LA TURQUIE RAPPELLE SES AMBASSADEURS A PARIS ET OTTAWA
Sophie Shihab
Le Monde
10 mai 2006
Turquie Genocide Armenien
La question armenienne empoisonne de nouveau les relations de
la Turquie avec la France et le Canada. Ankara a annonce, lundi 8
mai, le rappel ” pour consultations pour une courte duree ” de ses
ambassadeurs a Paris et a Ottawa.
Depuis dix jours, Ankara mettait en garde contre la probable
adoption, le 18 mai au Parlement francais, d’une proposition de loi
penalisant tout deni du genocide armenien d’un an de prison et de
fortes amendes. Le ministre turc des affaires etrangères, Abdullah
Gul, avait d’abord interroge son homologue francais, fin avril,
pour savoir s’il serait embastille a sa prochaine entree en France.
La Turquie nie officiellement le ” genocide ” de 1915, meme si le
sujet n’est plus tabou. Le president du Parlement turc a rappele
a son propre homologue francais que ” l’histoire doit etre laissee
aux historiens ” et que la France, ” qui joue un rôle eminent pour
etendre les droits de l’homme dans le monde “, ne devrait pas voter
une loi ” limitant la liberte de pensee “. Enfin, le porte-parole de
la diplomatie turque a parle des ” dommages irreparables ” que son
adoption causerait aux relations franco-turques.
Ces mises en garde n’ayant produit aucun effet susceptible d’arreter
l’adoption de la loi, Ankara a rappele son ambassadeur. Au Canada,
le premier ministre, Stephen Harper, avait ” consterne ” Ankara en
disant qu’il partageait l’opinion de son Parlement qui, en 2005,
avait reconnu le genocide armenien.
Les deux ambassadeurs sont censes ” regagner leurs postes a la fin
des consultations “. Mais les medias citent des diplomates turcs
selon lesquels ” Ankara est decidee a frapper, s’il le faut, plus
fort qu’en 2001 “, quand fut votee, en France, la loi reconnaissant
le genocide. Des contrats avec Thomson, Alcatel et Bouygues furent
alors annules, de meme que des actions universitaires et culturelles.
Les importations de produits francais furent freinees, voire
bloquees. Certains taxis affichaient meme des pancartes : ” pas de
clients francais “.
Cette fois-ci, l’image de la France est deja celle du pays ” qui mène
l’opposition a l’entree en Europe ” de la Turquie. Ses dirigeants,
entres en periode electorale dans un contexte de nationalisme
croissant, seront tentes par la rupture avec une France dont les
dirigeants sont ” prets a tout pour gagner les voix de leurs 400
000 Armeniens “, comme le repètent les medias turcs. Murat Yetkin,
editorialiste de Radikal, semble isole en relevant le dommage que
s’inflige Ankara avec ses menaces d’embargo contre les pays, en nombre
croissant, qui reconnaissent le genocide.
–Boundary_(ID_zOF/vLqf/tTQw9RIEgWLvQ)- –

THE KOSOVO TALKS ARE ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN JUST KOSOVO
By Thomas De Waal
FT
May 10 2006 03:00
For most people, being a state citizen is as much a reality as having
parents, but the international order also has its orphans. If you
are a resident of Kosovo or Turkish Cyprus or a string of post-Soviet
territories, you are currently a second-class human being: it is hard
to travel abroad or get an international bank transfer, and your team
cannot even make it to the qualifying rounds of the World Cup.
For years this has been just the way the international order
works, but events in the Balkans are shaking things up. On May 21,
Montenegro holds a referendum on independence. Last week Kosovo,
which has spent years in legal limbo, held the latest round of
United Nations-sponsored talks, which most people expect to end with
it attaining statehood. Justifiably so – the Kosovo Albanians are
currently being punished for having been citizens of a state that
never properly enfranchised them. Yet independence also brings big
responsibilities. Kosovo is being asked to prove that it will respect
its Balkan neighbours and Serb minority, who have either fled the
province since the 1999 war or live in fearful enclaves.
What kind of precedent does Kosovo set for the world’s unrecognised
states? Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has made the link to
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the two Caucasian territories backed by
Moscow that broke away de facto from Georgia in the early 1990s. In
January he said that “universal principles” must apply: “If someone
believes that Kosovo should be granted full independence as a state,
then why should we deny it to the Abkhaz and the South Ossetians?”
What universal principles, western officials ask, when these conflicts
are so different? Yet, whatever his motives are, Mr Putin’s words
deserve serious attention. The international community has now agreed
that a separatist territoryhas the right to aspire to independence,
even if it does not achieve it in the end. We must be clear-sighted
about the precedent this sets: the Kosovo process should not be about
rewarding the Albanians for loyalty to the west, but about forging
a new democratic order in the Balkans.
In February I visited the small breakaway territory of Abkhazia on
the Black Sea. The scars of war are still visible on every street.
Conflict began in 1992 with the Abkhaz fearing extinction in their
ethnic homeland. It ended a year later with them, helped by the
Russians, defeating the Georgians and with the flight or expulsion of
almost all Abkhazia’s large Georgian population. Since then, Abkhazia
has lived alone and semi-destitute, linked only to Russia, and is home
to about 100,000 Abkhaz and the same number of Russians and Armenians.
Many outsiders make the mistake of seeing Abkhazia as a mere Russian
puppet state. Russia certainly exploits its twilight status, but Sergei
Bagapsh, the de facto president, was elected in defiance of Moscow’s
wishes and many Abkhaz are unhappy about creeping annexation by Moscow.
Mr Bagapsh argues that Abkhazia had a better claim to independence
than Kosovo: it had been forcibly incorporated into Soviet Georgia,
he told me, and held democratic elections. One can question the
validity of his arguments, but there is no doubting that his view is
passionately shared: I have not met a single person in Abkhazia who
sees their future in a return to being part of Georgia.
Abkhazia is one of three unresolved conflicts, stuck between the
war and peace, that is crippling the South Caucasus (the others are
Nagorny Karabakh and South Ossetia). In each case the separatists
argue that the world is imprisoning them inside Stalin’s borders.
They say, “We will never surrender the freedom we fought for”, and the
sovereign states, backed by the international community, respond, “We
will never give up our territorial integrity”. The result is deadlock.
The Kosovo precedent suggests a way out by beginning a tough
conversation about security, minorities, democracy – and potential
independence. The democratic bar is being set high with regard to
Kosovo and its Serbian minority. The Caucasian separatists would
most likely fail a similar test; offered prospective sovereignty,
small Abkhazia would immediately have to confront the issue of the
missing 200,000 Georgian members of its population. But how much
longer will we deny them the right to make their case? It is a very
tricky process. But the alternative – keeping the conflicts frozen
and whole territories as world orphans – is also unacceptable.
The writer is Caucasus editor with the Institute for War and Peace
Reporting;

EVOLUTION BY OSKANIAN
Tigran Avetisian
Aravot.am
06 May 06
The RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has made some unique
observations in the international conference on “General theory of
general neighborhood” theme in Vilnius. It is worth to examine one
of them.
Oskanian had said in the capital of Lithuania; “Democracy isn’t a
problem of current settlement it isn’t established in a night. We know
and we are sure as since we are on the right way and we are sure we go
ahead evolution approach is more effective for democracy”. Certainly
it is difficult to understand at once what the RA Foreign Minister
means. Anyway it is supposed that according to Oskanian that Armenia,
which wasn’t so democratic in past, is on a right direction, that is
goes to democracy. What can this mean?
Only a thing. If the presidential elections were rigged in 2003 then
the parliamentary elections, which were held later, should be rigged
less. As regards the referendum in 2005 those results should be almost
pure in comparison with former elections…
Let’s observe another example. Only a TV company free from the
authority existed in 2002 which wasn’t so democratic but it was on
the right way of democratization”. But that number should be increased
and multiplied under pressure of that evolution…
As we see, we deal with some sort of evolution. It isn’t simply what
the Foreign Minister meant in Vilnius. Just the opposite, it is an
evolution, which develops just in the opposite way, and for performing
it you should have Oskanian’s talent.

WHICH IS THE REAL REASON OF THE AIR CRASH?
Hripsime Gebejian
Aravot.am
06 May 06
Versions in Sochi are discrepant.
hree days have passed since the A320 air crash but the reasons of the
disaster aren’t known yet. This gives reasons for anxiety because
if there was a hope to find black boxes during the first days of
the crash, the records of Georgian and Russian dispatchers would be
decoded and would be compared with the records of the black boxes
and we would know what had happened in reality but now we don’t
have any hope that something will be found out. The RF Minister of
Transportation Igor Levitin declared about the conversation of the
pilots and dispatchers of last 5-6 minutes in Sochi on 3 of May;
“Those are records of good quality and will help to find out the
reasons of the disaster”. But yesterday we were informed that the
record didn’t have ”good quality” in the place when dispatchers
asked the Armenian pilots ”Rostov wants to know the rest of fuel
and reserve and only the answer ”we are flying back toYerevan” is
heard. Though it is early to come to conclusions from this but anyway,
it is strange when some parts of the conversation are heard normally
but the answers to the questions of dispatchers about technical
situation of the airplane, fuel and other problems aren’t decoded.
Earlier. When the Georgians haven’t given the records the head of
”Georgian avianavigation” company Georgy Karbelashvili said; ”We
don’t say who is guilty. It isn’t our business. We simply say that we
have an important information, the record of 90% of the flight if you
listen to it, dispatchers of Rostov make very unpleasant expressions
but I don’t want to speak about it, let your Ambassador decide whether
it is worth to publish it”. There is no ”unpleasant expression”
in the decoded parts of the conversation. Doesn’t it mean that the
real reason of the crash don’t correspondent to the official version
as if the airplane disappeared from the screens of radars because
of bad weather and fell into the Black see. This version is denied
in Sochi. Those who have been in airport that day affirm that the
weather wasn’t bad at all. The representative of Armenian community
in Sochi Hrach Makeyan told what happened in the airport some minutes
before the accident. ”We must leave for Yerevan at the same A320
Airbus, we were informed that the airplane would arrive soon. There
was a person among us who worked in ”Chernamoravia” in past and
had contacts with dispatchers, we were listening that airplane was
flying above Georgia, and return to Sochi again. The dispatcher said
to us that there was a problem of fuel.
I’m sure it didn’t have reserve of the fuel.
We were informed from the general administration of Civil aviation
that the airplane of Yerevan-Sochi flight hadn’t been fueled in Yerevan
it had been fueled in Moscow. Though the RA Minister of Defense Serge
Sargsian assured that there was no lack of fuel and that same airplane
could fly to Sochi for 405 times with that quantity of fuel.
According to the second version in Sochi, A320 has a super modern
electronic difficult system and the pilot didn’t know how to act,
besides it isn’t allowed to make quick turns while the pilot had tried,
the distance from the ground was too little and it fell into the sea
from its fore-part.
The society will hardly know other details about the accident as
information was spread yesterday as if the black box was too deep
inside the sea and the specialists didn’t succeed in getting it out
and it could be damaged for some acids. According to the latest
information 53 dead bodies had been found from which 41 had been
recognized. But the dead bodies become more and more unrecognizable
for that reasons the relatives give blood for DNA.
–Boundary_(ID_QkUTVAR3MvGvNEnjvtS+/Q)–

ARMENIAN SHIP TO SAIL FROM LONDON TO SAINT PETERSBURG
Armenpress
May 10 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS: Prime minister Andranik Margarian
received today the crew of a ship replicated from a medieval vessel
of Armenian merchants from Cilicia Kingdom who are flying later this
month to London to continue the third leg of their voyage.
In the course of the first and second stages of their voyage the crew
visited Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece,
Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Italy, France and Great Britain. On
May 28 the Armenian ship will head for French Calais and from there
towards the Baltic Sea and to the Russian Saint Petersburg. Then
it will sail to the Black Sea and from there will be transported to
Armenian Lake Sevan.
The idea of constructing this ship was conceived by members of the
Ayas Nautical Research Club. It is an exact replication of a 13-th
century merchant ship, and was built in accordance with medieval
shipbuilding technologies.
The crew are a musician, engineer, doctor, signaler, film director,
cameraman. Age of the crew also varies from 20 to 60.

MINE EXPLOSIONS KILL ONE AND WOUND ANOTHER
Armenpress
May 10 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS: Land mine explosions this week have
killed one man and wounded heavily another one. Armenian emergencies
service said Mkrtich Grigorian, 35, a resident of Nerkin Sasnashen
village in Aragatsotn province, died near the village of Bazmaberd,
located near a shooting ground.
Rescuers said he discovered the mine in the land and was killed by the
explosion when trying to burn the mine’s fuse. The second man, Hakob
Mikaelian, 53, from the village of Khachik in Vayots Dzor province, was
heavily wounded in the leg by a mine’s explosion near the border with
Azerbaijan’s enclave of Nakhichevan. Doctors had to amputate his leg.

‘CILICIA’ RESUMES NAVIGATION
AZG Armenian Daily
11/05/2006
Serge Sargsian, Armenia’s defense minister, met with “Cilicia”
vessel’s crew, yesterday.
Colonel Seyran Shahsouvarian, press secretary of RA Defense Ministry,
informed that Karen Balayan, captain of the ship, and writer Zori
Balayan, represented the preparation works for the sea expedition
to Mr. Sargsian.
Mr. Sargsian stated with satisfaction that two previous expeditions
were successfully completed and added that the grasped experience will
help finish the third expedition with honor. Mr. Sargsian awarded
“Cilicia” vessel’s crewmembers with “Admiral Isakov” medal for
restoration of the tradition of middle age Armenian navigation and
shipbuilding and contribution to strengthening the relations between
Armenia and Diaspora.

“NEW TIMES” DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE PROSECUTOR
A1+
[08:11 pm] 10 May, 2006
The Party “New Times” has made a statement today confirming their
desire to find out the real reasons of the A-320 crash.
“The facts we have come to prove that neither the weather, nor the
actions of the dispatchers, nor the versions about the problems in
the VIP hall of the airport “Armenia” do not correspond to the reality
and could be reason of the crash.
By now the RA Prosecutor’s Office has spread information that they
exclude the versions of terrorist act and lack of fuel. This is a
violation of the preliminary investigation as the investigation is not
over until the record boxes containing trustworthy information have
been found. It is noteworthy that the above mentioned two hypotheses
do not proceed from the interests of the authorities and harm their
functions; that’s why the Prosecutor hurries to refute them.
The Party “New Times” has decided to carry out independent
investigation after the end of which the society will be aware of
its results”, the statement says.

PLACE OF THE FOOTBALL MATCHES BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO BE DECIDED ON MAY 12
A1+
[08:42 pm] 10 May, 2006
On May 12 in the Swiss town Nion (UEFA headquarters) the football
delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet. During the meeting the
place of the football matches of the national teams of the countries
within the framework of the qualifying phase of the 2008 Football
European Championship will be decided.
The Armenian delegation will be represented by President of the
Football Federation Rouben Hayrapetyan, executive director Armen
Minasyan, as well as authorized representative of the President and
the Government Alexan Haroutyunyan. Azerbaijan will participate in
the meeting with the same format. From the UEFA side members of the
executive committee will be present.
Let us remind you that the Azeri side continues to exclude the
possibility of meetings in Yerevan and Baku, and the Armenian side
has more than once confirmed its readiness to host the Azerbaijanis
in Yerevan.

19th CENTURY CHAPEL RECONSTRUCTED IN AKHALTSKHA
A1+
[08:49 pm] 10 May, 2006
In the Ap district of Akhaltskha the ceremony of sanctifying of
the St. Savior chapel took place. The ceremony was carried out by
leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church Georgian diocese Vazgen
Archbishop Mirzakhanyan and deputy leader of Samtskhe-Javakh Babken
abbot Salbiyan.
The chapel was built in the 19th century and destroyed by the
Georgians. It has been reconstructed lately by the local Armenians
and named St. Savior, “A-Info” reports.