Author: Chavushian

TTK PRESIDENT HALACOGLU REMOVED FROM OFFICE

Zaman Online
July 24 2008
Turkey

Professor Yusuf Halacoglu, who has served as the president of the
Turkish Historical Society (TTK) since 1993, has been removed from
office by Cabinet decision and is to return to his post of professor
at Gazi University in Ankara.

The decision to relieve Halacoglu of his office was published in the
Official Gazette yesterday. Halacoglu will serve as a professor at
Gazi University as he did prior to his nomination as TTK president.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Halacoglu said he did not know why
he was being removed from office. "I see this duty [serving as the
president of the TTK] as a relay race. I hope a good and successful
friend will be nominated to the position," he noted.

He stated that he didn’t have prior information that he would be
removed from office and returned to his position at Gazi University. "I
read it in the newspaper. I was not warned in advance. Nevertheless,
it was no surprise to me. I don’t consider anything in my life a
surprise," he said.

Halacoglu, emphasizing that it is normal to be nominated to a new post
or to be removed from a position, said he will continue serving in any
position offered him. "As a Å~_eyhulislam [the chief religious official
in the Ottoman Empire] said, we are ready to leave our positions at
any time and be commissioned with another duty when necessary. One
day you are given a duty by the state and the next, you continue your
position as a scientist. This is pretty normal," he remarked.

He also said he will not seek legal redress against his removal from
office. "I am not the kind of man who resorts to such means. You cannot
continue serving in a post by force. I am a scientist," he stated.

Halacoglu is a strong denier of allegations that Armenians were
subjected to genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I.

In conferences and panel discussions organized by his organization,
Halacoglu asserted that claims of genocide were completely false and
the TTK has 100,000 pages of archived documents that serve as proof,
refuting allegations that Armenians faced genocide in 1915.

"A historical committee should be established to investigate the
issue. The TTK has been collecting documents and information on
the issue from several countries, and it currently has thousands of
pages that positively refute Armenian claims of genocide," Halacoglu
had said.

–Boundary_(ID_InhCqBCzeQTNJKiZFR3nxw)–

ARMENIAN ARMY "MOST COMBAT-READY" IN REGION – MINISTER

ArmInfo News Agency in Russian
July 23 2008
Armenia

The Armenian army is the most combat-ready army in the region, Armenian
Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan today told a news conference dedicated
to his 100 day’s in office.

The minister said that the Armenian army is improving its skills day
by day.

"We have passed a long way, and have accumulated extensive
experience. By re-evaluating and analysing this experience, we come
to the conclusion that the features of our army are characteristic
of the strongest armies of the world," Ohanyan said. He added that no
matter what kinds of upgraded weapons an army has, it is the soldiers
that fulfil tasks in the end.

"We won [the Karabakh war with Azerbaijan] thanks to the spirit of our
solders, and nowadays the balance on the frontline is maintained due
to the quality and combat spirit of the soldiers," the minister said.

GOVERNMENT MEMBERS GET ACQUAINTED WITH SYUNIK REGION’S PRIMARY PROBLEMS ON
SPOT

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 22

Armen Gevorgian, the RA Deputy Prime Minister, RA Minister of
Territorial Administration, and Armen Movsisian, the RA Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources, were in Syunik on a working visit on
July 18-19 to get acquainted with the problems in the region on the
spot and to discuss them.

Ambassador Sergei Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office,
said during a meeting in the OSCE Syunik Office that this regional
office that opened in 2006 is the only one in Armenia. He presented
programs implemented by UNDP and OSCE in the Syunik region.

Then A. Gevorgian and A. Movsisian visited Meghri Mayor’s Office. A
number of issues of vital importance for the region were discussed
at a consultation held there with the participation of department
heads of Syunik Prefecture, Meghri and Agarak Mayors, heads of the
region’s communities.

These issues were: the lack of narrow specialists in health sphere,
the necessity of new pumps and pipelines in agricultural sphere,
the construction of Karchevan internal network, the repair of Meghri
internal network, providing assistance to communities that suffered
from hail.

A. Gevorgian promised them to solve problems in the sphere of
irrigation provided that water using companies ensure collection
of payments.

On the second day of the visit the government members visited Kapan
Office of Aarhus Environmental Public Information Center of OSCE,
where center’s activity was presented to them in detail.

Then an expanded consultation took place at Syunik Prefecture with the
participation of prefecture department heads, town communities’ heads.

Opening of industrial schools in the region, provision of educational
centers with property were singled out among educational sphere
problems.

Necessity of 50 doctor-specialists, new sanitary machines were
mentioned as primary problems in health sphere. Issues related to
accident-prone buildings and landslides were singled out among urban
development sphere problems. The issue of communal budgets’ revenues
was also discussed.

ARMENIA, GREAT BRITAIN WILLING TO DEEPEN MILITARY COOPERATION

armradio.am
21.07.2008 16:24

On July 21 RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Armenia Charles
Lonsdale.

At the beginning of the meeting Seyran Ohanyan stated that Great
Britain is one of the pivotal countries of the European Union with
traditional democratic values and customs, with which the Defense
Ministry of Armenia will continue cooperating in the sphere of defense.

Seyran Ohanyan noted also that Armenia has entered a qualitatively
new phase of relations with Europe and that serious steps are being
taken to have the military cooperation with European countries reach
a proper level.

During the meeting the Minister noted that Armenia expressed
willingness to develop cooperation especially in the field of
peacekeeping, contributing to the operation in Afghanistan, where
Great Britain has deployed a contingent of about 8 500. He added that
taking into consideration that active reforms are currently underway
in the Armed Forces of Armenia, the military cooperation with the
above-mentioned countries is important.

Seyran Ohanyan said to be appreciative of the active participation
of representatives of the Armed Forces of Great Britain in the
Cooperative Longbow/Lancer 08 military exercises to be held in Armenia
in September-October of the current year, stressing that participation
in such events contributes to the development of collaboration between
the armed forces of the two countries.

The parties discussed the current state of bilateral relations in
the military sphere issues of further deepening of those.

At the end of the meeting Seyran Ohanyan expressed gratitude to the
British Government for the assistance rendered so far.

TURKISH, ARMENIAN DIPLOMATS HELD SECRET TALKS IN SWITZERLAND?

PanARMENIAN.Net
8.07.2008 14:29 GMT+04:00

Turkey and Armenia held a series of secret meetings in the capital
of Switzerland on July 8, Hurriyet daily reported.

A high-level official from the Foreign Ministry headed the Turkish
delegation during the talks which led to a positive atmosphere between
the two countries, according to the report.

This meeting came after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s proposal
for "a fresh start" with the goal of normalizing relations with Turkey
and opening the border. Sargsyan also invited Turkish President
Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two country’s
national teams on Sept 6 to mark "a new symbolic start in the two
countries’ relations".

Turkish officials said the invitation has been evaluated and did not
rule out accepting it since it would not be an official visit.

Ertugrul Ozkok, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet daily, wrote in his column
that a high-level official from the foreign ministry confirmed the
report, but asked not to publish the story. "He told me that if the
story is published, then it would be formally denied," Ozkok wrote
in his column.

President Abdullah Gul’s attendance will depend on developments between
the two countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said earlier.

IN CASE ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER UNBLOCKED KARABAKH ISSUE CAN BE SETTLED WITHIN MONTH

DeFacto Agency
July 18 2008
Armenia

In case Armenian Turkish border is unblocked Karabakh issue can be
settled within a month. Only in this case Azerbaijan will lose the
sole and, I would say, seeming advantage it has over Armenia, Kiro
Manoyan, Director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs
Office, stated in an interview with ArmInfo.

He noted he did not believe that Turkey could change its stand
in Karabakh conflict, however, at that any positive change in
Armenian-Turkish relations will spontaneously influence on the
Karabakh conflict settlement process. "In this case Azerbaijan will
realize that the game has been lost. Personally I quite understand
anxiety that has already appeared in Azerbaijan in this connection",
Kiro Manoyan underscored.

At the same time he noted that the possibility of unblocking the
border was not high, as it would be too big step made by Turkey
towards Armenia. In his words, Turkey will make any positive step
towards Armenia, which can serve the country’s propaganda goals. So
all steps made by Turkey in this direction will unfortunately bear
imitation nature.

"At that Armenia has no possibility to make any concession to Turkey,
since there are not any. The only concession Armenia can make for
Turkey could become Armenian authorities’ renunciation of policy of
Armenian Genocide’s recognition in the whole world, an I categorically
rule out such a possibility", Kiro Manoyan concluded.

100 DAYS OF PRSESIDENCY
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 18, 2008
Armenia

The 19th of July is the 100th day of President Serge Sargsyan’s tenure,
and even though this period of time is very short for speaking about
the implementation of the programs envisaged for the upcoming 5 years,
let’s try to give a summary of the accomplishments and the political
steps that were undertaken prior to the realization of the President’s
pre-electoral promises.

In his inauguration speech, Serge Sargsyan reiterated all the
commitments he had voiced during the post-electoral rally held
on the Republican Square, lending a hand to his political rivals,
proposing them a dialogue and cooperation for joining their efforts to
overcome the internal and external challenges faced by the country and
demonstrate consistency in solving the pan-national and state problems.

After assuming the duties of President, Serge Sargsyan (true to the
commitment to consolidate the capable forces of society) undertook
consistent steps towards the implementation of the principles and
top priorities enshrined in the Memorandum of Coalition, dated March
4. The Memorandum was signed with "Rule of Law" and Dashnaktsutyun
parties which had responded to the cooperation proposal advanced by
the Republican and "Prosperous Armenia".

In particular, the President issued a decree on setting up a
working group20with the purpose of restoring the atmosphere of public
solidarity which had been undermined as a result of the post-electoral
developments.

The mission of the committee was to specify the activities envisaged by
PACE Resolution # 1609 and display consistency in their implementation.

Let’s note that these were not steps imposed by foreign structures,
e.g.

the Council of Europe in this particular case. These were steps
deriving from the "letter and spirit" of the Memorandum of Coalition.

Moreover, the CoE Resolution mainly seconded the commitments undertaken
by the coalition partners at their own will.

In the context of the activities elaborated by the working group,
an interim parliamentary committee was set up with the purpose of
conducting a thorough investigation of the March 1-2 events and
submitting proposals that would rule out the repetition of the tragedy.

On June 13, Serge Sargsyan signed a decree on setting up a Public
Chamber under the President. Under another decree, a committee
coordinating the preparatory work of this body was established. The
mission of the committee is to submit to the President its approaches
towards the staff and the regulations within a period of 3 months.

Even if the "radical" representatives of the extra-parliamentary
opposition persist in avoiding a dialogue, refusing to participate in
the activities of the NA interim committee and the Public Chamber,
such 0Ainitiatives will serve as grounds for uniting the potentials
of the influential public and political organizations and individuals
and contributing to the solution of the problems which are of vital
importance for society.

In the sphere of foreign policy, the 100-day period was marked by the
Sargsyan-Aliev meeting held in St. Petersburg. After the presidential
elections this was the first attempt of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
dialogue on the level of Presidents. During the meeting, the parties
agreed to continue the Karabakh settlement talks within the frameworks
of the Madrid proposals, i.e. following the format of the Minsk Group.

On June 23, Serge Sargsyan paid his first official visit abroad,
beginning the agenda of the high-level interstate meetings with
Russia, our strategic ally. Within the frameworks of his three-day
visit, the RA President met with the newly elected Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev, newly-appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and
other senior officials. As a result, the parties reiterated their
determination in developing and strengthening the bilateral relations
in different directions, replenishing them with political and economic
elements.

The President’s visit to Russia was also marked with the bald
accentuations on improving the Armenian-Turkish relations. "Our
attitude is clear: neighboring states should not have closed borders
in the 21st century. Regional cooperation may be the only tool
for esta blishing stability. The Turkish side offers us to set up a
committee studying the historical facts. We are not against the idea,
but this will happen only in case the border between our states is
opened. Otherwise, it may become a tool for postponing and speculating
the discussion of the issue for many years.

The President’s statement gave way to inappropriate speculations;
however, the further clarifications made it clear that the fact of
the Genocide is not subject to speculations, and the Armenian side’s
attitude towards achieving the recognition of the first mass atrocity
against humanity remains unchanged.

Notwithstanding this, the President decided to make the first step
towards promoting the Armenian-Turkish relations and invited Turkish
President Abdullah Gyul to Armenia "for watching the football match
between the representative teams of Armenia and Turkey together." This
aroused strong interests and responses in the international diplomatic
circles.

Regardless whether the Turkish President will accept the invitation
or turn it down, yielding to the blackmail tactics of Azerbaijan,
the ball is in the enemy’s playground. And it rests with us to arm
ourselves with patience and wait for the outcomes of the President’s
100-day activity.

THIS YEAR DOCUMENTARIES PREVAIL IN GOLDEN APRICOT’S ARMENIAN PANORAMA
CONTEST PROGRAM

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 17

Four young Armenian-based and Diasporan directors taking part in
Golden Apricot’s Armenian Panorama contest program spoke about their
films and festival at the July 17 meeting with journalists.

Introducing one Armenian-based and three Diasporan cinematographic
figures, Mikayel Stamboltsian, programs director of the Golden Apricot
(Voske Tsiran) 5th International Film Festival, said that this year
fiction films are few in the Armenian Panorama contest program and
instead the number of documentaries is unprecedentedly large.

French Armenian Varant and Khazhak Soudjian brothers take part in the
documentary film genre contest in Golden Apricot, presenting the films
The Second Wind and July in Ltchap. They take part in this Yerevan
festival for the first time and hope that it will not be be the last
one. Soudjian brothers’ films tell about life and human relationship
revealing the fates and individuals, who are usually unnoticeable.

The Second Wind is Varant’s third film in this genre. It is
about a young pickpocket, whose last adventure becomes fatal and
turning. Khazhak Soudjian has shot his 18-minute film July in Ltchap
for both Armenian-based and Diasporan Armenians. "I tried to present
real Armenia for everybody," the author said. The village of Ltchap
near Sevan has appeared in a grave situation after the collapse of
Soviet system: the young director made an attempt to bring to light
village’s real picture.

Problems of loneliness and lack of communication in Western Armenian
society are raised in the fiction film The Blue Hour of American-based
Erik Nazarian. Erik Nazarian was born in Armenia, but moved to the
U.S. at the age of 4. He graduated from the Cinema and Television
School of South Californian University. Before that the young
director had shot 4 films. The Blue Hour film is his first fiction
work. It is about people living on the bank of Los Angeles river,
who do not communicate with each other in any language and the only
thing connecting them is the river. The film is about four different
families, who appeared in loneliness and lack of communication. "One
of them communicates with its memory, the other with a picture, the
next with silence. People have become alien to each other and become
detached. It is a universal pain. In the era of high technologies
human relationship takes place in different ways except the human one,"
the author said.

The 24-minute film 36 Immortals by Yerevan-based doctor Hrachya
Vardanian is also interesting. The author is convinced that the
Armenian alphabet created at a fatal moment is more endangered today,
as worship of foreign things has become an idol for everyone and
everywhere.

FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA DRAWS ATTENTION OF MINSK GROUP TO ABSENCE OF PROPER RESPONSE TO WARLIKE RHETORIC OF AZERBAIJAN

AZG Armenian Daily
18/07/2008

Karabakh Issue

During his tour in the USA Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward
Nalbandian met OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair Matthew Bryza in Washington
and outlined that the military rhetoric of Azerbaijan receives no
proper response of the international community.

According to the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministrym
Mr. Nalbandian said that Azerbaijan’s statements against Armenia
containing open territorial claims and militarist propaganda does
no get proper assessment by the international community which makes
establishment of mutual confidence in the negotiations for settlement
of Karabakh conflict quite difficult.

The source reports that the parties discussed details of the
negotiation process and the results of the recent visit of OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chairs to the region. Moreover, the sides discussed
the possibility of organizing a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministers.

U.S., ARMENIA THINK NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE RESOLVED …

Interfax News Agency
July 15 2008
Russia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice have discussed prospects for the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement in Washington.

It was noted that the problem can be settled only through talks,
which are held within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, the
press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Interfax.

Speaking about prospects to normalize relations between Armenia
and Turkey, Nalbandian confirmed that Armenia is ready to establish
diplomatic relations with Turkey without preliminary conditions and
to open the Armenian-Turkish border and informed Rice about Armenian
moves in this direction, the press service said.

The Armenian foreign minister also noted that Yerevan attaches much
importance to expanding relations with the United States.

Nalbandian hailed U.S. governmental programs aimed at developing
various industries in Armenia and the U.S. assistance amounting
to about $1.9 billion provided to Armenia for the period of its
independence.

The U.S.-Armenian Joint Action Plan on Combating Smuggling of Nuclear
and Radioactive Materials was also signed within the framework of
the visit, the press service said.