Author: Madatian Greg

LOGICAL IDEA THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED STRIFE
Michael Binyon

Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
Oct 12 2005

HAD Lawrence’s plan been accepted, much of the anti-Western bitterness
of Arab nationalism might have been avoided. There would have been no
quasi-colonial rule over Syria and Jordan; a state between Iraq and
Turkey might have become a homeland for the Kurds; and the Armenians
might have found refuge in a state north of Syria.

The plan would probably have done little to forestall the partition
of Palestine. Lawrence knew of the Balfour Declaration, which offered
the Jews a national homeland. On his map Palestine is marked as a
separate entity not awarded to any Arab ruler.

His map was drawn up at the height of his influence, when he was
attending the Versailles conference as an aide of Prince Feisal,
the leader of the Arab delegation. It is unclear whether it was an
attempt to sabotage the Anglo-French plan for Middle East “mandates”,
or a genuine attempt to reward the sons of Sherif Hussein of Mecca
with kingdoms of their own.

Lawrence proposes a Frenchcontrolled state in the mountains inland
from Beirut, the traditional Christian enclave around Mount Lebanon.

This later was enlarged by France to include an equal number of
Muslims and separated from Syria to form Lebanon.

Lawrence did not specify that the kingdom awarded to Zaid, the youngest
son of Sherif Hussein, would be a Kurdish state, but its boundaries
are very close to the area now populated by Kurds, who resent the
failure to award them a homeland after the First World War.

Since the map does not split Ottoman Syria into northern, French and
British zones, the state awarded to Feisal would have had geographic
and historical coherence. Iraq is placed under British administration,
but unites only two of the three Ottoman provinces, comprising the
Shia region in the south and the Sunnis around Baghdad. This would
not have prevented anti-British uprisings and Shia-Sunni tensions.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MILITARY BUDGET OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN WILL NEVER MAKE ARMENIA TO YIELD

ARMINFO News Agency
October 11, 2005

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11. ARMINFO. The difference between the military
budget of Armenia and Azerbaijan will never make Armenia to yield,
Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan told journalists.

He said the quantitative factor transforms into a qualitative factor
any way, however, it is unknown when it will happen. ‘Undoubtedly,
one can worry about the large military budget of an enemy, rival or
a neighbor. But, the budget must be used effectively,’ the minister
said. He brought cases when Armenia and Azderbijan bought the
same ammunition for different prices. “Indeed, we are aspiring for
comparable financial resources,” Serge Sargsyan said. As the military
budget depends on the percentage of the GDP no sharp increase in
the budget is expected so far, the minister explained. The minister
disagreed with the opinion that the threat of war is higher today
than before. He connects the bellicose statements of Azerbaijan with
the pre- election hysteria. The minister said that the situation on
the frontline is much calmer than 7 months ago. The situation cannot
be called pre-war as it does not correspond to reality, the minister
said. It can be thought so only from the point of view of Azerbaijan.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: A PLAN FOR PEACE

International Crisis Group, Belgium
Oct 11 2005

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Tbilisi/ Brussels, 11 October 2005: A compromise peace in
Nagorno-Karabakh looks possible, but significant stumbling blocks
remain.

Nagorno-Karabakh: A Plan for Peace,* the latest report from the
International Crisis Group, examines the causes of the conflict,
analyses the negotiation process led by the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and identifies the necessary
elements of an achievable peace plan. An earlier Crisis Group report,
from 14 September 2005, explored how Armenian and Azeri communities
view resolution of the conflict.

“The two sides appear close to agreeing on key principles of a peace
deal”, says Sabine Freizer, Director of Crisis Group’s Caucasus
Project. “It is essential that the governments now begin preparing
their people for a compromise”.

Major elements of the proposed settlement package include:

Leaving the core issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status open for later
resolution; withdrawal of Armenia-backed Nagorno-Karabakh forces
from the occupied districts of Azerbaijan surrounding the entity;
renunciation by Azerbaijan of the use of force to reintegrate the
entity; deployment of international peacekeepers; return of displaced
persons; and re-opening of trade and communication links.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s status should ultimately be determined by an
internationally sanctioned referendum with the exclusive participation
of Karabakh Armenians and Azeris, but only after the above measures
have been implemented. Until then, Nagorno-Karabakh would remain part
of Azerbaijan, though in practical terms it would be self-governing
and enjoy an internationally acknowledged interim status.

Eleven years after the 1994 ceasefire, burgeoning defence budgets,
increasing ceasefire violations, and continuing demonisation by
each side of the other side are ominous signs that time for a peace
agreement is running out.

“So far, despite progress in the negotiations, the resumption of war
remains as likely as peace”, says Alain Deletroz, Crisis Group’s Vice
President for Europe.

ANKARA URGES EUROPE TO AGREE THAT TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP IS INEVITABLE

Pan Armenian
06.10.2005 GMT+04:00

At the same time Turkey refuses to fulfill the two main conditions
set by the European Parliament – recognition of Armenian genocide
and united Cyprus.

Immediately after the start of negotiations on the conditions of
Turkey’s EU membership in Luxemburg the Turkish Minister of Foreign
Affairs Abdullah Gul made quite an incorrect announcement which
provoked the anger of many mass media resources. “Europeans have to
resign themselves to the fact that their ears will hear the sound of
Turkish language”. These words of the Turkish politician would not
sound so provocative if Europeans were not worried that much about
the flow of uninvited guests from Anatolia.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The absolute majority of Europeans are categorically
against the membership of Turkey in the European Union. Even the
Scandinavian countries, where emigrants from Asia were treated
quite loyally, now say that Turkey’s EU membership is extremely
undesirable. As for the so called “Old Europe”, here the attitude
towards Turkey’s membership has always been negative. Only 10 percents
of Austrians, 15 percents of Greeks, 20 percents of French, Germans and
Danes are ready to meet Turks in the “Home of all Europeans”. Knowing
this, Gul could not but realize the consequences of his careless
announcement. Today Europeans are afraid of Turkish speech and there
are real grounds for that. The results of recent public surveys show
that 21 percent of Turkish citizens intend to move to some European
country in case Turkey is accepted to the European Union. Another
30 percent of Turks say they do not exclude the possibility of
immigrating to a European country. This means that a huge number
of Turkey’s population will move to Europe and eat European bread
and receive European welfare payment which can bring to undesirable
economic consequences.

In spite of the negative attitude of most of the Europeans, the
foreign ministers of EU member states have agreed to start negotiations
with Ankara.

However, many European politicians disagree with this idea. A number
of influential oppositionists from France, Germany, Austria and
Netherlands have already expressed their negative attitude towards
Turkey’s full EU membership. The decision was harshly criticized by
the former president of France Valery Jiskar D’Esten who is also the
creator of the unified EU Constitution. “The great French project
of creating political Europe has been rejected in favor of changing
European Union to a simple zone of free trade. I am sorry about that”,
Valery Jiskar D’Esten said. Even those who consider the decision on the
start of negotiations reasonable, say that the reached agreement does
not mean that Turkey will be accepted to the European Union. USA is
perhaps the only country that is exclusively positive about Turkey’s
EU membership. It is known that the intervention of Condolisa Rice
became a turning point in consultations held in Luxemburg. This is
why European papers write that “Turkey has received a passport to EU
with a US visa”…

The agreement to start negotiations is qualified as a
compromise. Ankara did not value the good will of Vienna who
withdrew the demand about the necessity to give Turkey the status
of a privileged partner. (Abdullah Gul emphatically refused to shake
hands with the Austrian minister.) However it is still unclear what
compromise the Turks made in return. Rejeb Erdoghan still states that
Ankara excludes the possibility of recognizing Cyprus and the fact
of Armenian genocide. Then where is the compromise if Turkey rejects
the two main conditions set by the European parliament?

“PanARMENIAN.Net” analytical department ! Reproduction in full or in
part is prohibited without reference to “PanARMENIAN.Net”.

EUObserver.com
October 7, 2005

Fresh controversy between Ankara and Brussels over Cyprus

by Mark Beunderman

ANCHORS: Lisbeth Kirk

Just days after the historic opening of Turkish EU membership talks,
fresh controversy has already emerged between Ankara and Brussels
over Cyprus.

Just days after the historic opening of Turkish EU membership talks,
fresh controversy has already emerged between Ankara and Brussels
over Cyprus.

The spat concerns Ankara’s implementation of a customs agreement with
the EU, which it agreed to extend to all new EU member states in June
– including Cyprus, which Turkey refuses to recognise.

In practical terms, this means that Turkey is obliged to stop
blocking Cypriot ships and planes from its territory.

During a visit to Turkey on Thursday (6 October), EU enlargement
commissioner Olli Rehn said, according to press reports, that the EU
expects Turkey’s parliament to ratify the agreement “without delay
and in good faith”.

Ankara must then fully implement the agreement, he added.

But in a TV interview, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
reacted by saying that “there’s no need to rush” in ratifying the
agreement.

Mr Erdogan said that the EU should instead first open trade to the
Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, and release its financial
aid package for northern Cyprus which is now being blocked by the
Cypriot government.

An EU financial aid package of 259 million euros to Turkish Cypriots,
which was offered in April 2004 when Greek Cypriots voted down a UN
reunification plan, is still waiting to be released from EU coffers.

The Cypriot government is blocking the release of the package, as it
disagrees with a free trade scheme for Northern Cyprus, which the
Commission proposed later.

Nicosia argues that free trade with the north would mean a de facto
recognition of the Turkish-occupied North.

The Commission’s efforts to push Ankara to implement the customs
agreement were dealt a blow last week, as a majority in the European
Parliament suspended the EU’s own ratification of the deal, arguing
that there were not enough assurances on Ankara’s commitment to the
customs agreement.

Mr Rehn said the parliament’s move did “not strengthen our position
in urging Turkey to stick to its commitment.”

Human rights record

Now that Turkey has started accession talks with Brussels, further
difficulties are set to arise over what is expected to be a highly
critical report by the commission on human rights, to be released in
November.

Mr Rehn urged Ankara on Thursday to step up political reforms warning
that the EU executive would in its regular progress report, due next
month, point to Turkish human rights shortcomings.

“This means rigorously implementing political reforms in the areas of
the rule of law, human rights, women’s rights, the rights of
religious communities and trade unions”, Mr Rehn said.

He added that this implied “to make the rule of law an everyday
reality in all walks of life”.

The commission in the up-run to accession talks already expressed
serious concern over Ankara’s actual implementation of its political
reforms.

Brussels’ concern focussed recently on the decision by a Turkish
court to file charges against the author, Orhan Pamuk, who had raised
the issue of the Armenian genocide in 1915.

The Istanbul prosecutor’s charges against Mr Pamuk were made despite
a new penal code along EU standards that Ankara was forced to adopt
as a condition to open accession talks.

Mr Rehn in September called the move by the Turkish prosecutor a
“provocation”.

AARHUS CENTRES TO OPEN IN ARMENIAN REGIONS WITH OSCE SUPPORT

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Oct 6 2005

Local public environmental information Centres (Aarhus Centres) will
soon open in the capitals of the Syunik, Tavush and Lori regions
of Armenia with the help of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, which today
signed an agreement with the Ministry of Nature Protection and local
administrations.

The Centres will promote access to information, including through
the Internet, public participation in decision-making and access to
justice in environmental matters-the three main pillars of the Aarhus
Convention, ratified by Armenia in 2001. They will also contribute
to the creation of a public climate of transparency in environmental
affairs and to the general democratization and good governance in
the region.

The need for local Aarhus Centres in the regions was one of the
recommendations of the OSCE-supported study of the perspectives of the
socio-economic development of the Syunik region, conducted last year.

The Centres will also serve as a link between governmental authorities
and non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the field of environmental
policy-making, promote co-operation between all environmental
stakeholders and their potential counterparts, such as national,
foreign and international NGOs, as well as the business community, and
serve as a basis for coalition-building among local environmental NGOs.

The Centres will open later this year and make use of the experience
and expertise of the Yerevan Aarhus Centre, established in 2002 as
the first one in Southern Caucasus.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan supports the establishment of a network of
Aarhus Centres in Armenia to promote the principles and values of the
international Aarhus Convention, which combines both environmental
issues and democratic spirit.

Contacts Gohar Avagyan OSCE Office in Yerevan 89 Teryan St. 375009
Yerevan Armenia Tel: +374 10 54 10 62 +374 10 54 58 45 Fax: +374 10
54 10 61

LOCALS, POLICE CLASH IN AKHALKALAKI

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Oct 6 2005

Hundreds of local residents in Akhalkalaki, a town in Georgia’s
south-western region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is predominantly
populated by ethnic Armenians, rallied on October 5 protesting against
the closure of trade facilities by financial police. Tensions flared
up after police fired several shots into the air to disperse the rally.

President Saakashvili said while commenting on the Akhalkalaki
incident, that “there is no serious problem and law-enforcers are
maintaining order in the region.”

“We are establishing control in this region [Samtskhe-Javakheti],
which was out of full control over previous years. Any attempts to
trigger disorders will be unsuccessful,” Saakashvili told reporters
on October 6.

SHEKHAWAT MEETS ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Hindu, India
Outlook, India
Oct 6 2005

Yerevan, Oct 6. (PTI): Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today
had a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian soon after
arriving here on a two-day visit, which is expected to give a major
impetus to relations between the two countries.

The Vice President flew in here from Minsk on the third leg of his
three-nation tour that earlier took him to Romania and Belarus.

He was warmly received by Vahan Hovhannisyan, Deputy Chairperson of
the National Assembly of Armenia, and Michael Carvardanyan of the
Armenia-India Parliamentary Group.

Soon after his arrival, the Vice President had a meeting with
Kocharian.

This is the first-ever Indian Vice Presidential visit to this CIS
country, which is the smallest of the nations that came into existence
after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

During his visit, the Vice President will be addressing the National
Assembly of Armenia.

Tomorrow, he will be conferred a honorary degree by Yerevian State
Medical University where some 400 Indian students are studying.

TURKEY NEEDS TO ERADICATE POLICIES BEFORE BEING GRANTED EU MEMBERSHIP
by Taleen Babayan

Tufts Daily, MA
Oct 6 2005

In the editorial on Tuesday, Oct. 4, “Stop Teasing Turkey,” it was
stated the European Union should make a firm decision about Turkey’s
potential entry as a member state. The EU is being circumspect in
its decision-making process to exercise judicious judgment before it
opens its doors to Ankara.

Turkey, in its eagerness to gain a foothold in Europe – a dream that
has eluded this basically Asian country for centuries – has multiplied
its efforts to join the European Union. In strictly geographical terms,
to consider Turkey a part of Europe is a stretch.

The vehement opposition exhibited by some European countries, including
Austria and Belgium, against Turkey’s joining to the European Union
is well founded.

By the time negotiations are scheduled to be completed -ten years –
the country will have a population well over 85 million. Adding 20
million to the European population is a point of concern.

Anakara must resolve a slew of thorny issues that Europe regards as
prerequisites for membership: the Kurdish issue, Cyprus, judicial
reforms, recognition of the Armenian Genocide and real partnership
with the West. The country has taken a hesitant, at best, stance on
these issues. Turkish Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan has tip-toed around
these issues without adopting a decisive position. Case in point:
He expressed a muted desire to normalize relations with neighboring
Armenia, yet he keeps the common border with it closed, thus choking
the country economically.

Even though Ankara has always pursued pro-western, secular policies,
Turkey stands in stark contrast culturally to Europe. The prime
minister has Islamist credentials, he was jailed on charges of
incitement, yet he is the most secular leader in recent memory. He
purports to be friendly with the West, yet his government refuses
to provide bases to coalition forces in its offensive against Saddam
Hussein’s Iraq.

Ankara needs a new breed of leaders who are visionaries, not
pragmatists. Turkey should emancipate itself from the past. If Ankara
is determined to join the “Western Club,” it should undertake bold
initiatives. It should break away from dogmatic positions. Turkey
should give cultural-ethnic autonomy to the Kurds, who constitute
20 percent of the population, and exhibit far more flexibility
vis-୶is the Cypriots. How can Ankara take itself seriously when
its armies are occupying parts of Cyprus?

Turkey’s dismal human rights record adds another dimension to an
argument for its exclusion from the EU. There should be a change in
its human rights, both at the state and grass roots levels, before
Europe even begins serious consideration of Ankara’s application.

Turkey has imposed a blockade upon a neighboring Christian sovereign
country, Armenia, while vigorously rejecting the historically
documented genocide perpetrated against Armenians. Turkey should
moderate its uncompromising support for Azerbaijan so the Nagorno
Karabagh issue can move forward towards a peaceful resolution. It
should also implement confidence-boosting measures with Armenia,
including recognizing the genocide and lifting its decade old economic
embargo.

Only steps such as these will inspire confidence. Ankara must also
undertake judicial reforms within its penal code to show to the outside
world it is serious in its efforts to reform and finally become part
of the European Union.

Taleen Babayan is a senior double majoring in history and international
relations with a minor in communications and media studies.

ANDRE ABOUT THE “CUBE” REALTY SHOW

Panorama
20:26 04/10/05

After visiting the “Cube” singer Andre said, “Before my visit, I heard
a lot criticizing opinions about the game. When I talked to them I
arrived at a conclusion that they are young people as we are. Sometimes
they keep themselves unnatural, some of them just vice versa, that’s
why the game is interesting”. Generally, such kind of games according
to Andre are very fashionable, and usually designed for a definite
group of people who are very interested in other’s personal life.

“I think that all people are blabbers” added Andre. We were also
interested in his personal status and found out that Andre is still
idle and he has a hope to meet his girl-friend one day. /Panorama.am/