Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AZERBAIJANI THINK-TANK RESPONDS TO JOHN KERRY’S STATEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
April 19 2013

By Sara Rajabova

US Secretary of State John Kerry acts on behalf of US national
interests, the head of an Azerbaijani think-tank told Trend news
agency on Friday. He was commenting on the latest statement of the
Armenian lobby in the U.S. whereby it criticized Kerry’s call for
Turkey’s increased role in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, once again showing its lack of interest in
moving forward the stalled conflict settlement.

“As a congressman, Kerry had always been one of those who was
supported by the Armenian diaspora and lobby,” said Director of the
Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan, Farhad
Mammadov. “[But] as a Congressman Kerry was expressing the views of
voters, but now he acts on behalf of the national interests of the
United States.”

Kerry stated in the House of Representatives on Thursday that Turkey
would be a constructive player in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh and the Cyprus issues. “Turkey plays a constructive
role in resolving the two disputes,” he added.

According to Mammadov, the U.S. operates with Turkey’s assistance in
regions such as the Middle East, the Black Sea as well as the South
Caucasus in accordance with its interests.

“We would like to believe that the strengthening of Turkey’s role in
the South Caucasus will be directly linked to the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

According to Mammadov, Turkey is indirectly involved in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution anyway. First, Turkey is one of
the 11 members of the OSCE Minsk Group. Second, Turkey became one of
the countries that punished Armenia by closing its border with the
invader country, after the occupation of the Kalbajar region of
Azerbaijan. So, that position of Turkey is not new for the U.S.

“To that end, if the United States supports Turkey in the solution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, we can only rejoice at this,” Mammadov
said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy
war between the two South Caucasus countries that displaced over a
million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious
cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20
percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Peace talks brokered by Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United
States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.

The negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed
by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also
known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the
territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control;
determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor
linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally
displaced persons to return home.

A CRISIS BETWEEN TEHRAN AND BAKU: IMPENDING OR IMAGINED?

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 19 2013

ZAUR SHIRIYEV

Recent developments in Iran-Azerbaijan relations have re-opened
questions about a possible return to crisis. Anyone monitoring
local developments in the South Caucasus – and it is not, it seems,
on the radar of the international media — is aware that Iran has
issued several threats targeting Azerbaijan. Iran’s Kayhan daily
newspaper, which has close ties to Iran’s clerics, has called for a
public referendum in Azerbaijan on whether to join Iran. A group of
Iranian deputies is preparing a bill calling for the renegotiation
of the 1828 Russia-Persia Treaty of Turkmenchay, which determined
the current Iran-Azerbaijan border.

Iran’s paranoia about foreign relations is somewhat understandable,
given the escalating tensions over Iranian nuclear ambitions. A
US Senate resolution pledging the use of military force and other
sanctions in support of Israel against Iran has cleared the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee and seems likely to pass. Iran feels
increasingly insecure in advance of the upcoming presidential
election. On the other hand, in the Middle East the US is championing
a new agenda whereby President Barack Obama has succeeded in restoring
ties between Tel-Aviv and Ankara. In Tehran, policymakers understand
that these moves are not empty rhetoric. Iran is struggling against
the combined weight of international and internal instability, which
in turn are creating feelings of political paranoia. There is a risk
that this could turn into a popular uprising during the election.

But this doesn’t quite explain why Azerbaijan has become a focus for
Iranian paranoia; furthermore, Iran is no stranger to international
opprobrium and tensions. In this light, it is worth looking more
closely at recent developments.

First of all, in mid-March, an Armenian-sponsored radio station began
broadcasting “The Voice of Talyshistan” radio program out of Shusha,
an Azerbaijani city under Armenian occupation. The Armenian media
asserts that the station’s main goal is to protect the rights of
the Talysh, an ethnic minority group living in Azerbaijan. There is
no clear evidence that Iran is financially or otherwise supporting
this broadcast and indeed, the Iranian side officially rejected
such accusations on March 28. But several political and academic
conferences and seminars have been organized with Iranian support
and in 2008 the editors of the local newspaper Tolyshi Sado (Voice of
the Talysh) confessed that Iran was helping to finance the newspaper
and bringing religious books to Azerbaijan. One member of the paper’s
editorial board has been imprisoned in Azerbaijan and just recently
another employee was sentenced, though apparently on unrelated grounds.

Further problems arose when the National Liberation Front of South
Azerbaijan hosted a conference in Baku on March 30 titled “The Future
of Modern South Azerbaijan” with speakers from Iran’s Azerbaijani
diaspora and former deputies. During the conference, one of the
speakers suggested that Azerbaijan should change its policy toward
Azerbaijanis living in Iran. Following this conference, the Iranian
Foreign Minister summoned the Azerbaijani ambassador to Tehran and
sent an official communication. Official Baku stated that they had no
ties to the conference. However, in “response,” Iranian deputies, as
mentioned above, seek to renegotiate the 19th century border agreement,
claiming Azerbaijan as Iranian territory.

The conference in Baku, however, was planned several months prior to
the current tensions and given that the participants and speakers are
not in line with government policies on numerous issues, it cannot
be claimed that the meeting had government support. On the matter of
the Talysh radio station, there is no clear evidence of Iranian ties,
but it is clear that this development serves Iranian interests. For
instance, in January the Azerbaijani-American community from Iran
issued a petition to the Obama administration declaring that Iran
is violating the basic rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis. In addition,
in recent months, Azerbaijanis exiled from Iran have sought to gain
support for Iranian-Azerbaijanis, trying to launch television and
radio programs abroad. The Western media has remained largely silent
on the issue of the violation of the rights of Azerbaijanis in Iran
and few outside of the Iran know of these violations. It might be that
in this sense it is in Iran’s interests to support the Talysh radio
station in order to influence this group and use this as a means to
provoke Azerbaijan and increase the threat of ethnic separatism.

Recent developments show that ahead of the presidential election in
Iran, the local Azeri population is seen by the regime as a potential
source of trouble, as there are signs that a political awakening is
underway. At a recent football match (Tractor of Tabriz) local fans
started chanting, “South Azerbaijan is not Iran.” They were arrested.

In this light, the Iranian deputies’ threatened legislation does not
represent a serious risk, but rather shows how worried Iran is about
a political awakening of its Azerbaijani minority.

Last but not least, a global perspective suggests that Iran’s fears
were born following March 21, when in Turkey a new period of internal
stability was launched via an agreement with the Kurds and first step
of reconciliation with Israel was taken. However, Iran is worried that
Turkey may not act to stop military interventions in Iran, following
the deterioration in bilateral relations since the Syrian crisis. In
addition, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister will be the highest-level
official to visit Israel since independence when he travels there
next week. Thus, Iran will fear ethnic uprisings by both Kurdish and
Azerbaijani minorities during the run-up to the election, as well as
focusing its efforts on interfering with the US’ “strategic game,”
whereby Tehran tries to pursue a strategy that, in the words of
a Persian proverb, is “a lion at home and a fox abroad.” But under
tough domestic economic conditions which are likely to worsen, there
is a significant risk of internal demands for a regime change.

IRANIAN QUAKE JOLTS SOUTHERN ARMENIA

Interfax, Russia
April 18 2013

The 4.7-point earthquake that occurred in Iran on Thursday afternoon
was also felt in Armenia.

The south Armenian cities of Megri, Kapan, Jermuk and Yeghegnadzor
reported tremors of 3-4 points, the Armenian Emergency Situations
Ministry told Interfax.

There have been no reports on casualties or damage.

The earthquake’s epicenter was located 45 kilometers east of Iran’s
Khoy.

Te jv

DIASPORA COMMUNITIES COUNT ON KERRY TO UPHOLD CLINTON’S LEGACY

Huffington Post
April 19 2013

Karen Kashmanian Oates, Ph.D. Dean of Arts and Sciences, Worcester
Polytechnic Institute

When Secretary of State John F. Kerry delivered his first address as
America’s diplomat to the world earlier this year, he silently sent
a significant signal to millions in this country and worldwide. He
implied that he will continue the great work of his predecessor,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, in focusing attention on the diaspora
communities in the United States.

Kerry underscored the importance of Clinton’s diaspora-centric
term as Secretary by saying, “In today’s global world, there is no
longer anything foreign about foreign policy.” He continued, stating,
“The decisions that we make from the safety of our shores don’t just
ripple outward; they also create a current right here in America.”

It is heartening to see Kerry following Clinton’s lead with the
philosophy that the stronger the contact with the diaspora community,
the more secure position the U.S. will find itself in.

Having grown up in a tight knit diaspora community, I firmly believe
this is true. My grandparents were refugees from the Armenian genocide,
and like others nationalities when forced migration takes place,
there is an indescribable connection to the land, the people and the
history. I grew up with a strong desire to reconnect to the historical
lands of my family. As I went through high school, college, graduate
school and into my doctoral studies, I never wavered in my desire to
use my strength – science – to help Armenia improve and succeed.

As a scientist, researcher and a college professor, I brought students
on research visits to Armenia and its neighbor, Georgia, to work on
issues as disparate as health, water security and pollution. This
exposure helps break down cultural barriers, language barriers and
economic barriers. For Western students, it opens them to diverse
perspective and alternative ways to approach a problem.

What prompted me to schedule trips to that part of the world,
as opposed to other countries that are also starved for attention
and help from Americans? The answer is simply that I knew of the
needs because of my background. I had a personal familiarity, a deep
connection and a driving passion.

There is a residual effect when those living in diasporic communities
benefit from the American educational system and take advantage of
the employment opportunities here. They send money back to their home
communities, helping raise the standard of living in two places. And
they export the knowledge, drive and promise of the rewards of hard
work, too. That is how a single immigrant can benefit two communities
and two economies.

In fact, a 2010 Hudson Institute report revealed immigrants send nearly
$100 billion back to their native countries annually – three times what
the federal government spends in official development assistance. With
the federal budget under intense scrutiny, this is one of the few
areas where private spending far outpaces public spending.

Secretary Clinton recognized this early in her stewardship of the
State Department. In 2011, she created, with the International Diaspora
Engagement Alliance (IdEA), the Global Diaspora Forum, an international
conference designed to highlight the paramount importance diaspora
communities play in both the global economy and global security.

“By tapping into the experiences, the energy, the expertise of
diaspora communities, we can reverse the so-called ‘brain-drain’
that slows the progress in so many countries around the world, and
instead offer the benefits of ‘brain gain,’ “she said at the opening
of last year’s conference.

In her farewell remarks as Secretary earlier this year, Clinton she
said there are now more than 1,500 diaspora communities from more
than 190 countries and regions that regularly interact with the State
Department and IdEA.

That momentum is why it is so important for Secretary Kerry to continue
this critical work. Contact with the diaspora communities helps forge
ties when trouble erupts. Clinton spoke about Tunisian-Americans’
assistance in reopening economic ties between the U.S. and Tunisia when
the Arab Spring began with a revolution there two years ago. Despite
the atrocities in Syria, it is the Syrian-American community that is
helping with diplomatic efforts there, according to Clinton.

There are many examples of this with the diaspora communities of
the former Soviet Union. When the USSR dissolved in the early 1990s,
millions of trained workers were left without jobs or prospects. They
were armed with scientific knowledge on how to locate the Soviets’
nuclear arsenal or how to develop new weapons of mass destruction.

Many came from Armenian and Georgia.

Fortunately, America welcomed thousands of them to our country,
reuniting them with long lost family members, and harvesting their
scientific know-how to benefit the country and the planet in a positive
way. After nearly two decades here, they have become the voices of
their communities, and an inspiration to the next generation.

Many of these people are my colleagues and my friends. We are bound
by more than just a common ancestry. We are also bound by a love of
science and an understanding about how much it is needed back home.

Karen Kashmanian Oates is the Dean of Arts & Sciences at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute.

ARMENIE-AZERBAIDJAN . LA TRADUCTION D’AISLILI, ECRIVAIN AZERI PERSECUTE, FAIT POLEMIQUE

Courrier International, France
19 avril 2013

La maison d’edition armenienne Nork a traduit et publie, a Erevan, le
roman Reves de pierre de l’ecrivain azeri Akram Aïlisli. Or, ce
dernier est, depuis des mois, victime d’une campagne de persecution
orchestre par le president Aliev en Azerbaïdjan, pour les pretendues
positions pro-armeniennes et antipatriotiques qu’il expose dans ce
livre, ecrit en russe et publie a Moscou.

Akram Aïlisli, qui n’avait pas ete consulte par les editeurs, a
regrette le caractère politique de cette initiative, “la volonte de
faire de l’argent sur ce roman”, tout en reiterant ses “positions
humanistes”, et en exhortant a “percevoir l’ouvrage, qui ne contient
rien d’humiliant pour le peuple azeri, du point de vue des valeurs
universelles”, rapporte le quotidien en ligne Armenia Today.

“Aujourd’hui comme demain, l’Etat armenien et la diaspora
armenienne utiliseront la position anti-azerie d’Akram Aïlisli contre
l’Azerbaïdjan”, a declare Ali Gassanov, directeur du Departement des
questions politiques et sociales de l’administration presidentielle,
selon le site d’information sur le Caucase Ekho Kavkaza.

HAK REJECTS SERZH SARGSYAN’S INVITATION

07:51 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

The parliamentary group of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) has
rejected the invitation of the presidential administration to attend
a meeting with Serzh Sargsyan, secretary of the HAK faction Aram
Manukyan told A1+. The invitation was sent to Levon Zurabyan. The
faction decided to reject it after consideration.

“Why should we attend a meeting that will discuss the issue of a prime
minister to be appointed by illegitimate government?” said Mr Manukyan.

Earlier in the day, the Presidential Press Service issued a release
saying that pursuant to the requirements of the Constitution Serzh
Sargsyan is continuing consultations with parliamentary factions to
discuss the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Today Serzh Sargsyan received Armen Rustamyan, Head of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) faction. Earlier, he held
similar consultations with representatives of the Prosperous Armenia
Party (BHK), Country of Law (OEK) and Republican Party (HHK).

EU-ARMENIA FRIENDSHIP GROUP WILL MAKE ITS FIRST TRIP TO ARMENIA NEXT WEEK

14:52 19.04.2013

The European Parliament’s EU-Armenia Friendship Group will make its
first trip to visit Armenia next week. The delegation will include
Members of European Parliament (MEPs) alongside some EU National MPs
and will be led by the President of the group, Dr Eleni Theocharous.

Through the course of the trip the delegation will meet with
government officials including President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and
Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan. It will also meet with other members
of the Armenian establishment and groups such as the EU-Armenia
Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the Euronest Parliamentary
Assembly to take part in discussions regarding the immediate future
of EU-Armenia relations and the future of relations with the region.

During they’re stay, members of the delegation will pay respects at
the Tsitsernakaberd on the occasion of the memorial ceremony for the
victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide and will take part in other
organised activites.

AZERBAIJAN’S WHIMS AND FANCIES

By Vilen Khlgatyan

In late March a conference was held in Baku with the covert support
of the Aliyev regime, titled ‘Tomorrow of the Contemporary Southern
Azerbaijan’. The conference was organized by the so called South
Azerbaijan National Liberation Front (SANLF), a rag-tag group of
Iranian Azerbaijanis who are adherents to the ideology of Pan-Turkism.

The participants made irredentist claims against Iran. Specifically
they claimed that the dire political and economic situation
inside Iran caused by Western sanctions will inevitably lead to
destabilization, at which point, the SANLF would be ready to take
control of ‘South Azerbaijan’. Attendees to the conference included
Pan-Turkism activists, academics, and former Azerbaijani government
officials. The conference also served to highlight the hypocritical
foreign policy of Azerbaijan, where on the one hand Baku claims Armenia
is an irredentist state, yet via proxy organizations like the SANLF,
makes territorial claims on Iran.

Expectedly, the Iranian government reacted harshly to Baku’s
provocations, which indeed are just another segment in a long series
of tense exchanges between the two states. Disputes over the Caspian
Sea have been ongoing for two decades now, while just last year news
broke that claimed Azerbaijan had agreed to allow Israel the use of
Azerbaijani airbases to land and refuel Israeli bombers in the event
of an attack against Iran. Also indicative of the worsening relations
are the continued oppression of Muslim activists within Azerbaijan.

The well known Azerbaijani cleric, Taleh Bagirzadeh, was arrested
in March on trumped up charges of heroin possession. This was a
political decision made by the Aliyev regime in order to tamper the
growing popularity of Islam among its citizenry, particularly the
young. For example, in a 2010 poll conducted among the youth, 48%
of young Azerbaijanis expressed support for Sharia law. Naturally,
Iran being a theocratic Muslim state, seeks to encourage the spread
of Islam.

Aliyev and his cohorts are seen as apostates in the eyes of official
Tehran.

Bagirzadeh’s arrest caused several hundred protestors to take to the
streets in his hometown of Nardaran and demand his immediate release as
well as other ‘prisoners of the hijab’ who have similarly been targeted
for their religious convictions. Azerbaijan has seen a wave of protests
over the past few months, beginning with the incidents that occurred
in the Ismayilli region in January, as well as the anti-solider abuse
movement, running from January through March, coinciding with both
the Ismayilli, and Nardaran protests over the arrest of Bagirzadeh.

While clamping down on domestic opposition both of the secular as
well as the religious sort, Aliyev’s regime has also targeted Western
pro-democracy outlets. Late last week the operations of the Azad Fikir
University (AFU) were suspended with no official explanation given.

The University had been supported by the American and British embassies
in Baku, USAID, and other international organizations. This should
come as no surprise given that Aliyev has another election to steal
this year, therefore he must stifle all sources of discontent.

More importantly, Baku is rapidly coming to the conclusion that the
West considers Azerbaijan primarily in terms of its broader strategic
interests in the region, which are shifting due to the up-coming
pull out from Afghanistan, as well as Azerbaijan’s ever declining
oil reserves. Therefore, Azerbaijan is a dispensable ‘ally’ whose
importance is likely to decrease.

Baku’s irredentist and anti-democracy schemes coincided with the first
radio broadcast of the Voice of Talyshstan from Shushi. The show is
designed for ethnic Talyshes residing in Azerbaijan as well as in
other former Soviet republics. While the program was not initiated by
the Armenian government, it nonetheless should be incorporated into
a wider public diplomacy campaign that ought to be driven by the
Armenian MFA, and include not only Azerbaijan’s ethnic minorities,
but all Azerbaijani citizens. So long as Azerbaijan lacks a free
and fair press that can present accurate descriptions of Armenia and
Armenians, public diplomacy and strategic communication will serve as
useful instruments to present Armenia’s position to the Azerbaijani
public in an accurate manner.

Vilen Khlgatyan is the Vice-Chairman of the Political Developments
Research Center (PDRC)

DOLLAR IS UNUSUALLY STABLE IN ARMENIA

The Messenger, Georgia
April 18 2013

The American national currency’s average exchange rate, against the
Armenian dram (AMD) was AMD 417/$1 on the NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock
exchange on Tuesday; this is the third consecutive trading session
that the dollar’s stock exchange rate has not changed. Tuesday’s sales
totaled $2.36 million at the stock exchange. On the cash foreign
currency market of Armenia, the US dollar is primarily bought at AMD
416/$1 and sold at AMD 417.5/$1. (News.Am)

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FROM ARFD: LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAY BE FULFILLED ONLY AFTER DIRECT APPLICATION OF THE LOCAL REFERENDUM INSTITUTE

ARMINFO
Thursday, April 18, 20:15

Until local referendum institute is not directly used in Armenia, local
government will not be fully fulfilled, a member of the parliament
from ARFD, Artsvik Minasyan, said during today’s discussion of the
problems of the Yerevan budget management. Representatives of the
parties which will run for the Yerevan Council of Elders election
took part in the event.

He thinks that nothing will change if only the Republican Party
of Armenia goes on managing the country as well as Yerevan like
a monopolist.

He said that the present annual budget of Yerevan 80 bln drams ($192
mln) may be increased up to 400 bln drams for the next 4 years. He
thinks that it is necessary to weaken financial dependence on the
government, as if in Yerevan budget 2013 only 33 bln drams (40%
out of total revenues) are the revenues of the mayor’s office, and
47 bln drams (60% out of total revenues) – are the state budgetary
appropriation, in future it will be possible to increase the share
of Yerevan revenues up to 75%. He also added that it is necessary
to direct a part of the profit tax and income tax taken by the state
from the cost created in Yerevan in the local government budget. The
attraction of the Yerevan community to the business-activity like a
shareholder as well as a participant in the agreements with a right
of having a profit, may become another source of revenues.

Minasyan offered the opposition forces, which are within the Council
of elders, to have a right to control Yerevan budget fulfillment. This
will promote raising of effectiveness of the Yerevan budget management.

For his part, vice-mayor of Yerevan, the RPA member, Vache Nikoyan,
said that the mayor’s office provides maximally possible inflow of
revenues, and uses the machinery to ensure transparency of control
over the budgetary revenues and expenditure.