Author: Emil Lazarian

FORMER MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS ATTACKED BY UNKNOWN PERSONS ON OCTOBER 8
Noyan Tapan News Agency
Oct 9 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. As Noyan Tapan was informed,
Major-General Suren Abrahamian, ex-Minister of Internal Affairs of
RA, member of the Political Board of Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party,
was attacked by two unknown persons at 10:00 – 10:30 am on October
8, during a morning walk not far from the office of the Shant TV
company situated in the Arabkir community. The attackers, who, as
eye-witnesses say, were about 30 years old, beat S.Abrahamian and
inflicted corporal injuries to him. They took to flight after people
began to run out of the nearest houses for helping S.Abrahamian.
To recap, in the 1990-s Suren Abrahamian held posts of Administration
Head of Syunik Region, Yerevan Mayor and Minister of Internal
Affairs. He resigned after the terrorist act at the Armenian National
Assembly on 1999 October 27. Starting 2003, S.Abrahamian has been
engaged in active political activity and joined the Hanrapetutiun
(Republic) opposition Party. Currently he takes part in activities
of the anti-criminal movement headed by the Forum of Intelligentsia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN AIMS TO UNDERMINE NKR FOOD SECURITY
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 14:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The main causes of the ignition of fields in
the borderline zone are unprecedented drought, hostile actions of
Azerbaijan – Azerbaijani servicemen were burning dry grass on the
neutral territory and used tracer bullet while shooting, Deputy
Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Masis Mayilian
stated at a meeting with members of the OSCE Mission on assessment
of the ecological situation in the borderline zone between Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijan. “The Azerbaijani party pursues the aim to
undermine the food security of the NKR. As a result of the fires
damage of 3.5 billion drams was caused to Nagorno Karabakh. At the
same time it is comforting that the fires did not cause damage to the
ecological environment: the crops of cereals were mainly burning”,
Masis Mayilian said.
At the same time he spoke for the necessity of joint actions of the
Karabakh and Azerbaijani structures. He noted that even in 2001
the NKR authorities had offered Azerbaijan a complex of measures
on establishing confidence (over 20 proposals), one of which
supposed working out mechanisms of preventive measures of pasture
ignition. “However, the proposals of the Karabakh party were turned
down by Baku and the mediators themselves did not demonstrate necessary
support. If our suggestions were accepted the current situation would
have never occur. We are ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan now but,
unfortunately, Baku does not get into contact with the Karabakh party
even around the issues of mutual interest”, Masis Mayilian noted.
The Deputy Foreign Minister answered numerous questions of the Mission
members who thanked him for comprehensive information. Representatives
of the NKR Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Ministry of Industrial
Infrastructures and Territorial Department, State Department on Ecology
also took part in the meeting. The OSCE Mission which will conduct the
monitoring of the borderline zone with Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh
for 3 days includes representatives of the USA, Germany, Macedonia,
Switzerland, Italy, France, Moldova and Estonia.
It should be reminded that on October 5-7 the OSCE Mission conducted
similar monitoring from the Azerbaijani side with the participation
of the Karabakh experts. The NKR Deputy Foreign Minister expressed
dissatisfaction by the fact that the recent discussions in Vienna
on the issues of fires had been conducted without representatives
of Nagorno Karabakh – the most concerned party. “You know that this
monitoring was almost disrupted and thanks to our efforts it was
carried out. But currently 15 % of the territory of Nagorno Karabakh
is occupied by Azerbaijan: the eastern part of the Martouni region,
north-eastern part of the Martakert region, the whole Shahoumian
region. If we had had an opportunity to participate in the preparatory
part of the monitoring we’d have managed to send the Mission to
the territories we are concerned in We are greatly sorry that the
international experts will not visit the territory of the Shahoumian
region as we greatly bother about the ecological situation established
there. According to our data mass felling of woods is carried out
there, as well as fires take place”, Masis Mayilian noted, reports
NKR MFA Press Office.

TURKEY MORE DANGEROUS TO EUROPE, THAN CROATIA OR BULGARIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 13:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Blackmail of European countries, first of all France,
by Turkey is very strong, Armenian Vice-Speaker Vahan Hovhannisyan
stated at a news conference in Yerevan, when commenting on the
threats by Turkey against the French Parliament against the possible
adoption of the law criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide. In
his words, EU member states are well aware what awaits for them in
case that country joins the EU. “Turkey is more dangerous to Europe,
than Croatia or Bulgaria. The European Constitution was not adopted
in Holland and France just due to these countries being afraid of
Turkish presence. However, Turkey has no money to pursue its policy
thus it resorts to blackmail,” Hovhannisyan remarked.
As for the statement of French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy
that Turkey’s place is not in the EU, the Vice-Speaker noted that he
had expressed the viewpoint of the majority of France’s population.
“He is a very popular politician and an obvious presidential
hopeful. He speaks on behalf of his constituents and their number is
enough not to admit Turkey to the EU,” Hovhannisyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU MISUNDERSTANDS ARMENIA POLICY AIMED AT COMPROMISE
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 14:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Baku misunderstands Armenia’s policy aimed at
compromise, viewing it as display of weakness, Armenian Vice-Speaker
Vahan Hovhannisyan stated at a news conference in Yerevan. In his
words, the increasing impudence of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh
settlement is conditioned exactly by that.
The Vice-Speaker cited President Kocharian’s comment on GUAM initiative
on “frozen” conflicts, saying, “Each vote means efforts of the parties
to mobilize votes, however it does not lead to a solution of the
conflict, but increase of the folder, accumulation of favorable and
unfavorable resolutions. This is not a solution to the conflict, but
its continuation from these tribunes,” meaning the UN. Hovhannisyan
underscored that he fully agrees with the state leader and noted
that Azerbaijan “does not realize the meaning of “mutual” in “mutual
concessions” wording.
“This situation will be a cold shower for Baku,” the Armenian
Vice-Speaker said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CRISIS LOOMS IN THE CAUCASUS
by Dr. Ariel Cohen
The Heritage
October 10, 2006
Amid great power fretting over North Korea’s nuclear test and
continuing Iranian truculence against the West, Russia escalated
its confrontation with the neighboring Georgia. Moscow is now using
Georgia’s arrest of four alleged Russian intelligence officers two
weeks ago as a pretext to escalate its conflicts with Tbilisi.
This is a dangerous development for the West, and specifically
the United States, which could see its influence in the Caucasus
region crumble if Russia is successful in forcing Georgia into its
sphere of influence. U.S. policy must walk a fine line of encouraging
settlement of the current dispute without becoming a liability through
over-involvement.
Georgia may have overplayed its hand in arresting the Russian military
intelligence officers, whom it accused of sabotage, and not just
expelling them quietly–the normal modus operandi in such cases. In
response to the arrests, Moscow recalled its ambassador from Tbilisi,
evacuated diplomats and their families, and halted issuing visas to
Georgian citizens. The Russian military forces stationed in Georgia
are on high alert. Russia cut air and railroad links to Georgia,
and blocked money transfers from Georgians working in Russia, an
important source of income for many Georgian families.
Bearing the brunt of this invigorated conflict is one-million-strong
Georgian Diaspora in Russia. Ethnic Georgians, including children,
were loaded onto cargo planes and expelled from Russia. Russia cites
their illegal immigration status. Prominent Georgian intellectuals
who are Russian citizens are being harassed by the tax police.
Georgian businesses in Moscow are being singled out by law enforcement
authorities. The handling of this crisis is further damaging Russia’s
international standing as a dependable member of the G-8.
Georgian Overkill?
Since Mikheil Saakashvili rose to power in the Rose Revolution of
2003, Russia has warily witnessed anti-Russian statements by Georgian
leaders, a relentless push to evacuate Russian military bases (to which
Russia had agreed previously), an attempt to join NATO, and opposition
to Russian membership in the World Trade Organization. In response,
the Putin administration has embargoed Georgia’s key exports into
Russia: Borjomi mineral water and wine.
Russia has made little secret of its desire to spark a war
in the Caucasus to force regime change in Tbilisi. (See Ariel
Cohen, “Preventing a Russian-Georgian Military Confrontation,”
Heritage Foundation Webmemo No. 1024, March 31, 2006, at
ia/ wm1024.cfm.) It may
get its wish. In September, South Ossetian separatists, who receive
Russian military support, fired on a Georgian helicopter carrying the
Georgian Minister of Defense. This provocation, if successful, could
have led to renewed hostilities in the small secessionist territory
that is a part of Georgia.
Geopolitical Roots
Russia’s regional and global strategic aims explain why Moscow is
escalating its conflict with Georgia. First, Russia has attempted
before to block NATO enlargement into former Soviet territory. In 1999,
Russia fulminated against the Baltic States’ NATO membership. But
at that time, Russia was extricating itself from the 1998 economic
crisis while a power struggle was afoot in Moscow to succeed President
Boris Yeltsin. In part because energy prices were much lower in 1999,
Western European countries supported the Baltic States’ NATO bid
despite Russian protests. Today, with the West increasingly dependent
on Russia’s Gazprom, they are taking Russia’s foreign policy positions
much more seriously.
Second, the Kremlin is now buoyed by $250 billion in petro-dollar
reserves. These funds can buy a lot of hardware for the Trans-Caucasus
Military District and pro-Russian separatists in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia.
Third, Russia is uneasy over the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export
pipeline (MEP), which takes Azeri oil to Mediterranean markets and
crosses Georgia but bypasses Russia. Soon the Absheron-Erzurum gas
pipeline will come online, bringing Azeri gas to Turkey and Europe,
again bypassing Russia. Gazprom fears that this gas pipeline may
eventually allow Turkmeni and Kazakhstani gas to circumvent its
pipeline network on its way to Europe.
A Balance of Power Shift
If Georgia comes under the Russian sway, neighboring Azerbaijan and
Armenia will feel the full weight of the Russian presence. Foreign
policy experts in Moscow believe that the Russian government is angry
that Azerbaijan has not allocated enough oil patches to Russian
companies and has facilitated its oil exports via Turkey instead
of Russia. With increased power in the region, Russia will act on
these concerns.
Armenian opposition openly seeks a more pro-Western and less
pro-Russian policy, pointing out that close ties with Moscow did
not improve Armenia’s abysmal living standards and did not bring
international recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh,
a breakaway province of Azerbaijan, populated mostly by Armenians.
A pro-Russian Georgia in the Collective Security Treaty Organization
of the Commonwealth of Independent States would permit Russia and
Iran to dominate Azerbaijan and Armenia, severely limiting U.S.
policy options there. Furthermore, such a development would put to
rest American ambitions in Central Asia and could cut off strategically
important Kazakhstan from western energy markets.
The Kosovo Ripple Effect
Russia has warned repeatedly that it will retaliate severely if Kosovo
is granted independence against the will of Serbia, a historic ally,
and Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the imposition of
the Kosovo criteria on separatist enclaves in the former Soviet Union,
including Transnistria (a part of Moldova), Abkhazia, South Ossetia,
and Nagorno-Karabakh. Under this policy, Russia would enforce referenda
in these territories and recognize their independence, opening the
door to their eventual incorporation in the Russian Federation. This
approach would create a dangerous precedent for the Crimea, where
the majority of the Russian-speaking population is pro-Russian;
Russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine; and the predominantly Slavic
Northern Kazakhstan.
Violations and alternations of the current borders of the former
Soviet Union could generate severe tensions in Europe and open a
Pandora’s box of territorial claims and ethnically based border
challenges there and elsewhere, such as in Iraq and Kurdistan.
Conclusion
The United States today is preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran,
and North Korea. Russia is a key player in all of these, and its
increased cooperation in these disputes would be welcome. The future of
U.S.-Russian relations and global security requires that Moscow behave
responsibly and constructively. Quickly defusing the Georgian crisis
through diplomacy would be a good place to start. Washington should
encourage the European powers, the European Union, and Turkey to become
more engaged in defusing the Georgian-Russian confrontation. Finally,
the U.S. should advise Georgia not to escalate its rhetoric on Russia
unnecessarily or needlessly antagonize its large neighbor. After
all, a peaceful and prosperous Caucasus is in Russian, Georgian,
and American interests.
Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian
Studies and International Energy Security at the Douglas and Sarah
Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn
and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The
Heritage Foundation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARAM I THANKS CHIRAC FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE STAND
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 16:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Europe is not merely part of the world or a
political unit, but a community having cultural and moral values,
based on human rights.
Thus, I am asking, where is the place of Turkey in the European
family?” said Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I in a
letter sent to French President Jacques Chirac. Aram I thanked Chirac
for his stand on the Armenian Genocide.
“With a special joy I hail the statement on the Armenian Genocide
you made in Yerevan, expressing the stand of the French people. Your
stance is worth of France and its principles in human rights,” says
the message.
Aram I also remarked that the international community should approach
the Armenian Genocide, which is unpunished until now, with full
seriousness. “I believe in dialogue between cultures, religions
and peoples. However recognition of justice should precede dialogue
and reconciliation,” Aram I said, reports the Press Chancellery of
Catholicosat in Antilias.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HET PAROOL: NEVER BEFORE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE GOT AS MUCH ATTENTION IN DUTCH POLITICS
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 18:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Never before the Armenian Genocide got as much
attention in the Dutch politics as in the previous weeks. A small
lobby with many branches in Binnenhof had unexpected success, writes
the Het Parool, a Dutch daily newspaper published in Hague.
Addie Schulte, the author of the article titled Armenian Lobby Is
Strong, thinks that “the Netherlands has spared herself a big deal
of misery.”
It started a month ago with a letter to CDA (Christian Democrat Party)
and a press release. The Federation of Armenian Organizations in
the Netherlands (FAON) and its 24 April Committee asked if candidate
Member of Parliament Ayhan Tonca distances himself from his earlier
denial of the Armenian Genocide. “Tonca were a straight denier”, says
Inge Drost, spokeswoman of the Armenian Organizations. The Armenian
lobby did not get a direct answer to the letter to CDA. But after the
attention paid by media, the matter gained momentum, which seems still
to continue,” Drost said. In fact it concerns a historical question,
and the struggle for its recognition is not political, says Mrs. Drost.
“But the policy of denial is guided by Ankara”.
“Turkey is doing a rearguard action: almost all historians recognize
the Genocide. But we cannot just pass over, because Turkey wants
to become a member of the European Union. That is unthinkable
without recognition of the Genocide,” Drost underscored, FAON told
PanARMENIAN.Net.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: TURKEY THREATENS FRANCE WITH DEPORTATION OF 70 THOUSAND ARMENIANS
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 18:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Turkey should deport 70 000 Armenian migrants if
the bill on punishment for denying the Armenian Genocide is adopted
by France Parliament,” Yashar Yakish, Turkey former Foreign Minister
and chairman of the Parliament’s Adaptation Commission to the EU
said, reported APA. Having told about the strong Armenian lobby,
numbering 400 thousand, he said 70 000 Armenians work illegally in
Turkey. “They will have problems when Turkey government sends them
back to Armenia. Armenia should realize its responsibility. It can
be said that Armenia is taking the punishment for France,” the former
Turkish FM said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MTC CONSIDERS REPORTS ON ARAB CONSORTIUM BUYING ARMENTEL RUMOR
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2006 18:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MTC Russian company is sure in its victory
in the tender for buying 90% of ArmenTel shares, owned by OTE
Greek company. The results of the tended in the opinion of a MTC
representative will be known by the weekend. “Our being a leader at the
cellular market of Russia is the ground for confidence in our victory,”
MTC Spokesperson Kirill Alyavdin told RFE/RL. He considered media
reports on Arab consortium Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
(ETISALAT)/IStithmar PJSC/Emergent Telecom Ventures (ETV) buying
ArmenTel as “rumor”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY DOESN¡¦T MEET EUROPEAN STANDARDS
A1+
[08:03 pm] 10 October, 2006
Vienna, 10 October 2006– The International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights (IHF) today published a 26-page briefing paper entitled
Turkey: A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation. The briefing
paper discusses the legal basis for Turkey¡¦s restrictive minority
polices, its interpretation by authorities, and an abundant misuse
of laws against minority members and individuals who seek to promote
minority rights and protection. It also takes up case examples of
how the rights of various ethnic, religious and linguistic minority
groups ~C{ including the Kurds, the Armenians, the Greek, the Alevis,
the Laz, the Circassians, and the Roma ~C{ are violated. In addition,
the paper addresses the situation of sexual minorities in Turkey.
¡§When discussing Turkey¡¦s possible membership in the European Union,
the manner in which Turkey treats its minorities should constitute a
central criterion in judging the country¡¦s observance of human rights.
Today, Turkey¡¦s minority protection still falls seriously short of
European standards. A policy that is characterized by the failure
to recognize the mere existence of most minorities, continued legal
prosecution of people who speak about minorities or historical
facts about them, and the reluctance to solve basic problems faced
by minorities, is unacceptable from a human rights point of view,¡¨
said Ulrich Fischer, president of the IHF.
Turkey continues to practice a policy of ¡§Turkification,¡¨ which
it adopted in the early 20th century. This policy amounts to a
form of cultural assimilation that fails to recognize individuals¡¦
rights to ethnic, national, and religious self-identification, and
aims at forced assimilation with a Turkish identity. It encompasses
several strategies whose rationale violates, in one way or another,
internationally guaranteed standards for minority rights. These
strategies still include: denying formal recognition of minority
groups; hindering their access to the media; limiting their political
participation; violating their freedom of expression (especially in
their own language); impeding their freedom of religion; refraining
from facilitating their freedom of movement and to choose their place
of residence; and practicing or tolerating various other forms of
direct and indirect discrimination.
Turkey bases its minority policies on the Treaty of Lausanne of
1923 and claims to be bound only by this treaty ~C{ which itself
is entirely obsolete in light of current international standards for
minority rights and protection. Moreover, while the treaty provides for
protection for all non-Muslim minorities, all Turkish governments in
the past more than 80 years have interpreted the treaty to guarantee
protection only to three minority groups: the Armenian Orthodox
Christians, the Greek Orthodox Christians, and the Jews. What is
more, these groups are recognized only as religious minorities ~C{
not as ethnic.
While Turkey has no laws in place specifically addressing minority
issues, an abundance of laws are misused against individuals who have
sought to promote minority rights, or even to address the existence of
minorities. These include inter alia the penal code, anti-terrorism
legislation and laws regulating the operation political parties and
other associations.
For example, addressing the issue of discrimination against minorities,
or considering that Armenians in Turkey were victims of genocide,
has been prosecuted under the penal code for ¡§inciting enmity or
hatred among the population¡¨ or ¡§denigration of Turkishness.¡¨
Police continue to interfere in demonstrations and open-air meetings
organized by Kurdish activists many of whom have stood trial for
participating in them.
Recent reforms that have lifted some language restrictions in
broadcasting and education of minority languages have been clearly
insufficient. By law, it is prohibited to use any other language but
Turkish in political activities.
Legislation regulating the operation of religious minorities treats
Muslim and non-Muslim religious communities in different ways and
therefore amounts to a serious challenge to freedom of religion
and religious tolerance. In practice, non-Muslim minorities enjoy
restricted property rights, face interference in the management of
their ¡§foundations, ¡¨ and a ban on training their own clergy. But
also Muslim minorities, such as the Alevis, for example, experience
difficulties in having their places of worship recognized because
authorities regard them as a cultural group, not religious. In
addition, reports persist that all religious minority leaders remain
under government surveillance.
While, under the Lausanne Treaty, non-Muslim religious minorities have
the right to give language education in their own language, in practice
the proper functioning of minority schools is hindered in several ways.
–Boundary_(ID_WTDF5jj9VVdYJs/7VV7YSg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress