Author: Hunanian Jack

DOCTOR ZAREH DEMIRJIAN AWARDED "SURB SAHAK AND SURB MESROP" ORDER

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 25 2006

WATERTOWN. DECEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. National
public figure Doctor Zareh Demirjian living in Boston was awarded the
"Surb (Saint) Sahak and Surb Mesrop" order by His Holiness Karekin II
Catholicos of All Armenians. Archbishop Khazhak Parsamian, the primate
of the Armenian Apostolic Diocese of America gave it to Z.Demirjian
after the evening divine service at the Surb Hakob church of Watertown
(Massachusetts) on December 3. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the
Primacy Service of the Diocese, godfathers of the region, Z.Demirjian’s
family members, friends and co-thinkers were present at the ceremony.

The Jerusalem Report
December 25, 2006

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

by Yigal Schleifer

Turkey and the European Union appear to be on a collision course over
membership talks

Outside the French Consulate and Cultura Center on Istanbul’s busy
Istiklal Boulevard, along with posters advertising an up-coming film
and art exhibit, there is a metal barricade manned by stern-looking
Turkish policemen carrying submachine guns. The reason: widespread
fury in Turkey over the passing of a law in France a few weeks ago,
making it a crime to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks in 1915 was a genocide.

To the Turks, long intent on sweeping the Armenian issue under the
carpet, this was like a red cape to a bull. Large protests were held
denouncing France and stores put up signs in their windows proudly
announcing that they no longer sell French products. One Turkish
cosmetics company announced that it was dropping its French-sounding
brand name, Francois Patrick, for the more innocuous MW. And by
mid-November, the Turkish military had announced that it was
suspending ties with its French counterpart, even though both
countries are members of NATO.

The uproar is symptomatic of what looks like a fraying in the
relations between Turkey and Europe, casting a shadow over Turkey’s
long-standing bid to become a member of the European Union. Pope
Benedict XVI’s late November four-day visit here provided another
illustration of that when he was greeted with angry protests and
required a larger security detail than George W. Bush required during
his visit to Turkey in 2004. The Pope, who as a cardinal had come out
against admitting Turkey to the EU because of its cultural and
religious differences, also inflamed Turkish passions in a September
speech linking Islam to violence. For many here, this was yet further
proof that Europe does not want the Turks.

And much like the worker who tells his boss, "You can’t fire me, I
quit," Turks are increasingly starting to feel it is they who don’t
want Europe. A wave of anti-Western nationalism has been washing over
Turkey, fueled by a perception that the EU is asking too much of
Turkey and giving it little back in return. Cutting across Turkish
society, from staunch secularists to Islamists, this nationalist
trend threatens to turn the continuation of Turkey’s bid for EU
membership into even more of a challenge.

After waiting at Europe’s door for decades, Turkey was given the
green light two years ago to start negotiations over becoming a
member of the EU. A raft of reform packages were passed in the
Turkish parliament, in order to bring the country’s economy and
political system into line with Europe. These included a new penal
code, an easing of restrictions on the use of Kurdish, and measures
aimed at curtailing the power of the military.

However much has changed since that initial period of euphoria. Faced
with the public’s growing anti-EU mood, the Turkish government of
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has significantly slowed down its reform drive.
Laws such as the one passed by the French parliament have led many
Turks to worry that resolving the question of the Armenian genocide
will become a prerequisite for EU membership. Many are also angry
over what they see as the EU’s failure to reward Turkish Cyprus after
its citizens overwhelmingly supported a 2004 UN plan to reunite the
divided island. Greek Cypriots strongly rejected the plan, but were
still able to become EU members.

EU officials, meanwhile, have been alarmed by an article in Turkey’s
new criminal code that allowed for dozens of its writers and
journalists – including its most famous novelist and new Nobel
laureate, Orhan Pamuk – to be carted off to court for the vague crime
of "insulting Turkishness" with things they had written or said. Some
have been convicted, though Turkey has now announced that it will
amend the offending article.

While support in Turkey for EU membership stood at close to 80
percent two years ago, it has now dwindled to around 35 percent,
according to EU-led surveys. Once a project that united Turkish
society, the question of joining the EU has by now become something
quite different.

"I don’t think joining the EU would be a good thing," says Faruk
Yilmaz, a mustachioed 40-year-old who sells sandwiches of roasted
meat in downtown Istanbul’s historic Beyoglu neighborhood. "Turkey
has wanted to be a member for such a long time. We are always walking
toward them and they send us back to the start."

Suat Kiniklioglu, executive director of the Turkey office of the
German Marshall Fund, an American public policy organization, says a
large part of the Turkish public today sees EU membership as a kind
of threat. "Today it is a dividing issue," he says. "I am afraid that
the people who believe that Turkey belongs in Europe are becoming a
minority."

A mirror image can be seen in Europe, where the public – especially
in countries like France and Austria – has developed major qualms
about admitting the predominantly Muslim Turkey into its ranks,
fearing the mass immigration of low-wage laborers and an influx of
yet more Muslims who will have a tough time adapting to "European"
society.

To make matters worse, EU diplomats have been warning for months of
an impending "train crash" in the membership negotiations with
Turkey. The slowdown in Turkey’s reform process, the court cases
threatening free speech and Ankara’s continuing refusal to open up
its airports and harbors to vessels from EU member Greek Cyprus have
all raised concern in Brussels and other European capitals.

The release in early November of an EU progress report sharply
criticizing the reform slowdown was perhaps the most definitive
signal yet that a further deterioration in Turkish-European relations
could be in the offing.

"The report represents a very important point, politically, as the
trains are heading toward a collision," says Kirsty Hughes, a
London-based European affairs analyst. "There’s going to be a big
fight between the member countries over what to do."

An EU summit is coming up in mid-December, when it is expected that
the 25-member body will agree to freeze its negotiations with Turkey
in part, if not entirely. German Chancellor Andrea Merkel has already
issued a stern warning, telling a German newspaper that if Ankara
refuses to open up its ports to Cypriot trade – something it promised
to do as part of the deal to begin the negotiations – "the EU
accession talks cannot continue in this fashion."

Diplomats and analysts in Turkey are downbeat about the prospects of
Ankara breaking out of its reform slump anytime soon. Turkey will
hold parliamentary elections next November, and observers here
believe that the political parties will try to play up their
nationalist credentials and distance themselves from the currently
unpopular EU accession negotiations.

"Certainly the military and the secularists have turned against the
EU and for them a negative [EU progress] report would be welcomed,"
says the Marshall Fund’s Kiniklioglu.

In some ways, a very strange dynamic is playing out in Turkey. While
the country is closer than ever to achieving the dream of the modern
secular republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, of firmly becoming
part of the West, it is the military and Turkey’s secular
hard-liners, the inheritors of Ataturk’s Westernizing legacy, who
seem most opposed to the EU drive. They fear the Europeans’ demands
will threaten Turkey’s sovereignty and force it to loosen its strict
controls on religious life. Meanwhile, it is the Islamic-rooted
Justice and Development Party (AKP), which leads the government,
which has been pushing the country’s EU ambitions forward and now
finds itself trying to immunize itself from charges that it is
selling out on Turkey’s founding principles.

But if not in Europe, then where does Turkey belong? There have been
suggestions that the AKP might lead Turkey towards a closer alliance
with the Islamic world. Ioannis Grigoriadis, a professor of political
science at Istanbul’s Isik University, says that rather than
eastward, Turkey’s growing nationalism is looking inward. "It could
end up with a Turkey that is very introverted and self-reliant," he
says.

But the reorientation of Turkish policy is a distinct possibility. At
the same time it has been pursuing its EU goals – and maintaining its
close relations with Israel – Turkey, under the AKP’s leadership, has
also been forging closer ties with its Arab and Islamic neighbors.
Relations with Syria and Iran have improved significantly in the last
few years, while Turkey has also taken a more assertive role in the
wider Islamic world. A Turk, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, currently heads
the Organization of the Islamic Conference and took a lead role in
criticizing the Pope’s recent comments about Islam.

"I think that feeling of being pushed around and not being treated
fairly is coupled with another dynamic in Turkish society, something
which started after the Iraq war, which is that they have discovered
that they are Muslims," says Cagaptay. "The AKP has accelerated and
anchored that discovery with its rhetoric and policies. We are
talking about a perfect storm," adds Cagaptay, "in the sense that the
factors are exacerbating one another. More and more Turks are feeling
as if they are not Western as a result of the treatment that they are
getting from the EU and America… and are identifying with Muslim
issues next door."

A rupture between the EU and Turkey, even a temporary one, could also
have important regional implications for Europe. One of the main
benefits of Turkey becoming a member of the EU – even negotiating to
become a member – is that it extends the organization’s influence
into the Middle East. Alienating Turkey deprives Europe of a strong
Muslim voice, and of a literal and figurative bridge into the region.

"Only with Turkey as a member can the EU be a player in the Middle
East," Cagaptay says.

With its large population of 70 million, which could help offset the
potential labor shortage posed by the graying of most European
countries, and its strategic location as a transit route for Central
Asian oil and natural gas, Turkey has much to offer the EU, says
Thierry Malleret, an expert with the Geneva-based World Economic
Forum. "Turkey is perceived by many as a source of risk to Europe; it
may just be the opposite, a potential source of major risk
mitigation," Malleret says.

Furthermore, any rupture with Turkey might be seen by the growing
community of Muslims in Europe, whose own integration into the
continent has been so difficult, as a signal that there is no place
for Islam in Europe. "For them, this is a test of whether they are
European. They are following this very closely," Cagaptay says.

Despite the criticism from Brussels and the nationalist mood in
Turkey, there are indications that both sides are working to reach
some sort of compromise before the upcoming EU summit. Along with the
willingness to amend the law limiting free speech, there are also
efforts to work out an interim deal on the Cyprus issue.

"I think all parties will try until the last moment to prevent this
train crash," says Joost Lagendijk, who heads the European Parliament
delegation to the joint EU-Turkey parliamentary committee. "A real
crisis would be if both parties would be looking for a way out [of
the negotiations], and I don’t think that’s the case right now."

What may also be needed is a change in the way the EU approaches
Turkey.

Isik University’s Grigoriadis argues that if the EU wants to bring
Turkey closer, it has to reel the country in slowly. "You can’t pull
the line too tight, or it will break," he says.

IN PARIS CATHEDRAL OF BLESSED VIRGIN AN EXHIBITION OPENED ABOUT ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.12.2006 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ December 19 in the Paris Cathedral of the Blessed
Virgin opened an exhibition, Armenia, a Christian land in the
Caucasus. The exhibition, which will be held till March 25, 2007,
opened Deputy mayor of Paris Moira Gilmar and Eduard Nalbandian,
the Armenian Ambassador in France.

The Armenian history has been presented in exhibitions, its temple
architecture, nature, art and culture, which gives some notion
on the way the Armenian nation had passed, its reach heritage and
civilization. The exhibition is held on the framework of Armenian
Year in France with the assistance of Paris City administration and
‘Sosiete Geographique’, the RA Press Office reports.

IT WAS A POLITICAL MURDER

A1+
[03:55 pm] 20 December, 2006

This night’s murder in Nalbandyan was a political murder;
this information has been circulating in the National Assembly
lately. Several names are mentioned which could be connected with
Roland Lazarian’s murder. According to some, the murder of the
representative of "Prosperous Armenia" is connected with Nahapet
Gevorgyan (Republican Party), deputy from Armavir, and former governor
of Armavir region Albert Heroyan.

By the way, today the Republican deputy left the Parliament hall early,
and we did not manage to find out his opinion about the murder in
his community.

Head of the faction Galoust Sahakyan said, "We must let the
prosecutor’s office make conclusions: it would be absurd for us
to give names now. I think some powers are trying to discredit the
Republican party".

Independent deputy Viktor Dallakyan accepts that it was a political
murder. Another representative of the Republican party, Hamlet
Haroutyunyan, does not believe that Nahapet Gevorgyan is able to
commit such a crime, "When you look at someone’s face, you feel what
he is able to do. I have seen him today and I don’t believe that he
is capable of it".

R. FISK IN HIS LATEST BOOK DEVOTED SEPARATE CHAPTER TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.12.2006 12:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Robert Fisk, world renowned author of several books
about the Middle East and foreign correspondent for one of the United
Kingdom’s leading newspapers, The Independent, spoke at California
State University, Northridge (CSUN) about his latest book, "The Great
War for Civilization." Of particular interest to the Armenian American
community, Fisk is one of the world’s best-known journalists and has
distinguished himself in his effort to inform the world about the
Armenian Genocide." Fisk dedicated an entire chapter to the Armenian
Genocide, which he titled "The First Holocaust." He provides the
historical details of the genocide, reveals interviews with survivors
in Lebanon, and decries the Turkish and U.S. governments’ complicity
in genocide denial today.

ARA ABRAHAMIAN’S INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM WILL CONTINUE RESEARCH FOR THE CREATION OF AN-225 SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT AIRPLANE

AZG Armenian Daily
19/12/2006

In 2006 by the initiative of Ara Abrahamian, president of "Soglasie"
(Concord) ltd. and of the Worldwide Armenian Congress, the "Air and
Space Production Bureau" international consortium was established.

"Soglasie" ltd informed "Noyyan Tapan" that the consortium aims
at restarting the scientific program for the creation of "Energy –
Buran" and AN-225 ("Mria") super-heavyweight airplanes. According to
the same source, exploitation of AN-225 combined with other technical
innovations will enhance the realization of a wide range of space
programs.

President of the Consortium Ara Abrahamian expressed his ideas about
space exploration in an essay entitled "Space Odyssey of the 21-st
Century. Ways of Salvation". The presentation of the essay will take
place in January 2007, Paris in the frameworks of "Explolang-2007"
exhibition.

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father 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 EMPHASIZED
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WCC

Receiving yesterday the Moderator of the World Council of Churches, Bishop
Walter Altmann and the General Secretary, Dr. Samuel Kobia, His Holiness
Aram I stressed the unique importance of the WCC as the only global and
institutional expression of the ecumenical movement: "I know that the WCC is
facing tremendous challenges. It is in search of new agenda, new direction
and self-expression. The process and organizational matters must not hinder
our commitment to ecumenical goals. The churches must together seek the most
efficient ways and means of deepening their togetherness on the way towards
the visible unity within the fellowship of the WCC", said Aram I.

Having served as Moderator of the WCC from 1991 to 2006, for two terms,
Catholicos Aram I reminded that "the WCC is not an organization out therein
Geneva but a fellowship here on local level. The identity of the WCC lies in
its fellowship character which transcends institutional and geographical
boundaries. The WCC is churches in Council. Hence, strengthening the Council
must become a priority for member churches".

Dr. Altmann expressed on behalf of the Central Committee his deep
appreciation for many years of service of His Holiness to the WCC, from 1970
to 1991 as member of Faith and Order Commission and Central Committee and
from 1991 to 2006 as Moderator.

Dr. Kobia said that Aram I has left his indelible mark in the WCC as a
strong and gifted ecumenical leader. He said that Antelias is a center of
ecumenical dialogue and their visit to Antelias is "a sort of ecumenical
pilgrimage".

The chairperson of the Committee on Ecumenical Relations Dr. Nora
Bayrakdarian shared her experience of the 9th Assembly and the first meeting
of the new Central Committee underlining a few aspects and making some
proposals. The Officer of the ecumenical relations. Bishop Nareg outlined
the multi-faceted ecumenical relations of the Armenian Church. Dr. Jean
Salmanian spoke about Christian-Muslim dialogue. Mrs. Seta Khedeshian
referred to the activities of the MECC with special reference to Life and
Service Program. Speaking about the activities of youth, Ms. Carla Khijoyan
emphasized the importance of giving space to youth in their involvement in
the ecumenical movement.

Summarizing the remarks of the members of the Ecumenical Relations Committee
of the Catholicosate, Aram I underscored "the necessity of preserving the
specificity and integrity of the ecumenical movement as a church-centered
and unity-driven movement". He said that "we must at the same time enlarge
the scope of ecumenism by engaging the ecumenical partners and different
players of civil society. This implies change of agenda, methodology,
strategy and style. The WCC must take this matter very seriously as it tries
to re-organize itself after the Assembly". His Holiness also emphasized the
crucial importance of "wider ecumenism". He reminded that "the inter-faith
dialogue has become a vital area of serious concern for the churches and the
ecumenical movement". Speaking about the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia,
His Holiness Aram I said that "ecumenism is taken very seriously by our
church. Ecumenism is neither a department nor a function or a reality
pertaining to the external relations of the church; it is at the heart of
what we do and what we say as a church".

##
View the photos here:
m
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities 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.

TURKEY THREATENS ARGENTINA

A1+
[12:34 pm] 18 December, 2006

Official Ankara has started threatening Argentina. The Foreign
Ministry of Turkey has made a statement condemning the decision of
the Argentinean Senate connected with the Armenian Genocide.

Let us remind you that on December 13 the Senate has decided to declare
April 24 as "day of mutual respect and tolerance between nations",
and make it a non-working day for Armenian students and officials.

The statement mentions that "Turkey condemns and rejects the
accusations about the Genocide which is groundless from the historical
point of view".

According to agency "Trend", Turkey has informed Argentina that the
decision will have a negative impact on the relations between the
two countries and has voiced hope that the President of Argentina
will not ratify the Senate decision.

THE HEART OF DARKNESS

Beaver County Times, PA
Dec 17 2006

Holocaust deniers conference reveals depths of anti-Semitism

The intellectual dishonesty and moral bankruptcy of anti-Semitism
were on full display at the conference of Holocaust deniers last week
in Iran.

The Associated Press reported the Tehran conference was touted by
participants and organizers as an exercise in academic freedom and a
chance to openly consider whether 6 million Jews really died in the
Holocaust, away from Western taboos and the restrictions imposed on
scholars in Europe, where some countries have made it a crime to deny
the Nazi genocide during World War II.

The conference gathered 67 writers and researchers from 30 countries,
most of whom argue that either the Holocaust did not happen or that
it was vastly exaggerated. Many have been jailed or fined in France,
Germany or Austria, where it is illegal to deny the Holocaust. (See
the following editorial on the European laws.)

Try as they might, though, they couldn’t prevent the real purpose of
the meeting from showing through – hatred of Jews.

To begin with, Jews weren’t the only ones targeted by the Nazis.

Although Jews made up the overwhelming majority of victims killed
and persecuted between 1933 and 1945, gypsies, homosexuals and other
Nazi-designated socially undesirables were targeted. Holocaust deniers
can’t deny their tragic fates because they’re intertwined, albeit
on a much smaller scale, with the mindset behind Nazi atrocities
against Jews.

Doing Adolf Hitler proud, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told
attendees that the "Zionist regime will be wiped out soon the same
way the Soviet Union was, and humanity will achieve freedom."

In the past, Ahmadinejad has referred to the Holocaust as a "myth"
used to impose the state of Israel on the Arab world.

Not to be outdone, David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who
received almost 40 percent of the popular vote in a 1991 runoff
election to become governor of Louisiana, told the AP the "Holocaust
is the device used as the pillar of Zionist imperialism, Zionist
aggression, Zionist terror and Zionist murder."

In an amazing display of chutzpah, Ahmadinejad announced the
conference would set up a "fact-finding commission" to determine
whether the Holocaust happened or not. The commission will "help end
a 60-year-old dispute,"

In the minds of all but the most mindless, the so-called dispute
was resolved more than 60 years ago when allied forces entered Nazi
death camps.

In addition to being dishonest and bankrupt, Arabic and Iranian
anti-Semites are being hypocritical because they are ignoring genocide
that took place in their backyard.

However, because it involves their co-religionists, the Turks, and
the victims were Armenian Christians, they pretend it never happened.

The Washington Post reports an estimated 1.5 million Armenian civilians
were killed in eastern Turkey from 1915 to 1920. The paper reported
Armenians call it the 20th century’s first genocide, "a view that
has gained acceptance among Western scholars and governments."

What took place last week in Iran was a look into the heart of darkness
of anti-Semitism. It’s a lesson none of us should forget.

CYPRUS’ MILITARY BALANCE: GREEK AND TURKISH FORCES IN COMPARISON
By Ioannis Michaletos

Balkanalysis, AZ
Dec 17 2006

After the end of the Cold War in 1989, only a small corner in
Europe remained divided along an "iron curtain" with its own divided
capital. Cyprus, a beautiful island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea,
is the only state in Europe that has part of its territory (37 percent)
occupied and its capital, Nicosia, divided, along the infamous "Green
Line." Despite the Turkish self-declared Republic of Northern Cyprus,
created after the 1974 invasion, there is only one Cyprus recognized by
international law and that is the 73 percent Greek-inhabited Cypriot
Republic. Even though the Turkish Army stands firm on the rest of the
territory; the so called "Republic of Northern Cyprus" has not been
recognized by any state in the world and there have been plenty of
UN condemnations calling for a withdrawal of the Turkish forces from
the island.

In April 2004, the two sides were close to an agreement based on
the principles of the "Annan plan." The referendum, held by the
Greek Cypriot side, rejected the proposals by a 76 percent majority,
thus reflecting the strong mood in the country for a solution based
more on justice rather than on compromise. Currently Turkey is being
pressed by the EU to accept the Cypriot democracy as a state entity
and at the same time to lift the bans that keep Cypriot airplanes and
ships out of Turkish territorial waters and air. Since the acceptance
of the Republic of Cyprus into the European Union, time is ticking
away for the Turks to balance their regional aspirations and their
desired status quo in the Eastern Mediterranean with their ambition
to becoming a member state in the enlarged European family. Turkey’s
failure to open its ports to Cypriot vessels led to a predictably
harsh report card from the EU in November 2006, and there is not
currently much reason for optimism in the near future.

Wary of the Turkish armed presence, the Cypriot Republic has greatly
increased its military capabilities over the past decade by acquiring
state-of-the-art Russian weaponry and at the same time expanding its
diplomatic capabilities beyond its traditional fraternal friendship
with Greece. Already Cypriot officers attend four military Study
Groups in Brussels and regularly train alongside officers from other
member states regarding issues such as naval strategic transport,
threats from nuclear proliferation and the use of UAV-type aircraft.

Moreover Coast Guard exercises are being held in Cyprus with the
assistance of other EU members, with the main aim of curbing illegal
immigration from the Middle East. Lastly, Cyprus is a part of the
Battle Group composed of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. It is supposed
to become operational by October 2007.

The Turkish Cypriot population relies heavily on the annual economic
assistance of Turkey, as well as on the formidable Turkish-stationed in
their part of the island. The Turkish Army often upgrades its systems
and holds military exercises on a regular basis. Turkey has stated many
times that it will never recognize Cyprus as an independent state and
it seems that it is not in their interest to do so unless it is pressed
significantly to do so by the world powers, namely the USA and EU.

The old thinking in the Turkish military remains in vogue today
regarding Cyprus. It hypothesizes that a united Cyprus would soon
fell under Greek domination, thus allowing the Greek to encircle
the Turkish periphery from Eastern Thrace to the Aegean shores and
down to the Alexandrine Gulf. Adding the perilous conditions on the
southeastern borders of Turkey, where Kurdish guerilla groups are
regaining strength, bolstered by their brethren across the hills in
Iraq, as well as the old enmities with Armenia and Syria and the
unknown factor of America’s plans for far eastern neighbor Iran,
it seems likely that Turkey will continue to manifest the symptoms
of the "Sevres syndrome," an outlook "mirrored by the narrow notion
of security – limited to the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the state – that characterizes Turkish politics."

On the military level now, Turkey’s forces are generally superior in
numbers, whilst the Greek Cypriots have at their disposal high-quality
armaments and the conviction that they will fight hard and make a
"last stand" in case of a war to defend their homeland.

The geographical terrain of Cyprus is less than 9,250 sqkm –
excluding the British Bases – and it is unlikely that any conflict
will result in a kind of warfare that will involve large numbers of
tanks and troop movements. Special Forces, along with artillery and
missiles, would play the decisive role for a quick victory one either
side. Furthermore a potential conflict would draw Greece and Turkey
into the war, thus enlarging the skirmishes on a much wider front,
so as to encompass most of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. In any
such conflict, the interests of the United States and the EU would be
to control the situation as soon as possible and act in order to stop
a wider war. Again, the side that would be able to move faster and
more dynamically in the first couple of days would probably create the
‘facts on the ground’ and emerge the winner.

The Cyprus issue has achieved global importance due to the geopolitical
placement of the country, just opposite from Israel and the Middle
East, and just a few miles north of the Suez Canal.

Recently, France signed a defense contract with Cyprus, because of
its involvement in Lebanon’s peacekeeping force, and Germany also has
agreed to use military installation in Cyprus in order to support
its operations in Beirut. The UK now holds its own two sovereign
bases that have a surface area of up to 3 percent of the island,
and it seems unquestionable that Britain will retain its historic
geo-strategic position here for decades to come.

For their part, Greece and Turkey now have their own national troops
based on the island, even though the former are vastly outnumbered by
the latter. Both countries also have continuously vowed to support
their own side in case of any conflict. Other players in the area
include the USA, Russia (which has cultivated strong ties with the
Greeks over the past 15 years as well) and Israel, which views Cyprus
as its safe haven in case of a major Arab offensive in the future.

Cyprus also is vital for the humanitarian relief of Lebanon, and
recently more than 100,000 Lebanese citizens were transferred via
Cyprus to safety in various locations worldwide.

The Cypriot government helped evacuate, house and repatriate 13,500
Americans during the Israeli war against Lebanon this past July. On
October 25, as if to give a final sending-off gift to a tourism season
disrupted by the war, an American Naval vessel, the USS Eisenhower,
pulled in to Cyprus for four days. "This routine port visit offers a
shore leave opportunity for the more than 5,000 crew members and is
a way for America to thank Cyprus for its support during the Lebanon
crisis," announced a US embassy statement.

On overall assessment, the Cyprus issue in inexorably connected
with all of the other chronic problems in the Eastern Mediterranean
and Middle East area. The Israeli-Arab conflict, the Greek-Turkish
brinkmanship and the ambitious of the Great Powers will dominate the
Cypriot future, since this island is a naval fortress adrift in the
most vital and sensitive area for world security nowadays. It is also
a hub of global commerce with a well established banking industry
which processes billions in legal and not-so-legal funds, making it
again a place of great importance and interest for powerful people
around the world.

Equipment and personnel breakdown of military balance in Cyprus

Land Armies

Republic of Cyprus National Guard (plus Greek national forces)

Tanks: 41 (T-80U type), 82 (M48MOLD type), 113 (AMX-30 type)-Russian,
US and French types respectively.

Armored vehicles: 43 (BMP-3 Type), 124 (Cascavel Type), 27 (Jararaca
Type), 150 (Leonidas II type), 131 ( VAB VCI Type).- Russian,
Brazilian, Greek and French types respectively.

Artillery: 8 (M110A2 Type), 12 (M107 Type), 12 (Zuzana Type), 12 (Mk3F
Type), 12 (TR-FI Type), 12 (M114 Type), 72 (M56 Type), 20 (M-1944)-
USA, Slovakian and Russian types. 100mm, 105mm, 155 mm, 175 mm, 203 mm.

Rocket launchers: 4 (BM-21 Grad type), 24 (M-63 Plamen type)- All
Russian types: 40×122mm, 32×128mm, respectively.

Antiaircraft systems: 6 (Tor-M1 type), 12 (Skyguard type) – Russian
and Italian types

Antiaircraft systems: 12 (Atlas-Mistral type), 18 (Mistral type),
100 (9K32M-Strela type)- French and Russian types.

Antiaircraft machine guns: 24 (GDF Type), 50 (M-55 Type)- 2×35mm,
and 3×20 mm respectively.

Antitank weapons: 50 (Milan type), 1,000 (Apilas type), 1,000
(RPG-7V type), and unknown number of M72A2 Law type.- 112mm, 85 mm,
66 mm respectively

Other weapons: 150 (M40A1-106mm), 114(MO-RT61-120 mm), 26 (M2/M60-107
mm), 180 (E-44-81 mm), 50 (M19- 60 mm)

Turkish Cypriot Army (plus Turkish national forces)

Tanks: 386 (M48A5 type) US origin

Armored vehicles: 200 (AIFV type), 200 (M-113 type)- US and Turkish
respectively

Artillery: 12 (M115 type), 24 (M44T type), 35 (M52T type), 12 (M110
type), 36 (M114 type), 90 (M101 type)- US origin: 203 mm, 155 mm,
155 mm, 203 mm, 155 mm and 105 mm respectively.

Rocket launchers: 18 (T-122)- Turkish origin, 40×122 mm.

Antiaircraft systems: 170 (Stinger missiles), 18 (Igla missiles),
US and Russian respectively

Antiaircraft machine guns: 84 (M1 type)- US origin, 40 mm.

Antitank systems: 36 (TOW type), 12 (Konkurs-M type), 48 (MILAN type)-
USA, Russian and French types respectively

Other weapons: 170 (M40A1-106 mm), 30 (HY-12DI-120 mm), 100 (M2/M30-107
mm), 175 (M1/M29-81 mm)

Navy and Air Force

Republic of Cyprus Navy and Air Force (plus Greek national forces)

Combat helicopters: 11 (Mi-35P type), 4 (Gazelle type)- Russian and
French types respectively

Transport and General Use helicopters: 4 (Bell type)- US origin

Aircraft: 1 (BN-2T type), 1 (BN-Maritime type), 1 (PC-9 type)

Patrol boats: 15 of different Greek, Israeli and Italian types. Most
of them speed boats with heavy equipment

Surface-to-sea missiles: 24 (Exocet MM40 Type)- French origin

Turkish Cypriot Navy and Air Force (plus Turkish national forces)

General Purpose helicopters: 4 (UH-1H type)- US origin

Aircraft: 3 (T-41D type), 1 (An-2 Colt type)

Patrol boats: 2 speed light weight speed boats

Manpower

Republic of Cyprus National Guard (plus Greek national forces)

13,000 active-duty, plus 65,000 reserves

Turkish Cypriot armed forces (plus Turkish national forces)

40,000 active-duty, plus 25,000 reserves

NOTE: To the above military balance one has to take into consideration
the general balance of powers between Greece and Turkey. Also weapons
such as electronic warfare, special operations vehicles, training
equipment, support vehicles, ammunition, rifles-machine guns, mines,
bombs, jeeps, trucks and radars were not accounted for in this survey.

prus%E2%80%99-military-balance-greek-and-turkish-f orces-in-comparison/

–Boundary_(ID_sviZdaKCh7+di t5or5RqzA)–