SECOND ALL-ARMENIAN CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION TO BE HELD AUGUST 17-21
Yerevan, August 15. ArmInfo. The second All-Armenian Conference on
Education will be held August 17-21 in Armenia’s resort town of
Tsakhkadzor, the main subject of discussion of which will be the
education sphere reformation issues, Narine Hovhannissyan, the Head
of the Department of General Education of RA Ministry of Science and
Education, said at today’s press-conference.
According to her, 105 representatives of education sphere from Armenia
and Diaspora will participate in the work of the Conference.
A contest for the best composition on the subject “My Free Motherland”
will be conducted August 20 within the frames of the events. The first
lesson in the Armenian schools on September 1 will be devoted to the
15th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. A festival of readers
under heading “The Old and New Armenia” and a seminar on the subject
“Armenian Culture and the Role of Armenian Letters in Strengthening
of Independence and State System” are envisaged to be held within the
frames of the Conference. Moreover, it is also envisaged to hold art
exhibitions and concerts.

HISTORY IS NOT AZERI PRESIDENT’S FORTE
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
16/08/2006
Political elite of neighboring Azerbaijan comes out with new kind of
statements. “Baku will never allow creation of the second Armenian
state on its territory,” Azerbaijani Interfax quoted president Ilham
Aliyev as saying during his meeting with Azerbaijani ambassadors.
Aliyev junior is not punctilious in picking up right words when
speaking about inadmissibility of creating the second Armenian
state. There is already such a state that functions in its own historic
territory. On the other hand, one has an impression that the first
Armenian state is located somewhere in Azerbaijani lands.
“We know there are national minorities in many countries. But being
a minority does not mean to have the right to engage in secessionism
and claim lands.
They say that the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh have the right to
self-determination. There are Armenians in other countries too, and
they also can use this right,” this was the “logic” of Ilham Aliyev
in instructing his state’s diplomats.
If the leader of a state with $1 billion budget does not see any
difference between the Armenian Diaspora and Artsakh, it can by no
means be surprising that the knowledge of Azerbaijani ambassadors
does not go beyond such observations.

TURKEY IN A NEW TUG OF WAR
AZG Armenian Daily
16/08/2006
Many pundits predicted – and certainly all Armenians hoped – that
with the demise of the Cold War Turkey’s strategic importance would
become irrelevant and that a meeker and more conciliatory Turkey
would emerge in the Middle East.
But as the dust settles after the collapse of the Soviet Union,
a new Cold War is shaping up and Turkey is back to its balancing act.
Turkey’s accession to the European Union always presented a double-edge
sword for the European powers, especially for Armenia. Armenia’s
foreign policy thinking envisions a Turkey as a bully in a cage,
no longer in a position to threaten Armenia. The European Union has
its own conditions and terms for its members, enforcing civilized
conduct. That inspires Armenian policy makers to believe that economic
and military blockades may become things of the past.
But the reverse side of the coin is that Turkey, as a EU member, will
have more clout in the Union by the sheer weight of its population
to be able to block any decision favoring Armenia or its ethnic
Kurds. On top of that potential, Turkey has demonstrated that it can
have its cake and eat it too. A case in point is its adamant position
on Cyprus. Indeed, Ankara insists on keeping its occupation forces
on Cypriot soil, closing its port to Cypriot shipping, refusing to
recognize the Armenian genocide, and still continue accession talks
with the European Union. And this is tolerated by the European powers
and encouraged by the U.S.
Of course, the Bush administration has its own agenda for Turkey;
by supporting Ankara’s membership in the EU, Washington intends to
use Turkey as a spoiler in the EU, blocking its march towards an
independent political and military pole, in the meantime, distancing
Turkey from a possible coalition with a Moslem block, or especially
with Russia.
A disturbing scenario is emerging in this world power play. Indeed,
a recent article in London’s The Guardian (July 30, 2006) focused
on that scenario, quoting a speech by Joschka Fischer, former German
Foreign Minister. That evolving scenario has the following components;
as EU countries, and especially France and Germany, spurn Turkey’s
ambitions to joining the EU, Turkish nationalist forces are gaining
momentum in their strive to steer the country towards East, towards
the Islamic world, and especially towards Russia and Iran.
Russia and Turkey have been developing their political and economic
relations. Their two-way annual trade is estimated to reach the $20
billion mark, while two million Russian tourists visit Turkey every
year to dump their petrodollars in the latter’s tourist industry.
After the collapse of the empire, Russia is shaping up in a more
assertive posture. During the first few post-Soviet years, Republican
commentators ridiculed President Clinton’s policy of kowtowing to
Yeltsin, but from Washington’s perspective it was a most realistic
policy to keep Yeltsin – who failed all sobriety tests – in power
and Russia in turmoil.
Russia, with its huge oil windfall and Putin’s stern hand, gradually
is charting its own political course to challenge the West, especially
the U.S. Just recently, President Bush’s push to embolden and arm
Georgia against Russia, was countered by Chavez’s visit to Moscow to
acquire Sokhoy military aircraft and other hardware.
Russian policy to continue catering Iran’s development of civilian
nuclear capability has also been irritating Washington.
Should Ankara’s dreams of joining the EU collapse, Russia is ready
and willing to form an axis to counter the West. Iran has already
cultivated good neighborly relations with both, and could join the
axis, despite its historic animosity with the two former empires.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan met with President Putin four times
last year, in a sign of improving relations between the two countries.
Where do all these developments leave Armenia?
Certainly, these developments will push Yerevan to a more tenuous
situation. Iran and Russia had been catering Armenia in their bid to
steer Yerevan away from the West and from Turkey. As these centers
of power drive closer, Armenia will gradually become a marginal
entity. The Russian military base, which was considered a safeguard
against any potential Turkish aggression, will become an academic
presence. Any potential hostile act by Turkey will fail to compromise
Russo-Turkish rapprochement and friendship.
Armenia is in a bind: If Turkey joins the EU, except for some minor
benefits, the latter’s overpowering presence will always pose a
problem. On the other hand, if the pendulum swings the other way and
an axis is formed between Turkey, Russia and Iran, more ominous and
unpredictable prospects may arise.
Thus far Armenian foreign policy has charted its own wise course to
remain afloat. We do hope wisdom will continue to prevail to observe
this delicate balance and to refrain from rocking the boat in these
perilous times.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPEAN U-21 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Aug 16, 2006
Group One Bosnia-Herzegovina v Armenia (4.0)
Group Two Slovakia v Albania (6.0)
Group Three Lithuania v Georgia (5.0)
Group Four Greece v Rep of Ireland (6.0)
Group Five Austria v Iceland (4.0)
Group Six Hungary v Finland (5.0)
Group Seven Poland v Latvia (4.30)
Group Nine Belarus v Cyprus (4.0)
Group Ten Romania v N Ireland (4.0)
Group Eleven Sweden v FYR Macedonia (5.30)
Group Twelve Ukraine v Bulgaria (6.0)
Group Thirteen Israel v Wales (2.0)
Group Fourteen Slovenia v Scotland (4.0)

3 RADAR TRACKING STATIONS IN AZERBAIJAN
AZG Armenian Daily
16/08/2006
This the way that genuine Oriental diplomacy can be.
Azerbaijan runs 3 radar tracking stations – one Russian and two
American. One is there to track the moves of the USA and NATO the other
two to track missile launch from the Russian and Iranian side. This
fact is not something new. The Russian station of Gabala dates back
to soviet times and used to be the largest in the region; the American
ones were set in 2002 in Astara, nearby Iranian border, and in Khizi,
at the Russian border. But neither the US nor the Azerbaijani official
sources spoke of the stations till September 2005 when US Ambassador
to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish, suddenly announced about them. The issue
of the stations’ existence was touched upon in the US press lately
making the Azeri side edgy.

BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN SOURCE OF ECOLOGICAL DISASTER?
AZG Armenian Daily
16/08/2006
The pipes of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline are under the threat of
corrosion that will in turn result in ecological disaster in Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Turkey, ITAR-TASS news agency quoted representatives of
“Platform” international ecology organization as saying. “Platform”
issued this warning when the British Petroleum, constructor of
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, was forced to shut down one of its oil transit
lines in Australia due to severe corrosion. BP official Miko Mino
Paullo said that the Caucasus the company was less concerned with
ecological safety than in Alaska. Meanwhile, BP-Georgia denied
“Platform’s” statement. It said that the company always checks oil
composition and the state of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

WILL THE BOMBING OF LEBANON BURY THE AZERI-ISRAELI LOVEFEST?
By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier
ArmRadio.am
15.08.2006 15:23
As a follow up to my last month’s column on Azerbaijan’s efforts
to exploit Israel’s clout in Washington, D.C., I would like to
present further revelations on this topic by Ilya Bourtman, a former
researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Ramat
Gan, Israel. His article, titled, “Israel and Azerbaijan’s Furtive
Embrace,” is published in the Summer 2006 edition of the Middle
East Quarterly.
Stating that “few could have foreseen how Israel’s relationship with
Azerbaijan would blossom,” Bourtman expresses his amazement that
“a country 93 percent Muslim would cooperate closely with Israeli
intelligence, and even provide Israeli officials a defensive platform
in such a volatile region’s Israel and Azerbaijan have quietly become
strategic partners sharing intelligence, developing trade relations,
and together building regional alliances [with Turkey].” The writer
strains credulity by drawing parallels between the Arab-Israeli
conflict and that of Azerbaijan with Armenia.
This is how Bourtman explains why Azerbaijan needed the Jewish lobby’s
help in Washington: “In 1991, Azerbaijan was economically fragile,
politically unstable, and militarily weak. Desperate for outside
assistance, Baku turned to Israel to provide leverage against a much
stronger Iran and a militarily superior Armenia. Israel promised
to improve Azerbaijan’s weak economy by developing trade ties. It
purchased Azerbaijani oil and gas and sent medical, technological,
and agricultural experts. Most importantly for Azerbaijan, Israel’s
foreign ministry vowed to lend its lobby’s weight in Washington to
improve Azeri-American relations, providing a counterweight to the
influential Armenian lobby.
According to Azerbaijan’s first president, Abulfas Elchibey, “Israel
could help Azerbaijan in [the] Karabakh problem by convincing the
Americans to stop the Armenians. Azerbaijani diplomats recognized
the need to diversify their contacts in Washington, especially after
the U.S. Congress imposed sanctions on Azerbaijan at the behest of
the Armenian lobby following the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani
military officials also believed that Israeli firms could better equip
the ragtag Azerbaijani army, which needed new weapons following its
defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On several occasions, Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president between
1993 and 2003, personally requested military assistance from Israeli
prime ministers.”
In describing the benefits of the Israeli lobby to Azerbaijan,
Bourtman writes: “in the mid 1990’s, struggling to piece together
the weak and dysfunctional Azerbaijani state, President Aliyev moved
towards Jerusalem, thereby winning the allegiance of the pro-Israel
lobby in Washington.” He then quotes Hassan Hassanov, Azerbaijan’s
foreign minister, who stated in 1997: “We don’t conceal that we rely
on the Israeli lobby in the U.S.” Bourtman explains: “This paid
dividends when, in 2002, President Bush waived Section 907 of the
Freedom Support Act. In a rare and understated public admission, an
official at the Azerbaijani embassy in Washington acknowledged that,
“Jewish organizations made a certain contribution in the Section 907
waiving process.”
Beyond lobbying assistance, Bourtman reveals the extent of Azerbaijan’s
reliance on Israeli weaponry: “Following its loss in Nagorno-Karabakh,
Baku reached out to Israel for help in rebuilding its military. Israeli
defense firms obliged, selling Azerbaijan advanced aviation, antitank,
artillery, and anti-infantry weapon systems. The arms trade has
continued. In 2004, the Azerbaijani and Israeli press both reported
that an undisclosed Israeli weapons system was being sent to Turkey
where it would be assembled and then delivered to Azerbaijan. While
Israeli, Turkish, and Azerbaijani officials denied the report, Israeli
policy prohibits confirmation of such deals, an Azerbaijani military
official defended the purchase, saying “our country’s interest in
Israeli weapons is natural as this country possesses up-to-date types
of weapons, military hardware, and special equipment.
Weapons sales and shared-threat perception have smoothed intelligence
and security cooperation. Israeli firms built and guard the fence
around Baku’s international airport, monitor and help protect
Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure, and even provide security for
Azerbaijan’s president on his foreign visits. Israeli intelligence
operatives help collect human intelligence about extremist Islamist
organizations in the region and monitor the troop deployments of
Azerbaijan’s neighbors especially Iran. In a Washington Institute
for Near East Policy analysis, analysts Soner Cagaptay and Alexander
Murinson alluded to reports that Israeli intelligence maintains
listening posts along the Azerbaijani border with Iran.”
Bourtman further observes that Turkey “has benefited the most from
the development of Azerbaijani-Israeli cooperation.” In August 1997,
when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Baku, he and
Pres. Heydar Aliyev “discussed various issues ranging from new oil
deals, to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, to trilateral cooperation between
Israel, Turkey, and Azerbaijan,” Bourtman writes.
Despite rosy reports by Azeri officials and American-Jewish
organizations about the freedoms enjoyed by Jews in Azerbaijan,
Bourtman refers to an article in the Feb. 15, 2006 issue of Haa’retz
newspaper which ominously reported that Israeli officials “worry
about the recent spike in violence by radical Islamists against Jewish
communities in Azerbaijan.”
The month-long massive Israeli bombings of Lebanon could make
Azerbaijan’s leaders more cautious in their courtship of Israel and
strain the ties between the two countries. As a sign of increasing
tensions, already there have been several public demonstrations against
these bombings in recent days in front of the Israeli Embassy in Baku
which the authorities brutally dispersed.
Even before this latest negative turn of events, Bourtman reported
that Azerbaijan had decided “to curtail expansion of cooperation with
Israel,” not wanting to be seen by fellow Muslims as being too close
to the Tel Aviv government. Interestingly, he writes that Azerbaijani
authorities also feel that “they have exhausted the use of pro-Israel
groups in Washington.”
It looks like the Azeris used the Israeli lobby when it served their
interests, and now that close association with Israel has become a
liability, they have decided to ditch the Jewish lobby unceremoniously!

AZERI TV REPORTS MORE FIRES ON ARMENIAN BORDER
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
15 Aug 06
[Presenter] The Armenians who recently started fires in Qazax
[northwest Azerbaijan] have now started fires in several villages in
Tovuz. The fires were extinguished owing to the efforts of the local
population last night. But the danger has not subsided yet.
[Correspondent reporting by telephone] A fire started in Armenia’s
Shamshaddin [Idzhevan] District at about 2000 [1500 gmt] yesterday
evening. The fire soon spread to the neutral territory. After that,
the fire spread to the pastures of the village of Alibayli in Tovuz
District. According to villagers, the fire continued all night. Seven
anti-tank and four anti-personnel mines planted in the neutral zone
exploded during the fire. Valeh Rzayev, a representative of the
Alibayli village executive authorities, said that about 100 ha of
land had burnt.
Along with the pastures belonging to villagers, municipal land plots
have also burnt. The fire has inflicted great damage on villagers. The
representative of the executive authorities said that the fire had
been extinguished by villagers themselves – they did not call fire
engines as the opposite side could open fire at any moment. The fire
has already been put out.

AZERI DIPLOMAT RULES OUT TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS TO ARMENIA
ANS TV, Baku
15 Aug 06
It is not up to Armenia’s wish to liberate or not the occupied
districts of Kalbacar and Lacin. They will definitely withdraw from
Kalbacar and Lacin, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov
has said.
There will be no speculation as both districts are Azerbaijani
territory. As for the corridor passing through Lacin, this cannot
serve as a basis or pretext for the occupation of any part of Lacin.
We will not allow this to happen. The Lacin corridor should serve
both sides, as well as regional states.

RA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE TO HOLD EVENTS DEDICATED TO 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE OF ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Aug 15 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Ministry of Education and
Science envisages holding of a number of events dedicated to the 15th
anniversary of independence of the Republic of Armenia. As Narine
Hovhannisian, the Chief of the Comprehensive Education Department
of the Ministry mentioned at the August 15 press conference, the
first event of that series will be the 2nd All-Armenian Educational
Conference to take place in Tsaghkadzor on August 17-20. 150
representatives of Armenia and Diaspora will participate in it. She
mentioned that a competition of compositions on the theme “My Free
Fatherland” will be held in secondary schools of the republic from
August 20 to September 30.
The best works will be published in the “Krtutyun” (Education) and
“Kanch” (call) periodicals, will be placed in the internet site of
the Ministry.
N.Hovhannisian mentioned that the Day of Knowledge, September 1, will
also be dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Independence. Meetings
with statesmen and politicians and participants of the Artsakh war
will be held in schools in these days as well as demonstrative lessons
dedicated to the theme will be held.
Besides, in schools, Artsakh war heroes’, Armenian Generals’ halls
of glory will be founded, albums will be formed, stands will be
prepared, wall papers will be published, photo-exhibitions will
be opened. N.Hovhannisian mentioned that a republican festival of
recitation entitled “You my Old and New Armenia” will be organized
jointly with the Writers’ Union of Armenia. Its results will be
summed up in October. A competition-review of works of fine arts
entitled “My Republic is 15” will also be held. The best works will be
exhibited at the State National Gallery. And a gala concert entitled
“My Marvellous Armenia” will take place in October, with school
teachers’ participation.
Scientific conferences, seminars, lectures, students’ and lecturers’
scientific sessions are also envisaged.