Author: Hambardsumian Paul

[In Dutch and then in English]

"Turkey’s recognition of genocide is not out of the question"

NRC Handelsblad
9 september 2006

`Turkse erkenning van genocide niet uitgesloten’
Vraaggesprek met EU-onderhandelaar Ali Babacan

Niemand moet verwachten dat Turkije zijn standpunt over de
Armeense kwestie wijzigt’, zei de Turkse premier Erdogan. Maar
zijn eerste onderhandelaar met de EU is genuanceerder.

Door onze redacteur Wilmer Heck

Den Haag, 9 sept. De vrijheid van meningsuiting laat nog veel te
wensen over, de rechten van minderheden zijn niet gegarandeerd,
de positie van het leger is te sterk, de kwestie-Cyprus verkeert
in een impasse en Ankara weigert te erkennen dat
honderdduizenden Armeniërs in de EersteWereldoorlog slachtoffer
werden van genocide door Ottomaanse Turken.

Kortom, EU-kandidaat Turkije wordt stevig aangepakt in het
rapport dat CDA-europarlementariër Camiel Eurlings heeft
opgesteld en dat deze week veel steun kreeg in de
buitenlandcommissie van het Europees Parlement (EP).

Ali Babacan, de Turkse minister van Economische Zaken en
hoofdonderhandelaar met de EU, bezocht deze week Den Haag om de
Turkse zaak te bepleiten. Hij wijst de meeste Europese verwijten
van de hand. Maar erkenning van de massamoord op Armeniërs in
1915 als genocide sluit hij niet uit.

Op de Turkse ambassade ligt Babacan de Turkse positie toe.

Erkent u dat het Turkse hervormingsproces steeds trager
verloopt?
`Nee, het kost gewoon tijd voordat de resultaten van de
hervormingen zichtbaar worden. Onze bereidheid tot hervormingen
is in ieder geval even groot als voorheen en zal eerder toenemen
dan afnemen. Het voltallige Europees Parlement stemt over enkele
weken over dit rapport. Tot die tijd zullen wij proberen het op
andere gedachten te brengen.’

Wat vindt u van de eis dat Turkije de massamoord op Armeniërs in
1915 erkent als genocide?
`Turkije staat open voor alle uitkomsten van wetenschappelijk
onderzoek naar deze kwestie. Daarom hebben wij voorgesteld om
samen met de Armeniërs een onderzoekscommissie in te stellen.
Verder hebben we al onze archieven opengesteld voor
wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Wij zijn alleen van mening dat het
Europees Parlement niet de aangewezen instelling is om zich uit
te spreken over wat er is gebeurd. Volksvertegenwoordigers zijn
geen historici. De opstelling van het Europees Parlement, die
niet ondersteund wordt door wetenschappelijk onderzoek, past ook
niet in de Europese manier van handelen.’

Als een door Turkije gesteunde onderzoekscommissie concludeert
dat sprake was van genocide, erkent Turkije dat dan?
`Ja, wij accepteren elke uitkomst.’

Gaat Turkije ervoor zorgen dat schrijvers niet langer worden
aangeklaagd voor `belediging van de Turkse staat’?
`In de komende twee tot zes maanden evalueren we het bewuste
wetsartikel 301. Als we zien dat dit artikel ongewenste gevolgen
heeft, zullen we bekijken wat we kunnen doen.’

Wat vindt u van de toon van het rapport-Eurlings?
`De manier waarop het geformuleerd is, laat achterliggende
emoties zien. De negatieve invloed hiervan op de stemming onder
het Turkse volk is groot en bemoeilijkt de onderhandelingen. Als
de Turken het gevoel krijgen niet welkom te zijn, zullen ze zich
afvragen of zich zo sterk op EU-toetreding moeten blijven
focussen.’

Struikelblok in de relatie tussen de EU en Turkije vormt ook de
Turkse weigering om de lucht- en zeehavens open te stellen voor
verkeer uit Grieks-Cyprus (dat niet door Ankara wordt erkend).
De kwestie frustreert de onderhandelingen en leidt er mogelijk
toe dat ze deels worden opgeschort.

Babacan sprak in Den Haag ook met minister Ben Bot van
Buitenlandse Zaken. Na afloop stapte Bot op het vliegtuig naar
Cyprus. Om ?te bekijken of er links of rechts ruimte’ is om uit
de impasse te komen, aldus diens woordvoerder. Bot rapporteerde
aan Europees Commissaris Olli Rehn (Uitbreiding), met wie
Babacan op zijn beurt donderdag een ontmoeting in Brussel had.

Is Turkije bereid als eerste een nieuwe stap in deze kwestie te
zetten?
Ali Babacan: `Nee, zeker niet. Zoals de Europese Unie heeft
beloofd, moet eerst het isolement van de Turks-Cyprioten worden
opgeheven. Daarna zijn wij direct bereid onze havens en
vliegvelden te openen voor Grieks-Cyprus. We hopen op nieuwe
bemiddelingen door de Verenigde Naties. Het zou oneerlijk zijn
om de partij die in 2004 bereid was tot een compromis, nu te
straffen met het stopzetten van onderhandelingen. De
Grieks-Cyprioten stemden destijds tegen het VN-compromis voor
hereniging van het eiland, de Turks-Cyprioten stemden voor.’

Het bezoek van Bot aan Cyprus leverde volgens diens woordvoerder
niet direct nieuwe inzichten op. ?Maar het is belangrijk dat er
beweging blijft”, aldus Bots woordvoerder, ?want deze kwestie
mag niet tot een echte impasse in de onderhandelingen leiden.
Hoopvol is wel dat er onder VN-toezicht ondertussen een
voorzichtig begin is gemaakt met heropening van de
onderhandelingen tussen de Grieks- en Turks-Cyprioten.’ De
woordvoerder benadrukt dat er geen sprake is van officiële
bemiddeling namens de EU.

_____________________________________________ ___________________

NRC Handelsblad (Dutch daily newspaper)
9 September 2006

"It is not excluded that Turkey will recognise the Genocide"

Interview with EU negotiater Ali Babacan

By our editor Willem Heck

Nobody should expect Turkey to change her mind about the
Armenian question", Turkish PM Erdogan said. But his first
negotiator with EU is more balanced in this.

The Hague, 9 September. Freedom of speech has not improved
sufficiently, the rights of minorities are not guaranteed, the
position of the army is too strong, the Cyprus item is in an
impasse and Ankara refuses to recognise that hundreds of
thousands of Armenians became victim of Genocide by the Ottoman
Turks in World War I.

In short, the EU report by Dutch Member of European Parliament
Camiel Eurlings of Christian-Democrat Party took a firm line
with EU candidate Turkey and the report is largely supported by
the Foreign Policy Committee of the EP this week. Turkey’s
Economy Minister and Chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan this week
visited The Hague to advocate the Turkish interests. He rejects
most of the European reproaches, but does not exclude
recognition of the massacres of Armenians in 1915 as Genocide.
In the Turkish embassy he explains the Turkish viewpoint.

DO YOU ADMIT THAT THE TURKISH REFORM PROGRESS IS PROGRESSING TOO
SLOWLY?
"No, it just takes time before the results of the reforms are
visible. We are at least as committed to the reforms as before.
Our commitment will rather increase than decrease. The plenary
vote of European Parliament on the report will take place by the
end of this month. Until then we will try to change its mind".

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CONDITION THAT TURKEY SHOULD RECOGNIZE
THE MASSACRES OF ARMENIANS AS GENOCIDE?
"Turkey is open for all outcomes of scientific research on this
matter. That’s why we proposed to establish a research
commission together with Armenians. Also we opened all our
archives for scientific research. We just think that the EP is
not the right institution to pronounce about what has happened.
Representatives are no historians. The position of the EP is not
leaning on historical research, and it does not suit the
European way of acting".

IF A RESEARCH COMMITTEE BACKED BY TURKEY CONCLUDES THAT IT WAS
GENOCIDE, WILL TURKEY RECOGNISE THAT?
"Yes, we will accept any outcome"

WILL TURKEY ENSURE THAT WRITERS WILL NO LONGER BE CHARGED FOR
"INSULTING TURKISH NATION"?
"In the coming 2 to 6 months we will evaluate the Article 301.
If we see that this Article has an undesirable impact, we will
examine what we can do"

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE TONE OF EURLINGS REPORT?
`The way the report is phrased shows the emotions behind it. The
negative influence that has on the feelings of the Turkish
population is large and complicates the negotiations. If the
Turks get the feeling they are not welcome, they will ask
themselves if they should keep on focussing so much on EU
admission’.

Another stumbling block in the EU-Turkey relations is Turkish
refusal to open air and sea harbours for traffic coming from
Greek Cyprus (which is not recognised by Ankara). The issue is
frustrating the negotiations and may lead to a partial hold up.
Babacan also met with Foreign Minister Bot in the Hague. After
the meeting Bot took the airplane to Cyprus, to `find out
whether there is room on the left or on the right’ to come out
of the impasse, his spokesman said. Bot reported tot EU
Commissioner (for Enlargement) Olli Rehn, with whom Babacan on
his turn, met on Thursday.

IS TURKEY READY TO BE THE FIRST TO MAKE A NEW STEP FORWARDS IN
THIS ISSUE?
Ali Babacan:’No, certainly not.’ As the EU promised, first the
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots must be terminated. After that
we are immediately ready to open our harbours and airports for
Greek Cyprus. We hope for new mediation by the United Nations.
It would be unfair to punish the party that was ready for a
compromise in 2004, by stopping the negotiations. The Greek
Cypriots in that time voted against the UN compromise for the
reunification of the island, while the Turkish Cypriots voted in
favour of it’.

Bot’s visit to Cyprus did not bring new visions, his spokesman
said. `But it is important that we keep on moving’, according to
Bot’s spokesman, `because this issue should not lead to a real
impasse in the negotiations. It gives hope that meanwhile under
UN survey a careful start has been made to reopen the
negotiations between the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots.’ The
spokesman emphasised that there is no official mediation on
behalf of the EU.

You can also see (in English and Dutch) and discuss this topic
at Holandahay Forum at: http

FACTBOX-"FROZEN" CONFLICTS IN FORMER SOVIET STATES

Reuters AlertNet, UK
14 Sep 2006 12:59:12 GMT

Dnestr-Moldova dispute
More Sept 14 (Reuters) – Moldova’s rebel Dnestr region will hold a
referendum on Sunday to underpin its independence, first proclaimed
16 years ago but unrecognised internationally, and set down its desire
to join Russia one day.

The row between Dnestr and Moldova is one of the so-called "frozen
conflicts" among former Soviet states which killed thousands of people
in fighting in the early 1990s and threaten to erupt once again.

The issue has also soured ties between Europe and Russia, which makes
little secret that it backs the separatists.

Here are the main details on such "frozen" conflicts that are left
over from the collapse of the Soviet Union whose internal borders
were often drawn regardless of ethnic lines.

MOLDOVA:

**DNESTR. The Russian-speaking region broke away from Romanian-speaking
Moldova in 1990 and fought a war in 1992. Russian troops intervened
to stop fighting and have remained in the region ever since.

The region is home to the bulk of Moldova’s industrial
might. Authorities in Chisinau are keen to return to the region and
are offering a broad autonomy but Slav hardliners, who run Dnestr,
want full independence.

GEORGIA:

**ABKHAZIA is a territory sandwiched between the Black Sea and the
Caucasus mountains. It fought a 1992-3 war against Georgia in which
it won de facto independence but no international recognition.

It was isolated for years after its victory but it has then forged
closer ties with Russia which has given Abkhaz residents passports
and pensions.

**SOUTH OSSETIA threw off Georgian rule in fighting in the early
1990s. A ceasefire was signed but the violence has threatened to
reignite, especially since pro-Western Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili was elected in 2004 and vowed to reunify the country.

Russia has peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia.

The region plans a referendum on Nov. 12 to confirm its independence.

AZERBAIJAN/ARMENIA

**NAGORNO-KARAB AKH TERRITORY is part of Azerbaijan but has been
controlled by Armenian separatists since armed conflict erupted in
the 1990s.

A major pipeline linking Caspian Sea oil fields to world markets
passes a few kilometres from the conflict zone.

PUTTING SECESSIONIST CONFLICTS UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Civil Georgia
2006-09-14 13:52:45

GUAM-member states have successfully lobbied for a discussion of
"protected conflicts" in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region at the
61st UN General Assembly, despite Russia’s objection.

The decision to include the issue in the working program of the General
Assembly session -which was pushed for by GUAM-member states Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova – was adopted "following a contentious
procedural debate," according to the UN press center.

The approval has reversed a decision adopted by the General Committee
that recommended on September 12 to exclude the item entitled
"protracted conflicts in the GUAM area and their implications for
international peace, security and development" from the agenda.

16 countries, including the Baltic States, GUAM-member states (Georgia
was absent at the session), the United States, United Kingdom,
Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Romania and
Turkey voted in favor of including the item into the agenda of the
General Assembly session.

15 countries – Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Cyprus, Eritrea, Greece,
Guinea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Russian Federation, South
Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – voted against; while 65 abstained.

The representative of Ukraine spoke on behalf of the GUAM-member
states, saying that "GUAM’s aim was not to change the format of
existing negotiations, but to have the chance to bring the matter to
the international community through the Assembly."

The Russian Federation’s representative voiced his objection to the
move, saying that "the insistence on including the item was aimed
at undermining existing mechanisms to negotiate settlements of the
conflicts."

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is expected to leave for New
York to participate in the UN General Assembly Session on September 19.

Discussing the secessionist conflicts at the Session is part of
Georgia’s policy to intensify international efforts to peacefully
resolve the Abkhazia and South Ossetian conflicts. In recent weeks
especially, officials in Tbilisi are focusing more on the South
Ossetian conflict.

The issue is also expected to be high on the agenda during
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili’s visit to Brussels on
September 14-17, where he will meet with top officials from EU and
NATO. Following this trip Bezhuashvili plans to visit Washington and
then New York.

Meanwhile, some strongly worded statements have been voiced towards
the secessionist authorities in breakaway South Ossetia following
the Georgian authorities’ intensive calls on western powers to react
on what Tbilisi describes as "outrageous provocations" staged by the
unrecognized republic’s leadership.

Recent weeks have seen a series of incidents in the conflict zone,
including firing on a Georgian army helicopter, a clash that led to the
deaths of four people, and sporadic overnight shootouts. Secessionist
authorities’ announcement of plans to hold an independence referendum
and presidential polls on November 12 has further fueled tensions.

Officials in Tbilisi have warned that the Georgian side may use force
if Tbilisi fails to secure "an appropriate" international support.

On September 12 a group of western diplomats, including British,
French, German, Italian and U.S. Ambassadors in Georgia, traveled to
Tskhinvali and met with South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity. Western
diplomats have strongly condemned the September 3 helicopter incident,
triggering the anger of the South Ossetian leadership.

On September 13, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry
Davis said secessionist authorities in South Ossetia "are wasting
time and effort on the organisation of a ‘referendum on independence’
in November."

Also on September 13, EU envoy for the South Caucasus issues Peter
Semneby said that the referendum will be "meaningless" to the
European Union.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry has backed an upcoming
independence referendum in Moldova’s breakaway region Transdnestria,
scheduled for this Sunday, and said in a statement issued on September
13 that the European Union should not ignore the results of the
referendum. The Russian State Duma Council, the lower house of the
Parliament, plans to send its observers to the November 12 polls in
breakaway South Ossetia.

IRAN TO TRANSFER GAS TO ARMENIA SOON

Persian Journal, Iran
Sept 12 2006

Mullah-run majlis speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Tuesday
that the first gas pipeline to transfer gas from Iran to Armenia is
scheduled to become operational in the coming months.

Addressing reporters, Haddad-Adel also known as "Gholam Shire’i"
in majlis for his addiction to opium, said that the progress of the
gas project is supervised by the presidents of Iran and Armenia.

Haddad-Adel said that feasibility studies on the second gas pipeline
is currently underway.

He referred to projects on transfer of energy, development and port of
industrial machinery as strategies aiming to boost trade exchanges
between the two states and urged that tourism and investment by
private sector should also be facilitated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the speaker said that establishment of
relations with the Central Asian states and Caucasia has been on the
agenda of Iran’s foreign policy over the past 15 years.

ARMENIA HAS SPECIAL PLACE AMONG IRAN’S NEIGHBORS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.09.2006 14:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
with Iranian Mejlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, reports the
Press Service of the Armenian leader. During the meeting the parties
discussed the issue of development of Armenian-Iranian relations and
the process of implementation of joint programs.

Kocharian stated he is content with development of bilateral
relations. He specially remarked that cooperation in private
infrastructure binds the two countries with more prospective
programs. The Armenian leader also added that the Armenian and Iranian
parties display consistency to implement joint programs in a timely
manner and at a high level. In the words of Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel,
the fact that not problems, but plans of actions issuing from
agreements are discussed, evidences a high level of development of
relations. The Iranian Speaker added that Armenia has a special place
among the neighbors Iran has acquired after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. The parties noted the need to develop parliamentary relations,
adding that legislators still yield to government representatives on
the degree of their activity.

REPRESSION IN THE AGE OF LIBERTY
By Ralph R. Reiland

American Spectator
Sept 12 2006

Imagine if insulting George W. Bush were a crime or if we jailed
writers for being critical of U.S. policies. Half the authors on the
New York Times’ best-seller list would be behind bars.

It’s different in Turkey. For the crime of "insulting Turkishness,"
best-selling Turkish novelist Elif Shafak is facing up to four years
in prison. Her trial is scheduled to begin on September 21.

At issue are several remarks made by a fictional character in Shafak’s
latest novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, already a top-selling book
in Turkey and set to be published next year by Viking in the United
States.

The charges against Shafak involve the word "genocide," spoken in
her novel by a fictional character of Armenian ancestry regarding
the death of Armenians during World War I.

"I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost all their
relatives in the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915," says the imaginary
character, "but I myself have been brainwashed to deny the genocide
because I was raised by some Turk named Mustapha."

In the United States, some fictional Apache in a novel could say much
the same thing about the fate of his tribe at the hands of European
settlers and no one would be headed for the courthouse.

A historian at the University of Hawaii, David E. Stannard,
unincarcerated, described the forced removal and killing of native
Americans as "the worst human holocaust the world had ever witnessed,
roaring across two continents nonstop for four centuries and consuming
the lives of countless tens of millions of people."

No American churchmen went to jail when the National Council of
Churches adopted a resolution that branded the journey of Christopher
Columbus an "invasion" that resulted in the "genocide of native
people."

In Turkey, however, public comment, even by a fictional character,
about the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks during and after World War I is a taboo subject and
potentially illegal.

Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, adopted in June 2005, states
that:

* "Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of
between six months and three years."

* "Public denigration of the Government of the Republic of Turkey,
the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security
matters shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months
and two years."

A third section of the Penal Code, applicable to Shafak, a Turkish
citizen and currently an assistant professor in Near Eastern Studies
at the University of Arizona, states, "In cases where denigration
of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country,
the punishment shall be increased by one third."

Under Article 301, internationally acclaimed author Orhan Pamuk,
Turkey’s most famous novelist, was charged last year with "insulting
Turkishness" after he stated in an interview with a Swiss newspaper
that "30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were murdered in these
lands and no one but me dares talk about it."

The Turkish Publishers’ Association reports that more than 60 writers
and journalists have been charged under Article 301 with various forms
of "insulting Turkishness," including the intellectual transgression
of allegedly insulting Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the founder of
modern Turkey.

Five journalists were charged last year for articles they wrote
challenging the decision of an Istanbul court to ban an academic
conference dealing with the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1917. The writers’ crime? Attempting to "influence
judicial procedures" by objecting to the court’s interference with
academic freedom.

The complaints against Pamuk and Shafak were filed by attorney
Kemal Kerincsiz, head of the Turkish Jurists’ Union. "We will not
allow insults and abuse of Turkishness in the name of freedom of
expressions," explained Kerincsiz.

Less narrow-minded, Shafak portrays her upcoming court battle as
part of an ongoing struggle for modernity and freedom of expression:
"What’s going on right now is a backlash. There’s a clash of opinion.

On the one hand are the people who are much more cosmopolitan-minded,
much more multicultural, who want to keep Turkey as an open society
and who very much support wholeheartedly the European Union process.

But on the other hand are the people who want to maintain Turkey as an
enclosed society, more xenophobic, more nationalistic, more insular."

Ralph R. Reiland is an associate professor of economics at Robert
Morris University in Pittsburgh.

CE’S OBJECTIVE IS TO ASSIST IN RESOLUTION OF NK CONFLICT – PACE PRESIDENT
Author: R.Agayev

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 11 2006

Exclusive interview of Trend special correspondent in Russia with the
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rene
Van Der Linden, who participated in a conference "Dialogue of cultures
and inter-religious cooperation" in Russian city Nizhniy Novgorod.

Question: How do you estimate the level of co-operation between
Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe?

Answer: Azerbaijan is an important member of the CE, because a
major part of its population is comprised of Muslims and it enables
us to have an inter-culture and inter-religious discussion at an
inter-parliamentary level.

During the last observation at the elections in Azerbaijan we corrected
many shortfalls, as it was noted in the CE report. At present we try
to use all contacts with the Country’s authorities, non-governmental
organizations, and opposition parties to bring the election process
in Azerbaijan in line with its obligations undertaken whilst entering
the CE.

Question: What are your views on the perspective of the final cessation
of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan that is still continuing?

Answer: It is a growing problem. Moreover, it would be unacceptable if
members of one and the same organization, those that took the peaceable
resolution, peaceable community and peaceable co-existence as basis,
would have conflict with each other. In this case it is dealt with
Nagorno-Karabakh.

I sincerely believe that the two leaders, with the assistance of the
CE and the international organizations, will continue discussions to
find a final peaceful resolution, as our key objective is to render
assistance and avoid further resistance with respect to solving the
conflict between the two CE members.

Under no circumstances, even if it is specified by the law and
political defense expediency, should either CE member declare war.

War is excluded. We give priority to a resolution achieved through
peaceful means, through discussions and talks. It would be a very
serious problem, if any of the sides declares war. It will undoubtedly
lead to serious discussions at the PACE and of course, a question on
the expediency of membership at the CE.

Question: A referendum is to be held in Pre-Dniester on 17 September
2006. Now they frequently sound calls on the necessity of isolation
of this region from Moldova. How do you regard this kind of processes
in the self-proclaimed republics, such in South Osetia, Abkhazia,
Pre-Dniester, and Nagorno-Karabakh? Isn’t it dangerous for Europe?

Answer: We do not recognize the referendum and we will not observe
it. We hope in the peaceful resolution of the Pre-Dniester conflict.

It is one of the frozen conflicts and this region is of interest to
Russia, as well as all international organizations, including the CE.

We should co-operate to develop a final resolution. In any case we
do not support the referendum as a mean of achievement of independence.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Government House # 2, Republic Square
Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

08-09-2006

UN Resolution on Fires on Territories Around Nagorno Karabagh Adopted

On September 7, a UN resolution initiated by Azerbaijan, with text agreed to
by Armenia, was adopted during the 60th session of the UN General Assembly.

Armenia negotiated over the draft resolution and come to an agreement on its
content and formulation. Hence, the document, in general, became acceptable
for the Armenian side, since it essentially gave agreement to a text that
simply reiterated support for an OSCE expert mission to study control and
extinguishing of fires in the region.

Following are the text of the resolution, the statement by Ambassador Armen
Martirosian, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the
United Nations, and the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries.

Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembly
Agenda Item 40,
Azerbaijan: resolution
The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
The General Assembly,
Seriously concerned by the fires in the affected territories, which have
inflicted widespread environmental damage,
1. Stresses the necessity to urgently conduct an environmental
operation to suppress the fires in the affected territories and to overcome
their detrimental consequences;
2. Welcomes the readiness of the parties to cooperate to that end and
considers such an operation to be an important confidence-building measure;
3. Takes note of the OSCE intention to organize a mission to the
region to assess the short-term and long-term impact of the fires on the
environment as a step for preparation of the environmental operation;
4. Calls upon, in this regard, the organizations and programs of the
United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Environmental
Programme, in cooperation with the OSCE to provide all necessary assistance
and expertise, including, inter alia, the assessment of and counteraction to
the short-term and long-term impact of the environmental degradation of the
region, as well as in its rehabilitation;
5. Asks the Chairman in Office of the OSCE to provide a report to
Member States of the General Assembly by April 30, 2007

September 6, 2006

98th Plenary Meeting
Agenda item 40: The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan

Statement by H.E. Mr. Armen Martirosian, Ambassador, Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations
Mr. President,
The draft resolution at hand addresses an issue, which we thought had been
brought to a close, two weeks ago, through discussions with the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, the Minsk Group Co-chairs and the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative. A decision was taken to send a
mission of experts under the OSCE to assess the fires.

The authorities of Nagorno Karabagh had already accepted this proposal, and
Armenia was certainly ready to use its good offices to facilitate such a
mission. It was our understanding that Azerbaijan had also agreed.

Given all this, it was surprising to see a draft resolution circulating at
the UN on this same issue, especially since it called for a parallel mission
under the UN auspices.

This approach was unacceptable. We considered such a step to be an obstacle
to continuing negotiations. And, since it was clearly intended to pursue
other political ends, Armenia opposed this motion.

However, as a result of our consultations with the Minsk Group Co-chairs, we
have come to agreement on a text that simply reiterates support for the OSCE
mission. In this regard we would like to welcome the readiness of all the
parties to negotiate in the spirit of compromise under the able and very
effective mediation of the Minsk Group Co-chairs.

Nevertheless, although we support the content of the agreement, we continue
to remain opposed to the general idea of this agenda item and a UN
resolution under it. That is the reason Armenia dissociates itself from the
consensus on this resolution.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries
Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembly
Agenda Item 40, "The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan"
The Russian Federation, France, and the United States of America, as the
Co-Chair countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Minsk Group, remain committed to promoting a peaceful, negotiated
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this capacity, we take with
great seriousness concerns raised by either side to the conflict regarding
threats to the security and stability of the region, as well as any
developments that pose new obstacles to the negotiation process.
Accordingly, we have examined closely the information provided by the
Government of Azerbaijan regarding fires in the eastern part of the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. We also note the
report of the Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE,
who, at the request of the Government of Azerbaijan and direction of the
Chairman-in-Office, has carried out a monitoring mission to the affected
areas. We note, in particular, that fires of both natural and manmade origin
are a regular occurrence in the region in question. The question of whether
more extensive fires this year are a cause of ecological concern requiring
international attention to their suppression is one that can only be
answered through a technical examination of the situation.
Therefore, the Co-Chairs stand ready, together with the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, to lend their immediate
assistance to the organization of an OSCE mission, with the support and
expertise of the United Nations Environmental Programme, and to report to
the UN General Assembly the results of the mission, as requested in the
present resolution, as well as to the OSCE.

We commend the spirit of goodwill demonstrated by both Armenia and
Azerbaijan in agreeing to cooperate to address the situation raised through
this resolution. We hope the agreement reached today reflects a new
readiness by both sides to engage in further measures to build confidence
that will advance the process of negotiations, and we will redouble our
efforts, through the OSCE’s Minsk Group, to promote such activities.

Mr. President, we note that over the past two years, the Co-Chairs of the
Minsk Group have worked intensively with the Foreign Ministers and
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to identify core principles of an
agreement that would lead to a just and lasting settlement. Our nations,
reinforced by the voices of the Group of Eight leading nations at their
summit in St. Petersburg in July, have called on the Presidents of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan to accept now these core principles as a basis for
resolution of the conflict, and to prepare their publics for peace, and not
war. We reiterate that call today and restate the readiness of our
governments to lend full support to the achievement and implementation of a
peace agreement.

TORONTO FESTIVAL EXPLORES THEMES OF WAR
By Joan Dupont International Herald Tribune

International Herald Tribune, France
Sept 8 2006

TORONTO It was an Indian summer day in Toronto when we trooped out
of Mira Nair’s "Monsoon Wedding" – Bollywood fun and dancing – just
before noon, Sept. 11, 2001. The festival never recovered from the
shock of that day and ground to a halt.

Today, winds and currents from around the world are blowing through
the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, which opened Friday and
continues until Sept. 16. Fallout from that day is visible in a rash of
movies that take on themes of the times – war, terrorism, executioners,
victims and outcasts – treating them either frontally or obliquely.

The Toronto festival, tucked between those in Venice and New York
and open to world cinema and dissident voices, is showing the highly
controversial "Death of a President" by the British director Gabriel
Range, a fictionalized imagining of the assassination of George W.
Bush, simulated by digital effects.

The festival’s co-directors, Piers Handling and Noah Cowan,
foreseeing criticism, issued a statement that read in part: "’Death
of a President’ by Gabriel Range is fictional drama told in the
style of a documentary. Range, in concert with some of the finest
special effects professionals, mixes archival footage with narrative
elements to construct a highly original film; a falsified history on
what would be a tragic event. ‘Death of a President’ addresses a wide
array of contemporary issues, including the loss of civil liberties,
the ramifications of war, and ultimately critiques the overwhelming
influence and manipulation of mass media."

On the eve of the festival opening, Handling and Cowan discussed this
and other films included in their lineup in an e-mail: "’Death of a
President’ is a classic cautionary tale," Cowan pointed out. "Bush’s
assassination, while harrowing, is more trigger than climax. The film
is about how the Patriot Act, especially, and how Bush’s divisive
partisanship and race- baiting has forever altered America."

He describes another premiere, "Mon Colonel," written and produced
by Costa-Gavras, directed by Laurent Herbiet, about 1960s Algeria,
as "an Iraq film in Algerian disguise."

"The Bubble," by the Israeli Eytan Fox, about a homosexual affair
between an Israeli peacenik and a young Palestinian, is a daring film
that comes to a shocking end. "The Bubble" refers to how Israelis
describe life in "cool" Tel Aviv. "The most shocking thing about
‘The Bubble,’" according to Cowan, "is its shift in tone." The film
goes to great lengths to establish a "place of safety" within Israel,
a secular polysexual meeting place in Tel Aviv, until the winds shift.

Jay Anania’s "Day on Fire" and Julia Loktev’s "Day Night Day Night"
portray suicide bombers. Phillip Noyce’s "Catch a Fire," set in South
Africa, is a portrait of the creation of a terrorist, and Hal Hartley’s
"Fay Grim" is about Patriot Act madness.

"These are just a few of the films that perceive crucial events and
situations obliquely," says Handling, adding that he is also struck by
the desire of contemporary filmmakers to explore, to go abroad to make
films about situations that are not native to their country: Gianni
Amelio to China for "Missing Star," Robert Guediguian to Armenia
to make "Le Voyage en Armenie," Benoît Jacquot to India to make
"L’Intouchable," Volker Schlondorff to Poland to make "Strike."

The Argentine director Santiago Amirgorena’s "A Few Days in September,"
an intriguing glance at the days that lead up to Sept.

11, is told in the form of a political thriller. The film, starring
Juliette Binoche and John Turturro, just opened in Paris where
Amirgorena, an author and screenwriter, lives. He has made a deeply
European film, a kind of "Third Man" with comic overtones, set in
Venice, with Turturro as an assassin who quotes William Blake’s
"Tyger" while stalking his prey.

"My film is not dedicated to Sept. 11," the director said in a phone
interview. "For me, the event is historic and political – this is my
reading – and spy stories often have a political background. My film
is not militant; it’s not about good and evil. I had Orson Welles’s
movies and characters in mind, especially the part he played in
‘The Third Man,’ a kind of monster, and ‘A Touch of Evil’ – the way
Welles took a genre and went beyond it. Terrorism is not a matter of
good and evil. It is complicated, a desperate act."

Amirgorena’s film is part of the Special Presentations program
that, along with Galas, and various sidebar events, takes place in
moviehouses all over town.

The section opens with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s "Das Leben
der Anderen" (The Lives of Others), a political thriller, set before
the fall of the Berlin Wall, during the Stasi era. And Mira Nair is
back with a new movie, "The Namesake," adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri’s
novel.

The Galas, Canadian and foreign-language films, and American studio
productions, include many world or North American premieres such as
Michael Apted’s "Amazing Grace," Patrice Leconte’s "Mon Meilleur Ami,"
and "Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing" by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia
Peck. Ridley Scott’s "A Good Year," adapted from Peter Mayle’s novel,
set in the vineyards of Provence, is the closing night film.

Toronto has always been a festival for original programming. This year,
there is a section on African Diversity, partly made of films shown at
Cannes, such as Tahani Rached’s moving "These Girls," about homeless
girls in Cairo, and Rachid Bouchareb’s prize-winning "Indigènes"
portraying Algerian conscripts in France, as well as Spike Lee’s
"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," on the Hurricane
Katrina that devastated New Orleans last year.

"We are now seen as an important festival for awards-destined films,"
says Handling, director at Toronto since 1994. "The fall season speaks
to the more serious films and these tend to be the films nominated
for awards. We are also a key event for the buying and selling of
quality films in the world."

This event, now ranked by many as second to Cannes, skims the cream
off the Continental festivals, but awards no Palms nor Lions, and
is a something of a phenomenon. Starting out in 1975 as a Festival
of Festivals, home to local cineastes such as David Cronenberg and
Atom Egoyan, Toronto opened up to independent cinema from all over the
world and made room for big studio films, too. No longer as casual and
user-friendly, perhaps, it has kept something of its free-spirited,
festive vocation. Because it is not bound by tradition, it remains a
festival that belongs to the moviegoing, multiethnic public, a natural
audience for every kind of film.

"This is a movie-loving town," says Handling. "There is an audience
here to sustain the vastness of our selection, and they are our
primary target. Without them we would be nothing."

–Boundary_(ID_3nnAUlQ9xU9sKwvaVsg U3Q)–

RA HEALTH CARE MINISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN 56TH SESSION OF EUROPEAN
REGIONAL COMMITTEE OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Health Care Minister Norayr
Davidian will participate in the 56th session of the European
regional committee of the World Health Oragnization (WHO) to take
place in Copenhagen on September 11-14. Narine Beglarian, the general
specialist of the Ministry’s International Ties Department informed the
Noyan Tapan correspondent about it. It was mentioned that the present
health care problems will, particularly, be discussed at the session,
as well as elections of the WGO executive and permanent committees
will be held.