Author: Chmshkian Vicken

FIRST SECTOR OF THE IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE TO BE COMPLETED BY MID-MARCH

ArmRadio.am
15.02.2007 14:00

Construction of the first 40 km long sector of the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline will be completed by March 17,2007, Director General
of the "High-tension electric networks" CJSC Sahak Abrahamyan told
ArmInfo correspondent. In his words, only 3 kilometers remain to be
constructed. The Director General noted that the works are currently
hampered by bad weather conditions. After the completion of the
construction works, the pipeline will be tested under pressure, after
which it will be possible to speak about putting into commission the
first sector of the gas pipeline.

TURKISH PRESS PONDERS PURPOSE OF "MILITARY BUILD-UP" IN NORTH IRAQ

Yeni Safak website, Istanbul
2 Feb 07

Text of report by Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak website on 2 February

[Column by Ibrahim Karagul: "The PKK Reportedly Has Airplanes; What
About These Allegations?"]

Britain’s International Institute for Strategic Studies reports
interesting findings in its "Military Balances" report for 2007. The
most dramatic of these is related to Turkey. It is so dramatic that
if any individual, any reporter, or any writer in this country made
that same claim, he or she would be the subject of ridicule. The
allegation made is as substantial as the one about a "suicide attack
on Ataturk’s Mausoleum with an airplane."

For example, I wonder what we would hear if I came out with a similar
charge. There would be no sound from the circles that are supposed
to take the allegation seriously. After all, no one remembers the
allegation when they come out to be true. However, the allegation of
this institute was certainly taken seriously.

The report alleges that "the PKK is planning terrorist attacks on
selected targets using remotely controlled model airplanes." The
allegation is based on information obtained from Turkish intelligence
agencies. That means Turkish intelligence have raised the same
allegation as the institute. However, is it true? Is this allegation
well-founded? For now, we do not know.

What I am trying to say here is this: Why are not allegations at
least as important as the PKK airplanes not taken seriously? Are
those allegations more far-fetched? What were they? Let me recall
some of the allegations I reported at different times.

"Special operations squads are entering northern Iraq from Sirnak.

Peshmergas are being deployed in large numbers in regions near the
Turkish border. Specifically, 6,000 peshmergas have been deployed in
Kirkuk, 2,000 in Mosul, and 3,000 along the Turkish border.

Interestingly, US and Israeli commanders are in charge of the
peshmergas here. Military equipment is being moved to the region.

Weapons for short-range combat are being moved into the area.

Peshmergas will also be reportedly moved from Baghdad to the Turkish
border in the near future. The Kurds are being driven to the fireline
in the civil war in Iraq and against Iran and Turkey."

"Certain persons from Turkish special squads went to Israel.

Subsequently, missiles and weapons were sent from Israel to northern
Iraq. Israel and peshmergas are known to have stockpiled missiles in
northern Iraq, but nothing is done about them."

Here is one from another article:

"Turkish special operations units have been conducting cross-border
operations and monitoring developments, but the military build-up
continues in the same regions. Three days ago, missiles, night-vision
binoculars, thermal cameras, and weapons were delivered to the
Kurdish units in the region. Who delivered them? The United States
and Israel. These materials are also being distributed to [Kurdish]
units Kirkuk, Mosul, Arbil, and other areas. Soon, new missiles and
heavy weapons will arrive and be distributed."

Here is another:

"A military build-up has begun on the northern Iraqi side. Foreign
forces have been airlifted to the area around the Turkish border and
they have taken up positions. Indeed, foreign military units were
dropped just on the border in the Altintepe area of Sirnak a few days
ago. Actually, not on the border, but on the Turkish side. In other
words, on Turkish soil. Let us say that this is a joint operation
between Turkey and the United States and Israel. Then, why the
military build-up?"

Let me go on:

"The increased agitation in northern Iraq, deliveries of heavy
weapons, deliveries of missiles, construction of missile launching
sites and military bases, US soldiers airlifted to Turkey’s border,
various land surveys and explorations conducted in the border area –
are these preparations for Turkey’s intervention in the region?"

"What should we think when we see Ankara’s two allies airlift
military units to the Turkish border, conduct land survey operations,
determine the coordinates of certain locations, pinpoint targets
using satellites, and report the information back to their countries?"

"Is there a connection between the units airlifted around Cukurca and
Senoba and the sham US inspection of the Makhmur Camp? Conversely,
is the United States trying to mollify Turkey?"

Now let me make a few additions. Were US troops and peshmergas
airlifted with helicopters to a location near the Zap River two nights
ago? Land survey operations are under way in the region. Some people
need to answer certain questions. It is not just the Turkish-Iraq
border. What is the purpose of the border measurements and land survey
operations conducted by the United States and Israel from Iraq as
far as the Armenian border? Are these reports true or false? Why as
far as the Armenian border?

The northern Iraqi side of Turkey’s border with Iraq is being
fortified with missiles. Why are these heavy weapons moving to these
areas? Why are peshmerga units and US troops deployed in regions near
the border? For what purpose are peshmergas given satellite control
over these regions with technical support from Israel and the United
States? Why are high-technology satellite devices being installed
in these regions? If this continues, Turkey cannot intervene in the
region even if it wants to. Are some circles scheming to start a war
between Turks and Kurds? Or are there other scenarios?

There was only one question that Joseph W. Ralston, the PKK coordinator
of the United States, should have been asked when he came to Ankara:
What is the purpose of this military build-up and preparations? What
is the purpose of these weapon deliveries and against whom will they
be used?

It seems that there is nothing we can do. We have to wait until these
allegations are published in US or British media.

SwissInfo, Switzerland
Feb 10 2007

Couchepin addresses Armenian murders

Swiss Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin has ended his five-day trip
to Turkey by meeting Archbishop Mesrob II, the Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople.

The pair discussed the recent murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, as well as the controversial "Armenian question" –
whether Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Turks almost 100
years ago.

Couchepin’s visit to Turkey came at a tense time. On January 19 Hrant
Dink, a Turkish-Armenian editor who wrote articles referring to a
"genocide" of Armenians, was murdered in Istanbul. Eight
ultra-nationalist suspects, including the alleged teenage shooter,
are under arrest.

Armenians say Ottoman Turks slaughtered up to 1.8 million Armenians
in a planned genocide between 1915 and 1919. Turkey vehemently denies
that the mass killings were genocide, saying the death toll is
inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed.

Dink’s murder prompted international condemnation as well as debate
within Turkey about free speech and whether state institutions were
tolerant of militant nationalists.

The killing also served as a catalyst for questions about whether
Turkey should pursue Western-style values such as free expression –
as embodied in its bid to join the European Union – or cling to
nationalist pride that views outside influence with suspicion.

More than 100,000 people marched at Dink’s funeral, many of them
chanting for Turkey to abolish a law which makes it a crime to insult
the country or the Turkish national character.

Mesrob II told Couchepin the 90,000 Armenians in Turkey were a
"peaceful minority" and Dink’s murder had triggered a sense of
unease.

He said he would like to see the Turkish authorities make a "moral
gesture" – admitting regret, for example, would diffuse the tension,
he told Couchepin.

Nuanced approach

Couchepin had previously said an important step would be the creation
of an international commission that would "examine the issues and
look for the causes of the events of that time – including the
massacre". The Swiss government does not officially speak of
genocide.

On his visit, Couchepin broached issues of freedom of expression and
human rights and said a "nuanced" approach in this area was necessary
for progress to be made.

"The negotiating partners should not be provoked," he said.

Before his return to Switzerland on Saturday, Couchepin planned to
meet four Turkish authors on Friday night.

Among the authors is Ipek Calislar, who went on trial and was
acquitted in December of charges that she insulted Turkey’s founder,
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, by claiming in a biography of Ataturk’s
estranged wife that the leader fled an assassination attempt dressed
as a woman.

Earlier in the week, Couchepin, who holds the culture portfolio, met
Atilla Koç, the Turkish minister for culture and tourism, in Ankara
and agreed to pursue a bilateral accord aimed at returning cultural
goods.

On Tuesday Couchepin met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan,
with whom he discussed the Armenian killings.

He then spent two days in the southeastern part of the country,
populated mostly by Kurds, where he visited projects supported by
Switzerland.

Tense time

Hürriyet, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

Another video emerges of Hrant Dink killer Samast with Samsun police

The Hurriyet has obtained a second video cassette showing images of
Hrant Dink’s 17 year old killer, Trabzon resident Ogun Samast,
chatting and smiling with security force members in Samsun just hours
after his arrest there on the evening of January 20.

Some of the images show Samast being offered a cigarette in the
station; there is also videotape of officers asking Samast to remove
the small Turkish flag he is carrying in his pocket, after which the
officers then pose with Samast behind the flag. After posing with the
officers, Samast brings the flag to his forehead, kisses it, and puts
it back into his pocket.

The images from this second video cassette are shot in the tea room
of the Samsun Police Headquarter’s Anti-Terror Bureau. The video
itself lasts a total of 10 minutes and 27 seconds, and includes a
number of surprising moments on it, as described above.

Though Ogun Samast himself appears frightened and nervous during the
video, the security officers speaking with him appear very friendly,
engaging him in casual conversation, even patting him on the back
from time to time and commenting "Aslanim benim," or "My lion" to
him. At one point during the video, Samast is shown a video of him
that was taken on an unidentified officer’s mobile telephone; he
smiles with appreciation as he watches it. During the course of the
taping, voices can be heard assuring Samast many times that none of
the video or camera images being recorded in the police station will
be released to the media, one officer even telling Samast "this is
for our own archives, you understand?"

ARMENIAN SECURITY STRATEGY APPROVED
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 8 2007

President Robert Kocharian has approved Armenia’s comprehensive
national security strategy that declares democracy and good governance
a top priority and reaffirms the "complementary" foreign policy
pursued by his administration.

The presidential press service said on Thursday that Kocharian
signed the strategy almost two weeks after it was approved at an
unpublicized rare meeting of his National Security Council. The
secretary of the council, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, is the
head of ad hoc government commission that drew up and unveiled its
main points last November.

The 27-page document identifies what its authors see as the threats
and challenges facing Armenia and suggests ways of confronting them.

It concludes that the "main guarantee" of the country’s sustainable
development is a democratization of its political institutions coupled
with respect for human rights and a rule of law.

"Conscious of that necessity, the Republic of Armenia shall adopt
a strategy of continuous reforms," reads the document. It calls for
specific legal, institutional and socioeconomic reforms that would
lead, among other things, to the "formation of a civil society."

But there is no word on what many see as the number one obstacle to
democratic change: the failure by the Armenian authorities to hold
elections recognized as free and fair by the international community.

Kocharian and Sarkisian are held responsible by their political
opponents for a culture of electoral fraud that has taken root in
Armenia over the past decade. Both leaders have said that the upcoming
parliamentary elections and the presidential ballot next year will
meet democratic standards.

Their national security strategy lists the perceived dangers facing
the country’s security and territorial integrity, singling out
Azerbaijan’s growing threats to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
by force. Armenia’s strained relations with neighboring Turkey are
listed as another security threat. The Kocharian administration,
according to the document, believes that international recognition
of the 1915 Armenian genocide is essential for eliminating that threat.

The strategy also makes a case for a continued "complementary" policy
of maintaining simultaneously good relations with Russia, the West
and other regional players. "The principle of complementarity does
not mean maintaining a balance at any cost," it says.

The document underlines the "strategic character" of the
Russian-Armenian relationship and its military component in particular,
saying that membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty
Organization will become even more important for Armenia in the
coming years. It says at the same time that closer ties with NATO,
the United States and the European Union are another key guarantee
of the country’s security.

The document has separate sections on each of the four neighboring
states. Only one of them, Georgia, is described as a "strategic
partner," not least because of its status as Armenia’s main conduit
to the outside world. It also points to the existence of a sizable
Armenian community in Georgia and its Javakheti region in particular.

"In that regard, any destabilization of the situation in Georgia
would be a cause for concern for Armenia," says the policy guideline.

"It would endanger Armenia’s economic and transport communication
with the outside world, while inter-ethnic tensions could create
anti-Armenian sentiment and threaten the security of the Javakheti
Armenians."

The document goes on to express Yerevan’s concerns about the Georgia’s
multimillion-dollar energy and transport projects with Azerbaijan
and Turkey, saying that they are contributing to Armenia’s regional
isolation.

PAPER NOTES ARMENIAN CONCERN AT PROPOSED GREATER US FUNDING FOR AZERI MILITARY

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
7 Feb 07

Excerpt from report "Breaking of parity" by Anna Akopyan in Armenian
newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak on 7 February

Yesterday American President George Bush presented the draft federal
budget for 2008, according to which military aid to Armenia and
Azerbaijan will not be equal with more going to the latter. Military
aid to Armenia is 3.3m dollars, while Azerbaijan will receive 5.3m
dollars, i.e. 2m dollars more. This has caused serious anxiety
in Armenia as well as among the Armenian diaspora in the USA. In
particular, the executive director of the Armenian Assembly of
America, Bryan Arduni, said that unequal military aid to Armenia
and Azerbaijan goes against the decision of the US Congress that aid
should be equal. Representatives of the Armenian diaspora said that
they are going to take action so that the US Congress rejects the
point on military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

[Passage omitted: The author recalls that the same thing happened
last year, but Congress did not approve the unequal military aid to
Armenia and Azerbaijan.]

Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a war situation. And if the USA
gives more military aid to one of the states in a war, this may be
interpreted incorrectly. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Azerbaijan
is raising its military budget year by year, and it is several times
greater than Armenia’s. In this context, it is less important exactly
how many more dollars Azerbaijan is getting from the USA, but the
political "message" this step sends. For this reason, there is a view
that breaking the equality of military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan
may lead to combat actions restarting. Let us note that they are also
worried about this in the Armenian Defence Ministry. But they think
that Armenia will respond officially to this if US Congress approves
the draft.

Kurdish Media, UK
Feb 2 2007

Survival of the filthiest

2/2/2007 KurdishMedia.com – By Dr Fereydun Hilmi

The New Theory concerning survival which could truly be called
Bushism is cantered around entirely new principles nothing to do with
logic evolution or biology. It is to do with the abuse of power and
the exploitation of the simple voter in the western world. We know
Russia and China have never sampled democracy and so they fall in
line with this theory quite easily.

In 1932 when Hitler was elected to the Reichstag it was the voters
who had suffered great humiliation and oppression causing great
deprivation, poverty and even starvation who elected him in what they
say was free and fair elections. He went on to take absolute power
and participated in a great war causing the death of over thirty
million people and the invention of concentration camps and the most
inhuman methods of inflicting pain and bodily harm since the reign of
Hulago Khan; the Grandson of Genghis khan in the 13th century. When
he invaded Baghdad Hulago set about destroying Baghdad’s
infrastructure. He destroyed every living thing in the city which
became derelict and abandoned while the territory became under the
control of the Mongols at Tabriz – present Iran.

Recently we have heard the stories about the torture methods
practiced in Iraqi and American prisons in Iraq and many have
wondered where the Iraqis got the method of gouging prisoners’ eyes.
I came across the text of a speech by Saddam translated to English
and published by the Guardian on January 17, 2003, part of which I
quote below:

`But Baghdad was not in a position to defend itself properly, and
therefore the eyes of Hulago’s army were not gouged out on its walls
nor was it extinguished in its face the venture of trespassing it, or
even to deny it the chance of going ahead to others from the nation
to attack them as it attacked Baghdad, till Hulago’s eyes were gouged
out at the hands of the Mameluke dynasty in Egypt at the famous
battle of (Ain Jalut)/

Are we then seeing the revenge of Hulago’s descendents today? Is
Sulago the real name of the perpetrator of the crimes so similar to
those committed by the great evil-doer of old which we saw belatedly
on Channel 4? Or is Channel 4 simply carrying on with its policy of
fielding extra-ordinary and awful programmes thus adding violence to
sex and other risky materials to compte with its sister Channel 5?

In that speech Saddam points to the role of the Zionists and New-Cons
in bringing about the forthcoming Hulago-style invasion of Iraq. A
couple of days ago I attended a solidarity meeting with the Armenians
still living in Turkey. The main Armenian speaker gave a very
detailed speech covering the crime of the murder of the Writer Hrant
Dink and went onto explaining some of the causes of Genocide which he
said the mealy-mouthed western politicians refuse to describe the
Armenian massacres as. It does not matter what you call it said the
learned Professor Pilkinina, himself an Armenian Historian. Call it
mass killing, massacre, genocide, holocaust for I do not care – It
happened and it was a great crime which must be admitted and
recognised as such to prevent it happening again.

Then he said that such act are mainly racial and to do with Darwinism
adding that the title of the Theory is often misquoted as only the
Theory of Evolution rather than The Theory of Evolution or The
Survival of the Fittest. Today we have western leaders committing the
same sort of Genocidal acts under the pretext of divine inspiration,
fighting terrorism, and several such excuses. They believe that they
have succeeded to the extent that they rule by God’s will and no
longer need to refer back to the Parliaments and the people who were
duped into electing them. Recently Tony Blair the still single-handed
ruler of Great Britain advocated Warmongering by claiming that we
need to keep wars going around the world to keep our forces in a
state of readiness to defend the Empire – a real version of `The
Empire Strikes Back’ and forwards.

I have on many occasions pointed out the Nasti methods deployed by
Bush and his little boy demonstrating the closeness of their
ideology, reasoning and methods with those of Hitler such as:
Divineness, Intensive propaganda and the propagation of lies and
deception, the foundation and use of concentration camps with all the
torture, interrogation and elimination methods – and now Channel 4
shows us the refinements of gouging eyes and drilling skulls of live
people – in their prisons and those which they helped the primitive
savages they have installed in the Green Zoo as well as in those
secret – welkl talked about – prisons in the civilised western world.
The interesting thing now is the behaviour of the 2007 world dictator
who has not only deceived and defied the entire world but is now
attempting to defy his own nation and their democratic constitution,
Congress and Senate.

In effect he has usurped all power for eight and become a dictator
just as Hitler dis with one important difference – Hitler had the
support of the vast majority of his nation right up to the last
moment while Bush has himself is reported to have said that he will
go on even if only his wife and his dog remained in his support. It
was not clear if he meant his domestic or the most well-known of his
international lapdogs.

Here I must return to my earlier warnings. I do not dislike any
nation or individual with a modicum of humanity and fairness can
agree to what is going in Iraq and around the world. I despise all
who want to introduce their Machiavellian-Freudian principles as the
new religion for all to follow and accept as their imposed way of
life. Why should Dubai and Qatar and Mecca for example be cheap
copies of London and New York? Why should all nations abandon their
long and old traditions developed over centuries and thousand of
years in favour of the Koka-Kola MakDonald Society? Why do buildings
in the middle of the desert be built in the same way as those in
Western Europe and the USA? And why should people of the desert
abandon their highly suitable way of life and adopt one suited to
colder climates and different cultures?

I despise all who wish to force any ideas down anyone’s throat – good
or bad – for liberty, freedom and fairness are the most sacred
principles as far as I am concerned. The new religion based on lies
and deception and the use of basic instincts to control peoples
behaviour and actions is not only against the good basic principles
of the three main religions – the result of thousands of years of
experiences and analyses which helped us arrive at the current day
but against all the interests of western before eastern societies.
Western societies are the more enlightened and advanced if the two
and the evil being spread around the world would boomeranging back to
his them and they should therefore reject all attempts to Globalise
those principles in the name of democracy and progress.

Extremism is the act of going to extremes and is not something which
would be tolerated always. Man was born absolutely free and went on
being so for thousands if not hundreds of years. Thus liberalism is a
natural tendency and a good one. However over the century’s man
started living in societies and the interests of these societies
became gradually more important. Rules and codes of conduct started
being laid down. Religions started being coined – the last three of
which claim divinity. There are plenty of good principles in these
religions and the competition should be about which of them offers
the best and more useful and progressive methods and principles;
weeding out the bad ones and abandoning the useless.

Religion however proved to be too restrictive for scientific
advancement and caused people to rethink about ways of avoiding
conflict while not trashing or abandoning the good principles which
help and have helped the creation of law-abiding and humane
societies. As for man’s basic instincts of sex greed love, hate,
revenge, jealousy religion has the better solutions than the new
liberalism and permissiveness. Self control and the avoidance of
sexual practices such is today being advanced by the so called
liberals is harmful from the point of view of individual health and
well-being as well as from the point of view of the society. Thus
relinquishing all controls and following a completely liberal
attitude will return us back to year zero and ultimately destroy
civilisation.

To be convinced of this one can see the diseases and malformed
children born to promiscuous people, the spread of AIDS and sexual
diseases and cancers. From the society’s point of you liberalism has
led to the break-up of the family destruction of the parent-child
bonds and relationships, the degradation of manners among children
and the young and the attempts of everything weird or unusual for the
sake of experimentation, an increase in child abuse, incest, the
seeking of same-sex relationships and last but not least crimes and
anti-social behaviour connected with all of these practices.

Murders of previously unknown qualities such as associated with White
Cannibalism, racial hatred, record cases of rapes and muggings and so
on as well as crimes which have clearly resulted from the charging of
British and US soldiers emotionally and with the induction of drugs
and psychological warfare is now returning to Britain and the US. A
few days ago we learnt of the soldier who had fought oin Iraq and
Kosovo killing in cold blood four of his family and giving himself up
because he no longer could control his actions.

This situation which could be compared with the notion of
`Constructive Chaos’ of the lady at the top of Bush’s diplomacy
machine and will produce similar results. The dog-eat-dog society we
live in today cannot last. Soon all the best brains will cease to
produce for the good of mankind and will become servants of the
rulers just as they were in olden times. Already you find that even
if you were the greatest genius on the planet you will only be
allowed to function if you toe the line. The US and Britain are
covertly following this policy at home but quite overtly practicing
it in their New Colonies as well as their existing client-states.

Mankind is therefore in more danger than it is ready to consider. In
the overseas Blair and Bush may count on their command of huge armies
and navies to control the situation but they do not have these
luxuries at home. Chaotic Liberalism will burn the wet and the dry
and fighting Communism is quite different from fighting Religious
Beliefs because these beliefs are at the very soul of human beings
and without them people would be spiritually lost. Science and
technology however advanced they may today have not yet reached a
tiny percentage of what is needed to explain the workings of the
world. Until it is people want the comfort of belief systems which at
least show them ways of life capable of making them sleep well at
night for not all can be satisfied with logic and scientific
reasoning even if they could use those techniques.

The West should learn the lesson of Communism which seemed to offer
ideas for solving the injustices of the economic relations between
Capitalists and Workers nevertheless tries to dehumanise life and
offer half-baked philosophies and quite a bit of `liberalism’ in
place of what calms the human heart and produces spiritual
tranquillity. They too depended on Freud and Machiavelli and look
what happened to them.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO REASSURE TURKEY OF ITS OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Desmond Butler

AP Worldstream
Feb 06, 2007

U.S. officials will reassure the Turkish foreign minister, currently
visiting Washington, that they will try to quash a proposed resolution
in Congress condemning as genocide the early 20th century killings
of Armenians.

In talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, U.S. officials also will
discuss Turkish worries that the United States is not doing enough
to prevent Kurdish rebels from operating in Northern Iraq.

The meetings come at a tense moment for relations between the United
States and Turkey, a moderate Muslim democracy and NATO ally crucial
to U.S. operations in Iraq.

President George W. Bush’s administration is alarmed that the
suggested congressional resolution could disrupt efforts to repair
strains stemming from perceptions in Ankara that regional instability
caused by the U.S.-led war in Iraq have harmed Turkish interests.

The administration has opposed previous attempts by members of Congress
to pass resolutions recognizing the 1915-1919 killings in Anatolia of
up to 1.5 million Armenians as an organized genocide. A resolution
introduced in the House of Representatives in January is thought to
stand a much better chance of passing a floor vote.

State Department officials say the administration will work with
members of Congress to head off the resolution.

"A congressional resolution would be a tremendous blow to our bilateral
relationship," said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew
J. Bryza.

"We are working harder than usual."

Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a
genocide. The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated,
and Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the
disarray surrounding the empire’s collapse.

In meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, Gul is expected to press
the administration to block the resolution.

But Bush will have to persuade the new Democratic-controlled
congress, which does not need presidential approval for such a
resolution. Members behind the proposed bill have said they expect
a push by the administration and lobbyists working for the Turkish
government to keep the resolution from a full vote by the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will decide whether to offer the bill
for a full vote if, as expected, it is approved by the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, has expressed support.

Gul also is likely to discuss with U.S. officials the question of
Kurdish rebels from Turkey using Iraq as a springboard for attacks
on Turkish territory.

Turkey has been unhappy with the level of cooperation in rooting out
militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, holed up in the
Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Ret. Gen. Joseph Ralston, a former NATO supreme allied commander,
has been coordinating U.S. efforts for countering the PKK.

"General Ralston is working to decrease those tensions on both sides
of the border between the Iraqis and the Turkish," State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Monday.

"We are engaging in diplomacy so that you don’t end up with an armed
confrontation in northern Iraq. I don’t think anybody really wants
to see that."

OSCE MG FORMAT CHANGE MAY SLOW DOWN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2007 15:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The format of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement should not be changed, President of the
OSCE PA Goran Lennmarker said in Yerevan. Any change of the format
may slow down the settlement process, he said adding he doesn’t
agree with statements on increase of tension in the Nagorno Karabakh
region. However, he pointed out at casualties at the front line and
stressed the necessity of an agreement.

TENSIONS RISE IN THE CAUCASUS
By Brooks Tigner, Yerevan, Armenia

DefenseNews.com
Feb 5 2007

Armenia and Azerbaijan stopped fighting over the Nagorno-Karabach
enclave 13 years ago, but long-stalled territorial talks and deepening
distrust may draw the two Caucasian nations into an arms race. And
Armenian officials say Turkey’s less-than-friendly refusal to
diplomatically recognize their country only exacerbates the tension.

Oil-rich Azerbaijan aims to boost its defense budget from the
equivalent of $300 million last year to a whopping $1 billion in
2007. Armenia can’t match that, though it is hiking its own defense
budget in 2007 by a healthy 50 percent to $272 million.

Moreover, Armenian officials said they are prepared, if necessary, to
lift national defense spending – already steep at 3.5 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP) – even higher to secure the country’s borders.

"There is a direct connection between our defense budgetary increases
and our security problems with Azerbaijan and Turkey," said Artur
Aghabekyan, Armenia’s deputy defense minister. "If Azerbaijan directs
their huge defense increase toward equipment and arms rather than
salaries and social conditions for its Army, then we will have to
increase our own spending."

He said, "There is potential risk of an arms race – yes, but it
hasn’t happened yet because I think soldiers on both sides of the
Azerbaijan-Armenia line still have fresh memories of the conflict."

The 1992-94 war for control of Nagorno-Karabach, the province
of mostly ethnic Armenians ceded to Azerbaijan after the Soviet
Union’s dissolution, left Armenia the victor over 17 percent of
Azerbaijan’s territory. Those gains were incorporated into Armenia,
and the resulting new frontier between the two countries has been
heavily armed – and mined – ever since.

"There are places where our armies are only 30 meters apart from
each other. There are casualties every year," Defense Minister
Serzh Sargsyan said. "We’re not satisfied with our security along
this border."

Azerbaijan appears to share the attitude. It recently purchased 14
MiG-29 fighters from Ukraine and is looking at other arms purchases
such as tanks. This forces tiny Armenia, a country the size of
Maryland, to maintain a relatively huge army of 45,000 and to shadow
its enemy however it can.

"Acquisition of heavy weapons systems will be expensive for
Azerbaijan," said Sargsyan, a likely contender for president in
the country’s 2008 elections. "But we’ll do the cheaper option of
counterdefense. If they buy fighters, we buy anti-aircraft. If they
buy tanks, we buy anti-tank defenses."

Can either side afford it? With 3.3 million people and a GDP in 2005
of $4.4 billion, Armenia is much smaller than the 8.3 million people
and $10.4 billion GDP of Azerbaijan. But the latter is far poorer in
relative terms, with a per capita GDP one-quarter that of Armenia,
while its soldiers are less well trained and motivated, or so officials
here argue.

"I think their government has now taken into consideration that the
quality of an army counts for more than quantity," Aghabekyan said.

It’s an argument echoed across the board by officials here: The
historical solidarity of Armenians and the patriotism of their
soldiers, combined with superior training, will win over the enemy,
as was so spectacularly the case in 1994.

New Security Strategy Despite the bravado, the government is
methodically forging security links in all directions. Aside from
the comfort of a 15-year-old Russian military base to keep an eye on
its frontier with Turkey, Armenia has submitted its newly drafted
national security strategy to NATO, U.S. and Russian officials for
their collective approval.

It buys most of its weapons and supplies from Russia, but since
2002 has expanded its military relations with the United States,
particularly in the areas of training and communications. It also is
quickly expanding cooperation with NATO via its one-year-old Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with the alliance, and sees closer
links to NATO as part of its long-term strategy.

The new national security strategy reflects the country’s main
security concerns of energy supply, border protection and balanced
military-political relations that engage both NATO and Russia.

After its adoption by the government – expected in the coming weeks –
the document clears the way for Armenia’s Defense Ministry to begin
tackling new reforms and updating military doctrine.

The new national strategy views security in the widest sense. It takes
into account Armenia’s food and energy supplies, transport links to
the outside world, environmental concerns, potential disruptions to
the economy, integrity of its borders and, above all, threats from
its neighbors, according to government officials.

Land-locked Armenia is bound by two peaceful states – Georgia to the
north and Iran to the south – and its two hostile neighbors, Turkey
to the west and Azerbaijan to the east.

"We took into consideration that Armenia is blockaded by two of its
neighbors, and that is linked into the strategy’s foreign policy
aspects as well," said Andranik Margaryan, Amenia’s prime minister.

Armenia has a twin-track approach to currying military-security
relations with NATO and Russia. Asked if his country’s overtures to
NATO ruffles any feathers with Moscow, which sees the Caucasus region
as its traditional backyard, Margaryan said no.

"No one [in Moscow] has shown any jealousy about our approach. We
have a Russian military base on our territory and we have a growing
relationship with NATO," he said. "Our goal in cooperating with
the alliance is to contribute to our own security and that of our
partners. Don’t forget that Russia also cooperates with NATO for
similar reasons."

Getting closer to NATO, however, means reforming Armenia’s Soviet-era
defense structures and increasing its participation in international
peackeeping missions.

Some of the reforms are linked to the IPAP, which it presented to
NATO in December 2005. These call for greater transparency in defense
budgetary matters and, especially, civilian control over the military.

"Our IPAP priorities will be a critical threshold in our relations
with NATO," Aghabekyan said, noting that reforms will get under way
in the latter half of this year.

Strategic Goals Two key goals are to overhaul Armenia’s outdated,
Soviet-inspired Defense Ministry and lines of authority, and to
modernize the Army’s doctrine. Several laws will be reviewed in the
autumn to achieve these, namely to: ~U Expand the Army’s role to deal
with terrorism and natural disasters.

~U Strengthen civilian oversight of the military.

~U Shift control of the armed services to the General Staff, which
will report to the defense minister, thus giving the latter direct
control over the armed forces.

"We currently have six deputy ministers – all military – who are
in charge of the Army. After the change, there will be only one,
who will be a civilian and politically appointed," said Aghabekyan.

As for expanding Armenia’s security profile internationally, Sargsyan
said he plans to transform Armenia’s NATO-standard peacekeeping
regiment into a brigade. "I will probably sign the order in the coming
months, and it will take some time to achieve this."

Asked how long, he said "it will depend on the level of cooperation and
help from our partners and our own available finances. Our peacekeepers
are trained and equipped on a par with NATO soldiers – and they also
get bigger salaries than others in the army. This is expensive for us."

On a wider scale, Sargsyan said he wants to tighten cooperation with
the United States and other NATO countries for purposes of training.

"It’s no secret our Army has few officers who are Western-trained,
so training and re-training is very important," he said. "And next
we want to drive this down to the sergeant level, because they are
the vital links between the officers and our infantrymen."

Armenia’s specially trained peacekeeping soldiers compete and enlist
for the position, but the wider Army is based on a mandatory draft.

Sargsyan said there were no plans to shift to a fully professional army
due to financial constraints and the country’s need for a relatively
large army to man its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Armenia is addressing its energy security needs as well, namely by
capitalizing on friendly relations with Iran. Today, only one pipeline
brings gas supplies from Russia via Georgia to Armenia. But when
Moscow-Tbilisi relations deteriorate, as they have for the last year,
"we get squeezed when Russia puts pressure on Georgia," said Sargsyan.

A new pipeline will soon open, bringing an alternative supply from
across Armenia’s southern border with Iran.