Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FM DAVUTOGLU: PALESTINE WILL BE FULL MEMBER OF UN

Today’s Zaman
Sept 27 2011
Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu paused to express his desire
to see Palestine as a full member of the UN at its meeting next year
amidst an intense schedule of international meetings and bilateral
discussions.

“I told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki that Palestine
would take its place as a full member of the UN in the following
year,” Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency on
Tuesday, as he relayed the events of the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in New York on Monday.

Davutoglu said CICA meetings on tourism and culture will also
increase in frequency in the future, and the forum will work to
bolster confidence-building measures.

“We also discussed bringing together countries that have tension with
each other in a joint platform, and creating a confidence-building
measure structure from [the] base to the top,” he said and added that
Israel, Iran and Palestine were present at the meeting and he called
on Azerbaijan and Armenia to do the same and come together against
all odds.

Davutoglu remarked that he hopes the CICA will take a larger role among
the intergovernmental bodies of the world and expressed a hope that the
international forum will be “one of the most important organizations
of in the near future. Turkey currently holds the presidency of the
CICA, a position which rotates among members, and will continue to
hold it until June 2012. Turkey, under the auspices of Davutoglu
himself, co-chaired with Cambodia the joint ministerial meeting of
the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Association of
South Asian Nations (ASEAN) three days earlier at a first-time summit
on the sidelines of the UN meeting.

“ECO and ASEAN countries met for the first time [on the sidelines] of
the UN, and they decided to gather together from now on,” Davutoglu
said on Tuesday and announced that Turkey might host the next joint
meeting. Turkey is also scheduled to host a broadened regional summit
on Afghanistan in Ä°stanbul on Nov. 2, according to the Anatolia
news agency. Davutoglu also engaged in bilateral meetings with senior
officials from a number of countries. He met with the vice president
of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, Nechirvan Barzani, on Monday
and discussed cooperation against terrorism and in developments
in the Middle East. He spoke with his counterparts from Thailand,
Ethiopia, Algeria, Brazil and Singapore, and is scheduled to meet UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday. Davutoglu also called for
support in Turkey’s planned candidacy in the UN Security Council for
the 2012-2016 term, the Anatolia new agency noted. He is expected to
leave New York on Wednesday.

SYRIA INTENDS TO RETALIATE AGAINST TURKEY FOR ARMS INTERCEPTION

Today’s Zaman
Sept 27 2011
Turkey

Syria has announced intentions to review a free trade agreement (FTA)
that the country claimed was favoring Turkish trade over Syria’s,
a move that came as an obvious attempt at retaliation following
Turkey’s initiative to intercept an arms shipment to Syria.

“Political relations and economic relations are two different things.

… We need to review certain articles in the FTA we signed with
Turkey because it currently favors Turkish trade over Syrian benefits,
and it damages us,” Syrian Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Nidal
al-Shaar was quoted as saying by the Cihan news agency on Monday.

The announcement of Syria’s intention to review the FTA, signed back
in 2006, comes in clear retaliation for a move by Turkey to increase
interceptions on arms shipment to Syria, an initiative Turkey took
since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule came under heavy fire
over the killings of Syrian civilians. Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to introduce sanctions against the
Assad administration, as he announced last week that he was planning
to pay a visit to a camp hosting thousands of Syrian refugees in the
southern border province of Hatay. The premier also noted that Turkey
would evaluate options for sanctions in the meantime, the outcome of
which would be publicized during his visit to Hatay.

Meanwhile, a US diplomat on Tuesday acknowledged that the US welcomed
the measures Turkey will take regarding Syria, and the two countries
were also engaged in talks to bolster cooperation at a US foreign
policy conference regarding the 2011 UN General Assembly meeting.

Michael Hammer, the acting assistant secretary for public affairs at
the US State Department, told reporters in New York that although
the US applied unilateral sanctions to Syria, they remained minor,
and it was highly important for neighboring countries such as Turkey
to take steps that might increase the pressure on the Syrian regime,
according to an Anatolia news agency report.

The remark came days after Prime Minister Erdogan announced Turkey
would keep on intercepting arms shipments to Syria, as it has been
doing in the recent past.

The official also commented on the delivery of US unmanned aerial
vehicles named Predators to Turkey, saying the US has a strong
partnership with the country and would support Turkey in its
fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Erdogan
announced last week that the US and Turkey had “agreed on principle”
for the delivery of the vehicles, and Turkish Defense Minister Ä°smet
Yılmaz noted on Saturday that the Predators would be delivered to the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in June 2012. Hammer did not elaborate on
the details of the deployment of the Predators, but said he had seen
media reports announcing an agreement between Washington and Ankara
to deploy the vehicles at the strategic Ä°ncirlik Air Base in the
southern province of Adana.

Turkish officials have met or had phone conversations with their
counterparts from the US many times this year, which Hammer considers
essential for increasing bilateral cooperation. Hammer also noted on
the sidelines that the US had hailed the Turkish decision to install
an early warning radar system under a new strategic defense strategy
within NATO countries to block missiles coming from outside Europe.

Although the defense system was speculated to be a means of protection
from the alleged nuclear ambitions of Iran, Turkey insists the system
targets any country that threatens NATO members. Iranian officials
condemned the Turkish government last week over the decision, warning
that there would be serious repercussions for the country and accusing
Turkey of hypocrisy with regard to Iran.

Hammer also touched upon the debate over oil and gas resources in
the eastern Mediterranean seabed that have set the Greek and Turkish
Cypriot communities at odds, suggesting that the US-based company that
acquired the Greek Cypriot licenses for research and excavation had
the right to carry out drilling activities. Greek Cypriot drilling
for hydrocarbon sources also triggered Turkey to sign an agreement
with Turkish Cypriots to determine continental shelves, allowing the
countries to carry out their own drilling operations for resources.

Hammer noted that the US had hoped the drilling initiatives would
not cause new tension in the region, and that it was in touch with
Turkey regarding the situation.

AZERBAIJANI INTELLIGENTSIA DOES NOT PLAN VISIT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Trend
Sept 27 2011
Azerbaijan

The representatives of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia do not plan
to visit Nagorno-Karabakh in the near future, taking into account
the complex situation resulting from Armenian officials’ recent
statements, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu told
the press on Tuesday.

“Armenia is a neighboring country,” the ambassador said, “which also
has an intelligentsia. Of course, this conflict will be resolved one
day and we will be forced to live together.”

He said that about 30,000 Armenians live in Baku today.

“So it is possible to live together,” Bulbuloglu said.

The Azerbaijani side is doing everything possible to resolve the
conflict peacefully; this should be explained to the opposite side
while meeting creative people and the intelligentsia, he said.

Azerbaijani intellectuals repeatedly visited Nagorno Karabakh and
met with Armenian intelligentsia.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

“ARMENIAN LEADERSHIP’S LACK OF POLITICAL WILL DRIVE NEGOTIATIONS TO FAILURE”

Today
Sept 27 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov received the
delegation led by Chairman of the California Senate Environmental
Quality Committee, Senator Joseph Simitian.

Press service of the Foreign Ministry said that Khalafov noted
strategic partnership relations between Azerbaijan and USA and
informed the guests that Azerbaijan attached special importance to
the relations with the US’ subjects. Khalafov also underlined that
the efforts were made towards deepening of cooperation with the State
of California in all spheres.

Underlining the implementation of significant projects in the South
Caucasus and Caspian basin on the initiative and direct participation
of Azerbaijan, informed about continuation of US-Azerbaijan cooperation
in global and regional issues and noted that the cooperation on
combating international terrorism was continuing successfully between
two countries.

At the same time, Khalafov noted the relations between legislative
bodies were attaining vital importance and said that the mutual visits
played a role of bridge in the development of bilateral relations.

Informing about Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Khalafov noted the
occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, spoke about problems
of refugees and IDPs. Noting economical backwardness of Armenia,
Khalafov said that the unreadiness of Armenian political leadership
to liberate Azerbaijani lands peacefully exposed the negotiations to
the failure.

Deputy Minister assessed Armenia’s occupational policy as a main
obstacle to the establishment of peace and stability in the region,
said that the results of the aggression were not accepted by the
world community.

Californian senators noted that Azerbaijan had a strategic significance
and highly assessed its role in the region. Noting that they were
deeply impressed by rapid development of Azerbaijan, the Californian
senators took interest in Azerbaijan’s future role in the region.

RUSSIAN MODEL WILL NOT WORK IN ARMENIA: FORMER PRESIDENT WILL NOT RETURN INTO OFFICE – ARMENIAN EXPERT

news.am
Sept 27 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Not a single political force could oppose to Russia’s
influence on Armenia, said member of European Integration NGO Manvel
Ghumashyan on Tuesday.

He argued that there are three political powers potentially able
to gain seats in the Parliament after elections of 2012 – ruling
Republican Party of Armenia, Prosperous Armenia Party and Armenian
National Congress. None of the three, however, will be able to change
Armenian-Russian relations.

He mentioned the special position ARF Dashnaktsutyun holds in the
parliament, stressing that ADR with its history, traditions and laws
claims to be the example of what a party should be.

According to Ghumashyan, one should not bind the Armenian-Russian
relations with the presidents of countries, since the established
relationship between the Armenian and Russian presidents is artificial.

“Vladimir Putin did not return to politics, he simply never left it
and his influence was always tangible in Russia, which is not true of
Robert Kocharyan. Talks on his return to the office seem groundless
to me,” said Ghumashyan.

TURKEY’S NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE NEEDS ARMENIAN-SPEAKING AGENTS

news.am
Sept 27 2011
Armenia

ISTANBUL. – Turkey’s National Intelligence Service (MIT) is looking
for persons, up to 35 years of age and who fluently speak at least
one foreign language, to work as assistant spies.

MIT organized an admission for assistant spies, who will be dispatched
to different countries. The applicants must be citizens of Turkey
and their age should not exceed 35, Turkey’s Milliyet daily writes.

And those applicants, who cannot achieve the necessary scores in the
civil servant examinations, face greater difficulties because they
need to have an excellent knowledge of either one of the following
languages: Arabic, Armenian, Serbian, and Chinese.

ANCA-WR URGES COMMUNITY TO PROTEST OTTOMAN MILITARY MARCHING BAND PARADE

asbarez
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

LOS ANGELES-The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
issued a statement Tuesday condemning the forthcoming visit to the
City of Los Angeles by the Ottoman Military Marching Band on October 3.

“The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region strongly
condemns the arrival of the offensively-named Ottoman Military Marching
Band and its October 3 visit to Los Angeles. The ANCA-WR likewise
questions the irresponsible decision by the City of Los Angeles to
grant a permit to a group who claims descent from the notoriously
murderous corps of the Ottoman Army known as the janissaries. The
nature and planned performance of the band are not only insulting
but wholly unacceptable to the Armenian American community,” said
the statement from the ANCA-WR Board of Directors.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Ottoman Military Marching
Band arose from the corps of janissaries in the Ottoman Army, which
marched in time to music. Janissaries were soldiers who, in their
day, were among the most egregious murderers of Armenians and other
Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire. They were an elite corps
composed of children forcefully taken from their families as part of
the “devshirme” tax – where Armenian families sacrificed their sons
to the Ottoman army. These children were raised as extremist Muslims.

In 1911, as the Ottoman Empire was beginning to collapse, cultural
and military elements successfully revived the tradition of Ottoman
Military Marching Bands. By 1953, the tradition had been fully restored
as a band of the Turkish Armed Forces. Today, the corps-comprising
the Mehter Band and the troops that accompany it-continues to play
at state, military and tourist functions in modern Turkey.

The sound of the Ottoman Military Band is characterized by a largely
shrill combination of bass drums, horns, and cymbals. Among the lyrics
to their anthem is, “Overwhelm the enemies of your motherland, and
thus shall those cursed ones suffer abjection.”

And as such, on October 3, the streets of Hollywood will be the
stage for the celebration of mass murder, as the Ottoman Military
Marching Band proceeds through with its raucous demonstration of
its blood-stained history. The Ottoman Military Marching Band will
be performing just several blocks away from Little Armenia, which
has the highest population density of Armenian American residents
living in Southern California. Among these residents are a significant
number of elderly, for whom this reenactment will cause a great deal
of psychological trauma as they recall the horrors of the Genocide
that took place under the banner of this same marching band and their
fellow janissaries.

To place this parade in its true historical context, one would need
to envision the band marching alongside the hundreds of thousands of
Armenian women and children who perished in the Anatolian deserts at
the hands of those Ottoman soldiers.

Indeed, this loud and pernicious display of Ottoman-era tradition
is an appalling affront to the Armenian American, Greek, Assyrian,
and Pontian communities – and to all people of good conscience who
stand on the side of justice. It is no different than allowing the Ku
Klux Klan to march in the middle of Watts; or having a Nazi military
reenactment in the Fairfax district in the vicinity of dozens of
synagogues and temples. It is tantamount to hate speech and harassment.

“Despite this flagrant attempt at incitement, we call upon the Armenian
American community of Los Angeles to oppose this painful and egregious
provocation peacefully,” said the ANCA-WR in its statement.

The ANCA-WR has a long-standing record of fighting for the rights
of Armenian Genocide victims and their descendants, and is prepared
to challenge this outrageous demonstration of disregard to the
rights and concerns of the Armenian American community. The ANCA-WR
stands with all individuals and groups ready to civilly oppose this
vulgar reenactment of an unforgotten and torturous past. Further,
the ANCA-WR remains committed to pursuing justice for the Armenian
Genocide, including recognition by the U.S. and Turkish governments,
and to the belief that no entity is allowed to inhumanely terrorize
victims of genocide and their descendants.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

ANCA-WR STATEMENT ON HATE SPEECH AND INCITEMENT

asbarez
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region strongly
condemns the arrival of the offensively-named Ottoman Military Marching
Band and its October 3 visit to Los Angeles. The ANCA-WR likewise
questions the irresponsible decision by the City of Los Angeles to
grant a permit to a group who claims descent from the notoriously
murderous corps of the Ottoman Army known as the janissaries. The
nature and planned performance of the band are not only insulting
but wholly unacceptable to the Armenian American community.

Just over one mile from the borders of Little Armenia, in Los Angeles,
the adoptive home of hundreds of thousands of Armenian Americans –
including many whose families were gravely affected by the Armenian
Genocide – the Ottoman Military Marching Band will play the anthems of
a military credited with exterminating 1.5 million Armenian people and
hundreds of thousands of other minorities within the Ottoman Empire.

It is a chilling parallel: the Band will again march through the
streets of an Armenian neighborhood, recreating the horrific scene
of the Ottoman military parading through Armenian towns and villages
100 years ago, before they methodically and brutally murdered the
Armenian populace in the first genocide of the 20th century.

The parade’s planning and execution, in a heavily Armenian-populated
community, leaves no question that the Ottoman Military Marching Band
is brazenly taunting the Armenian American community in a blatant
example of hate speech. Despite this flagrant attempt at incitement,
we call upon the Armenian American community of Los Angeles to oppose
this painful and egregious provocation peacefully.

Further, the ANCA-WR remains committed to pursuing justice for the
Armenian Genocide, including recognition by the U.S. and Turkish
governments, and to the belief that no entity is allowed to inhumanely
terrorize victims of genocide and their descendants. As the largest and
most influential Armenian American advocacy organization, the ANCA-WR
stands with all individuals and groups ready to civilly oppose this
vulgar reenactment of an unforgotten and torturous past.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

ANOTHER RICH MAN ROBBED

04:26 pm | Today

Social

Last night, a group of masked men entered the villa of one of Armenia’s
well-known businessmen in “Noy” district of Yerevan, and according
to news, held a gun demanding money and precious items.

The bandits entered from the back of the villa and even the security
alarm system didn’t stop them. The bandits took what they wanted
and left.

The police arrived at the scene after they had left. Head of the RA
Police Department of News and Public Relations Ashot Aharonyan told
“A1+” that there had been another case like this in “Noy” district
and that this one was a bandit attack.

Mr. Aharonyan noted that the person or people who invaded from the
back side of the villa robbed the landlady’s golden jewels and left
when she noticed him or them.

A case has been instigated and preliminary inquiry is underway. Ashot
Aharonyan affirmed that this case had nothing to do with the previous
bandit attacks since there was no threat of weapon.

Aharonyan wasn’t able to say whether the criminals were masked or
not because he didn’t have enough details of the crime.

DEMAND FOR TICKETS FOR PARALYMPIC GAMES UNPRECEDENTED

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 27, 2011 – 18:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Demand for tickets for next year’s Paralympic Games
has been unprecedented and many of the sessions will have to go to
a ballot, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said on Tuesday,
September 27.

Ticket sales in Britain opened on September 9 and closed on Monday.

Speaking at the opening of a Team GB and ParalympicsGB outlet at the
new Westfield shopping centre at the Olympic Park in east London,
Deighton said the public response had been exceptional.

“We are still sorting through the final numbers but we are delighted
with the outcome. We have sold hundreds and hundreds of thousands,
a very impressive return. In Paralympic terms, it’s unprecedented,”
he said.

“There’s a substantial number of sessions where we will have to go
to ballot because they’ve been over-subscribed, which again I think
is probably a first for the Paralympic Games.”

He said the over-subscribed sessions were more widely spread across
the sports than might have been expected, and not just the popular
ceremonies, cycling and wheelchair basketball.

Deighton said the ticket sales would not change the overall financial
picture for organisers LOCOG, even though revenues from the Olympics
and Paralympics are combined before working out any profits.

“Our projections for Paralympic ticket sales were always pretty strong,
so basically what we are going to do is hit our target,” he said.

The remaining tickets for the Paralympics will be put on sale online
in December along with some 1.5 million Olympic soccer tickets.

There will also be a further sale of around a million Olympic tickets
held back while sight lines and broadcasting positions inside venues
were finalized, Reuters reported.