Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

POSSIBILITIES TO PEACEFULLY RESOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT NOT EXHAUSTED: PRIME MINISTER OF ARMENIA

Trend News Agency
Dec 20 2007
Azerbaijan

The possibilities to peacefully resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have
not exhausted, said the Prime Minister of Armenia, Serj Sarkisyan,
during the meeting with the EU Special Representative for South
Caucasus, Peter Semneby, News Armenia reported.

In addition, Sarkisyan stated that the 2008 presidential elections
in Armenia and Azerbaijan should not be connected with the conflict
settlement.

According to him, the candidates for the presidency should not hide
their positions on Nagorno-Karabakh. "It is very urgent for the both
countries that the candidates for presidency exactly express their
positions although it may be unbeneficial for some candidates,"
Sarkisyan said.

In his turn, Semneby said that after his meeting with the President
of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, he appeared an impression that Aliyev
expects the settlement of the conflict after the presidential elections
in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He said that the European Union is interested in maintaining those
that the conflicting sides achieved during the talks and creating
good grounds for their continuation.

TURKEY INCHES TOWARD EU, CLOUDED BY FRENCH OBJECTIONS
By James G. Neuger

Bloomberg
Update 2
Dec 19 2007

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Turkey inched ahead with its bid to enter the
European Union, in talks increasingly clouded by French President
Nicolas Sarkozy’s determination to make sure the country never gets in.

Negotiations started today over aligning Turkey’s regulations with
the EU in the areas of consumer protection and transport and energy
networks. Turkey has now started talks in six of the bloc’s 35 policy
areas and completed one.

Under French pressure, the EU has shifted the negotiations into a
lower gear, a sign of rising opposition in the heart of Europe to
letting in a predominantly Muslim country with a standard of living
less than a third of the EU level.

"Certain member states are trying to erode our political and judicial
position," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told a Brussels
press conference. "Such attitudes are not proper and do not reflect
a responsible approach."

Turkey has made scant progress toward joining since embarking on
the EU entry marathon in 2005. The bloc froze negotiations in eight
policy areas last year to punish Turkey for refusing to trade with
the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, part of the EU since 2004.

Negotiations in two or three more areas might get under way in the
first half of next year, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

Alternative Union

Sarkozy, elected in May on a wave of French anti-Turkey sentiment,
says Turkey’s place is in an alternative "Mediterranean Union" and has
vetoed talks in policy areas that would lead directly to EU membership.

"Must Europe enlarge indefinitely and, if yes, what will the
consequences be?" Sarkozy said last week after persuading the EU to
set up a blue-ribbon study group that he expects to challenge Turkey’s
fitness to join.

Only 21 percent of Europeans want Turkey to become a member, according
to a September poll by the German Marshall Fund. European attitudes
have darkened the anti-EU mood in Turkey, where only 40 percent of
Turks think membership would be a "good thing," down from 54 percent
last year and 73 percent in 2004, the poll found.

Even Turkish schoolchildren are hearing of the broadsides by Sarkozy
and other anti-Turkey politicians in Europe, making it harder for the
government to amass support to modernize the economy along EU lines,
Babacan said.

`Negative Impact’

Such "provocations" stir feelings among Turks "that they are unwanted,
and that in turn has a negative impact on their position toward the
EU," Babacan said.

Babacan, Rehn and Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, the chairman
of today’s meeting, all backed the "accession" process, using the
jargon that France forced the EU to strip from the preparatory
documents.

Diverging public opinion in Turkey and Europe threatens to breed a
"dangerous situation," Amado said.

Rehn, the EU commissioner shepherding the talks, voiced concern
that the "political atmospherics" between Turkey and EU capitals are
damaging the entry process and said the EU needs to be fair to Turkey.

"At the same time, we need to be firm and emphasize conditionality
and that’s why we encourage Turkey to relaunch the reform process
in full," Rehn said. As a sign of support for Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s EU strategy, the European Commission’s president,
Jose Barroso, will visit Turkey early next year, he said.

Hammering home a point he often makes in Brussels, Babacan said the
Turkish government’s plans to upgrade the economy and enhance civil
rights won’t be blown off course by the souring mood.

EU Subsidies

For example, Babacan said, today’s start of talks on linking Turkey’s
transport and energy networks to the European grid makes Turkey
eligible for EU subsidies to upgrade its infrastructure.

Babacan gave no timetable for meeting the EU’s demand that Turkey
rewrite a section of the penal code that has been used to prosecute
authors who challenged the Turkish orthodoxy that that the World
War I massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was not genocide. One
journalist convicted under the law, Hrant Dink, was later murdered
by a teenage nationalist.

Divided Cyprus

The status of Cyprus also remains an obstacle for Turkey. Turkey’s
military has occupied the northern part of the Mediterranean island
since a 1974 invasion in response to a Greek-backed coup.

The dividing line hardened in 2004, when Greek-speaking Cypriots
rejected a unification proposal that had the backing of the Turkish
side. As a result, Cyprus joined the EU without the Turkish-speaking
north of the island, which remains fenced off in the only disputed
border in the EU.

Skirmishes between the Turkish army and Kurdish rebels operating out
of northern Iraq played no role in today’s talks. The conflict with
the Kurds didn’t come up and Babacan said Turkey isn’t relying on
military force alone to pacify the border.

An EU statement yesterday called on the Turkish military to exercise
restraint, while acknowledging Turkey’s right to combat terrorists.

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS HAVE REACHED A DEADLOCK

armradio.am
19.12.2007 17:43

Armenian-Turkish relations have reached a deadlock, and although
its reasons are partially correct but they do not give a final
answer to the question, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of
Armenia Vahan Hovhannisyan said during the parliamentary hearings on
"Armenian-Turkish relations: Issues and perspectives."

According to Mr. Hovhannisyan, cooperation has never been established
between democracies and autocracies. At the same time, he noted
that he is far from the idea that Armenia is a already a country of
classical democracy. However, according to the Vice-Speaker, Turkey
is a classical example of dictatorship, since it tries to control
not only the present, but also the past. That is the reason why any
serious investigation of the Armenian Genocide and its reasons is
excluded, and the information about these events is closed for the
Turkish society. Besides, according to him, until murderers like
Taleat Pasha, Enver and Jamal are considered to be national heroes,
"nothing will come out."

TURQUIE AGRESSION ANTICHRETIENNE
par Guillaume Perrier

Le Monde, France
18 decembre 2007 mardi

Un pretre italien blesse a l’arme blanche a Izmir

Un pretre catholique italien a ete poignarde et grièvement blesse,
dimanche 16 decembre, dans la ville d’Izmir sur la côte ouest du
pays. Un acte qui plonge un peu plus les 100 000 chretiens de Turquie
dans l’angoisse. Le Père Adriano Francini, 65 ans, a recu un coup de
couteau a l’abdomen, a la sortie de la messe dominicale a laquelle il
participait. Ce pretre est en charge de l’eglise de la Vierge Marie,
a Ephèse, haut lieu de l’histoire chretienne.

L’agresseur, un jeune homme de 19 ans qui avait parcouru 150 kilomètres
pour venir a Izmir, aurait justifie son acte par le fait que le
pretre lui ait refuse le bapteme. Se faire passer pour un candidat
a la conversion est une methode regulièrement employee ces derniers
mois pour faire accuser les chretiens de proselytisme en Turquie.

Cette agression rappelle le meurtre du Père Andrea Santoro, un autre
pretre catholique italien tue par balle dans son eglise de Trabzon
(nord-est) par un jeune fanatique de 16 ans, condamne depuis a dix-huit
ans de prison.

Les agressions de ce type se sont multipliees, meme si elles sont
minimisees par les autorites. Un pretre francais, Pierre Brunissen,
poignarde a Samsun en 2006, a quitte la Turquie. A Mersin, des moines
avaient egalement ete menaces de mort. Et a Malatya, en avril, trois
missionnaires evangelistes protestants ont ete tortures et egorges.

" ENNEMIS DE L’INTERIEUR "

Les auteurs de ce massacre, des jeunes ultranationalistes âges d’une
vingtaine d’annees, ont affirme avoir agi pour defendre la patrie. "
Ils diront encore que c’est l’acte d’un fou, a reagi dimanche Mgr
Ruggero Franceschini, eveque d’Izmir. Mais on doit admettre que
depuis environ un an et demi, en Turquie, les actes de tels fous ont
notablement augmente. "

Les minorites chretiennes sont regulièrement stigmatisees dans les
cercles nationalistes et laïcs et considerees comme des " ennemis de
l’interieur " complotant contre l’unite de la Republique. A Trabzon,
comme a Malatya ou encore dans l’affaire du meurtre du journaliste
armenien Hrant Dink, des complicites sont apparues en filigrane dans
les rouages de la bureaucratie. Sans etre clairement etablies.

–Boundary_(ID_YmMJT+fPknbSf0CK09Vg3w)- –

PUTIN TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER

AZG Armenian Daily
19/12/2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in the Congress
of United Russia Party. He did not exclude the possibility of leading
the government.

According to him, his decision depends on the victory of Dmitri
Medvedev in coming presidential elections.

"If Russian citizens trust in Medvedev, in that case I will be ready
to continue my work with him", mentioned the Russian President.

TOGETHER WITH THE CYPRIAN AND KURDISH ISSUES THE ISSUE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SHOULD ALSO BE INCLUDED ON THE LIST OF THE PRECONDITIONS PROPOSED BY THE EU TO TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
Analytical Department
15.12.2007 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On December 14 the Europe Armenian Federation for
justice and Democracy (EAFJD) organized demonstrations in Brussels,
calling the EU to include the issue of the Armenian Genocide on
the list of the preconditions proposed by the EU to Turkey for its
integration into the European Union. The Armenians of Europe said
"No" to Turkey denying the Armenian Genocide, and announced that
it is necessary to keep the Copenhagen criteria, which include the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide on the list of the preconditions
proposed to Turkey in order to be integrated into the EU. "We are not
against Turkey’s membership; we are against the Turkey, which isn’t
willing to leave and recognize Cyprus, the Armenian Genocide and the
rights of the Kurdish people. While the European Union announced
about the necessity of Turkey’s respect for human rights and the
recognition of Cyprus, the issue of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide has never been a precondition for Turkey’s integration,"
said the Europe Central Committee Representative Murad Papazyan.

The European Armenian Federation thinks that the change in the basic
approaches of the negotiations with Turkey is a rather positive
step. This gives chances for political debates over the question
whether or not Turkey’s integration into Europe is a natural progress
for the European Union itself. "Even today, when the Europeans cannot
define whether the relations with Turkey will develop within the
context of "privileged partnership", we know that Turkey will try
to benefit from the EU as much as possible, and will try to take
advantage of all the possible factors to develop its economic and
military power," announced the Head of the (EAFJD) Hilda Choboyan.

No matter how hard Ankara tries to accuse the Armenian lobby of
"upsetting the national interests of the USA and Europe", more and more
countries come to realize that Turkey must be morally responsible for
the crimes committed in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923, since the
very Turkey of Ataturk is its assignee. It should be accepted that
the Armenian Organizations of Europe in their demand to recognize
the Armenian Genocide have achieved more noticeable success, than
the American Community. There are several reasons for that and among
them there are some which are of political and national character,
as well as one, which is of geographical character. The USA, because
of the distance, cannot feel the threat, hung over Europe in the form
of the Turkish factor. The annual growth of the Turkish population
in Europe comes to 1.6%.

According to some assessments the number of the Turkish migrants
reaches up to 40 million, which makes the 12% of the entire
population. This number is rather impressive, if we take into
consideration the tendencies of its growth. Moreover, ethnic Turks
possess sits in the parliaments of a number of European countries,
such as the Netherlands and Belgium. There are a lot of public
organizations lobbying Turkish interests and which are financed by
Ankara. But like in Europe, in America the Armenians are not alone
in their fight for justice. Simply the USA doesn’t want to spoil its
relationship with Ankara yet…

The Americans of Greek origins support the Armenian fight for the
Genocide recognition. As the Greek NEO Magazine writes, the wall of
the Genocide denial is about to fall down. One of the key factors of
the success of the Armenian and Greek lobby is that they could finally
pull down the wall of denial of the Armenian Genocide and this issue is
not being discussed any more. "In spite of the continuing campaign for
rewriting the Turkish history, the bribery of the politicians and the
threats to the national interests of the nation, who dared to recognize
the history, the issue of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 is again
in the center of attention," it said. It is emphasized in the article
that the Armenians are not alone in their fight for justice. The
Americans of Greek origins have been cooperating with the Armenians
for a rather long time for the official recognition of the truth. "The
Greeks have also suffered genocide. In 1914-1923 in the Ottoman Empire,
the Asia Minor and Pontus more than one million people were killed, the
Greek city Smyrna was burned down and its entire population was killed.

The genocide of the Pontus Greeks destroyed an old community. The
Greeks were resettled from the entire Asia Minor, while they had lived
there for 3 thousand years. In 1997 the U.S. Congress drafted a bill
about the memorial day of the Greek genocide. Meeting Turkey’s the
bill remained in the Committee only," says the NEO Magazine.

"I WILL VOTE FOR TIGRAN KARAPETYAN"

A1+
[12:23 pm] 18 December, 2007

"Arabkir community will support the RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan,
since he has greatly contributed to our country by his patriotic
activities and contributed to the establishment of our army". This
is the decision of Arabkir community head Hovhannes Shahinyan,
who is also the head of the Arabkir community headquarter of the
"Republican Party of Armenia".

He ensured that "the residents of Arabkir community, having enough
political will, experience and being well-organized, will provide a
splendid victory of their candidate during the upcoming presidential
elections". We were acknowledged about this declaration from the
information on the website of the "Republican Party of Armenia",
according to which on 14 December the community headquarter of the
party organized an event. Many high ranking officials participated
in this event. /see also

Assuming the responsibilities for heading the pre-election headquarter
of the presidential candidate Serge Sargsyan in Arabkir community,
Hovhannes Shahinyan ensured that the community had a potent and
faithful team, which was powerful by its ideology and experience.

"I live in Arabkir community but I will vote for Tigran Karapetyan",
said the RA presidential candidate Tigran Karapetyan to "A1+".

"I always say that both central sources and local self-governmental
bodies, which are not supposed to be a party affiliated and be engaged
only in local problems, support dominating powers. This makes Armenia
differ from other countries", he said.

According to Tigran Karapetyan, "central and local source serve
the authorities and that is the reason that the authorities do not
bother. I consider that the nation should be given the opportunity
to vote".

Tigran Karapetyan reminded that he was an alternative for the nation
and he had headquarters and co-thinkers in Arabkir. "I do not know
whether they will support me or not. It’s their right to choose. Last
time I got 2500 votes and hope to double them this time", said Tigran
Karapetyan.

DM MICHAEL HARUTYUNYAN TO VISIT MOSCOW

armradio.am
17.12.2007 17:07

December 19 the delegation headed by the Minister of Defense of the
Republic of Armenia Michael Harutyunyan will leave for Moscow on a
three-day working visit, Press Secretary of RA Ministry of Defense,
Colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan informs.

IAEA in full control of Iran’s nuclear program – foreign ministry

14:38 | 15/ 12/ 2007

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) – UN nuclear watchdog is fully
controlling Iran’s controversial nuclear program, a Russian deputy
foreign minister said Saturday.

Under an agreement reached between Iran and the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in late August, Tehran committed itself to
answering all of the agency’s questions on its nuclear program.

"IAEA controls all nuclear activities in Iran," Sergei Kislyak said.
"Iran will never obtain high enriched uranium…, while IAEA is there."

Western nations suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons.
Tehran has insisted it needs nuclear technology to generate
electricity, as is its right under the international non-proliferation
treaty.

The Islamic Republic is currently subject to two sets of UN Security
Council sanctions over its defiance to halt uranium enrichment, needed
in both weapons and electricity production. A further round of tougher
sanctions has been blocked by Russia and China.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report last month
that Iran had been truthful, in general, about key aspects of its
"nuclear dossier," but noted that Tehran was continuing to work on
uranium enrichment, despite persistent international demands to fold
the program.

EU offers Serbia deal on Kosovo

BBC
15-12-2007 10:36:12 – KarabakhOpen

Serbia said it would never accept anything in exchange for Kosovo
EU leaders have offered to accelerate Serbia’s membership in the bloc,
but only after Belgrade hands over war crime fugitives still at large.
The move is seen as a way of keeping the Balkans stable, with Kosovo
set to declare independence from Serbia.

The leaders also agreed in principle to send a 1,800 security force to
Kosovo.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the breakaway region’s
independence was "inevitable" but the leaders refrained from backing a
unilateral declaration.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said the recognition of
Kosovo’s independence would be "the most dangerous precedent after
World War II".

Mr Kostunica also said the EU plan to send its mission to Kosovo would
create "a puppet state" on Serbian soil.

‘Clearest signal’

At a one-day summit in Brussels, the EU leaders stated that the current
situation in Kosovo was unsustainable.

They said that they had agreed "in principle" to send its mission of
1,800 police and judicial officials to the province.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country currently holds
the EU presidency, said it was the clearest signal the EU could
possibly send that it intends to take the lead role in the future
status of the province.

This was a sentiment echoed by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown who said:
"Europe wants to manage the next stage in Kosovo in a pro-active and in
a united way."

The BBC’s Oana Lungescu in Brussels says Europe is also sending a
political message of encouragement to Serbia, ahead of a presidential
election next month where the pro-Western incumbent will face an
ultra-nationalist candidate.

Mr Socrates also said the EU was confident that Serbia’s progress
towards EU candidate status could be accelerated, but it hinged on
Belgrade’s full co-operation in handing over war crimes fugitives.

But the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic rejected any
linkage.

Serbia, he said, would work on speeding up European integration but
would never accept anything in exchange for Kosovo.

A majority of Serbs see Kosovo as an historic part of their country and
the issue will play a prominent part in the run-up to the election.

Serbian President Boris Tadic has said he is not prepared to distance
himself from the EU if it pushed for Kosovo’s independence, even though
he opposes it.

Some EU member states are against independence for Kosovo.

Cyprus is the most strongly opposed, but Greece, Slovakia, Spain and
Romania have all expressed concern about the possible repercussions for
separatist movements elsewhere in Europe.

Following the summit, Romania’s President Traian Basescu said: "Based
on the principle of territorial integrity and inviolability, we cannot
recognise Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence."