Author: Dabaghian Diana

ARMENIAN-CAPTURED AZERI’S RELATIONS HAND LETTER TO ICRC

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 18 2007

The relations of Armenian-captured Azerbaijan Ashraf Jafarov today
visited the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to hand
a letter. The captured Jafarov’s uncle told APA.

The Committee said it is making clear whether the captured is really
Asharaf Jafarov.

Jafarov was captured by Armenian forces in Aghdam direction on June 30,
this year. The captured detained in Khankendi (Karabakh) is reported
to be mentally sick.

After losing parents Jafarov together with his brother and five
sisters moved to his uncle living in Uchoglan village of Aghdam.

Armenian media reports introduce him as Guliyev Samandar Namaz who
was born in Shusha in 1972. However, Shusha region police department
has not registered such a person. /APA/

AZERI AIDE CRITICAL OF OSCE MEDIATORS’ KARABAKH REMARKS

ANS TV, Baku
15 Jul 07

[Presenter] The latest statement by the OSCE Minsk Group is not
understandable. Novruz Mammadov, head of the foreign relations
department of the presidential administration, has said that it is
wrong to equalize the sides to the conflict.

In a statement made after their consultations in Vienna, the co-chairs
said that after 13 years of the neither peace nor war situation, it
might seems to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan that it is easier
to keep to the status quo rather than to make a mutual compromise. If
the sides avoid taking courageous steps, the co-chairs cannot do so
for them.

[Mammadov] In general, in this approach by the co-chairs, I see an
approach of equalization. This is wrong. In general, as mediators,
the co-chairs should understand that they cannot achieve anything
by standing in the middle. On the contrary, by assessing the sides’
positions on the conflict, they should define whose responsibility
and approach is more correct and then express a certain position. By
equalizing both sides to the conflict, they are taking the wrong
approach to norms of international law and their mediatory functions.

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: ARMENIA STRUGGLES AGAINST TERROR IDEOLOGY WITHIN COUNTRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.07.2007 17:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A number of laws have been adopted in Armenia
against terror activities, which suppose both preventive measures
and active operations in this respect, Assistant Director of the
National Security Council of Armenia Major-General Roman Harutyunyan
stated to the international conference titled "Providing Training
for Fight against International Terrorism" currently being held in
Yerevan. He said, law enforcement bodies pay special importance to
possible sources of financing terror organizations, as well as money
laundering. "There are a number of objects in Armenia, which may
threaten the alleged enemy and may be targeted by diversionary and
terror groups. We are improving the defense system of those objects,
which terrorists may perform interest in," Harutyunyan said. He also
underlined that Armenia struggles against terror ideology within the
country at the direct supervision of the National Security Council.

LUIS AMADO: SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND TO KARABAKH CONFLICT WITH FULL ENGAGEMENT OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED

armradio.am
13.07.2007 16:38

The OSCE and the European Union need to find a complementary approach
as they adapt to global challenges such as migration, Portuguese
Foreign Minister Luis Amado said.

"In my capacity of President of the Council of the European Union I
would like to underline the importance of designing a complementary
agenda with the OSCE," Minister Amado told the OSCE’s Permanent
Council. "It is essential that we put together our respective
instruments and tools in order to face the challenges ahead."

He also said the European Union supported OSCE efforts to find a
peaceful solution to the protracted conflicts in Moldova, Georgia
and Nagorno-Karabakh, and that a solution could be reached in
Nagorno-Karabakh in the foreseeable future with the full engagement
of the parties involved.

"Besides these regional issues, the European Union and the OSCE have
to adapt so as to face global challenges," the minister said. Portugal
took over the rotating presidency of the European Union from Germany
for the second half of this year.

BOMB IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

A1+
[02:59 pm] 10 July, 2007

An alarm call was received in the Kentron police at about 14:00 today
that a bomb was installed in the RA Ministry of Health. The Ministry
received this by a letter.

There is a chaos in the building of the Ministry at the moment. Police
has arrived and people in the building have been evacuated.

The correspondent of "A1+" is following the events in the place of
the incident.

BOB CUDDY: LOCALS KNOW ABOUT HORRORS OF GENOCIDE

San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA
July 8 2007

Genocide: "The systematic, planned annihilation of a racial, political
or cultural group."

To Ken Hampian, Katcho Achadjian and other local Armenian-Americans,
it is not up for debate: Armenians fell victim to genocide 90 years
ago – end of discussion.

"When you’ve looked into the eyes of people who have been through it,
seen the pain and sorrow and loss, you know they’re telling the truth,"
says Hampian, San Luis Obispo’s city manager.

Both Hampian and Achadjian have seen that pain. People in their own
families met violent ends or disappeared during the butchery that
took place between 1915 and 1923.

Hampian’s grandfather, the oldest of six children, came to the United
States at the age of 19 to arrange the eventual exodus of his family.

He never heard from any of them again.

Achadjian, a county supervisor, lost relatives to violence. His family
escaped to Lebanon, then to the United States.

Neither they nor other Armenians have forgotten their families’ pain.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars estimates that
"more than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct
killing, starvation, torture and forced death marches. The rest of
the Armenian population fled into permanent exile."

Most Armenian-Americans are children or grandchildren of the
survivors. For many years, they have sought acknowledgement from the
U.S. government of the genocide.

This year, they fought for official U.S. recognition on April 24,
the 92nd anniversary of the day the Turkish government arrested 300
intellectuals, writers, religious leaders and others, beginning the
removal of Armenians from their homeland.

The effort for recognition from the U.S. government didn’t succeed,
but in the ensuing weeks supporters picked up 218 co-sponsors in the
House of Representatives- a majority-according to Elizabeth S.

Chouldjian of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not set a date for a vote.

The issue is highly political. The U.S. government has refused to
acknowledge the genocide because Turkey has denied it and the United
States views Turkey as an ally.

Turkey’s official position is that large numbers of Armenians were
killed by Turks, but not 1.5 million. Turkey says the deaths occurred
in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and thousands of Turks also
died in civil unrest.

But to Armenian-Americans, denying the genocide is like denying the
Holocaust or the genocide in Rwanda.

Eighteen countries have recognized the genocide, as have the European
Union and 40 U.S. states, including California.

There’s urgency to acknowledging the truth, Achadjian says. "It
wouldn’t surprise me if it happens again. It teaches us a lesson,
so hopefully we’ll learn from it."

Achadjian also stresses that this is not an issue between Turks and
Armenians or Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims. Turks helped
his family escape, he notes.

It’s about preventing future inhumanity.

Achadjian and Hampian repeat a story about Adolf Hitler who, before
he began the Holocaust, said dismissively of the horror he was about
to unleash, "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of
the Armenians?"

"We’re it," says Achadjian of the United States. "We have that
leadership role."

U.S. EMBASSY SPONSORS AMERICAN COUNTRY & WESTERN BAND TOUR IN ARMENIA

Lragir.am
07-07-2007 14:32:12

The U.S. Embassy in Armenia is proud to sponsor the tour of the Dina
Preston Band in Armenia from July 6 ` July 14, 2007. In addition to a
public concert at the Cascade on Saturday, July 7 at 8:00 pm, the band
will perform in Goris, Yeghegnadzor, and Gyumri. Following their tour
of Armenia, the Dina Preston Band will also perform in Azerbaijian.

The Dina Preston Band is a Phoenix based group with deep roots in the
southwestern United States. An Arizona native, Ms. Preston and her band
deliver to their listeners a brand of country, pop, blues, rock and
jazz. As professional entertainers and musicians, the group has
performed for U.S. armed forces abroad and various U.S. embassies and
foreign dignitaries in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Dina Preston’s sizzling live show is lead by Don Ortiz on guitar and
vocals, Mark Newberry on bass guitar, Dave Peterson on drums and
vocals.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER ATTENDS ARMTECH ’07

armradio.am
06.07.2007 12:38

On July 5 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian left for the
United States to participate in the ArmTech ’07, a two-day global
high-technology-focused conference and exhibition held San Francisco,
Press and Information Department of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reports.

July 7 the Foreign Minister is expected to make a speech at the
conference.

L’Express, France
2 juillet 2007

Hrant Dink: début du procès des meurtriers présumés
LEXPRESS.fr

Le procès des meutriers présumés du journaliste turc d’origine
arménienne, Hrant Dink, s’ouvre aujourd’hui à Istanbul. Alors que
l’accusé proche de l’ultra-nationalisme comparaît, la partie civile
relève des manquements policiers dans cette affaire de meurtre
politique.

Le procès des meurtriers présumés du journaliste turc d’origine
arménienne Hrant Dink, dont l’assassinat avait bouleversé la Turquie
en janvier, s’est ouvert aujourd’hui à huis-clos devant un tribunal
d’Istanbul.

"Nous sommes tous Hrant Dink, nous sommes tous Arméniens"
Le procès s’est ouvert avec presque deux heures de retard, entouré de
strictes mesures de sécurité par les forces de l’ordre qui avaient
bouclé la rue menant au tribunal de Besiktas, dans le centre
d’Istanbul. Quelque 2.500 manifestants, la plupart vêtus en noir, se
sont rassemblés sur une place avoisinante autour d’une banderole sur
laquelle on pouvait lire: "Nous sommes tous témoins. Nous voulons la
justice". La foule a applaudi l’arrivée de la veuve du journaliste,
Rakel, qui a participé brièvement à la manifestation, se joignant aux
chants proclamant "Nous sommes tous Hrant Dink, nous sommes tous
Arméniens".

Une intentionnelle négligence de la police et de la gendarmerie?
Les avocats de la partie civile avaient fait savoir lors d’une
conférence de presse vendredi que la procédure risquait de laisser
dans l’ombre des éléments cruciaux de l’affaire, d’autres
protagonistes, notamment des forces de l’ordre, n’étant pas
poursuivis. L’organisation responsable du meurtre ne comprend pas
"que" les accusés, a déclaré devant le tribunal Fahriye Cetin,
l’avocate de la famille Dink. "Il y a une négligence de la police et
de la gendarmerie que l’on pourrait qualifier d’intentionnelle,"
a-t-elle estimé. L’avocate avait déclaré vendredi : "Les forces de
sécurité en activité à Trabzon, où le meurtre a été planifié, à
Istanbul, où il a été exécuté, et à Ankara, où les renseignements
sont rassemblés, n’ont pas été incluses dans le dossier, alors que
leurs liens avec les suspects, le non accomplissement de leur devoir,
leur dissimulation de preuves et même leur apologie du crime et du
criminel ont été établis".

Assassiné par un mineur ultra-nationaliste
Au premier rang des accusés figure Ogün Samast, chômeur de 17 ans
originaire de Trabzon au nord-est, et proche des milieux
ultra-nationalistes de cette ville, d’où sont originaires la plupart
les 17 autres prévenus. C’est lui qui, de son propre aveu, a abattu
de deux balles dans la tête et une dans le cou Hrant Dink le 19
janvier à Istanbul, devant les locaux de l’hebdomadaire bilingue
turc-arménien Agos, que dirigeait le journaliste. Le ministère public
a requis à son encontre de 18 à 24 ans de prison pour meurtre, ainsi
que de 8,5 ans à 18 ans de prison pour port d’arme illégal et
appartenance à une organisation terroriste.

Aux côtés de Samast, les deux dirigeants de l’organisation et
commanditaires de l’assassinat -selon l’acte d’accusation-, Yasin
Hayal et Erhan Tuncel, encourent des peines de prison à vie
incompressibles. Hayal a déjà passé 11 mois en prison pour un
attentat à la bombe visant un restaurant McDonald’s à Trabzon, qui
avait fait six blessés en 2004. Il est également poursuivi pour avoir
proféré des menaces à l’encontre du prix Nobel de littérature 2006
Orhan Pamuk, connu pour ses positions contestataires sur la question
arménienne. Des peines allant de 7,5 ans à 35 ans de prison ont été
requises contre 15 autres comparses supposés, selon leur degré
d’implication dans l’assassinat.

Hrant Dink, qui militait pour une réconciliation entre Turcs et
Arméniens, s’était attiré la haine des cercles nationalistes pour
avoir ouvertement qualifié de génocide les massacres d’Arméniens
commis en Anatolie entre 1915 et 1917, une qualification rejetée par
la Turquie.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
July 4 2007

An Open Memorandum On Solutions Other Than a Military Operation Into
Northern Iraq

by Barýn Kayaoðlu
Wednesday , 04 July 2007

Tour d’horizon

In the past few weeks, consensus has emerged among sensible observers
that a military operation into Northern Iraq would not be useful for
Turkey. (USAK’s Northern Iraq Report, for one thing, has helped the
debates.) Even the Chief of General Staff Yaþar Büyükanýt conceded
two days ago that an operation would not `root out’ the PKK from
Northern Iraq but merely `strike a blow.'[1]

If a military operation is not the solution, then what are the
alternatives to military strike for Turkey? Let us engage in a `tour
d’horizon’ to answer that question.

Short-term solutions

For Turkey to triumph over terrorism with minimum loss and maximum
gain, a combination of short and long-term solutions is in order. The
first thing to do is to ask Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan and Gen.
Büyükanýt to make more responsible statements. Right now, these two
officials look like they are not engaged in a concerted effort to
protect Turkey from the PKK. In fact, they appear as if they are
fighting each other rather than the PKK. Effective decision-making
can only come about when decision-makers work together rather than
against each other.

Once high-ranking officials act more responsibility, it will be
easier for them to realize that Turkey has more to gain by talking to
Iraq’s Kurdish leaders. Extravagant statements directed against the
autonomy of Iraqi Kurds – which is Iraq’s internal affair to begin
with – are causing Ankara to lose a viable dialogue channel. Only
through such a channel could sincere Turkish concerns about the PKK
be communicated to Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani.

Once that line of contact is established, the following should be
impressed on Iraqi Kurds: Turkey is not using the PKK as a pretext to
destroy Iraqi Kurds. To substantiate that, Turkish leaders should
make it clear that they would respect the outcome of the coming
Kirkuk referendum so long as it is done in a fair, transparent, and
democratic way. Turkey should disentangle Iraqi Kurds’ autonomy from
the PKK for its own good.

Iraqi Kurds, for their part, should also do the same. By tying their
political fate to the PKK, Iraqi Kurds are jeopardizing their own
gains. They are reluctant to move against the PKK at the moment
because they do not want to lose one of their trump cards that could
fight back in the event of a Turkish military operation. That might
make sense. However, Iraqi Kurds’ fraternization with the PKK is
exacerbating a situation that is not necessarily improving for either
Turkey or Iraqi Kurds. Thus, Iraqi Kurds must understand that though
Turkey will not benefit from moving against the PKK’s camps in
Northern Iraq, the Kurdish Regional Government has more to lose from
such an eventuality.

Long-term solutions

Despite the PKK’s claims that it is fighting for Kurdish rights, that
is not the case. Turkey was on a shining path of reform that began
alleviating the lot of Turkish Kurds from 2000 until 2005. That year,
the PKK recommenced its attacks and things began to worsen for the
people of southeast Turkey once again. Coupled with the European
Union’s excessive demands on Turkey at the onset of the accession
negotiations in 2005 (that Turkey should accept the tragedies during
World War I as a genocide of the Armenian people and that Turkey
recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as the Republic of Cyprus
– unrealistic expectations at the moment), the Turkish government’s
zeal for reform has melted away.

Rekindling that zeal is precisely the solution to Turkey’s
predicament. More positive results will come about by granting
greater rights and liberties to Turkish Kurds. Together with economic
measures, such as the completion of the GAP (Güneydoðu Anadolu
Projesi – Southeastern Anatolia Project) that aims to harness the
waters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers for the benefit of the
people in the southeast, greater social and political opportunities
will pull the rug under the PKK’s feet.

The last solution relates to combating the PKK. Turkey needs to set
up a multi-agency counter-terrorism task force comprising
professionals from the MÝT (Milli Ýstihbarat Teþkilatý – National
Intelligence Organization), the Police Department, and the military.
Through this new agency, Turkey will gain a more effective mechanism
which will directly fight the PKK.

This last point is not meant to disparage the immense endeavor and
sacrifice of the Turkish military in its struggle against the PKK.
However, the need for a specialized security force is more imminent
than ever. In fact, that point has been raised by several retired
military officers in the recent past.

Take retired general Osman Pamukoðlu. In concluding his memoirs a few
years ago, Gen. Pamukoðlu – who was the former commander of the
Hakkari Commando Brigade and is no stranger to the PKK’s terrorism –
states the following: `In fighting the PKK, a total of 20,000 troops,
including hand-picked officers and NCOs, would be more than enough.
We shall train them for four to six months. In the following 14
months, we shall clear the mountains, valleys, and forests by working
in four groups of 5,000 men. We do not need anything [i.e. additional
hardware] besides helicopters and mountain howitzers.'[2] Although
this memorandum’s specific recommendation with regards to enforcement
is slightly different than that of Gen. Pamukoðlu, the gist of the
arguments are the same – only a fully professional force can
effectively curb the PKK.

Many observers have been criticizing the United States for
mishandling its war on terror for the past six years. The Bush
administration is doing a poor job in fighting terrorism. However,
there is no point in criticizing the United States for its sole
reliance on coercion in fighting terrorism and sparing Turkey from
criticism for the same mistake. As this memorandum argues, there are
myriad options in front of Turkey that have to augment a military
solution. Taking advantage of them would deal the finishing blow to
the PKK.

Barýn Kayaoðlu is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and a regular contributor to
the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

E-mail: [email protected]

[1] Büyükanýt’tan `iki boksör benzetmesi’ [Büyükanýt’s `two boxers’
analogy], ntvmsnbc.com, June 28, 2007; available from

[2] Osman Pamukoðlu, Güneydoðu’da Unutulanlar Dýþýnda Yeni Birþey
Yok: Hakkari ve Kuzey Irak Daðlarýndaki Askerler [Nothing New Except
for What Has Been Forgotten: The Soldiers in the Mountains of Hakkari
and Northern Iraq] (Ýstanbul: Harmoni), 331-2.