SWISS JUSTICE MINISTER SELF-CRITICIZES ARMENIAN BILL
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 5 2006
Swiss draft bill, which would penalize those who deny the existence
of the alleged “Armenian genocide” poses a predicament to freedom of
speech, said Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher to his Turkish
counterpart Cicek in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Blocher visited Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek on Wednesday
in Ankara.
“There is a dilemma between this law and freedom of speech. This law
is giving us headache too,” said Blocher to Mr. Cicek regarding the
so-called Armenian genocide bill in his country.
Blocher also told Cicek that they can not recognize the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a “terrorist organization”, since
Switzerland has not recognized any organization as “terrorist” since
War World II, with the exception of the Nazi party and al-Qaeda.
Following the meeting of two counterparts, the visiting minister
delivered a speech at a conference held at Ankara University to mark
the 80th anniversary of Turkey’s adoption of Switzerland’s civil code.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ATTACKS “CRIMINAL ELEMENTS” IN GOVERNMENT
By Emil Danielyan
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Oct 5 2006
Armenia’s main opposition forces have opened a new front in their
standoff with the government, launching a joint movement against
what they claim is the growing role of “criminal elements” in the
country’s political life. Influential Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian
and other leaders of the governing Republican Party (HHK), the main
targets of the campaign, have dismissed the accusations as an attempt
to discredit them ahead of approaching parliamentary elections.
For weeks this issue has dominated the discourse of the country’s
leading politicians, media commentators, and even prominent
intellectuals. The opposition allegations were sparked by a string of
high-profile murders and a recent influx of influential, but less than
law-abiding, individuals into the HHK. The latter development resulted
from the party’s far-reaching political alliance with Sarkisian,
which was formalized in late July.
Although the HHK continues to be officially headed by Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian, local analysts increasingly regard Sarkisian
as its de facto top leader. The defense minister, seen as President
Robert Kocharian’s most likely successor, is believed to have already
begun preparations for the next presidential election, due in 2008.
That vote will be preceded by parliamentary elections early next
year. Sarkisian has repeatedly implied that the HHK’s victory in
the polls is essential for his presidential ambitions. To that end,
he has bolstered Armenia’s largest establishment party, which already
controls many central and local government bodies, with over a dozen
loyal wealthy businessmen. Most of them represent government-connected
clans that hold sway in various areas of the country and have bribed
or bullied voters in previous Armenian elections.
Some are better known to the public by their notorious nicknames. By
“criminal elements” the Armenian opposition usually means them. “We now
see that mobsters or good fellows, as people call them, are entering
parties,” said former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian.
“By beating and terrorizing people they are trying to further their
interests. A country like that has no future.” His Orinats Yerkir
(Country of Law) party was expelled from Kocharian’s governing
coalition in May, charged on August 12.
The allegations were picked up by other prominent oppositionists
who link the HHK’s increased reliance on “criminal elements” with an
apparent upsurge in the number of contract killings reported in Armenia
this year. Most of those crimes were committed in broad daylight and
have not yet been solved by the police. Their most recent victim, a
high-ranking official at the Armenian government’s main tax collection
agency, was blown up in his own car in downtown Yerevan on September
6. The car bombing came less than a month after the brutal murder
of a local businessman and the fatal roadside shooting of a reputed
crime figure that left one innocent bystander dead. A stray bullet
also killed an innocent woman in June when gunmen chased and shot
dead a notorious “good fellow” in the city’s western Malatia-Sebastia
district.
The police have urged the public not to draw far-reaching conclusions
from the killings, arguing that Armenia continues to have one of
the lowest crime rates in the former Soviet Union. Sarkisian, for
his part, has rounded on the detractors of his party’s important
new recruits. The fact that they usually lack education, use slangy
phrases, and have mobster-style nicknames does not mean they are
criminals, he claimed.
However, the opposition attacks continued unabated, and on September
28 15 opposition parties launched an “anti-criminal movement” that
is supposed to counter the “criminalization of the political field.”
According to the movement’s joint declaration, “Criminal acts in the
country are committed with the connivance and direct encouragement
of the Robert Kocharian-Serge Sarkisian duo.” The initiative was
joined the next day by Intellectual Forum, a radical organization
uniting prominent artists and intellectuals critical of the Kocharian
administration. In a written statement, they urged Armenians to
“declare war on this regime and return power seized by criminal
traitors to the people.”
Just how the declared “anti-criminal movement” intends to achieve its
objectives is unclear, though. Its leaders admitted that they have not
even begun discussing concrete plans. Uneasy relationships among them
may well scupper those actions. In particular, some oppositionists
make no secret of their distrust of the movement’s main initiator:
Aram Karapetian, the outspoken leader of the Nor Zhamanakner (New
Times) party known for his Russian connections.
While sharing the opposition’s concerns, some Armenian newspapers
have speculated that the initiative was masterminded by Russia. The
daily Aravot said on September 18 that a senior Kremlin official,
Modest Kolerov, had recently visited Yerevan for that purpose.
Another paper, Zhamanak Yerevan, claimed last week that Moscow is
preparing the ground for installing a more pro-Russian regime in
Armenia. A group of other renowned intellectuals more sympathetic to
the Armenian leaderships apparently had Karapetian in mind when they
warned their pro-opposition colleagues, in a September 22 statement,
against being manipulated by “foreign agents.”
(Haykakan Zhamanak, September 28-29, September 23; Zhamanak Yerevan,
September 28; Aravot, September 18; RFE/RL Armenia Report, September 6,
August 14)

TURKS IN NETHERLANDS REJECT POLITICS OVER ARMENIAN ISSUE
Playfuls.com, Romania
Oct 5 2006
The large Turkish minority in the Netherlands is considering a boycott
of the Dutch elections in November as a result of pressure on Turkish
candidates to acknowledge that Armenians suffered genocide in 1915,
the daily Volkskrant reported Thursday.
“Many of the 400,000 Turks in the Netherlands regard themselves as
no longer welcome and are turning their backs on politics,” Sabri
Kenan Bagci, chairman of the IOT organization that speaks for Turkish
interests, told the daily Volkskrant.
Bagci said he had called a national meeting of leading Turks in
Utrecht on Sunday in response to a growing crisis over the issue
within the community.
Turkish candidates for the November 22 elections have come under
pressure from their parties to publicly acknowledge the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I as an act
of genocide.
The largest party in the Dutch parliament, the Christian Democrats
(CDA), has pulled two Turkish candidates from its electoral list,
while the main opposition Labour Party (PvdA) has dropped one.
Over the weekend the CDA placed another Turk on its list, but was
immediately accused of “tokenism.”
Talip Demirhan, who spent eight years on the CDA’s management board,
expressed his anger over the pressure on Turkish candidates.
“We are being asked whether our great-grandfather was a mass
murderer. If he was, then as far as I’m concerned he can go to hell,
but why should I have to acknowledge responsibility to the average
Dutch citizen,” Demirhan, 63, told the Volkskrant.
He poured scorn on the notion that this had to do with Dutch “norms
and values.”
The issue is highly sensitive in Turkey itself. The European Parliament
last week voted to withdraw a requirement that Turkey acknowledge the
Armenian genocide as part of the conditions for Turkish membership
of the European Union.
Turkish public opinion has taken a keen interest in the controversy in
the Netherlands, where official statistics put the number of residents
of Turkish origin at 365,000 in a population of 16.3 million.

KOCHARYAN ALSO OPPOSES FRENCH GENOCIDE BILL
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris
Zaman Online, Turkey
Oct 5 2006
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan reportedly opposes the French draft
law that will penalize the denial of the alleged Armenian genocide.
The Turkish delegation, which recently traveled to Paris to make
contacts regarding the draft to be discussed at the French parliament
on Oct. 12, noted that Kocharyan told French President Jacques Chirac
during his visit to Yerevan that Armenia did not favor the adoption
of the draft. It has been reported that Kocharyan cited the draft
as possibly harmful to Armenia’s relations with Turkey. Meanwhile,
the delegation returned to Ankara with no hopes of preventing its
adoption by the French parliament.
The delegation, comprising deputies Mehmet Dulger, Onur Oymen,
Sukru Elekdag and Musa Sivacioglu, was unable to meet with the
Socialist Party parliamentarians, who have been pushing for
adoption of the draft. The Socialist politicians abstained from
scheduling an appointment with the Turkish deputies. A small group
of socialist deputies who accepted to meet the delegation cancelled
the appointment. The delegation could meet only with socialist deputy
Jack Lang, who had announced his opposition to the draft, People’s
Majority Alliance’s Assembly Group Chairman Bernard Accoyer, Chairman
of the Assembly Jean Louis Debre and the Chairman of the Parliament
Commission of EU Affairs Lequiller. Stating that the politicians
the delegation met with stressed their opposition to the draft, the
deputies in the delegation also observed that the draft was regarded
as an election ploy.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy will reportedly take
care of the situation following a phone call from Turkish PM Erdogan.
To this end, Sarkozy is expected to address a letter to Prime Minister
Erdogan. Elysee Palace, however, informed the Turkish Embassy in
Paris that there was no change in the position of Chirac, who had
urged Turkey to recognize the alleged Armenian genocide during his
visit to Armenia.

“PA OSCE CANNOT SUBMIT THE NK PROBLEM BECAUSE OF FEARS ARMENIAN LOBBY”
Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Oct 5 2006
According to Eldar Ibrahimov, a chairman of MM Commission,
Nagorno-Garabagh cannot get a status higher autonomy “In connection
with settlement of Nagorno-Garabagh problem Joran Lenmarker held
a number of meetings. His activity in this field will serve for
his election as the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
OSCE. First of all, he is very influential,” informed Eldar Ibrahimov,
a member of Azerbaijani delegation to the PA OSCE and chairman of
MM Commission.
“I want to inform you that we’ve repeatedly demanded an extensive
discussion of the Nagorno-Garabagh conflict at the PA OSCR with
participation of Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group. But our
all efforts failed. It means that PA OSCE is not able to urge the
co-chairmen to the process. Personally I was always against it,
considering that if the OSCE Minsk Group failed to settle the
problem, the rapporteur also could not do it. In spite of that PA
OSCE Chairman decided this issue, singing a specific decree. Anyway
available facts prove my case. In addition, as it is known,
international organizations’ members initially, upheld neutrality
that change in the favor of Armenians after their visit to Yerevan
and Nagorno-Garabagh. I can say with confidence that this organization
fears to submit the Nagorno-Garabagh problem to the agenda because of
Armenian lobby. That’s why Joran Lenmarker does not desire to submit
the issue to the agenda,” he said.
In addition, Armenian senior officials explain all their
actions that Azerbaijan supposedly agreed to hold a referendum in
Nagorno-Garabagh. As E. Ibrahimov informs, Azerbaijan won’t do it,
as Nagorno-Garabagh is an integrated part of Azerbaijan. During all
negotiations which held at international level this region is regarded
as an integrated part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the majority
of countries recognize territorial integrity of our State.
At one of the important arrangements Joran Lenmarker stated that the
Nagorno-Garabagh cannot get higher status than autonomy.
Sometimes it concerns efficient activity of Azerbaijani community. E.
Ibrahimov stated about his discontent with such opinion: “Equally
with the head of the community Nizami Bahmanov, I took part in many
arrangements. I know what position he holds. The point is not weakness
of Azerbaijani community but extremely efficient activity of Armenian
community. The reason of such efficient activity is that Armenia and
supporting forces that established a terror regime led by Gukasian
in this state, present their work done in the occupied Azerbaijani
territory and at international level as a merit of Gukasian’s regime.”
–Boundary_(ID_rlTkmV7Uu/Mwt3CQzVZn Dw)–

THE OSCE MISSION BEGAN MONITORING ON THE TERRITORIES OF THE AZERBAIJANI REPUBLIC AND NKR ARMED FORCES’ CONTACT LINE
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006
In the morning of October 5, the OSCE Mission with the participation
of the NKR experts began its activity on assessment of the ecological
situation on the territories of the Azerbaijani Republic and Nagorno
Karabakh Republic armed forces contact-line. Currently the monitoring
is being carried out on the territories of the Azerbaijani side.
As it was informed earlier, at the request of the NKR leadership,
the monitoring had been postponed as the Karabakh side had put forward
definite demands on the format of conducting of the monitoring and sent
a corresponding note to the OSCE, the NKR MFA Press-Service reports.

TURKISH, SWISS JUSTICE MINISTERS VIEW TERRORISM, ARMENIAN BILL
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
4 Oct 06
Ankara, 4 October: “The asylum demands of the terrorists are not
genuine, they don’t rely on real reasons. You have to act accordingly,”
said Turkish justice minister on Wednesday [4 October].
Cicek received Switzerland’s Chief of Justice and Police Federal
Department Christoph Blocher today, in Ankara. Holding a joint press
conference at the Justice Ministry, Cicek underlined the importance
of the international cooperation against terrorism and said every
country should do its best to fight against terrorism.
“The terrorists go to European countries after they commit a crime.
Because of the legal loopholes in those countries, they benefit from
the democratic rights,” Cicek said.
Cemil Cicek added that they expect the European countries to act
accordingly to the terrorists who seek asylum.
“Switzerland behave timidly to terrorist organizations”
“Switzerland as an impartial country behave timidly to the terrorist
organizations,” Switzerland’s Chief of Justice and Police Federal
Department Christoph Blocher stated. Blocher added that, Switzerland
only accepts Nazis and Al-Qa’idah as terrorist organizations.
Blocher mentioned that they cannot respond Turkey’s demand to accept
some of the organizations as terrorist organizations but there must
be a cooperation against terrorism. “Some governments apply us and
want us to help for a contact between them. Since we are an impartial
country we may be beneficial to help them,” he added.
So-called ‘Armenian genocide’
Cicek said that the Turkish government is finding hard to understand
why statements rejecting so-called Armenian genocide would constitute
a crime.
“When you take into consideration freedom of expression of ideas,
any penalty for rejecting so-called Armenian genocide can not be
accepted. I conveyed our approach to the subject. This is a matter
involving history. Historians, scientists and joint commissions
can conduct research on the matter. As the Turkish government and
administration, we have opened all archives. Trying to resolve
historical matters with political decisions only makes the matter
more complex to deal with and is not a realistic approach. I tried
to explain our uneasiness on the matter,” stressed Cicek.
Blocher reminded that Chairman of the Turkish Historical Society Dr
Yusuf Halacoglu and Turkish Labour Party leader Dogu Perincek faced
legal investigation for making comments that the so-called “Armenian
genocide never took place”. “We support the idea to establish a
commission of historians so that they can conduct research on the
matter,” noted Blocher.
“There is a law in Switzerland that originally was designed to punish
those denying the Jewish Holocaust of World War II. We could not
have imagined that this law could be applied to so-called Armenian
genocide. This law is a headache for us. My ministry will research
ways to handle the matter without interfering in Halacoglu and Perincek
cases,” stressed Blocher.
Blocher added that he invited the Justice Minister Cicek to Switzerland
and if Cicek says “Turks did not commit genocide to Armenians” in his
country, nothing will happen. If Cicek goes to jail, he will also go
to jail with him, he said.

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, EU’S REHN VIEW INTEGRATION PROCESS IN NEWS CONFERENCE
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
4 Oct 06
Ankara, 4 October: “Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU
membership process. The most important things are the determination,
the capacity of overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we
have that capacity,” said Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Gul on Wednesday [4 October].
Gul held a joint news conference together with EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn.
“Mr Rehn’s visit coincided with the first anniversary of the opening
of entry talks between Turkey and the EU. We have recorded important
developments last year. Turkey has maintained the screening process
successfully. We consider the negotiation process a transformation for
Turkey. We also consider this process a period of modernization and a
period of increasing our standards to the level of EU-member states,”
he said.
“Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU membership process.
The most important things are the determination, the capacity of
overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we have that
capacity. Therefore, we need the negotiation process,” he said.
Gul kept on saying: “Turkey has become a centre of economic attraction
since 3 October 2005. We will continue fulfilling our commitments. We
expect the EU to contribute to our efforts in this process.”
Upon a question about the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Gul said: “We have a long negotiation process ahead of us. We will
increase all standards in Turkey.”
When asked whether the resolution in France envisaging to punish
those who deny the so-called Armenian genocide was against freedom of
thought, Gul said: “During my meetings in France, I stressed that the
resolution was nothing but a contradiction. I hope that the resolution
will be rejected.”
Upon another question about proposal of Finland on the Cyprus issue,
Gul told reporters: “If we succeed in resolving the Cyprus issue,
it will be beneficial for everyone. Together with Greece and Cyprus
as a whole, we can create an area of cooperation in the eastern
Mediterranean. Turkish Cypriots have fulfilled their responsibilities
to this end. We expect the same positive attitude from the other
party. We told Finland which holds the rotating EU presidency, that if
isolation of Turkish Cypriots was lifted, we could take some tangible
steps. However, no one should expect Turkey to take unilateral steps
as long as the isolation continued.”
Speaking at the news conference, Rehn said that there was a difficult
and long period ahead of Turkey. He said that both Gul and he was
determined to this end, adding that Turkey and the EU would work
together to find solution to several problems which would enable the
parties to maintain the negotiation process.
Noting that he came to Ankara to mark the first anniversary of the
opening of entry talks between Turkey and the EU, Rehn said that the
Progress Report to be released in the coming weeks would include many
developments and several deficiencies.
Rehn told reporters that they were aware of the current threat of
terrorism, adding that terrorism jeopardized not only Turkey but the
whole world.
He said that they appreciated the reform process in Turkey, noting
that there were still many things to do.
Rehn stressed that his meetings in Ankara focused on freedom of
expression and freedom of religion.
He highlighted importance of Turkey’s fulfilling its commitments
stemming from the additional protocol extending the Customs Union
deal to cover the whole EU-member countries during the presidency
of Finland.
Referring to the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Rehn said some people in Turkey were tried because of their critical
attitude. He said that those trials stemmed from indefinite expressions
in the article.
Upon a question about the so-called Armenian genocide, Rehn said that
recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide was not a pre-condition
neither in Turkey’s negotiation process nor in the full membership
process. He highlighted importance of creating an appropriate
atmosphere for discussions over the issue in order to provide an
atmosphere of compromise between Turkish and Armenian societies.

SERBIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY AGAINST ARMS EXPORTS TO GEORGIA, ARMENIA
FoNet news agency, Belgrade,
4 Oct 06
Belgrade, 4 October: The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
announced in a statement that it will not give its political consent
for the export and transport of Serbian weapons to Georgia and Armenia
because they could be used against Russia and the Russian Army in
that crisis area.
The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that it is not competent
to issue permits for the export and transport of weapons from Serbia
and that such permits are issued by the Ministry for Foreign Economic
Relations. The foreign affairs ministry only gives its political
opinion on export or import, the statement adds.
We assumed a negative position towards requests for the export of
weapons to Georgia and Armenia and we explained it by saying that it
could be used in that crisis area against Russians and the Russian
Army, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.
Only two weeks ago, in talks with our state delegation led by Serbian
President Boris Tadic, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey
Lavrov thanked Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Draskovic and the
Serbian government for their stance not to export weapons to the
Caucasus region, because they are intended for fighting Russia,
the statement says.
It goes on to say that, despite political opposition from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and
the Serbian government may nevertheless issue licenses for the export
and import of Serbian weapons to Georgia and Armenia.

RUSSIA MAY SPEED UP TROOPS WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA – DEFENCE MINISTER
RTR Russia TV, Moscow,
4 Oct 06
[Presenter] Russia may speed up the withdrawal of Russian military
bases from Georgia, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sergey
Ivanov said in Bishkek today.
Let me recall that, according to an agreement signed in March this
year, the military base located in Akhalkalak should be removed by
1 October 2007, and the one located in Batumi, by the end of 2008.
[Ivanov] As for the group of Russian troops deployed in the
Transcaucasus, specifically the part of them deployed in Georgia, as
we also have a military base in Armenia, let me assure you, we are not
going to increase the number of these troops, as it makes no sense at
all. On the contrary, we will keep withdrawing our two Russian bases
from Georgia in line with the schedule and even ahead of it. Given
the conditions our servicemen are living in – [changes tack]. I think
all of you understand the condition of our soldiers and officers there.