Author: Nahapetian Samvel

NEXT OFFICIAL MEETING OF CIS LEADERS SCHEDULED IN DUSHANBE

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.11.2006 17:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The next summit of CIS heads of state will be
held in Dushanbe, Belarus FM Sergey Martynov reported. In his words,
unofficial meeting of CIS leaders is one of new forms of work, which
is just put in practice and will continue in the future. CIS leaders
will have an unofficial meeting in St. Petersburg next June. Martynov
also noted that the Minsk Summit on November 28, according to unanimous
evaluation of its participants, was not only timely, but also useful:
decisions principally important for the future of the CIS in many
fields were made at the summit, reports the Belarus Embassy in Russia.

FARUK LOGOGLU: "INACTION IN NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT FAVOURS NEITHER ARMENIA, NOR AZERBAIJAN"

Today, Azerbaijan
Nov 28 2006

"Inaction is observed in settlement of Nagorno Karabagh conflict. It
causes anxiety, constraint and Nagorno Karabakh conflict waits for
its settlement for many years," said former Turkey ambassador to Baku
and Washington, Faruk Logoglu.

"The problem does not diminish, but rise up. Minsk group co-chairing
countries need to bring new dynamism to the case. I think inaction
favors neither Armenia, nor Azerbaijan. Both the sides consider the
problem finished. I do not think so. Both UN Security Council and
OSCE do not doubt it," he told the APA Turkish bureau.

"According to Azerbaijani view point Azerbaijani economy is damaged
by occupied territories and refugees. The unsettled conflict is
contrary to the interests of both sides. UNO Security Council has four
resolutions for liberating Azerbaijani territories. The international
pressure is necessary to implement the resolutions. But the great
countries did not exert pressure on Armenia. No sanction documents
were adopted after these resolutions. That is why Armenia continues
invasion of Azeri lands," Logoglu said.

He thinks that Minsk Group is not active enough in the settlement of
the conflict.

"Minsk Group was not active enough in settlement of the conflict;
the main obstacle is Armenia’s position. Armenia will not change its
position until the pressure on Yerevan is not increased," he said.

Faruk Logoglu said that Turkey tried to take active part in OSCE
Minsk Group.

"Turkey only confided to the information after US, France and Russia’s
initiative in the OSCE. But Turkey’s initiative was not acceptable,"
he said.

The diplomat said that Azerbaijan and Turkey share the same view
points towards many issues.

"Azerbaijan and Turkey should always keep Nagorno Karabakh conflict
on the agenda and act together. The claims on so-called Armenian
Genocide will be on the agenda after the elections in the USA. Both
countries need to support each other in these processes," he said.

"I love Azeri nation. I am sure that Azerbaijan will use its resources
for welfare of its nation. I am sure that Nagorno Karabakh conflict
will be solved according to the rights if Azeri people," he said.

URL:

Panorama.am

14:00 24/11/06

CHAIRMAN OF AFF TO BE ELECTED TOMORROW

Fifth election assembly of the Armenian Football
Federation (AFF) will be held tomorrow. The assembly
will elect a new chairman of AFF.

Araik Manukyan, AFF press secretary, told Panorama.am
that legal entities, clubs and organizations, which
are members of AFF, may nominate a chairman. Only one
candidate has been nominated until today – the present
chairman of AFF Ruben Hairapetyan. It is very likely
that Hairapetyan will be re-elected. /Panorama.am/

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 22, 2006 Wednesday
Aliyev ready to meet Kocharyan in Minsk over Karabakh
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev has agreed to meet his Armenian
counterpart Robert Kocharyan for searching for ways to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an Azerbaijani official told Itar-Tass on
Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Armenia consented to hold a meeting between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan as part of the CIS summit to
take place in Minsk on November 28, said Yuri Merzlyakov, Russian
co-chairman of the Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The meeting of the presidents’ mediators yielded results, the Russian
ambassador said on Wednesday before his departure to Baku.
In 2006 this will be the third meeting between the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The previous talks took place in France and
Romania.
“It is necessary to receive Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev’s
approval” although earlier the Azerbaijani foreign minister “made a
corresponding statement to this effect”, the Russian ambassador
said.
The Russian co-chairman said U.S. ambassador Matthew Bryza’s absence
is conditioned by the fact that the co-chairmen “agreed to divide
their obligations. These days the American colleague is to meet
Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arkady Gukasyan, who is currently in the
United States.”
Merzlyakov believes, “In general, the year is rather optimistic for
us. If we manage to do this, we have good prospects in 2007.”
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier said he is hopeful that the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “will succeed in bringing
closer their positions on certain difficult issues.”
Recently military rhetoric has become “more subdued” and it has not
prevented the 2006 key task – to organise a meeting between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Military rhetoric impedes the
negotiating process on the Karabakh settlement whether such
statements are made on the eve of important meetings,” the Russian
co-chairman stressed.
“The co-chairman have a common position – the war is not a real
possibility to solve the conflict,” Fassier added.

KOCHARIAN VISITS GREEK CYPRUS TO BOOST SUPPORT FOR GENOCIDE CLAIMS
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Nov 23 2006
Armenian President Robert Kocharian yesterday began a four-day
visit to Greek Cyprus, where he will participate in an inauguration
ceremony for a monument commemorating the victims of the so-called
Armenian genocide.
During the visit, the Armenian president will hold talks with
Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos and other
high-ranking Greek Cypriot officials to boost bilateral ties. The
visit is likely to draw Turkish criticism since Ankara is at odds with
Yerevan over the country’s campaign for recognition of the Armenian
genocide claims and has no diplomatic ties with the country, while
Turkey doesn’t also recognize the Greek Cypriot administration.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was formed on the island
in response to a Greek coup aimed at enosis, or political union with
Greece, along with Greek attacks on the island’s Turkish population.
According to the Armenian Mediamax news agency, besides attending the
inauguration ceremony of the Armenian “genocide” monument in Larnaka,
Kocharian will also meet representatives of Armenian associations.
The Armenian source stated that the inauguration of the monument
aims at expressing Greek Cypriot support for those who survived the
so-called Armenian genocide.
Co-chairs tight-lipped on possible Kocharian-Aliyev meeting
No announcement has been made about a possible meeting of the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan after Tuesday’s visit by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE9) Minsk
Group co-chairmen to Yerevan.
The delegates from Russia and France, Yuri Merzlyakov and Bernard
Fassier, met on Tuesday with Kocharian and Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian.
In a recent interview with U.S-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) Vartan Oskanian said that during their visit to the region,
the co-chairs will propose a meeting of the two presidents on the
sidelines of next Tuesday’s summit of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).
The co-chairs left Yerevan for Baku. Analysts have expressed the
opinion that a possible meeting may be announced after the co-chairs’
meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Last week Robert Kocharian said, “Unfortunately, despite the ongoing
active negotiations, there are few grounds for optimism.”

AN UNWANTED VISIT?
By Semih Idiz
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Nov 23 2006
MILLIYET- It seems that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey will be
troubled, and the government is experiencing uneasy days due to this
visit. Some people say that it comes from the Justice and Development
Party’s (AKP) unhappiness with this visit. According to the latest
news, negative interpretations in the West of this situation caused
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to belatedly schedule a meeting
with him during the visit. But it’s not certain if this will happen
or not. We can see the visit is worrying the government as well. The
main reason for this is the pope’s visit to Patriarch Bartholomeos.
If the state could, it would block the visit. But it can’t. The reason
is very clear: The whole world will pay attention to this visit. Ankara
knows that such an action would damage Turkey’s international image and
so would be more serious than the drawbacks of the pope-Bartholomeos
meeting. So why is the visit being paid?
Firstly, let me remind you of something. The pope was supposed to come
to Turkey last year at Bartholomeos’ invitation for St. Andreas day,
the holiest day of the Orthodox church. As the head of the Catholic
world, his aim was to meet with ‘ecumenical’ leaders of the Greek
Orthodox world and continue the process of rapprochement between the
Eastern and Western churches.
Meanwhile, although we say the opposite, the world considers Patriarch
Bartholomeos to be the ecumenical leader of the Greek Orthodox
Church. Ankara, which was disturbed that Bartholomeos invited the
pope, sent a state invitation on behalf of Turkey to the pope. As he
wouldn’t be able to reject the state’s invitation, the pope accepted
it but postponed his meeting with Bartholomeos. In other words,
Ankara faced a visit that it never wanted. Meanwhile, new dynamics
emerged and this visit started to gain new meanings. The pope opened
his mouth and enraged the Muslim world. Erdogan himself made some
of the harshest criticisms. So the pope’s visit to Turkey took on
a meaning of ‘creating consensus between civilizations.’ However,
for that the pope shouldn’t be meeting with President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, but Erdogan, who is considered the ‘leading Muslim politician
in Europe,’ so that it would be meaningful. If Turkey had been a
normal country, the pope would have been received at the Presidential
Palace in Cankaya, and Erdogan, the Religious Affairs Directorate
head, the Greek and Armenian patriarchs and the Jewish chief rabbi
would have been invited to the banquet given in his honor. This way
Turkey’s secular character would have been emphasized and it would
have promoted interfaith tolerance. But since this didn’t happen, now I
can only hope Ankara will come through this visit without any problems.

YEREVAN SPEAKS AND PRESENTS
Nvard Davtyan
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 21 2006
In 2006 the Armenian Radio is celebrating the 80th anniversary;
the TV is 50.
It comes out that many of the NA Deputies started their career from
the radio. However, it’s not the only reason why the Deputies listen to
and like the radio, which always provides interesting and professional
programs, unbiased and correct political analysis.
Nevertheless, sometimes the Deputies themselves exceed the limits of
precision in their speeches, forgetting that a great number of radio
listeners are following them.
MP Arshak Sadoyan is one of the few Deputies whose love for radio and
radio-listeners is not a secret. “Dear radio-listeners,” this is how
Arshak Sadoyan always starts his speeches at the National Assembly.
Arshak Sadoyan loves the radio. One thing he feels sorry for is that
the frequency on which the parliamentary sittings are aired does not
allow having a broader audience.
The Deputy remembers the times when the radio was his only and
best friend. “That period of my life had an important role in the
formation of my personality,” he says. “In the 9th grade I injured
my leg and I had to spend 1.5 years in bed. In this period radio
was my only friend day and night. I was listening to news, music,
everything that was broadcasted,” Arshak Sadoyan recalls.
The politician attaches the same importance to television.
The radio set is always turned on also in MP Viktor Dallakyan’s office.
The Public Radio arouses the bright and sweet memories of his
childhood, when he was impatiently waiting for juvenile programs.
Today he has subsisted these with political and analytical programs
again broadcasted at the Public Radio of Armenia. “I want to say
that compared to other media the Public Radio is more objective when
presenting and commenting on political events,” Viktor Dallakyan says.
Opposition MP Stepan Zackaryan started his political career from the
radio. He was the first Director General of the radio from 1996.
Before that he worked as editor, editor-in-chief and Vice-President.
These were the best years for the Deputy. “Some years ago the Public
Radio was out of competition, but during the hard dark and cold years
the responsibility of the radio was even greater,” the MP says.
Today the radio remains the main source of information for a great
number of people. And this has been the case for already 80 years.

EC PRESIDENT BARROSO: “I’M CONCERNED ABOUT TURKEY NOT MEETING ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER ANKARA PROTOCOL”
Turkish Press
Nov 20 2006
In remarks published over the weekend, European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso said that Turkey ‘s not implementing its
obligations coming from the Ankara Protocol would affect all membership
negotiations. Speaking to German daily Tagesspiegel, Barroso said,
“I am concerned about developments,” adding, ” Turkey hasn’t yet
fulfilled its commitments emanating from the Ankara Protocol. The
European Union requested this last year. If Turkey doesn’t fulfill its
commitments, all membership negotiations would be affected.” In related
news, French daily Le Figaro claimed that there was a conspiracy
against Turkey ‘s EU membership. Writing on “Who’s against Turkey
‘s EU membership?” question Writer Alexandre Adler argued that Turkey
‘s real enemies lie among the fundamentalist Christians inclined to
racism, not Armenians, Greek Cypriots or Greeks.

THE PRESIDENT OF AN ESTABLISHED STATE AND THE DEFENSE MINISTER OF A FAILURE STATE
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
On November 17, while discussing the Strategy of National Security
with the scientists at the National Academy of Sciences, the defense
minister of Armenia, the secretary of the Council of National
Security Serge Sargsyan made several statements which contradict to
the statements of the president of Armenia.
Serge Sargsyan stated that he disagrees that Armenia is an established
state. He this disagreed with the scientists who proposed including
the fact of being established in the Strategy. “Perhaps I will be the
happiest person in the world when already the entire society and also
the world rather than individuals state that the Republic of Armenia
is an established state,” Serge Sargsyan announced. As a point of
view, his words are not strange, and even if we go deeper into it,
we will find out that the defense minister is right, and Armenia
is far from being an established state. After all, this is also the
state built by Serge Sargsyan, and he surely knows what kind of state
he was building. But the problem is the state, the defense minister
considers a failure state, whereas the president considers it as an
established state.
“Armenia is a country with sustainable development… The Diaspora has
had an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the state,”
this is an extract from the address of the president on the 15th
anniversary of the independence of Armenia. It becomes clear from
Robert Kocharyan’s words that the president considers Armenia as an
established state, otherwise he would not describe the contribution
of the Diaspora to having an established state as invaluable. In
addition, the president emphasizes the role of the Diaspora in the
Present Perfect Tense, and since the defense minister used to study
philology at the university, he cannot have difficulty perceiving.
Even if one is not a philologist, it is evident that the president of
Armenia and the defense minister have a major controversy regarding
governance in the state they are ruling. And the issue is a core one.
The problem is the problems the state is facing. An established
state has other problems than a failure state. And the difference
between the problems gives rise to a difference in their solution and
approaches to governance in general. Consequently, if the two persons
in charge of the security of the state have such opposite opinions,
it is at least strange what problems each of them is attending to.
The logic is that public officials with different ideas and
consequently different approaches should be unable to work together
in the top government for many years. It means that either Robert
Kocharyan fails to implement his ideas in government or Serge
Sargsyan. Or if they have been working together and without complaining
from each other for so many years, it is interesting to know what
brings them together. If they have different ideas on the state,
perhaps they shared personal problems. In the long run, the problems
connected with the future of the state did not hinder Serge Sargsyan
and Robert Kocharyan to work together because they did not try to
understand these problems and solve them because otherwise they would
have realized the major difference in their ideas. It means that the
formula of their work is to consider state inferior to their private
life. In terms of the private life, Robert Kocharyan and Serge Sargsyan
have perhaps pursued the same problem – to remain in power for life.
In this respect, it is interesting that in September Robert
Kocharyan awarded Serge Sargsyan and said, “Therefore, stressing the
reinforcement of the statehood, we have to mention the persons who
have their personal contribution to the establishment of the Armenian
statehood…” Serge Sargsyan was awarded for contributing to the
established state. Meanwhile, considering that the defense minister
considers the state as a failure state, the president awarded him for
something he did not do. Even if we suppose that Robert Kocharyan
thinks otherwise, it’s all the same – Serge Sargsyan should have
rejected the award and say he cannot be awarded for something he did
not do. If neither Robert Kocharyan, not Serge Sargsyan acted so,
it means the award was given for something else than state building.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: ARMENIA IS RICH IN HUMAN RESOURCES
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 17 2006
Armenia is not rich in natural resources but is generally known for
its rich human resources, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said
while speaking at Bertelsmann Foundation in Berlin, Thursday.
The press service of the Armenian President reports Kocharyan to
point out that the Armenians are generally known for their diligence
and enterprise, for their keen interest in organizing their own
businesses. In order to fully employ this potential, the Armenian
authorities should create favorable conditions for businessmen and
protect investments, particularly, by liberalizing economy and trade
regime, encouraging competition and minimizing state interference in
business, Kocharyan said.
He noted that serious changes have taken place in Armenia’s economy.
85% of GDP is due to private sector, of which 40% due to small and
medium business. “We are especially proud of this figure,” Kocharyan
said. He noted that middle class is taking shape in Armenia and this
is having a serious influence on people’s vision of their future. Of
course, there are still problems, tax and customs administration still
need improvement, anti-corruption measures should be intensified. And
the Government is actively working in this direction, Kocharyan said.