Author: Khondkarian Raffi

TURKISH PM’S ACCUSATION OF ISRAEL WILL NOT SCORE POINTS FOR TURKEY, NEITHER AFFECT ANKARA’S INTEGRATION TO EU

Trend
Feb 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s emotional speech against
Israel’s hostilities in Gaza and his following leaving the room in
Davos did not boost Turkey’s standing either in the region, Europe,
or the U.S.. But that will not affect Turkey’s integration in the
European Union, experts say.

"I do not think that this behavior will be seen a good light in
Europe," European expert for Balkan countries policies, Dr. James
Ker-Lindsay wrote Trend News via e-mail.

During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
last week Turkish Prime Minister was indignant that he was given
less time to speak than the Israeli President and accused Israel
of aggression and killing civilians during a three-week military
operation in the Gaza Strip, which officially ended on Jan. 18. Upon
completion of his speech, Erdogan left the room.

This is not the first time that Turkish Prime expressed his sharp views
and left the room. Emotional accusations against Israel could be heard
as early as 2004, when Erdogan condemned Israel for assassination of
the ideological leader of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

While on an official visit to Brussels in January, Erdogan responded
in a rather abrupt manner to a Cyprus MP who had said Turkish troops
are invaders.

Emotionality of the Turkish leader was perceived with frowns in
Europe. It will adversely affect Turkey’s position in the Middle East.

Lindsey believes Erdogan already has a reputation for letting his
temper get the better of him.

"Of course, tensions do emerge between European leaders and sometimes
these get very heated. However, such outbursts are usually kept behind
closed doors," wrote London School of Economics and Political Science
(LSE) leading expert for Balkan countries policies James Ker-Lindsay.

Turkey has always been a key player in the Middle East and in the
peace process in particular, Fabrizio Tassinari, European expert on
Mediterranean region, said.

Precisely because it combines its traditional ties with the Arab-Muslim
world with very close political and economic relations with Israel,
Tassinari, Associate Fellow of Centre for European Policy Studies
(CEPS) Brussels, told TrendNews via e-mail.

After this incident, it is unlikely that Israel will trust Turkey and
support its mediation in settling Middle East conflict, Lindsey said.

Turkey will prove itself to be more powerful in the region if it could
really mediate a final resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue,
Michael Emerson, European expert on EU relations with Turkey and
Cyprus, said.

For the moment Erdogan’s action is just words, Emerson, Programme
Director for Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) Brussels,
told TrendNews via e-mail.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988
due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group (Russia, France and USA) have held peaceful negotiations
over 15 years. Over the recent period, Turkey has been actively making
an initiative of mediation in the conflict.

I don’t think it will do much harm to Turkey’s EU integration at this
stage – but only because there appears to be no integration to speak
of at the moment, Lindsey said.

Turkish political scientist Deniz Altınbas, however, considers that
the last events will not create problems in the process of Turkey’s
entrance into the European Union. She said that Erdogan’s speech
strengthened his position in the Middle East.

"Moreover, strengthening Turkey as regional player increases its
chances for entrance into the European Union," Altınbas, expert of
Eurasian center for strategic studies, told TrendNews in a telephone
conversation from Ankara.

The talks on entrance of Ankara into the European Union started in
2005. According to the forecasts of experts, it will be able to become
full-right member of the EU for 10-15 years.
–Boundary_(ID_rFBsJO+/ANaqU8ll2X2MDw)–

A TITANIC LOVE STORY
By Mike Moore

Journal Times
/03/local_news/doc4988ed7365966790412812.txt
Feb 4 2009
WI

Couple with family connection to ship wins wedding contest

Nearly a century before Leonardo DiCaprio clung to Kate Winslet,
David Vartanian lived a real "Titanic" love story.

He was a third-class passenger on the ship, the broken halves of
which slipped under the Atlantic Ocean’s surface early on his 22nd
birthday. Back home in Turkish Armenia, his wife, Mary, thought he
was among the more than 1,500 who had died.

Vartanian survived and woke up in a New York hospital. It took him
several years to locate Mary as she ran from Turkish persecution
and several more years to afford a reunion. Around 1923, the couple
finally met midway across a Niagara Falls bridge.

When his great-granddaughter heard about a contest to hold a wedding
at the Milwaukee Public Museum’s "Titanic" exhibit, the irony
was impossible to pass up. Melissa Vartanian, 28, and her fiance,
30-year-old Racine native Vache Mikaelian, won the free May 15 wedding
after sharing her family connection.

"It’s sort of the greatest love story that we know," she said. "It’s
great to pay tribute to that on the day we’re starting on our own
great love story."

The couple received the most votes in an online poll. Case High
School graduates Nesli Karul and Preston Brown also were among the
three finalists selected by the station’s staff.

The winners got plenty of help from St. Hagop Armenian Apostolic Church
in Caledonia, where they met. The announcement was made Tuesday on
"The Morning Blend," a television show on WTMJ that held the contest.

"Had it just been a wedding they were throwing, we probably wouldn’t
have applied," Vartanian said.

The setting sold them. David Vartanian died before Melissa was born,
but she has always been drawn to his tale.

As he told family, he had just married Mary in 1911 when he left
home to avoid being drafted into the unscrupulous Turkish army. When
the Titanic sank, he survived in the freezing water by clinging to
a lifeboat. At first, passengers worried he would climb aboard the
already crowded boat and sink it.

"They started to hit his hands with the oars," Vartanian said. "They
tried to drown him."

The brush she and her fiance will have with the Titanic promises to be
much less stressful, although just as visible. Viewers will be allowed
to select the rings, dresses, cakes and other essentials for their
wedding based on the couple’s top choices. That doesn’t faze them.

"We knew what we were getting into," Mikaelian said.

Unlike David when he boarded the ship in April 1912, they know the
drama is coming.

MIRMAHMUD MIRALIOGHLU: "NO TIES BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA ARE POSSIBLE UNLESS THE KARABAKH PROBLEM IS RESOLVED"

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
URL:
Jan 3 2009

"Turkey borders on Armenia, therefore, unless there is this border,
it connects the countries", said chairman of the Classical Front
Party of Azerbaijan Mirmahmud Miralioghlu.

He said the talks that Turkey has just started to strengthen ties
with Armenia are senseless as these countries have been maintaining
ties with each other.

"In some periods of time these relations were getting closer and in
others they grew weaker. At the same time currently I do not think
that these ties will be stronger than ever and all problems between
Turkey and Armenia will be settled this year. It is clear who is at
power in Turkey and which policy this country holds.

Regardless of the level of relations between Turkey and Armenia, there
can be no ties between the countries unless the Karabakh problem is
resolved", said Miralioghlu.

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN MEETS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ORANGE ARMENIA COMPANY

armradio.am
03.02.2009 12:37

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received the Director General of the
France Telecom (Orange Armenia) Company, Bruno Duthoit. The Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia, Serge Smessov,
and Director and shareholder of the Grand Thornton Amio Company,
Arman Pinarbasi were present at the meeting.

Welcoming the entry of France Telecom to Armenia, the Prime Minister
noted that the necessity to have a third cell operator had long
matured in the country.

Mr. Bruno Duthoit expressed gratitude to the Armenian Prime Minister
and Government for holding a tender corresponding to international
standards and ensuring beneficial conditions for launching business
in Armenia.

Presenting the activity of France Telecom – one of the world leaders
in the sphere of telecommunication – Mr. Duthoit noted that Orange
Armenia is still in the stage of formation and intends to start
activity by yearend.

He informed that the Company intends to make an additional $70 million
investment and aims to launch activity not only in Yerevan but also
the regions.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan emphasized the importance of
the entry of France Telecom to the Armenian market from several
viewpoints. According to him, the competition in the telecommunication
market is growing, which means also new investments and new jobs .

According to the Prime Minister, this factor is becoming more
important under the circumstances of the global financial and economic
crisis. Tigran Sargsyan noted Orange Armenia will bring a new business
culture to Armenia.

As a result of all this, the Company’s activity will contribute to
the further development of the Armenian-French friendship.

At the end of the meeting the Prime Minister wished success to the
activity of France Telecom (Orange Armenia) Company in Armenia.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

ANTELIAS TO HOST CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
ON THE ADANA MASSACRES

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the massacres of Adana
(1909-2009), His Holiness Aram I said: "this sad page in the contemporary
history of the Armenian nation should be remembered with due importance and
seriousness." He then continued, "in 2009, the Catholicosate of Cilicia will
organize a conference, an exhibition, and will oversee the publication of
books and documents related to the Adana massacres.

Based on this decision, the Catholicosate informs the community
organizations, academic institutions, scholars and the general public of the
following plans:

1) During October 29-30 2009, a conference will be held in Antelias,
dedicated to the Adana massacres under the leadership of His Holiness Aram
I. All those interested in participating in the event should contact the
Catholicosate of Cilicia.

2) A Special Committee, in cooperation with The Department of Armenian
Studies of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, will screen and sponsor
publications related to the Adana massacres. The Catholicosate invites
researchers, scholars, writers and all those who possess relevant works are
invited to submit their proposals to the Catholicosate.

3) We invite all Armenians in the community who own valuable
artifacts, photos and archive documents that relate to the Armenians of
Adana and their massacre, to make them available to the Catholicosate for
the planned exhibition.

The deadline to receive all materials is 31 March 2009. All contacts and
enquiries should be addressed to:
Bishop Nareg Alemezian
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Department of Ecumenical Relations
P.O.Box: 70 317
Antelias, Lebanon
Tel: +961-4-410001, +961-3-486943
Fax: +961-4-417 971
E-mail : [email protected]

Organizing Committee

##
PHOTOS: Adana massarce 1909 –
ferences/Adana/eng.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

From: "Katia M. Peltekian" <[email protected]>
Subject: ANKARA: Samantha Power gets a top White House job,

Hürriyet, Turkey
Jan 31 2009

Samantha Power gets a top White House job, backs Armenian claims

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Samantha Power to a senior
foreign policy job at the White House. Power supports the Armenian
claims regarding the 1915 incidents, a move likely to create concern
in Turkey.

Officials familiar with the decision told the Associated Press that
Obama has tapped Power to be senior director for multilateral affairs
at the National Security Council.

Power has resigned from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary
Clinton a "monster" and made some pro-Israel activists unhappy with
her past criticism of Israel.

Her new post will require close contact and potential travel with the
Secretary of State Clinton.

Power is an expert on human rights and foreign policy. She is
currently a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

She also known as a fierce supporter of the Armenian claims regarding
the 1915 incidents.

The issue of 1915 incidents is highly sensitive for Turkey as well as
Armenia. Around 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks, died in
civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by
Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

However Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5
million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in
1915. The issue remains unsolved as Armenia drags its feet in
accepting Turkey’s proposal of forming a commission to investigate the
claims.

MOST PRO-ARMENIA ADMINISTRATION

The new US administration became the most pro-Armenian claims
administration in the history with the appointment of Power, Hurriyet
daily reported on Saturday.

Obama had pledged to recognize the Armenian claims regarding the 1915
incidents during the election campaign. Vice President Joseph Biden,
Clinton and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi also support Armenian claims.

Also the new director of CIA, Leon Panetta, also backs the Armenian
claims on this highly controversial issue on which the historians and
experts are divided.

Hurriyet said it is worried that Obama will use the term "genocide" in
his statement on April 24 or a new legislation will be pushed to the
Congress to recognize the Armenian claims, such moves likely to spark
crisis between Ankara and Washington.

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
Jan 30 2009

Defense Ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia discuss problems of Russian
military hardware supply to Armenia

31 January 2009 [12:17] – Today.Az

During the working visit to Moscow Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar
Abiyev met his Russian counterpart Anatoli Serdyukov.

According to APA, the sides discussed the current perspective issues
of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations on the line of the defense
structures.

Moreover, the sides discussed supply of the Russian military hardware
in the amount of $800,000,000 to Armenia. The Russian Defense Minister
assured his Azerbaijani counterpart that his country did not supply
the said volumes of military hardware to Armenia in 2008.

Notably, this issue will be discussed during the upcoming visit of
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Baku.

/APA/

URL:

Interfax, Russia
Jan 30 2009

Armenia, Turkey to continue efforts to sort out relations – Yerevan
officials

YEREVAN Jan 30

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has met with Turkish Prime Minister
Recet Tayyip Erdogan in Davos, the Armenian presidential press service
told Interfax on Friday.

"The parties underscored the importance of a meeting of the two
countries’ presidents that took place in Yerevan in September 2008 and
became a turning point in the settlement of Armenian-Turkish
relations.

It was followed by meetings of the two states’ foreign ministers," the
press service said.

Sargsyan and Erdogan welcomed the results of their first meeting and
instructed their countries’ foreign ministers to make a bigger effort
to improve bilateral ties, it said.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has described the two
presidents’ meeting as constructive.

"The meeting proceeded in a constructive atmosphere. Detailed
consideration was given to the settlement of bilateral relations,"
Nalbandian told journalists in Davos.

Armenia and Turkey still have no diplomatic relations because of what
happened in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Armenia demands that Turkey
officially recognize the genocide of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915, during which, according to varying reports, more than
1.5 million people were killed. Several countries have already
recognized the genocide of Armenians, but Turkey refuses to do so.

The authorities in Ankara, for their part, insist on finding a
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would help preserve
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

VICE PRIME MINISTER: "LIST OF HOMELESS PEOPLE TO BE VERIFIED"

Panorama.am
18:28 30/01/2009

The Vice Prime Minister, the Minister of Territorial Administration
Armen Gevorgyan visited Shirak region today to get introduced to the
present stage of construction and the problems, reports the press
service of the Ministry.

During a meeting discussion in Gyumri, the Vice Prime has been
introduced to the town building projects started in 2008 and to be
continued in 2009.

The Vice Prime Minister recommended to the representatives of the
Ministry and the Community to re-verify the list of homeless people
who suffered from earthquake.

GORAN LENMARKER: "I WILL PREPARE REPORT ON OUTCOMES OF MY VISIT TO THE REGION"

Azeri Press Agency APA
Jan 30 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva-APA. "We discuss Nagorno-Karabakh and also
the EU neighborhood strategy and cooperation in other focus during my
visit to the region", Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly for Nagorno Karabakh and South Caucasian conflicts Goran
Lenmarker told APA exclusively.

Lenmarker said during the OSCE PA winter session he would submit report
about the results of his visit. "I hope that it will be an agreement
between your countries. I think it is extremely important. Foreign
ministers and presidents met in Zurich. I have no details about that,
but the signals also the positive. I also discuss this meeting during
my visit to the region".

Lenmarker expressed his opinion about the principles of the
conflict settlement. "I think there are starting point is a peaceful
solution. And peaceful solution means two sides to agree and you have
to respect both fundamental principles in Azerbaijan and of course
in Armenia".