Author: Nadirian Emma

CYPRUS IS HURDLE TO TURKISH EU HOPES
by Rory Watson in Brussels and Suna Erdem in Istanbul

The Times (London)
November 9, 2006, Thursday

Turkey was told yesterday to open its ports and airports to Cypriot
traffic within the next month or face the suspension of talks to join
the European Union.

The ultimatum from the European Commission -the first delivered to a
potential EU country -solicited a promise to speed up domestic reforms,
but the Turkish Prime Minister insisted that the Cyprus issue could
be solved only by Greece and Greek Cypriots. "Don’t expect us to open
our ports and airports until the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot
state is lifted," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Suspension of accession talks would damage relations between Turkey
and the EU.

Opposition to Turkish membership in Germany and France would make
restarting the process difficult if stalled.

It could also fuel hostility towards the EU within Turkey, where the
polls show a strong majority of Turks believing that their country
is being treated unfairly by Brussels.

The Commission report on the progress Ankara is making to prepare for
membership said that Turkey is discriminating against an EU member
state, Cyprus, by refusing to recognise it and failing to remove
obstacles to the free movement of goods and transport.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the Commission President, called on Turkey to
focus on breaking the deadlock "in the coming weeks". If it failed
to do so, he said the Commission would present recommendations to EU
leaders before they meet in Brussels for their summit in the middle
of next month.

Finland, the current EU president, will use the next four weeks to
try to broker a deal. But after the collapse of attempts to organise
a meeting with Turkish negotiators last weekend, the prospects of a
breakthrough are slim.

Neither Mr Barroso, nor Olli Rehn, the Enlargement Commissioner,
who presented the report, would spell out what the recommendations
might be. But with pressure growing for a tougher response to Ankara,
especially from France, Cyprus and Greece, temporary suspension of
the negotiations is a likely option.

However, Turkish commentators predicted that EU leaders might decide
to put off any decision into next year. Such a move would allow the
Turkish Government a clear run for re-election against a rising tide
of nationalism. Only once re-elected would the Government be likely to
make concessions on Cyprus. Election victory might herald another round
of reforms from Mr Erdogan, but in the meantime he is shying away from
the pro-EU stance that characterised the early days of his Government.

The veteran commentator Hasan Cemal said: "All sides have an interest
in the talks continuing, even Cyprus, who would lose their leverage
to demand concessions if Turkey were no longer in talks with the EU."

The Commission noted political and economic reforms in Turkey but
said that their pace had slowed. It singled out freedom of expression
and treatment of the Kurds as areas where improvements are still
required. With Romania and Bulgaria set to join the EU on January 1,
the Commission’s policy is that no further countries should be allowed
to enter before the EU has overhauled its decision-making structures
to cater for more than 27 members.

Such a settlement is highly unlikely before 2009. As a result, Croatia,
next in the membership queue, will have to wait at least three years.

OBSTACLES TO MEMBERSHIP

1999

Turkey becomes official EU candidate

October 2005

Austria and Croatia withdraw objections. Among 35 negotiating issues
are reforms of military and judiciary and improvement of situation
in Kurdish areas

June 2006

Talks on first of 35 negotiation "chapters"

September 2006

Turkey told to open ports to Greek Cypriot traffic. It refuses unless
EU ends restrictions on northern Cyprus

October 2006

French make it a crime to deny Turkish responsibility for Armenian
genocide in First World War.

KASPRZYK: EVERYBODY PUSHES ITS INTERESTS

Panorama.am
13:35 09/11/06

Andrzej Kasprzyk, special representative of OSCE acting chairman on
Nagorno Karabakh, is participating in Wilton Park’s conference on
South Caucasus.

Panorama.am interviewed Kasprzyk on developments in the region.

– You have been in Armenia and Azerbaijan. How does the conflict
between Russia and the West influence the stability and development
in the region?

– I do not think that after cold war there is such a notion as a
conflict between Russia and the West. I think each country represents
its interests. I can point out that Russia has good relations with
France, Germany. It is wishful that similar relations were with Poland
as well. I do not think there is a specific approach to the region. I
think the developments in the region are not the continuation of cold
war. Everybody tries to push its interests.

-However, we are witnessing Russia-Georgia conflict which is viewed
in the context of American expansion in Georgia and South Caucasus
(or Transcaucasus).

After all it hinders the development in the region.

What can you say in this regard?

– I understand that the recent relations between Georgia and Russia do
not contribute to cooperation and reflect on the whole region. As an
external observer, we will hope that Russia and Georgia can regulate
their relations to the level that it will promote cooperation.

– This conference mainly discussed regional security and
development. In this context, we see that Azerbaijan and Turkey
together with Georgia build and form regional and bigger infrastructure
which passes by Armenia. How can this influence the region and can
it create new problems?

– I think the best would be full cooperation among the regional
states. I have no doubts in this and I think no one has. Taking
into consideration the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
it is clear that it creates problems in the region on the way of
cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan says she does
not want to cooperate because of the territorial occupation. Until
the conflict is regulated, I do not believe that such cooperation is
possible.

EXPERTS SAY AZERBAIJAN IS AN "ILLEGITIMATE"

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 8 2006

The Republic of Azerbaijan has reached today’s status quite illegally,
violating all the norms of international and Soviet law.

Contrary to this, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has declared its
independence in compliance with international and Soviet law.

Therefore, the solution to the Karabakh conflict should be searched
for only in the frames of international, and the settlement process
should be transferred to the legal field. Political scientist
Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan and lawyer Ashot Khachatryan expressed
the above-mentioned opinion in the Russian-language "The Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in the Light of International Law." According to
the authors, those in Azerbaijan understand pretty well that from the
legal perspective their positions are very shaky, therefore they do
everything to keep the resolution of the issue on the political layer.

"When seceding from the USSR, Azerbaijan violated the laws of that
country. Particularly, it did not follow the law on "The rules of
seceding from the USSR," which says that the Republic having autonomies
and regions, must hold separate referendums in every autonomy, and in
those regions where ethnic groups comprise majority, results of the
referendum are considered separately," the authors mention, adding
that according to Article 15 of the same law, USSR citizens residing
on the territory of a country seceding from the USSR are granted
citizenship and the right of choosing the place of residence and job.

It is mentioned in the law that the USSR and the seceding Republic
should come to an agreement on the status of territories, which did
not belong to the given Republic at the moment of entering the USSR."

"The given provision directly refers to the Armenian autonomous regions
of Utik, Artsakh, as well as Nakhijevan regions. "Illegally born"
Azerbaijan illegally annexed these territories, since before Azerbaijan
entered the Soviet Union on April 28, 1920 the above-mentioned
territories did not comprise part of its land.

Moreover, severely violating the USSR Law on "Self-determination of
nations" and ignoring the civil and ethnic group rights, on August
30, 1991 the Soviet Socialistic Republic of Azerbaijan unilaterally
declared its independence," noted Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan and Ashot
Khachatryan.

Today three questions should be posed when discussing the Karabakh
issue: What to give? Whom to give? Why give? The authors note that
Armenia is required to give lands not belonging to any of the sides.

Concession of lands will mean inclusion of Armenian Utik and Artsakh
States within Azerbaijan.

RA FM IS SATISFIED WITH GREAT BRITAIN’S POSITION FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 8 2006

RA Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanyan, is satisfied with the Great
Britain’s position for the Karabakh conflict settlement.

Commenting, in the talk with journalists, the recent statement of the
top official from Great Britain, saying that his country recognizes
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh in its
structure, RA FM noted that the Armenia has addressed the Great Britain
for explanations after this statement. "They confirmed their position,
having claimed that there no changes in it. They protect the Minsk
process, its content, and they will support it despite any decision
made to be made", V. Oskanyan said. The Minister noted he does not
want to comment this statement. "Until their position is as such,
we are satisfied with it" , V. Oskanyan concluded.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, November 9, 2006

AGBU Montreal Honors Former Chairman Viken Attarian

On September 17, 2006, AGBU Montreal honored former Chairman Viken
Attarian and his wife Datevik with a special dinner held at the local
AGBU Alex Manoogian Center. Nearly 300 AGBU members, friends and
distinguished guests attended the event to pay tribute to Mr. Attarian
and his accomplishments as Montreal’s 11th Chapter Chairman from 2004
to 2006 and Vice Chairman from 2000 to 2004. Long before holding
leadership positions for the Montreal Chapter, Mr. Attarian’s earliest
experiences with AGBU began in 1969 as a child in Lebanon. More than
three decades later, the former Chairman was praised during this
tributary dinner for his focus on preparing the Chapter’s youth for
future leadership.

Mr. Attarian received his elementary and secondary education through
AGBU schools in Beirut, where he also began his lifelong involvement
with AGBU’s Scouting Program. As Chairman, he was instrumental in
reviving the Montreal Chapter’s scouting movement, now one of the top
troops in all of Canada with over 180 members. Also during his tenure,
he cultivated a partnership with PBS resulting in the regular
broadcasting of Armenian programs, as well as brought the Chapter
online with a highly developed website ().

Among the many dignitaries present to congratulate Mr. Attarian were
local Mayors Vera Danyluk of Ville Mont Royal and Alan de Sousa of
Ville Saint Laurent, several members of the Quebec Parliament, and
AGBU Central Board Member Dr. Arshavir Gundjian. Mr. and Mrs. Attarian
were presented plaques with engraved Honorary Membership cards, along
with messages from AGBU President Berge Setrakian, Canadian Parliament
Member Stéphane Dion and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Lise Thibault.

Dr. Rita Kuyumjian, AGBU Montreal’s recently elected Chairwoman,
concluded the evening with a special surprise as she presented the
biography of Mr. Attarian’s father, author Armen Tarian, and announced
the establishment of the Armen Tarian Literary Award. The dinner
reception raised nearly $11,000 (Canadian) for the Montreal Chapter’s
Paul & Sirvart Kichian Capital Renovation Fund which was established
in 2005 to cover the ongoing expenses of the Alex Manoogian Center.

The Montreal Chapter is committed to upholding the mission of AGBU to
preserve and promote the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. For more information
on AGBU Montreal, please call (514) 748-2428, email
[email protected] or visit For more
information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please visit

POLITICIANS DISCUSS ELECTORAL CODE AMENDMENTS
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Nov 8 2006

The issue of forming electoral commissions featured prominently during
Wednesday’s discussions of amendments to the Electoral Code organized
by Armenia’s largest independent election-monitoring organization
called "The Choice is Yours".

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday found the Electoral Code
provision allowing the presence of judges in electoral commissions
unconstitutional and ordered all judges currently involved in
commissions as members to stop their activities and lawmakers to make
appropriate amendments in the Code.

Senior Republican Party member Samvel Nikoyan thinks this is a matter
to discuss and reach an agreement. The ruling party’s representative,
however, stopped short of expressing either his party’s or his personal
view on who should replace judges in electoral commissions.

Gegham Manukian, of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, thinks
it is yet early to speak about concrete proposals. "But I am sure
that the issue will be specified before the second reading of the
Electoral Code," he said.

Orinats Yerkir’s Hovannes Markarian thinks it will only be fair if the
political forces represented in parliament get an equal representation
in electoral commissions. "We have six political forces in parliament
— three opposition and three pro-government. So let’s enable these
political forces to be represented by two members each and we will get
12 commission members. This will be a fair approach," he underlined.

"If we have five or six pro-government political parties winning in
next elections, what will happen in the commissions, will they not form
the commission by saying there is no opposition?" Felix Khachatrian,
a representative of the opposition Artarutyun faction in the Central
Election Commission, queried. "Three years ago we said judges have
no right to be present in commissions both by the constitution and
moral principles."

And opposition "Hanrapetutyun" (Republic) Party senior member
Artak Zeynalian urged Armenia’s lawmakers to be more responsible
in adopting laws. "Every lawmaker at the National Assembly should
bear responsibility and make sure that no norm contradicting the
constitution and the rule-of-law principle is adopted."

LITHUANIAN REPS DELIVERING LECTURES TO ARMENIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ON FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

Baltic News Service
November 7, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM EET

Representatives of the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office and
Special Investigation Service are delivering lectures to Armenian
law enforcement officers on ways to combat corruption.

Algimantas Kliunka, the chief prosecutor of the Organized Crime and
Corruption Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office,
Juozas Sakela and Ceslovas Bakasenas of the Special Investigation
Service are currently in Yerevan.

The Lithuanian officers intend to share Lithuania’s experience
in investigating corruption cases as well as in preparation and
implementation of national anti-corruption public education measures.

Armenia, just like other Eastern region countries, is strengthening
anti-corruption efforts.

Lithuanian officers have earlier delivered such lectures to Azerbaijani
law enforcement officers.

According to a survey by Transparency International, the Corruption
Perception Index (CPI) of Lithuania in 2006 stands at 4.8, which
shows that Lithuania has problems with changing its image of a
corrupt country.

However, Caucasus countries have even more problems in this area.

Armenia’s CPI score is 2.9, Georgia’s – 2.8, Azerbaijan’s – 2.4.

On the ten-point scale, 0 means absolute corruption, while 10 indicates
minimal corruption.

ARMENIAN MINISTRY, NUKE PLANT, RUSSIA’S TVEL INK COOPERATION ACCORD

Prime-Tass Business News Agency, Russia
November 8, 2006 Wednesday

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (Prime-Tass) – The Ministry of Energy of Armenia, the
Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and Russian state-owned uranium producer
TVEL have signed an accord on cooperation, TVEL said Wednesday.

In particular, the power plant and TVEL plan to work together to
enhance nuclear fuel safety and extend the lifetime of the plant’s
second power-generating unit, TVEL said.

In addition, TVEL is expected to supply new generation nuclear fuel
for the power plant, Anton Badenkov, TVEL’s acting president, said.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant has been using Russian fuel since
its launch in 1980. TVEL has been the power plant’s supplier since
2001. In 2005, an agreement was signed that made TVEL the power
plant’s supplier of nuclear fuel for the rest of the plant’s lifetime.

In 2005, nuclear energy accounted for 42.7% of all energy produced
in Armenia. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, the sole nuclear power
plant in the country, only operates its second power-generating unit.

The first unit was shut down in 1989 and is currently being dismantled.

DJ GAZPROM BUYS CONTROLLING STAKE IN ARMENIAN PIPE

Prime-Tass Business News Agency, Russia
November 8, 2006 Wednesday

Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom has bought a controlling stake in
a pipeline being constructed between Iran and Armenia, The Times
newspaper reports Wednesday.

Gazprom took a 45% stake in the project, called ArmRosGaz last year.

Gazprom raised its stake to 58% by buying $119 million in shares of
the company over the weekend, the U.K. newspaper said.

The pipeline is expected to be completed later this year.

Construction on the $220 million project began in 2004, and its first
section is set to be completed this year will have an initial capacity
of 1.7 billion cubic meters. There is also the possibility of a second
pipeline being built between the two countries.

It has also been suggested the pipeline could bring gas from Iran to
Europe. Iran has the world’s second largest gas reserves, after Russia.

NEXT COURT HEARING ON BABAJANYAN CASE ON NOVEMBER 20

Panorama.am
17:26 07/11/06

The criminal and military appeal court ruled out today to call the
next court hearing on the case of Arman Babajanyan, editor-in-chief of
Jamanak Yerevan newspaper, on November 20. New defense attorneys of
Babajanyan, Haik Alumyan and Zaruhi Postanjyan, have applied to the
appeal court with a request to reconsider four years of imprisonment
sentence ruled out by a first instance court.

Defense attorney, Haik Alumyan, has submitted a mediation to release
Babajanyan on bail saying he is fully entitled to it.