Author: Jalatian Sonya

THE KNESSET GOES ON HOLIDAY, BUT ANKARA HAS ALREADY STARTED PUTTING PRESSURE ON ISRAEL IN THE ISSUE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2008 GMT+04:00

Ankara is against the discussion of the question of the Armenian
Genocide in the parliament of Israel, strongly believing that it will
damage the strategic relationship between Turkey and Israel.

The Israeli Knesset will be on holiday till May 18, and now Turkey
is doing its best "to persuade" the deputies to forget about the
discussion of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey has already started
implementing the well-known method; blackmail, which works so well
in the USA and so badly in Europe. It is quite obvious that it will
be much easier with Israel, than with any other country, especially
with Europe.

However, it should be mentioned that Turkey, which have chosen the
Islamic Justice and Development as the leading party of the country,
will most probably want to join the Islamic world, whose main aim is
to raze Israel to the ground.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At present, the reconsideration of the main
directions of the Turkish foreign policy is in process. The recent
conclusion of agreement on cooperation in the energy sphere with Iran
and the reestablishment of the cooperation with the Arab countries
speak of the fact that Ankara is getting closer to the Islamic world,
and in the Islamic world the friendship with Israel and the USA is
considered betrayal of Islam. However, Turkey still needs both the
USA and Israel.

The official Ankara is against the discussion of the question of the
Armenian Genocide in the parliament of Israel, strongly believing
that it will damage the strategic relationship between Turkey and
Israel. The Chairman of the Commission for International Relations
of the Parliament of Turkey Murat Mercen declared, "This is a very
delicate question for the Turkish society, and we wouldn’t want it
to be discussed in the Israeli Parliament. We have only asked our
Israeli friends to make it clear for several Israeli politicians,
that there is no need to "write" a history resting on some momentary
political passions, which will do a serious harm to the strategic
partnership between Israel and Turkey.

Having been in Israel, the delegation of the Turkish parliament thinks
that "the advertising of the Armenian problem is a very delicate
issue for Turkey."

The representatives of the delegation have declared this to the
advisors of the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Shalom
Turgeman. "We prefer that this issue isn’t discussed in the Israeli
Parliament, since it will damage the Turkish-Israeli relations,"
said the Turkish deputies. It was mentioned, that this problem
must be resolved between Turkey and Armenia with the participation
of historians. "Israel recognizes the strategic importance of its
relations with Turkey, but there are questions and parliamentary
initiatives, which have nothing to do with the government," said the
Prime, adding that the government of Israel is not interested in the
worsening of the relations with Turkey. "I am convinced, that Israel
realizes the negative disposition between the two countries, which
may be caused by the issue of the Armenian Genocide," said Mercan.

According to the deputy of the Knesset from party "Kadima", the
chairman of the inter-parliamentary union "Israel – Armenia" Zeev
Elkin, it is not possible to predict the result of the discussion
of the Armenian Genocide in the Israeli the Knesset. "The fact
that the issue is already involved in the agenda is already a big
achievement. During the past 20 years the issue of the Armenian
Genocide has not at all been discussed in Israel. The deputies already
feel great pressure from the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and the Turkish lobby, which now has the support of Azerbaijan as
well. It must be mentioned that their reaction was rather quick and
effective, which unfortunately can’t be said about Armenia and the
Armenian Diaspora. The discussion, of course, will not become a bill,
but I think that we, in case of a positive decision, may adopt a
declaration on the issue of the Armenian Genocide," said Elkin. He
reminded that the given initiative is suggested every year around
April 24, before the spring holidays of the parliament. "But this time
the opposition’s demand was supported not only by the opposition,
but also by party, included in the coalition. As for me – I was
led by pure moral understanding, since I know history very well,"
emphasized the deputy of The Knesset.

In his turn, the Director of the Institute of the Oriental Studies of
the National Academy of Science Professor Ruben Safrastyan thinks,
that the discussion of the Armenian Genocide in the Israeli the
Knesset is an instrument of pressure on Ankara. "The Resolution on the
Armenian Genocide will hardly be passed, and this issue is once again
becoming a stumbling block among the three countries. In particular,
one of the reasons of the discussion of the issue of the Armenian
Genocide was Israel’s and the US Jewish Community’s resentment with
Turkey’s attitude towards the Arab countries and the Israel-Palestinian
conflict," said Ruben Safrastyan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Azeri MPs think hearings on Karabakh necessary
12.04.2008 14:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Azerbaijani MPs think it’s necessary to discuss
the current developments in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
process.

`Certain changes occurred in the negotiations. Therefore, holding
hearings in Azerbaijani parliament regarding has become a necessity,’
said Panah Huseyn, member of Musavat group of MPs which represent
opposition in the parliament.

`The Nagorno Karabakh conflict was discussed in the parliament
once. It is quite possible to organize another debate,’ said Aydin
Mirzazade, member of the Political Council of the ruling New
Azerbaijan Party and member of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE.

The Chairman of opposition Democratic Reforms Party of Azerbaijan,
Asim Mollazadeh, supposes that hearings are possible in case of
progress in the negotiation process. `Holding hearings on urgent
issues is a normal phenomenon,’ he said.

According to the leader of opposition Great Establishment Party, Fazil
Gazanfaroglu, the source of Azerbaijani public’s indifference
concerning the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is the parliament. `The MPs
have repeatedly raised the issue of holding at least closed hearing on
Nagorno Karabakh. However, it yielded no results and the hearings were
not organized. The parliament of Azerbaijan should express its
attitude about the ongoing process,’ he said, Trend Azeri news agency
reports.

ARMROSGASPROM’S INVESTMENTS IN YEREVAN’S GAS SECTOR $24MLN SINCE 2002

ARKA
April 11, 2008

YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. Since 2002, the ArmRosgasprom Company’s
investments in Yerevan’s gas-supply system have totalled 7.5bln AMD
($24mln).

Director of the Yerevangas branch, ArmRosgasprom Company, Vardan
Harutyunyan reported that the company’s investments in the city’s
gas-supply system totalled 506.9mln AMD in 2007 alone.

He reported that ArmRosgasprom’s investments in Yerevan’s gas-supply
system totalled 186.6mln AMD in 2002, 963.8mln AMD in 2003, 1,479.5mln
AMD in 2004, 2,149.4mln AMD in 2005 and 2,221.1bln AMD in 2006.

On March 7, 2008, The RA Public Services Regulatory Commission approved
ArmRosgasprom’s 45,188.5mln AMD (VAT exclusive) investment program
for 2008-2010.

ArmRosgasprom’s investments in Armenia’s gas-supply system are to
reach 31.2bln AMD (about $100.8mln) in 2008.

The ArmRosgasprom Company was founded in 1997, and its current capital
is $580mln. The Gasprom Company holds 57.59% of the company’s shares,
RA Ministry of Energy 34.7% and the ITERA oil and gas company 7.71%.

PROTESTS MARK ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT INAUGURATION

EuroNews – France
April 9, 2008

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in Armenia to
protest against Serge Sarkisyan’s inauguration as the country’s
new president. It comes a month after clashes between police and
anti-government demonstrators left at least eight people dead.

The protesters claim February’s election was rigged and that opposition
leader Leon Ter-Petrosyan, who is under self-imposed house arrest,
was the real winner. The government has denied claims it rigged
the ballot. Sarkysan was declared winner of the vote with around 53
percent, beating his nearest challenger who polled about 21.5 percent.

VARDAN OSKANYAN: "I WILL NOT BE REPRESENTED IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT"

Azeri Press Agency
April 9 2008
Azerbaijan

Yerevan-APA. Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan will not be
represented in the new government, APA quotes Novosti-Armenia.

Oskanyan said: "I will continue working but not in the government. I
will try to contribute to the development of the country and
strengthening of statehood. I will be in Armenia and make maximum
efforts, but not be involved in the government". He said he was
repeatedly stating that 10 years are quiet enough time to take the
same post. "I am thinking so because of I am not tired, but I need
in renovation. The new president has to appoint the new minister".

According to Armenian Constitution, the government resigns at the
same day with the president’s inauguration. Speaker of the Armenian
parliament Tigran Torosyan said the new government would be announced
next week. Armenian new president Serj Sarkisyan took the office
on Wednesday.

NEW PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA ADDRESSES THOSE WHO DID NOT VOTE FOR HIS CANDIDATURE

arminfo
2008-04-09 14:39:00

ArmInfo. New President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan addressed everyone
who did not support his candidature for president.

In his inaugural address he stressed that voters had a right not to
vote for him whereas he has no right not to be their president. ‘We
must not divide the people into parts and be indifferent to the
pain and troubles of each other. We must not exceed the frames of
accessibility to each other. Even if there is a wall of disagreement
between us, I call upon you for crashing it’, Serzh Sagrysan says.

BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit
Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring
April 5, 2008 Saturday

Roundup of Azeri, Armenian, North Caucasus reaction to NATO summit in
Bucharest

NATO’s refusal to grant the Membership Action Plan to Ukraine and
Georgia has caused mixed media reactions in Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Russia’s North Caucasus region.

NATO’s "weakness"

Zerkalo, an independent Russian-language daily in Azerbaijan,
believes that the decision, which it said was taken "under Russian
pressure", would create new "real and potential" problems for the
former Soviet countries suffering from separatism.

Zerkalo commentator Rauf Mirqadirov said that the refusal would be
followed by Russia’s increasing pressure on Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Moldova and Ukraine.

"Having felt the ‘weakness’ demonstrated by NATO, Russia will step up
its pressure on these countries," Mirqadirov wrote. "On Georgia and
Ukraine (one should not forget about the issues of Crimea and Eastern
Ukraine) [the pressure] will be direct, and on Azerbaijan it will be
through Armenia," he said.

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s recent statement that his
country can recognize Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagornyy
Karabakh as an independent state was also reflective of that
pressure, Mirqadirov said.

The Azerbaijani-language daily Ayna, however, said that NATO gave
"the green light" to Georgia’s and Ukraine’s membership of the
alliance by welcoming their aspirations to join the military bloc.

The opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat said that the NATO summit in
Bucharest would mark the start of a new "Cold War" between Russia and
the USA.

The Azerbaijani media highlighted NATO’s expression of support for
the territorial integrity of the countries involved in territorial
disputes. Ayna quoted Azerbaijan’s representative office at NATO as
saying that "in the Bucharest declaration… the alliance once again
demonstrated its principled position on the recognition of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. It said that the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict should be resolved on the basis of
principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty."

Zerkalo’s Mirqadirov noted that getting NATO to reiterate support for
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity was part of Azerbaijan’s
"diplomatic offensive". He suggested that it was time for Baku to
"determine its priorities", or to choose between NATO and Russia.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu,
told the Russian media that his country "is in no hurry to join
NATO", Azerbaijan’s ANS TV channel reported. Bulbuloglu added that
Azerbaijan maintained good neighbourly relations with Russia and that
the two countries were cooperating in a number of areas, including
culture, economy and politics.

"Cowardice"

The Chechen rebel website Daymohk described NATO’s refusal to accept
the membership bids of Georgia and Ukraine as "cowardice".

"The [NATO] decision was conditioned by only one thing – cowardice
before the Russians," said the website, accusing the West of
"trapping" Georgia and Ukraine.

"The slaves who had been seeking an easy way of liberation from the
elder brother [Russia] once again fell into the trap of a common
plot… Europe and the West have not yet realized with what problems
they have again left the Ukrainians and Georgians, who have got tired
of Russia’s unrestrained and constant attacks in the past 20 years."

Another rebel website Chechenpress criticized the "treacherous"
position of Germany, which was opposed to Georgia’s and Ukraine’s
membership of NATO. It quoted a German expert as saying that Germany
would not be willing to support former Soviet republics like Georgia
and Ukraine if their imperial master decides to recapture them. This
position encourages Russia to implement its "aggressive plans", the
website said.

"Starting point"

The Armenian pro-government daily Hayots Ashkharh said that the NATO
summit in Bucharest could mark a new starting point for geopolitical
developments in and around the South Caucasus region. It said that US
President George W. Bush’s efforts to include Georgia and Ukraine in
NATO’s Membership Action Plan were not fruitful. This shows that the
outgoing US administration’s European policies have ended in failure.
"This means that before November 2008 when a new leader of the White
House takes office it is unlikely that the US-EU-Russia triangle will
make any principled decision on strategic issues related to the South
Caucasus," the paper said.

The opposition newspaper Aravot said it was difficult to agree with
the statements that NATO’s refusal to grant Membership Action Plan to
Ukraine and Georgia was a victory for the Kremlin.

"As was expected, several Russian media have described this as the
Kremlin’s victory. However, it is hard to agree with those
statements. European observers say that Ukraine and Georgia have not
been rejected… Europe simply does not wish to spoil its relations
with Russia at a time when the change of the leadership of the
Kremlin is not over yet," Aravot commentator Tigran Avetisyan said.

SARÝIBRAHIMOÐLU AND ÞÝK ACQUITTED FROM 301 CASE

Today’s Zaman
April 4 2008
Turkey

A Today’s Zaman columnist and her co-defendant were acquitted yesterday
of charges of insulting the military under the infamous Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which also penalizes the denigration of
"Turkishness."

Judge Ruveyde Kaner and prosecutor Suleyman Aydýn of the Bakýrkoy
Second Court of First Instance in Ýstanbul decided to acquit
Today’s Zaman writer and Jane’s Defence Weekly correspondent Lale
Sarýibrahimoðlu and journalist Ahmet Þýk because they did not carry
any "criminal intentions" to harm any institutions, noting that their
words should instead be evaluated as "harsh criticism."

Minutes from the hearing state: "According to the testimonies of
the defendants, according to the published article and according
to the whole dossier about the case, in the article subject to the
criminal case, indications that ‘some structures and persons in state
institutions have to change their viewpoints’ should be evaluated
in the context of harsh criticism because defendants did not have
criminal intentions. They should be acquitted in accordance with Code
no. 5271 of Criminal Procedure Article 223."

The prosecutor had sought up to three years’ imprisonment for
Sarýibrahimoðlu’s remarks in Þýk’s article, titled "The military
should withdraw its hand from internal security," in the Feb. 8,
2007 edition of the now-closed newsweekly Nokta. The basis for the
case was her remarks regarding media images of the alleged gunman who
shot Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in January of this year:

"While police officers were suspended, military personnel were only
transferred to other posts. When you examine this picture, you see
a concern for protecting not only the personnel, but an institution
— moreover, a mentality. … We saw it once again with the Dink
investigation; there are sordid and rotten ones in each of the three
institutions that should be removed."

In her first hearing, on Oct. 24, Sarýibrahimoðlu denied accusations
that she had insulted the military, asserting that she had criticized
the existence of officers within security institutions harming the
institutions themselves and only a paragraph had been picked up to
wrongly accuse her. She had also said her off-the-record remarks were
included in the article.

On the other hand, Þýk defended himself by saying the article did not
aim to harm the institutions but to criticize them and that his story
was based on his recording of the interview with Sarýibrahimoðlu. He
also said he no longer has the records of the interview because
all of his equipment and notes were taken during a police raid of
the magazine following its publication of some former commanders’
alleged military coup plans against the government. Soon afterward
the owner of Nokta shut the magazine down.

Umit Kardaþ, Sarýibrahimoðlu’s lawyer, said the decision to acquit is
important because it reflects on free speech. "I think Article 301
should be removed, but the acquittal shows it could be interpreted
to allow freedom," he said while speaking to Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 of the TCK has been used to file indictments against
Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, slain journalist Dink and novelist Elif
Þafak. Dink’s son, Arat Dink, and his colleague Serkis Seropyan
also faced trial under Article 301, which criminalizes insulting
Turkishness, the Turkish military and state institutions.

Fikret Ýlkiz, Þýk’s lawyer, said the acquittal speaks for itself.

"The court’s decision is sharp and clear, giving no way to
interpretation. Each acquittal is positive for freedom of speech,"
he told Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 led to 917 cases being brought to court in 2006 and 245
more in 2007. In the same year, 27 cases were overturned by the
Court of Appeals and sent for retrial. There are currently 1,189
cases before the courts for judicial review.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin underlined last week that Turkey
needs to address concerns stemming from Article 301 as trials based
on it cause outrage worldwide. The minister further stressed that
the article should be amended in accordance with European Court of
Human Rights case law and with the principles of freedom of thought
and expression.

–Boundary_(ID_fXq3H6CgbyS7ui9EM64LvA )–

ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH PUBLISHES NEWSPAPER IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.04.2008 14:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With blessing of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin
II, the Armenian Apostolic Church launched publication of Armenian
Church Monthly in Moscow.

"The newspaper will perform an important spiritual and illuminating
mission and will help maintenance of the abundant heritage of our
ancestors among the faithful of the Russian and New Nakhijevan Diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church," His Holiness’ message says.

Articles are published in Russian and Armenian. The newspaper is meant
for various strata of society and offers publications about cultural
and social life of Armenians, ITAR-TASS reports.

BAKU OFFERS TO USE LACHIN PATH WITH COOPERATION WITH CONDITION

Panorama.am
14:58 02/04/2008

The official Baku offers to discuss the possibility of using
Lachin path with cooperation. According to the ANS TV station, the
announcement was made by Araz Azimov, the deputy foreign affairs
minister of Azerbaijan.

Notifying that the path is of great importance for both countries
Azerbaijan and Armenia, the deputy foreign affairs minister made a
proposal to use the path with a condition if it remains in the frame
borders of Azerbaijan.

According to Azimov the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen are aware
of the proposal and the statement can become a point of future
discussions. Lachin path is the only way joining Armenia with Nagorno
Karabakh and by this with the whole world.

The liberation operation of Lachin path took place in May 17-18,
1992. On 18 May the liberation forces of the NKR occupied Lachin and
then entered the frame borders of the RA opening a "humanitarian path"
joining Armenia and Artsakh.