Author: Navasardian Karapet

RA PRESIDENT RECEIVES DELEGATION OF UNION OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA AND WORLD ARMENIAN CONGRESS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 16, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Robert Kocharian, the President
of the Republic of Armenia, received the delegation headed by Ara
Abrahamian, the Chairman of the Union of Armenians in Russia and
the World Armenian Congress, on October 15. Issues concerning the
educational, social, and health programs being implemented in Karabakh
and Armenia by the above-mentioned organizations were discussed during
the meeting.

Robert Kocharian welcomed the consistent work of these structures,
mentioning that their programs are becoming more various year after
year in terms of both contents and geographical inclusion.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA
President’s Press Office, they also touched upon issues concerning
the Karabakh conflict and the recognition process of the Armenian
Genocide, as well as the social-economic development of Armenia.

The delegation visited the Tsiternakaberd monument dedicated to
the victims of the Armenian Genocide on October 16. In the words
of Haroutiun Hovsepian, the Head of the Armenian community of
Bulgaria, this visit bears the symbol of uniting all the Armenians
and unanimously saying "No" to the phenomanon of "Genocide".

Vatan, Turkey
Oct 11 2007

Turkish paper reports on Foreign Ministry reaction to Armenian
resolution

Egemen Bagis, AKP [Justice and Development Party] Deputy General
Chairman with responsibility for foreign affairs, said that US
democracy was hurt by the decision [of the Foreign Affairs Committee
of the US House of Representatives to approve HR 106 on the Armenian
genocide]. He added: "The Armenian lobby in the United States may
have gained a position for now, but it has lost the war."

Bagis issued a statement following the approval of the so-called
Armenian genocide bill by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, with a
vote of 27 to 21, for submission to the full House. Bagis issued his
statement in the United States where he is on an official visit.
Expressing deep regret over the passage of the bill, Bagis said:
"Everything is not over yet. We will now work to prevent the bill
from reaching the floor of the House and to prevent its passage in
the House if it reaches there. This bill belongs not to the general
floor of the US Congress but the trash can in the corner."

US-Turkish relations mortgaged needlessly

Bagis continued: "Turkish-American relations have been needlessly
mortgaged at this sensitive time in the Middle East and Eurasia. This
decision has generated deep disappointment among the Turkish people.
We are extremely disappointed that the legislative organ of the
United States, which we describe as a friend and an ally, has
embarked on a process of approving this bill. Turkey is no longer the
reticent country of the past that watches developments from a
distance. Turkey is now a regional power and will never allow any
injustice. All members of our government, especially our Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul, National
Assembly President Koksal Toptan, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, and
Minister of Defence Vecdi Gonul, have worked very hard on this issue.
Our commanders have also made contacts. Our embassy, diplomats,
businessmen, and Turkish residents of the United States worked hand
in hand and in solidarity to do everything they could to stop this
indecent and unethical attack on our Turkey."

Armenian lobby lost war

Charging that the decision hurts US democracy, Bagis said: "The
Armenian lobby in the United States may have gained a position for
now, but they have lost the war. This bill does not help Yerevan in
any way. The Armenian lobby has jeopardized Turkish-US relations to
serve its own narrow fanaticism. This lobby, though comprised of US
citizens, has directly harmed US interests. We do not remember any
other incident in which US democracy was so badly abused to serve
selfish ethnic fanaticism. We have seen that the Committee approved
the resolution with only a small margin despite the intensive efforts
of the Bush Administration and personal intervention of President
Bush. It is evident that the Democratic Party, which is majority
party in Congress, is using this bill to put President Bush and the
Republican Party in a difficult position in the Middle East and
Eurasia. The Democrats are trying to drag the Bush Administration
into failure in Iraq by spoiling relations between Turkey and the
United States. It is sad that this bill and Turkey are subjected to
such calculations."

PKK bullets, bombs

Bagis concluded: "The US Congress has taken this unfortunate step.
However, the US Administration, the White House, the State
Department, and the Pentagon can still take steps to protect
relations with Turkey. The US Administration can still take important
steps for the Turkish people in the battle against PKK [Kurdistan
Workers’ Party] terrorism. This is what we ask of the Administration.
In any event, this bill is a document that does not have any chance
of being implemented. In the meantime, steps that can revive and
strengthen Turkish-US relations have not been exhausted. We demand
that the United States take urgent, effective, and resolute steps in
the battle against the PKK. It is PKK bullets and bombs that are
hitting us, not pieces of paper on which certain resolutions are
written."

Foreign Ministry: regret, condemnation

The government expressed regret and condemned the approval by the
House Foreign Affairs Committee of a bill that contains Armenian
allegations related to the 1915 events.

A Foreign Ministry statement issued on behalf of the government says:
"A committee of the House of Representatives has acted irresponsibly
by advancing this bill, which will strain relations with a friendly
and allied country and a strategic partnership that has been built
carefully over many generations at an extremely sensitive juncture in
time."

The statement notes that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US
House of Representatives approved with a vote of 27 to 21 House
Resolution 106, which describes as "genocide" the decision of the
Ottoman Empire to deport some of its Armenian subjects for
collaborating with occupation forces in 1915. The statement
continues: "The nature of the 1915 events continue to be debated.
Contrary to Armenian allegations, several internationally renowned
historians have described the deportation action taken during that
period as a wartime measure implemented in the conditions of World
War I.

"It is clear that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of
Representatives has no power or authority to rewrite history in a
twisted form in connection with an issue that concerns only the
shared history of Turks and Armenians. The responsibility parliaments
is to ensure improved ties among peoples and to look at the future,
not the past. Our country has argued for years that the disputed
periods of history must be evaluated by historians, not legislative
bodies. In 2005, we called upon Armenia to allow the examination of
disputed periods of our history by Turkish, Armenian, and if
necessary third-country historians on the basis of indisputable
archives. That appeal remains a manifestation of the approach taken
by our country to this day. Armenia has still not given a positive
response to this proposal, which envisions to resolve differences of
perception between the two countries over the events of 1915 through
candid and open dialogue. It is highly unfortunate that the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of our ally, the
United States, has passed this resolution at a time when this
proposal is still on the table.

"We also note that, rather than accepting our sincere proposal,
Armenia has pursued a purposeful agenda to have this resolution
approved, initially behind the scenes and later more openly."

Stating that "our government greets this decision with regret and
condemns it," the statement says it is impossible for the Turkish
nation to accept an accusation for a crime it has never committed in
its history.

The statement notes that top officials of the US Administration as
well as a large number of prominent, experienced, and knowledgeable
personalities opposed the resolution and campaigned intensively
against it. It adds: "Even so, the resolution was put to a vote and
approved. Those who voted in favour of the resolution and those who
exhorted them to vote this way will be accountable before history."

The government statement continues: "A committee of the House of
Representatives has acted irresponsibly by advancing this bill, which
will strain relations with a friendly and allied country and a
strategic partnership that has been built carefully over many
generations at an extremely sensitive juncture in time."

"We still hope that the House of Representatives will be sensible
with regard to taking the resolution beyond where it is now. The
historic responsibility that is incumbent upon all House members and
especially the Speaker of the House is obvious.

"Every effort will be made to ensure that the resolution is not
approved on the floor of the House of Representatives."

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 12 2007

Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan Represents Problems for
Environment: Azerbaijani Minister

Serbia, Belgrade / corr Trend E.Huseynli / The Azerbaijani Government
cannot guarantee ecological security in the occupied territory of
Azerbaijan and it represents problems for the environment, Huseyngulu
Bagirov, the Azerbaijani Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources,
said on 11 October in Belgrade during the 6th Conference of Ecology
Ministers.

The minister especially stressed the pollution of Serseng water
reservoir located in the territory of Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani
territory and transborder rivers, which supply Azerbaijan with
drinkable water.

To prevent the pollution of transborder waters the Azerbaijan
Government installed water treatment devices. The minister regarded
the pollution of transborder rivers as national ecological problem.

With respect to climatic changes damaging Azerbaijan, the minister
noted the frequent overfloods in the Big Caucasus which has doubled
since mid 20th century. Global ecological problem made the Caspian
level fluctuating. Over the last 30 years the sea level increased by
2.5 times ad over 10,000h of lands turnover out under water. The
country experienced a damage worth $2bln.

The minister said that Azerbaijan established a special commission on
management of hard garbage line with the international standards.

MILITARY SEEKS ALTERNATIVES IN CASE TURKEY LIMITS ACCESS
By David S. Cloud

New York Times
Oct 12 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 – Loss of access to military installations in
Turkey would force the United States to send more supplies for Iraq
through other countries and could cause short-term backups in fuel
shipments and deliveries of critical equipment, senior officers
said Thursday.

The officials said they had a contingency plan in case Turkey followed
through on threats to shut off the United States military’s use to its
territory if the full House approved a resolution condemning the mass
killings of Armenians during World War I as an act of genocide. That
could mean the loss at least temporarily of Incirlik Air Base in
southeastern Turkey, a key resupply hub for Iraq, and the closing of
the Turkish-Iraq border to fuel trucks for the American military.

It could take months to increase operations in other logistical hubs,
including Jordan, Kuwait and at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in the
northern Persian Gulf, the officials said.

"Turkey has been a tremendous hub for us, and if we didn’t have it
that would increase time lines and distances," said a senior military
officer involved in logistical planning and operations. "But it would
be a short-term impact." The officer spoke on condition of anonymity,
as did other officials, because he was discussing matters of military
planning.

Turkey signaled its displeasure by recalling its ambassador to
Washington on Thursday, the day after the House Foreign Affairs
Committee endorsed the resolution. Meanwhile, Bush administration
officials stepped up their warnings that passage of the measure by
the full House could have dire consequences.

For the second day in a row, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned
about the "enormous implications" for American military operations
in Iraq if Turkey limited flights over its territory or restricted
access to Incirlik Air Base.

"All I can say is that a resolution that looks back almost 100 years to
an event that took place under a predecessor government, the Ottomans,
and that has enormous present-day implications for American soldiers
and Marines and sailors and airmen in Iraq, is something we need to
take very seriously," Mr. Gates told reporters in London.

In public, only Turkish legislators have explicitly warned of limiting
the American military presence, though other members of the government
have also warned of consequences.

"This is an issue where the Turkish officials have made clear their
very strong concerns about this and have raised questions about
potential consequences in the event that this resolution passes,"
said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.

Though a NATO ally, Turkey has proved a roadblock to American military
actions before, especially in March 2003, when its Parliament refused
to authorize movement of American ground troops through its territory
during the initial invasion of Iraq.

Mr. Gates and other military officials have said that 70 percent
of the military cargo sent to Iraq is flown through Incirlik or on
routes over Turkey.

To drive home the potential impact of the House action, American
officials have warned that delivery of new heavily armored trucks,
known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, could be
disrupted. Senior military officials said Thursday that the roughly
400 such vehicles delivered since July have been flown in over Turkey
but not landed on its territory. Those flights could avoid Turkish
airspace, if necessary, they said.

TURKEY HAS RECALLED ITS AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON FOR CONSULTATIONS

Radio New Zealand, New Zealand
Oct 11 2007

…

following a decision by a US congressional committee to brand the
killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the World War I as
"genocide".

A senior Turkish diplomat told the Reuters news agency that they have
not pulled the ambassador back permanently.

He is expected to arrive in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in a few days.

US President George Bush has warned that the committee’s action,
the first step towards holding a vote in the full House, could damage
relations with a key ally in the so-called "war on terror".

Turkey handles most of the US air freight to Iraq.

The Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, says the move is unacceptable
and has no validity.

Turkey has always vehemently opposed the charge that it systematically
killed up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1918.

120728/turkey_recalls_us_ambassador_over_genocide_ resolution

AUSTRALIAN GUARDS KILL TWO ARMENIAN WOMEN IN BAGHDAD

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2007 19:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Two Armenian women – Marou Awanis and Inesa Gasparian
– were killed Tuesday by the guards of Australian Unity Resources
Group (URG), the Iraqi Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

American government officials said the guards had been hired to
protect financial and policy experts working for an organization under
contract with the United States Agency for International Development,
a quasi-independent State Department agency that does extensive aid
work in Iraq.

The URG said its security team fired after a car failed to stop despite
"an escalation of warnings which included hand signals and a signal
flare." Some 20 bullets struck the car.

Michael Priddin, chief operating officer of Unity said the firm
was working with Iraqi authorities "to find out the results of the
shooting incident. … We are trying to work out a true picture of
what happened."

In a statement Tuesday night, Priddin said, "We deeply regret this
incident."

The Blackwater guards implicated in the Sept. 16 shooting also were
protecting American specialists working under USAID contracts on
development projects in Iraq, highlighting the difficult balance
facing Western agencies trying to help rebuild Iraq while keeping
their own staff safe, Lenta.ru reports.

VAZGEN MANUKYAN AND TER-PETROSYAN RENEWED RELATIONS

A1+
[05:58 pm] 10 October, 2007

Renewal of relations between National Democratic Party leader Vazgen
Manukyan and Armenian former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan didn’t
affect Manukyan’s political stance.

"In 2005 I initiated a meeting with Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Unfortunately,
he did not respond.

Today Vazgen Manukyan told details about his recent meeting with
Levon Ter-Petrosyan at Karabakh Committee member Samson Ghazaryan’s
place. This time the initiator was Ter-Petrosyan. We recalled the
past and discussed some issues. We did not assume any obligations
and neither reached any agreement. But we renewed our relations. I
must confess that we had not met over the past 14-15 years," Vazgen
Manukyan said.

According to the NDP leader, they stick to their opinions in the
political sense. They even argued on some points, e.g. over the
events of 1996. According to Vazgen Manukyan, either he or Levon
Ter-Petrosyan must be responsible for the presidential election of
1996. "People ask me whether we forgive each other or not. It is not
a matter of personalities. What happened in 1996 was a shock that
changed life in Armenia. I am sure I won the election, he is sure
he won the election. But someone is definitely responsible for the
outcome," Vazgen Manukyan said.

"A president cannot merely say I have finished my work and I can go
home. The responsibilities that you assume as the first president of
the country last for the rest of your life. Therefore, a country’s
first president should spell out his opinion at least once a year
and try to influence on processes. In a normal country, the first
president should use his status in contacts with other countries to
help solve national problems," the NDP leader said.

Vazgen Manuklyan dwelt on his meeting with Raffi Hovannisian without
revealing the details. As for a joint presidential nominee, Vazgen
Manukyan said, "Parties’ alliance is doomed to failure unless there
is solidarity among the public."

US MOVE SHARPENS ‘GENOCIDE’ ISSUE

The Irish Times
October 10, 2007 Wednesday

TURKEY: The decision by the US House of Representatives to discuss the
Armenian genocide of 1915 has cast a shadow over Turkish-US relations,
writes Lara Marlowe

The US House of Representatives will today debate resolution 106,
which would recognise as genocide the killing of hundreds of thousands
of Armenians by Turkish forces 92 years ago.

Other countries have already recognised the massacres as genocide,
but the likelihood that the US Congress will pass the resolution has
created panic among Turkish authorities.

Though they recognise that a "tragedy" occurred in the dying days
of the Ottoman Empire, they refuse to be singled out as a country
that committed genocide. And they fear the resolution will be used
to justify Armenian demands for financial and territorial reparations.

Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned President George Bush,
former president Bill Clinton (who has influence over Democratic
congressmen) and the Israeli president Shimon Peres at the weekend
to express his dismay.

An aura of menace permeates the issue. Turkish-US relations will be
seriously damaged if the Bill passes, Erdogan threatened.

"If approved, it would be difficult to control the dynamics that would
be triggered by the reaction of the Turkish public opinion," Koksal
Toptan, the speaker of parliament wrote to his US counterpart, Nancy
Pelosi. The 70,000-strong Armenian-Turkish community are traumatised
by the murder last January 19th of the brilliant and charismatic
newspaper editor Hrant Dink.

Agos, the paper Dink co-founded, began receiving telephone and e-mail
threats a week ago.

"We killed one of you. We’ll kill a lot more if you speak out,"
one caller said. "Tell the [Armenian] diaspora to stop it."

Turkish Jews are also at risk, since the US Jewish Anti-Defamation
League sided with the Armenians on the grounds that as a people who
suffered, they can no longer ignore what happened to the Armenians.

"The Jewish population will inevitably be the target of public anger
in Turkey," foreign minister Ali Babacan warned.

With 225 of 435 US representatives supporting the resolution,
it is likely to pass. Before he left for Washington as part of
a high-level delegation that is lobbying US congressmen, Egemen
Bagis, the vice-chairman of the ruling AK Party in charge of foreign
relations, told The Irish Times about his negotiating strategy: "we’ll
remind them that 75 per cent of the goods used by US forces in Iraq go
through Turkey. 3,000 lorries cross our border into northern Iraq every
day. US troops overnight in Turkey when they’re going to or from Iraq."

Though Turkey refused to allow US ground troops to cross its border
in the 2003 invasion, Ankara let the US use Nato bases and airspace
in Turkey.

Another argument used by Turkish officials is that when the US
eventually withdraws from Iraq, it will need Turkey as an escape route.

"Turkey and the US fought together in Korea, Kosovo, Somalia, Bosnia
and Afghanistan," Bagis continued.

"150 Turkish lorry drivers and construction workers have lost their
lives trying to rebuild Iraq." The US needs Turkey, Bagis said, because
it is the only country on good terms with everyone in the Middle East,
and because it is a unique example of democracy in the region.

Meanwhile, anxiety also grows in Turkey’s Armenian community. Though
the border has been shut since 1993, tens of thousands of illegal
immigrants from impoverished Armenia work illegally in Turkey as maids,
nannies and care-givers for the elderly.

Turks say their willingness to hire Armenians is a sign of
friendship. Armenians see it as humiliation.

On Saturday, police rounded up about 100 illegal Armenian immigrants.

Their expulsion is seen as retaliation for the US genocide resolution.

"The community is against any resolution or decision or law that would
impede dialogue between Turks and Armenians," said Luiz Bakar, the
spokeswoman for the Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II. "We’re not on the
same wavelength as the diaspora," she explained. "Recognition of the
genocide is their raison d’etre; we’re more concerned about preserving
our language, culture and religion." When he was Ireland’s foreign
minister, Brian Cowen said, in another context, "you will never get
people to agree what happened in the past; just try to get it right in
the future." That is the philosophy of Turks and Armenians alike here.

The bitterness surfaces as soon as one starts delving into the events
of 1915-1916.

"My grandparents were deported and died on the road," said an ageing
Armenian woman who did not want to be quoted by name.

"My mother returned. Saying it was a genocide will not bring back
our dead."

The same woman told how 2,400 Armenian intellectuals were rounded up
in Istanbul on April 24th, 1915, never to be seen again. That date
is commemorated by Armenians as genocide day.

The weekly newspaper Agos ("The Furrow") was founded by Dink in 1996
as a gesture of opening towards other Turks.

By making it a bilingual, Armenian and Turkish publication, he hoped
to prove to Turks that Armenians are not a secretive "fifth column".

In 2001 Dink wrote an eight-part series on Turkish-Armenian
relations. One sentence, in which he referred to "poisonous" Turkish
blood, was taken out of context, reprinted by Turkish newspapers,
used as a pretext for trying him under article 301 of the penal code,
and as justification by the teenage gunman who murdered him.

Dink’s colleagues at Agos explain that he actually said that hostility
to Turkey in the Armenian diaspora was poisonous.

Nine months after his murder, Dink’s portrait hangs in every room
at Agos.

Aris Nalci was hired by Dink 11 years ago, when he was 17. Today he
edits the Armenian community pages.

"Hrant was like a brother or father to me. He encouraged me to go to
university," Nalci recalled.

For more than a decade following the 1980 military coup, Dink was
not allowed to travel outside Turkey.

After his passport was restored at the insistence of the European
Union, he travelled much of the time, giving lectures. "He’s still
travelling, somewhere in the world, while we are working here,"
Nalci said sadly.

"He used to phone every Wednesday to ask, ‘what are our headlines?’
and he’d say, ‘okay, that’s great’. He’s still there; he just doesn’t
phone anymore."

PACE: SITUATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN DEVELOPS FOR THE WORSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.10.2007 12:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan
develops for the worse," said Rene van der Linden, President of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

"It’s necessary to create a positive atmosphere. We have discussed
the situation with Lord Russell Johnston, the head of the PACE Ad Hoc
Committee on Nagorno Karabakh in the Bureau October 5. As result, the
Bureau approved the visit of Lord Russell Johnston to the region with
a purpose to hold meetings with Presidents and the sides concerned,"
he said.

"Moreover, the Council of Europe should host representatives from
Armenia and Azerbaijan for consideration of their plans," he added.

"Last time we decided that a joint commission of PACE, Armenia
and Azerbaijan should visit the Nagorno Karabakh region. I believe
positive ideas should be stimulated," Mr van der Linden said, Trend
news agency reports.

WILL TER-PETROSYAN GO TO KARABAKH?

Lragir
Oct 9 2007
Armenia

Republican Member of Parliament Armen Ashotyan was the first of the
government camp to react to the meeting of Levon Ter-Petrosyan and
Vazgen Manukyan on the eve. In a news conference on October 9 at
the Tesaket press club he said the meeting was quite natural and
even expectable.

"It is already becoming habitual before presidential elections,
if not say to go through a political purgatory, at least to take
a chance of editing one’s ambiguous decisions and moves. In this
context, they usually meet with forces or activists whom they had
treated unfairly. I can predict the next stop, the next meeting. I
think the first president will go to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
meet with the society and people there," Armen Ashotyan says.

By the way, in his personal opinion, if Levon Ter-Petrosyan offers
the Republican Party to meet, the Republican Party will accept the
offer. Armen Ashotyan says they do not deny the way the Republicans
and the All-Armenian Movement have passed together.