AWAITING KEY VOTE, TURKS MULL RISKS OF LEBANON TROOP MOVE
by Hande Culpan
Agence France Presse — English
September 4, 2006 Monday 12:44 PM GMT
Analysts on Monday cast doubt on the wisdom of Turkey’s decision to
join the enlarged UN force in Lebanon, saying it could carry grave
risks, as parliament readied to vote on the planned deployment.
Lawmakers were due to gather Tuesday to vote on authorising the
government to implement a one-year deployment of troops as part of
the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) is highly likely to
secure the vote since it holds an absolute majority in the 550-seat
parliament.
The government argues the move will strengthen its influence in the
Middle East, a region which was ruled by its predecessor, the Ottoman
Empire, for centuries and where Ankara has for years strived to become
a regional player.
In a bid to quell concerns, Turkish leaders have underlined that the
mission has minimal risk, that Turkish soldiers will not be a combat
force and they will not be tasked with disarming the Shiite Muslim
Hezbollah militia.
But the government’s rationale has failed to convince sceptics who
see Lebanon as a predicament in which Turkish troops risk being in
the line of fire.
“To send soldiers into a quagmire like Lebanon… and to say that
they will not get into fighting at all is like saying ‘I am going to
swim in the sea but not get wet’,” commentator Mustafa Balbay wrote
in the left-leaning Cumhuriyet daily.
Political scientists Dogu Ergil raised the possibility of Turkish
troops facing hostilities in Lebanon due to locals’ resentment of
their former Ottoman rulers.
“There is a bitter legacy of Turkish rule in the region that the
Turkish official historiography has covered up. The appearance of
Turkish flags and uniforms will rekindle this anxiety to the risk of
the security of the Turkish contingent in Lebanon,” he said in the
English-language Turkish Daily News.
Lebanon’s Armenians — the largest such community in the Arab world —
have already spoken out against Turkish peacekeepers on account of
the massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule in 1915-1917 and the
concurrent Ottoman occupation of Lebanon.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered by
Ottoman Turks in a genocide campaign.
Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000 Armenians
died when Armenians sided with invading Russian troops for independence
in eastern Anatolia and were deported to the Middle East.
Some commentators, meanwhile, saw the risk of Turkey being drawn into
a wider regional conflict if Turkish troops engage in fighting with
fellow Muslims and Hezbollah militia whose main backer is Iran.
“The gist of the story is this: They (Turkish soldiers) will probably
die and kill in Lebanon. They will rehearse for a possible conflict
with Iran. They will be accepted as a party to the wider sectarian
and ethnic civil wars in the region,” commentator Umur Talu said in
the mass-circulation Sabah newspaper
Then there is also widespread public opposition to the deployment.
Polls carried out by several Turkish newspapers on their Internet sites
showed staunch opposition to the deployment of Turkish soldiers. Of the
51,000 participants who voted on the website of the mass-circulation
Hurriyet daily, 77.2 percent opposed Turkey’s UNIFIL participation.
“What are we going to do in Lebanon? We should first take care of
the terrorist threat we face,” a reader said in a message left on
the website of the Milliyet daily, referring to mounting Kurdish
insurgency in Turkey’s southeast.
At emotional funeral services at the weekend for eight Turkish soldiers
killed in fighting with separatist Kurdish rebels, mourning relatives
spoke out against the government’s plans.
“The government should send soldiers not to Lebanon but to northern
Iraq”, which the rebels use as a springboard for attacks against
Turkey, the father of one of the slain soldiers said, according to
Sabah newspaper.

OSKANIAN BACKS DUAL CITIZENSHIP FOR ETHNIC ARMENIANS
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
September 4, 2006 Monday 5:41 PM MSK
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian favors dual citizenship
for all members of the Armenian diaspora.
In Oskanian’s opinion, all ethnic Armenians should be granted dual
citizenship.
“The problem requires a balanced approach making it possible not to
deprive members of the Armenian diaspora of the opportunity to obtain
citizenship, while on the other hand, avoiding the negative impact
of dual citizenship on Armenia’s national interests,” the minister
told reporters on Monday ahead of parliamentary debates on the issue.
About the upcoming “Armenia – Diaspora” forum to be held in Yerevan
on September 18, Oskanian noted that more than 1,500 organizations
and individuals had been registered for participation in the event.
The forum will consist of three parts: a plenary meeting with
the country’s president, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
all Armenians and prominent figures of the Armenian diaspora due to
address the audience; discussion about how Armenia and the Armenian
diaspora can unite their efforts to assist in upgrading infrastructure
in Armenia’s rural areas; and also, discussion about the role and
place of Armenians in the 21st century.
Problems facing Armenians in the Dzhavakhetia, an Armenian-populated
district of Georgia, may also be discussed during the forum,
Oskanian said.
Although this is an internal matter for Georgia, “Armenia cannot
remain indifferent to the fate of its compatriots,” the minister said.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENTEL IFRS NET PROFIT GROWS 1.4% IN H1
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
September 4, 2006 Monday 3:11 PM MSK
Armenian cellular provider Armentel, 90% of which is owned by Greece’s
Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE), net profit to
international accounting standards grew 1.4% to 14.8 million euros
in the first half of 2006 from 14.6 million euros in the same period
in the previous year, OTE said in a financial report.
Armentel revenue increased 32.6% to 68.4 million euros in the first
half, compared with 51.6 million euros in the previous year, according
to the financial report. OIBDA grew 21.3% to 37 million euros. The
OIBDA margin fell to 54% from 59.1%.
Armentel had 593,328 fixed lines in the first half, compared with
587,891 lines in the previous year. It had 344,088 mobile subscribers
at the end of June compared with 257,679 subscribers.
OTE consolidated net profit grew 12.9% to 221.9 million euros.
Revenue rose 5.5% to 2.819 billion euros and OIBDA increased 8.5%
to 1.03 billion euros.

U.S. CONGRESSMEN ENCOURAGE NKR FOR INDEPENDENCE
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 14:40 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Congressmen Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg
congratulated the NKR President and people on the 15th anniversary
of Karabakh independence proclamation. The message says in part,
“Dear President Ghukasian, We congratulate the people and government
of Artsakh and you personally on the 15th anniversary of independence
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. This historical date is an important
landmark of your struggle for freedom. September 2, 1991 the people
of Nagorno Karabakh declared their intention to build an independent
state. With this declaration the heroic people of Karabakh voiced
decision to live freely.
You asserted you right to live freely and successfully counteracted
the Azeri military aggression. Many brave sons and daughters of your
land died in the name of freedom in Artsakh. Unflinching belief in
the just cause, your persistency let you achieve greater victories
in restoring the economy destroyed by the war and forming a firm
basis for the further development and prosperity. During recent 15
years the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) proved its viability
and adherence to universal values of freedom, peace, democracy and
human rights protection.
We have always endorsed you in your struggle and go on supporting
you in your noble aspiration to achieve international recognition
of you independence. We assure you that we will contribute to the
strengthening of security and development of Nagorno Karabakh and we
are looking forward to the moment when the state flag of independent
Artsakh will be hoisted all over the globe as a symbol of realization
of your expectations.”

LUKASHENKO: BELARUSIAN PEOPLE FEEL WARMTH FOR ARMENIANS
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 16:20 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Belarus is ready to develop political and economic
cooperation with Armenia, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said
today when receiving credentials from Armenian Ambassador to Belarus
Oleg Yesayan. The Belarusian President said that Armenia and Belarus
“enjoy really fraternal relations.” “Personally I and Belarusian
people feel warmth for Armenians,” he added. For his part, the new
chief of the Armenian diplomatic mission in Minsk noted the high
level of relations established between the two states.
Oleg Yesayan conveyed to personal greeting of Armenian President
Robert Kocharian to the Belarusian leader.
The Ambassador also said that his activities in Belarus will be
targeted at the development and strengthening of mutually beneficial
cooperation, reported BELTA.

ROMANIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 16:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 6 Romanian National Defense Minister
Teodor Atanasiuwill arrive in Armenia on a 3-day visit. As RA Defense
Minister’s Spokesman, Col. Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net,
during the visit the Romanian MOD head will meet RA President Robert
Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, Minister of Defense
Serge Sargsyan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian. The
Romanian delegation will also attend Holy Echmiadzin, the depository
of ancient manuscripts of Matenadatan, the Armenian Genocide Museum
and lay a wreath to the Genocide victims.

NO NEW PROPOSALS ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 17:01 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The precise date of meeting with Elmar Mammadyarov
has not been determined yet. It may take place either in London or in
Paris September 12-13, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said
in Yerevan. In his words, any meeting at this level should be targeted
at a result. “Presently the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group sounded
in Vienna are lying on the bargaining table. There is nothing else,”
the RA FM said.
At the same time Vartan Oskanian underscored that recently the
Azeri media distort facts in such a way that one cannot treat them
seriously. “The latest example of the distortion of the words of
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. We do not pay attention to
Azerbaijan’s statements but this fact cannot be completely ignored,”
Oskanian underscored.
As for the Armenia-Turkey relations, the Armenian FM remarked that
Armenia’s position towards Turkey is unchangeable and was reiterated
by Armenian President Robert Kocharian and the RA Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.

SOME 2000 PEOPLE TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ARMENIA-DIASPORA THIRD FORUM
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 17:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The participants of the Armenia-Diaspora Third Forum
will give an assessment to 15 years of Armenia’s independence and
elaborate a strategy of counteracting new challenges,” the Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said in Yerevan today. In his words,
some 2000 delegates representing the Armenian Diaspora will arrive
to take part in the forum. “We have announced that the reports of
the participants should maintain these two priority items. Presently
out nation is experiencing a very important period. It has formed
politically and the Diaspora wishes to make a contribution to the
development of the economy,” Oskanian said.
Noting the necessity of coordination of activities between Armenia
and the Armenian communities throughout the globe Vartan Oskanian said
that the World Armenian Congress (WAC) headed by Ara Abrahamyan works
in the interests of the Armenianhood. “The Diaspora is huge and its
unification is a hard work.
Thus the main goal of the WAC has not been achieved yet. Nevertheless
the Armenian government respects the WAC activities and Ara Abramanyan
was invited to the forum as a rapporteur,” he said.

JAVAKHK ISSUE TO BE DISCUSSED AT ARMENIA-DIASPORA FORUM
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 17:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The discussion of the situation in
Samtskhe-Javakhetia at the Armenia-Diaspora forum is not ruled
out, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stated in Yerevan
today. “The situation in this Armenian-populated region in not on the
agenda as a separate item but I suppose it will be discussed. As for
Yerevan’s official position, I reiterate that the issue of Javakhk
is Georgia’s internal issue, but Armenia being concerned over the
fate of our compatriots will not stand aside. This is a very delicate
matter and Armenia’s measures should be very cautious, balanced and
harmless for the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental relations,”
Oskanian underscored.

ARMENIAN ACADEMICIANS PRESS FOR SOONEST ADOPTION OF LAW ON DUAL CITIZENSHIP
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 17:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If a unified coordinating body consisting of
representatives of Armenia and Diaspora is not formed at the
Armenia-Diaspora Third Forum, it will become an ordinary event,
Academician Karlen Dallakyan said today at a meeting in the RA National
Academy of Sciences. In his words, otherwise the Armenian nation will
not be able to counteract the challenges of the 21st century. Dallakyan
accused Armenian TV channels of narrowness of covering of the events of
the Diasporan life. “From the very beginning of the military operations
in Lebanon we were presented by the viewpoint of the editor-in-chief of
Azdak newspaper, which is a body of AFR Dashnaktsutyun,” he remarked.
For his part, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies Nikolay
Ohanesyan emphasized that one of the major problems of out nation is
the existence of two altars of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC)
– in Holy Echmiadzin and in Antilas. “The holy altar should be one,
in Echmiadzin. The policy pursued by Catholicos Aram I leads to the
final split of the AAC,” he said. Ohanesyan also noted the necessity
of precise line of the government towards the Diaspora.
According to historian Stepan Stepanyan, at the international arena
the NKR issue should be discussed together with the Nakhichevan
issue. “Nakhichevan was also given to Azerbaijan in 1921. These
problems are bound,” he said.
The meeting participants also underscored that the law in dual
citizenship should be adopted as soon as possible.