Author: Kanayan Tamar

DEMOCRAT: THE NEGOTIATING PROCESS ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE FROZEN

arminfo
Friday, September 14, 17:06

The negotiating process on Karabakh conflict settlement should be
frozen, the leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, Aram Sargsyan,
said at today’s press-conference.

He said that after pardoning of Ramil Safarov and dissemination of
Armenophobia in Azerbaijan, there is no sense to gather around the
negotiating table, as all possible compromises between the parties to
the conflict have been exhausted. He thinks that the Armenian parties
should agree to continue the negotiating process only if official
Baku apologizes. At the same time, he added that Armenia should not
be in a hurry to recognize Nagornyy Karabakh Republic, as before that
there are more important processes to be implemented. “According
to international norms, Armenia should first recognize legitimacy
of the NKR leaving Azerbaijan, then legitimacy of the NKR creation
and only after that to recognize independence of the NKR basing on
international experience”, – Sargsyan said. He also did not rule out
resumption of battle actions in Karabakh and added that Azerbaijan
cannot start them alone. As for Armenia, it must conduct such a policy
which will give an opportunity to ensure security not only of the
NKR and Armenia but also of all the Armenians in abroad, he said.

DENNIS SAMMUT: THERE IS A VERY WORRYING TREND IN DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WITH SMALL MEASURES
by David Stepanyan

Interview of Dennis Sammut, Executive Director of LINKS with ARMINFO
News Agency

arminfo
Thursday, September 13, 21:10

The extradition of Ramil Safarov has already resulted in the
cancellation of a range of initiatives aimed at developing
Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue. Is it possible to continue efforts
to establish a dialogue between the Armenian and Azerbaijani public
as a precondition to resolving the Karabakh conflict, as the OSCE MG
co-chairs have repeatedly mentioned it?

Dialogue and public diplomacy were the first victims of the events of
the last two weeks. The same thing happened in 2004 when the murder
took place in Budapest. It took a lot of work and effort to restore at
least a minimum level of dialogue, but it was achieved. The same must
happen now. Those calling for cutting of people to people contacts
are simply playing into the hands of extremists.

Evidently, extradition and glorification of the murderer Safarov will
affect not only the region and the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations,
but also the policy of Yerevan and Baku with regard to international
partners. What do you predict will be the consequences of the current
situation?

There is undoubtedly concern in the international community about
how the events surrounding the release of Safarov unfolded. I think
what irritated European countries in particular was the lack of
sensitivity. The perception that Azerbaijan did not act properly will
linger for some time. In the end it will depend on future actions
too. But there is no doubt that Azerbaijani diplomacy will have some
hard work to do to restore the confidence of international partners.

Safarov’s pardon has made Aliyev more popular inside Azerbaijan , even
if such actions contradict international diplomacy and International
Law. Can one conclude that the retention of power has become the
priority for Aliyev, superseding even the international interests of
Azerbaijan ?

Every government has to balance between domestic and foreign policy.

The government of Azerbaijan is not an exception. Nor is the
government of Armenia. However these issues, and the whole debate
over Nagorno-Karabakh should not be instrumentalised for short term
political gain. There will be Presidential elections in both Armenia
and Azerbaijan next year. We should expect a lot of rhetoric, but we
need to see statesmanship not cheap politics.

The years of negotiations within the Minsk Group have already shown
that it is impossible to speak of Nagorno Karabakh’s future without
taking into consideration the realities of the last twenty years.

That is, “return” of disputed territories to the former
mini-metropolises is out of question regardless of the claims of
territorial integrity of entities established in the Soviet Union. Do
you think that the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
in this context has any perspective?

We tend to see these things in black and white terms. A solution over
Nagorno Karabakh is never going to be either black or white, but some
shade of grey. The future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is perhaps the
most difficult aspect of the conflict and will be determined last.

This status needs to be underpinned by two considerations: the
security of all states and the safety of all citizens, particularly
of minorities living amongst majorities. The return to Azerbaijan of
territory around Nagorno-Karabakh currently under Armenian occupation
is generally accepted to be a precondition.

What should the international community be doing at this stage?

The Safarov incident has shown once more that the Karabakh conflict is
a difficult and serious problem with the potential to spiral quickly
into a big problem. Big problems require big solutions. There is a very
worrying trend in diplomatic circles to try to address the problem
with small measures. This is not going to work. Confidence building
measures, public diplomacy and people to people contacts are important,
even vital for any peace process to succeed. However they can be most
useful if they are developed in tandem with a proper peace process.

We need a big gesture from the international community on Karabakh
– something that the sides can see is serious, and can engage with
seriously, because if they don’t they have something to loose.

ARMENIANS IN HUNGARY GIVE PRESS CONFERENCE, DECRY SAFAROV’S EXTRADITION

04:06 pm | Today | Politics

Armenian National Autonomy of Hungary convened a press conference
which was attended by representatives of influential Hungarian media.

With the move, the Autonomy aimed to attract the attention of the
international community to the extradition and pardoning of Azeri
axe-killer Ramil Safarov, which the Autonomy views as a rough violation
of the fundamental principles of international law.

Present at the news conference were Sevan Sargsian, Chairman of the
organization and Deputy Chairmen Nokoghos Hakobyan and Alex Avanesyan,
reports the Department of Armenian Communities of Europe of the RA
Ministry of Diaspora.

The participants criticized the justice system and executive body of
Hungary. The Autonomy will continue taking every effort to promote
fair punishment for Azeri murderer Ramil Safarov and to sober up the
international community.

TEVAN POGHOSYAN TO REPLACE RAFFI HOVANNISIAN IN PARLIAMENT – HERITAGE

NEWS.AM
September 14, 2012 | 12:13

YEREVAN.- Leader of Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian will be replaced
in parliament by party’s 6th number in the proportional list,
independent candidate Tevan Poghosyan.

Addressing reporters in the parliament, head of Heritage parliamentary
group Ruben Hakobyan said party’s proportional list will not undergo
any changes.

Hakobyan did not share the opinion of reporters that Raffi
Hovannisian’s behavior can be labeled as “uncertainty syndrome”.

“Raffi Hovannisian takes precise moves. Those political forces
surprised by his actions should rather care about what people think
about them,” he added.

MICHAEL KAMBECK: SAFAROV MUST APPEAR ON EUROPOL AND INTERPOL LISTS

ARMRADIO.AM
14.09.2012 13:58

EurActiv.com has published an article by Michael Kambeck,
Secretary-General of the European Friends of Armenia, titled “EU Must
Act to Avert another Caucasus Conflict.”

Michael Kambeck argues that Azerbaijan should face EU sanctions over
its decision to pardon a soldier convicted of killing an Armenian
counterpart during a NATO-sponsored training exercise.

“In an unprecedented manner, European and other international
institutions have declared their solidarity with Armenia and condemned
the latest provocation of Azerbaijan, the pardoning and public
glorification of the convicted murderer Ramil Safarov by President
Ilham Aliyev.

A court in Hungary imposed a lifetime sentence on Safarov, after
he was convicted of using an axe to kill sleeping Armenian officer
Gurgen Margaryan with 16 strikes to the head in 2004 while they were
both on a NATO-sponsored English training exercise in Budapest.

On 31 August, Safarov was extradited to Baku, where the government
already years ago awarded him the honour of a national hero for this
barbaric act.

The crisis now erupted when Aliyev decided to pardon him immediately
upon arrival, to pay him eight years of salary and offer him an
apartment, to promote him to the rank of major and to present him to
a crowd of cheering children as a hero on prime-time TV.

Why are emotions so high in this case and why should the EU care?

First the murder and conviction happened in the EU member state
Hungary, which until the last moment signaled to Armenia that no
extradition was foreseen.

Now relations between Armenia and Hungary are suspended and right in
the middle of concluding a new and very comprehensive EU Association
Agreement, Armenia feels let down by an EU, which seems too weak to
prevent such events from happening.

Secondly, because the valid conviction of an EU member state’s court
was circumvented by a third country and de facto weakens the EU’s
power to enforce its legal verdicts. Azerbaijan confirmed in writing
to Hungary that Safarov would continue serving his life-time prison
sentence in Azerbaijan.

Hungary published the respective Azerbaijani letters, while
Fuad Alasgarov, a senior advisor in the Azerbaijani presidential
administration, noted in trend.az that “the Hungarian court only
prohibited the sentenced person’s release on parole within 30 years
from the date of pronouncement of the judgment. This restriction did
not concern the possibility of pardon or amnesty for the sentenced
person.”

As ridiculous as such arguments are, they reveal the nature of the
regime with which the EU is making energy deals and with which Armenia
‘negotiates’ for a settlement of the precarious Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

This conflict is the third reason why Europe should care, because it is
no longer a “frozen conflict”, despite the valid Bishkek ceasefire of
1994. Before that, the 85% majority of ethnically Armenian population
of Karabakh took up left-over Soviet arms to stop large-scale ethnic
cleansing and the harshly discriminatory governance exercised by
Azerbaijan in this enclave.

If this conflict, by means of similar crises, re-erupts, Europe would
have to pay the bill in many ways. Crude oil prices would skyrocket,
tracks of refugees would move into Europe and everything built up
in the South Caucasus over the last 20 years, both economically and
politically, would be shattered.

The pardoning of Safarov by Azerbaijan in this provocative style
raised calls among the Armenian opposition to demand a harsh response,
like the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic.

With emotions understandably high, such steps can quickly deliver the
excuse to Aliyev to overreact even more and stop the OSCE-Minsk-Group
mediated negotiations, which he has been trying to replace for several
years now.

The Minsk Group has always resisted to follow Baku’s maximalist
demand whereby “first all Armenian-controlled territories must be
given to Azerbaijan”.

The co-chairs know that such a step would be practically impossible and
lead first to a security vacuum and then to war. Baku anyway constantly
threatens to resort to war. But the Safarov case now demonstrates that
after years of petro-dollar financed armament and economic growth,
Baku does not feel the need to respect anyone or anything and even
includes an EU member state in its provocation strategy.

To pardon such a brutal murderer and to glorify him publicly is nothing
but a demonstration of disrespect for European values as much as for
the EU and its member state Hungary.

After a long list of condemnations ranging from the UN Secretary
General to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, now
the real work has to begin.

First, Safarov must appear on the Europol and Interpol lists, so that
he cannot set foot upon any soil outside Azerbaijan, certainly not
in Europe. Secondly, Armenia and Hungary must now work behind the
scenes to re-establish their historically good relations.

Both countries are old Christian countries and gateways between East
and West.

Thirdly, the EU must rethink and reform its approach to Azerbaijan,
treating it not less but more critically than Belarus, which is known
to have the same internally repressive regime style, but neither the
militarisation nor the state-promoted xenophobia of Azerbaijan.

We cannot explain to European voters that we implement EU-funded
programmes with the oil-rich and notoriously anti-democratic government
in Baku and conclude large-scale energy deals with them, while we
apply sanctions against Belarus.

And finally, Armenia must now find clever answers, without stepping
into the trap of a counter-provocation, which Aliyev is surely
hoping for.

A new war on Europe’s eastern periphery would in no way be comparable
to the Karabakh war of the early 1990s and have dramatic consequences
for the region and for Europe. To avoid this, the state-promoted
xenophobia against neighboring Armenia and the increasing nationalism
in Azerbaijan must be contained and met with the strongest possible
response by Europe and the international community.”

KURDS ARE THE INHABITANTS OF THE SOUTHERN PART OF WESTERN ARMENIA

14:06 | 2012-09-14 | Armenia | Diaspora |

ACNIS expert, Saro Saroyan, had an interview with journalists and
talked about the situation in Western Armenia.

“The southern part, of Western Armenia is full of Kurds and when you
enter there it seems that you are on a military base. All of them are
armed and are waiting to take actions if necessary. There is a great
fear that the Kurds will get angry and attack the Turkish government,
which will bring a lot of problems”.

The expert also noted that in Western Armenia the Turkish “gendarme”
always tries to put pressure on the citizens.

“Armenians living in Mush and Sasun are kind of in good condition
than the rest of Armenians. The mentioned citizens are Muslims and
don’t know Armenian. Acceding to them they adopted Muslim by their
wish and nobody made them do it. May be they weren’t against that
action but I’m sure that their ancestors were.”

The expert also touched upon the ongoing developments in Syria.

“I hope that al-Asaad’s regime won’t fall down, because it won’t be
good for Christians. Turkey does everything, supplies weapons and
everything else, in order to overthrow al-Asaad’s regime. If Turkey
fails, then it will face a lot of problems.”

In the end Saroyan noted that nowadays, Western Armenia is separated
in two parts: Southern and Northern. The Northern part is controlled
by Turks and the Southern part by Kurds, and there is a huge conflict
in the region.

MEPS CONDEMNED THE ACQUITTAL IN AZERBAIJAN’S ARMENIAN MURDERER OF AN OFFICER
Attila KISBENEDEK

RIA Novost
14/09/2012
Brussels

The European Parliament in a resolution condemned the acquittal in
Azerbaijan Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani who in 2004 killed an Armenian
officer while attending courses together about NATO in Hungary.

The document stresses that the pardon granted to Safarov contradicts
“the diplomatic agreement” between the governments of Baku and Budapest
and can contribute to the escalation of tensions between Armenia and
Azerbaijan around the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

MEPs also regretted that the murderer was tried amnesty in Azerbaijan
with honors “hero”.

Armenia suspended Aug. 31 diplomatic relations with Hungary after
the controversial extradition Ramil Safarov Azerbaijani Lieutenant,
sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Armenian military
Gurguén Margarian, in 2004, and pardoned just inside the homeland.

President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, described the decision
grave error of Hungary and accused of agreeing to a compromise with
Azerbaijan. According to the press, Azerbaijan plans to invest up to
three billion euros in sovereign bond purchases in Hungary.

Armenia and Azerbaijan for over two decades faced by Nagorno-Karabakh,
an area of â~@~Kâ~@~Kmostly Armenian population in 1988 was separated
from the then Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan for three years
later proclaim independence.

The secession led to a war between Baku and Yerevan, which lasted
until May 1994 as a result of which Azerbaijan lost control over
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.

Since 1992, the Karabakh settlement is being negotiated in the
framework of the Minsk Group of the OSCE co-chaired by the U.S., France
and Russia. Azerbaijan insists restore its territorial integrity and
Armenia defends the interests of the rebel republic of Karabakh is
not part of the negotiating process.

KURDS AND (THE TURKISH) WAY
By ANDREW FINKEL

September 5, 2012, 11:06 am 22 Comments

ISTANBUL – When I first started covering Turkey in the early 1990s,
my foreign colleagues and I were sometimes mocked for referring
to the brewing resentment in southeastern Turkey as “the Kurdish
problem.” There was no sectarian or ethnic discrimination, we
were told; the problem was terrorism. The Kurdistan Workers Party,
better known as the PKK, resorted to violence and extortion, which
no civilized society could abide.

How can Ankara deal with Kurds beyond its borders if it can’t manage
relations with its Kurds at home?

The major flaw in this argument was that the Turkish state also
resorted to tactics unworthy of a civilized society. For years, to
argue for Kurdish rights – let alone regional autonomy – or simply
to write in Kurdish could mean prison; such acts were considered
aiding and abetting terrorism. Kurdish political parties were shut
down. Political activists were tortured. In what became Turkey’s own
dirty war, thousands of people were assassinated or disappeared.

It’s not just the Kurds who suffered. Fear of Kurdish secession has
long been the canker in Turkish democracy, the justification for a raft
of laws that restrict human rights and the freedom of expression. Now
it is compromising Turkey’s attempt to play a greater role in its
region, particularly as Syria implodes. How can Ankara deal with Kurds
beyond its borders if it can’t manage relations with its Kurds at home?

And as long as Turkey blurs the line between terrorism and legitimate
protest, it will continue to alienate its Kurdish population while
legitimating the men of violence.

A Kurdish man wearing a T-shirt with the portrait of Abdullah Ocalan,
the jailed PKK leader, guards a checkpoint near the Syrian-Turkish
border. Aris Messinis/Agence France-Presse – Getty ImagesA Kurdish
man wearing a T-shirt with the portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed
PKK leader, guards a checkpoint near the Syrian-Turkish border.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) was aware of this challenge
when it came to office in 2002. And so in early 2009, after having
consolidated power, it initiated a “Kurdish opening.” It started a
Kurdish-language television station and offered amnesty to young PKK
militants to lure them back into civilian life.

But that opening famously shut down in October 2009, after the
PKK tried to cast as a victory parade the return of a group of its
militants at the Habur border crossing with Iraq. The AKP, despite
commanding a strong majority in Parliament, simply wasn’t prepared
to brave nationalist sentiment and the many Turks who saw compromise
as weakness. Just as in Northern Ireland, where a bloodier-than-thou
faction of the IRA was shadowing the peace process, there were factions
within the PKK with no intention of giving peace a chance.

After Habur, the Turkish government abandoned the carrot and picked
up the stick. It was determined to stop the spread of a campaign of
civil disobedience to cities with large Kurdish populations, by way
of mass arrests and pretrial detention.

These harsh policies have brought Turkey little security, and the
bloody events in Syria are now making matters worse. President Bashar
al-Assad of Syria has voluntarily ceded control of the Kurdish north
of his country to the Democratic Union Party, a Syrian variant of
the PKK. There has recently been an upsurge in PKK attacks against
Turkish soldiers and police near the Iranian border, as well as a
rise in acts of random terrorism – including a bomb explosion on
Aug. 20 near a police station in Gaziantep that killed 10 civilians.

Many suspect the bloodshed is the direct result of political games in
Syria, as well as a ploy by Iran to use the PKK against the Turkish
government to punish it for supporting the Syrian opposition.

Ankara has not responded so far, but it could get sucked into the
conflict by trying to enforce a buffer zone along the Syrian border.

It is already trying to get the international community to establish
a no-fly zone to protect the growing tide of refugees from Syria.

Some of those are deserters from the Syrian Army, and there is little
doubt that the Turkish government is encouraging them to re-enter
the fight on the side of the rebels.

All this has prompted Cemil Cicek, the speaker of Parliament and
a former hardline AKP minister of justice, to call for a “national
consensus” – code for re-opening the Turkish government’s Kurdish
initiative and granting Kurds more power locally. This sort of plan
might have worked miracles decades ago. And it might still succeed
today, except that Cicek is being criticized, and by his own party.

Instead of declaring that there is no Kurdish problem, as it did two
decades ago, the Turkish government now appears to be saying there
is no Kurdish solution. Does that count as progress?

____________________________________________________________________________

Andrew Finkel has been a foreign correspondent in Istanbul for over
20 years, as well as a columnist for Turkish-language newspapers. He
is the author of the book “Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

YEREVAN POLICE OFFICER COMMITS SUICIDE

news.am
September 14, 2012 | 11:27

YEREVAN. – A 27-year-old law enforcement officer ended his life on
Friday in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan, the Police press service
informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Police officer K. Manukyan committed suicide by hanging himself in
a detached house at around 6:30am.

His dead body was discovered at the back of the home’s storage room.

ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED IN CYPRUS

tert.am
14.09.12

The Hilton Park Nicosia Hotel hosted on Wednesday celebrations
dedicated to Armenia’s independence holiday and the 20th anniversary
of the Armenian-Cypriot diplomatic ties.

Armenian FM Edward Nalbandyan, who is on an official visit to the EU
chairing state, was also present at the ceremony together with several
Cypriot officials, including President Demetris Christofias, Parliament
Speaker Yianakis Omirou, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis,
as well as members of the country’s government and parliament,
foreign diplomats and representatives of the local Armenian community.

In his greeting remark devoted to Armenia’s national holiday,
Nalbandyan said he was very happy that the 21st anniversary of
independence coincides with the 20th year since the establishment of
the Armenian-Cypriot diplomatic relations.

“The Armenian-Cypriot inter-state relations have a special content
and quality thanks to the historically close ties and solid friendship
between our states.

We have over twenty licensed agreements in the investment, education,
healthcare, agriculture, tourism, civil aviation and defense sectors.

That lays a firm foundation for the implementation of different joint
projects. The two countries’ parliaments collaborate actively thanks
to the Armenian-Cypriot parliamentary committee.

What has been done over the past twenty years is our joint
achievement. Today, we have a strong will to open new ways for out
bilateral friendly cooperation,” Nalbandyan said.

Summing up, Armenia’s top diplomat thanked the participants for
joining the celebrations.

President Christofias later greeted the participants and delivered
a congratulatory address.