Regnum, Russia
April 8 2006
`EU representatives should be taken to the Genocide Museum so they
can see what really happened in 1915′: Armenian press digest
Armenian-Russian series `Gas Talks’
The Armenian-Russian gas tariff negotiations are still going on in
Yerevan, reports Radio Liberty. RL knows that the sides are
considering several scenarios, but doesn’t know if they concern the
5th unit of the Hrazdan thermal power plant, the Iranian-Armenian gas
pipeline or cheap Russian arms. RL reminds that when asked in Jan
about possible deals with Russia in exchange for the tariff
reduction, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan said: `If need
be, we will take it from the West or international organizations on
much better terms. We have no extra property to repay in assets.’ Mar
22 RL asked Margaryan about `extra property,’ and he was no longer so
categorical: `I’d rather not go into details. Wait for 15-20 days and
you’ll see.’
The Russian gas tariff for Armenia will not be $110 Apr 1, Armenian
Defense Minister, the co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian
inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation Serzh Sargsyan
says to Noyan Tapan.
Now Armenia is already paying $110 per 1,000 c m, the spokesperson of
the ArmRosGazprom company Shushan Sardaryan says to ARKA Apr 3.
`Starting from Apr 1 we are paying $110 on the border, in line with
the contract, irrespective of how the talks will end,’ she says. She
doesn’t know the details of the Armenian-Russian gas talks. ARKA
reminds that Apr 1 Gazprom raised gas tariff for Armenia from $56 to
$110 per 1,000 c m.
Pointing out the remarkable details of the gas talks and the
contradictory statements by officials, Azg daily says: `The most
`exciting’ episode of the `gas series’ was the contradictory
statements Armenian PM Andranik Margaryan and DM Serzh Sargsyan made
in one day: Margaryan said that the talks were going on and there was
no news, while Sargsyan might want to say that the gas tariff could
be other than $110. They both said that the talks might finish in
late Mar. The salt of this story is that if soap operas – even the
most naïve ones – have some logic and plot, the `Armenian-Russian Gas
Talks’ series and the related official comments and forecasts have
neither.’
Aravot daily reports Armenian FM Vardan Oskanyan to say at a news
conference in Washington that Armenia has no way to `escape’ from the
$110 gas tariff, but Oskanyan hopes that Yerevan and Moscow will
agree on how to `soften’ the tariff. There are different ways to
solve this problem, but the word `compensation’ should better be
avoided.
Irrespective of what the government will do to alleviate the
consequences of the rise, starting from Apr 1 Armenia will pay $110
per 1,000 c m of gas, says Hayots Ashkharh. The daily expects the
government to set `incomparably lower’ tariffs than those set by the
Public Service Control Commission. Mostly probably, people will pay
70 AMD for 1 c m of gas – which is 11 AMD more than they pay now and
20 AMD less than what the commission wants them to pay.
The rise will not have unforeseen consequences for Armenia’s budget,
Noyan Tapan reports Armenian Finance and Economy Minister Vardan
Khachatryan as saying. If the government approves of the new tariffs,
it may partly compensate for them to the people. `If I am not
mistaken, there is such a program for three years,’ says Khachatryan.
A sumptuous feast was organized in the Armenian Energy Ministry a few
days ago. It lasted from early morning till late evening, reports
Haykakan Zhamanak. There are all grounds to think that it was not a
celebration, but `the next act of the many-year funeral banquet for
Armenia.’ The daily reports that during this act the Armenian
authorities were drafting one of the most shameful contracts: the
Russians will take the 5th unit of the Hrazdan TPP and the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. The daily says that this will suffice them
to pay for gas for 2.5 years: `2.5 years of cheap gas – exactly as
much as Kocharyan has till the end of his office. And then – who
cares,’ says the daily, noting that Gazprom will buy the shares
according to the `Assets against Future Debt’ scheme.
Armenia-Turkey
The Turkish government refuses to acknowledge the genocide committed
against the Armenians, Richard Hovannisian, professor of Armenian and
Middle East history at the University of California in Los Angeles
said, while commenting on the contemporary interpretations of the
Armenian genocide at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on March 23.
Hovannisian’s talk focused on the scholarly debate over whether the
genocide was premeditated or a `crime of passion’ that occurred
suddenly during the tense conditions of war.
He expressed his opinion that the elimination of the Armenians had
been contemplated by the Ottoman government before the outbreak of
war, but that it was wartime conditions that allowed it to turn a
`final solution into an accomplished fact.’ The Ottoman Empire
distrusted the Armenians, in part because they were a tight-knit
Christian ethnic group in the middle of a mostly Muslim empire,
Hovannisian said. `Armenians were an ethnic group seen as potentially
troublesome to an authoritarian state at war,’ he said.
No official government document specifically outlining the Ottoman
plan to eliminate Armenians has been found, although there is
overwhelming evidence that the massacres occurred, he said. There may
be a `smoking gun’ somewhere in Turkish archives proving that the
Ottomans premeditated the Armenian genocide, Hovannisian said, but
the nation’s government does not provide Western historians with
access to those materials.
He said there are psychological reasons that Turkey refuses to admit
the genocide occurred. `They don’t want to believe that their
grandparents could’ve been murderers,’ Hovannisian explained. `They
also don’t want to deal with the consequences of recognition,
including contrition and restitution.’
Russian expert in Turkic studies, director of the Institute of Asia
and Africa, professor of Moscow State University Mikhail Meyer gives
an interview to PanARMENIAN.Net (the interview is abridged)
There are many versions as regards the Genocide initiators in Ottoman
Turkey in 1915. Who supported the Young Turks?
The deportation of Armenians was initiated by Germany. It was done to
divert Entente’s attention from the Western front, where Germany was
being defeated.
The situation in 1915 did not favor the Armenian population in
eastern vilayets of Turkey. On the one hand – Kurds and Circassians,
who forced Armenians away from villages, on the other – the policy of
the Young Turkish Government, which encouraged the banishment and
accused Armenians in pro-Russian orientation. All this resulted in
mass deportation and annihilation of half of the population of
Western Armenia. If Young Turks had desired to fully exterminate the
Armenian nation, they would not have left a single Armenian in
Istanbul, Izmir and other cities of Western Anatolia. However,
Armenians remained there, except the intelligentsia, which was
killed.
Judging from archive documents, accusations of Armenians in
pro-Russian orientation are, to put it mildly, exaggerated. Most of
the Armenian population lived in villages and was rather law-abiding.
There was no much participation of Armenian retinues as part of the
Russian army at the Caucasian front – according to my calculations
there were some 3 thousand Armenians. This is not a figure that can
account for Russofilia.
Nevertheless, I agree that the events in 1915 were Armenian Genocide.
There was no term `genocide’ in early 20th century, however it was
genocide undoubtedly. The matter lies not in figures, but in the fact
itself. If you remember, in 1919 a trial started in Istanbul against
the Young Turkish Government that was organized by the Entente.
Accusations in deporting and exterminating a whole nation were voiced
there for the first time. However, secondary functionaries, mere
executors were punished.
Is it possible now to write an objective story of the WWI basing on
the archive documents?
It’s possible to write an objective story of the event taken place in
Ottoman Turkey in 1915-1923. The matter is not the number of the
killed and deported Armenians but that the half of the population of
Western Armenia was annihilated.
Turkey should reconsider its attitude to the Armenian Genocide. The
protraction of this process is pregnant negative consequences for the
country itself. Turkey fears not so much of Armenia’s territorial
claims but of the compensation for material and moral damage. No
economy can endure it.
I should note that the process of Turkey’s liberalization on the way
to the European Union is not quick. I suppose the EU will set the
Armenian Genocide recognition as a condition for the membership. EU
representatives should attend the Genocide Museum to see what really
happened in 1915. (PanARMENIAN.Net)
Noyan Tapan reports US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and
Eurasia Daniel Fried to say at a news conference in Washington Mar 30
that Turkey should open its border with Armenia as quickly as
possible. He said that the US had informed Turkey of its wish to see
the border open as quickly as possible. Cihan news agency (Turkey)
reports Fried to say that it is for the historians of the two
countries (Turkey and Armenia – REGNUM) to give an assessment of the
massacres of Armenians in Eastern Anatolia during the WWI. On behalf
of the US administration, Fried said that the tragedy of 1915
concerns the whole humanity and should be given a historical
assessment – not in political terms, but by public leaders and
scientists. Fried hopes that such a step will help the Turks to
better understand their own history.
Speaking at the New York Foreign Affairs Council, the Turkish prime
minister’s advisor for foreign policy Egemen Bagis said that
international observers are expecting Turkey to open its border with
Armenia. `We recognize Armenia as a sovereign state. We have no
diplomatic relations with them, but we respect their (the Armenians –
REGNUM) sovereignty just like the sovereignty of the other
post-Soviet republics.’ Bagis said that Turkey does not open its
border and does not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia
because Armenia does not recognize that border itself. `The
Constitution of Armenia does not recognize the border with Turkey,’
Bagis said. He told the audience that over 50,000 Armenians live in
Turkey at present. Most of them are illegal migrants and mostly work
in Turkish families as babysitters. `Turks entrust to Armenians
citizens the most precious thing they have – their children. This
proves that we have much in common, that our cultures have much in
common,’ says Bagis. (Radio Liberty)
Millennium Challenge
Armenia is one of the best partners of the US, ARKA reports CEO of
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Ambassador John Danilovich to
say during the signing of MCC’s 5-year $236.5 mln compact with
Armenia. Danilovich said that the money will be spent on projects to
restore roads in rural areas for making more accessible social and
medical services and commodity markets; to raise the agricultural
produce by improving irrigation, increasing harvest, cultivating
valuable crops and making agriculture more competitive.
Danilovich said that the MCC consistent financing of Armenia is due
to the country’s compliance with the three key eligibility criteria:
encouraging economic freedom, ruling justly and investing in people.
He noted that MCC will monitor Armenia’s performance of the above
criteria throughout the program. ARKA reminds that Dec 20 2005 MCC
approved a $236.5 mln compact for Armenia. The program is expected to
reduce poverty in Armenia by 6% by stimulating stable agriculture
growth. The program components are: restoring roads – $67.1 mln,
improving irrigation systems – $145.67 mln (this includes sub-program
of agricultural stability – $32.42 mln), monitoring and assessment –
$5.08 mln, program management and supervision – $17.19 mln.
During the signing of the MCC-Armenia compact, the sides once again
said that Armenia must further develop democracy and ensure
compliance with the world standards during the elections 2007-2008.
`Armenia must continue to advance its democratic reforms.
International and domestic monitors did express concerns about the
conduct of the recent constitutional referendum and the Armenian
Government has acknowledged these difficulties and pledged to improve
the conduct of the elections to be held in 2007 and 2008,’ US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
In his turn, Armenian FM Vardan Oskanyan said: `We have already begun
the process of verifying voter lists. We’re making progress in
reforming the electoral law. The elections of 2007 and 2008 that you
referred to will test our democratic practices. Our task until then
is to partner with the United States and European governments to
implement the necessary corrective steps to improve the conditions
necessary for an honest and fair expression of people’s voices.’
(Radio Liberty)
$236 mln is good both for the country’s development and for those who
have an eye on the `edible’ part of the grant, but if we continue
holding elections like we did before, the grant may stick in our
craw, warns Azg daily. `The seemingly simple conditions of the US
government may prove too hard for us, Armenians.’
The signing of a compact with MCC was Armenia’s pledge to attain even
more progress in ruling justly, encouraging economic freedom and
investing in own people, says US Assistant Secretary General for
Europe and Eurasia Daniel Fried. After the signing, Fried said that
the US expects that the parliamentary and presidential elections in
Armenia in 2007 and 2008 will meet the international standards of
free and fair election. This will be the key test of Armenia’s
compliance with the MCC requirements. Armenia can potentially become
a leader in the region by showing equal progress in democratic
reforms and economic growth, Fried said. (A1+)
The pledges of the Armenian authorities to hold free, fair and
transparent elections in 2007 are groundless, and the international
political processes of the last years are a direct proof of their
impracticability, says Haykakan Zhamanak.
Referring to sources close to the Armenian president, Iravunk daily
reports that on the eve of the ceremony of signing, Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan met in his villa with the head of his
staff Armen Gevorgyan, Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan and several
oligarchs. The key topic was if they should agree to the terms of Ms.
Rice. The terms are no secret: resolving the Karabakh conflict in
accordance to the US’ scheme (deployment of international
peacekeepers in Karabakh and neighboring territories already this
summer) and allowing the US to widely interfere in Armenia’s
electoral processes and military activities. Finally, the terms were
accepted.
The daily believes that the recent rumors in Yerevan and among Moscow
Armenians that Kocharyan has got serious health problems (officially
refuted by the president’s spokesman) may be due to the MCC grant.
`Money for Dayton’ – that’s how the opposition qualifies the MCC
compact (they draw a parallel with the agreement on Yugoslavia signed
in Dayton (US) in 1995 – REGNUM). Noyan Tapan reports the leader of
the New Times party Aram Karapetyan to say in a dispute at the Mirror
club that part of the money `will be stolen.’ Karapetyan is also sure
that this is a political program that will not have any substantial
importance for the country’s economy or industry. `The program’s
political implication is Karabakh and the status of the liberated
lands.’ Karapetyan says that the rumor has it that the US will deploy
its troops near the northern border of Iran in July-Aug 2006.
The provision of the MCC grant to Armenia has no political motives,
MCC Resident Director in Armenia Alex Russin says at an on-line news
conference. The $235.65 mln grant will be used to reduce poverty in
the country. The MCC has no geo-strategic ends in view. The
corporation has monitored the living conditions of Armenia’s
population in 16 parameters and has concluded that the poverty rate
in the country is 30%, with most of the poor living in rural areas.
That’s why the MCC will work in three directions: irrigation, roads
and support of farmers, says Russin. He notes that the program’s
implementation will be guaranteed by an 11-strong governmental
council, led by the Armenian Prime Minister. They have a technical
plan of implementation and will report to Washington on the work done
and the money spent each quarter, says Russin. (PanARMENIAN.Net)