OPPOSITIONAL POLITICIAN: ARMENIA-IRAN COOPERATION IS EXCLUSIVE BY ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Yerevan, May 16. ArmInfo. Armenia has stopped to be a hostile wedge
inside the Islamic world for the first time in its centuries-old
history and it is very important to keep this achievement, the leader
of the “National-Democratic Union” party Vazgen Manukyan told today
to journalists, asked about the possible consequences of the military
operation against Iran for Armenia.
According to Manukyan, such an operation can turn into a catastrophe
for Armenia. One should not rule out a possible military conflict
“in view of the fact that USA administration has become unpredictable
for the last years”. “Armenia must do the best to keep this exclusive
example of successful cooperation with a fundamental Islamic country”,
Manukyan said.

TURKS FUMING OVER GENOCIDE CLAIM
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter
The Australian
May 16 2006
,20867,19162502-2702,00.html
A LABOR MP of Greek descent who raised genocide allegations in
the Victorian parliament has sparked an international row with the
Turkish Government.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned backbencher Jenny
Mikakos against accusing Turkey of committing a “holocaust” comparable
to Adolf Hitler’s.
“This claim is just the distortion of historical facts,” it said
in a statement issued to The Australian yesterday that is likely to
infuriate the Greek Government and Greeks throughout the world.
“These baseless claims are counter-productive and in contrast with
co-operation and (the) dialogue spirit which we endeavour to develop
between Greece and Turkey.”
Ms Mikakos’s comments also incensed a fellow Labor MP, Michael
Leighton, who is the son of a holocaust survivor whose relatives died
in Hitler’s wartime slaughter of Jewish people.
The row started when Ms Mikakos called on Turkey to apologise for the
alleged killing of more than 350,000 Greeks in the so-called Pontian
genocide between 1916 and 1923.
“Unlike Germany, which has taken responsibility for the Jewish
holocaust, Turkey has never apologised to its victims,” she said.
Ms Mikakos defied Premier Steve Bracks’s efforts to quell the row
yesterday by releasing a statement repeating her accusations of
genocide, although she dropped any mention of the holocaust.
Labor sources said Mr Bracks privately “carpeted” Ms Mikakos for her
comments last week amid fears they would spark race-based bickering
within the party in the lead-up to the November election.
The two Labor MPs of Turkish descent in the parliament, John Eren and
Adem Somyurek, who interjected during her speech on May 4, refused to
fan the row yesterday, despite Ms Mikakos repeating the genocide claim.
“I raised the genocide of Pontic Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians in the
Victorian parliament in the lead-up to this Friday’s commemoration,”
she said.
“I have never vilified any community.”
Her comments relate to incidents during and after World War I,
a period when Turkey and Greece were fighting each other.
“Between 1916 and 1923 over 353,000 Pontic Greeks living in Asia Minor
and in Pontos, which is near the Black Sea, died as a result of the
20th century’s first but less known genocide,” she told parliament.
“Over a million Pontic Greeks were forced into exile. In the preceding
years, 1.5 million Armenians and 750,000 Assyrians in various parts
of Turkey also perished.
“Most victims died from exhaustion or dehydration on forced marches
or work in the so-called labour battalions.”
But the Turkish Government continues to deny that a holocaust involving
Pontian Greeks, Armenians or Assyrian Christians took place. “The
so-called Pontian genocide is devoid of historical basis,” the Foreign
Ministry told The Australian.
“We suggest that the Greek authorities and scholars evaluate the
historical events in an objective manner instead of coming forward
with these kind of allegations which would damage the Turkish-Greek
bilateral relations.”
The two countries have vastly improved their relationship in recent
years with Greece now supporting Turkey’s inclusion in the European
Union.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY CONTINUES TO DENY ARMENIAN MASSACRE
By Andrew Borowiec
The Washington Times
World Peace Herald, DC
May 16 2006
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Turkey remains adamant in rejecting foreign pressure
to admit guilt for the 90-year-old massacres of Armenians, at the
same time intensifying its military buildup on its border with Iraq.
After a tense period of what some analysts describe as “rejectionist
diplomacy,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his
government’s unswerving opposition to a proposed French law that would
make denial of the World War I massacres of 1.5 million Armenians a
criminal offense.
The French draft bill is “like a virus,” Mr. Erdogan said after
ordering the withdrawal of a Turkish component from NATO military
maneuvers in Canada because Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
described the massacres as genocide.
Some analysts say Turkey has painted itself into a “diplomatic corner”
at a time when it needs support in its negotiations for membership
in the European Union, in which France is a key member.
On Thursday, the French National Assembly is to open debate on the
bill, which calls for punishment of one year in prison and a $57,000
fine for anyone who denies the massacre of Turkish-Armenians.
Turkish officials have asked several French businessmen in Turkey to
pressure lawmakers to block the bill, whose drafting was influenced
by the Armenian diaspora. France was threatened with a boycott of
goods even though it is the biggest foreign investor in Turkey.
Diplomats say the campaign could degenerate into a trade war and
hamper Turkey’s EU aspirations. The Erdogan government has staked
its prestige on EU membership.
For years, the denial of the deaths of the Armenians during a forced
“resettlement march” in 1915 has marred Turkey’s relations with
several European countries, tarnishing its human rights record.
The political and diplomatic skirmishing over the issue has been
accompanied by a systematic military buildup along Turkey’s border
with northern Iraq, where diplomats estimate about 200,000 troops
and paramilitary forces have been massed.
During her visit to Ankara in April, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice warned Turkey to keep out of Iraq regardless of its assertion
that northern Iraq harbors bases of separatist guerrillas of the
Kurdistan Workers Party.
Washington and some of its allies worry that a Turkish incursion
into Iraq would represent yet another destabilizing factor in the
troubled country.
Turkey says its forces in the area are a “shield” to prevent rebel
infiltrations in a war with Turkish Kurds that since 1984 has claimed
more than 37,000 lives and devastated hundreds of villages.
“If the conditions arise,” Gen. Bekir Kalyoncu has said, “Turkey will
use its right as any sovereign country.” Turkish officials have said
the United Nations charter, which authorizes “the right to self-defense
in case of attack,” justifies the right to “hot pursuit.”

TURKEY THREATENS SANCTIONS OVER FRENCH BILL ON ARMENIAN ISSUE
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 16 2006
Turkey has stated that it would impose trade sanctions on france should
the French parliament adopt a bill that would criminalize the denial
that during the early 20th century, the noted massacre of Armenians
in Turkey constitutes as genocide.
It is believed that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the
then-Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917 in what Armenians consider
to be a genocide; Turkey has insisted that the deaths do not constitute
as genocide and the issue has caused much debate in recent months.
The French National Assembly is slated to consider an opposition
Socialist party-sponsored bill this Thursday that would make denying
the massacre was genocide illegal. Offenders could face a five-year
jail sentence and fines up to $57,000. France already has a law on
the books which recognizes the massacre as genocide.

KRONER: TURKEY WILL NEVER BE EU MEMBER UNLESS IT ACCEPTS ITS PAST
Yerkir
16.05.2006 15:56
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Secretary Genereal of the International European
Movement Henrik H. Kroner visited Armenian Genocide Memorial on
Tuesday to pay homage to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Mr. Kroner was accompanied by Victor Yengibarian, head of the
organization’s mission to Armenia, and Kiro Manoyan, director of the
ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office.
In the book of the Genocide Musem Kroner inscribed: “Let’s hope no
such genocide will take place again in Europe and world. And the
European values are the guarantees of our unification.”
Speaking to journalists Kroner said it is a shame this crime has not
been recognized thus far. “The Euoropean Union has been established to
avoid such tragedies in the future. I think Turkey will never become
a EU member unless it admits its past. The process has just begun
and will take long years. Ankara will have to admit it in the end,”
Kroner said.
Kiro Manoyan, director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political
Affairs Office, said deserves a thank-you to an extent because it
was due to its denialist policy that the Armenian Genocide issue was
raised and Turkey came under criticism.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Kroner met with ARF Supreme Body of Armenia
representative Armen Rustamian at the Simon Vratsian Center in
Yerevan. The parties discussed the International European Movement’s
programs regarding Armenia’s integration in Europe.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSKANYAN DOES NOT RULE OUT A POSSIBILITY OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS MEETING
Regnum, Russia
May 16 2006
During a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in
Strasbourg on May 18-19, “new proposals” of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs on settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as a REGNUM
correspondent quotes Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan as
saying, while talking to the press.
If the meeting of foreign ministers is a success, according to the
minister, a possibility of a Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
meeting is not ruled out. Vardan Oskanyan found it difficult to answer
when and where such meeting can take place.
The minister expressed his confidence that recent internal political
developments in Armenia would affect settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. “We should continue working and working in achieving their
goal. We have been in this process for many years, and it is difficult
to say, when it ends,” the Armenian foreign minister announced.

RUSSIA’S ENERGY SECTOR HIDES WEAKNESSES BEHIND POWERFUL FACADE
Stephen Blank
EurasiaNet, NY
May 16 2006
A EurasiaNet Commentary
In late April, representatives of Russia’s Kremlin-controlled gas
conglomerate, Gazprom, threatened to reduce exports to Europe after
the EU blocked the company’s attempts to obtain several European
energy entities. EU officials dismissed the threat, believing that
the Russian energy industry could not survive without generating a
hefty European cash flow. They were right. Behind its mighty facade,
Russia’s energy sector, which the Kremlin has used in recent months to
bully its neighbors and expand its geopolitical reach, suffers from
a decaying infrastructure and a dependence on Western technology and
cheap Central Asian energy.
Russian exporters are able to ship large quantities of energy to Europe
and Asia today only because of its unique relationship to Central
Asian oil and gas producers. And the future of this relationship is
crucial to understanding the global energy game.
The Kremlin has significantly enhanced its control over Central Asian
energy in recent years, book-ended by a 25-year natural gas supply
deal with Turkmenistan in 2003 and a massive oil supply agreement
with Kazakhstan last month. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. To many outside observers, the Russian energy sector
has assumed an aura of a juggernaut. Statistics seem to support
this impression: Russia has been responsible for fully half of the
increase in global crude oil supplies over the past five years. The
image has also been fueled by the Kremlin’s use of conglomerates as
instruments of geopolitical policy. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
Appearances can be deceptive, however, at least when it comes to
Russia’s energy sector. There are numerous signs that Russia is in
danger of overextending itself, while dawdling on investing in its
energy infrastructure. The overextension problem is most noticeable in
Moscow’s dealings with Asia. Russia has made an array of commitments to
China and Japan to meet those countries’ voracious energy appetite. For
example, President Vladimir Putin in March indicated that Russia
by 2011 would be in position to deliver upwards of 80 billion cubic
meters of gas annually to China via two pipelines. Meeting that goal
will be difficult, however, as the pipeline linking China and western
Siberia has yet to be built. In general, questions continue to hover
over virtually all of Russia’s oil & gas-related deals with China
and Japan. And even if the energy flows eastward as anticipated,
Asian officials are already expressing doubts about whether the
amounts pledged by Russia are sufficient to meet projected needs.
Beyond the question of Russia trying to export more than it can
pump, the country will have to contend in the coming years with
growing domestic demand, along with the need to repair existing
infrastructure and tap into new energy fields. Both of these latter
tasks are enormously expensive, given the difficulties of working in
Siberia’s uninviting terrain and weather conditions. Experts say that
the significant increase in Russia’s energy production in recent years
would not have been possible without the use of Western technology
and techniques, including hydrofracturing, a process in which steam
is forced into a well to ease the pumping of oil.
Likewise, Western equipment and know-how will be needed to develop
new energy sources in the Arctic, as well as off the country’s
Pacific coast.
Despite the need for outside investment, Russian policies seem
calculated to prop up closed domestic monopolies, and thus repel
foreign capital and technology. In addition, foreign investors
continue to face enormous risks when doing business in Russia:
although foreigners can buy minority stakes in Russian energy firms,
the concept of shareholder rights remains poorly developed, leaving
outsiders vulnerable to the whims of a non-transparent and notoriously
corrupt system.
For now, Central Asian energy is helping Russia mask both current
energy problems and future dilemmas. Until recently every export
pipeline for oil and gas produced in Central Asia was routed through
Russia, enabling the Kremlin to import energy at exceedingly low
cost. Putin sought to maximize Moscow’s leverage by creating a gas
cartel led by Russia. Kremlin control over Central Asian energy reached
the point that in late 2005, Russia felt secure in imposing dramatic
price increases on its CIS neighbors, including Ukraine, Georgia
and Armenia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. A
subsequent pricing dispute with Ukraine prompted Russia to temporarily
halt the energy flow in early 2006. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
Central Asian governments are not content with existing arrangements,
however, and are turning to China in order to break Russia’s
pipeline monopoly. A 1,000-kilometer-pipeline linking Kazakhstan
to China, opened last December, became Central Asia’s first export
route not to cross Russian territory. Now the authoritarian-minded
leaders of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, along with Kazakhstan, are
exploring the feasibility of building more pipelines that parallel the
Kazakhstani-Chinese route. The possible construction of a trans-Caspian
pipeline, which would enable Central Asian energy to hook up with
Azerbaijani-Turkish routes, could further weaken Russia’s grip on
regional exports.
Much of Russia’s neo-imperial designs in Central Asia are connected
with the fact that the Kremlin’s global economic strategy is dependent
on Moscow’s continued access to cheap Central Asian energy.
Central Asian energy is far cheaper to extract than Russia’s, thus the
Kremlin uses it for Russian domestic consumption, which is heavily
subsidized, while shipping Siberian production abroad. The ensuing
price manipulation is the source of enormous revenues that helps
sustain the government and overall Russian economy.
It is easy to see how the loss of control over Central Asian energy
exports and production would severely damage Russia’s political and
economic interests. If Central Asian states start pumping oil to China
and Azerbaijan, Russia would likely have to use its own production
to meet domestic needs. This, in turn, would dash Moscow’s export
plans for Europe and Asia. At the very least, the availability of
other export options would force Moscow to pay considerably higher
prices for Central Asian oil and gas – a development that could have
ruinous consequences for the Russian economy. Two analysts, Vladimir
Paramonov and Aleksey Strogov wrote in 2004; “should energy prices in
the domestic market reach the world level, it will spell the end for
virtually all Russian enterprises. Even if world fuel prices remain
high, fuel production will become uneconomic in Russia.”
Asian and European governments are becoming increasingly aware of
Central Asia’s importance in the global energy security calculus.
Meanwhile, Washington is exerting pressure on Kazakhstan to make a firm
commitment to a trans-Caspian pipeline. Should Central Asia achieve
energy independence with outside help, Russia would quickly come under
pressure to reform its domestic economy, especially the energy sector,
so that it could better compete in a free trade environment. It follows
that economic liberalization would undermine, if not reverse Putin’s
attempts to re-centralize political power in Russia.
Of course, there is one factor that makes the Central Asian energy
game extremely unpredictable – the brittle nature of the regimes in
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Both countries are ruled by despots –
Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan and Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan
– reliant on the widespread use of repression to maintain their
authority. Many political observers believe Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
remain vulnerable to social explosions. In addition, the lack of a
political succession mechanism in both states could spark upheaval
in the event of Niyazov’s and Karimov’s deaths. Disorder in either
country — especially in Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s most populous
state – could engulf the entire region. If such a scenario occurs,
Central Asia’s export ability could be impaired and the major energy
players – the United States, EU, Russia and China – would all stand
to be big losers.
Editor’s Note: Stephen Blank is a professor at the US Army War
College. The views expressed this article do not in any way represent
the views of the US Army, Defense Department or the US Government.

GROUP LAUNCHES VIGIL AGAINST ARMENIAN BILL
Dunya, Turkey
May 16 2006
A protest was launched yesterday against an Armenian bill to be
debated on Thursday by the French Parliament.
The committee set up by the Labor Party (IP) against the so-called
Armenian genocide claims will hold demonstrations for three days in
front of the French Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General in
Izmir under the title “The Turkish-French Friendship Vigil.”
A group called the Armenian Genocide Lie with Armenian Documents Grand
Project 2006 Counseling Board started the same action at Place de la
Concorde in Paris.
Meanwhile, France’s Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade yesterday said
that the French government was opposed to the Armenian bill set for
debate at the Parliament on Thursday.

“CHAHARSHANBEH-SURI” FLICKERS IN YEREVAN
Mehr News Agency, Iran
May 16 2006
TEHRAN, May 16 (MNA) — Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s acclaimed
film “Chaharshanbeh -Suri” was recently screened at the Yerevan Puppet
Theatre in Armenia, the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization
announced on Monday.
Several Iranian and Armenian students along with some of the film’s
cast and crew attended the event.
Starring Iranian superstar Hedyeh Tehrani along with Hamid Farrokhnejad
and Taraneh Alidusti, “Chaharshanbeh-Suri” is about a family in
which the wife doubts her husband’s loyalty. Everything seems to
indicate that the wife suffers from melancholia, but things turn
out differently.
“Chaharshanbeh-Suri” was awarded Crystal Simorghs for best director,
best editing, and best actress at the 24th Fajr International Film
Festival. The film also won the audience favorite award at the
festival, which was held in Tehran in late January.

NA PRESIDENT ARTUR BAGHDASARYAN AWARDED THE PRIZE “THE BEST EUROPEAN OF THE YEAR”
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
May 16 2006
On May 11-18 within the framework of the celebrations dedicated to
the day of Europe in Armenia a prize-giving ceremony was held in
“Armenia-Marriott” hotel, which organized the European Movement of
Armenia. Representatives of the National Assembly, foreign diplomatic
missions, international organizations, NGOs and others attended
the ceremony.
Traditionally, the prizes of the European Movement are given to
the public-political figures or organizations distinguished by their
investment or European way of working as part of general trend towards
following European practice in their states.
NA President Artur Baghdasaryan was awarded the prize “The Best
European of the Year,” and the prizes “The Best European Investment”
in the cultural and economic spheres received the JSC “Kanaka,” “Ayas”
Nautical Research Club and “Parisian Surch” (Paris Coffee) company.
Victor Yengibaryan, Chairman of the European Movement of Armenia
ensured in his opening speech that the strengthening of the relations
with the European Union emanates from the interests of our state,
and it’s the path of the perspective developments of Armenia without
alternative.
NA President Artur Baghdasaryan, congratulating those awarded, noted
that the European integration is a political perspective having no
alternative for Armenia. “Whoever wants to live with that system of
values, should fight for it,” ensured Mr. Baghdasaryan. Welcoming
the initiative of the European Movement of Armenia, the Parliament
President underscored that we should fight for democracy, freedom,
friendship and cooperation, which will lead our country to progress
and development.
Alexis Loiber, representative of the European Commission underscored
that Europe aims at developing the economy and spread European values:
rule of law and human rights. Mr. Loyber highlighted the consolidation
of the European Neighbourhood programme.
Henrik Kroner, General Secretary of the International European
Movement noted that the European values are united around the free
and autonomous governments and people of free will.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress