Author: Tigranian Ani

DAVUTOGLU SAYS ARTICLE 301 IS NOT IN USE , AND THE KARABAGH SETTLEMENT SHOULD NOT BE NAMED PRECONDITION
Tatevik Grigorian

Noyan Tapan
Jan 21, 2010

LONDON, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On January 12 I
had the opportunity to attend a talk by Turkey’s Foreign Minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu. In a lecture at King’s college in London entitled
"Converging Interests of Turkey & the UK in an Enlarged EU & Beyond",
Dr. Davutoglu spoke about the special relationship between Turkey
and Britain which seems to thrive even more as Turkey became a
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Dr. Davutoglu
stated that Turkey had taken it upon itself to act as a mediator in
restoring peace in the Middle East. Then he went on to discuss Turkey’s
potential membership in the European Union and thanked Britain for its
support. Dr. Davutoglu addressed a number of issues Turkey currently
faces in relation to its EU accession, among those the Cyprus issue
and the newly established relationship with Armenia. The minister
assured his audience that in the past seven years Turkey had greatly
improved its relations with all its neighbours; it had abolished the
visa regime with eight of its neighbours, it offered new proposals
for resolving the Cyprus question and it had signed protocols with
Armenia to normalise relations.

But I would like to tell you a thought that wouldn’t leave me
during the talk. Dr. Davutoglu remembered the years when he was a
professor at a university in Malaysia. Perhaps to draw an analogy
between his experience at the university and EU’s scepticism in
relation to Turkey’s accession to EU as the only Muslim country,
Dr. Davutoglu stated that when he first entered the class and saw how
multinational was the class where he was to teach, he could not believe
the textbooks he was to use to teach them. The philosophy textbooks
only mentioned Socrates, Plato, Hegel, Kant… not a single Indian
or Chinese name. The same story for history textbooks. Dr. Davutoglu
expressed his disappointment and anger at the Eurocentric approach
and simply could not comprehend how it could be that in a country
where these people had their own history, their own legacy, none of
it was mentioned in the textbooks. I could not help but smile as I
remembered the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire that never get
mentioned in Turkish textbooks.

While in me this personal encounter by Dr. Davutoglu left a very bitter
smile, I guess the purpose of sharing this with us was to suggest that
the times of European domination were over and Europe should not be
scared of welcoming a country that doesn’t have Christian background;
after all EU was not a Christian institution.

At the end of the lecture very limited time was left for the question
and answer session. Only three questions managed to be voiced, among
them two by me. My first question was whether the Turkish Parliament
was prepared to ratify the protocols signed with Armenia without any
preconditions and thus honour the original agreement; in my second
question I asked Dr. Davutoglu whether he believed that Turkey was
ready to join the EU and uphold the same standard of human rights,
such as the right to freedom of expression, when Article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code simply made this impossible. Certain topics were
still taboo in Turkey and even the nobel prize author Orhan Pamuk
got himself in trouble for vaguely mentioning the Armenian Genocide
in an interview. Would Turkey abolish Article 301?

Before answering my questions Dr. Davutoglu laughed nervously and moved
on to answering them. Beginning with the second question first, the
minister gently mocked me by saying that I should update my knowledge
as I was unaware that Article 301 was no longer in use since three
years ago and that Orhan Pamuk’s case was never finalised.

Implying that Article 301 had been abolished, the minister brushed
off the question, moving on to the other.

In fact he was right to state that Orhan Pamuk’s case was dropped in
the end, it is not true that Article 301 has been abolished. It is
in use, but with amendments since April 30, 2008, which lower the
maximum sentence from three years imprisonment to two; require the
approval of the Minister of Justice, replace insulting Turkishness
with Turkish nation, and other minor changes. But my question was
not whether Aritcle 301 was amended or whether it was no longer as
harsh as it used to be. I asked directly, whether Turkey would ever
abolish it in its entirety. It’s the fact remains that Article 301
continues to be included in the Turkish Penal Code, yet the Minister
suggested that it didn’t.

In response to my first question, Dr. Davutoglu emphasised that what
Armenia called preconditions were not in fact preconditions and should
not be viewed that way. He explained that in order for peace to be
sustainable in South Caucasus, it was simply impossible to improve
relations with Armenia before Armenia returned righteously Azeri
land to Azerbaijans’. He stated that 20% of Azeri land was under
Armenian military control so how could there be talks of normalised
relations if this was still the case? How could he possibly persuade
his parliament members in the Parliament to ratify the protocols
under these conditions?

One wonders why then before signing the protocols Turkey did not voice
the settlement of the Karabagh issue as a precondition for ratifying
the protocols later. Dr. Davutoglu concluded his speech saying that
he dreamt that one day one could safely drive all the way from Baku
through Karabagh, Yerevan, Nakhichevan, down to Kars. He assured the
audience that one day this would happen only not under the present
conditions. He concluded:" Let’s not call these preconditions".

NORTH CAUCASUS FEDERAL DISTRICT ESTABLISHED IN RUSSIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 11:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a decision to
establish the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) and appointed
Alexander Khloponin Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the
district as well as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, the Kremlin’s
press office said.

During a working meeting with Mr. Khloponin, President Medvedev
stressed that problems in the Caucasus such as unemployment,
economic crime, cronyism and bribery cannot be resolved simply by law
enforcement procedures – economic methods are necessary as well. Mr.

Medvedev also noted that Mr Khloponin’s appointment to two high-ranking
positions significantly expands his powers.

Alexander Khloponin, a former chairman of the Norilsk Nickel metals
giant who won gubernatorial elections in the Taimyr autonomous
district in 2001 and in the Krasnoyarsk region the following year,
said Tuesday that he would use "economic methods" to tackle the many
problems that have accumulated in the North Caucasus.

The President expressed his hope that the experience Mr. Khloponin
gained as Governor of Krasnoyarsk Region will be fully relevant in
this regard.

RUSSIA UPHOLDS STATUS QUO IN KARABAKH

The Messenger
Jan 20 2010
Georgia

The normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey has
hit a reef. Turkey considers that progress being made in the
resolution of the Karabakh conflict is an essential condition of this
normalisation, and Azerbaijan will probably demand this for the sake
of Turkish-Azerbaijan relations. However Yerevan says that these two
issues should not be connected.

Almost the same idea was expressed by Russian Premier Putin during his
Turkish counterpart’s visit to Russia. He said that both issues are
complicated enough in themselves, and linking them will make their
resolution even more complicated. Azeri officials observe that as
the Russian and Armenian positions coincide in this Moscow does not
support change in the South Caucasus.

Russia does not want to resolve the Karabakh conflict because then
Armenia would not need Russian military assistance. Azeri analysts
and political figures think that Putin did not say anything new.

Co-Chairman of the Azeri Social Democratic Party Araz Alizade has
stated that Russia supports establishing Turkish-Armenian relations
for its own benefit, on its own terms.

THEY IN AZERBAIJAN CONSIDER HOW TO DEAL WITH ARMENIAN BORDER CROSSER

ArmInfo
2010-01-20 14:44:00

ArmInfo. They in Azerbaijan consider how to deal with a border crosser
from Armenia. To recall, the matter concerns Yeghishe Gevorkyan,
who deserted to Nakhichevan on January 10 together with his wife
and three children (7,6 and 3 years old). In view of the fact that
Gevorkyan was 8- times convicted and is currently suspected in a
murder, his behaviour was motivated by an aspiration to flaw from
prosecution and emigrate to Europe.

When commenting on this situation, representative of the State
Commission of Azerbaijan for Prisoners of War, Missing Persons
and Hostages Shahin Sailov told 1news.az that ‘it is difficult to
say what to do with the Armenian in this situation’. ‘If the matter
concerned transfer of a criminal from Georgia or Russia, he would be
immediately extradited to the Motherland. However, it is difficult
to comment on the actions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Moreover,
a similar incident happened in 1990s, when a sister killer transferred
to Armenia. However, he was not passed to the Azerbaijani authorities’,
Sailov said.

ARMENIAN, TURKISH FMS HAVE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

news.am
Jan 20 2010
Armenia

It is at least surprising that the Turkish side saw preconditions
and conflicts with the main aim of the Armenian-Turkish protocols
in the verdict of the RA Constitutional Court, which confirmed
the constitutionality of the documents, RA Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian stated during his telephone talks with Turkish FM Ahmet
Davutoglu.

Minister Nalbandian expressed his surprise at the Turkish Foreign
Office’s statement on the RA Constitutional Court’s verdict.

The Armenian FM also voiced his concern over the lack of progress
in the ratification process in Turkey since last October. At the
same time the Turkish side continues setting preconditions, which
creates the impression that Turkey is trying to find pretexts thereby
endangering the bilateral normalization process.

Minister Nalbandian welcomed the fact that the Turkish Foreign Office
only confirmed the danger of preconditions by making the statement in
question. The Armenian FM called on his Turkish counterpart to remain
committed to the letter and spirit of the Armenian-Turkish protocols
and progress. He also pointed out that the ratification process is
progressing in Armenia without any delay. Evidence thereof is the RA
Constitutional Court’s verdict, which was actually returned more than
a month ahead of schedule.

The Armenian FM stated that the sides must honor their commitments
on immediate ratification and enforcement of the protocols, without
carrying out any activities aimed at thwarting the process.

TURKEY SAYS RECONCILIATION WITH ARMENIA AT RISK
By Selcan Hacaoglu

eTaiwan News
hp?id=1160789&lang=eng_news
Jan 20 2010

The Turkish prime minister on Wednesday said an Armenian court’s
reference to the mass killings of Armenians could harm efforts to
end a century of enmity.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reacting to the Jan. 12 approval by Armenia’s
Constitutional Court of an October agreement to heal ties and reopen
shared borders.

Armenia on Tuesday defended the court’s decision, triggering an
exchange of harsh statements that could further complicate the two
countries’ implementation of the deal.

In a ruling on whether the proposed agreement was constitutional,
the Armenian court referred to the country’s independence declaration,
which calls for recognition of the 1915 massacre of up to 1.5 million
Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. Turkey says the number is
inflated and that many died on both sides during a chaotic period.

Erdogan called the court’s ruling "unacceptable" and warned that the
process of reconciliation "would be harmed if it is not corrected."

"Moreover, we don’t have the luxury of keeping Armenia-Azerbaijan
relations out of this," Erdogan said in apparent response to the
court’s also saying agreements with Turkey shouldn’t concern any
third party. He spoke during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

Turkey also wants Armenian troops withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh,
an Armenian-occupied enclave in Azerbaijan. Turkey closed the border
in 1993 to protest Armenia’s war with neighboring Azerbaijan.

"No one should expect deliberations on the protocols to take place
even at the commission level, let alone the floor, unless Armenia
withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh," Bekir Bozdag, a senior lawmaker from
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, said on Wednesday. "Armenia
must honor its promise and fulfill its responsibility if it wants
the normalization of ties between the two countries."

Turkey shares ethnic and cultural bonds with Azerbaijan and wants a
peaceful settlement to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey’s recent spat with Armenia has emboldened the country’s
opposition to demand the government scrap the Oct. 10 deal altogether.

Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of a nationalist opposition party, said
the government should "immediately withdraw" the protocols from the
parliament. No date has been set for their ratification.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS REFUSE TO COMMENT ON RESULTS OF MEETINGS

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2010 11:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE MG co-chairs for Karabakh conflict settlement,
Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Robert Bradtke (US) and Bernard Fassier
(France) are currently on a visit to Baku.

OSCE MG co-chairs refused to comment on results of meetings in Yerevan
where they’ve been previous to Baku visit. The co-chairs noted that
their current visit to the region is related to coordination of the
meeting between Armenian and Azeri Presidents. "Based on regional visit
results, we’ll prepare a communique to be placed at OSCE website,"
Bernard Fassier stated.

The mediators also refused to provide comments on the oncoming
Aliyev-Sargsyan meeting due January 25 in Sochi, ANS TV channel
reported.

Recent meeting between Armenian and Azeri Presidents took place
on November 22, 2009 in Munich. Based on meeting results, OSCE MG
co-chairs issued a joint statement, characterizing negotiations held
as constructive. Presidents had detail discussion of key issues,
"progress was reached in some of the issues covered", while "some of
them still remain open", the statement said.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

On 6 December 1994, the Budapest Summit decided to establish a
co-chairmanship for the process.

Implementing the Budapest decision, the Chairman-in-Office issued on
23 March 1995, the mandate for the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Process.

The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing
an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of
assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group;
Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation
of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk
Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational
peacekeeping forces.

The Minsk Process can be considered to be successfully concluded if
the objectives referred to above are fully met.

The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France,
Russia and the United States. Furthermore, the Minsk Group also
includes the following participating States: Belarus, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey as well as Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Current Co-chairmen of the Minsk Group are: Ambassador
Bernard Fassier of France, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian
Federation and Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States.

ARMENIAN YOUTH CALLS ON WORLD COMMUNITY TO CONDEMN POGROMS IN BAKU

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 14:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the anniversary of Armenian pogroms in Baku,
Armenian youth has become united, calling on youth and student
organizations to recognize and condemn the crimes against humanity
committed in Azerbaijan. To that end, they have undersigned an appeal
addressed to international organizations, parliaments and UN member
states’ governments, as well as to public and political organizations.

The young activists call for reinstating the rights of about
1.5 million Armenians and tens and thousand representatives of
other ethnic groups deported from Azerbaijan. They also urge world
community to respect NKR people’s right to free and secure existence
and democratic development.

Students and youth organization representatives have organized a
march to Tsitsernakaberd Genocide memorial.

On January 13, 1990, Azerbaijani authorities instigated the Armenian
pogroms in Baku. Some 400 Armenians were killed and 200 thousand
were exiled in the period of January 13-19, 1990. The exact number
of those killed was never determined, as no investigation was carried
out into the crimes.

On January 13, a crowd numbering 50 thousand people divided into
groups and started "cleaning" the city of Armenians. On January 17,
the European Parliament called on EU Council of Foreign Ministers
and European Council to protect Armenians and render assistance to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. On January 18, a group of U.S. Senators
sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev to express concerns over the
violence against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan and called
for unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia.

PASHINYAN CONDEMNED TO 7 YEARS IMPRISONMENT

Aysor
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

Minutes ago in the General Jurisdiction Court of Shengavit region
of Yerevan was announced the verdict of the editor in chief of the
"Haykakan Zhamanak" newspaper. The verdict was announced by the judge
Mnacakan Martirosyan.

According to the decision of the court Nicol Pashinyan was recognized
guilty by the first part of the 225 article of RA Civil Code and was
condemned to 7 years of imprisonment.

The accusing side had demanded to condemn Pashinyan to 8 years
imprisonment accusing him of the first part of the 225 article of
the CC and the first part of the 316 article.

WORLD COMMUNITY SHOULD SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN ON KARABAKH
Tamilla Sencaply

news.az
Jan 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Samad Seyidov Talks on a solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
over Karabakh are continuing apace.

"The intensification of negotiations on resolution of the Karabakh
conflict is maintained. This is proven by the latest visit of the
Minsk Group co-chairs to the region," Samad Seyidov, chairman of the
parliamentary committee on inter-parliamentary relations, has said,
according to the website of the ruling New Azerbaijan party.

He said Azerbaijan is seeking the liberation of the land occupied by
Armenia and attaches special importance to the peaceful resolution
of the conflict.

"All international norms and principles work in Azerbaijan’s favour.

Therefore, the world community should support justice for Azerbaijan,"
Samad Seyidov said.