Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

BLUE CROSS TO DISCUSS SUPPORT OF NO PLACE FOR HATE TONIGHT
by David Dahl, Regional Editor

Boston Globe
September 23, 2008 08:04 AM
United States

Watertown

The battle over the local Anti-Defamation League and its No Place
for Hate program returns to the Watertown Town Council tonight.

Last month, the council sent a letter to Blue Cross executives
requesting the face-to-face meeting and urging the healthcare
insurance company to withdraw its support in light of the ongoing
controversy between Armenian-Americans and the ADL over recognition
of the Armenian genocide.

During the session, representatives from Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Massachusetts are expected to talk about the company’s financial
support for the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place For Hate program.

The meeting starts at 7:15. Expecting a larger-than-normal turnout
this week, the Town Council will move its meeting from Town Hall to
the Watertown Middle School auditorium, 68 Waverley Avenue.

According to the town website, the agenda item is a "Resolution
requesting Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA to sever ties with the
Anti-Defamation League and No Place For Hate." It was filed by
Councilors Stephen Corbett, Marilyn Petitto Devaney and Mark Sideris.

The Armenian Spectator reported that the resolution reads: "Whereas:
Taxpayers pay the major share of the premiums for the many Town
employees who have Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance; and, Whereas:
The Council believes that taxpayer funds which are directed to Blue
Cross/Blue Shield should not be spent on a program affiliated with an
organization which diminishes the factuality of, and works against
recognition of, a widely acknowledged genocide. Now Therefore Be It
Resolved: The City known as the Town of Watertown hereby asks BC/BSMA
to expeditiously sever ties with NPFH and similar ADL programs; and
that the Council shall send to BC/BSMA chif executives and members
of the Board of Directors a letter with this Resolution, that asks
for such severance and requests a prompt and positive response;
and the council shall take due notice, make public, and discuss
BSBCMA’s response."

NO DISCUSSIONS DIRECTLY REGARDING ARMENIA ENVISAGED AT PACE AUTUMN SESSION

Noyan Tapan

Se p 22, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. There is no issue directly
regarding Armenia on the agenda of PACE autumn session to be convened
between September 29 to October 3 in Strasbourg. A discussion on the
process of fulfillment of Resolutions N 1609 and 1620 on activity of
democratic institutions in Armenia adopted in 2008 is envisaged at
the PACE session of January 2009.

According to the report placed on the official website of PACE,
Assembly’s most important event will be special discussion of
consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia. It will be held by
two stages, on September 30 and on October 2. Before that, on September
22-25, a special fact-finding commission will visit Georgia and Russia.

ERGENEKON ORGANIZATION CHART MAPPED OUT

Today’s Zaman
Sep 22, 2008
Turkey

The prosecutor conducting the investigation into Ergenekon,
a clandestine network made up of former and active military
officers, journalists, academics, politicians, mafia leaders and
other professional segments allegedly attempting to overthrow the
government, has mapped out what he believes is the organizational
structure of the network and submitted it to the court that will
start hearing the Ergenekon case on Oct. 21.

The prosecution’s chart, which was published by the Sabah daily on
Sunday, does not reveal the identity of the ultimate leader of the
group, but establishes the alleged roles of most Ergenekon suspects
within the organization.

The second person in the hierarchy is, according to the prosecutor’s
chart, Fikret Emek, currently under arrest on suspicion of Ergenekon
involvement. Emek directly reports to the unidentified leader, who
also directly supervises six separate cell units in addition to Emek,
who is isolated in the chart from the rest of the organization as an
independent unit. The names of the administrators in charge of most
of these units were also not shown in the chart submitted to the
court that appeared in Sabah yesterday. These six units are called
the Intelligence Department Command, Intelligence Analysis Command,
Operations Department Command, Financing Administration (marked
"civilian"), Intra-organization Research Department Command and the
Theory Design and Planning Department (also marked "civilian").

The Theory Design and Planning Department, according to the chart, is
run by former Ä°stanbul University Rector Kemal Aldemdaroglu, who is
the deputy chairman; Cumhuriyet daily chief columnist Ä°lhan Selcuk,
who is the chairman, and Workers’ Party (Ä°P) leader Dogu Perincek,
who also acted as deputy chairman. Also in this department are retired
Col. Mehmet Fikri Karadag; Sevgi Erenerol, the spokesperson of a
dubious Turkish Orthodox church; retired Gen. Veli Kucuk and retired
Capt. Muzaffer Tekin. The last two are described in the prosecutor’s
chart as "bridge personnel" as they allegedly facilitated communication
between the "military" and "civilian" units of the organization. Kucuk
and Tekin are also shown in the chart elsewhere, between the six
separate units and four other administrators of the organization’s
(civilian) Lobby Group, as "bridge personnel." The Lobby Group
administrators, according to the chart, are the recently retired Gen.

Zekeriya Ozturk; ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, most famous
for supporting court cases against journalists disagreeing with state
ideology on Armenian genocide allegations; İsmail Yıldız and Erkut
Ersoy, the head of a curious private intelligence-gathering company.

Five suicide teams

In addition to the top management, the organizational chart drawn up
by the prosecutor included five other cells and five suicide teams,
which reported to Kucuk and Tekin. The identity of the individuals
in charge of these units has not yet been clarified by the prosecution.

The chart, which was submitted to the 13th Higher Criminal Court of
Ä°stanbul, will be enhanced in detail as the investigation unfolds,
Sabah commented.

Latest in the Ergenekon investigation

Meanwhile, new developments occurred regarding the detention on
Thursday of 19 people, including six active army lieutenants and
a military academy cadet, in police operations in five cities,
including Ä°stanbul, Ankara and Ä°zmir, as part of the investigation
into Ergenekon.

The four army officers and military student on Sunday were arrested
by the court they were referred to at the end of their detention
period. The five men were transferred to a prison in Hasdal, Ä°stanbul.

Yusuf Erikel, a lawyer representing the officers, said his clients
were facing charges related to their telephone conversations with the
Neriman and Kemal Aydın couple, also arrested as Ergenekon suspects
earlier in July. The couple is facing charges of plotting against the
government. The lawyer said the lieutenants’ contacts with the Aydın
couple had taken place with the knowledge of their superiors. He also
noted that there were no charges against his clients except for the
phone conversations with the Aydıns. He said he would be appealing
the arrests.

Ergenekon used all types of terrorist organizations

Meanwhile, new evidence in the investigation indicates that Ergenekon
leaders used terrorist organizations in Turkey from all backgrounds,
worldviews and political ideologies for their ultimate aim to create
chaos in the country, which they hoped would make it easier to realize
their ultimate goal of triggering a military intervention. The
evidence suggests that the group had links with the terrorist
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the extreme-left Revolutionary People’s
Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), the Islamist organization Hizbullah,
the ultranationalist Turkish Revenge Brigades (TÄ°T), the Turkish
Workers’ and Peasants’ Liberation Army (TÄ°KKO), the Marxist-Leninist
Communist Party (MLKP) and the Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation),
an extreme group wishing to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate.

–Boundary_(ID_jOj0WBEeYjap0wey6x9/3g) —

Fars News Agency, Iran

News number: 8706301073 16:14 | 2008-09-20

FM: Tehran Completes First Stage of Caucasus Diplomacy

TEHRAN (FNA)-Iran completed the first phase of Caucasus diplomacy by
negotiations over South Ossetia military conflict with Georgian
president and foreign minister.

Iran’s foreign minister elaborated on his negotiations with Russia,
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Germany over South Ossetia military conflict
in a meeting with Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi.

"Iran has made positive negotiations with the influential regional
parties which are engaged in this issue over reaching an appropriate
way out of the present situation and appropriate measures that will
establish security and peace in the region," Mottaki was quoted by
ISNA as saying.

Underlining Iran is sensitive over the security and stability of the
region, he said the steps which were discussed during his Caucasus
diplomacy negotiations with regional countries were achievable.

Saakashvili, for his part, asserted that Iran holds an important and
sensitive position in the region and expansion of Tehran-Tbilisi ties
is important to his country.

He expressed hope that Iran’s regional talks would pave the way for
Caucasus peace and stability and emphasized Georgia is ready to
conduct required cooperation with any regional power that could turn
back the current situation to the normal track.

Mottaki also held a meeting with Georgian counterpart where he said
his visit to Tbilisi was the completion step of the first stage in
Iran’s Caucasus diplomacy that is aimed at restoration of peace and
security in the region.

He told Eka Tkeshelashvili that talks with Moscow, Baku, Yerevan,
Tbilisi and Berlin has helped distinguishing common grounds that will
facilitate reestablishment of security.

He also expressed readiness to form a joint commission of Tehran and
Tbilisi to pursue South Ossetia conflict.

Tkeshelashvili, on her part, welcomed Iran’s view in Caucasus
diplomacy and said Georgia is ready to make cooperation on settling
the conflict.

Tehran’s initiative for resolving Ossetia conflict, referred to as
"Caucasus diplomacy" or the "3+3 plan" has been welcomed by regional
countries.

The military conflict between Russia and Georgia was sparked on August
7, after Georgia tried to regain control of the independence-seeking
region of South Ossetia through military action. The war claimed the
lives of hundreds of civilians and left a large number displaced.

Moscow officially recognized the independence of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia on August 26.

Tehran believes Ossetia issue happened as trans-regional powers fanned
the flames between Russia and Georgia by sending wrong signals. Tehran
is optimistic it would aid restoration of peace in the war-torn region
employing Caucasus regional commonalities and EU’s potentials.

CAUCASE LE COURANT PASSE ENTRE ANKARA ET EREVAN
Gaïané Movsesian

Courrier International
19/09/08
France

Longtemps ennemies, la Turquie et l’Arménie opèrent un rapprochement
spectaculaire qui se traduit par une coopération accrue, notamment
dans le domaine énergétique. Un journal arménien analyse la nouvelle
posture de la Turquie dans une région en crise.

Le président turc Abdullah Gul et son homologue arménien Serge
Sarkissian, 6 septembre 2008 AFP

A partir de l’année prochaine, l’Arménie livrera directement de
l’électricité a la Turquie, par la ville de Kars. Armen Movsisian,
le ministre de l’Energie et des Ressources naturelles de l’Arménie,
a annoncé qu’un accord a ce sujet avait été conclu samedi dernier
entre son administration, associée a la compagnie Lignes a haute
tension, et la compagnie électrique turque privée Unit, qui importe
et achemine de la haute tension a travers la Turquie. Le 6 septembre,
ses émissaires étaient a Erevan dans le cadre de la visite du
président Abdullah Gul [qui s’est rendu a Erevan a l’occasion du
match de football Arménie-Turquie].

Cet accord prévoit que la partie turque passera d’abord quatre a
cinq mois a remettre en état toutes les infrastructures nécessaires
en Turquie. Dans les premiers temps, les quantités d’électricité
a transférer ont été fixées a 1,5 milliard de kilowattheures
par an, un chiffre qui devrait par la suite être progressivement
porté a 3,5 milliards, a mesure que les capacités de transport
progresseront. Pour l’Arménie, cela représente un tout nouveau
marché. Elle dispose des capacités énergétiques nécessaires,
et le récent accord permettra de valoriser au mieux ce potentiel.

Ali Babadjan, le ministre des Affaires étrangères de la Turquie,
a déclaré a l’agence Reuters que "l’Arménie pourrait devenir une
alternative a l’itinéraire du gazoduc censé desservir l’Occident
depuis la mer Caspienne par le territoire géorgien, devenu peu sÃ"r
après l’intervention russe" (il évoquait les événements survenus
en Géorgie le mois dernier). Le ministre a par ailleurs noté que
la coopération entre Ankara et Erevan pourrait a la fois assurer
la sécurité des projets concernant l’énergie dans la région de
la mer Caspienne, mais aussi renforcer l’influence de l’Occident
dans le Caucase du Sud. Il songeait au projet Nabucco, dans lequel la
Turquie endosse le rôle de pays principal de transit. Pour l’instant,
l’Arménie n’a pas réagi a ses paroles. Elle doit sans doute consulter
préalablement la Russie, jusqu’a présent opposée a ce projet,
qui ne répond pas a ses intérêts.

TroisiÃ&#xA8 ;me grande nouvelle, qui est loin d’être la dernière par
ordre d’importance : Volkan Vural, ancien ambassadeur de Turquie en
Russie et ancien représentant de la Russie a l’ONU, a déclaré a
des journalistes turcs que son pays devait demander pardon au peuple
arménien pour ce qui s’est passé au début du XXe siècle. Lorsqu’ils
lui ont demandé si la Turquie allait officiellement évoquer la
question du génocide des Arméniens, il a répondu que, en cas
de développement des relations entre les deux pays, il serait
indispensable d’aborder le sujet. Le diplomate a avancé que, même
s’il était peu probable que la Turquie reconnaisse le génocide, elle
devrait sans tarder présenter ses excuses pour la déportation et
le massacre des Arméniens, pour la grande douleur causée au peuple
arménien. Quant a d’éventuels dédommagements, il a précisé
que la restitution des biens et le versement de compensations
financières étaient des problèmes complexes, mais qu’un geste
symbolique pourrait être fait. M. Vural a aussi fait remarquer que
la commission mixte d’historiens des deux pays ne saurait résoudre
la question arménienne, qu’elle ne pourrait qu’apporter un éclairage
sur certains épisodes et aider a aboutir a une solution.

Il serait évidemment naïf de parler de changements radicaux
dans la psychologie et la vision des officiels turcs, mais les
événements qui ont eu lieu en Géorgie au mois d’aoÃ"t ont ouvert
a Ankara de sérieuses possibilités de concrétiser au moins deux
de ses objectifs principaux : accéder a un statut de leader dans la
région du Caucase et jouer un rôle d’intermédiaire dans les zones
de conflit. C’est dans cette perspective qu’il faut considérer les
"surprises" évoquées ci-dessus. A un moment où d’autres acteurs font
un retour spectaculaire sur la scène internationale, Ankara s’efforce
d’apparaître comme un partenaire de même niveau. La situation est
compliquée, et il est difficile de prévoir ce qui va advenir. Dans
ce processus, l’Arménie devra mener sa barque avec une délicatesse
d’horloger afin de ne pas heurter une mine géopolitique immergée. Et
la route en est truffée.

–Boundary_(ID_5Jo5UKYtknrAav 8IncNujg)–

OPPOSITION SHOULD DEMAND POSSIBILITY OF LIVE BROADCAST, TATUL MANASERIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

Se p 19, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. Authoritarian regimes always
try to keep electronic media under strict control, and the Armenian
authorities are not an exception from that point of view. Emanuel
Margarian, the Spokesperson of the Nor Zhamanakner (New Times)
party, stated at the discussion organized on September 19 at the
National Press Club. According to him, NZ is among the forces that was
periodically and deliberately forced from media sphere. As an example
he reminded that during the entire campaign of 2007 parliamentary
elections only three TV reportings on NZ were broadcast. And the
results of media monitoring during the election campaign are evidence
that materials regarding the Republican Party exceeded the number of
materials on NZ 100-fold.

Former RA National Assembly deputy Tatul Manaserian said that we have
lack of professionalism in the media sphere today. In particular,
according to his observation, news is not separated from commentary
and is presented in a very subjective way.

Touching upon TV companies’ activity, T. Manaserian stated that "some
media consider that they are servants of three power branches." Today
the opposition, in former deputy’s opinion, parallel to holding
rallies should demand a possibility of live broadcast. Opposition’s
speech by live broadcast in case of being brief and apt can change
much in home political sphere.

EVERYTHING – AS USUAL

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
19 Sep 2008
Armenia

What developments can be predicted in the near future?

According to political scientist ALEXANDER ISKANDARYAN, "If the
opposition doesn’t manage to mount a strong wave of protest (which
is not quite likely to happen), everything will be as usual.

That’s to say, there will be groups of people criticizing the
authorities. Those groups will be united in a common ‘network’,
continue the struggle against the ‘regime’, but they will not have
enough potential for staging a revolution.

Moreover, their number will gradually decrease, and they will not be
able to do more than they have done so far. That situation cannot last
long; those people will turn into a kind of ‘strange body’ dissatisfied
with everything and hold demonstrations from time to time, reminding
about their existence.

In the course of time, the authorities will pay less and less attention
to them, making sure that they pose no threat to their ‘security’. And
I want this to happen very much because those people are, after all,
a constituent part of our society."

BACK TO THE SAME POINT
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
18 Sep 2008
Armenia

The status quo of Karabakh to be maintained

The processes that started in the Armenian-Turkish and
Russian-Azerbaijani relations following the Russian-Georgian war led
some people to the wrong belief that it is also possible to achieve
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in the near future by the
joint efforts of Russia and Turkey.

However, the in-depth analysis of the recent efforts towards changing
the situation in the region makes it possible to assume that unlike
the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhzia, the Karabakh conflict will
remain in a frozen state for a long time to come. This is evidenced
by the fact that the attempts towards settling the Karabakh conflict
through the bilateral efforts of Russia and Turkey are gradually
coming to a deadlock.

Although, in case of resuming the negotiation process within the
frameworks of the Minsk Group, the complicated situation in the
Russian-American relations will become obvious in the nearest future,
maintaining the given format remains the only serious guarantee for
continuing the negotiation process. So, the issue of proceeding
with the talks is again pushed to the foreground, leading to the
inevitability of maintaining the status quo during the coming months.

Following Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Baku and the
statements he made there, the prospect of organizing a trilateral
meeting among the Armenian, Turkish and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers
within the frameworks of the UN General Assembly becomes somewhat
uncertain. The reason is that the recent developments came to prove the
invariability of Turkey’s intentions with regard to the Karabakh issue.

Such uncertainty increases still further following the negotiations
between the Azeri and Russian Presidents that finished in Moscow two
days ago. There seemed to be certain pre-requisites for achieving a
breakthrough at least here, as the Russian side had thoroughly prepared
for the meeting. The previous day, the Russian "Komrsant" newspaper
had "thrown light" upon the key points of the Russian-Azerbaijani
strategic deal elaborated by Russia.

However, the Azerbaijani side called into question the expediency of
complying with Russia’s demands regarding the deployment of foreign
troops along the basin of the Caspian Sea and the export of the power
generating substances of Middle Asia. And this was estimated as a
"loss of independence in return for Karabakh".

As a matter of fact, Russia just offered Baku to make a new concession
with regard to the Karabakh issue. That is, to replace the Armenian
control of the Latchin corridor by some joint control by mechanisms
which implied the military presence of the third side (i.e. Russia)
in the zone of conflict.

Whereas the20Armenian side is starting to make gradual though
consistent steps towards overcoming the consequences of the unilateral
and bilateral attempts of speeding up the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict by the mediation of third countries after the recent
development in Georgia. In the meantime, the tendency of increasing
Turkey’s role is already being counteracted by the other centers of
force as well.

As shown by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan’s visit to
Iran, there are such dispositions in the country, particularly in
Tehran, which, being the ardent supporter of the regional model aimed
at the solution of the security issues of South Caucasus, doesn’t
realize why Ankara is trying to leave Iran beyond the frameworks of
that model.

Today, there is a new status quo developing in all the conflict zones
of the region. That is, Russia, for the time being, satisfies itself
with the recent achievements on the South Ossetian and Abkhazian
"fronts" and tries to strengthen its positions. The West promises to
assist Georgia in its NATO membership programs and pushes Azerbaijan
to proceed with its oil-gas programs. With regard to Armenia, it
adopts an undisguised policy aimed at depriving Russia of acting as a
"patron" in the Armenian-Turkish dialogue.

In such conditions, the task of "pulling out" the Karabakh settlement
issue from the "Pandora’s box" of the regional conflicts is beyond
the powers of the separate participants of the regional game; as to
the issue of coordinating the mutual attitudes, it is possible to
forget about them for the time being.

What is left to Armenia is to learn lessons from the recent
developments (which didn’t absolutely contribute to the strengthening
of Azerbaijan’s positions) and be more determined in its approaches
towards ruling out the possibility of solving the conflict through
military operations, clarifying the mutual security guarantees and
establishing control over the regions that serve as a linking channel
between Armenia and Artsakh.

FOR NOW…
By Erdal Safak

Turkish Press
Sept 15 2008

SABAH- Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler’s answer
to a question at a press conference in Baku last week was noted by
Western capitals and companies involved in energy, but the Turkish
public missed it. The question was this: Is there talk about routing
the Nabucco gas pipeline through Armenia? Guler said there was no
such talk, for now. But normally he would have answered like this:
‘Where did you ever get such an idea? The route of the Nabucco gas
pipeline was laid down years ago, with the approval of all the parties
involved. Everyone knows the line will come to Turkey via Azerbaijan
and Georgia and then go to Western Europe through Bulgaria.’

The difference in his answer signals that the softening atmosphere
between Turkey and Armenia and even between Azerbaijan and Armenia
in the wake of the Georgian-Russian conflict has radically shifted
balances in the Caucasus. Indeed, Georgia is no longer a reliable
route for the energy corridor, as any glance at a map of the Caucasus
would tell you. Not only the section of Nabucco in Georgia, but
also the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines and the
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline are all within the range
of Russian tanks and field guns. Neither the European Union nor
multinational investors consider it reasonable to add another entry
to this list of three risky pipelines.

For the Georgia alternative to stay on the table, not only the Georgian
issue, but also all the stubborn conflicts in the Caucasus would have
to be resolved. But just like Alexander ‘resolved’ the Gordian knot,
Russia has resolved some of these conflicts which concern Georgia,
by using swords and guns! In other words, South Ossetia and Abkhazia
won’t return to Georgia but will remain so high risk that no insurance
company would guarantee a single cent there. On the other hand, a
great opportunity has emerged for solving the Upper Karabakh issue,
which is the third longstanding conflict, through Turkey’s mediation.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO BOOST ASTROPHYSICS

ARKA
Sep 16, 2008

YEREVAN, September 16. /ARKA/. Astrophysics remains the focus of
Armenia’s government, Samvel Harutyunyan, head of the State Committee
on Education and Science, said Friday at the celebration of the 100th
anniversary of Armenian scientist Viktor Hambartsumyan.

He believes the reason for the country’s long-lasting regress in
science and other areas was the brain drain after the collapse of
the Soviet Union.

As Armenia has made an immense contribution to the progress of
modern astrophysics, the government should help the science regain
its worldwide glory, Harutyunyan said.

He called on the government to encourage young scientists to keep
them in Armenia. "A young talent will never remain unnoticed, and if
we fail to pay him, others will do that," Harutyunyan added.

"We should involve good specialists in scientific projects,"
Harutyunyan said, hoping the government would put forth all the
efforts to save Byurakan Observatory from total breakdown.

To foster scientific progress, the RA Ministry of Education and
Science has announced a competition for young researchers under
35. The government will sponsor the best projects and help young
graduates participate in international workshops and seminars.