Author: Emil Lazarian

Defense ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan discuss trust-building measures
Associated Press Worldstream
October 20, 2006 Friday 5:01 PM GMT
Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministers met Friday to search for
ways to end regular skirmishes on the tense border between the two
ex-Soviet nations, which have been locked in a conflict over the
disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia’s Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Safar Abiyev, met on the border to discuss ways to enforce
the cease-fire and other border-control issues, Sarkisian’s spokesman
Seiran Shakhsuvarian said.
He said the meeting was held on the initiative of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has acted as mediator
in the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan, but
it has been controlled along with some surrounding areas by Karabakh
and Armenian forces since 1994. A shaky cease-fire in 1994 ended the
six-year conflict, in which 30,000 people were killed and about 1
million driven from their homes, but talks on the enclave’s status
has stalled.
Shooting breaks out frequently between the two sides across a
demilitarized buffer zone.

Muslims stage anti-Israeli protest in Azeri capital
Azerbaijani news agency APA, Baku
20 Oct 06
Members of the Azerbaijani religious community Cuma staged a protest
outside the Israeli embassy in Baku on 20 October to mark Al-Quds
(Jerusalem) Day, APA news agency reported.
“Zionists cannot establish a state in the Muslim land of Quds, just
like Armenians cannot establish a state in Karabakh. To commemorate
Quds is to commemorate Muslimhood,” the agency quoted the community
leader, Haci Ilqar Ibrahimoglu, as saying.
Ibrahimoglu urged all Muslims to unite.
The protesters held a slogan saying “Stop Israel” and chanted “God
is great”. The police did not intervene in the protest but detained
seven people after it ended, the agency said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri cleric lashes out against western policy on Islam
Yeni Musavat, Baku
20 Oct 06, p 3
“Haci Ilqar Ibrahimoglu: ‘The occupation of Quds is also the occupation
of Azerbaijan'”
Ilqar Ibrahimoglu, head of the Centre to Protect Freedom of Conscience
and Religion (DEVAMM) and imam of the Cuma mosque, has held a round
table devoted to the Quds [Jerusalem] Day. The occupation of Quds is
not only an invasion of Palestine but also of Azerbaijan, Ibrahimoglu
told the round table.
Commenting on the French National Assembly’s adoption of the bill
criminalizing denial of the “Armenian genocide”, Ibrahimoglu has
described it as a position of the West towards Muslims.
“At present the West wants to disintegrate Islam from inside. They
damage Muslims by awarding Nobel Prize to [Turkish novelist] Orhan
Pamuk. He both recognized the self-styled “Armenian genocide” and
praised Salman Rushdi’s The Satanic Verses novel that defamed Holy
Koran,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
October 20, 2006 Friday
ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN AND TURKISH JOURNALISTS INTENDING TO ESTABLISH
NETWORK OF ECOLOGICAL JOURNALISTS OF REGION
A group of Armenian, Georgian and Turkish journalists jointly with
the “Ecolur” ecological public organization, are going to establish a
network of ecological journalists. A preliminary agreement on this
has been reached within the framework of the journalists’ media-tour
of the hot ecological spots of Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. The
media-tour was financed by the World Wildlife Fund and the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
WWF and CEPF regional representative Karen Manvelyan has promised to
support the idea. The journalists expressed willingness to regularly
monitor their countries’ environment and provide their foreign
colleagues with information for a wide coverage of the ecological
problems more or less concerning the transfrontier zones of special
protection. During the media-tour, the Armenian, Georgian and Turkish
journalists visited the valley of the Fertina river in Turkey, where
the TRACECA project, meant to connect Europe and the Central Asian
region with a transport-communication corridor, is being implemented.
Stones are uncontrollably felled along the banks of the Fertina river
for the road laid along the Black Sea’s coastline from the city of
Hop to the port of Trabzon. According to ecologists, this is a big
damage for endemic fishes in Fertina. The forests of the Kolhida
province are also being destroyed without any control. In Georgia the
participants of the media-tour visited the Borzhomi-Kharagaulini
National Park, where rare endemic species of plants are being
destroyed and the life of wild animals is threatened by new tourist
route projects. In Armenia the main problem is the pollution of
rivers with chemical waste of the mining industry.
The journalists assumed obligations to be consistent in covering hot
ecological problems in the South Caucasian region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenians reportedly holding military exercises in occupied Azeri district
ITV, Azerbaijan
20 Oct 2006
Gunshots have been heard again on the contact line between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani armies. Local residents have told ITV’s Karabakh bureau
that this is linked to exercises held by Armenia in the occupied part
of Agdam [District].
[Passage omitted: Armenians fired on the village of Saricali in Agdam
last night]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkey Compiled “Shame List” of Massacres Committed by European Countries in Past
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.10.2006 15:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish parliament took a new step in
condemnation of the French parliament’s adoption of the bill
criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide. It compiled a “shame
list” of massacres committed by European countries including France,
Germany and the Netherlands. The necessary study for the list was
conducted by the parliament’s justice sub-committee as part of
its debates over a bill that would recognize the Algerian genocide
committed by France. The commission is researching the massacres and
tyrannies that countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide have
committed in the past. The members of the commission decided that
‘announcing the European list to the world would be more efficient
than recognition of an Algerian genocide,’ reports zaman.com.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ankara Decided to Freeze Political and Military Relations with Paris
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.10.2006 16:23 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish government has determined “sanctions
to be applied against France” in protest of the bill penalizing the
Armenian Genocide denial. Official Ankara decided to “freeze all
bilateral relations in political and military fields.”
French companies will be deprived of the right to participate in the
tenders for Turkish defense and energy projects. The prohibition
will first of all refer to the projects of nuclear power plants
construction, each costing $5 billion. Besides, French companies
will be removed from the tenders announced by the General Staff of
the Turkish Armed Forces, reports Azeri Press.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

‘THE SO-CALLED BLOCKADE AGAINST THE SO-CALLED GENOCIDE’
AZG Armenian Daily #201, 21/10/2006
Turkey
On the eve of the vote at the French Parliament for the bill
penalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide, when the Turkish press was
denouncing the French, an Istanbul-based Referans daily touched upon
Armenian-Turkish relations in an article titled “The So-Called Blockade
Against the So-Called Genocide: Result of Armenia’s Anti-Turkish
Stance”. This article published Oct 12 can well be considered a
peculiar look at Armenia from Turkey. Though its author Selma Simseq
could not shun exaggerations, her article is interesting particularly
for raising the issues of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway and
the blockade of Armenia.
Here is what she writes: “For the past 24 years 17 states defended
the Armenian thesis in the issue of genocide. Turkey, which constantly
adds ‘the so-called’ phrase to the Armenian genocide, has officially
imposed blockade on Armenia. Yet, thanks to the dialogue between the
two people the blockade has also turned into a ‘so-called’. Kars mayor
Naif Alibeyogli’s following words evidence it: ‘There are regular
flights from Istanbul to Yerevan. 70% of goods in Armenian markets is
Turkish. 70.000 Armenians work in Turkey. And we do not understand what
kind of blockade is this. Turkey has opened its doors before Armenia,
only the border of Kars is closed, as a result of which our town was
deprived of benefit and investments for years’.
“As Alibeyogli put it, the important thing for the resident of
Kars is not the railway project but the opening of Turkish-Armenian
border. Armenia is of the same opinion.
“It’s obvious once this project comes true, Armenia will be in a
difficult situation. Its border with Turkey is closed because of
genocide allegations and with Azerbaijan because of the occupation
of Nagorno Karabakh. Moreover, the Iranian border areas are inhabited
with Azeris thus putting Armenia in squeeze and isolation, in fact.
“Realizing that Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway will result in an even deeper
isolation, Armenia demands to open the Turkish-Armenian border as it
will enable Armenia to act as a transit corridor for transportation
of goods from the Caucasus to the Middle East and China.
“This project was turned down at the US Senate under the pressure
from Diaspora Armenians. As a result, the US Eximbank denounced its
credit of $400 million for the project.
“Since 1993 Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations. There is
no direct trade between the countries because of the blockade. Today,
Turkish goods enter Armenia via Georgia or Iran. The goods turnover
amounts to $100 million. Turkey exports mainly construction materials
and food and Armenia imports row materials. The Armenian import
amounts to $50 million.
“According to president of the Turkish-Armenian Business Union, Kaan
Soyaq, goods turnover between Turkey and Armenia can be raised up to
$500 million but Turkey has close the Kars border-gate and suffers
losses. ‘Only the residents of Kars pay for this mistake called
blockade, as Istanbul is open for Armenia. When the Armenia-Turkish
border was open trade between the two countries flourished. Now,
both Armenia and Turkey are losing. Turkish businessmen are forced to
go longer distances thus demanding higher price for goods. Armenia,
on its part, is forced to by spoiled goods for a high price. If the
border-gate is opened, both countries will gain access to the markets
in the Middle East and China. Turkey has missed the chance during
Ter-Petrosian’s tenure and is missing it today as Kocharian prepares
to leave the office. Though during Kocharian’s tenure relations have
aggravated a bit a more nationalist regime will change Kocharian’s.’
“Soyaq meanwhile pointed out that Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway can hardly
become a reality as the US and Russian interests keep spreading in
the region. Then he went on: ‘These two countries have not come to
terms. Without an agreement no railway project can be implemented. The
USA is against the project as it demand opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border. This project emerged as a result of the closed border. If it
were open the US would not be against a second railway line through
Georgia. But at present it does not want to lose Armenia.’
“Drawing attention to Russian-Georgian tensions, Soyaq assumes it
will speed up the opening of Turkish-Armenian border. He thinks if
Nagorno Karabakh issue is settled, and Turkey meets Armenia halfway
the border can be opened. As to the genocide, it’s not an issue that
can be solved in a split second.”
By Hakob Chakrian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY EXPECTS FROM ARMENIA JUST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS,
U.S. AMBASSADOR TO OSCE SAYS
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Receiving on October 19 the
delegation headed by Julie Finley, the U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE,
RA National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian gave detailed information
about processes relating to amendments to the Electoral Code, attaching
importance to adoption of those amendments at a level proper to
the democtratic standards, in time, with accounting of the experts’
conclusions. It was mentioned that today an agreement was reached as
a result of a discussion with political forces to discuss the draft
Electoral Code in the first reading during the coming NA four-days and
to adopt in the second reading and also with agreeing some problematic
issues with experts of international structures before the second
reading to adopt the Electoral Code in the second reading during the
December four-day. Julie Finley attached importance to the issue of
observation missions’ both short-term and long-term participation in
the parliamentary elections. He emphasized that the international
community expects from Armenia free, just democratic elections for
holding of which not only a good Electoral Code is important but also
its application. Exclusion of double standards and application of joint
standards of estimation were bilateraly touched upon in this issue.
T.Torosian mentioned that first of all the authorities of Armenia
are interested in holding elections according to the democratic
standards, attaching importance to their influence on the country’s
future development and progress. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the
RA NA Public Relations Department, the Nagorno Karabakh issue was
also touched upon at the meeting. As J.Finley represents at the OSCE
a Minsk Group Co-Chair country, T.Torosian presented her some of
his viewpoints relating to the processes of overcoming the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. The NA Speaker mentioned that any international
organization is free to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh problem (for
example, it was discussed at the Council of Europe and a resolution
was adopted), those discussions are sometimes useful as well. But when
attempts are made to move the conflict settlement problems to other
international organizations, it is inadmissible as a settlement of
conflicts is a difficult issue, demand much time and deep awareness
of the problem. So, in T.Torosian’s words, similar attempts bring
not to finding settlement in other instances but to failure of the
process. The NA Speaker attached importance to the problem solution
just within the frameworks of the Minsk Group where the Co-Chairmen
are well informed about all the details.
It is not occasional that just they proposed recently a resolution,
which, unlike the previous ones, is notable for creating real
possibilities for the settlement: this resolution proposes not to
oppose but to combine the principles of the nations’ self-determination
and territorial integrity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turken turken den armenischen Genozid
uerken-tuerken-den-armenischen-genozid/
Artikel von Malte Olschewski vom 16.10.2006, 09:01 Uhr im Ressort Politik,
Vermischtes | 8 Comments
Die Turkei halt an der geturkten Version des Volkermordes an den Armeniern
fest. Es seien “kriegsbedingte Deportationen” gewesen, die 1915/16 etwa
300.000 Armeniern das Leben gekostet hatten. Am 12.10. erhielt die Turkei
von Europa zwei deutliche Hinweise fur eine Textanderung. Der
Romanschriftsteller Orhan Pamuk, der mehrfach fur ein turkisches
Schuldgestandnis eingetreten war, wurde mit dem Literaturnobelpreis
ausgezeichnet. Am gleichen Tag beschloss die franzosische
Nationalversammlung, dass die Leugnung des Genozids an der Armeniern als
Haftstrafen geahndet werden kann.
Das Europa-Parlament hat ein Schuldgestandnis zu einer Voraussetzung eines
EU-Beitritts gemacht. Drohungen Ankaras mit einem Wirtschaftsboykott und das
hartnackige Festhalten an der langst schon widerlegten Version werden nun zu
einer Hurde. Die historische Wahrheit kam schon nach Ende des Ersten
Weltkrieges ans Licht. Die Opferzahl von uber einer Millionen Armenier ist
seitdem durch unzahlige Dokumente und Untersuchungen erhartet worden. (Siehe
auch: “Armenien und der Volkermord” von Akcam Taner) Dabei neigen judische
Historiker wie Bernard Lewis oder Gilles Veinstein eher zur turkischen
Version, da der Genozid an den Armeniern die von ihnen vertretene Theorie
der Einzigartigkeit oder Singularitat des judischen Holocausts in Frage
stellen konnte.
Die Ursache des langsamen Niedergangs des Osmanischen Reiches lag wie bei
anderen großen Staatskonglomeraten in seiner Uberdehnung. Die jungturkische
Bewegung, die seit 1908 in Istanbul an der Macht war, sah in den vielen,
unruhig gewordenen Minoritaten die Ursache des Verfalls. Hierbei gerieten
die Armenier ins Fadenkreuz. Sie kontrollierten im Osmanischen Reich durch
Tuchtigkeit und auch Rafinesse den Handel. Außerdem waren sie als Nachkommen
Urartus ein antikes Volks, das als erstes das Christentum als Staatsreligion
angenommen hatte. Armenien hatte nie Eroberungsfeldzuge gefuhrt, da es sich
standig zwischen Byzanz, den Persern und den spater aus Zentralasien
herankommenden Osmanen zu behaupten hatte. Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts hatten
die Armenier in vielen Gebieten der Turkei Enklaven der Ausschließlichkeit
gebildet. Das fuhrte zu Aggressionen und zu Massakern durch die benachbarte
Mehrheit, womit sich eine Parallele zum Schicksal der Juden anbahnte.
Mit dem Kriegsausbruch 1914 kampften armenische Freiwillige auf Seiten der
russischen Armee. Auch hinter den russisch-turkischen Kampflinien wurden
Armenier aktiv. Das Zentralkomitee der Jungturken beschloss Anfang 1915 ein
Programm zur Vernichtung der Armenier. Dazu wurden eigene Sonderkommandos,
meist aus Kurden, aufgestellt. Armenische Soldaten in der turkischen Armee
wurden entwaffnet und exekutiert. Die armenische Zivilbevolkerung wurde an
sieben Platzen konzentriert. Alte Manner, Frauen und Kinder wurden zu
Gewaltmarschen in Richtung Suden und in syrische Wuste gezwungen. Hierbei
ist es zu ungeheuerlichen Verbrechen gekommen. Neben den Marschkolonnen ist
auch in anderen, armenischen Enklaven die Bevolkerung niedergemetzelt
worden. Franz Werfel hat in seinem Roman: “Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh”
das Schicksal einer solchen Enklave geschildert. Nur 100.000 Armenier haben
den als Deportation getarnten Marsch uberlebt. Vielleicht 200.000 konnten
fluchten. Zehntausende Frauen wurden von den am Wegrand lauernden Moslems
vergewaltigt oder als Nebenfrauen genommen. Und immer wieder kamen
freiwillige Kurden, um mitzumorden im großen Genozid.
Die deutschen Verbundeten waren informiert. Pastor Johannes Lepsius suchte
Berlin mit Dokumenten und Augenzeugenberichten zum Eingreifen zu bewegen.
Die deutsche Heeresleitung hatte zu Kriegsbeginn rund 800 Offiziere als
Militarhilfe nach Konstantinopel entsandt. In funfzig turkischen Stadten
arbeiteten deutsche Konsulate. Berlin war informiert und ist dem Verbundeten
aus strategischen Grunden nicht in die Zugel gefallen. Die Rolle der
deutschen Offiziere war unterschiedlich. Einige wie Liman von Sanders sollen
zu retten versucht haben. Goltz-Pascha und Fritz von Schellendorf sollen am
Deportationsplan mitgewirkt haben. Gesichert ist die Tatsache, dass
Deutschland die Flucht jener Paschas ermoglicht hat, die nach dem Krieg von
einem Sultansgericht zum Tod verurteilt worden waren. Der
Hauptverantwortliche, Talaat Pascha, fand Asyl in Berlin. Dort wurde er bald
von einem jungen Armenier erschossen, der unter einem Haufen ermordeter
Landsleute uberlebt hatte. In Nordostanatolien und im Kaukasus wogten die
Kampfe in einzigartigen Verzahnungen hin und her, wobei die Armenier auch
Rache geubt haben. Der Vormarsch der Turken wurde von Armeniern zusammen mit
der neuen Sowjetarmee bei Sardarapat aufgehalten. 1922 wurde Armenien ein
Teil der neu gegrundeten Sowjetunion.
Kemal Ataturk hatte nach Feldzugen gegen die Siegermachte im anatolischen
Kernland des Osmanischen Reiches die Republik gegrundet. Er hat die
Armeniermorde als “Schandtat der Vergangenheit” bezeichnet. Und mit diesem
Ausspruch des vergotterten Staatsgrunders lebte die Turkei bis heute relativ
bequem. Kemal war 1906 Mitglied des jungturkischen Komitees geworden. Er
stritt mit Kriegsminister Enver Pascha und wurde nach Kriegsausbruch 1914
als Militarattache nach Sofia verschoben. Er kann in dieser Position von den
Beschlussen uber die Armenier hochstens gewusst haben. Er vollbrachte 1915
Heldentaten bei der Abwehr der alliierten Landung bei Gallipoli. Er wurde
als Retter von Istanbul zum Pascha ernannt und ab 1916 mit der Fuhrung der
Front im Kaukasus beauftragt. Hier und auch spater hatte er immer wieder mit
der armenischen Frage zu tun. Kemal Ataturk und die Armenier sind als ein
extrem heikles Thema in der Staatswerdung der Turkei verborgen worden.
Wenn eine derart offenkundige, historische Wahrheit von einem Staat des
Jahres 2006 mit derartiger Vehemenz geleugnet wird, muss es tief reichende
Grunde dafur geben. Noch immer wirkt hier der Zusammenbruch des riesigen
Osmanenreiches. Es mag auch die historische Nahe des vergotterten
Staatsgrunders Ataturk zu den Massenmorden sein. Es sind trotz der von
Ataturk erzwungenen Sakularisierung in den letzten Jahren islamische Krafte
immer starker geworden. Die Turkei hat sich in letzten Jahrzehnten als
regionale Großmacht und Fuhrer panturkischer Bewegungen vielleicht nicht nur
in Zentralasien gesehen.
Artikel aus “Readers Edition”:
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress