Author: Emil Lazarian

SAAKASHVILI’S LATEST ADDRESS COULD SET WORRYING PRECEDENT
The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 4 2006
The road to a democratic, rule of law based state is a bumpy one,
and Georgia’s roads have more than their fair share of potholes anyway.
However on August 31 President Saakashvili announced that Georgia
would be temporarily taking an unscheduled right hand turn.
In a speech broadcast live from a vineyard in Kakheti, Saakashvili
announced that “for the first and last time” the government “will
exert a bit of light racketeering” on Georgian businesses. Speaking
to some of the country’s leading business figures he asked them to
each buy at least ten tons of grapes, in order to help Kakheti’s
farmers out of the problem of lack of demand for their produce,
brought about by Russia’s continued embargo on Georgian wine.
Saakashvili is of course right when he says the wine ban is a
politically motivated tactic which aims to discredit the government
and sow social unrest in Georgia. However, by strong-arming businesses
in this way, and dressing it up in ill-conceived patriotic colours,
he is causing far more harm than good.
One of the priorities of the Saakashvili administration has been to
re-brand Georgia, to present it as a transparent business climate,
where property is respected and the state does not interfere with
private enterprise. It is to the government’s credit that they have
largely been successful in this, and have received good marks from
various international bodies. Forcing private business to buy grapes
has put a large question mark over the government’s commitment to
these principles.
Saakashvili said in no uncertain terms that “we should not make our
enemies [meaning Russia] happy…We should not let our enemies see
our wine-growers protesting,” and though undoubtedly many in Russia’s
political establishment would rub their hands in glee at the sight of
grape farmers on the streets in Tbilisi, equally important for the
government is that potential opposition voters don’t get swayed by
these possible protests in the run-up to the October 5 local elections.
Although Russia is very far from a reliable or helpful neighbour,
it surely doesn’t help matters to dismiss the idea of holding
negotiations. Saakashvili, however, thinks “there is no reason to have
talks with a predator.” By playing the Russia card so vigorously,
Saakashvili is attempting to instil a kind of ‘Blitz spirit’,
which is understandable; more worryingly though, he is playing a
with-us-or-against-us game, and thereby playing with fire.
In suggesting that the closure of the Zemo-Larsi customs checkpoint is
an attempt by Russia to encourage Armenia to “jointly plot against
Georgia” he runs the risk of inflaming ethnic tensions-exactly
what some in Russia would love to see-especially in the volatile
Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia, where the desperately
poor Armenian population are already alienated and isolated from
Georgian society.
However, the most worrying part of the address was when the president
accused the opposition, and the media which disseminate opposition
statements as being “allies of Russia.”
“Parties that say that the Georgian government has closed the Russian
market to Georgian peasants are allies of Russia…as are media sources
that disseminate this information. Those media sources that will
start propagating the idea that there is a problem with the harvest
because the government made mistakes, will be [Russia’s allies],”
said Saakashvili, as quoted by online news source civil.ge.
This attempt to portray the opposition as traitors is especially
worrying in light of the much discussed possible law on ‘political
extremism’ which, according to some ruling party MPs, would outlaw
statements and protests that could be deemed as against state
interests. Although it was not the Georgian government’s fault that
the Russian market was closed, it does not make one an ally of Russia
to point out that mistakes have been made which probably made it
harder for Georgia to re-enter that market. Defence Minister Irakli
Okruashvili’s now infamous statement that “even faeces will sell in
Russia” is one such mistake.
The government should not be afraid of criticism, or that criticism
being reported by the media. Diverting from the path of free debate
can only harm Georgia. Also, the government should realise that, by
forcing businesses to help it out of a temporary crisis it is only
creating problems for itself down the road.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AMB. EVANS TO VISIT NATIONAL FILM LIBRARY
AZG Armenian Daily
05/09/2006
Thanks to the project of protecting cultural values financed by the US
government, the National Film Library of Armenia has got a storehouse
with necessary air conditioning for more than 270.000 Armenian films,
videotapes and photographs. Today, US ambassador John Evans will speak
to a press conference at the Film Library after which the journalists
will take a time to get familiarized with the storehouse.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY TO BUILD HOUSES
Panorama.am
18:50 04/09/06
Twenty-four families will receive accommodation in Gavar in the
framework of construction program “We will construct with faith”
under the name of Garegin B, Catholicos of All-Armenians. Another 12
houses will be ready in different regions of Armenia by the end of
2006. Habitat for Humanity, an international organization in Armenia,
conducts long-term credit program without interest rates since the
year 2000. In April of the running year, an agreement was reached
with the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) according to which the church
expressed readiness to support the program.
“A year ago, we received an invitation form Habitat to take part in
a housing program in Detroit, USA. We watched how enthusiastically
the works were conducted and saw the happiness of families which
received the houses. Then, we received an invitation to support a
similar program in Armenia,” Garegin B said.
Each house costs $6400. The owners have to pay it back in 20 years
without interest rates. “We were not suggested a credit, in fact,
because we do not pay interest rates. Today, monthly apartment rent
is $80 and I pay only 9100 Armenian drams per month (about $23)
in the course of 20 years,” a happy owner of a flat says.
Next year, Habitat will commission 100 houses or flats with the
support of AAC. By the year of 2011, the number of construction sites
is going to reach 1710.
According to Habitat statistics, 5% of Armenian families have no
residence and 40% live in temporary flats.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VARTAN OSKANIAN TO DISCUSS WITH SCIENTISTS ISSUES RELATING TO ARMENIA-DIASPORA COMING CONFERENCE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 04 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s meeting with representatives of
the RA National Academy of Sciences and of the scientific-research
institutions functioning in its system will take place on September
4 at the academy conference hall. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the
RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department, the theme
of the meeting is the Armenia-Diaspora conference to be held on
September 18-20.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BEST SOVIET TRADITIONS CONTINUE
Lragir.am
04 Sept 06
This is the impression of the speech of the counsel for prosecution
Janna Kotikyan in the trial of Arman Babajanyan, the Editor-in-Chief
of the Times Yerevan.
In the first instance court of Armenia, there is one justice on the
bench, whereas Ms. Kotikyan addressed “justices”, as it was accepted
in good old times, about 20 years ago. In the Republic of Armenia the
counsel for prosecution cannot prompt or propose the justice on the
sentence, whereas Ms. Kotikyan proposed sentencing Arman Babajanyan
to one year of imprisonment for avoiding military service and 4
years for forging documents, all in all, sentence him to 4.5 years
of imprisonment.
Another “Soviet manifestation”. Janna Kotikyan started her speech with
the words, “the trial was compliant with all the rules of trial.” But
is it one of the rules of the trial to be 30 minutes late for the
trial, like Janna Kotikyan did? Of course, in the Soviet years we had
seen a district attorney be more powerful than the judge. The counsel
for prosecution thinks the accusations for avoiding military service
and forging documents are grounded.
Whereas, Arman Babajanyan’s attorney thinks that the accusations for
stealing and forging documents are groundless. Vahe Abovyan and Armine
Arakelyan broke relations with Arman in 2002. Hence, the documents,
namely the certificate of marriage and the birth certificates should
have been stolen before 2002, whereas in 2005 the birth certificate
was used to take the child to school. Moreover, since 2002 they
had not announced that their documents could have been stolen from
their house or forged. Armine Arakelyan stated this only during the
interrogation. “The accusations against Arman Babajanyan are based
on suppositions, and the doubts are interpreted in favor of the
defendant,” stated Robert Grigoryan.
The counsel for prosecution announced that it is legal to sue a person
on the grounds of an anonymous letter, and the counsel for defense
listed a number of cases provided by the NKR laws when the anonymous
letter cannot be grounds for suing.
Arman Babajanyan confessed avoiding military service. His attorney
said, “I felt protected when Arman Babajanyan avoided military service,
and if he is imprisoned, I will not feel more protected. He repents
and he is his most rigid judge. He can be corrected without insulation
from the society.” Robert Grigoryan proposed dismissing the accusation
for forgery and sentence Arman Babajanyan to a punishment other than
imprisonment for avoiding military service. “Instead of sustaining
him at the expense of the government he could be helpful to the state.”
In the next sitting of the court Arman Babajanyan will make his final
speech and only the verdict of Justice Mnatsakan Martirosyan will
remain to hear.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LPUTYAN WAS DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL
A1+
[04:06 pm] 04 September, 2006
Armenian renowned chess grand master Smbat Lputyan was discharged
from hospital and will continue the treatment at home. About a week
ago Lputyan was caught in a car accident and was taken to hospital.
According to the official version, on August 26 at about 05:00
p.m. S. Hayrapetyan’s “Moskvich” crashed into the “Honda” driven by
Smbat Lputyan. As a result of the accident Smbat and Susanna Lputyans,
Gayane Zh. Lputyan and Hripsime S. Lputyan were taken to hospital.
A criminal case was initiated in connection with the accident.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US CONGRESSMEN CONGRATULATE NKR ON THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE
ArmRadio.am
04.09.2006 17:45
The flow of congratulations on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of
declaration of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic continues. The message of
US Congressmen Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg says, in particular,
“On September 2, 1991 the people of Nagorno Karabakh expressed its will
to have own independent state. With this declaration the heroic people
of Artsakh expressed its decision to live free. You defended your right
of living free though successfully resisting the military aggression
of Azerbaijan. Many courageous sons and daughters of your nation
sacrificed their lives for the victory of liberty on Artsakhi land.
During the past 15 years the Nagorno Karabakh Republic proved its
commitment to the values of freedom, peace, democracy and human
rights defense.
We have always been with you in your struggle for independence and we
continue to support you in your fair aspiration to reach international
recognition.
We believe that in the future we’ll continue supporting the
reinforcement of NKR security and development and we are looking
forward to the day when the flag of Artsakh will proudly flutter in
the world as a sign of fulfillment of dreams.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THEY KILL PEOPLE IN MOVIES TOO
A1+
[03:08 pm] 04 September, 2006
“Public order is preserved better in Armenia than in a number of
countries which are a lighthouse for Armenia in this respect”, said
Vladimir Pryakhin, the head of the OSCE Yerevan office in an interview
with “A1+”.
How can we say that human rights are protected in Armenia if innocent
people become victims of criminal activities? Asked this question,
Vladimir Pryakhin notes that he is sorry for that, “but not a single
country is insured against such criminal activities, even the most
developed ones”.
RA Ombudsman Armen Haroutyunyan is of the same opinion. Of course
he does not think that the protection of human rights is at the same
level in Armenia as in developed countries. Nevertheless, according
to him, even the citizens of Western countries become victims of
criminal activities.
“Don’t you see what they show in movies?” Armen Haroutyunyan stated.
And still, there is one thing Armen Haroutyunyan is convinced in:
there is still much to be done in the sphere of the protection of
human rights in Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BACK CORRIDORS: ROUND 2 FOR THE MARCH 2003 MOTION
by Ayla Ganioglu
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 4 2006
Opinions
Lebanon troop deployment motion, set to start tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.,
will be round two for the March 1, 2003 motion on sending troops
to Iraq.
The Bush administration, which got a negative response to the 2003
motion, must be expecting a positive response this time around.
Before it came to power, the ruling Justice and Development (AK)
Party promised the U.S., behind closed doors, to support its Iraq
operation. But this promise turned out to be empty, as around 100
deputies from the AK Party voted against the motion that would have
allowed the U.S. to open a front on Turkish soil for its Iraq invasion.
The rejection of the motion strained Turkish-U.S. relations.
The motion regarding Turkey’s contribution to the international
peacekeeping force to be deployed in Lebanon, following Israeli attacks
in July and last month’s cease-fire, will be voted on tomorrow. This
vote will be a critical turning point for Turkish-U.S. relations.
This vote, in fact, seems to be significant for relations between
the AK Party and Bush administration, rather than for U.S.-Turkish
relations. Speculations in the backrooms indicate that if Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants a successful visit to the U.S. in
October, the motion should be passed. The speculations also indicate
that Erdogan’s eagerness to send Turkish troops to Lebanon since
the very beginning of the debates is an attempt to mend the damaged
relations with the U.S. following the 2003 resolution.
While these debates are going on behind closed doors, Democratic Left
Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer was the first figure to speak openly
on the issue. “The AK Party took power having promised to serve the
interests of global forces,” said Sezer. “It considers the support
of these forces essential for its staying in power. In this regard,
the AK Party wants to send troops to Lebanon to get foreign support
so it can stay in power.”
The second round of the March 2003 motion will take place tomorrow. If
the motion on Lebanon is passed, Turkey will open its bases and ports
to foreign armed forces, although it didn’t do that three years
ago. The most important part of the motion seems to be this. Will
the AK Party government be able to block the use of these bases and
ports for other countries (maybe Iran and Syria) as well in the future?
Armenians’ approach
Before the arrival of Turkish troops, AK Party Sakarya Deputy Suleyman
Gunduz traveled to Lebanon. Going there as a member of the “Ground
Doctors group” following the declaration of the cease-fire, Gunduz
tried to assess its problems regarding health and made promises to send
medicine and other medical supplies. Following his arrival in Turkey,
Gunduz started to meet with the Health Ministry and civil groups,
trying to obtain these supplies.
Gunduz said that around 1 million internally displaced people are in
public buildings and face grave health problems. He also said that
epidemics may break out in the country and there are very serious
problems in importing medicines and medical supplies. Gunduz pointed
to the problems in finding a number of medicines and particularly
antibiotics.
In northern Beirut, Gunduz came across Turkish-speaking
Armenians. After having a close dialogue with these Armenians, most
of whom migrated there from Turkey, Gunduz argued that the Armenians
won’t oppose Turkish troops’ taking part in the international
peacekeeping force.
“The area that I stayed in was predominantly populated by Armenians,”
said Gunduz. “None of them objected to us. Around 90 percent of the
Armenians that I spoke to were immigrants from Turkey. The area is
also one where the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA – an Armenian terrorist group that killed a number of Turkish
diplomats) originated from.
While I was there, the issue of Turkey’s sending troops to Lebanon
wasn’t certain yet. But I think the Armenians there won’t oppose the
Turkish troops.”
News agencies reported last week that a group of Armenians demonstrated
against Turkish troops in Beirut, though not very many.
However, Gunduz is making plans to improve the dialogue he established
with Lebanese Armenians in the coming years. Arguing that there are
thousands of people in Turkey who came from Armenia to work, Gunduz
said that he will make a project regarding diaspora Armenians if he is
able to stay in politics following the next elections. “I will propose
developing friendship between Turkey and diaspora Armenians and not
passing on a historical mistake to the generations to come,” said
Gunduz. “I will also suggest that the problem be resolved within the
citizenship framework.” Under Gunduz’s proposal, diaspora Armenians
who have migrated from Turkey will be given the chance to become
Turkish citizens.
Turkish friend of PKK envoy
One of the figures who views with suspicion the new model of fighting
terrorism through the U.S and Turkey’s appointing Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) envoys is CHP deputy head and former diplomat Onur Oymen.
Oymen argues that the aim of appointing envoys is a political
solution. “The U.S. doesn’t want the elimination of PKK through the
full use of force,” said Oymen. “It isn’t moving militarily against the
PKK and doesn’t want Turkey to do that. If there had been a military
fight, a liaison officer would be appointed. But an envoy seeks a
political solution. It doesn’t matter is the envoy is a military
man. If the military man appointed is retired, his task is political.”
Former Gen. Joseph Ralston, the U.S.-appointed PKK envoy, is a figure
Oymen knows very well.
“Ralston is my friend,” Oymen said. “While I was serving as the
permanent representative to NATO (1997-2002), he was the Supreme
Allied commander Europe. He’s a very good soldier. He used to say that
he has warm feeling for Turkey. But this is one thing, and being an
envoy is another.”
Oymen argued that it’s not important that the U.S. administration
announced Ralston won’t meet with the terrorist group. He said that in
diplomacy this is called indirect or proxy negotiation. According to
Oymen, the process will unfold as follows: “Ralston won’t travel
to Mt. Kandil in northern Iraq to meet with PKK leader Murat
Karayilan. Ralston will meet with the Iraqi government. The Iraqi
government will talk to [Kurdish region leader Massoud] Barzani,
and Barzani will communicate the demands to the PKK. This is called
proxy negotiation. The PKK will be told to lay down its arms and
a threatening message will be sent. The PKK, meanwhile, will draw
up a list of demands, including a general amnesty and political
participation. The U.S. will put pressure on Turkey to accept the
PKK’s demands.”
Oymen argued that if Turkey resists the PKK demands, the U.S. will
say in the end that they did their best but Turkey didn’t help at all.
“So the U.S. will protect itself from blame,” Oymen said.
As for the other option, the deputy said, “If Turkey accepts these
demands, we can’t know what the consequences will be.”
As an example of the model of political efforts against terrorism,
Oymen referred to the U.S.
appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as an envoy for the
negotiations between the IRA and the British government.
Oymen pointed to how the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claimed
responsibility for the latest terrorist attacks in southern Turkish
tourist resorts, arguing that reaching an agreement with the PKK
won’t end terrorism.
“They will say that a splinter group established the TAK, ending the
PKK’s responsibility for terrorist attacks,” Oymen argued. “On the
one hand, Turkey will make concessions to the PKK to end terrorism,
and on the other, terrorism will continue under different names.”
Key words
In an interview with daily Sabah, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
was very angered by a question on an alleged secret plan for the
elimination of PKK forces, and said that asking such a question
amounted to treason.
Erdogan’s attitude indicated that the government will stay silent about
the model-in-preparation of fighting terrorism through envoys. But
some key words will signal the stage that the new model is here. The
most important key word, in this regard, is cease-fire.
If the terrorist PKK declares a cease-fire, this will mean that the
first stage in the talks through envoys was successfully completed. The
PKK cease-fire will likely be for a limited time, with set dates.
If the terrorist group declares a cease-fire for an indefinite period,
that means the process is about to be concluded. We should assume
that the AK Party won’t remain silent anymore in this case.
If the government passes a secret or open amnesty law in the coming
months, that means the talks are at a critical stage, which can be
considered the most difficult stage for the government.
The amnesty model suggested back in 1993 by then President Turgut
Ozal to Ahmet Turk, now Democratic Society Party (DTP) head, was very
comprehensive. According to Turk, Ozal suggested that the terrorist
group members submit a petition including the crimes they committed
in a sealed envelope and these petitions would be destroyed if they
didn’t commit any more crimes in the next five years.
Right now the AK Party government sees an amnesty as impossible. Under
the “secret plan” Sabah published, the AK Party doesn’t consider an
amnesty possible for the time being but will allow the administrative
ranks of the terrorist group to silently return to Turkey. These
administrators will then go to northern countries.
We’ll see whether the key words will work this time.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO SEEK INTL RECOGNITION – PRESIDENT
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
September 2, 2006 Saturday 8:36 PM MSK
Nagorno-Karabakh has a “supertask” of achieving international
recognition for its de facto independence, the president of the
Armenian-speaking enclave, which is marking the 15th anniversary of
its breaking away from Azerbaijan, announced on Saturday.
“Independence does not in any way mean that all the difficulties have
been overcome. Nagorno-Karabakh faces two supertasks: first of all,
to achieve peace, and, in this context, an agreement with Azerbaijan on
the settlement of the conflict; and, secondly, to achieve international
recognition for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. I believe that we are
in a position to carry out both tasks,” Arkady Gukasian told reporters
in the regional capital Stepanakert.
“We have achieved our goal of winning the war, we have built and are
building up a state. We have realized that we have not been wrong
because the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was the
only salvation for Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.
He also said “there are no Nostradamuses to give an exact answer to
the question whether there will be a war or not” but argued there
were no political, economic or psychological reasons for war today.
“I am absolutely sure that the resumption of hostilities would not
be in the interests of the international community today,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress