Albanian News Agency (ATA)
ATA news agency, Tirana, in English
23 Sep 05

ALBANIAN PRESIDENT SENDS MESSAGE OF “GOOD WILL” TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Tirana, 23 September: President of the Republic Alfred Moisiu
congratulated Friday [23 September] in a message the president of
Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, sources close to Presidency Office make
known in a press statement.

“On occasion of Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia, I wish
to assure you of the good will to carry ahead the bilateral
cooperation with Armenia establishing it on stable basis,” President
Moisiu says among others in his message.

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan, in Armenian
22 Sep 05

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, VISITING US BUSINESSMAN DISCUSS JOINT PLANS

Huntsman Corporation plans to implement programmes in Armenia in the
spheres of education and health, well-known US businessman John
Huntsman said at a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
in Yerevan today. The Armenian president said that the government
will help Huntsman to implement the programmes.

Robert Kocharyan noted that the Armenian people are grateful to
Huntsman, who had offered help after the devastating earthquake of
1988.

This time Huntsman came to Yerevan with the owners of the Sharp and
Associates, Reud, Morgan and Queen companies.

[Video showed the meeting]

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan, in Armenian
22 Sep 05

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, US SENATOR DISCUSS EXPANSION OF TIES

[Presenter] The Foreign Affairs Commission of the US Congress has
already adopted two resolutions condemning the Armenian genocide and
efforts to recognize the Armenian genocide will continue, Californian
Senator Jack Scott said at a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan in Yerevan today.

The American senator also spoke about the opening of a regional trade
and investment centre of California in the Armenian capital.

[Correspondent] The regional trade and investment centre of
California will open in October, Californian Senator Jack Scott said
today. He did not hide his joy in this connection since he has spent
five years on the implementation of this programme.

[Jack Scott speaking in English with an Armenian voice-over] Why
should the regional trade and investment centre of California open in
Armenia? Because more than 50,000 citizens of Armenian origin are
living in California. Californian Armenians are very devoted to their
motherland and are doing their best to help Armenia’s development.
The opening of the office is the beginning of increasing trade
relations between Armenia and California. I am sure that the project
will be of benefit to both sides.

[Correspondent] At present, the trade turnover between Armenia and
the USA is 60-70m dollars with California having a big share in it.
Jack Scott said that thanks to the trade and investment centre, the
trade turnover will increase noticeably. He added that Armenians
living in California will be interested in agricultural produce,
fruits and vegetables from Armenia.

In turn, California will offer biological and information
technologies, engineering and agricultural produce. The trade and
investment centre will boost Californian export not only to Armenia,
but also to Ukraine, Georgia and Russia.

[Vardan Oskanyan] The senator is a good friend of Armenia. He has
made an important contribution to the promotion of the Armenian
question in California. Thanks to his efforts, the Armenian genocide
has been recognized in California.

[Correspondent] Speaking about the recognition of the Armenian
genocide, Senator Jack Scott said that they will continue their
struggle for its approval by Congress.

[Jack Scott] The resolution concerning the Armenian genocide was
passed at the Californian Congress with great difficulty because we
encountered a strong Turkish lobby. We will make every effort to have
the US Senate adopt a resolution on the Armenian genocide.

[Correspondent] Jack Scott noted that Turks are trying to persuade
them that there was no genocide. He said that he had met some Turkish
scientists and used facts and photos to prove the Armenian genocide.

Lilit Setrakyan, Arman Garibyan, “Aylur”.

Regnum, Moscow, in Russian
22 Sep 05

AZERBAIJAN TO BEAT ARMENIA BY 2015 – EXPERTS SAY

“Drastic changes will take place in favour of Azerbaijan in its
military confrontation with Armenia in the next few years,” this is
the result of an expert poll carried out by the Armenian Assembly of
America (AAA). According to the Yerevan newspaper Azg, 24 American
and west European experts, former officials and analysts took part in
the poll.

About 33% of the respondents consider that Azerbaijan will be able to
gain a military victory over Armenia by 2015. Only 4% consider that
Armenia will gain a victory by 2015. At the same time, 42% of the
respondents said that if the war starts in the near future, the
Armenian side will win, 29% predicted that both sides will lose and
others found it difficult to give a clear answer.

As for the status of Karabakh, 62% of the respondents think that
there is no point in expecting the status quo to change in the near
future.

International experts also expressed their pessimism about future
relations between the USA and Russia and Iran. At the same time, they
predict the further strengthening of American influence in the
Caucasus. They predict that Turkey will not join the European Union
earlier than 2020-25. Ankara will not recognize the Armenian genocide
and strengthen relations with Washington, although the USA might
recognize the Armenian genocide in the next five years, some of the
experts believe.

Asked who in the region will have the greatest impact on Armenia
(positive or negative), 45% said Azerbaijan, 16% – Turkey, 11% –
Russia, 9% – Georgia, as well as Iran, Iraq, etc.

RTR Russia TV, Moscow, in Russian
24 Sep 05

RUSSIANS, ARMENIANS ENJOYING EASIER BORDER CROSSING

As of today both Russian and Armenian citizens can enjoy a simpler
procedure for crossing the border between the two countries. They
only have to show their foreign-travel, diplomatic or service
passports and a document proving they intend to return to their home
country. This simplified procedure was introduced on the basis of an
agreement signed between Russia and Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
September 25, 2005 Sunday 1:33 AM GMT

Tensions high as Turkey’s EU membership talks approach

by Lorne Cook

BRUSSELS

Just a week before it is due to start long-awaited EU membership
talks, Turkey’s relations with the bloc are under new strain and
there is still no guarantee they will even go ahead.

Despite weeks of wrangling, European Union ambassadors cannot agree
on a negotiating framework for the aim and scope of the talks and
they only have one meeting before the whole process is slated to
begin on October 3.

With time fast running out, relations between Ankara and Brussels
have been characterised by increasingly hostile rhetoric and more is
likely to come this week at the European Parliament.

Britain, the current EU president, maintains that progress has been
made but diplomats say Austria refuses to cede ground until the
framework refers to a “privileged partnership” with Turkey, rather
than full membership.

“I would find it grotesque that membership negotiations are being
started with Turkey and at the same time Croatia is left waiting
outside,” Austria’s conservative Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said
earlier this month.

Croatia’s own drive to join the EU, which hinges on its cooperation
with the UN war crimes tribunal, is gaining momentum and one EU
diplomat has said that “some sort of signal would not be a surprise”
on October 3.

Turkey’s place in Europe was again questioned three months ago after
French and Dutch voters rejected a planned EU constitution, in part
over concerns about absorbing the relatively poor mainly-Muslim,
though secular, state.

Ankara aggravated its case on July 29 when, while signing an
extension to a customs accord to include the 10 newest EU members, it
issued a declaration that its signature did not amount to recognising
member state Cyprus.

Turkey has steadfastly refused to endorse the internationally
recognised Greek-Cypriot government since its troops occupied the
island in 1974 in response to a Greek-engineered coup.

The declaration sent the EU into a diplomatic spin.

The presidency struggled to draft a counter-declaration, but the
members, including Cyprus, finally agreed that Turkey must recognise
the Nicosia government before it joins; some time after 2015,
perhaps.

As the Union debated what position to take, Ankara grew impatient and
vented its frustration in terms not found in the EU’s diplomatic
dictionary.

“After everything we have done, they are still asking whether
accession talks should begin or not,” said Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. “To raise certain questions that have no pertinence
is not worthy of international diplomatic ethics. It is rude.”

But a Turkish court decision to ban a conference last Friday on the
massacre of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire was met with some
of the firmest language heard at the European Commission in months.

“We strongly deplore this new attempt to prevent the Turkish society
from discussing its history,” a spokeswoman said. “We consider also
that the timing of this decision … looks like yet another
provocation.”

With October 3 closing in, the negotiating framework is the major
hurdle.

But European parliamentarians are also set to debate Ankara’s case on
Wednesday, with the EU ambassadors meeting on Thursday, before
officially adopting the customs accord.

At issue is whether the declaration means Turkey’s real intention is
not to fully implement the accord, given also that it has a standing
ban on Cypriot ships and aircraft using its ports and airports.

The power of the assembly to block Ankara is negligible but the
debate will focus wider attention in the mainly Christian bloc at a
very important time.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan, in Armenian
24 Sep 05 p 3

Armenian opposition leader urges unity to reject constitutional
reform

Headlined “The authorities are in deadlock”

An interview with the leader of the Anrapetutyun [Republic] Party,
Aram Sarkisyan.

[Haykakan Zhamanak correspondent] Mr Sarkisyan, if the opposition
cannot unite in the local government elections, where are the
guarantees that the opposition will be able to unite during the
constitutional referendum and the processes taking place before and
after it?

[Aram Sarkisyan] As far as the local government elections are
concerned, I can confidently say that there is no election system in
Armenia. Moreover, local government elections are less politicized
than the parliamentary or presidential election, and only after
changing the president, radical changes are possible in this country.
For this reason, the public becomes active mainly during a
presidential election. As for the constitutional referendum, I am
sure that irrespective of everything, the whole opposition will unite
as a team. All forces that will say “no” to these constitutional
changes will unite and there is no alternative to this unification.
For this reason, it is not by chance that panic is clearly seen in
the government camp, which is expressed by the Dashnaks’ hints to
postpone the referendum. That is to say if they see that the positive
result of the referendum is not guaranteed, they will postpone it.
The authorities understand very well that a serious wave of the
people’s movement will start in November.

[Correspondent] Can we say that any result of the constitutional
referendum, as well as its postponement, is a deadlock for the
authorities?

[Sarkisyan] Yes, we can. These authorities have no way out of the
November deadlock. A pan-national movement is unavoidable with any
result of the constitutional referendum, as well as if there is an
attempt to postpone the referendum.

[Correspondent] Mr Sarkisyan, as is known, you are going to meet
Yerevan State University students.

[Sarkisyan] My contacts with the people have shown that I need such a
meeting with young people. I am sure nobody will get in the way of my
meeting with the students.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITV, Baku, in Azeri
23 Sep 05

AZERI ELECTION: PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF
CORRUPTION

Aydin Quliyev, a parliamentary candidate from the opposition Azadliq
(Freedom) bloc, has accused the authorities of denying the opposition
access to TV channels.

In his election broadcast on Public TV on 23 September, Quliyev
blamed the Azerbaijani authorities for the lack of progress on the
Karabakh talks.

At the same time, Quliyev said Azerbaijan needs a “normal” parliament
to fight rampant corruption in the country. He urged people to
participate in the opposition rally scheduled for 25 September.

In turn, Sahlar Asgarov from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP)
said that Azerbaijan has become one of the world’s most powerful
states under President Ilham Aliyev. The Azerbaijani people should
say “no” to domestic and foreign enemies when they cast their votes
on 6 November, he said in his election broadcast on Public TV.

Asgarov stressed that Azerbaijan’s economy has grown significantly
under the NAP, pointing to projects worth billions of dollars like
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline.

Meanwhile, Qaribbala Novruzov, a candidate from the opposition
Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, said in his election broadcast that
people are leaving the country’s southern districts to avoid poverty,
human rights violations, unemployment and the poor infrastructure.
The local authorities are indifferent to their problems, he said.

Touching on the problem of unemployment, Novruzov said that tourism
could help resolve it in the southern districts.

Yaqub Mammadov, former parliamentary speaker who is running for
parliament from the Yeni Siyasat (New Policy) election bloc, said
although Azerbaijan has seen some progress during its independence,
the country is still facing serious problems like poverty,
unemployment and corruption.

Mammadov said the most serious problem currently facing Azerbaijan is
that the Azerbaijani people is divided into several groups. The
country can cope with its manifold problems only when it is united,
he said.

In turn, non-partisan candidate Mikail Rahimov pointed to Nagornyy
Karabakh as Azerbaijan’s most serious problem. Azerbaijan should
develop a professional army to liberate its territories from Armenian
occupation, he said during his television appearance.

Another non-partisan candidate, Azar Amiraslanov, said he will push
for new and better laws required for Azerbaijan’s growing economy if
he is elected to the parliament.

At the same time, in his election broadcast, a candidate from the
ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Musa Musayev, accused opposition leaders
Isa Qambar and Ali Karimli of selling oil to Armenia in 1992-93. The
Azerbaijani people experienced hard times under their rule, he said.

Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English
24 Sep 05

TURKISH MINISTER HOPES ARMENIAN CONFERENCE TO RAISE AWARENESS OF
COMMON PAST

Istanbul, 24 September: “The Turkish people are at peace with
themselves and with their history,” said Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul.

Sending a message to the opening session of the conference entitled
“The Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire”, Gul said:
“The approaches of our government and our people towards our past,
including Turkish-Armenian relations, constitute an indication of our
confidence in ourselves and our future.”

In his message, Gul said: “The last era of the Ottoman Empire is
subject to discussion and research in academic circles, with
increased interest. Nearly every day new documents from the era
emerge and new books, articles and research papers are published.
Yet, it is not possible to say that all data and documents related to
those times have been properly analysed. With an aim to help redress
this shortcoming, our government is in the process of taking
important steps to enable the Ottoman Archives to serve researchers,
in modern conditions. Our archives have begun to serve scientists
through documents converted to a digital medium since 2003. Within
this context, many researchers, coming from 75 different countries
have completed their research on the Ottoman Archives. These
activities are ongoing.”

“We want not only our own archives but at the same time all other
archives that will shed light on the history of the day to be opened
in an organized fashion, that will serve all researchers. We believe
that deeper research into that era will bring new historical facts to
light and serve an improvement in relations between countries and
peoples. Thus, we have proposed to the government of Armenia to
establish a historical commission between our two countries, which
will research the joint Turkish-American history and which will make
its findings public. We hope to reach a conclusion on this subject,”
Gul indicated.

Gul also said: “The history of Turkish-Armenian relations is one of
coexistence and common life of almost 1,000 years. During the course
of this period, the Turkish and Armenian peoples have contributed to
each other’s culture, prosperity and security. We should not ignore
this reality when we examine the tragic period when the Ottoman
Empire was crumbling and the Turks and Armenians were deeply
suffering, like all other peoples of the empire.”

“It is a fact that in some chapters of history, or even today, some
societies cannot tolerate one other’s language, religion, identity or
even very existence. It is an unfortunate reality that such
intolerance can turn into a deep-rooted and destructive ideology,
which gets ingrained in the social subconscious. Some serious and
very dangerous trends, from xenophobia to racism and from
anti-Semitism to attitudes against Muslims are present and are on the
rise today, even in societies which represent the highest level of
contemporary civilization,” underlined Gul.

Gul stressed: “It is a source of pleasure that such a psychology does
not exist between the Turks and Armenians. This also constitutes a
major advantage for the future of relations between the two peoples.”

“Another issue I want to draw your attention to is that, many studies
so far held on the theme of the conference, particularly outside
Turkey, have been conducted with political motivations, in a manner
inconsistent with scientific ethics and objectivity. Regretfully,
humanitarian issues have been sacrificed to political designs, and
double standards have been applied in determining and presenting
human suffering. There were attempts to impose subjective, non-legal
and artificial claims upon Turkey and the Turkish people, with
political motivations. Furthermore, there have been situations in
which some foreign circles could not even tolerate scientific
scepticism,” said Gul.

Gul concluded: “Young generations from all nations must know and draw
lessons from the facts that during the last era of the Ottoman Empire
the imperialist-colonial powers ruthlessly exploited peoples’
ethno-religious sensitivities for their own gains and that some
elements, knowingly or unknowingly, became instruments to these
provocations. I hope that your conference will be a contribution to
raise awareness on this issue. The Turkish people are at peace with
themselves and with their history. The approaches of our government
and our people towards our past, including Turkish-Armenian
relations, constitute an indication of our confidence in ourselves
and our future. I convey my best wishes to all participants and hope
that the conference will be a success.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Hurriyet website, Istanbul, in Turkish
23 Sep 05

ARMENIAN TURK DENIES EXISTENCE OF “ARMENIAN PROBLEM”

Entitled “Armenian author: I am more of a Turk than many others” by
Turkish daily Hurriyet website on 23 September

Speaking at a panel discussion, Armenian author Levon Panos Dabagyan
has said, “All of us are Turks in this country. I am more of a Turk
than many of the others. God willing, I will fight against them if a
war breaks out with Armenia.” Dabagyan received a standing ovation
for what he said.

A seminar entitled “All aspects of the Armenian problem and
historical facts” has been held at the central headquarters of the
Turkish Metal Workers’ Trade Union. Panelist Dabagyan, who is a
Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, said that no Armenian problem
exists and noted that the problem had been fabricated. Describing
themselves as Christian Turks, Dabagyan asserted, “All of us are
Turks. If there are foreigners amongst us, then they should see the
pain I suffer from. It is the pain of a Turk.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress