Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

MOSCOW GEORGIANS CHANGE THEIR NAMES TO RUSSIAN ONES

Armenpress
Oct 24 2006

MOSCOW, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS: Ethnic Georgians who have lived
in Russia’s capital city Moscow for decades are turning in mass to
registrars in a bid to change their Georgian first and second names
to Slavonic ones.

According to Ekho Moskvy radio station, every second registrar in
Moscow has received applications from Georgians wanting to change
their names. For example, a Georgian surname Gedechkori was changed
to the Russian Govorov, Turashvili to Turakov. This is not the whole
list of transformed surnames, but this ‘privilege’ is granted only
to Georgians living in Moscow, according to the Russian radio.

The renegade drive was strictly condemned by the Union of Georgian
Organizations of Moscow. "The hysteria will pass but the disgrace will
remain," a source in the Union was quoted by Ekho Moskvy as saying.

Economist
Oct 20 2006

Troubles ahead
Oct 19th 2006 | ISTANBUL
>>From The Economist print edition

There may be serious fall-out from Turkey’s present poor relationship
with both the European Union and America

AP

"THERE’S a lot of talk these days of a train-wreck later this year
bringing Turkey’s negotiations for membership [of the European Union]
to a shuddering halt. Is this exaggeration? Or just brinksmanship?
Neither, I fear. The danger is real." These valedictory words from
the outgoing British ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott, reflect a
growing concern over Turkey’s relationship with the EU.

The trigger for the looming derailment is Cyprus, which joined the EU
as a divided island in 2004. The EU insists that Turkey must honour
its pledge to open its ports to Greek-Cypriot ships and aircraft.
Turkey retorts that part of the deal was to end the economic isolation
of the Turkish-Cypriots. It will not budge on the ports until the
embargo on Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus is lifted. If this row
is not settled by the end of the year, the EU membership talks may
be suspended.

A longtime NATO ally, Turkey’s strategic importance and size mean
that a rupture with the EU would have effects far beyond its borders.
It would confirm suspicions across the Islamic world that the union
is a Christian club. Mindful of the stakes, Finland, which holds the
EU presidency, has been pushing a plan that would let Greek-Cypriots
use Turkish ports and Turkish-Cypriots export their goods, under
union supervision, from the Turkish-controlled port of Famagusta.
This week Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, and Ali Babacan,
the economy minister and lead negotiator with the EU, both said they
were hopeful of a breakthrough before the European Commission issues
its progress report on Turkish accession on November 8th.

In private, Turkish officials say that any deal would have to include
reopening northern Cyprus to commercial air traffic, because tourism
is the only way of ending its dependence on handouts from Turkey. And
the Greek-Cypriots say this is out of the question so long as Turkey
refuses to recognise their government as the only legitimate one on
the island.

Barring a last-minute miracle on Cyprus, the best hope is that
negotiations are allowed to continue on chapters that are unrelated
to trade or other matters that affect the Greek-Cypriots directly.
But that means persuading the Greek-Cypriots to lift their veto on
opening new chapters. And the suspicion in Ankara is anyway that
countries such as Austria and France, where there is strong public
resistance to Turkish accession, would be only too happy to see the
talks suspended.

How else, say the Turks, can one explain the French National Assembly
vote for a bill to criminalise denial that the mass slaughter of the
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 was genocide? Or the demands by
French politicians that recognition of the genocide should be made
a condition for Turkey’s membership, even though the enlargement
commissioner, Olli Rehn, has firmly declared that it should not be?

Given the public response in Turkey to what are seen as European
snubs, some are now speculating that it will be Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
the Turkish prime minister, who is the first to walk away from the
talks. With support for EU membership dipping below 50%, a firm show
of defiance might be a good way of drawing nationalist votes to Mr
Erdogan’s mildly Islamist AK party in the parliamentary election that
is due by next November.

As ever, pro-European Turks are pinning their hopes on America to
ride to the rescue. The economic and political ructions that many fear
would follow a suspension of the EU membership talks might galvanise
America into using its influence with heavyweights such as Germany’s
chancellor, Angela Merkel, who is due to assume the EU presidency
in January.

The trouble is that Mr Erdogan now has so few friends left in
Washington. His failure to deliver on promises to facilitate America’s
invasion of Iraq and his overtures to Iran and Syria have made him
seem an unreliable partner. This matters as America ponders the best
response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

At home too, Mr Erdogan is facing problems with the country’s hawkish
new chief of the general staff, General Yasar Buyukanit. Since taking
over in August, the general and his fellow commanders have turned up
the volume of rhetoric they aim at both the government and the EU.
When Mehmet Agar, leader of the opposition True Path Party, declared
last week that he would not allow the generals to talk when he came
to power, General Buyukanit responded that he would continue to talk
"even if you are in charge."

The army’s assertiveness is aimed in part at bullying Mr Erdogan
into renouncing his presumed ambitions to succeed the determinedly
pro-secular Ahmet Necdet Sezer as president when his term expires in
May. Mr Sezer has spent the past three years blocking any legislation
proposed by Mr Erdogan that he has deemed to be a threat to the
secular tenets of the constitution. For secularists the presidency
is their sole remaining bastion; should the overtly pious Islamist
Mr Erdogan conquer it, they fear that it will be the end of Ataturk’s
republic. The knee-jerk anti-Semitism displayed by some of Mr Erdogan’s
colleagues has not helped him.

General Buyukanit may well be tempted to voice these concerns when
he visits Washington shortly. His views on Iran (he once described
Iran’s theocracy as the "antithesis" of Ataturk’s republic) will
undoubtedly appeal to his hosts. Should the EU talks collapse, the
army may be given an even freer hand. There is loose talk of a repeat
of the generals’ so-called "soft coup" in 1997, when they managed to
lever Turkey’s first Islamist-led government out of power.

Yet although some in America might be tempted to welcome such an
outcome, the chances of its happening remain tiny. Unlike 1997,
the opposition parties lack the parliamentary strength to form
a government. Foreign investors, crucial to sustained economic
growth, would take fright if the army moved. Another risk is that
opposition to a military-backed government would no longer come only
from mainstream Kurdish and Islamic groups, but from their militant
hardcore detractors, with suspected ties to Islamist terrorists.

That such scenarios are now seriously conjured up only goes to show
that EU membership, warts and all, is the best-and possibly the
only-guarantee of Ataturk’s dream of a firmly pro-western democracy.
With the right vision and selfless leadership Mr Erdogan could still
go down in history as the man who made it come true. But he will have
to show statesmanship-and the EU (and America) will have to help him
along the way.

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 19 2006

If our Ambassador to Paris had been Armenian…

ALI H. ASLAN
10.19.2006 Thursday – ISTANBUL 20:41

The first Turkish novel, "Akabi Story" was written by Armenian Vartan
Pasha in the middle of the 19th century and printed in the Armenian
alphabet. What an interesting manifestation of fate is that the first
Nobel Prize for Turkish literature has an Armenian element as well.

Our successful novelist Orhan Pamuk, who was subjected to national
anger after referring to events experienced by Anatolian Armenians
during World War I in a way different than the ‘official history’
rhetoric, received this prestigious award.

Carefully followed by the world’s elite, the Nobel Prize’s presentation
to a Turk should normally be expected to make a positive impact
on Turkey’s image. However, the bestowal of the prize on an author
whose name has been identified with the Armenian question due to some
outdated legal practices, such as Article 301, that are contrary to
freedom of expression will most likely create some new hurdles for
Turkish diplomacy.

There are many who tie the Nobel committee’s choice to political
reasons. We are also angry with the latest efforts of the French
parliament to outlaw views that deny the so-called Armenian
genocide with complete disregard to freedom of expression. However,
it is obvious that we have not been able to overcome the vengeful
Armenians. They increasingly gather the world intelligentsia behind
them and deal defeat after defeat to Turkey. Wherever we go in the
international community, an "Armenian genocide" ghost appears in front
of us. The attacks in the U.S. Congress have been warded off so far,
but actually the illness long ago infected that place as well.

It comes out of incubation during periods whenever the immune system
is weakened in Turkish-American relations. Sooner or later it will
eventually reach its goal.

As a grandchild of the Ottomans, who treated minorities in a much
more civilized way than its contemporaries did, I get upset when
controversial aspects of our history are highlighted in the West. On
the other hand, I believe that our neglect has also played a big role
in events coming to this point, and I bemoan this.

If only we had been able to take reasonable precautions against
the exploitation of some of our non-Muslim citizens by imperialists
during the final period of the Ottomans. If only we had been able to
realize our passage to the nation state model by better protecting our
multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnical structure. If only
we had kept Turkey’s ties alive through Armenian and Greek Ottoman
Diasporas especially, which formed after the disintegration of the
empire, instead of alienating them this much. If only we had kept the
door open to a return to their motherland and over time forgive even
those who tormented their Muslim brothers because they were fooled by
the land promises of the imperialists. Had we done so, perhaps many
hurdles that are now consuming Turkey’s energy and blocking its path
might have been buried before they were even born.

The Ottomans appointed our Armenian citizens as ambassadors to Belgium,
Italy and England. Here is what I think: If our current ambassador in
Paris was also an Armenian, could the French parliament insult us this
easily? During the 19th century in the Ottoman state, Armenian citizens
were appointed to the following upper-echelon posts: 29 generals,
22 ministers, 33 members of parliament, seven ambassadors, 11 consul
generals-consuls and 41 high-level bureaucrats. If as modern Turkey,
we had done even a small portion of this, who would have adopted the
Armenian genocide thesis?

But alas, Armenians and Greeks, whose century-old criminal records
we haven’t yet erased, even the Jews, whose positive image generally
persisted during the Republic period, still have difficulty today
in openly taking jobs in the Turkish bureaucracy. Recently an ugly
campaign was carried out against Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit
with the claim that he is Jewish. I don’t know if the claim is true
or not. But assuming it is, why should the religious preferences and
ethnic roots of our statesmen be a problem, as long as they remain
loyal to this country, flag and nation?

Actually, it would be a great contribution to both our nation’s
internal harmony and international status if non-Muslim and non-Turkish
elements were comfortable enough to put forth their real cultural
identities in every aspect of life, including bureaucracy.

Those who openly say "I’m Jew, I’m Armenian, I’m Greek, I’m Alevi,
I’m Kurdish, or I’m a religious Sunni" can face serious obstacles,
especially in bureaucratic careers. Hence, most of them hide their
identity by survival instincts and trip up those they see as a
threat. At the root of the political fights that shows our country
as unstable to the world is this type of continuous quarreling. The
Republic of Turkey should be rescued from being a kind of "republic
of pretense" where different elements of the nation hesitate to put
forth their original identities. Instead of trying to deter and punish
those who would like to express themselves honestly, our legal system
should provide them more assurance.

Our ethnic and religious differences can be turned from being our
weak spot, particularly in foreign policy, into being an advantage.

For example, we’re sending troops to Lebanon. Why not put at the
top of our troops a commander who can, with no hesitation, express
his Arab roots and can speak Arabic? After all, the United States
is trying to utilize its ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity
in its global policies. In Iraq, their ambassador (Zalmay Khalilzad)
and number-one commander (General John Abizaid) are of Arab descent.

Turkey is a country which is a home for all cultural colors in the
region. If we know how to respect, protect and utilize our human
heritage, wouldn’t we have social and regional peace more easily?

Wouldn’t we reach our goal of contemporary civilization and EU
membership faster? Wouldn’t we be a more modern and stronger country?

Wouldn’t our enemies lose their biggest trump cards?

Version of explosion of A-320 refuted
19.10.2006 17:57

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 19 2006

During the investigation the experts completely refuted the version
of explosion on the Armavia A-320 plane flying from Yerevan to Sochi
on May 3, ArmInfo learned from aviation circles of Armmenia. It was
noted that the official investigation has not been completed so far
and the International Aviation Committee did not manage to find out the
real reasons of the crash. Nevertheless, the version of explosion has
not been confirmed. No official structure possesses any information
that some passengers calling the relatives to alarm about a scuffle
on board, the air company informed, commenting on the statement by
former pilot Vladimir Poghosyan in today’s press conference.

TURKS PROTEST PLANNS FOR LAS VEGAS ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ MONUMENT

The New Anatolian
Oct 18 2006

Turkish associations in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday protested
the mayor’s allocation of land for the construction of a monument
commemorating victims of the Armenian "genocide."

The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), an organization
that coordinates Turkish associations in Las Vegas, sent a letter
of protest to Mayor Oscar Goodman, in which they stated that such a
monument would distort historical truths and could only be described
as a "lynching" monument.

ATAA head Vural Cengiz asserted that there is no evidence proving
that Turks committed genocide against the Armenians. He urged Goodman
to withdraw his approval, saying, "Please change your mind about the
construction of a monument that is a realization of a bad proposal
making reference to a fake genocide."

Las Vegas is a U.S. city with an influential Armenian lobby.

Cengiz also sent another letter of protest to French Ambassador to
Washington Jean-David Levitte, criticizing the French Parliament’s
passage of a bill aimed at criminalizing the questioning of the
Armenian genocide claims.

JUSTICE MINISTER SAYS HIGHER SALARIES OF JUDGES NOT A PANACEA FOR CORRUPTION

Armenpress
Oct 19 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS: Justice minister David Harutunian
warned yesterday that an expected rise of salaries of court judges
should not be reviewed in the context of an anti-corruption struggle,
saying judges must have high salaries so that to enjoy the trust of
the society.

"It is not a secret that the weight of any position is decided by the
amount of salary set for it and the rise of court judges’ salaries
supposes a higher degree of their independence," he argued.

The minister said one of the ways to fight corruption in the system
was to introduce innovations such as providing by judges detailed
explanations of their verdicts. Besides, he said, all court acts and
rulings will become accessible to all through Internet.

He said one of the innovations is that parties in the court trial will
be allowed to cite previous rulings on similar cases as precedents.

NATO PA PREPARES REPORT ON SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 13:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ UN and NATO peacekeepers may be deployed in the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict region after conclusion of a peaceful
agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, head of the delegation of
the NATO PA defense planning subcommittee Vahid Erdem said. In his
words, the purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan is to meet with the
leadership, representatives of NGOs and media and to get familiarized
with the current situation on the way of integration into the NATO. His
conclusions will be presented in his resulting report titled "Role
of NATO in the South Caucasus". He also remarked that the committee
will meet in Canada in the near future to discuss the report. As for
possible deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict zone, Erdem considers that peacekeepers may be deployed in the
region after Armenia and Azerbaijan seal peace, reports Azeri Press.

FINANCIAL TIMES: RISKS ARE HUGE
By Anka

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

Claims are being made that the Cyprus problem could derail Turkey’s
admission as a member of the EU by the end of the year.

The Financial Times newspaper warned that the ensuing risks would be
huge. "In Turkey, it could halt the country’s cultural march westward,
which began 80 years ago under the rule of Kemal Ataturk, and instead
empower Islamist and nationalist political forces."

The newspaper published a commentary by Vicent Bonland and Kerin Hope
on the Cyprus problem and Turkey’s EU negotiation process. Reserving
a page for the issue, the newspaper reported that the Cyprus problem
could be set as a precondition for Turkey to take further steps
towards integration.

"While a row between the Turkish and French last week over
recognition of the Armenian genocide has put another formidable
obstacle in the way of Turkey joining the EU, Cyprus poses a much
more immediate difficulty. It is possible that, by the end of this
year, the problem will derail the admission of Turkey as a member –
the EU’s most ambitious and controversial geo-strategic project,"
the newspaper wrote.

To re-emphasize the warnings of a possible train crash with the EU,
the FT said that, the "risks were huge," and referred to a statement
by Kirsty Hughes who was quoted as saying: "If Turkey’s EU bid were to
collapse, the EU’s overall foreign policy credibility risks serious
damage."

France and Austria Could Seek to Halt Negotiations

The Financial times also wrote that many EU diplomats now admit that
it was a mistake to accept Greek Cypriot membership into the EU, as
Turkey accuses the Union of reneging on promises to end the isolation
of Turkish Cyprus.

Turkey refuses to open its ports to Greek Cypriots before the isolation
is removed, the article wrote, adding that "if it does not do so,
opponents of Turkish EU membership such as France and Austria (and,
of course, Cyprus) could insist that the negotiations be ended – the
"train crash" scenario – or suspended, which would be the equivalent
of driving the train into a siding."

According to diplomats, the Turkish government, which will hold a
general election next year, is stuck between refusing to make further
compromises on Cyprus and keeping its EU negotiations on track.

The article also refers to EU term president Finland’s proposal to
end the deadlock, noting that even Finland’s modest proposals are
too much for Turkey and Greek Cypriot leader Papadopulos.

The newspaper also notes that the TRNC was suffering disproportionately
from the status quo.

NA CHAIRMAN TIGRAN TOROSYAN RECEIVED COE COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 14 2006

October 14 RA National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosyan received
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Tomas Hammarberg. The
meeting was attended by the Special Representative of CoE Secretary
General Bojana Urumova and Armenia’s Permanent Representative
to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Christian
Ter-Stepanyan.

NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan informed the guest about the activity of
the Parliament. It was noted that the Electoral Code will be amended
by the end of the year, which will serve as a good legal basis for
holding the elections in compliance with democratic standards. In
this regard importance was attached to the tolerance and cooperation
of political forces. Reference was made to the new opportunities
for human rights defense, reforms in the court and legal and local
self-governance systems, creation of balance between branches of
power provided by the Constitutional amendments.

Mr. Hammarberg noted that during the several days spent in Yerevan
he had the chance to see the great progress Armenia has achieved on
its way from a Soviet republic to an independent state. Turning to
the upcoming elections, CoE Commissioner characterized these as an
opportunity to continue the democratic developments.

GENOCIDE IS NOT JUST A WORD
by Brian Brivati

The Guardian, UK
Oct 12 2006

While the French and Turkish governments rake over the past, mass
murder and mass rape continues in Darfur.

The French parliament votes today on a bill which will make it an
offence to deny that genocide took place in Armenia.

In response the Turkish parliament is drafting a bill to make it
illegal to deny that the French committed genocide in Algeria.

Another committee is proposing to make May 8 Algeria genocide memorial
day in Turkey. If universal jurisdiction is to be rejuvenated as
a concept after the Belgian laws on genocide were reversed then of
course anyone can get in on the act. The Turkish response is natural
enough. What is interesting is that many Turkish dissenters, including
people arrested for telling the truth about the Armenia genocide,
have come out strongly against the bill. The French government has also
opposed the passage of the legislation. The Algerians, enjoying French
discomfort, have welcomed the proposed Turkish legislation. There
are many issues wrapped up in this storm.

The positive aspect is that the Armenian genocide, often the forgotten
genocide of the 20th century, is being debated across Europe. If
that was the intention of the bill’s sponsors then they have achieved
their objective. In turn the Turkish response forced the French onto
the defensive about their colonial past.

The negative aspect of all this is the ever greater politicisation
of the word "genocide" and its reduction in impact. Genocide is only
a word, of course, and whether or not we use it to describe crimes
against humanity should not really matter in terms of our response
to events. However, because of the genocide convention, it does
matter if we call something by this term rather another term. The
case of Darfur shows this. When the UN report on the first phase of
the Sudanese government’s campaign against its African population in
Darfur was published it concluded that terrible violations of human
rights, including mass murder, has taken place, but that the events
fell short of the definition in the convention.

This has happened in every case of genocide since the convention
was passed. Remember the linguistic games during Rwanda, the lengths
to which officials would go not to use the word. So we live in this
strange world in which politicians and activists rush to label things
genocide so that they can wrap their particular suffering in the most
extreme form of human suffering – the US and UK are committing genocide
in Iraq, apparently – while the UN contorts itself in order to avoid
calling Darfur or Rwanda genocide. The author of that UN report has
recently said that it does not matter what word you use to describe
what happened in Darfur, but something had to be done about it. As it
happens again in Darfur the debate is reopened about how to describe
what is taking place. It is a looking glass world in which scale and
intent do not matter as much as the political case to be made at any
one time.

As a historian, I welcome all debate about the past and it is important
that we analyse Turkish guilt in Armenia and French guilt in Algeria,
but perhaps, just at the moment, the French and Turkish parliaments
should be spending their time a little more usefully by debating
how to stop the mass murder and mass rape which is currently being
perpetrated by the Sudanese government in Darfur.