Author: Chakrian Hovsep

ANALYSIS-CYPRUS WILL HINDER NOT BLOCK TURKEY EU TALKS
By Michele Kambas
Reuters
09/28/05 09:56 ET
NICOSIA, Sept 28 (Reuters) – A divided Cyprus is unlikely to block
Turkey’s path in talks on joining the European Union but will attempt
to wring concessions from the big, Muslim nation every step of the way,
analysts said.
Greek Cypriots, who represent Cyprus in the EU, will be reluctant to
use their veto against Turkey in the talks, which start on Monday,
for fear of further damaging U.N. efforts to end the Mediterranean
island’s 31-year division, officials said.
But they could still create headaches for the EU in each of the 35
sections of membership negotiations, known as chapters, which require
unanimity from all 25 members. The EU is already facing objections
from members such as France and Austria.
“It is our right (to use the veto), as it is the right of other member
states, but we are not thinking about it right now,” said a senior
Cypriot official who requested anonymity.
Analysts say Cyprus is sure to constantly remind both Turkey and
the EU of any shortcomings, but Greek Cypriots know it is in their
interest to have Ankara in the EU rather than out.
“It must be very distasteful for them to allow the process to go
forward while Turkey is in occupation of part of Cyprus, but you have
to balance that by looking forward in the hope Turkey becomes more
moderate and European,” said analyst James Ker-Lindsay, director of
Civilitas Research in Nicosia.
DIVISION RUN DEEP
In divided Nicosia, Greek Cypriots can see a massive Turkish Cypriot
flag painted on the jagged mountain slopes on Cyprus’s northern rim.
Both sides are heavily militarised.
A ceasefire line laced with mines and patrolled by a U.N peacekeeping
force separates Greeks from the smaller and less wealthy Turkish
Cypriot community in the north.
“This isn’t Austria. The Austrians can have their opinions but they
are not going to suffer if the door is closed in Turkey’s face.
Cyprus will,” said Ker-Lindsay.
Cyprus, internationally recognised and Greek Cypriot-ruled, had hoped
Turkey’s EU aspirations would help re-unite the island invaded by
Turkey 1974 after a brief Greek-led coup.
But the United Nations abandoned its efforts in 2004, stung by the
rejection of its reunification plan. Another half-hearted attempt
flopped earlier this year with diplomats blaming the Greek Cypriots
for playing hard ball.
The EU would rather not get involved. It is likely to try to skirt
around sensitive issues in the talks but it remains to be seen whether
this will be possible, said Phedon Nicolaides of the European Institute
of Public Administration at Maastricht.
“I think everyone will play for time. The Commission will play for
time, the Turks will play for time. Everyone is hoping for a solution,
but there is nothing suggesting the U.N. are undertaking any new
initiative,” he said.
In a foretaste of what is to come, EU envoys spent much of September
haggling over how to formulate a response to Ankara’s refusal to
recognise Cyprus without a peace deal first.
And Cyprus has made clear it will fight hard on specific points,
such as Turkey lifting a financially damaging blockade on Cypriot
aircraft and vessels.
Ankara has failed to fully comply with an accord extending its customs
union to Cyprus, an issue which will be up for further review in
2006. Failing implementation, Cyprus will want its EU partners to
throw the book at Turkey.
Among its own options are a recourse to the European Court and to
report Turkey to the World Trade Organisation and GATT.
“Turkey fully understands that if talks are to get off to a positive
rhythmn then issues related to the customs union will be a priority,”
said John Palmer, director at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.
Analysts warn that the EU and Cyprus should be careful not to push
too hard a country that has had its pride pricked by criticism of
its human rights record and Europeans openly cautious of admitting
it into a largely Christian club.
The European Parliament, in a non-binding resolution, said on Wednesday
Turkey had to recognise the killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule
in 1915 as genocide before it could join.
“The difficulty for Cyprus is that Turkey is beginning to realise that
they can get on without being a full member of the EU. It is not EU
accession at all costs,” said Tim Ash, emerging markets strategist
at Bear Stearns in London.
“They will want to push Turkey for concessions on Cyprus, but not
too hard.”

Glendale News Press
28 Sept 2005
Crossing stays open, mayor says
Council members express ire at newspaper article alleging racial motivation
for proposed closure.
By Fred Ortega, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE CITY HALL — Mayor Rafi Manoukian joined a majority of council
members Tuesday night in opposing a proposed closure of Chevy Chase Drive at
the Metrolink tracks, and he chastised a local Latino newspaper for alleging
that the planned road closure was racially motivated.
Noting that two other council members have expressed opposition to a plan to
use cul-de-sacs on Chevy Chase near the site of last January’s deadly
Metrolink accident to close off the crossing, Manoukian told the audience at
Tuesday night’s council meeting that the proposal is practically dead in the
water.
“I don’t see this happening,” Manoukian said. “[Councilmen Frank Quintero
and Dave Weaver] are on record saying they are against it, and I am saying
today that I will not support it.”
Manoukian then mentioned an article that appeared Sunday in the Los Angeles
Spanish language newspaper La Opinion.
Headlined “Glendale attempts to isolate Latinos,” the article painted the
controversy in stark racial tones, quoting Atwater Village residents who
claimed the proposed closure was an effort by Glendale officials to keep
their Latino residents out of Glendale.
It also alleged strained relations between Glendale’s Armenian and Los
Angeles’ Latino populations.
“To my great sadness I saw the article in La Opinion which described the
situation as a conflict between two ethnic groups,” Manoukian said. “We just
went to Washington to lobby for money for an emergency communications system
for the whole region, not just for Glendale.”
The allegations in the La Opinion article also shocked Councilman Bob
Yousefian.
“I have no idea where La Opinion got its information, but they need to
apologize and write a retraction,” Yousefian said. “Their accusations are
beyond belief. I was at the site of the [Metrolink] carnage, and our rescue
people who pulled the victims out of the wreckage were not looking to see
whether they were black, brown, red or any other color.”
At a meeting last week that drew 500 angry Atwater Village residents,
railing against the proposed closure, there was no mention of race.
Meeting organizer Lenore Solis, a Glendale Water and Power commissioner,
said she went to great lengths to keep people focused on the safety and
access issues raised by the plan.
“I told people that this is not what it is about, to not make it about
Armenians against Latinos,” she said. “This is a safety issue and a traffic
situation, and nothing else. Both the writer at La Opinion and a reporter
for Telemundo who interviewed me tried to make it a racial thing.”

‘JUDICIARY OBSTRUCTS DEMOCRATIZATION IN TURKEY’
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman, Turkey
Sept 27 2005
zaman.com
A recent conference on Armenians during the decline of the Ottoman
Empire in Turkey did not attract the expected level of attention from
the European media.
Despite recent reforms that have been made in line with plans to
become a member of the European Union (EU), Turkey’s judicial system
was “riddled with loopholes” the British newspaper The Financial
Times commented.
German Suddeutsche only reported that the conference location was
changed at the last moment and that the “taboos” were gradually
disappearing.
As for the cancellation of the conference on Armenians, The
Financial Times said, “Nobody yet knows whether the progressives
or the reactionaries have won the battle over free speech that has
raged in Turkey for the past few days. One thing is clear, however:
despite years of reforms, the country’s justice system is riddled
with loopholes.”
Commenting on Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, who will appear in court
because due to his remarks on Armenians and Kurds to a Swiss newspaper,
the Financial Times noted:
“The two incidents suggest how the criminal justice and judicial
systems steeped in decades of nationalist ideology, reinforced by
an authoritarian constitution, can betray a reforming government’s
best intentions.”
The Guardian said, “The European commission accused the Turkish
judiciary of “provocation” on Friday, after an Istanbul court prevented
the conference from opening.”
Ankara’s opponents in the EU would have been strengthened if the ban
over the conference had succeeded, The Guardian wrote.
German newspaper Die Welt assessed that the conference would be
boring news if organized in another country, but it caused a scandal
in Turkey.
Turkey was absolutely against the so-called genocide thesis the
newspaper continued, and that the government had launched a campaign
to refute this opinion.
Die Welt claimed that mentioning the so-called Armenian genocide was
a crime in Turkey. The conference, asserted in Die Welt, passed in a
peaceful atmosphere and that none of the historians attending dared
to utter the word “genocide” during their presentations.

PREPARING FOR THE VISIT
A1+
| 14:22:29 | 27-09-2005 | Official |
Today Secretary of the National Security Council at the RA President,
Defense Minister Serge Sarsyan received Belarusian Ambassador to
Armenia Marina Dolgopolova.
During the meeting the parties discussed the details of the
forthcoming visit of Belarusian State Secretary of Security Council
Gennady Neviglas to Armenia as well as a number of issues of mutual
interest. They also touched upon the events scheduled for September
30 within the framework of the Days of Belarus in Armenia.

Armenpress
GOVERNMENT NOT TO OBJECT TO SALE OF ENA TO RUSSIAN COMPANY
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS: Armenian energy minister Armen
Movsisian said the government would not object to the formal sale of 100
percent of shares of the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA) to
Interenergo BV, a subsidiary of Russia’s Unified Energy Systems (UES) group,
but on condition that UES would assume all obligations of ENA’s current
owner-a British-registered Midland Resources Holding.
Speaking at a news conference today Movsisian said, however, UES has
agreed to this term and will become the official owner of ENA in 40-45 days.
He said the British-registered company explained its desire to give up the
ENA by no intentions to invest any more in energy sector. The minister also
downplayed fears that the ENA deal would place Armenia’s entire energy
sector under Russia’s control, which some experts say is likely to
jeopardize its energy security.
“No matter what company owns the ENA it will have to work in Armenia’s
legal environment and obey its laws,” Movsisian said. Movsisian also
confirmed that an Iranian company was selected by the government to build
the fifth unit of the Hrazdan power plant, which will cost around $150
million. He said the Iranian side has pledged to finish the construction in
two years, Armenia will repay by electricity supplies to Iran.

Strasbourg, 23.09.2005 – On Sunday 25 September the Congress of Local
and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will observe local
elections in several municipalities in Armenia, including Yerevan.
The Congress delegation, led by Sean O’Brien (Ireland, SOC), will meet
election candidates, representatives of the government and the media and
NGOs monitoring the election campaign.
The delegation, which also includes Ömür Aybar (Turkey, EPP/CD),
Alain Chenard, former President of the Congress (France), Brian Coleman
(United Kingdom, EPP/CD), David Lloyd-Williams (United Kingdom, ILDG),
Lars Molin (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Christopher Newbury (United Kingdom,
EPP/CD), will work in co-operation with the OSCE-ODIHR observation
mission.
For further information, please contact:
Council of Europe Information Office in Yerevan
Tel : + 374 10 24 38 92 ; E-mail : [email protected]
Le Congrès observera les élections locales en Arménie
Strasbourg, 23.09.2005 – Le Congrès des Pouvoirs Locaux et Régionaux
du Conseil de l’Europe observera, le dimanche 25 septembre, les
élections locales dans plusieurs communes d’Arménie, y compris à
Erevan.
La délégation du Congrès, présidée par Sean O’Brien (Irlande,
SOC), rencontrera des candidats aux élections, des représentants du
gouvernement et des médias, ainsi que des ONG qui suivent le
déroulement de la campagne électorale.
La délégation, qui se compose également d’Ömür Aybar (Turquie,
PPE/DC), Alain Chenard, ancien Président du Congrès (France), Brian
Coleman (Royaume-Uni, PPE/DC), David Lloyd-Williams (Royaume-Uni, GILD),
Lars Molin (Suède, PPE/DC) et Christopher Newbury (Royaume-Uni,
PPE/DC), travaillera en coopération avec la mission d’observation
OSCE-BIDDH.
Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter :
Bureau d’information du Conseil de l’Europe à Erevan
Tel : + 374 10 24 38 92 ; E-mail : [email protected]
Press Release
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 485b05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:
To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
[email protected]
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.

CONVERSE BANK RECOGNIZED BEST ARMENIAN BANK FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Armenpress
Sept 22, 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS: Experts of Financial Times
Corporation ranked Armenian Converse Bank as the best bank of Armenia
for the second consecutive year for quick introduction of state-of-the
art banking technology and raising the level of clientele services.
Converse Bank executive manager Smbat Nasibian said the prize will
be awarded on September 27 at an event organized by Global Finances
magazine.
He said the award will further raise the bank’s standing at home
and abroad.
He also said the American Express bank has approved a $1 million
credit limit for Converse Bank, ‘and though this is not a big sum
the fact itself says a lot.”
Nasibian said his bank also received the right to service VISA
chip cards. Converse Bank has opened this year three more branches,
raising them to 16.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 20 2005
THE AUTHORITIES OF ARMENIA ARE INTERESTED IN DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC
PROGRAMS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS
YEREVAN, September 20. /ARKA/. The authorities of Armenia are
interested in development of strategic programs, especially in the
area of economic transformations, as the Councilor of the RA
President in economic matters Vahram Nersisyants stated when reading
the message of the RA President Robert Kocharyan to the participants
of “Armenia-2020” All-Armenian forum. The message states that the
presidents welcomes the initiative of “Armenia -2020” program
regarding development o a common strategy for development of the
country, which would be convenient for calculating the speed of
development and working out prospects of the further progress of
Armenia. “We highly appreciate the efforts of the program “Armenia
-2020″, which aim not only at anticipating the near future but also
at analyzing and offering long-term strategic perspectives, since
stable development of Armenia is our priority goal and we are ready
for cooperation”, according to the message.
The All-Armenia Forum “Growth of productiveness and competitiveness:
strategy of stable development of Armenia” was launched in Yerevan.
It’s expected to hold discussions on maintaining stable growth of
economy of Armenia, prospects and capacities of development of
separate sectors of economy. Over 350 representatives of Armenia and
Diaspora, the RA NA Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan, RA Minister of
Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian, Minister of Defense Serge Sargsyan,
and Councilor of the RA President in economic matters Vahram
Nersisyants will participate in the forum. Also, participation of
businessmen of Armenian origin from different countries and world
famous companies, including Alcatel and McKinsey&Company is expected.
Armenia-2020 Program was launched in Feb 2002. Already $2 mln has
been spent of the program. The main goal of the program is to
organize and hold discussions about possible perspectives of a
long-term development of Armenia with the further development of
scenarios of development of the country till 2020. A.H.–0-

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 20 2005
Postponed Conference On Armenians To Be Held On September 23rd-25th
ISTANBUL – The conference on ”Armenians in the Late Ottoman Empire:
Scientific Responsibility and Democracy Problems” will be held at
Istanbul’s Bogazici University from September 23rd to 25th.
The conference was previously scheduled to take place on May 25th,
but it was postponed.
Serif Mardin, Halil Bertay, Selim Deringil, Murat Belge, Ustun
Erguder, Osman Koker, Fikret Adanir, Fatma Muge Gocek, Nazan
Maksudyan, Hrant Dink are among participants of the conference.
A number of workshops will be organized during the conference on
several issues such as ”Order Before Balkan Wars”, ”Breaking
Point: 1912-1915”, ”Relocation and Aftermath”, ”Disaster and
Stories of Rescue” and ”Memoirs”.
Two panel discussions will be held on the last day of the conference
on ”Press Freedom” and ”Today and the Future”

ROUNDTABLE “NK AND N. CYPRUS ARE DIFFERENT ISSUES FROM INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECTS.”
Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 20 2005
“The problems of the Northern Cyprus and the Nagorny Karabkh are
differing from each other issues”, it was reported on 19 September
2005 at the roundtable in the International press centre “The problem
of the Northern Cyprus and the Nagorny Karabakh at the international
legal plane.
As Trend reports, at the event staged by the world organization of
young Turkish writers and the Friendship society Azerbaijan-Cyprus
was dwelt upon the common problems of Turks and Azerbaijanis, the
history of the Turkish Republic of the Northern Cyprus, as well as
the occupation of the Azerbaijan’s lands by Armenians, approach to
these problems from the international legal principles.
The head of the young Turkish writers’ organization Akper Goshaly
reported, after the visit of the delegation of the Turkish Republic
of the Northern Cyprus to Azerbaijan, the attention to this republic
enhanced, meanwhile pressure on our country launched from the part
of Greeks grew. Goshali reported, some interested forces, especially
from the part of Armenia make attempts to identify the problem of
the Northern Cyprus and the Nagorny Karabakh.
Chairman of the Azerbaijan-Cyprus friendship society noted, at the
referendum held on the island of Cyprus the Turks, demonstrating
adherence to peace said on their readiness to live in one state with
Greeks but they declined it. Agil Samedbeyli also said one should
not present Nagorny Karabakh to the Azerbaijan’s public and media
as the third party, as they try to recognize Nagorny Karabakh as the
third party. The lawyer Farman Salmanli reported, Nagorni Karabkh is
the territory of Azerbaijan and the subject of the international law
and Azerbaijan became the UNO member having Nagorny Karabakh as its
part and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was recognized by
all states in the world.
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