Author: Hovhannisian John

US-Turkish cooperation to block the recogntion of the Armenian Genocide
(analysis)
24.03.2006 13:16
Armen Manvelian
“Radiolur”[ ArmRadio ]
Newly declassified state department files reveal that as early as
1970s US and Turkish governments were closely cooperating to block the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United Nations. The
declassified documents mainly present US State Department’s
correspondence with the US delegation to the United Nations and the US
Ambassador to Turkey and include instructions on how to cooperate with
the Turkish government and the Turkish delegation to UN to block the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“These files provide new insights into the depths to which our own
government has sunk in its complicity with Turkey’s denial of the
Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
Armenian National Committee of America.
Turning to this issue, we should note that the US-Turkish cooperation
in the second half of the past century is a fact known to the
history. In this period the close cooperation and even the strategic
partnership between the two countries could be explained with the
geopolitical situation of the time and the sharpening competition
between the two superpowers, i.e. USSR and the US.
Under conditions when the Soviet Union was trying to spread its
supremacy all over the world, and the US, in its turn, was willing to
resist this and extend its influence over Eurasia, the relations with
Ankara were of strategic importance for Washington. Thus, we can say
that the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide had actually
become a victim of the struggle between the superpowers. In its fight
against the Soviet Union US was attaching importance to the role of
Turkey, which, being a member of NATO and directly bordering the USSR
(particularly Armenia and Georgia), had a strategic importance for
Washington. In 1960s American middle-distance rockets were even
deployed on Turkish territory. These could hit the Soviet Union any
time. It is clear that under terms of such strategic partnership the
leadership of the White House was doing everything for winning
Ankara’s favor and preventing the acknowledgement of the Armenian
Genocide. It should be noted that the American rockets disappeared
from Turkish territory after the famous Caribbean crisis, when, in
response to Washington’s demand to remove Soviet rockets from Cuba,
official Moscow demanded to remove the American rockets from Turkish
territory.
This demand of the USSR was fulfilled a year after the settlement of
the crisis. Nevertheless, turning to current state of
Turkish-American relations, we should note that different from the
sweet Turkish-American relations in the second half of the 20th
century, these are currently rather complex, and those in Washington
and Ankara do not believe the statements on strategic partnership. The
talks about this situation escalated just after the collapse of the
Soviet Union, when it became clear that Turkey was losing its
strategic importance for the United States. And despite the fact that
for a long time the influence of pro-Turkish lobbying was continuing
to remain powerful in the White House and especially in the Pentagon,
the second war in Iraq put the things in the right place, and it
became clear that Turkey could not be an ally of the US neither from
the long-term strategic perspective, nor the short-term militant
view. We can definitely assert that the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the decline of Turkey’s strategic role were the reasons why in the
course of the recent years Parliaments of 15 countries of the world
recognized and condemned the fact of the Armenian Genocide. The time
has come for the US government to find the courage to call a spade a
spade and recognize the Armenian Genocide. At the same time it is
clear that this will occur only in case the interests of the US and
Turkey clash. Then, pursuing its own political interests the White
House will at last acknowledge the reality of the Armenian Genocide.

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:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE AMBASSADOR OF HUNGARY
His Holiness Aram I received the Ambassador of Hungary to Lebanon, Laos
Tamas, in his office in the Veharan on March 21. The discussions between the
two focused on the current situation in Lebanon.
The Ambassador enquired about His Holiness’ views about the situation. The
Pontiff analyzed the current circumstances from an international perspective
beyond the Middle Eastern context.
His Holiness also talked about Turkey’s accession to the EU and considered
it a dangerous for Europe’s identity and character. He said that the
European community is a community based on values, not one that is driven by
political and economic interests.
His Holiness and the Ambassador also discussed the means of inter-religious
cooperation and dialogue, particularly within the context of the caricatures
published recently in a Danish newspaper and reprinted by others.
They also talked about the life and mission of the Armenian Church and
particularly the mission of the 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
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.

Greeks want Azerbaijan’s written commitment on not recognizing
Northern Cyprus
22 March 2006 [23:54] – _Today.Az_
() Problem caused by the flight
from Azerbaijan to Northern Cyprus on June 27 last year has remained
unsolved.
International Crisis Group (ICG) representative in Baku, Vugar Gojayev
told APA that ICG has come to this conclusion after meeting with
parliamentarians from Brussels and the Greek Cyprus.
“I remind that this flight directly influenced the talks between
Azerbaijan and the EU and delayed the talk process for 3 months. Talks
with Armenia and Georgia were also suspended as the talks were held
simultaneously. When representatives came to Azerbaijan from the EU,
Azerbaijani side said that agreement was reached with the Greece and
the problem was settled. But ICG’s observations show that the problem
has remained unsolved.”
He said that the Greek Cyprus would vote against approval of action
plan between Azerbaijan and the EU.
“The Greek Cyprus worries that Azerbaijan will recognize the
independence of Northern Cyprus after approval of action plan between
Azerbaijan and the EU. So, Greece stipulates that official Baku
should undertake commitment never to recognize the independence of
Northern Cyprus Turkish Republic and not to implement flights to
there.”
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizade told APA that Cyprus
was not discussed at the talks held in Brussels on March 6.URL:
l

RUSSIAN FRONTIER GUARDS AND MILITARY BASE CLOSELY COOPERATE IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, MARCH 22.ARMINFO. The Russian frontier guards and military
station in Armenia closely cooperate. General Major Sergey Bondarev
said this in the interview to “Woenno-Promishlennaya Gazeta” weekly.
He said that the frontier guards should cooperate with the
administration of the military station # 102, as they are deployed in
a foreign country. Bonadrev stated that they have elaboarted relevant
programs envisaged for actions in various situations. The military men
allocate reserves, assist in construction of engineering equipment on
the borders or prepare specialists for exspecially difficult tasks.

CONSEQUENCES OF LANDSLIDE IN MUSHEGH HARUTYUNIAN STREET OF KAPAN NOT ELIMINATED YET
Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2006
KAPAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The project on elimination of the
consequences of the landslide in Mushegh Harutyunian Street of Kapan
has not yet been implemented. The project worth 150 mln drams (about
340 thousand USD) was developed by the Japanese company Jaika under the
program on landslide management. According to a preliminary agreement,
the Japanese government was to earmark 100 thousand USD of this amount,
while the remaining money was to be allocated from the state budget,
by the government and other donor organizations. Armen Sargsian,
Chairman of the Union of Kapan Communities, told NT correspondent
that the Japanese government agreed to pay 79 thousand USD instead of
the 100 thousand, whereas Kapan Mayor’s Office is ready to allocate
its share in full. The mayor’s office has prepared all the design
estamates and submitted them to the RA government for financing. After
solution of the financial problems, a tender will be held to choose
the organization to carry out the construction work, after which the
anti-landslide measures will start.

POPE BENEDICT GREETS ARMENIAN PATRIARCH
AP Online
Mar 21, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI recalled the “terrible persecution” Armenians
suffered under Turkish rule 90 years ago during an audience Monday
with an Armenian Catholic patriarch.
Speaking to Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni about the Armenian people
over the centuries, the pope singled out the “sufferings which
they underwent in the name of the Christian faith in the years of
the terrible persecution that went down in history with the sadly
meaningful name ‘metz yeghern,’ the great evil.”
Armenians accuse Turks of a genocide of up to 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1923. Turks claim the number of deaths is inflated
and say the victims were killed in civil unrest.
The country is now facing pressure to fully acknowledge the event as
it seeks membership in the European Union.
Benedict did not use the term “genocide” in his official remarks. His
predecessor, Pope John Paul II, called the deaths genocide but did
not declare any party responsible.

AZERIS ARE SURPRISED HOW ARMENIANS MANAGED TO GET PHOTOS OF JUGHA RIFLE RANGE
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily #050
21/03/2006
The Azeri printed media has responded to the recent publication
the photos that depicted the new rifle range that replaced the
Jugha medieval khachkars in the Armenian newspapers. In particular,
“Zerkalo” newspaper relentlessly denies the fact that over 10.000
medieval cross stones were gathered in the Armenian graveyard in Old
Jugha (Nakhijevan).
The newspaper poses two questions: firstly, they wonder whether the
news on destruction of the Armenian cross stones and construction of
military range on that territory are true. Secondly, they try hard to
understand how the Armenians managed to get the photos of the range,
if it belongs to the Azeri army.
Tair Taghizade, press secretary of the Azeri Foreign Ministry, stated
that Azerbaijan has no official information that would prove that the
abovementioned range belongs to Azerbaijan. Taghizade also stated that
even if the information is confirmed one should not be surprised, as
any independent state has the right to carry out military arrangements
in its territory. Denying the fact of destruction of Armenian khachkars
without pressing any arguments, he said that the Armenian side tries
to deceive the international community.
While the Azeri Defense Ministry totally excludes that the range
belongs to the Azeri army. They added that they have certain doubts
about the territory as well, as the photos could be results of
montage. This brilliant idea occurred to retired colonel-lieutenant
Ouzeir Jafarov. He added that the range is situated in Meghri region
of Armenia, while the photos are shot from the territory of Iran. He
grounded the last factors with the supposition that everything was
done within the framework of Iran-Armenia cooperation.

CONTEST FOR BEST MEDIA COVERAGE OF DISABLEMENT PROBLEM ANNOUNCED IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 15, 2006
YEREVAN, March 15. /ARKA/. The Armenian NGO “Bridge of Hope” has
announced a contest for the best mass media coverage of the problem
of disablement in Armenia, Chairwoman of the organization Susanna
Tadevosyan told reporters. She pointed out that the contest among
journalists will be started on April 2, 2006. Tadevosyan stressed
that journalists will help reveal and raise problems of disabled
people among the state’s priority problems.

ARMENIAN ‘MERCENARY’ SAGA STIRS UP KENYAN POLITICS
By C. Bryson Hull
Reuters AlertNet, UK
March 16 2006
NAIROBI, March 16 (Reuters) – It was a bizarre twist in Kenya’s
increasingly chaotic political climate: claims that foreign mercenaries
led a police raid on a major media house.
But what began as a minor mystery from one of the most controversial
moments in President Mwai Kibaki’s three-year-old rule has quickly
escalated to convulse local politics and bemuse Kenyans with its
theatrical elements.
The story began with the overnight March 2 raid on the Standard
Group, and reached a crescendo this week with an opposition leader
who first made the mercenary charges trading weighty accusations with
the Armenians he named.
“The whole thing looks orchestrated on both sides. It doesn’t
taste real,” security consultant and former Criminal Investigation
Department officer Ambrose Murunga, told Reuters. “No one has ever
really connected those Armenians to the raid.”
Already reeling from graft scandals and a fall in popularity, Kibaki’s
administration provoked international condemnation when hooded police
with assault rifles struck the KTN television station and its sister
newspaper the Standard.
Security cameras captured images of masked, light-skinned men.
Opposition chief Raila Odinga said that supported his accusation the
government had hired eastern European mercenaries to lead the raid
and kill opposition politicians.
“These two men were in on the raid and the police have given them
Kenya police force certificates,” Odinga said.
Odinga, who wants to run for president in 2007, raised the stakes by
recording two statements with police and producing copies of passports
of two Armenians he said were the guns-for-hire.
Police denied any foreign involvement and are now investigating
his charges.
VIP TREATMENT?
The men Odinga named then stepped out of the shadows to hold a press
conference on Monday to deny the accusations and level their own
against him over business dealings.
The venue of their appearance — the government VIP lounge of Nairobi’s
international airport — raised some eyebrows.
Appearing in dark suits and heavy gold jewelry, the men said they
were Armenian brothers from Dubai who had come to invest in Kenya,
to complement businesses including trading diamonds and gold from
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
One of the men, who identified himself as Artur Margariyan, said they
had to counter Odinga’s allegations to save their reputations.
“The next thing he was going to say was that we had tails and horns,”
Margariyan told Reuters in an interview.
He said it was the press who had led him into the VIP lounge.
But the setting of the conference has fuelled speculation the two
men have powerful government friends, as did their accusations that
Odinga had approached them for money.
Margariyan said the government was not protecting him and until they
assured his safety, he would not record a police statement.
He also alleged Odinga and fellow opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka
approached him and his brother for 3 billion Kenya shillings ($41.44
million) to finance a vote of no confidence against Kibaki.
Margariyan said they refused to loan money for political purposes,
but gave Odinga $1.5 million in cash – in a plastic bag in a posh
Nairobi hotel suite in December – to sort out a domestic problem.
Odinga called the charges against him and Musyoka “hogwash.” Musyoka,
who recorded a statement with police, has said he met the two briefly
last year but never discussed money.
“These people were being kept hidden by the government and these are
very dangerous criminals,” Odinga told Reuters.
He declined to reveal where he had got their passport copies, saying he
needed to protect a source “who was not from the government as such.”
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Kenya was not protecting the
two Armenians. Police are probing all players in the puzzling drama,
he said.
“We are investigating these guys. We think there are a lot of politics
involved in this,” Mutua said.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
16-03-2006
Council of Europe Cooperation with Armenia 2006- 2007 Approved
On March 15, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
approved the Action Plan on Cooperation with Armenia, for 2006-2007.
The Council of Europe prepared this Action Plan in close collaboration
with the Armenian authorities. As Ambasador Christian Ter-Stepanian,
Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, noted,
the Action Plan assesses the progress Armenia has made in regard to
her obligations since becoming a member of the Council five years ago.
Ambassador Ter-Stepanian expressed his satisfaction that the
Action Plan takes into consideration the prospects offered by the
constitutional changes geared toward strengthening democratic
institutions, independence of the judiciary, and human rights
protections.
He also noted that since the Government of Armenia has approved the
schedule of legislative reforms resulting from the constitutional
amendments adopted through Constitutional referendum in November 2005,
this plan has even greater utility.
“We are aware that this cooperation will help Armenia adapt its laws
and practices to European norms and standards, and will facilitate
the reforms policy necessary for deepening Armenia’s integration
process with European structures,” stated the Ambassador.