Author: Toneyan Mark

S. BOYADJIAN: MR. FEIN’S TURKISH ADVENTURE
Seto Boyadjian

19/s-boyadjian-mr-fein%e2%80%99s-turkish-adventure /
May 19, 2009

On May 8, Bruce Fein posted an article titled "Recommendations for
the Armenian Diaspora" on the Huffington Post. Fein is concerned
that unless the Armenian Diaspora heeds his "recommendations," it
will torpedo the ongoing talks between Turkey and Armenia.

To set the record straight, it should be noted that according to his
biographic information, Fein, a lawyer, is the resident scholar for
the Turkish Coalition of America. Prior to this position, he was also
resident scholar at the Assembly of Turkish American Associations and
a columnist for the Turkish Times. He has served as a consultant to
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and has appeared regularly on
Voice of America and Turkish television to discuss current political
events and their implications for Turkish-American relations.

Therefore, it is irrefutable that he his acting as the spokesperson
of the Turkish side. It would indeed be most appropriate to call this
endeavor "Fein’s Turkish adventure."

His so-called "recommendations" simply constitute unsubstantiated
accusations and defamatory remarks against the Armenian Diaspora. As
such, he deserves a response, which I posted on Huffington Post along
the following lines:

Bruce Fein, the mouthpiece of the Republic of Turkey, has spoken
again. This time, he has the audacity of making "recommendations"
to Armenia and U.S. citizens of Armenian extraction without making
any reference to his continued gainful employment by the government
of Turkey and by a garden variety of Turkish "associations."

Fein is out to "get" the Armenian Diaspora in general, and the
U.S. Armenian Americans in particular. The reason for his attempt is
obvious: Silence the diaspora and especially the Armenian American
community, and the Turkish genocide of the Armenian people and
usurpation of the Armenian homeland shall wither away. This seems to
not be an easy task for Fein. Yet, he seems to be an adamant fellow. He
desperately needs to tame the diaspora and the Armenian Americans.

To this end, he resorts to tactics of baseless accusations, falsehood,
misrepresentation, and even bombastic threats.

First, Fein threatens that the "boisterous" diaspora will cause
the eventual failure of Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations
with Armenia. According to Fein, Turkey, at the cost of damaging its
strategic interests, is doing Armenia a favor by opening its borders,
which would save Armenia economically. Should the diaspora resume its
untamed conduct, the borders will remain sealed and Armenia will be
the loser.

Fein, of course, unabashedly overlooks the geopolitical fact that
Turkey is the one that is in dire need of Armenia in order to have
access to the southern Caucasus and beyond. This is the old Pan-Turanic
strategic thinking once employed by the Ottoman Young Turks that led
to the extermination of the Armenians. Now, this strategic thinking is
being employed by the current government of Turkey under the guidance
of Ahmet Davutoglu, the former foreign policy adviser and current
foreign minister of Turkey.

Next, Fein lodges false accusations against the Armenian Diaspora,
claiming that it has turned the genocide recognition into a campaign of
hate against Turkey and Turks. This gentleman in the service of Turkish
"associations" should familiarize himself with Armenian traditions
and culture that inspire and teach the Armenian individual-whether in
Armenia or the diaspora-love, friendship, brotherhood, and peace. Not
a single Armenian person sees an enemy in a Turkish person. As for
genocide recognition, it is only anchored on one principle, objective,
and feeling: Justice. When in 1944, jurist Raphael Lemkin, in an effort
to bring justice for the Jewish Holocaust by the Nazis, coined the word
"genocide" based on the precedent of the Armenian massacres, he was
not motivated by hate against the Germans. Lemkin sought justice and
defined the annihilation of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans
and of European Jews at the hands of Nazis as genocide.

Third, Fein develops an artistic penchant to spread falsehood. He
blatantly claims that the Armenian Diaspora intimidates and harasses
the academia, and vilifies those scholars who do not agree with the
fact of genocide. What’s worse, he claims that the Armenian Diaspora
engages in the "buy-out" of scholars to corroborate the fact of the
genocide. These claims against the Armenian Diaspora are immersed in
utter falsehood.

Interestingly, the same claims verily apply to the Republic of Turkey
and the Turkish "associations" operating in the U.S., who have become
experts in the business and have notoriously earned the reputation of
regularly harassing academia, vilifying scholars, and "buying out"
professors and department chairs to distort history and deny the
Armenian Genocide.

Fourth, Fein comes forth with the misrepresentation that Armenian
Diaspora groups are engaged in foul play in violation of U.S. laws
and regulations. His lone substantiation in this respect is his
claim that the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is
under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Now, Fein
is a lawyer. As a lawyer, he should be able to differentiate an
investigation from indictment. The deliberate lack of knowledge is
the source of his misrepresentation. He is well advised to check the
status of this investigation.

Fein’s so-called "recommendations" boil down to a single directive
to the Armenian Diaspora. He is effectively telling the Armenians
to stop exercising their rights as citizens of their respective
countries. This directive is more alarming in the case of Armenian
Americans. He is telling American citizens of Armenian descent to
halt exercising their rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Fein should learn to accept that Armenian Americans are doing
what Indian Americans, Jewish Americans, and other Americans are
doing-nothing more, nothing less.

TURKISH STATE MINISTER: IF EUROPE WANTS TO OPEN THE BORDER WITH ARMENIA, THEY SHOULD PUT PRESSURE ON IT TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPSFROM THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF AZERBAIJAN

Today.Az
tics/52396.html
May 19 2009
Azerbaijan

"Turkey’s patience is not unlimited, and Turkey is not going to make
more concessions, if it does not see the counter-steps from the EU",
said Turkish state minister Bagysh Egemen.

"We have done everything that the EU demanded from us. We even made
such concessions, which are, frankly speaking, not entirely consistent
with our national interests. We were at a point of quarreling with
our Azerbaijani brothers, and in a response we have seen statements
by Sarkozy and Merkel that they do not want to see Turkey in the EU",
he said.

As for the Armenian-Turkish dialogue, the state minister stated that
"the border with Armenia will be opened only after the liberation of
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. "Only in this way can we open
the borders", he stressed.

But, he said, however, Turkey will do its utmost to attract
the attention of Europe and the international community to this
problem. "If Europe wants to open the border with Armenia, they
could put pressure on it to withdraw from the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan", said Boris Egemen.

ICON SIGNS UP MORE THAN 500 WIMAX CUSTOMERS

TeleGeography
http://www.telegeography. com/cu/article.php?article_id=28493&email=html
May 18 2009

Broadband WiMAX start-up iCON Communications (iCON) has announced that
it has signed up more than 500 individual and corporate subscribers
in the last six weeks. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database writes
that in October 2008 French-US equipment vendor Alcatel-Lucent was
selected by iCON to deploy and maintain a commercial WiMAX 802.16e-2005
(Rev-e) network in Armenia. The new network was designed to allow
iCON to offer advanced wireless broadband services in Yerevan and
other leading cities in the country. The first city targeted with
WiMAX was the capital. iCON is looking to provide a range of services
including high speed internet access, VoIP and VPNs to business users,
government organisations and residential customers.

In a separate development, Armenian fixed line operator ArmenTel
(Beeline) has cut its ADSL access rates in the country, prompted by
similar moves by rivals. Beeline’s unlimited usage packages range
in cost from AMD8,000 (USD22) to AMD30,000 (USD80), depending on
the connection speed taken. Meanwhile, Armenian Datacom Company
(ADC), a privately owned communications data provider which competes
with the incumbent ArmenTel in Yerevan, announced on 13 May that
it was cutting its internet access charges by between 20% and 25%
on its various packages. In October last year ADC said that its
internet prices would go down as a result of its initiative to provide
guaranteed bandwidth internet services as part of its ‘Autumn Surprise’
project. The company has reduced prices for its new Internet Enterprise
(CIR) services by up to 70%. Elsewhere, another provider, Xter.net,
has announced its own price cuts.

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER, "THE STATUS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH IS THE KEYSTONE TO THE SETTLEMENT"

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2009-05-18 15:10
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

"To briefly characterize the 15-year cease-fire, it is extension of
the Karabakh statehood’s formation and alignment of a dynamic system,
which has proved its vitality so far", stated NKR Foreign Minister
Georgy Petrossian in his interview to the NKR Public Television Vestnik
(Reporter) program.

"Surely, there are things, which are not going in the way we’d ideally
like to, but I believe that we have succeeded in solving the most
fundamental issues, such as creation of an army – one of the most
important security guarantees, and alignment of a domestic system of
state administration. All this, actually, took place in the conditions
of war and post-war armistice", noted the NKR Foreign Minister.

At the same time, Georgy Petrossian emphasized that for the Karabakh
party, the future status of Nagorno Karabakh was the keystone to
the settlement.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 16 2009

Russia’s direct investments in Armenia economy ` about USD 2 bln.

16.05.2009, 12.17

YEREVAN, May 16 (Itar-Tass) – The aggregate volume of direct Russian
investments in Armenia’s economy amounts to over 1.8 billion dollars,
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told journalists on
Saturday.

According to Ivanov, Russia is the main investor in the economy of
Armenia. `Some 1,000 Armenian companies work with the participation of
Russian capitals,’ he said. `All major Russian companies are engaged
in business in Armenia, and the aggregate volume of direct investments
amounts to 1.8 billion dollars.’

The deputy prime minister recalled that in 2008, Russian Railways
(RZD) became a concessive manager of the Armenian railway, and the RZD
daughter company – – South-Caucasian Railway (SCR) began working since
that year. `According to plan, investments in the SCR in 2009 will
amount to 2.7 billion roubles,’ Ivanov said. `These funds are included
in the budget and despite hard times, will be invested in the Armenian
railway.’

According to Ivanov, `it is necessary to put in order the railway of
Armenia.’ As he said, moneys will be used to upgrade the railway track
economy, increase trains’ speed and repair rolling-stock.

During his visit to the SCR office, Ivanov gave instructions to
especially study the issue of deliveries of building materials to the
Olympic building sites in Sochi.

TURKISH PM REASSURES AZERBAIJAN ON ARMENIA TIES

Agence France Presse
May 13 2009

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday promised
Azerbaijan his country would not open its border with Armenia until
Armenian forces withdraw from disputed Nagorny Karabakh.

On a visit to Baku, Erdogan offered assurances that Turkey’s moves
towards reconciliation with Armenia would not come at the expense
of traditional support for Azerbaijan, which lost control of Nagorny
Karabakh in a 1990s war.

"The border was closed as a result of the occupation of Azerbaijani
territories and therefore it will not be opened until the occupation
ends," he said at a televised news conference with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev.

The Azerbaijani leader hailed the statement, saying: "The people
of Azerbaijan have been disturbed by reports in the mass media that
Turkey could open its borders with Armenia without the settlement of
the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

"Now I can say to the Azerbaijani people that there are no more
suspicions on this…. There can be no more room for speculation,"
said Aliyev.

Erdogan flew to Azerbaijan on Tuesday to reassure its leaders that
Turkey’s efforts to reconcile with Armenia would not undermine Baku’s
interests.

Turkey said last month it had agreed a road map to normalise relations
with Armenia, its neighbour to the east, with which it has a bloody
history and no diplomatic ties.

Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic links with Armenia over
Yerevan’s efforts to have World War I-era massacres of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks recognised as genocide — a label Turkey strongly
rejects.

Azerbaijan, which shares ethnic and linguistic roots with Turkey,
is worried that Ankara may reconcile with Yerevan and re-open the
border between the two countries, ignoring Azerbaijani interests.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh dispute.

Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of
Nagorny Karabakh in the early 1990s in a war that killed nearly 30,000
people and forced two million to flee their homes.

A ceasefire was signed between the two former Soviet republics in
1994 but the dispute remains unresolved.

ZIBI’S FACE FEATURED ON COLLECTOR’S COINS

Thenews.pl
ews/artykul108187_zibis_face_featured_on_collector s_coins.html
May 14 2009
Poland

Zbigniew Boniek, former football star, is being honoured in an unsual
manner: his face is being featured on a collector’s series of coins
called Football Kings.

The collector’s editions coins, a project initiated by the Central
Bank of the Republic of Armenia, started already in October 2008 with
coins featuring Pele, Eusebio and Lev Yashin.

Boniek, known as ‘Zibi,’ is featured on coins with his face and
signature and collector’s will be provided with a certificate of
authentification as well. A limited edition run of 1,000 pieces is
being produced by Polish Mint SA. Over the next five years, the mint
plans to put out 20 more coins as part of the Football Kings series.

The footballer hails originally from Bydgoszcz, northern Poland but
started his career for the team Widzew Lodz. Boniek played for the
Seria A Italian teams Juventus and AS Roma. Zibi was named one of
the top 100 footballers of all time by FIFA. The striker was named
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year in 1982. (mmj)

MEDIA ADVISORY: AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY WILL CONTINUE MAKING EFFORTS TO SOLVE NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT WITHIN AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

APA
May 13 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev – APA. "Azerbaijan and Turkey are two
brotherly countries having deep friendly and strategic partnership
relations. Such a closeness rarely seen in the history gives
confidence and prosperity to both countries and is of permanent
character. Turkey-Azerbaijan relations are of great importance for
achieving development of the region and cooperation," says the media
advisory, APA reports.

It is noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan are making significant
contributions to the regional and global peace and stability.

"Both countries express their determination to improve long-lasting
strategic cooperation to strengthen regional peace and stability. This
cooperation will pave the way for strengthening bilateral relations
and improving the opportunities to make contributions to the stability,
security and prosperity of the region."

Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict, one of the main factors
impeding establishment of sustainable peace and stability in the
South Caucasus, should be urgently solved within the framework of
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of
its internationally-recognized borders.

The occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia in contrary
to the international law and UN Security Council resolutions is
unacceptable. Establishment of regional trust, respect and relations
based on the principles of international law, peace, stability
and welfare in the South Caucasus within the joint rapprochement
of Azerbaijan and Turkey is not possible without the liberation of
Azerbaijani lands occupied as a result of Armenian aggression and
returning of displaced persons to those territories. Azerbaijan and
Turkey will hold consultations and increase the efforts to achieve
the progress toward the solution of Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorny Karabakh and will continue their efforts for the political
settlement of the conflict within the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan-Turkey strategic partnership will contribute to the
bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation for the establishing
of peace and stability, for the welfare of the peoples in the region.

Azerbaijan and Turkey increase their role in the European energy
security and transportation of the Caspian energy resources to Europe
from the point of view of strategic importance of the East-West
Corridor and its contribution to the sustainable development of the
regional countries".

AN ARMENIAN COUPLE PLAN TO MARRY AMONG TITANIC’S ARTIFACTS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.05.2009 01:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An Armenian couple with a special connection to
the Titanic plan to marry among the ship’s artifacts at the Milwaukee
Public Museum. Melissa Vartanian, 28, and Vache Mikaelian, 31, will
wed on May 15 at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, AP reports.

Melissa Vartanian’s great-grandfather, David Vartanian, was fleeing
Turkish occupation in Armenia when he boarded the Titanic. He planned
to later send for his new bride, Mary.

When the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 – Vartanian’s 22nd birthday –
he survived by hanging on the side of a lifeboat. It took him about
six years after he recovered to find his wife by searching through
newspapers, churches, orphanages and sending numerous letters to
Armenia, Melissa Vartanian said. Then it took another five or so
years for the couple to be reunited.

Melissa Vartanian said her great-grandparents died before she was
born, but she grew up hearing about their story, which she called
"the greatest love story I’ve ever known."

"This is amazing," she said. "This would be a great tribute to this
amazing love story and great tribute for my family."

Viewers picked the couple as the winners of a wedding contest run by
WTMJ-TV and its morning talk show. The television station paid for the
rehearsal dinner, reception, honeymoon, bride’s dress and other costs.

Vartanian said she and her fiance have visited the Milwaukee exhibit
along with other Titanic exhibits in other cities. She said some people
might think it’s a bad omen to get married among Titanic memorabilia,
but she doesn’t.

"The Titanic doesn’t symbolize death and destruction," she said. "It
was a journey toward a better life, even though it had challenges."

WB TO PROVIDE ARMENIA USD 25 MILLION TO DEVELOP EDUCATION SPHERE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.05.2009 18:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The World Bank Board of Directors today approved
a US$25 million credit for the Armenia Second Education Quality and
Relevance Project, WB press office in Armenia reports.

This is the second phase of the second education project supported
by the World Bank over the past 12 years in Armenia.

"This new project builds on the achievements of Armenia’s reforms so
far, while extending the agenda to encompass preschool and higher
education," said Juan Manuel Moreno, Leader of the World Bank team
for the project. "It will comprehensively support the Government’s
efforts to accelerate the implementation of preschool, general and
tertiary education reforms despite the adverse consequences of the
global economic crisis," the expert.

As WB press-office reported, the project will enhance the curriculum
and teaching methods in education, the readiness of children entering
primary schools, and the integration of the Armenian tertiary education
system into the European higher education area.

According to press office, the project will help the Armenian education
system meet critical challenges. These include reversing the current
deterioration – in enrollments and in quality – of preschool education;
supporting the implementation of the 12-year general education system;
improving teacher quality through pre-service and in-service training;
and, contributing to Armenia’s integration in the European Higher
Education Area.

The Second Education Quality and Relevance project has two main
components. The first component of "Enhancing the Quality of General
Education" will aim to increase the readiness for general education
of approximately 8,750 children, while 140 of the poorest communities
will benefit from targeted grants to enhance the quality of preschool
education. The quality of teaching will be improved through training
of 2750 high-school teachers and 150 principals, and by creating a
school improvement network. In addition, investments will ensure that
all schools in Armenia are equipped with up-to-date technologies, that
about 400 of the most remote schools are connected to the Internet,
and that these technologies effectively enhance learning. Further, the
curriculum and assessment of the 12-year general education system will
be improved so that future graduates will be equipped with relevant
and competitive knowledge and skills.

The other component "Supporting tertiary education reforms to
help achieve standards similar to education systems in Europe"
will establish and strengthen the capacity of the National Quality
Assurance system for tertiary education. An integrated Tertiary
Education Management Information System will be created to support
policy planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of performance
of education. The component will also support the design and piloting
of a sustainable financing system for tertiary education, including
student loans and a Competitive Innovation Fund for the financing
of Universities.

Within the past projects WB developed the National Curriculum
Framework, introduced a new examination system, a Computer Revolving
scheme of WB allowed 85 percent of country’s to set up computer
labs. In addition, a broad in-service teacher trainings have been
carried out and consolidation of a per capita funding system of
schools.

The Credit will be provided to Armenia on standard IDA terms,
including 20 years maturity and a 10-year grace period. Since joining
the World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, commitments to Armenia total
approximately US$1187 million.