Author: Kajoyan Gevork

TURKEY LAYS DOWN CONDITIONS TO ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.10.2009 12:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey has started laying down conditions to Armenia,
chairman of National Non-Conservative Movement said.

"Under the circumstances, Armenia should launch a process for
recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic within its current
borders. Such process may help alleviate the tensions which emerged
between Armenia and Diaspora after the signature of protocols,"
Eduard Abrahamyan told PanARMENIAN.Net.

According to him, NKR fell behind the other unrecognized republics.

"Kosovo is actually recognized. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are working
intensively with the international organizations. In this view,
Karabakh may face problems. With the ‘help’ of OSCE Minsk Group
Co-chairs, NKR gradually transforms into a geographical object,
a disputable territory between Yerevan and Baku," Abrahamyan said.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA LEAVES FOR NAGORNY KARABAKH REPUBLIC

ArmInfo
2009-10-22 00:45:00

ArmInfo. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan left for the Nagorny
Karabakh Republic on a two-day working visit on Wednesday.

The Armenian presidential pres-service told ArmInfo the NKR President
Bako Sahakyan, Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan and a number
of high-ranking officials are accompanying the president.

President has got first hand view of fighting effectiveness of the
armed forces and the measures to increase defensive capacity of the
Army. The president participated in the ceremonial housewarming of
a number of officers of the NKR Defense Army, visited one of the
technical support and artillery service points. Serzh Sargsyan also
convened a traditional discussion in Stepanakert with participation
of the general officers of the armed forces.

SERZH SARGSYAN VISITS KARABAKH

serge-sargsyan
06:18 pm | October 21, 2009

Official

On October 21 President Serzh Sargsyan has left for the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic on a two-day working visit.

Accompanied by NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan, supreme command staff, President Serzh Sargsyan visited
the defense positions of the Republic of Armenia, familiarized with
the fighting capacity of the armed forces, the ongoing army-building
activity.

The President participated in the solemn ceremony of handing over
keys of a newly-built dwelling house to families of servicemen and
putting into operation some military infrastructures.

Serzh Sargsyan has invited the senior Officers of the Armed Forces
to traditional consultations in Stepanakert.

AZERBAIJAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER POSSIBLE TURKEY-ARMENIA ELECTRICITY DEAL

MilAz.info
Oct 21 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has commented on
media reports claiming that Turkey is going to sign a power supply
deal with Armenia, APA reported.

According to him, such media reports further aggravate the concerns
already expressed about Turkey’s intentions.

"As we stated in our previous statements, the flow of funds from
Turkey to Armenia as a result of the opening of shared borders
between Turkey and Armenia, and the subsequent launching of economic
cooperation between the two countries, will help Armenia continue
the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, and further tighten its
position on negotiations between the parties. If these media reports
are true and the Turkish side now intends to purchase electricity from
Armenia, Turkey’s funds and investment in this country will promote
the aggressive policy of Armenia. It is of paramount importance for
the Turkish public to be aware of this ", he underscored. MILAZ

YEREVAN HOSTED "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE STUDIES" RESEARCH BOOK PRESENTATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.10.2009 18:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yerevan hosted a presentation of "Armenian
Genocide studies" research book, featuring 7 Armenian and 3 Hungarian
historians’ works. "The book will be distributed among Hungarian MPs,
in order to promote Armenian Genocide acknowledgement in Hungarian
parliament," book editor Gagik Jotyan stated.

ARTHUR ABRAHAM OPENED HIS SUPER SIX CAMPAIGN WITH A 12TH-ROUND KNOCK-OUT

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2009 15:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ King Arthur Abraham opened his Super Six campaign
with a 12th-round knock-out of United States fighter Jermain Taylor.

With a record of 31 wins and now 25 knock-outs, it was a punch straight
through Taylor’s guard at the end of the final round which left the
American pole-axed on the canvas.

This was Taylor’s fourth career defeat and his second consecutive
loss after he suffered a last-round defeat to WBC super-middleweight
champion Carl Froch in April.

But in front of his home fans at the O2 World Arena in the German
capital, Abraham was delighted to begin the Super Six tournament with
an impressive performance.

Taylor started the stronger of the two and threw several combinations
which were sucked up by Abraham’s guard.

The American lived up to his "Bad Intentions" nickname when he was
warned in the second round for a low punch.

But the Armenian-born, German fighter finished the second and began
the third with a flurry of bodyshots.

There was an angry exchange between the pair at the end of the round
when Abraham appeared to punch Taylor in the back of the head and
the former WBC and WBO middleweight champion tore into his opponent
at the start of the fourth.

Taylor later landed a punch after the bell, but Abraham retaliated
with two strong combinations during the fifth.

Repeated low shots led to Taylor having a point deducted in the
sixth round.

Abraham drove Taylor onto the ropes in the eighth, but it was heavy
punch to the side of the head in the ninth which rocked the American.

Abraham pinned Taylor in his own corner midway through the 11th,
but the American still fought his way out of trouble.

In the last round, the German again caught the American with a
devastating combination, but it was a final punch through the guard
which knocked Taylor to the canvas and the 31-year-old was out for
the count, AFP reported.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2009

Interior confrontation in Armenia not to lead to replacement in state power:
experts

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 15 / Trend News E.Tariverdiyeva /

Interior confrontation Armenia caused by the opposition’s dissatisfaction
with the normalization of relations with Turkey will not lead to replacement
in state power in the country, experts believe.

"I doubt very much whether the ratification would lead to a change of
leadership in Armenia.
The problem is that nobody has enough power to overthrow the present
government", believes Amanda Akcakoca, European Expert on South Caucasus.

Despite the ban of Yerevan executive Power, the Dashnaktsutiun party will
rally on Oct.16 to protest the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

"[…] our goal is to explain the public and authorities the threat of these
protocols and to persuade them to retreat from that decision," head of the
Dashnaktsutsun Revolution Federation Parliamentary Group Vaan Ovannisyan
said at the news-conference in Yerevan, the Mediamax reported.

Speaking about the possible demand on the resignation of the Armenian
President, Ovannisyan noted that the change of power is not an end in
itself. It can only be a mean to achieve the main goal – the refusal to
ratify the protocol.

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davudoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocol in Zurich on Oct. 10.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 due to Armenia’s claims
to recognize so-called "Armenian genocide" and Armenia’s occupation of
Azerbaijani lands.

According to observers, the internal situation in Armenia will heat up, but
will not lead to a change in the leadership of the country.

The path ahead is full of potholes and will be particularly difficult for
Armenia,Akcakoca believes.

"Parliamentary majority of Armenia will face a growing reaction and pressure
from both the Dashnaks inside the country and externally from the diaspora
community who are extremely unhappy about a number of elements in the
Protocol, Expert of the European Policy Centre (Belgium), Akcakoca wrote to
Trend News by email.

Although, opposition will do their best to prevent ratification, Sarkisian
needs to stay strong and bite the bullet. Firstly because his credibility is
at stake but also because at the end of the day Armenia will be better off
all round with normalization of relations with Turkey which should bring an
end to their isolation, the expert said.

According to the Turkish political scientist Sinan Ogan, despite the fact
that Armenia’s opposition is radical, at the moment it will not take extreme
measures.

"I believe no radical changes in the Armenian policy will take place in the
near future, director of the Turkish Center for International Studies and
Strategic Analysis Ogan said over the telephone.

The outlook for any possible "change of leadership" within Armenia depends
on a very different set of variables, Director of the Armenian Center for
National and International Studies (ACNIS) Richard Giragosian believes.

Although the external factors of the normalization effort with Turkey and
the outcome of the protocols play an important role in determining the
future of the current Armenian government, these issues serve more as
secondary pressures, as the real test is strictly internal in nature,
Giragosian added.

The Armenian government of President Serzh Sargsyan has largely been driven
by a need or even a sense of "desperation" for a success in foreign policy,
to both endow it with a greater sense of legitimacy and to distract scrutiny
away from domestic deficiencies in democratization, the director wrote to
Trend News via e-mail.

This is due to the impact of Armenia’s post-election crisis of last year,
which remains unresolved and that has made this particular Armenian
government more unpopular and much less legitimate than any previous
Armenian government.

"This also means that even in the "best case" scenario, assuming a complete
"diplomatic victory" by Armenia in terms of forging new relations with
Turkey, such "success" will do little to solve the underlying problems and
shortcomings in the lack of democracy and authoritarian rule within
Armenia," the expert said.

R.Hafizoglu and V.Zhavoronkova contributed to the article.

SENIOR OFFICER DEMOTED OVER KILLING

Gulf Times
16/10/2009

The head of the Turkish police intelligence department, under
investigation over the 2007 killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, has been removed from office, media reports said yesterday.

Ramazan Akyurek was demoted to a lower post in a different department
to ensure an objective investigation over his alleged misconduct in
handling prior intelligence of the murder, they said.

In a report prepared last year on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
orders, Akyurek was accused of failing to act on tip-offs on plans
to kill Dink.

Akyurek was at the time police chief in the Black Sea city of
Trabzon from where the self-confessed killer of Dink and most of his
accomplices hail from.

The report also accused Akyurek of abuse of office for failing to
provide Dink with bodyguards during his term as the head of police
intelligence even though the journalist was clearly a possible target,
and called for disciplinary action.

Dink, 52, was gunned down on January 19, 2007, outside the offices
of his Agos newspaper in central Istanbul.

END OF THE AFFAIR?

Al-Ahram Weekly
15 – 21 October 2009

The Turkish refusal to allow Israel to participate in military
exercises has plunged Turkish-Israeli relations into a crisis,
and marks yet another power shift between civilian and military,
writes Gareth Jenkins from Ankara Click to view caption Turkish
and Armenian foreign ministers signed pacts in Zurich this week to
establish diplomatic ties after nearly a century of bitterness

The ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) last week cancelled
permission for Israeli aircraft to participate in the annual Anatolian
Eagle military exercises in protest at Israel’s policies towards the
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Anatolian Eagle air exercises have been held nearly every year
since 2001 with the participation not only of Turkey and Israel but
also of planes from Turkey’s NATO allies, particularly the US. This
year’s exercise, which had originally been scheduled for 12- 23
October, had been planned months in advance. When it became clear that
Israel would not be allowed to participate, the NATO forces withdrew in
protest, leaving the Turkish air force to conduct the exercises alone.

Military-to-military ties have long formed the backbone of the
Turkish-Israeli relationship. Israeli companies have been awarded a
series of lucrative defence contracts in Turkey. Turkish pilots have
been trained at Israeli air force facilities in the Negev desert.

Israeli pilots have travelled to Konya in central Anatolia, where they
have used Turkey’s extensive air space to conduct training exercises.

Relations between the two militaries have not always been smooth,
but the Turkish General Staff (TGS) has traditionally adopted a very
pragmatic attitude towards the relationship. Despite their private
reservations, Turkish officers have rarely publicly criticised Israeli
policies towards the Palestinians.

Yet the same has not been true of the JDP, particularly since Israel
launched its brutal military assault on Gaza in December 2008. In
January 2009, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan famously
stormed out of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland,
after accusing Israeli President Shimon Peres of "knowing very well
how to kill". Significantly, since the Gaza operation, Israeli pilots
have not been invited to use the Konya air range.

Tensions have intensified since the appointment of Ahmet Davutoglu,
Erdogan’s former foreign policy advisor, as Turkish foreign minister in
May 2009. An Ottoman nostalgist, Davutoglu has consistently advocated
forming closer ties with Muslim states in the Middle East in an
attempt to reassert Turkey as the dominant power in the region. In
recent months, both Davutoglu and Erdogan have relentlessly criticised
Israeli policy towards Gaza and become outspoken advocates for Hamas,
even in its internal conflict with Fatah.

When the news broke of Israel’s exclusion from Anatolian Eagle,
officials from Turkey’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs disingenuously
tried to claim that it had been for "technical reasons". But Davutoglu
was less circumspect. When asked why Turkey had prevented Israel
from participating, he told reporters: "We hope that the situation
in Gaza will be improved, that the situation will be back to the
diplomatic track."

Publicly at least, the Israeli government has tried to downplay the
rift by issuing anodyne statements about the importance that it still
attaches to ties with Turkey. But, privately, many both inside Israel
and in the Jewish community in the US have made no secret of their
fury. There have been numerous calls for Israeli defence companies to
stop selling weapons and equipment to Turkey. Jewish groups in the
US have threatened to withdraw their support for Turkey’s lobbying
efforts to prevent the Obama administration from recognising the
Armenian genocide.

For others, the Turkish refusal to allow Israel to participate in
Anatolian Eagle is final proof of what they had gradually begun
to suspect. "We used to be told that the Turks liked us," said one
Israeli businesswoman. "That began to change after Davos. Now we are
seeing their true faces."

The exclusion of Israel will also have come as a shock to the US.

Anatolian Eagle used to be the main opportunity for Israeli and US
planes to exercise together.

Perhaps equally important is what the exclusion of Israel says about
the changing balance of power between the military and the civilian
government inside Turkey. Since the JDP first took office in November
2002, it has proceeded very cautiously in its relations with the TGS.

The refusal to allow Israel to participate in Anatolian Eagle is
the first time the JDP has imposed its will on an issue related to
defence in open defiance of the wishes of the Turkish military.

In the wake of the NATO announcement that it was withdrawing from
the exercises in protest at Israel’s exclusion, the TGS posted a
statement on its website pointedly noting where responsibility for
the decision lay. "As the result of discussions between countries
conducted by the Turkish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, international
participation has been postponed," it said.

In the past, the TGS did not even consult with the civilian authorities
before deciding which countries it would invite to participate
in military exercises. But, over the last two years, the fiercely
secularist TGS has not only seen its sphere of influence reduced but
has come under unprecedented attack from supporters of the moderate
Islamist JDP in the Turkish media and the judicial system. As a result,
the TGS now has to choose which battles it is going to fight or risk
losing what is left of its once considerable public prestige.

In recent years, and particularly since the December 2008 onslaught
on Gaza, there has been a rapid rise in anti-Israeli and anti- Jewish
sentiment in Turkey. Under such circumstances, applying pressure
to the JDP to allow Israel to participate in Anatolian Eagle was a
battle that the TGS knew it was unlikely to win.

ON THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION: HOW MUCH IS IT TO THE RF’S ADVANTAGE?

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 5, 2009 Monday
Russia

Despite the Karabakh problem still being unsolved, Yerevan and Ankara
are making an attempt to normalize their relationship, in the situation
of a discontent by the Armenian, Turkish and Azeri opposition. Turkey
and Armenia are to sign an agreement to establish diplomatic relations
on October 10, with Switzerland’s assistance. The signatories are the
foreign ministers of the two countries. Afterwards the agreement is
to be ratified by the two countries’ parliaments. The diplomatic ties
between Armenia and Turkey were severed in April 1993 when Turkey
closed its borders with Armenia as a sign of support for Azerbaijan
in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh war. Turkish President Abdullah Gul
arrived in Yerevan on September 6, 2008, to watch a world championship
qualification football match between the Armenian and Turkish teams,
in the framework of the so-called "football diplomacy" instigated
by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Issues in Turkish-Armenian
relationship were discussed during the visit, as well as the Turkish
diplomats’ idea of setting up a "platform of stability and security
in the Southern Caucasus".

A joint communique by the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministries,
and the Swiss Federal department of foreign relations, was circulated
in late August 2009, following the diplomatic contacts by the two
countries. It said that Armenia and Turkey had agreed to begin internal
political consultations around two protocols to set up diplomatic
relations, and to promote bilateral relationships achieved in the
framework of the Swiss mediation. These agreements are to be signed on
October 10. Judging by expert assessments, the two protocols contain
expressions of a desire by the two countries to normalize their
relationship, and the more acute problems, such as the admission
of the genocide of Armenians by Turkey, and the Karabakh conflict,
are to be resolved at a later time.

According to the media in the Trans-Caucasus, ne of the first events
in the normalization after the paperwork has been signed by Armenia
and Turkey will be the opening of the Gyumri-Kars railroad and the
beginning of a full-fledged economic cooperation between the two
countries. To corroborate their data, the media cite the fact that
preliminary works have been initiated at the Akhuryan station near
Gyumri on the Turkish border to set up a South-Caucasus railroad
logistics center. The South-Caucasus railroad, owned in part by the
RF, has allocated 90 million rubles for the purpose. The need for a
logistics center at the border is explained by the fact that Armenia
and Turkey have different railroad gauges, so there is a need to
reload goods from South-Caucasus cars to Turkish ones.

The reopening of freight lines is to the RF’s advantage as well,
as the 2008 events in South Ossetia have caused a virtual stoppage
in the transit of RF goods to Armenia. The worst hit was the supply
for the RF military base at Gyumri. It is anticipated to set up a
supply route to that base via Turkey, after the agreements in the
Armenian-Turkish normalization have been signed.

Azerbaijan is extremely cautious when it comes to the rapprochement
between Armenia and Turkey. Ankara has to issue constant reminders
that the signing of the agreements is not contrary to the interests
of Azerbaijan in any way. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan announced last week that Turkey was changing and renewing
its relationships with the world. Erdogan stated when addressing the
nation that the protocol which had been agreed upon by Turkey and
Armenia was a clear signal that the problems existing in the region
would finally be solved. Erdogan noted that Turkey would mind the
interests of Azerbaijan in the negotiations, as it would its own. "I
believe the process will have a positive outcome for Turkey, Armenia
and Azerbaijan, and the issue that has become gangrenous will have
been resolved", said Erdogan.

What transpires from the announcements by Turkish politicians is that
Ankara and Yerevan agree on the inviolability of the Azeri borders
in the joint documents that have been prepared. However, that is not
stated directly, and certain general principles are being declared:
"territorial integrity", border inviolability", "non-involvement in
the internal affairs of other countries", etc. Armenian experts have
long raised the question of whether this point may be interpreted as a
de facto necessity for Yerevan to agree that the Karabakh settlement
is only possible in the framework of the territorial integrity for
Azerbaijan. Armenian opposition parties are discontent with such
phrasing as well. The Armenian revolutionary federation Dashnaktsutyun
and the Heritage, as well as their parliamentary factions, have
joined in an effort to oppose a ratification of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols. Protests against the Armenian-Turkish normalization have
been held in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. According to a recent poll,
47.9% of Yerevan residents agreed that a railroad connection had to
be opened between Turkey and Armenia, whereas 40.8% of respondents
opposed the initiative. Naturally, the figures would be completely
different, not in favor of the Armenian-Turkish documents that have
been prepared, if the survey was taken in Karabakh.

The normalization of relationships between Ankara and Yerevan is
thus facing real problems that have to do with the future status
of Karabakh. That is unlikely to change in the near future, now
matter how badly Yerevan and Ankara would like it. With all that,
pragmatic Turkish politicians expect good will and speak in favor of
a cooperation of various kinds with Armenia. Neither is this process
against the wishes of Russia. It is understandable that Turkey’s
activity in the region enhances its own position and makes Moscow more
of a passive observer. Under certain circumstances the dependency of
the RF base at Gyumri on transit via Turkey may somewhat affect its
defensive ability. It is no secret the base at Gyumri is there for
a reason, as Turkey, a NATO member is close by.