Author: Kalantarian Kevo

LES NEGOCIATIONS SE POURSUIVENT AU SUJET DU HAUT-KARABAGH
Laetitia

armenews.com
mercredi 26 octobre 2011

Les parties concernees par le conflit du Nagorno-Karabakh ont
provisoirement accepte d’enqueter conjointement sur les violations
du cessez-le-feu le long de leur principale ” ligne de contact ” et
de la frontière armeno-azerbaïdjanaise, ont annonce les mediateurs
internationaux lundi soir.

Les Etats-Unis, les diplomates russes et francais co-president le
Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE et ont affirme que c’etait un thème majeur
de leurs dernières negociations tenues a Erevan, Stepanakert et Bakou.

” Les co-presidents ont proposes plusieurs mesures pour renforcer la
confiance dans differents domaines ” ont-ils affirme dans un communique
commun. ” Les parties ont convenu d’enqueter sur les incidents le long
de la ligne de front que les co-presidents ont proposes en avril “.

Les mediateurs n’ont donne aucun detail sur ce mecanisme. Les
fonctionnaires armeniens et azerbaïdjanais, pour leur part, n’ont
pas fait de declarations jusqu’ici.

Les violations du regime de cessez-le-feu dans la zone de conflit
semblent etre devenues plus frequentes ces dernières annees,
alimentant les craintes d’une autre guerre armeno-azerbaïdjanais au
sujet du Karabagh.

La communaute internationale a maintes fois exhorte les parties
concernees par le conflit a continuer a honorer la treve. En
particulier, le Groupe de Minsk les a deja exhortes a retirer leurs
tireurs des lignes de front. L’idee est soutenue par la partie
armenienne mais contree par Bakou.

Les co-presidents du groupe de Minsk ont souligne le fait qu’ils ont
traverse ” la ligne de contact ” a pied le samedi. ” Cette traversee
a de nouveau souligne que la ligne n’est pas une barrière permanente
entre les peuples voisins, et a demontre que la coordination militaire
est possible lorsque toutes les parties sont pretes. ”

La declaration n’a signale aucun progrès dans les efforts des
mediateurs pour rapprocher les parties a s’accorder sur les principes
de base de la resolution du conflit du Karabagh. La troïka fera de
nouveau le tour des zones de conflit le mois prochain pour discuter
des mesures de confiance et pour ” determiner les prochaines etapes
pour ouvrir la voie a de futures reunions entre les parties. ”

TANER AKCAM V. TURKEY
by ORHAN KEMAL CENGÄ°Z

Today’s Zaman
Oct 25 2011
Turkey

This week I have been in Strasbourg, France attending meetings at
the Council of Europe on some specific issues related to democracy
and human rights in Turkey. On Monday I attended a lecture on the
situation of religious minorities in Turkey, held by Strasbourg
University. I tried to explain to the audience the importance for
Turkey of confronting the past, in order to become a better democracy.

Having talked about confrontation, it was interesting to read the
European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) evaluation of Article 301 of
Turkey’s Criminal Code, on denigrating Turkishness, in the judgment it
delivered this Tuesday. I am talking about the case of Taner Akcam v.

Turkey, which resulted in a finding that Mr. Akcam’s freedom of
expression was violated.

The story of Article 301 is a long one. Hrant Dink was killed after
being tried under this article by ultranationalists. The current
government has amended the article by reducing the possible sentence
and adding an additional clause requiring the prior permission of
the Ministry of Justice to prosecute under this article.

The ECtHR’s Akcam decision demonstrates that these amendments are not
sufficient. After this judgment I think Turkey needs to abolish this
article altogether. Interestingly, Taner Akcam has not been punished
under this article, but he has been prosecuted a couple of times for
his articles about the Armenian taboo. Normally, the ECHR would have
rejected his application, saying that he had not been sentenced under
the law in question and therefore does not have victim status.

However, the court took his allegation of having been victimized
under this article seriously for various reasons. The ECHR’s findings
about Mr. Akcam’s “victim status” were as follows: “The tangible
fear of prosecution not only cast a shadow over the applicant’s
professional activities, but also caused him considerable stress and
anxiety, and seriously constrained his activities. … It was widely
believed that Hrant Dink had been targeted by extremists because
of the stigma attached to his criminal conviction for ‘insulting
Turkishness.’… Even though the public prosecutor in charge of the
investigation issued a decision of non-prosecution, holding that
the applicant’s views were protected under Article 10, this did
not necessarily mean that the applicant would be safe from further
investigations of that kind in the future… the court considers
that while the applicant was not prosecuted and convicted of the
offence under Article 301, the criminal complaints filed against
him by extremists for his views on the Armenian issue had turned
into a harassment campaign and obliged him to answer charges under
that provision.”

The ECtHR dismissed the government’s claim that the prerequisite of
the permission of Ministry of Justice prevents misapplication of the
article, saying: “In any event, the court considers that even though
the Ministry of Justice carries out a prior control in criminal
investigations under Article 301, and the provision has not been
applied in this particular type of case for a considerable time,
it may be applied again in such cases at any time in the future,
if for example there is a change of political will by the current
Government or change of policy by a newly formed Government.”

The ECtHR also analyzed how this article is interpreted by the Court
of Cassation:

“Moreover, the court observes that the established case-law of the
Court of Cassation must also be taken into consideration… the
interpretation of Article 301, particularly the concepts of
‘Turkishness’ or the ‘Turkish nation’… the Court of Cassation
sanctioned any opinion criticizing the official thesis on the Armenian
issue.”

The following paragraph in which the ECtHR evaluates the relation
between 301 and Armenian question is also important: “In view of
the foregoing, the court concludes that the criminal investigation
commenced against the applicant and the standpoint of the Turkish
criminal courts on the Armenian issue in their application of Article
301 of the Criminal Code, as well as the public campaign against
the applicant in respect of the investigation, confirm that there
exists a considerable risk of prosecution faced by persons who express
‘unfavorable’ opinions on this matter, and indicates that the threat
hanging over the applicant is real. In these circumstances, the court
considers that there has been an interference with the exercise of
the applicant’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the
[European] Convention [on Human Rights].”

I really hope that this judgment will be read carefully by the Turkish
authorities and that we will be able to get rid of Article 301 as
soon as possible.

GEORGIAN GREEN PARTY: EARTHQUAKES MAY THREATEN ARMENIAN NPP

Trend
Oct 25 2011
Azerbaijan

Earthquakes have acquired a cyclical character, and it is possible that
they will reach the Armenian nuclear power plant, the leader of the
Georgian Green Party Giorgi Gachechiladze told Georgian journalists.

“The territory of Turkey and Armenia is a seismically active zone, and
there is a risk that a major earthquake could occur on the territory
adjacent to the Armenian nuclear power plant, which will lead to
disaster. Strong earthquakes in Turkey and Armenia have already
acquired a cyclical character, which is associated with passage of
tectonic faults through these territories,” he stressed.

Gachechiladze referred to the history of earthquakes, and remembered
that a major earthquake in Turkey occurred in 1976, which killed 4,000
people and the earthquake took place in Armenia, Spitak in late 80s,
in Turkey in 1999. About 20,000 people were killed in Turkey then.

“These earthquakes repeat in intervals a little more than a decade. We
can therefore expect that a disaster could occur near the nuclear
power plant. The station was built during the Soviet period and its
major rehabilitation was not carried out, so a major earthquake would
cause it serious damage,” said leader of Georgian greens.

Gachechiladze said that the defenders of the environment and not only
they have long demanded the closing of the Armenian NPP.

“The European Union demanded from Armenia to close this station,
and even offered money to build solid alternative energy sources. At
one time, Armenians agreed, but then the station was acquired by the
Russian RAO UES Company, and these negotiations were halted. And now
the EU is willing to pay for closing this station. The idea is that
another earthquake occurring in Turkey should make Armenia to think,”
said Gachechiladze.

He argues that if the Armenian nuclear power plant is damaged, Georgia,
Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran would be in serious jeopardy.

“Radiation will reach Tbilisi after 8 hours. It would spread across
the area, a regional disaster will happen,” he said.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE APPROVES ANTI-TERRORISM PLAN

Public Television of Armenia
Oct 21 2011

Armenian National Interdepartmental Committee approved national
anti-terrorism plan on 21 October, Armenian National Public TV reported
on the same day.

The plan was drafted taking into account observations by all related
departments and international experts, the TV station reported,
adding that the plan will later be submitted to the Armenian National
Security Council.

The TV station quoted Armenian National Security Council Secretary
Artur Baghdasaryan as saying that the fight against terrorism was
a priority in every country’s policy. “It has so far bypassed our
country, but we must be ready in legal and institutional terms to
act jointly against terrorism, and especially cyber terrorism,”
Baghdasaryan was shown saying.

“The approval of this document is conditioned by commitments Armenia
assumed in three international organizations – the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, European Union, and NATO,” Baghdasaryan added.

MEDVEDEV SAYS ENERGY PROJECTS SHOULD NOT CREATE NEW DIVIDING LINES

ITAR-TASS
Oct 24 2011
Russia

President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that energy projects like South
Stream should not create new dividing lines and tensions.

“I absolutely agree with Serzh Azatovich [Sargsyan] that economic
projects should not create dividing lines but should on the contrary
strengthen cooperation and interaction in the region. This is what they
are for, including South Stream just as many other projects that can
be implemented in the region,” Medvedev said on Monday, October 24,
commenting on Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s words that projects
like South Stream should not create new dividing lines in the region.

“Everything the Russian Federation does, it does it in order to
facilitate the spirit of cooperation, alleviate concerns and increase
the competitiveness of both the Russian Federation and other countries
involved in these projects,” he added.

South Stream, which will be jointly built by Gazprom and ENI, will
eventually take 30 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a
year to southern Europe, with Greece becoming a transit state on the
southern arm of the pipeline pumping gas to Italy.

Analysts have said that the project, which aims to link Gazprom’s
Siberian gas fields with Europe and is seen as a competitor to the
EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, will cost around 10 billion euro, or
15.82 billion U.S. dollars.

The projected South Steam gas transit pipeline starts at the Beregovaya
compressor station at the Russian Black Sea coast. It would run through
the Black Sea to the Bulgarian port of Varna, where it splits – the
southwestern pipe would go to southern Italy via Greece, whereas
the northwestern route would go through Serbia to northern Italy,
possibly including Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Austria.

South Stream is scheduled to become operational in 2013. The
900-kilometre-long undersea section of the pipeline will run from the
gas compressor facility at Beregovaya, on Russia’s Black Sea coast,
near Arkhipo-Osipovka, towards the city of Burgas, in Bulgaria. The
sea’s maximum depth on this route is 2,000 metres.

On the ground the pipeline will split. One (southwestern) branch
will be laid across Bulgaria and Greece and the Adriatic Sea
towards Brindisi, in Italy, and the other (northwestern one)
may follow either of the two routes still being considered –
Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary-Austria, or Bulgaria-Serbia-Croatia,
Slovenia-Austria.

South Stream is a strategic project for Europe’s energy security and
should be implemented by the end of 2015. Work is currently underway
to draft a feasibility study for the marine section across the Black
Sea and the surface section running through the transit countries.

The inter-governmental agreement signed in Vienna on April 25, 2010
between Russia and Austria on cooperation under the South Stream
project removes all legal obstacles to its implementation.

The agreement was the last document that was necessary for the start
of the project. Russia has signed similar documents with Serbia,
Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, and Croatia.

The overall capacity of the marine section of the pipeline will be 63
billion cubic meters a year. Its cost is about 8.6 billion euros. The
section is scheduled to be commissioned before December 31, 2015.

AZERBAIJAN FOR EARLY FAIR NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

ITAR-TASS
Oct 24 2011
Russia

Azerbaijan will use every opportunity for an early fair settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of norms of international
law, President Ilham Aliyev told here on Monday the enlarged meeting
of the government devoted to the results of the country’s social and
economic development in the year to October.

The head of state regretted lack of progress toward the settlement of
the conflict. “Azerbaijan has the stand of principle that rests on
historic truth and norms of international law and we will not budge
an inch from that stand. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has not
been the matter of the talks and will never be. We will try to use
every opportunity to restore the country’s territorial integrity,”
Ilham Aliyev said.

The president stressed that despite the lack of results in the
negotiating process, the thoughts the mediators voiced in the recent
months inspire “certain hopes, for instance, the opinion that the
status quo should not be preserved. “The status quo should be changed,
which, naturally, requires the withdrawal of occupation forces from
Azerbaijani lands. This is the way to the settlement of the conflict,”
President Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan’s president met in Baku on Monday with the co-chairmen of
the Minsk Group of the OSCE on Nagorno-Karabakh. The details are not
revealed. The report circulated by official channels says the meeting
discussed questions related to the present state of and prospects
for the talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

RUSSIA, ARMENIA PRESIDENTS TO HAVE NEGOTIATIONS IN MOSCOW

ITAR-TASS
Oct 24 2011
Russia

The negotiations between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and visiting
Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan will highlight the first state
visit of the Armenian president in Russia.

“The negotiations, which will be held at first in a narrow and then an
enlarged format in the Kremlin, will focus on a broad range of topical
issues of bilateral cooperation, the prospects in the development of
the political dialogue and trade and economic cooperation, as well
as several topical issues on the international agenda,” the Russian
presidential press service told Itar-Tass.

“A major package of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements
in humanitarian and youth exchanges, health care, economy and foreign
political issues will be signed as a result of the negotiations,”
the Kremlin press service said.

The press service noted that “the development of cooperation
in international issues is the top priority in Russian-Armenian
relations.”

“The Nagorno Karabakh situation is high on the agenda of the
negotiations,” the press service recalled. “Russia, which co-chairs
the OSCE Minsk Group, does not reduce its mediating efforts seeking
for the basic principles of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process to be
negotiated,” the Kremlin press service said.

Meanwhile, Moscow and Yerevan cooperate closely in the integration
formats in the CIS, including the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, negotiate the key issues of international politics,
including European and regional security, in bilateral format and
within major multilateral formats – the UN, OSCE, the Council of
Europe, the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation and others.

The program of Sargsyan’s three-day visit in Moscow envisages the
negotiations with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Speakers of the
Federation Council and the State Duma Valentina Matviyenko and Boris
Gryzlov, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He will also deliver a speech
at the Moscow State University.

On Sunday, Sargsyan attended a ceremony of blessing and consecrating
the crosses on a new Armenian cathedral, which is under construction
at the crossroads of Trifonovskaya Street and Olympiisky Avenue.

The Kremlin noted consistent development of interstate relations that
is mainly based on regular contacts at the top level. Medvedev and
Sargsyan had nine meetings in bilateral events or at international
summits for the last two years. Meanwhile, the presidents had five
meetings in the trilateral format with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev.

Russia is a key foreign economic partner and foreign investor for
Armenia. The bilateral trade reached about 860 million dollars in 2010
and amounted to 487.7 million dollars in January-July 2011 that is
15.2% higher against the same period in the previous year. “According
to the current forecasts, the trade will exceed the pre-crisis level
(899.9 million dollars in 2008) this year,” the Kremlin believes.

Since 1991 Russian investments in Armenia exceeded 2.8 billion
dollars. The number of enterprises with Russian stake totals about
1,300 that is more than a fourth of all Armenian companies with the
foreign capital.

Major joint projects in such priority energy sectors as gas, electric
power and nuclear industries are being implemented successfully.

SARGSYAN THANKS MEDVEDEV, LAVROV FOR MEDIATION IN KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS

Interfax
Oct 24 2011
Russia

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has noted the role of Russia in
the Karabakh peace process.

“I have thanked once again the Russian president and foreign minister
for the mediating efforts they are taking in close cooperation with
other countries – cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group. Ten meetings of
the Armenian and Azeri presidents have been held with the mediation
and personal participation of Dmitry Anatolyevich [Medvedev] and
three statements have been signed to promote trust between the sides,”
Sargsyan told a Monday press conference after his negotiations with
Medvedev in Moscow.

Sargsyan recalled the Karabakh statement of the chiefs of Russia,
France and the United States.

“At today’s meeting, I once again confirmed the Armenian adherence
to the soonest settlement of the conflict exclusively with peaceful
methods, on the basis of the integral principles of humanitarian law,”
he said.

ARMENIAN NPP WAS NOT IMPACTED BY EARTHQUAKE – EMERGENCIES MINISTRY

Interfax
Oct 24 2011
Russia

The Armenian nuclear power plant (NPP), shut down for scheduled
repairs in September, was not impacted by Sunday’s earthquake, an
official with the Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax.

“The Armenian nuclear power plant was 160 kilometers away from the
epicenter of the earthquake in Turkey’s Van province. Tremors in its
premises measured three points. The station was not and could not
have been damaged as it can resist earthquakes measuring up to nine
points on the Richter scale,” according to the ministry.

The Armenian nuclear power plant was shut down for scheduled repairs
on September 11.

The earthquake did not cause destruction in Armenia, the ministry said.

YEREVAN SKEPTIC ABOUT TURKEY’S PARTICIPATION IN KARABAKH PROCESS

Interfax
Oct 24 2011
Russia

Having Turkey join the Karabakh conflict settlement process is a
“phantasmagoria,” Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said.

“As for Turkey, I think this is a Turkish phantasmagoria,” he said
in an interview with Interfax.

Asked about the proposals to change the current Karabakh mediation
format, he said: “As regards changes to the format, there is no need
for them.”

Speaking of a possibility to continue normalizing the Armenian-Turkish
relations, the minister said that Yerevan has done its half of the
way, and “the ball is now on the Turkish field,” the Armenian foreign
minister said. “Turkey must meet the obligations it assumed before
the international community. That is what the heads of many states
and international organization were and are stating. We fully share
this point of view,” Nalbandian said.

Full interview with the Armenian Foreign Minister will be posted on
the website on Saturday.