the
Czech Republic, I know that politicising your history is making
reconciliation difficult," he was quoted as saying by the AFP.

Turkey applied for EU membership as early as 1987, but has begun
accession talks only in 2005. So far it opened negotiations in
12 out of the 35 policy chapters it has to conclude with Brussels
before joining.

Unlike other candidate countries, Turkey’s negotiations are "open
ended," meaning that its membership can still be vetoed by any one
EU country at the end of the process.
From: Baghdasarian

ERDOGAN THREATENS DEPORTATION OF 100 THOUSAND ARMENIANS FROM TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2010 12:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 100
thousand illegal Armenian migrants can be deported from the country.

"There are 170 thousand Armenians living in Turkey. 70 thousand of
them are Turkish citizens. If necessary, I will tell the remaining 100
thousand to leave. I can do so because they are not Turkish citizens
and I’m not obliged to keep them in my country," BBC Turkce quoted
Erdogan as saying.

The fierce reaction of the Turkish PM came after the adoption of
the Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res.252, by the US House Foreign
Affairs Committee on March 4 and passage of a resolution recognizing
the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Pontiac Greeks
by the Swedish parliament on March 11.
From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY SPARES NO EFFORT TO LAY DOWN PRECONDITIONS: NALBANDIAN

news.am
March 16 2010
Armenia

March 15, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with Christoph
Heusgen, Adviser on Foreign Affairs to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
in the fames of his visit to Berlin.

The officials discussed details of the RA President’s forthcoming
visit to Germany, expansion of Armenia-Germany friendly relations,
as well as regional and international issues, RA Foreign Ministry
press service informed NEWS.am.

Later, Nalbandian was hosted by German Council on Foreign Relations
where delivered a speech about Armenia’s foreign policy, answered
the questions of the officials, diplomats, political experts and
journalists.

Speaking of the recent statements by Turkey, FM said, "Turkey’s
groundless statements that Armenian Genocide Resolutions discussed and
approved by the U.S. Congress and Swedish Parliament can allegedly harm
Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process are just a smoke-screen. In
fact, Turkey itself does its utmost to lay down preconditions,
create obstacles and difficulties, thereby discrediting meaning of
‘reasonable timeframe’ expression."

Minister expressed hope that Turkey realizes full burden of
responsibility for its current behavior and will not disappoint
international community.

Nalbandian also participated in the press conference organized for
German and international media.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIANS OF TURKEY-BARGAINING CHIP FOR ANKARA

News.am
March 16 2010
Armenia

March 15, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu speaking in the Parliament’s
Foreign Affairs Commission touched upon country’s strategy against
adoption of Armenian Genocide resolutions by several parliaments.

According to Turkish Sabah daily, Davutoglu opposed recalling of
Armenia-Turkey Protocols from the Parliament, adding that they have
no intention to do it. "Presently, the Protocols are a criticial tool
for us. We use the documents as deterrents," Davutoglu said.

Turkish FM also denied oppositions’ proposal to deport 70.000 Armenian
citizens illegally residing in Turkey. "If we do it, it will provoke
other states opposing our policy to use it as a bargaining chip. All
newspapers will publish photos of deported Armenians and it will
be called a nationalism, having Turkey being in a hotter seat,"
he outlined.

Foreign Minister also did not welcome initiative on closure of
Injerlik base, noting that Turkey and U.S. actively cooperate on
fight against terrorism and PKK, so the base should not be used as
a leverage against the U.S.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS SCR

ArmInfo
2010-03-16 10:47:00

ArmInfo. Armenian parliamentary delegation made a working visit to
the railway objects.

The parliamentary delegation included Volodyan Naghdalyan, Hermine
Naghdalyan, Gagik Abrahamyan, Gohar Yenokyan, Manvel Kazaryan, Vardan
Khachatryan and others. Representatives of Armenia’s Transport and
Communication Ministry in the person of deputy minister Hrant Beglaryan
also took part in the visit. Visit to Masis- Artashat section aimed
at acquaintance with the volume and quality of the work performed by
South Caucasus railway CJSC over the past period. The parliamentary
delegation visited Masis station and met Governor of Ararat region
Vardges Hovakimyan. Availing of the presence of the governor and
heads of rural administrations, SCR management touched on the issue
of garbage disposition along the rail track and elaboration of a
common position for the problem solution. Then the members of the
working group visited Artashat station, after which they returned to
Yerevan and visited the locomotive depot. After survey, meeting of
SCR management with parliamentarians was held in the Company’s Head
Office, during which the issues of assurance of a legislative base
of the concessioner’s activity were touched on.

Director General of the South Caucasus Railway CJSC Shevket Shaydullin
voiced the topical problems of SCR-state interaction which, according
to parliamentarians, will be discussed in details at the session of the
Russian-Armenian interparliamentary commission on March 21-24, 2010.

SCR CJSC is the 100 percent subsidiary of Russian Railways CJSC. In
February 2008 SCR obtained a concession of the state CJSC Armenian
Railway. The agreement of concession of the Armenian Railroad CJSC
for 30 years with a 10-year renewable period was signed in Yerevan
in February 2008.
From: Baghdasarian

ANDREI NESTERENKO: MERZLYAKOV’S REPLACEMENT WILL NOT CHANGE MOSCOW’S POSITION

armradio.am
16.03.2010 18:53

"The replacement of the Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov will not
change Moscow’s position in this format," official of the Russian
Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko said, APA reports quoting RIA
Novosti.

According to him, Yuri Merzlyakov has got new appointment, this is
natural for the officer of the Foreign Ministry. Nesterenko expressed
his hope that the new co-chair will work as vigorously as the previous
co-chair.

"I would like to add that Russia’s position in the OSCE Minsk Group
is not determined by its representative. This position is determined
by President of Russia and realized by the foreign ministry," he said.

The diplomat added that Russia does its best to protect active
participation in the Minsk Group.

The diplomat noted that there is no direct contact between Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations,
but said the two processes can influence each other to some extent.

"Our principled position is that these processes must not depend on
each other. Otherwise, both processes may stop," he said.
From: Baghdasarian