Author: Frangulian Shushan

Bringing Syria into the fold

Asia Times Online
October 31, 2006

By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON – While US President George W Bush appeared last week to
reject suggestions that Washington directly engage the government of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, pressure for the United States to
work out some accommodation with Damascus is rising both at home and
abroad.

While never officially designated part of the "axis of evil" with
Iran, Iraq and North Korea, Syria has received the same "silent
treatment" as Washington has given its two surviving members, Iran and
North Korea, since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister
Rafik Hariri in February 2005, allegedly by Syrian agents.

But Syria’s geostrategic relevance, particularly in the wake of last
summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah and growing popular
sentiment for withdrawing the more than 140,000 US troops bogged down
in Iraq, is making it increasingly difficult to reject appeals for a
new diplomatic tack.

"In all of the major challenges we have in the Middle East – Iraq, the
Arab-Israeli conflict, the role of Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran – things
are more complicated without Syria’s cooperation," Edward Djerejian,
who served as US ambassador to Damascus under presidents Ronald Reagan
and George H W Bush, recently told the National Journal.

That reasoning is being made by Republican "realists" such as
Djerejian, who currently heads the James A Baker III Institute for
Public Policy in Houston, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee
chairman Richard Lugar, as well as some of Washington’s closest
European allies, notably Britain.

A number of prominent Israelis, including even cabinet-level members
of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government, who believe that Assad’s
recent appeals via Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine and the British
Broadcasting Corp, as well as other media, for a peace agreement with
the Jewish state should be tested, have also called for Washington to
engage Assad, if for no other reason than to try to pry Damascus loose
from its alliance with Iran and Hezbollah.

"Assad is very keen to get the Golan [Heights] back [from Israel], but
he is even more keen to engage the United States," David Kimche, a
former head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and president of the Israel
Council on Foreign Relations, said at a recent dinner in Washington
sponsored by the New America Foundation.

"It is in America’s interest to wean away Syria from Iran’s embrace,
[a move that] would also be appreciated by moderate Arabs" in the
region, he said, adding that renewed engagement between Washington and
Damascus could also facilitate the resumption of talks between
Israelis and Palestinians.

The fact that the White House cleared a meeting last month between
former secretary of state James Baker, who heads the congressionally
appointed task force the Iraq Study Group, and Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Muallem in New York has added to speculation that Bush may prove
more flexible than he has been to date, especially after next month’s
mid-term elections.

Nonetheless, asked at a press conference last Wednesday about his
willingness to "work with" Syria, as well as Iran, if it would improve
the situation in Iraq, Bush echoed his administration’s customary
mantra that both countries "understand full well" what they have to do
to get back in Washington’s good graces.

"Our message to Syria is consistent," he said. "Do not undermine the
[Prime Minister Hanna] Siniora government [in Lebanon] … help Israel
get back the prisoner that was captured by Hamas; don’t allow Hamas
and Hezbollah to plot attacks against democracies in the Middle East;
help inside of Iraq. They know our position," he declared, suggesting
that all of these were preconditions for the kind of engagement that
the critics have been urging.

Behind Bush’s latest statement, however, lies a familiar divide within
his administration. From the first days of the Israeli-Hezbollah
conflict last summer, the State Department was urging the White House
to engage Damascus, particularly after Olmert reportedly asked
Washington to enlist Syria in an effort to secure the release of the
two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah.

But hawks centered in the National Security Council, particularly
assistant secretary of state Elliot Abrams, and Vice President Dick
Cheney’s office, notably his national security adviser, John Hannah,
and Middle East specialist David Wurmser successfully opposed such a
move, and Olmert’s request was rejected.

Two months later, when an attack, apparently by Islamist militants, on
the US Embassy in Damascus was repelled by Syrian security forces, the
State Department’s Near East Bureau again reportedly pushed for some
kind of opening to the regime, only to be checked by the hawks, most
of whom have long favored a policy of regime change in Syria.

In their view, Assad is not only insincere in his recent appeals for a
peace settlement with Israel, but his hold on power is weak and
growing weaker. That weakness has made him so reliant on Iran that
Damascus has in effect become a client regime of Tehran and should be
treated accordingly.

Moreover, according to this view, engaging the regime would not only
provide it with a form of legitimacy it doesn’t deserve, but would
also undermine the moderate opposition in Syria and, even worse,
discourage pro-Western forces in Lebanon, which would see it as a
first step toward the re-establishment of Syrian hegemony over their
country.

But these arguments appear to have been losing ground – at least in
the public debate – in recent weeks as the situation in Iraq has
deteriorated and demands, particularly among Republicans, for a
"course correction" both there and in the region as a whole have
mushroomed.

In the first place, Assad’s hold on power is seen as much more secure
than the hawks have suggested. "It’s pretty clear to me that the
regime is not on its last legs," said Dennis Ross, Washington’s top
Middle East peace envoy under former presidents George H W Bush and
Bill Clinton and currently counselor to the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy, a think-tank that has generally been hawkish on
Syria.

Moreover, a growing number of experts believe that Syria’s
relationship with Iran is tactical rather than strategic and hence
much weaker than the hawks believe. In the view of these experts, to
the extent that the Bush administration now sees Iran as the greatest
threat to US influence in the region, it should be willing to offer
all kinds of carrots to begin prying Damascus from Tehran’s influence.

"The United States should convey its interest in a broader strategic
dialogue [with] Assad, with the aim of re-establishing US-Syrian
cooperation on important regional issues and with the promise of
significant strategic benefits for Syria clearly on the table," said
Flynt Leverett, who served as the National Security Council’s top
Middle East expert under Clinton and for the first two years of the
current administration.

"I remain absolutely convinced that Bashar wants to realign towards
the US," he noted recently.

(Inter Press Service)

t/HJ31Ak03.html

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 10 2006

VICTOR DALLAKYAN REMAINS NON-PARTISAN

On November 10 Member of Parliament Victor Dallakyan did not give a
clear answer to news reporters when he will enter the Bargavach
Hayastan Party. There have been rumors since spring 2006. `My
affiliation is not the most important political problem,’ stated
Victor Dallakyan. According to him, Bargavach Hayastan has not run in
any election yet, it is neither pro-government, nor opposition. It is
a new force.

This new force, as well as other old and new forces are distributing
aid, including potato and wheat seeds, free medical aid, all over the
country. In this connection, Victor Dallakyan says if the government
fulfilled its function, such things would not happen. `The government
fails to fulfill its functions, and benefactors replace it.’

EUROPE DIARY: HEADSCARF CHIC
Designer Cheek

BBC News, UK
Nov 9 2006

BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell talks to headscarf wearers and headscarf
opponents to get a full picture of the Turkish debate on Muslim dress –
plus more thoughts on the Ottoman slaughter of Armenians.

Undo the clips, and it’s a revealing halter neck Rabia Yalcin looks
stunning. I am not sure I should write that about someone who prides
themselves on dressing in accordance with the Islamic dress code,
but she is an Istanbul fashion designer who says her aim is "to show
the beauty of the flower, while covering the flower". She’s wearing
a bright scarlet headscarf, a grey jacket and trousers modelled on
Turkish pantaloons.

She has an interesting, not to say cheeky, take on the religious
rules. She shows us one of her latest creations. It’s a floor length
pink gown with a black velvet headscarf. Very modest. But a couple
of clips undone here and there and it becomes a very revealing halter
neck evening dress leaving little to the imagination. Rabia says it’s
of course only to be worn at home in front of husband and family.

FUNKY HATS She has a similarly ingenious way of coping with Turkey’s
headscarf ban.

That’s a kalpak, not a fez

The Turkish Republic has a bit of a thing about the political symbolism
of headgear. Its founder, whose picture still adorns every office,
every public place, Kemal Ataturk banned the fez as a head covering
and expected men to wear the hat. His own favourite was evidently
the Panama, although he’s often depicted wearing a kalpak, a tall
black fuzzy number which in certain lights could pass for a fez,
but which obviously has some crucial difference that I’m missing.

Like all his dramatic changes to Turkish society, from a new alphabet
to public dances, it appears to have been accepted with remarkably
little fuss. Although he banned religious dress in public places and
railed against veiling women he didn’t make much progress against the
headscarf. It was left to a government in 1979 to make that illegal.

Rabia’s ingenious solution? Her daughter is at university and she
has designed haute couture items to satisfy both Koranic law and
the Turkish state. Her daughter wears funky hats that cover all her
hair… Many of her fellow students and lecturers just thought she
was ultra-fashionable, and I guess rather eccentric and blessed with a
talented mum, until they saw her out of class wearing the traditional
head dress. Then the penny drops.

HARD CHOICE The story of Rabia’s personal assistant, who doesn’t have a
designer mum is rather different. Aslinur Kara is one of those people
who immediately makes you think: "I wish she worked for me." She
exudes no-nonsense efficiency and directness. She’s also devout and
had a hard choice when the time came to go to university.

Aslinur wanted a degree, so she had to remove her veil She told me that
she decided not to waste her education and ruin her life. So she took
the scarf off at the doors. She said it was hard, against her values,
an insult and against human rights. But in time it didn’t hurt so much,
and she came to feel that for her fellow students it was brains, the
person inside, that mattered, not what they wore. One is tempted to
say, "Well, precisely!" But I don’t.

She now has a job where she can wear the headscarf. But the law
remains and she couldn’t go into politics or the civil service or
teaching without making that hard choice again.

PRO-MILITARY LIBERALS I suspect many, probably most people in
Britain would see this as a matter of freedom of choice, but it’s
not seen like this here. The government’s tentative plans to change
the law meet fierce opposition. Just last weekend there was a march
through Ankara, a crowd of 12,000 people, to protest against the very
possibility. It’s an interesting twist that people who most probably
would be leftie Hampstead liberals in Britain are here supporters of
the army – the principal opponents of any weakening of what they see
as the secular state.

Bedri Baykam is an artist who clearly loves to shock. He’s working
on a series called Picasso’s women and his studio is covered with
photographs of naked women. He says that women who wear the headscarf
these days are making a statement that they are warriors for militant
Islam. He says their head covering is not like the headscarves worn
by his mother or grandmother but have tight elastic so that not one
scrap of hair escapes. He says it’s ridiculous that people should
treat hair as though it’s a sexual organ.

SLIPPERY TERMINOLOGY The former four-star general Edib Baser goes
further. He says that religious groups pay poor women to wear the
headscarf and he too makes the point that these are not the traditional
dress of his mother and grandmother. What the secularists miss is
that mum and granny would not be allowed into universities.

Spending a great deal of time and effort passing laws required by
the EU is not the usual prelude to Islamic revolution

I don’t know how Rabia and Aslinur vote but they certainly don’t
strike me as having a particularly strong political agenda. But terms
like "political Islam" are slippery. The ruling party is Islamic but
prefers to see itself as Conservative. As one academic remarks dryly,
spending a great deal of time and effort passing laws required by
the EU is not the usual prelude to Islamic revolution.

I spend some time chasing a rumour that high taxes have been imposed
on alcohol in some parts of the country, before it strikes me that
Tessa Jowell is Urging the same thing at home.

ANGRY DOCTORS But there’s no doubt some people feel deeply
uncomfortable with the current order.

The Cetins think the headscarf ban is like a growing cancer Nilufer
Cetin was in her fourth year studying to be a doctor when the headscarf
ban was introduced. She went to Hungary to finish her education but
still can’t practise as a doctor. She said: "I was shocked. It was
unbelievable, it was a terrible situation. But I think it was just
a pretext to attack believers."

Her husband, also a doctor, is still angry. In fact he radiates
anger. When I tell him that I can never see the headscarf being banned
in public institutions in Britain he is derisive and insists I will
be proved wrong. He says the ban will have to go: he’s a doctor and
"it’s like suppressing the function of a cell, if it goes on a cancer
will grow, there will be chaos."

THANKS FOR YOUR MESSAGES Thanks to all of you who answered my plea to
help me with understanding attitudes to the Armenia killings within
Turkey. They are all very thought-provoking and interesting.

Read your comments below last week’s diary I haven’t met many people
here who deny that something terribly wrong happened. Many however want
to put it in context. It’s true I did speak to one highly intelligent
individual who should know better than to try to convince me that
Ottoman soldiers were merely trying to escort Armenians out of a danger
zone when attacked by Kurdish brigands. But such effrontery is rare.

I have heard several stories of how Turkish families sheltered
Armenians or helped them escape. One academic made the point that
while Germany, as a state, has made full apology and admitted the
Holocaust, few Germans who were around during that time talk easily
about it. By contrast, he said, Turkish people have many stories to
tell and it is the state that cannot tolerate debate.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION But it was Professor Halil Berktay who had us
entranced. The interview went on for rather a long time and I was
about to apologise to the rest of team when Xav the cameraman said:
"That guy is so interesting, I could stay here all afternoon and
listen." So I’ll offer without adornment Prof Berktay’s take on why
the Turkish state cannot face up to what happened.

The Armenian genocide, the tragic uprooting, deportation and
annihilation is not something that sits well with [Turkey’s] narrative
of pure victimisation and suffering

Professor Halil Berktay As the Ottoman empire broke up, nations were
created from the Balkans to the Arab world, he says: "All of which
were conceived in anger and hatred and enmity and antagonism towards
one another. In each case, these nationalisms never like talking
about what they have done to others. But they can speak for hours and
hours of what others have done to them. Especially in this part of
the world. In the Balkans and south-east Europe and the Middle East
everybody loves to talk about how they have been victimised but they
have never hurt anyone else.

"The Turkish grand narrative turns to a very large extent on how Great
Power imperialism kept hounding and persecuting the Muslim Turks of the
Ottoman empire, and eventually the Turkish rump that was left. Then
we had to wage this glorious nationalist struggle against them and
against plots to partition us. Now, the Armenian genocide, the tragic
uprooting, deportation and annihilation is not something that sits
well with this narrative of pure victimisation and suffering."

He compares it to a child believing that they were brought by a stork,
that their parents couldn’t possibly have had sex and calls his theory
"the immaculate conception of the nation state."

30218.stm

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT, PARTIES PREPARE FOR PARLIAMENTARY POLLS
Emil Danielyan

EurasiaNet, NY
Nov 9 2006

Armenia’s leading political groups are gearing up for next spring’s
parliamentary elections, which could determine who succeeds President
Robert Kocharian in 2008. A key issue surrounding the legislative vote
is whether Armenia will be able to shed its post-Soviet reputation
for electoral fraud.

Armenian government officials and their allies insist that they will
do their best to make the vote free and fair. But their political
opponents are skeptical, believing instead that incumbent authorities
are intent on engineering a transfer of power from Kocharian to his
most influential associate, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian. The
United States and the European Union also have concerns about a
possible repeat of the serious fraud that has marred just about every
Armenian election held over the past decade. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive].

Officials in Yerevan hope to dispel those concerns with a package of
amendments to Armenia’s electoral code that are meant to forestall
various voting irregularities. Parliament approved the amendments in
the first reading on October 24, and they are now undergoing a review
by Council of Europe legal experts. One of them is designed to prevent
ballot box stuffing by requiring voters put their marked ballots
into special envelops before casting them. Other proposed changes
would give more rights to election candidates’ proxies and obligate
election commissions to videotape the nationwide vote count and release
preliminary turnout figures within five hours of the polls’ closure.

"These amendments will make the electoral process in our country more
democratic," one of their authors, Samvel Nikoyan of the governing
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), told fellow lawmakers.

The Armenian opposition is unconvinced, however, pointing to the
authorities’ rejection of other amendments put forward by opposition
parliamentarians. One such proposal envisaged that Armenians going to
the polls would have their fingers marked by indelible ink to make it
easier for election officials to prevent multiple voting. Opposition
leaders also claim that the changes in electoral legislation will
prove meaningless because the authorities lack the "political will"
to hold a democratic election and run the risk of losing power.

"These authorities have one aim: to retain power," Aram Sarkisian,
a radical leader of the opposition Justice alliance, told EurasiaNet.

"The only way to attain it is to rig elections. That is why we insist
that in this country democratic elections can take place only after
a democratic revolution resulting in regime change."

The HHK, of which Serzh Sarkisian is the unofficial leader, is the
main source of election-related concerns voiced by the opposition and
even some pro-Kocharian parties, notably the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF). They already accused it of resorting to fraud to
win the last parliamentary elections held in 2003. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive]. HHK leaders do not deny that victory
in the upcoming polls is vital for the success of Sarkisian’s reputed
plans to succeed Kocharian, whose second term ends in 2008.

But they say that they will not seek to win at any cost.

Such assurances are clearly not taken at face value by other major
political forces. The ARF, the HHK’s junior partner in the governing
coalition, warned earlier this year that it will join the opposition
camp if the 2007 polls, too, fall short of democratic standards.

Similar warnings have also been issued in recent months by Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian, who has had to personally deal with the
international fallout from Armenia’s past flawed elections. "Everyone
must realize that we simply have no more room for holding bad elections
because this time the damage to our people would be not only moral,
but also material," he said in an October 19 interview with the
Yerevan daily Haykakan Zhamanak.

Oskanian alluded in particular to $235.6 million in additional
economic assistance which the United States administration has
earmarked for Armenia under its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA),
a scheme designed to promote political and economic reforms around the
world. US officials indicate that Yerevan has pledged to improve its
human rights and democracy records in return. "These are important
commitments and the United States stands ready to help Armenia to
ensure that its upcoming elections are free and fair," Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said during the signing of Armenia’s MCA
compact in Washington last March.

The European Union (EU), for its part, has made it clear that failure
to meet that standard would call into question Armenia’s forthcoming
participation in the European Neighborhood Policy program that
entitles it to a privileged relationship with the bloc. "If there
are deficiencies [in the conduct of the 2007 elections], they will be
noticed and there will be consequences," Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki
Tuomioja, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency,
warned after talks with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on October 2.

Both the US and EU have indicated their unease with the fact that the
Armenian authorities have yet to formally ask the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the polls. The
Western concerns seem to stem from the Kocharian administration’s
failure to extend such an invitation ahead of last November’s
disputed constitutional referendum. [For details, see the Eurasia
Insight archive.]

During an October 17-19 visit to Yerevan, US Ambassador to the OSCE
Julie Finley elaborated on these concerns. "The OSCE is the gold
standard for monitoring elections," she said in an interview done by
this reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "They [the OSCE
monitors] are coming to the United States to monitor our mid-term
elections in November. Why the heck shouldn’t they be over here to
monitor the Armenian elections?"

Citing a busy schedule, Kocharian, however, pointedly declined to
meet the visiting US diplomat. Finley, who met a host of other senior
Armenian officials, said that she was "very, very disappointed" by
the president’s inability to meet with her. "Usually in my travels
[to OSCE member states] I do meet with the head of state," she said.

The Armenian leader instead discussed the elections with the
Yerevan-based ambassadors of major European Union countries on October
27. His office quoted him as assuring them that "both long-term and
short-term international monitoring missions will be invited for the
observation of electoral processes" in Armenia.

Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.

POLAND STANDS IN ITS POSITION TO RESOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CONSIDERING TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION RIGHT – POLISH SPEAKER
Author: S.Agayeva

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 9 2006

Poland stands in its position to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict taking into consideration the territorial integrity and
self-determination right, the Chairman of the Polish Senate Bogdan
Borusevich said on November 9, as a result of his visit to Azerbaijan,
Trend reports.

According to him, the position of Poland is that the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved
peacefully and within the international norms and principles. The
OSCE Minsk Group should be only possible solution to the conflict.

According to the Senate, Poland made an initiative to become a mediator
between Turkey and Armenia.

According to him, Poland has good relations with both countries and it
is ready present the interests of Armenia to Turkey, and interests of
Turkey to Armenia. He considers that in this way Poland may mitigate
the distrust between these countries.

PRESS RELEASE
November 5, 2006
Koelner – Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus
Contact: Beth Broussalian
Grant Writing & Public Relations
Tel: 949-929-7211
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

EVENING OF LITERATURE IN COLOGNE, GERMANY FEATURES ORHAN PAMUK’S NOVEL "SNOW"
Pamuk’s Acclaimed Novel to be Read in Five Languages at Original Performance

COLOGNE, GERMANY – Excerpts from the internationally acclaimed novel,
"Snow," by Orhan Pamuk, will be read in five languages at an original
performance taking place in Cologne, Germany on Friday, November 10,
2006. The readings will be performed by Albrecht Kieser in German;
Hasmik Hagopian in Armenian; Hulya Engin in Turkish; Adnan Dindar in
Kurdish; and Harutuin Harutuinian in Russian. Krikor Manugian, a
local performing artist, is the event’s organizer and moderator.
"Snow" is the most recent book by Pamuk who is the 2006 recipient of
the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This event is part of a grand, two-week literary festival that
celebrates Pamuk’s "Snow" as Cologne’s 2006 `Book for the City.’ The
festival is organized by one of Germany’s largest newpapers, Koelner
Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus.

Set in the Turkish city of Kars in the 1990s, "Snow" is epic in
scope. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural
tensions of modern Turkey into a few snowy days in a small Turkish
town and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism,
and a deep sympathy with its characters. Pamuk’s literary style
possesses the intensity and fantasy characteristic of the major
writers of our time.

`My inspiration for organizing this five-language, original
performance is to show that historically Kars has not always been a
city of Turkish people. Quite the contrary, large populations of
Armenians, Russians and Kurds inhabited Kars before World War I.
With this performance, I am using art to create a dialogue among the
people who have inhabited Kars over the centuries. In my opinion,
there are no rules for initiating dialogue. By promoting cultural
awareness, I am drawing attention to the history of the Armenian
people without pointing a finger at the Turks and saying that they
are guilty [of Genocide],’ explains Manugian.

`I was born in Istanbul and am certain that if my parents hadn’t
moved our family to Germany when I was still young, I would be either
dead or in prison. Instead, I have grown up with the basic human
rights all people deserve. In Germany, I do not have to hide my
ethnicity, instead I can organize events like the literary evening
and celebrate my heritage,’ continues Manugian.

`We should not forget our history, but I believe it is wrong to
remain in the past. One of the first words that I learned in
Armenian was `abaka,’ meaning future. I have made it my life’s
ambition to work toward a better future for the Armenian people,’
Manugian concludes.

Although Pamuk is the world’s most famous contemporary Turkish
writer, in his homeland the 54-year old novelist has stirred up
nationalists against him and has been forced to answer to criminal
charges of insulting the nation’s `Turkishness.’ The charges against
Pamuk came after remarks he made about the Armenian Genocide in an
interview in 2005 with the Swiss publication Das Magazin, a weekly
supplement to a number of Swiss daily newspapers. In the interview,
Pamuk stated, "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it."

Pamuk said that after the Swiss interview was published, he was
subjected to a hate campaign that forced him to flee the country. He
returned later in 2005, however, to face the charges against him. In
an interview with BBC News, he said he wanted to defend freedom of
speech, which was Turkey’s only hope for coming to terms with its
history: "What happened to the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 was a major
thing that was hidden from the Turkish nation; it was a taboo. But we
have to be able to talk about the past."

In addition to winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pamuk has
recently been awarded the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book
Trade, Le Prix Méditerranée étranger, Le Prix Medicis, and the
Ricardo Huch Prize. Pamuk is also an honorary member of American
Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition to "Snow," Pamuk has
written "The White Castle," "The Black Book, New Life," and "My Name
is Red." To date, his novels have been translated into 40 languages.

The literary evening on November 10 will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the
Lew Kopelew Forum, Neumarkt 18a, 50 667 Cologne. It will include a
slide show presentation featuring photos of the Turkish city of Kars.
Traditional music of the five different nations represented at the
reading will be performed. The event will conclude with a book
signing by the five readers and Manugian, who very recently changed
his name from Kirkor Pehlivan to take the surname of his paternal
grandfather, a freedom fighter in the Armenian Genocide with the
famous General Antranig Ozanian.

To reach the Kopelew Forum directly, please call +49 221 257 6767.
For additional information about this extraordinary event, please
contact [email protected].

###

RUSSIAN RENOWNED ACTORS IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
14:27 04/11/06

People’s actor of Russia, Sergei Shakurov, thinks he is an actor of
theater, Shakurov told a news conference today in Yerevan. He said
he is just earning money in films. "I do not play in soap operas,
though," he proudly noted. In his words, it is a completely different
life on the stage where you get inspired for two hours.

Shakurov and people’s artist of USSR Ludmila Gurchenko brought a
comedy to Yerevan. Shakurov said Gurchenko found the play saying,
"It is very light and there is a place for improvisation."

Shakurov’s wife is an Armenian, so he often visits Yerevan to visit
his wife’s relatives.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 3 2006

Ceasefire Regime was not Broken in Result of Monitoring Held on
Frontline of Armenian and Azerbaijan Armed Forces

Source: Trend
Author: S.Ilhamgizi

03.11.2006

The ceasefire regime was not broken in result of the monitoring held
on the frontline of the Armenian and Azerbaijan armed forces, the
Head of the Press-Service of the Azerbaijani Defense Minister Ramiz
Melikov told Trend.

In accordance with the mandate of the special representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the monitoring was held near the
Fizuli-Horadiz road. The monitoring from the Azerbaijani side was
held by the field assistant of the special representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Miroslav Vimetal and Peter Ki, and from Armenian
side – Gunter Folk and Imre Palatinus.

MISS ARMENIA AMONG 12 BEST AT MISS EUROPE 2006

Panorama.am
16:54 03/11/06

Marina Vardanyan, Miss Armenia 2006, told a press conference today
she is content with her results at Miss Europe 2006 since she is
among the best 12.

However, she said she had aspiration to be included among the best 5.

Karen Aristakesyan, chairman of Miss Armenia national agency, also said
"Marina deserves better," but he refused to comment on the decision
of jury.

Aristakesyan said Marina was warmly welcomed by the Armenian community
in Kiev where the contest took place. He also said the Armenian
ambassador in Ukraine, Armen Khachatryan, accompanied the Armenian
delegation. Aristakesyan assures Marina will get many offers to
participate in fashion and beauty contests. /Panorama.am/

LAST ISSUE OF ‘ACCORD’ JOURNAL DEVOTED TO AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Today, Azerbaijan
Nov 2 2006

The 17th issue of the ‘Accord’ journal of Great Britain Armistice
Resources Organization devoted to Azerbaijan and Armenia was translated
into the Azerbaijani and Armenian languages.

In the collection "Limits of leadership chances: the role of
elite and societies in Nagorno Karabakh peace process" there are
articles of authors representing conflict sides, as well as of
Azerbaijan and Armenian Foreign Ministers, journalists, scientists
and refugees. In his article under the title "Azerbaijan’s Peace way
through reintegration and cooperation in Nagorno Karabakh" Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stressed the Armenian occupation
of Azerbaijan territories.

"We are ready to continue negotiations with Armenia to remove the
results of Armenian aggression of Azerbaijani territories. The status
of Nagorno Karabakh can be determined legally and democratically
only by equal participation of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities,"
he writes.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan in his article "Old and new
states: changing paradigms and hard way leading to the peace in Nagorno
Karabakh" stressed that Azerbaijan is the victim of its own aggression.

"In order to solve the problem Nagorno Karabakh should have
geographical relation with Armenia and Azerbaijan should not have
any vertical relation with Nagorno Karabakh," the Minister writes.

The separatist regime is presented as "Nagorno Karabakh Republic"
in the journal, APA reports.

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