Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GIVES DINNER RECEPTION FOR IRANIAN COUNTERPART

Islamic Republic News Agency
Oct 22 2007
Iran

Armenian President Robert Kocharian gave a dinner reception in honor
of his Iranian counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Monday.

President Ahmadinejad at the head of a politico-economic delegation
arrived in Yerevan for a 2-day official visit on Monday afternoon.

Officials from both countries signed 4 memoranda of understanding
(MoU) and a joint statement after the two presidents’ meeting.

President Ahmadinejad also received honorary doctorate degree and
gold badge of the Yerevan State University Monday evening.

President Ahmadinejad’s Senior Advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Acting Minister of Oil Gholam-Hossein
Nozari and Iranian head of Iran-Armenia friendship group of parliament
Ahmad Nateq-Nouri are accompanying President Ahmadinejad.

DOZENS DIE IN TURKEY BORDER CLASH

BBC NEWS
Karabakhopen
21-10-2007 20:02:07

At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by
Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border – with 32 rebels also killed,
officials say.

The PKK guerrilla group said it had also taken "several" soldiers
hostage.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security
officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting.

Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the
government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance
to do so by parliament.

On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to
allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against
rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.

It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK – the Kurdistan Workers’
Party – as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy.

Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish
soldiers and civilians dead.

Call for unity

In the latest attack shortly after midnight, a large group of PKK
rebels crossed the border from Iraq and launched their attack near
the village of Daglica in Hakkari province, the Turkish military said.

The rebels attacked with heavy weapons, also wounding a number of
soldiers, Turkish media reported.

The Turkish military said it sent reinforcements and helicopters to
the area, and launched retaliatory attacks in which 32 guerrillas
were killed.

PKK sources confirmed the fighting, and claimed more troops were
killed than the official figure of 12.

"There were clashes with the Turkish troops late last night in which
we have killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded 20. We also captured
several," Reuters quoted an unnamed rebel source as saying.

Not far from the scene of the fighting, in south-eastern Hakkari
province, a minibus was later caught in a landmine explosion, also
blamed on the PKK, that injured 10 civilians, the state news agency
Anatolia said.

The prime minister said: "We are very angry."

But he said he was "resolved to deal with these matters in a
cool-headed manner".

He urged the media to show restraint in its reporting of the situation.

Increased pressure

About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq
near the Turkish border, says the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.

There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year,
but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time.

The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public
and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.

The United States, Turkey’s Nato ally, has called for restraint,
urging Turkey to work with Iraq to solve the problem.

The US and Iraq fear any incursions would destabilise Iraq’s most
peaceful area – the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

Iraqi leaders say they are determined to remove the PKK, but have
pleaded for more time.

The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq warned
Turkish MPs that any intervention would be "illegal" and has denied
providing the PKK with any help.

The rebels themselves said they would fight any Turkish forces which
cross the border.

More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting
for greater autonomy for the largely-Kurdish south-eastern Turkey
since 1984.

The Brandeis Hoot, NJ
Oct 19 2007

Dial D for Denial
or How I learned to stop worrying about history and love genocide
By Jon Lange

Someone once asked Marcel Ophüls, a director whose films The Sorrow
and the Pity and Hôtel Terminus changed the way a generation of
Europeans thought about fascist collaborationism, what it was like
spending so much of his time interviewing Nazis. `Oh I get along with
Nazis,’ he responded.`We share something in common: an interest in
the past. I share more with them than I do with most people today who
don’t care about the past.’

Last week, President Bush demonstrated that he cares about past. The
House of Representatives is trying to pass a long overdue resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The massacre and forced
deportation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between
1915 and 1917 marked the beginning of a golden age of mass murder
during which technology and ideology came together in perfect
symbiosis and made it possible to do in a few years something that
used to take centuries viz. exterminate an entire ethnic, religious,
or national group.

Bush has come out firmly against the House resolution. In so doing he
took the standard line that Turkish nationalists have been towing for
decades. The argument goes something like this: Sure, a lot of
Armenians died, but 20 million people died during the First World
War, so we really don’t have to call this particular slaughter
genocide. Bush’s denial of the Armenian Genocide is based on simple
political calculations. The US needs Turkish cooperation to ship
military supplies for its own mass murder in Iraq, and the Americans
want to make sure that Turkey doesn’t invade Kurdistan. Denying
genocide is a price Bush has shown that he is all too ready to pay as
long as this denial furthers US imperialism.

If the Armenian Genocide denier’s argument sounds vaguely familiar to
you, you’re not alone. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes a similar tact when
talking about the Nazi Holocaust. Ahmadinejad famously told NBC’s
Brian Williams, `In the second World War, over 60 million people lost
their lives. They were all human beings. Why is it that only a select
group of those who were killed have become so prominent and
important?’

This kind of hypocrisy and opportunism is exactly what I’ve come to
expect from the Bush Administration, but there is some good news. For
the first time in nearly seven years, Bush and I have something in
common. We both care about the past, albeit in different ways. I
agree with Orwell that we can’t obliterate history for political
purposes. For Bush, on the other hand, history is a tool which he can
use to denounce his enemies and which he can ignore when denial
advances his political goals.

Perhaps this resolution will scuttle the long-standing
American-Turkish alliance. If that’s the case, I say let it drown.
Any relationship build on a foundation of lies is doomed to collapse.
Even the most elaborate diplomatic dance will not resurrect dead
Armenians and no alliance is so essential that we should deny a
genocide in order to protect it.

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Public TV, Armenia
Oct 17 2007

NKR endorses economic growth plan

[Presenter] The Nagornyy Karabakh national assembly [parliament]
unanimously approved today [17 October] the new cabinet’s programme.
Prime minister Ara Harutyunyan underscored that it is necessary to
continue the socio-economic policies by applying more effective
methods. Harutyunyan said that while the hardships of transitional
economy have been overcome in general, social conditions and low
incomes pose a serious threat to stable development of the country
and establishment of a civil society.

[Karabakh prime minister Ara Harutyunyan, addressing parliament
session] This programme will result in the following main indicators
in 2008-12: a real GDP growth of 14-15 per cent annually; annual
increase of investments by more than 30 per cent. A 14-15 per cent
annual growth will enable [Karabakh] to get into the group of
countries with mid-level income in 2012.

Foreign Minister Oskanian’s meetings in United Arab Emirates

armradio.am
19.10.2007 17:10

On October 19, in the United Arab Emirates on the occasion of the Taste
of Armenia Cultural Week, Minister Oskanian met with Crown Prince
Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, of Ras Al Khaimah Emirate and signed
the Join Declaration on Cooperation between the Emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah and Armenia, citing specifically the need to advance the
cooperation in energy, mining industry, transport and
telecommunications, as well as in the tourism spheres.

The Minister and the Crown Prince discussed cooperation in economic
spheres and discussed some regional issues. The Minister also met with
Dr. Khater Massad, principal advisor to the Crown Prince, and head of
RAKEEN Development and Al Hamra Real Estate, principal sponsor of the
Armenia Week.

The previous day, in Abu Dhabi, Minister Oskanian was received by Dr
Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs
of the UAE. They held an extensive discussion on regional matters of
economic and political interest, as well as the sectors of possible
cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Armenia.

U. S. Department of State
Daily Briefing
10/17/2007

QUESTION: Can I have a reaction to the vote in Turkish parliament?
MR. CASEY: Well, I think the President addressed that, in
part. Understand that this vote has taken place. I would note that
many Turkish officials, including senior leadership, have indicated
that this vote does not mean that action will be taken. We certainly
continue to urge Turkish authorities to exercise restraint in terms of
their response to what is a common problem of PKK terrorism in
Northern Iraq. We do not want to see any unilateral military steps
taken, because we don’t believe that that will solve the problem. In
fact, we believe it will make it harder to ultimately deal with the
threats and challenges posed.
We’ll certainly continue to talk with the Turkish Government and with
Turkish officials, as we move forward in the days ahead. I would note,
as well as the President did, that Iraqi Vice President Al-Hashimi has
been and I believe continues to be in Turkey to have discussions with
Turkish officials on this issue. That’s important because again the
real way to resolve this is through dialogue between the Turks and the
Iraqis and in development of a collective and common approach to this
problem. And it is a problem not only for the Turks, but it is a
problem, an acknowledged problem by the Iraqis and certainly it’s a
concern for us, too, because we do consider the PKK a terrorist
organization.
QUESTION: Can you give an update on specific diplomatic activities,
specific calls? Has the Secretary made any calls?
MR. CASEY: Well, there are a few things that are out there. The
Secretary, as you know, is on travel and she’s not made any additional
calls to Turkish officials on this issue. I do know that our
Ambassador Ross Wilson has been actively engaged with authorities
there in Ankara. Nick Burns remains in contact with the Turkish
Ambassador as well as other officials. And certainly I know Ambassador
Fried — Dan Fried, our Assistant Secretary for European Affairs — is
also continuing his engagement.
Although, same officials as well have been working on a related issue,
which is to talk to staff members and members of Congress about our
concerns and our continued opposition to the resolution that recently
passed the committee in the House. We want to make clear to members of
Congress that this resolution is one that is not going to serve the
purposes of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. It’s not going to serve
U.S. national interests and, in fact, stands a good risk of harming
our bilateral relations with a country that is a friend and ally and
is vital to our military’s efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.
I’m pleased to note and we’re pleased to note over the last 24 hours
that there have been a number of members of Congress who have now come
out and publicly stated that they’ve changed their view and will no
longer be supporting this resolution. Certainly, we would hope that
trend would continue. And again, we’re committed to doing what we can
to work with members of Congress to see that this resolution’s
ultimately defeated.

U.S. TERMS TURKEY AS IMPORTANT FRIEND, ALLY

People’s Daily Online, China
Source:Xinhua
Oct 16 2007

The United States said Monday that Turkey has been its good friend
and ally and hopes to continue to work with Turkey despite the
present problems.

"Turkey and the United States have been good friends and NATO allies
for a long time," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said
at a briefing.

Despite the problems that have occurred, "we believe it’s important
and believe we will continue to be able to work together as friends
and allies," Casey said.

The United States has urged Turkey to show restraint and not engage
in cross-border military action against the separatist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK). However, The Turkish government has sought its
parliament’s authorization to do so.

Moreover, Turkey has been furious over a resolution by the House
Foreign Affairs Committee branding the killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917 a "genocide."

Turkey has condemned the "genocide" bill and recalled its ambassador
to Washington back to Turkey for consultation over the matter, a sign
of exasperated US-Turkey tension over the issue.

QUALITY – FIRST OF ALL
Norayr Hovsepian

Azat Artsakh Tert
Oct 16 2007
Nagorno Karabakh Republic

On October 12th, an unexpected visit of the NKR President B.Sahakian
took aback the workers of some building sites of the capital and the
organizations carrying out construction. The purpose of the visit was
one – to familiarize with a course and problems of construction on a
place, quality of carried out works. The members of the Government led
by the Prime Minister A.Haroutyunian, representatives of mass-media
were accompanying the President. After the discussions, the Minister
of Urban Palnning A.Mamounts had a brief talk with journalists. He
assured, that in accordance with the remarks of the president,
urgent steps would be taken in direction of doing away with observed
shortcomings. By his assurance, there were corresponding structures
supervising the quality of constructions.

The assignment of the President would simply become additional
stimulus, that works carried out in this direction became more severe.

A.R.F. Youth Organization of Canada
A.R.F "Armen Karo" Student Association
ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
3401 Rue Olivar-Asselin Montréal, Québec H4J 1L5
Tél: 514-331-6548 =95 Fax: 514-334-6853 =95 Email:
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Maria Keusseyan 514 -816-9652
Talar Mirzayan 514-887-2490

October 14 octobre, 2007

Armenian Youth participate in Global Conference on Prevention of Genocide

Montreal, QC, Canada – Representatives of the A.R.F. Youth Organization of
Canada, Armen Karo Student Association and Armenian National Committee of
Canada took part in the Global Conference on the Prevention of Genocide
organized by the McGill Faculty of Law and Centre for Human Rights and Legal
Pluralism on October 11-13 in Montreal.

The conference analyzed various genocides to sensitize participants to early
warning signs so that the public may alert the international community to
take preventive action, as is the case today in Ethiopia.

Chair of the organizing committee, Payam Akhavan S.J.D., opened the
Conference Thursday night stating that "the 20th century has been described
as the Century of Genocide. It opened in 1915 with the mass-killing of
almost 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire".

Two Armenian representatives were selected from about 300 applicants to
participate in the Young Leaders Forum that took place in the days leading
up to the Conference.

The representatives of the Armenian Youth Organization and the National
Committee of Canada reached a common understanding with the organizers of
the conference. A petition was prepared in support of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution currently before the United States Congress. It included such
signatories as Professor Frank Chalk, Payam Akhavan, Dr.Yehuda Bauer, the
Honourable Irwin Cotler, Senator Roméo Dallaire, Professor Gregory Stanton,
and Penny Echenberg, who founded the conference.

"Yes, our participation added to the greater community’s arsenal but today
the Armenian Youth walk away from the Conference ever more aware of the
urgency with which we have to respond and be present to remind the
international community of our history and our resolve to seek justice" said
Nanor Nicolian, president of the A.R.F. Youth Organization.

At the end of this Conference, the Young Leaders declared that they would
"promote recognition and empathy, justice and accountability." The Youth
Organization and Student Association of Canada will stand firm to remind
them as well as other participants of their commitment to solidarity.

TURKEY COULD PARALYZE CRITICAL SUPPLY LINES TO IRAQ

World Tribune
Oct 15 2007

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration is concerned that Turkey could
block vital U.S. supply routes to Iraq.

Seventy percent of the fuel and air shipments to the U.S. military
in Iraq are currently routed through Turkey.

Officials said the Defense Department and U.S. military believe
Ankara could retaliate to a U.S. House resolution that blamed Turkey
for the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in World War I. They said
Ankara could block weapons and supplies to the U.S. military in Iraq.

"I think we all recognize there were mass murders 95 years ago, 1915,"
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "The problem that we have is
that this is clearly a very sensitive subject for one of our closest
allies, and an ally that is incredibly important to the United States
in terms of our operations in Iraq."

Gates said 70 percent of the U.S. air cargo to Iraq flies through
Turkey. He said 70 percent of the fuel requirements of the
U.S. military in Iraq also moves through neighboring Turkey.

Officials said Turkey also serves as the route for new U.S. armored
vehicles to Iraq. They cited the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected,
or MRAP, vehicles, designed to withstand improvised explosive devices.

"For those who are concerned that we get as many of these Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected heavy vehicles into Iraq as possible,
95 percent of those vehicles today are being flown into Iraq through
Turkey," Gates said on Oct. 12.

Another concern was that Turkey would limit the U.S. use of the
Incirlik air force base near Iraq. The United States has sought to
expand its use of Incirlik, now reserved for training and logistics
missions.