Author: Jilavian Emma

Azeri daily reports "shocking effect" over Putin’s radar proposal

Ekspress, Baku
8 Jun 07

Excerpt from unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 8
June headlined "A geopolitical bluff around the Qabala radar
station…[ellipsis as published]"; subheadings as published:

The most sensational news came from a meeting between [Russian
President Vladimir] Putin and [US president George] Bush held on the
sidelines of the G8 summit in Germany.

[Passage omitted: Putin proposed the USA to jointly use the Qabala
radar station in Azerbaijan instead of installing radars in Poland and
the Czech Republic]

Baku’s response will be known today

Putin’s sensational statement yesterday [7 June] has had a strong
shocking effect in Baku. In any case, nobody expected that Azerbaijan
would be mentioned in such a high-profile event from this standpoint.

Official bodies do not hurry to comment on the subject. Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will express his position on the
issue today.

[Passage omitted: Deputy Foreign Minister Azimov says Azerbaijan ready
for trilateral talks]

The head of the foreign relations department at the Azerbaijani
presidential administration, Novruz Mammadov, said that it is difficult
to comment on the issue as it is "open".

"The point is that Azerbaijan and the USA had no talks on these two
issues [as published]," the official of the presidential administration
told Ekspress.

To recap, the joint use of the Qabala radar station by the USA and
Russia was discussed during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s
visit to Baku two weeks ago. Later the US embassy in Baku said that the
discussion of the issue was "incorrect" as Washington had proposed
nothing to Moscow about this.

[Passage omitted: the US defence secretary regarded the issue as
difficult during Moscow visit in April; details about coverage area of
the radar station]

They deceive each other

"If the Azerbaijani radar station reduces tension between the two
superpowers, then it is good and worthy of discussion," a government
member wishing to remain anonymous told Ekspress.

According to military experts, the Qabala radar station is considered
to be important to Russia. Therefore, Moscow will never give such an
important facility to the USA.

" By mentioning the station’s name, maybe Putin wanted to show that
Bush was bluffing," the source said.

By directing the US missile defence system plans at Azerbaijan, Putin
mocks at Bush.

[Passage omitted: Bush says that missile defence systems is a "shield"
against Iran and North Korea, but not Russia]

Putin is now testing the USA proposing to install this "shield" just on
border with Iran – in Azerbaijan. Moscow will draw conclusions if the
proposal is rejected. The USA’s actual target is only Russia!

What will Iran say?

The majority of experts that an Ekspress correspondent spoke to over
the subject draw attention to the fact what Putin had told Bush were
attractive and risky.

"Apart from the superpowers’ interests, Azerbaijan’s security should be
ensured. If Putin says that the issue has been agreed with
[Azerbaijani] President Ilham Aliyev, this may happen. However,
Azerbaijan’s security should be guaranteed first of all," political
analyst Rasim Musabayov said.

Qabil Huseynli is interested in Iran’s possible reaction if Putin’s
proposal is accepted.

"Russia must first convince Iran that this is a defence system and
promises no threat," Huseynli said.

There are behind-the-scene talks at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
that Baku can cooperate with the superpowers on its own territory in
the sphere of strategic cooperation if only it entrusts them.

"As for cooperation in the national security issues, the level of this
trust should be ten times more," one of the ministry officials has told
Ekspress.

Commenting on the US plans on missile systems in Europe in an interview
with Ekspress, a European diplomat working in Baku a while ago voiced
an interesting opinion. He considered that in doing so, Washington
targeted the European Union and wanted to grab Europe’s independence in
conducting its foreign policy.

Bush’s talks in the Czech Republic before the G8 summit were also
interesting from this standpoint. The point is that Eastern Europe does
not believe that Western Europe will maintain its security.

[Passage omitted: according to some experts, Russian-US military
cooperation is absurd]

ETHIOPIA: ARMENIAN, SERBIAN LEADERS SEND CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE

Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)
ENA
7 June 2007

President Girma Wolde-Georgis received a congratulatory message
from Armenian President, Robert Kocharian and Serbian President
Boris Tadiæ on the 16th anniversary of May 28, said the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

In a press statement sent to ENA yesterday, the Ministry said that
President Kocharian expressed his strong conviction that the bilateral
relations between Armenia and Ethiopia would be further enhanced.

Serbian President Tadiæ also said in his message that the bilateral
relations between the two countries are based on mutual understanding.

The presidents extended best wishes for President Girma and a peaceful
and prosperous future for Ethiopia.

Similarly, Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Minister Advisor, Ittekhor
Chowdhury, has sent congratulatory message to his Ethiopian
Counterpart, Seyoum Mesfin.

Meanwhile, the 16th anniversary of May 28 was celebrated at Ethiopian
Embassies in Gahanna and India, in the presence of senior government
officials from the respective countries, Ethiopian diplomatic staff
and Ethiopian communities, said the Ministry.

–Boundary_(ID_0+wwtoIuFL4VpKCPeAphHw)- –

ARKADY GHOUKASSIAN: UNTIL ISSUE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH STATUS IS SPECIFIED, SPEAKING ABOUT ANY OTHER ISSUE IS SENSELESS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. "Some details have been discussed with
the Co-chairs today," NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian stated in his
June 6 interview to journalists summing up the results of his meeting
with OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.

He said that he presented NKR’s position to the Co-chairs: "Our
position has not changed and will not change: until the issue of
Nagorno Karabakh status is specified, speaking about any other issue
is senseless," A. Ghukasian stated.

In his words, Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations format is destructive
and not realistic. "We have agreed to that format, as we thought
that if for Azerbaijan it was easier to speak only with Armenia and
clarify with Armenia the principles connected with Karabakh, then
we are ready to tolerate this, but today life shows that the hopes
were not justified: our positions on Nagorno Karabakh status and in
general on settlement are very far from each other, and under these
conditions I consider senseless to discuss any other issue."

As regards issues of territories and refugees, the NKR President
said that these issues are not the reason, but the consequence of
the conflict: "Unless we come to an agreement in the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh status, it is natural that we are not ready to discuss any
issue of territory. Of course, this issue is always on the agenda,
but we are not ready to avoid discussion of the issues Azerbaijan is
anxious about but provided that Azerbaijan is ready to discuss the
issues we are anxious about."

CHILE SENATE CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO CONDEMN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.06.2007 18:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 5 the Chilean government unanimously
made a decision to condemn the Armenian Genocide. The draft
project was submitted by Socialist Party member Ricardo Nunies
Munios. The documents reads, in part, "April 24, 1915 the Turkish
government arrested and killed the leaders of the Armenian people
in Constantinople and thus initiated the policy of extermination
of the Armenian nation. In 1915-1923 some 1.5 million of Armenians
who lived on their lands during centuries. This extermination is
named the first ethnic cleansing of the 20th century. The Armenian
Genocide was recognized by the UN subcommittee on discrimination and
protection of national minorities in 1985. Considering these facts
the Senate of Chile decreed to recognize the Armenian Genocide and
condemn it. It also called to the Chilean government to join the UN
resolution of 1985."

The draft author reminded that the Armenian Genocide has been already
recognized by Uruguay, Argentina, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy,
Lebanon, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Lithuania, Canada
and France as well as the European Parliament and the World Council
of Churches, the RA MFA reported.

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT INTENDS TO VISIT ARMENIA IN 2008

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2007

SAP PAULO, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The deputy foreign minister of the
RA Arman Kirakosian visited Brazil on June 2-4, concluding his Latin
American regional working visit.

According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, on June 4
the deputy foreign minister and the RA consul general Valery Mkrtumian
arrived in the capital city of Brasilia, where the delegation was
received by the president of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies Arlindo
Chinaglia. A wide range of issues was discussed at the meeting,
including the issue of re-creation of deputy friendship groups at
the two parliaments as an additional stimulus for establishing closer
bilateral relations.

During the talk, the sides expressed their satisfaction at the
development of bilateral trade and economic relations and attached
importance to mutual visits of delegations composed of high-ranking
officials. A. Kirakosian addressed Armenian foreign policy problems,
regional issues and the process of international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. On behalf of the Armenian government he expressed
satisfaction at the fact that the province of Sao Paulo has passed
a resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide.

Then Arman Kirakosian met with the acting foreign minister of
Brazil, deputy foreign minister for international trade promotion and
cooperation issues Ruy Nunes Pinto Nogueira. Mr. Kirakosian briefly
presented the results of his visits to Argentina and Uruguay. During
the meeting, the sides discussed the further development of bilateral
relations, as well as a number of issues of mutual interest. They
attached special importance to establishing the Armenian embassy
in Barzil.

At the request of R. Nogueira, the Armenian deputy foreign minister
spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process, Armenia’s
relations with neighboring countries, and the main directions of the
country’s foreign policy.

Underlining the importance of the Armenian president’s official
visit to Brazil in 2002, A. Kirakosian expressed the Armenian side’s
willingness to organize an official visit of the Brazilian president
Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva to Armenia. R. Nogueira said that the
Brazilian president intends to visit Armenia in 2008.

While in Sao Paulo, A. Kirakosian laid a wreath at the monument
to victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, went to Surb Gevorg
Armenian Apostolic Church and met with heads of Sao Paulo’s Armenian
structures in the primacy. On the same day an event took place, at
which A. Kirakosian made a speech and answered a number of questions.

CENTRAL ELECTION COMMITTEE APPROVED PROPORTIONAL LIST OF REPUBLICAN PARTY

ArmInfo
2007-06-06 16:05:00

Today, the Central Election Committee approved the proportional list of
the Republican party of Armenia, by which 41 deputies will pass to the
parliament and 23 mandates more fell to RPA’s share by majority system.

Tigran Torossyan will be nominated for parliament speaker of fourth
convocation again. RPA faction will be headed by Karen Karapetyan. The
following persons passed to the Parliament by proportional list:
RPA deputy chairman Razmik Zohrabyan, member of RPA Council Galust
Sahakyan, non-party Hranush Hakopyan, who will head the Commission
on culture, education, science and youth affairs again, member of RPA
Council Gagik Minassyan, who will become chairman of the Commission on
financial-budgetary issues, member of the Governing Board of "Arabkir"
Medical Center Ara Babloyan, who will head the Commission on health,
nature conservation and social assurance, member of RPA Council Hermine
Naghdalyan, member of RPA Council Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Trade
and Economic Development Karen Chshmarityan, who will be probably
replaced by leader of the United Labour party Gourgen Arsenyan,
Justice Minister David Haroutyunyan, who will head the Commission
on state-legal affairs, and Tigran Makuchyan will be appointed to
his place, member of RPA Council, Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan,
non-party Myasnik Malkhasyan, member of RPA Council Samvel Nikoyan,
non-party Vladimir Badalyan, member of RPA Council Hamlet Haroutyunyan,
non-party businessman Gagik Abrahamyan (brother of the chairman of
the Union of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan), member of RPA Areg
Ghouksyan (brother of NKR President Arkady Ghouksyan), member of
RPA Ashot Arsenyan (owner of Company), member of RPA Manvel Badeyan
(owner of Company), member of RPA Nahapet Gevorgyan, member of RPA
Armen Mkhitaryan, member of RPA Council Rafik Grigoryan, member of RPA
Mkrtich Minasyan, member of RPA Arakel Movsisyan, Head of the capital
"Shengavit" community martin Sargsyan, non-party Tachat Vardapetyan,
deputy chairman of the "Powerful Motherland" party Shirak Torosyan,
chairman of the "Democracy and Labour" party Spartak Melikyan, non-
party Aratk Davtyan, member of RPA Council Karen Avagyan, non-party
Haik Sanosyan, non-party, Director General of "Armen Carpet" Company
Misha Stepanyan, member of RPA Council Vazgen Karakhanyan, member of
RPA Artiom Ghoukasyan, member of RPA Council Arman Sahakyan, member
of RPA Vladimir Badalyan, RPA spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov, member
of RPA Armen Danielyan, member of RPA, businessman Aleksan Petrosyan
(owner of the Company), member of RPA Melik Gasparyan. The ministers
and prefects from RPA, which did not enter the proportional list,
will remain in their posts.

To note, the protocol on approval of the proportional list was
not signed by CEC member from "Justice" bloc Felix Khachatryan. A
coalitional memorandum will be signed today between RPA and "Prosperous
Armenia", and ARF "Dashnaktsutiun" will sign an agreement with these
forces on cooperation out of the coalition. Handling of mandates
will be held in CEC today at 6:30 PM, and the first session of the
Parliament of fourth convocation will be held on June 7 at 10:00 AM.

IN GRIGOR HAROUTIUNIAN’S WORDS, NEWLY ELECTED PARLIAMENT IS NOT ABLE
TO CONTROL EXECUTIVE POWER’S ACTIVITY TODAY

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, NOYAN TAPAN. In the country where the parliament makes
political decisions by pressing the button by order, the institution of
parliamentarianism cannot become a couterbalance to the executive
power. Grigor Haroutiunian, Secretary of People’s Party of Armenia,
expressed such opinion at the June 4 discussion on the subject "The
Past and Present of Parliamentarianism in Armenia." He said that
democratic principles are violated from the very start, during the
elections. The parliament and the executive power, in the words of the
former RA MP, today are formed in Armenia by one another and the
control function of NA has become just impossible under these
conditions.

In the opinion of another participant of discussion, Chairman of
Constitutional Law Union Hrant Khachatrian, hundreds of years ago
parliamentarianism started to the formed with a single goal: to control
the work of another power wings. And in the current Armenian reality,
as CLU Chairman emphasized, the newly elected NA will lack the notion
of "parliament" in its classical sense. H. Khachatrian considers that
the main reason of this is that the "winning" political forces play the
game "you are the producer of yourself": they themselves decide whom to
give portfolios and why." As he affirmed, if NA elections were not
falsified, PPA, Nor Zhamanakner, Hanrapetutiun parties and Impeachment
bloc could receive nearly 8% votes each.

As H. Khachatrian forecast, the political figure who in the preelection
period will announce about the necessity to hold special parliamentary
elections will succeed in the 2008 presidential elections.

OSKANIAN MET WITH EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS

A1+
[07:57 pm] 30 May, 2007

RoA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received the PES (Party of
European Socialists) delegates at the head of Austrian Peter Shider,
the ex-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe.

The party representatives highlighted the recent progress in the
Republic of Armenia. In this view, they reflected on the May 12
parliamentary election which was more democratic in comparison with
the previous ones.

The parties also referred to a number of issues related to Armenia’s
foreign policy, the Karabakh conflict resolution process, the
Armenian-Turkish relations, Armenia’s integration into European
structures, etc.

IN VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY, ARMENTEL TO PRESENT EXHIBITION ‘COMMUNICATION WITH BRIGHT COLORS’

ArmInfo
2007-05-31 13:51:00

In view of the International Children’s Day, "ArmenTel" CJSC will
present an exhibition "Communication with Bright Colors" in the
Children’s Picture Gallery in Yerevan.

The Company told ArmInfo that this exhibition is an unprecedented case
of cooperation of a big business and a museum. The exhibition authors,
children at the age of 6-14, depicted their notions of communication,
telecommunications, Internet, usual and mobile phones, having used
special colors, red and black-yellow stripes, typical to "ArmenTel"
and "VympelCom". Oleg Blizniuk will gift a big set of pints, canvases
and brushes to the studio-college of Fine and Decorative-Applied Arts.

JOURNEY HERE TO PONDER THE PASSAGE OF TIME
Tom Haines

The records, Canada Travel
May 26, 2007

The latest evidence of Turkey’s identity crisis presented itself this
week when an explosion rocked the streets of Ankara.

But consider a subtler scene: As tourists and local hipsters sipped
Efes beer and swayed to a funky fusion from the band Baba Zula inside
the nightclub Babylon on a spring evening, a band member onstage
sketched computer drawings that were simultaneously broadcast on
a screen.

First came an Islamic woman clad in a body-covering abbaya. Then,
with quick flicks of the computer pencil, the black robe dissolved
to form a devil’s tail.

It is impossible to travel in Turkey, revered by outsiders for its
history spanning civilizations and intimate Mediterranean coastline,
among so much more, and not see signs of the cultural conundrum that
remains after 84 years of statehood. Yet debates about identity are
most often muted, carried out in the press, in cakes or in prisons.

Turkey, a heavily policed country, is usually calm. Visitors — many
million each year, from Russia and Britain, the United Arab Emirates
and the United States, among others — have little problem finding
what they seek: rediscovery of long-gone empires, or escape where
Europe and Asia meet.

It is in manoeuvring between vacation destinations and historic sites
that contemporary Turkey presents itself.

Join the crowds of commuters on Bosporus ferries. Or walk the
streets and wait: One evening, on the main avenue of Sanliurfa, two
suit-wearing students asked where I was from. I said the United States.

"Would you like to come to our home for dinner?" one asked.

I bought an offering of baklava for the table. Then we settled around
broiled chicken, olives, cheese, and conversation about everything
from soldier strength to cellphone ring tones. It was nourishing.

For the historically minded seeking a sense of place, perhaps
the best beginning comes in the dramatic terrain of Cappadocia,
where striations of stone spike into so-called "ferry chimneys,"
and underground cities once sheltered early Christians.

Continue east to modern-day Sanliurfa, once called Urfa, and Edessa
as well. It is said to be the birthplace of Abraham, and known to
have been the first state formed by Europe’s crusading Christians.

The old city centre is still home to an authentic bazaar, a stop
on the Silk Road and long a crossroads for Arab, Kurdish, Persian,
and Turkish traders. Craftsmen still shape copper pots with hammers,
and merchants peddle everything from pigeons to fridges.

Adventurous time travellers can head farther east to Turkey’s borders
with Armenia and Iran, and Mount Ararat. Some say Noah’s ark came to
rest on this volcanic peak.

Or turn to the west and the ruins of Ephesus, near the Aegean city of
Izmir. Columns, carvings, and building facades stand as relics of a
settlement that passed from Greeks to Romans centuries before Jesus
was born.

More recent changes can be remembered farther north on the battlefields
of Gallipoli.

In 1915, epic battles raged between Turkish forces and British,
French, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers hoping to overcome the
Dardanelles, a 61-kilometre strait, and take control of Istanbul. The
Ottoman Empire fell within a few years, but victory at Gallipoli laid
part of the military foundation for the modern Turkish state.

Fast forward 90 years, then, to the contemporary country that,
cultural divisions and all, has in its urban centres and touristed
edges become as dynamic and modern a place as many in the European
Union, which still debates Turkey’s worthiness for membership.

One package vacation to Turkey includes luxury hotels, luxury sedans,
luxury yachts, and transport aboard a private plane. Cost: $45,000 US,
more or less.

The focus of any Turkish travel, though, remains Istanbul, a city
spiked with stunning architecture old and new, and a lifestyle to
match. Wallpaper, the postmodern publication touting global design
details, recently named Istanbul the "best city" in the world.

Tourists often embark in Sultanahmet, the historic quarter that
is home to Hagia Sofya, the Blue Mosque, and more monuments of the
Ottoman era, and before. Ottoman homes converted to boutique hotels
offer perfect perches for reflecting on the passage of time.

Journey into the modern city, whether the network of streets
climbing the hills through Beyoglu, thick with bustling methane,
offering neighbourhood atmosphere with their tapas-like tastes, or
the skyscraper sprawl tracing north into Levent. An international
lifestyle digs deep in the swerving, sunken facade of Kanyon, a
high-end shopping mall.

Take a taxi east to the Bosporus and Bebek Brasserie, where waiters
deliver Turkish coffee, or cappuccino. Windows open onto the water,
which roils or not, depending on the moment, only a few metres away.

It is only one perspective, sitting in Europe and looking to Asia,
but as good as any to begin, or end, the journey.