Author: Madatian Greg

THE WEST "FENCES" ARMENIA FROM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
VARDAN GRIGORYAN

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
24 Dec 2008
Armenia

A few days after the strict warnings issued by the Monitoring Committee
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (December 17),
the heated developments in the South Caucasus come to reveal the true
motives of the "concerns over the situation with democracy".

The exacerbations observed in the Russian-American relations over
the past week currently receive responses on the "regional level."

On December 22, Georgian Foreign Minister Grogol Vashadze and the
representative delegation of the Turkish armed forces (headed by
Hasan Iksiz, Deputy Head of the General Headquarters) arrived in Baku.

The former did not even try to conceal the fact that his visit pursued
a goal of extending the Georgian-Azerbaijani cooperation with the
aim of ruling out the possibility of Russia’s new aggression. "The
aggression launched by Russia in August revealed the fragility of
peace in our region and the need for cooperation for being able to
rule out such tragedy in future," G. Vashadeze announced.

Having paid a three-day visit to Baku during the Georgian-Azerbaijani
talks, the delegation of the Turkish armed forces has started an
intensive Turkish-Azerbaijani dialogue. What is meant here is the
prospect of signing a Turkish-Azerbaijan imilitary cooperation
agreement in the near future.

The fact that this step of the Turkish General Headquarters is not
coordinated with the United States is also confirmed by the Azerbaijani
military experts. One of them – Uzeyir Jafarov, openly makes the
following statement, "NATO has probably decided that the United States
will take Russia and Ukraine under its patronage." Moreover, the
Azeri expert believes that this is the first stage of the formation
of the military-political alliance which will probably be followed
by the signature of an agreement between Azerbaijan and United.

In this connection, both the Turkish and Azerbaijani experts are, to
a certain extent, anxious about the possibility of Moscow’s adopting
a tougher stance on the Karabakh issue, but they believe that after
the signature of the Georgian-American defense agreement envisaging
security guarantees for Georgia, Azerbaijan will also be able to
enter into a bold dialogue with its northern neighbor.

Thus, the rumors on the formation of a Russian-Turkish alliance in
the South Caucasus after the Russian-Georgian war will lose their
actuality.

However, we believe that it is still early to speak about the freezing
of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations. It is obvious that Baku has
become faced with the undesirable prospect of making a choice between
Turkey and Russia.

Here is the second reason accounting for the activeness o f the United
States and NATO. Involving Turkey in the game, they are trying to
push Ankara to normalize its relations with Armenia on the one hand
and a taking Azerbaijan under their political-military patronage on
the other.

Realizing that fact, Khazar Ibrahim, Press Secretary of the
Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, has already adopted "understanding
approaches" with regard to the steps towards the normalization of
the Armenian-Turkish relations, considering them as the right of the
two countries.

But can Armenia also have an "understanding approach" towards the
possibility of signing an Azerbaijani-Turkish agreement, in view
of the continuing Karabakh conflict? Obviously, not because in that
case Turkey will automatically assume the responsibility of realizing
Azerbaijan’s aggressive ambitions in relation to the self-determined
state of Nagorno Karabakh. Therefore, the signature of an Azeri-Turkish
military agreement may impede the bilateral and unilateral efforts
towards the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and at the
same time, cause a sharp deterioration in the Russian-Azeri relations.

Thus, the serious geo-political motives of the current efforts towards
"fencing" our country on all sides and leaving open only the "door
to Turkey show the primitiveness and shabbiness of the opposition’s
‘serious expectations’ from the PACE Monitoring Committee and the
winter se ssion of the Assembly. The issue of the existence of
prisoners in Armenia is nothing more than a motive of intensifying
the pressure upon Yerevan, the ally of Moscow."

ARMENIAN APOLOGY DENOUNCED BY GOV’T

Hurriyet
Dec 18 2008
Turkey

ANKARA – As reactions continue to the initiative of some prominent
authors and academicians to apologize for the 1915 incidents Ankara got
involved to the debate. The prime minister argues that the initiative
makes no sense

An online apology for the "great catastrophe of 1915" that befell
Armenians, written by prominent authors and academics, has received
the cold shoulder from the top cadre of the government.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the initiative made no sense
and President Abdullah Gul did not make a direct comment. The Foreign
Ministry, similar to dozens of retired diplomats, said terrorists had
targeted its diplomats in the past and recalled murders carried out
by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, or ASALA,
a terrorist group.

As to the need for an apology, Erdogan said, "They must have committed
genocide because they are apologizing. The Turkish Republic has no
such problem."

"We cannot join a campaign such as this just because writers started
it. Personally I do not accept their campaign, nor take part in
it. We did not commit any crime, why should we apologize? This is a
debate discussed by historians," Erdogan said in response to claims
by some Armenians that forced migration and 1915 incidents amounted
to "genocide". "It is one thing to have a good will, but apologizing
only matters to people. I have difficulty understanding these writers."

Gul said the initiative was proof everything could be openly discussed
in Turkey. "Various groups can come together and declare their
opinions," Gul said. He described the state policy as he saw it:
"This is how to accomplish Turkey’s goal to increase relations with
its neighbors to the highest level, establish trust with them and
help bring peace to the region."

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Ozugergin denied the ministry
had urged retired diplomats to issue a counterstatement. "It is
not right for us to react against it," he said. "Both initiatives
are private. Our stance on the 1915 incidents is known," Ozugergin
said. Retired diplomats said the apology was "unfair, wrong and
unfavorable to national interests."

Turkey on the right path The prime minister, president and Ozugergin
said Turkey was already on a path to forge greater stability with its
eastern neighbor. "Turkey has shown a clear path in its relations
in the international arena. Our government has opened the airways
to Armenia and restored the Armenian church on Van’s Akdamar Island
for visitors. These were not responses to any move, but a sign. The
president’s flight to Armenia was also a sign," Erdogan said.

More than 11,000 people have signed the online petition that has
been rebuffed by the prime minister. "This would only serve to muddy
waters and disrupt our peace. It would reverse steps taken thus far,"
Erdogan said.

Ozugergin said foreign policy was not shaped by daily events. "We
must take the positive and negative reactions of the public into
consideration while making foreign policy."

Columnists join debate

Hurriyet Daily News The debate over the campaign launched by a
range of intellectuals to apologize for the 1915 incidents has
spread to the columns of the country’s dailies. Also a counter
online signature campaign on the Web site "özurdilemiyoruz.com
(we do not apologize) has emerged, by a group calling themselves
"The Real Turkish Intellectuals."

Turkish columnists widely criticized the apology campaign. Erdal
Å~^afak from daily Sabah argued the campaign would do more
harm than good because it "would be evaluated as a confession of
genocide." Ertugrul Ozkök from daily Hurriyet said he considered the
campaign a joke, asking who would apologize for the Turkish diplomats
murdered by the ASALA terror organization.

Nuray Mert from daily Radikal argued the campaign aimed at "scraping
the Turkish ‘intellectuals’ from their ‘historical shame’ and to make
them feel good and civilized." She also questioned the apology part of
the statement asking, "On whose behalf and to whom should I apologize?"

–Boundary_(ID_Y0BS6TeJSkvwbpedr dFBMw)–

‘FRENCH PRESIDENCY SHOWS EUROPE DOES NOT WANT TO BUILD WALLS’

Today’s Zaman
Dec 19 2008
Turkey

France’s term presidency of the European Union has demonstrated that
Europe seeks to respond to the challenges of globalization with more
involvement rather than detachment and that it would be easier to
do this with Turkey at its side, the foreign policy architect of the
Turkish government has said.

"President [Nicolas] Sarkozy was everywhere. He was active in Syria and
Darfur. He also tried to establish the Union for the Mediterranean,"
said Ahmet Davutoglu, the chief advisor to the prime minister of
Turkey, speaking yesterday at a seminar in Paris held at the French
Senate.

There are only two options in the globalizing world for Europe, he
said, and these are either integrating with neighboring regions or for
Europe to build "an unseen [Great] Wall of China" around it. "Walls
cannot solve problems. In this age of globalism, walls should not be
an option," he said at a seminar titled "Turkey and Europe after the
French Presidency of the EU" organized by the International Relations
Institute of France (Ifri) and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation (TESEV).

Davutoglu added that Europe can achieve integration by establishing
geostrategic extensions into neighboring zones, maintaining a dynamic
demographic and creating a multicultural environment. "France has
a multi-dimensional geography. It has Atlantic and Central European
ties with extensions to Africa," he said, adding that there are only
three other European countries with such a character of "natural
extensions": Britain, Germany and Spain. He said Turkey is the only
candidate country with the same attributes, since Turkish ties extend
to the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Europe.

"We have more Albanians living in Turkey than in Albania. We have
more Chechens living in Turkey than in Chechnya. We have more Bosnians
living in Turkey than in Bosnia. We have more Kurds living in Turkey
than in northern Iraq." Davutoglu argued that this character of
Turkey is an asset for Europe if it continues to be involved in the
world scene.

"How is the world going to be in 2050? Where is the European Union
going to be standing? Where is France going to be standing? We have
to develop a common vision to understand that, and for that we need
each other," he stressed.

Likening the Turkish-French relationship to a three-legged table
comprising bilateral relations, relations related to the EU and
relations regarding regional and global issues, Davutoglu said,
"Nobody can expect from Turkey that one leg should be avoided."

French senator: Better with us

French Senator Pierre Fauchon said in his welcoming remarks that he
supports Turkey’s accession to the EU. "The presence of Turks among
us is good. It is better for Turkey to be with us rather than lost
in other challenges," he said.

He also added that he "admired" the Turkish Constitutional Court, which
ruled this year not to close the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) and instead issued a "warning" in the case against the AK
Party for being the "center of anti-secular activities." Most observers
noted that the case had kept the government busy domestically,
diverting efforts to pursue reforms that would accelerate the EU
accession process.

Another senator, Xavier de Villepin, who is also on the Ifri board of
directors, commented on a bill that would make denial of the Armenian
"genocide" a crime. The bill was accepted at a sub-commission in the
French legislature, but it has not yet come up on the Senate agenda.

"The issue could boomerang on us. Others could pass similar regulations
against us. It could create huge diplomatic problems and make
international relations difficult," he said.

Turkey objects to the claims of "genocide," arguing that the Armenian
death toll during World War I at the hands of the Ottoman Empire
has been exaggerated and that most victims died from starvation or
disease. Turkey also argues that many Turks were killed by Armenian
groups allied with the enemy against Turks.

Meanwhile, Mensur Akgun, TESEV’s foreign policy director, mentioned
the stalled state of the Turkish-EU relations, in which only eight
of the 33 negotiation chapters have been opened.

"France alone blocked five chapters, and eight chapters were suspended
due to the Cyprus problem," he added.

Seminar participants included Professor Beril Dedeoglu from Galatasaray
University in İstanbul, Hakan Altınay from the Open Society Institute
in Ä°stanbul, French journalist Marc Semo, Turkish journalist Semih
Ä°diz, Pierre Manent from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Oguz Demiralp from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

–Boundary_(ID_2ZZLQNOSmSotOebriG8uWA)- –

SERJ TANKIAN: ONE MAN ARMY
by Andre Mihsin

ChartAttack
tures/64300/serj-tankian-one-man-army
Dec 19 2008
Canada

System Of A Down’s frontman has gone solo and not even he knows when
his band’s getting back together

Serj Tankian, the dynamic frontman of System Of A Down, has just
released his Elect The Dead debut solo effort. During the second day
of a short but busy promotional tour, Tankian found time to relax
with Chart in the intimate confines of Toronto’s Opium Room to lay
back and shoot the shit.

Chart: When you were planning this solo record, did you ever try
singing in another language?

Serj Tankian: I sang a song with a band called Les Rita Mitsouko from
Paris. I sang the English version, but I also sang backgrounds on the
French version. There’s one song I play in Armenian on acoustic guitar,
but generally don’t sing it out. My mom just loves that. Otherwise,
I don’t think so.

I think it would be interesting if you wrote an Armenian song and
performed it in your own unique style.

I’ve heard that from other Armenians. It’s cool if I write Armenian
songs and the six million other Armenians might understand them, but if
I write it in another language I can communicate it to the whole world.

People listen to black metal sung in Norwegian even if they don’t
understand it.

Even when they sing it in English you’re not going to understand with
black metal. [laughs]

You’re right. You have a song on the record called "Praise The Lord
And Pass The Ammunition." It seems that religion and warfare always
get mixed up together.

I know exactly what you mean. Religion is never the reason for
war, but it’s what motivates the masses to do things that they
wouldn’t normally. Religion is used as a tool for war, even with
genocide. The Armenian genocide they always say was a religious
thing with the Christian minority, and the holocaust Jews were the
minority in Germany. When you really think about it, it wasn’t about
religion. Most genocides have very strong economic undercurrents
usually at a time where the government is suffering from another
giant setback, or currency is low and they’re able to take these
riches from these minorities. It’s kind of like gaining this huge
revenue stream. Of course, the people are not going to go to war for
that purpose, to give money to the government.

So they fight for God.

Yeah.

Your grandfather passed away a couple of months back. How did all
the things that he went through influence you?

Him and my grandmother were both genocide survivors and they always
told me the story of what happened in their lives and families
and why I was never able to complete my family tree because of
the genocide. They didn’t necessarily politically motivate me, but
personally motivated me to find out more, and it made me more active.

Years ago I had this organization called the Genocide Project, and
I interviewed survivors of genocides and holocaust. We came by and
set up audio cassettes in an interview format and it was a six- or
seven-hour session and I held my own video camera. I literally held it
in my hand for six hours and taped and kept and made DVD copies and
gave them to all my uncles. I haven’t even watched them since then,
to be honest. Maybe I should.

Other bands have taken breaks from each other to work on separate
projects with not nearly as many break-up rumours as the ones
surrounding System Of A Down. Why do you have to always remind people
you’re just on hiatus?

People make their own stories, I guess. We decided to take an
indefinite hiatus, which means we have not decided what we are going to
do with each other in the future. We’ve been a band for 11 years. We
put out five records. People think we should be a brand like Pepsi
and should be putting out stuff every year, but we’re not. We’re not
a corporation, we’re a group of artists and friends. When we want
to say something with each other and to the world, then we will. And
when we don’t have anything to say through each other to the world,
then we won’t. It’s as simple as that. We don’t want it to be a brand
that is completely used all the time to generate us money and other
people money. That would be abusive.

To me, we needed time to prioritize other things in our life. The band
was a priority for 11 years and everything else was secondary. We
needed time to prioritize our own projects, our own lives, and then
come together and see if there is room to do stuff in the future or
not. Nothing is decided. We’re all friends and the door’s always open
and the possibility is always there.

This feature article is from the November 2007 issue of Chart
Magazine. You can purchase the issue in the Chart Shop.

NKR DOESN’T USE TERM ‘LIBERATED TERRITORIES’

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.12.2008 18:00 GMT+04:00

Nagorno Karabakh doesn’t use the term ‘liberated territories,’ an
expert said.

"Seven regions that were regained by the Karabakh army during the
war are inseparable part of the NKR territory, as it’s fixed in
the Constitution," Masis Mayilyan said during "The Karabakh issue:
perceptions in Armenian society and the results of 2008 negotiations"
round table discussion today.

"These territories constitute the security zone. It’s impossible to
say whether Lachin is more important that Fizuli. All regions are
strategically important," he said.

NATO: OSCE MINSK GROUP HANDLES ITS JOB WELL

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 18:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO supports peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the Alliance’s Deputy Secretary General said
in Baku.

"Resolution of the conflict will do good to the entire region. The OSCE
Minsk Group handles its job well and NATO will endorse its efforts,"
Claudio Bisogniero said, Trend Azeri news agency reports.

MITAT CELIKPALA: TURKEY-ARMENIA RECONCILIATION PROCESS FORCED

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 14:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The current Turkish-Armenian rapprochement is
a forced process. Actually, neither Armenia nor Turkey is willing
reconciliation, a Turkish professor said.

"The process is mostly conditioned by the incumbent leadership’s
aspiration for the European Union, which sets opening of the border
with Armenia as a precondition," said Mitat Celikpala, associate
professor of international relations at Turkey’s TOBB University.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge to recognize the Armenian
Genocide is also among the reasons, according to him.

"Furthermore, Russia is extremely interested opening of the border,
what will help alleviate Armenia’s isolation and its dependence on
Georgia. These factors compel Turkey to reconciliation," Celikpala
said.

"However, Ankara will not open the border with Armenia unless the
European Union gives green light to its accession bid. I think the
situation will clear up in spring 2009," he said, 1news.az reports.

8

Three Armenians in a city

Joanna Lobo
Saturday, December 13, 2008 03:06 IST

Fiesty at 93: Mumbai has been Rose Eknayan’s home since she was a
small child.

They have made Mumbai their home, but these three feisty Armenian women
still have a strong connection with their roots.

A Biblical legend goes that Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains
called Ararat. The country Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding
these mountains. The origins and the culture of the Armenians suggest a
strong link to the Catholic faith.

Armenians started migrating to India not just from the land of their
origin but also from the Middle East during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Today, most Indian Armenians are settled in Kolkatta. Mumbai is home to
a few of them, three to be precise.

One of the older residents in the city is the feisty and quick-witted
Fort resident, 93-year-old Rosie Eknayan. India has been her home from
the time she was two. Born into a family of five brothers and six
sisters, Rosie was married to Artias Eknayan when she was in primary
school. `Ours was an arranged marriage but it lasted for 45 years,’ she
says. Today, this mother of two lives alone, with the help of what she
calls her `Rolls Royce’: her wheelchair. Another important gadget in her
life is her television set that keeps her updated on the latest news
around the city and the world.

The Armenians are a generous people, says Eknayan, and they do not
hesitate to donate generously for any cause, particularly a religious
one. However, religion has no place in her life. `Ever since my son
died, I no longer go to church and pray,’ she says.
Another nonagenarian Armenian resident in the city is Nuvart Mehta.
Originally from Istanbul, she came to Mumbai on work. `I was working at
the American Consulate and they transferred me here,’ she recalls. `I
came here, met a Parsi man, married him and have not looked back since.’
Her love story is unique. A friend had called her over for drinks.
However, being very shy around women, he called another friend for moral
support. This was Nari, the man she fell in love with and married.

A resident of Colaba, Mehta lives alone but her goddaughter and
neighbour takes care of her. Age does not deter Mehta from enjoying
life. She gets her driver to take her around the city every day. She
even travels to Armenia and recently went to the US for her godchild’s
graduation. `I am a member of the Willington Club and go over everyday
to read the day’s papers.’ She tells you that the number of Armenians in
the city has dwindled because many have migrated to Australia where they
have many active churches.

The third Armenian in the city is Ezabella Joshi who lives in Juhu. A
resident of Mumbai since 1973, Ezabella came into the city after she
married Kishore Joshi. A trustee of the St. Peter’s Armenian Church, she
regularly travels all over the world. Her daughter, actress Tulip Joshi,
has been baptised an Armenian. Says Tulip: `The Archbishop of Australia
came down specially to baptise me. It was also the first time I was in
news because it was a big event.’ Tulip has visited Armenia many times
and loves it because it is `rugged, full of mountains; a very quiet and
a beautiful place.’ Although baptised, she does not follow any
particular religion.

Mumbai holds a very special place in the hearts of all three. `This is a
very international city and I love the fact that I have so many friends
of so many nationalities,’ says Mehta. The city has changed a lot over
the years, and now suffers a sense of insecurity, she adds. Eknayan
recalls the time when one could walk down the streets of Mumbai at any
time of the day. `The city has become so dirty now. Earlier, every
morning, the sweepers would come and clean the roads before people began
their day.’
For Rosie Eknayan, Nuvart Mehta and Ezabella Joshi, Mumbai has always
been home. As Rosie puts it: `Yeh Mumbai humari hai’.

[email protected]

Panorama.am
16:49 13/12/2008

FAMOUS ITALIAN OPERA SINGERS IN ARMENIA

On December 19 famous Italian opera singers Simona Bertini (soprano)
and Mario Leonardi (tenor) will have a performance in Aram Khachatryan
concert hall, Panorama.am has been informed by the Ministry of
Culture. Note that the concert is supported by the Ministry of Culture
of Armenia, the Italian Embassy to Armenia and State Philharmonic Band
of Armenia.

Source: Panorama.am

NKR PRESIDENT SIGNED A DECREE ACCORDING TO WHICH FOR EXCLUSIVE…

Azat Artsakh Daily
12 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR

On 10 December NKR President Bako Sahakyan signed a decree according to
which for exclusive services to the Nagorno Karabagh Republic and in
connection with the anniversary of the adoption of the NKR
Constitution, the second President of NKR Arkady Ghoukasyan is awarded
with the highest title of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic, the `Hero of
Artsakh’ and the Golden Eagle Order.