Author: Nalbandian Albert

Armenian, NKR ministers hail international attention to Karabakh

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
30 Dec 04

[Presenter] The activities of the foreign ministry of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR] will be directed mainly at the international
recognition of the NKR, the newly-appointed foreign minister of the
NKR, Arman Melikyan, said at a meeting with [Armenian Foreign
Minister] Vardan Oskanyan in Yerevan.

The foreign ministers of both Armenian republics believe that the
attention of the international community to the settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has increased in the recent period.
According to them, this gives them a comprehensive opportunity to
present the crux of the issue, the main objective of which is to get
the independence of the NKR people recognized.

Iran wants Azeri mediation in talks with Washington – paper

Zerkalo, Baku
29 Dec 04

Iran has proposed that Baku act as a mediator to help resolve Tehran’s
problems with the USA, the Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo said. The
newspaper reported that Tehran is ready to resolve all disputed issues
with Azerbaijan, including the status of the Caspian, which has been a
bone of contention between the two countries for a long time, and not
to use force against Azerbaijan in return for a guarantee that
Azerbaijan will not allow the USA to invade or strike Iran from its
territory. The following is an excerpt from R. Mirqadirov report by
Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 29 December headlined “Tehran needs
Baku’s support” and subheaded “Although it blackmails us by missile
strikes”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The last month before the New Year can be regarded as an “Iranian”
month in Baku. In this short period of time, four high-ranking
officials of the Tehran regime visited the Azerbaijani capital. The
Iranian president’s special envoy on Caspian issues, Mehdi Safari,
Health Minister Mas’ud Pezeshkian, Information Minister Ali Yunesi and
finally Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani visited the capital. Almost
immediately after the New Year celebrations in early January, Baku
expects Iranian Vice-President Huseyn Marishan [untraced]. But let us
go back to the already paid visits, during which a number of
sensational statements were made.

Rapprochement on Caspian

Immediately after Mehdi Safari’s visit, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign
Minister Xalaf Xalafov said he does not rule out that an agreement may
be signed with Iran on the division of the Caspian during President
Ilham Aliyev’s official visit to Tehran in January 2005. “A certain
rapprochement” is being felt in the negotiating process between
Azerbaijan and Iran on the division of the Caspian and “there is
mutual understanding in the parties’ approaches”, Xalafov said.

Incidentally, the opposition and the independent press described
Safari’s visit as “a secret one” because of the lack of any
information on the negotiations although the Iranian president’s
special envoy met President Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizada and
finally Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

After Safari, Iranian Information Minister Ali Yunesi visited Baku and
held negotiations with Azerbaijan’s ruling elite, including the
president.

Yunesi stressed at his meeting with the president that they “are
looking forward” to the Azerbaijani president’s visit to Iran. This
visit will contribute to “peace and stability in the region”, the
guest said. Yunesi noted the high level of cooperation between the two
countries’ special services.

[Passage omitted: protocols on cooperation and memorandum were signed]

Diadem of Iranian visits

However, the diadem of the “Iranian month” in Baku was the visit by
Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani. It is worth noting that it was
Shamkhani’s first visit to Azerbaijan. The press service of the
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said before the visit that no documents
were planned to be signed on the outcome of the meeting. And that was
the case. But the statement issued by Shamkhani was more than
eloquent. “Azerbaijan’s security is our security. Our defence
capability is your defence capability. We are ready to establish any
relations with Azerbaijan and there is no force to prevent this,”
Shamkhani said.

Nearly the same scenario was observed during Shamkhani’s meetings with
the Azerbaijani president and the foreign minister.

Thus, visits to Azerbaijan by Iran’s high-ranking dignitaries have
become frequent in recent months. The Azerbaijani president delicately
hinted at this fact at his meeting with Shamkhani.

He said that the recent frequent visits to Azerbaijan by various
official delegations from Iran clearly testify to the expansion of
bilateral relations. In his view, the successful development of
Azerbaijani-Iranian relations serves the cause of strengthening peace
and security in the region.

Azerbaijan could mediate between Iran and USA

One gets the impression that Iran wants to resolve all disputed
problems with Azerbaijan in an accelerated way. Most political
analysts in Baku believe that Iran is at least trying to minimize the
US presence in the region with Russia’s support. The primary objective
here is not to let Azerbaijan become a bridgehead for US troops and
members of the antiterrorist coalition in the fight against Iran.

Informed experts believe that the issue of a US military presence in
Azerbaijan in this or other form will be finally resolved in 2005. All
this may happen under the pretext of protecting the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline and offshore fields.

An informed military source told Zerkalo that the purpose of
Shamkhani’s visit to Baku is “to eliminate the clandestine military
confrontation between the two countries” and find out the future of
Azerbaijan’s policy towards Iran. Because many in Baku still remember
the violations of our maritime and air borders by Iranian planes and
vessels.

Zerkalo has found out from informed diplomatic sources that the Tehran
regime suggests that Baku act as a mediator in negotiations with
Washington, since it is not quite sure about the “endurance” of its
only ally in the region, Russia, following the developments in
Ukraine. In return, Iran is ready to settle all disputed issues with
Azerbaijan, as mentioned above, first of all, to provide security
guarantees, or in other words, to promise by means of an agreement
that Iran will never use force to resolve disputed issues between the
two countries. This is how Shamkhani’s statement that “Azerbaijan’s
security is our security” should be interpreted.

“Blackmail”

Besides, the same informed sources also said that Tehran is ready to
sign a bilateral agreement on the status of the Caspian under
conditions offered by [the late Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev
during his official visit to Tehran. In other words, Tehran is ready
to agree to the division of the Caspian into national sectors by a
median line. This being the case, the disputed oil fields will be
exploited jointly.

In return, Tehran wants to get a guarantee that Azerbaijan’s territory
will not be used by the USA to invade or strike Iran. Besides, Tehran
suggests that Baku act as a mediator to resolve the existing problems
with the USA, since it meets Azerbaijan’s interests, too.

Nevertheless, the source said, there is an element of blackmail in
this “bargaining”. The matter is that the representatives of Tehran
made a clear hint during the negotiations that if the USA uses
Azerbaijani territory to invade or carry out missile strikes on Iran,
a retaliatory missile strike on Azerbaijan will be unavoidable.

Armenia to Deploy 46 Troops to Iraq
By AVET DEMOURIAN

The Associated Press
12/24/04 14:07 EST

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Armenia’s parliament voted Friday to send
46 non-combat troops to Iraq, a move that was backed by President
Robert Kocharian but drew sharp criticism from many Armenians and
opposition groups.

After more than seven hours of debate behind closed doors, lawmakers
in the National Assembly voted 91-23, with one abstention, to send
the contingent, which will include bomb-disposal experts, doctors
and transport specialists.

The troops could be deployed to Iraq as early as next month and could
serve in Iraq for up to a year, said Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan,
adding that the contingent would only conduct humanitarian operations.

“There is not, and will not be an Armenian military presence in
Iraq,” Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said. “In the humanitarian
aspect, it is preferable for Armenia to contribute to the postwar
reconstruction of Iraq, in establishing democracy in this country
which has important significance for the region and which could have
an impact on the Caucasus.”

The troops would serve as part of the Polish-led multinational force,
officials said. That force operates in a belt of territory south of
Baghdad, though Armenia has not specified where its troops will deploy.

The Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that Kocharian’s
plan to send non-combat troops to Iraq did not violate the country’s
constitution.

Kocharian has sought to portray the decision to send troops to Iraq
as a way to boost ties with Europe.

But the proposal had been widely criticized by opposition parties,
many Armenians and even the 30,000-strong Armenian community in Iraq,
which feared being targeted for attacks if the troops were sent.

“We shouldn’t even be sending humanitarian troops to Iraq, because we
can’t jeopardize the security of Armenians living Iraq, said Viktor
Dalakyan, a leader with the opposition party Justice. “Moreover their
lives are already being threatened.”

In August, an Armenian Apostolic church in Baghdad was hit in a wave
of attacks on Iraq’s minority Christians that that killed 11 people
and injured more than 50.

The troops will join a multinational division that includes troops
from other former Soviet countries, such as Georgia and Armenia’s
archrival, Azerbaijan.

Other former Soviet republics that have also sent troops to Iraq are
Ukraine, Georgia and the three Baltic countries.

Family killed by natural gas leak in Armenian village – third such incident this month

Associated Press Worldstream
December 22, 2004 Wednesday 12:08 PM Eastern Time

YEREVAN, Armenia — A man, his wife and 7-year-old child were
asphyxiated by a natural gas leak in a rural Armenian village,
emergency officials said Wednesday – the third such incident of gas
poisoning in Armenia this month.

Officials were investigating the incident, which took place in the
southern town of Bryankot Syunikskoi, but said preliminary information
showed that a poorly installed homemade gas heater and an illegal
connection to municipal gas pipes were to blame.

The return of widespread use of natural gas in Armenia has caused
a number of safety problems in recent years, officials say. The
country had almost no natural gas for about 11 years because of
supply problems.

Last week, a family of five died in the town of Echmiadzin. Two days
later, a gas leak killed two people in the town of Gumri.

Turkey Leads French Agenda

Zaman Online, Turkey
Dec 21 2004

Ankara is still the focus of the French agenda which has declared
it will organize a referendum on Turkey’s European Union (EU)
membership. The General Assembly of the French Parliament is expected
to discuss Turkey’s EU membership in a forum today. French Foreign
Minister Michel Barnier said in a statement on RTL radio, “We will
raise all the issues including the Armenian genocide during the long
and difficult membership negotiations before a decision is made on
Turkey’s membership bid.” Barnier used the expression “Armenian
genocide” for the second time following its use at the National
Parliament last week. The French Foreign Ministry said Barnier did
not use that expression saying, “He just misinterpreted when he was
repeating a question asked by a member of parliament.”

A public opinion poll published in Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper,
revealed that 52 percent of participants support French President
Jacques Chirac’s position on Turkey. The Speaker of the opposing
Socialist Party, Julien Dray, said there is a risk that Turkey’s
membership will be mixed up with the EU Constitution.

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 15 2004

Misunderstandings of strategic partnerships

The Georgian-Azeri strategic partnership, centered on coinciding
political and economic interests of the two countries, is considered
to be one of the central tenets of Caucasus politics. But this
relationship has recently faced some very public disruptions.

Confusion between Georgian and Azeri officials emerged when
Azerbaijan’s customs inspectors began increased inspection of
Georgian cargo. They suspected that part of this cargo was bound for
Armenia, and soon Georgian businesses were complaining they faced
detrimental delays in shipping from Azerbaijan. Soon afterwards, the
Georgian media speculated that Azerbaijan is beginning to suspect
that the new Rose Revolution government is in fact friendlier towards
Armenia.

But concerns more volatile than railroad cars have also emerged. On
December 3, an elderly ethnic-Azeri woman was killed when she and a
group of armed protestors converged on a large farm to demand the
right to use the land. Then last Wednesday, December 8, special
forces from the Financial Police raided the village Vakhtangisi
bordering Azerbaijan in the same Marneuli region in an effort to
crack down on smuggled goods.

A spokesman for the Financial Police told Rustavi-2 that the village
was known as the ‘capital of contraband.’ Despite protesting
residents who even temporarily held captive some officers, the
Financial Police seized goods valued at GEL 5 million and took them
to the Lilo Customs checkpoint for inspection.

Azerbaijan responded to all of these issues. An Azeri union of NGOs
launched an appeal to President Mikheil Saakashvili demanding that
Tbilisi protects the rights of local ethnic Azeris. Speaker of
Azerbaijan’s national assembly Mili-Majlis Murtuz Aleskerov expressed
his discontent with the fact that over 500,000 Azerbaijanis reside in
Georgia, but that they are not employed on the construction of the
BTC oil pipeline. “Georgia should understand that its future income
as a sovereign state will depend on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pipelines,” Aleskerov declared at a session of
the Mili-Majlis on Tuesday, December 7.

He added that a special commission of four Mili-Majlis MPs has been
created to investigate these issues in Georgia, including land
distribution in the Marneuli region. As part of this investigation, a
delegation from the Azeri government visited Georgia early this week.

In Georgian circles, the Azeri reaction was seen as an over-reaction
by a neighboring country. “I advise to my Azeri colleagues to be more
careful with such issues. I think this subject is being deliberately
stirred up. Azerbaijan’s authority is misinformed,” stated the head
of Georgia’s committee on foreign relations MP Kota Gabashvili, as
quoted by the newspaper Akhali Taoba.

Over the past year, the Georgian and Azeri governments have
demonstrated high levels of cooperation. Both countries’ ministers of
education have traveled to visit ethnic minority regions (i.e.
Georgia’s Lomaia has visited ethnic Georgians living in Azeribaijan,
and vice versa) and brought with them ‘native language’ text books
and teaching materials.

For both countries, the issue of ethnic minorities is a sensitive
issue that requires the emergence of an idea that citizenship is
based on geography and not ethnicity. This is a difficult task for
the Caucasus region where ethnicity and heritage are patriotic
buzzwords.

But there are also signs the two countries are politically astute
enough to deal with the current events through other means. Georgia’s
president replaced his representative in the Shida Kartli region and
President Aliev of Azerbaijan stated on Friday that there are and
will be no problems along the Georgian-Azeri border.

Recently a Georgian delegation participated in the ceremonies
commemorating the first anniversary of death of President Heidar
Aliev. The representatives of both countries stressed upon the fact
that Georgia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and they will not
deviate from the direction of close partnership and friendship. With
BTC set to go online in the coming months, they will have even more
motivation to do so.

Opposition paper says Azeri government trying to harm Georgia

Azadliq, Baku
14 Dec 04

An Azerbaijani opposition newspaper has accused the Azerbaijani
government of trying to harm Georgia and lower its international
standing. Comparing the leaderships of the two countries, Azadliq said
that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had never initiated a dialogue
with the Georgian authorities to resolve the problems of ethnic
Azerbaijanis. The following is the text of the report by Ali Rza in
Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 14 December headlined “The difference
between the two governments” and subheaded “Mikheil Saakashvili is
trying to resolve the problems of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia,
while Ilham Aliyev is trying to create problems for Georgia” and “This
is also a difference in values”; subheadings have been inserted
editorially:

The tension between the Georgian authorities and ethnic Azerbaijanis
following the violence against the local population there when an
ethnic Azeri woman was killed in a clash over land came close to a
positive solution last week. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
received the Azerbaijani ambassador to Georgia, Ramiz Hasanov, and
replaced the governor of Kvemo Kartli Region, where the incident took
place, right after the meeting. He appointed the new governor to
resolve the problems the ethnic Azerbaijanis are facing.

“Old” problems

An elite group of ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia cast some
light on the nature of the problems they face at a press conference in
Baku last week. Besides, they observed justice by saying that the
current problems are not new, but have been in place since the times
of former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and even first
Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia. They also confirmed that the
reason for stopping railway wagons at the Azerbaijani-Georgian border
has nothing to do with transporting goods to Armenia. Goods have been
transported to Armenia through Georgia for the past 10
years. Therefore, there is no need to cool the already cold attitude
towards ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia by this meaningless suspension
of freight.

Both Saakashvili’s step and the approach of ethnic Azerbaijanis to the
issue give ground to hope that the tension that has been in place in
Borcali from time to time and that resulted in bloodshed the last time
will be gradually eliminated Borcali is known as Borchalo in Georgian;
administrative unit in Tsarist Russia since 1880, which included parts
of the current Georgian districts of Bolnisi, Dmanisi, Marneuli,
Tetri-Tsqaro and Tsalka . As a democratic head of state who expresses
the will of his people, Saakashvili undoubtedly makes a point of being
particular about the problems of his citizens. At the same time, he
thinks without distinguishing between the citizens that the problems
of ethnic Azerbaijanis are his own, like those of
Georgians. Therefore, he believes that an incident that resulted in
the killing of one individual is reason enough to sack his regional
representative.

“Positive” developments

It is interesting to wonder at this point if Ilham Aliyev would take
the same step in the same situation. It is difficult to give an
affirmative answer to this question, because since Azerbaijani
ex-president Heydar Aliyev’s rule there hasn’t been a single case of
the dismissal of a head of executive authorities in favour of the
grass roots.

But Saakashvili is ready and able to take these steps, because he is
building a democratic society in Georgia and accordingly sees no
reason to hide or conserve problems in the country, including in
Borcali. On the contrary, he is trying to uncover and fairly resolve
them.

At this point ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia, especially their elite
are behaving much in conformity with the quality of the new
regime. They are talking about their problems without giving way to
confrontation and conflict and in the worst case trying to resolve
them by democratic means such as peaceful protests. They have chosen
the line of integrating into Georgian society, which is getting
democratic, and cooperating with Georgia’s democratic authorities.
Like the new Georgian government, they are also trying to uncover
problems and resolve them fairly. They do not see a need to hide those
problems for the sake of the “Aliyev-Shevardnadze friendship” or to
aggravate them with counter-arguments. All these are positive
developments.

Azerbaijan creating problems for ethnic Azeris in Georgia

But let us see if Azerbaijan’s political leadership can contribute to
these positive developments. No, it cannot. On the contrary, it
creates needless problems, not just because its abilities are weak or
this is what it can do, but also because it wants to. It wants to harm
the Georgian leadership and spoil its reputation internationally and
among Azerbaijanis by creating problems for it. Because of this
approach, it has been keeping freight bound for Georgia at the border
for a long time and is glad to report price rises in Georgia. The
Ilham Aliyev administration, which is endeavouring to fan the incident
in Borcali and present it in a more dramatic light by using different
means, especially the electronic media it controls, has never entered
a normal dialogue with the Saakashvili administration to help resolve
the problems. On the contrary, it irritated the Georgians more by
keeping numerous railway wagons at the border under the pretext of
“their moving to Armenia”. The political irritation, which was created
by the Ilham Aliyev administration with political nastiness in Baku,
will harm ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia.

TURKEY WANTS TO SEE AAM BACK

Azg/arm
14 Dec 04

The All Armenian Movement held its 14th sitting on December 9 to
support former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian’s reappearance
on thepolitical arena. The same day Hatem Jabbarlu, employee of the
Caucasian Department of Eurasian Military Research Center in Ankara,
posted an article inHaber Analizonline edition urging Turkish
government to boost the return of AAM to the political arena.

In other words, AAM has pinned its hope on Ter-Petrosian and Turkey –
on AAM. So they both supplement each other. But why and how is this
possible? Before answering the question we’ll mention that Jabbarlu’s
article was entitled “Rose in Georgia, Orange in Ukraine. May it be
Snowdrop in Armenia?”. Speaking of the “velvet” and “orange”
revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, the author calls them
non-traditional ones, notes that only USA today has the power tocarry
out such a revolution and then informs that there are the signs of
“snowdrop” revolution in Armenia.

According to Jabbarlu, the signs of “snowdrop” revolution became
visible in Armenia in March of 2004 when the opposition united around
the Ardarutyun Union and rallied against President Robert Kocharian
demanding his resignation. He thinks that they gave way to Kocharian,
as they “didn’t have one ideology and joint strategy”.

Enumerating the reasons why the opposition failed, Jabbarlu says that
it failed because of wrong evaluation of Georgia’s “velvet”
revolutionas well as opposition’s improvident actions that wanted to
carry out Georgian scenario without considering inner and foreign
developments in Armenia and Kocharian administration’s power.

Apparently the author accuses the US National Democracy Institute and
the so-called Soros Foundation alongside with Armenian opposition of
improvidence. Referring to the head of the Yerevan office of
Democracy Institute, Chet Roger’s support to the opposition and the
critiques addressed to pro-Russian parties and NGOs, Jabbarlu says
that the Institute was not as much of help in Armenia as it was in
Georgia. Besides, neither the Armenian opposition was so strong nor
the authorities were that weak for the anti-government movement backed
by the American organizations to win.

Hatem Jabbarlu speaks of the failure with regret. But he is hopeful
that the “velvet” and “orange” revolutions will inspire Armenian
opposition. “Though the party of Ardarutyun is the initiator of the
upheaval, the All Armenian Movement gets ready for return into the
politics. The first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosian was not
active in politics since his resignation. But he has all the chances
and abilities to gain people’s support if serious propaganda program
is implemented. But unique political, economic and social approaches,
new strategies as well as cooperation with other oppositional parties
are needed to reach the goal. Otherwise, his past of freedom warrior
will not be enough to take over the reins”.

Thus, we may assume that Jabbarlu is ascribing the mission of not only
AAM but also the opposition as a whole to Ter-Petrosian reminding the
later to turn to the USA for help. Jabbarlu thinks: “Armenian
opposition is attracted by the â=80=98orange’ revolution. Therefore,
the power that will unite the nation by concentrating on socioeconomic
and political issues, will unite the political parties, will take into
consideration the interests of super powers, first of all the US, will
declare of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh issue and will lean on
the US support will be able to carry out the â=80=98snowdropâ=80=99
revolution”.

Along with handing the role of opposition spearhead to Ter-Petrosian,
Jabbarlu says that by heading the “snowdrop” revolution he will fill
his political biography with one more patriotic deed.

What’s the reason of Turkish author’s interest towards Ter-Petrosian?
There may be only one reason: Turkey’s political
calculations. Jabbarlu himself mentions them: “Turkey has to be
attentive as to what is going on in its neighboring countries and
elaborate scenarios on this developments. It mustespecially
concentrate on possible developments in Armenia and meet with Armenian
political parties to direct them and to have the right assessment of
situation and to draw closer to the possible candidate of
presidency”. All these measures are needed to weaken the Armenian
propaganda in the issue of the so-called genocide and to become a
regional super power”.

Jabbarlu’s care for Ter-Petrosian is explicable in the view of the
fact that the 14th sitting of the AAM laid the responsibility for the
Armenian Genocide not on the Ottoman Empire but the Armenian
national-socialist ideology.

The only thing Turkey can do now is to wait for Ter-Petrosian to come
back to the politics, unite all the oppositional parties around AAM
and to lead Armenia to a “snowdrop” revolution in order not to
disappoint Turkey.

By Hakob Chakrian

Mathaba.Net, Africa
Dec 13 2004

Nicosia: The Smiling Face of the Renovated Past

From: Dabrowska

Nicosia’s old town has the smiling face of the renovated past. The
tourist information centre was once the watch tower at Edirne Gate
(now Kyrenia Gate) of the Venetian Wall which surrounded the city. A
quaint room in the watch tower with nostalgic photographs from days
gone by was the home of the watchman, Horoz Ali, who passed away aged
146. The British demolished sections of the wall during the colonial
period but much still remains.

Nicosia (Lefkosa in Turkish) was once the ancient kingdom of Ledra.
Lefkosa flourished when it became the capital of the Lusignans. The
old town was surrounded by a star shaped wall of about three miles in
circumference, which was further fortified by the Venetians in 1567
and flanked by eleven bastions. The British brought the eucalyptus
trees to help with drainage. They also bequeathed three pin plugs to
the island so visitors from the UK can use their electrical
appliances without an adaptor.

The small old town is rich in heritage. It is very `user-friendly’
and is best explored on foot. Many of the historic, architectural
treasures were damaged during the inter communal fighting which led
to the separation of the island into Greek and Turkish zones in 1974.
Today it is the world’s only divided city but the Turkish-Cypriot
border police are only too happy to let tourists photograph the check
point – as long as their cameras are pointed at the sign welcoming
them to the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC).

A medley of Christian and Muslim cathedrals turned into mosques,
Greek foundations topped by Turkish roofs, churches reworked as
public baths and archbishops’ palaces reincarnated as municipal
offices, make Lefkosa memorable.

Among the most impressive restorations is the Great Inn (Buyuk Han)
whose construction was ordered by the first Ottoman governor of
Cyprus, Muzaffer Pasha, in 1572. Its architecture resembles many
other inns from this period in Anatolia. Around the inner courtyard
and store inn are 68 rooms and a number of unique arts and craft
shops rich in local paintings, ceramics and embroidery. After years
of restoration the inn was opened to visitors in 2002. It is a
spacious, pleasant place to relax over a cup of coffee and
traditional, super-sweet Turkish cakes and desserts. Live music fills
the inner courtyard with soft melodies on Tuesday and Thursday
nights.

Near the Great Inn, stands the Selimiye Mosque which started life as
St Sophia Cathedral, the most important example of gothic
architecture in Cyprus. It was built by the Louisianans between 1208
and 1326. The monumental main door and the carved stone window above
it are spectacular works of gothic art. After the Ottoman conquest of
Nicosia in 1570, a minaret was added to the cathedral and thus it was
transformed into the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which was renamed Selimiye
Mosque in 1954. Nearby is the covered bazaar with everything from
designer jeans to fresh produce and souvenirs, both tasteful and
cheap and gaudy.

Two other notable restorations are the mansion of Dervish Pahsa and
the Lusignan House near the Ministry of Tourism, a historical
building in its own right. The 19th century Dervish Pasha Mansion
belonged to the publisher of the first Turkish newspaper Zaman in
Cyprus. It has been transformed into an enchanting ethnography museum
with life size models of men and women in ethnic costumes and a
collection of everyday items, including colourful costumes and lamps
with intricate designs in bright colours.

The mansion is part of the conservation project of the historic Arab
quarter on the western edge of Lefkosa’s walled city which was
falling into disrepair. Following hostilities between Greek and
Turkish Cypriots in 1963-73 and the island’s subsequent division in
1974 the area witnessed an influx of Turkish-Cypriot refugees who had
been forced out of their villages. After 1974 however, many of the
settlers had the means to return to their former homes, leaving only
the elderly and the very poor.

In order to address the severe deterioration of the quarter, the Arab
Ahmet conservation project was instigated with the help of the UN.
The focus of the project, which is aimed at both the historic quarter
and the contemporary city of Lefkosa, is primarily economic. Balanced
development has, with the backing of the whole community, allowed the
area to benefit from widespread regeneration and, more importantly,
to attract an inward flow of investment. A large park is being
developed, local artists work in the area and the 21st century with
an internet café blends effortlessly into a street with old, restored
houses.

Restoration at its best can be seen in the Lusignan House, a 15th
century mansion with its Gothic-arch entrance door and coat-of-arms
as well as the Ottoman era addition of a kiosk and decorated wooden
ceilings. In 1958 the mansion, which was used by the Russian Classen
family as a residence and weaving workshop, was bequeathed to the
government. During the early 1980s it was used by refugees and after
two years of arduous restoration by the Antiquities and Museums
Department was opened to the public in 1997. It is filled with
authentic furniture from the Lusignan and Ottoman periods.

The place for lunch, or dinner, is certainly Boghjalian Konak
Restaurant in what used to be the Armenian Quarter of the Arab Ahmet
area. Once owned by the Armenians who left the area, the
Turkish-Cypriot owner Sevil-Zihni Turksel is proud he now manages one
of the top ten restaurants on the island. Generous hot and cold
starters precede a main course fit for a pasha and a selection of
sweets and fruits. Cheaper restaurants line the road from the tourist
information centre to the Saray Hotel, one of the only two hotels in
the old city. It is also a street for gold jewelry and Rustem’s
Bookshop, the largest and best-stocked in North Cyprus.

After the immersion in Turkish – Gothic architecture a soak in a
Turkish bath may be welcome. It is possible at the Grand Baths (Buyuk
Hammam) whose entrance has sunk well below pavement level, the level
of the street in the 14th century. The elaborate entrance portal
carved in stone is now all that survives of the Church of St George
of the Latins, the original incarnation of this building before the
Ottomans converted it into a Turkish bath.

The old city, like the rest of the island, is friendly and relaxed.
Visitors are made welcome and it is easy to think of North Cyprus as
a home away from home, a small slice of paradise neglected and
isolated by the international community due to the embargo which
prohibits direct flights.

But as the renovations of historic buildings and sites continues and
more hotels and restaurants are built, Mehmet Basel, the Director of
the Tourism Promotion and Marketing Department at the Ministry of
Economy and Tourism is convinced that tourist numbers will rise from
240,000 in 2003 to 600,000 in the next five years and one million in
2020. `Why not?’ he asks answering his own question. `South Cyprus
has 2.6 million visitors a year’.

Mevlevi Tekke Museum, a monastery of the whirling dervishes, the
mystic order founded by Mevlana a Persian/Turkish poet of the 13th
century, is in the road which leads to the heart of the old city.

The people of North Cyprus seem to have taken the order’s code of
conduct to heart:

Be like a river when it comes to generosity and help,
Be like the sun when it comes to affection and mercy,
Be like a night in covering up the faults of others,
Be like a dead body when it comes to fury and nervousness,
Be like the earth when it comes to humility and humbleness,
Be like a sea when it comes to tolerance,
Either appear as you are or be as you appear.

Getting there: The cheapest and most direct flights (with a 40 minute
re-fuelling stop in Turkey) are offered by Cyprus Turkish Airlines
which fly every day from most European capitals. The embargo on
direct flights may be lifted this year.

Where to stay: The elegant 72 room Saray Hotel in the old city is
Lefkosa’s best. It has a roof top restaurant with magnificent views.
Ataturk Meydani (Square) Nicosia. 00-90-392-2283115)

Who to contact: IAH Ltd () a London-based
company which specializes in tours of Turkey and North Cyprus.

The Age , Australia
Dec 10 2004

Reluctant welcome mat for Turkey
December 11, 2004

Some members of Old Europe are nervous about the likelihood of Muslim
Turkey joining the EU. Peter Fray reports in Ankara.

Politicians don’t come much more surprising, or anxious, than
Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Having served a jail
term eight years ago for inciting religious hatred, he has
re-invented himself, his Islamic-based party and his nation.

After 40 years of courtship, Turkey, once better known for its
torture of prisoners and the undue political influence of its
generals, is now on the point of acceptance by the European Union.
But, just days before the EU decides whether and when it will start
talks aimed at Turkey’s eventual accession, signs are gathering that
may render Erdogan’s political gymnastics futile.

The problem isn’t so much with Turkey, which has undergone a radical
reform of its economy, police, judiciary and human rights record,
especially its treatment of the Kurds, but with Western Europe.
Europe, it seems, has only just woken up to the implications of more
than 70 million Muslims – 95 per cent of whom live in Asia – joining
what some still prefer to see as a solely Western, if not Christian,
club.

Having repelled the invading Ottomans at the gates of Vienna in the
late 17th century, Western Europe has set the scene to again stall
Turkish mass migration – this time for the thousands of young Turks
whose dream is for better jobs and education. EU leaders will decide
at a summit on Friday whether to open accession talks with Turkey.

With several European nations struggling to deal with their own
expanding Muslim communities, most notably in France, Germany,
Austria and Holland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, the
Turkey acid test has arrived at an inopportune time.

Divisions on Turkey are becoming the fault-line in European political
discourse, often pitching senior figures of the same party or
persuasion against each other. In France, President Jacques Chirac
supports Turkey’s bid while his Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin
and, more importantly, his would-be nemesis and successor, Nikolas
Sarkozy, say neither Turkey nor Europe is ready.

“What is at the heart of French concerns is (Turkey’s) size and it is
Islam,” says Dominique Moisi, deputy director of the French Foreign
Affairs Institute.

“We have 5 million Muslims in France and we see Turkey and we
spontaneously think of the difficulties in French society. It is
(about) fear, stereotypes, prejudice. We have failed to integrate 5
million Muslims – how can Europe succeed in integrating 70 million?”
says Moisi.

While Turkey’s possible accession to the EU is likely to be over a
decade away, events over coming days will be a watershed for both
Turkish aspirations and the EU’s future. EU leaders meeting in
Brussels must resolve the question of how big the 25-nation union can
become. If they agree that Turkey, a NATO member, can enter, they
will acknowledge that Europe can legitimately extend its borders to
Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Armenia and Syria. For some European MPs, this
will render the EU simply too big, too diverse and too ineffective.

As a senior aide to Germany’s Conservative opposition told The Age:
“You can’t decide such a far-reaching decision to start negotiations
with Turkey without having had a debate about where are the borders
of Europe, not only geographic borders but also the political and
cultural borders. If Turkey comes into the EU in 2015, they might
have more inhabitants than Germany. It might be 80 million or more,
it might well become the biggest member, with mostly Muslims. This is
not a question that we don’t want Muslims here and so on, but it is
another culture.”

Turkey has sought to turn its potential as a bridge to Asia and the
Middle East, not to mention its 600,000-strong standing army (the
largest in Europe), to its advantage. Turkish Foreign Ministry
officials note the country’s military has taken a lead role in
bringing stability to Afghanistan and was able to talk to influential
Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Sistani when no other Western country could
get in the room. It also has a long-standing and close relationship
with Israel and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “We can talk with
everybody,” says a senior Turkish diplomatic official, who declines
to be named. “They all talk to Turkey. We are not going there to get
a piece of the existing cake. We will make the cake bigger and then
we get a piece from the cake.”

But desperate as it is to gain access to Europe and realise the dream
of its founding father, Kemal Ataturk, for his nation to face
westwards, Turkey will not prostitute itself for Europe. Nor will it
wait forever.

The country’s ambassador to the EU, Oguz Demiralp, has warned in
recent days that Turkey will not remain in the EU’s orbit if it is
blocked from membership.

Though Demiralp’s comments were seen as mainly a diplomatic
one-upmanship, the country does have other options. In the late
1990s, then Prime Minister Necmetin Erbakan started the so-called D-8
group of Islamic nations that included Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran, a potential market of hundreds
of millions of people. As the EU talks get harder, Erbakan’s Islamic
party, Saadet, from which Erdogan’s AK Party was formed, is starting
to push D-8 again.

Even if Brussels agrees to set a date, as most commentators believe
will happen, there is little doubt that many Turks will be
disappointed. As with the 10 new nations that joined the EU countries
in May, there will be restrictions on Turkish workers travelling to
Europe for permanent jobs for several years after eventual accession,
despite the fact that fresh labour will be needed to supplement
Europe’s ageing workforce. Access to welfare benefits in the EU is
also likely to be curtailed.

Erdogan and his officials accept such restrictions, but what they are
now becoming agitated about is a host of other demands not made of
other joining nations. These include the thorny issue of recognition
of Greek Cyprus, which joined the EU in May, and the idea that the
accession talks will be open-ended and might result in something less
than full membership.

Polls show about 75 per cent of Turks support their country’s
membership of the EU, and those with first-hand knowledge speak in
glowing terms of its benefits. About an hour south of Ankara, the
rural town of Kulu, population 30,000, has seen about 35,000 of its
residents leave for jobs in Europe since the mid-1960s. Nearly all of
them have ended up in and around the Swedish capital of Stockholm,
where, say the Turks, there are up to 500 Kulu-run restaurants.
“People in Sweden who don’t know Turkey at all think that Kulu is the
capital,” said retiree Hamza Akdal, whose four children live in
Europe, three in Sweden.

But as the demand for Kulu labour has dried up, the locals have
starting pinning their economic hopes on EU membership. Local chemist
Tayer Budak believes Turkey will get a date from the Brussels talks
and the Kulu-way will be experienced in his country many times over.
“We are not so excited about joining the EU because we have already
experienced it. We want Turkey to see what we have.”

But as Erdogan is discovering, the Turks may be in for a long wait.