Author: Talalian Arpi

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: ELECTION PASSIONS RUN HIGH IN NETHERLANDS

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.10.2006 13:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Protests against the exclusion of three candidates
– ethnic Turks denying the Armenian Genocide – are going on. Parties
lose votes, chairman of the Federation of the Federation of Armenian
organizations of Netherlands Mato Hakhverdyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. However, he remarked that the number of those discontent with
the three candidates excluded is growing and the rating of the Labor
Party and Christian Democrats has raised with 3 per cent. "Yesterday
one of the leading TV channels covered a rally held by Turk students
in one of the Dutch towns in protest of violations of freedom of
speech. Turkish organizations met with Christian Democrats, who have
not abandoned their position since the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide in 2004. They called on Turks to discussion on the Genocide,"
Hakhverdyan said. The parliamentary election is due in Netherlands
on November 22.

U.S.-Turkish Relations on the Brink?
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Counterterrorism Blog, New Jersey
Oct 7 2006

For many years, Turkey — a secular democracy with a predominantly
Muslim population — has been a staunch U.S. ally. Since Turkey has
served as a bulwark of stability in the Middle East, it’s important
that the U.S. recognize the disturbing manner in which Turkish public
opinion has been turning against the country’s alliance with the
United States and ties with the West — and how recent events may
further widen the rift between the U.S. and Turkey.

The change in Turkish public opinion is reflected in the annual
survey of public opinion released by the German Marshall Fund in
early September. The New York Times noted this survey in a September
10 editorial:

The survey’s most striking finding is the degree to which Turks now
question their ties to the United States and Europe, and have warmed
to Iran, their neighbor to the east. The discontent appears anchored
in Turks’ overwhelming disapproval of President Bush’s handling of
international affairs and growing disapproval of European Union
leadership. Both are manifest in waning Turkish support for the
institutions that have bound Turkey to the West. Though Turkey has
been a staunch NATO member since 1952, only 44 percent of Turks in
this year’s survey agreed that NATO was essential for Turkey’s
security, versus 52 percent in 2005. Even though Turkey opened
official membership talks with the European Union last year — after
strenuous efforts to meet the union’s criteria — only 54 percent of
Turks now view membership as a good thing, versus 73 percent in 2004.
Beyond that, both Turkey and the U.S. have recently made moves that
damage the countries’ bilateral relationship. In late September, the
Senate Banking Committee blocked U.S. Export-Import Bank funding for
a proposed railway project that would connect Turkey with Azerbaijan
through Georgia, bypassing Armenian territory. This measure was
backed by the Armenian lobby, which argued that the railway amounted
to "an economic embargo against Armenia." For its own part, the
Turkish government did itself no favors with respect to its relations
with the U.S. when it decided not to freeze the assets of Yasin
el-Kadi, who appears on the UN’s list of terrorism financiers.
Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan said of El-Kadi: "I believe in
him as I believe in myself." One source opined that these actions by
the U.S. and Turkey are "a textbook example of the failure of
diplomacy and foreign policy: get nothing and pay a dear price for
it."

All this is occurring against the backdrop of Turkey’s battle against
Kurdish separatist terrorism. As I have previously discussed on this
blog, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons (TAK) have both launched a series of attacks that serve to
undermine the Turkish economy, with the PKK targeting oil and gas
pipelines while the TAK targets the tourist industry. These attacks
have further damaged U.S.-Turkish relations, as Turkish popular
perception holds that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to help Turkey
combat Kurdish separatist terror. There are even allegations — fed
by a recent interview with the brother of jailed PKK leader Abdullah
Ocalan — that the U.S. has been funding and supporting the PKK.

Turkey is a significant ally in the war on terror for a number of
reasons. The direction of Turkish public opinion coupled with recent
events provides cause for concern about the state of U.S.-Turkish
relations. Ultimately, the New York Times was correct when it
editorialized: "The United States must not ever take Turkey for
granted."

Kyle Dabruzzi contributed research for this analysis.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH PRIZE TO EDITOR OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN JOURNAL

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 4, 2006 Wednesday 2:57 PM EST

DPA CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT Norway Culture Freedom of speech prize to
editor of Turkish-Armenian journal Oslo

The editor of a Turkish-Armenian magazine was Wednesday awarded the
Norwegian Bjornson prize, worth 100,000 kroner (15,200 dollars),
for highlighting massacres of the Armenian minority by Ottoman Turks
in 1915.

Agos’ editor Hrant Dink has frequently written on the subject that
continues to generate controversy in Turkey today, and has had frequent
run-ins with Turkish authorities.

Ankara has refused to accept blame for the massacres that many
historians and several countries have said constituted a genocide.

The prize was to be handed out at a November 24 ceremony in the
Norwegian west coast city Molde, the Norwegian news agency NTB
reported.

The prize is awarded by the Bjornson Academy, established in 2003 to
protect freedom of expression. Members include researchers from Norway
and other countries as well as authors, journalists and politicians
including two former Norwegian prime ministers, Kare Willoch and
Kjell Magne Bondevik.

Academy president Knut Odegard said the November 24 seminar would
focus on Armenians.

The prize was named after Norwegian poet, author and dramatist
Bjornstjerne Bjornson (1832-1910).

Previous winners were Vivian Fouad and Samir Morcos from Egypt for
their efforts to promote ties between Muslims and Christians, and
Esma Redzepova from Macedonia who has championed the rights of the
Roma people.

MEETING OF PACE AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR NK CANCELLED
Author: A.Ismaylova

TREND, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

The meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe for Nagorno-Karabakh was cancelled, the Permanent
Representative of Azerbaijan in the Council of Europe Akshin Mehdiyev
told Trend.

The meeting had to be held within the fall session of PACE held from
2 to 6 October.

The Ambassador stressed that on October 5, the Chairman of the PACE
Ad Hoc Committee for Nagorno-Karabakh Lord Russell Johnston will meet
with the heads of the Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations.

The Head of the Committee will discuss the visit of the members of
the Committee to the region.

CHIRAC PUTS NEW HURDLE ON TURKEY’S ACCESSION

EurActiv, Belgium
Oct 2 2006

In Short:

French President Jacques Chirac believes that admission of the Armenian
genocide should be a precondition for Turkey’s entry to the EU.

Brief News:

The comments by Chirac come only few days after the European Parliament
decided not to make recognition of the Armenian genocide a precondition
to Turkey’s EU accession, in its report voted on 27 September (see
EurActiv, 28 September 2006).

When asked, if Turkey had to recognise the mass killings of Armenians,
between 1915 and 1917 under the Ottoman Empire, to join the EU,
Chirac said: "Honestly, I believe it does. Each country grows by
acknowledging its dramas and mistakes of the past."

The French Parliament is to discuss a law making denial of the Armenian
genocide punishable with up to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of
45,000 euro, on 12 October 2006.

A Turkish-embassy official in Belgium did not want to comment on
Chirac’s statement.

The statement comes at a time when EU-Turkey negotiations face a
slowdown, due to unresolved issues, such as Cyprus and freedom of
speech, which have hindered further progress so far. The Commission
is to publish its progress report on Turkey on 8 November 2006.

ac-puts-new-hurdle-turkey-accession/article-158403

KOCHARIAN SAYS ECONOMY AFFECTED BY GEORGIA-RUSSIA ROW

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan,
30 Sep 06

Yerevan, 30 September: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said in
Yerevan today that "any tension in Georgian-Russian relations always
tells on Armenia".

The Armenian president said this when answering a question from a
French journalist at a joint news conference with French President
Jacques Chirac.

"Our transport routes go through Georgia and any deterioration in
Georgian-Russian relations causes a decrease in our trade volume and
negatively affects our economy as a whole," Kocharyan said.

He expressed his hope that the tension in relations between Georgia
and Russia "will be eased quickly and through negotiations".

"I have said many times in Moscow and Tbilisi that Armenia, more
than any other country, is interested in friendly relations between
Georgia and Russia," Kocharyan said.

PARLIAMENT REPORT PUTS EU-TURKEY RELATIONS TO THE TEST

EurActiv, Belgium
Sept 28 2006

In Short:

The Parliament has voted on a report that puts Turkey under pressure
to reform further. Nevertheless, a controversial clause on Armenian
genocide recognition was dropped.

RELATED

Turkey accession and Cyprus
Background:

Accession negotiations with Turkey were officially opened in October
2005. In this process, the European Parliament’s opinion on Turkey’s
progress on preparing for membership is of considerable importance.

Even though the Parliament has so far not used its veto, it must give
its agreement to any new Union member.

Issues:

The report was supported by a majority of 429 to 71 against with 125
abstentions. A controversial clause, making recognition of the Armenian
genocide a "precondition" to Turkey’s EU accession, was amended.

Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings of the Christian Democrats (EPP-ED) said
the report was "tough but fair". The report points out the main
stumbling blocks in the way of Turkey’s accession to the EU. These
are mainly reforms in the area of freedom of religion and freedom of
expression, especially the notorious article 301, which has served
as a basis for so-called "Turkishness"-cases against writers and
journalists. Another concern is the opening of Turkish ports and
airports to vessels from Cyprus.

Positions:

The Finnish presidency noted that there has been much achieved,
but insisted that more "tangible results were needed". Minister for
European Affairs Paula Lehtomaki said that Turkey needs to give new
impetus to the pace of the political reform and vigorously pursue
the reform process. Full and effective implementation of the reforms
is of utmost importance for Turkey to ensure the irreversibility and
sustainability of the changes.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn also regretted the "lack of progress
in reforms". He underlined that negotiations were "an open process"
with no automatic guarantees. "The integration of Turkey would be
of mutual benefit," he said, adding "the EU needs a prosperous and
stable Turkey".

Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED) said its basic conclusion was
that the EP regretted the "slowdown in reforms" in Turkey, although
he did compliment the Turkish government on its 9th reform package.

Christian Democrat MEP Elmar Brok (EPP-ED) stressed the issues of
human rights, minority rights, freedom of religion and of expression.

These, he said, were "preconditions" for EU membership. So far it
had not even implemented the Ankara Protocol. He also emphasised that
the financial aspects of the negotiations must be dealt with and that
the EU had "no financial leeway" under the Financial Perspective.

Liberal Andrew Duff (ALDE) stressed that EP’s role was "to promote
parliamentary democracy in Turkey". This meant encouraging Turkey’s
modernisation not putting up "spurious blocks" to the process. If there
were a "train crash" in Cyprus, there would be two trains involved:
one carrying "Turkey’s efforts to create a viable reform of European
Islam, where the prophet meets the Enlightenment", the other carrying
Europe’s efforts to develop a strong common foreign and defence policy,
to which Turkey could make "an extraordinary contribution".

Joost Lagendijk (Greens) said there was a big problem with the
paragraphs in which, following amendments instigated by lobby groups,
recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey was described as a
precondition for Turkey to join. He said the parliament must "support
people in Turkey who are fighting for the same things as us".

The Turkish ARI Movement warned that this development could weaken
Turkish enthusiasm and ambitions in the reform process.

Latest & next steps:

The Commission’s progress report on Turkey has been postponed and is
due on 8 November 2006.

ELIF SHAFAK ACQUITTED BY COURT

Londra Gazete, UK
Turkish Community News of London
Sept 28 2006

BEST-selling novelist, Elif Shafak, has been cleared of ‘insulting
Turkishness’ on the first day of her trial.

The Istanbul court threw the case out on Thursday when the charges
against her were deemed groundless. The judge ruled there was a lack
of evidence after a thorough examination of her novel The Bastard
of Istanbul.

Shafak had been charged over a reference made by a character in the
book to the "genocide" of Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire
in 1915.

A nationalist lawyer had taken exception to the events being described
as genocide.

Turkish nationalists, who had initiated the proceedings, were involved
in a clash with opponents of the trial after the court’s decision
was made known.

Shafak was charged under a controversial Turkish law, which the
European Union has criticised for violating freedom of speech.

Under the law, insulting the state and its institutions could lead
to a prison sentence of between six months and three years.

The author, who was not in court as she gave birth to a daughter five
days ago, said that she was delighted at the decision.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyýp Erdoðan welcomed the verdict
this week and signalled that the government could consider amending
Article 301 of the penal code.

"The ruling party and the opposition can sit down together again
to discuss this issue, as laws are not eternal," the Anatolia News
Agency quoted Mr Erdoðan as saying.

–Boundary_(ID_E1Zp/Y9/chZA/d3iOQNFuQ)–

ARMENIA READY TO INTEGRATION IN CIS AND BSECO COMMON ENERGY SYSTEM

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.09.2006 18:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ CIS countries are ready to conclude long-term
contracts for Russian gas supplies and provide their transit
capacities. When addressing the meeting of energy ministers of BSECO
member states in Sochi, Deputy Energy Minister of Armenia Levon
Shahverdyan stated that Armenia is ready to provide its transit
capacities for transporting fuel and energy resources. Besides,
Armenia is ready to integration in CIS and BSECO common energy system,
reports IA Regnum.

DMITRY FURMAN: KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT PROSPECTS VAGUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.09.2006 14:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The prospects of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement are the vaguest, irrelevantly of the meetings held at
various levels, said Dmitry Furman, Director of the Institute of Europe
at the Russian Academy of Sciences. In his words, the efficiency of
the talks is not necessarily dependent on the attitude of the sides
towards each other. "There are examples of successful talks between
representatives of the states the population of which experienced a
very negative attitude towards each other, for example the agreements
concluded by Sadat and Begin in Camp David. Nevertheless I think
that nothing can be expected from the Armenian-Azeri talks in the
near future," he said. At that he remarked that GUAM can appear as a
factor contributing to the resolution of ‘frozen conflicts’. "However,
they can be settled in a faraway future," Furman said, reported Day.az.