ARMENIA TO SUBSTITUTE GEORGIA IN RUSSIAN WINE MARKET
1 5:27 04/13/2006
Chairman of the Armenian Wine-Makers Union Avak Arutyunyan has
commented to a REGNUM correspondent on ban of Georgian and Moldavian
wine imports. He called the decision made by the Russian authorities
a rightful one. As he says, ” the Russian authorities should care,
first of all, about health of their citizens.”
As the expert believes, decision of the Russian authorities will be
“a severe blow to the economies of Georgia and Moldavia, as 25-30%
of GDP of these countries was secured exactly on the account of
wine-making.” “The parties can reach a compromise, if, of course,
the political aspect is settled. Actually, the issue of banning wine
exports contains two aspects, a technological and a political one,
and the latter is not predominant.”
Speaking about substitutes for banned Georgian wines, Arutyunyan
said Armenia could profit from the situation in the Russian market:
“In this case, Armenia can substitute Georgia, but we have a serious
rival in the person of France, and the Armenian government should at
this stage take immediate decisions and support Armenian wine-makers.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE PARTIES DO NOT “TRUST” THEIR ARCHIVES
A1+
[12:41 pm] 13 April, 2006
Most of the Armenian parties and public organizations may lose their
historical background. If anybody attempts to revive today’s political
and public life with the help of archive material in a few decades
he may do nothing but merely enumerate only a few parties and public
organizations.
Out of two hundred parties existing in the country today only
the Republican Party of Armenia gave its archives to the RA
National Archives. The two other Coalition parties, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and the Country of Law
(Orinats Yerkir) alongside with other Parliamentary parties having
a more or less influential position in the political sphere (with
the exception of Democratic Fraction) keep their documents and
papers with themselves. The Armenian National Movement and the
Union for National Self – Determination and a number of patriotic
unions trusted their archives to the Public – Political Documents
Department of the Archives. On this score the Communist Party is an
exception as the Party Archives has been its Department for 68 years,
and all the Party substructures were to give their documents to the
above-mentioned archives; the latter includes more than 100 000 papers.
Today no one can make the parties give their archives.
According to the RA law “on parties” those papers are the property
of the parties and it is within their right to decide what to do with
them. A question arises on this score; how is the Archives Department
replenished? “To put it in a simple way, if you are acquainted with
the chairman of the party or have some deals with him he willingly
gives their archives. But the chairmen of certain parties do not view
the matter with comprehensive approach and do not realize the value of
the documents. They don’t understand that the place of those papers
is the archives. Finally it is a state institution and not a private
one and while keeping their papers in the archives they have a chance
to pass them to the following generations,” says the Vice-director
of the National Archives Avag Haroutyunyan. He also mentions that
they cannot always persuade the parties to give their archives;
in such case the last word is after the Party Chairman.
“Each document of the republic must be given to the Archives if you
don’t want it to get lost and want to pass it to the next generations,”
claims Avag Haroutyunyan. He states that there are multiple cases when
the important documents of a certain party got lost. By the way, “in
the period of Soviet Union many anti-communist papers were kept in the
Archives which testify to the fact that it is a non-party institution.”
By the way, in contrast with the Soviet years, when mainly the
communists could get acquainted with the contents of the papers
kept in the Archives, nowadays everybody has such a right lest the
documents contains “military, state secrets.”

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
APRIL 7-13, 2006
HIGHLIGHTS:
“PRESS-CLUB+”: PEOPLE’S PARTY OF ARMENIA DISCUSSING FOREIGN POLICY AND
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
PARLIAMENT CONFERENCE IN THE ABSENCE OF PARLIAMENT MEMBERS
“GOLOS ARMENII” REPLIED TO “INFORMATION TERRORISM”
BEAUTY CONTEST AMONG DISABLED
“PRESS-CLUB+”: PEOPLE’S PARTY OF ARMENIA DISCUSSING FOREIGN POLICY AND
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On April 11 the fifth talk show of “Press Club+” series went on the evening
air of “Yerkir-Media” TV company.
The invitees of the program host, the Chief Editor of “Aravot” daily Aram
Abrahamian were the leaders of People’s Party of Armenia as guests and NGO
representatives as experts. The TV discussion focused on the priorities of
the Armenian foreign policy and the freedom of expression in the country.
It is expected that at 21.00 next Tuesday “Press Club+” will give floor to
the representatives of United Labor Party, sharing their opinions on the
issues of the day.
PARLIAMENT CONFERENCE IN THE ABSENCE OF PARLIAMENT MEMBERS
On April 6-7 at the RA National Assembly an international conference
“Fighting Corruption in Armenia. Strengthening of Cooperation between the RA
National Assembly, Civil Society and the Media” was held. The event was
organized by RA NA, Eurasia Foundation, OSCE, UN Development Program.
On the first day of the conference during the panel sessions the issues of
cooperation between the parliament and the civil society, the role of state
and public oversight bodies and media in the anticorruption activities were
discussed. On the second day debates were held in three working groups. The
working group “Role of the Press in Fighting Corruption” (coordinated by the
President of Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardian) produced a set of
recommendations, presented below.
The first group of recommendations (items 1 and 2) referred to the
enhancement of the media role, the second group (items 3-5) – to the
establishment of most favorable conditions for media and journalists to
assist this enhancement, the third group (items 6-8) – exclusion of
corruption in the information environment itself.
1. To form a public expert council at the RA NA to assess all the
legislative initiatives on media. To ensure the interaction of NA, the civil
society and media in the process of harmonization of media legislation with
the renewed Constitution.
2. To envisage a periodical TV program cycle on investigating corruption
cases using public information and material resources and implementing
public and expert oversight of the professionalism and objectivity of these
programs.
3. To strengthen the guarantees of legal protection and security of media
and journalists on duty. To eliminate the differences in the punishments
stipulated for the insult of state officials and ordinary citizens, to
abolish imprisonment as punishment for libel. To improve the legislation on
freedom of information and protection of sources, to ensure its application,
eliminating the controversies existing in various laws.
4. To assist the training and retraining of journalists specialized in
corruption reporting and journalistic investigations, to create voluntary
structures of media self-regulation and their public accountability.
5. To assist the protection of journalists’ labor rights, the application of
principles of professional and editorial independence, establishment of
legal mechanisms in the relations between the owners (employers) and the
media professionals.
6. To improve the mechanisms of public oversight of the effectiveness and
targeted use of public and budget funds. To assist the implementation of
antitrust legislation in media system, ensuring the transparency of
ownership.
7. To take steps to ensure real independence of bodies that regulates and
manages the broadcasting sphere. To apply in practice the provisions of the
RA Law “On Television and Radio”, stipulating the possibility of involving
public experts in the conductance of broadcast licensing competitions.
8. To remove from the RA Law “On Postal Communication” and the draft law “On
introducing amendments and additions to the RA Law ‘On Advertising’ ” the
provisions that contain risks of monopoly and corruption.
At the panel session on the first day of the conference one of the foreign
participants asked the NA deputies present in the room to raise their hands.
Not a single hand went up. The Armenian MPs did not honor the media working
group with their presence either. Yet, the main purpose of the conference
was the search for possible ways of cooperation between the National
Assembly and the civil society (as confirmed by the event title, too). In
reality, everything was confined to the discussion of anticorruption issues
between the representatives of the “fourth estate” and the “third sector” –
who have sufficient joint debates at various events with different subject
matter, including the corruption. In this regard one cannot help asking: why
did the conference have to be hosted at the National Assembly? For the
participants to have to go through the security barriers and undergo the
quite unpleasant personal examination procedure?
“GOLOS ARMENII” REPLIED TO “INFORMATION TERRORISM”
On April 8 “Golos Armenii” newspaper apologized to its readers for their
inability to buy at many newspaper stalls the issue of April 6, since, “as
the news vendors explained, all the copies were bought out by unknown people
in the morning”. In the opinion of “Golos Armenii”, the reason of the action
was the article of its correspondent Ara Meliksetian “Human Resources as the
Party Gold”, and “its ‘heroes’ tried not to make it public”.
The article was dealing with numerous violations revealed at “Hayseismshin”
research institute. It said in particular that in late February the
conclusion of the inspection made by the Control Service of the RA President
was sent to RA Minister of Urban Development Aram Harutiunian, however, no
measures were taken. This idleness is explained in the story by the fact
that the Minister of Urban Development and the director of the research
institute (ministerial structure) are members of “Orinats Yerkir” party (Ed.
note: the party is in ruling coalition).
The incident was qualified by the newspaper as “information terrorism” and
in the issue of April 8 repeated the publication of the article “that hit
the target so well”. “Golos Armenii” expressed confidence that “the talk
about the content of the article and the disappearance of the issue will
continue” and a hope that “‘Orinats Yerkir’ will not be rich enough to buy
every print run of ‘GA'”.
BEAUTY CONTEST AMONG DISABLED
On April 6 at the Yerevan House of Chamber Music the award ceremony of the
Third National Beauty Photo Contest among Disabled was held. The contest was
held by “Unison” NGO with the assistance of a number of Armenian companies.
The information support to the event was provided by the Public Television
of Armenia, “Aurora” Radio, “AR”, “Kentron” TV companies and Second Armenian
TV Channel. Such actions, as the organizers believe, help to break the
stereotypes in the society and show that the disability is not an impediment
for the fair sex.
“Miss Beauty”-2006 title (the Grand-Prix of the contest) was awarded to Anna
Martirosian (Yerevan), “Vice Miss Beauty” (the first prize) – to Narineh
Ghukasian (Abovian). The second prize was granted to “Miss Charm” Henrietta
Khachatrian (Echmiadzin). The third award went to “Miss Smile” Marineh
Yeshilian (Yerevan). The award and the memorial gift from Yerevan Press Club
to “Miss Smile” were awarded by a jury member, the YPC Executive Director
Mikhail Diloyan.
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]
Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]
Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
_____________________________________ _______
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
April 13, 2006
Holy Week in the Mother See
Every year the Mother See receives numerous inquiries from pilgrims
throughout the world who plan to travel to Armenia and Holy Etchmiadzin to
participate in the services leading up to the Glorious Resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ.  In response to the growing number of requests, the
Mother See is pleased to announce this year’s schedule of Holy Week and
Easter Services.  All services will be held in the Mother Cathedral of Holy
Etchmiadzin.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
HOLY THURSDAY
Divine Liturgy – 10:30 AM
Washing of the Feet Service – 4:00 PM
Betrayal Service – 7:00 PM
Friday, April 14, 2006
HOLY FRIDAY
Crucifixion Service – 12:00 Noon
Burial Service – 5:30 PM
Saturday, April 15, 2006
EASTER EVE
Evening Services – 5:30 PM
`Jrakaluyts’ (Lucernarium) Divine Liturgy – 7:00 PM
Sunday, April 16, 2006
FEAST OF THE GLORIOUS RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Morning Services – 7:30 AM
Pontifical Divine Liturgy – 10:30 AM
Celebrant – His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians
Monday, April 17, 2006
MEMORIAL DAY
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Repose of Souls Service – 1:00 PM

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
Watch the recorded video of the message of His Holiness Aram I on the
occasion of the 3rd Pan-Armenian Writers’ Conference held in Antelias here:
Re ad the message of His Holiness Aram I in Armenian here:
Messages/messages5.htm
COMMUNIQUÉ
THE THIRD PAN-ARMENIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE:
THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION AND
THE ARMENIAN LITERATURE
6-9 April 2006
CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA
ANTELIAS, LEBANON
Under the patronage of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the House of
Cilicia and on the initiative of the Writers’ Union of Armenia, the Third
Pan-Armenian Conference was held in the Antelias headquarters of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia with more than 130 participants from Armenia and
the Diaspora.
Greeting letters were sent by H.E. Robert Kotcharian, president of the
Republic of Armenia, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
Artuir Baghdasarian, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Prime Minister
Antranig Markarian and Dr. Zaven Yegavian, Director of the Department of
Armenian Affairs of the Gulbenkian Foundation.
The president of the Writers’ Union of Armenia, Levon Ananian, delivered the
opening remarks, which were followed by the heart spoken words of welcome of
the most senior participant, poet Jack. S. Hagopian. Representatives from
the community organizations, political and national circles attended the
ceremonial opening of the conference.
His Holiness Aram I shared his visionary viewpoints with the attendants. He
stressed the imperative of an Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Diaspora that
strengthen the nation and the motherland. The Pontiff highlighted the
nation-building role of the Pontifical See of Cilicia, particularly after
the Genocide, by assembling the children of the Armenian nation, providing
them with spiritual-intellectual nourishment, moral values and national
dreams, leading them from death to life, because the Armenian culture,
Armenian schools, the struggle for violated rights have been at the core of
the Catholicosate’s mission.
“.For me a writer is the missionary of truth above and more than anything
else,” said His Holiness. The Pontiff said that the wave of globalization is
strong and pointed out that the most secure path for Armenians is positive
dialogue in which an important role is reserved to Armenian culture and
literature. He advised opening up to the future, establishing useful and
mutual relations with the surrounding environment and approaching pan
humanitarian with self confidence.
“True literature is the echo of truth. Let the Armenian literature, enriched
with quality and strengthened by the truth, reinforced by the Armenian and
beautified by the pan humanitarian, spread further, develop and persevere,
eternalizing with it Armenians with their faith, culture, identity, dreams
and motherland,” the Pontiff preached.
During the following 10 sessions, the participants discussed various issues
related to the general theme “The challenges of globalization and the
Armenian literature”:
1-Globalization and modern Armenian literature
2-A new life experience and a new literature
3-The conflict of identity in Armenian Diaspora literature
4-The Armenian Diaspora literature assessed by the literary criticism of
Armenia
5-Modern thinking in the Armenian Diaspora literature
6-The Armenian Genocide and modern Armenian literature
7-The internationalization of Armenian literature
8-Modern children’s literature and national schools
Based on issues related to globalization, the participants made proposals
that will be presented to the fourth Pan-Armenian writers’ conference:
– Strengthening the ties between writers, both individuals and
unions
– Preparing a collection of works written during the last two years
before each conference
– Approaching the people in order to increase the number of readers
– Establish a fund for publications and for presenting the Armenian
literature on the internet
– Creating greater opportunity for young writers to participate in
such conferences
– Establishing special committees that would read and select the
works of Armenian authors that would be translated into foreign languages
for the purpose of introducing Armenian literature to the international
public. Having the translation read by another committee before publication.
The participants expressed concern about the issue of a single dictation,
the purity of the Armenian language and many other problems that could be
included in the next conference’s agenda. Apart from the specific
discussions, attendants also made proposals of interest to Armenian writers.
The conference could not have thoroughly examined all the complex issues it
faced. Participants, however, became conscious of the fact that the Armenian
literature can’t be detached from the national-political and survival
struggle and that it should play an important role in this struggle because
culture is politics.
The attendant writers truly thought together, emphasized the importance of
quality both in national circles and the international arena, so that
literature can be enriched by moving ahead towards the world. They talked
about introducing Armenian literature to global readers by
internationalizing it, a task they considered to be a precondition for
dialogue.
The conference became an opportunity for Armenian writers to get to know one
another, become aware of each others’ difficulties and conflicts, which can
create the possibility for unity in a field of diversity.
The participants expressed their gratitude for the success of the conference
to the Catholicosate of Cilicia and the support and contribution of its
Pontiff, His Holiness Aram I.
THIRD PAN-ARMENIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
Antelias, 9 April 2006
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TALKS GOING IN NEW FORMAT – ALIYEV
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 12 2006
BAKU, April 12 (Itar-Tass) – The talks on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement are going in a new format that meets the national interests
of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev has said.
He said at one of border outposts in the northwest of Azerbaijan on
Wednesday that the new format also “creates a basis for territorial
integrity of the country”.
“We don’t want war, but we are building our military potential for
strengthening security of the country. Our military expenditures are
with growing with its growth too, Aliyev said.
He added that the state budget had increased “four times over the
past four years”.
Aliyev stressed the importance of strengthening the state border,
saying that in the globalisation period, “threats and dangers are
arising: terrorism, illicit drug turnover and contraband”.
“Our borders should be open for friends and closed for enemies.
Azerbaijan should be able to defend itself and the Azerbaijani people
should live in security”.
The president promised that the state would allocate in 2006-07
additional funds for equipment of borders.
He said that “by strengthening its borders, Azerbaijan strengthens
its security”.

TERRY DAVIS: “I HAVE SYMPATHY TO AZERBAIJAN”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
“Azerbaijan and Armenia has undertaken the same obligations for the
settlement of the conflict. As concerns for Council of Europe’s work
to solve the problem, to accept the membership the both states to
the organization is priority.” Council of Europe Secretary General
Terry Davis has said it in his exclusive statement.
The State Secretary has stated that, if Azerbaijan chose military
way for settling the conflict, it might be violation of obligations
undertaken by Azerbaijan before Council of Europe: “I am sure that
Azerbaijan will fulfill the obligations. If it does not follow the
obligations Azerbaijan will face with hardships.” Touching on the
issue of secret detention places he does not believe there is any fact
like that with regard to Azerbaijan: “I do not have any information
about that. Simply I can tell you that like other countries I have
asked Azerbaijan government to reply the questionnaire of Council of
Europe related to this matter.
Azerbaijani part is obliged to reply it. Because it is within the
obligations. I do not believe President Ilham Aliyev lets violation
of these obligations.” As to the opinion of the Secretary General
delegation of the both country in PACE should reflect political
context of the parliament. The number of opposition deputies should
be proportional with delegation. Terry Davis said that not existence
of the USA representation here is linked with reorganization of
the representation: “This will give a chance to effective work of
our bureau in Baku .The decision has been made. I will appoint my
representative in a short period of time. I will focus attention on two
issues during the appointment. First of all, our representative office
in Azerbaijan should be a model for our offices in other countries
for its effectiveness. Secondly, as I have sympathy to Azerbaijan, our
office in the country should function effectively. I attach much more
attention to this country as the CE office in Azerbaijan is vacant.”

CONCEDING ARMENIAN ENERGY SYSTEM TO RUSSIANS ENDANGERS COUNTRY’S SECURITY, JUSTICE FACTION SECRETARY CONVINCED
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. With the aim of mitigating the
consequences of the increase in the price of gas imported into Armenia,
the whole Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and the 5th power unit of Hrazdan
Thermal Power Plant were transferred to Gasprom company (Russia),
as a result of which Gasprom’s share in ArmRusgasprom’s package of
shares has reached 82%. Independent deputy Manuk Gasparian stated this
on April 11 in the RA National Assembly. In his words, “the pivot of
the deal is to make the whole Iran-Arnmenia gas pipeline the property
of Russia, and to ensure Russia’s monopoly on all the gas pipelines
from east to west.” M. Gasparian said that this deal will allow the
Armenian authorities to get large amounts of money from Russia and to
pocket these sums. According to the deputy, it is also evident from
disappearance of the information about the gas pipeline’s sale from
Gasprom’s website on April 6, 2006. Leader of the United Labor Party
(ULP) faction Gurgen Arsenian said that in order to allay public
concern, the government should keep the public aware of details of
the agreement signed with Gasprom. In his words, it is not ruled out
that as a result of use of “this new – gas energy weapon of Russia”,
the price of Russian gas may increase to $250 for 1,000 cubic meters in
2-3 years, as currently for Ukraine and Georgia. Secretary of Justice
faction Victor Dallakian stated that conceding almost 100% of the
Armenian energy system to Russians endangers the country’s security. In
his opinion, the sale of Hrazdan TPP 5th unit is also unacceptable from
economic point of view, since under the Armenian-Iranian agreement,
the Iranian gas was to be supplied to Hrazdan TPP via the gas pipeline
currently under construction and the electricity generated there would
be sold to Iran by Armenia. As a result of this deal, Armenia could
have made an annual profit of 100 mln USD, while Hrazan TPP would have
remained Armenia’s property, supplying more than half of electricity.
Instead, in V. Dalalkian’s words, the Armenian authorities
“have presented” Hrazdan TPP, and it is not ruled out, also the
Armenian section of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to the Russian side as
property. V. Dallakian noted that an attempt is made to justify this
deal by saying that it will mitigate the gas tariffs. In reality, the
compensation sums will mostly go to big consumers, while the condition
of vulnerable and poor sections of the population will worsen.

PREVENTING TURKEY’S POPULAR SLIDE AWAY FROM THE WEST
By Soner Cagaptay
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, DC
April 12 2006
Iran’s nuclear program presents one more issue on which Washington sees
Middle East developments in a different light than does the Justice
and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey. Since coming to
power in November 2002, AKP leaders have pursued rapprochement with
Damascus and enhanced dialogue with Iran. In March 2006, the AKP
welcomed Hamas leaders in Ankara. It is surprising that Turkey,
a traditional bastion of Western policies in the Middle East, is
promoting close ties with anti-Western actors that have hurt Turkey
for decades-Syria provided safe haven to the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) and Iran supported the PKK and radical Islamist
terrorists. Why do the Turkish people not resent such policies?
The Iraq war and the U.S. agenda for political transformation in the
Middle East have clashed with the Turkish people’s desire to preserve
the Middle Eastern political landscape. What is more, U.S. inaction
against the PKK’s Qandil enclave in Northern Iraq is angering most
Turks in the way Syrian and Iranian support for the PKK upset them
in the 1990s. Turkish confusion and anger toward the United States
stands in sharp contrast with the improved image of Syria and Iran
in Turkey. Meanwhile, with AKP discussing Middle Eastern politics
in terms of Islamic codes, some Turks now identify with the region
through Islam and not their national identity. The challenge for
Washington is to find a way to prevent Turkey’s popular slide away
from the United States.
Further Problems with the EU
Anti-Western sentiments in Turkey are exacerbated by problems with
the European Union (EU). Even though Turkey’s EU negotiations will
take up to a decade and do not promise membership, objections to
Turkey are already rising in the EU. In capitals such as Paris,
opinionmakers are opposing Turkey’s membership, describing the country
is “non-European.” With Cyprus, a Middle Eastern island in the EU,
Turks see this argument referring not to Turkey’s geography, but to
its dominant Muslim faith.
An important example of Turkey being treated differently than other
applicants is the EU’s embrace of a French plan to introduce references
to human rights, indicating Turkey’s combustive Kurdish question, into
the “Chapter on Education and Culture,” the first of the thirty-five
chapters of the Turkish-EU accession talks. While this chapter has
had a technical approach to educational and cultural issues in case
of previous accession countries, it is evolving into a political
one for Turkey, demanding more from Ankara than from previous EU
candidate states.
The problems in Turkish-EU relations will be exacerbated by the PKK’s
use of terror to coerce Turkey into talks. Over the past two weeks,
the PKK has launched violent demonstrations in Turkey, destroying
businesses that refuse its order for social strike, killing people,
and firebombing public buses in Istanbul. The PKK is able to operate
thanks to a vast financial, recruitment and propaganda base inside the
EU. For instance, on March 31, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported
that the PKK’s current violent initiative is being carried out with
daily directives from Danish-based Roj TV. EU stipulations that
“Turkey should do more on the Kurdish issue” sound insincere to Turks
when PKK fronts are thriving inside Europe.
European pusillanimity against the PKK angers the wider Turkish
public, especially since the Kurdish nationalist view represents a
minority opinion among Turkey’s Kurds. In the twelve overwhelmingly
Kurdish-populated provinces in southeastern Turkey, Kurdish nationalist
Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) received only 30 percent of the vote
in the last elections, while in western Turkey, home to over half of
Turkey’s Kurds, support for DEHAP barely exceeds one percent. Even
though it represents a minority opinion among Turkish Kurds, the
PKK dominates the Kurdish nationalist movement, including DEHAP (now
called Democratic Society Party DTP), through the elimination of any
peaceful alternatives.
U.S. Options
Even if Turkey manages the oncoming crisis with the EU, an anti-EU
and anti-Western backlash will nevertheless follow, with Turks blaming
the EU for treating them with religious bias. With even the best-case
scenario offering a bleak picture, Washington can take a number of
steps to counter the erosion of Turkey’s longstanding pro-Western
foreign policy orientation, and even the prospect of Turkey turning
into an anti-Western yet modern state, in the mold of Malaysia:
Convey to the Turkish public that Turkey’s interests lie in the
Western world. Through high-level meetings, the best way of getting
opinions across to the Turkish elite, and through public diplomacy,
Washington should tell Turks that Turkey belongs to the West and that
the United States and Turkey share secular democratic values and an
interest in fighting terrorism. In terms of public diplomacy efforts,
eliminating the Voice of America’s Turkish services, as proposed in the
2007 budget, would be dangerous at a time when al-Jazeera has plans
to start a Turkish broadcast. Washington should also identify areas
of common interest to convince Turkey’s public of the advantages
of cooperation with the United States. These include new energy
transportation projects from the Caspian basin; U.S. involvement in
ending Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory, a major concern
for the Turkish public; and a free trade agreement to build the
economic pillar of bilateral ties and to strengthen business lobbies
for better relations.
Deal with the PKK. U.S. action against the PKK is a must for winning
Turkish confidence. Turkish frustration with lack of U.S. action
against the PKK’s Qandil enclave in Iraq has mounted in the aftermath
of recent PKK violence. Even public officials and the liberal press
now suggest that Washington supports the PKK. If a full-scale battle
against the group is not possible before Iraq is more fully stabilized,
the detention or elimination of the group’s leadership in Iraq would
be the best way to pacify the PKK and gain Turkish trust.
As a hierarchical organization, the PKK loses its tactical abilities
when it loses its leadership. That was the case in 1999 when PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured with U.S assistance-and thanks
to Ankara giving credit to Washington for its efforts, Turkish public
opinion embraced the United States as a result.
Take steps on Cyprus. The Cyprus issue ought to be taken off the
table before it crashes Turkish-EU relations, damaging the anchor that
ties Turkey to the West. Washington might appoint a senior diplomat
with international visibility to build momentum toward a UN-supported
solution of the problem. Increased political, cultural, and commercial
contacts with Turkish Cypriots would undercut the confidence of the
uncompromising Greek Cypriot leadership that the current stalemate
can be prolonged indefinitely.
Move Turkey’s EU process. Washington should continue its closed-door
diplomacy to emphasize to European leaders the added value of Ankara’s
membership on issues such as demographics, energy, and strategic
concerns. Washington could also bring to fruition ongoing collaboration
with European intelligence bodies, lawmakers, and police forces
against PKK structures in Europe. This step would not only disarm a
vector of crisis in Turkish-EU relations, but also, when recognized
by the Turkish government, improve America’s standing in Turkey.
What Ankara Can Do
None of Washington’s steps will work unless the Turkish government
works to shape public opinion in favor of Turkey’s Western
orientation. Strange as it sounds, after four years of AKP rule,
Turkish public opinion worries that American foreign policy constitutes
a threat to Turkey; the AKP needs to forcefully counter this view. The
Turkish government should lead a public discussion on U.S moves in
the Middle East from the perspective of Turkish national interests,
and not the interests of the country’s Arab neighbors or the Muslim
world, an issue on which Turks are confused. Indeed, the AKP might
emphasize that by working with the United States, Turkey can shape
U.S. Middle East policy to its advantage. Only these steps can shape
public opinion in the long run and maintain Turkey’s historic Western
orientation, a path rooted in Ataturk’s vision.
Soner Cagaptay is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy and chair of the Turkey Advanced Area Studies Program at
the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute.
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MORE THAN 16 THOUSAND DEPOSITORS IN GUGARK TO GET COMPENSATION TILL LATE THIS YEAR
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
VANADZOR, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The process of giving compensation for
the monitary deposits put in the “Armsavingbank” up to June 10, 1993,
starts on April 12. As Noyan Tapan was informed by Samvel Mkrtchian,
the Deputy Chief of the Social Security Service of Vanadzor, according
to preliminary data, in the city of Vanadzor and in 21 villages of the
region of Gugark, 16028 people involved in lists of people getting
benefits since July, 2005, will get compensation. It was mentioned
that a special duty shift with a movable schedule is defined at
the center of the service, and inspectors of the service will serve
inhabitants of rural communities at place. Paying money to that group
of depositors is envisaged to start from August and end late this year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress