AZERI POLITICIANS CONSIDER NECESSARY TO CERATE NEW ORG. IN UNO FOR REGULATION OF CONFLICTS IN S CAUCASUS
Author: S.Agayeva
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 30 2006
It is impossible to achieve any progresses in the settlement of
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework
of format of OSCE Minsk Group, the Director of Human Rights Institute
of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, politician Rovshan
Mustafayev briefed journalists on September 30, Trend reports.
The co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group themselves confirmed it with their
recent statement recognizing that the fancies have exhausted.
According to Mustafayev, a deadlock situation emerged in result,
but it needs to seek and find a way out with the international
organizations created under concrete goals.
The politician considers necessary to create a new organization that
should be a part of UNO. According to Mustfayev, the format of this
organization should cover not only Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but
also all conflicts caused by Armenian separatism in South Caucasus.

CHIRAC URGES TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE 1915 GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS
Interfax Russia
Sept 30 2006
YEREVAN. Sept 30 (Interfax) – Turkey should admit the errors of
the past, including the 1915 genocide of Armenians, if it wants to
accede to the European Union, French President Jacques Chirac said
at a press conference during a state visit to Armenia on Saturday.
“I believe that any country, as long as it develops, also confesses
to mistakes it made in the past, and I think Turkey should seriously
think about this issue,” Chirac said.
Chirac referred to the example of Germany, which has not lost its
greatness by admitting the Holocaust but, on the contrary, other
nations have started to trust it more.
From: Baghdasarian

IRAN, ARMENIA, GEORGIA SIGN MOU ON SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Sept 30 2006
Energy ministers of Iran, Armenia and Georgia signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) in Yerevan on Saturday on an agreement for supply
of electricity.
The three ministers in the MoU stressed the importance of boosting
their tripartite cooperation in the field of energy.
Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said that based on the MoU Iran
would supply electricity to Georgia via Armenia and vice-versa.
He said that Iran will transfer some 50mw of electricity to Georgia
within the next two to three months while Georgia would transfer the
same amount in spring.
The Iranian minister said that the exchange of electric power would
be increased to 350mw in the next two years.
He said that some 800mw of electricity have been imported into the
country from Georgia this summer, adding that Iran now has the capacity
to produce electricity more than domestic demand which it can export.

RAGE OF ANKARA
By Nazlan Ertan
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 30 2006
The Turkish temper has targeted two foreigners in the last seven
days: first Hansjoerg Kretschmer, the head of the European Commission
Delegation to Turkey, and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president.
Camiel Eurlings, the author of a much-modified Turkey report in
the European Parliament, was clearly overshadowed by those two,
particularly after an offending reference to the Armenian “genocide”
being a precondition for Turkish accession in the European Union was
removed from the text.
Accountability
The remarks by Kretschmer, made at the launch of Almanak Turkey, on
the security sector and democratic oversight, weren’t particularly
different to previous ones in European Commission progress reports.
However, his remarks that the military has been exempt of
“accountability,” which must be observed by all state institutions,
created an angry reaction from the top commanders. Gen. Ilker Basbug,
the Land Forces commander and possibly the next chief of General
Staff, reacted tersely to the remarks, saying that it could not be
considered undemocratic to defend the principles of the republic. The
reply that was most-awaited was that of Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the
new chief of staff, who is considered more of a hardliner than his
predecessor. The critical date of the response is Monday, when Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Washington.
Eurlings contained
The offensive report of Dutch Member of the European Parliament Camille
Eurlings was accepted by the EP general assembly this week, but Turkish
diplomacy, combined with distributed fact-sheets, letters and visiting
parliamentary delegations, managed to wipe out the most offensive
parts of the report. The wording that established recognition of the
Armenian “genocide” as a precondition to Turkish membership in the
European Union was withdrawn by Belgian Socialist Deputy Dominique de
Keyzer, after being reminded by her own party that the move may lead
to a loss of Turkish votes in the next local elections in Belgium,
scheduled for Oct. 8. For the first time, resident foreigners,
including Turkish guest-workers, will vote in the elections.
A reference to the Pontic Greek and Syriac “genocides” was also removed
from the text, replaced by an article which said that Turkey should
reconcile with its past.
In the words of Ali Babacan, Turkey’s two-hatted chief negotiator
who’s started a second tour of Europe by visiting Italy and Finland,
pointed out that the report, even at its present stage, is far
from satisfactory. True enough, the report carried heavy criticism,
part of which will be reflected in the Commission’s regular report
on Turkey. These centered around the role of the military, cultural
and religious freedoms, and the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish
Penal Code (TCK).
A new ‘Dawn’?
Yes, the notorious case against Elif Safak, whose last name means
“dawn,” is over, but the debate on Article 301 of the TCK continues.
Attempts to change this article on insulting not only Turkish
institutions but Turkishness itself, continue. Criticized in a recent
Amnesty International report, the infamous article has been defended
by Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who said that many European Union
countries have similar articles. Cicek, in a televised interview,
read a Polish text which makes insulting the national dignity of
Polish people and Polishness a criminal act. What he didn’t add,
however, is that this article was used for the last time in 1995.
Rumors indicate that the Foreign Ministry is eager to modify the
article before November, but that the Justice Ministry supports slower
moves in that direction.
Talabani speaks up
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has achieved what no Turkish politician
could: He managed to get pro-state, anti-EU daily Cumhuriyet, and
liberal, pro-EU Radikal, newspapers with widely different outlooks,
to run the same headline: “Talabani threatens Turkey.” The Iraqi
president said, while in the U.S., that he spoke to the PKK and said
the terrorist group will declare a ceasefire in a few days. A few days
later, he announced that Iraq’s neighbors are interfering in Iraq’s
affairs too much and if they don’t stop, Iraq will reciprocate by
supporting opposition groups in those countries.
Turkey, angry at being compared to regional countries such as Iran
and Syria, responded with a reasonably moderate statement. Foreign
Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Turkey’s policy toward Iraq
is both transparent and in line with good neighborly ties. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for once controlling his temper, said
that the remarks were unfortunate, and hoped it was a mistake which
would not be repeated. The harshest reaction came from Cemil Cicek,
the justice minister, who said, “This man is a boot kisser.”
The remarks of Mr Talabani on interference by neighbors came at a
time when a Turkish Parliament delegation was in northern Iraq to
“see the situation of Turkmens and Kirkuk.”
Mr. Erdogan goes to Washington
Erdogan left for London via Washington! In less than five days, the
premier will meet with both U.S. President George W.Bush and British
Premier Tony Blair. The joke in Ankara’s political circles is that
Erdogan intends to use this trip to clear the way to the presidency;
but he may be wiser to take his cues from Blair — and learn instead
to clear the way, period.

DELEGATION OF THE NA OF RA TO LEAVE FOR STRASBOURG
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Sept 29 2006
On October 2 in Strasbourg the works will begin the PACE (Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe) plenary session, which will
attend the delegation of the National Assembly of Armenia headed
by Mr. Tigran Torosyan, President of the National Assembly of the
Republic of Armenia, Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE.
Armen Roustamyan, Hermine Naghdalyan, Stepan Demirchyan and Artashes
Geghamyan will leave for Strasbourg in this delegation.
Within the framework of the PACE plenary session the five years of
the accession of Armenia to PACE will be marked.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“TODAY AZERBAIJAN IS NOT READY FOR EITHER PEACE OR WAR”: INTERVIEW WITH HAYK DEMOYAN
Regnum, Russia
Sept 30 2006
Hayk Demoyan – candidate of historical sciences, expert, author of
numerous works on Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azeri relationsREGNUM:
After the well-known statement of the OSCE MG co-chairs, the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process has got into a stalemate. Whom does
this situation benefit more and what can we expect from the possible
future meetings of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents and
FMs?The present situation is the logical result of what is called
a negotiating process. Despite all efforts and proposals, the sides
remain diametrically opposite on the key issue – the status of Nagorno
Karabakh. What is status? Status is what Nagorno Karabakh has today,
and it would be naïve to hope that Nagorno Karabakh will agree to any
proposal or referendum that may reduce the existing status, that is,
the independent existence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
In this light, I would like to advise not to keep the public opinion
in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh under the pressure of the concept
of unsettled conflict. For Nagorno Karabakh Armenians, who suffered
aggression on the part of Azerbaijan, the problem has been solved quite
acceptably. One should not keep society under the strain of negative
information flows. The problem of the Azerbaijani side is that they
reject any scenario proposed and get very nervous about the concepts
of “compromise” and “mutual concessions.” Unfortunately, they have
not realized yet – or they don’t want to – that talks with NKR is
the only acceptable way to peace. Under no pretext or temptation,
will the Armenian side renounce what it has gained through losses
and sufferings. It will not agree to pass this road again.
It is very hard yet to say what exactly the co-chairs will put on the
negotiating table. However, it is obvious that 2006 is already gone
for any agreement. Today, Azerbaijan has little room for maneuver,
and its only tactics are to blame the Armenian side for wrecking the
negotiating process. However, everybody knows that the key reason of
failures, so far, has been exactly the “whims” of Baku.
REGNUM: They in Azerbaijan keep making bellicose statements, like
“the Armenians are afraid of war,” “We will liberate our lands by
any means” and so on. What are they after?
First, the situation when, on the one hand, the sides are negotiating
peace, and, on the other, Baku keeps making revengeful militarist
statements is beyond any logic. Obviously, in their fit of revenge,
the Azeri authorities forget that war is something very bad and it
is bad for the Azeri people too. Second, it seems that the Azeri
authorities are convincing themselves that they have already won a
virtual victory over the Armenians and, then, are surprised to see
that it is not so in reality.
To keep showing off bravado before cameras in hope that the opposite
side will be horrified with their empty talk is something the weak
do. In fact, we all know about bullying, malnutrition, unsanitary
conditions and corruption in the Azerbaijani army – and about the
huge peace-time human casualties they are sustaining – allegedly
because of the Armenians.
The conclusion is obvious: today, Azerbaijan is not ready for
either peace or war. So, the Azerbaijani leaders’ statements that
“Azerbaijan’s patience has limits” and “Azerbaijan will use any –
even military – means” to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem are
just irresponsible groundless words – something meant for certain
sections of the Azerbaijani society and easily accepted by them. At
the same time, there are many people in Azerbaijan who perfectly
know what military capacities their country actually has and realize
what consequences a new war by the Azerbaijani leaders may have
for Azerbaijan.
REGNUM: Armenia and Azerbaijan very seldom agree on anything
in the negotiating process. What do they hope for and what role
does the information war have at the current stage?Azerbaijan has
managed to overcome a bit the initially pro-Armenian position in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Today, it poses as a victim of the
Armenian aggression but it forgets that it got into such a situation
because of its own aggression against the peaceful population of
Nagorno Karabakh. It is not a secret that for Azerbaijan the only
acceptable solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is “Nagorno
Karabakh without Armenians.”All their promises of autonomy – even
the highest possible one – are just empty talk with Oriental accent
for the poorly aware international audience. The war of 1991-1993 has
shown Azerbaijan’s resolution to expel Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from
their historical land by any means, while Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians
have proved their resolution to die for their land.
Azerbaijan’s current policy – particularly, to present Armenians as
an enemy and to officially support anti-Armenian propaganda – proves
that the Azerbaijani side has not changed its initial position on
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
Whether Azerbaijan likes it or not, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is
a fully-fledged state and, if somebody does not like it, let him
continue calling NKR “so-called.” This changes nothing at all. This
is just self-complacency. Azerbaijan’s provisos that “the status of
Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be determined under continuing occupation and
ethnic cleansing” is just a political slyness. The Armenian side has a
big experience of work with the Azeri “peacemakers” and knows well that
any one-sided concession is just the beginning of new – and probably
bigger – ones. They in Baku must put up with the fact that Azeri
territory is no longer 86,600 sq km, as it was in the Soviet times,
and that in the West Azerbaijan will border on two Armenians states,
who are ready to rebuff any military adventures and aggressive plans.
REGNUM: Recently the Azerbaijani press reported that the Heydar
Aliyev Foundation and Azerbaijani MPs are going to appeal to the
Hague War Crimes Court against the Armenian and NKR leaders. How
are they going to succeed in the matter?If I were in their shoes,
I would not do it as there are plenty of counter-facts. Azerbaijan’s
propaganda machine is searching for new refined ways to compromise
Armenia and its leaders. They don’t notice the log in their own eye:
in fact, the Azeri leaders are the best candidates for appearing in
the Hague for answering the following charges: 1. For unleashing a
cruel war against the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh and
borderline regions of Armenia,
2. For blocking roads and transport arteries for humanitarian
cargoes, particularly, for the regions ridden by earthquake in
1988,3. For applying internationally prohibited arms against peaceful
civilians,4. For using the tactics of “human wave” during the war –
tactics that consumed lots of young and untrained Azeri recruits
as cannon fodder,5. For recruiting thousands of international
terrorists and hirelings against the national-liberation movement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, 6. For enrolling hundreds of criminals
into war against peaceful Armenian population,
7. For applying air-raids against peaceful settlements and for using
pellet air bombs,8. For barbarously destroying lots of Armenian
historical-cultural monuments in Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan.This
is not the full list of what Azerbaijan has done. The “Azerbaijani
dossier” for the Hague may be easily complied from neutral sources and
international observers’ reports about Azerbaijan’s criminal aggression
against the peaceful population of Nagorno Karabakh.Ilham Aliyev’s
statement that Armenia will never be match to Azerbaijan economically
is an element of the psychological attack Azerbaijan used both during
and after the war. Such statements are just for calming themselves
down. Aliyev perfectly understands that Azerbaijan will never get
everything and at once.When alleging that Armenia is isolated from
all international projects and that almost half of its population
is starving, the Azeri authorities forget that, in terms of economic
and human potential, Azerbaijan is much weaker than Armenia, NKR and
Diaspora taken together and that, if they synchronize and mobilize
their resources, they will be by far stronger than Azerbaijan. The
Azeri authorities should better think about their own people.REGNUM:
There is a view that Azerbaijan will not benefit from the return of
territories. Is it true?
If, hypothetically, Azerbaijan gets 2-3 districts around NKR, it is
hard to imagine that people will go back there. Most of the people
who lived there before have either emigrated from Azerbaijan or have
well integrated into the Absheron social-economic infrastructure.
The factor of time in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is not just
threats that “in due time we will become rich and strong and will
get back our lands.” One should not forget that much has changed in
the conflict zone and in the psychology of people in the past years.
There is a whole generation of youths who have no idea about their
neighbors and regard them only as enemies. Those people have no
memories about peaceful co-existence and good neighbor cooperation.
This point is never considered in the abstract rhetoric of conflicts
resolution, but it should be considered – as hasty decisions and
pressure by third sides can spur up new dangerous developments in
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
As regards the concept of restoration of territorial integrity as
opposed to the self-determination of already self-determined nations,
it already sounds like anachronism and is fraught with new calamities
and ruined lives.
In fact, they in the West perfectly understand that the post-Soviet
“metropolises” will never get back their ethnic autonomies, but
they consider it a movais tone to talk about it. The new parade of
independences – Eritrea, East Timor, self-determined Montenegro and the
Kosovo process – can only add to the arguments for the independence of
the former Soviet autonomies. The independence of NKR was proclaimed
on the basis of the international law and in line with the Soviet
legislation. In this light, the last initiative of GUAM is certainly
a challenge but its outcome is pre-determined. Azerbaijan believes it
to be a diplomatic success, but it is just a small temporary tactical
advantage which is good for propaganda only and will give the country
no dividends at all. Let’s not forget that the 4 UN resolutions on
Nagorno Karabakh – the documents Azerbaijan has failed to peruse but
keeps referring to – were ignored by its own self.
–Boundary_(ID_7ZqiKdsYJIDPLT+eQ+x0gA)–

CHIRAC: TURKEY SHOULD RECOGNIZE “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” FOR EU MEMBERSHIP
Azeri Press Agency
Sept 30 2006
France’s President Jacques Chirac visited monuments of the false
“Armenian genocide victims” in Yerevan, APA reports.
After laying a wreath on the memorial, the French President visited
“genocide” museum. Then France square was opened in the center of
Yerevan and it gave start to Armenian year in France. France President
made public appearance that was not planned. He talked with common
people for half an hour.
In the press conference held in Yerevan, Chirac said that if Turkey
wants to become EU member it should recognize “Armenian genocide”. He
said France accepted a special document on the alleged genocide that
denounces any demonstration of racism and xenophobia.
Armenia-born French singer Charle Aznavour and other artists will
give a concert program in the Republic Square, Yerevan. Armenia-born
French footballer Yuri Jorkayev is also in the French delegation
visiting Armenia.

CHIRAC CALLS ON TURKEY TO “RECOGNIZE ITS PAST” IN CONNECTION WITH MASS KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS
International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Sept 30 2006
YEREVAN, Armenia French President Jacques Chirac called on Turkey on
Saturday to “recognize its past” in connection with the mass killings
of Armenians in the early 20th century.
“Turkey should acknowledge the mistakes of its past,” Chirac
said at a joint news conference with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian. “I believe that every country, in accordance with its
level of development, should acknowledge its tragic moments and the
mistakes of the past.”
A reporter had asked Chirac whether Turkey should have to recognize
the killings as genocide before being admitted to the European Union.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killed in 1915-1923 in an organized campaign and have pushed for
recognition of the killings as genocide around the world. Turkey
rejects the claim that a mass evacuation and related deaths of
Armenians was genocide and says the death toll is inflated.
France’s parliament has officially recognized the killings as genocide,
and Chirac said in 2004 that Turkey would have to agree on that point
if it wanted to become an EU member.
YEREVAN, Armenia French President Jacques Chirac called on Turkey on
Saturday to “recognize its past” in connection with the mass killings
of Armenians in the early 20th century.
“Turkey should acknowledge the mistakes of its past,” Chirac
said at a joint news conference with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian. “I believe that every country, in accordance with its
level of development, should acknowledge its tragic moments and the
mistakes of the past.”
A reporter had asked Chirac whether Turkey should have to recognize
the killings as genocide before being admitted to the European Union.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killed in 1915-1923 in an organized campaign and have pushed for
recognition of the killings as genocide around the world. Turkey
rejects the claim that a mass evacuation and related deaths of
Armenians was genocide and says the death toll is inflated.
France’s parliament has officially recognized the killings as genocide,
and Chirac said in 2004 that Turkey would have to agree on that point
if it wanted to become an EU member.

LAVROV: HUMANITARIAN COOPERATION WITH CIS IS RUSSIA’S PRIORITY
Regnum, Russia
Sept 30 2006
“Russia regards developing humanitarian cooperation within the CIS
space as its priority,” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said in
his welcome message to participants of scholarly and expert conference
“Mass media and new state relations in the Caucasus region.”
“Common humanitarian space is called to preserve and to consolidate
diverse human ties among our peoples, including civil society
institutes, to strengthen adherence to fundamental values, such as
tolerance and mutual respect. Member states of the commonwealth
for centuries have been at the turn of civilizations from time
immemorial. Our common historical and cultural heritage creates
good preconditions for us to make our common unique contribution
to supporting inter-civilization accord in the world. I wish to the
forum’s participants fruitful work aimed at developing cooperation
between Russia and other Caucasian states in the spheres of culture,
education, science, information, and the whole complex of humanitarian
ties;” Sergey Lavrov said in his message read out to the conference
participants by Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russia
to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov.
Representatives of mass media, analysts from Russia, Georgia, Armenia,
and Azerbaijan participated in the conference, which took place at
the Russian-Armenian (Slavic) state university.

IRAN, ARMENIA TO FINALIZE ARAS DAM CONTRACT BY MARCH 2007
Mehr News Agency, Iran
Sept 30 2006
TEHRAN, Sept. 30 (MNA) – Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said on Saturday
Iran would finalize a contract with Armenia to construct a dam in
Aras by the end of the current Iranian year, falling on March 20, 2007.
Speaking at the sideline of a meeting with Armenian Energy Minister
in Yerevan, Fattah said that studies conducted on construction of
a dam over Aras River has finished. Iran and Armenian have reached
the agreement to jointly build the dam, and they will finalize the
contract by March 2007, he reiterated.
The minister further said that construction operations of the dam
are to be launched in 2007. “The joint construction of Aras Dam
will have great impact on the development of bilateral political and
economic ties.”
He also stated that Iran’s gas conveyance pipe to Armenia will come
on stream by March 2007.