The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
September 28, 2006 Thursday
Turkey must face up to past, says EU
David Rennie in Strasbourg
THE European Parliament voted yesterday to tell Turkey it must “face
up to its past”, in the context of the alleged genocide of Armenians
during the First World War, if it wanted EU membership.
MEPs meeting in Strasbourg also agreed to warn Ankara that talks on
EU membership could be frozen unless it opens its ports to Cypriot
ships.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killed in a campaign by Ottoman Turks. Turkey disputes the figure by
1.2 million, and says a combination of war, disease, famine and
ethnic conflict were responsible.
The report “stresses that although the recognition of the Armenian
genocide as such is formally not one of the Copenhagen criteria
[setting out conditions for EU membership] it is indispensable for a
country on the road to membership to come to terms with and recognise
its past”.
“Lack of progress” on Turkey opening its ports would have “serious
implications concerning the negotiation process and could even stop
it,” the report said.
The report’s author, Camiel Eurlings, a centre-Right Dutch MEP, said
the Turkish government was heading “toward a cliff”.
The report was immediately rejected by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the
Turkish prime minister, who said it was “unacceptable” for any extra
conditions to be attached to Turkey’s EU entry.
“You cannot change the rules halfway through the match,” Mr Erdogan
said. “The game has started and the rules are there.”
Earlier this week there was an angry reaction in Turkey to comments
from José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, saying
that further enlargement of the EU should wait until member states
agreed to revive major changes to the internal power structures of
the EU, originally contained in the now defunct EU constitution.
From: Baghdasarian

European Report
September 28, 2006
EU/TURKEY : EP REPORT ON TURKEY TOUGH BUT FAIR, SAYS EURLINGS
The European Parliament approved the report on Turkey’s progress
towards EU accession on 27 September by a large majority (429 in
favour, 71 against and 125 abstentions) The final version of this
document is “still tough but more balanced”, said rapporteur Camiel
Eurlings (EPP-ED, NL), commenting on the vote.
After a stormy discussion in the EP Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET)
two weeks ago, the report triggered turbulent dispute at the plenary
session on 26 September too. The MEPs were to decide on that day on
the final wording of the report, assessing Turkey’s preparation for
EU accession. The last version of the report, approved by AFET on 4
September, drew strong criticism from most of the political groups in
the Parliament for its “exceptionally critical tone” and “unbalanced
approach”. Eurlings’s assessment was harshly criticised also in
Ankara. Commenting on the document, a Turkish Foreign Ministry
spokesman said that “We think that some elements in the report are
written with political motives and without realism and are not in
accordance with the European Parliament’s credibility and
seriousness.”
Most controversial for both Ankara and Brussels was Paragraph 49,
which sets the recognition by Turkey of an alleged genocide of
Armenians as a precondition for its full EU membership. Commenting on
this particular paragraph, Camiel Eurlings admitted that it was
adopted against his will. “The Armenian genocide was added as a
precondition for accession at the very last moment. That was against
my will,” said the rapporteur in an interview with the Turkish Daily
News on 25 September.
The amendments (80 in total), which were discussed at the plenary
session on 26 September, referred, in particular, to Paragraph 49.
The members of the PES and ALDE Groups intended to delete it. The
ALDE Group also suggested a modification of Paragraph 50 by deleting
its last sentence, which states that Turkey should establish good
relationships with the Greeks of Pontos and the Assyrians to fulfil
EU accession requirements. The ALDE Group tabled in total fourteen
amendments with a general aim to make the report more balanced and
objective. A similar approach was taken by the Socialist Group. They
intended, in particular, to change the wording of paragraphs
referring to the situation of the divided island of Cyprus by
stressing that both “Turkey and Cyprus should undertake new
initiatives to strengthen the ties between the two communities” and
underlining that it is the government of Cyprus which is responsible
for the continuing isolation of northern Cyprus.
The EPP-ED Group, known for its critical attitude towards Turkey’s EU
candidacy, tabled five amendments, including a proposal for a new
paragraph (31 a), referring to the forthcoming visit by Pope Benedict
XVI to Turkey. Taking into consideration recent events after the
Pope’s recent speech, in which he quoted a 14th century Christian
emperor and caused a wave of anger in the Muslim world, including
Turkey, the EPP-ED Group suggested that the report emphasise the hope
that “the visit will contribute to strengthening dialogue between the
Christian and Muslim worlds”.
The vote at the EP’s plenary session resulted in “further improvement
of the report”, said Eurlings. He expressed his satisfaction that the
Parliament decided to delete Paragraph 49 (322 in favour, 283 against
and 40 abstentions), stressing that there are no extra preconditions
for the accession of Turkey except for those conditions which were
set 13 years ago in Copenhagen. “If Turkey complies with them, it
will become a fully-fledged member of the EU,” said Eurlings. He also
strongly defended the final wording of Paragraph 50, saying that it
does not set a new condition but just puts pressure on Turkey to
establish good relations with such minorities as the Greeks of Pontos
and the Assyrians. The MEPs also voted in favour of the new Paragraph
31 a.
Despite the adopted amendments, the report is still very rigorous. It
calls on the government in Ankara to recognise the Republic of
Cyprus, withdraw its forces from the island and lift its embargo on
Cypriot vessels and aircraft. It reminds Turkey that a lack of
progress in implementing the Ankara Protocol “will have serious
implications for the negotiation process, and could even bring it to
a halt”. It also calls on “both Greece and Turkey to refrain from
tension-prone military activities”. Moreover, the MEPs stressed that
Ankara has to introduce freedom of expression and amend Article 301
of its Penal Code.

UPI Energy
September 28, 2006 Thursday 4:30 PM EST
Iran energy leader heads to Armenia
Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah is set to meet with Armenian
officials Thursday to hold trilateral talks on bolstering energy
projects.
Officials from Iran, Armenia and Georgia will discuss joint border
projects and a bilateral agreement for a supply of electricity to
Armenia, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Fattah said a third of the 230-kilovolt transmission line being set
up by the Iranian Sanir company in Armenia is expected to become
operational by the end of this year.
Electricity networks between the three countries will be linked up in
the near future so Tehran can have greater access to international
networks via Georgia, he said.

Associated Press Worldstream
September 28, 2006 Thursday 11:03 AM GMT
Officials: 7 Azerbaijani soldiers wounded in mine blast near disputed
territory
A mine blast near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory wounded
seven Azerbaijani soldiers, officials said Thursday.
The explosion occurred in the Agdam region not far from the so-called
line of control separating Azerbaijani and Karabakh forces, federal
de-mining agency spokeswoman Sabina Jalalova told The Associated
Press. She said she could not immediately provide further details.
The Defense Ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.
Local television channels reported the blast took place Wednesday
night and the soldiers have been hospitalized.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan, but it
has been controlled along with some surrounding areas by Karabakh and
Armenian forces since 1994. A shaky cease-fire in 1994 ended the
six-year conflict, in which 30,000 people were killed and about 1
million driven from their homes.
The lack of resolution over Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status has
hampered development in the strategic South Caucasus region.

The Irish Times
September 28, 2006 Thursday
Turkish report ‘critical but fair’
by Tim O’Brien
EU/Strasbourg reports: The European Parliament yesterday adopted a
“critical but fair” assessment of Turkey’s progress towards EU
accession yesterday, in a bid to avert fears that the parliament
would undermine those who are driving reforms in Turkey.
The report by Camiel Eurlings upheld the parliament’s view that the
pace of judicial and social reforms in Turkey has slowed over the
last year. It also expressed the view that negotiations with Turkey
are “open-ended” and that the country should recognise the Republic
of Cyprus and withdraw its forces from the island.
In a dissenting view, Dublin MEP Proinsias de Rossa said the report
was “unbalanced” and warned against driving Turkey away from the EU,
“strengthening the hands of those who oppose reform in Turkey”.
Green MEP Joost Lagendijk, who chairs the European Parliament’s
delegation to Turkey, said the report had been “tempered” by a number
of amendments, which were fair but tough. He said recognition of the
Armenian genocide by Turkey should no longer be presented as
precondition for EU accession. Mr Lagendijk maintained this was a
crucial point, claiming it would have strengthened the hands of those
in Turkey opposed to reforms.
In his report Mr Eurlings welcomed some progress in Turkey, including
“the opening of broadcasting in Kurdish” while remaining critical of
the “continued intimidation” of civil society representatives in the
southeast of the country. Also acknowledged was the recent steps in
the fields of combating torture, fighting corruption and extending
women’s rights.
Despite the recent acquittal of novelist Elif Shafak on trial for
allegedly denigrating Turkishness, a number of speakers said they
remained critical of continuing barriers to free speech.
Mr Eurlings defended the criticism of Turkey in his report, saying it
was centred on the main political reforms the EU wishes to see in
place. This sentiment was echoed by the Finnish EU presidency during
the debate. “We share the concerns over reforms,” Paula Lehtomaki,
Finnish minister for Europe, said. “Turkey needs to give fresh
impetus to reforms.”
“I said that formal recognition of the past is important but not a
criterion. I do hope for Turkish accession and I hope my tough but
fair report will be seen as an encouragement for Turkey.”
The parliament agreed not to make recognition of the genocide a
precondition for accession.

Associated Press Worldstream
September 28, 2006 Thursday 8:54 PM GMT
Armenian, Russian forces conduct joint anti-terror exercise
Armenian and Russian special forces conducted a joint exercise
Thursday simulating a response to terrorists who seized a nuclear
power plant.
The exercise’s scenario envisaged a group of terrorists taking
hostages and locking themselves up in the Armenian nuclear power
plant’s control room. A joint force made up of Russian and Armenian
special forces quickly disarmed the terrorists and freed hostages.
The exercise was held under the auspices of the Anti-Terror Center of
the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of the
former Soviet nations. It was attended by observers from the United
States, Britain, France, Germany and other nations.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
September 28, 2006 Thursday
RUSSIAN OFFICERS ARRESTED IN GEORGIA;
Moscow condemns it as a provocation
by Viktor Volodin
Official Tbilisi foments a new scandal in Russian-Georgian relations;
The Georgian patrol police laid siege to the territory surrounding
the headquarters of the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus yesterday
– all of a sudden, and without so much as a warning. They demanded to
see two Russian officers who they said were wanted for questioning.
The Georgian patrol police laid siege to the territory surrounding
the headquarters of the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus yesterday
– all of a sudden, and without so much as a warning. The police began
checking the ID of everyone leaving the building. They demanded to
see two Russian officers who they said were wanted for questioning at
the Interior Ministry of Georgia.
The authorities came up with an explanation soon that they had
exposed “a conspiracy” of the Russian military.
Arrest of four Russian officers by the Georgian police became public
knowledge in the evening. Embassy of the Russian Federation asked for
an explanation and Georgian secret services promptly obliged by going
public. Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili called a press conference
to announce that the Department of Counter-Intelligence had detained
four officers of the GRU (army intelligence) of the Russian General
Staff and 12 Georgians recruited by the GRU.
Merabishvili called Colonel Alexander Savva of the GRU, arrested in
Tbilisi earlier, the chief of the spy ring. Three other officers were
detained – Lieutenant Colonel Dmitri Kazantsev in Tbilisi and Colonel
Alexander Zavgorodtsev and Major Alexander Barantsev in Batumi. “We
want Konstantin Pugachin, who has taken refuge at the headquarters of
the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus in Tbilisi,” the minister
said. “The network exposed in Georgia was run by Anatoly Ivanovich
Sinitsyn who is currently in Yerevan, Armenia.” Georgian security
structures threaten to leave the headquarters under siege until
Pugachin is turned over to them.
“Special operation to uproot the network continues,” Merabishvili
announced and proceeded to identify four “collaborators” by names.
All four men were arrested for “compilation of sensitive information”
and “planning of provocations.” “We’ve kept them under surveillance
for a long time and compiled heaps of materials. These people
displayed interest in military objects, defense capacity of the
country, programs of integration into NATO, energy security issues,
parties of the opposition and non-governmental organizations, Defense
Ministry’s procurement plans, and ports,” Merabishvili said.
Well-informed sources in the republican Interior Ministry had said
even before the press conference that the Russian officers were
suspected of clandestine arms deals.
There is no need to “push” the Russian troops out of Georgia with the
help of dubious counter-intelligence actions. Under the
Russian-Georgian accords, the Russian military will leave Georgia in
2008. The headquarters of the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus will
be closed as well. Russian Chief of the General Staff General of the
Army Yuri Baluyevsky branded the arrests made in Georgia “lawlessness
on the part of Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili and his inner
circle.” “The Russian Foreign Ministry and we are taking steps to
resolve the crisis,” Baluyevsky said.
A diplomatic note from the Russian Embassy, delivered to the Georgian
Foreign Ministry, condemns the actions of the Georgian security
structures as a provocation and blames Georgia. “The Embassy and the
command of the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus appealed to the
Georgian Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry, and Defense Ministry to
be told the arrested officers’ whereabouts – with nothing to show for
it. The Embassy insists on an immediate release of the four officers
of the Russian Army and removal of cordons around the headquarters of
the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus,” the protest note stated.
Russian Foreign Ministry regards the steps taken by Tbilisi as “a
confirmation of the anti-Russian policy off the Georgian
administration.” Grigori Karasin, State Secretary and Deputy Foreign
Minister, protested to Georgian Ambassador Irakly Chubinishvili.
Mikhail Grishankov, Senior Deputy Chairman of the Security Committee
of the Duma, harbors doubts concerning the charges of espionage
pressed against the Russian officers. “What espionage are they
talking about. Whatever is to be known about Georgia is long since
known. The GRU is not interested in Georgia,” Grishankov said.
(Before election to the Duma, Grishankov was a senior officer of the
Chelyabinsk Regional Directorate of the Federal Security Service.)
Source: Vremya Novostei, September 28, 2006, p. 1
Translated by A. Ignatkin

RIA Novosti, Russia
September 28, 2006
No plans to expand Russian base in Armenia – general staff
YEREVAN, September 28 (RIA Novosti) – There are no plans to increase
the number of personnel and military equipment at a Russian base in
Armenia, the country’s chief of the general staff said Thursday.
The Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri, about 120 kilometers (75
miles) from the Armenian capital Yerevan, is part of a joint air
defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was
deployed in Armenia in 1995.
“We are not planning the expansion of the Russian base in Armenia,”
Mikael Arutyunyan said, adding that the base will be equipped with
modern weaponry instead, and the level of combat training improved to
ensure the base fulfills its mission.
The base operates under the authority of the Russian group of forces
in the South Caucasus, and is equipped with S-300 (SA-10 Grumble) air
defense systems, MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and 5,000 personnel.
Part of the military equipment from Russian bases in Georgia will be
transferred to the base in Gyumri by the end of 2008.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
For Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +32 (0)2 732 70 26
Tel/Fax : +32 (0)2 732 70 27
PRESS RELEASE
29 septembre 2006
Contact: Varténie ECHO
Tel/Fax : +32 (0)2 732 70 27
EP/TURKEY: RECOGNITION OF GENOCIDE ESSENTIAL TO ACCESSION – ARMENIAN
BLOCKADE VIOLATING NEGOTIATIONS
— Eurlings: `there is no accession without an acknowledgement of the
Armenian genocide’ —
The European parliament adopted on Wednesday 27 September a
resolution on `Turkey’s progress towards accession’ by 429 votes in
favour, 71
against and 125 abstentions. The report in a highly critical tone
demonstrates the sharp degradation of relations between Turkey and
the
European Union and the unfavourable situation of the negotiation
process.
As for the Armenian genocide, the European Parliament maintained the
position by recalling that “although the recognition of the Armenian
genocide as such does not formally constitute one of the Copenhagen
criteria, it is essential that a country towards accession faces and
recognizes its past”. In fact, this was the only point underlined by
the rapporteur, Mr. Eurlings who, at the end of the vote, emphasised
by “Let’s be clear: even if the recognition of the Armenian genocide
is not formally a condition of membership, Turkey cannot join the
Union without recognizing its past’.
However, on this question, the European Parliament rejected by 320
votes against 283 and 40 abstentions paragraph 49 that had already
been
adopted by the Committee of Foreign Affairs and which places the
recognition of the Armenian genocide as a precondition to accession.
`We deeply thank those who – among all groups – have done everything
in order to maintain the formulation which constituted only a recall
of the European parliament former positions’ declared the chairperson
of the European Armenian Federation, Hilda Tchoboian. `The rejection
of this paragraph is purely linked to the current situation and was
imposed by Turkey with the expedience of the chancelleries of the
European Countries. We note however that the impact of this
suppression
was restrained by the declarations of the rapporteur on this very
subject’ continued Hilda Tchoboian.
In addition, the Federation regrets the lack of awareness which led
the European Parliament – in line with the socialist group proposal –
`to take note of Turkey’s proposal to establish a bilateral committee
of experts which should be held under the auspices of the United
Nations’ in order to pronounce judgment on the Armenian genocide. The
Federation reminds that the experts of the UN Sub-Committee on Human
Rights have in 1985 already acknowledged without any ambiguity the
Armenian genocide.
`The European parliament resolution is a real disavowal of the
Turkey’s aggressive policy since it considers that the blockade of
Armenia
explicitly violates the conditions of membership of this country’,
continued Hilda Tchoboian. `Now, we are waiting for the European
executive to consider this issue with the same determination as the
Cypriot
issue, concluded Hilda Tchoboian.
The Federation notes with satisfaction that the Armenian genocide and
the blockade forced by Turkey – as is the question of the Cyprus
occupation and the capacity of the Union to absorb members constitute
the
core of the European preoccupations regarding Turkey’s controversial
application.
From: Baghdasarian

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 28, 2006 Thursday 10:03 PM EST
Chirac begins first visit to Armenia
French President Jacques Chirac will begin the first-ever three-day
state visit to Armenia on Friday and will participate in the opening
of France Square in Yerevan.
Chirac will have one-on-one talks with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan, which are to be followed by a joint press conference.
On Saturday a gala concert will be held in central Republic Square in
Yerevan, which will mark the beginning of the Year of Armenia in
France.
Chirac is also to visit the memorial to the victims of 1915 genocide
in the Ottoman Empire, and St. Echmiadzin where he will meet
Catholicos Garegin the Second.
This is the first visit of the French head of state to Armenia.
Chirac is accompanied by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy,
Transport Minister Dominique Perben, Minister of State Christian
Jacob, Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.