Author: nina hovnanian

CaspioNet, kyrgyzstan
April 28 2012

CSTO Security Council leaders meet in Astana

Joint measures to counter threats and challenges topped a discussion
involving the Secretaries of Security Councils of the CSTO meeting
held in Astana.

The Armenian side presented information on the conduct of joint
exercises “Cooperation-2012” with the participation of the Collective
Rapid Reaction Forces. They will be held in Armenia, from the 3rd to
8th of September. The Security Council leaders also discussed a draft
agenda of the anniversary session of the Collective Security Council,
which will be devoted to the 20th anniversary of the signing of the
Treaty and the 10th anniversary of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization.

Marat Tazhin, Secretary, KAZAKH SECURITY COUNCIL:
-During these 10 years, we have done very significant work as on a
regular basis we carry out activities and operations aimed at
information security and combating illegal migration and drug
trafficking.

Nikolai Bordyuzha, CSTO SECRETARY GENERAL:
-Today’s meeting was focused on global and regional challenges faced
by the CSTO member-states and measures to neutralize them. We also
talked about improving military cooperation and fighting drug
trafficking. We also discussed the new measures aimed at information
security and combating illegal migration.

SOUTH CAUCASUS AT CROSSROADS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS’ SMUGGLING.
by Rusiko Machaidze

Rezonansi
April 14 2012
Georgia

One-half Kilogram of Cesium Entered and Left Country Without Internal
Affairs Ministry’s Knowledge

[translated from Georgian]

Smuggled radioactive materials have been seized in Georgia’s
neighbouring countries in recent days. One such incident is, to some
extent, linked to Georgia as it has been reported that the material
was taken from Russia to Turkey through Georgia.

People at the Georgian Internal Affairs Ministry are only saying
that they are studying the incident. However, experts believe that
“this matter requires adequate attention because a lot of questions
remain unanswered.”

According to [Russian news agency] RIA Novosti, 500 grams of Cesium-137
radioactive material that had been smuggled into Turkey were seized
11 April. The information was disseminated by Turkish media which
cited the Turkish police.

According to that information, the Turkish gendarmerie was informed
that a car with German license plates that had entered Turkey from
Georgia was transporting radioactive material. The car was detained
in Ankara. It turned out that it was carrying Cesium-137 radioactive
material in plastic boxes that had been placed in two glass jars.

Three Turkish citizens were arrested. They had resided in Georgia
and Germany and had been detained for smuggling at different times.

According to Turkish media, the criminals bought the radioactive
material in Russia and took it to Turkey through Georgia. They were
planning to sell it there for $1 million.

Another case of radioactive material smuggling occurred in Armenia.

[Russian website] Regnum reported, on the basis of information supplied
by the press service of the Armenian National Security Council, that
two Armenian citizens who attempted to illegally sell Strontium-90
radioactive material were detained in Yerevan. Criminal proceedings
have been instituted over the case.

However, other details -the amount of material, how these individuals
obtained it, and how they were planning to sell it -remain unknown.

Only the names of the detained individuals were made public: [Two
names omitted].

Shota Utiashvili, head of the Georgian Internal Affairs Ministry’s
Analytical Department, told Rezonansi that the Georgian side has no
information about this incident. However, the Georgian side has been
informed about the incident that occurred in Turkey. Shota Utiashvili
said that the “matter is being studied but the interests of the
investigation require that no details be disclosed yet.”

The mere fact that two cases of the illegal transportation of
radioactive materials were recorded in the Caucasus region in recent
days -and one of them involves Georgia to some extent -raises quite
a lot of questions. For example, how did the radioactive material
get onto Georgian territory and, most importantly, for what reason?

We would remind you that the Georgian president recently said at
the nuclear security conference in South Korea that the Georgian law
enforcement agencies had seized radioactive material on the country’s
territory. He highlighted this as Georgia’s major achievement.

Shortly after this statement, smuggled radioactive material was
seized in a neighbouring country after crossing Georgian territory
without any significant problems and passing through the country’s
border twice. For this reason, the most important question to ask is
whether Georgian territory is protected or not.

“It is interesting through which specific border checkpoints it passed
and whether it passed any checkpoint at all. This is interesting
because every checkpoint on the Georgian border is equipped with a
device that detects radioactive material. It is possible that this
material did not enter the country through these border checkpoints,
or that those devices did not work. The matter therefore requires
special attention,” Irakli Aladashvili, editor-in-chief of the Arsenali
military analytical magazine, said.

Aladashvili further noted that these kinds of materials usually are
not transported through customs checkpoints, which explains why it
was not seized at a border checkpoint.

However, he considers the incident itself very dangerous because,
as he explained, “this is very dangerous material.”

“As far as I know, Strontium-90 is not directly used for the production
of some nuclear explosive devices. However, it can be used to produce
some kind of dirty bomb,” Aladashvili said.

This leads us to the question of what these two incidents could be
linked to.

“There is very little information and it is very difficult to say
whether or not these two incidents are linked and whether they have
anything in common. I therefore find it hard to draw any conclusions.

However, if this material did cross Georgia’s entire territory,
this would mean that the country has quite serious problems,” Irakli
Aladashvili said.

As for the possible link between this incident and the Iran issue,
many political analysts “find it difficult to give an assessment
because of the lack of information.”

“As we know, it is not just states that are interested in radioactive
materials but also criminal groups, which is much more dangerous. They
are trying to use these materials for their plans and to use them in
their dealings with the states that are still not close to developing
their own [nuclear] weapons but are thinking of using them. This
applies, for example, to some small states in Africa. These weapons
are quite dangerous in a situation where everyone is looking for
something to intimidate their rivals with,” political analyst Ramaz
Saqvarelidze said and noted that “it would be more appropriate to
wait for a statement from official bodies in this case.”

CONTROLLABLE CHAOS IN THE CAUCASUS

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 23, 2012 Monday

[translated from Russian]

TENSION IN THE CAUCASUS IS MOUNTING; The United States is stirring
chaos in the Caucasus in the hope to benefit from it.

American and Israeli preparations for a strike at Iranian nuclear sites
mount tension in the adjacent Caucasus. American analysts suspect
that Russia is getting ready for a war too. They claim that Moscow
has dispatched additional contingents to the 102nd Military Base in
Gyumri, Armenia. Some Western media outlets report that families of
Russian servicemen are evacuated from the Caucasus.

Western military analysts anticipate the following scenario of the
forthcoming hostilities. Going to war on Iran, the United States
might deploy in Georgia. Washington will probably secure help from
Azerbaijan, a country whose advanced military contacts with Israel
are no secret.

Responding to this turn of events, Russia is allegedly expected
to strike at Georgia and Azerbaijan. It will be done to secure a
corridor connecting Russia with its military base in Armenia. Political
scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski ventured a guess that Iran, once attacked
by the Western community, might retaliate with a strike at Azerbaijan
whereas Russia “will make use of the situation and launch another
war with Georgia.”

Experts in the Caucasus speculate over the possibility and
corollaries of this turn of events in all earnest. Some hotheads
in Armenia already claim that Yerevan ought to team up with Russia
in the event of another Russian-Georgian shootout. They say that in
return, Armenia ought to demand from Russia guarantees of Georgia’s
future fragmentation. The implication is clear – absorption of the
Armenian-populated Akhalkalaki district of Georgia. And while they
are at it, these hotheads promote an ultimate solution to the problem
of Nagorno-Karabakh – a war with Azerbaijan.

Specialists meanwhile say that by leaking information on scenarios such
as this, the Americans remain true to their pet tactic of controllable
chaos. First Washington generates chaos and then it goes about turning
the tables and benefiting from it. Why not? The Americans themselves
inevitably remain safe and secure, over there across the ocean. A
Russian-American war in the Caucasus is impossible because neither
will want to shed blood, much less exchange nuclear strikes over this
region. Fomenting tension in the Caucasus, however, right near Russia
is what Washington will dearly like to accomplish.

Neither do specialists think that there is anything Moscow can do
to prevent the Americans from striking at Iran. It follows that
whenever anything like that happens, Russia ought to be ready to
seize the initiative and take what part it can in this controllable
chaos policy. Chechnya will be playing quite an important role in
this case… on account of its geographic location. Count in Chechen
military potential, quite considerable. It was Chechen units in
the Russian-Georgian war in 2008 that begged for the permission to
overtake Tbilisi and were clearly disappointed when denied it.
Content-Type: MESSAGE/RFC822; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Description:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
From: Katia Peltekian
Subject: Controllable Chaos in the Caucasus

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 23, 2012 Monday

CONTROLLABLE CHAOS IN THE CAUCASUS

Source: Argumenty Nedeli, No 15, April 19-25, 2012, p. 2
[translated from Russian]

TENSION IN THE CAUCASUS IS MOUNTING; The United States is stirring
chaos in the Caucasus in the hope to benefit from it.

American and Israeli preparations for a strike at Iranian nuclear
sites mount tension in the adjacent Caucasus. American analysts
suspect that Russia is getting ready for a war too. They claim that
Moscow has dispatched additional contingents to the 102nd Military
Base in Gyumri, Armenia. Some Western media outlets report that
families of Russian servicemen are evacuated from the Caucasus.

Western military analysts anticipate the following scenario of the
forthcoming hostilities. Going to war on Iran, the United States might
deploy in Georgia. Washington will probably secure help from
Azerbaijan, a country whose advanced military contacts with Israel are
no secret.

Responding to this turn of events, Russia is allegedly expected to
strike at Georgia and Azerbaijan. It will be done to secure a corridor
connecting Russia with its military base in Armenia. Political
scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski ventured a guess that Iran, once
attacked by the Western community, might retaliate with a strike at
Azerbaijan whereas Russia “will make use of the situation and launch
another war with Georgia.”

Experts in the Caucasus speculate over the possibility and corollaries
of this turn of events in all earnest. Some hotheads in Armenia
already claim that Yerevan ought to team up with Russia in the event
of another Russian-Georgian shootout. They say that in return, Armenia
ought to demand from Russia guarantees of Georgia’s future
fragmentation. The implication is clear – absorption of the
Armenian-populated Akhalkalaki district of Georgia. And while they are
at it, these hotheads promote an ultimate solution to the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh – a war with Azerbaijan.

Specialists meanwhile say that by leaking information on scenarios
such as this, the Americans remain true to their pet tactic of
controllable chaos. First Washington generates chaos and then it goes
about turning the tables and benefiting from it. Why not? The
Americans themselves inevitably remain safe and secure, over there
across the ocean. A Russian-American war in the Caucasus is impossible
because neither will want to shed blood, much less exchange nuclear
strikes over this region. Fomenting tension in the Caucasus, however,
right near Russia is what Washington will dearly like to accomplish.

Neither do specialists think that there is anything Moscow can do to
prevent the Americans from striking at Iran. It follows that whenever
anything like that happens, Russia ought to be ready to seize the
initiative and take what part it can in this controllable chaos
policy. Chechnya will be playing quite an important role in this
case… on account of its geographic location. Count in Chechen
military potential, quite considerable. It was Chechen units in the
Russian-Georgian war in 2008 that begged for the permission to
overtake Tbilisi and were clearly disappointed when denied it.

ARMENIA NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH NATIONAL MINORITIES’ RIGHTS

news.am
April 28, 2012 | 02:16

YEREVAN. – The 2001 census in Armenia states that national minorities
form less that 3 percent, including Russians, Yazidis, Kurds,
Germans, Assyrians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews, head of the
Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs Department of the Government
Vardan Asatryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Asked whether there were violations towards the rights of the national
minorities, the government representative said that Armenia has
been a crossroad for civilizations for thousands of years and during
all these periods a culture of respectful relations has been formed
towards other nations. Anyway there are still issues, main of which
is the lack of teachers.

At the same time the state prints the books on the national languages
of minorities free of charge and holds exhibitions of art, as well
as cooperates with newspapers publishedon the national language.

VOLGA DEFEAT HANDS TOMSK STAY OF EXECUTION

RIA Novosti
27/04/2012

FC Volga suffered a 2-1 defeat away at FC Krasnodar on Friday, handing
a reprieve to Siberian club FC Tomsk, whose relegation Volga could
have sealed.

Despite the stay of execution, one more point for Volga in their last
three games of the season will be enough to seal Tomsk’s fate.

With no Siberian sides vying for promotion from the First Division,
that would leave the Russian Premier League without a side east of
the Urals for the first time since 2004.

Armenian-American striker Yura Movsisyan was the hero for Krasnodar,
striking home for the hosts’ first goal after four minutes when he
picked up Igor Lambarsky’s flick.

Movsisyan scored his second a minute before the end of the first half,
striking from Joaozinho’s assist.

Former Russia international Andrei Karyaka struck back for Volga on
71 minutes, shortly after Joaozinho saw a goal disallowed.

Karyaka stepped up to take a penalty and score his fourth goal in
six games for the Nizhny Novgorod side, as the ball bobbled in after
Krasnodar goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili fumbled his save.

Friday’s earlier games both finished goalless, as Tomsk failed to beat
Amkar goalkeeper Sergei Veremko, while Spartak Nalchik’s relegation
was assured as they failed to beat ten-man Krylya Sovetov Samara.

TURKISH MP PUBLICLY RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 27, 2012 – 18:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Istanbul deputy
slammed Armenian Genocide denial policy at Turkish parliament.

“A major massacre, which in every language of the world is called
genocide, occurred in 1915. No amount of money could ever be enough
to compensate for this crime against humanity,” Sırrı Sureyya
Onder stressed.

The MP further accused political forces trying to use the situation
for personal gains and urged for Genocide recognition.

As the MP stressed, Peace and Democracy Party will submit an initiative
on announcing April 24 as the day of sharing the pain and grief of
the Armenian people, Radikal daily reported.

‘WEST CAN ‘BURY THE LAST HOPE’ FOR NORMALIZATION OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS’

News.Az
Fri 27 April 2012

U.S. President Barack Obama in his statement on the anniversary of
the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire did not use the word “genocide”,
considering them as a “great tragedy”. Can such an assessment of the
US president be considered satisfactory for Azerbaijan and Turkey?

The U.S. is a kind of world policeman and, therefore, this disuse of
word “genocide” by President Barack Obama to some extent is essential
for the rest of the world. Therefore, we should still be satisfied
with this statement. Otherwise, the use of so-called ‘genocide’ by
the U.S. president could inflict great damage on the Turkish-American
and Azerbaijani-American relations. If the U.S. considers Turkey as
an ally, it should observe its obligations responsibly.

What is the probability that the U.S. Senate will pass a law on the
so-called “Armenian genocide”?

As you know, the draft resolution recognizing the so-called “Armenian
genocide” was introduced in March this year in the U.S. Senate.

Attempts to carry out this legislative initiative were made in Congress
more than once, but they have not been successful.

Recognizing the “massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,” the
U.S. government, however, never mentioned the word “genocide.” Taking
into account that the US president this year did not use the word
“genocide” either, it decreases the likelihood that the bill, if it
is brought on the agenda of the Senate, will be accepted.

The Armenian side in connection with the upcoming 100th anniversary
of the so-called “Armenian genocide” is preparing a series of events
in 2015, under which intends to achieve recognition of “genocide”
by the parliaments of several more countries. What is required in
order Azerbaijan and Turkey to the maximum extent could hinder these
plans of the Armenians?

Turkey and Azerbaijan in the first place should cooperate to mobilize
historians, scientists in order to prove the absence of “genocide.”

Thus, this case must involve scientists who have studied this
question. One of the tasks of scientists must be bringing to the
world the fact that the Armenians on the one hand claim that the
Turks committed “genocide of Armenians”, on the other hand, occupy
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Has Turkey really done enough to prevent the recognition of so-called
“Armenian genocide” by parliaments of the world?

I note that the Turkish government in 2008, standing up to normalize
relations with Armenia, made â~@~Kâ~@~Ka mistake. The fallacy of this
policy manifested itself in the first days of its implementation. The
government should not have gone for it as long as Armenia didn’t
give up its territorial claims Turkey and Azerbaijan. And now the
government is “reaping the fruits” of the process launched a few years
ago. In other words, one of the obvious causes for the activation of
“genocide” question in the world is the “soft policy” conducted by
the Turkish government.

Favourites of the presidential race in France have stated that in
summer this year are going to make a bill to criminalize the “Armenian
genocide”. What consequences can the adoption of this law in France
bring to international relations?

Turkey, together with Azerbaijan, should combine efforts and resources
to seek all possible means to prevent the adoption of the draft
law by the French Senate. The Azerbaijani and Turkish parliaments
should also be involved in it. In this case, it’s high time for the
parliaments of the fraternal countries to adopt documents similar to
the ones adopted by parliaments of European countries on the fabricated
“Armenian genocide”.

In addition, Azerbaijan and Turkey in advance should prepare a list of
countermeasures which they must apply together against France in the
case of adoption of the bill in this country. Thesee countermeasures
should include issues relating the limitation of political ties of
Azerbaijan and Turkey with Paris, the refusal of these fraternal
countries to implement joint projects with France, the refusal of
importing French products and boycotting products made â~@~Kâ~@~Kin
France.

These measures may be a first step in the list of actions, which Baku
and Ankara should take together. These measures should be consistent.

At the same time, Azerbaijan and Turkey should never stop these
measures as long as the French Parliament will not give up this law.

What fate awaits the opening of Turkish-Armenian border, if the U.S.

Senate or the French Senate adopts these bills?

Definitely, the Western countries, in this case will bury the last
hope for normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations, and especially for
opening borders between these countries. The U.S. and France will bury
the last hopes of normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia.

MAXIMUM SPEED AT ARMENIA’S NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY WILL BE 100 KM/H

news.am
April 27, 2012 | 16:38

YEREVAN. – The North-South Highway Corridor will be Armenia’s first
concrete motorway, with a 550 km stretch. Armenia’s Transport and
Communication Minister Manuk Vardanyan stated this, at a press
conference on Friday, during a briefing after the signing of the
Highway’s construction contract with Chairman Francisco Jose García
Martín of the Spanish Corsan-Corviam Construccion S.A. Company.

The Highway will stretch from the Armenian-Iranian border to the
Armenian-Georgian boundary.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, Corsan-Corviam Construccion
S.A. Company won the tender for construction of the three sections of
the North-South Highway Corridor in Armenia. The Armenian Government
authorized on Thursday the Transport and Communication Minister to
conclude a contract with the Company. The contract amounts to US$ 250
million, and the project is financed by the Asian Development Bank
(ADB). According to PM Tigran Sargsyan, the overall investments for
the project amount to $1.5 billion.

In his turn, Francisco García Martín told news reporters that they
consider the project in Armenia to be very important and a serious
challenge.

According to Ara Hovsepyan, Executive Director of the North-South
Highway Corridor, an average of $2.7 million is envisioned for
the upgrading or expansion of each kilometer of the Highway. Also,
underpasses will be built for the safe crossing of livestock.

The constructions will start in 2-3 weeks.

NOTED JOURNALIST ARMEN DILANYAN PASSES AWAY
by Ara Khachatourian

asbarez
Thursday, April 26th, 2012

GLENDALE-Noted journalist, writer and commentator Armen Dilanian, who
also had a daily political talk show on Horizon Armenian Television,
passed away on Tuesday. He was 57.

Dilanyan was one of the founding members of the Yerevan Bureau of Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He worked there from 1992 to 1994, reporting
on the groundbreaking developments during Armenia’s independence.

>From 1994 to 1995, Dilanyan worked at the RFE/RL offices in Munich,
transferring to its Prague offices, where he worked until 2006.

Working Los Angeles for the past several years, Dilanian was an
important figure, filing reports and anchoring programs on a variety of
television and radio channels, among them Horizon Armenian Television.

Asbarez and Horizon Television express their deepest condolences to
the family and relatives of Armen Dilanyan.

WHY EUROPE SUPPORTS ARMENIA
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:11:09 – 27/04/2012

Moscow-based lawyer Dagir Hasavov who called for the introduction of
the sharia court in Russia in an interview with Ren-TV, hastily left
the country. “We are at home. Perhaps you are foreigners here but we
are at home. We will establish the rules that suit us. Any attempt to
change this will end in bloodshed. Here will be the second dead lake.

We will wash the city with blood,” said Hasavov.

One cannot understand the situation in Russia and Europe, who attacks
and who defends. But obviously the confrontation between the two
religions and civilizations is slowly but steadily reaching its peak.

The Salafis in Germany succeeded attracting attention thanks to the
distribution of Koran. The number of supporters of this direction in
Islam who are extremely conservative is increasing. Salafis actively
recruit supporters in Germany, the Federal office for the protection
of constitution.

The ultra-conservative Salafi (from the word “ancestors”- Ed.) calls
for return to the “truly right” way of life and ideals of the early
Muslim community living under the Sharia law. The Salafis do not
recognize Western political models, democracy, equality of men
and women.

In the meantime, Imran Firasat, a citizen of Pakistan living in
Spain as political refugee, achieved what seemed impossible. His
request to ban Koran in Spain will be considered by the Commission
of Constitutional Law of the Congress of Deputies. Firisat thinks
Koran does not call for peace, it calls for war and violence.

Armenia is on the junction of these two civilizations. Being the first
country in the world to adopt Christianity as official religion,
Armenia has been fighting Muslim expansion for centuries. And if
previously the expansion was fulfilled through hostility and violence,
it has now acquired the form of demographic expansion.

In such a peace form it has crept into all parts of the world. And
now it is in Russia and Europe trying unsuccessfully to resist the
almost fait accompli. The growth of right-wing sentiment in France
and Germany is an attempt to intensify resistance. Nationalism is
starting to raise its head in Russia as well.

One of the forms of resistance is Europe’s support to Armenia since it
is the only country which was able to counteract to the physical and
demographic Muslim expansion. It is true that Armenia has made a lot
of sacrifice and it is still obliged to live in the Muslim blockade.

Most analysts think that the expansion of the Muslim world is a
response to earlier Christian attack. They say the Muslim people
have to defend themselves. Now it is difficult to say what caused the
the Christian-Muslim relations to begin to resemble preparations for
real war.