FM MEETS WITH OIC SECRETARY GENERAL
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Sept 12 2006
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met September 11 with Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu to discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the latest developments in the Middle
East, the 5th session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers
and other issues, press service of the Foreign Ministry said.
Mr. Mammadyarov described as very important the resolution adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly at its 60th session in connection
with the damage caused by wide-scale fires in Azerbaijan’s occupied
territories.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stressed that burning of occupied Azerbaijani
territories by Armenia, and destruction of cultural and historic
monuments have been hindering the development of Azerbaijan’s tourism
sector.
Mr. Ihsanoglu said this issue has been widely discussed at the fifth
session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers in Baku.
Elmar Mammadyarov and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also discussed other topics
of mutual concern.

GHOUKASYAN: ARMENIAN DIPLOMACY SHOULD BE MORE ACTIVE
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 11 2006
“First I would like to mention that it was our proposal, and only
after that Azerbaijan made a fuss. It is absolutely obvious that it
is an artificial fuss, as Azerbaijanis themselves are the “authors”
of both fires and propaganda”, stated Nagorno Karabakh Republic
President Arkady Ghoukasyan, while commenting on the resolution on
the fires on the territories controlled by the NKR adopted by the
U. N. General Assembly.
According to the NKR President, “the whole problem is that we have
repeatedly applied to the international instances to send an expert
group, as our concern is that the international community clearly
visualizes the situation in Karabakh, in part, in the border line”.
“We haven’t made official statements yet, but we are going to do it,
and we are ready to receive the OSCE mission. I am convinced the
mission’s conclusion will be impartial. As for Azerbaijan, it has
got one goal – to blacken everything referring to Karabakh”, Arkady
Ghoukasyan noted.
Answering the question concerning the NKR leadership’s attitude to
the fact that the Karabakh issue will be discussed in the U. N., the
President said it was a destructive approach. “It is absolutely clear
that the OSCE has been dealing with the issue all these years, so any
effort to discuss the issue at the other international organizations
may result in a fuss, which is unfavorable for the conflict parties and
the negotiation process. Armenia has precisely declared its position;
it is against the efforts to lead the discussions of the issues,
which are under the OSCE’s authority, to other instances. In my
opinion diplomacy is the best instrument, so the Armenian diplomacy
should be more active. Unfortunately, now the Azeri Diplomatic Corps
is constantly delivering assaults, and we have to constantly protect
ourselves. I believe it is time to launch a counter-offensive”,
A. Ghoukasyan stated.
According to the Nagorno Karabakh President, he does not think that
Baku pursues a goal to establish cooperation and create constructive
atmosphere for a dialogue. “Azerbaijan pursues other goals – to create
problems around Karabakh and make the international community condemn
what is going on in Karabakh. If Azerbaijan proffered cooperation,
we would gladly respond”, Arkady Ghoukasyan said.
“We think the more we communicate with Azerbaijanis, the more chances
we will have to settle the conflict. We have a lot of problems
connected with water, fires and other issues in the border line. I
am sure the inhabitants of Azerbaijan’s border regions are also
interested in the contacts, as the matter concerns problems, which
are urgent for them. However, the Azeri authorities that reject any
proposal on cooperation have always been against it”, NKR President
said, KarabakhOpen reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRANCE WELCOMES TURKISH CONTRIBUTION TO UNIFIL
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 11 2006
French Ambassador in Ankara Paul Poudade said on Monday that his
country welcomed Parliament’s approval of a motion to send Turkish
troops to Lebanon.
“Turkey did well in joining the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL)
in Lebanon,” he added.
Asked by reporters about the deployment of Turkish troops in Lebanon
and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s visit to Paris this week, Poudade
said that sending troops to Lebanon would be one of the main topics
of Gul’s trip.
Poudade added that Turkey has good relations with both Israel and
many Arab countries, and said that it would be the stabilizing force
in a troubled region.
Foreign Minister Gul will arrive in Paris today to participate in a
Mediterranean cultural workshop entitled “Dialogue Between Peoples
and Cultures,” to be held tomorrow.
Gul is also expected to meet his French counterpart Philippe
Douste-Blazy on the sidelines of the meeting.
The foreign minister’s visit to France comes after relations
were strained earlier this year by the French Parliament’s move to
criminalize questioning Armenian genocide claims, and several obstacles
from Paris impeding smooth progress for Turkey in its European Union
accession talks.
Gul is expected to remind Douste-Blazy of EU pledges to end the
international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and express the
Turkish government’s expectation about finding a solution to the Cyprus
problem. The French minister is expected to brief Gul on the status
of a proposed French base in Greek Cyprus. The two ministers are also
planning to discuss current Middle East issues, including Iran.
Gul will also deliver a speech at the French International Relations
Institute on Thursday and leave the country on Saturday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ADORES ARMENIA’S FRIENDLY TIES WITH IRAN
Fars News Agency, Iran
Sept 12 2006
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad
Adel appreciated the Republic of Armenia for its friendly attitude and
kindness to Iran during the two thousand years of the two countries’
neighborly relations.
Visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel met with
his Armenian counterpart Teigran Torousian in Yerevan on Tuesday,
a statement released by the Information and Press Department of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly said.
During the meeting, Haddad Adel described the two countries’ ties in
the last 15 years as exemplary and stated that ever since the victory
of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has based its political relations with
other countries on the understanding of its religious leaders, adding
that justice-centered approach (that Iran has always been pursuing)
rises from Islamic teachings.
Reminding that Iran is an extensive country with a large population
and abundant possibilities and potentials, he thanked the Republic
of Armenia for its friendly attitude and kindness towards Iran during
two thousand years of coexistence of the two nations, and mentioned,
“And it is now the time for the two parliaments to help to the
consolidation of mutual ties.”
The top legislative official further voiced preparedness of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly to ratify the laws required for the
development of Iran-Armenia relations, specially in the economic
areas, and expressed the hope that the two nations’ friendship would
further deepen and consolidate through the exchange of visits by the
parliament members of the two countries, Parliamentary friendship
groups in particular.
For his part, Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly Teigran Torousian
expressed pleasure with the presence of the Iranian parliamentary
delegation in Yerevan and described the visit as a significant step
for the consolidation and strengthening of mutual ties.
He also viewed Tehran-Yerevan relations as exemplary and appreciated
the Islamic Republic of Iran for all the aids and assistances it has
extended to Armenia during the years of his country’s independence.
The chief law maker also noted the significance of Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline, Aras hydropower Plant and the high voltage power projects and
said that development of such cooperation would further reinvigorate
the two countries’ ties.
He also praised Iran’s due attention and efforts to safeguard the
historical and cultural heritage of the Iranian Armenians as well as
Tehran’s attention to the Armenian society in Iran.
To conclude his words, Torousian called for the expansion of the two
states’ parliamentary relations in all the various spheres.

PM ERDOGAN SPEAKS ABOUT ARMENIA AT TURKISH HISTORY CONGRESS
Hurriyet, Turkey
Sept 12 2006
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated yesterday in
the 15th Turkish History Congress in Ankara. Speaking to congress
attendees, Erdogan touched on questions surrounding the so-called
Armenian genocide, noting “It is nearly impossible to come across a
people as free of guilt as ours in history. Still, there are those
who try to blacken our history for political reasons. This is where
the accusations of a so-called Armenian genocide come in. On this
subject, as the prime minister, I proposed to Armenia that we form
a commission. I still have not received a positive response to this
request. Still, we have hope. All of the Ottoman archives are open
to those who wish to investigate. In fact, foreign researchers talk
about how our archives are more open than those of other countries.”
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer also sent a message to the
president of the Turkish History Foundation, Yusuf Halacoglu, noting
that “no efforts would be successful in hiding the truth about Armenian
genocide accusations.”

ARMENIAN PREMIER STRESSES IRAN’S NUCLEAR RIGHTS
Fars News Agency, Iran
Sept 12 2006
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Armenia’s Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
stressed in a meeting with the visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker
Gholam Ali Haddad Adel that rules of the International Atomic Energy
Agency entitle all the world states, including Iran, to the peaceful
use of the nuclear energy.
A statement released by the Information and Media Department of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly said that also during the meeting,
Haddad Adel pointed to recent statements made by the US officials in
justifying their double-standards in the face of Iran’s nuclear issue,
and stressed, “That they admit to their double standards in treating
our case is a success for Iran.”
He further mentioned that the pressures the Untied States has exerted
on Iran on the pretext of the nuclear case come in reaction to Iran’s
independent views and its insistence on safeguarding its independent
stances.
“The US is worried that access to peaceful nuclear energy can make
Iran mightier,” the top legislative official stated.
He said that powers exert pressure on every country which intends to
adopt independent decisions in the contemporary world, adding, “Slavery
is said to have been eradicated in the world, but the world powers
have unfortunately maintained their slavery-loving spirit and mindset
and they desire to make all the world nations their own slaves.”
Elsewhere, Haddad Adel described Iran-Armenia relations as excellent
and noting the 200-billion-dollar volume of two countries’ trade
exchanges, he said that the figure could grow several times more.
Also pointing to the two states’ extensive possibilities, he said
officials on both sides should think of measures and plans to
facilitate exchange of visits by tourists and private sector activists.
For his part, Armenia’s Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan underscored
that rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency entitle all
the world states, including Iran, to the peaceful use of the nuclear
energy.
Margaryan said his nation may never forget Iran’s aids to that country
during the early years of Armenia’s independence, and further voiced
his country’s strong support for Iran’s balanced stance on the
establishment of regional peace and stability.
Also reiterating the need for the development of all-out relations
between the two countries, the official expressed the hope that
Iran-Armenia ties would help to the restoration of regional peace
and stability.
Also referring to the strategic significance of energy in the
contemporary world and the expansionist policies of some powers
for gaining dominance over regional energy resources, the Armenian
Prime Minister mentioned that from the view point of his country,
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline project which is now under construction
underlies the two countries’ future cooperation.
He also said his country attaches much significance to Iran-Armenia
railway as well as Iran-Armenia link road which are now, as instructed
by the two countries’ Presidents, under construction, as Armenia
believes that the two projects play a crucially important role in
the development of the two states’ economic ties.
The Armenian Premier also praised the Islamic Republic for paying
special attention to the affairs of Iranian Armenians.

SPEAKER STRESSES EXPANSION OF PARLIAMENTARY TIES WITH ARMENIA
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Sept 12 2006
Visiting Iranian Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel in Yerevan on
Monday called for bolstering of parliamentary ties with Armenia.
Haddad-Adel, who arrived in the Armenian capital Yerevan Monday on
the first leg of a two-nation visit, met with the chairman of the
Armenia National Assembly, Tigran Torossian.
The speaker, who described Tehran-Yerevan bilateral relations as
“outstanding” during the past 15 years, said that since the victory
of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran has endeavored to establish
ties with states based on justice and Islamic teachings.
He urged strengthening of mutual relations through enhanced cooperation
of the two states’ parliaments, and expressed the Iranian parliament’s
readiness to enact laws to boost cooperation particularly in the
economic field.
Haddad-Adel also expressed hope relations between the two states would
receive a further boost through exchange visits between the two sides’
MPs and members of their parliamentary friendship groups.
Torossian, for his part, said he was happy with the visit of the
Iranian parliamentary delegation to Armenia, saying it would be an
important step toward consolidation of ties.
He praised Iranian assistance provided to Armenia after the country
obtained independence.
The Armenian chairman stressed the importance of implementing the
two sides’ gas pipeline project as well as the Aras water power plant
and high-voltage electricity line.
He called for upgrading of parliamentary ties with Iran.
Haddad-Adel, following his visit to Armenia, will next pay a visit
to Kyrgyzstan.
The Majlis speaker’s official visits are upon the invitations of his
counterparts in these countries.
He is accompanied by a number of executive officials and Majlis
deputies.

AMERIA CJSC IMPLEMENTS AN EMPLOYMENT MARKET STUDY IN ARMENIA
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 12 2006
YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA/. Ameria CJSC implements an employment
market study in the scope of the Social Protection Administration
Project (SPAP) of the World Bank. The study is a part of SPAP “Labor
and Employment” component and aims at enhancing the effectiveness
of the activities of the State Employment Service Agency (SES) as an
intermediary in the labor market.
By the end of the year Ameria will study the present situation and
potential of the employment market, the labor force supply and demand,
as well as will elaborate and conduct employers’ survey in all marzes
of Armenia and survey of disabled people’s employment problems in
Gyumri. Conclusions made as a result of the survey will include
recommendations on creation of effective employment conditions for
population through improvement of SES activities.
Ameria is a group of professional services companies registered in
Armenia with the objective to provide a comprehensive package of
professional advisory and assurance services. Ameria specializes
in four major areas of professional activities: management advisory
services; assurance and advisory services; legal advisory services;
investment banking. Established in 1998, the company has become
a leader in the Armenian market of advisory services bringing an
international reach and local touch to complex issues rising in more
than 30 industry sectors.

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTRY SEES NO OBSTACLE IN CO-OPERATION IN PREVENTION OF FIRES IN AZERBAIJAN’S OCCUPIED TERRITORY
Author: A.Ismayilova
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 12 2006
Tahir Tagizade, the Head of Press & Information at the Azerbaijan
Foreign Ministry told journalists on 11 September that the Azerbaijan
Foreign Ministry does not face any obstacles with regards to its
co-operation on preventing fires in the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani
territory, Trend reports.
In response to whether the recent UN Resolution on State in the
Occupied Territory of Azerbaijan awaits the same fate as the
previous UN resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh, Tagizade said that
non-implementation of the resolutions and absence of mechanisms
is not only a problem of the UN, but also to other international
organizations. “Therefore, Azerbaijan supports the reformation of
the UN,” he emphasized.
The diplomat noted that a visit of the mission to investigate the
fact of fires in the occupied territory of Azerbaijan will become a
first step of what is a large-scale ecological operation.
“Azerbaijan, has taken all the necessary measures. The first meeting
of the inter-departmental working group was held last week,” he added.
With regards to reports on the sale of mass destruction arms by
China to Armenia, Tagizade stressed that the Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministry instructed its Ambassadors in Beijing and Moscow to study
and report back the situation. Only then will the Foreign Ministry
be in a position to comment.
With respect to visits of Azerbaijanis to Armenia, Tagizade said
that only upon completion of the first stage of the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would such visits be acceptable.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REPRESSION IN THE AGE OF LIBERTY
By Ralph R. Reiland
American Spectator
Sept 12 2006
Imagine if insulting George W. Bush were a crime or if we jailed
writers for being critical of U.S. policies. Half the authors on the
New York Times’ best-seller list would be behind bars.
It’s different in Turkey. For the crime of “insulting Turkishness,”
best-selling Turkish novelist Elif Shafak is facing up to four years
in prison. Her trial is scheduled to begin on September 21.
At issue are several remarks made by a fictional character in Shafak’s
latest novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, already a top-selling book
in Turkey and set to be published next year by Viking in the United
States.
The charges against Shafak involve the word “genocide,” spoken in
her novel by a fictional character of Armenian ancestry regarding
the death of Armenians during World War I.
“I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost all their
relatives in the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915,” says the imaginary
character, “but I myself have been brainwashed to deny the genocide
because I was raised by some Turk named Mustapha.”
In the United States, some fictional Apache in a novel could say much
the same thing about the fate of his tribe at the hands of European
settlers and no one would be headed for the courthouse.
A historian at the University of Hawaii, David E. Stannard,
unincarcerated, described the forced removal and killing of native
Americans as “the worst human holocaust the world had ever witnessed,
roaring across two continents nonstop for four centuries and consuming
the lives of countless tens of millions of people.”
No American churchmen went to jail when the National Council of
Churches adopted a resolution that branded the journey of Christopher
Columbus an “invasion” that resulted in the “genocide of native
people.”
In Turkey, however, public comment, even by a fictional character,
about the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks during and after World War I is a taboo subject and
potentially illegal.
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, adopted in June 2005, states
that:
* “Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of
between six months and three years.”
* “Public denigration of the Government of the Republic of Turkey,
the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security
matters shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months
and two years.”
A third section of the Penal Code, applicable to Shafak, a Turkish
citizen and currently an assistant professor in Near Eastern Studies
at the University of Arizona, states, “In cases where denigration
of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country,
the punishment shall be increased by one third.”
Under Article 301, internationally acclaimed author Orhan Pamuk,
Turkey’s most famous novelist, was charged last year with “insulting
Turkishness” after he stated in an interview with a Swiss newspaper
that “30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were murdered in these
lands and no one but me dares talk about it.”
The Turkish Publishers’ Association reports that more than 60 writers
and journalists have been charged under Article 301 with various forms
of “insulting Turkishness,” including the intellectual transgression
of allegedly insulting Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the founder of
modern Turkey.
Five journalists were charged last year for articles they wrote
challenging the decision of an Istanbul court to ban an academic
conference dealing with the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1917. The writers’ crime? Attempting to “influence
judicial procedures” by objecting to the court’s interference with
academic freedom.
The complaints against Pamuk and Shafak were filed by attorney
Kemal Kerincsiz, head of the Turkish Jurists’ Union. “We will not
allow insults and abuse of Turkishness in the name of freedom of
expressions,” explained Kerincsiz.
Less narrow-minded, Shafak portrays her upcoming court battle as
part of an ongoing struggle for modernity and freedom of expression:
“What’s going on right now is a backlash. There’s a clash of opinion.
On the one hand are the people who are much more cosmopolitan-minded,
much more multicultural, who want to keep Turkey as an open society
and who very much support wholeheartedly the European Union process.
But on the other hand are the people who want to maintain Turkey as an
enclosed society, more xenophobic, more nationalistic, more insular.”
Ralph R. Reiland is an associate professor of economics at Robert
Morris University in Pittsburgh.