Author: Nadirian Emma

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS DENIED THEIR STATEMENTS IN YEREVAN

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

OSCE Minsk group co-chairs met with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan yesterday.

They agreed on Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers meeting in
Moscow on October 6, OSCE MG Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov said
in press conference in Yerevan, APA reports. French co-chair Bernar
Fasie said the meeting of the presidents is possible only after the
Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

Armenian mass media claims the co-chairs denied their statements made
in Azerbaijan. While in Azerbaijan, Bernar Fasie said that the format
of the negotiations cannot be changed. In Yerevan he said he made no
statement on Nagorno Garabagh negotiations in Baku.

The co-chairs did not make public the details of the negotiations in
Yerevan. French co-chair said the principles of the negotiations have
not been changed in past two years.

Commenting on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s statements they
said military solution of Nagorno Garabagh conflict is impossible.

"Azerbaijan President can say anything he wants. We will not comment
on his statement The co-chairs said the solution plan was approved
by G8 summit in Washington, Paris and Moscow, but Azerbaijanis and
Armenians are not ready to live together.

Bernar Fasie said the solution of the conflict is out of the question
if the two nations are not ready to live together in peace.

The co-chairs will hold meeting in Khankendi today.

SHOULD TURKEY NOT ENTER THE EUROPEAN UNION?
by Sedat Laciner

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Oct 3 2006

Until now, I have strongly defended Turkey’s EU membership. I
have thought that this would significantly contribute to Turkey,
the EU, the world peace, stability and economy. However, the recent
developments make me question my thoughts on the issue. I can’t help
but ask myself if I am wrong?

***

The EU says "you want to enter the EU. So, you have to do whatever
we want you to."

This is a sound approach at first glance. If you want to be a part
of an establishment, you need to obey its rules.

But Turkey’s EU membership cannot be assessed just in this narrow
context.

***

First and foremost, the EU doesn’t have predetermined criteria
for Turkey’s membership. The EU put forward different criteria for
Turkey and other candidate countries. Turkey had almost an identical
political structure and economy with Greece. In the past half century,
Greece was able to enter the EU as a full member, but Turkey was
excluded. When the Cold War system collapsed, Turkey’s economy and
political structure were far more better than the Central and Eastern
European countries. Even the Polish, Czech and other politicians
used to come to Turkey to understand and take some lessons for their
countries from the Turkish model in economic liberalization and
democratization. All these countries are now EU members. On the other
hand, there are still question marks regarding Turkey’s EU membership.

***

There are only the Helsinki criteria officially. But we all know that
the EU’s demands are infinite. Nowadays, some EU members try to put
the Armenian issue as a condition. Thinking that Turkey cannot be
stopped by legitimate ways, some politicians such as French President
Jacques Chirac are hitting under the belt. They endorse the Armenian
claims as if they were the historical facts and proclaim Turkey as the
perpetrator of so-called "genocide." And the anti-Turkish groups in
the European Parliament (EP), whatever nations they know of, claim that
Turkish people committed genocide against all these nations. For now,
Armenians, Pontus Greeks and Assyrians are on the so-called "genocide"
list. There are Kurds and others on the line-up. Once there are a few
drops of blood or a minor clash, someone says "Turks have commited
genocide." However, for the 1,5 million Algerians massacred by the
French, they say "this is none of our business, let the historians
decide on that."

The play is getting really dirtier. If this is the way it is, Turkey
should give up from its EU quest as soon as possible. Otherwise,
there will be many "genocide" accusations for Turkey in near future.

Some circles in the EU accuse Turkey of these acts with the aim of
slandering. It’s hard for Turkey to cope with such strong, planned and
organized assaults. It might be better to give up from the EU instead
of being unjustly labeled as "murderer" or "perpetrator of genocide."

***

The never-ending EU demands have caused mass anger among the Turkish
public. The pro-EU politicians have been exhausted by trying to answer
the rightful questions of the people. The EU has been demanding without
contributing anything to Turkey. The burden is getting heavier and
heavier for pro-EU Turkish politicians and the Turkish Government
without receiving any gains. As the pro-EU Turkish politicians have
just convinced the public in favor of the EU, the EU says something
on the Armenian or Cyprus issues in an extremely inconsiderate and
anti-Turkish way. As a result, all the Turkish efforts are going in
vain. The anti-EU groups in Turkey, of course, abuse this situation
as their mission. For these reasons, the EU process should be stopped
in order to prevent a permanent hatred against the EU. By this way,
the EU’s ‘absurd’ demands will stop, the Turkish politicians will not
have to defend the EU membership, and the negative feelings among the
public will have finished without growing into hatred and animosity
against the EU.

***

The most important reason of the EU membership for the pro-EU
politicians persistently defending it was the improvement in
democratization and human rights. However, Turkey’s human rights
situation has surpassed many EU member countries though Turkey
is not a member. There has also been a noticeable improvement in
democratization. The only problem for now is to decrease the army’s
influence in the politics to a reasonable level. In other words, it
is to cancel out the possibility for a military coup. The governments
in Turkey have seen the EU as a natural ally against the militarist
groups and have voiced the democratization argument for the EU quest.

But the racist and even religionist statements and discriminatory
acts from the EU circles against Turkey jeopardize the EU process as
well as the objectives claimed. If there will be a military coup in
Turkey, the most important reason for that will be the EU’s Turkey
policies. The EU so crudely pressures and humiliates Turkey that
the Turkish politicians cannot defend their pro-EU stances and the
non-democratic forces are emboldened.

***

Turkey’s EU membership could have best contributed to the cessation
of clash of civilizations. The Muslim communities in the world think
that the West is not sincere in its struggle against terrorism and in
its policies toward the Muslim world. There is a notable feeling of
victimization among the Muslims. The peoples, whose natural resources
(oil, natural gas etc.) have been taken from their hands, think that
their autocratic regimes are collaborating with the West and they
are paying the price for that. They trust neither their governments
nor the West. In such a case, "people’s resistance" such as Hamas
and Hizbullah or other extremities gain power. Despair leads to
extremities. The expected ‘miracle’ could have been Turkey’s EU
membership. Turkey’s participation could have proved that the West is
not solely a Christian Club and that the West could have had a genuine
cooperation with the Muslim world. However, the meaningless statements,
which are almost racist and religionist, waste these hopes. The
Cartoon Crisis, almost an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, and the
Pope’s irresponsible statement are followed by excessive demands from
Turkey. In Cyprus, the EU only blames the Turkish people. As the EU
included the Christians of the Island as a full member, it excluded the
Muslim Cypriots. Taking Armenian side in the historical disagreements
between the Armenians and the Turks, the EU doesn’t even say a word
for the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, which is
another Muslim Turkish state. The Armenians and Turks are so similar
nations: Almost the only difference is their religions. All these
developments are watched closely by the Muslim world of course. More
than 1 billion Muslims witness the double standards on Turkey. To
put it short, Turkey’s EU process does not ease the "victimization"
of the Muslims, it consolidates "victimization". In such a case,
it might be meaningful for Turkey to end its EU process immediately.

***

We also know that Turkey’s alliance with the EU and the US in combating
terror causes resentment among organizations like Al-Qaeda.

The target of the bombs in Istanbul in November 2003 was the British
bank HSBC, the British General Consulate and the synagogues. But the
entire Turkey has paid the price. Turkey can reposition itself to a
less visible point in the war between the West and the fundamentalist
Islamists like Al-Qaeda so as not to be considered as a target. If full
membership will never happen, why pay the price on behalf of the West?

***

For those who have favored Turkey’s EU process, one of the most
important reasons has been taking the EU as a democratic model.

Turkey would have been more democratic once it had entered the
EU, according to the pro-EU groups. Ironically, those who voice
anti-democratic demands in Turkey are inspiring from the EU now: The
groups defending the extension of the detention period in Turkey for
instance refer to the British anti-terror laws as examples. Both the
US and the EU have turned out to be breaching the human rights in
combating terror more than Turkey has done. In this case, Turkey’s
EU quest pushes Turkey to a tougher point, not to democratization.

***

The most risky part is the Turkish economy. Countries such as Greece,
Spain and Portugal have used enormous funds from the EU budget so
far. It is now Poland which seems a great burden for the EU. The French
farmers, who have been subsidized from the EU funds for decades,
were the group which prevented the approval of the EU constitution
despite its financial contribution to them. Turkey, on the other hand,
has been the country which contributed the most to the EU economy,
leave alone being a burden. Turkey is the first and only country which
entered the Customs Union without being an EU member. Turkey has given
up billions of dollars of revenue from custom taxes in favor of the
EU. Today, though ostensibly funded by a few EU funds, Turkey cannot
even compensate for the contribution it has made to these funds. In
short, Turkey hasn’t achieved anything thanks to the EU.

Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world and it has achieved
this success despite the EU. Today, the Turkish businessmen are not
expecting any assistance from the EU. Their only demand is stability
and they anticipate that stability will more increase once Turkey
enters the EU. However, it is quiet clear that the EU doesn’t want
to see Turkey as a full member and that it only procrastinates Turkey.

The EU gives promises to Turkey, signs agreements with Turkey and
the Turkish economy adjusts itself accordingly. When the relations
are good, foreign investments flow into Turkish economy. But the
EU’s inconsistent policies seriously harm the stability of Turkish
economy. The worst thing for an economy is these ups and downs. The
best option is that French, Dutch, German or other politicians should
declare that they will never accept Turkey as a member. By this way,
the short-term cycles will decrease and Turkish economy will grow
with stability. In short, it might be better for Turkey to stop the
EU process for the sake of Turkish economy.

***

Another reason to end the EU process of Turkey is the burden incurred
by the Turkish economy as a result of the EU regulations. Turkey is
now even more advantageous than China. It is close to the EU, but
still exempt from any disadvantages of the Union. In other words,
it is a China in the close vicinity of European markets. After the
accession of Romania and Bulgaria, Turkish economy will have no rivals
in terms of competition. By now, many companies have dismantled their
factories in Europe and moved them to Turkey. If Turkey disregards
the EU process and only concentrates on the competitiveness of
its economy, Turkish domination will be inevitable in the European
markets. Moreover, it is also possible to increase foreign trade by
making alliances with China and India. In the opposite case, the EU
will continue to be a burden on Turkish economy. As the EU will not
grant billions of dollars for customs, and will not channel $30-50
billion for agriculture, it is not wise to expect even one Euro from
the EU. Instead of all these, it might be more beneficial to leave
the EU process for larger gains in the economy.

***

Worse than all those above is the EU’s acts in international politics,
which lacks the principles of even the simplest international actor
has. Turkey definitely will have to fulfill the demands of the EU. But
the EU should at least meet the basic principles such as pacta sund
servanda and being honest. Turkey’s objective since 1959 has been
full membership and the EU confirmed this in every agreement. But
it failed to take action. For example, according to the documents
approved by the EU, the Turks should have been granted the freedom
of movement in the EU beginning from the early 1990s. If one checks
the statements of the EU on Cyprus in 1994, the Greek Cypriots should
have been punished and the Turkish Cypriots should have been saved
from isolations. The EU insincerity list can be extended, but there
is no need to do that. It might be profitable for Turkey to reassess
its EU process as soon as possible.

If Turkey leaves the EU process, it will have the following advantages:

· It will no more be the target of organizations like al-Qaeda,

· It will no more be the target in the transit point of the clash
of civilizations,

· It will no more have to take the EU’s criticisms seriously,

· The EU will no more be an actor in the Armenian issue,

· It will be able to develop a policy independent from the EU in
the Caucasus. It will be able to make alliance with Russia or any
other country,

· The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will be able to proceed
for independence in an atmosphere of lack of solution,

· The anti-EU sentiments, which have unnecessarily grown, will calm
down in Turkey,

· The EU will no more be seen as the origin of all problems and more
realistic assessments will be made in Turkey,

· More effective struggle can be carried out against the PKK terror.

It is now the time to be honest. I ask myself honestly: Will it be
better not to enter the EU?

[email protected]

3 October 2006

=2302

–Boundary_(ID_dGVlNm3ONAmnJ+s2qWFahA)–

VISITE EMPREINTE D’EMOTION POUR CHIRAC EN ARMENIE

Agence France Presse
30 septembre 2006 samedi

Le president francais Jacques Chirac a effectue samedi une visite
d’Etat empreinte d’emotion en Armenie, où la question des massacres
d’Armeniens entre 1915-1917 dans l’Empire ottoman, reconnus par la
France comme un "genocide", a ete omnipresente.

M. Chirac a a cette occasion presse la Turquie de proceder a une
reconnaissance similaire avant de pouvoir adherer a l’Union europeenne.

"C’est avec une emotion profonde que je decouvre la terre d’Armenie",
a lance Jacques Chirac, saluant "l’histoire heroïque et tourmentee
de ce peuple d’Armenie issu de la plus haute antiquite".

"Je pense a tous les survivants de cette tragedie qui durent prendre
les chemins d’un douloureux exil", a-t-il ajoute en evoquant, devant
plusieurs milliers d’Armeniens reunis sur la "place de France"
a peine inauguree a Erevan, les tueries de 1915-1917.

Au cours de cette periode, les massacres et deportations d’Armeniens
dans l’Empire ottoman ont fait plus de 1,5 million de morts, selon
les Armeniens, entre 250.000 et 500.000 selon les Turcs qui refutent
la notion de genocide.

M. Chirac a debute la première journee de sa visite d’Etat par un
hommage aux victimes.

Accompagne de son epouse Bernadette, le chef de l’Etat a depose
une gerbe au pied du Tsitsernakaberd, le "Monument au genocide des
Armeniens", en presence du couple presidentiel armenien.

Parmi ses invites de la diaspora armenienne, le numero un mondial
du caviar Armen Petrossian confiait etre "submerge par l’emotion",
le journaliste Daniel Bilalian eclatait en sanglot et le footballeur
Youri Djorkaeff observait, fige, la minute de silence.

La France est devenue en 2001 le premier grand pays europeen a
reconnaître comme "genocide" ces evenements par une loi, alors qu’un
grand nombre de pays ne retiennent pas cette qualification.

En conference de presse, Jacques Chirac a enfonce le clou en jugeant
que la Turquie devait proceder a une reconnaissance similaire avant
de pouvoir adherer a l’Union europeenne. "Tout pays se grandit en
reconnaissant ses drames et ses erreurs", a-t-il juge.

"Quand de surcroît il s’agit de s’integrer dans un ensemble qui
revendique l’appartenance a une meme societe et la croyance en de memes
valeurs, je pense qu’effectivement la Turquie serait bien inspiree
(…) d’en tirer les consequences", a-t-il poursuivi.

Jusqu’a present, les Europeens n’ont pas fait de la reconnaissance
du genocide armenien de 1915 une condition de l’entree d’Ankara a l’UE.

"Nous conduirons avec les Turcs un travail d’explication", a
indique l’entourage du chef de l’Etat, questionne par la presse sur
d’eventuelles vives reactions de la Turquie a ces propos.

Selon son entourage, Jacques Chirac, qui est favorable a l’entree de
la Turquie dans l’UE, juge que tout pays qui y adhère doit partager
ses valeurs, notamment au regard du reexamen de sa propre histoire,
a l’image de ce qu’ont fait l’Allemagne ou la France.

La Turquie a entame en octobre 2005 des negociations en vue d’une
entree dans l’UE dans dix ou quinze ans.

Accueilli par plusieurs milliers de personnes "place de France",
Jacques Chirac a mentionne la dispute autour du Nagorny Karabakh,
une enclave habitee en majorite par des Armeniens et qui a fait
secession de l’Azerbaïdjan après un conflit meurtrier ayant debute
a la fin des annees 1980.

"Je veux croire que le temps de la paix est venu. Je veux le croire
parce que je connais le prix de la guerre", a-t-il declare.

Il s’est ensuite lance dans un long bain de foule, suivi par Charles
Aznavour, veritable star en Armenie, dont les chansons etaient
diffusees a plein volume et qu’il a qualifie de "grand Francais,
grand Armenien et immense artiste".

Charles Aznavour devait lancer samedi soir l’annee de l’Armenie en
France par un concert exceptionnel sur la "place de la Republique",
devant M. Chirac et des milliers d’Armeniens.

–Boundary_(ID_PARs5r+vaxq5EyTi87l3z g)–

RAGE OF ANKARA
By Nazlan Ertan

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 30 2006

The Turkish temper has targeted two foreigners in the last seven
days: first Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the head of the European Commission
Delegation to Turkey, and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president.

Camiel Eurlings, the author of a much-modified Turkey report in
the European Parliament, was clearly overshadowed by those two,
particularly after an offending reference to the Armenian "genocide"
being a precondition for Turkish accession in the European Union was
removed from the text.

Accountability

The remarks by Kretschmer, made at the launch of Almanak Turkey, on
the security sector and democratic oversight, weren’t particularly
different to previous ones in European Commission progress reports.

However, his remarks that the military has been exempt of
"accountability," which must be observed by all state institutions,
created an angry reaction from the top commanders. Gen. Ilker Basbug,
the Land Forces commander and possibly the next chief of General
Staff, reacted tersely to the remarks, saying that it could not be
considered undemocratic to defend the principles of the republic. The
reply that was most-awaited was that of Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the
new chief of staff, who is considered more of a hardliner than his
predecessor. The critical date of the response is Monday, when Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Washington.

Eurlings contained

The offensive report of Dutch Member of the European Parliament Camille
Eurlings was accepted by the EP general assembly this week, but Turkish
diplomacy, combined with distributed fact-sheets, letters and visiting
parliamentary delegations, managed to wipe out the most offensive
parts of the report. The wording that established recognition of the
Armenian "genocide" as a precondition to Turkish membership in the
European Union was withdrawn by Belgian Socialist Deputy Dominique de
Keyzer, after being reminded by her own party that the move may lead
to a loss of Turkish votes in the next local elections in Belgium,
scheduled for Oct. 8. For the first time, resident foreigners,
including Turkish guest-workers, will vote in the elections.

A reference to the Pontic Greek and Syriac "genocides" was also removed
from the text, replaced by an article which said that Turkey should
reconcile with its past.

In the words of Ali Babacan, Turkey’s two-hatted chief negotiator
who’s started a second tour of Europe by visiting Italy and Finland,
pointed out that the report, even at its present stage, is far
from satisfactory. True enough, the report carried heavy criticism,
part of which will be reflected in the Commission’s regular report
on Turkey. These centered around the role of the military, cultural
and religious freedoms, and the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish
Penal Code (TCK).

A new ‘Dawn’?

Yes, the notorious case against Elif Safak, whose last name means
"dawn," is over, but the debate on Article 301 of the TCK continues.

Attempts to change this article on insulting not only Turkish
institutions but Turkishness itself, continue. Criticized in a recent
Amnesty International report, the infamous article has been defended
by Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who said that many European Union
countries have similar articles. Cicek, in a televised interview,
read a Polish text which makes insulting the national dignity of
Polish people and Polishness a criminal act. What he didn’t add,
however, is that this article was used for the last time in 1995.

Rumors indicate that the Foreign Ministry is eager to modify the
article before November, but that the Justice Ministry supports slower
moves in that direction.

Talabani speaks up

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has achieved what no Turkish politician
could: He managed to get pro-state, anti-EU daily Cumhuriyet, and
liberal, pro-EU Radikal, newspapers with widely different outlooks,
to run the same headline: "Talabani threatens Turkey." The Iraqi
president said, while in the U.S., that he spoke to the PKK and said
the terrorist group will declare a ceasefire in a few days. A few days
later, he announced that Iraq’s neighbors are interfering in Iraq’s
affairs too much and if they don’t stop, Iraq will reciprocate by
supporting opposition groups in those countries.

Turkey, angry at being compared to regional countries such as Iran
and Syria, responded with a reasonably moderate statement. Foreign
Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Turkey’s policy toward Iraq
is both transparent and in line with good neighborly ties. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for once controlling his temper, said
that the remarks were unfortunate, and hoped it was a mistake which
would not be repeated. The harshest reaction came from Cemil Cicek,
the justice minister, who said, "This man is a boot kisser."

The remarks of Mr Talabani on interference by neighbors came at a
time when a Turkish Parliament delegation was in northern Iraq to
"see the situation of Turkmens and Kirkuk."

Mr. Erdogan goes to Washington

Erdogan left for London via Washington! In less than five days, the
premier will meet with both U.S. President George W.Bush and British
Premier Tony Blair. The joke in Ankara’s political circles is that
Erdogan intends to use this trip to clear the way to the presidency;
but he may be wiser to take his cues from Blair — and learn instead
to clear the way, period.

3RD EXPORT CATALOGUE "NATIONAL EXPORT REGISTER-ARMENIA 2006-2007" RELEASED IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2006

YEREVAN,, September 28. /ARKA/. The 3rd export catalogue "National
export register-Armenia 2006-2007" has been released in Armenia. The
MASTER Center for Promotion of International Integration reports that
the catalogue contains information on over 200 companies working
in various economic sectors of Armenia, which is much higher than
last year.

The catalogue has been distributed at the "Armenia 2006" trade-economic
forum (September 8-11, 2006), and at the 2nd economic forum
"Armenia-Diaspora" (September 18-20, 2006).

Among the subscribers are over 100 business associations in 50
countries – chambers of commerce and industry, sectoral associations
and large importers. The catalogue is also distributed at forums,
congresses, business meetings both in and outside Armenia.

In Armenia, the catalogue is distributed among international
organizations, foreign embassies, ministries and departments. The
catalogue is also distributed among RA diplomatic missions abroad
with the assistance of the RA Foreign Office.

The information on all the companies is also put on the official
web-site of the project – The compiler and publisher
of the catalogue "National export register-Armenia 2006-2007" is the
MASTER Center for Promotion of International Integration with official
assistance of the RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development,
RA Foreign Office, Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia
(UMBA).

WHEN A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IS SEIZED BY EXTREMISTS
by Igor Plugatarev
Translated by A. Ignatkin

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 27, 2006 Wednesday

Special forces of the Federal Security Service are to be involved in
liberation of hostages taken at a strategic object in Armenia

EXERCISE ATOM-COUNTER-TERRORISM’2006 OF CIS SECRET SERVICES WILL TAKE
PLACE IN ARMENIA; CIS secret services will run an counter-terrorism
exercise in Armenia.

Atom-Counter-Terrorism’2006, an exercise that will take place on the
territory of Armenia between September 26 and 29, is not going to
be ordinary. Officers of the CIS Counter-Terrorism Center told this
newspaper that the exercise would be an element of a conference of
senior officers of CIS special forces.

What distinguishes the exercise is that it will be run at the
Armenian nuclear power plant in the town of Metsamor in the Ararat
Valley (35 kilometers southwest of Yerevan). This is going to be
the fifth exercise of this kind in six years of existence of the
CIS Counter-Terrorism Center (the previous were run in Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine) and the first to involve units
of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization. A great deal
of observers are expected at the exercise. They will represent G8
countries, Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Secretariat of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty Organization, Counter-Terrorism Committee
of the UN Security Council and UN Directorate for Drugs and Crimes,
and Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure of the Shanghai Organization
of Cooperation.

This correspondent unearthed some details of the legend of the
exercise. As a matter of fact, the exercise is already under way.

"Terrorists" are already fighting their way through the territories of
some other countries to the nuclear power plant in Armenia. Their part
is being played by officers of the Armenian National Security Service
and Special Task Center of the Russian Federal Security Service. The
officers are disguised as gunmen of Al-Qaeda, Moslem Brothers,
Islamic Movement of Turkistan, Hizb-ut-Takhrir, Taliban, and other
international extremist organizations operating in the Commonwealth.

"We know their ways," officer of the CIS Counter-Terrorism Center
said. "This information was obtained in a series of actual operations
secret services of CIS countries (first and foremost Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) ran in 1999, and in the 2000’s.

The CIS Counter-Terrorism Center has compiled all the data. The
information was used when the exercise was planned."

The first phase of the exercise began in the middle of September. The
involved assets drill actions needed to localize, contain, and destroy
terrorist groups determined to invade the territory of the Republic
of Armenia. The "terrorists" are numerous and well-trained.

The Armenian National Security Service and law enforcement agencies
are trying to cope with the problem but available information on
"terrorists’" numerical strength and gravity of consequences of
the potential terrorist acts persuades the national leadership to
holler for help. CIS leaders and the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization are asked to come to Armenia’s help. Once the decision to
help is made, the national army of Armenia together with the tactical
team of the United Headquarters of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization will plan and mount a special operation against the
criminals. The operation will take place on the shooting range of
the Armenian army.

And yet, by the legend of the exercise several splinter groups will
escape and seize the nuclear power plant in Metsamor. The "terrorists"
will put forth political demands threatening to blow up the reactor.

Once the threat is valuated, Armenian leaders will appeal to the CIS
Council of the Heads of States to dispatch Special Forces to save the
hostages and retake the seized objects. Officers of the Special Task
Center of the Russian Federal Security Service will immediately fly
to Armenia.

This correspondent will try to see the developments right in
Metsamor. This is going to be the first such exercise in the last
twenty years. It will be an analog of the unique drill servicemen
of Vympel (a KGB special force) ran at a nuclear power plant in the
Soviet Union in the distant 1980’s.

Source: Nezavisimaya Voennoe Obozrenie, No 34, September 22 – 28,
2006, p. 7.

WORKS ON FIRES IN KARABAKH TO START IN OCTOBER

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.09.2006 16:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Since the day of the adoption of the UN resolution
"On the seized territories of Azerbaijan" the OSCE leadership has been
carrying out a big deal of work, OSCE CiO’s Personal Representative
Andrzej Kasprzyk said. He remarked that a document based on the
discussions in the UN has been drawn and works will start in early
October. The expert group will include specialists representing
the sides of the conflict and the international organizations. They
will examine the situation during several days and then prepare a
report in the work done. Ambassador Kasprzyk voiced hope that the
sides will fulfill the recommendations filed by the expert group,
reports Azertag news agency.

EUROPEAN SOCIETY CALLS ON EP NOT TO YIELD TO TURKEY’S PRESSURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.09.2006 14:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Civil Society issued a joint statement
on the Armenian Genocide issue within the context of Turkey’s accession
talks. The statement says,

"We, European citizens, follow up with a sustained attention the
Union enlargement process and especially the developments relating
to Turkey’s controversial candidature.

We took note of the report on "Turkey’s progress towards accession"
voted on Monday September 4 by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. We
particularly noticed with delight that the European Parliament
"reiterates its call on Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian genocide,
as called for in the previous European Parliament resolutions of 15
December 2004 and 28 September 2005" and "considers such acknowledgment
to be a precondition for European Union accession".

We were also informed about threatening pressures exerted on you
by Turkey and the disinformation campaign in order to remove this
mention. As citizens of the Union, we are absolutely indignant that
a foreign power with radically anti-European values can thus alter
the sovereign appreciation formulated by our European representation
on this issue.

This is why we take the liberty of reminding you the following facts:

1. The call for the Armenian genocide acknowledgment as a precondition
by the European Parliament does not constitute at all an additional
requirement towards Turkey. This requirement was clearly formulated
in almost the same wording, less than a year ago, in the resolution on
"opening the negotiations with Turkey":

"The European Parliament calls on Turkey to recognise the Armenian
genocide; considers this recognition to be a prerequisite for accession
to the European Union" (P6_TA(2005)0350, 28/09/2005); This formulation
is in the political line of those written in the preceding resolutions
of 18 June 1987 and 15 December 2004. To water down or to remove it
would constitute an obvious sign given to Turkey that the European
Parliament is on the point of denying its principles,

2. The fact that such a condition was not formally imposed to
other Candidate States does not constitute an argument proving its
non-admissibility. The application of other States even would not be
taken into consideration. The acknowledgement of its crimes by the
State who perpetrated it is an accession criteria,

3. The calls reiterated by the European Parliament concerning this
issue allowed the beginning of timid debates in Turkey. Weakening
these demands would constitute an objective support to nationalists
who want to eliminate in Turkey some dissident voices on this matter
and to keep Turkey away from our European standards,

4. Turkey, who claims to wish to debate on this question, still has
not answered to the Armenian president proposal which consists in
establishing an intergovernmental commission in order to examine how
to solve all the problems between the two countries and to create
diplomatic relations. On the other hand, Turkey continues to deploy
its denialist strategy in terms of historians committees and opening of
archives in order to extract the genocide question from the political
context of its candidature for the Union,

5. The denial policy of Turkey is not only a permanent offence to our
European values, it is also the mark of an ultranationalist and racial
ideology which constitutes a concrete threat towards our societies
and our children.

Communities throughout Europe which are watching with anxiety the
negotiating process with Turkey will be terribly disappointed seeing
the EP retreat from the very laudable position established by its
Foreign Affairs Committee on such a fundamental principle. We urge
you to come forward with a proud vote upholding the Parliament’s
commitment in this matter."

Consequently, we urge you to maintain in plenary session the clear
and adequate formulation of the paragraph 49 adopted by the Foreign
Affairs Committee."

NKR PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR OF CIS INSTITUTE DISCUSS NK SETTLEMENT

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2006

YEREVAN, September 26. /ARKA/. President of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) Arkady Ghukasyan held a meeting with the Director
of the Institute of the CIS countries, member of the RF State Duma
Konstantin Zatulin.

The NKR presidential press service reports that the sides discussed
the present stage and prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
under the OSCE Minsk Group’s auspices.

The sides stressed the necessity of a peaceful settlement and
inadmissibility of propaganda of hatred and intolerance.

TURKEY PASSES EU-BACKED LAW ON MINORITY SCHOOLS, BUT REMOVES KEY PASSAGE ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TO ATTEND

International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Sept 26 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.

The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.

Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.

The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.

The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.

The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.

Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.

The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.

The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.

"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.

The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."

The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."

After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.

Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.

The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.

In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.

The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.

Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.

Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.

ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.

The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.

Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.

The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.

The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.

The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.

Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.

The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.

The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.

"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.

The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."

The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."

After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.

Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.

The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.

In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.

The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.

Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.

Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.