Author: Vanyan Gary

Azeri president to visit Moscow on 21-22 July
Trend news agency
19 Jul 06
Baku, 19 July: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is planning to visit
Moscow on 21-22 July, the head of the foreign relations department
of the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Novruz Mammadov,
has said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
Mammadov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been inviting
the leaders of CIS countries to an informal summit for several
years now. The agenda of the meeting has not been drafted since it
is informal.
“The positive nature of such meetings is that issues of mutual
interest can be discussed during informal conversations,” Mammadov
said. He said that a range of regional and international issues might
be discussed at the summit.
Mammadov said that this meeting will be interesting and President
Putin will speak about the results of the G8 summit, which was recently
held in St Petersburg.
“It is also important to us because issues concerning the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflict were discussed at
the summit,” Mammadov said.

NATO PA to submit proposals on Garabagh in October
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 14 2006
Baku, July 13, AssA-Irada — The NATO Parliamentary Assembly President
Pierre Lelouche has prepared new proposals concerning settlement to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict. The suggestions
will be forwarded to the two countries’ presidents during his visit
to the region in October, Russian Interfax news agency reported.
The gist of the proposals is not disclosed, but the NATO official is
expected to submit a resolution plan consisting of several provisions
to the conflicting sides, which envisions avoiding numerous obstacles
in the way of peace and acquiring economic dividends instead of
making compromises.*

UA prof faces Turkish trial for novel
Arizona Republic, AZ
July 15 2006
Mike Cronin
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
Marly Rusoff, a New York-based literary agent, says it’s like writing
about the Holocaust in Germany and being jailed for “insulting
Germanness.”
But in Turkey, it’s the law.
Elif Shafak, a University of Arizona assistant professor of Near
Eastern studies whom Rusoff represents, has been charged with
“insulting Turkishness” under Turkey’s Article 301 of the Turkish
Criminal Code. If convicted, the author could go to prison.
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Shafak’s novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, deals, in part, with the
conflict between the Turks and Armenians that began in 1915. A mass
evacuation that lasted until 1923 resulted in up to 1.5 million
Armenian deaths. Most American and Western scholars categorize those
deaths as genocide, saying the Turks massacred the Armenians.
In Shafak’s novel, one of the characters refers to “Turkish butchers.”
The Turkish government and some international historians, however,
reject the genocide claim.
Turkey maintains that many Armenians died of starvation, disease and
exposure on forced marches to Syria. Those marches were in retaliation
against the Christian minority for reportedly collaborating with
Russia during World War I. Turkey also says the death toll is inflated.
Although Shafak’s case has been reported in the Turkish media,
prosecutors and court officials there have not confirmed it.
Shafak, 35, on leave from UA, is not incarcerated. A trial date has
not been set, the author told the Arizona Daily Star.
“No Turkish writer has ever written about the Armenian genocide,”
Rusoff said. “She (Shafak) wrote about it (while living in Tucson).
It was translated into Turkish. It was published there first in March
and became a bestseller. That’s when trouble started.”
Shafak’s first novel, written in English, The Saint of Incipient
Insanities, was published by Farrar Straus & Giroux in 2004.
The European Union has frequently warned Turkey that its efforts
to join the bloc could be hampered by Article 301, which sets out
penalties for insulting the Turkish Republic, its officials or
“Turkishness.” It has been used to bring charges against dozens of
journalists, publishers and scholars.
Shafak said her book “questions two big taboos, one of them a political
taboo – the Armenian Question – and the other a sexual taboo –
incest. So it was not easy to digest for some people and it caused
a lot of stir.”

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS FRENCH EMBASSY
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Robert Kocharian
and his spouse Bella Kocharian visited today the French embassy in
Armenia on the occasion of the National Day of France.
Presidential press service informed Armenpress that the president
congratulated the staff of the embassy and noted that the
Armenian-French partnership is developing quite effectively.
Kocharian and embassy officials were unanimous that the Year of
Armenia in France, set to start in late September, was the evidence
of high-level relations between the two countries.

Washington File, DC
July 12 2006
U.S. Envoy to Armenia Describes Central Role of U.S. Constitution
John Evans says Constitution provides framework for “great” national
debate
By Carolee Walker
Washington File Staff Writer
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans (State Department photo)
Washington — The struggle to build democratic institutions and
establish democratic practices must be faced anew by every
generation, says U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans.
“Building democracy is a never-ending challenge,” Evans told students
and faculty members at the American University in Yerevan, Armenia,
July 10. “Surely this is as true for my country, which has just
celebrated its two hundred and thirtieth birthday, as it is for
countries just starting to build democratic institutions.”
He illustrated what that meant by describing how the U.S.
Constitution came to be amended 27 times since it took effect in
1789.
“One can truly say that the Constitution provides Americans with a
framework for a great national discussion, often as not characterized
by a clash of opposing philosophies,” Evans said. “Certainly in a
society as diverse as ours, the differences of opinion are many and
at times have been deep.”
The U.S. Constitution is a dynamic document, he said, in part because
the document the framers signed in Philadelphia at the Constitutional
Convention “contained within it the seeds of many future
controversies that continue to the present day.”
Almost immediately after ratification – within six months, said Evans
– 10 amendments were proposed that relate to limiting the power of
the federal government. These amendments, known as the Bill of
Rights, “are cited, in some context or another, every day of our
national life,” he said. They provide for freedom of speech, press,
religion, assembly, trial by jury and other rights. Although the
process of amending the Constitution is difficult, 17 more amendments
also have been added.
Beyond the amendments, there have been many interpretations of the
language of the Constitution by the courts. The Supreme Court has
“the last word in saying precisely what the Constitution really
means,” Evans said.
Yet even the best-written constitution, by itself, does not create a
democracy, the ambassador said.
“There are customs, methods and procedures, in short, habits of
democracy, that put democratic flesh on the bones provided by the
basic provisions of the fundamental law. A democracy may function
minimally without these habits, but for it to flourish fully requires
that everyone play his or her part,” Evans said.
Crucial habits of democracy, according to Evans, are tolerance,
honesty and responsibility.
“Participants in a democracy must show a basic level of mutual
respect for each other,” he said. “Only when a citizen is willing to
listen to the opinions of others, and to entertain the possibility
that what others say will influence his thinking, does he himself
earn the right also to be heard.”
Responsibility means “accepting that everyone in a democracy bears a
degree of accountability for the overall outcome, especially of his
or her own actions,” including elected and appointed officials and
citizens.
Citizens are “responsible before the law, as well as bearing an
overall responsibility to inform themselves about the issues of the
day, to choose good leaders, through free and fair elections, and to
stand up for their own rights if and when they are challenged,” Evans
said.
The United States Constitution is the oldest written federal
constitution in the world, and the shortest.
Evans’ speech about the Constitution builds on his speech in 2005 at
American University about the U.S. Declaration of Independence and
the ideas of freedom and democracy that it embodies. (See related
article.)
The full text of the ambassador’s July 10 remarks is available on the
Web site of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.
For additional information, see U.S. Constitution.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DEMANDS ADMISSION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FROM TURKEY
ARKA News Agency
July 11 2006
YEREVAN, July 11. /ARKA/. Representatives of the principal political
groups of the European Parliament are for the issue of the Armenian
Genocide to be put on the agenda of negotiations with Turkey for its
admission to the EU.
The parliamentarians are for the admission of the Armenian Genocide
in Turkey and the lifting of Armenia’s blockade to be negotiated with
Brussels as a condition for Turkey’s admission to the European Union.
Finland, which took over the EU chairmanship from July 1, 2006,
threatened to stop negotiations with Turkey.
Finnish Premier Matti Vanhanen stated that the dialogue can be stopped
at any time if Ankara fails to execute its commitments to the European
Union. Turkey still refuses to recognize the sovereignty of Cyprus,
which was admitted to the EU in May 2004, and to receive planes and
ships of that country.
On July 12, the Foreign Affairs Committee, European Parliament,
is to consider Turkey’s progress on its way to the EU.
The European Parliament also demands the resolution of the Kurdish
problem. Turkey must ensure the right to free expression to the
national minorities.
The Foreign Ministers of 25 EU member-countries “gave a go-ahead”
to Turkey’s admission to the EU in October 2005 with a reservation
that the process would not be a mechanical one and might be stopped.
The European Parliament demands that Turkey admit the Armenian Genocide
as a condition for its admission to the EU. P.T. -0–

Armenian efforts to hinder regional railway project failed, Azeri leader says
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Posted July 11 2006
Baku, July 10, AssA-Irada — Some forces are trying to hinder the
project on building the major Gars-Tbilisi-Baku railway to link
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, President Ilham Aliyev has said.
“Armenia and the Armenian lobby are particularly hostile to Azerbaijan
and Turkey and doing everything in their power to deal a blow upon
both countries,” Aliyev told Turkey’s Jumhuriyyet (Republic) newspaper.
The president said Armenians’ efforts to impede the railway project
will fail. “I am confident that we will implement this project,”
he said.
President Aliyev added that the fact Azerbaijan and Turkey are in
no need for various international organizations’ support shattered
Armenians’ attempts.
The president said Armenians’ hostility against Turks makes it pivotal
for the two countries to pursue a firm political course.
The head of state said the Armenian lobby was also against the
realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) main export pipeline
project. Armenians even sent out letters, trying to put pressure on
the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international
financial institutions funding the project.
“But they achieved nothing, as the will of Azerbaijan and Turkey and
the active participation of Georgia prevented them from disrupting
the activities,” Aliyev said.*

RF Minister of Transport arriving in Armenia
ArmRadio.am
11.07.2006 15:49
Russian Transport Minister, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Russian
Intergovernmental Economic Commission Igor Levitin is to arrive in
Armenia on a working visit on July 11. The Transport Minister is
accompanied by Head of the Interstate Aviation Committee Tatyana
Anodina.
During the visit, the Russian delegation is scheduled to meet Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan, Secretary of the Presidential Council of
National Security, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan, as well as other
top officials of the Armenian Government. During the meetings issues
of bilateral cooperation and investigation of the A-320 crash near
Sochi on May 3 are to be discussed, reports IA Regnum.

Lilit Lazarian to participate in an international chess tournament in Krasnokurinsk
ArmRadio.am
11.07.2006 14:48
Leading Armenian woman chess player, Grand Master Lilit Lazarian
will participate in a celebrated international chess tournament to
start July 21 in Krasnokurinsk, Russia.
Among the participants of the tournament are Katerina Lakhno of
Ukraine, Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia and Anna Kovalevskaya of Russia.

Turkish Islamist party holds anti-Israel rally
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
9 Jul 06
Istanbul, 9 July: The SP [Felicity Party] Istanbul Provincial Offices
organized a rally in Caglayan Square denouncing Israel and supporting
Palestine.
Addressing the rally, SP Chairman Recai Kutan said that inhumane
acts were taking place in fraternal Palestine, and that millions
of Palestinians had been ejected from their homeland with blood and
tears for more than half a century now.
Noting that those who stayed behind were exposed to unending cruelty,
attacks and massacres, Kutan said they had all come to this rally
to provide support for Palestine and their Muslim brothers in the
face of the cruelty that had been escalating these past few weeks,
to condemn the cruelty of the bullies, and to warn their allies.
Stating that the Israeli army had gone into the Gaza Strip and
launched a ground operation supposedly to free a soldier who had been
captured by Palestinian resistance fighters on 25 June, Kutan said:
“Over 1.3 million Palestinians are being subjected to cruelty and
inhuman treatment all over a soldier who has been abducted, not
killed. This latest attack by Israel is not an operation to free
their captured soldier. Their goal is to punish the Palestinian
people by depriving them of water, electricity, food and medicine,
and to incite the Palestinian people against Hamas.”
Stating that the world was remaining silent in the face of these
inhumane and horrific practices, and that no body apart from a few
puny voices had spoken out, Kutan noted:
“Where is the UN? Where are the international human rights
organizations? What are the Arab League and the OIC doing? All they
do is make empty and ineffectual diplomatic statements. Now is not
the time for giving ineffective diplomatic words to the Israeli
administration. The entire Islamic world should unite politically,
economically and in other fields as part of the brotherhood of Islam,
and should support one another. Effective policies must be laid out
to counter the tyrants, not empty words. This lack of interest and
silence only serves to increase the pain suffered by the Palestinians
a little more every day, and makes our Palestinian brothers feel alone
and helpless. The greatest onus here is on Turkey. But Turkey is far
from fulfilling its historical responsibility. Staying silent in the
face of cruelty only supports the cruelty.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyah attended the rally by
telephone. In his speech Haniyah said that while he could see those
attending the rally his heart was with them.
Saying that he was saluting his Turkish brothers on behalf of his
people, Haniyah said: “Your stance means a lot to us. I can feel
in my heart that you are supporting us. As the Palestinian Prime
Minister and the representative of the Al-Aqsa Mosque I am with you
all in spirit on the streets of Istanbul now. This jihad will go on
whether we are in government or not.”
Addressing those at the rally via a giant TV screen former chairman
of the defunct Welfare Party Necmettin Erbakan stated that Israel
was exhibiting the greatest horror in trying to wipe out the Muslims
living in the Gaza Strip, and he said that the administrations of a
few Muslim countries were just watching it happen.
Erbakan said that the measures necessary to end the massacre in
Palestine needed to be taken immediately.
SP Deputy Chairman Omer Vehbi Hatipoglu stated that Israel was
carrying out genocide before the eyes of the world, and said: “All
you who put the Armenian genocide before us at every opportunity,
where are you now? Are you dead to these events?”
Throughout the meeting slogans were chanted and God is Great was
shouted frequently.
SP deputy chairmen, provincial and district chairmen plus mayors and a
large number of party members together with various NGO representatives
were at the rally, where placards bearing the phrases: “Israel is
committing crimes against humanity, the world watches” and “The only
friends Muslims have are other Muslims” were carried.
Furthermore, the Gulhan-Kadir Ulger couple, who got married today,
attended the rally as bride and groom and stayed a while.