Author: Boshkezenian Garik

TURKEY WANTS TO FREEZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.09.2008 13:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Federation of Assyrian Organizations of Armenia
welcomes the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

"However, we think that Armenia should not yield its positions,"
Irina Gasparyan, the Federation President, told a news conference in
Yerevan today.

Head of World Yezidi National Union, Aziz Tamoyan doesn’t bind hopes
with Gul’s visit to Armenia. "Coming to Yerevan, Turkish President
should understand the consequences of this event. He should seek for
ways establish dialog with Armenia and accept that Yezids, Assyrians
and Greeks were also subjected to Genocide in the Ottoman Empire,"
he said.

Arkady Khitarov, head of the Greek Union of Armenia, commented,
"We should always remind Turkey about its past but simultaneously
establish civilized relations with this country."

Asked by a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter to comment on Turkish President’s
intention to mediate tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Irina
Gasparyan said she doesn’t believe in such mediation, taking into
account friendly Turkey-Azerbaijan relations.

According to Aziz Tamoyan, putting forth the Caucasus Stability
and Cooperation initiative, Turkey tries to freeze the Armenian
Genocide issue

ARMENIA TO SELL ELECTRICITY TO TURKEY STARTING FROM 2009

Noyan Tapan

Se p 11, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Starting from 2009, Armenia will
sell electricity to Turkey. According to Azg daily, the Armenian
minister of energy and natural resources Armen Movsisian announced
this during a briefing with reporters. He said that discussions
on this issue were held during the visit of the Turkish president
to Armenia at the invitation of the Armenian president. During the
meetings, an agreement was also signed between the ministry and Unit
company (Turkey) which is engaged in the import and distribution
of electricity in Turkey. Besides, an agreement was signed between
High-Voltage Electric Networks of Armenia and Unit on the direct
export of electricity from Armenia through Kars. The date of starting
the electricity export depends on the Turkish side. The price of
electricity to be exported will be calculated by a special formula
based on the price of gas. In the words of A. Movsisian, this price
will be economically efficient and well-founded: by rough estimates,
1 kw will cost 5.7 cents. It was mentioned that Armenia last supplied
electricity to Turkey in the Soviet time.

ABDULLAH GUL: "ARMENIANS ARE INCLINED TO LEAVE THE OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES"

Azeri Press Agency
Sept 11 2008
Azerbaijan

Ankara – APA. Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who had ended his
short-term visit to Azerbaijan and returned to Ankara, briefed a
group of media representatives on board the plane.

APA reports quoting Turkish media that Abdullah Gul said Turkey’s
policy concerning Nagorno Karabakh had not changed.

"Azeris should not worry. Turkey has always supported Azerbaijan’s
struggle at the sacrifice of its interests. We are parts of Turkish
nation," he said.

Abdullah Gul said he respected the strictures voiced in Turkey and
Azerbaijan over his visit to Armenia.

"Isn’t this visit important if we achieve solution to the problem
and Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is restored? We discussed with
Sarkisian the situation in the Caucasus, problems between Azerbaijan
and Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh conflict," he said.

Turkish President said Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian wanted the
problems with Azerbaijan to be solved.

"Armenians are inclined to leave the occupied Azerbaijani
territories. I felt this at the meeting with Sarkisian. Of course,
the refugees will return and occupation will end," he said.

Abdullah Gul also underlined that he was satisfied with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Ilham Aliyev’s position.

ARMENIA CAN HELP TURKEY BECOME EUROPEAN COUNTRY, OSCE PA

ARKA
Sep 8, 2008

YEREVAN, September 8. /ARKA/. Armenia has a historic chance to help
Turkey become a modern European country, Goran Lenmarker, Special
Representative of the Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Special Reporter on the situation in
Georgia and South Ossetia, stated at his meeting with Speaker of the
RA Parliament Tigran Torosyan.

He expressed his appreciation of Armenia’s policy in the region,
pointing out that he expects progress in Armenian-Turkish relations
after Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia.

He stated that powerful forces in Turkey want to make it a modern
European country but encounter difficulties.

Lenmarker said that Turkey is a Muslim country, where the state is
not often separated from religion, and the incumbent Government,
with religious Government members, wants it, which, in turn, is of
importance for being closer to European policy.

Turkey must find strength to accept its past by admitting the Armenian
Genocide, and become a EU member, after the country meets all the
standards set for EU member-states – the protection of human rights,
democracy and incorrupt society, Lenmarker said.

In this context he pointed out the importance of the establishment of
Armenian-Turkish relations, with the first step to be the reopening
of border between the two countries.

Lenmarker stressed that th e improvement of bilateral relations may
have a psychological effect on Turkey, which will prevent nationalist
forces from dominating the situation and allow Turkey to become a
truly European country.

Speaker Torosyan pointed out that Armenia has always been ready to
establish relations without any preconditions. However, it is Turkey
that sets preconditions.

"Nonetheless, we should look ahead with hope. The different states’
interests clash in the region, but it is the countries of the
region that must primarily be concerned over peace and security in
the region".

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, and the
Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993 on Turkey’s initiative.

Turkey sets a number of preconditions for bilateral relations,
namely, Armenia’s abandoning the policy of international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide and recognizing Turkey’s present-day
borders. Besides, Turkey holds an overt pro-Azerbaijani position in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY DISCUSSED BILATERAL COOPERATION

RIA OREANDA
Sept 8 2008
Russia

Baku. ">OREANDA-NEWS . September 8, 2008. The Chairman of the
Azerbaijan-Turkey Business Association (ATIB) Ahmet Erentok was in
a business trip in Ankara (Turkey).

ATIB press-service informed that during the visit A.Erentok held
meeting with the 9th President of Turkey Suleymen Demirel, State
Ministers of Turkey Sait Yazichoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Turkey Hikmet Chetin, TPAO General Director Mehmet Uysal.

The main subject of the talks was ATIB activity, implemented projects
and projects to be realized as well as bilateral cooperation, it
was reported.

During the meeting it was also discussed the aims of Azerbaijan-Turkey
Fund of Historic Research created in order to inform the world
community on all the truth about Armenian issues in Azerbaijan
and Turkey.

Agence France Presse
September 6, 2008 Saturday

Armenians boo Turkish president at football match

YEREVAN, Sept 6 2008

Armenian fans greeted Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s arrival for a
football match in the capital Yerevan on Saturday with boos and
hisses.

Gul, on the first visit of a Turkish president to Armenia, was seated
in a special bullet-proof area to watch the World Cup qualifying match
with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian.

His arrival followed talks with Sarkisian after which the two leaders
pledged to try and resolve decades of animosity between the
neighbouring countries, stemming from the Ottoman-era massacre of
Armenians in 1915-1917.

Aljazeera.net, Qatar
Sept 6 2008

Armenians protest Gul visit

Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, has been greeted by protests
after arriving in Armenia to attend a football match in an attempt to
improve relations between the two countries.

Gul’s arrival on Saturday in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, marked the
first visit to the country by a Turkish head of state since Armenian
independence in 1991.

The two countries have long argued over Armenia’s attempt to have
recognised as genocide a massacre of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the First World War.

Hundreds of Armenians lined the route of Gul’s motorcade to protest
against Ankara’s refusal to consider the 1915-1917 atrocities as
crimes against humanity.

Bardasar Akhpar, a demonstrator, said: "We are here because we want to
tell the entire world that we do not forget the genocide of 1915.

"We will not welcome Gul nor any other Turk until they have recognised
the genocide."

Breakthrough ‘unlikely’

Gul was taken to meet Serzh Sakisian, the Armenian president, after
being invited by him to attend a world Cup football qualifier between
Armenia and Turkey at Yerevan’s Hrazdan stadium.

The invitation was extended despite the fact the two countries do not
share diplomatic relations.

On meeting Sarkisian, Gul offered the Armenian leader the opportunity
to watch a return football match between the two countries in Turkey
next month.

"I hope that this visit will create the possiblity to improve
bilateral relations," said Gul at a joint press conference with
Sarkisian in Yerevan.

Sarkisian said the visit there is a "political will to decide the
questions between our countries, so that these problems are not passed
on to the next generation".

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million of their people were slaughtered
by Ottoman Turks as their empire fell apart at the height of the First
World War.

Yerevan’s claim has won support from several other countries.

Turkey rejects the accusation and says that 300,000-500,000 Armenians
and at least as many Turks died in civil strife after Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

Nadim Baba, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Yerevan, said Armenians
appear to be holding out for improved relations with their country’s
westward neighbour.

"From the people that we have spoken to on the streets of Yerevan, I
would say that the majority are longing for better relations with
Turkey, while being very much concerned that their government do not
give away too many concessions to Ankara," he said.

"They do not want to let go of the hope that one day the world will
recognise what happened almost a hundred years ago as a genocide.

"They also want to see their economy improve through better relations
with Turkey and other countries in the region."

‘Lifting barriers’

Ali Babacan, Turkey’s foreign minister, said diplomatic ties between
Ankara and Yerevan would be discussed between during talks between Gul
and Sarkisian but he a major breakthrough was unlikely.

"I do not think we should raise expectations that high ¦ But on the
other hand, when we open the doors for dialogue, that means we are
ready to talk about the problems," Babacan said.

"It is my wish that this match will help lift the barriers dividing
two people who share a common history and will contribute to regional
friendship and peace," Gul said ahead of his visit.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia since the
former Soviet republic gained independence.

Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of
solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia
over Nagorny Karabakh, a secessionist Armenian-majority region in
Azerbaijan.

asia/2008/09/200896135958322832.html

BRAND OF YEAR 2nd COMPETITION SUMMED UP

YER EVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Borodino Cannery of Armenia, the
Good Samaritan, Shen-Concern, and Arzni Breed TTK companies became
laureates of the general prize of Year’s Brand second national
competition. It was announced during the prize distribution solemn
ceremony held on September 4 by the Master Center of International
Integration Support. During the event, prizes were also given to
representatives of 23 companies recording maximum sale volumes on 41
kinds of foodstuffs and mass consumption goods within one year.

According to competition’s organizers, 60 companies with about 100
goods had submitted bids for taking part in the competition: the number
of submitted goods has increased by about 10% as compared with the
previous year. The competition has been summed up on the basis of
surveys held among more than 100 retail trade companies of Yerevan
within one year.

Arsen Ghazarian, the Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers
(Manufacturers and Businessmen) of Armenia, said during the ceremony
that as compared with the previous year, the number of companies
submitting bids has increased two-fold. According to him, the
achievements of the participants of Brand of the Year are evidence of
large consumption volumes of Armenia’s market, variety, purchasing
power, and exactingness, which also surprises foreign investors. It was
mentioned that many of competition participants are also brands fully
established on neighboring countries’ markets. "Our triumphal march is
still ahead if we overcome region’s communication problems and
geopolitical complexes," the Union Chairman said adding that "by
competing on the Armenian market we become tempered and stronger. And
competition on our market is one of the most heated ones in the CIS
territory."

Reuters UK
Sept 6 2008

EU urges Turkey to break cycle of political crisis

Sat Sep 6, 2008 1:29am BST
By Paul Taylor

AVIGNON, France (Reuters) – The European Union urged Turkey on Friday
to break out of a cycle of political crisis by enacting reforms to
prepare for EU membership, and praised its regional peacemaking role.

The 27-nation bloc’s Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn urged Turkish
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan to resume EU reforms at full speed after
the government survived an attempt by hardline secular prosecutors to
shut down the ruling AK party.

The Constitutional Court last month narrowly failed to reach the
necessary majority to ban the party, which has its roots in political
Islam, after months of uncertainty which shook Turkish markets and the
lira currency.

"We have urged Turkey to reform the law on political parties as a
matter of urgency to avoid this sort of severe political crisis in the
future," Rehn told Reuters after the two men met on the sidelines of
an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in France.

They also discussed the conflict in Georgia and Turkey’s proposals for
a platform to stabilise the Caucasus region, and its efforts to
mediate in Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

"Turkey’s active diplomacy towards Syria, the Middle East, Armenia and
the Caucasus show its paramount importance as our partner in advancing
regional stability in one of the most unstable parts of the world,"
Rehn said.

The EU accession process would further facilitate joint work by the EU
and Turkey to stabilise those regions, he said.

REFORM AGENDA

Babacan said he outlined Turkey’s plans to take forward its EU
accession process, which has been stymied by disputes over Cyprus and
resistance by France to the goal of eventual Turkish membership of the
bloc.

He said Turkey expected to open negotiations on two more policy areas
with the EU under the current French presidency of the bloc, which
lasts till the end of the year, taking the total number of subjects
under discussion to 10 out of the 35 chapters into which EU law is
divided.

Babacan said Turkey was fully prepared to start talks on a range of
other issues, including economic and monetary policy, energy,
education and culture, and foreign policy, but was being blocked by
political obstacles in the EU.

Despite the political crisis, the Turkish parliament passed 29
EU-related laws in the session that ended in July, and a national
programme for EU convergence would be submitted to parliament when it
returns from recess on October 7, he said.

"We know very well what is expected from us and what we need to do
anyway. We have every reason to push ahead with our reform agenda,"
the minister told Reuters in an interview.

Rehn said he encouraged the Turkish government to improve political
dialogue with opposition forces so that more reforms could be enacted
by consensus. He has urged Ankara to finally enact an EU-driven law
introducing an ombudsman, which could take some of the sting out of
religious-secular issues.

(Editing by Ingrid Melander and Mark Trevelyan)

PRE-ELECTION OFFICE SET ON FIRE

A1+
[01:56 pm] 05 September, 2008

The central pre-election office of Manuel Gasparian located at 3
Adonts was set on fire this morning. Manuel Gasparian runs in the
election of a district head of Yerevan’s Qanaqer-Zeitun commune.

Manuel Gasparian told A1+ that they had noticed nothing extraordinary
when leaving the office at 3 a.m. At 9 o’clock in the morning the
office-cleaner brought the terrifying news. The windows were broken to
pieces and bottles of petrol were thrown here and there. All posters
and signboards were burnt down. The walls were blackened.

"Manuel Gasparian thinks the intrusion was planned by some ill-bred
people who feel envy when seeing so many people at Gasparian’s
meetings."

Manuel Gasparian also added that the representative of the acting
district head Arayik Kotanjian had looked in his pre-election office
the other day and began threatening and railing at the women. Then
he threw away the pre-election booklets laid on the table and tore
off the signs posted on the walls.

Furthermore, attempts were made to bribe the head of another
pre-election office.

Manuel Gasparian adheres to the Armenian National Congress and says
he will not give up. "I am more than convinced that we shall celebrate
my victory in three days. We simply need to be armed with patience."

Note, elections to self-government bodies in Qanaqer-Zeitun are
scheduled for September 7.