Author: Nanijanian Alex

PELOSI’S ARMENIAN DILEMMA

Milliyet, Turkey
Oct 7 2007

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is
confronting a great dilemma. Because the Armenian genocide resolution
is expected to come before her in the coming days.

A number of commentators assume that, because she is pro-Armenian,
Pelosi will send this to the full Assembly without delay, and that
the resolution will be adopted.

Despite this assumption, it is obvious that Pelosi’s task is not at all
easy. The reason is the joint letter that eight former US Secretaries
of State, whose names are familiar to everyone in the public, have
sent to her. These individuals, and with all the authority that is
associated with their names, state that this resolution will deal a
great blow to American interests.

Allegation of "Personal Interests"

Additionally, an article published this week in one of the country’s
most influential newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, reached the
same conclusion, and used language claiming that the member of the
House of Representatives who originated this resolution was merely
furthering his own interests.

The Armenian side naturally attributes these developments to the
"lobbying strength" of Turkey. They are claiming, even if indirectly,
that Ankara has in one way or another bought these people. But every
American with any sense has the capacity to judge that such a thing
is not possible, and that the individuals in question have in fact
intervened with a view to their own country’s interests.

Fire-Spitting Statement

Pelosi thus faces the danger of falling into the position of a person
who serves the interests not of her country, but of one ethnic group
in her electoral district, and even of a foreign country (Armenia).

In the meantime, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has issued
a statement spitting fire at the former American Secretaries of
State. Rejecting the idea that if Armenian genocide resolution number
106 passes, "a blow will be dealt to the efforts at normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia," he stated that "there is no
such process."

Even this statement makes it plain that Yerevan’s political purposes
are indexed to the developments in the US Congress. It is thus
understood that Oskanian believes that Turkey will be "brought into
line" with pressures and genocide resolutions. It is clear that he
has understood nothing of Turkey and the Turks, despite this being
practically his country’s sole foreign policy issue.

Blow to Bilateral Relations

Yet if resolution number 106 passes, it will indeed be the end of the
"normalization" desired between Turkey and Armenia. Because no Turkish
government or politician, knowing the political price, would be able
to defend the necessity of "normalization."

Yet another illusion of those who support the Armenian resolution is in
the form that this resolution would be a first step towards preventing
genocide in Darfur. Well, if this resolution had passed twenty years
ago, would the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda have been prevented?

I am certain that no one suffering in Darfur is going to look at the
Armenian resolution and grow excited, saying "just hold on; help is on
the way!" This resolution, which is not going to save the poor souls
in Darfur, will not accomplish anything other than dealing yet another
blow to Turkish-American relations, which are already in trouble.

Armenian-origin Americans will be greatly pleased by this. And
the rest?

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA FM meets OSCE MG Co-chairs in New York 06.10.2007 14:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ October 4, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
addressed the UN General Assembly’s High-level Dialogue on
Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for
Peace.

The session held under the aegis of Philippines and Pakistan was
dedicated to strengthening peace via inter-confessional dialogue.

The Armenian Minister met with OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to discuss
the Karabakh peaceful process and outcomes of the mediators’ recent
visit to the region.

On the same day Vartan Oskanian met the U.S. Under Secretary for
Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns to discuss bilateral cooperation,
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Armenia-Turkey
relations.

October 5, Minister Oskanian headed for Boston where he addressed the
Fletcher School of International Affairs, Tufts University. The
Minister was honored with the Dean’s award and medal.

FRENCH FM TO VISIT TURKEY

The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, France
Oct 5 2007

ANKARA, Turkey: France’s foreign minister was to visit Turkey
on Friday to help improve relations that have soured over French
president Nicolas Sarkozy’s opposition to Ankara’s bid to join the
European Union.

Turkey is also upset by French moves to make the denial of Armenian
genocide a crime and by what it says is French reluctance to prosecute
or extradite suspected Kurdish rebels wanted by Turkey.

Turkey acknowledges that great numbers of Armenians were killed in
fighting and mass expulsions in the early part of the last century,
but vehemently rejects the label of genocide. The Turkish government
ended military ties with France over the genocide bill.

Bernard Kouchner is scheduled to meet President Abdullah Gul, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan during
his one-day visit.

In contrast to Sarkozy, Kouchner supports Turkey’s EU bid and suggested
recently that he was trying to persuade the French president to soften
his opposition.

Sarkozy repeatedly said during his presidential campaign earlier this
year that he preferred an EU partnership with Turkey rather than full
membership. He recently softened his stance by saying he would not
block Turkish accession – which is many years away.

Kouchner, a longtime Socialist, joined Sarkozy’s conservative Cabinet
as part of the president’s effort to reach across the political
spectrum, but said he retains his own attitudes within the government.

PRESIDENT GUL: REFORMS WILL GO ON

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Oct 5 2007

Gul vows reforms will go on,warns against division of Iraq

The new Turkish president told Europe’s top human rights watchdog
Wednesday that his country’s government was committed to improving
its rights record – an issue that has stymied Turkey’s effort to join
the EU.

President Abdullah Gul, elected in August, said Turkey was more
tolerant and democratic today than five years ago, when the country
launched widespread social and judicial reforms.

"All forms of discrimination are banned. Legal and constitutional
guarantees on the right to association and assembly are reinforced.

Cultural and religious rights have been upgraded," Gul said in
his first speech as Turkey’s president to the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly. Gul has been a member of the council for
nine years.

Later speaking to journalists Gul there were problems with a
contentious law that makes it a crime to insult Turkish identity and
it needed to be changed.

Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and slain ethnic Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink were prosecuted under the law, which the EU wants
Turkey to scrap. Article 301 has been used to prosecute journalists,
writers and academics.

"We know there are problems with regard to Article 301. There’s
still room for improvement and there are changes to be enacted in
the period ahead," Gul told journalists at the Council of Europe. "I
support the idea of Article 301 to change."

Gul said there prevailed an "unfair perception" that people were
jailed because of the contentious law. He said the section of the
penal code was being used for propaganda against Turkey.

Turkey, which aspires to join the European Union, has come under
pressure to amend the law. Gul has previously said the law was damaging
Turkey’s image by portraying it as a country where intellectuals are
jailed for speaking their opinions.

At the Council of Europe, he said there prevailed an "unfair
perception" that people were jailed because of Article 301, and
insisted there is freedom of speech in Turkey.

"No one is going to prison for expressing their view freely," he said
in a question-and-answer session with parliamentarians from the human
rights watchdog’s 47 member states. Also in the speech Wednesday,
Gul warned against any territorial division of Iraq, saying it would
further complicate the volatile situation in the region.

"One should not fall into illusion that the current problems can be
overcome by the partition of Iraq. This would be the worst scenario
for the people of Iraq and the whole region," Gul said.

A U.S. Senate proposal has called for a limited centralized Iraqi
government with the bulk of the power given to the country’s ethnically
divided regions.

Without specifically criticizing the proposal to devolve Iraqi power
to the regions, Gul said that "nobody should look for solutions
alternative to respecting territorial and political unity of Iraq."

The nonbinding resolution adopted by the U.S. Senate calls for Iraq
to be divided into federal regions – controlled by Kurds, Shiites and
Sunnis – which would govern by a power-sharing agreement similar to
that used in postwar Bosnia.

The proposal has been harshly criticized by Iraq’s major political
parties.

Meanwhile, Turkey has been pressuring the United States and Iraq to
wipe out the PKK terrrorist bases in northern Iraq.

Turkey has warned it would carry out a cross-border offensive to
eliminate the rebel bases if necessary.

BUSH WARNED OVER GENOCIDE BILL

The Mercury, Australia
PerthNew, Australia
The Australian, Australia
Oct 5 2007

TURKISH Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told US President George W. Bush
that ties between the two countries would be hurt if the US Congress
passed a Bill branding the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks "genocide", Turkish television reported today.

Mr Erdogan, who issued a similar warning earlier this year, made the
comment in a telephone call which he made to Mr Bush, news channels
CNN Turk and NTV reported.

The Bush administration opposes the resolution on the events in
1915 as the Ottoman Empire broke apart, but the US Congress is now
dominated by the Democratic Party and has become more influenced by
the Armenian diaspora.

Turkey is a key NATO ally of Washington and a moderate Muslim country
whose support it needs in the region as it fights Iraqi insurgents
and confronts Iran over its nuclear program.

A senior Turkish lawmaker has also warned previously that Ankara
could consider restricting the US military’s use of Incirlik air base,
a logistics hub for the Middle East, if the Bill is passed.

Turkey has already sent delegations to the US in a bid to halt the
resolution.

Turkish media reported today that the bill would be taken up by
Congress’s Foreign Relations Committee on October 10.

Turkey denies a systematic genocide of Armenians took place, saying
large numbers of Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in
inter-ethnic fighting as the Ottoman Empire collapsed during WWI.

AZERBAIJANI GREEN PARTY CONSIDERS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT TO BE CITIZEN-POWER STRUGGLE

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 5 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. S. Ilhamgizi / The Green Party
of Azerbaijan considers the Azerbaijani-Armenia conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh to be a citizen-power struggle, Mais Guliyev, the
Chairman of the Party, said.

The main essence of the US foreign policy is to split countries by
pitting the opposition against the Authorities, Guliyev said.

"The US always supports national and ethnic group conflicts in order to
split the countries and achieve control over them," the Chairman said.

Joining Azerbaijan to NATO will freeze the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
the Chairman considers.

Some participants of the meeting did not agree with the party’s
position. Razi Nurullayev, an independent political scientist, said the
US position concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not differ
from positions of other countries. The US recognizes the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan. Nurullayev believes the US’ demands to to
liberate the Azerbaijani territories from Armenia to be impossible.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PARTY COMES OUT AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF ARTICLE 301 FROM ARMENIAN CRIMINAL CODE

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2007

ArmInfo. The Prosperous Armenia Party doesn’t support the draft law
"On amending the Criminal Code of Armenia", which stipulates withdrawal
of Article 301 (calls of forced overthrow of the constitutional system
in Armenia) from the Criminal Code of Armenia.

To recall, the draft law was submitted for consideration of the
Armenian parliament in September by Heritage Party member Zaruhi
Postanjyan.

Aram Safaryan, a member of the parliamentary faction of Prosperous
Armenia, said at the Oct 5 press- conference at Pastark club that it
is wrong to withdraw this article only to "help some veterans of the
Karabakh war", namely Zhirayr Sefilyan, the leader of the Union of
Armenian Volunteers, and his companion-in-arms Vardan Malkhasyan.

They were arrested on Dec 9, 2007, on the suspicion of calls of forced
overthrow of the constitutional system in Armenia. "My opinion is
that there are no political prisoners in Armenia," the MP said.

WATER PLANT AND TUNNEL AT IRANIAN AND ARMENIAN BORDER

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 4 2007

On October 4 the Armenian parliament ratified the Iran-Armenia
agreement on building a water power plant on the Arax River at the
Iranian border. The agreement involves construction of two water
plants, one in Armenia, the other in Iran, ARKA reported referring
to the deputy minister of energy Ara Simonyan who presented the
agreement to the parliament. Construction is expected to start in
2008 and finish within 6 years.

According to the agreement, each country will deal with the project and
construction of their plant but the technical issues will be discussed
together. The deputy minister said privileged mode will be set for
the delivery of building materials, equipments and machines to the
site of construction. Ara Simonyan said the technical and economic
justification of the plants has been done. The capacity of each water
power pant will be 130-140 MW, each plant will be generating an annual
800-840 kW of energy. Besides, a 17-18 km long tunnel will be built
in both Armenia and Iran.

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee
Contact: Jason P. Capizzi
Tel: 972-635-5347
Fax: 972-635-5406
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

ARMENPAC Exclusive – GOVERNOR GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN ISSUES VIDEO MESSAGE TO
CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTIONS (S.RES.106 and
H.RES.106)

Long Beach, California – George Deukmejian, the 35th Governor of the state
of California and ARMENPAC Honorary Committee Member, today issued a video
message to Congress and its staff in support of S.Res.106 and H.Res.106,
which are corresponding resolutions that call upon the President to ensure
that United States foreign policy reflects proper recognition of the
Armenian Genocide as documented in the United States records.

Right now, S.Res.106 and H.Res.106 are supported by more than half of the
members in each Chamber of Congress. Governor Deukmejian thanked those
Senators and Representatives who have lent their support to this important
human rights issue in the face of ongoing denial, and invited those who are
still considering this issue to view his video message which briefly
explains the historical facts of, and the reaffirmation efforts concerning,
the Armenian Genocide. Go to
to view Governor Deukmejian’s video message to Congress.

ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee with a
nationwide membership. ARMENPAC raises awareness of, and advocates for,
policies that help create peace, security and stability in the Caucasus
region. ARMENPAC provides financial support to federal officeholders,
candidates, political action committees and organizations that actively
support issues of importance to Armenian-Americans. For more information
and how to join ARMENPAC, please call (877) 286-1046 or visit
<; .

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ARMENIAN NPP TO BE STOPPED FOR PLANNED PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AND REFUELING ON OCTOBER 12

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 2 2007

ArmInfo. The Armenian NPP will be stopped for planned preventive
maintenance and refueling on October 12, 2007, Director General of
ANPP Gagik Markosyan told ArmInfo today.

He said that during this period, it is scheduled to implement a
number of the plant’s safety enhancement measures. Fresh fuel will
be delivered to the NPP within the next few days for refueling,
G. Markosyan said. Over the last two years, the ANPP purchases fuel at
the expense of own incomes and does not receive credits. The Armenian
NPP wastes 90-100 fuel assemblies per annum, and buys so much. Half
of the electric power, generated in the republic, falls on its share.

To note, in September, 2003, the ANPP was handed over the financial
control of "Iter RAO UES" CJSC, being a subsidiary of RAO "UES of
Russia", for a period of five years. Two power units of Russian
model WWER-440 with total capacity of 815 MW are installed at the
Armenian NPP. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the second one
in 1980. In the beginning, 1989, the NPP was removed from operation
for political reasons. However, the second unit with capacity of 404
MW was restarted in 1995.