ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S RESOLUTION ON TURKEY POSITIVE, NATURAL: VARTAN
OSKANYAN
YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan
considers the resolution on Turkey concerning the admission of the
Armenian Genocide adopted by the European Parliament to be positive
and natural. At his press conference on the upcoming visit of the
Special Representative of the European Parliament to the South
Caucasus, Minister Oskanyan said that if Turkey wants to be admitted
to the EU, it must meet the standards of European countries.
Therefore, it has to re-open the border with Armenia, take a sober
view of its past and make an appropriate assessment of the 1915
events.
EU Special Representative to the South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie
shared Minister Oskanyan’s opinion, pointing out that the European
Parliament’s resolution means that the issues of Armenian-Turkish
relations will be settled during negotiations for Turkey’s admission
to the EU. On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted for
negotiations with Turkey. On the other hand, it adopted a resolution
recommending Turkey to admit mass murders of Armenians. In his turn,
Turkish Premier Recep Tayip stated that Turkey will not admit the
Armenian Genocide during WWI. P.T. -0–

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
THE RA PRESIDENT AND A SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EU TO THE SOUTH
CAUCASUS DISCUSS THE PROCESS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. The RA President Robert Kocharyan and
a special representative, Ambassador of the EU to the South Caucasus
Heikki Talvitie discussed the process of the constitutional reforms
in Armenia. According to the President’s Press Service, the sides
evaluated the reforms as a new possibility for the development of
democracy in the country. According to the press release, in the
course of the meeting the issues of the Armenia -EU cooperation in
the framework of the New Neighborhood Program were discussed. The
sides touched upon the Karabakh conflict settlement issues and those
of regional development. A.H. -0–

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 30 2005
ARMENIAN POLITICIANS ARE OF SAME OPINION ON TURKEY’S NOT BEING
DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The September
30 discussion with the participation of representative of different
political forces and organized by the National Press-Club was
dedicated to discussion of issues on Turkey’s membership to the
European Union, the current stage of mutual relations between Turkey
and Europe as well as possible perspectives of the Armenian-Turkish
relations. Representatives of the Republican, Democratic,
Christian-Democratic Parties of Armenia as well as of the ARF and
“Orinats Yerkir” (Country of Law) participated in the discussion.
The politicians were of the same opinion that Turkey isn’t a
democratic country yet.
According to Kiro Manoyan, the head of the Hai Dat (Armenian Cause)
ARF Bureau, the issue of Turkey’s membership to the EU should reach a
positive solution only after its recognition of the Armenian
Genocide: “Turkey should change itself, and here we see both its
recognition of its past and establishment of normal relations with
Armenia.” Manoyan pointed out the necessity of using all possible
levers of influence on Turkey with the goal of reaching those aims.
According to Aram Sargsian, the representative of the Democratic
Party of Armenia, surely, the issue of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide is the most important one and should always be on agenda, at
the same time, the Armenian-Turkish relations should be studied in a
wider context. So, it’s necessary to take into account that the
Armenian-Turkish relations are a component part of the national
security of Armenia: “Doesn’t the fact that Turkey doesn’t recognize
the Genocide and keep the border close prove that it is dangerous for
us just as it was before?” According to A.Sargsian, unsuccessfully,
the RA hasn’t worked out a conception of relations with Turkey by
now.”
“Germany’s recognition of the Holocaust was first necessary for the
German society but the Turkish public opinion isn’t ready for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide yet,” Khosrov Haroutiunian, the
Chairman of the Christian-Democratic party of Armenia stated.
According to him, in the case of relations established between the EU
and Turkey today, Armenia should attempt to use the European
political idea for its interests.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Flint Journal, MI
Sept 30 2005
Raw energy permeates SOAD’s concert
Review
By Nikki Poisson
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DETROIT – There were no frills Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.
There was no “I’m glad to be back in Detroit.” There were no
self-serving guitar solos.
There were only 105 minutes of raw energy served up by one of today’s
most thought-provoking bands, System of a Down.
A quartet of Armenian-Americans from Los Angeles, System of a Down is
today’s answer to protest rock. And while lambasting topics such as
war, mass media brainwashing and overconfident white Americans isn’t
anything new, no one has done it in the punk rock heavy-hitting
intensity that SOAD has.
The show opened with the band behind a large black veil of cloth
donning the cover of their new album “Mezmerize” with a spotlight
casting a shadow on guitarist Daron Malakian.
As the cloth dropped and a haze fell over the audience, SOAD broke
into “Soldier Side” and then onto their recent radio hit “B.Y.O.B.”
featuring the infamous line “Why don’t presidents fight the war?/ Why
do they always send the poor?”
>From there the band went into a pulverizing rendition of “Revenga,”
while bassist Shavo Odadjian stalked the stage.
“Hypnotize,” the title track from the other half of their double
album due out Nov. 22, gave the audience a sneak peek into what
sounds to be another huge success.
>From there the night transcended from one song to another with such
precision it was as if System of a Down were a well-oiled machine.
>From “Know” to “Needles” to “Deer Dance” the floor erupted each time
frontman Serj Tankian led out one of his signature verses.
Tankian fervently belted out lyrics about war, mass media
brainwashing and man’s inhumanity toward his fellow man. While
Malakian danced in circles, Odadjian continued to stalk both sides of
the stage and drummer John Dolmayan pounded the skins with such
intensity it’s no wonder the crowd was on its feet from beginning to
end.

Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus
Sept 30 2005
1,928 registered to vote for Armenian House Representative
CNA – NICOSIA-Cyprus – 30/9/2005 17:27
Nicosia, Sep 30 (CNA) — Individuals registered in the special voting
list of the Armenians Religious Group, with the right to vote in the
by-election of the Armenian Representative at the Cyprus House of
Representatives, to take place on October 9, are up to 1,928, a press
release issued by the competent authority said.
The release said that Armenians voters are 1,218 in Nicosia, 305 in
Limassol, 404 in Larnaca and one in Paphos.

Voice of America
Sept 30 2005
Standoff Threatens Start of Turkey’s Membership Negotiations with EU
By Roger Wilkison
Brussels

European Union foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in
Luxembourg Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to break a deadlock over
the scheduled beginning of the bloc’s membership negotiations with
Turkey a day later. The standoff has been caused by Austria’s
insistence that the EU should only open talks if a clear alternative
to full membership for Turkey is inserted in the negotiating
framework.
Last December, all 25 EU members, including Austria, agreed that
Turkey’s long-sought membership talks should begin on October 3.
They promised Turkey that the goal of the negotiations, which are
expected to take at least a decade, would be full membership in the
bloc and nothing else.
But that was before voters in France and the Netherlands turned down
the EU’s draft constitution. Among the reasons they gave for doing
so was a concern about the EU’s ability to absorb such a huge, mostly
poor and overwhelmingly Muslim country like Turkey.
Whereas most EU states think they should stick to their commitment to
begin talks with Turkey, given Ankara’s fulfillment of EU demands
that it improve human rights, reform its judicial system and move
towards a market economy, most European citizens are either opposed
or indifferent to Turkish membership.
Austria is the only EU country to publicly oppose the start of talks
with Turkey. Vienna says the negotiations should only begin if
Turkey is offered an option to full membership that Austrian
diplomats describe as a “privileged partnership” with the bloc.
Turkey says it will not accept any goal for the negotiations other
than full membership and has warned the EU it will not show up for
Monday’s talks unless that is made clear.
Fadi Hakura, a specialist on Turkey at London’s Chatham House
research institute, says the Austrian government is trying to score
points with its Turco-skeptic voters and may also be trying to force
the EU to start negotiations with Croatia, whose membership it has
long supported.
“Austrian public opinion at the present time is hostile to Turkey’s
EU accession hopes,” said Fadi Hakura. “Also, Austria is trying to
use, it seems to me that it is trying to use [Turkish] accession as a
leverage to open accession talks with Croatia. And also, for
domestic political consumption, it has adopted somewhat of a tough
position.”
British diplomats, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency,
are scrambling to work out a deal with the Austrians to soften their
opposition to Turkey. One possibility is a commitment for the EU to
begin membership talks with Croatia in the near future, under certain
conditions. The EU has suspended such talks with Croatia because of
what it says is Croatia’s failure to cooperate with the war crimes
tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Diplomats in Brussels say there are two other options to resolve the
impasse and arrive at the consensus the EU needs to proceed with
opening the talks with Turkey. One is to craft a declaration that
could mollify Austria’s demands without alienating the Turks, a
difficult challenge at this point. And the second is for the other
24 EU members to stare Austria down and remind it that it is going
back on the commitment it made last December to begin negotiations
with Turkey.
Even if membership talks do begin on schedule, Turkey will have a
rough time in the years ahead. The European Parliament demanded this
week that Turkey recognize the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire during World War I as genocide. Cyprus threatens to block the
negotiations if Turkey does not soon recognize the island’s
government. And France says it will hold a referendum on Turkish
entry into the EU once negotiations are concluded.
In Turkey, meanwhile, there is anger and frustration at what Turks
see as the EU’s backpedaling on its pledge to admit their country.
Deniz Baykal, the head of the Republican Peoples’ Party, the only
major opposition group in parliament, reflects Turkish public opinion
when he says the EU keeps moving the goal posts.
“We have taken important reforms during the last several years,” Mr.
Baykal said. “We changed our constitution. We changed our
legislation. We changed our practices…Now, the European Union is
saying that Turkey’s being a member of Europe does not depend on
Turkey’s performance, but [on] our capability of having Turkey as a
big country in Europe. They were asking Turkey to meet certain
criteria. Now they begin to say that they themselves are not ready
to accept Turkey.”
Turkish diplomats in Brussels say the combination of opposition among
Europeans to Turkey’s membership and EU demands on such issues as
Kurdish rights, Cyprus and the killing of Armenians have inflamed
deep-seated Turkish nationalism. They say that most Turks still
support EU membership, but that the percentage is steadily
decreasing. And they say that, as Turkey and the EU get down to the
nitty-gritty of negotiations, that support could fall even further.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
INTERPOL SECRETARY GENERAL RATES HIGHLY PROFESSIONALISM OF ARMENIAN
POLICE
YEREVAN, September 28. /ARKA/. Interpol Secretary General Ronald
Kenneth Noble has rated highly the professional level of Armenian
police. At his meeting with RA President Robert Kocharyan he stated
that the Armenian police take an active part in Interpol’s
activities. He also said that Interpol has introduced a new passport
control system in Armenia, which will be a serious help to Armenia’s
police.
In his turn, the RA President pointed out Interpol’s important role
in battling international crime, expressing a hope that the Interpol
Secretary General’s visit will contribute to further development of
our country’s cooperation with this organization. Kocharyan pointed
out the importance of crime control, especially in conditions of
globalization and growing challenges. The RA President singled out
technical equipment and personnel training as the main problems of
Armenia’s police. P.T. -0–

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
EXHIBITION OF FRENCH LITERATURE OPENS IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, September 27. /ARKA/. The exhibition of the French
literature opened in Yerevan at the National Library of Armenia,
Vice-Director of National Library of Armenia Nerses Hayrapetyan told
journalists. He reported that 33 exhibits of French literature of
1580-1800s are presented at the exhibition. He also said that the
library has 2,450 French antique books. He said that presented books
relate to various spheres of French art, particularly painting and
music.
French Ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny, who was present at the
exhibition, gave special importance to original publishing of
Encyclopaedia of dramatic critic Didro of 1715. He said this book is
the “pearl” of the exhibition. “The fact it is kept at the National
Library of Armenia speaks about spirituals relations between France
and Armenia”, Cuny said. He also reported that currently the
exhibition “France as seen by Armenian painters” is held at the
French Embassy.
The exhibition of French Literature has been organized within Days of
France in Armenia ands it will be open till October 7, 2005. It is
organized by the French Embassy in Armenia and the National Library
of Armenia. A.A. -0–

ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 29 2005
AZERBAIJAN’S DEFENCE EXPENSES WILL BE EQUAL TO ARMENIA’S WHOLE
BUDGET: AZERI PRESIDENT
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29. ARMINFO. In the future Azerbaijan’s defence
expenses will be equal to Armenia’s whole budget, Azeri President
Ilham Aliev says in an interview to YLE (Finland).
Speaking about the Karabakh peace process Aliev says that Baku wants
to settle the conflict peacefully but sees that this is impossible
and has no other choice. That’s why Azerbaijan’s military spendings
are growing – next year the country will redouble them and in the
future they will equal the whole budget of Armenia. “We still want
peace in the Caucasus but can put up with occupation,” says Aliev.
He says that OSCE MG is the key player in the Karabakh peace process.
Aliev says that there are many ways to settle the conflict provided
that the international law is applied and territorial integrity is
part of this law. “On our side are the international law, political
processes and economic potential so we will get what we want,” says
Aliev.
The solution is simple – the Armenian leadership should pluck up
courage to leave the occupied territories and to create normal living
conditions including for its own people. This will lead to the
opening of communications and borders and the normal process will
resume. “I hope that we will see this day soon,” says Aliev.

ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 29 2005
ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED DURING NEGOTIATIONS
BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EU
ARMINFO, SEPTEMBER 29. ARMINFO. “According to the text of European
Parliament resolution, the Armenian-Turkish relations will be
considered in the framework of negotiations between the EU and
Turkey,” reported Mr. Heikki Talvitie, the Special EU Representative
at South Caucasus.
In his turn the Minister for Foreign Affairs of RA, Vardan Oskanian,
appreciated the European Parliament initiative of including the
“Armenian questions” in the agenda of EU-Turkey talks. “If Turkey
wants to join the EU, it has to open the borders and to reconsider
the historical events of 1915,” he said.-A-