Author: Frangulian Shushan

France to include “Armenian genocide” in Turkey’s EU bid talks: FM
Xinhua, China
Dec 20 2004
PARIS, Dec. 20 (Xinhuanet) — France will include the issue of the
“Armenian genocide” when negotiations over Turkey’s admission to the
European Union (EU) start next October, French Foreign Minister Michel
Barnier told F rench RTL radio on Monday.
“What has to be done now is to start membership negotiations which
are going to be very long, very difficult, during which we will put
all issues on the table, including that of the Armenian genocide,
with the hope of obtaining a response from Turkey before membership,”
said the minister.
Barnier used the term “Armenian genocide” last Tuesday in frontof the
French parliament instead of “tragedy” — the term used by the Turkish
authorities — which Barnier had earlier used in debates on the issue.
The 1915-1917 massacre of Armenians, in which an estimated 1.5 million
people died under the Ottoman Empire, has been a sensitive subject
of Turkey’s EU bid.
On Jan. 18, 2001, the French parliament passed a resolution stating
that “France recognizes publicly the Armenian genocide of 1915”
without designating responsibility.
French President Jacques Chirac supports Turkey’s bid to join the EU
but faces deep opposition from his own ruling party and the majority
of French voters.
During the EU summit meeting last Thursday and Friday, Chirac firmly
backed negotiations for Turkey’s EU membership scheduled tostart
Oct. 3, 2005.
However, he promised the final decision on Turkey’s membership,so far
as French voters are concerned, will come in a referendum at the end
of the negotiations. Enditem

US says it acknowledges Armenian tradgedy
Turkish Daily News
Dec 17, 2004
Boucher: Our position on the Armenia question is pretty well known
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
The United States says it acknowledges the “terrible tragedy” the
Armenian community in Anatolia faced during the World War I years,
but declined to comment on whether the European Union should make it
a precondition for the start of accession talks with Turkey.
“Our position on the Armenia question is pretty well known. We’ve
acknowledged the terrible tragedy that befell the Armenian community
in Anatolia in the final years of the Ottoman Empire,” State Department
Spokesman Richard Boucher said at a press briefing.
He said Washington had been encouraging civil society and diplomatic
discussions about the tragedy as well as political dialogue between
Armenia and Turkey on the issue.
Boucher indicated the U.S. position on the issue had remained unchanged
since the president issued a traditional message on April 24, 2003,
the date that Armenians say is the anniversary of the alleged genocide.
Turkey categorically rejects Armenian charges that genocide was
committed against Armenians living in eastern Turkey in the final
years of the Ottoman Empire.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday calling on
EU leaders to open entry talks with Turkey. It also urged Ankara to
acknowledge the alleged genocide but made it clear it would not be
a condition for the start of accession talks.

AZERIS TO DRAW NEW MAP TO RESTORE ORIGINAL PLACENAMES IN KARABAKH
Trend news agency
Dec 16 2004
BAKU, 16.12.04. A total of 2.2bn manats (about 448,000 dollars) have
been allocated from the Azerbaijani state budget for the development
of a new topographic map of Nagornyy Karabakh, Trend has quoted the
head of the executive authorities of the town of Xocali, MP Elman
Mammadov, as saying.
He said the placenames given by the Armenians in the Soviet period
not only on the territory of Karabakh itself, but also in the
adjacent Goranboy District will now correspondent to their historical
equivalents. Mammadov said more than 20 residential settlements had
been Armenianized in Xocali alone, but in the years of independence
the places received their original names.
The new map of Nagornyy Karabakh is being prepared jointly by
specialists from the Institute of Cartography under the National
Academy of Sciences and the State Committee on land and cartography.

ArmenPress
Dec 15 2004
PROSECUTORS CONCERNED OVER GROWING NUMBER OF GAS LEAK ACCIDENTS
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s chief prosecutor’s
office has called in a statement today on the population to avoid
using makeshift stoves to warm their homes that work on natural gas
and urged it to observe all safety rules. The warning came after a
series of accidents from across the country reporting death or
poisoning from gas. The latest such accident occurred in Etchmiadzin
where a couple and three their little children were poisoned by a gas
leak out.
The incidents prompted the prosecutor’s office to make a probe and
reveal that virtually all accidents are due to people’s failure to
observe the most elementary safety rules and the carelessness of
authorized bodies which are supposed to supervise local gas networks’
safety.
The chief prosecutor’s office also urged the population to report
immediately about careless work of authorized bodies. It also
required that gas authorities carry out sweeping reforms within the
system and take measures to prevent such accidents in future.

La Opinion
14 Dic. 2004
Busca ganar categoricamente;
Israel Vazquez prepara una buena estrategia para su cita ante el
armenio Artyom Simonyan
Ramiro Gonzalez; Redactor Deportivo
Israel Vazquez continua trabajando para su contienda del proximo 28
de diciembre en el casino Sycuam, de El Cajon, California, donde
enfrentara al retador armenio Artyom Simonyan
Vazquez (36-3, 26 nocauts) expondra por primera vez el cinturon
supergallo de la Federacion Internacional de Boxeo (FIB), que capturo
el pasado 25 de marzo al superar al venezolano Jose Luis Valbuena por
nocaut en el undecimo asalto en el Olympic Auditorium.
“Estoy trabajando muy bien. El ritmo esta acorde a lo planeado para
enfrentar a un rival tipico europeo como Artyom Simonyan, al que
espero vencer categoricamente en mi primera defensa”, comento ayer
Israel Vazquez, quien recien regresaba del gimnasio.
“Tengo mucha confianza en mi esquina. Justin Fortune ha llevado bien
la preparacion como se la designo Freddie Roach, y por eso considero
que no debere tener ningun problema el proximo 28 de diciembre. He
visto varias peleas de mi rival, y se que aguanta mucho pero no boxea
y tampoco tiene una pegada fulminante, empero, tambien hay que
respetarlo”, agrego.
Simonyan (14-0-1, siete nocauts) tambien se prepara en el area de
Hollywood, y llegara con una victoria por decision unanime sobre el
tailandes Fahsan (3K-Battery) Por Thawatchai, celebrada el pasado 21
de mayo en Elk Grove Village, Illinois, y que fue eliminatoria a 12
asaltos.
Sobre los planes futuros, Vazquez, dirigido por el manager angelino
Frank “Derecho” Espinoza, manifesto que primero debe salir bien de su
primera defensa, pues cree que el 2005 sera bueno.
“Debido a que no pelee de inmediato, varios planes no se concretaron,
como una unificacion con Oscar ‘Chololo’ Larios o ir ante Rafael
Marquez, pues queria subir de division, pero sin duda una victoria
contundente sobre Simonyan me abrira las puertas en el 2005 donde
espero que sea mi ano y pueda realizar las peleas de mas dinero y
ante rivales de jerarquia”, puntualizo.
Finalmente, Israel adelanto que esta semana arreciara el ritmo de la
preparacion, y lo bajara en la siguiente semana donde trabajara de
ocho a seis asaltos.

Armenia promises to strengthen cooperation with NATO, military official says
.c The Associated Press
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Armenia intends to strengthen its cooperation
with NATO in coming years, a top Armenian military official said
Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Artur Agabekyan, deputy defense minister, said Armenia could
participate in as many as seven alliance training operations in 2005.
“Relations between Armenia and NATO are developing through constantly
widening methods,” said Agabekyan, speaking at a meeting of NATO’s
military committee. The committee is a panel of senior officers from
the 26 allies that reviews the alliance’s military policy.
Officials from some 40 alliance countries and partner countries –
including former Soviet republics Georgia and Ukraine – are attending
the meeting in the Armenian capital. Armenia’s neighbor and foe,
Azerbaijan, is also an active participant in NATO programs, but
refused to attend the meeting in Yerevan.
The expansion of Armenian ties with NATO is being watched warily by
Russia, which has expressed concern about the western alliance
extending its influence into former Soviet countries.
12/14/04 10:22 EST

Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan to syncronize power grids
IRNA web site
11 Dec 04
Tehran, 11 December: By signing a tripartite agreement in a meeting
here Saturday [11 December] Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan agreed to
synchronize their power grids.
The document was inked by the managing directors of Iran’s Power
Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (TAVANIR), Russia’s
Reivas and Azerbaijan’s Azer Energy.
Managing Director of TAVANIR Mohammad Ahmadian said that such
synchronization will enable the three countries to benefit from the
facilities of one another’s grids in case of power shortage or
failure.
Putting the volume of energy exchanged among the signatories of the
document at 500 MWs, he noted: “The operations for construction of
power transmission lines are already underway and the exchange of
electrical energy will start in 2006.
“The synchronization of the three power grids will expand the national
power network on the one hand and will make it more stable on the
other. Thus, Iran’s power network will be synchronized with Russia’s
200,000-MW power grid via Azerbaijan, which will pave the way for
introducing Iran’s power industry to the world market.”
For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russia’s and
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) electricity monopoly United
Energy Systems (UES) Anatoli Chubais underlined the significance of
synchronization of Iran’s power grid with that of Russia to his
country.
“Once the project is implemented, the power grids of the three
countries will operate in parallel. This would facilitate transmission
of power to any destination in the three countries at any time,” he
added.
Addressing the meeting, the deputy head of Azer Energy, Marlen
Askarov, he said that given that peak time in Iran and the two CIS
countries occur in summer and winter respectively, the three states
can compensate each other’s shortages.
“Besides exchange of energy, the project aims to stabilize the power
networks of the three countries,” he added, hoping that other regional
countries will also sign such agreements in the future.

Russia, Turkey Weave Closer Economic Ties
By SUZAN FRASER
.c The Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Historic rivals Turkey and Russia have spent
centuries vying for influence in central Asia, the Balkans and the
Caucasus. Most recently, they bickered over routes to carry energy
resources to world markets and traded accusations that each supports
the other’s militant groups.
But underneath that antagonism, the two have quietly woven a web of
economic ties and are eyeing even closer cooperation.
The process will receive an official consecration on Sunday, when
Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Ankara in a visit rich in
symbolism. Putin will be the first Russian leader ever to pay an
official visit to Turkey.
The Russian leader is to meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and oversee the signing of six
cooperation agreements, including defense, finance and energy accords.
The two-day visit “will be a new boost for Turkish-Russian
relations,” Sezer spokesman Sermet Atacanli said Friday.
Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries.
At the height of their powers, the Ottoman empire and Czarist Russia
were locked in a struggle for regional supremacy. Friction between the
two precipitated the Crimean War and they were on opposite sides of
World War I. More recently, Turkey was NATO’s easternmost front during
the Cold War.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey and Russia competed for
control in Central Asia and the Caucasus, where Turkic states gained
independence. Economically more powerful, Russia has in recent years
maintained its dominance in the region.
But since the end of the Cold War, Turkey and Russia have also been
concentrating on trade. Today, Russia is Turkey’s second largest
trading partner, after Germany. Turkey is a major consumer of Russian
natural gas, and Turkey’s Mediterranean coast is a favorite
destination for Russian tourists.
Bilateral trade is expected to exceed a targeted $10 billion this year
– an amount Turkish officials say no one would have dreamed of 10
years ago. Turkey’s Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen said trade will
reach $15 billion in coming years.
A 278-mile pipeline that carries the Russian gas beneath the Black Sea
has been operational since 2002. Turkish companies are active in
Russia in retail, construction and brewing, and investment to date
totals $2 billion.
“It is no longer rivalries, but cooperation which dominates
relations,” said Sinan Ogan, a researcher and Russia expert.
Putin’s trip, originally scheduled for September, was postponed after
the Beslan school tragedy in which more than 330 people were killed in
a siege that Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for.
The Chechnya conflict is expected to feature high on the agenda during
Putin’s two-day visit. Many Turks trace their ancestry to Chechnya and
other parts of the Caucausus, and Turks sympathize with their fellow
Muslims in the war-ravaged Russian region.
Russia has called on Turkey to crack down on Turkish charities that it
claims channel funds and weapons to Chechen rebels. Earlier this
month, Russian officials said their forces in Chechnya killed two
Turkish militants who were fighting alongside Chechen separatists.
On Friday, Turkish authorities apprehended 10 suspected Chechen
militants and two pro-Chechen Turks in an apparent gesture to Putin.
“Russia’s greatest concern is the support from certain Chechen civil
organizations inside Turkey to Chechen terrorist movements,” said
Seyfi Tashan, director of the Ankara-based Foreign Policy Institute.
Turkey has in the past accused Russia of supporting Kurdish rebels who
have waged a war for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast since 1984. The
war has killed some 37,000 people.
Putin and Erdogan are also expected to discuss contentious issues such
as the Caucasus, where Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan and Russia is
friendly with its rival, Armenia.
12/04/04 03:05 EST

–Boundary_(ID_GwpyiPwstUuZvUYug784pw)
Content-typ e: message/rfc822
From: [email protected]
Subject: An Interesting Book on Armenian Assessment of Sevres Treaty
AN INTERESTING BOOK ON ARMENIAN ASSESSMENT OF SEVRES TREATY
Azg/arm
3 Dec 04
“Gitutyun” publishing house issued young historian Avag Harutyunian’s
book under the title of “The Treaty of Sèvres and Armenian
Social-Political Thought” in November of the current year.
As it is known there have always been and still are diverse opinions and
assessments among Armenian thinkers as regards the Sèvres Treaty, the
Armenian Cause and Armenia’s orientations in general. Today when the
rivalry between the super powers for our region aggravates this issue
may help us to make right decisions. Mr. Harutyunian’s book largely
supports in the search for solution to this national issue.
The book is composed of 6 sections: prologue, epilogue and 4 chapters.
The 1st chapter is titled “Diplomatic and National Discussions of the
Armenian cause”. It contains 2 parts examining activities of Armenian
delegation at the Paris peace conference and the evaluation of the act
on United Armenia issued by the Armenian government on May 28 of 1919.
The author unveils the subjective and political reasons of discord
between the National and RA government delegations (Poghos Nubar pasha
is accused of subjectivism).
The 2nd chapter is an analysis of the Sèvres Treaty. After presenting
the history of the Treaty, Mr. Harutyunian turns to the political,
juridical and geo-economical analysis of the Treaty. Geo-economical
aspect of the Treaty has never been studied before. The author proves
that the Treaty “contained deliberate confusion in the key issues” and
that “the fact that Republic of Armenia was absent at the negotiations
could be a reason for nullifying Lausanne Treaty in so much that
Armenia’s rights are violated”.
The 4th chapter of the book deals with the evaluation of the Sèvres
Treaty as different Armenian political flows saw it. The party in power,
Armenian Revolutionary Party, had discords within the party itself.
Approaches of Liberal Democratic Party and of the socialist camp to the
Sèvres Treaty and the Armenian Cause are discussed in separate parts.
In the epilogue of the book Mr. Harutyunian deals with controversial
views on the Treaty existing today. He thinks that the fact that Turks
are so worried about the possibility of the Sèvres Treaty to float to
the surface means that it indeed “may possibly emerge on the political
arena”. The major lesson to learn from the Sèvres Treaty is this: “If
you want to see the Sèvres Treaty realized, get ready for struggle
because no one, above all Turks, will give you lands”.
The main deficiency of the book is that the author did not use foreign
sources otherwise some issues would find solution. For instance, the
author assigns all blame on Olti and Koghb Kurds for joining the Turks
during the Armenian-Turkish war of 1920 forgetting about the role of
Armenian bashibozuks in Kurds’ orientation. Mr. Harutyunian writes that
“the Treaty would not lose its force but for the treason of Russia and
western powers” forgetting that on the previous page he mentioned that
“Armenia was not able to liberate `Wilson’s’ territories on his own”.
By Gevorg Yaztchian

ARMENIANS BITTEN BY TURKS IN FRANCE
A1+
29-11-2004
Five young Armenians were bitten by Turks Monday in Valance, France,
Liberty radio station reports.
The fight was broken out on national ground. Four of the five were
taken to hospital with injuries.
French Armenians opened a point for collection of signatures against
Turkey’s likely EU membership. Two dozen Turks reportedly made
offending remarks toward Armenians, then, threw bottles at them and
eventually resorted to violence.
Armenians complained about that to the law enforcement. Instead of
interfering, the police advised to close the point.
This is the first time Armenians’ sentiments have expressed this way,
Liberty radio station says.