Author: Karakhanian Suren

US EMBASSY MARKS RE-OPENING OF THE YEREVAN AMERICAN CORNER

armradio.am
14.04.2009 17:52

On April 14, the U.S. Embassy marked the re-opening of the Yerevan
American Corner at the City Central Library’s new location by the
Republic Square Metro Station. The inauguration also marks the Corner’s
fourth year of operations in Yerevan.

In her remarks, Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch said, "The United
States has a longstanding commitment to spreading the ideas and values
of American democracy, and to engaging and maintaining an open dialogue
with people throughout the world."

American Corners are small American-style libraries that provide
information about America in a variety of formats, including reference
books, works of fiction, journals, and videos. The Corners also provide
computers with Internet access, and offer a variety of public programs
including speakers and workshops. The American Corners are open to the
general public and access is free of charge. A network of over 400
American Corners is operating globally through partnerships between
the U.S. Department of State and local host organizations.

The American Corner program officially began in Armenia in April 2005
when the U.S. Embassy inaugurated the first Corner in Yerevan. Over the
past four years, over 35,000 people have visited the corner. Additional
Corners are located in Gyumri, Vanadzor and Kapan.

National Public Radio (NPR)
April 11, 2009 Saturday
SHOW: Weekend Edition Saturday 12:00 PM EST NPR

Genocide is a Matter of Opinion

SCOTT SIMON, host:

When President Obama was beginning his run for office, he said he
believed the 1915 slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey was not
war but genocide, that the American people deserve, quote, "a leader
who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds
forcefully to all genocides."

But when President Obama addressed the Turkish parliament this, he
referred only to, quote, "the terrible events of 1915."

I was part of a PBS program called "The Armenian Genocide." There was
no question mark in the title. I think there are times when you have
to say genocide to be accurate about mass murder that tries to
extinguish a whole group. That’s why the slaughter of a million Tutsis
in Rwanda is not called merely mass murder. An American politician who
got to Germany, for example, and called the Holocaust of European Jews
merely killings would be mocked.

Now, I don’t doubt that President Obama is still outraged by the
Armenian genocide. When he ran in the presidential primaries, it was
important to win support from people concerned about human rights, and
perhaps Armenian- Americans in California.

Now, President Obama may feel it is more important for the United
States to win Turkey’s cooperation on a range of issues than it is for
him to be consistent on a controversy that may seem like old
history. But it’s not. Almost every year the Turkish government has
charged reporters and writers, including the Nobel Laureate Orhan
Pamuk, for insulting national identity by referring to the massacre of
1.5 million Armenians as genocide.

Peter Balakian, the preeminent scholar of the genocide and
co-translator of a new widely-lauded family memoir called "Armenian
Golgotha: A Memoir of the Armenian Genocide," told us this week he
admires President Obama for telling Turkish leaders that confronting
the past and restoring good relations with Armenia is important. But
he believes that Turkey’s campaign against acknowledging its genocide
raises questions about their reliability.

Mr. Balakian told us a country that spends millions of dollars a year
in an effort to stop the facts about the Armenian genocide from being
known and that persecutes and prosecutes its own citizens for speaking
truthfully about the extermination of the Armenians is hardly a
government to trust to broker honest and just foreign policy.

In a way, the president’s choice to say killings in front of his host
may just remind us it might be wise to regard what any politician says
as the words of a suitor who coos I love you during courtship. They
mean it at the moment, but any adult should know they may not mean it
in just a few weeks.

AZERBAIJANI NGOS APPEAL TO TURKISH PUBLIC

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
April 8, 2009 Wednesday

A meeting of the Forum of Azerbaijan National Non-governmental
Organizations was held Tuesday.

President of the Forum Rauf Zeyni said Azerbaijani public is deeply
concerned about media reports on Turkish government`s intention to
open borders with Armenia.

Representatives of over 300 Azerbaijani NGOs adopted an appeal to
their Turkish colleagues. The appeal was later handed over to the
Embassy of Turkey in Baku.

The reason why we appeal to you is the latest news on intensive
discussions to open Turkish-Armenian border. Extensively spread by
the media and not definitely refuted by the Turkish leadership, these
reports made Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations seriously
concerned, appeal reads.

We consider actions towards normalization of relationship with
Armenia and opening of borders as contradicting common interests in
the light of accusations against Turkey and Azerbaijan, 100-year long
genocide claims by Armenia and Armenian Diaspora. It is well known that
Azerbaijan-Turkey relationship began from time immemorial and continued
to date after undergoing trials of centuries, the appeal notes.

Unfortunately, after the Justice and Development Party`s coming to
power, the Turkish government started taking steps, unilaterally
compromising, towards rapprochement with Armenia, which raise
territorial claims against our countries. We urge you the Turkish
government, which has always supported fair position of our peoples,
Turkish NGOs and media to voice your protest against steps towards
opening of borders with Armenia. We are confident that you will not
remain indifferent to our appeal, the appeal said.

TURKISH MINISTER NOTES PROGRESS IN TALKS WITH ARMENIA

Anadolu Agency
April 7 2009
Turkey

Istanbul, 7 April: Turkish foreign minister said [on] Tuesday [7 April]
that Turkey and Armenia have been in talks for months to normalize
relations and that the two countries have come a long way.

At a press conference after the Second Forum of the Alliance of
Civilizations in Istanbul, Ali Babacan said different problems between
Turkey and Armenia were discussed in detail in this normalization
process.

"We are working on a comprehensive solution and our talks are going
well. We have made significant progress so far and both parties have
declared satisfaction over the process several times," Babacan told
reporters.

"I think third countries should act sensitively during this ongoing
process," he said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are also holding talks to resolve the Upper
Karabakh dispute, Babacan recalled.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan met three times so far for a resolution.

Babacan said what Turkey aimed was peace, stability and prosperity
around Turkey.

"This is already the theme of the forum of the Alliance of
Civilizations," he said.

ARMENIA TO MAKE MOTIONS IN STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE

Panorama.am
17:35 08/04/2009

The co-chair of the European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Co-operation
Committee Avet Adonts said today that a document has been signed by
the EU Delegation and Armenian party including various aspects of
cooperation, in particular, EU-Armenia relations, in-house situation,
economic policy, regional affairs and Nagorno Karabakh conflict. "This
document is the richest and most effective one regarding its content,"
said Mr. Adonts. The co-chair of the same committee Marie Ann
Izler Begenn said that their delegation conducts mission in three
countries of Caucasus and their vision is to conduct a balanced
policy, "especially regarding the conflicts". Regarding Armenia’s
participation to "Easter Partnership" platform, the EU co-chair said
that in Stockholm conference scheduled in May the countries of the
Southern Caucasus, as well as Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova are welcome
to make recommendations for their participation.

ANNUNCIATION ICON RETURNED TO GANDZASAR CHURCH

NOYAN TAPAN
STEPANAKERT
APRIL 7, 2009

On April 7 in Stepanakert NKR President Bako Sahakian took part in the
solemn ceremony organized on the occasion of returning the Annunciation
Icon kept at Artsakh Historic-Geographic Museum in connection with
of the 20th anniversary of Artsakh diocese reopening.

Noyan Tapan was informed about it by the General Information Department
of NKR President’s Press Office.

OBAMA SAYS U.S., TURKEY CAN BE MODEL FOR WORLD

CNN.com
April 6, 2009 Monday 12:36 PM EST

President Obama ended his first overseas trip in Turkey — a location
he said he chose to send a clear message.

"I’m trying to make a statement about the importance of Turkey, not
just to the United States but to the world," Obama said at a joint
news conference Monday with Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

"This is a country that has been often said lies at the crossroads
between East and West. It’s a country that possesses an extraordinarily
rich heritage but also represents a blend of those ancient traditions
with a modern nation state that respects democracy, respects rule of
law and is striving toward a modern economy."

Obama said Monday that the United States and Turkey can send a powerful
message to the world through their friendship.

"I think that where there’s the most promise of building stronger
U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United
States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian
nation, a predominantly Muslim nation — a Western nation and a nation
that straddles two continents," he continued, "that we can create a
modern international community that is respectful, that is secure,
that is prosperous, that there are not tensions — inevitable tensions
between cultures — which I think is extraordinarily important."

U.S. approval ratings among Turks hit dismal lows throughout the
Bush administration, largely because of the war in neighboring Iraq,
which was widely unpopular in Turkey.

The Turks seem to be captivated, however, by the new American
president, according to one influential newspaper.

On Monday, the Hurriyet published a front-page headline saying,
"Welcome Mr. President. … Our hearts have been broken over the last
eight years, now it is time to mend hearts."

Middle East analyst Reza Aslan said Monday that following years of
frosty relations, Obama wants to strengthen ties with Turkey to send
a signal to other Muslim nations.

"Turkey is the most important majority-Muslim state when it comes to
the United States’ interest in the region," he said.

"He wants to make the U.S.-Turkey relations the bedrock for the way
in which he’s going to reach out to the rest of the Muslim world,"
Aslan added.

Obama said Monday that "one of the great strengths of the United
States" is that it does not consider itself "a Christian nation or a
Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of
citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. I think modern
Turkey was founded with a similar set of principles."

In an address before the Turkish Parliament later Monday, Obama
acknowledged that "the trust that binds the United States and Turkey
has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places
where the Muslim faith is practiced."

Obama said, "So let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States
is not and will never be at war with Islam."

On his first presidential visit to a Muslim country, Obama
highlighted that he too had Muslims in his family and had lived in
a Muslim-majority country.

Obama also called on Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member country, to
work side by side with the United States to resolve conflicts across
the turbulent Middle East.

The president reiterated American support for Turkey’s bid to join
the European Union, a position that was recently criticized by French
President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said Obama’s visit to
Turkey is an "important step for the president."

"Turkey is a very important country — one of our critical members
of NATO. They play an important role in helping to support troops in
both Iraq and Afghanistan. They will hopefully play a role in helping
to bring about a Middle East peace settlement," he said.

Turkey sends "a very important signal to the rest of the Muslim world
that the United States is not anti-Muslim as so many have thought
we have been, but rather here is a very strong Muslim nation that is
working hand in hand with the United States," Cohen said.

Obama on Monday avoided pushing for a pledge he made during his
presidential campaign to recognize officially the massacre of ethnic
Armenians in 1915 as a genocide. Turkey vehemently denies Armenian
claims that 1 million Armenians were killed in the last days of the
Ottoman Empire.

Instead, the American president highlighted recent diplomatic progress
made between the governments of Turkey and Armenia, saying he was
"not interested in the U.S. tilting this negotiation in any way."

Turkey and Armenia do not have formal diplomatic relations and their
borders are closed.

However, last fall the Turkish president went to a soccer match
in Armenia, and Armenia’s top diplomat was expected to attend a
U.N.-sponsored "Alliance of Civilizations" forum Monday in Istanbul,
Turkey.

Obama hinted that a major diplomatic breakthrough between the two
rivals may come soon.

"My sense is they are moving forward quickly," he said at an earlier
press conference with Gul. "I don’t want to pre-empt any arrangements
that could be made in the near future."

OBAMA PRAISES TURKEY, URGES ARMENIA RECONCILIATION
Stephen Collinson

Agence France Presse
April 6, 2009 Monday 7:38 PM GMT

US President Barack Obama, seeking to boost ties with a key Muslim
ally, touted Washington’s strong ties with Turkey Monday and tread
carefully on neighbouring Armenia’s decades-old genocide claims.

The US president also reiterated his support for Turkey’s bid to join
the European Union as he met with the country’s leaders and addressed
parliament in his first trip to a mainly Muslim nation since taking
office in January.

He urged Turkey and Armenia to move forward in their tentative dialogue
to normalise ties and signalled he would not interfere in their dispute
over whether the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire was
"genocide".

Obama promised during his election campaign to recognise the 1915-1917
killings as genocide, a label Ankara rejects, but avoided using the
politically-charged word here.

"I want to focus not on my views right now, but on the views of the
Turkish and Armenian people," he told a joint press conference with
Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul in Ankara.

"I’m not interested in the United States in any way tilting these
negotiations one way or another while (the two countries) are having
useful negotiations," Obama said.

The US president delivered his message personally to the foreign
ministers of Turkey and Armenia later Monday when he met them at
a reception in Istanbul — the second leg of his Turkey visit —
for guests attending an international forum on bridging divisions
between the Islamic World and the West.

Obama "urged them (Ali Bacacan of Turkey and Eduard Nalbandian of
Armenia) to complete an agreement with dispatch," a senior US official
said on condition of anonymity.

For a second straight day, Obama expressed support for Turkey’s EU
ambitions. He had already voiced his backing on Sunday at an EU summit
in Prague, drawing opposition from France and Germany.

"Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe,"
Obama said in a speech to the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

"Let me be clear: the United States strongly supports Turkey’s bid to
become a member of the European Union," he said. "Turkish membership
would broaden and strengthen Europe’s foundation once more."

Obama also expressed desire to consolidate US-Turkish relations which
cooled down notably in 2003 after Ankara refused US troops permission
to use its territory to invade Iraq from the north.

"I do not think they ever deteriorated so far that we ceased to be
friends and allies. What I hope to do is build on what is already a
strong foundation," he said at the press conference with Gul.

Turkey and the United States could set an example to the world by
building a "model partnership" based on their respect for religious
freedom and rule of law, Obama said.

"If we are joined together in delivering that message East and West,
to the world, I think we can have an extraordinary impact," he added.

Turkey has been a close ally of the United States in a strategic
region between Europe, the Caucasus and the Middle East, bordering
troubled countries such as Georgia, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

But the country’s Islamist-rooted government has recently given rise
to fears that it is drifting away fom the West, forging closer ties
with Iran, welcoming leaders of the radical Palestinian movement
Hamas in Ankara and keeping friendly relations with Sudan.

Obama’s two-day visit to Turkey is largely seen as an effort to keep
the country firmly anchored in the West through its NATO membership
and its EU bid.

Leftist groups staged demonstrations in several cities to protest
Obama’s visit, denouncing US policies in the region as "imperialist."

Demonstrators tore apart an Obama effigy in downtown Ankara, where
police detained about 20 people when they attempted to break through
a security barricade and march to parliament.

APA, Azerbaijan
April 7 2009

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: "IF TURKEY CONTINUES TO LAY DOWN PRECONDITIONS, DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES WILL BE PUT TO AN END"

Yerevan – APA. "If Turkey continues to lay down preconditions for
normalization of ties with Armenia, dialogue between the countries
will be put to an end, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian
said, APA reports quoting Panarmenian.

He stressed that Armenia’s position on the issue remains unchanged.

"Turkish -Armenian relations can be normalized without
preconditions. Only in this case we’ll be ready to continue our
dialogue with Turkey. If Turkey continues to lay down preconditions
for the reopening of borders with Armenia, we will regard it as the
end of the dialogue," he said.

BARACK OBAMA MEETS TURKISH PRESIDENT

ArmInfo
2009-04-06 15:06:00

ArmInfo. Within the frames of his two-day visit to Turkey, US President
Barack Obama met Head of the Turkish State Abdullah Gul.

As Turkish sources report, the main topic for the U.S. was
expected to be Turkey’s support during the troop withdrawal
from Iraq. The Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict, energy diplomacy,
Iran and stronger transatlantic relations, as well as the Armenian
Genocide and its possible recognition by the USA were also expected
to be discussed. After the meeting the sides were to give a joint
press-conference.

After his meeting with Gul, Obama is make a speech at the Turkish
Parliament. During his visit to Parliament, he will hold talks with
the speaker as well as with the leaders of political parties. Obama
officially began his Turkey visit after laying a wreath at Anitkabir,
the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to pay his respects to the
founder of the modern Turkish Republic. "I am honored to pay tribute
to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a man whose vision, tenacity, and courage
put the Republic of Turkey on the path of democracy and whose legacy
continues to inspire generations around the world.

To note, Ataturk continued his predecessors Young Turks’ policy of
the Armenian Genocide in East Armenia. It was he that expressed the
intention to destroy the Armenian army and Armenian State, and fight
any movement aiming to create independent Armenia. Furthermore, he
headed the pogroms and massacre of the Christian population during
the Armenian-Turkish (1920) and Greek-Turkish (1919-22) wars.