Author: Tvankchian Parkev

The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 9 2009

Israel and Turkey will allow interests to reconcile them

by Ofra Bengio

Israel’s three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip in January of this
year threatened to wreck the unique relationship between Turkey and
Israel. This begs the question: could or should a crisis between
Israel and a third party bring about a deep transformation in the
bilateral relations that have been developing between the two
countries for more than 15 years?

Israel’s three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip in January of this
year threatened to wreck the unique relationship between Turkey and
Israel. This begs the question: could or should a crisis between
Israel and a third party bring about a deep transformation in the
bilateral relations that have been developing between the two
countries for more than 15 years?

The harsh Turkish reaction to the offensive was taken as a major
indication of a Turkish volte-face at both the official and popular
level. In a series of unprecedented attacks, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Israel, declaring that the blood of dead
Palestinian children would not be left on the ground and that Israel’s
deeds were "a crime against humanity." Worse still, he called for the
expulsion of Israel, a Turkish ally, from the United Nations for
ignoring the organization’s call to stop the fighting in Gaza.

Then came the Davos incident at the end of January, in which Erdogan
demonstratively walked off the stage during a debate with Israeli
President Shimon Peres. No wonder Erdogan came to be considered a hero
by Gazans, Iranians and Syrians. Taking their cue from him, the media
and the Turkish street escalated their anti-Israel and at times even
anti-Semitic attacks to a point that in some instances surpassed those
voiced in Arab countries. Huge anti-Israel demonstrations flooded the
streets of Turkey’s major cities and towns; demonstrators burned
Israeli flags and waved anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slogans. One of
the placards read: "Jews and Armenians cannot enter, but dogs can."

The reaction at the popular Turkish level was part spontaneous and
part officially organized, including even the mobilization of school
children, which pointed to a political hand acting behind the
scenes. Turkey, caught up in these dynamics, appeared to be finding
common ground with Hamas, Syria and Iran in the axis of evil.

In fact, Turkey’s stance on Gaza should be understood as part of the
proactive foreign policy of the government, led by the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP). It was a diversionary ploy at home and a
challenge to rivals at home and abroad. Evidently, there was genuine
sympathy for the Palestinians among the Turkish people. But the
government was also apparently attempting to manipulate this sympathy
in order to mobilize support for the AKP in the upcoming Turkish local
elections in March by deflecting attention away from the domestic
problems with the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), while also challenging
the military – the architect of relations with Israel – and enhancing
Turkey’s role among Arab and Muslim countries.

Yet for all these rhetorical and emotional reactions, the Turkish
government did not initiate any "punitive" move against Israel. It did
not recall its ambassador from Israel as it had done on an earlier
occasion. Moreover, at the very time that Erdogan was lashing out at
Israel, the two states reportedly signed a new bilateral arms deal.

Many Turks wonder why Turkey, a major power in the region, still needs
strong relations with Israel at a time when the entire regional
strategic map has drastically changed from the one existing back in
the 1990s, when the two forged their strategic ties? The answer seems
obvious. To fulfill its proactive role, Ankara needs to remain on good
terms with Israel, and thus enhance its stature and maneuverability as
an honest broker. It has to preserve its image as a role model of a
democratic Muslim country, maintaining the age-old balances between
East and West, between the Arab world and Israel, and between Muslim
and non-Muslim countries. Most important of all, Turkey needs to
maintain its strategic alignment with Israel to ward off the primary
dangers facing both countries, especially international terrorism and
the possibility of nuclearization of the region.

In Israel, wisely enough, the official reaction to the Turkish attacks
was low-key. Indeed, in the eyes of some Israelis it was even too
conciliatory. In fact, Israel could not afford the luxury of
antagonizing such an important partner in a largely hostile
region. The Israeli government was willing to bury its resentment in
the understanding that if it managed to contain the crisis in Gaza, it
would be able to weather the Turkish storm as well.

Past experience has shown that the two countries’ bilateral interests
are stronger than sentiments. Notably, the correlation between
progress in the peace process with the Palestinians and
Turkish-Israeli relations, first apparent in the early 1990s,
continues to hold. In the interim, the collapse of the peace process
in October 2000 and the ensuing violence caused considerable damage to
relations, whereas Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in summer 2005
engendered a flood of visits by high-ranking Turkish officials and
even the establishment of a hotline between Erdogan and then-Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

For all the damage done to Turkish-Israeli relations due to the Gaza
offensive, the historic bonds of amity between the two peoples and the
two states are likely once again to prove strong enough to overcome
the latest crisis, even though it might take much longer this time.

Ofra Bengio of the Moshe Dayan Center and the Department of Middle
Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, is the author of
"The Turkish-Israeli Relationship: Changing Ties of Middle Eastern
Outsiders" (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). This commentary first
appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter.

Opposition to receive 25-30% of votes at elections to Yerevan Council
of Aldermen, Armen Ashotian believes

33

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The fact that the parties making parts
of the coalition will run separately in the May elections of Yerevan
Council of Aldermen is natural and logical. The chairman of the
National Assembly Standing Committee of Science, Education, Culture,
Youth and Sport Issues, member of "Republican Party of Armenia" (RPA)
faction Armen Ashotian expressed this opinion at the March 10 press
conference. In his words, the coalition is not an eternal format, and
each party of the coalition is trying to increase its role.

Speaking about the opposition’s running in the elections, A. Ashotian
noted that the stage of mutual use of "Heritage" party and the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) is over. According to him, now the political
interests of these two forces are quite different. He said that
"Heritage" was making use of Levon Ter-Petrosian’s "political boom" for
a long time, and at present it is independently preparing for 2012-2013
elections". "Anything that could be received from L. Ter-Petrosian in
terms of an image, rating, electorate, "Heritage" has already received
and it no longer needs L. Ter-Petrosian’s fading wave," A. Ashotian
noted.

In his opinion, unless the ANC has its faction in the Yerevan Council
of Aldermen, the possibility of the extraparliamentary opposition’s
running in and winning the 2012 elections is questionable.

A. Ashotian said that the ANC and "Heritage" have many supporters in
Yerevan and the total number of votes to be received by these two
forces in the elections of the Council of Aldermen will make up 25-30%.
By his forecast, RPA will receive 30-35% of votes, "Prosperous Armenia"
Party will be in second place, and "ARF" party and "Orinats Yerkir"
party will also overcome the 7% threshold.

Panorama.am
13:52 09/03/2009

LINARES TOURNAMENT: ALEXANDER GRISHCHUK – CHAMPION

Linares chess tournament is over with the perfect victory of Russian
GM Alexander Grishchuk. In the end of the tournament both Grishchuk
and Ivanchuk had the same amount of points but due to his extra points
Grishchuk was announced the champion.

Note that all the matches in 13th round ended in draw. Russian chess
player persisted the tension after he won masters like Levon Aronian,
Theimur Radjabov and Wang Yue. Armenian GM Levon Aronian competed with
Grishchuk.

`Linares 2009′ left nothing remarkable as the chess players did not
express their strong sides. Vesselin Topalov’s absence might be
noticeable while he was competing with Gata Kamsky. Vladimir Kramnik
was also absent, after the birth of his child he devoted himself to
his family care.

Source: Panorama.am

Turkey

The enduring popularity of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Mar 5th 2009 | ANKARA AND VAN
>From The Economist print edition

But will popularity blunt the reforming zeal of Turkeys prime minister?

Illustration by Peter Schrank

AT A recent rally in the predominantly Kurdish city of Van, in
south-east Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in his element. Turkeys
prime minister rattled off his governments achievements, bellowing out
to a jubilant crowd, 22 primary schools, five health clinics, 82
kilometres of paved roads.

With only three weeks to go before countrywide municipal elections on
March 29th, Mr Erdogan has hit the campaign trail in a confident
mood. Most opinion polls suggest that his mildly Islamist Justice and
Development Party (AKP) will clobber its opponents yet again. The
secular opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) is so desperate that
it no longer talks much of the risk of sharia law or the dangers of
Kurdish separatism. Instead it has resorted to recruiting female
candidates who wear the Islamic headscarf and calling for the Kurdish
new year to be declared a national holiday.

None of this is likely to make much impression on voters, most of whom
will stick with the AKP. Nor will it affect Mr Erdogans policies. Ever
since he was handsomely re-elected in the 2007 general election, his
critics say that the prime minister has become increasingly
autocratic, drifting away from the reformist agenda that first brought
the AKP to single-party rule in 2002. It does not help that the
European Union is continuing to prevaricate in the long-drawn-out
talks about Turkeys membership application, sapping enthusiasm for
reform in Ankara.

As further evidence of autocratic tendencies, the critics point to Mr
Erdogans continuing quarrel with Aydin Dogan, the countrys biggest
media mogul, whose outlets have exposed corruption scandals in which
individuals close to the government have been implicated. Mr Dogan
believes this explains why he faces a $500m claim for allegedly unpaid
taxes, a charge he passionately denies. Turkey has become a republic
of fear, complains Sedat Ergin, managing editor of Milliyet, a leading
Dogan newspaper.

On the international front Mr Erdogan is raising eyebrows for more
than his (understandable) loss of enthusiasm for the EU. He has also
attracted unfavourable attention for his virulent attacks on Israel,
especially during its war in Gaza, and for his budding friendships
with Iran and Sudan.

Among ordinary Turks, however, Mr Erdogan remains the most popular and
charismatic leader since a visionary former prime minister and
president, Turgut Ozal. One old Kurdish woman in Van sums up the mood:
Tayyip is one of us, he treats us as equals. Mr Erdogans popularity
has even forced his enemies, notably the countrys hawkish generals,
who have often tried to topple his government, to back off.

Mr Erdogans touch was in evidence in Van as he and his vivacious wife,
Emine, handed out toys to ragged children. Elsewhere in Turkey, the
government has been giving away coal, school textbooks and, as the
elections draw near, even fridges and washing-machines to the
poor. Such profligacy has angered the IMF. A long-delayed standby
facility with the fund has yet to be signed because of differences
over public spending. But a defiant Mr Erdogan insists, in an
interview, that Turkeys economy is robust enough to get through its
current troubles without IMF help.

Like most countries, Turkey has been hit by the world financial
crisis. The Turkish lira is slipping against the dollar, GDP is
expected to shrink this year and unemployment is rising. Yet, partly
thanks to tough regulation, not a single Turkish bank has gone
under. The economy is wobbling but remains on its feet.

No wonder Mr Erdogan is so confident. Many worry that another big
electoral win may swell his head further. Yet for all his
pre-electoral posturing, there are signs that his pragmatic self may
come back. He seems to have grasped that he has an image problem. He
has hired a new, affable spokesman and is courting foreign journalists
for the first time. In an interview with this correspondent, he freely
bestowed smiles (and dried fruit) as he insisted he was no autocrat. I
can be impatient at times, was all he would admit.

The launch of Turkeys first official Kurdish-language television
channel in January and the governments calls for the establishment of
Kurdish literature departments at state universities have raised hopes
of more reforms. After years of mutual hostility, Turkey and the Iraqi
Kurds are at last talking. A deal with separatist guerrillas from the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have been fighting the Turkish army
since 1984 from bases in northern Iraq, is said to be on the
table. Turkeys generals are tentatively compliant.

All of this will make Mr Erdogans meeting this weekend with Hillary
Clinton, Americas secretary of state, especially significant. Mr
Erdogan will brief her on talks with another former Turkish foe,
Armenia. Once the local elections in Turkey and the April 24th
anniversary of the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 are
past, it is expected that formal ties will be re-established between
the two countries and their long-closed border will be reopened. This
may also stave off attempts by Americas Congress to pass a resolution
calling the massacres a genocide.

An IMF deal is widely expected after the local elections as well,
though Mehmet Simsek, the economy minister, insists that the IMF must
drop some of its more orthodox demands. On progress towards joining
the EU, the next big test for Mr Erdogan will be whether he can budge
a bit more on the opening of Turkish ports and airports to Cyprus,
shaming Turkeys detractors within the EU (notably the French) into
stopping their efforts to undermine the membership talks.

The appointment of Egemen Bagis, a sharp young English-speaker, as
Turkeys first cabinet-rank EU negotiator suggests that Mr Erdogan may
make a fresh effort to put the EU talks back on track. But if he is
genuinely serious, he will have to take a second shot at rewriting
Turkeys constitution, crafted by the generals after a military coup in
1980. His previous attempt at this almost led the Constitutional Court
to ban the AKP on the ground that it was trying to impose sharia
law. That is because he started off in piecemeal fashion by trying to
ease bans on the Islamic headscarf in government offices and
universities. Mr Erdogan would do better this time if he worked with
the opposition to produce a constitution that met the wishes of all
Turks, not just pious ones.

erFriendly.cfm?story_id=13240303

UAE WILL DISCUSS ARMENIA’S PROPOSAL

A1+
[01:51 pm] 06 March, 2009

On March 6 Serzh Sargsyan received the Minister of Foreign Trade of
the United Arab Emirates, Mrs. Sheikha Lubna Khalid al Qasimi.

The President emphasised Armenia’s willingness to expand the
multifaceted cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and expressed
hope that the Minister’s visit will serve as an additional impetus.

According Sheikha al Qasimi, Armenian businessmen suggested a serious
package of joint programmes, which will be discussed in the near
future with broad business circles of the United Arab Emirates. The
Minister appreciated the fact that like the UAE, Armenia pays great
attention to education and human resources, in general.

The parties pointed to high technologies, energy, agriculture and
tourism as the most promising spheres of cooperation.

Serzh Sargsyan said the progress and achievements of the United Arab
Emirates are impressive and added that the experience could be useful
to Armenia.

He also expressed gratitude for the assistance the Abu Dhabi
Development Fund provided to the water economy of Armenia and the
donation of the Governor of Sharzha for the reconstruction of the
infrastructures of "Haghartsin" church complex.

HILMI GULER: TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP BENEFICIAL FOR UNION MORE THAN FOR THE COUNTRY ITSELF

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.03.2009 14:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Energy Minister said Wednesday that Turkey
doesn’t want to lose time with discussions in Nabucco project.

Speaking at a panel discussion on "Europe’s Energy Corridor Turkey:
Expectations and Difficulties" in Brussels, Turkish Minister of
Energy & Natural Resources Hilmi Guler said that Turkey supports and
participates in Nabucco.

"This project is our baby. We started it and we will complete it
successfully just like we did in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
project, the Shah Sea project and the Turkey-Greece line," Guler said.

"We want this project to be concluded as soon as possible. We do not
want to lose any more time with discussions. It is now time to work,
not to talk," he said.

Guler said that there is currently a disagreement in the Nabucco
project as other parties do not take into account Turkey’s needs.

Commenting on Turkey-EU negotiations, Guler said that the chapter on
energy has not been opened to negotiation, although Turkey has taken
all the necessary steps.

"If we focus on energy issue, it is obvious that Turkey’s EU membership
would be for the benefit of the Union, more than for the country
itself," Guler said, Anatolian Agency reports

SCULPTOR VAHE TOKMAJIAN’S WORKS TO BE PRESENTED IN CALGARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2009 13:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian sculptor Vahe Tokmajian’s works will be
presented at an exhibit in Calgary, Canada from June 25 to 27.

The exhibit will open in the framework of Intercultural Art Week on
initiative of Calgary municipal center.

Vahe Tokmajian, who has lived in Canada for 4 years, graduated from
Armenian Institute of Arts in 1995. His sculptures were exhibited in
Armenia, Greece, Italy, France and Canada.

PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN MEET SOON

Panorama.am
12:10 04/03/2009

The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are going to have a regular
meeting in the following months, announced the OSCE Minsk Group Russian
co-chair Yuri Merzliakov in Baku. According to the co-chair the both
parties took the initiative to have a meeting.

"The mission of our visit to the region was to organize the next
meeting of the Presidents and currently we have reached our goal,"
said Merzliakov.

The co-chair did not tell any details of the Presidents’ meeting.

FILMS THAT WILL NEVER WIN ACADEMY AWARDS
By Bruce Walker

Canada Free Press

March 1 2009

The Academy Awards have come and gone. As with so much in life, it is
not the films which were nominated or the awards which were given that
mattered. Our lives today are filled with gold stars and certificates
of achievement. What strikes me each year when the American Film
Institute cranks out the "best" that Hollywood can produce is just how
little that is important ever winds up becoming cinema. What are the
films which should have been made and which never were? Here are my
"nominations."

Ghosts of Armenia

We are fast approaching the centennial of the first holocaust of
the Twentieth Century. The Great Hunger in Ukraine under Stalin,
the Rape of Nanking by the Japanese, the Shoah by the Nazis, the
Tibetan genocide by the Chinese – – all these had firm roots in the
systematic murder of millions of Armenians, and the murder of millions
of Christian Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire in the preceding
decades. What is more timely than this chilling subject? Ah, but what
would is more politically incorrect!

Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard Mike Nifong

The trial of the Duke Lacrosse Team represents the quintessence of
political correctness descending into its natural malignancy.

Professors who determined guilt before evidence. Prosecutors who
used the law to lynch the innocent. Journalists who salivated at the
"right story," without worrying about the truth. In our day, Kafka’s
dreaded projection of justice as recorded in The Trial becomes our
real world. Yet no social conscience or independent mind in Hollywood
found a story there. How odd! Well, no, not odd at all.

Traitors and Liars

Since Allan Weinstein wrote his book Perjury three decades ago,
the evidence that Soviet spies had, indeed, infiltrated American
institutions and helped odious monsters like Stalin has grown year by
year into a vast corpus of independently corroborating facts. A few
months ago, Morton Sobell, relative of the Rosenbergs, after decades
of denial, casually confessed that, yes, he was a Soviet spy. Books
describing the obvious guilt of Judith Coplon have been published by
respectable publishers. Scholars still are rooting through archives
of old Soviet data and the result is consistently in inculpating more
suspected Americans rather than prove the innocent of those victims of
"Witch Hunts."

Hollywood has made many films demonizing the presumed excesses of
rabid anti-communists, but nothing at all about the very real guilt of
American traitors, who not only helped Stalin but also helped, for a
time, Hitler. The real story is not just the Soviet spies in America,
but the straight-faced denial of espionage and treason while their
liberal friends defended them. The people involved are dead, but the
image in the minds of Americans is still very much alive. If only some
courageous Hollywood…or, did I write "courageous"? Well, never mind.

Mein Kampus

The totalitarianism on modern college campuses has passed the absurd
into the hideous. Conservative speakers are routinely driven from
speaking engagements, often with the tacit complicity of college
administrators. Professors insist on college "studies" which are often
no more than demands that students write what academic Stalinists
want written. Is the imposition of thought control and speech codes
on our thousands of college campuses a socially significant topic? Is
the indoctrination of millions of Americans worth discussing? Is the
dumbing down and brainwashing of a generation of our young people
important? Awww…who cares? (No one in Hollywood.)

Misogyny, Thy Name is Islam

Wife beheading? Honor murders of daughters. Stoning of young
women. Imprisonment of rape victims…for the crime of being
raped. Female circumcision of young girls. If Jews or Christians did
this as a matter of religious belief, it would be fodder for a whole
television program, three or four films, a few celebrity concerts,
and certainly an academy award nomination or two. But – – alas! – –
the women are not being oppressed by the right sort of oppressors. In
fairness, there are few films about the suttee in India, foot-binding
in China, or the Siddhartha’s attitude toward women. Even those
cultures were small fry when it comes to real debasement of women,
which is why NOW pickets the embassies of the worst offending Islamic
nations every day – or they plan too very, very soon.

The American Film Institute, the Academy Awards, "Hollywood" (or the
nebulous film industry) sees itself as controversial, cutting edge,
and sophisticated. I do not mind the loony attacks on conservatives as
much as I am sickened by the utter cravenness, the juvenile conformity,
the sophomoric "seriousness," the eye candy in place of thought,
and blandness in place of brilliance.

Once an Academy Award meant something. Now what does it mean? It is the
badge of banality, the certificate of conventionality, the emblem of
ennui. If someone brave and clever made a great and important film,
perhaps there would be a reason to watch. But decades ago the film
industry banished significance and abandoned greatness. I never, ever,
expect it to make good films again, and I never, ever, expect to see
the Academy Awards to honor what should be honored again.

BLACKSTAIRS ENERGY PLC
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT

ROMANIA, NINTH ROUND OF PETROLEUM LICENCING AWARD OF P1X-11 SUDURAU
FIELD

The National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) has announced the
results of the Ninth Round of Licencing. Under the terms of the Round,
fourteen Production Blocks were offered to the industry on a
competitive bidding basis. The individual Production Blocks are over
formerly producing oil and gas fields and were operated by Romanian
state companies.

Blackstairs Energy plc applied for four of the Production Blocks on
offer. NAMR has advised that the company has been successful in its
bid for the SudurÄ?u field. Under the terms of the licencing
procedure and associated Concession Agreement, Blackstairs now has
exclusive rights to re-develop the field and restore it to commercial
production.

The Sudurau field is located in Satu Mare County of north-west
Romania, about 10 kilometres north-west of the town of Tasnad. Sudurau
is an oil field with associated natural gas and lies in the oil and
gas-rich Pannonian Basin. The Sudurau field lies close to Blackstairs’
five existing Pannonian Basin oil and gas fields, acquired in 2007
under the Eighth Round of Licencing.

Blackstairs, at NAMR’s invitation, will now enter formal discussions
in order to finalise the terms of a Petroleum Concession Agreement for
SudurÄ?u. A period of several months is set aside by NAMR to
complete these formalities.

Blackstairs has proposed technical programmes of reservoir and
petroleum engineering studies and reprocessing of existing seismic
data. The company will also undertake well interventions in the
field’s previously producing wells and the refurbishment of production
facilities and pipeline infrastructure. Environmental studies and
technology transfer projects will also be completed.

Romania is a significant oil and gas producer and has a well developed
oilfield infrastructure including an extensive pipeline network and
refining capacity.

Background Information

Blackstairs Energy plc is an Irish-registered energy company. The
company was founded in 2006 by Gerry Sheehan (Managing Director) and
Bob Hamilton (Finance Director). Mr. Sheehan is a geologist and
geophysicist and has over 27 years experience in the international oil
sector. Mr. Hamilton is a chartered accountant. Both directors have
previously held senior management positions in Tullow Oil plc.

Blackstairs Energy plc is the operator of Blocks 4, 5 and 6 in the
Republic of Armenia. These large blocks cover an area of almost 14,000
square kilometres; they are currently being actively explored and are
managed from the company’s regional office in Yerevan, Armenia. In
2008, Blackstairs Energy secured exclusive rights to re-develop seven
onshore, formerly producing oil and gas fields in Romania. Five of
these fields are located in the Pannonian Basin in north-west Romania;
the other two fields are in the southern Romania.

In February 2009, Blackstairs Energy agreed a `Memorandum of
Understanding’ with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. This agreement will
facilitate the evaluation and acquisition of exploration, development
and production assets, in addition to the pursuit of new business
opportunities in Africa, greater Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region,
the Commonwealth of Independent States and Pakistan.

Further Enquiries

Blackstairs Energy plc
1 Bayswater Terrace
Greystones
County Wicklow
Republic of Ireland
Telephone: +353 1 2870787

For additional information please contact:
Gerry Sheehan
Telehone: +353 86 6085345
Email: [email protected]

Directors: Gerard Sheehan, Robert Hamilton, J.D.Scott
Registered Office: 11 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2
Company Registration Number: 424205