Author: Jalatian Sonya

KHAZAR IBRAHIM: AZERBAIJAN WILL PROTEST TO ARMENIANS’ HOLDING CONFERENCE ON MUROVDAG IN MOSCOW

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 16 2007

Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia will carry out investigation on the
so-called "Nagorno Karabakh Republic" representation in Moscow on
Murovdag and will express its dissatisfaction to related bodies of
Russia, Foreign Ministry’s press secretary Khazar Ibrahim told the APA.

Ibrahim commenting on the hold of conference named "Murov’s call" in
Moscow on May 27, said as Armenia raised territorial claim against
Turkey regarding Agridag, now raises new territorial claim against
Azerbaijan regarding Murovdag.

"This step shows Armenia’s approach to the issues is unconstructive,
and Yerevan has not refrained from its territory claim and
aggressive policy. This is very risky case, neighboring countries
and international world should realize this threat. Armenia can raise
territorial claim against any state on mountain chain in the future.

International world should pursue these challenges more seriously,
should prevent Armenia’s such expansionist and aggressive policy.

RA PRIME MINISTER RECEIVED THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR

ArmRadio.am
16.05.2007 15:37

RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan received today the newly appointed
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Armenia
Massimo Lavezzo Cassinelli.

Congratulating Mr. Cassinelli on the start of his diplomatic mission
in our country, the Prime Minister expressed hope that his activity
will greatly contribute to the further development of Armenian-Italian
relations in various directions.

Ambassador Cassinelli assured that he will make every effort to
further reinforce Armenian-Italian cooperation in the political,
economic and other spheres, attaching importance to both the European
Neighborhood Policy and the development of bilateral relations.

The Ambassador also took the opportunity to congratulate the Armenian
Prime Minister on holding the parliamentary elections largely in
accordance with international standards and Armenia’s international
commitments. Mr. Cassinelli congratulated Serge Sargsyan on the
impressive victory of the Republican Party in the parliamentary
elections. He wished success to the Armenian Government, expressing
hope that Armenian-Italian economic cooperation will also have a
dynamic development.

At the end of the meeting Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan thanked the
Ambassador for the willingness to cooperate and for the congratulations
on the occasion of the parliamentary elections and assured that every
election in Armenia is going to be better than the previous one. "No
one can say that the electoral system in the country is so ideal that
nothing else is to be done to improve it," said the Prime Minister,
adding that Armenia will uphold its efforts in the direction of
improving the electoral system.

DASHNAKTSUTYUN RECOGNIZES THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTIONS

ArmRadio.am
15.05.2007 14:50

Dashnaktsutyun party made a statement today, in which it described
the parliamentary elections of May 12 in Armenia as "a progress along
the path to democratic elections, corresponding to international
standards."

Dashnaktsutyun, which occupied the third place in the elections,
stressed the high activity of the electors on the voting day.

"At the same time, one should admit that we failed to fully
prevent pernicious phenomena during the election processes and
exclude the opportunity of gaining votes by means of compulsion and
bribery. Despite that, Dashnaktsutyun recognizes the outcome of the
elections and its preliminary results," the statement reads.

8-2007/ayaan_hirsi_ali

Today’s date: May 14, 2007

EU SHOULD STAND BY TURKEY’S LIBERALS

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former Dutch legislator and woman’s activist,
recently published her memoir, "Infidel." She now lives in the United
States.

By Ayaan Hirsi Ali

NEW YORK – Secular and liberal Turks have had a rude awakening from
years of deep slumber. Kemal Ataturk’s heritage is about to be
destroyed – not by an invading power, but from within by fellow Turks
who yearn for an Islamic state.

Ever since Ataturk, Turkey has been divided into those who want to run
state affairs on Islamic principles and those who want to keep Allah’s
will from the public space.

The proponents of Islam in government such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Abdullah Gul and their Justice and Development Party have been
remarkably successful. They have understood and exploited the fact
that you can use democratic means to erode democracy. With this
insight, they have employed a powerful strategy. Three pillars of that
strategy are worth discussion.

The first is Dawa, a tactic inspired by Islam’s founder,
Muhammad. Dawa simply means to preach Islam as a way of life,
including a way of government, perpetually and with conviction. Every
convert is subsequently obligated to preach Islam to others, which
creates a grassroots movement.

The secularists in Turkey have underestimated this pillar and thus
neglected competing with the Islamists for the hearts and minds of the
electorate. Now they are faced with the shocking reality of polls that
suggest that 70 percent of voters may elect Gul as president if
Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, succeeds in changing the
constitution so that the president can be elected directly. Any
protest from the secularists against this evident popular will sounds
irrational and undemocratic.

The second pillar is the improvement of the economy. No one can deny
that when the secular parties were in power, the Turkish economy was
in tatters. Ever since Erdogan took office, the growth of the economy
has been strong, with inflation down and foreign investment high.

The third pillar is taking control of two types of institutions in a
democracy: those designed to educate the civilians (education and
media) and those designed to keep law and order (police, justice and
the secret service). In other words, the Islamists control the
information that you get and have the power to shut your mouth.

After an initial attempt at Islamic revolution failed in 1997 when the
military engineered a "soft coup" against elected Islamists, Erdogan
and his party understood that gradualism would yield more lasting
power.

They surely realize that Islamizing Turkey entirely is possible only
if they gain control of the army and the Constitutional Court, the two
institutions that have – until today – lived up to Ataturk’s
expectations to preserve Turkey’s secular state.

The current Constitutional Court ruling annulling the nomination of
Abdullah Gul for the presidency after the military warned that it is
the guardian of secularism is only a temporary setback for the
Islamists. Erdogan and Gul have another trick up their sleeve.

If they show the same restraint and patience that has brought them
this far, they may achieve their aim by continuing to court EU
membership. Naive but well-meaning European leaders were manipulated
by the ruling Islamists from the onset into saying that Turkey’s army
should be placed under civil control like all armies in the EU member
states.

Seen from this perspective, Erdogan and his party have earned their
success. Condemning them for getting as far as they have is a petty
display of sour grapes, and certainly not effective in preventing them
from getting total control of all power in Turkey.

In hindsight, Turkey’s secular liberals have only themselves to
blame. They have underestimated the power of Dawa, they failed at
growing the economy under their reign, and they have not realized that
members of the EU have been manipulated.

An important trait of liberalism, however, is the opportunity to learn
by trial and error. The fact that Turkish secular liberals have erred
does not mean they cannot try again to preserve Ataturk’s legacy and
create the opportunity for progress of the Turkish democracy based on
Western values.

Turkish secular liberals must devise a plan to start their own
grassroots movement, one with the message of individual freedom. They
must restore the confidence of the electorate in trusting Turkey’s
economy to them, and they must re-conquer the institutions of
education and information, police and justice.

They must also make EU leaders understand and respect the fact that
the army and the court in Turkey – besides defending the country and
the constitution – are also, and maybe even more importantly, designed
to protect Turkish democracy from Islam.

Bringing back true secularism to Turkey does not mean just any
secularism. It means secularism that protects individual freedoms and
rights, not the ultra-nationalist kind that breeds an environment in
which Hitler’s "Mein Kampf" is a bestseller, the Armenian genocide is
denied and minorities are persecuted. Hrant Dink, the Armenian editor,
was murdered by such a nationalist.

It is this mix of virulent nationalism and predatory Islam in Turkey
that makes the challenge for Turkish secular liberals greater than for
any other liberal movement today.

Other liberal democracies in the West must stand by Turkey’s liberals
in this difficult time. It is only a seeming paradox that support has
to start by recognizing that the Turkish army is not like any
other. The military has the unique task of safeguarding Turkey’s
secular character.

© Global Viewpoint
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. (5/8/07)

CIS observers: election campaign in support of political parties and
candidates was held correctly

Arminfo
2007-05-13 13:44:00

In the opinion of CIS observers, the election campaign in support of
the political parties and candidates was held in Armenia in open and
correct way, the statement of CIS international observers says upon
results of monitoring of the parliamentary election in Armenia.

As the documents notes, the CIS observers were present during toss-up
in CEC on the priority of granting free air time for the election
campaign to the parties and candidates. The local executive power
agencies have provided them with opportunities to hold a free
agitation campaign, meet the voters and present their programmes. The
CIS observers positively assess the measures taken by the republic to
assure equal conditions of the election campaign for all the political
parties and candidates.

The monitoring of news programmes of "A1" and "Armenia" TV channels,
as well as of the "Golos Armenii" and "Novoye Vremya", "Azg", "Hayots
Ashkhar", "Aravot" newspapers, carried out from April 8 to May 10,
have shown that the participation of parties and candidates was
broadcasted in line with the EC, which is indicated by the fact that
only one violation was revealed by the National TV and Radio
Committee. No cases of abuse, psychological and physical coercion in
favour of separate participants of the election process were fixed
during monitoring. The CIS monitoring mission considers the order of
the Prosecutor General about creation of working groups for
coordination of activities of the Prosecutor’s Office on consideration
of messages about violations during the election as a positive fact.

According to the data of the Prosecutor General’s Office, it has
received 34 messages about violations during the election
campaign. The National TV and Radio Committee have examined two
applications about breach of the Law-established order on holding the
election campaign. The courts have received 43 writs and complaints
concerning the election process. The CIS observers think that the
complaints and applications about violations during the election
campaign are considered in accordance with RA legislation.

IN OPINION OF DAVIT HARUTYUNIAN, CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER AND FORMER DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER IS NOT POLITICAL STEP

YEREVAN, MAY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Former Armenian foreign minister
Alexander Arzumanian and former deputy defence minister of the RA
Vahan Shirkhanian are not the most active people in the opposition
field, says the RA justice minister Davit Harutyunian who does not
consider the opening of a criminal case against these persons as a
political step. During the May 9 meeting with reporters, in response
to a reporter’s question about whether the money laundering charge
against Arzumanian and Shirkhanian is an attemp to put pressure on
the opposition by the authorities, the justice minister noted that he
lacks information about details of the case, nevertheless, according
to him, if a person commits a crime, he/she must be punished. "It is
too early to speak about how well-founded the charge is – the time
will show," he concluded.

WORLD ARMENIAN CONGRESS FOR WAR VETERANS
By A. Haroutiunian

AZG Armenian Daily
10/05/2007

The day of the victory in World War II and of liberation of Shushi was
celebrated today on an event organized by the World Armenian Congress,
the founders of the Writers’, Journalists’ and Artists’ unions, the
Armenian Russian’s Union and the National Science Academy. Head of the
Armenian branches of the World Armenian Congress and Armenian Russians’
Union Vladimir Aghayan, Vice President of the Armenian Russians’ Union
Georgy Ter-Ghazariants, Lieutenant General Norat Ter-Grogoriants and
others were present to the celebration event.

The World Armenian Congress and the Armenian Russians’ Union organizes
such celebrations each year, being glad of having opportunity to
congratulate them on a double glorious victory, and has undertaken
the mission of providing social assistance to Armenian veterans.

The veterans, who were present to the today celebration, expressed
their gratitude to Ara Abrahamian who has never forsaken the duty
of a son of the Armenian people and gained renown with philanthropy
and sponsorship.

ARMENIA INTERESTED IN RUSSIA INFLUENCE IN REGION – MINISTER

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
May 10, 2007 Thursday 11:15 AM EST

Armenia is not interested in the decrease of Russia’s influence in the
region, Armenian Justice Minister David Arutyunyan said on Thursday.

"As Armenia is interested in stability in the region, the lessening of
influence or the withdrawal of Russia will have a negative influence"
and "will shift the balance, which will result in the escalation
of tension in the region," the minister noted at a conferece on
Russian-Armenian relations and Armenian foreign policy before and
after the elections.

"We consider issues of our own security and link them with Russia’s
presence in the region," he stressed at the conference, organized by
the Institute for CIS Studies (Moscow) with support of the Armenian
government.

According to Arutyunyan, the membership of Armenia and Russia in the
Collective Security Treaty Organization "is a qualitatively new level
of relations between our countries".

He believes interest in the South Caucasus has sharply grown at the
present time, and such players as the USA, NATO, the European Union
and Russia, have marked their presence there. "Although interests of
most sides in the region coincide as far as stability is concerned,
many of them have different means of achieving it," he stressed.

In particular, "each of these forces, in particular the USA, NATO and
Russia, believe their dominant presence in the region is a guarantee
of stability," he noted.

According to Arutyunyan, "synchronization of interests of different
countries in the region can be achieved through the development of
infrastructure, which would make it possible to involve all countries
of the region and make them interdependent".

TOGETHER WE WILL BE GUARANTORS AND WE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE

Azat Artsakh Daily, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
09 May 07

Mr. Sahakian, four leading parties of the republic made a statement
after consultations that they will support you. What is your thoughts
on this unprecedented event in the home political life? "Frankly
speaking, I am glad that new politicians were nominated for the
post of president. It is evidence that there is every possibility
in NKR to hold a free, fair and transparent election on July
19 to ensure pluralism and competition of ideas and approaches,
therefore, the statement of the four parties to support me does not
drain the attitude of the political sphere and the public towards the
presidential election. I think by the end of the period of registration
of candidates the full picture of the future race will have become
visible, so it appears that the evaluation of the unprecedented event
in the home political life does not describe the moment fully. On the
other hand, in fact, the four parliament parties stated to support
me as a single presidential candidate. They made this decision after
reaching agreement on the principles of the foreign and internal
policies of NKR for the upcoming years. It means I commit to this
principles.

This unity at the moment is a guarantee of a free, fair and transparent
election, and in the future, if we get the confidence of the voters,
it will become responsibility. I believe that together we will be
guarantors and we will be responsible."

AZERBAIJAN NOT AFRAID OF UEFA SANCTIONS: AFFA PRESIDENT

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 8 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend I.Alizade / The President of Association
of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), Ramiz Mirzayev, said
that Azerbaijan is not afraid of UEFA sanctions.

"Our position on the meeting of the national teams of Azerbaijan and
Georgian remains unchanged. As previously, we do not refuse to hold
meetings. However, the meetings should be conducted in a neutral
stadium in a third country territory. We are ready to play against
Armenia in any country," Mirzayev said.

The AFFA President stated that as countries which meet the requirements
of both countries, Azerbaijan put forward the candidatures of Ukraine,
Austria and Switzerland. According to him, the UEFA Executive Committee
will reconsider this issue and make a decision in June. "The FIFA
congress will take place at the end of May, during which time the
UEFA will make a decision on the place and date of the meeting of
UEFA Executive Committee," Mirzayev said.

He stressed that the Armenian side also does not want to change its
position on this issue and wishes to come to Baku. However, this
does not mean that Armenia can play in Azerbaijan. The AFFA President
said that Armenia understands this very well and is simply trying to
obtain a negative response from Azerbaijan, which may cause sanctions
by the international organizations, he added.

"We give priority to national and State interests. We are ready to
receive any sanctions because release of occupied Azerbaijani land
and returning the internally displaced persons to their native land
is more important than football for us," AFFA President underlined.

Two meetings are expected to take place between the national football
teams of Armenia and Azerbaijan during the selection tournament of 2008
European Championship. Azerbaijan insists on conducting the meeting
in a neutral country, but the Armenian is insisting on Yerevan or
Baku. The final decision on this issue should be made by the AFFA
Executive Committee.