Author: nina hovnanian

Cihan News Agency (CNA) – Turkey
January 13, 2013 Sunday

Turkey braces itself against proxy wars in 2013

ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- Turkey, whose relations with Tehran have been
strained recently, should brace itself against the many proxies which
are under Iran’s control and may adversely affect Turkish interests in
the region.

Experts warn that 2013 will be a year in which Iran will play all its
cards and wage proxy battles against Turkey, which is already facing a
number of challenges from its neighbors in the Shiite bloc, namely
Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Gökhan Bacik, an academic lecturing in international relations at
Gaziantep’s Zirve University, told Sunday’s Zaman that there were many
proxies under Iran’s control that it may use against Turkey.

“In the Middle East, Shiite networks or, in other words, Iranian
networks, are very strong. Proxy wars in this region are based on
religious and sectarian groups. Iran uses these groups as trump cards
against many countries, including Turkey; however, Turkey is quite
weak in proxy wars due to its lack of experience,” said Bacik.

Mehmet Sahin, who teaches international relations at Gazi University
in Ankara, warns that Tehran may wage a defamation campaign against
Turkey in the coming period.

“Not only by making harsh statements, Iran may also conduct campaigns,
including supporting the terrorist PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], to
weaken Turkey’s regional role,” said Sahin.

Turkey’s diplomatic relations with Iran have been strained due to the
two countries’ differing stances on the Syrian crisis, with recent
comments made by the Iranian chief of General Staff indicating that
“it will be Turkey’s turn” if Turkey continues to “help advance the
warmongering policies of the US in Syria,” which triggered a harsh
reaction from Ankara.

That statement in itself is not the sole reason for the soured ties.
There have been increasing suspicions that Iran has lent support to
PKK terrorists. The killing of six Turkish soldiers and two village
guards near the Iranian border by PKK terrorists early in August
increased the level of criticism against Iran. The belief that the
terrorists executed the attack after sneaking over from Iran has drawn
an even stronger reaction.

“Iran is supporting the terrorism in Turkey and using the PKK as a
proxy against Turkey,” Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, head of Ankara’s Center
for International Strategy and Security Studies (USGAM), told Sunday’s
Zaman.

Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin recently accused
neighboring Iran of sheltering members of the PKK in its territory
while giving militants free rein to operate against Turkey from within
Iran without restriction.

Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon — both Iranian proxies against Turkey

Turkey and Iran have improved their ties in recent years, but
conflicting policies regarding Syria — one of Iran’s last Shiite
allies in the region — strained Turkish-Iranian relations.

A series of unusually sharp statements from both Turkey and Iran have
brought relations between the two neighbors to what one could call a
historic low. Turkey is the staunchest supporter of the Syrian
opposition that is attempting to topple embattled President Bashar
al-Assad, while Iran stands by its ally, Syria.

“Iran aims to use Assad in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon as proxies
against Turkey,” said Sahin, adding that Iran will do its utmost to
weaken Turkey’s regional role.

The downfall of Assad’s regime in Syria is expected to deal a deadly
blow to the Syria-Iran-Hezbollah axis. Iranian politics have been
quite influential in Syria and Lebanon, especially through Hezbollah.

The Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon will have much greater
difficulty obtaining Iranian military and financial support, while
Iran will be disconnected from a valuable ally in Lebanon.

According to experts, the alliance between the Assad regime in Syria,
the [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-] Maliki government in Iraq,
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the mullah regime in Iran are closing in on
Turkey.

Sahin believes that Iraq is the other proxy under Iran’s control that
it may use against Turkey. “As long as Maliki, who is currently at
odds with Turkey, stays in power in Iraq, Iran will continue to exert
its influence on Iraq which would be detrimental to Turkey’s
interests,” said Sahin.

Turkish relations with the Iraqi Shiite-led government were strained
as a result of various factors, including the Syrian crisis, which is
the main point of contention between the two nations. Iraq, which has
close ties to Assad’s ally Iran, is hesitant to take a stance
regarding the Syrian conflict.

According to experts, the strained relations between the two countries
have played into the hands of Iran.

“As the rift between Turkey and Iran deepens, Iran will concentrate on
activating the ethnic and sectarian fault lines in Turkey. Syria is
the first front where Turkish-Iranian interests conflict. The second
is the Iraqi front,” said Erol.

Iran may use Alawites as proxy against Turkey

Turkey’s relations with its three neighbors, Syria, Iran and Iraq, are
deteriorating because of sectarian fault lines, despite Turkey’s
maneuvers to avoid a Sunni-Shiite division.

“Iran may use the Alawites in Turkey as a proxy against Turkey,” said Erol.

Groups affiliated with Iran have reportedly conducted activities in
the southern province of Hatay on Syria’s border, recruiting Alawite
youths into its ranks in order to create tension in Turkey’s border
provinces, as well as provide manpower to Assad’s army.

Additionally, the revelation of an Iranian spy ring in Turkey’s
eastern province of Igdir, which borders Iran, was the other blow to a
deepening crisis of confidence in Turkey regarding the Iranian regime.

According to Erol, Iran has engaged in intense intelligence-gathering
operations in Turkey. “Not only was Iran trying to get military
intelligence but it is also focusing on Turkey’s weak points,” said
Erol.

Mehmet Sahin believes that there are several groups in Turkey which
sympathize with Iran, and that Iran might use these groups as a proxy
against Turkey.

“We call these groups ‘Iranians among us’.” These groups can be
divided into three factions: the first is the neo-nationalist group,
the second is the religious groups and the third is the pro-MHP
[Nationalist Movement Party] group,” said Sahin, adding that the point
of convergence of these groups was anti-Westernism and that Iran is
exploiting this point to exert pressure on Turkey, which has close
ties with the Western world.

“Iran is quite successful in using the media outlets in Turkey to
publish news that may disturb the Turkish public, whereas it is almost
impossible for Turkey to do the same in Iran,” said Sahin.

Experts believe that Iran may also use its close relations with
Armenia, which is at odds with Turkey, as a proxy against Turkey. “The
relationship between Armenia and Iran is very critical,” said Sahin.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan in 1992, including Nagorno-Karabakh. While Turkey sides
with Azerbaijan on this issue, Iran supports Armenia and continues to
strengthen its ties with this nation.

WPS Agency, Russia
January 18, 2013 Friday

RUSSIA IS STRENGTHENING ITS BASE IN ARMENIA

by Vladimir Mukhin
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, N5-6, 18.01.2013, p. 1
[Translated from Russian]

Russia increases the military readiness of its armed group and the
Allied Force in the South Caucasus. In addition to the military bases
in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have a common border with the
Russian Federation, special attention is focused on the Russian
enclave group in Armenia.

(…) On behalf of President Vladimir Putin, the government is hastily
preparing an agreement with Armenia on the development of
military-technical cooperation (MTC). By January 15th, the Defense
Ministry executed the plan of staffing the 102nd Russian military base
stationed in Gyumri (Armenia) with contract servicemen. For the past
six months, their number has doubled. At the same time, the base staff
personnel number of about 5,000 men remained the same.

In fact, all the military combat units of the Russian troops located
in Armenia (especially the Air Force, Air Defense, intelligence, and
so on) are staffed with professionals. This significantly reduces
transportation costs, since earlier the government had to deliver by
air conscripts twice a year – though, apparently, that was not the
main motivation for increasing the combat readiness of troops.

Military experts explain that the accelerated transfer of the 102nd
base to the professional grounds is associated with a possible abrupt
change in the geopolitical situation there, which threatens Russia and
its allies. These scenarios are associated with the onset of possible
hostilities of Azerbaijan against Armenia because of the Karabakh
conflict, as well as possible military action by Israel against Iran.

The expert community has repeatedly voiced similar scenarios. In
September 2012 the Interaction-2012 military exercises of the CSTO
Collective Rapid Response Forces took place in Armenia. According to
the Defense Ministry, the exercises were linked to “the need to repel
the aggression of irregular armed groups that unlawfully invaded the
territory of the so-called Republic of Sevania, a member-state of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization”. The Defense Ministry
explains: the exercises revealed the need to substantially increase
the quality of personnel training, which is directly related to its
transfer to the professional status. The contract soldiers of the 98th
Guards Airborne Division, transferred from Russia to Armenia by air,
demonstrated the necessary training quality during the
“Cooperation-2012” exercise. So, it is expected that the contract
soldiers and sergeants of the 102nd military base will be trained to
become equally professional.

Military expert General Lieutenant Yury Netkachov comments: “Whether
the Russian group will participate in possible military action to
repel aggression against Armenia is a political question. But
unequivocally it is clear that our military base there must be combat
ready, including readiness for peacekeeping operations”.

In support of his thesis, the general cites a recent speech by
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, made at the January 15meeting of
the Cabinet of Ministers. Once again Aliyev said that while the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is in progress, Baku, among other
means, such as diplomatic and economic, is ready to influence Yerevan
with military means. Netkachov believes that these are not just words,
because, according to Aliyev, “Azerbaijan’s military budget is USD 3.7
billion, significantly higher than the total budget of Armenia”. Over
the past five years, Azerbaijan military spending has increased more
than tenfold, and has exceeded 5% of the GDP. Netkachov insists: “This
is a relatively high level of military spending, and the indirect
evidence of preparations for military action”.

Meanwhile, Russia does not only improve its military force in Armenia.
It intends to increase military cooperation with the ally. According
to sources in the RF Defense Ministry, the draft agreement between
Armenia and Russia includes plans to create a defense joint venture,
as well as training centers for border guards and specialists in
emergency situations. With Russia’s support, the defense industry of
Armenia should become capable of producing some types of ammunition,
armored vehicles, as well as create a local repair facility not only
for Army weapons, but also for the Air Force and Air Defense. Two
Security Council Secretaries, Arthur Baghdasaryan and Nikolai
Patrushev, signed an appropriate protocol between the two countries at
a meeting in Yerevan on February 9, 2012. Currently, the agreement
with Armenia on MTC is entering the home stretch. According to our
sources, it will be signed early next month.

Commenting on the possibility of signing an agreement on
military-technical cooperation with Armenia, Director of the Center
for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov said that
“until recently, there was a strange situation: Armenia was our ally
was, while we pumped Azerbaijan with arms. We hope that with the
agreement (…) this imbalance will be corrected”. Pukhov believes
that “Azerbaijan is not always pursuing a friendly policy toward
Russia. In particular, we know that the Azerbaijanis refused to extend
the lease on the Gabala radar station on acceptable terms, and that
Russia will have to look for alternatives”. According to Pukhov, by
enhancing relations with Armenia, Russia defends its interests in the
South Caucasus.

[Translated from Russian]

WPS Agency (Russia)
January 17, 2013 Thursday

IVANISHVILI WILL COMMENT ON HIS MINISTER’S STATEMENT ON KARABAKH

by Yury Rox
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, N4, 17.01.2013, p. 1
[Translated from Russian]

Tomorrow Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili begins his
visit to Armenia. This visit, like the previous one to Azerbaijan,
will begin against a difficult background. Just on the eve, head of
the Georgian Foreign Ministry Maya Pandzhikidze supported the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Yerevan did not leave unnoticed
Georgia’s support of Baku. In Tbilisi, that demarche caused a storm of
criticism and demands of Pandzhikidze’s resignation.

The Prime Minister’s press service confirmed that Bidzina
Ivanishvili’s visit to Armenia will not be re-scheduled. In Yerevan,
he will meet with President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan. They will discuss a range of issues of bilateral and
regional cooperation.

So, what exactly did Foreign Minister Maya Pandzhikidze say while in
Vilnius, which caused such a storm of emotions in Tbilisi, and
bewildered Yerevan? It is rather unusual to make unfriendly statements
– at least before a visit. On January 10, at a press conference in
Vilnius, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Lithuania Hassan Mamedzadeh asked
Maya Pandzhikidze a question about Georgian-Azerbaijani relations.
Here the misunderstanding begins. According to Azerbaijani media, in
her response the Georgian Minister noted that the Karabakh conflict
should be solved only in the framework of the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. According to publications of neutral countries, she
mentioned respect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but did
not mention Nagorny Karabakh. The difference seems insignificant, but
in such a delicate matter, as the position of Georgia over the very
tense between the neighbors, it is fundamental.

Both Azerbaijan meaning the return of Karabakh under its jurisdiction
by the “territorial integrity”, and Armenia considering Nagorny
Karabakh to be a sovereign though unrecognized republic unrelated to
Azerbaijan – and, consequently, to its territorial integrity – could
accept the second version of the Georgian Foreign Minister’s response.
Pandzhikidze herself claimed that Azerbaijani media misinterpreted her
words, and that she herself only noted that Tbilisi was not going to
interfere in relations between Baku and Yerevan. However, the Minister
will apparently have to provide a more detailed explanation.

Actually, Pandzhikidze’s response should not entail any special
criticism. The official position on the Karabakh issue of Georgia,
which itself is experiencing the most severe territorial problems, is
well known and has repeatedly been proclaimed at the UN. Not long ago,
during a visit to Tbilisi of head of the Caucasus Muslims Directorate
Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadek, Catholicos-Patriarch of All
Georgia Ilia II mentioned Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, which did
not cause emotions similar to the ones caused by Pandzhikidze’s words
at all. Today representatives of the parliamentary minority, who
surprisingly quickly ‘forgot’ their own similar statements on the
Karabakh issue during their stay in power, fiercely criticized the
Minister.

So, one of the leaders of the United National Movement (UNM) Akaky
Minashvili accused the Foreign Minister of incompetence. He declared
that the parliamentary minority summons her to Parliament and demands
that she clarify her statement on Nagorny Karabakh. Minashvili
believes that “…her words delivered a blow against the Prime
Minister’s visit to Yerevan”.

One would not see as genuine such a concern on the part of the UNM of
the awkward position, in which its political opponent Prime Minister
Ivanishvili found himself. It appears that the former ruling party is
preparing to make the existing confrontation in the country to be
become more acute. By the way, on the same day ex-prime minister and
current UNM Secretary General Vano Merabishvili criticized the
government and declared that the activities of the new government had
already led to Georgia’s economic regression.

But taking all this, the nationalists are certainly right in claiming
that on the eve of important events prominent officials should pick up
their wording with greater delicacy. Our edition already wrote that
during his previous visit to Azerbaijan Bidzina Ivanishvili had to
disavow the ambiguous statements on the expediency of the construction
of the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway, and the possibility of
reducing the cost of the Baku gas. Apparently, Pandzhikidze’s request
to the Lithuanian authorities to call Georgia “Georgia” [literally,
like the US state of ‘Georgia’ – Translator’s note], since the current
name of the country is reportedly an unpleasant reminder of the Soviet
occupation in the past can be also dubbed as another case of poorly
coordinated statements. Pandzhikidze said nothing new; her
predecessors also worked in the direction of changing Georgia’s
international name. However, it was hardly necessary to voice the old
request under the situation in Vilnius, and the timing was badly
chosen, when the feeble signs of warming of Georgian-Russian relations
barely showed. The two sides were just about to begin negotiations on
the resumption of trade. It is well-known how sensitive Moscow is
towards accusations about the so-called ‘Sovietization’.

Such cases contributed to the demand of the Foreign Minister’s
resignation, and, more to it, to the emergence of reports that Irakly
Menagarishvili who worked as foreign minister under Eduard
Shevardnadze had already headed the agency. However, Menagarishvili
denied these reports and noted not without humor that for their
authors Christmas holidays were obviously not over yet.

Bidzina Ivanishvili did not comment on the above developments; he only
noted that the minister herself will have to explain her behavior.
Anyway, it appears that he will have to start his second visit as
Prime Minister with smoothing the roughness that occurred on a level
ground. And I do not think that it will be a difficult task. Official
Yerevan has a number of issues to discuss with one of the leaders of
the country that as of today is practically the only land road
consistently linking Armenia with the outside world. According to
Caucasus Institute Deputy Director Sergey Minasyan, after the regime
change in Tbilisi, its relations with neighbors started to change. If
based on the publications in Azerbaijani media, there is no positive
dynamics in Georgia’s relations with Azerbaijan, but, on the contrary,
there is a clear tendency for development of its relations with
Armenia in the context of smoothing Georgia’s unhealthy relationships
with Russia.

Ukrainian News Agency
January 14, 2013 6:30 AM EST

Ukraine, Armenia To Agree On Cooperation In Culture For 2013-2017

Ukraine and Armenia intend to agree on cooperation in the sector of
culture for the period of 2013-2017, the press service of the
Ukraine’s embassy in Armenia said.

According to the report, the document envisions holding of culture
days and exchange with creative groups, organization of exhibitions,
presentations of books and magazines.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Armenia Ivan Kukhta said that in early 2012,
Armenia successfully held Ukraine’s culture days.

“I’d like to point to the importance of culture days of Ukraine in
Armenia in early 2012,” the ambassador said.

Besides, he pointed to saturation of economic cooperation between the
countries, however, he noted that Ukraine and Armenia insufficiently
use the potential.

Kukhta also said it was planned to hold a meeting of a joint
Ukraine-Armenia intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation
in Kyiv.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President Viktor Yanukovych
pointed to expansion of Ukrainian-Armenian cooperation in different
sectors.

Ukrainian News Agency

Gloucestershire Echo, UK
January 9, 2013 Wednesday
Edition 2; National Edition

Genocide survivor was an ‘incredible person’

by Laura Churchill

ONE of the few remaining survivors of the Armenian genocide died after
falling over and fracturing her hip.

Astrid Aghajanian, described as an “incred-ible woman” by her GP, fell
over at More Hall Convent nursing home in Stroud in April last year.

The 99-year-old was believed to be Britain’s last survivor of the
Armenian massacres, which saw around 1.5 million people killed between
1915 and 1923.

Astrid was aged just two when the Ottoman rulers began the
annihilation of the Armenians and her father was killed.

She was deported with her mother and marched into the Deir ez-Zor
desert with her grandmother and baby brother dying. Her mother refused
to let Astrid go with officials, who were burning children alive, and
the pair hid under a pile of corpses for a night before venturing into
the desert alone. They were found by a Bedouin tribesman, who then
sold them to another, where they were given shelter, but lived in fear
until a Turkish officer took them to the city of Deir ez-Zor.

They made their way to relatives and began rebuilding their lives
before moving to Jerusalem in the 1920s.

Astrid became a teacher, married husband Gaspar in 1942 and the pair
had two daughters before fighting between the Arabs and Jews started.

The family fled to Cyprus, where she volunteered for the Red Cross and
ran a kindergarten.

But the Turkish invasion in 1974 saw the family lose everything again
and end up in England as refugees.

At a Gloucester inquest into her death yesterday, her GP Noah Thomson
said she was in good health before the unwitnessed fall.

In a statement he wrote: “She was an incredible person I feel humbled
and honoured to have attended and I wish her family well.”

Deputy Gloucestershire coroner, David Dooley said Astrid, who died at
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on May 11, was a “99-year-old with an
interesting, but traumatic early history”.

He ruled her death an accident.

Rustavi-2 TV, Georgia
Jan 6 2013

Georgian president, premier congratulate Armenians on Christmas

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Bidzina
Ivanishvili have congratulated ethnic Armenians on Christmas, which
the Armenian Church celebrates on 6 January, Rustavi-2 channel
reported on the same day.

Saakashvili published an address on his official Facebook page in this
connection.

“I congratulate you on a beautiful holiday, which is celebrated by the
Apostolic Orthodox Armenian Church today, on 6 January. Diversity is
the basis, on which the strength of our country is based. Ethnic
Armenians living in Georgia make a significant contribution to the
construction and democratic development of the country,” the Georgian
Rustavi-2 TV station quoted the address.

Prime Minister Ivanishvili attended a liturgy at an Armenian church in
Tbilisi and congratulated the parish.

“I would first of all like to congratulate on the day, on Christmas
and Epiphany, our fraternal nation, Georgian Armenians and then all
Armenians around the world. I am very happy that I am celebrating this
day together with them today,” Ivanishvili said.

[Translated from Georgian]

National News Agency Lebanon (NNA)
January 6, 2013 Sunday

Aram I: for safeguarding Christian rights

NNA – Basic Christian human and religious rights ought to be respected
and safeguarded in the Middle East, Orthodox Armenian Catholicos Aram
I stressed in his Christmas Day sermon at Antilias Armenian Cathedral
today.

Addressing a plethora of Armenian religious and political dignitaries
assembled for the Christmas high event, the Armenian Catholicos
expressed adamant Church support for president Sleiman’s intended
national dialogue.

Aram I welcomed the presidential call provided that dialogue and
reconciliation takes place in an atmosphere of placidity devoid of
troubles and foreign intervention. He underscored the permanency of
peoples and homelands and the temporality of existing regimes.

Aram I urged the Lebanese to forsake domestic sensibilities at a
fateful time when the present political juncture requires them all to
work for unity.

Iranian Government News
January 1, 2013 Tuesday

New Year bells ring in churches in Islamic Iran

Tehran

2013 New Year’s Eve celebrations were marked at Iranian churches with
the simultaneous happy ringing of the bells here Monday at midnight
most jubilantly.

According to the IRNA night service, in one such celebration held at
the beginning of the new Christian year, 2013, at Tehran’s Saint Mary
Church, also known as the Saint Serkis Church, the dear Iranian
Armenian Christians gathered for the New Year celebrations.

The ceremony began on the first seconds of the Tuesday morning with
the happy ringing of the church bells, followed by the singing of
Christmas songs.

The keynote speaker at the ceremony was the Archbishop of the Saint
Serkis Church Father Sibveh Serkisian who congratulated the beginning
of the New Year after reciting some holy verses from the Holy Book,
the Bible, and then he prayed for international peace and the
happiness of the souls of the bygone folks.

The Iranian Christians, along with the Christians around the globe,
celebrate Christmas from December 25th to January the 6th, which mark
two different narrations about the auspicious birth anniversary of
Messiah, Jesus Christ (P), including the beginning of the New Year.

Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi congratulated the
entire world Christians on Jesus Christ’s birth anniversary and the
beginning of the new Christian year.

In separate messages to his Christian counterparts in different
countries on Tuesday, Rahimi felicitated the beginning of the year
2013 to the Christian governments and nations.

He also expressed the hope that the New Year would cause promotion of
justice, kindness, welfare and security for all, and that cruelty and
discrimination would be uprooted across the world.

Paper: Syunik province to let on lease pasture to Iran?

January 19, 2013 – 12:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Moreover, according to Iranian media outlets, a
memorandum was reached on Jan 16 in Iran’s Tabriz city, with the
ruling authorities of Armenia still keeping the fact in secret.

However, it’s noteworthy that Iran halted export of 52 types of
products to Armenia back in November, with no explanation cited. RA
government, in turn, instructed the Foreign Ministry to offer solution
to the problem, with the latter not having released the outcome of the
negotiations yet.

`This way President Serzh Sargsyan’s administration is seeking to
establish legitimacy through letting Armenian territories on lease,’
the paper says.

Armenia: 1 Macedonia: 4

23:50 AMT, January 18

YEREVAN. – The Armenian national futsal team, which is currently in
Macedonia, played its second friendly match against the hosting
national squad.

Friday’s game ended by a score of 4-1, in favor of Macedonia, and
Grigor Kapukranyan netted Armenia’s consolation goal, the Football
Federation of Armenia informs.

The first match, which was played Thursday between the two squads, had
ended in a 1-1 draw.

To note, this was the Armenian national futsal team’s final test match
ahead of the European Futsal Championship qualifying round, which will
get underway next week in Bulgaria. At the qualifiers, Armenia will
play against Bulgaria, Wales, and Greece.