Pro-government parties lead in Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary
elections

AP Worldstream; Jun 20, 2005

Pro-government parties secured the majority of seats in parliamentary
elections in the Armenian-controlled enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh,
election officials said Monday.

The Democratic Party of Artsakh, which supports the government of
President Arkady Gukasian, received 12 out of 33 seats in legislature,
while another pro-government party, Free Motherland, got 10 seats,
said Election Commission chief Sergei Nasibian.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under control of ethnic Armenians since a
six-year war against Azerbaijani forces ended with a 1994
cease-fire. The war killed some 30,000 people and drove a million from
their homes.

Armenian opposition deadlocked as authorities accept constitutional changes

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
17 Jun 05

Text of Naira Zograbyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak on 17 June headlined “Deadlock for the opposition”

By accepting the main suggestions of the Venice Commission, the
Armenian authorities have in fact driven the opposition into deadlock.

The point is that the opposition had been saying for already a year
that they agreed to all the suggestion of the Venice Commission on the
draft constitution, and since the authorities had rejected the joint
suggestions of the opposition and the Venice Commission, they would
turn the constitutional referendum into a vote of confidence in
[Armenian President Robert] Kocharyan. The Armenian authorities had
little choice but to accept those suggestions almost without
reservations at the insistence of the Venice Commission.

At present, after these enforced compromises, it is difficult to say
if Kocharyan himself will become the person who will foil the
referendum. Especially that the new constitution will come into force
after the next [parliamentary] elections and the authorities, taking
advantage of the super powers granted to the president by the acting
constitution, still have a chance to form another puppet parliament
which will not be able to fulfil provisions even of the most
democratic constitution. For this reason and because of this latest
“democratic” concession of the Armenian authorities, the opposition’s
plan to replace the authorities is in danger since it relied on the
constitutional referendum.

It is difficult to imagine how the opposition is going to stage
rallies and call on people to vote against the constitution which
takes into account the main demands of the opposition and the world
community. Even if the opposition manages to spur a popular uprising,
the world community will support the opposition and stop Kocharyan
from suppressing the opposition, and Kocharyan will get carte blanche
to protect his main obligations against Europe [sentence as
received]. What will the opposition do in this case?

An independent [as received, actually opposition] MP, Mayak Ovanesyan,
believes that the “opposition for the sake of opposition” slogan is
nonsense.

“If all the main suggestion of the Venice Commission have indeed been
accepted, I cannot imagine how the opposition will encourage people to
vote down the constitution,” the independent member of the opposition
[as received] said.

The secretary of the [opposition] Justice bloc, Viktor Dallakyan,
whose major challenge is to turn the constitutional referendum into a
vote of confidence in Kocharyan, does not think that having reached
agreement with international structures, the authorities have
safeguarded themselves.

“In spite of everything, even if we accept that an absolutely
democratic constitution will be put to vote, our plans to turn that
process into the change of the government will remain valid. If the
draft constitution is bad, we shall call on people to vote against it
and to turn it into a vote of confidence in the authorities. If it is
good, we shall explain to the people that the draft was suggested by
the opposition and the authorities made enforced compromises. In that
case we shall call on people to vote for the draft, explaining that
with this constitution will split the authorities and they will weaken
and that this will be the best opportunity to get rid of the criminal
administration. In any case, the authoritarian nature of the regime
will not change,” Viktor Dallakyan said.

Certainly, this option of the opposition may not be considered
illogical. But it is clear that the chances to realize this option are
slim and the opposition needs to make more efforts to reach its goal.

Karabakh polls to prove “democracy has no alternative” – Armenian TV

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
18 Jun 05

[Presenter] The main political event of the day are elections to the
Artsakh [Karabakh] parliament, which will take place tomorrow [19
June]. As is known, 120 international organizations and media outlets
are monitoring the voting process. Our correspondent Vage Kostandyan
will tell us what is going on in Stepanakert [Xankandi] while a few
hours are left until the elections.

[Correspondent Vage Kostandyan from Stepanakert] The Artsakh people
have been struggling for ages to stand firmly on their native
land. There is one way – self-determination in a democratic way. But
this is a historical fact that this democracy has suffered at
different times not through the Artsakh people’s fault.

By holding elections to the Nagornyy Karabakh parliament on 19 June,
the Artsakh people will once again prove that democracy has no
alternative. Although some Azerbaijani media have voiced doubtful
opinions about the elections, more than 100 international observers
will monitor the election process.

[Gevork Movsesyan, captioned as an Artsakh resident] I shall certainly
take part in the voting. If I respect my rights as a voter, I must
go. We have proved earlier to the world that we are the masters of
ourselves and of this land. There was nobody thousands of years
ago. This is an Armenian land and it has remained Armenian. Let nobody
think they can return here again. This is an old dream.

[Erna Gasparyan, captioned as an Artsakh resident, in Russian] We have
established a state and by these elections we want to prove this to
the world. I am sure that these elections will be just and
transparent.

[Correspondent] Under the Electoral Code of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic [NKR], for the first time parliamentary elections will be
held under the first-past-the-post and proportional representation
systems, which, for its part, is a bright example of a new step on the
path to democracy. Six political parties and one political bloc will
contest parliamentary seats tomorrow.

[Chairman of the NKR Central Electoral Commission, Sergey Nasibyan,
captioned] In fact, all the preparation work has been completed.
Generally, 276 polling stations have been opened, 275 of which are on
the territory of the NKR, and one office has been opened in the
Republic of Armenia by the NKR representative office for the citizens
of Karabakh who are temporally living in Armenia.

[Correspondent] The Central Electoral Commission received only 12
complaints during the election campaign. Many of them have been dealt
with, and a few of them will be resolved in court.

Vage Kostandyan, Tigran Babayan, “Aylur”, Stepanakert.

Armenia welcomes polls in breakaway Karabakh

Arminfo
20 Jun 05

YEREVAN

In the 19 June parliamentary elections the people of the Nagornyy
Karabakh republic have once again shown their political will to form
independently the authorities which are responsible for the fate of
Nagornyy Karabakh and the people of Karabakh. Armenia welcomes the
elections, [Armenian] Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said at a press
conference today.

He believes that elections establish democratic principles which guide
the state institutions of the republic. “The legitimate authorities
make their contribution to the peaceful and comprehensive settlement
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, including the resolution of
domestic social problems,” the Armenian foreign minister said.

Zaman, Turkey
June 20 2005

As We Approach, EU Fades Into Distance

ABDULHAMIT BILICI
06.20.2005 Monday – ISTANBUL 16:21

Europe was a synonym of hope for Turkish people until five months
ago. Now, it resembles Mehlika Sultan the dream darling, who can
never be reached and who gets increasingly blurrier in the fog day by
day.

It all seemed pretty simple before December 17. A date for starting
membership negotiations would have been obtained from the EU and all
troubles would have come to an end. Even if full membership was not
acquired at the end, 10-15 years gained within this perspective would
have been enough to solve both the political and economic problems
Turkey faces; however, it didn’t happen that way.

Because, when compared to the previous period, an important change
has occured: From Helsinki Summit in 1999 where Turkey got candidacy
for membership, until the EU summit on 17 December 2004; the focus
was rather on Turkey’s capacity to adapt to European standards. Due
to lessons learned in the last 40 years, a few people in Europe had
thought there would be any Turkish government capable of
accomplishing the necessary reforms and completing the homework.
According to some, European leaders had given the green light to
Turkey with the assumption that “It would not accomplish what was
demanded.”

In fact, among the problems that had to be solved were issues
regarding military-civilian relations, religious minorities and
Kurds, which were described as taboos, and some as old as the
Republic itself. However, Turkish governments that came to power
within this period disappointed pessimistic Europeans with a super
performance which was even a surprise for themselves. Finally, the EU
Commission reported on October 6 and the heads of state summit on
December 17, 2004 acknowledged that Turkey has fulfilled the
Copenhagen Political Criteria.

In contrast to previous period, what is primarily being discussed now
is whether Europe can shoulder Turkey’s membership rather than
whether Turkey can accomplish the necessary reforms. The anti-Turkey
stance has made newspaper headlines in several countries, especially
in Germany and France, which are described as the dynamos of Europe.
One of the important justifications of the French “no sayers” to the
constitution referendum held on May 29, was Turkey, which has also
become one of the most important campaign gimmick for German
opposition leader Angela Merkel.

When all these are added up with Europe backing the so-called
Armenian “genocide” allegations and trying to make it a precondition
for developing relations, broken promises on Cyprus and the European
Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) attitude towards terrorist ring leader
Abdullah Ocalan, it becomes more and more difficult to be optimistic
about the future of the relations.

If all these are true, what should be done against this negative
picture? Getting angry and slamming the door would be the easiest
reaction and the anti-Turkey circles in Europe would prefer the most.

The EU is not a structure one can compare to a state so as to get
angry at it. It is an international body that might say “no” to what
it had said “yes” before, it includes every kind of opposite views
and always evolves.

Besides, as Kemal Dervis underlined during his last speech in Turkish
Parliament, staying outside the EU that includes the Balkans where we
have been part of throughout history, turns the River Meric (Maritza)
into an “iron curtain” for Turkey.

Furthermore, remaining outside would not make those who want to play
the Armenian, Cyprus, Kurdish and Alevi cards to the detriment of
Turkey, give up their plans.

It is almost nonsense to suggest that there is need no for the EU
motivation in order to sustain political and economic reforms in
Turkey.

Besides, contrary to the desires of the conservatives and Turkey’s
opponents in Europe, we should not forget the existence of forces
that look warmly to Turkey and demand construction of a more
multicultural Europe.

How can we forget the European parliamentarians who declared their
support for Turkey by waving placards with Turkish flags on the eve
of the EU summit in Brussels? European leaders like Tony Blair,
Silvio Berlusconi and Gerhard Schroeder support Turkey as much as
Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy oppose it.

In addition to those, Turkey’s EU adventure has other aims related to
global peace and harmonization of civilizations beyond us and it is
worth exerting maximum effort.

Under these conditions, it seems logical to work for closer relations
with the EU on a perspective of full membership without forgetting
the possibility that this process can become clogged. At the same
time, it is necessary not to neglect other options in order to get
ready for the worst-case scenario.

Moscow Times
June 20 2005

20,000 March in Azerbaijan

Jeyhun Abdulla / Reuters
By Aida Sultanova /AP

Azeri police below a billboard of late President Heidar Aliyev on
Saturday.

BAKU, Azerbaijan — About 20,000 opposition protesters chanting
“Freedom!” marched across Azerbaijan’s capital on Saturday, pushing
for free parliamentary elections this year and urging the government
to step down in the biggest protest in years.

The demonstration, the second such rally in as many weeks, was
organized by three leading opposition parties, which formed the
Azadlig, or Freedom, bloc to run for parliamentary elections set for
November.

Tension has been building steadily in this oil-rich nation in advance
of the elections, leading some observers to predict that Azerbaijan
could see a massive uprising similar to those that toppled unpopular
regimes in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan during the past 18 months.

Supporters of the Musavat party, the People’s Front of Azerbaijan and
the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan chanted “Freedom!” and “Free
Elections!” and carried pictures of U.S. President George W. Bush
with the words: “We want freedom!”

The opposition bloc has chosen orange as its campaign color, the
color used by the Ukrainian opposition during the so-called Orange
Revolution. Many participants in Saturday’s rally wore orange
T-shirts and baseball caps and carried orange flags.

Several hundred followers of Ilgar Ibragimoglu, a dissident imam who
was evicted by the authorities from a mosque in Baku, joined in the
protest on Saturday after reading a prayer.

The opposition demands election law reforms and access to
state-controlled television.

“People won’t tolerate election fraud,” Ali Kerimli, the leader of
the People’s Front of Azerbaijan, told the rally.

He and other speakers said a change in government was necessary to
win back control over Nagorny Karabakh, a disputed enclave that has
been under the control of Armenian separatists since the early 1990s.

Turkish Press
June 19 2005

Press Scan

SABAH

RESPONSE FROM GERMANY

Thomas Steg, deputy spokesman of the German government, reacted to
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s criticism. After the
German parliament approved a resolution on so-called Armenian
genocide, Erdogan stated that Turkey had opened up its archives for
researchers to study the so-called Armenian genocide allegations, but
said no one had taken up the offer to investigate them. Noting that
history would put them to shame, Erdogan indicated that also the
future would put them to shame. It is a balanced resolution, Thomas
Steg told the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel in an interview. On the other
hand, Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc will send a letter of
condemnation to German parliament.

Thousands of Turks in Germany protest against Armenian genocide resolution

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
20 Jun 05

Berlin, 19 June: Nearly 10,000 Turkish people held a demonstration in
German capital Berlin on Sunday [19 June] to protest approval of a
resolution recognizing so-called Armenian genocide by the German
parliament last week.

Demonstrators carrying Turkish flags and banners, chanted slogans
during the demonstration organized by the Initiative of Turkish
Associations.

A statement was distributed at the end of the demonstration reading,
“both German parliament and media failed to give place to theses of
Turkish and the other historians about Armenian allegations.

They ignored killing of tens of Turkish diplomats by Armenian
terrorist organization of ASALA, occupation of a part of Azerbaijani
territories by Armenia, and massacre of thousands of Azerbaijani
people during the occupation. We regret that German lawmakers
distorted the historical facts for their own political purposes. In
fact, countless German, Austrian, Russian, American, Turkish and
Armenian sources revealed that the Ottoman Empire had adopted the
Relocation Law to suppress Armenian uprisings in those days. They
clearly put forward that an Armenian genocide had never taken place in
the history of the Ottoman Empire.”

“The Armenian Diaspora has been trying to keep its baseless
allegations high on agenda of the world by using national governments
and parliaments. Their real target is to force Turkey to pay
compensation after recognition of so-called Armenian genocide. Armenia
does not accept its borders with Turkey. Similarly, Armenia did not
recognize its borders with Azerbaijan, and occupied a part of
Azerbaijani territories,” the statement added. Demonstrators called on
German lawmakers to take into consideration sensitivity of 2.8 million
Turkish people living in Germany, and act with common-sense against
such provocations.

Journal of Turkish weekly
June 20 2005

Armenia Arrests Turkish Researcher Studying on Armenian past

Yektan Turkyilmaz, the first Turkish researcher to receive a
permission to study Armenian international archives, has been
arrested at the Yerevan Airport. Turkyilmaz is accused by Armenia of
attempting to take history books to Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had called Armenia and Tashnaks
to open their archives. Turkish Ottoman archives have been opened for
the decades to all researchers from all over the world.

Armenia has resisted to open its archives. It is also argued that the
Tashnasks archives in the US contain vital documents about the 1915
events, Armenian immigrations and Tashnak-Nazi collaborations.

Pan Armenian News

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PROCESS IN ARMENIA TO BE CONSIDERED AT PACE SUMMER
SESSION

20.06.2005 04:58

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An assessment of Russia’s honoring of its Council of
Europe obligations and commitments and a report on the media and terrorism
which calls on journalists to refrain from disseminating shocking terrorist
images are among highlights of the summer session of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which takes place in Strasbourg
from 20 to 24 June 2005. Other highlights include a debate on the current
situation in Kosovo, a joint debate on the functioning of democratic
institutions in Azerbaijan and on political prisoners in the country, as
well as a possible urgent debate on the constitutional reform process in
Armenia. Invited guest speakers include the Prime Minister of Bosnia and
Herzegovina Adnan Terzic, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and
EBRD President Jean Lemierre, who will take part in a debate on the Bank’s
contribution to economic development in central and eastern Europe.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral, who currently chairs
the Committee of Ministers, will present the Committee’s communication to
the Assembly and reply to parliamentarians’ questions, RIA Novosti reported.