Author: Hakobian Adrine

BLOODY LAUNCH OF THE TURKISH SECTOR OF THE KARS-AKHALKALAKI RAILWAY

Hayots Ashkharh
July 26 2008
Armenia

The dramatic events recorded in [Georgian province of
Samtskhe-]Javakheti on the eve of the official launch of the
Turkish section of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-[Tbilisi-Baku] railway
[connecting Turkey and Azerbaijan via Georgia] show that even peaceful
Turkish-Azerbaijani initiatives have a bloody conclusion for us,
Armenians.

It is more than obvious that before the launch of the construction of
the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway, the clashes that started in Akhalkalaki
on 17 July were the result of simple provocation by the Georgian
special services. These were aimed at demonstrating the resoluteness of
the Georgian government to carry out the construction of the railway
via Georgia’s territory without a hitch.

So, notwithstanding how much the methods of struggle chosen by
the United Javakhk organization correspond to the new realities in
the region, the activists of the latter have received the role of
"scapegoats" in this show.

This testifies to the fact that the launch of the construction of the
Turkish section of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway may be tantamount
to adding new explosive elements to the already tense situation in
the region.

Georgia is under serious political pressure from Russia, which
will reach its peak in December 2008, when the Georgian government
expects to receive full rights to join NATO. It is not incidental that
large-scale military manoeuvres were taking place in the countries
neighbouring Georgia in the north and south while the Georgian,
Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents laid the rails of, as they put it,
"a new silk road" in Kars on 24 July.

The existing situation makes the Armenian government
avoid the temptation to give hasty assessment of the recent
developments. However, one should not forget that the Kars-Akhalkalaki
railway project was not feasible either economically or technically
both in the past and nowadays. It is a lever of political pressure upon
Armenia. The loud words that the Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani
leaders said in Kars on 24 July are, in reality, a smokescreen for
the whole civilized world.

To add to it [the smokescreen], the Turkish president said in Kars that
this project was open to any country in the South Caucasus. Concurrent
with his comment, apparently meant for Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan
recalled in disguised ways the well-known preconditions set before
our country.

What kind of "open project" are the Turks and Azerbaijanis speaking
about, if Armenia is offered to forget its historical past and
political achievements in order to participate in it? It is clear that
this PR show has been initiated to "save face" in the atmosphere of
the lately activated non-official Armenian-Turkish contacts.

So, until 2011, when the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway is to be launched,
Javakheti’s territory can be used to put pressure upon Armenia and
to organize political provocations. The Azerbaijani contractor which
is to carry out the construction in Javakheti will not stay away from
these provocations as they can spoil Armenian-Georgian relations.

The Turkish special services will also become active in Javakheti,
which will also try to drive a wedge between Armenians and Georgians
and also speed up the return of Meskhetian Turks. Georgia, in turn,
will find itself in an ambiguous situation, as having provided
its own territory for a geo-economic experiment, which has apparent
elements of bluff, it will have to face its negative results sooner or
later. Moreover, no matter how much the countries, which are starting
the construction of the Kars Akhalkalaki railway, try to advertise the
economic "advantages" of their project, it becomes even more obvious
with the lapse of time that they will be in growing need of funding
to complete it on time. It is clear at present that the project will
cost not 400m dollars, but 600m-700m dollars, but this will not be
the final cost.

New elements of tension are being brought in the South Caucasus region
with the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway under the guise
of a large-scale economic project. Who benefits from this? Armenia and
Armenian diplomats should do their best in the near future so that the
start of the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway does not
become an opportunity for new clashes and arrests in Javakheti. It
is necessary to win time at least until the end of this year, when
there will be some clarity in Russian-American relations and Georgia’s
participation in NATO programmes. It cannot be ruled out that these
clarifications will be accompanied by a new "round" of tension in
[Georgian breakaway regions of] Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Given the current unfavourable geopolitical shifts, it is very
important that we do not become "a party" to rivalry among superpowers
that have interests in the region, while at the same time gaining
their favour in the issue of overcoming Armenia’s blockade. At some
point then the role and significance of the Armenian factor will be
valued that will stop Turkey’s plans to invade the South Caucasus.

We believe that in the beginning of 2009, Armenia and Armenian
diplomats will be given an opportunity to take more proactive steps
in order to break the circle of blockade and provocations, which
is being created around it as a result of the construction of the
Kars-Akhalkalaki railway.

FIRST GROUP OF ARMENIAN ATHLETES BACK HOME FROM BEIJING

ARMENPRESS
Aug 19, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS; The first group of Armenian athletes
was back home today early morning from Beijing, the capital of the
Olympic Games, including five athletes who won bronze medals. All
were given a warm welcome at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport.

Weightlifter Gevork Davtian, who won bronze medal in 77 kg weight
division, said he wanted very much to win the gold medal, but
failed. "But I realize that Olympic bronze medal is also a big award’
he said.

Tigran Martirosian, another weightlifter, who won bronze in 69 kg
weight category, said the competition was very tough in Beijing.

Greco-Roman wrestler Roman Amoyan, 55 kg, another bronze medallist,
said next time he will win gold.

With five bronze medals Armenia shares so far the 65-th place in the
overall country ranking.

Turan, Azerbaijan
Aug 14 2008

Western Union, MoneyGram resume operations in Azerbaijan

The operations of international payment systems Western Union and
MoneyGram will be resumed on the territory of Azerbaijan starting from
14 August after two weeks of restriction imposed by the National Bank
of Azerbaijan [NBA].

NBA has said that this has become possible upon fulfilment of the
central bank’s requirement by these systems to cease cooperation with
illegal agencies on the occupied territory of Azerbaijan (Nagornyy
Karabakh).

Senior officials of these systems, in particular vice president of
Western Union, Jonathan Knaus, who visited Baku last week pledged not
to allow such actions in future and function in the country in
accordance with legislation and international principles.

Earlier, upon NBA’s notification, money transfer systems such as
Contact, Gold Crown-money transfer, Migom, Privat Money and Lider have
ceased their operations in Nagornyy Karabakh.

Currently, the operations of Russian money transfer system UNIStream
have been restricted in Azerbaijan. Its main founder is an Armenian
national – Garik Zakaryan. UNIStream’s only partner in the country was
Gancabank.

NEW THINGS TO BE FOUND IN EREBUNI

Panorama.am
20:05 14/08/2008

"Excavations are planned to start in front of the hill which has not
been observed yet," said Ashot Piliposyan, the director of Erebuni
Museum to the journalists.

It has been revealed out that Russian, Armenian and American historians
took part in the excavations of Erebuni but every side used their own
means. According to the director of the museum, they have preliminary
agreement with the director of Ermitazh to publish Red Hill catalogue
covering historic territories.

This year the 40th anniversary of the Museum is to be celebrated. In
this regard scientific conference will be organized in October and
experts from the USA, Russia, Georgia and Italy will arrive in Armenia
to take part in the conference.

GEORGIE ET RUSSIE ECHAUFFENT LA GUERRE FROIDE
Benito Perez

Le Courrier
le Mardi 12 Aout 2008
Switzerland

La guerre a fait son retour aux confins de l’Europe. Depuis jeudi,
des combats meurtriers entre Géorgiens, Russes et Ossètes rappellent
au monde que, près de deux décennies après la chute de l’empire
soviétique, aucune solution politique durable n’a été trouvée aux
Républiques confettis de la poudrière eurasienne. Tchétchénie,
Ingouchie, Abkhazie, Haut-Karabakh, Transnistrie, Ossétie du Sud,
autant de provinces minoritaires, rebelles a leurs souverains
russes, géorgiens, azerbaïdjanais ou moldaves. Des conflits
ethnico-nationalistes hérités du passé et désormais figés pour
cause de néo-guerre froide. Jusqu’a ce qu’un impulsif dirigeant ne
choisisse a nouveau la pire des solutions, celle des armes…

Instinctivement, on aurait envie d’exprimer de la sympathie pour
la petite Georgie confrontée a l’ogre russe. Mais force est de
reconnaître que le président Mikheïl Saakachvili – mal conseillé
par les faucons de Washington Рa bien allum̩ la m̬che. Pour les
régimes autoritaires qui pullulent dans la zone, ces frontières
chaotiques représentent une aubaine lorsqu’il s’agit de mobiliser
les foules a coups de bravades nationalistes. Mis en difficulté
l’an dernier par son opposition, Saakachvili espérait enfiler a
nouveau le costume d’homme fort de la Nation, habit que le président
géorgien avait étrenné en 2004 quand, a peine élu, il avait repris
le contrôle de la République autonome d’Adjarie.

Mais, cette fois, c’est un autre Â"bleuÂ", Dmitri Medvedev, qui devrait
gagner ses galons. L’offensive géorgienne et le sang versé par quinze
soldats russes Â"de maintien de la paixÂ" et des centaines de civils
ossètes lui ont fourni un prétexte en or. La réplique impitoyable
du successeur de Poutine indique jusqu’où peuvent aller les Russes
quand il s’agit de défendre leurs Â"intérêts stratégiquesÂ"
dans une zone convoitée par l’OTAN. Cette réaffirmation de la
Pax Rusia devrait provisoirement décourager d’autres aventures
militaires dans la périphérie de l’ex-Union soviétique. Mais
elle éloigne aussi l’espoir d’une solution politique négociée,
dont la région aurait pourtant besoin. Enclavées, assiégées,
militarisÃ&# xA9;es, abandonnées aux potentats locaux, les Républiques
confettis eurasiennes demeureront otages d’intérêts géostratégiques
et d’opportunités politiques qui les dépassent, tant qu’elles ne
seront pas englobées dans un plan de paix qui concilierait, dans
un esprit de réciprocité et de co-souveraineté, le respect des
minorités, la neutralité militaire et les sensibilités nationales.

Malheureusement, l’initiative d’une telle résolution globale ne
viendra pas de l’Union européenne. En choisissant a nouveau de se
joindre au choeur anti-russe de Washington et Tbilissi, les Européens
ont confirmé leur inexistence politique et leur inféodation a
l’OTAN. Les gesticulations, hier, de Bernard Kouchner au côté de
Saakachvili sont d’autant plus pathétiques que – curieux paradoxe –
l’alignement sur les positions étasuniennes n’empêchera pas l’Union
européenne – dépendante du gaz naturel de Sibérie – d’éviter toute
pression sur Moscou visant a l’amener a la table des négociations…

–Boundary_(ID_v2tSP2R +HPlZ2Zy+bn7Ymw)–

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF AGBU

His Holiness Aram I received the President of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU), Berdj Setrakian, in Bikfaya on August 10. Hagop
Ateshian, a member of the Central Committee of the Catholicosate, also
attended the meeting.

His Holiness and his guest discussed issues of interest to the Armenian
nation worldwide, as well as projects underway both in Armenia and the
Diaspora under the auspices of AGBU.

The Pontiff praised the AGBU’s efforts particularly in the educational and
cultural fields. His Holiness also reminded Mr. Setrakian that AGBU, as an
organization of Pan-Armenian character, must also support the projects of
the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

KHAZAR IBRAHIM: "NOBODY SHOULD DOUBT THAT AZERBAIJAN WILL RESTORE ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY"

Azeri Press Agency
11 Aug 2008 16:01
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. "We will solve Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. We are doing our best for the peaceful settlement of the
conflict. Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity within
the framework of international legal norms, nobody should doubt it,"
spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Khazar Ibrahim told today
the press conference, APA reports.

Asked whether the developments in Georgia would have an impact on the
settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the diplomat said Azerbaijan
did not establish its policy basing on other developments.

"We solve our problems using our potential. Our policy in
connection with escaping from Armenian aggression bases on our
potential. Azerbaijan is strengthening its Armed Forces and its
potential. We use all legal opportunities to protect our territories,"
he said.

l

The Christian Science Monitor
Russo-Georgian conflict is not all Russia’s fault
But war could ignite further disputes in the region.
By Charles King

from the August 11, 2008 edition

Washington – Following a series of provocative attacks in its
secessionist region of South Ossetia late last week, Georgia launched
an all-out attempt to reestablish control in the tiny enclave. Russia
then intervened by dropping bombs on Georgia to protect the South
Ossetians, halt the growing tide of refugees flooding into southern
Russia, and aid its own peacekeepers there.

Now, the story goes, Russia has at last found a way of undermining
Georgia’s Western aspirations, nipping the country’s budding
democracy, and countering American influence across Eurasia. But this
view of events is simplistic.

American and European diplomats, who have rushed to the region to try
to stop the conflict, would do well to consider the broader effects of
this latest round of Caucasus bloodletting – and to seek perspectives
on the conflict beyond the story of embattled democracy and cynical
comparisons with the Prague Spring of 1968.

Russia illegally attacked Georgia and imperiled a small and feeble
neighbor. But by dispatching his own ill-prepared military to resolve
a secessionist dispute by force, Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili has managed to lead his country down the path of a
disastrous and ultimately self-defeating war.

Speaking on CNN, Mr. Saakashvili compared Russia’s intervention in
Georgia to the Soviet invasions of Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in
1968, and Afghanistan in 1979. Russia has massively overreacted to the
situation in Georgia. It has hit targets across Georgia, well beyond
South Ossetia, and has killed both Georgian military personnel as well
as civilians. The international community is right to condemn this
illegal attack on an independent country and United Nations member.

But this is not a repeat of the Soviet Union’s aggressive behavior of
the last century. So far at least, Russia’s aims have been clear: to
oust Georgian forces from the territory of South Ossetia, one of two
secessionist enclaves in Georgia, and to chasten a Saakashvili
government that Russia perceives as hot-headed and unpredictable.

Regardless of the conflict’s origins, the West must continue to act
diplomatically to push Georgia and Russia back to the pre-attacks
status quo. The United States should make it clear that Saakashvili
has seriously miscalculated the meaning of his partnership with
Washington, and that Georgia and Russia must step back before they do
irreparable damage to their relations with the US, NATO, and the
European Union.

The attack on South Ossetia, along with Russia’s inexcusable reaction,
have pushed both sides down the road toward all-out war – a war that
could ignite a host of other territorial and ethnic disputes in the
Caucasus as a whole.

The emerging narrative, echoing across editorial pages and on
television news programs in the US, portrays Georgia as an embattled,
pro-Western country struggling to secure its borders against a
belligerent Russia. Since coming to power in a bloodless revolution in
late 2003, Saakashvili has certainly steered a clear course toward the
West.

The EU flag now flies alongside the Georgian one on major government
buildings (even though Georgia is a long way from ever becoming a
member of the EU). The Saakashvili government seeks Georgian
membership in NATO, an aspiration strongly supported by the
administration of George W. Bush. Oddly, before the conflict erupted
on its own soil Georgia was the third-largest troop contributor in
Iraq, a result of Saakashvili’s desire to show absolute commitment to
the US and, in the process, gain needed military training and
equipment for the small Georgian Army.

Russia must be condemned for its unsanctioned intervention. But the
war began as an ill-considered move by Georgia to retake South Ossetia
by force. Saakashvili’s larger goal was to lead his country into war
as a form of calculated self-sacrifice, hoping that Russia’s
predictable overreaction would convince the West of exactly the
narrative that many commentators have now taken up.

But regardless of its origins, the upsurge in violence has illustrated
the volatile and sometimes deadly politics of the Caucasus, the
Texas-size swath of mountains, hills, and plains separating the Black
Sea from the Caspian.

Like the Balkans in the 1990s, the central problems of this region are
about the dark politics of ethnic revival and territorial struggle.
The region is home to scores of brewing border disputes and dreams of
nationalist homelands.

In addition to South Ossetia, the region of Abkhazia has also
maintained de facto independence for more than a decade. Located along
Georgia’s Black Sea coast, Abkhazia has called up volunteers to
support the South Ossetian cause. Russia has now moved to aid the
Abkhazians, who are concerned that Georgia’s actions in South Ossetia
were a dress rehearsal for an attack on them.

Farther afield, other secessionist entities and recognized governments
in neighboring countries – from Nagorno-Karabakh to Chechnya – are
eyeing the situation. The outcome of the Russo-Georgian struggle will
determine whether these other disputes move toward peace or once again
produce the barbaric warfare and streams of refugees that defined the
Caucasus more than a decade ago.

For Georgia, this war has been a disastrous miscalculation. South
Ossetia and Abkhazia are now completely lost. It is almost impossible
to imagine a scenario under which these places – home to perhaps
200,000 people – would ever consent to coming back into a Georgian
state they perceive as an aggressor.

Armed volunteers have already been flooding into South Ossetia from
other parts of the Caucasus to fight against Georgian forces and help
finally "liberate" the Ossetians from the Georgian yoke.

Despite welcome efforts to end the fighting, the Russo-Georgian war
has created yet another generation of young men in the Caucasus whose
worldviews are defined by violence, revenge, and nationalist zeal.

Charles King is professor of international affairs in the Edmund A.
Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the
author of "The Ghost of Freedom: A History of The Caucasus."

AZERBAIJAN TO SET UP NEW CAPITAL FOR BREAKAWAY KARABAKH

Regnum News Agency
Aug 4 2008
Russia

4 August: Azerbaijan has started implementing measures anticipating
mass return of Azerbaijani refugees to Nagornyy Karabakh. As a Regnum
news agency correspondent has learnt, the administrative centre –
the government of the Azerbaijani community of Nagornyy Karabakh –
has been situated in the village of Nargiztapa – some 2-3 km away
from the front line in Xocavand District.

The Xocavand District is a formal administrative unity in southwestern
Azerbaijan. In fact, the territory of the district has been divided
into Martuni and Hadrut districts of Nagornyy Karabakh and is
controlled by the administration of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic. The
administrative centre of the district is the town of Martuni.

According to reports received by Regnum, the village of Narqiztapa
is situated not a long way from the town of Martuni and the territory
is controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces. The government of the
Azerbaijani community of Nagornyy Karabakh functions in Nargiztapa. The
process of mass registration of Azerbaijanis who wish to return to
Nagornyy Karabakh has already started.

We should say that one of the mediators in the process of regulation
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the US chairman in the OSCE Minsk
Group, Matthew Bryza, slightly lifted the veil of secrecy from the
negotiations process. "What we have proposed are – the Armenian troops
have to be withdrawn from the [Azerbaijani] seven districts around
Nagornyy Karabakh; international peacekeepers have to be brought in;
the IDPs and refugees have to return to their homes; a corridor linking
Armenia with Nagornyy Karabakh has to be established and a process
of plebiscite (a referendum – editorial office) has to be conducted
to determine the future status of Nagornyy Karabakh," added Bryza.

To all appearances, the Azerbaijani authorities through the
administration in Nargiztapa are making preparations for one of
the mentioned by Bryza points, in particular, the return of the
refugees. It is obvious that in case of effective work in this
direction, Baku could hope for a favourable outcome of the "postponed"
referendum for the determination of the future status of Nagornyy
Karabakh.

AZERBAIJANI E-MEDIA 1NEWS VIOLATES MEDIA ETHICS AGAIN

arminfo
2008-08-05 15:04:00

ArmInfo. Azerbaijani e-media 1NEWS is still engaged in plagiarism
and ignores elementary norms of media ethics. irector of Oriental
Studies Institute, National Academy of Science of Armenia, Professor
Ruben Safrastyan refuted his ‘exclusive interview’ with 1NEWS entitled
‘Turkish party has been trying to soften its stance on Armenia since
the spring of 2007’. R. Sarfrastyan underlined that he gave such
interview to an Armenian newspaper and not the ‘secret correspondent of
1NEWS in Armenia’. Moreover, there is no such correspondent in Armenia.

Earlier, the given e-media 1NEWS published another interview with
Armenian Parliamentarian Hranush Hakopyan who told ArmInfo she gave
no interview not only to that news site but to any Azerbaijani mass
media in general, and called the ‘interview’ another disinformation
by Azerbaijan. This case is not the first in the practice of our
Azerbaijani colleagues, as spokeswoman of RA Prosecutor General Sona
Truzyan told ArmInfo earlier that the alleged exclusive interview
with the prosecutor general, published on July 18 in the Azerbaijani
site is in fact a reprinting of the interview given
to the Armenian ‘H2’ TV channel broadcasted on June 30.

ArmInfo has repeatedly commented on the activity of the given
Azerbaijani media. However, this media has found nothing but plagiarism
and misinformation to push through its website. We have nothing to do
but hope for the Azerbaijani pseudo- website to find more professional
way of communication with readers.