SOCIAL PROGRAM PLANNED AFTER BASE PULLOUT FROM AKHALKALAKI
Civil Georgia, Georgia
April 13 2006
Georgian Parliamentary Chair Nino Burjanadze said on April 13
that the authorities have a plan to employ the local population
of the predominately Armenian-populated town of Akhalkalaki, in
Samtskhe-Javakheti, which will be implemented simultaneously with
the withdrawal of Russian military base from there.
“The authorities have a precise plan about what to do to employ
the local residents currently working at the military base [in
Akhalkalaki]… The government is discussing concrete proposals,
according to which food processing enterprises will be opened in
Akhalkalaki that will create new jobs,” Burjanadze said at the April
13 parliamentary session dedicated to discussion on the March 31
Russian-Georgian agreement on the withdrawal of Russian military bases.
According to the agreement, the Akhalkalaki military base should be
pulled out before December 31, 2007.
“Although certain forces tried to use the local population to express
protest against the pullout of bases, the majority of the [Akhalkalaki]
population met Georgia’s national interests with understanding,”
Burjanadze said on April 13.

ROMANIAN FM: “I HOPE NK CONFLICT WILL BE RESOLVED IN 2006”
Today, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
“I hope following few meetings between ministers of exterior of
Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of Prague process and
negotiations held in Warsaw and Kazan in 2005, as well as in Rambouait,
Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be resolved,” Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu,
Romanian FM and Chairman of Ministers Committee of EC stated on April
12 at Parliamentary Assembly of EC.
The letter was the response to questions raised by members of Azeri
parliament Ganira Pashayeva and Rafael Huseynov, Trend reports.
The letter says the following: “Heads of states shared their opinions
regarding unresolved conflicts at the third meeting in Warsaw.
Ministers Committee of EC has come to decision to pay special attention
to Nagorno Karabakh conflict. This position remains unchanged since
Azerbaijan and Armenia have joined EC.”
“Representatives of public pf the both countries, including members
of parliament, have their responsibilities in this respect. Use of
language of threats is not a path to a positive solution,” Romanian
Minister writes.
He opines that neither EC nor Ministers Committee is authorized to
interfere the negotiations on the conflict resolution, as this is
responsibility of OSCE’s Minsk Group. However, EC may provide some
assistance in development of cooperation between the two countries,
in particular, resolution 1690 approved by Ministers Committee in
September 2005, which states a number of such initiatives.
URL:

UNGURJANU: I HOPE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL BE RESOLVED IN 2006
Author: R.Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
“I hope following a few meetings between ministers of exterior of
Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of Prague process and
negotiations held in Warsaw and Kazan in 2005, as well as in Rambouait,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be resolved”, – Trendreports quoting the
written answer of Mihai-Razvan Ungurjanu, Romanian minister of exterior
and chairman of Ministers Committee of EC, delivered to members of
Azerbaijan delegation on April 12 at Parliamentary Assembly of EC.
The letter was the response to questions raised by members of Azeri
parliament Ganira Pashayeva and Rafael Huseynov.
The letter says the following: “Heads of states shared their opinions
regarding unresolved conflicts at the third meeting in Warsaw.
Ministers Committee of EC has come to decision to pay special attention
to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This position remains unchanged since
Azerbaijan and Armenia have joined EC”.
“Representatives of public pf the both countries, including members
of parliament, have their responsibilities in this respect. Use of
language of threats is not a path to a positive solution”,- Romanian
minister writes.
He opines that neither EC nor Ministers Committee is authorized to
interfere the negotiations on the conflict resolution, as this is
responsibility of OSCE’s Minsk Group. However, EC may provide some
assistance in development of cooperation between the two countries,
in particular, resolution 1690 approved by Ministers Committee in
September 2005, which states a number of such initiatives.

MINISTER SLAMS ARMENIA OVER ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
The Azeri Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyn Baghirov
said on Friday that Armenia’s actions hurting the environment in the
occupied Azeri land once again prove the true gist of its hostile
policy against Azerbaijan.
This includes felling of trees and pollution of water basins and rivers
going through the occupied territories. The ongoing preparation of
documents in several languages concerning the issue will be completed
soon. The data will be made public both in and outside the country,
the minister told a news conference Friday. The trees are felled in
the preserve located in the Zangilan district as well as in other
Armenia-occupied territories, for their further exports to Italy,
France, Greece and Iran.
The timber is used for various purposes, including furniture production
and shipbuilding. A prompt response center is operating under the Azeri
ecology ministry to track down the dire impact on the environment and
natural resources in the occupied areas. It has prepared two reports
and a plan of action to address the problem. The center has plenty
of materials at its disposal proving Armenia’s destructive influence
on these territories.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO OFFICIAL, AZERI LEADERS MULL US-IRAN TENSION
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
The US-Iran tension, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
conflict and cooperation prospects are in focus of the ongoing visit
by a NATO official to Baku.
The representative of NATO Secretary General to South Caucasus
and Central Asia, Robert Simmons, said the alliance and Azerbaijan
are successfully collaborating. The first stage of the Individual
Partnership Plan is drawing to a close and implementation of the next
stage has been discussed with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov,
he said.
Simmons said NATO backs a peaceful settlement to the Garabagh dispute
and sees mutual efforts by the conflicting sides as pivotal to reach
peace. During the visit, the NATO official will also monitor the
country’s progress in fulfilling its commitments on the Partnership
Plan.

ANCIENT AZERI TOWN ARMENIANIZED
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
Separatists in the self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic
are trying to turn the occupied ancient Azeri town of Shusha into
a cultural center of world Armenians and plan to carry out this
outrageous plan by holding an electronic referendum.
“Every Armenian will be able to access a special website and voice
his opinion on the issue to facilitate the town’s turning into a
scientific, cultural and tourism center for not only Upper Garabagh
and Armenia, but also all world Armenians,” the head of the self-styled
Shusha Foundation, Bakor Karapetian, maintained.
Armenian scholars seeking to distort history have discovered items
dating back to the 12th century as well as the ancient Turkic period
during their archaeological excavations in the territory of Shusha.
The Armenian Catholic Church in Beirut, Lebanon had allocated $25,000
for the purpose.

ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES BREAK CEASE-FIRE IN GAZAKH AND GADABAY FRONTS
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
Armenians violated the cease-fire again. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry
informed APA that Armenia’s armed forces from their positions in
Vozkevan village of Armenia’s region of Noyemberyan fired on the
positions of Azerbaijani forces located near Gushchu Ayrim village
of Gazakh region at 20.26 on 12 April.
The enemy forces again from their positions located in the height
in Krasnoselsk region fired on the Azerbaijan’s positions located in
Gadabay region from 23.35 till 23.45 and again fired on our positions
located in Mazamli and Gizil Hajili villages, Gazakh, from their
positions in Berkaber village of Ijevan from 00.00 till 00.10 on April
13. Armenian forces from their positions near Mazamli village, Gazakh,
again fired on the village with submachine and machine guns at 00.45.
The enemy was silenced by response fire .No casualties were
reported.

STERN WARNING FROM THE TOP
New Anatolian, Turkey
April 13 2006
Breaking sharply from his usual reticence, President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer yesterday issued a very severe warning against both Islamist
fundamentalism and separatism, both of which he warned are escalating
in Turkey.
Speaking at a conference at the Turkish Military Academy, the
president, criticized by both the media and Parliament for being
silent in the face of raging controversies, issued thinly veiled
criticism at various political groups ranging from the ruling Justice
and Development (AK) Party to the Kurdish-dominated Democratic Society
Party (DTP).
His harshest criticism was reserved for the divisive Semdinli case,
which he said the justice system had wrecked because of reckless
statements, as well as stressing that the army has become subject to
an unfair controversy.
“Attempts to defame our glorious army are irreconcilable with
rationality and patriotism. The protection of the army’s prestige is
one of the major duties of the government,” he said.
On secularism, Sezer said that it was “impermissible” that religion
would go beyond private life and individual space to become part of
the community life. “Certain limitations can be imposed to prevent
the abuse of religion and in order to protect the public life, trust
and interests of the public.”
Also implicitly criticizing the DTP, Sezer said that “certain people
who came to power through democratic means” had adopted wording that
sounded too close to the rhetoric of the terrorist group Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) . “This stands in direct conflict with the
position they hold and the essence of the system that brought them
there.”
Sezer said, on foreign policy, that nobody should expect Turkey to
accept unfair demands on issues of national interest, such as the
Armenian question and the Cyprus issue.
“We deeply regret that the Greek Cypriot side, which has created
obstacles at every step of the way to a Cyprus solution, is almost
rewarded by the European Union,” he said.
But he sounded more reconciliatory on the United States, saying that
the failure to see eye-to-eye on certain issues was not something
that would affect the overall sense of alliance. “It is our sincere
hope that the issues will be overcome,” he said, in reference to Iraq.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NK TO HOLD LARGE MEETING AT PACE SUMMER SESSION
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
During the meeting of heads of Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations
to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) with the head
of PACE Subcommittee on Nagorno Garabagh Lord Rassel Johnston, it
was agreed to hold a large meeting at the summer session. The head
of the Azerbaijani delegation Samad Seyidov told the correspondent
of the Europe bureau of APA at the session.
Seyidov said that it was also decided to discuss the Nagorno Garabagh
conflict at the joint meeting of delegations of both countries to
PACE at the next session.

PUSHING TURKEY TO THE EAST
Zeynep Gurcanli
New Anatolian, Turkey
April 13 2006
The location of Turkey at the crossroads of Europe and Asia has had
a huge effect on the political issues and direction of the country.
Depending on how international winds are blowing, Ankara is driven
sometimes to the West, and sometimes to the East.
Two years ago, due to the critical decision of the European Union
about whether or not to start membership negotiations with Turkey,
Ankara’s main overarching issue was how to harmonize the country with
the West. But when the talks were granted and Turkey felt secure over
the continuation of its relations with the EU, the Turkish public
immediately shifted its attention to other issues, like the future
of Iraq or a possible American attack against Iran or Syria. During
the latest get-together of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul with
the Turkish press last week, the main focus of the journalists was a
concrete example of this trend: None of the reporters present used
the opportunity of an open floor to ask questions about relations
between the EU and Turkey. The only EU question came at the very end
of the meeting, as the last issue of interest to ask the country’s
top diplomat, after covering all the other foreign policy and domestic
issues like the future relations of Ankara with Teheran, the rise in
the terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the
possible effects on Turkey of the failure to establish a government
in Iraq, etc.
The statements and activities of Cabinet members of the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) also helped this shift of
attention. Despite his busy schedule full of visits to European
countries during the early years of his premiership, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan seems to have changed his focus to the Eastern hemisphere,
mostly the Muslim part of the globe. When you look at the recent
foreign contact “balance sheet” of the Turkish prime minister, you
can’t help but notice the predominance of meetings with Muslim leaders,
both at home and abroad.
But this fact of lost public interest in EU relations can’t be
explained only by the Turkish government’s policies. The Europeans
also had a big effect in the change of focus of the Turkish people
with their attitudes.
Both Turkish and European politicians “sold” EU membership to the
Turkish public by saying that Turkey is a “civilized society.” All
the legal reforms carried through on the way to this were strictly
related to this aim. And the Turkish public accepted this painful
transformation to attain the goal already put by the founder of
modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to reach the level of modern
civilization.
But while trying to transform themselves for the sake of EU membership,
the signals coming from the West created confusion in the minds of
the Turkish people. The main condition for being included at the
“European Club” was the democratization of the existing regime,
especially the legal system of the country.
But while Turkey shortened its custody period for suspects, Great
Britain changed its law to extend it after last summer’s terror
attacks against the London subway.
One of the main conditions of starting accession talks with the EU
was changing the Turkish Anti-Terror Law. But steps taken by the
Turkish government to democratize its anti-terror law coincided with
the resurgence of terrorist activities of the PKK. The terrorists,
openly getting directives from a TV channel, Roj-TV, broadcasting from
Denmark, an EU country, extended their sphere of activities from the
mountains and rural areas to the boulevards of big cities like Mersin
or Istanbul.
To fulfill another EU condition, Turkey opened the way for television
broadcasts in languages other than Turkish, namely in Kurdish. While
Ankara took this painful step, an interesting debate began in the
Netherlands about banning the use of foreign languages in the public
sphere – and one of the main foreign languages used in the Netherlands
is Turkish, due to the huge Turkish minority at this country.
To please the Europeans on the freedom of expression issue, Turkey
used every legal trick to free famous Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk from
charges about his words on the so-called Armenian genocide. But while
the Justice Ministry bent over backwards to get the suit dropped,
some European countries, like France, attempted to try an offense
against the Turkish consul general in Paris due to texts posted on
the official website of the Turkish Consulate General denying the
genocide accusations of the Armenians against the Ottoman Empire.
All the signals coming from the public clearly show that Turkey is
sliding towards the East. To change this tendency, the Europeans
should help their Turkish friends to take necessary steps to revive
membership enthusiasm within the Turkish public.