Author: Tvankchian Parkev

Erdogan: German decision ‘wrong and ugly’

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Jule 18 2005

ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has labelled as
“very wrong and very ugly” the decision announced yesterday by the
German Federal Parliament to officially recognize and accept the
so-called Armenian genocide. “History will embarass them,” said
PM Erdogan.

Recalling how German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder had shown great
support for the Turkish stance and efforts towards solutions to the
Armenian claims, PM Erdogan said bitterly, “I admire politics with
bones, politics with a backbone.”

‘Massacre,’ not ‘genocide’

At a press conference held at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on his return
from a trip to Lebanon, PM Erdogan reminded reporters that the German
parliamentary decision used the word “massacre” and not “genocide”
to describe the events of 1915. A brief summary of the PM’s other
comments on the matter follows:

“We find this decision by the German lobby, which was done without
adequate discussion, and at the bidding of some basic lobbies, very
wrong….. and beyond wrong, just ugly. We spoke with them about
this. We opened our archives. We invited them to have historians,
politicians, judges look at our archives and decide for themselves.
But they never came. And now, history will embarass them. The future
will embarass them.”

Erdogan was particularly sharp in his words about the contrast
between German PM Schroeder’s attitude towards the matter while in
Turkey last month, and yesterday’s decision in Berlin: “…Didn’t
you hear Schroeder while he was here? He said ‘I support to what
PM Erdogan is doing and saying on the matter.’ We thought that this
would continue back in Germany. Maybe he tried and wasn’t successful,
I just don’t know.”

During the Armenian Riot many Armenians died due to ethnic clashes,
epidemic diseases and famine. More than 500,000 Turkish people were
masscred by the Armenian armed groups.

Global Politician, NY
June 17 2005

Interview with Prof. Safrastyan: “Armenia Must Get Rid Of Its Complex
As Russia’s Younger Brother”

GP Interviews – 6/17/2005

Prof. Ruben Safrastyan, Ph.D. is a Professor of International
Relations at Acharyan University in Yerevan, Armenia. He’s also the
Director of the Department of Turkish Studies at Institute of
Oriental Studies, Armenian National Academy of Sciences. In the past,
he served as a Counselor of the Armenian Embassy in Germany and was
the Deputy Director of the Department of Political Analysis for the
Office of the President of Armenia.

Q: How do you assess the changes that have taken place in
Russian-Turkish relations lately?

A: Answering this question, I would like to draw your attention to
the geopolitical approaches of Russia. I must say that a number of
major documents presenting the country’s geopolitical approaches were
drafted in Russia during the last years. It should be mentioned that
the documents were drafted under the immediate leadership of Vladimir
Putin. I mean foreign policy, national security and military
concepts. These documents present a number of major approaches of
which I would single out the multipolar world outlook. The second
major approach is that Russia is regarded as the largest Eurasian
state, which will be surrounded by a zone of friendly states. The
third major conceptual approach is that Russia is ready to apply
nuclear weapon first if its national interests are endangered.

If we regard the mentioned conceptual approaches in the context of
our region, we’ll see that we are in the epicenter of the realization
of these approaches. In particular, if we consider the changes and
new phenomena that have been observed in Russian-Turkish relations
lately, we’ll see that here we can speak about Russia’s new
geopolitical tendencies, in particular, aimed at creating a zone of
friendly or at least not hostile states around it. Russia’s policies
towards Turkey, in my opinion, pursue this very goal, of course not
to turn Turkey into a friendly state of Russia, but to weaken US
influence and Turkish links with the West as far as possible and, if
possible, to connect Turkey with Russia.

Q: What measures are being taken by Russia to strengthen its
geopolitical influence in the region and specifically in the sphere
of Russian-Turkish relations?

A: At the current stage Russia, of course, cannot take large-scale
measures to strengthen its geopolitical influence, however, Russia is
using the vast reserves of natural wealth it possesses to implement
its policies, particularly for geopolitical purposes. If we consider
Russian-Turkish relations in the context of the “Blue Stream”
project, the following will become clear: in fact, besides financial
benefits for Russia, it also implies Turkey’s closer connection with
Russia. So, when the realization of this scheme is completed, Turkey
will receive 80% of gas from Russia. At present, about 60-65% of gas
entering Turkey is received from Russia.

Interestingly, Turkey, in its turn, has a wish to play a leading role
in Russian policies in this sphere. So, it’s natural that this
prospect should meet quite a stiff opposition of the USA.

Q: What are the other areas where closer Russian-Turkish relations
are possible?

A: It is issues connected with arms delivery. Turkey has declared
that it is to implement a program of armaments modernization worth
over $100 billion within the next few years. Russian diplomacy is
making quite serious efforts to ensure Turkey gets part of these arms
from Russia. Representatives of relevant circles of Russia and Turkey
conducted quite intensive negotiations over this issue recently. No
final decisions have been made yet, but there are signs
that Russia will manage to convince Turkey to get at least some of
the new arms from Russia. There are even talks that Russian arms are
to be manufactured in Turkey and supplied to other countries.

Q: How can the new quality of these relations impact Armenia?

A: The right understanding of Russia’s policy is very important for
us. It is not an anti-Armenian policy – Russia has repeatedly
declared at the highest levels that Armenia and Russia are strategic
allies, which is a very important circumstance. I think that our
country’s political forces should not speculate on these new
phenomena in the Russian-Turkish relationship and jump to conclusions
about the anti-Armenian orientation of Russian policies. Russia is a
big state and has geopolitical and geo-economic interests of its own.
In this sense I attach importance to everyday contacts of Armenian
and Russian representatives at all levels and in all spheres.
Besides, it is necessary that the position of Russia’s elite, their
ideology should be studied thoroughly and new approaches be
elaborated accordingly.The world is changing, and so are the region
and Russia, but we still consider ourselves to be a younger brother.

In my opinion, Armenia must get rid of its “younger brother” complex
that it developed in relation to Russia.

Baku threatens Moscow with retaliatory measures

The Messenger, Georgia
June 17 2005

The Russian newspaper Gazeta SNG reports that the head of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamediarov has threatened to
take measures against Russia in response to Moscow’s intentions to
relocate part of the property and military equipment from the Russian
bases in Georgia to its bases in Armenia.

“There is an opinion regarding Baku’s intention to use
counter-measures,” said the minister, though he did not explain what
kind of measures these may be, although the paper suggests that
Baku may refuse to cooperate with Russia regarding the leasing of
Gabalinskaya RLS Radio Locating Station to Russia.

“In any case, the minister has made an official statement. We should
expect counter measures and depending on their actual ability, make
concrete conclusions regarding how far Azerbaijan is willing to go,”
the paper writes.

The paper cites Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo.Baku as suggesting
that possible counter measures may include the denouncement of the
agreement regarding the rent of Gabaliskaya RLS and/or allowing the
U.S. military to deploy more bases under, although the paper notes
that in an interview with the Azeri newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta Azeri
political analyst Rasim Musabekov stated Gabalinskaya RLS would not be
closed until the expiration of the deadline agreed upon by both sides.

Azerbaijan has been cooperating with Turkey, the United States, and
NATO ever more closely without raising the issue of Russia’s continuing
use of Gabalinskaya RLS located on its territory, the paper writes,
but it is now not out of the realm of possibility that RLS will be
closed before the agreed date.

Acting Head of the Caucasus Institute of Mass Media in Yerevan
Aleksander Iskandarian stated in an interview with Gazeta.SNG that
while Azerbaijan has no need at all for Gabalinskaya, he stressed
that the RLS is the “eyes and ears of Russia’s nuclear shield” which
observes the situation in the Indian Ocean.

“To dismantle this station would mean to leave nuclear facilities
unobserved. Russia will not know what is going on near to its
borders. This is dangerous and the Americans of course realize this,”
he stated.

“We should understand that in realizing this danger, Washington is
not about to put pressure on Moscow regarding this issue. Another
issue is that Baku is trying to use Gabalinskaya RLS to free itself
from the grip it has found itself by promising to allow the United
States to deploy bases on Azeri territory and not to allow the same
to Moscow,” the paper notes.

Frankfurter Rundschau
16. Juni 2005

Bundestag verschärft Beschluss zu Armeniern ;
Abgeordnete stimmen heute über Antrag zu Völkermord im Osmanischen
Reich ab / Ankara verärgert

Alle Fraktionen wollen an diesem Donnerstag im Bundestag für einen
verschärften Antrag zum historischen Völkermord an den Armeniern vor
90 Jahren stimmen. Einen Tag vorher hat der türkische Außenminister
nochmals scharf dagegen protestiert.

TEXT:

VON RICHARD MENG U. THOMAS KRÖTER

Berlin/Ankara · 15. Juni · Nach monatelangem Gerangel, in dem
speziell SPD und Regierung aus diplomatischer Rücksicht auf Ankara
klarere Formulierungen verhindern wollten, haben die jüngsten
Entwicklungen in der Türkei zu einer Verschärfung des Beschlusstextes
geführt.

In der Begründung des Textes findet sich jetzt auch der von der
Türkei massiv abgelehnte Begriff “Völkermord”: Viele unabhängige
Historiker, Parlamente und internationale Organisationen, heißt es,
bezeichneten die “Vertreibung und Vernichtung” von über einer Million
Armeniern 1915 als Völkermord.

Im gemeinsam von CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP und Grünen getragenen Beschluss
will der Bundestag ausdrücklich “bedauern”, dass “heute in der Türkei
eine umfassende Diskussion über die damaligen Ereignisse im
Osmanischen Reich immer noch nicht möglich ist und Wissenschaftler
und Schriftsteller, die sich mit diesem Teil der türkischen
Geschichte auseinander setzen wollen, strafrechtlicher Verfolgung und
öffentlicher Diffamierung ausgesetzt sind”.

Der Bundestag “beklagt” danach die damaligen “Taten der
jungtürkischen Regierung, die zur fast vollständigen Vernichtung der
Armenier in Anatolien geführt haben”, und “bedauert” die damalige
“unrühmliche Rolle des Deutschen Reiches”. In Bezugnahme auf die
deutsche Nazi-Geschichte heißt es, der Bundestag sei sich “bewusst,
wie schwer es für jedes Volk ist, zu den dunklen Seiten seiner
Vergangenheit zu stehen”. Ehrliche Aufarbeitung sei aber nötig und
Voraussetzung der Versöhnung.

Außenminister Abdullah Gül sagte am Mittwoch vor deutschen
Journalisten in Ankara, der Beschluss werde die Türken “sehr
verletzen” und die deutsche Debatte dazu habe sie auch schon
verletzt. Zudem habe das historische Thema “überhaupt nichts zu tun”
mit der deutschen Nazi-Vergangenheit. Der Beschluss sei ungerecht
gegenüber den Türken “nicht nur in der Türkei, sondern auch in
Deutschland”. Hauptaufgabe zwischen beiden Ländern sei “die
vollständige Integration der in Deutschland lebenden Türken”, und die
Armeniendebatte werde dies “überschatten”.

–Boundary_(ID_yccW2aXrRYxjyx2hCpLWXg)–

Daily Star – Lebanon, Lebanon
June 17 2005

Ankara blasts German calls to re-examine massacres

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Friday, June 17, 2005

Turkey strongly condemned a German Parliament resolution marking the
killings of Armenians during World War I and warned that the move
would have consequences for bilateral ties between the two allies.
“We regret and strongly condemn the resolution,” the Turkish Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.

“We are saddened to see the German Parliament fail to listen to
Turkey’s warnings that the resolution would deeply hurt the Turkish
people and have a negative impact on bilateral ties,” it added.

The resolution passed by the Bundestag Lower House earlier in the day
marked the massacres of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century
but stopped short of condemning it as genocide.

The Turkish statement argued domestic political concerns played a
part in the resolution and charged that it was “irresponsible and
narrow-minded to use such a sensitive subject for petty political
calculations.”

Earlier, a diplomat from the German Embassy in the Turkish capital
was summoned to the Foreign Ministry.

The German resolution didn’t mention Turkey’s bid to join the European
Union, but said the Armenian issue was an example of how Turkey needs
to guarantee freedom of speech.

It proposed the establishment of a commission of Turkish, Armenian
and international historians to examine the killings. It complained
that Turkish authorities were stifling debate at home.

The motion also condemned the German government of the time for failing
to try to stop the killings despite “many pieces of information about
the organized expulsion and extermination of Armenians.”

Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, when
the massacres took place.

“The German Parliament is well aware from its own experience how
hard it is for all peoples to deal with the dark side of their past,”
the resolution said in a reference to Germany’s own Nazi regime and
its murder of millions of Jews.

“It is convinced, however, that an honest appraisal of history is
necessary and the most important basis for reconciliation,” it said.

Around two million Turks live in Germany. A Berlin police spokesman
said a protest was planned in front of the Armenian Embassy in Berlin
on Saturday, but denied a member of Parliament’s claim that up to
50,000 Turks could take part. –

Erdogan – Mikati Joint News Conference

Turkish Press
June 16 2005

BEIRUT – Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in
Lebanon, held a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister
Najib Mikati on Thursday.

Mikati said that they discussed Middle East peace process,
Israeli-Palestinian dispute and recent developments in Iraq. He said,
“we also took up economic cooperation between Turkey and Lebanon
and agreed to increase mutual investments and collaboration in
international areas.”

On the other hand, Erdogan said, “Lebanon supports Turkey’s point
of view in Cyprus issue. We also share the same views as regards
Iraq. I conveyed that Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
is a democratization and freedom process as well as an initiative to
establish a joint program to fight terrorism and to increase prosperity
in the region.”

Replying a question on the Armenians allegations, Erdogan said,
“Turkey urged Armenian authorities to open their archives because
Turkey has already done so. Other countries can open their archives
too. It is impossible to accept a genocide claim which is not based
on documents and sound information. We have a positive approach, but
Armenia is still busy with the past. Future cannot be established on
hatred,” noted Erdogan.

Yesterday, nearly 1,500 Armenians who are living in Lebanon held a
demonstration to protest the visit of Erdogan to Lebanon.

Boston Herald, MA
June 13 2005

Pops shows its true colors
By Keith Powers
Monday, June 13, 2005 – Updated: 01:10 AM EST

The Boston Pops, America’s quintessential musical patriots, began
celebrating Flag Day three days early on Saturday evening. Principal
guest conductor Bruce Hangen led the orchestra, a trimmed down
Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and several soloists in the refreshingly
cool confines of Symphony Hall on this sweltering summer night.

Full disclosure: Patriotic displays of almost any kind incite profound
ambivalence in this listener. A full-page ad opposite the program notes
for something called the “Association of Former Intelligence Officers”
(ever seen that before?) heightened my terror alert before a single
note was fired. The presence of Daniel Rodriguez, a New York City cop
whose singing career launched just after 9/11, had me at code orange.

Mercifully, “Love it or leave it” tendencies were tempered greatly by
mixing the Americana portion of the bill with the Pops’ annual Armenian
night. Oud master John Bilezikjian treated the largely ethnic crowd
to a Vivaldi lute concerto, a delightful arrangement of Albeniz’s
“Leyenda,” and Khachaturian’s familiar “Saber Dance.”

The oud – lute-like with a larger bowl and shorter, straight neck
-has delicately soft textures, and so had to be amplified. Using an
amplified folk instrument over ambient classical instruments made
for tricky pitches and risky sonic textures in some spots. But
Bilezikjian’s virtuosity and dynamic phrasing made a winning
combination.

A musical version of “Hayr Mer” (“The Lord’s Prayer”), conducted
movingly by the Very Reverend Father Oshagan Minassian from his
wheelchair, brought the Armenian cultural section to a close.

(Armenians and many others in attendance stood with respectful
attention during “Hayr Mer”; curiously, many Neanderthals did not.)

Rodriguez, self-proclaimed in his bio as “America’s Favorite Tenor,” is
just that. A tenor. His sense of bravura and overwhelming volume could
not hide the evidence: He might consider going back to the old beat
in Flatbush. His career is certainly one of the lesser evils spawned
by the infamous attacks, but that seems small reason for it to blossom.

But as does happen from time to time, this listener was clearly a
minority of one, to judge from the raucous appreciation Rodriguez
received from the sold-out hall. Even the Neanderthals were standing
when Rodriguez came out for one last patriotic encore, an unsurprise
attack on “God Bless America.”

ALL-ARMENIAN CONTEST OF WEB-TECHNOLOGIES IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 11. ARMINFO. An All-Armenian contest of web-technologies
took place today in Yerevan. Winners will present Armenia at the
International Summit of International Technologies in Tunis in
November, 2005.

As Secretary of the Armenian Assistance Council to IT-developments at
Armenia’s Prime Minister Armen Grigoryan informed in an interview to
ARMINFO, more than 200 Armenian web-developers presented their works
to the contest. The authoritative jury formed with representatives of
state, public and international companies, elected 55 best
works. Experts took into account electronic mediums (CD,DVD),
web-design, contents of web-sites and many other characteristics in
spheres of programming, medicine, education, working projects,
tourism, etc.

Contest President Garegin Chugaszyan noted that he is extremely glad
as “results of 10-year work in IT-sphere are summarized today”. 16
organizations were awarded honorary diplomas and money
prizes. Armenia’s Public television () , Armenia’s Public
Radio (), “Internews” public organization
(home.media.am), Armenia’s Foreign Ministry
(), “Matit” studio (),
Project Armenia 2020 () and “Hetk”
Internet-newspaper () were awarded main prizes.

To note, Armenian Institute of Psychics was awarded a prize for
contribution to the development of electronic science at the
IT-technologies Summit two years ago, presenting the web-site of
investigations of solar processes. Armenia’s President Robert
Kocharyan participated at the ceremony of awarding international
prizes.

Croatian, Azerbaijani presidents discuss economic ties, terrorism

HINA news agency
10 Jun 05

Zagreb, 10 June: Croatia wants to intensify cooperation with
Azerbaijan in all areas, particularly in the economy, because
Azerbaijan will become a new Norway once it uses its potential,
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said after talks with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Zagreb on Friday [10 June]. Aliyev arrived
in Croatia on Friday for a three-day visit and the first official
meeting of the two countries’ presidents.

Addressing reporters after the meeting at a joint news conference,
President Mesic said Croatia and Azerbaijan today signed an agreement
on cultural cooperation, a protocol on cooperation between the two
Foreign Ministries, and a memorandum on cooperation between the
countries’ civil aviation authorities.

Mesic said that Azerbaijan would benefit greatly from the opening of
an oil pipeline running via its territory from the Caspian Sea. The
income which Azerbaijan will earn from oil transport will be counted
in billions of dollars which the country will use to solve its current
problems and which will make it a new Norway, Mesic said.

The Croatian president said the talks also focused on the situation in
the regions where the two countries were located, stating that
terrorism was one of the biggest threats in today’s world and that
efforts should be made to fight its causes, poverty and dependence of
some peoples.

Mesic said Aliyev invited him to visit Azerbaijan, which he accepted
gladly.

Addressing reporters, President Aliyev said his visit was not only an
important step in the development of bilateral relations and that his
decision to visit Croatia as the first country in the region also bore
witness to the importance which his country attached to Croatia.

Aliyev said he and Mesic reached a consensus on all issues they
discussed because the two countries had similar views and methods of
solving problems.

He went on to say that Croatia and Azerbaijan had a lot in common
because they had been deprived of independence for years, as well as
that they had suffered an act of foreign aggression.

He thanked Mesic for showing understanding for his country’s problems
and the need to liberate some of its regions, expressing hope that a
lasting peace would be established in Azerbaijan as it had been
established in South-East Europe.

He explained that his country had been exposed to aggression by
Armenia under the pretext of protection of Armenians in the Upper
Karabakh region.

There was no need for the aggression because Armenians have lived in
Upper Karabakh for more than 150 years and Azerbaijan offered them the
highest possible level of autonomy. The actual goal was the occupation
of territory, which was achieved with the assistance of foreign
military forces, Aliyev said, expressing hope that Azerbaijan would
regain sovereignty over its entire territory.

He went on to say that cooperation possibilities between the two
countries were best in the power industry, tourism and agriculture, as
well as in all other sectors of the economy. The Azerbaijani
delegation visiting Croatia also includes a group of business people.

The two presidents said they discussed the issue of opening diplomatic
offices, with Mesic saying that they discussed the opening of honorary
consulates.

President Aliyev said he hoped Croatia would become a permanent member
of the European Union and that it would help his country draw closer
to Europe.

The Azerbaijani delegation is visiting Croatia at the invitation of
President Stjepan Mesic. It will end its visit by visiting the
northern Adriatic archipelago of Brijuni.

Kommersant, Russia
June 10 2005

OSCE to Fund Removal of Russian Military Bases from Georgia

Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) may provide
extra funds to remove Russian military bases from Georgia, Russia’s
Ambassador-At-Large Igor Savolsky declared in Tbilisi.

`This laborious operation will take three years and a half,’ Russian
diplomat pointed out, adding the launch of the additional financial
backing within the OSCE has been agreed with the international
community and is targeted at accelerating the process and making it
more balanced.

Savolsky went to Tbilisi to draw up a special legal document out of
the political statement on Russian bases’ withdrawal, i.e. to legally
process the change in the status of Batumi and Akhalkalaky bases that
lose their target designation and shift to withdrawal schedule. Their
removal is to be finally completed in 2008, foreign ministers of
Russia and Georgia agreed in Moscow on May 30.

During the withdrawal operation that started June 1, 2005, Russia
will transfer the better part of its Georgian bases to its own
territory, though some of them will move to Armenia. Removal of 40
units of heavy armor, including tanks, from Akhalkalaky and Batumi
will complete by September 1, 2005.

3,000 soldiers and offices and about 2,500 units of military hardware
have been deployed in Georgia, some of them are in Armenia already.