Author: Felekian Ara

PHILIPPE DE VILLIERS: BAKU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT KARABAKH ARMENIANS HAVE RIGHT TO LIVE AND DEVELOP IN THEIR NATIVE LAND

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.11.2008 15:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ France holds presidency in the EU and our task is
to press for recognition of the Armenian Genocide and put an end to
Genocide denial in state structures head of Movement for France (MPF)
Philippe de Villiers told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"It’s essential to stop Armenia’s isolation and open its border with
Turkey," he said.

Another important trend in Mr. de Villiers’ policy is support of
Nagorno Karabakh’s independence. "We should make Azerbaijan understand
that Karabakh Armenians have the right to live and develop in their
native land," he said, adding that the French Co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group has a similar stand on the issue.

The people of Nagorno Karabakh should be guaranteed a secure life,
Berdand Fassier said in Yerevan yesterday. "Presently, security [still
jeopardized by Baku] is guaranteed by the Armenian armed forces and
the defense army of Nagorno Karabakh," he said.

OSCE TO HOLD CRISIS-MONITORING NEAR FIZULI

armradio.am
17.11.2008 17:40

The OSCE will hold a crisis monitoring near Fizuli region, where the
cease-0fire regime was broken on the night of 15-16, 2008.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk told a press conference today that the monitoring will be
carried out in the near future after a mutual agreement is reached.

According to Kasprzyk, it will be a crisis monitoring, since the
cease-fire violation resulted in a human loss.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and his
five assistants conduct monitoring twice a month to ensure that such
cases do not hamper the negotiations. The recurrent monitoring at
the contact line of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan will
be conducted on November 19.

VALDAS ADAMKUS: "THE NUMBER OF LETTERS IN THE WORD "GUAM" SHOULD BE INCREASED: IT WOULD CONSOLIDATE BOTH THE ORGANIZATION AND THE PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES"

Today.Az
/politics/48978.html
Nov 14 2008
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus.

– How can you characterize the intergovernmental relations between
Azerbaijan and Lithuania? What steps, do you think, should be taken
to improve them?

– Today Lithuania and Azerbaijan are linked by close and friendly
political, economic and cultural relations that we value very
highly. Together we are working towards strengthening the GUAM
organization, expanding contacts between the countries of the Baltic,
Black and Caspian Sea regions, and making cooperation in the energy
field more intense. I am confident that in the future we will further
consolidate economic cooperation, increase investment flows, improve
transport connections, and exchange cultural experience because we
find each other interesting and unique. Needless to say: stronger
ties between the European Union and Azerbaijan would contribute to
an even more dynamic development of our bilateral relationship. I
can assure you that Baku has a reliable ally in the European Union,
and that is Lithuania.

– The fourth energy summit to be attended by Presidents of Ukraine,
Turkey, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Georgia and other heads of
states will kick off in Baku on November 14. Is it possible to say
that today Baku has become a regional leader?

– I can state with full confidence that Azerbaijan is emerging as a
regional leader. This is predetermined not only by the strategically
important location of your country, but also by your resolve to
pursue the course of reform and openness to the rest of the world. I
am convinced that ever more intense relations between Azerbaijan
and European Union and the ongoing democratic reforms will further
strengthen your country and its role in the region.

– As is known, today Lithuania is seeking alternative projects in
the sphere of energy supply. Which role can Azerbaijani oil play in
this search?

– I am delighted that Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia,
and other countries are demonstrating remarkable political maturity
and responsibility and that together they are set to diversify energy
sources, thus contributing to improved energy security in the whole of
Europe and its neighboring areas. In this respect, Azerbaijan plays a
very important role as an energy supplier. I would like to underline
that in the global world of the 21st century, those countries that
jointly and concertedly address newly emerging challenges and problems
will emerge as winners. Azerbaijan is building energy security through
close cooperation with other countries and, therefore, Baku serves
as an example to other countries in the region.

– Lithuania is demonstrating interest towards the TRASECA project,
which must communicate Europe, Caucasus countries and Central Asia,
bypassing Russia. Does it mean that thus your country is displaying
interest in expansion of its export to Azerbaijan? When will it be
possible to speak of the definite work for execution of this idea?

– The development of international transport corridors has a profound
impact on the economies of every country in the corridor and the
neighboring regions. The TRACECA corridor offers, first and foremost,
alternative transportation options for countries suppliers, like
China and India, for transit countries, like Georgia and Azerbaijan,
and for countries consumers in Western Europe. The operating corridor
will be used most efficiently by exporters from both Lithuania and
Azerbaijan as a strategic multi-faceted project that has connections
in the South Caucasus and Central Asian regions.

The extension of the trilateral Viking project
(Lithuania-Belarus-Ukraine) would definitely promote the development
of the TRACECA corridor. Viking is a cargo train linking the Baltic
Sea and the Black Sea. Azerbaijan, together with Turkey, has been
invited to join this project. If your country becomes a partner in the
Viking project, it will connect three sea regions: the Baltic Sea,
the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It would be the first time that
such an ambitious project is realized.

– As is known, Lithuania intends to get an observer status under the
TRASECA project. Will this issue be raised during Baku talks in the
framework of the summit and is the reaction of the TRASECA secretariat
to the intentions of the Lithuanian side clear?

– Since the TRACECA project is greatly important to Lithuania, we hope
that a positive decision will be made as soon as in December this year.

– What does Azerbaijan mean for Lithuania? What do you think about
further development of GUAM? Is it possible that Lithuania joins GUAM?

– GUAM contributes to the development of democracy, security and
stability in the region; it helps the countries of the South Caucasus
and the Black Sea regions to independently project their future:
enhance their image across the world, strengthen transport and energy
links, and improve the well-being of their people. Such projects as
the transport corridor Europe-GUAM-Asia and the GUAM transit corridor
are key to the economic growth of the entire region.

Lithuania is already distributing GUAM "business cards" among western
countries: we have invited EU member states to establish a Group of
GUAM Friends; high ranking Lithuanian officials participate in GUAM
events; and six conferences of GUAM intellectuals were held in Vilnius
under my patronage with many guests invited from Europe. This process
must be continued. We have to use more actively the intellectual and
cultural dimensions to improve GUAM’s visibility on the international
arena. The number of letters in the word "GUAM" should be increased:
it would consolidate both the organization and the participating
countries.

– You are famous as an experienced political figure. How do you think
should the Nagorno Karabakh conflict be settled: in the framework
of the world recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan or on
the basis of the right of people for self-determination? Lithuania
speaks for the active participation of international mediators in
the sphere of the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Is Lithuania
ready to contribute to this mission?

– Lithuania strongly supports and will support your efforts to
peacefully settle the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We stand for a solution
which would best reflect the will and wishes of the participating
countries and their citizens. Such a solution must be based on the
universally recognized principles of international law as well as
enhance security and stability in the region and beyond its boundaries.

With an optimism we follow recent developments in the region,
especially the signed Declaration among the Presidents of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, on 2 November in Moscow. At
the same time, we also want to stress a need to work closely with all
parties involved, not only Russia. We believe that the US, Turkey,
EU and OSCE can and must also play a crucial role in settlement the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

We strongly believe that the settlement of the conflict must be
based upon Madrid Principles, notably, the deployment of international
peacekeepers and withdrawal of Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh forces. If
such a settlement is reached, Lithuania would be ready to consider
contributing to possible international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh
as well as supporting other confidence-building measures.

– Which assistance can Lithuania provide in Azerbaijan’s integration
to the European Union? Which experience can Azerbaijan assimilate
from Lithuania on the way of EU accession?

– Lithuania strongly supports your country’s aspirations for
developing qualitatively new and more dynamic relations with the
European Union. It is the best way to promote sustainable development
and to create a prosperous Azerbaijan.

Lithuania has successfully carried through the required reforms on the
path to the European Union. Today, we willingly share our experience
with friends in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan. We are
ready to communicate our experience gained in other fields as well:
Lithuania could help Azerbaijan harmonize its legal framework,
tailoring it towards simplified border crossing procedures and
facilitated trading. We operate an efficient cargo train Viking which
crosses the external EU-Belarus border in only 30 minutes – a record
time in the whole of the European Union.

ARMENIA: PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN CONDUCTED WORKING MEETING PERTAINING ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS

ISRIA

N ov 14 2008
DC

Today, at the working meeting conducted by President Sargsyan,
discussed was the whole range of issues pertaining to the Armenia-EU
relations. The meeting was attended by the members of the National
Security Council, members of the Government, and the leaders of
relevant structures.

The President of Armenia presented the details of his visit to
Brussels and raised certain issues related to a further enhancement
of the relations with the European Union.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the agenda of his visit to Brussels was
pretty packed – in three days he held over twenty meetings with almost
the entire leadership of the European Union. He also gave a number
of interviews to some of the leading European news agencies.

The main impression of the President of these meetings was that the
European structures, their representatives are obviously pleased with
the level of relations with Armenia and the accomplished works. Second,
there is good will to continue and deepen the relations, and to
implement more daring programs.

The President said that naturally during these meetings discussed
were also more general issues, the Armenian-Turkish relations and the
NK peace process, however the main topic of the discussions was the
EU-Armenia action plan and the specific problems which in Armenia’s
opinion the EU should address on the road toward a deeper bilateral
cooperation.

Stressing the desire of our country to get more connected with Europe,
Serzh Sargsyan said, "on this stage the Armenian side proposes to
soften up the visa regime to facilitate the contacts between our
citizens, to create equal opportunities for trade, which would
facilitate granting a market economy status to our country, and
the signing of the trade agreement." According to the President,
the agreement has been reached to easy up the visa regime and to
establish presently in our country, together with the EU Committee
for Justice and Freedoms, a subcommittee to deal with the reforms
in the judicial and legal areas. The agreement has been reached with
EU Commissioner for Trade to dispatch a group of expert-advisers to
Armenia in December. Together with the Armenian officials they will
develop a precise time table of actions. Another document has been
signed on sending a group of EU advisers to Armenia to facilitate
the implementation of the action plan.

Stressing that there was a mutual willingness to deepen the relations,
the President of Armenia said, "This work should be treated by us
not as a program, which we have vowed to implement but rather as a
work which provides us the opportunity to continue with the reforms
in our country. And it is indeed an instrument for reformation."

In Serzh Sargsyan’s opinion, the new plan of actions most probably
will be included in the framework of the EU Eastern Policy and will
have two distinctive features: first, the component of the regional
cooperation will become more prominent and highlighted, and the second,
participants to the Policy will be provided with different formats and
different levels of evolvement, depending on the country’s readiness
to deliver.

The President of Armenia instructed to work on the program with the
utmost seriousness and tasked the Ministers and the Heads of relevant
structures to keep under personal control the activities carried out
in their respective areas.

At the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edward Nalbandian
presented the process of the implementation of the program and
activities conducted during 2008 on different directions, noting that
these activities were started back in 2007. Minister Nalbandian also
said that Armenia would present the report on the activities conducted
in 2008 on December 9 in Brussels, during the EU Ministerial meeting.

The Secretary of the National Security Council, Arthur Baghdassarian
spoke about the activities of the interagency commission on cooperation
with the European structures and noted that based on the proposals of
all concerned Ministries and agencies a new, rather ambitious plan
for action has been set up which could become a good base for the
discussions and future cooperation.

TURKEY MOURNS LAST INDEPENDENCE FIGHTER

TVNZ
310021
Nov 15 2008
New Zealand

Turkey laid to rest the last veteran of the 1919-1923 war which secured
its independence in a solemn, patriotic ceremony where dignitaries
and emotional onlookers pledged never to forget.

Modern Turkey is once again in the grip of rapid social change as it
undergoes democratic reforms aimed at European Union membership and
debates its secularism, but Mustafa Sekip Birgol’s death this week
united Turks in gratitude for their freedom.

Thousands of soldiers, veterans and Turkish citizens pinned Birgol’s
image to their chests and followed the funeral procession of the
105-year-old former colonel through the streets of Istanbul to sombre
applause.

"We feel both proud and sad," said his daughter Ipek Artunc, thanking
those who had come to pay their respects during a commemoration with
full military honours.

"Today we live in freedom and we must show our gratitude to those
who fought for that privilege," said 50-year-old Ayse Ozutop, who
had travelled to Istanbul’s Asian shore especially to witness the
procession following Birgol’s coffin.

Birgol was born in 1903 into a fading Ottoman Empire struggling to
embrace modernity and manage territories stretching from the Balkans
to the Arabian Peninsula.

Defeated in World War One after siding with Germany, the former empire
faced foreign occupation and annexation until Turkey’s founder Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk marshalled an independence campaign, in which Birgol
fought against the Greeks as a lieutenant.

"We have lost our last victorious hero, but Turks will never
forget. Our soldiers are very important to us," said 63-year-old
retired nurse Zuhal Arnik, speaking in a street lined with flag-waving
mourners.

As a rising and more religious-minded middle class moves into positions
of power and questions Turkey’s traditional autocratism, the old guard
of generals, judges and bureaucrats is losing its grip on society.

Turkey’s metamorphosis involves examining the origins of the state
and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of non-ethnic Turks which
took place in the process.

This week Turkey’s defence minister said he was misunderstood when
he backed the deportation of Greeks and Armenians as an important
step in creating modern Turkey.

Turkey’s political parties presented a united front in honouring
Birgol at the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

ARMENIA, CYPRUS POSITIONS ON RELATIONS WITH TURKEY COINCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.11.2008 17:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia and Cyprus pursue their foreign policy
leaning on the principles of international law and values of the
European Union, said the President of the House of Representatives
of Cyprus.

"Both states want peace and stability. Like Armenia, Cyprus is
willing to establish relations with Turkey," Marios Garoyan told a
news conference in Yerevan today.

"During meetings with Armenian high-ranking officials, we discussed
possibility to normalize the Armenian-Turkish relations and to resolve
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Our positions coincide in all points,"
he said.

"Aspired for the European Union, Turkey continues its denial of the
Armenian Genocide and the occupation of Cyprus. This country has
failed to meet commitments essential to be assessed to the EU. We
insist that Turkey changes its policy toward Armenia and Cyprus and
establishes diplomatic relations with them," Marios Garoyan said.

SERZH SARGSYAN HAS NO CLEAR-CUT FOREIGN POLICY CONCEPTION, ANDRANIK TEVANIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 12, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
has no clear-cut conception of foreign policy: his every step serves
a single purpose, to retain his own power. Political scientist
Andranik Tevanian, the Director of the Politeconomia Institute of
Political Studies, expressed such an opinion at the November 12 press
conference. According to him, it is the issue of retaining the power
that makes Serzh Sargsyan make contradictory statements: for instance,
at first he agrees to creation of an Armenian-Turkish commission
of historians, then speaks categorically against it. President’s
statements on Nagorno Karabakh settlement are also contradictory:
at first he said that Azerbaijan should make investments in Karabakh
and maybe after it residents of Karabakh will wish to live in the
country making part of Azerbaijan, then he stated that Karabakh will
never make part of Azerbaijan.

Besides keeping the power, according to the political scientist,
S. Sargsyan has the problem of opening the Armenian-Turkish border
at any price. By doing so, according to A. Tevanian, he will deliver
a strong blow to the radical opposition, as the latter’s program
attaches much importance to normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations. Touching upon Turkish President’s visit to Yerevan,
A. Tevanian stated that Armenia gained nothing from it: only Turkey and
RA President gained. The latter, according to political scientist’s
observation, gained some elements of legitimacy in the eyes of
the world.

ISRAEL: BRAWLING MONKS REFUSE TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK
Ashraf Khalil

Los Angeles Times
Nov 10 2008
CA

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict naturally garners most of the
world’s attention here, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Jerusalem
is considered hallowed ground (and therefore worth fighting over) by
a host of overlapping Christian orders — all constantly struggling
for turf rights.

On Sunday morning, Israeli police rushed into the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, to break up a
violent confrontation between Greek and Armenian Orthodox monks just a
few feet from the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified.

The ugly scene was even captured on video.

While the level of violence Sunday was shocking, inter-Christian
struggles are nothing new here, especially around the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. The site is shared by a host of different Christian
orders, including Greek and Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and
Syrian Orthodox and Roman Catholic. All sides zealously guard their
rights and privileges under a fragile set of agreements that date
back to the Ottoman Empire.

The unhealthy dynamic turns even the most minor maintenance issue
into a multi-directional political stalemate.

Much-needed repairs to the roof have been delayed by sectarian
wrangling. The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit
at the church, which is regularly packed with thousands of visitors
and pilgrims but has only one main exit. But nobody can agree on
where the exit should be placed.

Famously, the keys to the church’s front door are held, via mutual
agreement, by a Muslim family to keep the Christians from fighting
over that as well.

HOVHANNISIAN: DECLARATION STATES MINSK GROUP IS MAIN PLACE FOR SETTLING
CONFLICT

Yerkir.am
November 06, 2008

Vahan Hovhannisian, a member of the ARF Bureau and the leader of ARF
faction in parliament, says that the declaration signed by the
Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents contains positive trends
but it also has points that raise concerns.

"We see the declaration signed by the three presidents positive in
general," Hovhannsian said. He said that the declaration states that
the conflict should be settled by peaceful means.

"During my presidential campaign, I kept saying that the most important
factor in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations would be an agreement of
not attacking each other which could help discussing the problems in a
normal environment," Hovhannisian said.

The other key thing, which is stated in at least two points, is that
the OSCE Minsk Group is deemed as the main place where the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be settled. He pointed to one more
point, which says that any settlement should be guaranteed
internationally. "If NKR, before reaching the final independence, is
granted an interim status, then this status is guaranteed
internationally, which means that Azerbaijan will not change its mind
in the midst of a process," Hovhannisian said.

As for the points that raise concerns, Hovhannisian said that he refers
to the Madrid principles. The ARF has serious concerns in this regard.
Any territorial concession is unacceptable to the ARFT especially that
there is no real concession from Azerbaijan.

The second concern is that the declaration contains a point, according
to which, the peaceful settlement allows for developing economic and
other relations. "This point is rather an Aliyev approach which means
that no economic and other relations are possible until the
settlement," he said.

He also said that it is concerning that Nagorno-Karabakh is not
involved in the talks as a party but also expressed hope that the
Maindorf document gives such hope.

`ARMAVIA’ BROADENS ITS GEOGRAPHY

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
08 Nov 08
Armenia

`We hope that as early as this December, we will advertise `Armavia’
Air Company’s flights in the direction of the United States. Besides,
we have other offers for carrying out new flights in the direction of
Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Lyons and Zurich. Marseilles also offers
good terms.

We have reached an agreement for the Yerevan-Dubai-Calcutta flights
which will also enable us to increase the amount of the flights to
Dubai. Instead of the former 3-4 flights per week, we will hereafter
carry out 7 flights per week in that direction,’ MIKHAYIL BAGDASAROV
said yesterday.