NO FRENCH COMPANY OPERATES IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES – AMBASSADOR
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005
Baku, September 21, AssA-Irada
French ambassador to Azerbaijan Roland Blatman has responded to the
letter sent by the hard-line Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO)
chairman Akif Naghi.
Naghi expressed strong objection in his letter, saying that French
companies are cooperating with the separatist regime in Upper Garabagh
in the area of communications.
The ambassador wrote in reply that French companies are not working in
Garabagh and that the French government issued an instruction banning
their operation, considering situation in the region. “GLO should put
en end to its threats against the embassy of France and I am ready
for all kinds of discussions concerning this”, the letter said.
GLO, in turn, called on the French government to adhere to a ‘more
objective position’ in the region.*

ARMENIAN NATIONAL DETAINED IN NORTHERN REGION
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005
Baku, September 21, AssA-Irada
An Armenian national, Abrik Abramian, has been detained in Chilagir
village of Gusar District, north Azerbaijan, local ANS TV reported.
The district police detained him following the local residents’
information.
Abramian, 65, born in Aghdara District of Azerbaijan, had been treated
in the Mashtagha mental hospital before being handed over to Armenia
through the Red Cross.
The law-enforcement are determining the circumstances and reasons of
Abramian’s arrival in Gusar. He is currently kept in the pre-trial
detention cell of the district police department.*

OTTOMAN TURKEY AND THE TROUBLED LEGACY OF KEMAL ATATURK
By Matein Khalid
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Sept 22 2005
HIS memory still haunts the Dolma Bache Palace in Istanbul where he
died, the magnificent mausoleum in Ankara where he is buried. His
portraits and busts are prominent in Turkish embassies worldwide. The
founder of the first secular state in Islamic history is a hero to
reformers and anathema to mullahs from the Maghreb to Pakistan.
Mustafa Kemal Pasha was unquestionably an iconic statesman and nation
builder, the Washington, de Gaulle, Cavour and Jinnah of the Turkish
Republic. Yet what is the relevance and legacy of the Ataturk legend
in out time? Is the ideology of Kemalism still the dominant theme in
Turkish history?
Kemalist ideology exalted Turkish nationalism as the core value
of the new Republic. Mustafa Kemal, after all, lived during the
pathological death rattle of the Ottoman Empire when Greek, Arab,
Armenian, Bulgarian and Serbian nationalists collided in their revolt
against the decrepit state of the sultans for the past two generations.
As the Ottoman regime imploded, Ataturk faced the Allied invasion of
Gallipolli, Tsarist Russia’s depredations in the Balkans, the British
and French occupation of Istanbul and secessionist revolts everywhere
from Bulgaria to Kurdistan to the Hijaz. As a heroic general hailed
as Gazi (victor) for his military exploits at Gallipolli and Smyrna,
Ataturk had to create an instant national consciousness in the
Anatolian rump of the sultan’s defunct empire.
In Ottoman times, “Turk” was a slightly derogatory term for Anatolian
peasants in the cosmopolitan salons and palaces of Istanbul. It was
the genius of Ataturk that he created a new national myth at a time
when the Treaty of Sevres threatened the very existence of Turkey on
the world’s political map.
Yet Turkish nationalism in its Kemalist incarnation was exclusivist and
unwilling to accommodate demographic realities of the new Republic. It
acquiesced in the mass migration of Greeks and Armenians. It isolated
Turkey from the Arab world the Ottoman sultans had ruled for four
centuries. Above all, it created the nightmare of Kurdish secessionism
since the genesis of the Republic in the 1920’s.
Kemalist ideology inflicted linguistic genocide on the Kurds – the
Kurdish language was banned, Kurds were declared “mountain Turks” and
resettled in the ghettos of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The Turkish
Army generals who acted as the guardians and enforcers of Kemalist
ideology, plunged eastern Anatolia into a generation of war after
General Evren’s military coup in September 1980.
The PKK under Abdullah Ocalan declared war on the Kemalist state in
the 1990’s and the subsequent civil war claimed 30,000 lives. The
uber-nationalism of Ataturk and the Turkish General Staff bought
only tragedy and war to the mountains of Kurdistan, as well as led
to successive Turkish invasions of northern Iraq and threat of war
with Syria.
Ataturk is hailed by the West and the Turkish secular elite for
his revolutionary transformation of an ancient, traditional Muslim
society with good reason. After all, he abolished the Caliphate,
replaced the Sharia with the Swiss Legal Code, banned the ancient
Turkic dervish brotherhoods and the Ottoman fez, emancipated women
and abolished the veil, replaced the Arabic script with Latin and
even replaced the Islamic with the Gregorian Calendar.
Yet the general who had used Islam in his war against the invading
Greeks and enjoyed the same title of Gazi as Mehmet Fatih, the Ottoman
sultan who conquered Constantinople for Islam from the Byzantines in
1453, jettisoned it as an instrument of national integration after
the establishment of the Republic.
This act of theological lobotomy created an existential confrontation
between successive military regimes and Islamist politicians for six
decades after his death. The aggressively secular ethos implicit in
the Kemalist message also made it impossible for Ankara to become
the natural leader in the Muslim world. Yet not even Presidential
edicts could change the ancient religious and spiritual heritage of
the Turkish people.
In 2005, a moderate Islamist party controls two thirds of the seat
in the Ankara Parliament founded by Ataturk. The Kemalist version of
state intervention, magnified by hyperinflation, currency collapse
and the ruinous costs of the Kurdistan wars, has also been discredited
by time, the IMF and Wall Street.
Time heals all wounds in the lives of human beings and history of great
empires. It is so ironic that the scenes of the Ottoman twilight are
once again theatres of the Great Game and East-West conflict – Bosnia,
Central Asia, Kurdistan the Levant, Palestine, Hijaz, the Balkans,
Armenia. The Turkish Republic Kemal Pasha founded still straddles
the global geopolitical axis, the vectors of war and peace in the
Middle East.
The pageant of Turkish history still resonates to the power and
passions of the ancient faith which even a legendary colossus like
Kemal Ataturk could not destroy.
Matein Khalid is a Dubai-based investment banker. He can be reached
at [email protected]
;section=opinion&col=

RICE: INTERVENTION AGAINST PKK IS A MATTER OF TIMING
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 22 2005
NEW YORK – “Intervention against PKK terrorist organization in Iraq is
a matter of timing, not principle,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice said at a meeting with Turkish FM & Deputy PM Abdullah Gul.
Iraq, PKK, and Cyprus were mainly discussed during Gul-Rice meeting
in NYC, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Gul expressed Turkey`s views on Iraq, Afghanistan, Middle East,
Caucasus, Armenian-Azeri conflict, terrorism, Cyprus question,
Central Asia, Balkans and European Union (EU).
-MORE PREPARED-
It was reported that Secretary Rice said her country shared the views
of Turkey as regards to the presence of terrorist PKK organization
in northern Iraq, and stated that U.S. was determined to take action
against PKK which was considered as a terrorist organization.
Diplomatic sources said Rice stressed that taking action against the
PKK was not “a matter of principle but a matter of timing”.
“U.S. is more prepared to take concrete steps against PKK,” diplomatic
sources reaffirmed.
“Improvement of bilateral relations were also reviewed at the meeting,”
the sources said, and noted that, “both parties have assessed that
they are in a comprehensive partnership.”
Sources said some critical issues like Kirkuk, PKK, and Tal Afar
were also discussed, stating that “it was observed that views on the
mentioned issues were parallel”.
-U.S. THINKS OF TAKING NEW STEPS ON CYPRUS-
According to diplomatic sources, Gul informed Rice about the ongoing
EU membership process and she said that the Bush Administration would
maintain its support to Turkey in this respect.
What could be done further was also discussed while reviewing the
steps which U.S. tries to take to remove the blockade against TRNC,
sources said.
Sources said Rice expressed her satisfaction over the information
given by the Turkish officials and the policies pursued. “It has
been assessed that U.S. could better understand Turkey on many issues
today,” they noted.
-REACTION OF GUL TO EU DECLARATION-
Meanwhile, Gul as a reaction to the EU`s Cyprus declaration, did not
attend the reception hosted by foreign ministers of NATO and the EU.

ECHR’S DECISION TO AFFECT 900 MINORITY FOUNDATION PROPERTIES
By Emre Demir
Zaman, Turkey
Sept 22 2005
Published: Wednesday, September 21, 2005
zaman.com
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled for the
return of real estate belonging to minority foundations.
In the first trial, Fener Greek Boy~Rs School Foundation and Yedikule
Surp Prigic Armenian Hospital Foundation demanded the return of
properties, which they owned between 1936 and 1974, but which were
handed over to their previous owners following a Court of Appeals~R
ruling in 1974. The decision will expectedly be announced in the
upcoming months.
During yesterday~Rs hearing at the ECHR, lawyers represent the
foundations claimed that Turkey had violated one of the articles
of European Convention on Human Rights concerning the protection
of properties.
In addition, they told i that the institutions defined as minority
foundations by the Lausanne Treaty have the right to own property
assets.
On the other side, Turkish legal representatives explained the
necessary legal amendments were realized during Turkey~Rs European
Union (EU) process, including the development of the Foundations Bill,
which is now pending in the Turkish Parliament.
According to an arrangement dated 2002, religious minority foundations
were entitled to own real estate.
The ECHR decision will determine the future of properties belonging
to nearly 900 foundations, which changed hands following the decision
by the Court of Appeals.
Since the General Directorate of Foundations does not disclose
the number of real estate handed over to third persons due to
confidentiality, it is not exactly known how many foundations~R
properties will be affected by the ECHR decision.

PERINCEK TAKES RETURN GAME FROM SWITZERLAND
Turkish Press
Sept 22 2005
Press Scan
SABAH
Labor Party leader Dogu Perincek took the return game from Swiss
officials by holding a conference on so-called Armenian genocide in
Switzerland. Although Swiss police tried to prevent the conference
which was held in Hessgut School, they could not achieve.
Turkish-Swiss relations became tense when Swiss officials detained
Perincek for a speech rejecting so-called Armenian genocide in
Switzerland.

BRITISH MPS’ VISIT SPARKS OUTCRY
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005
A 20-member British delegation led by vice-speaker of the British
House of Lords Baroness Caroline Cox visited the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan early last week. Cox, who is known for her close ties
to Armenia, paid her first visit to Upper Garabagh in 1989, during
the initial stage of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan.
Since then, the British MP has turned into a tool for the Armenian
propaganda machine. The hard-line Garabagh Liberation Organization
(GLO) has demanded that visits by Cox to Upper Garabagh be prevented.
The GLO said in a statement said that several members of the GLO youth
council has painted in black the monument to British soldiers at the
Cemetery of Martyrs in protest against the mentioned visit.
The GLO demanded to remove the monument and stop visits by Baroness
Cox to the occupied land. The organization warned that otherwise
it will launch continuous actions demanding closure of the British
embassy in the country. The British ambassador in Baku Laurie Bristow
said Baroness Cox’s stance does not in any way reflect the official
position of Great Britain. Commenting on GLO’s move, he said that
‘in his country, regardless of who the man fought for, his memory is
held in deep respect’.

INDICATION OF GARABAGH AS ARMENIAN TERRITORY ‘MERE MISTAKE’
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005
The indication of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan and Upper Garabagh regions
as Armenian territories on the website of the US embassy in Armenia
is simply a mistake, US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish has said.
“Speaking about Nakhchivan’s affiliation to Armenia is ridiculous.
This was a consequence of a mere mistake. The United States recognizes
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and is working
hard to support dialogue aimed at settling the Garabagh conflict.” The
ambassador underscored the efforts being taken by Washington within
the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the conflict resolution.
The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada regarded
the distortion of facts as unacceptable, calling for a thorough
scrutiny. Foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who is visiting the
United States, will be informed of the incident immediately upon his
return to the country, he said.

ALIYEV PRAISES MILITARY POTENTIAL
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2005
President Ilham Aliyev praised the plight of Azerbaijani military at a
meeting on the development of army-building at the Ministry of Defense
on Friday. Army building is successfully developing in the country,
its military potential is strengthening and the process will continue
to proceed rapidly in the future, Aliyev said.
“The preparedness and processes of expanding the logistics of our
military are commendable.” Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper Garabagh, he said that Azerbaijan should restore
its territorial integrity. “We are trying to solve it through peace and
negotiations. But as you know, the talks that proceeded for many years
have yielded no results. In general, a fair solution of the problem
is possible and I believe we will achieve this, as international
legal norms are on our side.
Upper Garabagh is an inseparable part of Azerbaijan and our
territorial integrity is recognized and supported by the entire
world community.” Aliyev also spoke of historic facts. “The historic
truth is on our side as well. It is common knowledge that Armenians
started coming to Upper Garabagh after 1828. I recall that in 1978, a
monument was built to mark the 150th anniversary of Garabagh Armenians’
arrival. Indeed, after Armenian separatists occupied those territories,
the monument was demolished. But this is history and everyone knows
this.” Aliyev continued that Azerbaijan has achieved significant
economic advantage over Armenia in recent years.
“Particularly, in 2004-2005, Azerbaijan’s budget considerably
increased. Considering that the country’s future economic prospects
are also very promising, this advantage will further increase.” The
President cited the ‘positive development of political processes’
around the world, in the region, as well as in international
organizations dealing with the Garabagh conflict. “Four resolutions
of the United Nations are in force. These resolutions demand Armenia
to unconditionally withdraw its armed forces from the occupied land.
Azerbaijan has lately brought the issue to the attention of UN again
and it was included in the General Assembly agenda. This is our great
diplomatic success.” Aliyev noted that the OSCE directly dealing with
the conflict delegated a fact-finding mission to the region. The report
it published indicated that thousands of Armenians are being illegally
settled in the occupied territories. “This shows how much Armenia is
ignoring the demands of the world community and international legal
norms.” Aliyev recalled that the Council of Europe passed a very
unequivocal and fair resolution on the Garabagh conflict in January. It
said that Armenia has committed aggression against Azerbaijan,
occupied Azeri land and pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing,
which turned over a million Azerbaijanis into refugees and displaced
persons. “But no matter how much we may talk of diplomatic, economic
and political success, the problem remains unresolved. What should
Azerbaijan do in this case? The country has pursued peaceful policy
for many years. But the issue has not been resolved yet. Strengthening
our military potential is therefore natural.” The President said that
first of all, Azerbaijan is a country living in a state of war. “Our
land is under occupation and this is our number one problem. Our
primary task should be strengthening our defense capabilities. On the
other hand, very efficient economic reforms underway in Azerbaijan
are strengthening our economic potential.” Aliyev emphasized that the
country’s budget is rapidly increasing. Next year’s budget will exceed
$3.5 billion and the figure is currently being specified. Military
spending is therefore growing as well. The figure was $175 million
in 2004 and will make up $300 million in 2005 and $600 million next
year, the President said. “As you know, I have set out a goal to
bring Azerbaijan’s military expenses to the level of Armenia’s total
state budget soon. It will even exceed the figure and we will achieve
this.” The President noted that Azerbaijan’s increasing military
power alarms Armenia and some international organizations. “We have
heard such statements. We are also concerned over a number of issues,
including the recent transfer of arms from Georgia to Armenia by
Russia, which is a co-chair of the [OSCE] Minsk Group. We are also
concerned over the military exercises underway in Armenia. The primary
reason for our increasing military budget is Russia’s illegal transfer
of weaponry worth $1 billion to Armenia in mid-1990s. We are therefore
taking and will continue to take adequate steps.” Aliyev said the fact
that Azerbaijani territories have remained under occupation for over 10
years should be a concern for the parties dealing with the problem,
as well as organizations and countries playing a leading role in
these entities. They should also be concerned over the fact that Azeri
citizens continue to live as refugees and IDPs and the international
community’s indifferent approach. “Our country’s increasing military
budget is our sovereign right and should not perturb anyone. This is
our business and we will pursue this as much as we deem possible in
the future”, the President concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY-THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN
Gwynne Dyer
Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago
Sept 22 2005
The near-tie in the German election, in which Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder came from 13 percentage points behind conservative challenger
Angela Merkel in late August to less than one point behind her by
the vote on 18 September, has thrown German politics into turmoil,
but one thing is clear. The door through which Turkey hopes to enter
the European Union, which Merkel had promised to slam shut, is still
open. The entry negotiations begin on October 3, and Turkey is still
a candidate for full membership.
Merkel launched a high-profile campaign last month to block Turkey’s
entry into the European Union, sending letters to EU leaders in other
countries asking them to offer Turkey not full membership but only
“privileged partnership”. “We are firmly convinced,” she wrote, “that
Turkey’s membership would overtax the EU economically and socially
and endanger the process of European integration.” In other words,
Turks are poor (though she did not object to other candidates like
Bulgaria and Romania that are not significantly richer), they’re
Muslim, and there are far too many of them.
It was a cynical appeal to the anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim prejudices
of German voters who are already uncomfortable with the growing
diversity of their county (about three per cent of Germany’s 80 million
people are of Turkish origin), and fear a further influx of immigrants
if Turkey joins the EU. It was also bit late in the day to raise such
objections, since Turkey has been a recognised candidate for full EU
membership for the past six years. But if Angela Merkel had become the
leader of a strong majority government in Germany, the biggest country
in the EU, the Turks would have been betrayed and rejected once again.
Turkey has tied itself into knots in order to meet the EU’s standards
for membership, and that has been a good thing for the Turks, who
now live in a far more just, equal and democratic country than they
did a decade ago. But they do feel that they have kept their side of
the bargain, and only six months ago all three of the most powerful
EU countries, Germany, France and Britain, firmly backed Turkey’s
membership.
But then came the French and Dutch votes last May and June that
rejected the proposed new EU constitution, and the whole scene
turned sour.
To make matters worse, Turkey announced that while it would sign a
customs deal opening up trade with all 25 EU members, it would still
not recognise the government of the Republic of Cyprus, one of the ten
countries that joined the EU in May, 2004. French President Jacques
Chirac promptly tried to turn that declaration into a proof of Turkish
bad faith, insisting that it “poses political and legal problems and
is not in the spirit expected of a candidate to the Union”.
Even the start of Turkey’s membership talks early next month was
looking in doubt.
Cheat the Turks on that and they would surely walk away, abandoning
the vision of a broader Europe that rises above the old mutual fear
and suspicion between Christians and Muslims, and also ending all hope
that countries east of Turkey like Georgia and Armenia might one day
qualify for EU membership. The situation looked pretty grim-and then
Angela Merkel stumbled.
She may yet end up as chancellor of Germany at the head of some
awkward three-party coalition-the outcome may not be known for a month
or more-but it would not be the kind of strong, cohesive government
that could impose a de facto German veto on Turkish membership of the
EU. And it could even be the Comeback Kid himself, Gerhard Schroeder,
a strong supporter of Turkey, who forms the next German government.
As for Cyprus, EU ambassadors agreed in Brussels last Monday that
while Ankara must eventually recognise the government of Cyprus, that
can happen at any point in the entry negotiations, which are expected
to last up to ten years. That leaves plenty of time for a settlement
that includes Turkish-Cypriots too, so Ankara will go along with it.
One more crisis has been surmounted, and the talks will begin on
October 3 as planned.
– Gwynne Dyer is a London-based
independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.