PUTTING SECESSIONIST CONFLICTS UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Civil Georgia
2006-09-14 13:52:45
GUAM-member states have successfully lobbied for a discussion of
“protected conflicts” in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region at the
61st UN General Assembly, despite Russia’s objection.
The decision to include the issue in the working program of the General
Assembly session -which was pushed for by GUAM-member states Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova – was adopted “following a contentious
procedural debate,” according to the UN press center.
The approval has reversed a decision adopted by the General Committee
that recommended on September 12 to exclude the item entitled
“protracted conflicts in the GUAM area and their implications for
international peace, security and development” from the agenda.
16 countries, including the Baltic States, GUAM-member states (Georgia
was absent at the session), the United States, United Kingdom,
Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Romania and
Turkey voted in favor of including the item into the agenda of the
General Assembly session.
15 countries – Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Cyprus, Eritrea, Greece,
Guinea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Russian Federation, South
Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – voted against; while 65 abstained.
The representative of Ukraine spoke on behalf of the GUAM-member
states, saying that “GUAM’s aim was not to change the format of
existing negotiations, but to have the chance to bring the matter to
the international community through the Assembly.”
The Russian Federation’s representative voiced his objection to the
move, saying that “the insistence on including the item was aimed
at undermining existing mechanisms to negotiate settlements of the
conflicts.”
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is expected to leave for New
York to participate in the UN General Assembly Session on September 19.
Discussing the secessionist conflicts at the Session is part of
Georgia’s policy to intensify international efforts to peacefully
resolve the Abkhazia and South Ossetian conflicts. In recent weeks
especially, officials in Tbilisi are focusing more on the South
Ossetian conflict.
The issue is also expected to be high on the agenda during
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili’s visit to Brussels on
September 14-17, where he will meet with top officials from EU and
NATO. Following this trip Bezhuashvili plans to visit Washington and
then New York.
Meanwhile, some strongly worded statements have been voiced towards
the secessionist authorities in breakaway South Ossetia following
the Georgian authorities’ intensive calls on western powers to react
on what Tbilisi describes as “outrageous provocations” staged by the
unrecognized republic’s leadership.
Recent weeks have seen a series of incidents in the conflict zone,
including firing on a Georgian army helicopter, a clash that led to the
deaths of four people, and sporadic overnight shootouts. Secessionist
authorities’ announcement of plans to hold an independence referendum
and presidential polls on November 12 has further fueled tensions.
Officials in Tbilisi have warned that the Georgian side may use force
if Tbilisi fails to secure “an appropriate” international support.
On September 12 a group of western diplomats, including British,
French, German, Italian and U.S. Ambassadors in Georgia, traveled to
Tskhinvali and met with South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity. Western
diplomats have strongly condemned the September 3 helicopter incident,
triggering the anger of the South Ossetian leadership.
On September 13, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry
Davis said secessionist authorities in South Ossetia “are wasting
time and effort on the organisation of a ‘referendum on independence’
in November.”
Also on September 13, EU envoy for the South Caucasus issues Peter
Semneby said that the referendum will be “meaningless” to the
European Union.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry has backed an upcoming
independence referendum in Moldova’s breakaway region Transdnestria,
scheduled for this Sunday, and said in a statement issued on September
13 that the European Union should not ignore the results of the
referendum. The Russian State Duma Council, the lower house of the
Parliament, plans to send its observers to the November 12 polls in
breakaway South Ossetia.

TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP AND THE MUSLIM WORLD
Sedat Laciner
Journal of Turkish Weekly(JTW)
Thursday , 14 September 2006
Almost all the unsuccessful politicians in many of the EU countries
have recently been talking about the issue of Turkey’s full
membership to the EU. Whatever the agenda is, they blame Turkey
and the Muslims aspiring to enter the EU. The politicians in the EU
are trying to conceal their inabilities and failures by criticizing
Turkey. They are misleading their constituencies by fostering grudge
and hatred against Turkey, which they believe belongs to another
civilization. French Minister Sarkozy is one of the typical examples:
In the words of Katrin Bennhold and Dan Bilefsky from the International
Herald Tribune, “Nicolas Sarkozy, his eyes firmly set on France’s
presidency, might have thought more about French voters than about
geopolitics when he said that Turkey should never become a member of
the European Union.”(1) In contrast to a politician having vision,
Sarkozy capitalized on the prejudices of the French against the Turks
and the Muslims. However, with this behavior, he not only eroded the
Turks’ credit towards the EU and the French, but also the Muslims’
towards the world and the West.
As known, Turkey’s full membership to the EU is supported by all
the Muslim countries. Many Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt
and Palestine, have openly expressed their enthusiasm to see Turkey
as a full member of the EU. Even countries like Syria and Iran,
which are seen as “enemy” by the West, have stated that they would be
pleased to be neighbor with the EU with Turkey’s membership, and that
they supported Turkey in the membership process. Even Saudi Arabia,
which is relatively far from Turkey, have declared that Turkey’s EU
membership is strategically important for itself.(2) The support of
the Muslim world for Turkey’s EU membership has a considerable meaning:
The Muslims see Turkey’s membership as a breaking point in the vicious
circle in the relations with the West. Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq,
Bosnia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan, Lebanon and other problems have
led to great despair among the Muslims towards the West. The Muslims
mostly don’t believe the West is sincere and fair. The people on
the streets of Muslim countries think that they are always deceived,
their cities are bombarded, their natural resources are usurped, and
their governments are serving to the West. Within this dark picture,
Turkey’s full membership on equal terms to one of the most important
institutions of the Western world, the EU, is seen as a miracle by
the Muslim world. Turkey’s full membership will end the despair and
prove that fair and equal relations with the West are possible.
In addition to these, Turkey is the best proof that secular governance,
democracy and liberal economy do not contradict with Islam. While
the Turks can be more devout than the Iranians in their daily lives,
they are also democrat, secular and liberal. They have the world’s
17th biggest economy even though they are Muslims. Although they don’t
have considerable natural gas and oil resources, they are competing
with the West by training their manpower. Their mentality of Islam is
not based on revenge or hatred but cooperation and tolerance. Turkey
is one of the exceptional Muslim countries where al-Qaeda has no
serious roots. For Turks, Osama bin Laden is a terrorist and al-Qaeda
commits terrorism. They hold the idea that they can go to the heaven
not by killing others but by helping people live. In short, Turkey
represents just the opposite of what al-Qaeda represents. Of course,
Turkey’s model is not perfect.
However, it is the only model at hand. It is the only model to be used
against al-Qaeda apart from using violence and force. Many presidents
in the Muslim world, including the presidents of Algeria, Palestine,
Indonesia and Pakistan, have openly stated that they see Turkey as
a model. Because they want to be like Turkey and consolidation of
Turkish model will also consolidate the hopes of the Muslim countries.
The third reason for the support of the Muslim countries to Turkey’s
EU membership has to do with the current balance of power. The US’
and Israel’s influence, even monopoly, dominate the course of the
problems in the Middle East. The EU doesn’t have sufficient influence
in the region. With Turkey’s membership, the EU will have to play
a more active role in the region and this will erode the unilateral
policies of other powers.
Fourth, Turkey is seen as a natural representative of the Muslim world
in the EU. Although most of the global problems emerge in the Middle
East, there are no legitimate representatives from the Middle East in
global governance. There are no Muslim representatives in the G-8 or
among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. To
put it short, there are serious representation deficiencies in global
governance. This, in turn, causes lack of proper communication and
misunderstandings between the West and the Muslims. This is the most
significant reason of the clash of civilizations. Turkey’s accession
to the EU will considerably contribute to the elimination of this
deficiency.
In fact, the lack of representation is a problem not only between
the West and the Middle East. There is an imbalance within
Europe as well. There are more than 100 million Muslims living in
Europe. However, none of them are represented within their states nor
the EU institutions. Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
Albania, Azerbaijan and Bosnia are still not part of the EU. And nearly
15 million Muslims living in countries such as Germany and England and
holding EU citizenship don’t think that their host countries represent
them. The terrorist attacks in England were carried out by the Muslim
English citizens and this clearly proves how lack of representation
nurtures terror and radicalism. Hence, Turkey’s membership will
contribute to the overcoming of lack of representation in Europe.
In short, Turkey’s full membership to the EU is not an ordinary
enlargement. It also means the setting up a sound bridge between the
West and the East.
>>From Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a former French president and chief
architect of the failed European constitution, to Chancellor Angela of
Germany, several high-profile Europeans have voiced their opposition to
Turkish membership in recent years.(3) Many top European personalities,
including the Pope, have asserted that Turkey is not European, because
it is not a Christian country. According to this view, the sine qua
non value of Europeanness is still Christianity. In this regard,
there must be no resentment to al-Qaeda which sees the world as two
camps, the Muslims and the others. For the only value for them is
their faith as well.
Turkey has been undergoing a rapid democratization process incomparable
to the past. Many reforms have been implemented in a short while. There
is also a rapid economic growth. It is possible to talk of unique
successes in almost every area from the Kurdish problem to human
rights. Turkey is no more the most-sued country in the European Court
of Human Rights. The social harmonization in the country has been
progressing in an admirable way. What is important is that it was
not thanks to the EU that Turkey has achieved this progress. What is
more, as many examples show, Turkey has come to this point despite the
EU. In other words, the decision to exclude Turkey from the EU will
not be the end of the world for Turkey. Moreover, a Turkey enjoying
special relations with the EU but not restricted by its institutions
might be a new China for the EU. However, it is hard to argue the
same thing for the EU and the Middle East. EU’s rejection of Turkey
on the ground that it is a Muslim country and reconstruction of the
EU on the basis of Christian fanaticism will turn the much-expected
miracle into impossibility, and in a sense, will justify how right
the extremities such as al-Qaeda are. In this case, it will be a
mere dream to think that the conflicts will be confined to Beirut,
Baghdad or Ramallah. The entire Europe from London to Berlin will be
under risk because the Middle East and the Muslims are not as far as
Sarkozy has said. The Muslims will continue to live in the middle of
Europe regardless of Turkey’s full membership, and it will be more
difficult to live together without Turkey’s full membership to the
Western family.

PAGLIA HEADLINES FALL EVENTS WITH WRITERS, EDITORS
insideBU
Binghampton University
September 14, 2006 Volume 28, No. 4
The fall slate of literary activities from the Binghamton Center for
Writers focuses on faculty and alumni readings, as well as workshops
and conversations with journal and press editors.
Headlining this season’s events will be social critic and intellectual
Camille Paglia, an Endicott native and Binghamton graduate. Paglia,
this year’s Milton Kessler D i s t i n g u i s h e d Reader, will
speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the Anderson Center Chamber
Hall. The event is free and open to the public; a book signing and
reception will follow.
The first event of the season will be a conversation with Stanley
Barkan, editor and publisher of Cross-Cultural Communications, from
1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in PSPC-C. With browsing categories
like Armenian, Beat and Cheyenne, Cross-Cultural Communications
fulfills its claim of specializing in the rare and hard-to-find.
Opening the Readers’ Series will be novelist Tom Bailey, who will
speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in S1-149. Bailey, a Binghamton
graduate, is the author of The Grace That Keeps This World, published
in hardcover by Random House in 2005 and newly in paperback. Bailey’s
first novel centers on a community in the Adirondacks during the days
leading up to hunting season. Bailey is also the author of Cotton Song,
forthcoming from Random House, and a collection of short stories,
Crow Man, as well as A Short Story Writer’s Companion.
October events include a poetry reading by new faculty member Joe
E. Weil at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in S1-149 and a Writing Life event
from 1:30- 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in PSPC-C with Jeffrey Levine
of Tupelo Press, publishers of poetry and literary fiction.
>>From Oct. 19-21, Binghamton graduate students will hold
Writing By Degrees, their ninth annual national creative writing
conference at the Decker Mansion in Binghamton, with featured
writers Steve Almond, Timothy Liu and Suzanne Paola. Many of
those events are free and open to the public. For details, visit binghamton.edu.
Two November events close out the season.
Christine Gelineau, associate director of the Center for Writers,
will read from her collection of poetry at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14,
in S1-149.
Paul Ruffin of Texas Review Press, which publishes fiction, poetry and
prose non-fiction as well as the literary magazine The Texas Review,
will finish out the Writing Life series for the fall with a 1:30-3:30
p.m. event on Thursday, Nov. 16. The location for that event has not
been announced.
All of the events are free and the community is invited
to attend. Directions to the various rooms and further
information on the series and the writers can be found at binghamton.edu/cwpro.
The Writing Life Series is supported by the Office of the Dean of
Harpur College, while the Binghamton University Alumni Association
supports the Readers’ Series.

GHOLAM SHIRE’I: IRAN MAY NEVER GIVE IN TO BULLYING POWERS
Persian Journal, Iran
Sep 14, 2006
Visiting speaker of mullah-run majlis, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel known
as “Gholam Shire’i” in majlis for his addiction to opium, said in a
meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Yerevan on Tuesday
that the Iranian government may never surrender to the bullying powers.
Also during the meeting, Gholam Shire’i noted Iran’s nuclear case
and reminded that Tehran has always insisted on the settlement of the
issue through negotiations, a statement released by the Information
and Media Department of the Islamic Consultative Assembly said.
Appreciating the logical stances of Armenia in the face of Iran’s
nuclear issue, he reminded that some great powers are seeking an
excuse while mullahs’ regime still stresses the need for the peaceful
and logical solution of the case.
The top “shire’i” legislative official pointed out, “The United States
is angry at the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran because it
is against the hegemony of the US. That’s why they are still speaking
of overthrowing the Islamic Republic after 27 years since the victory
of the Islamic Revolution.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN SHOULD NOT TRY TO TRANSFER KARABAKH ISSUE TO ANOTHER PLANE
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2006 17:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian considers inclusion of
the issue on protracted conflicts in the territory of GUAM participant
states in the UN General Assembly agenda “senseless expenditure of
energy.” “In spite of the UN GA General Committee turning down the
issue, the GA decided to include it in the agenda by one vote more in
favor of the proposal,” Oskanian told journalists in Yerevan Thursday.
“We believe that it is necessary to focus on the Minsk process if we
want to attain results. If there are other goals, Armenia will not
enter those games,” he underscored. There are serious proposals on the
bargaining table today and “if Azerbaijan is serious on the talks,
it should concentrate on the Minsk process and not try to transfer
the issue to another plane. It will not do good,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY HAS NO CHANCES TO BECOME FULLY EUROPEAN COUNTRY
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2006 17:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey will hardly leave EU talks, but it cannot meet
all European criteria, political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, the logic of development
of the talks suggests that Turkey, even having the direct and rather
aggressive support of Washington, does not have chances to become a
European country in the foreseeable future. “The process of sobering up
will be painless: Ankara understands that Turks never were a European
people. At that Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan underscored that by declaring
“secularity”, Turkey is held by military bayonets.
“However, this state of affairs cannot be sustained perpetually,
at least as army is a creation of the people. Turkey will finally
return to pan-Turkism ideology, as it is their true religion,” the
political scientist said.

COOPERATION WITH EURO AND CIS STRUCTURES EXPEDIENT TO ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2006 17:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Armenia’s complementary policy today is the most
acceptable from the point of view of state security,” stated Armenian
Deputy FM Arman Kirakosyan at an open lesson at Kirakosyan School
in Yerevan. In his words, Russia is a strategic partner of Armenia,
however this should not result in official Yerevan’s refusal from
cooperation with European structures and the NATO. “If it is the case,
Armenia will fall behind its neighbors, which will have a negative
impact on state security,” the Deputy FM said. Kirakosyan noted
the importance of signing the Action plan within the ENP. “Georgia
and Azerbaijan are also part of that process, thus refusing from
cooperation with Euro and CIS structures is not expedient to Armenia,”
he said, reports IA Regnum.

KEY DOCUMENTS ON KARABAKH ISSUED AS COLLECTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2006 18:17 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A collection of reports on the Karabakh issue made
during parliamentary hearings March 29-30, 2005 was issued. In the
words of National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee Chairman
Armen Rustamyan, the Commission also included its conclusions, which
contain concepts for settlement of the problem. The book was a first
attempt to bring together all the key documents concerning the issue.
Rustamyan called on political forces to adopt a joint political
document based on the views expressed during the parliamentary
hearings, noting that such document would be significant if a broad
agreement is reached around the statements made in that document. In
his words, appearance of the collection will allow Armenia having a
united position in international organizations.
Foreign Minister Oskanian, in turn, said that while views expressed
in the collection may differ from each other, what unites them is that
they all admit the right of the Karabakh people to self-determination.
“With this book we send a message to Azerbaijan and the international
community that our society is united on this issue,” Oskanian said,
reports the Yerkir.

OPPORTUNITY TO SEND PEACEKEEPERS TO LEBANON DISCUSSED IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2006 18:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian stated in a conversation
with journalists that sending peacekeepers to Lebanon is discussed
at present and the final decision depends on a number of factors.
Armenia got an official invitation. For the final decision we need
to clear out the mandate and the deployment location,” Oskanian
said. “These missions should not be an end it themselves, but should
have a goal. As soon as the latter is made clear, the final decision
will be made,” the Minister underscored.
He reminded that before the latest Israeli operation Lebanon asked
Armenia to send sappers to the country.
“When Israel provides maps of minefields, the situation will be fully
controlled. Armenia may take part in the mission in Lebanon in that
area,” the Minister said.
Oskanian also reported that Armenian community of Lebanon has urged
Armenia to send peacekeepers to the country. “We take into account the
community opinion and keep in touch with them. However, there are many
other factors. I am sure a correct decision will be made finally,”
the Minister said, reports Novosti-Armenia.

LORI WATER SUPPLY AND REMOVAL SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED
Armenpress
Sept 14 2006
VANADZOR, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: A German Gitec and SacenWasser and
two local companies in Vanadzor are set to launch the first stage of
an 11 million euro worth project designed to improve the water supply
and sewage water removal system of the province of Lori.
Wolfgang Stenzel, the coordinator of the program.
said the feasibility study took ten months. The project will
be implemented on a credit released by German KfW bank. The first
stage is set to be over by 2007 spring. Stenzel said a tender will
be announced to select a company that will do the work.
He said studies revealed that around 200 people were tapped illegally
on the main water supply pipe.