Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

SUPERPOWERS’ PASSIVENESS ON KARABAKH ISSUE LEAVES NO HOPE FOR PROGRESS IN 2010

news.az
Jan 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Eugeni Volk I think there should not be any special expectations
in terms of stabilization of the situation in the region for 2010,
Eugeni Volk said.

The absence of a great interest of the leading countries of the
world in the Karabakh conflict settlement does not leave hopes for
a significant progress in the conflict settlement in 2010, considers
Eugeni Volk, political scientist and head of The Heritage Foundation
(US) in Moscow.

"I think there should not be any special expectations in terms of
stabilization of the situation in the region for 2010 as it is obvious
that the situation remains complicated, the positions of the parties
still differ and I do not see any deep interest of the conflict parties
and external powers, primarily, I mean Russia, US and NATO", he told.

In addition, there are many other focuses of tensions and armed
conflicts around this region that draw attention of the superpowers,
Volk said. "In this sense the attention to the conflict around Nagorno
Karabakh is, certainly, less strong than it could have been.

Therefore, I do not think any tensions will rise in this region. I
also do not think there can be any breakthrough in direction of
stabilization and resolution", the expert concluded.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEARING TOMORROW

Tert.am
17:27 ~U 11.01.10

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia has 9 members who
make decisions or arrive at conclusions in closed-door consultations.

Court hearings can also be held behind closed doors, if the court
so chooses; however tomorrow’s discussion on the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols will be open to the public.

The speaker of tomorrow’s session will be Vladimir Hovhannisyan. If
no alternate decision is made at the start of tomorrow’s hearing,
then the session will continue according to written procedure.

As a representative of the president of the Republic of Armenia,
RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian will participate in
the session.

The issue of the protocols will be decided upon by a majority vote
of Constitutional Court members.

Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an: Turkey will not agree on `half-membership’
10.01.2010 18:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey is ready to assume full EU membership, yet
will not agree on `half-membership’ only, said Turkish Premier Recep
Tayyip ErdoÄ?an .

`In case of joining the EU, Ankara will not turn into a burden, but
will rather assume it. Yet, should EU set new conditions or offer
restricted membership, we’ll refuse from joining the European family.
We fulfilled agreement terms, it’s now time for EU to meet its
obligations,’ he stated.

At the same time, the Premier expressed his support for Turkey’s
assuming EU membership, Radio Svoboda reported.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
have publicly expressed their opposition to the EU’s enlargement to
include Turkey, offering "a privileged partnership" instead of full
membership.

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27
member states, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional
integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1
November 1993 upon the foundations of the European Economic Community.

Turkey’s application to accede to the European Union (previously the
European Communities) was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an
associate member of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since
1963. After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first
countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949, and was
also a founding member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) in 1961 and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1973. The country has also been an
associate member of the Western European Union since 1992, and is a
part of the "Western Europe" branch of the Western European and Others
Group (WEOG) at the United Nations. Turkey signed a Customs Union
agreement with the EU in 1995 and was officially recognized as a
candidate for full membership on 12 December 1999, at the Helsinki
summit of the European Council. Negotiations were started on 3 October
2005, and the process, should it be in Turkey’s favor, is likely to
take at least a decade to complete. The membership bid has become a
major controversy of the ongoing enlargement of the European Union.

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 8 2010

Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu: Yet another crypto-Armenian?

Friday, January 8, 2010
Mustafa AKYOL

Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu, the former academic who has been mastering Turkish
foreign policy since 2003, is a remarkable man. First as an adviser to
the prime minister, and recently as foreign minister, he really
transformed the way Ankara does business in the world. His strategies
of `zero problems with neighbors,’ `pro-active engagement,’ or
`multi-lateral foreign policy’ made Turkey a much more influential
actor in its region. You might like or dislike the results of this new
paradigm, but it would be only fair to acknowledge the depth and
creativity of its vision.

Yet some opposition figures in Turkey have a simpler way of explaining
why Mr. DavutoÄ?lu is such a revolutionary man. One of them is Ensar
Ã-Ä?üt, a member of Parliament. He is also a member of the Republican
People’s Party, or CHP, the bastion of `Kemalism,’ the ideology that
comes from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

The trouble with impure blood

A few weeks ago, Mr. Ã-Ä?üt gave a press conference, in which he angrily
bashed Mr. DavutoÄ?lu for not being nationalist enough. He first showed
a map aired on an American TV program and which defined eastern Turkey
as `Kurdistan.’ Then he asked why in the world the foreign ministry
doesn’t protest this heinous conspiracy against Turkey. He then
personally called on Mr. DavutoÄ?lu:

`What do you, man, as Turkey’s foreign minister? What do you really
do? What is your surname, DavutoÄ?lu or Davutyan? Are you really
Turkish? Why then do you not protest?’

Now, for those who are not well-versed in the linguistic intricacies
here, let me explain: The suffixes `oÄ?lu’ and `yan’ both mean `the son
of.’ But the first one is in Turkish, while the latter is in Armenian.
So, asking whether DavutoÄ?lu is actually `Davutyan’ implies that he is
a crypto-Armenian. (And being an Armenian, apparently, is a very bad
thing in the eyes of Mr. Ã-Ä?üt.)

If he were the only Kemalist with this attitude, I wouldn’t worry that
much. But, alas, the paranoia about Turks-who-are-not-real-Turks is a
popular Kemalist theme. About a year ago, Canan Arıtman, another CHP
deputy, had made headlines by claiming that President Abdullah Gül was
a `secret Armenian.’ Otherwise, she claimed, why would the president
be so friendly to Armenia?

Armenians are not the only scapegoats, though. Two years ago, a
die-hard Kemalist author, Ergun Poyraz, produced a series of
`investigative’ books claiming that Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and
other prominent names in the `Islamist’ Justice and Development Party,
or AKP, were actually crypto-Jews conspiring against Atatürk’s
Republic hand in hand with the `elders of Zion.’ The books remained
bestsellers for months, giving us a clue about the popularity of
insanity in this country.

Besides the AKP folks, many liberal intellectuals as well have been
accused by the Kemalists of being `kanı bozuk,’ which literally means,
`whose blood is impure.’ I see similar suspicions raised against
myself, too, in some of the comments that come to the Hürriyet Daily
News & Economic Review. A few commentators openly argued that I
couldn’t be `a real Turk,’ for that I fail to properly acknowledge the
spotless wisdom of Atatürk, `the father of all Turks.’

But, alas, where does this obsession with ethnicity and `purity of
blood’ come from?

Well, one answer can be found in the teachings of none other than the
father of all Turks. He has a famous `Address to the Youth,’ which
every school child in Turkey is made to not just memorize, but also
internalize during the 11-year-long `national education.’ In it,
Atatürk warns his young followers against the `enemies within and
without,’ and orders them to fight relentlessly to save the Republic
from these bad people. In the very final line, he proclaims this gem:

`The power you need exists in the noble blood in your veins!’

This implies two things:

1) The followers of Atatürk, the `Turkish Youth,’ have a special
bodily fluid (a `noble blood’) that gives them some special power.

2) The `enemies within’ lack the same blood, and that is one reason
why they `combine their personal interests with the political
ambitions of the occupiers,’ as the "Address to the Youth" also nicely
explains.

Please don’t address the youth

Like every other Turkish child, I grew up by reading the `Address to
the Youth’ in every textbook, seeing it on every school wall, and
reciting it out loud on every national day. I just had to grow up a
little more to realize that all this brainwashing was a part of a
totalitarian agenda to make every Turk a Kemalist. If you fail to be a
Kemalist, the same discourse defines you as an `internal enemy’ whose
blood is not of the noble one that only Turks have. You must be
Armenian, Jewish, Kurdish, Circassian, or something ` but not a Turk.

This archaic ideology, this relic from the ’30s, can’t help modern
Turkey, if it really wants to become a democratic country. Kemalism,
of course, has the right to be an ideology among other ideologies, and
compete with them within the rules of the democratic game. But it does
not have the right to remain as the official doctrine and impose
itself on every citizen.

One good step towards democratization would be to remove the `Address
to the Youth’ from textbooks and schools. The `Youth’ have learnt more
than enough about the `noble blood’ in Turkish veins. What it really
needs to learn is democratic values such as tolerance and respect to
different thoughts, faiths and identities.

p?n=ahmet-davutoglu-yet-another-crypto-armenian-20 10-01-08

news.az, Azerbaijan
Jan 7 2010

Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship not to promote Karabakh settlement
Thu 07 January 2010 | 10:40 GMT Text size:

Araz Alizade News.Az interviews Araz Alizade, co-chair of the
Social-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

As is known, this year Kazakhstan has become chairman in the OSCE. Is
progress in the Karabakh settlement possible during Kazakhstan’s
chairmanship?

OSCE will be able to settle the Nagorno Karabakh problem if a country
chairing there is ready to fight in Azerbaijan’s place. The settlement
of the Karabakh conflict is possible when Azerbaijani decides to
return its lands by way of war.

Can Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev play an active role in
the Karabakh conflict settlement like he did once in the early 90’s
when he visited this region with the then Russian President Boris
Yeltsin?

Nazarbayev is a very wise and cautious politician. And unless stronger
states want to assist Azerbaijan in this issue, Nazarbayev will not do
anything. I would like to remind that within the framework of the
peacekeeping mission Nazarbayev along with the then Russian President
Yeltsin visited Baku, Ganja, Khankendi and Yerevan. At that time,
there were negotiations in Zheleznovodsk and I attended those
negotiations. We were presented a document that was almost an act on
capitulation. The then president of Azerbaijan Mutalibov was in a hard
state: to reject this document at once would mean to obtain the second
enemy in the face of Nazarbayev. Then I suggested to Mutalibov to
accept the document and offer them to persuade the representatives of
opposition and the Azerbaijani delegation including me from the
Social-Democratic Party and Tamerlan Garayev from the Popular Front
that this document is useful. Mutalibov followed this advise saying:
`I am ready to sign any document but we have a strong opposition, try
to persuade it too’. Yeltsin who was expected by a delegation headed
by Italian Prime Minister Julio Andreotti was in bewilderment. Then I
suggested Yeltsin going to Moscow and then returning to continue the
negotiations. Yeltsin thought for a minute and then said: `Oh, to hell
with Andreotti!’. And he stayed to continue the negotiations which
lasted until 1:00 at night. We have changed the document in our favor.
In the beginning of the negotiations representatives of the Nagorno
Karabakh separatist regime sat on the side of the Armenian delegation
while later they sat on our side of the table. Nazarbayev was acting
cautiously not interfering with anything. But in fact he has always
supported us.

By the way, Nazarbayev also spoke for the settlement of this conflict
within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Do
you think this position will change in period of Kazakhstan’s
chairmanship in the OSCE?

I would like to repeat that Nazarbayev will follow a decision that
will be made by the superpowers. As for my personal opinion, I think
there is no alternative to war. This unhappy bandit Sargsyan can be
understood. In the years of war he was one of the field commanders and
terrorists. In fact, his place is in the prisoner’s box as a citizen
of Azerbaijan who must be sentenced to life-long imprisonment under
our laws. Imagine him as an Armenian president saying: `We should
return Karabakh to Azerbaijan peacefully’. He will be cut into
thousands of small Serzh Sargsyan’s for these words.

The OSCE member-states have supported Nazarbayev’s initiative about
holding the summit of this organization in Astana. Can this high level
meeting promote progress in the Karabakh settlement?

There will be no progress unless everyone, including Armenia, feels
that Azerbaijan may settle the issue by way of war. OSCE is just a
consultative body while the issue of Karabakh will be settled within a
very small circle. The paradox is that the United States, Russia and
France where Armenian lobby is very strong are co-chairing the OSCE
Minsk Group. Thus, sink or swim!

Leyla Tagiyeva
News.Az

Science Letter
January 5, 2010

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY;
Data from T.S. Kurtikyan and colleagues advance knowledge in inorganic
chemistry

"Spectroscopic studies demonstrate that the 5-coordinate O-nitrito
complexes Fe(Por)(eta(1)-ONO) (Por – mesotetraphenyl- or
meso-tetra-p-tolyl-porphyrinato dianions) react with the thioethers
(R2S) dimethylsulfide and tetrahydrothiophene to give the 6-coordinate
N-nitrito complexes Fe(Por)(R2S)(NO2). These reactions were conducted
in low-temperature porous layered solids formed in a cryostat;
however, with excess R2S in the atmosphere, the same species are
moderately stable at room temperature," researchers in Yerevan,
Armenia report (see also Inorganic Chemistry).

"Six-coordinate O-nitrito isomers were not observed with the R2S
proximal ligands, even though DFT calculations for the
Fe(P)(DMS)(eta(1)-ONO) and Fe(P)(DMS)(NO2) models (P=porphinato
dianion, DMS=dimethyl sulfide) show the latter to be only modestly
lower energy (similar to 8 kJ/mol) than the former. Leaving this
system at room temperature in the presence of excess R2S leads
eventually to the appearance in the FIR spectra of the nu(NO) band
characteristic of the ferrous nitrosyl Fe(Por)(NO)," wrote T.S.
Kurtikyan and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "Concomitantly, the mass spectrum of the
gas phase demonstrated the molecular peaks of the sulfoxides R2SO,
indicating oxygen atom transfer reactivity for the ferric porphryinato
complexes of nitrite."

Kurtikyan and colleagues published their study in Inorganic Chemistry
(Six-Coordinate Nitro Complexes of Iron(III) Porphyrins with trans
S-Donor Ligands. Oxo-Transfer Reactivity in the Solid State. Inorganic
Chemistry, 2009;48(23):11236-11241).

For additional information, contact T.S. Kurtikyan, MSRC NAS, Yerevan
0014, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Inorganic Chemistry is:
American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036,
USA.

Earthtimes (press release)
Jan 5 2010

"The Legend of Akhtamar" Opens Internationally

Posted : Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:00:52 GMT
Author : Amsterdam Worldwide

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS — 01/05/10 — International communications
agency, Amsterdam Worldwide () proudly
presents The Legend of Akhtamar – a groundbreaking film created for
drinks giant Pernod Ricard to re-launch an Armenian institution:
Ararat brandy.

The movie, which launches this week, takes its inspiration from
Ararat’s Eastern cultural heritage, and is the first in a series of
re-crafted classic Armenian tales to be brought to life by Amsterdam
Worldwide.

"The Legend of Akhtamar" is a modern reworking of a traditional
Armenian love story and features a young Muscovite who travels to meet
his girlfriend. During his journey he encounters a mysterious taxi
driver who senses his fare’s troubled state of mind and recounts the
dark legend of Akhtamar.

The talented cast includes Armenian-born actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan,
regarded as the Sean Connery of Russian cinema; Ravshana Kurkova,
winner of Best Actress at the International Film Festival of the CIS;
and former Bolshoi Theatre pupil, Grigory Dobrygin.

Directed by the award-winning Shammasian Brothers, the film’s score
was devised by acclaimed movie music composer, Stephen Hilton, whose
credits include Ocean’s 11 and Quantum of Solace. World-renowned
photographer Erwin Olaf shot the advertisements, which perfectly
showcase the natural beauty of Armenia.

Brian Elliott, founder and chief executive of Amsterdam Worldwide,
said: "Ararat is a household name in the former Soviet Union and a
legendary Armenian brand, but one that needed updating. Ararat’s
parent company, Pernod Ricard, wanted to associate the brand’s
authenticity with a more sophisticated and contemporary image.

"’The Legend of Akhtamar’ uniquely captures the dramatic power of
long-form film. It’s not a traditional commercial. Authentic stories
underpin a brand like Ararat. Staying true to its heritage is
important both culturally and strategically. The fact the product is
unseen in the film is not accidental as consumers more than ever,
trust and invest in authentic brands that invest in culture."

The film is part of a global campaign targeting Russians, Armenians
and Eastern European expat communities across the World. It is
supported by a print, outdoor, blogger and social media campaign.
Visitors can learn about Armenian legends at

Contacts:
Renegade Media
Dave Barton
+44 (0)1452 760147
[email protected]

Renegade Media
Sophie Cooper
+44 (0)1452 760147 or +44 (0)7912 570367
[email protected]

http://www.e arthtimes.org/articles/show/the-legend-of-akhtamar -opens-internationally,1106252.shtml

Los Angeles Times, CA
Dec 30 2009

California’s Rep. George Radanovich to step down

The Central Valley Republican says he wants to spend more time with
his wife, who is battling ovarian cancer. He asks state Sen. Jeff
Denham (R-Atwater) to run to replace him.

By Jean Merl
December 30, 2009

Central Valley Rep. George Radanovich announced Tuesday that he is
stepping down from his strongly Republican district seat next year and
has asked state Sen. Jeff Denham, a fellow conservative Republican, to
run to replace him.

Radanovich, a 15-year veteran of Congress from Mariposa, said in
statement that he wants to spend more time with his wife, Ethie, who
is battling ovarian cancer; and his son.

"My family needs me, and I intend to be by their side to win this
battle," Radanovich said. "It is for this reason that I have decided
to not seek reelection to Congress in 2010."

Radanovich also said he discussed the situation with several of his
"most trusted advisors and colleagues," including Rep. David Dreier
(R-San Dimas) and state Sen. David Cogdill (R-Modesto) and that he had
"reached out" to Denham.

Denham, of the Central Valley town of Atwater, has termed-out in the
Senate. He recently decided against running for California lieutenant
governor next year after the governor appointed state Sen. Abel
Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) to the vacant post. Denham had considered a
state Assembly seat before Radanovich persuaded him to run for
Congress. Several other Republicans were thought to be interested in
seeking Radanovich’s seat, but it was unclear how their plans might be
affected by the congressman’s all-out support of Denham.

Radanovich is perhaps best known among Californians for leading
efforts to pass a congressional resolution acknowledging a World War
I-era genocide of Armenians. A member of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee, he also once owned a California winery.

Radanovich promised to conclude his tenure by continuing "to fight to
unite our valley in helping us get the water we need to save our
state’s No. 1 industry — agriculture."

president.am, Armenia
Dec 30 2009

President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the New Year reception of the
Central Bank

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the New Year reception
of the Central Bank.

Summarizing activities and achievements of the banking area in 2009,
the Chairman of the Central Bank Arthur Javadian said that in
economy-wise year 2009 was full of challenges and controversies. `It
revealed strong as well as weak sides of our economy, steps that need
to be taken and achievements.’

`Overall, the Government and the Central Bank have been able to
correctly assess the advantages and disadvantages of the Armenian
economy, possible threats and probable repercussions of the crisis,
which allowed to emerge with minimal losses.

`The crisis is not over yet, we have plenty to do in 2010, but I am
confident that working together and efficiently we will be able to
overcome difficulties,’ said the Chairman of the Central Bank.

TURKISH ATTITUDE CHANGED RAPIDLY IN 2009

Hurriyet
Dec 28 2009
Turkey

This week I will share with you events that drew our attention in
2009. Foremost there are developments in international politics.

>From time to time we need to look back and compare those developments
to new ones. Then we can better judge whether they were advantageous
or harmful.

For this reason today I will take you back to old days and compare
the old days to the present.

What kind of different attitudes were taken in Turkish foreign politics
for over 40 years? What kinds of reactions were given to different
crises? What kind of position did we take in international issues? What
did we do in external politics and crises in which we were involved?

What types of reactions did we show?

We did whatever Washington said

Let’s first look at international issues.

In the 1970 and 80s, to some extent in the 90s regarding applications
in international politics Turkey would keep an eye out for Washington.

The Cold War split the world in two, the good (Western camp) and the
bad (the communist bloc). Whatever they’d do they’d oppose, whatever
we’d do they’d applaud.

To tell the truth things were much easier and simpler back then.

International crises were not too much of a concern of Ankara. It would
wait for a sign of the camp leader Washington and act accordingly.

Ankara’s tranquility was for the first time disturbed by Cyprus
in 1974.

Turkey for the first time sent its soldiers abroad and, more
importantly, for the first time it was at variance with the general
attitude of its camp. It got punished by camp leader United States
and, again for the first time, Turkey entered a period in which it
was supposed to make up its own international politics. From now on
it would be at variance with the Western world.

Ankara in order to balance out contradictions in the Cyprus issues
it took many precautions not to be at variance with Washington and
Brussels.

It did neither pay attention to Palestine nor to regional issues nor
to issues of other Muslim countries. Turkey was only interested in
Cyprus. Everything was evolving around this issue of a vicious cycle.

For the first time joy of force

This situation has changed since the 90s.

The fall of the wall, the falling apart of the Soviet Empire, thus
the end of the Cold War made things worse. To be correct, now in
international politics Turkey was on its own.

It was exactly then when a different Turkey emerged.

After using armed forces in Cyprus and claiming an important part of
the island, after the ASALA terror organization raised the Armenian
issue and on top of that when the PKK again violently brought up the
Kurdish issue, Turkey trusted to employ its weapon force whenever
necessary and became a country that believed as its military became
stronger it could make others accept its request the better.

Until the 2000s, Turkey seemed to only solve its domestic problems,
and issues with regional countries like Cyprus, Greece, Syria,
Armenia and Iraq with force of weapons.

Military to Athens and soldiers to Damascus

Whenever there is tension or reaction from Greece you’ll always hear
the same slogan: Military to Athens…

The interesting thing about it is that the military would always
seem glad and pass the ball to the politicians by saying "We’d go
immediately if we are given orders. We are at your service!"

As the crisis deepens ships would patrol the Aegean and tankers would
be dispatched to Thrace.

After a while everybody would return to their quarters and homes.

The same scenario would apply to Syria and Iraq.

The PKK and water are the issues that caused crises with these
two countries and during each big crisis the streets would echo
with slogans like "Soldiers to Damascus… Put Saddam in his
place…" Nobody would know whether or not the TSK could perform the
task and neither politicians nor the military would talk about the
consequences of this endeavor.

An interesting game would be played and people became accustomed to
believing crises can be solved with weapons.

Today the reverse attitude is true

Presently the general attitude and methods for solving crises have
completely changed.

Of course the international environment has changed as well. Presently
force is not that much used. The international balance is different.

But despite all, Ankara’s attitude toward its domestic and
international problems is very different.

Now there are no more fights, no escalation of crises and no weapon
force. On the contrary there is dialogue and an effort to understand
each other.

The most important thing is that Ankara does not threaten anyone
any more.

Now the international and regional forces are facing a Turkey with
a healthier attitude.