PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS NOT AFFECTING PEACE TALKS – OFFICIAL
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005
Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
The government sees no reasons for a ‘timeout’ in talks on settling
the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict due to the November
parliament elections, deputy foreign minister and the President’s
special envoy on the Upper Garabagh conflict said.
“The peace talks were suspended after the Kazan meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in a move to once again look
into the gist of the discussions”, Araz Azimov told journalists
on Wednesday.
Azimov said the ‘talks should be continued till the end’, as the
resources available for this have not been exhausted yet. “There is
a high chance for Armenia in the talks and official Yerevan should
use it while it can”, he added.*

THE UNITED STATES NEEDS NO ENEMIES, WITH FRIENDS LIKE TURKEY!
By Dr. Christos Evangeliou
Professor of Philosophy
Towson University, USA
Hellenic News of America
Oct 13 2005
The war in Iraq, so far, has cost the lives of more than seventeen
hundred American solders, with thousand more wounded, not to
mention the billions of dollars spent. The war effort has produced
minimal results, that is, a “cleaned” Saddam Hussein, sitting in
his prison waiting for trial, and an inefficient Constitutional
Committee struggling desperately to meet the new deadline for the
New Constitution of Iraq.
It is not surprising, then, that many Americans, even those who
supported the Iraq war initially, now seem to have second thoughts
about the wisdom of starting the war and the flimsy grounds, on
which such serious decision was based. Clearly, in the minds of many
Americans and friends of America around the world, the “phenomenon”
of Saddam sitting in his prison room watching TV was not worth the
pain of even a single wounded soldier, let alone the lives of American
citizens and friends of America.
Before the war, three predictions were circulating, which the war has
proven untrue. First, of course, was the “myth” that Iraq possessed
weapons of mass destruction; second, the “myth” that the secular regime
of Saddam had “official” connections with the religious fanatics of
Al Qaeda; third, the most dangerous “myth” of all that the terrorist
threat to America (and the post 9/11 terrorized world) will diminish,
as a result of a forceful intervention in Iraq to overthrow the Saddam
regime. All these have received plenty of political attention and
public discussion two and a half years into this war.
But there is another “myth,” which the war in Iraq brought to light,
but has not received equal attention in the media. This is the
“myth” that Turkey was America’s “most reliable ally,” within the
NATO structure. For more than fifty years, since Turkey entered the
NATO Alliance in the early 1950ies, this “myth” had been cultivated
intensively and believed widely by the policy makers in the United
States and in Europe.
Having the second largest army in NATO and being well equipped with
American weapons, Turkey was considered as the “most-trusted” allied
friend. So much so, that it was tolerated even when it used the NATO
weapons for defense to invade and occupy about half of Cyprus in
1974, forcing about half of its population out of their homes. No
other NATO country (certainly, not Greece) would have done such
a terrible deed with impunity. But it was taken for granted that
Turkey’s built up of military strength would be at hand in the hour
of NATO’s need (facing then the threat of Soviet Union in Eastern
Europe and Central Asia). Especially in the Middle East, apparently
because of its strategic location in that volatile part of the world,
Turkey’s role as a potential helpful NATO ally was systematically
and continuously overestimated.
Well, the war in Iraq came to prove that all this was baseless
wishful thinking. Turkey was offered billions of American dollars
in compensation and as an inducement. But, at the end, it refused to
support NATO’s venture into Iraq, although it bargained hard for more
cash. Since other NATO countries had refused to participate militarily,
the Turkish refusal might have appeared as an “excusable misstep.”
However, Turkey went much further than this, when it refused to allow
the NATO army to open a second front in Northern Iraq in the critical
moment of the war, spring of 2003. This second refusal by the newly
elected Erdogan Government was unworthy of even a friend, let alone
allied friends, and very costly to American interests. This Turkish
plan of the second refusal was similar in nastiness and brutality
with the Attila II Plan, which Turkey applied so ruthlessly in August
of 1974, and the United States unwisely tolerated then. Now it pays
the price.
The well-thought out strategic plan to enter Iraq from the North
would have shortened the war considerably. It would also have given
the opportunity to the American army to capture most of Saddam’s
generals and other supporters, who escaped to the North and the West
before the allied armies got there. Most importantly, it would have
made it much more difficult for the fugitives and the insurgents to
save their cash and ammunition, to regroup so quickly and efficiently,
and to start their deadly quotidian attacks.
The killings are still going on in Iraq. They have increased the
American casualties from less than two hundred in the summer of 2003 to
almost two thousand, two years later. Surprisingly, no one (at least
not publicly and loudly enough) seems to hold Turkey responsible for
the unfolding and mostly avoidable tragedy in Iraq.
The “most-trusted” NATO ally proved to be the most unreliable in
the critical hour of need. For Turkey not only did not help the war
effort, it even made it more difficult. It did all these bad things
for America in a cold and calculating manner, which should have shocked
all concerned Americans. They should have demanded a radical revision
of the US policy towards this particularly unhelpful ally.
As if that was not bad enough for the future of Iraq and the fate
of the American venture there, the policy of keeping the three
diverging parts of Iraq (Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni) united is
apparently faulty. It has been proven wrong and costly in American
lives and dollars but, ironically, it was adopted apparently to please
Turkey, the “good” NATO ally. Because Turkey fears that the natural
tri-partition of Iraq may lead to an independent Kurdish State in
Northern Iraq, it objects to such sensible solution of this problem.
So it is bound to get more complicated as time goes by and the attacks
on innocents Iraqis continue.
But that is exactly what Turkey wants “diplomatically.” It hopes that,
sooner or later, the Americans will be fed up with this bloody bath
and pull out of Iraq, allowing Turkey to imitate Saddam and try to
resolve its chronic Kurdish problem, as it resolved the Armenian
problem and Asia Minor problem, about a century ago. But that is not
by any stretch of the imagination in the US’s best interests.
America would have been served better, saving thousands of lives
of its brave solders and the lives of innocent Iraqis, if it had
adopted a different and sensible policy. As soon as the Saddam army
had dissolved, it should have allowed the liberated Iraq to be divided
naturally and peacefully into Kurdish North, Shiite South, and Sunni
Center, squeezed between the other two and kept under tight control.
If such policy had in all probability worked well for the US interests
and saved many lives, but Turkey did not like, then too bad for Turkey!
Turkey might fear that, if the tripartite division had worked well
in Iraq, and served the long-term strategic interests there, then
possibly something similar could happen to Turkey itself. Like Iraq,
turkey too seems naturally divided into three parts, the Kurdish, the
European (or westward looking) and the Asiatic (or eastward looking).
These three parts have very little in common, other than a “Turkish
identity,” forced on them after the end of World War I. The last two
parts do not even want to be part of the European Union, as the first
part wishes. The Kurds want to be part of a united Kurdistan in the
near future, while the Asiatic Turks would like to be reconnected
with their brethren in Central Asia.
So, hypothetically, with Western Turkey in European Union, with
Eastern Turkey in Central Asia, and with Southern Turkey united with
other Kurds, every one would be happy and the American interests well
served in that strategic area of the world. But will the policy makers
in the US see these advantages and act accordingly, before more lives
of innocent people and brave soldiers are lost in vain?
;lang=US

TURKS’ DELIGHT AS GREEKS MISS OUT ON PLAY-OFFS
By Charles Carrick
The Daily Telegraph, UK
Oct 13 2005
European champions Greece saw their slim hopes of qualifying for
the World Cup play-offs snuffed out last night despite them beating
Georgia 1-0 in their final qualifier.
Turkey’s 1-0 victory in Albania left the Greeks in fourth place in
Group Two, which was won by Ukraine.
Greece went into their game requiring a win but also needed the Turks
and Denmark to slip. However, Turkey won 1-0 in Albania to take the
play-off slot and also deny Denmark, 2-1 winners over Kazakhstan.
Turkey secured their play-off berth courtesy of a 57th-minute Tuemer
Metin goal.
With a new-look attack featuring Vangelis Mantzios and Dimitris
Salpingidis, Greece created their first chance in the fourth minute
but Salpingidis’ header was deflected wide.
The much-needed goal arrived 13 minutes later when Yourkas Seitaridis
crossed deep from the right for Dimitris Papadopoulos to head past
goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili.
With the hosts attacking in waves in search of a second goal, Georgia
found space and could have scored but Levan Kobiashvili’s 13th-minute
lob hit the crossbar and Kakha Kaladze’s low drive from two metres
was blocked by Nikopolidis 12 minutes later.
The victory proved hollow, though, as the results from elswehere
confirmed that 15 months after being crowned surprise champions of
Europe, Greece would finish as also-rans.
Michael Gravgaard and Jon Dahl Tomasson scored second-half goals
in Denmark’s victory. Midfielder Alexander Kuchma scored a late
consolation goal for the hosts.
Gravgaard, who also scored the winner against European champions
Greece on Saturday, scored the first goal in the 46th minute. Three
minutes later, Tomasson added another.
Substitute Daniyar Kenzhekhanov stunned the visitors when he staged
a quick counterattack in the 57th minute, but he just missed the
Danish net.
In the 77th, Kenzhekhanov again threatened while Kazakhstan increased
the pressure on the Danes.
The Czech Republic overcame Finland 3-0 in Group One to gain a play-off
spot. Tomas Jun, Tomas Rosicky and Marek Heinz scored for the Czechs,
who finished second with 27 points, two ahead of Romania.
Holland won the group with 31.
Jun scored in the sixth minute when he coolly side-footed into the
net in a one-on-one with Finland goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. The
move was started by veteran Vladimir Smicer on the left when he drew
Finland’s central defenders out of position.
Rosicky doubled the lead in the 51st when his 20-yard shot escaped
Jaaskelainen’s grasp. Heinz completed the scoring six minutes later.
Finland’s Toni Kuivasto drew an outstanding save from Czech goalkeeper
Petr Cech and the central defender also hit the crossbar with a header.
Armenia ended their campaign with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Andorra
that lifted them off the bottom of Group One. Armenia, whose only
other win came against the same opponents in March, finished in
sixth place in the group with seven points from their 12 matches,
two ahead of Andorra.
The opening goal came when Midfielder Oscar Sonejee turned a cross from
the left into his own net in 39th minute and defender Ildefons Lima
received his marching orders soon after for spitting at an opponent.
Andorra’s other goals came from Aram Akopyan and Ara Akopyan.
Sweden came from behind to beat Iceland 3-1 and book their place in
the finals as a best runner-up.
Serbia and Montenegro topped Group Seven by beating Bosnia-Herzegovina,
with Spain securing the play-off slot by hammering San Marino 6-0.
Slovakia pipped Russia to the play-off place from Group Three after
the teams drew 0-0.

ANDORRA 0 ARMENIA 3
Sportinglife.com, UK
Oct 13 2005
Armenia moved off the bottom of World Cup Qualifying Group One with
a comfortable win over Andorra on Wednesday.
Andorra gave the visitors a helping hand when Oscar Sonejee opened
the scoring with an own goal in the 39th minute, and things got worse
for the hosts when Ildefons Lima was sent off moments later.
Brothers Aram Hakobyan and Ara Hakobyan then scored second-half goals
to complete the rout.
Andorra coach David Rodrigo fielded a defensive formation but could
not find a match for Armenia’s Romik Khachatryan and Karen Aleksanyan
in midfield, while the visitors used the wings to attack.
Khachatryan fired a shot across goal and Valeri Aleksanyan missed a
good chance from a corner before the first goal came.
It arrived when Egishe Melikyan crossed from the left and Sonejee
got his attempted clearance all wrong and slid the ball into the net.
Lima was then guilty of a moment of madness four minutes later when
he was shown a straight red card, apparently for comments directed
at the referee.
Down to 10 men, Andorra were immediately under threat as the second
half began and Ara Hakobyan saw a shot tipped away before they doubled
their lead after 52 minutes.
Hamlet Mkhitaryan crossed to Aram Hakobyan who finished well at the
far post, slotting the ball home on the half volley.
Andorra heads dropped, allowing Armenia to stroke the ball around
with ease.
Ara Hakobyan extended their lead after a good run and strike from
the edge of the area 10 minutes later.
With the game over as a contest, Armenia continued to create plenty
of chances but were over-elaborate and could not add to their lead.
Melikyan should really have scored after an excellent ball from
Mkhitaryan left him unmarked at the far post but he attempted a
flamboyant volley which went well wide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY: JOURNALIST CONVICTED ON CHARGE OF ‘INSULTING TURKISH IDENTITY’
CPJ Press Freedom Online, NY
Oct 13 2005
New York, October 12, 2005-The Committee to Protect Journalists
condemns the conviction of a Turkish-Armenian journalist on a charge
of “insulting and weakening Turkish identity through the media” An
Istanbul court on Friday sentenced Hrant Dink, 52, editor-in-chief of
the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, to a six-month suspended
term. Dink and his lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, plan to appeal.
The charges stemmed from a series of articles Dink wrote in early
2004 dealing with the collective memory of the Armenian massacres of
1915-1917 under the Ottoman Empire. He called on Armenians to move
beyond historical anger toward Turks and “turn to the new blood of
independent Armenia.”
Turkish law, even under recent legal reforms, allows for journalists
to be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for their work. Dink was
prosecuted under a provision of the new penal code that states:
“A person who insults Turkishness, the Republic, or the Turkish
Parliament will be punished with imprisonment ranging from six months
to three years.” Turkish authorities did not elaborate on what they
considered insulting in Dink’s work.
Dink, who founded Agos in 1996, was sentenced the same week talks
began on Turkey’s application to join the European Union.
“This is a political decision because I wrote about the Armenian
genocide and they detest that, so they found a way to accuse me of
insulting Turks,” Dink told CPJ. He said he is prepared to take the
case to the European Court of Human Rights to clear his name.
Turkey does not acknowledge as genocide the killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. The European
Parliament has conditioned Turkey’s entry to the EU on its formal
recognition of the killings as genocide.
“Despite official promises, Turkish journalists continue to be
criminally prosecuted for their work,” CPJ Executive Director Ann
Cooper said. “At the heart of this case are the dozens of laws in
Turkey that can make free expression a crime. Free expression will
remain limited in Turkey as long as these laws are on the books.”
Award-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk was indicted in September
under the same penal code provision after an interview he gave to
a Swiss magazine earlier this year in which he said, “one million
Armenians were killed in Turkey.” His trial is set for December 17.
Dink faces additional charges for making critical comments at a
2002 human rights conference about Turkey’s national anthem and
a daily oath taken by Turkish schoolchildren in which they say,
“Happy is the one who says, ‘I am a Turk.’ ” Dink said then that he
did not feel like a Turk, but like an Armenian who is a citizen of
Turkey. He will appear in court in February for those remarks.

TURKISH GOVERNMENT CAN’T INTERVENE IN PAMUK CASE: PM
Reuters
Indian Express, India
Oct 13 2005
PARIS, OCTOBER12: The Turkish government cannot intervene to help
a writer of world repute who could face prison for his views on the
massacres of Armenians 90 years ago, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
said in comments published on Wednesday.
Orhan Pamuk has been charged with insulting Turkish identity for
supporting claims that Armenians suffered a genocide under Ottoman
Turks in 1915. He faces three years in jail if convicted.
Pamuk further upset the establishment and nationalists by saying
that Turkish forces shared responsibility for the death of more than
30,000 Kurds in southeast Turkey during separatist fighting there in
the 1980s and 1990s.
Erdogan told the French Le Monde newspaper that ” the law is
independent from the executive or the legislative authorities … the
executive authorities cannot interfere with the judiciary”.
Pamuk, best known for historical novels such as My Name is Red and The
White Castle, goes on trial on December 16. His prosecution provided
the European Union a focus for its concerns over whether Turkey’s
human rights record is compatible with the EU membership Ankara seeks.

Media Buzz With Possible Nobel Lit Winner
By Matt Moore
Associated Press
Oct 13 2005
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – A Turkish writer facing prison and a Syrian poet
were mentioned as favorites Wednesday to win the 2005 Nobel Prize
for literature even as a dispute brewed over last year’s winner,
an Austrian feminist.
Trying to divine the winner has often proved futile. The Swedish
Academy will not even say who it has considered, much less who has been
nominated for the prize, which this year will be awarded on Thursday.
But Swedish media was buzzing with names like Adonis, whose real name
is Ali Ahmad Said, who now lives in Paris. One betting Web site even
gave him the best odds, ahead of Americans Joyce Carol Oates and
Philip Roth, and Swedish poet Thomas Transtromer.
Newspapers also mentioned Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who faces prison
after he was charged with insulting Turkish identity for supporting
Armenian claims they were the victims of genocide under the Ottoman
Turks in 1915.
Other contenders include South Korean poet Ko Un, Canadian author
Margaret Atwood, the Czech Republic’s Milan Kundera, Belgian poet Hugo
Claus, Italian poet Claudio Magris and Indonesian novelist Pramoedya
Ananta Toer.
Others, however, said the academy could look inward, citing Danish
poet Inger Christiansen, and Transtromer, the Swedish poet.
Whatever the academy decides, it will likely have two immediate
consequences: increased book sales and controversy.
On Tuesday, Knut Ahnlund, 82, a member of the academy, publicly
criticized his colleagues for giving the prize last year to Austrian
feminist Elfriede Jelinek, and he resigned his membership over the
selection.
“Last year’s Nobel prize has not only done irreparable damage to all
progressive forces, it has also confused the general view of literature
as an art,” Ahnlund wrote in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
He called Jelinek’s writing “a mass of text that appears shoveled
together without trace of artistic structure” and questioned whether
academy members had read even a fraction of her work.
Previous literature winners have included literary stalwarts such
as William Faulkner (1949), Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(1982), Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1970) and Toni Morrison (1993).
The academy, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III to advance the Swedish
language and its literature, has handed out the literature prize since
1901. Its current members, who serve for life, include several writers
as well as linguists, literary scholars, historians and a lawyer.
Their meetings are held in secrecy and they usually receive around
350 nominations for the prize every year by the Feb. 1 deadline.
During the spring, the nominations are whittled down to about 20,
with another 15 removed just before the traditional summer break.
Like the other Nobels, the prize includes a $1.3 million prize, a gold
medal and a diploma, and is handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary
of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.

MAZANDARAN’S INDUSTRIALISTS TO EXHIBIT PRODUCTS IN YEREVAN
Mehr News Agency, Iran
Oct 13 2005
TEHRAN – An exhibition of the products of Mazandaran’s industrial
plants and companies will be held in the Armenian capital Yerevan
from November 15 to 21.
An official from Armenia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries said
that a total of 80 food industries, chemical products and machinery
manufacturers will display their products in the 7-day fair.

AXA SETTLES SUIT BROUGHT BY HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Forbes
Oct 13 2005
LOS ANGELES (AFX) – The heirs of victims of the 1915 Turkish massacre
of Armenians have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit against
French insurer Axa for 17 mln usd, lawyers said yesterday.
The lawsuit, filed in a California court, accused Axa of failing to
pay death benefits for the insurance policies purchased by Armenians
living in the Ottoman Empire prior to the genocide in which up to
1.5 million people were killed.
‘This is an example where dead men can’t speak but they can file
lawsuits,’ said Vartkes Yeghiayan. ‘It writes another chapter about
persistence and hope. The resolution of the case helps the healing
process.’
Under the terms of the deal, announced in Los Angeles, Axa will donate
at least 3 mln usd to various French-based Armenian charities and
another 11 mln usd towards a fund designed to pay out policyholders
of Axa units that did business in the now defunct Turkish-run Ottoman
Empire.
‘Certain of these policyholders and beneficiaries were among the
1.5 million Armenians who perished and were unable to obtain their
insurance proceeds in the ensuing chaos,’ lawyers for the victims’
descendants said in a statement.
The Axa settlement follows a similar agreement with New York Life
Insurance Company in early 2004 under which it agreed to pay 20
mln usd.
‘The AXA and New York Life settlements are important building blocks
not only toward seeking financial recovery for the losses resulting
from the Armenian Genocide but also in our ultimate goal, which is
for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the genocide,’ said
US celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos.
Geragos, who has represented stars including Michael Jackson and
Winona Ryder, is of Armenian descent.
‘These cases are historical because they are the only cases ever
brought on behalf of genocide survivors,’ he said.
No comment was immediately available from Axa.
The settlement, subject to court approval, will be administered
in France, which was one of the first countries to recognise the
Armenian genocide.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated
killings during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
But the Turkish government strenuously denies this, saying that
300,000 Armenians and as many Turks were killed in a civil war when
the Armenians, backed by Russia, rose up against the Ottoman Empire.

KEBABS OF ALL KINDS TO SPICE UP FESTIVAL
By Pat Cahill
The Repubican, MA
Oct 13 2005
There may be people out there who think that shishkebab is the only
kind of kebab in the world.
Not so, as the upcoming Armenian fall festival at St. Gregory Armenian
Apostolic Church in Indian Orchard will deliciously reveal.
The ethnic festival will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
in the church hall at 135 Goodwin St. in the Indian Orchard section
of Springfield.
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Admission and parking will be free, with food and other items priced
individually. All proceeds will go to St. Gregory’s.
In addition to homemade Armenian cuisine from entrees to desserts, the
festival will include raffle prizes and bargain-priced collectibles.
Kebabs (as Armenians call kabobs) are chunks of meat on a skewer.
Shishkebab is made with lamb, while losh kebab is made with specially
seasoned ground lamb and beef.
Chicken kebab will also be served at the festival.
Kebabs of all kinds will come with rice pilaf, salad, and pita bread.
Other dishes on the menu will include stuffed grape leaves and spinach
pie, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, seasoned cracked wheat,
and a thin-crust Armenian version of pizza with meat called lahmajun.
Baked goods will include traditional Armenian breads and pastries.
Among the prizes to be raffled will be a 3-by-5-foot Oriental rug
donated by Charles Yenian and Co., a guardian-angel pin made by
David Yurman, a 14-karat gold cross donated by Hovsep Atchian, a
handmade clock made and donated by Harry Setian, and a year’s worth
of Megabucks lottery tickets.
Baskets filled with gifts for adults and children will also be
raffled. A “forgotten treasures” booth will feature crafts and
collectibles for sale.
Raffle drawings will take place in the evening, but winners need not
be present if they have bought raffle tickets earlier in the day.