SOLANA WARNS OF ‘HUGE RISK’ IF EU REFUSES TURKEY ENTRY

Agence France Presse — English
October 1, 2005 Saturday 11:27 AM GMT

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has warned of “a
huge risk of leaving Turkey without an anchor in the world”, should
the bloc not make progress on membership for the mainly Muslim state
in Monday’s scheduled negotiations.

“Let’s look 25 years ahead and imagine that we have said no to Turkey,
that it has been a disaster for the Middle East and there are huge
oil and energy crises,” Solana said in an interview published Saturday
in daily newspaper Le Soir.

“Perhaps we will regret not having said yes to incorporating Turkey
into our way of thinking, to our philosophy and our values…

“There is a huge risk of leaving Turkey without an anchor in the
world. It is better for EU citizens to have Turkey on our side than
.. I don’t know where,” he warned, adding that the EU must “respect.

its commitments” to the candidate state.

Turkey first applied to join the bloc in the 1960s and was accepted
as a candidate country in 1999.

Formal entry talks are due to start in Luxembourg on Monday, but
member state Austria has prevented the agreement of a negotiating
framework by opposing full member status in favour of a “privileged
partnership”, an option flatly rejected by Ankara.

EU foreign ministers are to open talks in Luxembourg late on Sunday
to try to come to a last-minute agreement on negotiation terms.

“The situation is not easy … but I don’t doubt that we will find
a solution,” Solana predicted.

Entry talks have been further complicated by Ankara’s ongoing refusal
to recognise Cyprus, now an EU member state, and to accept that
massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire amounted to “genocide.”

An opinion poll published Saturday in Turkish daily Milliyet showed
a 10 percent drop in public support for EU entry, now running at 57.4
percent, and confidence in the bloc running at 17.5 percent.

While the candidacies of Turkey and Croatia are not officially linked,
Austria’s conservative Chancellor Wolfgang Scheussel last week pressed
Croatia’s case over that of Turkey.

Accession negotiations with Croatia were deferred in March due to a
lack of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the UN war crimes court.

However Solana warned that conflating the two applications was “not
a good idea”.

“If Turkey is ready, we must begin (talks). And if Croatia is ready,
there too. But we can’t have a quid pro quo with the fate of these
countries’ populations,” he said.

The EU working group on Croatia, which includes Solana, is due to
convene on Monday morning with chief UN warcrimes prosecutor Carla
Del Ponte.

SARKISIAN’S BROTHER ADMITS BUSINESS INTERESTS ABROAD
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Oct 3 2005

The older brother of Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian insisted on
Monday that he never considered emigrating or hid from anyone during
his prolonged and mysterious absence from Armenia.

Aleksandr Sarkisian, who owns a lucrative business and holds a seat
in the Armenian parliament, also effectively admitted having moved
a considerable part of his assets overseas.

“I’m not the kind of guy who would flee and leave his family behind,”
he told journalists. “I have no reason to be in hiding. My wife and
two sons have been here all the time.”

Sarkisian has spent most of the past year abroad and has not been
seen in public in Armenia for many months. He is known to have lived
for up to six months in Britain and other parts of Western European
and was reportedly in the United States in the last few months.

Sarkisian’s absence prompted far-reaching speculation in the Armenian
press. Some newspapers have alleged that he left the country for good,
fearing retribution for a 2002 murder in Yerevan of a Russian crime
figure of Armenian descent which was linked with his name.

Sarkisian angrily denied such claims. “There is no guy in Armenian
from whom I would run away. You understand?” he said.

Newspapers critical of Armenia’s leadership a have also claimed that
Sarkisian has spent millions of dollars on buying real estate in
Britain and California. “When the value of real property acquired
by him in Los Angeles surpassed 12 million [dollars] he immediately
attracted the attention of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations,”
one of those papers, “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun,” reported on September
16. “They demanded that Sashik Sarkisian present an income and
property declaration, which the National Assembly deputy did, showing
U.S. law-enforcers a $30 million declaration.”

Sarkisian did not deny the report, saying that his visits abroad
“had to do with both my health and business.” But he did not give
details of his overseas business activities.

“We are considered high-level officials and file financial declarations
every year. I have a firm and engage in business. Fifty percent of
the Multi Lion firm is mine,” Sarkisian said, referring to Armenia’s
leading supplier of liquefied gas to households, cars and buses.

The rest of Multi Lion is owned by Gagik Tsarukian, one of Armenia’s
richest men close to President Robert Kocharian and his powerful
defense minister. It is part of Tsarukian’s Multi Group conglomerate
that comprises over 40 big and medium-sized businesses. Despite being
lucrative, the vast majority of them were not included in the list
of the country’s leading corporate taxpayers released by the Armenian
government earlier this year.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT UPBEAT ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Public Television of Armenia
Oct 1 2005

[Presenter] An international conference to mark the 10th anniversary
of the Armenian constitution and the Constitutional Court started
in Yerevan today. The secretary of the Venice Commission of the
Council of Europe, the chairman of the European Court of Human Rights
and chairmen of Constitutional Courts from more than 20 countries
are attending. The conference is planning to discuss wide-ranging
constitutional and justice issues in a two-day conference.

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan welcomed the participants in
the conference. He said that the constitution should be concise and
maximum accessible to every citizens of the country.

[Correspondent] The 10th international conference under the auspices
of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the Armenian
Constitutional Court is a jubilee dedicated to the 10th anniversary
of the Armenian constitution and the formation of the Armenian
Constitutional Court.

The leaders of influential European organizations and chairmen of the
constitutional courts from 25 countries are attending. The president
expressed his satisfaction with the fact that Armenia has been a
venue for many international conferences in the recent ten years
where constitutional and justice issues were discussed.

[Kocharyan] Armenia is in the run-up to the constitutional reforms.

The experience of various countries shows how dangerous constitutional
crises are. You, as specialists know that constitutional reforms
must be in harmony with public process and stimulate them. The valid
constitution has a great role in promoting democracy in the country
and its admission to the Council of Europe.

However, the practical application of the constitution revealed many
serious conceptual omissions hindering the further development
of democracy in the country. Today it is necessary to create
constitutional guarantees for the establishment of a legal state.

[Correspondent] The process of the constitutional reforms in our
country has been implemented with the assistance of specialists from
European organizations since 2000. The Armenian president praised
productive cooperation with the Venice Commission which is coming to
an end.

[Kocharyan] The new draft constitutional amendments, which meet
international standards, will be submitted to public debates. The draft
amendments ensure significant progress in human rights protection,
division and balance of power branches. The independence of the
country’s judicial system will considerably grow and the local
government bodies will become more independent.

[Correspondent] The Armenian president also expressed the hope that
the discussions at the conference will focus on today’s realities
and help the community to better understand the importance of the
constitutional amendments. [Passage omitted: an interview with
participants in the conference]

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASCENDS ‘MYSTERIOUS MOUNTAIN’
— Mark J. Estren

The Washington Post
October 3, 2005 Monday
Final Edition

There was a pleasant tang of unfamiliarity at this weekend’s National
Symphony Orchestra performances. Symphony No. 2 (aka “Mysterious
Mountain”) by Alan Hovhaness, written in 1955, is the first “mountain”
symphony by this underplayed American composer of Armenian-Scottish
descent. Mountains fascinated Hovhaness: Among his 66 other symphonies
are “Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain,” “To the Green Mountains,”
“Mount St. Helens,” “Cold Mountain” and “Hymn to Glacier Peak.”

Conductor Leonard Slatkin paced the somewhat meandering “Mysterious
Mountain” well. Hovhaness’s characteristic “spirit murmur” technique,
in which individual sections of the orchestra continuously repeat
melodic fragments, came through with a new age feel. The second
movement’s double fugue was a highlight, played with great clarity
in the strings and nicely punctuated by the brass.

Norwegian cellist Truls Mork made his NSO debut in Edward Elgar’s
Cello Concerto in E Minor. Written in 1919, it was Elgar’s last major
orchestral work, though he lived another 15 years. There is no pomp
and circumstance in this spare post-World War I concerto, which may
explain its rather infrequent performance. Mork, a large man who
cradles his 1723 Domenico Montagnana instrument with ease, played
with reserved beauty and loveliness, if not always full-bodied tone.

The performance was more judicious than eloquent at times, but the
finale was excellent, with the sense of mourning and resignation
before the brief coda that was especially heartfelt.

Antonin Dvorak’s bright-hued Symphony No. 6 in D got a full-bodied,
rhythmically vital reading, with fine wind playing and even better
brass. This is a large work that sprawls a bit, though Slatkin’s
decision to reduce its scale by omitting the first-movement repeat
did not help. This symphony can wander away from an inattentive
conductor. Slatkin kept it mostly under control, though the Adagio
drifted and was a bit too intense. The Scherzo was delightfully
ebullient despite some piccolo wobbles. The finale, whose opening
is strongly reminiscent of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 (written three
years earlier and also in D major), was a joyful noise indeed — a
rousing conclusion to a concert of works heard less frequently than
they deserve.

TURKISH MEDIA REFLECT EU UNCERTAINTY, REMAIN DEFIANT

Agence France Presse — English
October 3, 2005 Monday 7:21 AM GMT

Turkish newspapers Monday reflected the uncertainty in Luxembourg
over whether landmark membership talks with the European Union would
get under way or not, while remaining defiant against Turkey’s EU
opponents.

Frontpage headlines varied from “Today is Day One” in Hurriyet to
“Vienna’s Hate” in Sabah to “What a Bore” in Vatan.

“Turkey has brought two Europes face to face,” commented Vatan. “A
Europe that looks to a future of absolute peace by ending religious
disparity and conflict, and a Europe that seeks to preserve its
religious identity with xenophobia and racist, nationalistic
fundamentalism.”

A columnist in Sabah said Turks have been considered a part of Europe
since Ottoman times and continue to be so despite detractors “whose
names do not appear even in the footnotes of history.”

“Ten years from now … the same fate will doubtless await (Wolfgang)
Schuessel, (Angela) Merkel and (Nicolas) Sarkozy,” he wrote, referring
to the Austrian chancellor, the Christian-Democrat German leader and
the French ruling party chairman, all strongly opposed to Turkey’s
EU bid.

Gazi Ercel, a former Central Bank governor turned columnist, wrote
in the same paper that Turkey and the EU are headed for “a shotgun
wedding”.

“It is certain that life for couples who dislike each other can be
hell,” he wrote.

“But Turkey’s field of action is not as wide as it seems … and
Europe, with this forced marriage, will pay the price of Turkey’s
growing geostrategic importance.”

A commentator in the liberal Milliyet blamed the government for being
unprepared for the start of the talks, and of “travelling to Europe
on a second-class ticket.”

But a former social-democrat cabinet minister warned in the liberal
Radikal, “don’t confuse our shortcomings with the rudeness of EU
politicians.”

An editorialist for the pro-government Yeni Safak said Turkey must
pursue the talks “in spite of the French, who are the Armenians’
sponsors; the German Christian Democrats, weaned on religious
separatism; the Austrians, who cannot rid themselves of the Siege of
Vienna syndrome; and the Greek Cypriots who, with their population
of 600,000, are spoiled enough to single-heandedly block the
decision-making mechanisms of the Union”.

A columnist in the English-language Turkish Daily News summed up
the general mood: “Turkey without Europe can flourish,” she wrote,
“but Europe without Turkey cannot”.

ARMENIAN PAPER WONDERS IF MEETING AT US EMBASSY AIMED AT “EXPORTING REVOLUTION”

Hayots Ashkar, Armenia
Sept 28 2005

Headlined “Has a secret service started its work? How is the US
activity explained?”

Judging by certain information and, in particular, given a secret
meeting in the US embassy between Armenia’s opposition leaders and US
secret service representatives, this country’s interest in Armenia’s
domestic political life has grown. This, however, should not surprise
anybody given US experience of exporting revolutions to the post-Soviet
area (Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgystan).

The USA first applied technology of the colour revolution in the
post-Soviet area in Georgia in 2003. They say that radical meddling
of the USA in Georgian affairs was conditioned by the fact that
irrespective of [former Georgian President Eduard] Shevardnadze’s
evident anti-Russian policy, Georgia has started actively restoring
its economic relations with Russia. Objective necessity made Georgia
take these steps and Shevardnadze’s regime could not hinder this.

The statement of the US Department of State on 21 November [2003]
that it did not recognize the results of the parliamentary election,
became a critical moment in the Georgian revolution. After that, even
Shevardnadze’s supporters joined the camp of “revolutionaries”. But
this was only visible part of an iceberg. In reality, long before
that the Americans started financing the opposition via the Open
Society-Georgia Foundation which is the Georgian branch of Soros
Foundation. [Passage omitted: methods used by “revolutionaries”]

After the successful implementation of the “revolution of roses”
in Georgia, the USA’s Wall Street Journal said in its editorial
on 11 February 2004: “Ukraine has got a good opportunity to repeat
the Georgian success of democracy but under condition that the West
and the Ukrainian opposition play their card correctly.” It said:
“Washington has spent more than 2bn dollars to support free and
independent Ukraine.”

[Passage omitted: background of revolution in Ukraine]

How can one explain today’s activity of the US embassy in Armenia?

Certainly, diplomatic duties include meetings with influential
opposition forces of a country. But it is absolutely unclear, what
is the purpose of the US secret service representatives’ meeting with
the opposition leaders in the US embassy? It would be very interesting
to get an answer to this question directly from the embassy.

AZERBAIJAN REPORTS ANOTHER FATALITY IN KARABAKH
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Oct 3 2005

Another soldier of the Azerbaijani army has been killed in a skirmish
with Armenian forces near Nagorno-Karabakh, reports from Baku said
on Monday.

An Azerbaijani television station reported that the 18-year-old
soldier died from a bullet wound sustained in what it described as a
“truce violation” by the Armenian side in the northern section of the
Karabakh frontline. It said the deadly shooting occurred on Saturday
and was confirmed by Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry. No further details
were reported.

Armenian military sources did not report any fighting along the
heavily militarized line of contact east and north of Karabakh
over the weekend. Sporadic exchanges of fire from automatic weapons
are periodically reported from there by the warring sides, each of
them accusing the other of violating the 11-year ceasefire in the
conflict zone.

The Azerbaijani military, in particular, claims to suffer casualties
on a regular basis. Its previous fatality was reported on September 6.

The ceasefire regime along sections of the Karabakh frontline and
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is monitored by representatives of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The most
recent OSCE monitoring late last month was interrupted by a skirmish
southeast of the disputed territory. Still, truce violations appear
to have become less frequent since last spring when some Armenian
officials suggested that Baku, which regularly threatens by win back
Karabakh by force, be preparing for large-scale military action.

Renewed fighting seems even more unlikely now that the parties are
reportedly close to reaching a long-awaited agreement on the resolution
of the Karabakh dispute.

BRANCH OF RF FUND OF DEVELOPMENT TO BE RESENTED IN YEREVAN
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 30, 2005 Friday

YEREVAN, October 1

The presentation of a South Caucasian branch of the Russian fund
of development “Caucasian Institute of Democracy” will be held in
Yerevan on Saturday.

Head of the department of the Russia president’s administration
political scientist Modest Kolerov arrived in the Armenian capital
to hold the ceremony.

During several months of its existence, the branch has already
managed jointly with the newspaper Voice of Armenia to launch the
daily appendix-digest Monitor.Ru which carries interesting materials
of the Russian, foreign and Armenian press. Besides, Russian-language
news program was organized on the Yerevan TV channel “Yerkir-Media.”

As representatives of the branch said, its main aim “is to
consolidate democratic values in public consciousness, foster respect
to constitutional rights, freedoms and human guarantees, and form
civil society.

The organization intends to give educational and teaching money grants
for studying history of Russia and countries of the South Caucasus,
develop the national media and book publishing, as well as hold
events with the participation of experts of political circles on
topical problems of the region’s states.

The fund intends to support talented representatives of youth and
students of Armenia wishing to continue their education in leading
institutes of higher education of Russia. Under the aegis of the
branch, Russian scientists are to come to Armenia to read lectures
in institutes of higher education of the republic. A House of Russian
Book is to open in Yerevan in the near future.

The branch is going to work in Nagorny Karabakh too. An educational
computer centre for children, as well as representatives of the Russian
community of this unrecognised republic will open Stepanakert soon.

FIRST LADIES TURN OVER BOOKS FROM HOME LIBRARIES TO CHILDREN

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
October 3, 2005 Monday 7:21 AM Eastern Time

Lyudmila Putin, the wife of the Russian president, and the wives of
the leaders of five other countries have turned over books from their
home libraries to Children’s s Homes in Russia.

Lyudmila Putin addressed her book collection to the Children’s Home
in the town of Blagoveschensk in Bashkortostan, First lady of Britain
Cherie Blair gave her collection to the Children’s Home in Troitsk
in the Chelyabinsk region, the wife of the Austrian president Margit
Fischer sent books to the settlement of Ishma in Komi, Zorka Pyrvanova-
the wife of the Bulgarian president, turned over her book collection
to the Children’s s Home in the Sverdlovsk region.

In return, the Russian Post Service has presented the first ladies
with a gilded model of the first stamp carrying the logotype of the”
Bibliobraz- 2005″ book festival. The new stamp is hoped to occupy its
own niche in world stamp collections as a rarity. Lyudmila Putin and
Russian Minister for Information Technologies and telecommunications
Leonid Reiman canceled the stamp at the ceremony,

“The idea to issue a stamp with the symbol of the “Bibliobraz” festival
occurred to us a year ago, but it was not simple to put the idea into
practice,” the wife of the Russian president said.

“Collecting stamps has always been her dream, and philately is one of
the most interesting hobbies,” Lyudmila Putin said. “I am glad that
we have got the stamp at last,” Mrs. Putin declared, saying she was
very proud of being honored to cancel the stamp.

Similar stamps cancelled and signed by Lydmila Putin and Leonid Reiman,
put into souvenir frames and enclosed into special envelopes, were
presented to the first ladies of Austria, Armenia, Bulgaria, Great
Britain, Kyrgyzstan and Russia who took part in the festival.

LISTEN TO YOUTH, BISHOP URGES; Aram I BRINGS MESSAGE OF PEACE
By Brodie Fenlon

The Toronto Sun
October 1, 2005 Saturday
FINAL EDITION

The Christian church must address the “critical issue” of its alienated
youth by reaching out and engaging young people as equals, says a
leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“The gap between youth and the church is growing. This is a critical
issue, a pan-Christian issue,” said His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos
of Cilicia, who is here this weekend as part of a two-week visit
to Canada.

“The church should go beyond its walls,” listen to young people and
involve them in making decisions, said the bishop, who represents
Orthodox Armenian Christians in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus.

340 CHURCHES

He also serves as moderator of the World Council of Churches, an
ecumenical group of 340 Christian churches and denominations from
around the world.

“The church must not look to youth as the future — the youth are
our present,” he told the Sun yesterday.

“Churches are often in a position where they only tell and give
guidance. But I think we must start listening ,” he said.

“We must establish a meaningful dialogue with youth.”

Aram will practice what he preaches Monday night when he hosts more
than 500 local Armenian youth for a banquet and question period at
the Toronto Armenian Community Centre on Hallcrown Pl. in North York.

He will also celebrate a large mass tomorrow at Toronto’s St. Mary
Armenian Apostolic Church.

The bishop’s agenda also includes a visit to Cambridge tomorrow night
and a banquet at the St. Paul Armenian Apostolic Church in St.

Catharines on Tuesday.

Sarkis Ghazarian, president of the Toronto church, said Aram’s visit
is an important event for the more than 30,000 Armenians living
in Ontario.

HE’S A ‘REMINDER’

“He reminds us of who we are and where we are from. He’s here to put
us on the right track as Armenian Christians,” Sarkis said.

In a wide ranging interview, Aram said much of the violence that
plagues the world today is caused by the failure of states and
religious leaders to “build bridges of communication and common values”
between different faith communities.

GRAPHIC: photo by Ernest Doroszuk His Holiness Aram I serves as
moderator of the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical group of
340 Christian churches.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress