Author: Chalian Meline

INTERVENTIONS WITHOUT END? AMERICA MUST NOW CHOOSE
By Patrick J. Buchanan

Post Chronicle
March 29 2007

"Whatever happens in Iraq, retreat from the world is not an option,"
wrote Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens last weekend.

Why not? Because a world map highlighting those regions where the
West’s vital resources are located would exactly overlap a map
highlighting those regions where state power is crumbling, disease
and poverty are pandemic and violence rules.

"The implication of this is obvious," says Stephens.

"We can proudly declare ourselves isolationists, resolve to eschew
‘imperialist adventures,’ decry liberal interventionists such
as Britain’s Tony Blair, and damn the neoconservatives around
U.S. President George W. Bush. But, one way or another, the West
cannot avoid getting involved. On this, moral impulse and hard-headed
interests are as one."

We are fated to intervene forever. "The reality of interdependence
of a world shrunk by globalization cannot be wished away."

Put me down as not so sure. For if America is defeated in Iraq,
as we were in Southeast Asia, who will ever again intervene in the
Middle East?

As Stephens writes, Europe’s "eternal role" seems to be that of the
"concerned bystander" to disasters anywhere. And, revisiting the
20th century, the United States did not declare war on the Kaiser’s
ally Turkey in 1917, despite the Armenian massacres. Nor did we did
confront Stalin over genocide in the Ukraine. FDR recognized Stalin’s
regime as it perpetrated that holocaust. Nor did we intervene to halt
Mao’s slaughter and starvation of millions of Chinese.

America looked on during Pol Pot’s genocide. Clinton stood aside
in Rwanda. No one is calling for the 82nd Airborne to be dropped
into Darfur.

No matter, says Stephens, the West cannot abide the emerging new
world disorder. But, again, that begs the question: Who is going
to intervene?

If Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the U.S. investment in blood and
treasure, end in defeats, who does Stephens think is going to send
troops to rescue imperiled "liberal democratic values"?

In his second inaugural, President Bush declared that America’s
national goal is now to "support the growth of democratic movements
and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal
of ending tyranny on earth."

Are Americans still willing to support that utopian mission with
blood and billions of dollars?

In a Gallup poll this year that posed the question, "Should the United
States try to change a dictatorship to a democracy when it can, or
should the United States stay out of other countries’ affairs?" —
by near five to one Americans said, "Stay out." Fifteen percent said
"yes" to the Bush commitment. Sixty-nine percent said to stay out of
the internal affairs of other countries.

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REPRESENTATIVES OF UNDP AND RA CASSATION COURT SIGN MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING MEMORANDUM

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Representative of the UN Development
Program (UNDP) Consuelo Vidal and Chairman of the RA Cassation
Court Hovhannes Manukian on March 29 signed a memorandum on mutual
understanding. The memorandum is aimed at keeping the Armenian public
informed about legal acts and court decisions. In response to a
question of reporters, the signing parties said that for this purpose
the UNDP and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
have allocated 65 thousand USD, while co-financing of the Armenian
government makes 20 thousand USD.

The purpose of the program being implemented since 2003 with the
participation of the UNDP and the SDC is to increase transparency
of the judicial power through mechanisms fitted with information and
communication technologies.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 26 2007

ARMENIA CONTINUES RECEIVING CONDOLENCES ON PREMIER’S DEATH

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. Armenia continues receiving telegrams of
condolences on the death of RA Premier Andranik Margaryan from the
leaders of foreign states and governments, international
organizations, diplomatic missions, cultural and public organizations
of Armenia and of the Diaspora.
The Information and Public Relations Department, RA Government,
reports that telegrams of condolences have been receives from
Bulgarian Premier Sergey Stanishev, Ukrainian Premier Victor
Yanukovich, Kazakh Premier Karim Masimov, NKR Premier Anushavan
Danielyan, as well as from Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia
Aram I, President of the World Armenian Congress and of the Union of
Armenians of Russia Ara Abramyan.
Condolences have also been received from Head of the OSCe Yerevan
office Vladimir Pryakhin, Vice-Premier of the United Arab Emirates
Bin Zayed al-Nakhiran, RA Permanent Representative at the Council of
Europe Christian Ter-Stepanyan, as well as from heads of Armenia’s
diplomatic missions abroad.
Condolences have been received from the Board of Directors of the
"ITERA" Group of Companies, International Congress of Manufacturers
and Businessmen, Board of the United Liberal National Party,
Presidium of Confederation of Armenian Trade Unions, Union of
Relatives of Freedom Fighters killed in the NKR, collective of the
Armenian Encyclopedia, RA Academy of Sciences, State Engineering
University, Union of Writers of Armenia, Union of Painters of
Armenia, numerous educational, scientific, cultural and public
organizations.
Andranik Margaryan was appointed RA Premier in 2000. P.T. -0–

DEVELOPMEMT OF JAVAKHK POSSIBLE ONLY IN CASE OF ITS AUTONOMY, MEMBER
OF "UNITED JAVAKHK" STATES

AKHALKALAK, MARCH 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Georgian
authorities intend to restrain, through representatives of local
bodies, all the newly established organizations and all those who act
today in Javakhk under the leadership of the "United Javakhk" people’s
aliance and try to display activity in political issues. Artur
Poghosian, activist of "United Javakhk", expressed this opinion during
an interview to "Javakhk-Info" information and analytical
center. According to him, the major problem of Javakhk’s Armenians is
that of local bodies which give wrong information to the Georgian
authorities in order to keep their posts. "These bodies have been
secret representatives of the authorities for nearly two decades and
are on a fishing rod of these authorities, preserving only their
familiy names from their grandfathers," A. Poghosian said. "When
thinking about oneself, one should remember that higher values exist:
the problem of Javakhk’s prosperity must be a concern to us, Armenians
of Javakhk." In his words, the development of Javakhk is only possible
if Javakhk with its seven regions – Akhalkalak, Ninotsminda,
Akhaltskha, Aspnjak, Tsalka, Adigen and Borzhom receives
autonomy. "What is promised to Abkhazia and Ossetia must be promised
to Javakhk as well so that we will be able to live and create in our
land, while time will show how we will reach this goal," Artur
Poghosian stated.

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 26 2007

Turkish Army official urges international support in fighting
terrorism

WASHIGTON D.C. (A.A) -26.03.2007 -Turkish Deputy Chief of Turkish
General Staff Ergin Saygun pointed out that although PKK was in the
terrorist organizations list of many countries, the measures taken
against it were weak in practice.

Attending the 26th annual conference of the Turkish American Council
(ATC), Saygun said, "some believe that terrorism started with
September 11th. It’s not like that. Terrorism began a long time ago."
Noting that Turkey had tried to persuade NATO to take measures
against the attacks launched by the Armenian terrorist organization
Asala, Saygun reminded that NATO labelled this issue as a ‘political
problem’ back then and said "this problem does not concern NATO."

Stressing that terror could target a superpower or a poor country
alike, Saygun said the level of technology employed by terrorists was
revealed with the September 11th attacks and underscored that the
uncertainty in when or where terrorists would attack made it all the
more difficult to ‘manoeuvre against’ in the combat against terror.

Saygun said, "the world got these messages from September 11th
(terrorist attacks). Our message is about the PKK," and underlined
that PKK also used religion as a tool in its activities.

Exposing the terrorist organization PKK with pictures, Gen.Saygun
noted PKK was responsible for the killing and wounding of 343 people
just in 2006 and said it also targeted facilities like communication
centres, bridges and the like.

Giving examples of documents adopted by the UN Security Council, NATO
and the EU against terrorism, Saygun said despite these, majority of
the countries only took low level measures against terrorism.

Displaying the photo of a European Parliament meeting also attended
by PKK supporters, Saygun said "you may adopt resolutions against
terror, but what matters is the practice."

Stressing that PKK, along with acts like drug smuggling, human
trafficking and money laundering, was making its propaganda through
European based TV channels like Roj TV, Saygun said the main base of
PKK was Kandil mountain and 3,500 PKK militants were stationed in
Iraq. Saygun underscored that PKK was allowed to take base in the
north of Iraq and its logistic and arms needs were met there.

Saygun reminded the agreement that was signed between Turkey and Iraq
in 1926 and pointed out that Turkey had the right to enter as far as
75 km. inside the Iraqi territory from the Iraqi-Turkish border.

Commenting on the genocide allegations of the Armenians, Saygun
reminded the remarks by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit
warning that the adoption of the so-called Armenian genocide
resolution would severely harm Turkish-US relations.

-IRAQ-

Saygun pointed out that Kurdish groups in northern Iraq rejected the
Iraqi flag and the Baghdad government.

Stating that the demographic structure of Kirkuk was altered to the
favour of Kurds, Saygun said, "it will not be just to held this
referendum in these circumstances," when commenting on the referendum
that is planned to be held in Kirkuk.

-CYPRUS-

Stating that recently the Greek Cypriot administration accused Turkey
of invading the territory of Cyprus, Saygun reminded that it was not
Turkey who ended "the republic of Cyprus" where the two communities
lived together, but it was ended by a military coup that was
supported by Greece.

Showing pictures exposing the violence committed against the Turkish
population in the island, Saygun said Turkey would not withdraw its
forces from the island until a just solution to the problem was
found.

Saygun underlined that the military expenditures of the Greek Cypriot
adminstration had increased recently especially after its membership
to the EU.

Saygun also said that it was striking that the Greek Cypriot
administration deployed American-made weapons in the island since
1988.

-GIAMBASTIANI-

On the other hand, Edmund Giambastiani, the Vice Chairman of the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff, underlined importance of confidence building.

Stating that the relations between the two countries in the field of
defence produced dynamic and concrete results, Giambastiani said
Turkey and the US worked together against the terrorist organization
PKK.

Expressing his optimism about the termination of problems like the
terrorist organization PKK, Giambastiani said Turkish-US relations
remained strong.

Armenian paper contrasts regional security policies of USA, Russia

Hayots Ashkharh, Yerevan
17 Mar 07

Opening the border between Turkey and Armenia is the only way to move
forward on Armenia’s integration into NATO’s security structure, a
major Armenian newspaper has reported. It criticized Washington which
it said tried to put pressure on Armenia in order to make Yerevan and
Azerbaijan cooperate more closely with NATO. The paper said that in
contrast to the US policy Russia takes "concrete steps to beef up
Armenia’s security". The following is the text of the article
entitled: "Evident Trampling" by Vardan Grigoryan published in
Armenian newspaper Hayots Ashkharh on 17 March; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

The political pressure on Armenia by some Western countries and
organizations causes increasing anxiety among our people. The latest
example [of pressure] was the 2006 report by the US Department of
State on human rights in Armenia. For unknown reasons Azerbaijan’s
official point of view on the Nagornyy Karabakh issue was also
included in the report.

Generally speaking, the United States, which has a representative in
the OSCE Minsk Group, is pursuing quite a balanced policy on the
Karabakh issue. This country does not consider Karabakh an "occupied
territory". Moreover, it provides Karabakh with financial
aid. Therefore, it is obvious that the unusual statement in the US
State Department’s report is an attempt to exert political pressure on
our country. It is aimed at warning Armenia and dictating certain
terms.

USA uses Armenia’s Achilles heel

What is the political target of the United States? It would be naive
to think that by calling the Nagornyy Karabakh republic an "occupied
territory". the USA is trying to force Armenia to become more
constructive, or make more concessions, on the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict.

The Americans realize perfectly well that Armenia has done and
continues to do its best in connection with the issue, and that there
is no way to concede on the issue of the Karabakh people’s fate.

Thus, the US Department of State considers the Karabakh issue to be
the "Achilles heel" of Armenia. By hurting it, attempts are being made
to get concessions on a more important issue – joining Armenia and the
entire South Caucasus region to the Euro-Atlantic space. In this
sense, the USA has dramatically stepped up its political efforts. It
is trying to push all countries of our region into NATO’s security
system.

It is exactly on this issue that the USA is obviously putting pressure
on both Armenian and Azerbaijani fronts. Azerbaijan fears Russia and
Iran, which dislike NATO’s expansion. In the meantime, the issue of
receiving assistance from NATO in the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
being mooted.

On the other hand, Armenia has another, although no less dangerous,
neighbour, Turkey, which is an old-time NATO member. As a result,
Azerbaijan cites "Armenia’s aggression" as an excuse, Armenia talks
about the difficult relationship with Turkey, and in the end both want
to cooperate only with NATO.

Both NATO and the United States have one way of undoing the knot in
the region and it is linked with the closed border between Turkey and
Armenia. NATO certainly realizes this. It is not by chance that a
high-ranking official from this organization, George Katsirdakis, who
visited Armenia lately, said that the Armenian-Turkish border "has to
be" opened.

Russia delivers

However, words alone are not enough for serious changes in the
political preferences of the regional countries. Unlike the United
States and NATO, Russia has made concrete steps to beef up Armenia’s
security, as Yerevan is a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization [CSTO]. While NATO is busy with making theoretical
judgments, the real key to the region, Armenia, remains closed in the
box of the Russian-Turkish confrontation.

What have the United States or NATO done so far to break this box, if
they put demands to Armenia, which is surrounded by enemies? Feeling
that an allied country, Armenia, may come under foreign pressure, the
CSTO secretary general visits Armenia and gives more guarantees to our
country. Over the next few months, a sophisticated system will be
established between CSTO countries on military assistance in case of
foreign aggression.

This means that if there is a military aggression against Armenia, the
vast military power of the CSTO states will be used to thwart it. This
means that the whole world will view a threat to Armenia as a world
war threat.

No moral right

In the meantime, the US secretaries of state and defence have appealed
to the Congress, urging it not to adopt an Armenian genocide bill,
which the USA uses to pressurize Turkey into opening the
Turkish-Armenian border. It emerges that while Russia ensures
[Armenia’s] security through the CSTO, the USA cannot even rein in its
NATO ally [Turkey]. What moral right do the Americans have to hope for
Armenia’s integration when the doors are not even open for us?

Attempts to make Yerevan submissive in the Armenian-Turkish talks
through a change of government in our country are also useless. The
attempts to create a fifth column of the West in Armenia before the
Armenian parliamentary election have also failed. Even a famous expert
on "coloured revolutions", Professor (?Valerie Bans) of Cornell
University in the USA, admits that a coloured revolution is impossible
in Armenia.

What should the USA do now? Should it suspend the Millennium Challenge
programme and impose economic pressure? Does the father of the world
democracy really think that issues in a game of this scale can be
solved by several hundred millions of dollars?

RPA WILL NOT USE "BLACK" PR DURING AGITATION CAMPAIGN, GALUST SAHAKIAN
ASSURES

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The Republican Party of Armenia is
resolute in the issue of holding free and fair elections and it has
been long engaged in working out actions aimed at reducing possible
electoral falsifications to minimum. Galust Sahakian, head of RA
National Assembly RPA faction, stated this at the March 23 press
briefing. In his words, RPA will not use "black" technologies during
the preelection agitation, as it has much to say. At the same time,
G. Sahakian noted that RPA has no political rivals, but only
competitors. The work done, party’s programs and its successive
developments will be the basis of RPA agitation campaign. It was
mentioned that the ideology and principles of party’s preelectoral
program have kept unchanged. In G. Sahakian’s words, RPA is for not
revolutionary, but realistic programs. "What we promised in 2003 was
included in our program and even more than we promised was fulfilled,"
he said.

CONGRESS’ ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL COULD HURT U.S. OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ

All Headline News
March 21 2007

Matthew Borghese – All Headline News Staff Writer Washington,
D.C. (AHN) – A senior leader within the U.S. Department of Defense says
that a bill before the House of Representatives (HR 106) which aims to
label the killing of over 1 million Armenians in Turkey a "genocide,"
may harm American combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Robertus Remkes, Director of Strategy, Policy and
Assessments at U.S. European Command (EUCOM) says the bill, introduced
by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and backed by House Speaker Rep. Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) could "impact to our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan."

According to the Pentagon’s Stars and Stripes, a February article
by F. Stephen Larrabee and Suat Kiniklioglu of Rand Corp found that
"Some 60 percent of all U.S. military equipment destined for Iraq
goes through the territory or airspace of Turkey."

"If this route to Iraq were restricted or closed entirely, the ability
of the United States to effectively combat the insurgency and violent
militias in Iraq would be impaired."

The deaths, which occurred during World War I, remain a contentious
issue in modern-day Turkey. Ankara maintains that the deaths were the
result of a civil war, not a targeted and systematic ethnic genocide.

The bill, which would not bring sanctions against Turkey for the
crimes, would call "upon the President to ensure that the foreign
policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding
and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating
to the Armenian Genocide."

ARMENIA’S FOREIGN TRADE TURNOVER IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY OF 2007 INCREASED BY 51,5%, THUS MAKING OVER $552MLN

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
March 20 2007

Yerevan, March 20 /Mediamax/. The foreign trade turnover of Armenia
in January-February of 2007 totaled 199.0bln drams or $552.6mln,
having increased by 51,5% as compared to the same period of 2006.

As the press service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia
told Mediamax today, the export volume during the accounting period
made 48.6bln drams or $135.2mln, and the import volume totaled 150.4bln
drams or $417.4mln.

The deficit of the foreign trade balance in January-February of 2007
stood at 101.8bln drams or $282.2mln.

USA REPORT IS A WAY TO SUPPRESS RA OFFICIALS

A1+
[09:12 pm] 20 March, 2007

Kiro Manoyan, ARF Armenian case and office leader of political issues,
treats the USA report as a oppression upon Armenian high-ranking
officials.

In answer to A1+ reporter, Mr. Manoyan that ‘such an abrupt stance
can cast doubt on impartiality’ of the USA being a mediator of OSCE
Minsk group. Besides, he noted that the USA has empowered to’ give
all types of lessons throughout Armenia’ lately.

Kiro Manoyan stated that Armenian diplomacy on Nagorno Karabakh case
is due to sincere attitude towards negotiations unlike Azerbaijan.

As to the outcome of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, he noticed that the
USA has the intention of enlarging its power in the region and to
reduce that of Russia and Iran. In this regard, the USA strives for
the opening of Armenian-Turkish border.

In fact, the core subject of the press conference was the Armenian
Genocide. He believes that Armenians should not only demand moral
request and get their approval of the historical truth but also we
should expose them to responsibility upon the Armenian case.