THE TURKISH DILEMMA
By George Gregoriou
Greek News, New York
March 20 2006
At a party the other day a French woman who was connected with the
United Nations said to me “Turkey will not be in the European Union”.
I said “I will not loose any sleep over it. If Turkey does change she
does not deserve to be in the EU”. Maybe the cynical among us will
not loose any sleep. But, Washington and London will, and the Turkish
corporate interests and the left, who want to move in the direction of
Europe. Official Athens and Nicosia also want Turkey to be in Europe. A
more civilized Turkey will be a better neighbor in the Aegean, even
settle the Cyprus problem in a way which is acceptable to the Greek and
Turkish Cypriots. At least, this has been the official line from the
moment Ankara became a candidate for membership in the European Union.
Not all Turks want to join the European Union. Not just nationalists
and Islamicists. Secularists are not eager, especially if Turkey
will pay a price for membership in the EU. PM Embarkan, PM Erdogan’s
predecessor/head of the Islamist movement, wanted to redirect Turkey
towards the Islamic Middle East, even form an Islamic “NATO”. He
was booted out of power by the military. PM Erdogan has managed to
tip-toe around this issue, maintaining his Islamic credentials but
maneuvering in the direction of the EU, for the economic benefits.
The recent crisis over the trial and possible jailing of the prominent
novelist Orhan Pamuk is only the tip of the iceberg. Pamuk is not the
real issue. Turkey is on trial, stated Oli Rehn, the EU enlargement
commissioner. The charge against Pamuk is over his statement in an
interview with Das Magazin, a Swiss publication, that the Ottoman
Turks committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915.
Over a million Armenians were massacred. The Kurds, who were “promised”
Armenian land and property, hand a hand in this massacre, until
Ataturk turned his guns on these “mountain Turks”. Pamuk’s other
“crime” was his statement that thousands of Kurds were killed in
the war against the separatist P.K.I. in the 1980s. These comments
“denigrate Turkishness”. Any criticism of the state, the army, or the
founder of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Ataturk, are crimes which can
send one to prison. Pamuk is not the first to be charged. According to
the NYTimes(12/17/05) nearly 60 intellectuals have been charged with
this crime. On his way to court Pamuk was confronted by protestors
hurling eggs and insults “Traitor Pamuk!”
The Islamic religion in Turkey is not the only issue. Those who
brought the charges against Pamuk are known secularists who brought
charges against women wearing the shroud, which violates the Ataturk
legacy of modernization. So, if we were to add the Islamists and the
nationalists/secularists who will defend Turkish “honor” against
free speech and democratic rights, who among the 70 million Turks
is eligible to be in the EU at a time when the wave of anti-Muslim
attitudes is on the increase throughout Europe?
The Pamuk trial was so hot, the political and criminal establishment
postponed the case until February 7. Turkey’s trajectory into the
EU is at risk. If Pamuk is found not guilty in February the penal
code is invalidated. If he is guilty, more ammunition is given to
those opposing Turkey in the EU, a slap in the face of the Bush-Blair
regimes promoting. Turkey’s accession talks for geopolitical reasons,
to control the Middle East and Central Asia for their oil and natural
resources.
Turkey’s trajectory into the EU will be very bumpy. The Pamuk case
involves admission by the Ankara regime for the crimes committed
against Armenians and Kurds, which is common knowledge throughout
the world. The worse scenario would be demands for reparations by
the descendants of the Armenians massacred. The Turkish state seems
to be good at taking, not giving or paying its dues, even offering an
apology for crimes committed 90 years ago. Money is the real problem,
but there is more to it. Pandora’s box will be opened. A flood will be
cascading into the faces of those Turks hiding behind the fig leaf of
“honor” to deny the barbarism within the Turkish civilization.
If official Ankara cannot admit to the massacre of Armenians and
Greeks at the turn of the last century, how can it admit to the crimes
committed against the 15 million Kurds, persecuted since the days of
Ataturk. Ataturk’s policy was, those who could be Turkified could stay
in Turkey, those who could not, be eliminated. The fate of millions
of Greeks, Armenians, and Jews in Asia Minor is well-known to Turks
in the street, but not to the all the regimes in Ankara since WWI.
This Turkish barbarism is not just the legacy of the past. The war
on the Kurds continued throughout the 20th Century. It continues
today in Eastern Anatolia and Ankara’s current policy towards the
Kurds in northern Iraq. It continues in Cyprus as well. The invasion
and ethnic cleansing in 1974 has been in place for 31 years. 200,000
Cypriots were forced to leave the northern part of Cyprus, to make
room for 130,000 settlers from Anatolia. This is the Turkish method of
settling disputes, settlers to change the demographics and an army of
occupation to guarantee that the facts on the ground created by the
invasion are irreversible. There could be a settlement of the Cyprus
problem between the Greeks and Turks of Cyprus within 24 hours if
the settlers and the Turkish army were to go back to Turkey.
Ankara is not alone in this crime. Washington and London are its
co-conspirators.
The Turkish dilemma is real. If Ankara cannot admit the massacre of
the Armenians and is prosecuting one of Turkey¹s best known novelist,
Orhan Pamuk, how can it deal with the Kurdish and Cyprus problems
if it is serious and wants to be in the EU? Nicosia, Athens, and
other European capitals may have the last word: a veto over Turkey¹s
membership in the European Union.
*** George Gregoriou Professor, Critical Theory and Geopolitics
Department of Political Science The William Paterson University Wayne,
New Jersey 07470 e-mail: [email protected] om/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid= 4248&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
–Bo undary_(ID_LKYnrIq3TAjI2VLZJ/I9dA)–

TURKS IN GERMANY, FRANCE PROTEST ARMENIAN CLAIMS
Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 20 2006
Some 5,000 Turks rallied under the slogan “Take your flag and come
to Berlin” over the weekend in Berlin to urge the German Parliament
to reverse its decision to acknowledge Armenian genocide claims.
The Talat Pasha movement, responsible for the rally, was initiated by
Workers’ Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek and former Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas. Many representatives
from Turkish political parties and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) participated.
The participants in the rally marched from Berlin’s An der Urania
Street to Ernst Reuter Square chanting “Long live Turkish-German
friendship,” “We didn’t commit genocide, we defended the country,” and
“The genocide lie is a U.S. game.” While they carried signs showing
photos of Turkish diplomats killed by Armenian terrorists, they also
called on the German Parliament to denounce the genocide claims.
During the rally, the crowd stopped at Steinplatz where Talat Pasha
was assassinated in 1921 and sang the Turkish national anthem.
Delivering a speech to the crowd, Perincek said, “Nobody can bring
us to our knees by accusing our nation of massacre.” He also lashed
out at the decision of the German Parliament making Turks out to be
“butchers,” saying, “The German Parliament has stabbed Turkish-German
friendship in the back with this decision.” He also urged the
Parliament to annul the earlier recognition.
Stressing that an erroneous decision by Germany should not be included
in German textbooks, Perincek said, “Don’t put hatred and antagonism
in textbooks. Don’t make Turks and Germans enemies.”
Perincek also lambasted German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s undertakings
to ban the rally, saying, “Merkel should speak in German, not in
American.” The IP leader also claimed that the Armenian genocide
claims serve the U.S.’ Greater Middle East Initiative (GME), adding
that the recognition of the claims is not for the benefit of Germany.
At the head of the rally, Denktas laid flowers where Talat Pasha
was assassinated. Sunday, a general assembly to commemorate Talat
Pasha was held in Berlin. Last year, the same group held another
demonstration to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne.
During that rally, Perincek lashed out at a decision by Switzerland
to punish those who deny the Armenian genocide claims, saying,
“The Armenian ‘genocide’ is an international lie,” after which the
prosecutor from Winterthur opened an investigation into Perincek
and the incident turned into a diplomatic crisis between Turkey
and Switzerland.
Turks in Lyon protest inauguration of Armenian monument
Turkish associations in Lyon, France organized a rally over the
weekend to protest the Lyon Municipality’s decision to dedicate a
monument commemorating the so-called Armenian genocide.
The rally began at Place Bellcour with the members of various Turkish
associations participating while carrying Turkish and French flags.
Some 1,500 Turks participated in the rally and chanted slogans
against the inauguration of the monument. The rally ended at the Lyon
Municipality Building, where protestors laid a black wreath at the
front door.
French police used teargas to disperse a number of Armenians who were
trying to provoke protesters as a means of preventing a dangerous
escalation of tension between Turks and Armenians.
The Lyon Municipality made its decision in 2004 to dedicate a monument
to commemorating the alleged Armenian genocide. They also decided
to make a 45,000 euro contribution towards the total cost of 130,000
euros for the monument and ceremony.
Certain French NGOs together with UNESCO opened a lawsuit against
the construction of the monument, claiming that it will violate the
district’s aesthetics. Some 150,000 Armenians live in Lyon.
In 2001, the French Parliament recognized the Armenian genocide claims,
a move which created a diplomatic row between Ankara and Paris.

POPE: “TERRIBLE PERSECUTION” OF ARMENIANS LINGERS IN HISTORY
AsiaNews.it, Italy
March 20 2006
Receiving members of the Patriarchate of Cilicia, Benedict XVI
praised the loyalty of the Armenians to Christianity and expressed
the hope that continued division between the different Churches will
be overcome.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – “Metz yeghèrn, the great evil”: this
is what Armenians still call the genocide they suffered in the
years of the First World War, at the hands of the then Ottoman
Empire. The phrase was repeated by Benedict XVI when he received
Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Patriarch of Cilicia for Armenians, who
was accompanied by members of the Patriarchal Synod. He talked about
the “great persecution” at the roots of the diaspora of that people,
and also about the division which persists among Armenian Christians,
expressing the hope that it will soon be overcome.
“The Armenian Church that refers to the Patriarchate of Cilicia (in
Lebanon n.d.r.), is certainly a full participant of historical events
lived by the Armenian people throughout the centuries and, especially,
of the suffering they bore in the name of the Christian faith in the
years of the terrible persecution which remains known in history by
the sadly significant name of metz yeghèrn, the great evil. How can
one not remember, in this regard, the many invitations sent by Leo
XIII to Catholics, to go to the rescue of the poverty and suffering
of the Armenian peoples?”
Benedict XVI continued: “The Armenians, who have always sought to
integrate themselves with their industriousness and dignity in the
societies where they found themselves, continue to bear witness to
their faithfulness to the Gospel still today.” This is a fidelity that
is also a “strong attachment, sometimes even to the point of martyrdom,
which your Community has always shown towards the See of Peter,
in a reciprocal and fertile relationship of faith and affection”.
A relationship that the Pope would like to see extended to other
Christian communities of Armenia, which are still divided, although
they recognize St Gregory the Illuminator as their common father
founder and even if “in recent decades all have resumed a cordial and
fruitful dialogue to the end of rediscovering their common roots. I
encourage this rediscovered fraternity and collaboration, with the
hope that new initiatives for a shared path towards full unity will
spring from this. And if historical events have seen the fragmentation
of the Armenian Church, may Divine Providence allow that one day it
will return to being united, with its hierarchy in brotherly internal
harmony and in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.”
–Boundary_(ID_KRsltsoTMXQBn5Pcd83C6Q)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REVENUES TO THE NKR STATE BUDGET INCREASED COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 20 2006
January – February 2006 the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) state
budget own revenue made 1 milliard 464,4 million drams, which surpasses
the level of the same period last year by 39,1 %.
According to the information De Facto Information-Analytics Agency
got at the NKR Ministry of Finance and Economy, the budget revenues
have been guaranteed at the expense of the tax receipts, state duty
and operations with capital.
The state budget expenses for the same period made 2 milliard 114,2
million drams.
The budget revenues from the operations with capital made 125,6 million
drams, 62,6 million drams of the sum has been received from the state
property and 63 million from expropriation of the principal funds,
which are considered to be state property.
For current January – February incomings to the NKR Social Insurance
Fund increased by 14,7%, having made 254,4 million drams.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE ON GIVING ARMENIAN LANGUAGE STATUS OF SECOND STATE LANGUAGE IN REGIONS COMPACTLY POPULATED WITH ARMENIANS TO BE PRESENTED TO GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 21 2006
AKHALKALAK, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the regular
sitting of the Samtskhe-Javakhk Armenian Public Organizations’ Council
which was held on March 16 in Akhalkalak, it’s decided to make a
statement on a legislative initiative on giving the state status to
the Armenian language parallel with Georgian in Samtskhe-Javakhk
and its neighboring region of Tsalka. Representatives of public
organizations intend to present their legislative initiative to
the Parliament with the help of all the 4 Armenian deputies of the
Parliament. If the issue doesn’t enter the Parliament with the help of
the Armenian deputies, then the Council will make a statement about
the legislative initiative according to the order envisaged by the
Constitution of the country. According to the “A-Info” agency, the
issue of giving the Armenian language the state status was touched
upon at previous sittings of the Council as well, and after a long
discussion the Council made the above-mentioned decision.
During its discussions the Council also took into account the
fact that Georgia signed and certified the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities (Strasbourg, February
1995), according to Article 10.2 of which, “in places, populated
traditionally or with considerable quantity of people belonging
to the ethnic minorities, if those people ask and this request
corresponds to real needs, the sides, as much as it’s possible, must
strive for providing such conditions which will give possibility to
use the language of the minority in relations among those people and
administrative authorities.” The Council also took into account that
when joining the Council of Europe, Georgia undertook obligation
to sing and certify the European Charter for Regional and Minority
Languages where in this sense the rights of minorities are defined more
detailed. According to the Council representatives, in the region,
giving the state status to the Armenian language in parallel to the
Goergian one will create guarantees for the language-cultural safety
of the Armenian inhabitation as well as will decrease the interracial
tension in the region incomparably.

RUBEN SHUGARIAN: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A HISTORIC FACT AND ISN’T SUBJECT TO DISCUSSION
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 21 2006
ROME, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The March 21 live
broadcast under the title “History” from the cycle of information
programs TG1 of RAI UNO Italian TV company was dedicated to the
“Armenian-Turkish Relations of the Past, Present and Future”. The
guests of the program were Armenian Ambassador to Italy Ruben
Shugarian and Turkish Ambassador to Italy Ugur Dziyal, as well as
Turkish historian Omer Turan. An occasion for the program became the
special issue of the RAI UNO TV channel in January 2006 dedicated to
the genocides of the 20th century, which started with the presentation
of the Armenian Genocide, against which the Turkish Ambassador sent
a written complaint to the Italian TV company. The program started
with Charles Aznavour’s interview to a journalist who has experienced
Oswiecim. Then, as Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry
Press Service, the Turkish Ambassador blamed the Italian press
for a one-sided coverage of the Armenian Genocide asserting that
Turkey doesn’t carry on a policy of denial but only tries to jointly
search for the truth in archives suggesting that an Armenian-Turkish
commission of historians be founded for this purpose. Ruben Shugarian
in his turn began to assert that the interpretation of the issue
by Turkey has nothing in common with the point of view of not only
the Armenian side but also the world community, the majority of
which, including the Italian Parliament, has recognized the Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian Ambassador emphasized that the history can’t
be corrected or changed through censorship. The Armenian Genocide is
a historic fact and isn’t subject to discussion and the 6-million
Armenian Diaspora is the bright proof of this. “Can you imagine,
Shugarian emphasized, a commission consisting of Jewish and German
historians that is to decide, if there has been Oswiecim or not?”. In
this connection RA Ambassador reminded the last year letter of Armenian
President Robert Kocharian to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, in
which it was emphasized that development of bilateral relations is
the responsibility of the governments and we don’t have the right
to move this responsibility on the historians and we need to found
an intergovernmental commission for it, which will discuss and find
the respective solutions to these problems. Touching upon the current
relations between Armenia and Turkey, Ambassador Shugarian presented
Armenia’s readiness to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
without any preconditions meanwhile mentioning that the borders’
being closed contradicts the European Union’s spirit. Documentary
stills and photographs were also shown in the course of the program.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LITHUANIAN VIOLONCELLIST CONSIDERS ARMENIANS ONE OF PEOPLES OF EUROPE HAVING RICHEST CULTURE
Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Lithuanian cellist and conductor David
Geringas’ concert takes place in Yerevan on March 21 and 23. The Music
Information Center of Armenia initiated the concert of the cellist
arrived in Armenia and his wife, pianist Tatyana Geringas, within
the framework of the “Perspectives of 21st.” As Stepan Rostomian, the
artistic head of the center informed at the March 20 press-conference,
David Geringas’ visit to Armenia must be considered as a great event
as he is one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. According
to S.Rostomian, Geringas is considered one of the best cellist
teachers as well, and Armenian cellist Alexander Chavushian and
Vahe Rostomian are among his students. According to David Geringas,
he is acquainted with the Armenian culture and history and considers
Komitas’ “Krunk” (crane) to be one of the world masterpieces. “Works
of not only Komitas but of a number of other Armenian composers must
enter the international field as those are such works which deserve
world recognition. Armenians are supposed one of the peoples of Europe
having the richest culture,” the cellist mentioned. Geringas is going
to include some of Edvard Mirzoyan’s and Tigran Masurian’s works in
his programme. He also mentioned that Stepan Rostomian writes music for
him. S.Rostomian informed that it’s already the 7th year that concerts
of famous musicians are organized in Armenia within the framework
of the “Perspectives of 21st” festival, and the festival became one
of the most representative cultural events in Armenia and the CIS
territory. But, according to the composer, the RA Ministry of Culture
and Youth Issues has never assisted in organizing the concerts. “There
is no cultural policy in Armenia, and our culture suffers of periodical
change of Ministers” I think not the Minister but the way of action
of that institute must be changed,” the composer emphasized.

RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RATIFIES 3 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on March 21
ratified 3 international treaties which were discussed the day before:
– the Convention on Ciber Crimes signed in Budapest on November 23,
2001, – The Convention on International Protection of Plants, signed
in November 1951 and ratified in 1979 and 1997, – the Agreement
on Development Credit 4144 (the seconf credit on poverty reduction
assistance) signed between the RA and the International Development
Association in Yerevan on January 27, 2006. Under the above mentioned
agreement, a 20 mln-dollar credit will be allocated to Armenia on
concessional terms. The credit is repayable in 2016-2045 and carries
an annual interest rate of 0.75%. A credit of the same amount was
provided in 2004.

PUBLIC SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION MAY MAKE DECISION OM BID OF HRAZDAN TPP ONLY IN JULY
Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Public Services Regulatory
Commission may make a decision on the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant’s bid
for an increase in the tariff of its electricity only in July. Nikolai
Grigorian, deputy chairman of the commission, told NT correspondentn
that the commission already set the internal tariffs of the Hrazdan
TPP on January 1, and these tariffs are not subject to any change
within 6 months. According to N. Grigorian, it is expected that the
Yerevan TPP will also submit a tariff rise bid within the next few
days. As regards Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, N. Grigorian noted
that this company will submit a bid only after a decision about the
thermal power plants has been made.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: SUPPORT SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO PROCESSING ENTERPRISES
Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. During the March 21 working meeting
with the RA President Robert Kocharian, the Agriculture Minister
Davit Lokian presented the latest results of the research conducted by
the Armenian and US experts, according to which there is no bird flu
virus in Armenia. NT was informed about it from the RA President’s
press service. The problem of setting up about 200 small and medium
processing enterprises in Armenia was discussed. R. Kocharian gave
instructions about the adoption of a respective concept in near
future. He noted that support should be given to processing enterprises
by enabling them to receive loans at low interest rates. R. Kocharian
was also provided information concerning the issues of irrigation
systems, the import of modern agricultural equipment, and the
availability of enough stocks of fertilizers.