Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

ERDOGAN: TURKEY TRIES TO SETTLE THE NKR ISSUE

Aysor
Feb 4 2010
Armenia

Yesterday the Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the conference titled
"Changing Balances and Turkey’s Increasing Importance" called on the
OSCE Minsk Group to activate the efforts on NKR conflict settlement
process. As 1news.az informs referring to Turkish Media, Erdogan
has stressed also the role of Turkey in the process of the conflict
settlement.

"We put efforts to initiate the Caucasus cooperation process, and we
are trying hard to solve the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
which we consider a key country in the region."

He has also expressed his treatment towards the RA Constitutional
Court’s decision mentioning that he is very disappointed of it.

"We demand to respect the signed protocols, Turkey is faithful to
its duties and Armenia too has to respect the signed documents", –
the head of the Turkish government stated.

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE TO VISIT ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.02.2010 17:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Secretary of State –
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev has
scheduled an introductory visit to Caucasus region.

On February 15-18, Kanat Saudabayev will visit Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia to meet with local leaders.

The visit aims at discussion of solutions to Karabakh and South
Ossetia conflicts.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in
1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the
final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from
1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, NKR and
Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan
around it (the security zone) remain under the control of NKR defense
army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the
OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The 2008 South Ossetia War, also known as the Russia-Georgia War,
was an armed conflict in August of 2008 between Georgia on one side,
and Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other.

The 1991-1992 South Ossetia War between Georgians and Ossetians
left most of South Ossetia under de-facto control of a Russian-backed
internationally unrecognised government. Some ethnic Georgian-inhabited
parts of South Ossetia remained under the control of Georgia. A
similar situation existed in Abkhazia after the War in Abkhazia
(1992-1993). The increasing tensions escalated during the summer
months of 2008. On 5 August, Russia vowed to defend South Ossetia.

During the night of 7 to 8 August 2008, Georgia launched a large-scale
military attack against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reconquer
the territory. The following day Russia reacted by deploying combat
troops in South Ossetia and launching bombing raids deep into Georgia.

Russian and Ossetian soldiers clashed with Georgian soldiers in
the four-day Battle of Tskhinvali, the main battle of the war. On
August 9th, Russian naval forces blockaded a part of the Georgian
coast and landed marines on the Abkhaz coast. Russian and Abkhaz
forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge, held by
Georgia and entered western parts of Georgia’s interior. After five
days of heavy fighting, the Georgian forces were routed, enabling the
Russians to enter uncontested Georgia and occupy the cities of Poti,
Gori, Senaki, and Zugdidi.

After mediation by the French presidency of the European Union,
the parties reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement on 12 August,
signed by Georgia on 15 August in Tbilisi and by Russia on 16 August
in Moscow. On 12 August, President Medvedev had already ordered a halt
to Russian military operations, but fighting did not stop immediately.

After signing the ceasefire agreement, Russia pulled most of its
troops out of uncontested Georgia, but established buffer zones around
Abkhazia and South Ossetia and also created check-points in Georgia’s
interior, (Poti, Senaki, Perevi).

On 26 August 2008 Russia recognised the independence of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia. Russia completed its withdrawal from uncontested Georgia
on 8 October, but as of 2009[update] Russian forces remain stationed
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia under bilateral agreements with the
corresponding governments. However, according to a number of European
and US sources, Russia has not fully complied with the peace agreement
because Georgia lost control of some of its territories.

A number of incidents occurred in both conflict zones in the months
after the war ended. As of 2010, tensions between the belligerents
remain high.

The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) is the
world’s largest regional security organization whose 56 participating
States span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

The OSCE is a primary instrument for early warning, conflict
prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its
area. It has 19 missions or field operations in South-Eastern Europe,
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

On January 30, 1992, Armenia was accepted as OSCE member.

FAMILY OF PLANE CRASH VICTIMS PROTEST IN FRONT OF PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

Tert.am
14:28 ~U 04.02.10

The friends and family of the pilots and crew who perished in the
May 17, 2001 plane crash on board a Yak-40 Armenian Airlines aircraft
held a rally this morning before the office of the Armenian president.

According to the demonstrators, after the accident, the state agreed
to issue compensation to support the victims’ children (as many
of those who died in the crash were the sole or at least primary
breadwinners in their families); however, though compensation was
regularly distributed for 2-3 years, afterwards, it was given out
irregularly and only after such acts of protest. From February 2008,
however, the payments have stopped coming all together.

Demonstrators said that over the years, they have appealed to various
state bodies, and even to the country’s president, but to no avail.

Further, they said that if things continue this way and their letters
of appeal continue to go unanswered, it’s possible that they will
appeal to the international community.

PICKING AT THE ARMENIAN PARTY REGARDING PROTOCOLS, FANTASIZES: ARMENIAN FM

ArmInfo
2010-02-04 10:24:00

ArmInfo. Unlike Turkey, Armenia has a clear stance with the respect
to the Protocols on settlement of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Official Yerevan fulfills all its commitments on them, Head of the
Media Relations Department of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan
said when commenting on the visit of the official representative of
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Feridun Siniroglu to Switzerland in order
to draw the Swiss party’s attention to the alleged non-compliance
of the Armenian Constitutional Court’s decision with the spirit of
the Protocols.

According to the Turkish sources, Siniroglu will meet his Swiss
counterpart Michael Ambul in Bern. He intends to draw his counterpart’s
attention to the fact that in case if Armenia makes no steps forward
proving the protocols not to contradict its text and spirit, then
Turkey will no longer continue this process. However, according to
the information available, Switzerland refuses to accept the arguments
of the Turkish party and comment on Ankara’s pretensions.

ARMENIA, KARABAKH TO MAKE DEBUT APPEARANCE AT LA TIMES TRAVEL SHOW FEB. 13-14

Asbarez
Feb 3rd, 2010

LOS ANGELES- For the first time in the history of the Los Angeles
Times Travel and Adventure Show, the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh (Artsakh) will be represented-in the main Exhibition Hall,
on-stage with cultural performances, and with a photo travelogue.

The tourism offices of Armenia and Karabakh will share a large
"Welcome to Armenia" booth in the Exhibition Hall of the Travel Show,
which organizers estimate will be seen by as many as 50,000 people
over the course of the two-day show. The Los Angeles event is the
largest travel show in the US.

Armenia’s participation is co-sponsored by the Armenian American
Chamber of Commerce (AACC), located in Glendale, California., the
Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA), based in Yerevan, Armenia,
and the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia, in Los Angeles.

Armenia will also be represented on the "Global Beat Stage" with a
music and dance performance at 11:10 am on each day of the show. The
Gevorkian Dance Academy will perform modern and fold dances in
traditional attire, and the Armenian music and dance group Duo Images
will perform, as well.

And there is a "Destination Workshop" featuring a slide show travelogue
about Armenia and Karabakh at 3:30 pm on the first day of the show,
Feb. 13.

This slide show, entitled "Welcome to Armenia: Ancient Nation, New
Republic," will be presented by Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian,
the authors of Armenia’s first-ever commercial travel guidebook
dedicated solely to Armenia. The show features spectacular photography
of the people, vistas, and historic sites of Armenia and Karabakh.

In addition to showcasing the beauty of Armenia and Karabakh in
photographs, Karanian and Kurkjian will discuss the current state of
tourism in the two republics and explain some of the logistics of
getting there and getting around. They will also discuss Armenia’s
prospects for developing as an eco-tourism destination. Their guidebook
on Armenia, "The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh," is the
best-selling guide to the country.

"This is a huge event for Armenia, but also especially for Karabakh,"
says Zaven Kazazian, a member of the AACC. "This is a rare opportunity
to showcase Armenians at one of the largest travel shows in the world,"
he said.

Participation in the travel show caps a decade of growth in Armenia’s
tourism market, according to the Armenian Consul General G.

Hovhannissian. "Armenia attaches a special importance to tourism,
and has declared it to be a priority sector for the country’s economic
development," he said. "This is a joint undertaking [by the government
and the private sector] and I am sure the Armenia booth will attract
a lot of visitors," he added.

Approximately 650,000 tourists traveled to Armenia in 2009-a ten-fold
increase over the number who visited just a decade ago. More than a
million visitors are projected to annually travel to Armenia by 2020.

The event is a milestone for the development of tourism in Armenia,
says Nick Hacopian a member of the AACC and the Chair of the committee
that organized Armenia’s participation in the travel show. "This
is the largest travel event in the US, and our presence will help
showcase Armenia to a vast new audience," he said.

Representatives of Levon Travel and Sidon Travel-two Los Angeles
travel agencies that offer tours to Armenia- will be at the Armenia
booth each day to explain the logistics of traveling there. And
several tour operators will travel to the Los Angeles from Armenia
to be at the booth, including Saberatours-Sevan; Armenia Travel M;
Elitar Travel; and Nueva Vista Travel.

The LA Times Travel Show will be open to the public from 10 am
to 5 pm on Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14, at the
Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueora Street, Los
Angeles. Admission is $10 (Children 16 and under are admitted free
when accompanied by an adult). More information is available at

The Armenian American Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1999. The
organization serves Southern California’s Armenian American
business community and encourages greater ties and collaboration
with the business community of Armenia. The AACC can be reached at
, and at 818-247-0196.

WHAT WOULD BE WITH GUL NOW
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am
3/02/10

It is interesting to know what Serge Sargsyan would do to Abdullah
Gul if the Turkish football national team scored now and not on
October 14, 2009 in Bursa 4 days after the signing of the Armenian
and Turkish protocols. At that time, though the Turkish footballers
scored, Serge Sargsyan seemed to be happier than Gul showing to the
world that football is just for fun and diplomacy is work which he
carries out successfully.

Now the situation has much changed. Listening to the speeches of the
members of the Republican Party, you start thinking that Gul is lucky
not to have to watch a football match jointly with Armenians.

Otherwise, if the Turks scored, Serge Sargsyan sitting next to him
would not manage to say anything to Gul because the RP members would
precede him who now are engaged in tearing up the Turkish government
with their statements.

The reason is clear. Turkey is not ratifying the Armenian and Turkish
protocols and keeps affirming that until there is no progress in the
Karabakh issue, it will not ratify them. And after the RA CC decision,
the Turkish party started presenting it as a precondition by the
Armenian side trying to shift the blame for freezing or failing of the
process on Armenia. Armenia has only to hope for the international
society not to accept the Karabakh issue as a precondition and not
to agree with the Turkish affirmations that the decision of the RA
constitutional court is a precondition.

The international society seems to support Armenia in these issues
and welcomes the CC decision stating that the Armenian and Turkish
relations and the Karabakh issue are not to be tied. Turkey seems to
have to get excited even more, but you see, Turkey is calmer than
Armenia. At least, Turkey, maybe invented, but presents concrete
accusations to Armenia, and Armenia does not do anything else bur says
"you are fool, yourself". Besides this, and besides hoping that the
international community perceives well, the official Yerevan does
not have any other response.

In general, in the whole Armenian and Turkish process, the official
Yerevan does not seem to have anything to say. Either it hugs Turks
when affairs move forward, or it insults them when processes stopped.

Yerevan does not seem to have participated in the Armenian and Turkish
process otherwise. This is the reason why Armenian learns about
the turnovers of this process in the night because Yerevan does not
know what is happening during the day. Most likely during the day,
somewhere something is decided, then Yerevan is called and informed
that a statement has been adopted or a document has been signed.

After, Yerevan has only to praise the Turks or to complain of them.

Now, since there is no night decision, Yerevan finds fault with the
Turks. While the Turks are perhaps busy with preparing a regular
"night". Of course this does not mean the night cannot be good
for Yerevan too. But the problem is not its being good or bad, but
Armenia’s role and status in it.

US DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES STEINBERG TO VISIT ARMENIA

Armradio.am
03.02.2010 13:13

US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg will travel to the
Caucasus on February 4th and 5th. He will meet in Yerevan, Armenia
with President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
to discuss bilateral and regional issues.

He will proceed to Tbilisi, Georgia where he will meet with President
Mikheil Saakashvili and representatives of Georgia’s opposition.

Deputy Secretary Steinberg will travel to Munich, Germany on February
5th to attend the Munich Security Conference. In Munich, he will meet
with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu as well as other leaders attending the conference.

SYMPHONIC SERJ

93X.COM
February 2, 2010

SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer SERJ TANKIAN’s live performance of his solo
album Elect The Dead with the AUCKLAND PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA will be
released as a CD/DVD on March 9th. Tankian feels that the classical
re-interpretations actually improved on the rock arrangements in
some cases. He told Rolling Stone, quote, "Some of the songs came
out more alive." Tankian included two previously unreleased songs in
the concert: "Charade," originally written nearly seven years ago for
System of a Down; and "Gate 21," which will appear on his next solo
album. That recording, with the working title Music Without Borders,
mixes it up with brass and string arrangements over a rock base.

Tankian has been indulging himself as a culture vulture in other ways.

He produced and just released an album of his father performing
Armenian folk songs, and he’ll set the ancient Greek tragedy Prometheus
Bound to music on Broadway in early 2011.

OSKANIAN’S INTERVIEW WITH TERT.AM

The Civilitas Foundation
Friday, 29 January 2010 13:21

Mr. Oskanian what is your opinion about recent
developments in the Armenia-Turkey process?

Vartan Oskanian: My opinion is the same as it was at the start of
this process. These documents are the product of miscalculations on
both sides.

The Armenian side miscalculated, convinced that: 1. the Armenia-Turkey
border opening is of existential importance for Armenia’s domestic
stability and economic development; 2. it will be easy for Turkey
to go counter to Azerbaijan’s interests 3. If the document does not
contain the words "Treaty of Kars," "genocide" or "Nagorno Karabakh,"
then by utilizing state propaganda mechanisms, it will be possible
to convince the Armenian people that the formulations that indeed
address those matters are harmless.

The Turkish side miscalculated, convinced that: 1. the opening of the
Armenia-Turkey border is so important for Armenia that Turkey-centric
formulations arrived at through clever diplomatic machinations can
eventually in fact be executed.

2. Genocide and other historical issues are solely Diaspora concerns
and not of particular interest to those living in Armenia.

3. a Karabakh resolution is close at hand, any signing the
Armenia-Turkey protocols and linking the ratification process to
Nagorno Karabakh will serve as additional incentive for the Armenian
side to speed up the resolution, or at the very least, return some
territories.

Taking into consideration the great importance of normal relations
between Armenia and Turkey, there must be a review of this issue and
a new approach must be devised. The process toward improved relations
will not succeed if it is based on the short-term political interests
of the Armenian or Turkish governments, or if they overlook existing
political and historical complexities. Such a process must sincerely
acknowledge all problems and challenges if the purpose is indeed to
achieve real and sustainable rapprochement.

ERDOGAN CRITICIZES SARKOZY ON EU’S INACCEPTANCE OF TURKEY

Tert.am
12:13 ~U 01.02.10

Turkey patiently continues to spend efforts in a bid for its accession
to the European Union, but at the same time it wants EU member states
to be honest too, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
in an interview with Euronews channel.

"Unfortunately, some of the EU member states are not acting honestly.

This is where a problem arises. Why am I saying this? Because they
are trying to corner Turkey with conditions that do not exist in the
acquis communautaire [the total accumulated body of EU law]. This is
really wrong. We have to bear in mind that we leaders are mortal but
that nations are not. A leader’s negative approach towards another
country would negatively affect people’s perception in that country
about the country of that leader.

"One can not easily comprehend what Mr. Sarkozy does. But no matter
what they do, or what kind of obstacles they put in front of us,
we will keep walking, patiently. There is, certainly, an end to this.

That will be the moment at which ALL the EU members say ‘We are not
accepting Turkey.’ We will not stop until they say this."