Author: Ekmekjian Janet

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER HIT BY "TREASON" SCANDAL
Emil Danielyan

EurasiaNet, NY
May 2 2007

A major Armenian opposition party, Orinats Yerkir, is fighting a
presidential accusation of "treason" following the disclosure that
the party’s leader encouraged the European Union to criticize the
government. The party claims that the government’s response is part
of a "smear campaign" aimed at preventing Orinats Yerkir from making
a strong showing in upcoming parliamentary elections.

The statements were apparently made — and secretly recorded — during
a February lunch meeting between former parliamentary speaker Artur
Baghdasarian, who heads Orinats Yerkir, and a senior British embassy
official, later identified as Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Hyde. A
copy of the recording was provided to the pro-government newspaper
Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia), which has since published excerpts.

The newspaper account quoted Baghdasarian as urging the EU to issue
a statement censuring Armenian authorities over their handling of
the May 12 parliamentary vote. He also allegedly charged that the
governing Republican Party of Armenia plans to resort to large-scale
fraud to retain its influential position in parliament.

Hyde reportedly countered that Armenian authorities have so far
been careful not to commit the kind of "blatant violations" that
would force the EU to issue such a statement. "I suppose they are
smarter and wiser than we are, and many Europeans realize this,"
Hyde said, according to Golos Armenii. Hyde was also reported to have
complained that only the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland, among
the EU countries with diplomatic missions in Yerevan, are committed
to promoting free elections.

For some local commentators, the wire-tapping scandal is an indication
that President Robert Kocharian’s administration is worried that
Orinats Yerkir will garner strong electoral support.

Citing unnamed government sources, the pro-opposition newspaper
Zhamanak Yerevan reported on April 28 that the authorities are intent
on preventing Orinats Yerkir from winning any parliament seats. That,
if true, will only increase the likelihood of the party’s involvement
in post-election street protests planned by other, more radical
opposition groups.

Both Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law), and the British Embassy swiftly
condemned the clandestine recording, illegal under Armenian law,
but stopped short of explicitly refuting its reported contents. "We
do not propose to comment in detail on the gross misrepresentation
of a conversation, details of which appear to have been obtained
through dishonest and deplorable means," the Embassy said in an April
26 statement. The Embassy stressed that British diplomats regularly
meet with a broad range of Armenian politicians in order to have "as
complete and objective a view as possible of the political process,"
rather than to support "any specific political party."

Golos Armenii has dismissed the embassy explanation as "diplomatic
hypocrisy," going on to claim that the United Kingdom helped to
organize the 2003 and 2005 anti-government revolutions in Georgia
and Ukraine, and is "seriously interested" in stirring up similar
post-election developments in Armenia. The Russian-language paper,
which has posted audio of the conversation on its website, also
echoed Kocharian’s blistering attack on Baghdasarian, accusing him of
"selling out" his country.

"It’s hard to imagine that the former chairman of the National Assembly
could fall so low," Kocharian told university students in Yerevan
on April 27. "For me, this is a real manifestation of treason. That
manifestation is all the more ugly given that it was done at his
own initiative." Voting for Orinats Yerkir will now be tantamount to
having no sense of "patriotism and national dignity," he charged.

"Traitors are those who rig elections and disgrace the fatherland,"
hit back Baghdasarian the same day while on a campaign swing through
the southern Ararat region.

The bitter exchange was a far cry from the relationship that existed
between the two men before Orinats Yerkir was forced to quit Armenia’s
governing coalition in 2006. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. Kocharian went to great lengths to have Baghdasarian
elected parliamentary speaker and give his party three ministerial
portfolios after it finished second in the last general elections
held in May 2003. The move fueled speculation that Kocharian would
designate the ambitious lawyer, now 38, as his successor after the
Armenian president completes his second and final term of office in
2008. However, their personal rapport subsequently deteriorated due
to Orinats Yerkir’s growing criticism of government policies and
overtures to the Armenian opposition.

The party, which claims to have more than 100,000 members, is now
seen as one of the main opposition contenders for the upcoming polls.

Its leader’s populist appeal and its well-organized grassroots
structures provide much of its strength. Baghdasarian has also aroused
more interest among Western governments than any other Armenian
opposition politician with his calls for Armenia’s eventual membership
in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as his conciliatory
line on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and relations with Turkey. In
his wire-tapped conversation, Baghdasarian boasted that he gets phone
calls from the United States Embassy in Yerevan "every other day."

The extraordinary treason accusations seem to have had little impact on
Orinats Yerkir’s hardcore supporters, however. More than a thousand of
them gave Baghdasarian a hero’s welcome as he campaigned in Yerevan’s
southern Shengavit District on May 1. "The whole thing has only made
us close ranks," said Asya Sahakian, a young woman attending the
campaign rally.

"If Baghdasarian is a traitor, why don’t they arrest him?" asked Azat,
a middle-aged unemployed man. "They won’t do that because the whole
thing is fabricated."

Baghdasarian made only an indirect brief reference to the scandal.

"No lies, no slander can stop us. We must go forward, we must win, we
must change our country," the ex-speaker told the mostly female crowd.

"Government-controlled media have unleashed dirty, black propaganda
against us," said another Orinats Yerkir leader, Mher Shahgeldian.

"[It’s] propaganda that is having the opposite [from intended] effect
— only increasing popular support for Orinats Yerkir."

The virtual absence of credible opinion polls in Armenia makes it
extremely difficult to gauge the veracity of such statements. But the
scandal will most probably change nothing for the expected large number
of Armenians who do not plan to vote on May 12. Commented one elderly
woman selling cheap clothing in a Shengavit market: "I don’t trust
any of the politicians because they all think about their families
and fight for government posts, rather than for poor people like us."

Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.

BRITISH ATTENTION TO OUR BBC AWARD NOMINEES

AZG Armenian Daily
01/05/2007

In 2006 BBC awarded ‘Armenian Navy Band’, led by Arto Tuncboyacian, and
17-years-old Silva Hakobian, who was not well known before. Yesterday
UK Ambassador Anthony Cantor organized an invitation in his house
of Armenia in honor of the nominees. There were also the members of
‘Armenian Navy Band’, Silva’s mother, father and sister, Mane, who
is the author of the nominated song ‘I like’, also brother, Edgar,
who is the producer.

‘The aim of this invitation, though a little late, is to value and
congratulate the ‘Armenian Navy Band’ and Silva Hakobian on their
prizes. About 20 thousand fans voted for ‘Armenian Navy Band’ at the
‘Listener’s prize’ nomination, and Silva got her prize at the ‘Next
Big Thing’ nomination, the Ambassador said. Arto and Silva thanked
UK Embassy and BBC for their support and prizes.

Silva’s new video clip and CD will be ready next month, which will
be introduced in California. What about ‘Armenian Navy Band’, it will
have concerts in several countries abroad, probably also in Beirut.

JOINT ENDEAVOR 2007 MILITARY EXERCISES KICK OFF IN ARMENIA

Panorama.am
14:42 27/04/2007

‘Joint endeavor 2007" military exercises kicked off in Yerevan
today. U.S. European commandership implements the exercises within
the framework of Partnership for Peace Program. Michael Harutunyan,
defense minister of Armenia, said some 1000 participants throughout
different nations gather in German Baumholder town to take part in
general operation group of military exercises. As a primary operation
zone, Armenia has hosted delegations from Croatia, France, Russian,
Georgia and USA. In 2002, Armenia took part in the exercises as only
an observer and in 2003 the country was a full participant.

US STATE DEPARTMENT TOO FLEXIBLE

A1+
[03:00 pm] 26 April, 2007

The US State Department has changed its viewpoint upon Nagorno Karabakh
and adjacent regions.

Due to Day.az, the statement claiming ‘ The Armenian forces have
occupied Nagorno Karabakh adjacent areas’ has transferred into ‘Armenia
keeps on occupying Nagorno Karabakh and its adjacent 7 regions that
belong to Azerbaijan’ as a result of Azerbaijan tough stance.

As to Azeris, this victory is a brilliant diplomacy result.

MEMBERS OF BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT FELL INTO DISAGREEMENT IN THE BEGINNING OF PARLIAMENTARY MEETING

Focus News, Bulgaria
April 25 2007

Sofia. The Bulgarian Parliament honored the memory of the victims
of the Armenian genocide with a minute of silence in the beginning
of today’s plenary meeting, after a proposal made by the Parliament
Chairman Georgi Pirinski, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency informed.

The World marked the genocide over Armenians yesterday. During the
forced deportation of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire in the period
1915 – 1918 more than 1,5 Million people died – most of them elderly
people, women and children.

Several MPs presented declarations for the genocide and proposed them
for adoption.

The leader of the nationalist movement Attack Volen Siderov noted
that there were no members of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms
/of the ethnic Turks/ present at the hall to honor the memory of
the victims. The member of MRF Lyutfi Mestan declined and mentioned
the forceful changing of ethnic Turks’ names during the Bulgarian
communist regime in the past.

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA
by Aydemir Erman

National Post (Canada)
National Edition
April 24, 2007 Tuesday

It is unfortunate that today, April 24, has become a day when Armenian
groups annually remember the human suffering of only the Armenian
population during the First World War. The commemoration events often
take the form of anti-Turkish rallies that hinder the expression of
hope that Turkish-Armenian relations will develop positively. After
all, Turks and Armenians peacefully coexisted for centuries inside
the multiethnic Ottoman Empire, with mutual respect and trust. In the
late Ottoman period, Armenians served as ministers of foreign affairs,
finance, public works, postal services and other departments.

The tragedy that befell the peoples of the dissolving Ottoman state
in the First World War, and in the period leading up to it, took a
heavy toll on them all, including the Turks and Armenians. Millions
of Turks perished as the Ottoman territories were all lost, except
for parts of Anatolia.

What took place as that war wore on is the subject of continuing
debate and accusations. One telling piece of evidence is a recently
rediscovered report by Hovhannes Katchaznouni, the first prime minister
of the short-lived Armenian Republic of 1918-1919, which he wrote in
1923 for his fellow members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

"In 1914, Armenian volunteer units organized themselves and fought
against the Turks," he said. "We had no doubt that the war would end
with the complete victory of the Allies: Turkey would be defeated
and dismembered ? We embraced Russia [in its invasion of Turkey]
whole-heartedly."

Under these circumstances, the Ottoman government decided to relocate
large numbers of Armenians away from the war zone. The Armenian prime
minister did not, of course, condone the deaths of so many in this
process. But his insider’s account reveals the complexity of the
situation and the inappropriateness of the label "genocide."

Almost a century later, the collective memories of the two peoples
indicate different versions of history. And this discrepancy seems
to be the main impediment that prevents Turks and Armenians from
normalizing their relationship today.

In the absence of a scholarly or legal consensus on the matter,
the Armenian side has fought the rhetorical battle through political
channels. Despite the absence of new historical findings, we therefore
see parliamentary resolutions and declarations in countries such as
Canada, where the strong Armenian diaspora enjoys a near-monopoly
over the debate. Analogies are drawn between the Holocaust and the
events of 1915. This is deeply unfair both to Jews and Turks.

To say that is not to deny or belittle the great human suffering that
Armenians experienced (along with Turks). But that does not mean that
the Armenian suffering should be called genocide, nor that anyone who
dares to question the popular Armenian narrative should be labelled
as a denier. The passing of judgment on such a crime needs to rest
on the basis of factual knowledge, sound historical investigation
and a decision by a competent legal body.

One way to overcome the problem is to study these claims
dispassionately. Turkey has proposed to Armenia to form a joint
commission of historians, archivists and other experts to investigate
the issue, free from propaganda, and to share the findings with the
international community. Unfortunately, the Armenian side prefers to
avoid such a study, perhaps because they believe their version already
prevails among the public — so why risk this popular support with a
serious study? Consequently, the proposal is brushed aside as a mere
tactical ploy by Turkey.

Such evasion ought not to satisfy more inquisitive minds. Despite
the sympathy felt for certain ethnic communities with painful pasts,
the Canadian government has expressed its support for the proposal
and called on Armenia to take part in this joint study.

Turkey is a significant regional power politically, economically and
culturally. Armenia can benefit much from co-operating with Turkey.

This is possible, if not overnight, then gradually. For its part,
the Armenian diaspora should find a way of perpetuating its identity
without spreading distrust of Turks and Turkey.

Non-co-operation between Armenia and Turkey is a pity. For Turkey,
it is a missing link in its overall positive regional relations. For
Armenia, it is a serious mistake with a great opportunity cost.

– Aydemir Erman is Turkey’s ambassador to Canada.

TURKEY REVERTS TO ITS ISLAMIC ORIGINS

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.04.2007 GMT+04:00

R. Erdoghan’s party, practicing Islamic way of Turkey’s development,
may cause more complications on country’s way to Europe.

More and more Turkey moves away from civilization, reverting to the
times of Abdul Hamid II, when a Christian’s life didn’t cost anything
at all, and the Muslim murderers became national heroes. Both now and
then the murder weapons were found in the hands of the ignorant youth
having no occupation. As it has been observed, Islamic fundamentalists
are mainly made of those having no occupation, not job, and of
psychologically unstable people.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ And who can in this case be more attractive than a
young man doped up with Pan-Turkism ideologies and "the exclusiveness
of the Turkish Nation", which in fact doesn’t even exist. These young
people are ignorant of many facts, though they are perfectly good at
seeing "internal enemies" and know much about Islam. As the Turkish
journalist Burak Bekdil writes, they only know the book "These Crazy
Turks" and the movie "Wolves Valley." Perhaps this is enough for
killing Christians.

The assassination in Malatya was based on Turkish society’s fears that
the official Ankara may put an end to the existence of the Turkish
secular state. The representatives of today’s political elite in
Turkey many a time have spoken about their intentions of giving up the
principle of separation of church from the state, which has been the
main attainment of the first president of the Turkish Republic Mustafa
Qemal Ataturk. R. Erdoghan’s party, practicing Islamic way of Turkey’s
development, may cause more complications on country’s way to Europe.

Germany was among the first countries that condemned the committed
crime. It can be explained by its position in EU and by the fact that
it insists on the "privileged partnership" and not on full membership.

During its last visit to Berlin R. Erdoghan considered possible to
issue ultimatum to Europe. But the recent events, which most likely
will still continue, bring to naught all the statements about "Turkey’s
devotion to democracy and progress." Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned harshly
this crime. Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union Ronald
Pofalla announced that Turkey is a lot far from freedom of religion
typical to Europe. Green Party co-chair Claudia Roth announced in
the interview with Deutsche Welle, that the international community
expects quick and thorough investigation of the cruel murder from
Turkey. By the way, this is what one doesn’t have to doubt. The
direct murderers will be caught just as it happened in Hrant Dink’s
case. But the question is whether or not this will put an end to the
persecutions Christians have to suffer.

Several days after the cruel murder of the three Christians, including
one citizen of Federal Republic of Germany, the Turkish police caught
ten suspects.

All the detainees are young people from 17 to 20. Both of them had
the weapons used to commit the murder.

They already confessed to the crime and announced that they had done
it in the name of "motherland and faith", as well as intended to
"teach a lesson to all enemies of Islam."

The representatives of Turkish Protestants publicly called the
oppression of Christians, which has recently become even more violent,
"a hunt for witch in the manner of the Middle Ages." According to
the member of the International Catholic Organization Michael Rag,
people not hiding their Christian creed in Turkey "are in the center of
attention of extremists, and Hrant Dink’s murder is the most evident
proof of the above mentioned." Ragg also points at the conditions
the only Catholic priest of the country has to live and work in
Turkey. After the attempted murder of the priest two years ago,
he doesn’t leave home without guards. Another catholic clergyman in
the beginning of last year was shot dead, when the protests against
publication of the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the western
media were in full swing.

Terrible murders in Malatya demonstrated the brutality the fanatics
are capable of. The radical nationalists openly call the Christians
the enemies of the country, and the attacks on them have recently
become even more violent, some of them having deadly outcomes. It is
a complete absurdity to think that the Christian missioners undermine
the political and religious basis of the country. Turkey’s population
is over 70 million people and only about one hundred and thousand
of it are Christians. This is just a small minority which only wants
to live its life in peace and at the same time continues to struggle
for its religious rights," writes the Mannheimer Morgen.

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

NKR President signs a decree on spring call up

ArmRadio.am
21.04.2007 12:09

On April 20 the President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republc Arkady
Ghukasyan signed a decree on 2007 spring call up and demobilization,
NKR President’s Press Office informs

ARMENIA WILL CLAIM FOR OPENING BORDER WITH TURKEY AND ESTABLISHMENT OF BILATERAL TIES

Regnum, Russia
April 19 2007

After the ceasefire regime was established between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, within ten years Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey
expected that Armenia under being the burden of poverty and economic
stagnation would be destroyed, but this did not happen and will not
happen. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said at a session
of OSCE permanent council adding that "they taught no lesson from it."

As a REGNUM correspondent was told at press office of the
Armenian foreign ministry, the minister said that the blockade was
continuing and increasing, evidence of which is a recent document
about construction of a new railroad bypassing Armenia (Kars
(Turkey)-Akhalkalaki (Georgia)-Tbilisi-Baku – REGNUM). "We were
never hoping that new initiatives would concern us, for example,
the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline would be laid through the Armenian territory.

But it is rather strange that they can think of spending $700 mln
to $1 bln for construction of a railway only to bypass Armenia,
while there is another railroad that fulfills the same function,"
Vardan Oskanyan said and noted that the Armenian side proposed to
use the existing Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway.

At that the Armenian foreign minister noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey
have not decided to meet Armenia halfway. "I reiterate, Armenia will
not be isolated, but we can be estranged. The new railway cannot harm
more than the closed border. Political atmosphere will be harmed,
and this stirs concern, but not economic profits," Vardan Oskanyan
stressed. According to him, Armenia would continue speaking for
effectiveness of the existing railroad. "we shall go further and
claim that Turkey opens the border and establish normal relations
with Armenia. We pose no pre-conditions for establishing relations
and hope that Turkey would not do it either," the Armenian foreign
minister said. He added it was last Europe’s closed border, and it
must be opened to secure a more positive involvement of Turkey in
the region and its positive contribution to settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV LEAVES FOR BELGRADE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 18 2007

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov has today
left for Belgrade from Istanbul, diplomatic sources told the APA.

Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian are
to have the next round of negotiations in the frame of Prague process
today under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Azeri minister will attend the next meeting of Foreign Ministers
Council of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSECO).

President’s representative on settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has also left for Belgrade together
with Elmar Mammadyarov.