Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

NKR MFA ON ROBERT BRADTKE’S APPOINTMENT AS US CO-CHAIR OF THE MINSK GROUP

armradio.am
10.09.2009 14:45

In connection with Robert Bradtke’s appointment as the American
Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, the NKR Foreign Ministry states
its readiness to continue working with the OSCE MG Co-Chairmen, in
particular, with Robert Bradtke, for achieving a peaceful and fair
solution to the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.

"We hope that the appointment of the experienced diplomat, Robert
Bradtke, as the USA Co-Chairman of the OSCE MG testifies that the USA
will continue paying serious attention to the Azerbaijani-Karabakh
conflict settlement process and will promote the restoration of the
negotiations’ full format in order that this process can advance and
have positive results," NKR MFA said in a statement.

DECREASE IN GLOBAL DEMAND FOR RAW MATERIALS IMPACTS EMERGING MARKETS AMID WORLD RECESSION

ARKA
September 10, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 10. /ARKA/. Decrease in global demand for raw
materials is the key factor impacting emerging markets amid the world
recession, International Monetary Fund said in its report focused on
the economic crisis in Armenia.

This factor reduced export of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Mongolia,
Belarus, Serbia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.

Besides, flows of money transfers and direct foreign investments to
these countries dwindled because of economic decline in Russia and
European countries.

These factors slowed down GDP growth or shrank GDP. ccording to the
IMF report, the fallen global demand for copper and molybdenum drove
copper prices about three times down and molybdenum even more.

As a result, Armenia’s export shrank 47% and direct outside investments
reduced by $250 million.

National Statistical Service of Armenia says Armenia’s foreign
investment inflow dwindled 39.4% in Jan-June 2009, compared with
the same period a year earlier, to $312.2 million (excluding those
loans extended by state-governing agencies and the banking sector),
and direct investments reduced 30.1% to $246.4 million.

The IMF says that money transfer flows to Armenia stopped growing,
and start dwindling instead – from +30% to -30%.

This hobbled construction in the country and affected housing market.

As a result, c onstruction shrank 30% and real estate prices went down.

According to the statistical reports, construction in Armenia totaled
177.9 billion in Jan-July 2009 after reducing 55.5%, compared with
same period of the previous year.

IMF specialists think that mortgage lending shortage didn’t play a
major part in it, since households’ investments in construction were
mainly financed by cash.

IFM experts stress that construction decline had a key part in GDP
reduction.

National Statistical Service of Armenia says the country faced
18.5% economic decline in Jan-July 2009, and GDP totaled AMD 1417.1
billion. ($1 = AMD 377.05).

IS TURKEY RENAMING ISTANBUL CONSTANTINOPLE?

Sept 9 2009
Turkey

Last month, Turkish President Abdullah Gul broke a long-standing
national taboo: He called the remote village of Guroymak by its
Kurdish name, Norshin.

The president’s opponents say renaming Istanbul Constantinople on
highway signs will inevitably follow. Or worse. For many Turks,
saying Norshin leads to saying Kurdistan, and saying Kurdistan leads
to recognizing an independent Kurdish state stretching across Iran,
Iraq, and southeastern Turkey.

After a 1980 military coup, Turkey "Turkified": It banned the
Kurdish language, imposed new Turkish place names, and famously
declared that Kurds were actually "mountain Turks." Its government
has since abandoned this extreme form of forced assimilation. But
allowing or using Kurdish names is still a politically charged act,
seen by many Turks as a concession to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(better known as the PKK), which has fought a brutal 25-year battle
for Kurdish independence.

The Turkish government wants to end the PKK’s terrorist campaign
without splitting off a Kurdish state — and sees extending cultural
rights and linguistic freedoms as the way to do it. But what will it
take to reconcile the Turks and the Kurds?

The verbal recognition of Kurds and Kurdish culture at the highest
political level is a first step, as Gul’s use of the name Norshin
demonstrates. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently brought
a number of parliamentarians to tears by saying that something is
terribly wrong when the mothers of Turkish soldiers and the mothers of
PKK fighters are saying the same prayers over their sons’ bodies. That
such a comparison can even be made is itself a sign of progress.

And there are concrete changes, too. Already, the government has
opened a Kurdish radio station and promoted Kurdish literature classes
at universities. In late July, Erdogan announced his government
was beginning a "Kurdish Initiative." He has not yet provided any
details. But most Turkish journalists expect the government to allow
public servants and politicians to speak Kurdish, end restrictions
on Kurdish media, give some form of amnesty to all but the highest
ranking PKK members, and possibly even revise the Constitution to allow
Kurds to be full Turkish citizens without giving up their Kurdish
identity. (Those Kurds who are proud to call themselves Turks have
always been accepted and often risen high in the ranks of politics
and pop culture)

These initiatives have met — and will meet — tremendous
push-back. Previous leaders have considered similar changes, such as
calling citizens "Turkiyeli" (from Turkey) rather than "Turkish,"
to emphasize citizenship over ethnic identity. But obstacles to
implementing such initiatives have been insurmountable. Already, the
two leading opposition parties have denounced Erdogan’s plan. Plus,
Turkey has a Constitutional Court with the power to strike down laws
that alter the country’s "unamendable" constitutional articles —
one of which declares that the national language is Turkish.

This time around, though, the government has the army, a long-time
rival, on its side. Realizing at last that the fight will never be
won through purely military means, Turkey’s leading general now
supports greater cultural freedom for Kurds and wants to make it
easier for PKK members to surrender. The National Security Council,
traditionally a vehicle for the military to "advise" the government
on political issues, also gave its blessing to the initiative.

Still, security and foreign-policy concerns complicate the
issue. Numerous Turks are convinced that the U.S. government — a
friend to politicians and generals, a foe to most everyone else —
is behind the Kurdish initiative. They presume that the United States
is desperate to ensure stability in northern Iraq as it prepares
to withdraw from the country. Thus, they claim, the United States,
after supporting the PKK for years, is now forcing Turkey to give in
to PKK demands in order to foster peace with the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG).

The conspiracy theory is only two parts crazy. The PKK is based in
the Kandil Mountains, in Kurdish Iraq. The United States, hesitant to
upset Iraq’s lone functioning region, has proven unwilling to take
decisive action against it. But such U.S. strategic intransigence
stokes anti-American sentiment in Turkey. Further, the KRG’s refusal
to prevent the PKK from launching attacks in Turkey has poisoned
relations between Ankara and Erbil.

But in the past year, for Turkish policymakers the KRG has increasingly
looked less like a threat than a potential ally. Turkish firms
have been doing billions of dollars worth of business with Iraqi
Kurds for some time now, in every field from construction to
telecommunications. Moreover, if chaos follows the U.S. withdrawal
from Iraq, a peaceful Kurdistan would help protect Turkey from the
spread of violence. On top of this, Turkey’s new foreign minister is
the architect of a regional policy awkwardly but succinctly rendered
in English as "zero problems with neighbors." In practice, this has
meant trying to mend fences with traditional rivals such as Greece,
Syria, Russia, and even Armenia.

Recent developments have also left the KRG eager to improve
relations with Turkey. The Kurds are increasingly concerned about
being left friendless in the region, as Arab-Kurdish tensions mount,
a confrontation over Kirkuk seems possible, and U.S. forces continue
to withdraw. As the chief of staff of the president of Iraqi Kurdistan
told the International Crisis Group, "If the Shiites choose Iran, and
the Sunnis choose the Arab world, then the Kurds will have to ally
themselves with Turkey." Economics figure in as well: The oil-rich
Iraqi Kurds export their oil though a pipeline that leads to the
Turkish port of Ceyhan.

But what does all this intricate politicking mean for Ankara and
the PKK?

The insurgent Kurdish group’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan,
continues to maintain a unilateral cease-fire and is no longer
demanding independence. But he has also made proposals that no Turkish
government would accept. For example, he has said Turks and Kurds
must recognize Turkey and Kurdistan as a "joint homeland," whatever
that means. He may also harbor dreams of transforming the PKK into
a legitimate political party, like Ireland’s Sinn Fein.

Even the most liberal Turkish politicians balk at any legitimization
of the PKK. But why would the group give up its guns if that meant
agreeing to disband? The United States could be one reason. As the
Pentagon considers sending troops to northern Iraq to stem an armed
Kurdish-Arab conflict, it could also pressure the KRG to crack down
on the PKK’s camps. In this scenario, PKK would have no safehaven in
Iraq or Turkey. Then, it might accept amnesty without any politicians
in Ankara having to appear to negotiate or concede too much.

Turkey is closer now than ever before to solving the problem that
has kept it estranged from the United States, the European Union,
and millions of its own citizens. Turkish politicians have started
speaking the right language. With luck, action will follow.

ELECTIONS PANEL HEARS SCHMIDT COMPLAINT
Stephen Major

The Associated Press
Sept 9 2009

COLUMBUS – The Turkish government covertly funneled campaign money
to an Ohio congresswoman in return for her denials that the mass
killings of Armenians during World War I constituted genocide, an
Armenian American and his high-powered attorney argued at a state
hearing Thursday, Sept. 3.

U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Republican, wants the Ohio Elections
Commission to find that David Krikorian violated election law when
he said in campaign materials during the 2008 campaign that she had
accepted "blood money" from the Turkish government in return for her
genocide denial.

After roughly seven hours of testimony Thursday, the commission ran
out of time and will resume the hearing in October.

The commission has the power to fine Krikorian, but the case could
end up in the formal court system.

Commission members repeatedly asked Krikorian’s attorneys to show
proof that Turkish interests had given $30,000 in campaign money to
Schmidt through legal campaign committees and lobbyists. It’s illegal
for foreign governments to contribute to U.S. politicians.

Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, whose past clients include the
late pop star Michael Jackson and actress Winona Ryder, took up the
case at Krikorian’s invitation. Geragos is also an Armenian-American.

The commission is first trying to establish whether it can be proved
that the Turkish government, or government-sponsored political action
committees, gave money to Schmidt. If the commission decides there is
no proof, it must then determine whether Krikorian made the statements
in a reckless disregard of the truth.

Schmidt and Krikorian, who plans to challenge her again in 2010,
were both questioned during Thursday’s proceedings. Schmidt said she
has not accepted money from the Turkish government, while Krikorian,
based on his own research and other publications, said he believed
Schmidt was taking Turkish government money through back channels in
return for her genocide denials.

"These statements are all false," said Schmidt attorney Donald
Brey. "She never took money from Turkish government-sponsored political
action committees."

Krikorian believes his assertions are protected political speech,
while Schmidt said he made a false campaign statement.

"I felt that these contributions were sponsored by the Turkish
government," Krikorian said. "I think it’s freedom of speech."

Geragos said he thought Krikorian had already proven that Schmidt had
received money from Turkish interests, but that at the next hearing
he would present evidence of a direct link.

Krikorian said Turkish interests, which he said are trying to fend
off a congressional resolution declaring the killings of Armenians
in 1915 as genocide, were trying to reward Schmidt for her public
position that she does not have enough information to make a decision.

Schmidt’s unwillingness to proclaim what many history scholars regard
as fact is also shared by the U.S. government. The U.S. foreign policy
establishment’s careful positioning on the issue is driven by the
importance of maintaining productive relations with a moderate ally
in the Middle East.

Turkey denies that the deaths an estimated 1.5 million Armenians
constituted genocide, contending the toll has been inflated and that
the casualties were victims of civil war. It says Turks also suffered
losses in the hands of Armenian gangs.

A portion of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt’s video deposition was
released to the media outlets on Thursday, Aug. 27. Schmidt was
deposed concerning her complaint with the Ohio Election Commission.

Here is part of that deposition:

Q. Okay. I’m going to give you something that’s been marked as Exhibit
A. That is an article from a newspaper called The Daily – I’m sorry,
"Today’s Zaman." Do you know what that is? What is "Today’s Zaman"?

A. (Perusing document.)

Q. Do you know what Today’s Zaman is Mrs. Schmidt?

A. May I please have time to read this, sir.

Q. Oh, I’m sorry. Yes. Sure.

(EXHIBIT A MARKED FOR IDENTIFICATION)

A. (Perusing document.)

Q. Okay. Mrs. Schmidt, what is Today’s Zaman?

A. I believe it’s a periodical in Turkey.

Q. Okay. It’s a – it’s a newspaper in Turkey. That would be your
understanding?

A. Periodical, newspaper, something that is read by Turkey’s citizens.

Q. Okay. And on June the 4th of this year you – you were published
in Today’s Zaman in Turkey; is that correct?

A. Yes.

Q. You wrote an editorial?

A. Yes.

Q. And that was to coincide with President Obama’s visit to that
country; is that correct?

A. Well, it coincided with his visit, yes.

Q. That wasn’t the purpose of it to coincide?

A. No. It wasn’t the purpose but it did coincide.

Q. Did you write this editorial?

A. Yes.

Q. You did? These are your words?

A. Yes.

Q. Did anyone else help you to write it?

A. I had it edited by my chief of staff.

Q. And did any outside persons, such as Mr. Fein or anyone else,
help to write this?

A. No.

Q. You had it edited, but the original draft came off of your word
processor or pen; is that right?

A. Well, I don’t use a word processor.

Q. Okay. So the original draft was a handwritten version from you?

A. Actually, it was an oral version to my chief of staff.

Q. You dictated this to him?

A. The ideas of it, yes.

Q. Okay. And in this you talk about the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
right?

A. Where are you putting this in here so I know what you’re referring
to.

Q. Well, we could start with the bold headline that says: "US Congress
should not debate the Armenian genocide resolution."

A. Okay.

Q. Were those your words or was that something the daily Zaman added?

A. That I’m not sure of.

Q. Okay. Now, in the – in the very last paragraph of that it says,
"What happened in 1915 must never be forgotten." Do you see that?

A. Yes.

Q. What – what are you referring to that happened in 1915 that must
never be forgotten? –

A. Well, there obviously was an incident that happened in 1915.

Q. And what was that incident?

A. Well, there was something that went on in Turkey that involved
Turks and Armenians.

Q. Okay. And what is it that you remember about or that you know or
have an understanding of about those events?

A. Well, I don’t remember them because I wasn’t there.

Q. Right.

A. And I’m still trying to have a complete understanding of those
events.

Q. I understand that. But you told all the people of Turkey that we
shouldn’t forget these events. I’m asking you: What is it that we’re
supposed to remember?

A. Well we shouldn’t forget the past.

Q. And what is it about the events of 1915 that we’re supposed to
remember.

A. When I become a scholar of this, I’ll let you know.

Q. Okay. But when you wrote this on June the 4th of 2009, you had no
understanding at all of what happened in Turkey in 1915; is that right?

A. I said I had limited understanding.

Q. Okay. And I’ve asked you four times this morning to tell us what
that limited understanding is, and you’ve told me nothing.

Q. Events happened. And what were those events?

A. People got killed on both sides. How many people? I don’t know.

Q. And that’s your total sum and substance of your understanding of
that event?

A. That’s about the basic understanding, yes.

The News Democrat contributed to this story.

ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN: APPOINTMENT OF U.S. OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR

US Fed News
September 8, 2009 Tuesday 9:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 — The U.S. Department of State’s Under Secretary
for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs issued the following press
release:

The Secretary is pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador
Robert Bradtke as the next U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair. Ambassador
Bradtke brings to this position more than thirty-six years of Foreign
Service experience and extensive expertise in European security
policy. In July of this year, he completed a three year assignment as
Chief of Mission at American Embassy Zagreb, Croatia. Prior to that,
he served from 2001 to 2004 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs, with responsibility for NATO and
the OSCE.

The United States understands the critical importance of achieving
a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We welcome
recent positive dialogues between President Sargsian of Armenia and
President Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Secretary Clinton has indicated to
the two presidents her strong interest in the Minsk Group’s ongoing
efforts to bring the process to a fruitful conclusion, and the Obama
Administration is committed to doing everything possible to support
this goal.

We have informed the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan of
Ambassador Bradtke’s appointment. Ambassador Bradtke looks forward
to his first trip to the region in the coming weeks.

ROBERT BRADTKE APPOINTED U.S. CO-CHAIR OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

armradio.am
08.09.2009 10:52

Robert Bradtke, former Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy to Croatia,
has been appointed the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

According to the U.S. State Department, Bradtke completed his
three-year assignment in Zagreb in July and has a huge experience of
diplomatic work, as well as possessing extensive knowledge of European
security policy.

"The United States understands the critical importance of achieving
a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We welcome
recent positive dialogues between President Sargsyan of Armenia and
President Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Secretary Clinton has indicated to
the two presidents her strong interest in the Minsk Group’s ongoing
efforts to bring the process to a fruitful conclusion, and the Obama
Administration is committed to doing everything possible to support
this goal.

We have informed the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan of
Ambassador Bradtke’s appointment. Ambassador Bradtke looks forward to
his first trip to the region in the coming weeks," State Department
Spokesman Ian Kelly declared.

ICG: KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO INTENSIFY

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Sept 8 2009
Armenia

I suppose in the near months Karabakh conflict settlement will
be intensified in connection with Armenian-Turkish relations’
normalization, Sabine Freizer, International Crisis Group Europe
Program Director told 1news.az.

Sabine Freizer expressed hope that Karabakh conflict settlement will
progress together with improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations. By
the end of the month International Crisis Group will produce report
on Karabakh.

The expert found difficulty in replying on Armenia’s possible
participation in Nabucco project, saying: "It is too early to speak
of Armenia’s involvement in the project."

OPENING OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER TO STRENGTHEN PEACE – MINISTER

Interfax
Sept 7 2009
Russia

The opening of the Turkish-Armenian border will strengthen peace
in the Caucasus, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in
Georgia on Monday.

The Armenian and Turkish foreign ministries confirmed last week that
they were discussing the possible opening of the border, which was
closed in the early 1990s over the Armenian-Azeri conflict.

"This is the question of not only Turkey-Armenia relations but also
of the solution of regional problems," Davutoglu told a Monday press
briefing in Tbilisi he shared with Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol
Vashadze.

"We wish the resolution of all frozen conflicts in the Caucasus and
the establishment of regional peace," Davutoglu said.

MEETING THE ARMENIAN MARGARET THATCHER

Iain Dale’s Diary
September 7, 2009 Monday 3:04 PM EST

Having only had four hours sleep, today got a bit of getting
through. Eyelids were drooping at one stage. This morning was
spent in meetings with the British Council here in Yerevan and then
meeting the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale (pic)
at the embassy. We then had lunch in a French restaurant where we
were serenaded loudly by some very loud French music. Watching my
travel companion Aisling from the John Smith Memorial Trust eat her
salmon steak to the strains of Je T’Aime was a delight indeed. During
the afternoon we made our presentation to thirty or forty possible
candidates for a JSMT Fellowship, encouraging them to apply to come
to Britain next summer for five weeks. Find out about the fellowship
programme HERE. The room we were presenting in felt like a sauna as
the air conditioning had failed. But the potential Fellows seemed
impressed by what we had to tell them.

This evening we attended a reception at the Ambassador’s residence
related to the EU Skills initiative. It turned into a highly
entertaining evening firstly because the Ambassador took a shine to
my tie – clearly a man of taste.

I then had the pleasure of having an uproarious chat with the
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, a lady called Karine Ghazinyan
(pic). She’s only been in the job six months, having previously been
Armenian Ambassador to Rumania and Germany. Armenian Ministers are not
politicians – they are appointees by the Prime Minister. She was the
most untypical diplomat I have ever met – a real Margaret Thatcher
in the making if ever I saw one. She also had a good line in jokes
from the Soviet era…

Both the American and Soviet constitutions guaranteed freedom of
speech. The difference was that the American constitution guaranteed
freedom after the speech.

Boom boom. And… Damn, I can’t remember the other one.

Tomorrow I have three TV interviews to do, and in the morning I am
visiting the genocide museum and then going on a trip outside the
capital. And back to London on Wednesday morning. I wish we were here
longer. There’s a lot to see and because of all the meetings we’ll
barely scratch the surface. I won’t make that mistake again.

"Most important is to feel Armenian spirit in Homeland," Argentine
Armenian young man Nikolas Ohannesian says

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN- ARMENIANS TODAY. Players of Buenos
Aires football team which is the participant of Football Tournament of
Pan-Armenian Games Eghia Arslanian, Kristian Ekizian, Nikolas
Ohannesian, Lukas Baghdasarian and Santiago Panosian, father of the
latter, doctor of the team Alberto Panosian and Roz Mary Dangasian, the
director of Pan-Armenian Games’ organizational department of Buenos
Aires were hosted by RA Ministry of Diaspora’s Department of Armenian
Communities of America the other day.

In the conversation with the guests it turned out that only S. Panosian
was in Armenia for the first time. He is sure that he will come to his
Homeland again as the impressions that he has got were positive. And
even the thousands of kilometres between Armenia and Argentina can not
be obstacles for returning to Armenia.

The doctor of the team noted that though Santiago has a lot of Armenian
friends their family has just begun to take part in the life of the
Armenian community of Buenos Aires. A. Panosian added that he is glad
to be in Armenia, where his grandfather or mother have not had an
opportunity to be. Santiago agreed with above mentioned Department’s
Director of the Subdivision of North America Gayane Dabaghian who said
that the Argentine Armenian young man came to Armenia feeling his
Armenian roots and with the call of blood.

The Argentine Armenian young people noted that Armenia is progressing
quickly and Yerevan has become a European city. According to N.
Ohannesian, nevertheless, the modern buildings are not the most
important thing, but it is important "to feel Armenian spirit in the
Homeland."

R.M. Dangasian said that the main part of the members of the Buenos
Aires team have played football together since childhood. He also
cleared up that different sporting groups function at the Armenian
schools of Argentina and the Armenian General Athletic Union holds
games between these schools every year.

The Argentine Armenian young people told that balls, evening parties
and other events are recurrently held in the Armenian community of
Buenos Aires.

The Director of the above mentioned Department invited the Argentine
Armenian young people to take part in the 2010 Come Home program of the
RA Ministry of Diaspora which will give them an opportunity to see the
sights of Armenia, to further get acquainted with the Armenian culture
and history, to gain Armenian and Diasporan Armenian friends and so to
become a "bridge" between Armenia, Armenians of Argentina and other
communities of Diaspora. He also said that the RA Ministry of Diaspora
implements a Program of Assistance to Educational-Cultural Problems of
South (Latin) America’s Armenian Communities which has been affirmed by
the RA government.