Author: Emil Lazarian

AKI, Italy
May 24 2005

OIL: ANALYSIS – CAUCASUS PIPELINE LEAVES RUSSIA IN THE COLD AND
TURKEY TO BENEFIT

Istanbul, 23 May (AKI) – After 12 years of setbacks and disagreements
the taps are ready to turn on a 2.6 billion-dollar giant pipeline
which will pump oil from the Caspian Sea to Turkey and on to the
world’s energy markets – a process which stands to sap Moscow of some
of its influence over the energy resource-rich Caucasus region.
Billed as the “energy project of the century” the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) pipeline will start operations on Wednesday, its inauguration
symbolising an end to the bickering between nations and oil companies
that brought so many delays and changes of plan.

The 1,774 kilometre pipeline starts in Baku, the captial of
Azerbaijan, from where an ongoing territorial dispute with
neighbouring Armenia forced engineers to incorporate a northward
detour up towards Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The structure then
winds down south through Armenia and onto the Turkish Mediterranean
port of Ceyhan.

The new pipeline which starts at Baku’s Sangachal terminal and end
ups running the bulk – some 1,070 kilometres – of its length through
Turkey, avoids Russian territory altogether.

This route differs vastly from Russia’s original ambitious “northern
line” project of 1995, which linked the Caspian Sea with the Russian
Black Sea port of Novorossick, with the pipeline running through the
Chechen capital, Grozny.

That route temporarily hooked up with another pipeline, the US-backed
Baku-Tbilisi-Batumi (Georgia) “western line” but in 1999, the Grozny
link had to be abandoned following a wave of sabotage attacks by
Chechen rebels fighting Moscow’s rule. An alternative was also needed
because of the “western line’s” modest carrying capacity.

“Oil and natural gas from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, has been
channeled to markets in the West through Russia. Russia controls the
volume of exports and dictates the prices,” Nadir Devlet, an analyst
at Istanbul’s Yeditepe University, told Adnkronos International
(AKI).

“But with the BTC project, Azerbaijani oil production will no longer
depend on Russian policies,” said Devlet, adding that in the long run
the other former Soviet central Asian republics, Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan, may also link up with the project, further isolating
Moscow.

“This weakens Russia’s position in the energy-rich region. Iran on
the other hand [which some also view as another of the project’s
major losers] will not be affected by the BTC because for Tehran, the
priority is to maintain control of Turkmenistan’s natural gas exports
[for which it acts as a conduit],” Devlet explained.

The BTC pipeline was built by a 11-member consortium led by British
Petroleum (BP) which owns a 30 percent share. The next largest
stakeholder is the Azerbaijan State Oil Company, AZNEFT with 25
percent followed by the Turkish state oil company, TPAO, with 6.5
percent. Italian energy giant ENI, which has extensive drilling and
exploration rights Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan

The BTC’s carrying capacity is a staggering 50 million metric tons of
oil a year, or some 1 million barrels every day. Just to fill its
length will take five months, with the first oil expected to arrive
in Ceyhan by the end of the year.

The BTC’s inaguration comes as the oil price continues to hover above
the 50 dollar a barrel mark. With growing concerns about dwindling
global reserves expected to keep prices high, the pipeline is seen
from a market perspective as a welcome boost in supply.

But the project continues to draw criticism from skeptics who
question the wisdom of constructing a strategically important
pipeline through a region as politcally volatile as the southern
Caucasus.

Azerbaijan and Armenia’s bloody conflict over the enclave of Nagorno
Karabakh in the mid-1990s remains unresolved and cross-border clashes
still occur. Georgia’s government, installed in 2003 after the “Rose
Revolution” which toppled the country’s pro-Moscow leaders, is
grappling with break-away movements in the regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, which are backed by Russia.

Consortium members have dismissed such arguments, insisting that
their investment is a safe one.

(Vahit Bora/Pwm/Aki)

AZG Armenian Daily #093, 24/05/2005

Region

BASES OF BATUMI AND AKHALKALAK ARE OF NO STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

What’s the Meaning of Gyumri Base?

President Vladimir Putin of Russia stated yesterday that the military bases
of Georgia are not essential for Russia’s security. But, Putin says, it
would be desirable not to see bases of other states after the withdrawal of
Russian ones. According to Novosti agency, Putin said that those bases are
of no strategic importance for Russia and added, “This is not my opinion but
those from the Supreme Headquarters of Russian Armed Forces”.

Putin’s statement rises a question: if the bases of Georgia are not
important for Russia, then what’s the significance of Russian bases in
Armenia?

Johnson County Daily Journal, IN
May 23 2005

Testing awaits exchange student
By ANNIE GOELLER
Daily Journal staff writer

When a person is accustomed to waking up to mountains, getting used
to rolling plains of green grass can be difficult.

Indiana is not the first state she’s been to in the United States,
but it is definitely the flattest, said Hasmik Sukiasyan, an exchange
student with the Future Leaders Exchange program.

Sukiasyan, a junior, was one of three foreign students who came to
Whiteland Community High School this school year, she said. After an
unsuccessful attempt to join the program in 2003, she was accepted
with her second application in 2004.

Sukiasyan is from Armenia and has been staying with the Angle family
in Whiteland since August.

She has had a lot of fun in central Indiana, but she missed her
family and her home, where she could see mountains everyday, she
said.

Sukiasyan is set to return to Armenia May 30, she said.

During her stay in Indiana, Sukiasyan has volunteered with the
Whiteland Christian Church, helped with Whiteland’s tree giveaway,
taken a trip to Disney World with her school’s choir and learned what
it was like to have a little sister, she said.

Her school back home would probably be happy to know she has improved
her English, studied biology, learned more about the American culture
and taught the people of Whiteland about Armenia.

People in Whiteland probably learned more about Armenia than
Sukiasyan learned about America, according to Hugh Ross, a Whiteland
native and community activist who worked with Sukiasyan on the tree
giveaway.

Ross said he immediately liked Sukiasyan because she is an
`exceedingly charming, intelligent, cognizant girl.’

The Angle family has hosted nine foreign exchange students before but
never a high school student and never for this long, Robin Angle
said.

Other students they hosted had cars and had been on their own before,
but Sukiasyan was different. She was with them every day and
everywhere they went, including when they visited family in Kansas
for Christmas, Andrew Angle, Sukiasyan’s host dad, said.

With Sukiasyan, the Angles were able to learn about a different
country and culture. Most of their students before were from Japan,
Robin Angle said.

Andrew Angle, who plays the saxophone, said he was excited to be able
to share music with Sukiasyan, who plays piano. They even played a
duet at his family’s church in Kansas, he said.

And their 4-year-old daughter Emily got to see what it was like to
have a big sister, Andrew Angle said.

Emily will be heartbroken when Sukiasyan leaves, her mother said. The
two even have a special hug.

Tickling and playing will be the 4-year-old’s favorite memories of
Sukiasyan, Emily said.

Sukiasyan will have to jump right back into her life back home. The
17-year-old is graduating this year, but first she must pass 16 exams
to get her high school diploma in the next month. Then take her
college entrance exams later this summer, she said.

Normally, she would have to take six tests at the end of the school
year. But because she was in Whiteland, she’ll have to take exams
that she missed.

Her first exam is on the day she returns to Armenia, after four
planes and a 15-hour trip that will take her across nine time zones.

None of the classes she took in Whiteland will count in Armenia, she
said. But she is using the information she learned in her classes
here to help pass her looming high school exams.

But she still feels like she learned a lot here that will help her
prepare for college. She plans to study medicine in Armenia, she
said.

Her host family is glad to have learned an important lesson from
Sukiasyan.

`People are all the same in that they are all different,’ Andrew
Angle said.

Before she leaves, Sukiasyan still has one more thing to add to the
list of things she has done while in Indiana, he said.

Since she has never driven a car and her family does not own one,
Andrew Angle wants her to drive his riding lawnmower, he said.

BAKU CONTINUES DISCLOSING DETAILS OF WARSAW MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS

YEREVAN, MAY 21. ARMINFO. The importance of the Warsaw meeting of
the Armenian and Azeri presidents was in its direct relation to the
Karabakh peace process, the Trend news agency reports Azeri Deputy
FM Araz Azimov as saying.

The presidents discussed 7-9 elements concerning the withdrawal
of Armenian troops from “occupied” territories, the return of the
territories, security guarantees, the creation of conditions for the
return of refugees, the clearing and recovery of mined areas. They
also agreed that more delicate political issues can be settled at
later stages.

“We consider that there is clarity on all these directions and
this can be regarded as progress,” says Azimov. He says that the
withdrawal of troops from the NKR controlled territories is the gist
of Azerbaijan’s position. There are also problems of the return of
Azeris to the territories, their co-existence with Armenians and the
resolution of some possible political issues.

Azimov says that all communications including the railroad running
via the NKR controlled territories to Megri (Armenia) and Nakhichevan
must be restored. This meets the interests of not only Armenia and
Azerbaijan but also Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran. This road is
part of the regional network – so it must be restored in the framework
of the Karabakh peace process.

Azimov says that the OSCE MG co-chairs are to come to the region
before the meeting of the Azeri and Armenians FMs.-

Friday’s European Judo Championship Results

AP Worldstream
May 20, 2005

Friday’s results at the European Judo Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Men

60Kg

Bronze medal Contest 1

Ruben Houkes, Netherlands, def. Cedric Taymans, Belgium, yuko.

Bronze Medal Contest 2

Lavrentis Alexanidis, Greece, def. Nijat Shikhalizade, Azerbaijan, waza-ari.

Gold Medal Contest

Armen Nazaryan, Armenia, def. Ludwig Paischer, Austria, ippon.

Men

66Kg

Bronze Medal Contest 1

Benjamin Darbelet, France, def. David Margoshvili, Georgia, yuko.

Bronze Medal Contest 2

Shlyk Aliaksandr, Belarus, def. Marcel Trudov, Moldova, yuko.

Gold Medal Contest

Elchin Ismaylov, Azerbaijan, def. Miklos Ungvari, Hungary, ippon.

Women

48Kg

Bronze Medal Contest 1

Nese Sensoy Yildiz, Turkey, def. Ann Simons, Belgium, ippon.

Bronze Medal Contest 2

Tatiana Moskvina, Belarus, def. Maria Karagiannopoulou, Greece, waza-ari.

Gold medal Contest

Alina Alexandra Dumitru, Romania, def. Frederique Jossinet, France, ippon.

Women

52Kg

Bronze Medal Contest 1

Telma Montero, Portugal, def. Natasja van Gurp, Netherlands, ippon.

Bronze Medal Contest 2

Petra Nareks, Slovenia, def. Jaana Sundberg, Finland, ippon.

Gold Medal Contest

Ilse Heijlen, Belgium, def. Ioana-Maria Aluas Dinea, Romania, koka.

Women

57Kg

Bronze Medal Contest 1

Isabel Fernandez, Spain, def. Loulietta Boukouvala, Greece, koka.

Bronze Medal Contest 2

Sabina Filzmoser, Austria, def. Fanny Riaboff, France, waza-ari.

Gold Medal Contest

Olga Sonina, Russia, def. Sophie Cox, Great Britain, ippon.

NEWS RELEASE

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MARSHALL BAGHRAMIAN STREET 18
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 1) 52 78 71; 52 16 11; 52 46 61
FAX (+374 1) 52 08 00
E-MAIL: [email protected]

May 18, 2005

Export Control And Related Border Security

Today, May 18,2005, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, through its Export
Control and Related Border Security Assistance Program (EXBS), will
grant to the GOAM Border Guards and National Security Service, a new
state of the art checkpoint facility at the Bagratashen border with
Georgia . U.S. Ambassador John M. Evans will officially transfer
the newly built and equipped facility to Deputy Foreign Minister
Aram Kirakossian.

The U.S. Government invested over $200,000 dollars to provide the
Armenian government with a modern checkpoint facility been outfitted
with several computers and monitoring systems to track the movement
of goods and people at the busy border crossing. In the near future,
EXBS plans to grant and install radiation detection and monitoring
equipment to help guard against the illegal transport of dangerous
materials that could be used in weapons of mass destruction.

The Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance Program,
administered by the Department of State and the US Homeland Security
Agency, has been operating in Armenia since the year 2000. The EXBS
Program currently operates in more than 27 countries, and is designed
to strengthen and secure national borders by providing the latest
in interdiction equipment, and by developing the enforcement skills
of both the Border Guards and Customs Service in the fight against
worldwide terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and chemical and
biological warfare agents.

The EXBS Program for Armenia continues to conduct formal training
seminars both locally and in the United States in order to provide
Border Guards and Customs Inspectors with the advanced techniques of
investigation necessary to identify sophisticated nuclear, chemical
and biological weapons.

Over the last several years the EXBS Assistance Program has equipped
the Border Guards and Customs Services of Armenia with various types
of inspection and detection equipment: a radio-communication system,
several types of border sensors, metal detectors, vehicles, computer
equipment, cargo truck scales, and X-ray units. Last year,in addition
to the project at Bagratashen, the EXBS Assistance Program provided
construction funding to upgrade the Border Guards barracks at the
Gogavan Port of Entry, and both Border Guard and Customs training
facilities in Yerevan.

RUSSIA SHOULD KNOW PUBLIC OPINION BEFORE DEPLOYING NEW MILITARY BASES TO ARMENIA
2005-05-20 18:39

Azerbaijan News Service
May 20 2005

Official Baku is very concerned over recent statement of Yuriy
Baluyevskiy, head of the Joint Staff of Russian Federation regarding
the transfer of parts of military bases currently deploying in Georgia
to Armenia. According to Araz Azimov, deputy foreign minister of
Azerbaijan Russia made such steps previously and new actions are
unwelcome by Baku. Our concern is based on necessity of the account
of the extremely sensitive situation for region and atmospheres of
regional safety and stability, he noted. Deputy foreign minister
said that before redirection of those bases they must study what
would be public reaction. Thus, in present conditions it would be
more desirable, that the given step was not undertaken “, – he has
emphasized. Armenia is a source of destabilization in south Caucasus,
said Araz Azimov deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan during an
international conference of NATO launched in Baku. While Azerbaijan
makes important contribution for regional development of energy
resources export and Georgia introducing transit opportunities,
Armenia exporting non stability said Araz Azimov. Deputy foreign
minister said that by aggressive policy lead by Armenia that country
isolated herself from participating global regional processes and
attitude of Euraaatlantic structures to Armenia must be different that
to Azerbaijan and Georgia. He also said that, Russia’s policy in South
Caucasus not always positively affecting the regional situation. I
think that, strengthening of cooperation between NATO and Russia can
lead geopolitical changes in the region, Araz Azimov said. Delegates
from Unites States of America, Romania, Georgia, Russia and other
countries take part in the conference.

Daily Times, Pakistan
May 19 2005

VIEW: Turkey, Armenia, and the burden of memory

-Charles Tannock

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of
the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade
embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic
of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity

All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to
fade, as the anti-Japanese riots now taking place in China remind us.
The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of 1915, ordered by
the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and carried out by the
Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but one that must be
treated if Turkey’s progress toward European Union membership is to
proceed smoothly.

It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their
plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the
Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.

Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering
and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral
homelands. But many members of today’s thriving global Armenian
Diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral
historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.

It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey’s southeastern
provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed
place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in
the genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a
long history of violence between their own separatist forces and
the Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of
discrimination and forced assimilation.

Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most
progressive people in the East, but in the nineteenth century Armenia
was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit
II organised the massacres of 1895-97 but it was not until the spring
of 1915, under the cover of the World War I, that the Young Turks’
nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true
genocide.

Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in
public hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus
deprived of their leaders, and soon after were massacred. Many were
burnt alive. Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven months
of 1915, with the majority of the survivors deported to desert areas
in Syria, where they died from either starvation or disease. It is
estimated that 1.5 million people perished.

Recently, the Armenian Diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face up
to its past and recognise its historic crime. Turkey’s official line
remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated
claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat
against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during
the World War I, or as a result of disease and hunger during the
forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly
suffered similar casualties.

Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to besmirch
Turkey’s honour and impede its progress towards EU accession. There are
also understandable fears that diverging from the official line would
trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred against Germany.

For many politicians, particularly in America, there is an
unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its
record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country. But,
despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe –
ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech
and conscience – Turkey still punishes as crime against national
honour any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic
truth. Fortunately, this article of Turkey’s penal code is now due
for review and possible repeal.

Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and government,
mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally opening
the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession negotiations
are due to begin this October, has agreed to an impartial study by
academic historians, although he has reiterated his belief that the
genocide never occurred. In France, the historical occurrence of the
Armenian genocide is enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence
is regarded in the same way as Holocaust denial.

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of
the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade
embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic
of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity.

Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on
continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined
the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This
is not healthy for the development of Armenia’s democracy and weak
economy. Nor does Armenia’s continued dependence on Russia bode well
for regional co-operation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling
in neighbouring Georgia and Azerbaijan.

There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia, and the region.
The future will begin only when Turkey – like Germany in the past and
Serbia and Croatia now – repudiates its policy of denial and faces up
to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.
– DT-PS

Charles Tannock is chairman of the European Parliament’s Human Rights
Committee

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEVOTED TO THE CULTURE AND HISTORY OF
TALLISH AND THE TALLISH PEOPLE TO TAKE PLACE IN TSAGHKADSOR (ARMENIA)
ON MAY 20-22

ARKA News Agency
20 May 2005

CONFERENCES, EXHIBITIONS, SEMINARS

YEREVAN, May 20. /ARKA/. An international conference devoted to the
culture and history of Tallish and Tallish people will take place
in Tsaghkadsor (Armenia) on May 20-22. According to the Caucasus
Center for Iranian Studies, the speeches of a representative of the
Tallish National Movement (TNM) Fakhraddin Abboszod, rector of Yerevan
State University Razmik Martirosyan, Deputy Head of the Department
for Iranian Studies of Yerevan State University, Professor Garnik
Asatryan will be introduced at the conference. Besides scientists
from various countries of the world also representatives of Tallish
national movement of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of Tallish
from Iran will participate in the conference.

Tallish are Iranian language speaking people living in Azerbaijan and
Iran. The real population of Tallish makes abut a million of people
in Azerbaijan and a million in Iran. Currently, Tallish live in the
territory of South-West regions of Azerbaiojan, namely Lencoran,
(in Tallish – Lankon), Lerik, Masalin, Asarin and Yardamlin regions.

On June 21, 1993 a group of servicemen under the leadership of Colonel
Alikram Gummatov declared of establishment of Tallish Mughan Republic
on the territory of seven south -eastern regions of Azerbaijan. On
August 24, 1993 TMR was abolished and all the leaders, namely the
President, Minister of Defense and over 20 people were arrested.

The approaching conference already had impetuous feedback in the
Azerbaijani Mass Media.

The organizers of the conference are the Department of Iranian Studies
of Yerevan State University and Caucasus Center for Iranian Studies
(Yerevan).

The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 16 2005

‘Germany has the full support for Turkey’
German Ambassador Wolf-Ruthart Born: ‘We’re very happy with the new
secretary-general of the MGK’

By Nursun EREL

The German ambassador complains about the daily Vakit, asking: ‘Using
such a headline for the chancellor — “Nazi Kafas?” (Nazi Head) —
is this good journalism?’

‘The most important issue in Turkey is overcoming social differences.

All the other issues are secondary. If you ask the average Turkish
person, he will ask for a job’

German Ambassador Wolf-Ruthart Born, evaluating bilateral relations
with Turkey, said, “We are at an excellent point, Germany has full
support for Turkey towards its EU ambition.” In his interview with
TNA, Ambassador Born emphasized Germany’s uneasiness about the Vakit
daily — a Turkish daily published in Germany until recently —
and asked: “Is this good journalism? Publishing a headline on the
German chancellor saying Nazi Kafas [Nazi Head]? And publishing
such cartoons? In my opinion it is a horrible thing.” He further
claimed that the prohibition of the Turkish daily newspaper in
Germany was done on a completely legal basis. But as for dealing
with illegal publications of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) in Germany, Ambassador Born expressed reluctance: “What kind of
publications are they? If they are doing this from underground, such as
sending the publications in an envelope, it is not easy to deal with.”

Ambassador Born, answering the questions of TNA, gave his views on
a wide range of issues:

Bilateral relations

TNA: How do you see bilateral relations with Turkey?

BORN: Excellent. It is very rare for a German chancellor to visit a
country three times in less than in two years. Chancellor [Gerhard
Schroeder] repeated his full support for Turkey’s European Union
ambition, he repeated again and again that on Oct. 3, the accession
negotiations will start. This is a very clear message. You have the
backing of the Germany.

TNA: The chancellor seemed surprised at getting a critical question
about the prohibition of the Vakit daily newspaper in Germany,
didn’t he?

BORN: Not at all. Vakit was prohibited by legal procedures and for
obvious reasons. If you see what Vakit published in Germany, by the
way, what is published in Turkey, I wonder if you’d think this is
a good newspaper. I’m very tired of this newspaper, actually it is
a horrible thing, not a newspaper. But the chancellor very clearly
said that the prohibition was legal, secondly the administrative
prohibition was possible, because the question was like, ‘Even the
court didn’t prohibit the newspaper.’ In Germany, the legal system
says administrative prohibition is also possible, but you can go
to the court too, then you get the court decision. Now my guess,
and also the chancellor’s, is the court will certainly confirm
this decision. Because Vakit was [trafficking] in racist attitudes,
attacking our Jewish citizens in Germany. I wonder if they don’t have
a lawyer, to undertake legal records or to go to the court. If they
are that sure about their case, why don’t they go to the court? You
see these headlines, and cartoons showing our chancellor as a nazi?

The headline is ‘Nazi Kafas’ (Nazi Head) — is this good journalism?

You see the cartoon, his footprints are the Nazi symbol [the
swastika]. Is there any humor in that?

Turkish cartoonist

TNA: But the Turkish prime minister’s attitude towards Turkish
cartoonist Musa Kart was once severely criticized by the Germans too.

These are just cartoons.

BORN: But our chancellor did not take any action, you see. You have
enormous freedom in Germany, you have the freedom of the press but
within the limits of the law.

TNA: If it’s that easy to prohibit a publication in Germany, what about
the journals or bulletins spread by the PKK calling for violence? Why
don’t we see any action against them?

BORN: Are they officially sold, or are they circulated in envelopes?

So if they are like this [in envelopes], if they are doing this from
underground it’s not easy to deal with, you know it’s not easy to act
like the criminals act. But I have to remind you that PKK is accepted
as a terrorist organization in Germany.

TNA: How do you see the atmosphere that the Turkish press has faced
of late? It seems that the new penal code is not going to be amended
in line with the requests of the press circles. Even though it was
postponed.

BORN: We’re very closely observing the developments. Just before
you came in, I was reading the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU)
communique about it, so I don’t want to get into details now, but let’s
wait to see what the final product is, it is not the final product yet,
it will come out as I understand on June 1. The Parliament may still
have a look on it, so we will follow the developments very closely
and report about it. My journalist friends here tell me that compared
to previous situations, you’ve got more freedom than before.

The military-civilian relationship

TNA: And the military-civil relationship. Do steps still need to
be taken?

BORN: One of the suggestions by the EU was to put more civilian
elements into this relationship. So the secretary general of the
National Security Council (MGK) now is a civilian. A former ambassador
who does a very good job. All we ambassadors have regular contacts with
him and I must say we appreciate this very much. I suppose these are
the first steps and maybe in the long run, further steps might follow.

TNA: Isn’t it a problem for EU side, that the Turkish chief negotiator
still hasn’t been appointed yet?

BORN: The negotiations will start on Oct. 3 so you have enough time.

During our lunch we met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, he
mentioned in his speech himself as the chief negotiator.

The headscarf issue

TNA: The headscarf issue is always very controversial in Turkey. Do
you see this issue also as a matter for discussion in Germany?

BORN: In private life everybody is free to wear or not to wear what he
or she wants. But in public life you have many possibilities, you see
some countries do it this way and some countries do it the other way,
so there is margin for discussion, we discuss that also in Germany

TNA: So what’s the result?

BORN: The result is mixed. It went to the [German] Constitutional
Court. We have the cultural autonomy of the federated states, you
have some states that they say no problem, let them wear headscarf as
teachers. The girls, I mean the students, can do it anyway, there’s no
problem with that anyway. It’s just a matter for teaching personnel,
because it is said that they should not wear it as a visible religious
symbol.

TNA: So in most of the European countries and in Germany, in higher
education there is no such problem?

BORN: To my knowledge, no. We don’t have a Board of Higher Education
(YOK) [as in Turkey], our universities are fairly autonomous.

TNA: Do you think YOK is an obstacle to autonomy?

BORN: No comment on that.

TNA: How do you approach to the Armenian allegations and accusations
towards Turkey?

BORN: A very good idea put forth by Prime Minister Erdogan was
establishing a commission in which historians, experts will take part
from both sides and from abroad. Our chancellor said that we welcome
such an idea and even are ready to participate. So if this committee
is going to be established and if German experts are needed, we will
be there.

TNA: On the Cyprus issue, it seems a total disappointment for the
Turkish Cypriots up to now. How do you see the future?

BORN: Because you did all the right things, we [the EU] didn’t deliver
unfortunately even the financial support, because we couldn’t get
the unanimity to implement this decision. So now we hope that we
will reach this goal. But the basic hope now is the initiative to be
developed by the UN secretary-general to gather both sides’ concerns
and resume [efforts for] a solution to be negotiated, which will end
with a united Cyprus.

The poverty line

TNA: You travel quite a bit. How do you see the regional differences
in Turkey?

BORN: I saw considerable parts of the country from north to south,
from east to west. I met many, many people, I talked to them, listened
to many people. So I have a certain impression of the country. There
is a lot of unemployment and poverty in the southeastern parts
particularly. You grasp the poverty. You hear it, you talk to them,
it is fairly visible. You may discuss the Kurdish, or Armenian issues,
you may discuss many things, you may discuss the civilian-military
issues, but the most important issue in Turkey is to overcome the
social differences. All the other issues are secondary. In my mind
this is the most burning challenge. If you ask the average Turkish
person, he will ask for a job.

The average income is around $4,000 per capita, but look at how many
people are under the average. The numbers I read, that 15 million are
very poor, another 10 million are poor, so 25 million people in Turkey
are around the poverty line, which means [income of] about 100-200
euros per year. That is a big challenge. Therefore let’s deal with
the bread and butter issues.

TNA: And how about Turkish cuisine?

BORN: So many colors and smells. The various fish, they all are so
delicious, and the Turkish bread, the pides with meat or cheese. And
that delicious manti, those fresh herbs and yogurt (cacik), the
delicious big black Turkish olives, they all are mouth-watering
aren’t they? So, these are my favorite dishes, I’m afraid I eat too
much, so sometimes I feel my trousers don’t fit. But how can I stay
away? You’ve got very good wines which I can’t refuse, and I can’t
say no to a glass of good raki. So it is very nice to be here.