Author: Basmajian Ani

D. PHILIPS SAYS COURT’S DECISION A NECESSARY AND POSITIVE STEP TOWARD RATIFICATION

Panorama.am
17:58 03/02/2010

The Protocols represent a bilateral agreement between Turkey and
Armenia. There is no linkage to Nagorno Karabakh, American expert,
visiting scholar of Columbia University, David Phillips told Day.az.

It was widely perceived last year that Turkey was heralding its signing
of the protocols to effect international recognition of the Armenian
genocide. I don’t think anyone will be interested in that happening
again, the expert highlighted.

Philips said that only opponents of the Protocols have identified
differences between the Constitutional Court’s decision and the text.

"Even those perceived differences are not significant overall. The
United States joined with others in hailing the Court’s decision as
a necessary and positive step toward ratification."

Inaction has already been damaging and will ultimately undermine the
historic opportunity represented by the Protocols, the expert stated.

Referring to Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Philips signified that both
sides continue to meet at a high level and work sincerely towards
resolution.

IRAN REPORTS TECH DEFECTS IN TUPOLEV-154 ENGINE

Press TV
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:22:15 GMT

A piece of wreckage from the Tupolev-154 crash

Iran says it has reported to Russia technical defects it discovered
in the motor engine of a Tupolev-154 plane that crashed in central
Iran in July, killing all 168 passengers.

Reza Nakhjavani, head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, told
the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on Monday that Iran has yet
to receive the Russian manufacturer’s report on the issue.

Based on the latest information concerning the plane crash, the
official said, "technical defects have been discovered in the engine of
the plane and the matter has been reported to the Russian manufacturer,
but we are yet to receive the results of the manufacturer’s study."

The official said the defects came to light during the study of the
Qazvin plane crash, adding that the defects had not been detected in
Tupolevs before.

Nakhjavani said the decision to abolish or keep the planes hinges
upon the Russian manufacturer’s confirmation of the report.

"If the Russian manufacturer approves our experts’ views [on the
issue], we will then decide to either continue or stop Tupolev flights
in the country accordingly."

All the 168 people aboard the Tupolev Tu-154 en route to Armenia
were killed about 16 minutes after the airliner took off from the
Imam Khomeini International Airport near Tehran in July 2009.

Iran’s Minister of Roads and Transportation said in January that
Iranian airlines will no longer be allowed to buy cheap or old
airplanes.

"[Iranian] airlines are allowed to buy planes produced after 1995,
but in the near future they will be allowed to purchase only planes
that are produced after 2000," Hamid Behbahani said.

He added that Iran has 193 passenger planes, of which 25 have been
purchased over the past ten months.

OSCE MONITORING REGISTERS NO CEASE-FIRE VIOLATION

armradio.am
02.02.2010 13:17

According to the earlier agreement with the authorities of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission held on February 2 regular
monitoring of the NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces’ contact-line,
near NKR Martakert region’s Levonarkh village.

>From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the mission was led by
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador
Andrzej Kasprzyk. The monitoring group comprised Field Assistants
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative Vladimir
Chuntulov (Bulgaria) and Jaslan Nurtazin (Kazakhstan).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule, and no
violation of the cease-fire regime was fixed.

>From the Karabakh party, the monitoring mission was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry
of Defense.

ARMENIA-TURKEY RAPPROCHEMENT MUST NOT BE TIED WITH ANY OTHER PROCESS: PHILIP GORDON

Tert.am
13:08 ~U 02.02.10

It’s necessary to ratify and implement the Protocols signed between
Armenia and Turkey, and establishing relations must continue without
connecting it with any other process, said Assistant Secretary at
the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Philip Gordon, during a Washington press conference, reports CNN Turk.

The U.S. Assistant State Secretary, noting that normalizing relations
between Armenia and Turkey and opening of the border will contribute
to the establishment of peace and stability in the region, stated
that "We believe that that process has to continue, independent of
other matters."

Gordon also stated that the U.S. is going to continue maintaining
contacts with both Armenian and Turkish authorities in this process.

Earlier, Gordon had said that the U.S. views the Armenian
Constitutional Court’s ruling as a positive step forward in the
ratification process of the Protocols.

"The court decision permits the protocols, as they were negotiated
and signed, to move forward towards parliamentary ratification,
and does not appear to limit or qualify them in any way," he said.

AZERBAIJAN DECLINES PARTICIPATION IN GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING WORLD CUP DUE IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
18:42 01/02/2010

Azerbaijan has officially declined from participating in the
Greco-Roman Wrestling World Cup due in Yerevan February 13-14.

Azerbaijan’s Wrestling Federation sent a letter to the International
Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) officially withdrawing
from participation.

The team from Uzbekistan will arrive in Yerevan instead of Azerbaijan,
the Cup press coordinator Eduard Kalantaryan told Panorama.am.

The teams to participate are: Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Iran,
Hungary, Cuba and Uzbekistan.

ARMENIAN WOMEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP BROUGHT NEW LEADERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.01.2010 13:26 GMT+04:0

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On January 28 the 7th round of Armenian women
chess championship was held. After the 7th round Lia Martirosyan and
Siranush Andriasyan scored equal points – 4.5 each. However, given
the personal rating of Martirosyan comes the firts. Ani Khanamiryan
comes the third with 4 points.

Chess is a board game played between two players. It is played on a
chessboard, which is a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged
in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen
pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and
eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s
king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and
there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move.

The current form of the game emerged in Europe during the second half
of the 15th century after evolving from a much older game of Indian
origin. Aspects of art are found in chess composition. Theoreticians
have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics since the
game’s inception. One of the goals of early computer scientists was
to create a chess-playing machine. Chess is now deeply influenced
by the abilities of chess programs and the opportunity for online
play. In 1997 Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a reigning
World Champion in a match when it defeated Garry Kasparov.

The tradition of organized competitive chess started in the 16th
century. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz,
claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is Viswanathan
Anand. Chess is a recognized sport of the International Olympic
Committee. Today, chess is one of the world’s most popular games,
played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online,
by correspondence, and in tournaments.

‘A DOCUMENT CREATED ON MUTUALLY ERRONEOUS CALCULATIONS’: OSKANIAN ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

Tert.am
16:41 ~U 29.01.10

Taking into account the importance of improving Armenia-Turkey
relations, a new approach and review in the issue is necessary,
said founder of the Civilitas Foundation & former Foreign Minister
of Armenia, Vartan Oskanian, who, upon Tert.am’s request, turned his
attention to the latest developments in the process of establishing
Armenian-Turkish relations, as well as the possibility of the process’
failure.

"In this issue, I am of the same opinion as I was in the beginning
of the process. This is a document created on mutually incorrect
calculations.

"The Armenian side’s erroneous calculation was based on the conviction
that

1. The opening of the Armenia-Turkey border is a life-or-death
issue for the development of stability in Armenia’s inner policy
and economy, 2. Turkey will easily go against Azerbaijan’s interests
3. If in the document it doesn’t mention the words "Kars Agreement,"
"Genocide" or "Nagorno-Karabakh," wording that has to do with these
issues can be presented to the Armenian people as harmless wording –
making use of the state propaganda.

"The Turkish side’s erroneous calculation was based on the conviction
that

1. The opening of the Armenia-Turkey border is so necessary for Armenia
that it will be possible to put wording favouring Turkey, obtained
through diplomatic maneouvers, into practical application/use,
2. The issue of Genocide and demands for recognition are purely
Diaspora issues and are of no interest to residents of Armenia,
3. The resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is imminent, and
the Armenian-Turkish Protocols having been signed and connecting
the ratification process with Nagorno-Karabakh, that can become an
additional stimulus for the Armenian side to expedite the process or
at least ‘return’ certain territories to Azerbaijan.

"Taking into account the importance of improving relations between
Armenia and Turkey, a new approach and review in the issue is
necessary.

"The process of improving relations cannot crowned with success if it
is built on Armenia’s and Turkey’s authorities’ short-term policy gains
or on the ignorance of historical or political complexities. It must
be established on the sincere knowledge of all the issues and battle
cries, if the purpose is truly reaching real and stable improvement."

SECULARISTS IN A TIME WARP HAVE BEEN OVERTAKEN BY THOSE DEEMED BACKWARD

The Times/uk
January 28, 2010

Recommend?

You might not like the AK party but you must accept us," Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, said recently to all those
who one way or another have tried to oust his Government over the
past seven years.

Acceptance is one thing that hardliners in what used to be the ruling
elite – the military, judiciary and bureaucracy – have failed to
manage. Ever since 2002 the Government has endured a constant barrage
of efforts to get rid of it. As a result, Mr Erdogan’s reforms have
slowed, his zeal sapped. Fear seems to be colouring his actions
despite his statements of defiance.

The pretext has been the danger that Mr Erdogan and his fellow former
political Islamists are thought to pose to the secular state. Yet
there has been little to indicate that AK has any plans for a religious
administration, or even one with a strong religious flavour.

It has embraced the present system – possibly all too well, if whispers
of corruption and cronyism have any basis.

Another, more convincing theory, is that this is an old-fashioned
struggle for power fought between those used to uncontested supremacy
and a brash new guard with the temerity to believe that an electoral
mandate is all it needs to govern.

The secularist elite does not include the occasionally atheist
liberals, nor genuine socialists, many religious minorities or
disaffected Kurds. It is unimpressed by the firebrand Mr Erdogan,
who has survived the demise of his previous party and a spell in
prison for reading a supposedly "jihadist" poem. Although backed by
a wide range of Turks, from economic liberals to social democrats,
he belongs to a new conservative middle class – tradespeople who are
devout in an uncomfortably obvious way.

Even worse, in their eyes, rather than simply being pleased to
be allowed a turn in office, he is trying to push through reforms
required for accession to the European Union. Mr Erdogan, realising
this would improve the lot of his supporters, must also have imagined
that his Western-looking detractors would desire such improvements.

However, EU reforms lead to displeasing changes to the status quo
that could loosen their grip on power, including a more transparent
legal system and less politically involved and powerful military.

The power struggle has divided the army between the plotters, who are
high-profile, and the anonymous ranks who leak sensitive documents
and want a military that is divorced from politics. The pollsters
A&G said this week that they found trust in the army at a historic
low of 60 per cent.

The anti-AK camp has also unwittingly united many people behind a
Government they would normally be criticising and which, while better
than earlier administrations, is hardly perfect.

Change has not been completely stymied. Despite glitches, the very
existence of plans for rapprochement with Armenia, increased rights
for Kurds and trials for previously untouchable criminals within the
state is revolutionary. A combination of government efforts, brave
publications such as Taraf and the irresistible lure of EU membership
have ensured a clear break with the days when a meek public cheered
the prospect of a military coup.

It may seem ironic that a conservative Government of devout politicians
is spearheading such change. But this is the point: the supposedly
modern "secularists" have been stuck in such a time warp for so long
that they have been overtaken by the people they always considered
the most backward.

ANKARA DEMANDS LEGAL GUARANTEES FROM YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.01.2010 14:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey anticipates legal guarantees from Yerevan
over RA Constitutional Court’s decision on Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

Ankara plans to launch juridical consultations with United States and
Switzerland to enshrine in the documents a clause that RA CC decision
will not influence the contents of the Protocols, Zaman reports.

As diplomatic sources told the newspaper, Turkey has already informed
all countries involved in the current normalization process (including
EU and OSCE Minsk Group) that it will make no step towards ratification
of Protocols unless it receives written guarantees.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Commenting on the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court, the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "the decision contains
preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and
spirit of the Protocols."

"The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these
Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach
cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed
allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence
to the primary provisions of these Protocols.

We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian Government," the
Ministry said.

‘APRIL 24 CRISIS’ BETWEEN ANAKARA AND WASHINGTON SIMPLY INEVITABLE: SABAH

Tert.am
15:22 ~U 25.01.10

The issues that have come up in the process of normalizing
Armenia-Turkey relations prove that 2010 is going to be a crisis year
for Turkey-U.S. relations from the standpoint of approving a resolution
on the Armenian Genocide in U.S. Congress, reports Turkish daily Sabah.

According to Sabah, Ankara’s statements on the Armenian Constitutional
Court’s decision on the Armenian-Turkish Protocols are misplaced. It
is simply simple-minded to think that the Armenian side, by not raising
the Armenian Genocide issue as a precondition in normalizing relations,
has resigned from that process, writes Sabah.

"Armenia’s Constitutional Court recognized the Protocols as being
constitutional and, in its decision, it emphasized that by signing the
Protocols, Armenia doesn’t resign from the ‘genocide’ issue and the
Armenian cause. Is that an unusual occurrence? Armenia, supported by
the Protocols to establish relations with Turkey, didn’t put forth the
‘genocide’ issue as a precondition, for which Yerevan became worthy
of the Armenian Diaspora’s judgement.

"President Sargsyan took a big risk by not raising that issue as a
precondition. But what do we think of that? Did we think that Armenia
had resigned from the ‘genocide’ issue? We’re not that simple-minded,
are we? Naturally, the Armenians didn’t resign from that issue,
but rather made a decision to leave the issue to the commission of
historians. Let’s not forget that ‘genocide’ is a national issue
for Armenia and will continue to remain so. They will always protect
their interests, and Turkey, its own.

"However, in the issue of normalizing relations, the parties decided
not that Yerevan will resign from that, but that it won’t be a
precondition. But that’s what the Constitutional Court decision is
expressing," reports Sabah.

According to the Turkish publication, Ankara’s concerns that Armenia
doesn’t recognize the Kars Treaty are also not convincing. Sabah,
drawing attention to Articles 3 and 5 of the Protocols, highlights
that the parties are obligated to recognize each other’s territorial
integrity and current borders.

"It’s Ankara who’s pushing forth new preconditions. There is no
precondition on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Protocols.

However, the ruling Justice and Development Party, because of both
Azerbaijan and [Turkey’s] opposition, turned that issue into a
precondition and is searching for reasons not to ratify the Protocols.

This is how Washington, the European Union and Moscow comment on the
situation…" writes Sabah, adding that "Turkey increasingly remains
alone. In that case when Yerevan takes steps which correspond to the
spirit of the Protocols, an evasive approach is noticed by Ankara."

Sabah considers the ‘April 24 crisis’ between Anakara and Washington
to be simply inevitable in light of the current situation, and advises
Turkey to be prepared in advance. "The reason is very simple. The
Armenian lobby is counting the days till it can kick up a storm
in U.S. Congress. While Turkey, not taking positive steps in the
issue of the Protocols, is supporting that. In the opinion of the
Armenian lobby, this year is very favourable in terms of approving
a resolution on the Genocide, since the Jewish lobby is negatively
inclined toward Turkey.

"In addition, it’s highly likely that the Democrats will lose
during the November 2010 interim elections. And since the number of
Republicans in Congress hasn’t increased, the Armenian lobby hopes to
take advantage of the real possibility and have the Genocide resolution
approved. Obama, then, will be in a difficult position since, in the
issue of the Protocols, he didn’t receive the support he wished for
from Ankara…"