Author: Emil Lazarian

MEPs put off key vote on Turkey protocol
EurActiv.com, Belgium
Sept 2 2005
In Short:
The political limbo enveloping Turkey’s EU bid continued on 1 September
when the European Parliament decided to postpone a key vote on Ankara’s
revised customs union with the EU.
In light of the MEPs’ decision to postpone the vote, originally
scheduled for next week, it is now up to the Commission and the
Council to find a solution to the Cyprus issue during the month of
September. The MEPs will now vote on the so-called Ankara protocol
during the EP’s session starting on 26 September. “Considering the
unilateral declaration by Turkey [on 29 July] that the extension of
the customs union to Cyprus would not amount to the recognition of
Cyprus under international law, this is the only logical consequence,”
commented German conservative MEP Elmar Brok, chairman of the EP’s
Foreign Affairs Committee. The EP’s vote is needed for the Ankara
protocol to take effect.
Meanwhile, the EU’s foreign ministers are working on a declaration on
the Cyprus issue at their meeting in Newport, Wales, and a compromise
formula is reportedly in the making there which could result in a
unanimous agreement among the EU-25 governments on the objectives
and principles of the pending talks with Turkey.
In a related development, a fresh row over freedom of speech is brewing
in Turkey as authorities are seeking to persecute the internationally
acclaimed writer Orhan Pamuk for controversial comments on his
country’s killing of 30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians. Turkey is
sensitive over the issue of the Kurds and Armenians. Pamuk could face
up to three years in prison.

CYPRIOT DEPUTY OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN PASSED AWAY
A1+
| 20:02:34 | 01-09-2005 | Official |
Armenian Foreign Ministry Vartan Oskanian sent a telegram of condolence
on the death of 71-year-old member of the Armenian community in the
Cypriot House of Representatives Petros Kalayjian.
The FM noted of the contribution of this outstanding political and
public figure and his role in the strengthening of the Armenian-Cypriot
relations. Kalayjian was three times elected representative of the
Armenian community . He was also the chairman of the “Hayastan”
Armenian Foundation in Cyprus, member of the church council and one
of the founders of the Armenia-Cyprus friendly union.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS – ANOTHER INSTRUMENT IN KARABAKH ISSUE “REFERENDUM ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS IF DOOMED TO FAILURE”, Vahagn Aytsoyan states.
A1+
| 19:49:55 | 01-09-2005 | Politics |
The Armenian National Movement has never changed its position on the
constitutional amendments”, ANM board member Vahagn Aytsoyan stated
in a conversation with A1+ reporter.
V. Aytsoyan describes the enthusiasm of the Venice Commission as
regards the draft constitutional amendments in the following way,
“An extra instrument on Armenia in Karabakh issue is beneficial to
all parties. Constitutional amendments will not contribute to the
development of democracy in Armenia. Robert Kocharian has no right
to implement constitutional changes. He has violated the Organic Law
more than any other official.”
When asked “Has Levon Ter-Petrosyan ever violated the
Constitution?” the ANM board member said, “No. I can’t remember such
a case.” He is convinced that the referendum on the constitutional
amendments in Armenia is doomed to failure. “1/3 of the Armenian
population will never say “yes” to the reviewed Constitution”, he
said adding that the authorities will not falsify the outcomes of
the referendum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ISTANBULS STAATSANWALT KLAGT ORHAN PAMUK AN
Von Hubert Spiegel
Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung
1 sept. 2005
31. August 2005 Orhan Pamuk hat keinen Hehl daraus gemacht, daß
seine personliche Lage in der turkischen Heimat in den letzten Jahren
zunehmend schwierig wurde.
Die Hetze nationalistischer Kreise gegen den international bekanntesten
Schriftsteller der Turkei nahm dabei zum Teil beangstigende Formen
an. Pamuk, der in diesem Jahr den Friedenspreis des Deutschen
Buchhandels erhalt, hat dies nur angedeutet, als er im Gesprach mit
dieser Zeitung vor wenigen Wochen sagte: ~DZu oft – und jedes Mal
mit mehr Nachdruck – wurde mir nun schon gesagt, ich solle auf meine
Worte achtgeben, auf meine Bucher, meine Kommentare, meine Interviews,
auf jede Äußerung, die ich Journalisten oder Auslandern gegenuber
fallenlasse” (Orhan Pamuk im Interview). Jetzt ist der Druck auf den
Friedenspreistrager noch einmal massiv erhoht worden: Die turkische
Staatsanwaltschaft hat ein Verfahren gegen den Dichter eroffnet,
das Pamuk mit einer Haftstrafe von bis zu drei Jahren bedroht.
Dafur hassen Sie mich
Der Staatsanwalt des Istanbuler Bezirks Sisli beruft sich dabei auf
Artikel 301/1 des turkischen Strafgesetzbuches, der die Herabsetzung
oder Beschadigung der ~Dturkischen Identitat” und des ~DTurkentums”
als Straftat definiert und Freiheitsstrafen zwischen sechs Monaten
und drei Jahren dafur vorsieht. Pamuk werden Äußerungen aus einem
Interview zur Last gelegt, das im Februar dieses Jahres im Magazin
des Schweizer ~DTages-Anzeigers” erschienen ist. Damals hatte Pamuk
kritisiert, daß die Massaker an den Armeniern in der Turkei noch immer
tabuisiert sind: ~DMan hat hier dreißigtausend Kurden und eine Million
Armenier umgebracht. Und fast niemand traut sich, das zu erwahnen. Also
mache ich es. Und dafur hassen sie mich.”
Wie der Generalstaatsanwalt aus der bloßen Erwahnung historisch
weitgehend verburgter Opferzahlen ein Verbrechen wider das Turkentum
konstruieren will, bleibt vorerst sein Geheimnis. Ebenso ratselhaft
bleibt, warum ein Land, das seine Aufnahme in die Europaische
Union energisch betreibt, einen seiner prominentesten kulturellen
Botschafter mit Freiheitsentzug bedroht, weil er sagt, was in jedem
Geschichtsbuch außerhalb der Turkei nachzulesen ist. Orhan Pamuk
befurwortet den EU-Beitritt seines Heimatlandes. Nun muß ihn neben
der personlichen Bedrohung besonders schmerzen, daß ausgerechnet sein
Fall die Hoffnungen der Turkei erheblich schmalern konnte. Denn wer in
Europa wird sich noch fur die Aufnahme eines Landes aussprechen, das
seine bedeutendsten Dichter verfolgt, weil sie historische Wahrheiten
aussprechen? Wie immer der Prozeß ausgeht, er hat schon jetzt mehr
daruber verraten, welches Verstandnis der ~Dturkischen Identitat”
von Teilen der Justiz des Landes gepflegt wird, als dem turkischen
Volk lieb sein kann.
Ein typischer Gummiparagraph
Der Artikel 301/1 ist ein typischer Gummiparagraph, denn weder die
~Dturkische Identitat” noch der Akt ihrer Herabsetzung sind darin
naher definiert. So ist beides vollkommen ins Ermessen der Justiz
gestellt und sind der Willkur Tur und Tor geoffnet. In jungster
Zeit soll der Paragraph Intellektuellen gegenuber bereits mehrfach
aus der Mottenkiste der Repression gezogen worden sein, ohne daß es
aber zu Verfahren gekommen ware. Deshalb schien ein Prozeß gegen
Pamuk zunachst wenig wahrscheinlich, als die deutsche Ausgabe der
weitverbreiteten turkischen Zeitung ~DHurriyet” vor einigen Monaten
meldete, daß die Staatsanwaltschaft in Istanbul die Moglichkeit eines
Verfahrens gegen den Schriftsteller prufe. ~DHurriyet” gehort zu den
turkischen Zeitungen, die Pamuk als ~DHund” oder ~Delende Kreatur”
zu bezeichnen pflegen.
Entscheidend fur die Einschatzung des Vorgangs durfte jedoch nicht
zuletzt die Frage sein, wie die treibenden Krafte hinter dem Verfahren
beschaffen sind. Als vor einigen Monaten ein Landrat in der turkischen
Provinz die in funfunddreißig Sprachen ubersetzten Bucher Pamuks
aus den offentlichen Bibliotheken seines Machtbereiches verbannen
und vernichten lassen wollte, wurde der Vorfall hierzulande eher als
Kuriosum verbucht. Denn zum einen riefen ubergeordnete Instanzen den
Mann zur Ordnung, zum anderen stellte sich heraus, daß in den Regalen
der betroffenen Bibliotheken ohnehin kein einziges Werk Pamuks zu
finden war. Aber auch diese Farce hatte einen ernsten Kern, zeigte
sie doch, wie blindwutig jene vorgehen, die allein ihr Ressentiment
zum Handeln treibt.
Unklare Motivlage
Noch laßt sich nicht erkennen, welche Motivlage diesmal das
absurde Vorgehen gegen Orhan Pamuk steuert. Handelt hier ein
Bezirksstaatsanwalt auf eigene Faust oder auf Anweisung? Duldet oder
unterstutzt der Justizapparat dieses Vorgehen? Man darf gespannt
sein, ob und wie die turkische Regierung das Verfahren gegen den
Friedenspreistrager des Deutschen Buchhandels kommentiert. Als der
Deutsche Bundestag im vergangenen Juni die Massaker an den Armeniern
vor neunzig Jahren verurteilte und dabei ausdrucklich die deutsche
Mitschuld betonte, fand der turkische Außenminister erstaunlich
deutliche Worte: Der Bundestag habe ~Dverantwortungslos, besturzend
und verletzend” gehandelt.
Orhan Pamuk selbst hat gegenuber dieser Zeitung erklart, daß er sich
vorerst nicht zu dem Verfahren außern mochte, das am 16. Dezember
in Istanbul gegen ihn eroffnet werden soll. Aber im Gesprach
ist ihm anzumerken, wie sehr ihn dieser Schritt der Istanbuler
Staatsanwaltschaft bedruckt. Es ist ein Schritt in die falsche
Richtung. Denn er fuhrt die Turkei weg von Europa.
–Boundary_(ID_xsMsDlFmAo+F4jDgWQPhzQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KAZAKH LEADER SAYS SAPPER BATTALION TO STAY IN IRAQ
Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty
1 Sep 05
Astana, 1 September: Kazakhstan does not intend to pull out its sapper
battalion from Iraq, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said.
“I have had to discuss repeatedly our foreign political priorities
lately. They will remain unchanged. We are using this approach indeed
to consider the continuation of our sapper battalion’s mission to
help the Iraqi people,” the president said in Astana today, opening
a regular parliament session.
“They (Kazakh peacekeepers) are there to save people’s lives though
the number of the international coalition members has been reduced
lately,” Nazarbayev said.
The Kazakh sapper battalion of 27 people has been in Iraq since August
2003 in rotation. They are mainly engaged in mine sweeping.
“In the same way, we deem it very important to be an active member of
the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan] and the SCO
[Shanghai Cooperation Organization including China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan] while deepening cooperation
with our closest neighbours,” the president said.
“Kazakhstan remains an active supporter of wide international
cooperation aimed at nuclear proliferation, fighting international
terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking and other
present-day threats,” the president noted.
“Developing cooperation with Russia, China, the USA and the European
Union is a priority direction for us,” the president said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish novelist faces jail for ‘insulting national character’
By Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul
Published: 01 September 2005
The Independent (UK)
One of Turkey’s best-known novelists has been charged with insulting
the country’s national character and could face a prison sentence.
Orhan Pamuk is scheduled to go on trial on 16 December and could
face up to three years in prison for comments on Turkey’s killing of
Armenians and Kurds, his publisher, Tugrul Pasaoglu, said yesterday.
“Thirty thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in these
lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it,” Pamuk said in an
interview with a Swiss newspaper in February.
The “one million” refers to Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks at about
the time of the First World War, which Armenians and several nations
recognise as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey vehemently
denies that genocide took place, saying the death toll is inflated and
Armenians were killed in a civil war as the Ottoman Empire collapsed,
eventually giving way to the Turkish Republic in 1923.
The “thirty thousand Kurds” mentioned by Pamuk refers to those
killed since 1984 as Turkey fought a vicious war against armed
Kurdish separatists.
Turkey, which has been trying to improve its human rights record as
it vies for membership of the EU, is extremely sensitive about both
the Armenian and Kurdish issues, and its new penal code makes it a
crime to denigrate Turkey’s national identity.
Pamuk’s books, which include the internationally acclaimed Snow and
My Name is Red, have been translated into more than 20 languages. His
publisher said yesterday:”We have to wait for the court. Then he
[Pamuk] will make his speech in the court.”

EXCELLENT MARK TO SERGE SARGSYAN
A1+
| 19:12:20 | 31-08-2005 | Official |
Secretary of the Security Council attached to the RA President,
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan and his delegation returned from the
Russian Federation on August 30.
The delegation had left for the Astrakhan region to observe the final
phase of the military trainings “Military Cooperation-2005” in which
the Armenian detachment of 42 soldiers also took part.
According to the report of Vladimir Mikhaylov, chief commander of
the RF Air Forces, the military actions of the Armenian Armed Forces
detachment were marked as “excellent”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A NUCLEAR (MIS)ADVENTURE IN ISFAHAN
By Pepe Escobar
The Roving Eye
Asia Times, Hong Kong
Sept 1 2005
ISFAHAN – It is one of the most sensitive sites in the world, a
compound 15 kilometers north of beautiful Isfahan, on a back road
skirting a rocky mountain. The blue panel, in white lettering,
says “Isfahan Nuclear Production Research Center”/”Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran”/”Nuclear Production Branch”.
Anti-aircraft guns are strategically positioned along the road,
which is far from the busy Tehran-Isfahan highway. Security at the
main gate consists of only one uniformed, unarmed official carrying
a walkie-talkie.
It’s 5pm on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Everything is calm, except
for a white SUV carrying International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
inspectors waved inside through the main gate. That’s
exactly the problem. They can get in. We can’t.
Looking at the peacock’s tail It had been a very tense day of waiting
and waiting since early in the morning. Our fixer, tireless Mahmoud
Daryadel, had spent most of it glued to his mobile, placing and
receiving a frantic series of calls. Three days earlier Ivan Sahar,
an official tied to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance,
had promised Asia Times Online a visit to the controversial Isfahan
Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF). Chances of success were evaluated at
“85%”. The UCF, one of Iran’s key nuclear sites, is at the center of
the Iran-EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) nuclear negotiations. It
converts yellowcake – or concentrated uranium oxide – into a gas that
can be enriched to produce reactor fuel.
We were supposed to receive a morning call giving the go-ahead
for the visit. The call never came; something was going on; there
was official talk from the management at the Isfahan site about
“obstacles”. We had to wait for clearance. There is hardly a better
place in the world to spend a tense waiting day than the pearl of
Shah Abbas, which in the 17th century reached its full splendor,
impressed in the famous rhyme Isfahan nesf-e jahan (“Isfahan is half
the world”). By a strange twist of fate, Isfahan in the early 21st
century is now synonymous with nuclear confrontation.
At Jolfa, the Armenian quarter, which also dates from the 17th century,
the Vank cathedral is an apotheosis of mixed Christian and Islamic
art. On graceful Khajoo bridge, which is also a dam, young Iranians
hang out under the arches while families have picnics on the grass. And
then there’s the wonder of reexploring stunning Imam Khomeini Square,
still locally referred to as the Meidun, built in 1612 and one of
the largest squares in the world – the Persian answer to Saint Mark’s
in Venice.
There’s the Imam Mosque, covered, inside and out, with the trademark
Isfahan pale blue and yellow tiles; the two madrassas (seminaries);
and the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, whose dome tiles progressively change
color, from cream to strong pink as the day goes on (and our crucial
call does not come). Inside the mosque, under the dome, there is a
famous painted peacock; as the light changes, the reflection forming
the peacock’s tail also moves. One can spend hours contemplating this
living example of the architecture of light. Especially when a mobile
ringing tone does not disturb the peace.
At the fabulous bazaar that envelops the Meidun, Hossein Peyghambary
of Nomad carpets, speaking fluent Spanish, displays the best tribal
patterns straight from villages in Balochistan. The Cultural Heritage
Organization in Iran is planning to register Iranian nomad’s summer
migration – by Balochis, Bakhtiaris, Qashqaiis and Azeris – on the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s
list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
As far as Balochi nomad carpets are concerned, they are hard to beat
as tangible masterpieces themselves.
By mid-afternoon we have lost almost any hope of getting a permit
for the visit. The back channels try to untangle the “obstacles”
to no avail. It seems a group of IAEA inspectors showed up impromptu
at the UCF; according to an agreement between the Iranian government
and the UN agency, no journalists may visit the UCF while there are
inspectors on the premises. This is to prevent any information leak.
Indeed, foreign media are allowed inside the UCF only in exceptional
circumstances.
Finally we get a call at 4pm: go, someone will meet you on the way.
This doesn’t happen, and we have to find the way by ourselves, with
the help of plenty of Isfahani motorists. As we arrive at the main
gate, we get another last-minute call, from security inside the
plant: you cannot get in. You are only allowed to film outside. A
security guard arrives in a van to lay down the rules. No filming
inside. No filming the road. No filming of faces. But we are not TV:
we write stories. Makes no difference: no talking to anybody. Please
leave. Exactly on cue, the white SUV carrying the IAEA inspectors
crosses the main gate.
Hours later, on the road back to Tehran, we learn that our
(mis)adventure took place exactly as the rules of the game were being
changed in Tehran. So apparently no one is to blame: there would
be no question of allowing foreign media inside the UCF at such a
delicate juncture.
Time to make a move Following the nuclear confrontation from Tehran
is like following a game of chess – a game, by the way, invented
by the Persians. It has become a national sport – and the recurrent
conversation theme on all occasions. These have been the most recent
key moves:
Hassan Rowhani, the widely respected former secretary of the Supreme
National Security Council and Iran’s former top nuclear negotiator,
dismisses Iran’s referral to the UN Security Council: “If this does
happen it will only indicate that the IAEA has diverted from its
legal path and succumbed to US pressure.”
Nuclear spokesman Hussein Musavian stresses that Iran’s decision to
resume uranium conversion at Isfahan is irreversible (“The Isfahan UCF
is not at all related to nuclear weapons production.”), adding that
enrichment at the Natanz plant was still suspended and that Iran still
remains committed to talking to the EU-3. Iranian officials for their
part keep stressing that work at Isfahan will never be suspended again.
The EU-3 suspends talks with Iran that should have taken place this
past Wednesday in Paris.
Iranian officials learn that the US is heavily lobbying the 35-member
board of IAEA governors – especially Russia, China, India and South
Africa – against Iran. The IAEA board is to receive a key report on
Iran this Saturday from IAEA head Mohammad ElBaradei. None of these
four key countries is keen to send the matter to the UN Security
Council, as the IAEA has not found that Iran has breached the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad announces a new breakthrough, a
constructive proposal to advance the negotiations. After two days,
it’s finally settled that the proposal will be unveiled at the UN
summit in New York on September 14-16 (provided the US issues a visa
to the Iranian president).
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi says that Iran will
continue to negotiate with the EU-3, “but on the other hand we will
not restrict our negotiating partners to just these three countries”,
adding that Iran has also been talking to Japan, Malaysia and South
Africa. Iran’s position changes tack: now “it is up to the Europeans
not to remove themselves from the negotiations”. This new directive
seems to have come from a meeting last week between Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. Asefi says that Ahmadinejad’s
new proposal will “enshrine Iran’s right to master the fuel cycle
and will also include objective guarantees” that Iran is not building
nuclear weapons.
New top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meets ElBaradei in Vienna and
says that negotiations should not be “exclusive”. He accuses countries
mastering the nuclear fuel of trying to create a fuel cartel like the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and stresses that Iran
is against this “nuclear apartheid”.
On the day of Asia Times Online’s aborted visit to Isfahan, Tehran
announces that its main interlocutor in the confrontation is not
the EU-3 but the IAEA. The EU-3 demands, qualified as “conditional
negotiations”, are rejected.
Ahmadinejad reappoints Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh as head of Iran’s Atomic
Energy Organization. The former oil minister, from 1985 to 1997,
calls the EU-3 package “a joke”.
So the next crucial steps are ElBaradei’s report this Saturday; what
could be the sensational debut of Ahmadinejad on the world stage,
at the UN in New York next week, delivering a new proposal to end the
stalemate; and the meeting of the 35-member IAEA board of governors
on September 19, which will examine not only ElBaradei’s report but
Ahmadinejad’s solution.
Meanwhile, anyone contemplating a visit to the UCF in Isfahan
will have to settle on contemplating the peacock’s tail at Sheikh
Lotfollah’s dome.

ISSUE OF REFERENDUM SHOULD NOT BE OBSERVED SEPARATELY FROM OTHER ELEMENTS OF CONFLICT
AZG Armenian Daily #155, 01/09/2005
Karabakh issue
Liberty Radio stated that Elmar Mamediarov, Azeri foreign minister
refused to answer the question put by journalists concerning
the probability of holding a referendum for defining the status
of Nagorno Karabakh. He stated that the issue of the referendum
shouldn’t be discussed separately from the other elements of the
conflict settlement. “About 7-9 elements are being discussed within the
framework of the Prague Process. There is some progress looming over
some of the elements. The issues of returning the occupied territories
and the refugees, as well as restoration of the communication between
Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan is on the agenda of the negotiations,”
Elmar Mamediarov said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEFENSE MINISTER IVANOV TELLS PRESIDENT ABOUT CIS AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM
17:26 | 31/ 08/ 2005
SOCHI, August 31 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
briefed President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about the prototype of a
regional air defense system for the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS).
Ivanov said a single command center had been used first time ever
during an exercise that had been held at the start of the week in
Russia’s southern Astrakhan region and had involved units from Russia,
Belarus, Armenia and Tajikistan.
“For the first time ever, we established a single command center, not
one for each country, but a joint one,” the minister said. “This is
the prototype for the regional air defense system within the framework
of the CIS.”
Ivanov also said that the system could be deployed anywhere in the CIS.
This was not the first exercise to be held as a part of the combined
air defense system, the minister said. Similar exercises were held
in Siberia and Belarus and another exercise should be held this year
with Kazakhstan.
“Nevertheless, the main event for the CIS combined air defense system
took place at Ashuluk firing range in the Astrakhan region,” the
minister said. He added that combat launches had been made. “There was
no imitation whatsoever, and the targets were very difficult [to hit].”