Author: Chilingarian Babken

NUMBER OF ARMENIA’S POPULATION INCREASES UP TO 3,229,900 IN 2007

ARKA
Feb 26, 2008

YEREVAN, February 26. /ARKA/. The population of Armenia totaled
3,229,900 people by the end of 2007 as compared with 3,222,700 people
in 2006, the Head of Armenia’s National Statistical Service (NSS)
Stepan Mnatsakanian told journalists in presenting the annual report
on socioeconomic status of Armenia for 2007.

According to the NSS, the number of registered marriages increased 7.4%
up to 18,145 in 2007 against 16,887 in 2006.

According to Mnatsakanian, the number of divorces has also increased –
4.8% up to 2,931 divorces against 2,796 in 2006. This means that 162
divorces are registered against every 1,000 marriages in Armenia,
he said.

Real News Network, NY
Feb. 22, 2008

A sign of declining US strategic power

Aijaz Ahmad explains why the Turkish Kurdish struggle is so explosive

Friday February 22nd, 2008
Recorded Oct 19, 2007

Based in New Delhi, Aijaz Ahmad is The Real News Network Senior News
Analyst, Senior Editorial Consultant, and political commentator for
the Indian newsmagazine, Frontline. He has taught Political Science,
and has written widely on South Asia and the Middle East.

Transcript:

PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR: President Bush held an unusual press
conference in Washington on October 17, partly unusual given how
rarely there are any press conferences given by President Bush. But
at any rate, aside from some domestic issues, he also discussed the
US foreign policy in relation to a wide range of countries and global
issues. I’m joined by our Senior News Analyst, Aijaz Ahmad, to
discuss the implications of what President Bush said. And let’s start
with Turkey. So here’s what President Bush was asked, and here’s what
he had to say about the possibility of Turkish troops entering Iraq.

(CLIP BEGINS)

White House Press Conference
October 17, 2007

GEORGE W. BUSH, US PRESIDENT: We are making it very clear to Turkey
that we don’t think it is in their interests to send troops into
Iraq. Actually, they have troops already stationed in Iraq, and
they’ve had troops stationed there for quite awhile. We don’t think
it’s in their interests to send more troops in. There’s a better way
to deal with the issue than having the Turks send massive troops into
the country?massive additional troops into the country.

(CLIP ENDS)

JAY: Can you start with giving us a little bit of background? Who’s
fighting whom here? What is it that the Turkish parliament’s
concerned about? And then how serious is there about a massive troop
movement from Turkey into Iraq? And what would be the implications of
that?

AIJAZ AHMAD, SENIOR NEWS ANALYST: Well, you see, this is a very
long-standing problem. There are large concentrations of Kurdish
population in Turkey, in Iraq, in Iran, and to a lesser extent in
Syria. These are also highly centralized states, which do not
recognize rights of religious or cultural or linguistic minorities,
particularly Turkey. Turkey has always been very sensitive, always
said there’s one Turkish nation, there?s one Turkish language, which
is the national language, and so on and so forth.

JAY: In terms of the Kurdish population, how many Kurds live on the
Turkish side of the border, and what’s the Kurdish population on the
Iraqi side of the border?

AHMAD: The whole of eastern Turkey is essentially a Kurdish zone in
which other ethnic minorities also live. But it’s predominantly a
Kurdish area. Similarly in Iraq it’s a very large part of the
territory.

JAY: So some of the Kurdish political forces want to unite Kurdish
Iraq, Kurdish Turkey, in an independent Kurdish [crosstalk].

AHMAD: Kurdish Iraq, Kurdish Turkey, Kurdish Iran, and even Kurdish
Syria. And if they were to be united, that would in fact form a very
substantial, very large state.

JAY: So all these other states?Syria, Iran, Turkey, Iraq?have a
common interest in stopping this.

AHMAD: That’s right. And one of the fallouts of the creation of a
virtually semi-sovereign state of the Kurds in western Iraq after the
US occupation is that all the other three states are very nervous
that sooner or later this Kurdish zone in Iraq will gain full
sovereignty and will become the base from which military incursions
into these three states will increasingly be stepped up towards the
realization of such a state.

JAY: And there’s a tremendous amount of oil and natural resources at
stake here. If there were an independent Kurdish country in Iraq, if
it became to try to include the Kurdish population in the neighboring
countries, we’d be talking a relatively wealthy state here.

AHMAD: Yes. Actually, Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991 has already become
quite a stable and prosperous state. It has some oil of its own, but
it is also claiming that the Kirkuk area, which is so far not a part
of Kurdistan, in Iraq?. Kirkuk area actually has a Kurdish
population, a Turkman population, which is historically of a Turkish
origin, as well as Arab populations. So it’s actually ethnically a
mixed area, Kurdistan. The Kurds’ parties in Iraq claim that as a
part of it. If they get that area, then they become a very major oil
power.

JAY: Now, the Kurds, certainly since this no-fly zone, if not before,
but since that point have had quite a close relationship to the
United States, closer than any of the other Iraqi political forces.
What is the American strategic interest here? ‘Cause one could
imagine it might be in America’s interest to have an independent
Kurdistan, a Kurdish state, although then it positions the United
States in a direct conflict with Turkey. The White House said they
were opposed to this congressional resolution on the genocide of
Armenians, but Congress voted for it, and then included a lot of
Republicans voting for it.

AHMAD: You see, it’s very interesting to me that this bill condemning
the Armenian genocide of 1915 came up at all, in the sense that of
course there was a genocide. It’s a very tragic part of Turkish
history and Armenian history, I must say. Of course it happened. But
why should this year, a year before the next US elections, should
such a bill be?? So at a certain level it is a deliberate provocation
towards the Turkish state. They want more and more Turkish
compliance. On the question of Iraq, you would recall that Turkish
parliament had refused to endorse the idea of sending Turkish troops
as part of the coalition troops in Iraq.

JAY: In the original invasion [crosstalk]

AHMAD: And invasion is being prepared now for Iran. Turkey and Iran
are drawing closer on the Kurdish question, because both states face
the same problem. This is partly to put pressure on Turkey to
dissociate itself from Iran, from improving it more, the
relationship. Then, you see, these Caspian Sea, the small states that
have arisen in the Caspian Sea basin are Turkic (Turkish)-speaking.
They used to be a part of the Ottoman Empire until late 19th century
when the Tsarist Empire conquered them.

JAY: And these are the leaders that just met in Iran that Putin’s
visit that we’re going to talk [crosstalk]

AHMAD: That?s right.

JAY: [crosstalk] in the next segment about.

AHMAD: That is right. And those states are drawing closer and closer
to Russia. Turkey has its own regional ambitions in those areas. The
United States wants to press Turkey to play a more aggressive role in
relation to those states in terms of containment [crosstalk] The
Americans want to support a sort of Turkey-dominated Caspian Sea
basin, so far as that other side which lies between Russia and Iran
is concerned. In fact, it is part of the rising cold war between the
United States and Russia, in which the United States wants Turkey to
play a more active role. I think they were very surprised by the
level at which the response came from Turkey, because the response
came not even so much from the prime minister, Erdoðan, but from the
chief of staff of the Turkish army. Now, Turkey has the largest army
in NATO. Turkey has a kind of weaponry that the United States has not
supplied even to Germany. It’s an extremely powerful army. And when
the chief of the Turkish general staff says that Turkey will have to
reconsider its military relationships with the United States, that
is, when they start backing off.

JAY: Are we seeing the fallout of perhaps a somewhat new strategic
weakness of the United States, post-Iraq war? But all the powers in
the region are starting to reassess what their strength is and what
the future is.

AHMAD: Absolutely. I agree with you, because underneath all this, the
US is suggesting somewhere there in Turkey that if you do not follow
some of these policies that we want you to follow, then Iraqi
Kurdistan can remain an area from which incursions will continue and
expand into Turkey. And Turkey retaliated immediately.

JAY: A very dangerous game.

AHMAD: Yeah. It’s a kind of brinksmanship. And you are seeing this
happening in country after country, where the US exerts pressure, and
to the extent possible the country retaliates by saying, no, we are
not going to follow the policies that you are telling us to follow.
And that is an indication of declining US strategic power.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the
program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete
accuracy.

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Independent.co.uk
Against The Grain: The Armenian genocide – why Britain is at fault
Interview by Chris Green
Thursday, 21 February 2008

Scholarship on the Armenian genocide is dominated by two strands, both very
simplistic. One is the Turkish nationalist strand, which effectively tries
to deny that it occurred, and that the Armenians who died were only killed
as a direct result of their own treacherous behaviour. The second strand
comes from the Armenian diaspora, whose scholars argue that genocide did
occur: but their explanations for this are sometimes based on dubious
evidence and are often polemical. The truth transcends both. Genocide was a
policy choice made by a specific regime under specific conditions, not a
culturally determined crime.

No one knows exactly how many people were killed, but in the immediate
aftermath of the First World War at least 800,000 deaths were acknowledged
by the new Turkish nationalist leader Mustapha Kemal Atatürk. Of around two
million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1914, only 400,000 remained after
the war. So the question is: what happened to them all? We know they were
deported to harsh desert regions, and although some escaped to Arab states,
most were massacred on the way by Ottoman paramilitaries. Putting the death
toll at 200,000, as some Turkish nationalists do, is utterly untenable in
terms of simple mathematics. It was one of the most intensive killing
campaigns of the 20th century.

Yet both the USA and Britain still refuse to recognise it as genocide. They
accept that a lot of Armenians died during "tragic wartime events", but say
that the issue is best left to Turkey and Armenia. This is partly because a
lot of Turkish state funding goes into official denial campaigns. In
Britain, Holocaust Memorial Day assiduously tries to avoid mentioning the
Armenian genocide, as a direct result of Turkish state pressure. So, a day
supposedly dedicated to the commemoration of extreme events – to ensure that
they never happen again – can’t even confront one of the major genocides of
the 20th century.

This is not just a matter for the history books. There’s a direct line
between Turkey’s failure to confront what happened to the Armenians and the
continuing persecution of Turkey’s Kurds. Greater international pressure for
freedom of speech and human rights in Turkey is the best way to improve the
Kurdish situation. As for Britain, it should be wary of making grandiose but
easy moral gestures about humanitarian issues if it is going to crumble
under pressure. This isn’t something that’s going to go away.

Donald Bloxham’s latest book, ‘The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism,
Nationalism and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians’, is published by
Oxford University Press

STEPANAKERT POLYCLINIC TO BE PROVIDED WITH MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTS OF NEARLY 500 THOUSAND DOLLARS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 22, 2008

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Equipment and instruments of
464 779 dollars has been purchased for Stepanakert polyclinic. As
it was mentioned in the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the Public
Relations Department of Hayastan All Armenian Fund, the program has
been sponsored by the Fund’s U.S. Eastern Commission. The polyclinic’s
construction has been also implemented with the latter’s financing. The
construction was finished in March 2006. Besides, retraining courses
have been held for the polyclinic’s medical and administrative
personnel.

The Fund has also undertaken major repairs of Hadrut hospital, which
will be finished in mid-2008.

RALLY PARTICIPANTS PREPARE FOR SIT-DOWN STRIKE IN LIBERTY SQUARE

Noyan Tapan
Feb 21, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 21, at 18:50, Nikol
Pashinian, a member of Levon Ter-Petrosian’s preelection headquarters,
announced the end of the rally, and they started to put up tents in
Liberty Square. N. Pashinian applying to elderly people asked them
to go home, to rest a little, and to return to Liberty Square. The
most part of the rally participants has remained in the square and
is preparing for a sit-down strike.

"IF THE AUTHORITIES DOE NOT SATISFY OUR DEMAND TO HOLD NEW ELECTIONS, THE PROTEST ACTIONS WILL STOP BEING PEACEFUL", REPRESENTATIVE OF TER-PETROSIAN’S STAFF STATED

Mediamax
February 21, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. The rally of Armenian presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian’s supporters is in process in the Yerevan Freedom Square.

As the Mediamax’s correspondent reports, the representatives of
the Armenian Police warned the gathered people that the rally is
not approved.

The representative of Levon Ter-Petrosian’s staff Nikol Pashinian
stated in response that "the actions of the authorities during the
elections were illegal, of which evidence the many falsifications".

He stated that "in case there is the necessity, actions of protest
will be held simultaneously in various parts of Yerevan".

"We will hold peaceful actions of protest, until the legal ways of
struggle are exhausted. If the authorities do not satisfy our demand to
hold new elections, the actions of protest will stop being peaceful",
Nikol Pashinian stated.

OFFICE OF THE NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC IN THE USA
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 223-4330
Fax: (202) 315-3339
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:

PRESS RELEASE
February 20, 2008

KARABAKH CELEBRATES LIBERATION MOVEMENT ANNIVERSARY
Reaffirms Commitment to Freedom and Democracy

Washington, DC – Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Nagorno
Karabakh Liberation Movement. On February 20, 1988, reflecting the
expressed will of electorate, Karabakh’s local legislature
petitioned legislative bodies of Azerbaijan and Armenia to
peacefully transfer the region from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet
Armenia, aiming to correct Stalin’s wrong decision of 1921.

"February 1988 – is a turning point, which separated our past from
our present and marked the beginning to our future," stated NKR
Parliament Speaker Ashot Ghulian at a special meeting today.
"Celebrating this day as a national holiday, we reiterate adherence
to our vision, to the principles of freedom and democracy. Today we
confirm our commitment to continue on this path until the final
victory," he said.

Karabakh’s aspirations were fiercely opposed by the central Soviet
authorities, which tried to suppress the first truly democratic
movement on its territory. Moscow deployed Soviet troops along with
Azerbaijani militia to instill fear and to crackdown.
State-supported Azeri mobs attacked and killed hundreds of ethnic
Armenians in towns and villages throughout Azerbaijan, including in
Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad(Ganje).

As the Soviet Union collapsed, the newly-independent Azerbaijan
intensified its brutal attacks. In addition to pogroms, Azerbaijan
launched a full-scale military aggression against the people of
Karabakh, attacking towns and villages, killing thousands,
dislocating many more and destroying vital infrastructure of the
region.

Karabakh appealed to the world community to help stop the
Azerbaijani aggression. While various institutions, including U.S.
Congress, offered protests, no international intervention followed
to stop the attempted genocide.

Left one-on-one with a fierce enemy that was seeking physical
annihilation of the entire Armenian population, the population of
Karabakh exhibited outstanding bravery and devotion to withstand the
attacks, prevail in the war and pressure Azerbaijan into a
ceasefire, which has held since 1994.

The people of Karabakh then proceeded to rebuild their lives and
their country, establishing a firm foundation for continued security
and economic development.

Today, Karabakh’s friends around the world expressed their continued
solidarity with the Republic. On behalf of the 159 members of the US
Congress’ Armenian Caucus, Co-chairs Joe Knollenberg and Frank
Pallone sent a letter to the NKR President Bako Sahakian.

"We write to offer our congratulations as Nagorno Karabakh marks the
20th anniversary of the democracy movement that gave birth to the
hard won freedom that the people and government of your proud
Republic enjoy to this day," the letter said.

"The United States stood with the people of Nagorno Karabakh as they
strived to free themselves from the Soviet empire of enslaved
nations. We were united during those years, as we are today, by the
powerful idea that free citizens deserve to live under a government
of their own choosing, not one imposed upon them by a foreign
power."

The NKR Permanent Representative to the United States Vardan
Barseghian thanked congressional friends of Artsakh for their
steadfast support. "We look forward to our continued cooperation to
solidify Karabakh’s achievements," said Barseghian.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh, today is a viable state with
democratically elected government, rule of law, fledging civil
society, and a booming market economy.

As a factor contributing to the balance of power in South Caucasus,
Artsakh plays an important role in ensuring regional stability.
Through an independent foreign policy, Artsakh continues to engage
constructively with the international community to advance shared
goals of peace, democracy and economic development.

***
The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States is
based in Washington, DC and works with the U.S. government, academia
and the public representing the official policies and interests of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh.

* * *
This material is distributed by the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic in the USA on behalf of the Government of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic. The NKR Office is registered with the U.S.
Government under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Additional
information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

CIS OBSERVERS: TRANSPARENT CALCULATION OF VOTES

Panorama.am
14:49 20/02/2008

The CIS election mission representatives notified just technical
contraventions. The observers mentioned that two voters were found
in the same voting box in 20/25 and 32/40 electoral units. And two
other units did not have any information about the candidates.

The observers noted that the area separated for the voters was not
marked and the signs were not put on time in the ballot papers. They
also noticed that some electoral units were too small for the voters
which caused some inconveniences.

The observation mission representatives also notified some points on
the voting calculation process.

According to them, the process was transparent in the units they
have visited.

Note that the CIS observers conducted monitoring in all the electoral
territories, were present at the voting and calculation process. The
observers have been to 1232 electoral units and 1052 of them in the
voting day.

Stepan Demirchyan: There are all prerequisites for Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
victory in the first round of presidential election

2008-02-19 11:21:00

ArmInfo. ‘There are all prerequisites for Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s victory in
the first round of the presidential election>, Chairman of the oppositional
People’s party of Armenia Stepan Demirchyan said after voting at the
election precinct 10/31 in the secondary school N55 after Chekhov in
Yerevan, when asked by ArmInfo correspondent about expectations regarding
the presidential election results and the general atmosphere in the
republic.

He said that information about violations of the election legislation are
already received from different regions of Armenia, however, they are not
able to hinder the victory of the main oppositional candidate.

To recall, Stepan Demirchyan was the main rival of the incumbent president
Robert Kocharyan at the previous presidential election in 2003. During the
present election campaign, PPA actively support candidacy of the first
President of Armenia Levon Ter- Petrosyan.

RA prosecutor general’s office receives seven alarms on voting incidents

YEREVAN, February 19. /ARKA/. The RA Prosecutor General’s office
received seven alarms on six incidents which occurred at different
polling stations.

The RA Ombudsman’s Office raised an alarm in connection with the report
of the Radio Liberty claiming that some unknown people are spreading
N9 forms (meant for the citizens who have lost their passports) from
the headquarters of the Republican Party located at a hostel in the
Zeytun district of Yerevan.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun districts
checked the alarm to reveal that it does not correspond to the
facts. The Passport Department of the Kanaker-Zeytun Police Station
said that as of February 19 only four N9 forms were issued to people
who had informed of losing their passports beforehand.

Member of the Parliament Artashes Avoyan, the representative of
presidential candidate Artur Baghdassaryan, reported at 11:30
of a scuffle at polling station 8/8, near Kindergarten N255,
Malatia-Sebastia district. The inspection, however, did not confirm
the information. The Prosecutor General’s office will keep on reporting
about further alarms and inspection results.

Armenia is holding presidential elections on February 19 with 9
contenders running for the presidential post.–0–