Author: Navasardian Karapet

AZERI OFFICIAL SAYS CHANGE IN ARMENIA’S POSITION UNDERMINES KARABAKH TALKS

Trend news agency
12 Feb 07

Baku, 12 February: The meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers in Moscow was a step back, Araz Azimov, deputy
foreign minister of Azerbaijan and president’s special representative
on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, has said in an interview with
the BBC.

He said that he could not forecast the course of the negotiations
because Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan had taken a tough
stance. "Contrary to the negotiations which we have been holding for
the past two years, on several issues Oskanyan voiced a position which
throws us back. We rejected those statements. They were related to
the return of Azerbaijanis to Nagornyy Karabakh and to the use of the
road through Lacin [an Azerbaijani town on the shortest route between
Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh]. I would like to tell Armenians that if
the negotiations fail to return to the course followed for the past
two years, then there may be no need to continue them and to expect
any results from this process. If Armenians want a result from the
talks on determining Nagornyy Karabakh’s status, they must realize
that the absence of a major portion of the population of this region
makes it impossible to determine its status," Azimov said.

The deputy minister said that from the very beginning there were two
communities living in the region. It became impossible to determine
the future of Nagornyy Karabakh after the Azerbaijani community was
forced to leave those territories.

On Armenia’s position regarding Lacin, he said that they flatly
dismiss the idea of using the road jointly with Azerbaijan.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are currently preparing another
meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers,
Azimov said.

ARMENIANS DID NOT RECEIVE A "GRAMMY"

A1+
[12:41 pm] 12 February, 2007

On February 11 the annual music award-giving ceremony "Grammy" took
place in Los Angeles. For Armenians, this ceremony was noteworthy
by the fact that the joint CD of duduk-player Jivan Gasparyan and
tar-player from Iran Husein Alizade was nominated in the category
"Music of the peoples of the world".

Nevertheless, the CD did not get an award.

Another Armenian band nominated was "System of a Down", in the category
"Best hard rock performance".

They too were left without an award.

Let us remind you that last year the American-Armenian musicians won a
"Grammy" in that very category.

KARABAKH LEADER TRYING TO GET MOSCOW’S APPROVAL FOR THIRD TERM – ARMENIAN PAPER

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
10 Feb 07

Text of Kristine Khanumyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak on 10 February headlined "Get your ‘approval’ from Kocharyan"

The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic [NKR], Arkadi
Ghukasyan, went to Moscow at the beginning of February. According
to our information, he went there to get approval to run for a third
term in office.

Usually, if the president goes somewhere, even if he goes to Yerevan,
his press secretary sends a press release to journalists saying
where the president has gone. But this time, the press secretary
kept quiet. This shows that Ghukasyan had gone off to Moscow
secretly. According to our Moscow sources, when the press reported
Ghukasyan’s visit, the Russians organized an information leak that in
Moscow, Ghukasyan met the head of the culture and regional relations
department of the Russian presidential administration, Modest Kolerov.

Kolerov told Ghukasyan that the Russian leadership fully trusts
[Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan and he is the one who should
solve such problems. In fact, Ghukasyan did not get the expected
"approval" from the Russians. As for Kocharyan, in an ordinary
situation he would do everything possible to make Ghukasyan NKR
president for a third time, but today the situation is different.

It should be recalled that for two years already Kocharyan has
not taken part in celebrations in Karabakh. He did not even go to
Stepanakert to take part in ceremonies to mark the 15th anniversary
of the NKR’s independence, though he should have been there as the
first president of the NKR. It is obvious that Kocharyan-Ghukasyan
relations are not as they used to be. Moreover, Ghukasyan went to
Moscow bypassing Kocharyan, but he was made to understand there that
"my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal". If Ghukasyan goes to Yerevan in
the near future, this will mean that he has decided to meet Kocharyan
to discuss everything with him. But if not, this will mean that he
has decided to wait for the results of the parliamentary election in
Armenia, or to be more precise, he has decided to wait for [Defence
Minister] Serzh Sargsyan to become Armenian prime minister. They say
Sargsyan had given serious promises to Ghukasyan. We shall soon learn
Ghukasyan’s strategy. As for the NKR president’s press secretary,
Mr Eduard Atanesyan, he is still keeping quiet about Ghukasyan’s
visit to Moscow, although we would still like him to comment on it.

ARMENIAN PAPER SEES REGIONAL RAILWAY AS BLOW TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
9 Feb 07

Excerpt from report by Hayk Gevorkyan in Armenian newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak on 9 February headlined "It would not be the other way round"

As the saying goes, there are no coincidences in big politics. On
7 February, in Tbilisi the presidents of Georgia and Azerbaijan,
[Mikheil] Saakashvili and [Ilham] Aliyev, and Turkey’s Prime Minister
[Recep Tayyip] Erdogan signed a contract on the Kars-Akhalkalak
[Akhalkalaki]-Tbilisi-Baku railway. On the same day, Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan signed a decree on national security strategy. Is
that a coincidence? This is in fact a regular occasion.

Moreover, it would not be the other way round.

The point is that the Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway is an open
blow to national security of Armenia, and the Armenian authorities
are not seemingly disproving this. What was an action of the Armenian
authorities when the project was being prepared? They were building
the state headed by Kocharyan, attacking ballot stations and voting
"for" the constitutional reforms, developing our economy by means of
tiger jumps, celebrating our regular diplomatic victories etc.

Over this period of time Kocharyan has used to meet students and
tell them

that the railway does not have economic prospects and, for this
reason, it will not be constructed. Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan
has been drafting our national security strategy. In other words,
when Turkey and Azerbaijan have been taking serious steps for the
railway construction, our authorities have been writing fairy tales
and telling society about them. This is absolutely normal that the
contract on the railway construction and the decree on national
security strategy were signed on the same day, i.e. 7 February.

When two parties are at war, victory of one of them unavoidably means
defeat of another one. In the modern world, a war does not only mean
attacking each other with tanks. We have lost the aforementioned war
without reservation. Incidentally, we lost not because the enemy is
strong but because we turned to be very weak. We are weak because
until today Kocharyan and [Foreign Minister Vardan] Oskanyan have
been trying to persuade people that only "the return of Karabakh"
may hinder the construction of the railway, that nothing in the region
depends on Armenia, that time works in favour of Armenia etc.

[Passage omitted: the railway is commercially viable]

US OFFICIAL: WASHINGTON HAD GOOD REASON FOR SACK CRISIS.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 10 2007

The US may have been too harsh in its response to its ally Turkey
in the July 2003 "sack crisis" in Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq, but
it had "good reasons," according to the account of a U.S. official
published Friday.

The crisis took place when 11 Turkish Special Forces soldiers were
arrested by U.S. troops and sacks were put over their heads.

The Turks were released after two days, but their arrest unleashed
a torrent of criticism in a country where the military is a revered
institution. Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, Turkey’s former chief of staff, said
the arrests had "led to the biggest crisis of confidence ever between
Turkish and U.S. forces."

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs Matt
Bryza, in a interview with Sabah daily, stated that the relationship
between Turkey and U.S. continues to go on the right path.

When asked about former State Department official Henry Barkey’s
statement that the Turkish Special Forces troops detained by the U.S.

were plotting to kill the governor of Kirkuk, a city whose status
is in dispute, he replied, "He’s a smart man. Maybe the U.S. was too
harsh in its response to its ally Turkey in the sack crisis, but we
had good reasons."

When asked why the 11 Turkish soldiers were treated "like al-Qaeda
militants," he said, "As I said, he’s a smart man. But we had good
reasons. Is there any reason to antagonize one of our most important
allies in Iraq, as well as in the world, Turkey?"

He also stressed that the U.S administration would continue to block
the so-called Armenian genocide resolution, adding that Washington
knows it would damage Turkish- U.S relations.

AKI, Italy
Feb 9 2007

TURKEY: NEW SEASON OF TV SERIES SPARKS PROTEST

Istanbul, 9 Feb. (AKI) – The new season of a controversial TV series
"The Valley of the Wolves" has begun in Turkey amid debates and
protests. The series has been criticised for praising violence,
encouraging illegal acts for the sake of land and the nation. The
previous season of the television show, about an illegal group
working to end threats to the Turkish nation and establishment,
secured record audience ratings in 2004 and 2005. After this huge
success a movie was also screened in 2005, about the same group,
which went to Iraq to fight the US military, in revenge for Turkish
soldiers who had been insulted by American troops.

The movie was also criticised in the United States for having
anti-American sentiments.

But many public groups and sociology experts argue that these kinds
of movies adversely affect people especially unemployed youths who
are eager to commit crimes and harm others who they consider the
‘enemy’.

Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink’s murder on 19 January also
spurred heated debate about these type of television programmes and
movies.

After the promotion of the new series ‘Valley of the Wolves – Terror’
in Show TV, hundreds of viewers had complained to the Radio
Television High Council (RTUK) seeking to prevent the series from
being screened. Also scores of people on Thursday night demonstrated
against the TV series in front of the Show TV building in the Turkish
capital, Istanbul. The group said that they didn’t support censorship
but condemned the TV channel.

The first episode of the series again pulled record audiences,
securing a 48 percent share on Wednesday night.

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Feb 9 2007

TURKEY THREATENS U.S.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) expressed outrage at recent warnings by the
Turkish government that it would take actions threatening the
security of U.S. troops in Iraq should Congress even consider the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

In a letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos
(D-CA), Reps. Pallone and Knollenberg noted that, "it is our
understanding that senior Turkish government officials have warned
that, in response to Congress even considering this resolution, they
will close supply pipelines for our forces serving in Iraq. This
shameless threat to interfere in U.S. military operations is
absolutely unacceptable and deeply offensive." The Representatives
went on to express dismay at the response of several Administration
officials who, caving in to the Turkish government’s threats, have
urged Members of Congress to oppose even debate on this human rights
measure.

"Sadly, the Turkish government is able to maintain its denial –
against all evidence and the tide of international opinion – in large
part due to the State Department’s efforts to silence those who speak
with moral clarity about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian. "It is a testament to the hypocrisy of the
Administration’s position that, on the one hand, its senior officials
remained almost entirely silent on Article 301 prior to Hrant Dink’s
murder, while on the other hand loudly and repeatedly attacking even
the consideration by the U.S. Congress of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution."

The letter to Chairman Lantos comes on the heels of a three-day
Washington, DC visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who
had announced that his government’s opposition to the Armenian
Genocide resolution was a top priority in discussions with senior
U.S. officials. "In this case, approval of this bill [Armenian
Genocide resolution – H.Res.106] against Turkey would ruin
everything. I told my counterpart that this step will have a great
influence on our relations," said Gul during a press conference
immediately following his meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

PRIVATIZATION IS SLOW FOR BUYERS CANNOT AFFORD

Azat Artsakh Daily – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
09-02-2007

Some enterprises in NKR were privatized and are operating successfully,
creating new jobs, which is one of the conditions of the agreement and
making investments. The head of the Department of State Property
Management and Privatization Arsen Abrahamian said in an interview
with the Azat Artsakh that although the 2004-2006 program of state
property privatization is over, the government did not manage to bring
into being all the points of the program.

`We have not taken up the companies providing communal services yet,’
he said. The process is slow because the buyers cannot afford to pay
for these companies, for these have big premises, and reconstruction
and equipment cost immense sums. Arsen Abrahamyan said the draft
program of state property privatization for 2007-2009 has already been
presented to the National Assembly. The law on the program for
2004-2006 will be in effect until the new one is passed. Last year
only 5 companies were privatized, the largest is the wine factory of
Stepanakert. The buyer is the brandy factory of Stepanakert. This
company committed to invest 600 million drams and create 100 jobs.

Ford Directions Ltd. bought Communal Service CJSC and committed to
invest 220 million drams and create 40 jobs. Besides these companies,
about 46 buildings were privatized, which were assessed at 72.3
million drams. According to Arsen Abrahamian, return on privatization
of state property totaled 251.8 million drams.

SRBUHI VANIAN.
09-02-2007

ARMENIA MUST REHABILITATE KARS-GYUMRY RAILWAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.02.2007 16:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia must be active in preventing the
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway project, because its functioning
will lead to Armenia’s full isolation, said to a press conference
in Yerevan AAA (Armenian Assembly of America) Regional Director for
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Arpi Vartanian. In her words, Armenia
must make every efforts to rehabilitate and reconstruct Kars-Gyumry
railway. "It will be cheaper and faster, and more profitable for
our state.

Naturally, this is very hard and laborious, but it needs to be done,"
Vartanian underscored.

AAA OFFICE HEAD ASSURES CONGRESS WILL APPROVE MORE AID

Panorama.am
17:27 08/02/2007

One of the major issues that the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA)
deals is the size of the assistance to be provided to Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. Arpi Vardanyan, AAA regional office head, told
reporters today that the figures presented by the U.S. administration
should not be concerning as the usual story repeats.

"Every time the administration presents small figures but the Congress
increases them," she assured referring to last year experience. She
said that the congress will not permit the military aid to Azerbaijan
to be bigger than to Armenia.

Reminder: U.S. administration plans to provide $4.3 million to
Azerbaijan in military aid and $3 million to Armenia. In addition,
the administration plans to provide another $1 million to Azerbaijan
for military exercises and $300,000 to Armenia.