Author: Emil Lazarian

Turkish Daily News
Oct 7 2006
Diplomacy Newsline
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Report: Turkish-Dutch MP admits existence of ‘genocide’:
ANK – Turkish Daily News
As a heated debate on the pressure that is being applied by the two
largest political parties in the Netherlands on candidates of Turkish
origin concerning an alleged Armenian genocide is still on the
agenda, a member of the Dutch parliament of Turkish origin has
reportedly admitted the existence of “genocide.”
While the public, government figures and diplomats in Turkey have
expressed disappointment and anger over the fact that three
Turkish-Dutch candidates for parliament were bumped off the electoral
lists for refusing to acknowledge the alleged Armenian genocide,
Nebahat Albayrak of the Labor Party, said in an interview she
“accepted that a genocide took place,” the CNN-Turk’s Web site
reported yesterday.
“But I’m also of the opinion that the way this took place should
also be researched,” she was quoted as saying by the channel.
The two largest Dutch political parties recently removed the names
of ethnic Turkish parliamentary candidates from a candidate list
after they refused to acknowledge that the killings of Armenians
during World War I amounted to genocide, despite the fact that
whether or not the issue could correctly be termed “genocide” remains
a matter of academic and political debate.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Daily News
Oct 7 2006
Week of building bridges with Europe
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Three European capitals — Brussels, Paris and Berlin — talked about
Turkey this week. With the anniversary of the start of talks with the
European Union, Turkey was on the agenda for an entire week with its
politics, arts, and hopes for the future.
Gila Benmayor
Three European capitals — Brussels, Paris and Berlin — talked
about Turkey this week. With the anniversary of the start of talks
with the European Union, Turkey was on the agenda for an entire week
with its politics, arts, and hopes for the future. I could only
participate in the Brussels leg of the “Turkey@Europe” program
organized by the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association
(TUSÝAD).
The week of “conquering Europe,” led by TUSÝAD’s honorary president
Bulent Eczacýbaþý, its executive board director Omer Sabancý and
introduction committee president Umit Boyner seems to have reached
its goal, if one looks at the picture in Brussels.
The interest shown in the meeting, which took place in the European
Policy Center Hall, was so high that some of the audience could not
be seated.
And who attended that meeting?
Former British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, European Parliament
member and former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, the European
Commission’s Enlargement Director Michael Leigh, European Parliament
member Joost Lagendijk and Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullatif Þener, among others.
Foreign speakers were particularly sensitive about two issues:
Article 301 and Cyprus.
Lagendijk, who’s set to marry a Turkish girl in the near future,
underlined double standards concerning this article in two European
countries.
One of these double standards is the proposal the French Parliament
will vote on Oct. 12, which would criminalize denying claims of an
Armenian genocide. The other one is the pressure applied on Dutch
parliamentary candidates of Turkish origin to force them to accept
Armenian genocide allegations.
According to Lagendijk, both France and the Netherlands’ attitude
is a violation of freedom of expression.
Another surprise which came in that meeting was State Minister
Þener’s speech delivered in “French.”
The minister, who read out the text in front of him quite well,
surprised those in the meeting hall.
However, it soon became apparent that the minister — who learned
French in his student years and even wrote a doctoral thesis in
French — can read that language very well but cannot speak it
spontaneously.
Þener, who stumbled when addressed by Enlargement Director Leigh in
French, clearly demonstrated the weakness of our educational system
in teaching foreign languages.
Indeed, foreign languages are the most important tool for building
a bridge to Europe.
The other instrument is undoubtedly music. I am writing so under
the influence of that spectacular night I witnessed in Brussels.
The final activity of the Turkey@Europe program was a concert given
by the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra with director Gurer
Aykal at Bozar Palace, which hosted the Female Sultans exhibition
from Turkey a couple of years ago.
The orchestra of the Borusan Group — the main sponsor of the
International Istanbul Music Festival for 10 years — played pieces
from Schubert, Mozart and Ferit Tuzun.
Some 1,200 guests were present at Bozar Palace that night. Judging
by the applause, the audience had an unforgettable night.
The final piece chosen by director Aykal was extremely significant:
“Habudiyara,” composed by Ferit Tuzun.
Like I say, if language is one way to build bridges, music is the
other.
The state of German and Austrian support:
The European Stability Initiative (ESI) announced the results of a
survey on Turkish membership shortly before German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s visit to Turkey.
According to the results, 81 percent of Austrians and 69 percent of
Germans oppose Turkish membership.
Germans who earlier opposed Turkish membership on the basis of
cultural differences are now citing Islam and honor killings as the
bases of their objection.
However, according to ESI’s findings, some among the social
democrats of Austria are positive about Turkish membership, such as
Vienna’s mayor and the governor of Salzburg.
However, nobody from Turkey has contacted these people
Romania and Bulgaria, which are to join the club in 2007, are
organizing campaigns emphasizing the cultural wealth of their
countries, but Turkey has done nothing.
We are simply sitting and making no effort.
We can’t win the minds and hearts of Europeans with only TUSÝAD’s
conscientious initiatives.
–Boundary_(ID_4WF/JUqorohxOC3vq0il8 A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Lucky Not to Have Oil and Gas
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.10.2006 18:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is lucky not to have oil and gas, U.S. expert
Richard Giragossian said in Yerevan. In his words, the states with big
supply of energy resources are totalitarian and poor as a rule. “The
only exception is Norway, which discovered oil after establishing a
well formed political system and sustainable economy. So, from this
viewpoint Azerbaijan has a gloomy outlook,” he said.
At the same time the U.S. expert remarked that in the 21st century
fiber-optic cable will be more important than oil pipelines. “The
future of the world is high technologies and IT development. The
problems of cyber security are being put in the forefront,”
Giragossian said.
He also remarked that the political and commercial benefit from
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline fully depends on the Kazakh
oil. Presently the oil-bearing zone of the Persian Gulf is the most
important strategic task for the U.S. Caspian region is a secondary
and not a very important task. According to the expert, under such
circumstances Azerbaijan will move towards East and Central Asia
rather then towards Europe.
Georgia moves in the opposite direction, that is towards Europe. Thus,
Armenia may remain alone, in the role of Russia’s only ally, what can
jeopardize the national security. Armenia is most likely to face the
West,’ the expert said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH-ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS AWARDED NORWEGIAN PRIZE
Armenpress
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS: The editor of a Turkish-Armenian
magazine was Wednesday awarded the Norwegian Bjornson prize, worth
100,000 kroner (15,200 dollars), for highlighting massacres of the
Armenian minority by Ottoman Turks in 1915, DPA reported.
Agos’ editor Hrant Dink has frequently written on the subject that
continues to generate controversy in Turkey today, and has had
frequent run-ins with Turkish authorities. The prize will be handed
out at a November 24 ceremony in the Norwegian west coast city Molde,
the Norwegian news agency NTB reported.
The prize is awarded by the Bjornson Academy, established in 2003 to
protect freedom of expression.
Previous winners were Vivian Fouad and Samir Morcos from Egypt for
their efforts to promote ties between Muslims and Christians, and
Esma Redzepova from Macedonia who has championed the rights of the
Roma people.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU “Privileged Partnership” Arranged for Turkey?
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2006 13:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Angela Merkel is leaving for Turkey amid a crisis
of relations of that country with the EU. Ankara considers the German
Chancellor as a reliable partner and expect positive signals. European
Commission is concerned with insufficient level of freedom of
expression in the country. Article 301 of the Criminal Code of the
country provides for imprisonment up to 3 years of insulting Turkey
and its state institutions. Thus, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn urged Turkey to reforms.
Angela Merkel is expected to touch upon the issue on criticism that
aroused in Turkey owing to Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on Islam,
Reuters reports. Ankara’s response doubted its role as a “bridge”
between Europe and the Islamic world.
Turkey’s stand over the Cyprus also causes EU pretension. Turkey has to
open air and sea routes with Cyprus, as stipulated by the EU Treaty on
Customs Union. Otherwise talks on EU accession may be suspended. Merkel
has an non-compromising position regarding EU demands towards Turkey
to recognize Cyprus. As the Chancellor’s Department stated October 4,
“there will be no indulgence in terms of EU accession for Turkey.”
Angela Merkel is one of those, who do not believe Turkey may become a
full EU member. She has a concept of “privileged partnership”, i.e. a
level of cooperation, which is already achieved. Representatives of
the conservative camp of Germany have even harsher demands, demanding
ceasing EU talks with Turkey, reports Deutsche Welle.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

POLICE ARREST MAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING AVIASERVICE HEAD
Armenpress
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Armenian police have arrested a man,
Robert Sarkisian, who is charged with killing Arthur Khalatian, head
of Aviaservice company, whose body was found in a car in Zar village
of Kotayk province on September 30.
The arrested man had an accomplice, Henrik Hovnikian, who is on the
run. The police said Robert Sarkisian, a resident of Byureghavan town,
and the second man who is his cousin, plotted and killed Khalatian
to seize his apartment in downtown Yerevan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARGENTINA MAY PASS LAW TO DESIGNATE APRIL 24 AS GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY
Armenpress
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to Argentina,
Vladimir Karmirshalian, told Armenpress that this Latin American
nation may pass a law to designate April 24 as the official Armenian
Genocide Remembrance Day.
The ambassador said the local Armenian community is working hard to
push for such a law. He said two major Argentinean states of Buenos
Aires and Cordoba have passed laws designating April 24 as the Day
of Armenian Genocide Remembrance.
These state laws make teaching genocide at schools an obligatory
subject of curriculum. The town of Buenos Aires has also passed a law
designating April 24 as the Day of Remembrance of Armenian Genocide.
Argentina’s parliament has passed several resolutions since 1985
condemning the Armenian genocide and demanding that Turkey acknowledges
this crime. The Senate of Argentina passed a harsh resolution in 2005
July demanding that Turkey admits this crime, but Argentine has passed
no law to recognize the Armenian genocide officially.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #190, 06/10/2006
Visit
TRAIAN BASESCU: HISTORY IS FOR BOOKS ONLY
“We’ll not do anything affecting our neutrality on the Black Sea in
our relations with all countries of the Black Sea,” Traian Basescu,
president of Romania, stated yesterday at the meeting with students
of the Yerevan State University while answering a question whether
Romania is going to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Basescu is sure that history and historic disputes should be
kept in the books and in the peoples’ memory but not put it as a
precondition for the future. In his opinion, the main criterion on
the path of joining the EU and NATO should be friendly relations with
neighbors. “Historical disputes should not be transferred to the EU
or NATO,” he said.
The Romanian president presented to the students his country’s history
of the last decade, inner political developments and the road of
European integration. By the end of the meeting, rector of YSU Aram
Simonian awarded Mr. Basescu a diploma of emeritus doctor of YSU,
a gilded medal and expressed hope that the president’s visit will
spur further development of Armenian-Romanian relations.
Yesterday, the Romanian president also visited Yerevan Brandy Factory
where following the tradition he left his signature on the oak barrel
of peace that was seperated in 1994 on occasion of cease-fire in
Nagorno Karabkh war. Afterwards, he received a 400-liter barrel of
brandy as a gift.
By Tamar Minasian and Aghavni Harutyunian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #190, 06/10/2006
Turkey
TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPRESSES REGRET ABOUT STATEMENTS MADE BY FRENCH PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC
In the course of his visit to Armenia, French president Jacques Chirac
made statements in which he demanded recognition of the Armenian
genocide from Turkey. He put forward the issue of recognition of the
Armenian genocide as a precondition for Turkey for becoming a EU member
state. These statements caused indignation of the Turkish circles.
Generally, EU structures didn’t give any positive evaluation to these
statements, either. Only the central French newspapers supported
President Chirac in his statements, emphasizing that he broke taboos.
Anyway, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also represented its response
to the above statements.
According to the pro-governmental “Yeni-Sharaf,” the Turkish Foreign
Ministry expressed regret that the French President made pro-Armenian
statements in the course of his visit to Armenia. At the same time,
the foreign ministry expressed bewilderment that the recognition of the
genocide is no criteria for becoming an EU member state. They stated
that being well aware of that fact, Chirac created the illusion that
the claims of the Armenians are EU criteria and caused the indignation
of the Turkish people.
By Hakob Chakrian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEPUTY CURSES CORRUPT AUTHORITIES
Panorama.am
15:20 05/10/06
Convention on Corruption raised a clamor in the parliament giving
chance to the opposition to criticize corrupt authorities. The
convention is signed in New York on October 31, 2003. Independent
deputy Tatul Manaseryan has been trying since yesterday to clarify
why Armenia does not call World Bank (WB) to responsibility for its
report which says that corruption is growing in Armenia especially
in customs. “We must be persistent and punish the corrupt officials
or else we must call for responsibility those institutes that make
discrediting statements,” Manaseryan said. The deputy informed his
colleagues that WB has assigned its units to name officials who are
involved in bribery or give bribes. Manaseryan hoped that Armenian
officials will also be named.
The convention proposes publicity and transparency in the fight
against corruption. It also obliged those countries that ratify it
to set up expert groups that will fight against corruption.
United Working Party (UWP) will vote for the convention because the
party leaders say it is compatible with the party directives. UWP
leader, Gurgen Arsenyan, even cursed those officials who are engaged in
corruption wishing them not to enjoy the property they have collected
through bribery.
Justice block secretary, Grigor Harutunyan, believes that the
convention is under discussion at the parliament now only because of
elections. Vahan Hovhannisyan, vice speaker, tried to take the blame
from the executive saying it was the obligation of the parliament
to ratify it. “If we were not ready for that, let’s confess it,”
also saying many other countries have not ratified it yet. Justice
Minister David Harutunyan also said ratification is a long process.
If the parliament ratifies the convention and after 30 days it
comes into effect, several legislative amendments are expected. Time
will show how the government will launch the actual fight against
corruption. /Panorama.am/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress