Author: Nalbandian Eduard

BOMB SEIZURES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR RULE OF LAW TO BE ENFORCED

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 16 2007

The recent confiscation of hand grenades at a house in Ýstanbul’s
Umraniye district, with police taking into custody three suspects,
including retired noncommissioned officer Oktay Y, the provincial
chairman of the right-wing organization Kuvayi Milliye (National
Forces), has again raised the need for urgent action to be taken by
the government and the judiciary over gangs and other matters related
to the incidents.

The Umraniye incident has also hinted at a link with the bombing
staged against daily Cumhuriyet in May 2006 as the security for-ces
have been probing the link.

The serial number of the seized grenades and bombs made by the
state-owned Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) used in
attacks against Cumhuriyet daily were reportedly the same.

Counterterrorism teams confiscated 27 hand grenades during a raid in
Umraniye on June 13. The grenades were reportedly military property
and are thought to have been stolen from military warehouses.

Security forces found 27 hand grenades and 18 detonators in a box kept
in the attic. Mehmet D. was identified as the landlord who leased the
house to his nephew Ali Y. The police arrested both Mehmet D. and
Ali Y. Prior investigations revealed that Alparslan Arslan — the
prime suspect in the State Council attack last year in which he is
alleged to have shot and killed a top judge — and his accomplices
used stolen grenades in their attack on the newspaper.

Reports indicate that military authorities will be consulted in
regards to the captured armaments.

Oktay Y. actively participated in anti-EU rallies and demonstrations
staged during the trials of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
academic and author Elif Þafak as well as author and Nobel Prize winner
Orhan Pamuk, who were all prosecuted under the infamous Article 301
of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The suspects alleged that Oktay Y. brought the grenades to their
house. Acting on this testimony, the police took Oktay Y. into custody.

He had retired due to a disability in connection with his duty
in southeastern Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
terrorist organization.

Within the investigation the General Staff will be asked whether the
grenades are registered in the army inventory. The suspects will be
interrogated by the counterterrorism squad’s C Desk, which specializes
in rightist organizations.

Three bombs are missing

Mehmet D. told the police during his interrogation that the hand
grenades were brought to the house in Umraniye in 2005 by the former
noncommissioned officer Oktay Y. "Oktay Y. has constantly been in
touch with retired Cap. Muzaffer Tekin, retired Gen. Veli Kucuk
and Bekir Ozturk, one of the founding members of the Kuvayi Milliye
branch in Mersin," Mehmet D. reportedly told to the police. Meanwhile
counterterrorism squads have found that three hand grenades were
missing in the military ammunition bag found during the Umraniye
raiding. A senior security official told the media that those
missing three hand grenades might be the ones used in attacks against
Cumhuriyet.

Grenades reveal web of dark relations once again

Retired Cap. Tekin, who was suspected of instigating the attack
against the Council of State last year but later released due to
insufficient evidence, spoke to several dailies, stating he knew the
retired noncommissioned officer Oktay Y. as a "correct man."

"Those grenades are scrap, they will not kill," he said.

According to Tekin, Oktay Y. has now been continuing his struggle
in thought ending his armed struggle following his retirement from
the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Tekin defended himself and Oktay
Y., saying he liked him as if he were his son, claiming that those
accusing them were attempting to damage them and the TSK down through
the usage of their names. Those accusing them of being involved in
illegal activities "will not be able to play the same game that they
played earlier. These are all complicities," Tekin warned.

Turkish dailies reported Friday that former member of Police Special
Forces Ýbrahim Þahin, whose name was implicated in the Susurluk
gang scandal in 1996, has allegedly introduced Tekin and Oktay Y. to
each other.

A picture showing the provincial chairman of Kuvayi Milliye, Oktay Y.,
who was taken into custody in connection with grenades seized in a
house in Umraniye district, retired Cap. Tekin and retired Col.

Fikri Karadað, also the chairman of a Kuvayi Milliye association
branch and known for taking his oath over a pistol, published in Sabah
daily on Friday. According to the paper the picture was suspected
of being taken in 2003 in Ýstanbul’s Þile suburb during a meeting of
the so-called "Ulusalcýlar Nationalists."

Oktay Y. also had his picture taken with Tekin as well as retired
Gen. Veli Kucuk, who was also implicated in an attack against the
Council of State, Sabah reported.

The Kuvayi Milliye organization was a paramilitary group during World
War I with no legal basis. The members of this organization were used
by the state on and off during that time. But the same Kuvayi Milliye
rebelled against the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.

Today’s Kuvayi Milliye groupings have frequently been linked to
dubious activities — as is the case most recently in Umraniye —
including the Atabeyler gang and attacks on the Council of State and
on daily Cumhuriyet.

The Ulusalcýlar Nationalists, also known as the "Kýzýl Elma Koalisyonu"
(Red Apple Coalition) or Kuvayi Milliye, of today is composed of
various segments of society: retired officers, former police chiefs,
civil servants, lawyers and journalists targeting to destabilize the
country under the guise of a so-called fight against an Islamic state
that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), with its
conservative roots, could allegedly install.

This is despite the fact that it has been during AK Party rule that
Turkey has witnessed major democratic reforms, though many were
not felt on ground. The above mentioned groups are also anti-US, as
well as anti-EU, the latter in marked contrast to Turkey’s accession
ambition. Those groups are of the belief that EU reforms are aimed
at disintegrating Turkey.

‘A strong will required for fighting illegal acts’

The Umraniye incident and the link between retired officers in illegal
activities have once again raised questions over how such notorious
activities can be stopped and the rule of law installed.

Associate Professor Umit Kardaþ, a retired military judge and lawyer,
told Today’s Zaman there needs to be strong political will to fight
against such illegal groups. "Strong political leadership should be
able to trace the root causes of illegal groups to install the rule
of law in the country. In the fight against illegal activities, the
government, Parliament and media should be mobilized to pave the way
for democracy," he stressed.

Lawyer Ergin Cinmen of the Ýstanbul Bar Association, meanwhile, told
Bia Net Web site on June 14 that the Umraniye incident has once again
revealed that such acts were no longer "deep," or hidden, but taking
place openly.

"If such relationships [among ex officers in illegal activities]
are not prevented they will become stronger and will become the
state itself. We will see how the security teams and prosecutors’
office will deal with this issue. Are we going to let it go with the
tip of the iceberg or will a deep investigation be made?" he said.

–Boundary_(ID_+PaGszAGZjG3J0roRvVVwQ)–

NKR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Davit Babayan

Azat Artsakh Daily, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
13-06-2007

The society is calm, despite the efforts of some forces to cause
stirs. In order not to make similar efforts, we would like to speak
about the importance of this election to the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict. The peculiarity of the Karabakh conflict is that
the conflict sides have quite different but balanced geopolitical
components. Azerbaijan has a more attractive geographical position
(it is situated between Iran and Russia, and is a bridge with
Central Asia), it has oil and gas. Nagorno-Karabakh has a more
favorable ideological state, which is reflected in a higher level of
democracy and civil society. It offsets the geographical advantages of
Azerbaijan. The challenges and threats the international community is
currently Two weeks are left until the election campaign. facing are
evidence that democracy is the only mechanism to sustain stability. In
addition, the geographical and strategic factors cannot replace
the humanitarian one. Moreover, totalitarianism and perversion of
democracy in countries of strategic importance is believed to pose
worse threat to stability. The process of building democracy in
Nagorno-Karabakh is virtually different from that in Azerbaijan. The
elections, as well as the pre-election periods in Nagorno-Karabakh
have always been free and transparent, without major violations,
the international observers reported.

Though it sounds controversial, the conflict with Azerbaijan spurred
the democratic development in Karabakh. We need qualitative advantages
to offset the enemy’s quantitative advantages (territory, population,
GDP). The abovementioned free, solid and united society is one of
these benchmarks.

Meanwhile, freedom and unity is impossible outside a democracy and
civil society. Naturally, the existence of an unrecognized subject
which is on the track for democracy in such strategic region as
the Caucasus is favorable for the democratic community. It is
highly important to deal with a state which despite its favorable
geographical position does not fit into the ideology involving
all the centers of force. Meanwhile, the state of human rights
in Azerbaijan becomes worse year by year, and the development of
totalitarianism behind demonstrative democratic slogans is obvious. The
fact that the commitment of Azerbaijan to development of democracy
is demonstrative and false is confirmed in practice and observed
by international observers. It is reflected in the elections. The
international observers observed violations in all the elections,
including the presidential, parliamentary and local elections. The
recent Azerbaijani parliamentary election is new evidence. Despite
the statements and recommendations of the international community,
the Azerbaijani government continues to violate the basic rights
and freedoms. It is notable that there are a number of ethnic
minorities in Azerbaijan, which have not got assimilated and become
Azerbaijanis. Apart from all, democracy involves respecting the rights
of ethnic minorities. In a real democracy, such people as the Talish
and the Lezgi may demand sovereignty. And the Baku authorities cannot
accept it. Hence, democracy in Azerbaijan is a threat to statehood in
Azerbaijan. It means they will make efforts to prevent the evelopment
of democracy. In this context, our reporters and media must display
wisdom and patriotism especially in the pre-election period. We must
be alert, for there are forces which are interested in damaging the
reputation of Karabakh as a democratic country rather than the victory
of the candidate they support. An election is the best time for it. The
abovementioned forces will be announcing mass wrongdoing and fraud. But
these technologies have been used long ago… It is clear that this
situation is not favorable for neither our people nor the state. Let
us not forget about this and make constructive efforts, especially that
Karabakh, and subsequently all of us will suffer from the consequences.

ABSENCE OF AMBASSADOR IN ARMENIA HAS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON RA-U.S. RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2007 16:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Armenia’s foreign policy should be decided in
Yerevan but not in California," Jane’s Intelligence Center expert
Richard Giragosian told a news conference in Yerevan.

"Absence of Ambassador in Armenia has a negative impact on
RA-U.S. relations. Neither the Diaspora nor Armenian NGOs appoint the
U.S. Ambassador. It’s the prerogative of the U.S. Senate. The sooner
it happens the better," he said.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has twice blocked Richard
Hoagland’s designation for U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. Senator Robert
Menendez exercised his right of veto. "A person who denies the Armenian
Genocide cannot defend the U.S. interests in Armenia," he said.

Hoagland told the Committee that he recognizes the events of 1915
but doesn’t call them genocide.

Earlier, the RA government gave consent to Hoagland’s nomination.

MUSIC DAY IN THE STREETS OF YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
12.06.2007 16:25

At the initiative of the French Embassy in Armenia, June 21
professional and amateur musicians will play live in the central
streets of Yerevan.

Cultural Attaché of the Embassy Julie Sore told a press conference
today that the music day will start from the Liberty Square, where
the "Serenade" orchestra will present popular Armenian and foreign
compositions.

Up until midnight citizens of Yerevan will enjoy live music
of different genres (classical, pop, rock, contemporary,
etc.) particularly in Abovyan Street, Charles Aznavour Square, the
Moscow Square and in the park next to the Conservatory after Komitas.

"We intend to make this event annual and hold it in all communities
of the capital, as well as other marzes of the republic," the Cultural
Attaché said.

It was noted that for the first time this popular arrangement was
held in France in 1984. Later similar events were held in a number
of European cities.

Every year such events are annually held in 340 cities of 100 states.

–Boundary_(ID_VpP5a8j65nhwLdWOu+9QMQ)–

UN IN A HURRY FOR DETERMINING STATUS OF KOSOVO

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2007 17:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon
stated that the issue of Kosovo’s future status is one of the most
important and sensitive problems in international agenda. He stressed
its resolution is in the hands of the Security Council and expressed
hope that members of the Council will make a fair decision after
examining the plan of his Special Envoy Marti Ahtisaari.

During the meeting with journalists dedicated to the results of his
participation in the G8 summit and other issues, Ban Ki-moon noted
the Kosovo problem was one of the major topics of negotiations in
Germany. He added he has personally held brief consultations with
Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I hope this time we will not lose a lot of time for making a
decision. It is absolutely necessary that the UN, particularly the
Security Council would make a fair decision by adopting, to put
it correctly, by approving recommendations of Marti Ahtisaari,"
Ban Ki-moon stated. He expressed hopes that consultations over that
subject will continue among Security Council member-states, UN Press
Office reports.

The Ahtisaari Plan supposes to grant Kosovo independence and Russia
opposes that plan.

AFRICAN PLAGUE REACHES AKHALTSIKHE VILLAGES

AKHALTSIKHE, JUNE 11, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The viral desease
called African plague, which causes mass pig decrease, has reached
Samtskhe-Javakhk from Samagrelo and Imereti regions of Georgia.

According to the information reported to Noyan Tapan by A-Info,
currently the virus is recorded in five villages of the region of
Akhaltsikhe. The greatest damage was caused to those farms that are
engaged in cattle-breeding.

Specialists already work in the above-mentioned villages and implement
sanitary measures. Besides, daily laboratory researches are conducted
at the local markets and there has been no record of infected pork sale
so far.

PanARMENIAN.Net

State institutions of Nagorno work much effective of those of Azerbaijan
09.06.2007 14:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ State institutions of Nagorno work much effective of
those of Azerbaijan, and exactly that established efficiency does not
allow to view the unrecognized states as `criminal enclaves’, Head of
the department of international relations at the Institute of
Political and Military Studies Sergey Markedonov thinks. `Such
criterion, like the level of regime’s democracy too not always works
when comparing recognized and unrecognized states. Authoritarizm and
unrecognized formation are not quite the same identical
concepts. Unlike Azerbaijan, nobody in Nagorno Karabakh will event
think about seriously preparing an operation like `Successor in
Azerbaijan for passing the power from the father to son and event to
discuss similar scenarios,’ he writes in `Russia and Global Policy’
magazine.

Markedonov reminds that borders of the self-declared states not always
coincide with the borders of former soviet autonomous regions -the
territorial base of unrecognized formations. Nagorno Karabakh includes
not only the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), but
also the Shahumyan region. Today this territory, as well as part of
NKR’s Mardakert and Martouni regions is under the jurisdiction of
Azerbaijan. `However, if we apply the criterion of sovereignty, say,
towards Georgia or Azerbaijan, we will see that they have problems in
this sphere. By 1991 Baku lost its control over the whole territory of
NKAO and by 1994 -over the seven Azerbaijani regions,’ he underlines.

The Russian political scientist also writes that from the formal-legal
viewpoint unrecognized states, which emerged in the result of the
collapse of USSR, do not exist for the world community. `However, this
does not prevent them to be real participants of the `great game’ on
the territory of the former Soviet Union. What do the unrecognized
states differ by from those, which are recognized in the international
level? By the existence of official status? But the world community,
which establishes such a status, experiences a deep crisis in itself:
after the collapse of Yalta-Potsdam world system contours of the new
world order became quite indistinct. Consequently, criteria of
recognized and not recognized also became washed out as such. In
political and publicistic literature these formations are called
self-declared. But this determination too is not quite correct, since
all large modern states `declared their independence themselves’,’
Sergey Markedonov underscores.

FILM REVIEW: SCREAMERS **

Globe and Mail, Canada
June 8 2007

Rockumentary has an admirable agenda but strikes too many flat notes
STEPHEN COLE

Screamers Directed by Carla GarapedianStarring System of a
DownClassification: 18A Rating: **

Is it possible to get mad at a film that has its heart and soul in
the right place?

Screamers is a rockumentary by former BBC World News anchor Carla
Garapedian. The film follows the Armenian-American heavy metal band
System of a Down around the world, listening in as the group noisily
informs fans about the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkish
nationalist thugs from 1915 to 1917.

The group hopes to generate pressure on the U.S. and Britain, forcing
them to recognize the Armenian genocide (as Canada has). To that end,
there is a Dennis and Me interlude, where the band pursues Republican
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

If this sounds intriguing, we should add that System of a Down is a
lousy live band. And director Garapedian, for all her public-minded
zeal, isn’t capable of corralling her interviews and opinions into
a coherent polemic.

And yes, we can and should get mad at Screamers because the film
represents a blown opportunity. After all, how many documentaries
about the tragedy that disgraced the Ottoman Empire is the BBC going
to sponsor?

More questions: Garapedian interviews Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian
journalist prosecuted by authorities for "insulting Turkishness"
with articles on the Armenian genocide. Why didn’t she enlist him
as the film’s essential tour guide as opposed to a random talking
head? If the filmmaker felt she needed an "entertainment angle,"
why didn’t she tell the story of another interview subject here,
Orhan Pamuk, the 2006 Nobel Prize-winning novelist? Pamuk was driven
from Turkey by ultranationalists for stating, "Thirty-thousand Kurds
and a million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but
me dares to talk about it."

Presumably, we get System of a Down because the four-man group,
every one the grandson of an Armenian genocide survivor, scream for
justice for their ancestors. While the world should holler along,
we should first know exactly what happened in the Ottoman Empire in
the evil days of 1915-17.

Here, Screamers never really does the job of a documentary.

That System of a Down aren’t up to the task becomes apparent when
singer Serj Tankian finally confronts Hastert.

"Have you read our letter?" he asks.

"No," Hastert replies.

"Well, I’m sure you’re busy," Tankian says.

So much for screaming.

/story/RTGAM.20070607.wscreamers08/BNStory/Enterta inment/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070607.wscreamers0 8

LE HAUT-KARABAKH DOIT ETRE RECONNU PARTIE AUX NEGOCIATIONS ARMENO-AZERBAïDJANAISES (PRESIDENT GOUKASSIAN)

RIA Novosti, Russie
7 Juin 2007

EREVAN, 7 juin – RIA Novosti. Le president de la republique
autoproclamee du Haut-Karabakh, Arkadi Goukassian, estime que celle-ci
doit etre reconnue partie aux negociations armeno-azerbaïdjanaises,
a appris RIA Novosti auprès de la mission permanente de la Republique
du Haut-Karabakh en Armenie.

"Il convient de retablir le format du processus de negociation etabli
par le sommet de l’OSCE a Budapest en 1994 et lors duquel le Karabakh
avait ete reconnue partie aux negociations, puisque sans sa veritable
participation les negociations ne sauront apporter les resultats
escomptes", a declare le president de la republique autoproclamee
rencontrant jeudi a Erevan les copresidents du groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE Iouri Merzliakov (Russie), Matthew Bryza (Etats-Unis) et
Bernard Fassier (France).

M. Goukassian a propose aux intermediaires d’obtenir de toutes les
parties au conflit de nettes garanties de non recours a la force et
d’exclusion des menaces.

Selon le leader de la republique autoproclamee, la question du statut
de Haut-Karabakh est la pierre d’achoppement aux negociations et
toutes les autres questions sont la consequence du conflit.

Il s’est dit certain qu’il est impossible de parvenir a un compromis
dans l’atmosphère de mefiance et de haine qui persiste entre les
parties au conflit.

De leur côte, les copresidents ont note que "les negociations avancent
avec difficultes", ajoutant qu’ils attendaient toutefois des parties
des progrès.

Les copresidents du Groupe de Minsk sont venus en Armenie dans le
cadre d’une visite dans la region.

Il est prevu au cours de cette visite de debattre de tous les details
du processus de negociation sur le règlement du conflit du Karabakh et
des details de la rencontre des presidents armenien et azerbaïdjanais,
Robert Kotcharian et Ilham Aliev, qui est prevue dans le cadre d’un
sommet economique informel des pays de la CEI pour les 9-10 juin.

Enclave presque entièrement peuplee d’Armeniens, le Haut-Karabakh
beneficiait, au sein de la republique sovietique d’Azerbaïdjan, du
statut de region autonome. En 1988, a la faveur de la perestroïka
gorbatchevienne, la population locale a exige la reunification de
l’enclave a la republique sovietique d’Armenie. Malgre de multiples
tentatives de Moscou de faire revenir le calme dans le pays, une
veritable guerre a eclate entre la region et l’Azerbaïdjan après la
chute de l’URSS en 1991. Depuis, des negociations sont en cours a
differents echelons entre Bakou et Erevan, sans grand succès.

–Boundary_(ID_frVYeI/CX+5yBuuUzPIk6 A)–

RA PRESIDENT ACCEPTS THE GOVERNMENT RESIGNATION

ArmRadio.am
07.06.2007 13:34

Guided by Article 55.4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia
and taking into consideration that the first sitting of the newly
elected National Assembly was called on June 7, 2007, President
Robert Kocharyan signed a decree on accepting the resignation of
RA Government.

The President instructed the resigned members of Government to continue
fulfilling their duties up until the formation of the new Government.