Author: Chakrian Hovsep

OGTAY ASADOV: "IRRESPONSIBLE STATEMENTS OF SOME CO-CHAIRS DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM"

Azeri Press Agency
Nov 19 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev -APA. Speaker of Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani
Parliament) received the Greek delegation led by the permanent
representative of Greece to the OSCE Ambassador Mara Marinaki. Asadov
said there were wide opportunities for cooperation of the countries
in economic, cultural and humanitarian fields, Press Service of the
Parliament told APA. He said Nagorno Karabakh conflict prevented
economic development of the region and realization of global
projects. The Speaker said Azerbaijan advocated for solution on
the principles of UN Charter and Helsinki Act. "Armenia continues
to refuse the document and principles adopted by the international
organizations".

Asadov expressed concern over irresponsible statements of some Minsk
Group co-chairs. "Such statements do not contribute to solution
to the problem. We hope that Greece, which will take over the OSCE
presidency in the near future, will approach the issue objectively and
make efforts for fair solution within the norms of international law".

Mara Marinaki said her country showed great interest to the
development of relations with Azerbaijan and gave great importance
to the principle of territorial integrity of the countries in the
settlement of regional conflicts.

KARABAKH SETTLEMENT HAS A LONG WAY TO PASS, ARMENIA PRESIDENT SAYS

armradio.am
17.11.2008 12:03

The settlement of the Karabakh issue still has a long way to pass,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview with Public
TV. "We should try to arrive at a decision, which I will be sure,
derives from the interests of our people. After that the issue should
be put on public discussion. Then we will need to sign a treaty, then
an agreement, etc," the President said, adding: "When I repeatedly
state that we will not protract the solution of the issue, it does
not mean the question will be solved tomorrow, in a month or in
four months."

Serzh Sargsyan expressed confidence that "we should not artificially
delay the solution of the issue, but we still need to arrive at an
agreement, which will be followed by a long process. This is not an
issue to be solved by one, two, 131 or even 1 300 people. This is
one of the most vital issues of our peoples, and people should say
whether they agree with the way of solution we will arrive at as a
result of negotiations," the President of Armenia underlined.

The leader of the country stated that he stands for involvement of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan in
the negotiation process and considers that "it is probably the most
effective way and it will be the case earlier or later. There is
simply no other way."

With regard to the much criticized Maindorf Declaration signed by the
President of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, Serzh Sargsyan noted
that it is actually the only document where Azerbaijan accepted
the political way of solution of the Karabakh issue. The President
underlined also that the conflict should be solved on the basis of
a fundamental international document.

The President rejected the rumors that Armenia goes for unilateral
concessions. "I have always stated and I want to repeat that the
Nagorno Karabakh issue can be solved if Azerbaijan accepts the right of
the people of Artsakh to self-determination, if Armenia and Karabakh
have a shared border and if the population of Nagorno Karabakh gets
powerful security guarantees. Over the past 17-18 years I have never
used the "unilateral concession" expression."

BRYZA DENIES RUMORS ABOUT SECRET AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH CONFLICT’S SETTLEMENT

ARKA
Nov 17, 2008

YEREVAN, November 17. /ARKA/. There is no secret agreement on the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza at today’s press conference in Yerevan, denying
rumors about Armenia’s "ambiguous" obligations.

According to Bryza, the OSCE Co-Chairs are for summing up negotiations
over the issue, but "no secret agreements have been signed so far".

The U.S. Co-Chair pointed out positive changes in the process after
the Armenian and Azeri presidents met in Moscow on November 2,
thanking Russia for that initiative.

Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral agreement in
Meiendorf Castle on November 2. The leaders of the three countries
pledged to join efforts to improve the situation in the South Caucasus
and charged the foreign ministers to continue negotiations over a
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

According to Bryza, the Armenian and Azeri have started to trust and
respect each other, changing their angle on the issue.

The U.S. co-chair stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group’s
mediation, saying the leaders of the three countries had charged
their foreign ministers to start a constructive dialogue.

The Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Artsakh, mainly populated
by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.

On D ecember 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet
Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority
of the population (99.89%) voted for independence from Azerbaijan.

Afterwards, large-scale military operations began as a result of
which Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven
regions adjacent to it.

On May 12, 1994 after the signing of the Bishkek cease-fire agreement,
the military operations were stopped.

Since 1992, negotiations over the peaceful settlement of the conflict
have been carried out within the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the
USA, Russia and France.

GLOBAL BAK DEMANDS REMOVAL OF THE DEFENSE MINISTER

BIA
Nov 17 2008
Turkey

The Global Peace and Justice Coalition (Global BAK) has demanded
removal of Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönul for presenting the
minorities living in Turkey as the enemy.

The Global Peace and Justice Coalition (Global BAK) has demanded
removal of Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönul for defending the forced
exchange of populations and the forced migration of Armenians during
the late Ottoman and the early Republican periods.

The Global BAK said that Gönul was threatening the minorities that
exist in Turkey today by justifying the violence against the minorities
and the different groups.

Gönul had asked rhetorically in the speech he gave at Brussels on
November 10 whether the present national state would be possible
if the Greeks would stay in the Aegean region and the Armenian all
over Turkey.

The racist climate that led to Dink’s murder The Global BAK argued
in its speech given today that if Gönul was not removed from his
post then the government would be responsible for the implications
of Gönul’s speech.

"The Global Peace and Justice Commission is an anti-war platform in
whose ranks are also Armenians, Greeks and Kurds. Among its founders
was Hrant Dink, who was killed by the racist climate while trying to
form bridges of dialog for the brotherhood of peoples."

"Hrant Dink, who had committed his whole life to the struggle
for peace, justice and equality was murdered because he was an
Armenian. But now Vecdi Gönul is trying to foster the same climate,
the same racist atmosphere. A minister is praising a dark page of
recent history that led to great sufferings. "

The organization claimed at Gönul had committed the crime of "pushing
people towards hatred and hostility by presenting the Greeks and
Armenians who still live in Turkey as "the enemy".

–Boundary_(ID_bAtfxo2JtDE+OANhniuOe g)–

EUROPEAN FAR-RIGHT QUESTIONS TRIAL OF ERGENEKON GANG

Today’s Zaman
Nov 12 2008
Turkey

The European far right, including some members of the European
Parliament, has criticized a court case in Turkey where 86 suspects,
accused of being members of the shadowy Ergenekon network, face charges
of plotting against the civilian government and seeking chaos to pave
the way for a military coup.

The European extreme right groups, which oppose Turkey’s possible
membership in the European Union, have argued that the Ergenekon
investigation has been carried out against the secular forces of
Turkey in a bid to take revenge for the closure case against the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The AK Party faced
charges of anti-secular activities, but the Constitutional Court
narrowly rejected the closure request this summer.

Extreme right-wing MEPs have petitioned the EU’s enlargement
commissioner, Olli Rehn, to closely monitor the proceedings during
the ongoing trial and to investigate whether the case has targeted
the secular leaders of Turkey. In a surprising request, the far-right
ministers have also asked Rehn to send observers to the Ergenekon
trial in Turkey. The EU usually sends observers to trials that are
closely linked to human rights abuses or cases related to breaches
of basic freedoms. MEPs followed a court case in the 2007 murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

In a recent petition to Rehn, MEP Philip Claeys, a member of the
extreme right Vlaams Belang (The Flemish Interest), described as
"racist" by many Belgian politicians, has asked whether the court
case is targeting the secular elite of Turkey.

"In the Ergenekon case, dozens of people in Turkey are facing
charges that include conspiracy and terrorism. Various observers have
pointed out that the charges are very diverse, that elements are being
connected when they have nothing to do with one another and that there
are serious indications that some of the charges are a form of reprisal
against secularist groups following the major trial against the AKP,"
Claeys said. Vlaams Belang, Claeys’ party, has been running election
campaigns during which they push for sending of immigrants back to
their countries. Almost 200,000 Turks live in Belgium.

The European Parliament last year explicitly called on Turkish
authorities to "go until the end" in the Ergenekon investigation
to strengthen democracy in Turkey. "Will the Commission be actively
following this major trial on the spot, with observers in court? Does
the Commission share the concern mentioned above? Has there been
an exchange of views on this with the Turkish Government?" asked
Claeys. The European Commission, in its annual report on Turkey that
was released last week, referred to the Ergenekon investigation,
stating that Ergenekon is claimed to be a terrorist network with the
intention of toppling the Turkish government through non-democratic
means.

Claeys’ petition has received a one-sentence response from Rehn. "The
Commission has followed and will be following the case mentioned by
the Honourable Member closely," the enlargement commissioner said in
his written answer.

RA PRESIDENT’S OFFICIAL CALL TO BULGARIA TO BE HELD IN DECEMBER

DE FACTO
Nov 13, 2008

YEREVAN, 13.11.08. DE FACTO. The course of preparatory work on the
occasion of RA President Serzh Sargsian’s official visit to Bulgaria
to be held in December was discussed in Yerevan on November 12, in the
course of a meeting of Karen Karapetian, the head of RA President’s
Administration, and Todor Staykov, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to RA.

According to the information DE FACTO received at the RA President’s
Press Office, the interlocutors had highly estimated the level of a
political dialogue between the two countries and considered stimulating
cooperation in the sphere of economy to be the top-priority task. An
important role of the forthcoming Armenian-Bulgarian business forum
targeted at revealing and using cooperation potential was highlighted.

KARABAKH/GENOCIDE – THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
By Bruce Tasker

http://ww w.armeniaforeignministry.am/pr_08/081111_turk.html
Nov 11, 2008
Armenia

Armenia’s President Sargsyan has committed to a "Final Treaty" on
Karabakh, declaring there will be" Public Discussions" within Armenian
society, which he would go into with ‘Great Pleasure’. He assured
Jose Manuel Barroso, his European Commission President counterpart
in Brussels, that there would be no delays.

The Armenian public now has the chance to enter into a public debate
on the Karabakh issue, based on the infamous ‘Madrid Principles’. The
first stage in this process; the Armenian public must presumably have
a copy of the ‘Madrid Principles’ and other documentation associated
with the agreement President Sargsyan is preparing to sign – including
the agreement itself.

The ‘Public Discussion’ statement by Armenia’s President might be
plausible fodder for the European Commission and the international
media, but the Armenian public knows all too well they will not have
a part in this process. Sargsyan will instruct his recently installed
Speaker of Parliament to organize a debate, which will be voted on by
his personally selected members of Parliament, and they will decide on
behalf of the Armenian ‘Public’ how he will proceed with the ‘sell-out’
of Karabakh. Sargsyan will explain that this was the only way in which
he could facilitate a speedy approval process, to satisfy his newfound
friends in the European Union; the very people who not long ago had
rebuked him for his abuses of civil rights; for holding political
prisoners in jail without charge; for scorning European demands for an
international commission on the 1st March state killings of Armenians,
and for ridiculing their 1609 / 1620 threats to remove Armenia’s voting
rights in the Parliament. Sargsyan is playing his ‘flying Karabakh ace’
to legitimize his forcefully imposed and illegitimate presidency, and
to make a long-awaited and not inconsiderable fortune on the side –
and the "Sell-Out of Genocide" is back on the agenda.

Dick Cheney is chaffing at the bit in Washington, pen in hand,
awaiting the pre-festive season arrival of Armenia’s highly esteemed
President, for him to add a modicum of Karabakh resolution prestige to
an otherwise similarly reprehensible and impeachment-worthy outgoing
American President.

Turkey has delayed its decision on Nabucco, ready to welcome Armenia on
board the multi-billion dollar Azerbaijan Gas Pipeline Project. That
has re-introduced the need to open the Turkish border. So Eduard
Nalbandian continues his efforts to establish Turkey’s Long-Awaited
Independent Commission and Derides those Countries which have already
recognized Genocide, with complete contempt to the Armenian cause,
to reach the more profitable conclusion for the Sargsyan / Kocharian
Money-Grabbing Regime, that the Turkish Genocide of one and a half
million Armenians never actually happened. More amazingly, this is
happening at a time when America’s President elect Barack Obama has
in no uncertain terms acknowledged Armenian Genocide, and has promised
that, as president, the US will do so also.

At the same time, Russia is teasing the Karabakh clan with a new
atomic power station for Armenia, and together with Iran, and now
the European Union, it is fighting for the privilege of financing
and building the ‘On-today-Off-tomorrow’ railway link between Armenia
and Iran, which only a week ago it said was a non-starter.

These are just three examples of the compensation Armenia’s regime
will be receiving for capitulating on Karabakh, in accordance to the
‘Madrid Principles’, whatever they may be. Add to that the goods and
materials Turkey has promised as humanitarian assistance through the
soon to be opened Turkish border, in appreciation for the ‘Sell-Out’ of
Armenian Genocide, then an impressive multi-billion Dollar compensation
package begins to take shape; a handsome payment to the regime for
their ‘Betrayal’ of the Armenian and Karabakhi peoples.

The regime will of course argue that the Armenian economy will
benefit substantially, as the foreign investments (FDI) will be
considerable. And it should be noted that Georgia receives up to
one hundred million Dollars each year in oil transit tariffs from
Azerbaijan.

But Armenia is a far cry from Georgia; there has never been a time
when a state-backed organization in Armenia has been a financial
benefit to the Republic; they ALL lose money; they do not pay taxes
of any kind; and they are often subsidized by multi-million dollar
state budget bailouts. They are however very profitable for their
owners -Kocharian / Sargsyan International Inc.

The regime will make their fortunes from construction of the Nabucco
pipeline and the Iranian railway, and as all gas installations in
Armenia are owned by HaiRusGasArt, and as the railway system is a
Russian monopoly, they will both become Russian property. The owners
of those ‘Russian Companies’ are predominantly Armenian state cronies,
notably Robert Kocharian and a hand-picked selection his cronies, who
are major shareholders in subsidiaries of the Russian parent companies.

These major investments in Armenia will come on stream after a number
of months, so Serzh is looking for additional and substantial cash
remuneration, to re-vitalize his already ‘bankrupt’ construction
sector; to finish off the dozens of apartment buildings which have
been under construction through the past ten years, in preparation for
the tens of thousands who will soon be driven from Karabakh and the
surrounding territories. The European Union is overly bureaucratic and
cumbersome to facilitate an appropriate sum, and Russia has already
dished out too much in response to Kocharian’s unfulfilled promises
to resolve the Karabakh issue. But a few hundred million dollars
will not be a problem for America, already writing off trillions of
Wall Street losses, and dishing out as many billions as it can write
checks for in the fading weeks of the Bush presidency.

The public debate is now in full swing; but Armenia don’t blink,
before you know it, the Karabakh Deal will soon be well and truly
signed, sealed and delivered and the Genocide Commission will be
Selling-Out Armenia’s Genocide.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s answer to the question of
"Novosti-Armenia" News Agency

11 November 2008

Question: Mr. Minister, recently several Turkish media published
reports Armenia’s policy for international recognition of Armenian
Genocide? What would be your reaction?

Answer: Turkish media reports on Armenian officials’ would be
declarations are distorted and presented upside down. I have already
said and I’d like to repeat that Armenian officials have not spoken and
would never speak against the process of International recognition of
Armenian Genocide. Moreover, Armenia can not tolerate any expression
of Armenian Genocide denial.

DEFENDANTS IN PIZZA DI ROMA CASE RELEASED ON BAIL

Noyan Tapan

Nov 10, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The Yerevan Criminal Court on
November 6 granted the petition to release on bail the director of
Pizza di Roma LLC Gevorg Safarian and the cashier of the company
Anush Ghavaial. They are accused of tax evasion.

NT correspondent was informed by the press service of the RA Cassation
Court that the court considered the petition as well-founded, taking
into account the fact that G. Safarian compensated for the damage
done to the state, in addition, he is in poor health and needs to
receive treatment at a medical institution.

By the court decision, the bail for Gevorg Safarian was established
at 3,500,000 drams, that for Anush Ghavalian – at 500,000 drams.

To recap, the director of Pizza di Roma LLC G. Safarian is charged
under the RA Criminal Code’s Article 205 Part 2 (evasion of taxes,
duties or other compulsory payments), while the chashier of the
same company A. Ghavalian is charged under Article 38-205 Part 2
(complicity in evasion of taxes, duties or other complusory payments).

SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF CAUCASUS CONFLICTS
By Scott Taylor, [email protected]

The Chronicle Herald
Nov 10 2008
Nova Scotia Canada

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH — THE ONLY WAY to enter this hotly
disputed region in the Caucasus is to travel by road from Yerevan,
Armenia.

After a referendum in 1992, the ethnic Armenian majority in
Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself independent and broke all ties
with Azerbaijan. During the Soviet era, Nagorno-Karabakh had been
included within the administrative boundary of Azerbaijan. But as
the Soviet Union began to unravel in 1989, ethnic tensions erupted
in the Caucasus.

Azerbaijan has never relinquished its claim to this territory, and
only a ceasefire agreement was signed between the belligerents in
1994. As such, the front lines and bunkers surrounding the ethnic-
and Armenian-occupied region have remained a fully manned flashpoint
for the past 14 years.

Although Nagorno-Karabakh is fully supported politically, economically
and militarily by Armenia, even the government in Yerevan has refused
to recognize its independence.

Nevertheless, Nagorno-Karabakh maintains an embassy in the Armenian
capital, and one must first apply for and obtain a visa there before
crossing the boundary with Armenia.

Qualification for a visa equates to a cash payment of about C$37. There
is only one checkpoint at the border and it is manned by members of
the Nagorno-Karabakh security forces.

The highway to Stepanakert, the capital, runs through a corridor
in the occupied province, which is still recognized by the United
Nations as the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

As my driver, Nazo, carefully navigated his way down a steep
switchback, we were flagged down by a pair of traffic cops. Waving
what appeared to be a toy radar gun, the senior officer claimed that
we had been travelling 120 kilometres an hour in a 70-km/h zone.

As it was unlikely that even a professional stunt driver could have
exceeded or met the speed limit on that winding stretch of road,
it was obvious that this Laurel and Hardy combo were trying to shake
down Nazo because he had Armenian licence plates.

They did suggest that a little cash might cause them to reconsider
things, but Nazo decided to pull rank instead.

"I will report you to the prime minister when we interview him
tomorrow," he barked at them, and they sheepishly trudged back to
their tiny Lada empty-handed.

Nazo was not bluffing the cops. The following morning I was indeed
scheduled to interview Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, and following
that, Foreign Affairs Minister Georgy Petrosyan as well as several
top generals in the Nagorno-Karabakh army. With a population of about
200,000, the territory seems more like a small town in that everyone
at all levels of government appears to know everyone else.

These individuals also expressed almost exactly the same viewpoint,
that the lands taken from the Azeris are not occupied, but rather
are "liberated lands," and they now constitute an essential security
buffer zone that Nagorno-Karabakh will not contemplate conceding.

One regional diplomat correctly pointed out that while Yerevan
may be prepared to move forward to a negotiated settlement, the
incredibly powerful Armenian diaspora remains fully supportive of
the Nagorno-Karabakh hardliners. The motto in Stepanakert remains No
One Will Give Away the Land Bought With Our Soldiers’ Blood, and that
message is intended for the government officials in Yerevan, who also
depend heavily on diaspora donations to shore up Armenia’s economy.

The Caucasus is an extremely complex global flashpoint — rife with
such frozen and not so frozen conflicts, each of which is inexorably
linked to the others. It has been likened to a mob of rival gangsters
in an elevator, each pointing a gun at the head of another — and
Nagorno-Karabakh is right in the middle.

Any movement towards a peaceful resolution will only result from very
cautious and delicate negotiations.

CHRISTIANS DUKE IT OUT AT CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

ShortNews.com
Nov 10 2008
Germany

Police in Israel had to be called to The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
after a fight broke out among dozens of worshippers attending the
Feast of the Cross, meant to commemorate the discovery in the fourth
century of the cross used to crucify Jesus.

Punches and kicks were exchanged between Armenian and Greek Orthodox
dressed in vestments, toppling decorations and knocking down
tapestries. Two clerics were arrested after Israeli police entered
the shrine in Arab East Jerusalem.

Fighting among the Christian denominations in charge of maintaining
the site is common. Squabbling over who has the right to repair
a monastery there have gone on for so long that it faces collapse
( reported).