Author: Emil Lazarian

RECONCILIATION MARCH IN TBILISI

Azg
4 March 05

A procession aimed at removing discords aroused in connection with
Armenian Surb Astvatsatsin church in Norashen was held in Tbilisi
yesterday.

Mari Mikoyan, head of Nor Serund NGO in Tbilisi, told daily Azg in a
telephoned interview that the NGO she spearheads and the National
Union of Georgia’s Youth Organizations organized a reconciliation
march to help Armenian and Georgian churches overcome problems they
face.

Few dozens of Armenians and Georgians started the march from St Zion
Georgian church, halted at Norashen Armenian church and then moved to
Surb Gevorg church where they were welcomed by the head of Georgia’s
Armenian diocese, bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian and father Abgar.

“The slogan we, the Armenian and Georgian young people, have chosen is
this: â=80=98 We live in Georgia and have no discords'”, Mari Mikoyan
said addingthat both churches blessed the procession participants.

“We want to prove that Armenians and Georgians have no
disagreements. This action was meant to explain that the issue around
Norashen should be solvedby the two churches and we, the NGOs, are
only mediators and are wishing to see a peaceful settlement”, Mikoyan
said.

The church of Norashen first appeared in the limelight in 1989 when
Georgia’s chauvinistic leader, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and Ilya II
Catholicos set a goal to take hold of the church together with other
Armenian, Russian and Greek churches. The church served as a library
during the soviet rule. The books were taken out in 1995 and Georgian
priest, Tariel, started “repair” and “georgization” of the church. The
Armenians of Georgia and the late head ofthe Armenian diocese, Gevorg
Seraydarian, expressed their resentment to ex-president Eduard
Shevardnadze, Tbilisi mayor Niko Kelishvili and Georgian Catholicos
Ilya II.

The official Yerevan also intervened. Armenian embassy to Georgia sent
a note to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The ruckus over Norashen
church stopped for over 10 years as a result of various negotiations.

By Tatoul Hakobian

ARKA News Agency
March 3 2005

Armenian President, CIS Executive Committee’s Chair discussing CIS
structures reformation issues

RA Government changes the workday of March 7 for March 5

Representatives of some Armenian political parties discussing
preparation for marking 90th anniversary of Armenian genocide

RA NA Speaker receives the experts of the Council of Europe’s Venice
Commission and ODIHR/OSCE

A campaign of protest of salesmen at trade fairs held today at the
governmental building of Armenia

Representatives of the council of europe’s venice commission and the
organisation for security and cooperation in Europe’s Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights arrived in Yerevan for a
two-day visit

RA Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
CIS discuss the issue of improving the efficiency of work of the CIS

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, CIS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE’S CHAIR DISCUSSING CIS
STRUCTURES REFORMATION ISSUES

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
received Thursday the CIS Executive Committee’s Chair Vladimir
Rushaylo. The main topic of the negotiations was the process of
implementation of reforms in the CIS structures, as Presidential
Press Service told ARKA. Rushaylo also informed Armenian President
about preparations for CIS member countries’ summits planned for 2005
and discussed related issues with him. M.V. -0–

*********************************************************************

RA GOVERNMENT CHANGES THE WORKDAY OF MARCH 7 FOR MARCH 5

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. In regard with the International Women’s
Day celebrated on March 8, RA Government changed the workday of March
7 for March 5, according to RA Government’s Press Service. A.H. – 0–

*********************************************************************

REPRESENTATIVES OF SOME ARMENIAN POLITICAL PARTIES DISCUSSING
PREPARATION FOR MARKING 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. Ramkavar-Azatakan, Social Democratic and
Dashaktsutyun parties’ representatives discussed work on preparation
events to mark 90th anniversary of Armenian genocide. After approving
the program of events, the meeting participants discussed political
situation in Lebanon, as Dashnaktsutyun party told ARKA. Summarizing
the meeting, the representatives of the three political parties came
up with a statement condemning recent assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Raphik Al Hariri. M.V. -0–

*********************************************************************

RA NA SPEAKER RECEIVES THE EXPERTS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S VENICE
COMMISSION AND ODIHR/OSCE

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. RA NA Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan received
the experts of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR/OSCE), who are in
Yerevan to discuss the expert conclusion on the Election Code (EC).
According to RA NA Press Service, Baghdasaryan agreed with the
necessity of reforms and adoption of the reviewed EC, which may
ensure holding elections in line with democratic standards. It was
also noted that out of 61 provisions of expert conclusions only 30
were adopted and 11 of them are approved, and the rest 20 provisions
will be made agree as a result of discussions with the
representatives of political powers, RA Ministry of Justice, Central
Election Committee (CEC), and NGOs.
Under the chairmanship of Baghdasaryan discussion of the project of
changes and amendments to EC were held. Deputies, OSCE Yerevan Office
Coordinator Vladimir Pryakhin, his Deputy Elane Konkevich, Head of
CEC Garegin Azaryan, Deputy Minister of Justice Tigran Mukuchyan and
representatives of NGOs participated in the discussions. A.H. -0–

*********************************************************************

A CAMPAIGN OF PROTEST OF SALESMEN AT TRADE FAIRS HELD TODAY AT THE
GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. A campaign of protest of salesmen at trade
fairs was held today at the governmental building of Armenia. The
participants expressed their discontent about the law on `cash
machines, obliging salesmen to have them by April 1, 2005. The
delegation met the Deputy Head of the State Tax Service adjunct to AR
Government Armen Alaverdyan. During the campaign the building was
protected by police.
To note, on Nov 22, 2004 RA Parliament adopted a low on Cash Machines
that should be gradually introduced in the country. In particular,
from April 1, 2005 cash machines are to be obligatorily used in the
area of providing medical and ambulatory services, in beauty centers,
resort houses, exhibition complexes, on fairs and markets .
Currently, cash machines are used by over 15 thsd households in the
country. A.H. -0–

*********************************************************************

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S VENICE COMMISSION AND THE
ORGANISATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE’S OFFICE FOR
DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ARRIVED IN YEREVAN FOR A
TWO-DAY VISIT

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. Representatives of the Council of Europe’s
Venice Commission and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR/OSCE) arrived in Yerevan for a two-day visit. According to the
information office of the CE in RA, the goal of the visit is to
discuss progress in reviewing election legislation of Armenia on the
base of joint commissions made by two organizations regarding
electoral reforms in the country. According to press-release, the
visit will be in the frames of the cooperation between CE and
Armenian authorities within the context of monitoring compliance with
the commissions of ODIHR/OSCE after the elections of 2003 in Armenia,
as well as the process of monitoring of the country by the CE
Ministers Committee. The aim of the visit is to raise with the
Armenian authorities and experts on electoral matters the main points
on which Armenia’s electoral legislation and practice have yet to
meet Council of Europe standards and OSCE Commitments on democratic
elections A.H.–0–

*********************************************************************

RA PRIME MINISTER AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE
CIS DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF WORK OF THE CIS

YEREVAN, March 3. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and
the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the CIS Vladimir Rushailo
discussed the issue of improving the efficiency of work of the CIS.
According to AR Government’s Press Service Department, Margaryan
noted that from the first day of the CIS Armenia was represented in
all bodies of the organization, participated actively in its work. He
expressed hope that as a result of constructive discussions of all
suggestions of participant countries of the CIS the optimal variant
of reforms will be found, enabling to make the CIS more efficient
structure. Rushailo was for introducing reforms in the bodies of the
CIS to make their work more efficient and dynamic and to bring in
line with modern standards. He also expressed anxiety about
inefficient use of the whole potential of the CIS. According to him,
establishment of executive centers in the CIS will fill in the gap,
and such examples exist already in Russia, Moldova and the Ukraine.
Rushailo noted that the Armenian Pavilion in the Russian Exhibition
Centre is the best and said that it’s a kind of a visiting card of
the country.
Rushailo also introduced the process of getting prepared to the
regular session of the CIS states’ prime ministers, which is planned
to take place on April 29 in Tbilisi. According to him, over 30
projects related to areas of interaction will be discussed.
In the course of the meeting the parties also spoke about celebrating
the 60th anniversary of the victory in World War II. Margaryan
informed that a special commission headed by RA Minister of Defense
was established on that occasion in Armenia, and the program of
arrangements had been approved. He also stated that the Armenian
delegation of veterans of the War will participate in the celebration
of the 60th anniversary on May 8-9 in Moscow. A.H. –0–

PanArmenian News
March 3 2005

FRENCH PARLIAMENTARIAN CALLED TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

03.03.2005 17:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ French deputy Jacques Toubon raised the
“unquestionable reality” of the Armenian Genocide during the 53rd
reunion of the EU-Turkey inter-parliamentary delegation, of which he
is the vice-president. During his talk, Mr Toubon indicated to his
Turkish counterparts that the recognition of this genocide
constituted an “important element for Europe” and of its “common
values”. In particular he highlighted that the European Parliament,
since 1987, had on numerous occasions recognised the reality of the
Genocide and since then, continually asked Turkey to do the same. He
explained that “by refusing to ratify the Treaty of Sevres of 1920,
Turkey did not want to recognize this genocide” which could be
explained in the political context of that time, but “90 years later,
Turkey must change” and adopt European values while recognizing this
historic reality, Jacques Toubon noted. His statements provoked the
rage of the Turkish officials participating in the meeting.

Moscow Times, Russia
March 4 2005

Bittersweet Cocktail

Desolate Armenian landscapes provide the backdrop for a touching love
story in “Vodka Lemon,” the latest film by Kurdish director Hiner
Saleem.

By Tom Birchenough
Published: March 4, 2005

Viewers expecting to enjoy the luscious landscapes of the Caucasus in
Hiner Saleem’s “Vodka Lemon” will be disappointed. However, the new
film (shot partly in Russian) from the Kurdish director, long based
in Paris, creates some unforgettable visual moments, centered on the
bleak winter landscape of a remote Armenian village. And there’s much
to relish in the film’s sense of place, as well as in its main
characters.

The film’s central location, which captures the sheer remoteness, and
the timelessness, of a certain kind of post-Soviet desolation, is the
village cemetery. Saleem’s opening scene is impressive, mixing
elements of surreal comedy with a sense of reality that has led
critics to compare “Vodka Lemon” to the films of Georgian director
Otar Iosseliani (who is also based in Paris, where he has been for
more than two decades).

In the opening scene, a funeral is underway, and a bedridden old man
wishes to attend it. This poses no problem, however, as the other
mourners haul him to the cemetery on his bed, which is hitched behind
a truck. Once he gets there, he removes his false teeth and
accompanies the musicians on his duduk, a traditional Armenian
instrument, as they play their parting tribute. The periodic
appearance throughout the film of a lone horseman galloping through
the village — for no explained reason — is another surreal visual
touch of which Iosseliani would surely be proud.

In the film’s main development, however, the cemetery becomes the
scene for a more subtle, less extravagant interaction between the two
main characters. Hamo (Romik Avinian), who comes there regularly to
visit the grave of his late wife, meets Nina (Lala Sarkissian), who
pays similar respect to her deceased husband. Moving between the
tombstones, whose engraved faces carry their own eloquent messages,
they gradually interact, bonding further as they travel home on a
run-down bus.

This marks the start of an affecting relationship, which recalls
Saleem’s first film “Vive la mariee … et la liberation du
Kurdistan.” In that 1997 film, a Parisian Kurd bows to pressure from
his family to choose a mail-order bride from home, only to discover
that his order has been mixed up. He receives the wrong bride, but
they cope with the consequences in a very human way.

In “Vodka Lemon” there is a similar balance between comedy and
compassion. Hamo expects his three sons to support him in his old
age, but to no avail. One has stayed in the village, but he is an
unemployed drunk, and the support, if anything, goes in the opposite
direction; the second is far away in Central Asia; and the third is
in France, which motivates the film’s rare excursions to an urban
environment. In these scenes, Hamo goes to Yerevan hoping to receive
a cash remittance from his son. Ultimately, however, his missions end
in vain.

Meanwhile, Nina is working at the roadside bar that gives the film
its title. Although it is the place where locals congregate (for lack
of anywhere else to go), business is bad and closure is very much on
the horizon. The villagers only survive by selling whatever
possessions they have left — including, in a memorable final scene
with the two leads, a piano that they struggle to move to the
roadside, only to change their minds in the episode’s poignant
conclusion.

In the hands of another director, “Vodka Lemon” could have emphasized
social commentary. Saleem, however, avoids that direction, though
there are moments that reflect the difficult circumstances of
everyday life. “Before the Russians left we didn’t have our freedom,
but we had everything else,” says one character succinctly, referring
to the post-Soviet shortages of water and electricity, as well as
their spiraling cost.

The Armenian element in the film is dominant — certainly in terms of
casting — although its financing came mainly from France,
Switzerland and Italy. This international support has led to
international recognition: “Vodka Lemon” was Armenia’s nomination
last year for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, and it was screened in a
supporting program at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.

The European contribution is most evident on the technical front,
especially in Christophe Pollock’s cinematography, which beautifully
captures both the environment and the individuals who eke out their
existence within it. The score by Michel Korb and Roustam Sadoyan is
no less evocative.

Saleem’s major achievement in “Vodka Lemon” is that he creates and
controls an extremely sensitive emotional narrative out of the
bleakest subject matter. It makes his newest project, titled
“Kilometer Zero,” seem all the more intriguing — the director was
set to return to his native Kurdistan to film a similarly human
story, in what his producers touted as the first feature film to be
shot in Iraq after the U.S.-led

invasion. However, circumstances appear to have delayed the project.

“Vodka Lemon” (Vodka-Limon) is playing in Russian at Fitil.

STS: Approach to medical errors just doesn’t fly, says
astronaut-physician Dr. Jim Bagian

THORACIC SURGERY UPDATE

Thoracic surgery is a specialty on the edge. Though physicians gathered
in Tampa for the 41st annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons
(STS)
to discuss scientific breakthroughs in their rapidly changing field,
many who attended couldn’t help but focus on issues outside of the
operating room.
Skyrocketing malpractice settlements and dwindling reimbursements have
taken a chunk out of the bottom line for many, while new technology means
surgeons are increasingly being elbowed out of the domain they once
ruled. Staff writer Heather Ennis was there and files the reports here.

The Medical Post
March 01, 2005
Volume 41, Issue 09

By Heather Ennis

TAMPA, FLA. – To make improvements in patient safety, health-care
organizations should strive to operate like a finely tuned . . . airplane?

That was the message Dr. Jim Bagian, an astronaut and physician, brought
to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons meeting here.

Fifty years ago, pilots had just about the most dangerous job you could
find, he said. They were paid well, but they frequently died. Though
there were 55 crashes for every 100,000 hours of flying time, it wasn’t
the loss of life that prompted the industry to move toward better safety
practices, said Dr. Bagian. It was money.

“They said, ‘We can’t afford to keep building that many aircraft.’ ”

Similarly, financial pressures are finding their way into health care’s
safety debate through huge malpractice settlements and government
funding programs that rise or fall based on hospital performance.

In aviation today, there are 1.97 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours, a
considerable improvement since the 1950s .

Despite significant public and government pressure, health care has not
seen similarly dramatic improvements in patient safety, said Dr. Bagian.

“We’re talking about whole-number percentage loss rates, and they’re
talking about one in a million. We don’t have nearly the fervour or
dedication to address these issues.”

The key to air travel safety is redundancy, said Dr. Bagian. When proper
procedures are followed, catastrophic events have a tough time getting
around the system.

“Even though aircraft engines are extremely reliable, they have this
redundancy so the system can fail and you still get to where you’re
going,” he said. “In medicine, we don’t have that redundancy.”

A single mistake in medicine is often followed through to its most
unfortunate conclusion, despite the fact there are usually warning signs
along the way, said Dr. Bagian. The problem is, the culture of health
care is not friendly to those who speak up about safety issues.

“People keep their mouths shut if they see something going on until
they’re absolutely sure they’re right,” he said. “We don’t respond in a
positive way. It’s intimidating.”

The culture of silence is the first thing that needs to change, said Dr.
Bagian, and it has to happen from the ground up. There should be no
limitations on who can report possible safety issues.

It’s wrong to think things only need to be reported once they have
already happened, added Dr. Bagian. The most important incidents are the
close calls, which can fuel change without people getting hurt.

“Close calls happen all the time; they change your behaviour,” he said.
“We already have plenty of accountability systems – we need learning.”

Organizations also need to set aside the antiquated notion that the
human element is what facilitates errors.

“People don’t come to work to hurt someone or make a mistake. They don’t
say, ‘How do I screw up today in a new and creative way?’ ”

To get safer, systems need to evolve in ways that make it harder for
mistakes to happen, he said. Responding to errors by paying lip service
to safety and writing new rules that are ignored isn’t good enough.

“Very often, those superficial solutions are what people try to
implement,” said Dr. Bagian. “Trying harder doesn’t get it done. You’re
talking about a cultural change.”

`BAKU WILL GET ANGRY IF TURKEY OPENS BORDER’

Azg/arm
3 March 05

Turkish Hurriet newspaper informs on March 2 that the Engineering
University of Y?ld?z organized a workshop these days titled “Hopes for
Stability and Cooperation in the Caucasus”. Elkhan Mehdiyev, director
of the Center of Azerbaijan ‘s Peace and Conflict Resolution, reported
that Azeri-Turkish relations will spoil if Turkey opens its border
with Armenia giving way to pressures coming from the US and EU. Then
he continued: “In that case Armenians will not withdraw from
Azerbaijan’s territory. Russia keeps on arming Armenia meanwhile
Turkey does not support Azerbaijan. Azeri people’s trust towards
Turkey has considerably shrunk because of that”.

Mehdiyev, apparently, condemned US for its Nagorno Karabakh policy
telling that it pursues its own oil plans (in that case, we must note,
that Azerbaijan’s position is more favorable). Brenda Shaffer,
research director of the Caspian Studies Program at Harvard
University, responded: “The reason the US is interested in Nagorno
Karabakh issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not the oil but the
peace”.

By Hakob Chakrian

SOME TURKISH BUSINESSMEN ADVOCATE OPENING BORDER WITH ARMENIA TO
DESTROY IT ECONOMICALLY: AZERI MP

YEREVAN, MARCH 2. ARMINFO. The Turkish Parliament is not yet ready to
make a decision on the Hocali events because of some difficulties,
says Azeri MP Nizami Jafarov who was present at the Turkish
Parliament’s recent hearing of the issue.

He says that the Turkish MPs did not plan to adopt such a
decision. They simply paid tribute to this tragedy by showing to the
world that this was a well planned act of genocide by Armenians
against Azeris and Turks.

Jafarov says that Turkey has certain commitments to the EU and is
facing many international problems. That’s probably why they have
decided not to pass a decision on the Hocali issue for the time being.

The Turkish MPs say that they can recognize Hocali in several
stages. So the past hearing was just a preparation. Turkey wants first
to see the reaction of its own and international public.

There is one more problem – demands for opening border with
Armenia. Some businessmen in Kars say that they want to sell Armenia
their goods.

Armenians too are frequent guests in Kars and keep meeting there with
those who support border opening. Jafarov says that he has spoken on
Turkish air and said that Armenia has no buying capacities and no
favorable climate for industry development.

Jafarov says that there are some Turkish MPs and businessmen who
support border opening but some of them have “good intentions” – they
consider that Armenia is too small a country and Turkey will be able
to smash it by its economic strength. But there are also people who
seek profit and Armenia is a market that can give them one.

Jafarov says that one should constantly remind Turkish MPs that the
decisions to recognize the Armenian Genocide passed by different
foreign parliaments are aimed first of all against Turkey and not
against Azerbaijan.

Does Turkey Belong In the European Union?
By Antero Leitzinger

The Journal of Turkish weekly
2 February 2005.

Turkey applied for membership in the EEC as early as in 1970s, when she had
been indisputably and for a long time a democratic market economy, one of
the founding members of the Council of Europe, and a country with a decent
record on human rights, compared with the military dictatorships of Greece,
Spain and Portugal, let alone the countries of Eastern Europe. The upheavals
of Southern Europe in the mid-1970s, the intensified internal political
situation of Turkey, and the military regime of early 1980s, as well as the
surprising membership of Greece in the Western European community sidelined
Turkey for two extra decades to wait for acceptance.

Finally during Finland’s chairman period in 1999, Turkey was finally
accepted as an applicant country for the European Union. This encouraged
Turkey to make legal reforms, which have been carried out for three years
now, despite the hard economic crisis. Guerrilla war in the Kurdish
districts is past now, and on 30th Nov. 2002, even the last province was
officially returned to normalcy. The PKK has abolished itself, and the death
penalty of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has been changed into life
imprisonment. Turkey’s prisons have been reformed according to the EU norms,
lots of inmates have been amnestied, and previously used parts of the
criminal law have been overruled. In allowing media and school teaching in
Kurdish languages, Turkey has exceeded France and Sweden in the progression
of her minority policy.

However, Turkey has traditionally had dedicated enemies in Europe. As early
as in 1800s, conservative Christian and idealist liberal civil movements,
acting on behalf of the Christian minorities of the Balkans, were organising
lecture and newspaper campaigns and demonstrations against Turkey. The
ancient Greece was adored under the banners of philhellenism (1821), and
medieval myths were revived by telling horror stories of the “Bulgarian
atrocities” (1876). The propaganda war culminated in the after-play of the
First World War in 1920s, but was again revived from 1965 onwards, on the
initiative of third generation Armenian emigrants of France and America, who
were inspired and directed by Soviet Armenia.

Nowadays it is hard to believe that Turkey could anyhow get released from
the constant criticism by human rights organisations, since criticising
Turkey has become the lifeline of many of them. For many international human
rights organisations, regular campaigns against Turkey have become the most
successful kind of activity, and Turkish illegal immigrants willingly
participate them in order to base their asylum applications. International
organisations, researchers and media outlets are using Turkish extremist
groups as their sources, but the credibility and relevance of the
information they provide is very low. For this reason, the criticism against
Turkey often repeats echoes from years away. In its latest issue, Der
Spiegel (50/9th Dec. 2002) added to its article on Turkey a picture of a
Kurdish demonstration from 1992.

Turkish asylum seekers still refer to the destruction and evacuation of
frontier villages in mid-1990s. Although repatriation of these villages has
been started, the Human Rights Watch report predicts the return to fail,
because it would be too late without EU support (i.e. many who have moved to
cities, are reluctant to return to the periphery).

Neue Zürcher Zeitung (28th Nov. 2002) tells that torture became more common
in Turkey during the short military reign of 1980s. After that the
government tried to get rid of the phenomenon by sending the cruel policemen
from cities to the countryside, which, however, spread the problem
especially to the Kurdish districts. Accusing the policemen was made
difficult by a law that demanded acceptance of the superior to rise a court
case. The fact that many trials were taking more than five years caused that
many accusations became obsolete. The new government has suggested a legal
reform that would correct these problems, and enable overruling existing
verdicts on political crimes.

Against this background we have to understand the interest of the Turks in
the question, whether they are Europeans in the others’ eyes, or if they
fall outside Europe already in principle. When the Westernisation that has
prevailed in Turkey for 80 years becomes questioned by other Europeans, the
nationalist and pan-Islamic alternatives become stronger. Same kind of
development was experienced already in early 1900s, when the originally
liberal Young Turks changed into ferocious nationalists and rushed into the
First World War. In today’s Turkey, many people think that if the EU will
turn her back to Turkey, Turkey must turn towards Arab countries, Iran, the
Caucasus, and Central Asia. In co-operation with Pakistan, Turkey could
develop her own nuclear weapon. The successful military co-operation between
Turkey and Israel would be endangered. The 300-year rivalry between Turkey
and Russia over the borderlands would intensify.

Turkey is a bit poorer than Romania, when the GNP per capita is compared,
but the reason is the very rapid growth of Turkish population. It is
estimated that after 10 years there will be 90 million inhabitants in
Turkey, more than in Germany. In one way or another, that will compensate
the shrinking population of Europe and Russia. Chronic inflation plagues the
Turkish economy, but economic growth has been strong for a long time, and
there is plenty of potential. Unemployment (8,5 %) is lower than in most of
the countries of Eastern Europe, and industrialisation is more developed
than in Bulgaria and Romania. (Der Spiegel, 50/9th Dec. 2002)

Political Islamisation of Turkey would influence Europe especially through
the 2,5 million Turkish-originating immigrants residing in Germany. It is
hard to imagine how the EU could isolate herself from Turkey and the Middle
East. The EU can, however, choose, whether she will passively surrender to
be a side theatre of the problems of the Middle East and the whole Islamic
world, or whether it takes an active initiative to support moderate Muslims
and Turkey in her relations to her neighbours.

It is expected that the attitude towards Turkey, the Turks, Muslims and
foreigners in general, will become a hot election issue in the election of
the German state of Hessen in February. Both radical right and radical left
oppose the EU membership of Turkey. The present red-green government has
tried to balance between the views and the former Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl
had a Turkish daughter-in-law. Compared to these, future seems more
controversial. Already half million of the German Turks have German
citizenship, and their votes for the left and for the Greens was decisive in
favour of the present government in last national election.

Antero Leitzinger is a political historian and a researcher for the Finnish
Directorate of Immigration. He wrote several books on Turkey, the Middle
East and the Caucasus.

Source: Global Politician, 2 February 2005.

–Boundary_(ID_tLINLbk2/Mdr1FRBq8CJig)–

Ambassador’s statement irresponsible – US Department of State

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

Baku, February 28, AssA-Irada

The US ambassador to Armenia John Evans’s statement that “Upper
Garabagh can’t be returned to Azerbaijan”, made during his informal
meeting with the Armenian Diaspora representatives at a California
university on February 25, has sparked different responses from
Azerbaijan and the United States.

Steve Tike, a spokesman for the US Department of State, regarded
Evans’s utterance as ‘an irresponsible statement’, which reflects only
his personal views. “Evans’s statement doesn’t reflect Washington’s
position. The US stance on the Upper Garabagh remains unchanged”,
he said.

The United States has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize
Upper Garabagh as an independent state and supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, the spokesman added.

The Azerbaijani ambassador to USA Hafiz Pashayev has discussed the
matter with US officials, including the US Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Laura Kennedy.

During the discussions, Pashayev said that Azerbaijani and American
officials are displeased with Evans’s statement. “Evans’s undiplomatic
and irresponsible statement on the eve of the next meeting of
Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Prague is unacceptable,”
Pashayev said.

Ambassador Evans told a Monday news conference in Yerevan that his
statement on Upper Garabagh was misinterpreted. “I stated in the
meeting that the United States recognizes the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and that the Upper Garabagh status issue may be resolved
by Armenia and Azerbaijan through talks,” he said.

Washginton continues its efforts at settling the conflict within the
OSCE Minsk Group and considers the meetings held so far by the two
countries’ foreign ministers reassuring, he added.*

World postal body declares separatist Karabakh stamps “void” – Azeri TV

ANS TV, Baku
28 Feb 05

The Universal Postal Union has ruled that forged postage stamps with
the depiction of a Karabakh horse produced by the Nagornyy Karabakh
separatists are void.

Azartac news agency quoted the head of the Azarmarka [Azerbaijani
stamp] company, Intiqam Bagirli, as saying that Azerbaijan had produced
postage stamps with the picture of the horse in 1993 and those stamps
were currently being used.