FM CONFIDENT OF FAIR ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 17 2005
Foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov visiting the United States has
expressed confidence that the parliamentary elections due in Azerbaijan
this November will be free.
Mammadyarov said remarkable work has been done to conduct free
elections in the country, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The minister ruled out the repetition of national movements that
swept Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan in Azerbaijan, saying that the
government and President are interested in holding a fair poll.
Mammadyarov said that the parliament vote will be much more free than
the previous elections, as considerable work has been carried out to
ensure it meets international standards.
With regard to unrest during the election process, the minister said
both the demonstrators and law enforcement should refrain from violent
actions. “Protesters and police should not beat each other” he said.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh,
Mammadyarov said it is unlikely to be settled in the near future. “I
wish I could say that we are close to resolving the conflict. But
there are many problems,” he added.

THE PROPOSALS OF ICG CONTAIN A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT ARE UNACCEPTABLE FOR THE NKR
DeFacto, Armenia
Sept 16 2005
The proposals of International Crisis Group (ICG) contain a number
of proposals that are unacceptable for the Karabakh party. Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan stated it while
answering the question of the NKR NA deputy Gegham Baghdasaryan
concerning official Stepanakert’s attitude towards the ICG proposals
on the Karabakh conflict settlement.
Among the negative elements the Minister mentioned the circumstance
that Karabakh conflict had been presented as contradiction between
Armenia and Azerbaijan in the report. The NKR Foreign Minister pointed
out some positive moments as well having noted the ICG respected
Nagorno Karabakh’s sovereignty. Arman Melikyan said the NKR MFA was
to express its attitude to the report in the near future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ERDOGAN: DECISIONS ABOUT SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TAKEN BY UNRELATED COUNTRIES ARE POLITICAL
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 16 2005
NEW YORK – “I do not understand on which basis unrelated countries
take decisions about so-called Armenian genocide. These decisions are
political and do not serve world peace,” said Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan held a news conference in New York, the United States on
Friday.
When asked about news claiming that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad proposed nuclear program exchange with Turkey and Muslim
countries during his meeting with him, Erdogan said that such an
exchange of information did not happen.
“Ahmadinejad told me that Iran continues to work with Atomic Energy
Agency (AEA) transparently and their activities are for humanitarian
aims. I told him that these activities should be conducted together
with AEA. Otherwise, it can cause difficulties both for Iran and
surrounding countries,” said Erdogan.
When journalists reminded that Committee on International Relations of
the U.S. House of Representatives adopted two resolutions acknowledging
so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said, “such a resolution can
be adopted by committee. We clearly say that Turkey’s archives are
open and Armenia shall open its archives, if it has. We shall speak
on basis of documents and information. I do not understand on which
basis unrelated countries take decisions about so-called Armenian
genocide. These decisions are all political and do not serve world
peace.”
Replying a question about recent developments regarding EU entry
talks, Erdogan said, “we do not have any difficulty about October
3rd. The difficulty is about the response declaration (about Cyprus
issue). We say that these issues were all solved on December 17th,
2004. Unfortunately, 2-3 countries exert efforts about this issue.
Nobody can take a commitment from us about it. We fulfilled
everything. We are now getting prepared for October 3rd.”

PRESIDENT CHAIRS MEETING ON ARMY-BUILDING
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 16 2005
A meeting on the development of Azerbaijan’s army-building chaired
by the President, Commander-in-chief Ilham Aliyev was held at the
Ministry of Defense on Friday.
During the discussions on future objectives, Aliyev said army building
is successfully developing in the country, its military potential
is strengthening and the process will continue to proceed rapidly in
the future.
The President said that Azerbaijan’s military spending will reach the
level of Armenia’s state budget soon, which alarms a number of forces.
“Armenians are concerned over our increasing military budget, which
is groundless. We are aware how much military aid Russia provided to
Armenia. But we do not interfere with this, as this is their internal
affair”, Aliyev said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE RESOLUTIONS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915 ADOPTED IN THE US
DeFacto, Armenia
Sept 16 2005
The US Congress House of Representatives International Committee
adopted two resolutions on Armenian Genocide of 1915.
According to the information De Facto received at the Armenian
Assembly of America the resolutions contain appeal to recognize
Armenian Genocide: the first one appeals to Turkey, while the second –
to the US administration and President.
35 members of the Committee voted for the first resolution, 11 were
against; 40 were for and 7 against the second one.
Turkish Prime Minister Rejep Tayip Erdogan who is in New York met
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and influential representatives
of the Jewish community.
According to Hurriet newspaper (Turkey) Turkish Primmer Minister’s
press secretary Akif Bekin informed the press of the fact that Erdogan
had asked representatives of the Jewish community to support him in
connection with the forthcoming discussions of the draft resolutions
on Armenian Genocide.

SERGENIAN’S COVERS BASICS IN BUSINESS
Marv Balousek
[email protected]
Wisconsin State Journal, WI
Sept 17 2005
Photo: Tom Sergenian, president of Sergenian’s Floor Coverings and
grandson of the company founder, stands in the store’s showroom.
(STEVE APPS – State Journal)
When it comes to carpets and flooring, the Sergenian family has
covered homes and businesses in Madison for 75 years.
Sergenian’s has covered the floors at the Overture Center, the Dane
County Regional Airport and University Hospital and installed the
replacement carpeting at Monona Terrace. Sergenian’s Floor Coverings
now is working on the flooring at Epic System’s new Verona offices.
Ara Sergenian, born in New York City to Armenian parents, opened
a rug store on Monroe Street in 1930. His son, Paul, and grandson,
Tom, remain involved in the business, which these days sells a lot
more than just rugs.
The business has survived two fires, several moves and changes in the
flooring business over the years that included the beginning of wall-
to-wall carpeting in the late 1940s as well as later advances in vinyl,
stone tile and hardwood flooring.
The carpeting and flooring business is very competitive in Madison,
said Roy Spencer, an account specialist who’s worked 15 years at
Coyle Carpet, 250 W. Beltline.
“They’re good competition,” Spencer said of Sergenian’s. “It’s a very
competitive business, but we have mutual respect for each other.”
James Garner, Sergenian’s chief executive, was the first non-family
employee hired in 1965. One of his first tasks, he said, was to buy
ice cream cones for members of the Sergenian family from a store
across the street.
;ntpid=1

BELGIAN FM: WE SHOULD STICK TO OUR COMMITMENTS OF DEC. 2004
By Selcuk Gultasli Zaman
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 17 2005
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht says European Union, or the
EU, should stick to its decisions and commitments that were taken in
the historic EU Summit of December 2004.
In an exclusive interview to ZAMAN during the heated debates on the EU
counter declaration on Cyprus and the negotiating framework document
among member countries, De Gucht said EU has not forgotten who said
“yes” and who said “no” to Annan Plan in Cyprus.
He called on the EU and the Commission in particular to end the
isolation of Turkish Cypriots. Here are the excerpts:
There are calls on Turkey to recognize Greek Cypriot government for
accession talks. Is EU changing the rules of the game?
My position has always been very clear. When we decided on December
17 about the conditions for opening talks with Turkey, recognition
by Turkey was not a condition. It is crystal clear that it is not a
condition. The condition was that Ankara protocol enlarging customs
union to new member countries will be signed and already at the time
of the December Council, Turkey made it clear that signature of
the Ankara protocol does not imply the recognition of Cyprus. The
position taken in the unilateral declaration a couple of weeks ago
saying that signature did not mean an implicit recognition of Cyprus
is not a new position, Turks have always taken that position. That
is very clear. On the other hand it is also obvious that Turkey will
never be able to enter EU without recognizing Cyprus, let’s say during
the negotiations. In a given moment there should be a recognition
of Cyprus by Turkey but I am of the opinion that this should be
ideally done in the larger equation of the status of Cyprus. We can
not forget that there has been a proposal by the UN Secretary General
about Cyprus that has been refuted by the Greek Cypriots and accepted
by the Turkish Cypriots.
Turks have the impression that all 25 members have forgetton what
happened in the referanda.
I was in Newport, Gymnich meeting and several member countries made the
link. It is simply not true. Politicians are not people who forget so
much, but politicians tend to use the argument to serve their purpose
of the given time. Several member countries made references to Annan
Plan and underlined that it was refuted by the Greek Cypriots and
accepted by the Turks on the island.
Was it a mistake to admit Greek Cypriots to the Club without a
solution?
No, I was not a member of the Council when it was admitted. This
is an agreement and EU should live up to its commitments. I am not
questioning that but it is also very important that we come to a
solution, a lasting one making it possible, two communities living
peacefully on the same island and that same island being a member
of the EU. I can hardly imagine that Turkey and Cyprus are in EU
and yet we do not have a solution, that will create a very unstable
situation. It is important that we keep this link. On the one hand
Turkey should realize she shall come to grips with the Cypriot problem
but also Greek Cypriots shall come to grips with the Turkish part of
the island. Annan Plan or with some adjustments to it should be the
basis for the solution.
You said EU has not forgotten the “yes” and “no” sayers; however,
EU has forgotten packages to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
I would not say nothing has come out of the packages. Green line
regulation has come out. The EU commission should be vigilant on the
faithful execution of the packages. It is a decision taken in April
2004 by the EU Council to end the isolation and it is now a part
of the acquis. The EU should execute this and the Commission should
closely monitor this.
Can you agree with the latest draft declaration that was struck
between Britain and France?
I can agree to this. That is exactly our position, recognition is not
a condition to start talks. But it is stated Turkey should realize
she should recognize Cyprus before entering EU and use the interval
for a possible solution. This is reflected in this compromise.
Greek Cypriots could prevent opening and closing of chapters anyway.
Everybody can. Chapters can only be opened and closed with the
consent of all member states. I am not so much afraid about this. The
only possible solution for the Cyprus problem is within the EU, we
must effectively use the accession process of Turkey to make this
happen. It won’t be easy but it is the only option. It is true that
you need unanimous decision for opening chapters too. You can also
have suspension of talks with the proposal of commission or a number
of member states. You can say it is very difficult to have a unanimious
decision when you are 25 instead of six. That is true. It is also true
it is much easier to have a veto when you are six rather than 25. When
you are the only one in 25 to use veto then you get marginalized. To
be the only country to use veto in 25 is not that easy. You can see
it from both angles. You can say that it is difficult to reach a
unanimity in a club of 25 but it is also difficult to be the only
member to use veto in 25.
You reportedly said in your meeting with Belgian ambassadors in the
beginning of September that “we were quick on Turkey?
I never said that. What I said was we went very quickly in the
enlargement process that has already happened. 10 joined, two will
join in 2007. I said after the fall of Berlin Wall, we went very
quickly for political reasons sometimes not quite understanding its
effects on economy and society. What I said with respect to Turkey
is we should open talks with Turkey and it will take a long time and
we can only have decision when we agree on financial perspectives
for the period 2014-2020. This is different from what we did with
the others because now we do not have financial perspectives. We did
not adapt our institutions for another enlargement. We are much more
cautious with our negotiations with Turkey than it was the case with
the others. We are actually blamed that we are fast with Turkey. If
you look at the process, the process is open-ended, talks can be
suspended, chapters will be opened with unanimity, there are a lot of
conditions that we never envisaged for the 12 countries, whose 10 are
now members and the other two will be in 2007. It is strange that we
are blamed that we went too fast on Turkey. But it is a fact of life,
if you make a referendum today on Turkey’s membership, the result in
Belgium will not be certain in advance. Nevertheless I have always
been a supporter of Turkish accession and let me remind that I was one
of the foreign ministers who worked for a compromise at the December
Summit. We have given this perspective to Turkey since the 1960s and
we should give a chance to Turkey to demonstrate that she can be a
member of the EU. So I never had doubts about this but it is a fact
of life at this particular time the idea of Turkey’s membership is
not very popular. But as a politician you sometimes do things which
are not immediately supported by the public.
Some members are pushing for privileged partnership
We should stick to our decision of December 2004. It was decision
between EU Council and Turkey. It is very important in politics and
as well as in life you keep your commitments and promises.
Senate is now bringing up again Armenian genocide allegations that
could poision bilateral relations.
It shall not poison relations between Turkey and Belgium. Any senator
has the right to make a proposal and submit it to the Senate. That is
part of our democratic system. You know there was a proposal in the
Senate and it disappeared. We can not prohibit that senators submit
proposals and that proposals are discussed. Not specifically with
respect to “Armenian genocide” but in general as a lawyer and as a
liberal I have my doubts about this kind of “crimes”. I think that in
Belgian law you have to limit it to very specific cases. I think you
should really limit it to very specific cases i.e. negationism with
respect to Holocaust. Holocaust is very clear. This is also part of
our society. We lived the WWII and we were involved in it. We still
have a limited number of people who negate the Holocaust but this is
completely different.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PREMIER PRAISES UN EFFORTS AGAINST TERROR
By Andrew Tully
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Sept 17 2005
(RFE/RL)
United Nations, 17 September 2005 (RFE/RL) — Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan told the United Nations yesterday that he applauds
its proposed treaty to fight terrorism, saying it is the greatest
evil in the world today.
In a speech before the UN General Assembly, Margaryan also said the
international community should work harder to help prevent regional
conflicts. He said those directly involved in these disputes should
approach one another with respect.
Margaryan said his government has been trying to do just that in the
dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. But he
said those efforts are being hampered by Azerbaijan’s blockade of
part of Armenia.

200 YEARS LATER
Sashi Sivramkrishna, Heisnam Bison Singh
Deccan Herald, India
Sept 17 2005
A Ganesha idol that hid a bounty,oranges grown by Armenians, temples
as old as thousand years and a Rajput settlement, all right here in
the outskirts of Bangalore. These are some teresting facts uncovered
in tracing Francis Buchanan’s trail.
More than 200 years later we are now working on a project retracing
Buchanan’s journey. It took Buchanan a year and few months to complete
this task; we realized that ours would take even longer. On his journey
from Madras to Seringapatnam (now Chennai to Srirangapatnam) via
Bangalore, Buchanan had passed through a place called Satghadam. This
article revisits Buchanan’s journey from Satghadam to Bangalore;
it is an excerpt from our work thus far and barely 20 pages out of
Buchanan’s tour de force of 1500 pages.
Satgudi is a small village. A narrow street which passes through it was
lined with houses on both sides, people sitting in their verandahs,
busy rolling beedis. To our right was a steep hill rising up to a
height of about 1000 feet. Perched along the ridge of the hill was a
fort wall. This was no doubt Satghadam or Elamulla Durga that Buchanan
speaks off … the seven hill forts.
“The hills approaching here, a stone wall, with a gateway, marks
the boundary of Satghadam. On the north this gate is commanded by a
naked rocky hill, irregularly fortified by various walls and castles,
after the country fashion. These are called Satghadam, the Decany
pronunciation of Satghur, or the seven castles …”
We began our climb to the fort ruins at half past noon. As we reached
the top of the hills, we saw a fort wall running across the granite
rocks. Several more structures began to appear, including doorways,
a few brick rooms, a horse stable, a stone room with an inscription
on the roof mentioning 1905 June, and another with a half moon and
circle. We noticed something else interesting in one of the doorways.
A Ganesha carved on a stone pillar.
Human sacrifice
Buchanan says nothing about Satghadam’s history. Searching through
the 1895 Manual of North Arcot District, we found some interesting
information. The fort was possibly constructed by the Marathas, and
later came to be occupied and modified by later Mohamedan rulers. The
natural hollows in the rocks were ingeniously utilized as powder
magazines. The District Manual narrates an interesting story about a
Ganesha idol in the fort which bore an inscription, “Twist the neck
and take the money”. This was supposed to refer to the sacrifice of
a human victim, and no one was willing to earn wealth at such a price.
Then one day, a bairagi, twisted the neck of the idol itself and
found a bounty of gold coins, which he appropriated.
“The principal cultivation in it is that of dry grains, with some
fruit gardens, for which it is celebrated.”
On our way down, we stopped at what seemed like a watch tower. From
here we could see the fertile plain below that Buchanan speaks off.
Buchanan had also noted the cultivation of a large variety of fruits
below Satghadam. Today, some of the best custard apple in South
India comes from this area. Pomegranate, banana and mango are also
grown here.
“The Nabob (of Arcot) has here an extensive garden, which he lets
to some Armenians at Madras. The fruit, especially the oranges, are
reckoned the best in the Carnatic, and the choicest are sent to the
Nabob, and other persons of distinction.”
Armenians here?
Buchanan had noted that some of the best oranges in the Carnatic were
grown here by some Armenians. These fruit gardens belonged almost
entirely to one family. But we found no cultivation of oranges.
Buchanan made no mistake about the oranges at Satgudi. The District
Manual confirmed this. Till 1895, oranges were still to be found here,
though the trees were dying out. It adds that the grafts taken from
Satgudi survive at Vellore, Ambur and some other places.
“I am gravely informed by my interpreter, a Brahman, that he has
relations, who live by performing a variety of wonderful feats. Among
others, they can make a mango stone, in the course of four hours,
shoot out a small tree a foot high…”
No one was aware of this old mango trick! Buchanan explains in detail
the way it was done; definitely worth a try.
“I went to Naiekan Eray, by the Pedda Naikana Durga Pass …the
mountains of the Ghats have not quite so barren an aspect as those to
the east; and contains many trees, some of which are fit for timber…”
“The country about Naiekan Eray rises into swells, like the land in
many parts of England, and is overlooked by the high barren peaks of
the Ghats, which close the view to the eastward. Among these peaks,
the most remarkable is that occupied by Pedda Naiekana Durga, or the
Great Chief’s castle…”
“Specimens of the following trees were brought to me, as being
the most useful trees on the Ghats of this place. The names are in
Telinga… Nara Vaypa, Yegu, Naro, Neruddy, Muddi, Topissi…”
The Pedda Nayakan Durga Pass cuts through the Eastern Ghats and is
an important elephant corridor. That morning five elephants were
spotted by the local people in the neighbourhood. Electric fences
have been installed to direct the elephants through the forests
and prevent them from straying into cultivated fields. Naiekaneri
is now a Reserve Forest. The local people and forest officials were
most helpful and confirmed that all the twenty species mentioned by
Buchanan are still found here.
Great chief’s castle
Remnants of the fort still stand on a hill about half a kilometer
away from the road. The fort was a stronghold of the Palegar of
Charagal. Colonel Oldham had camped at Pedda Nayakana Durga in 1791,
from where he joined Lord Cornwallis at Venkatagiri. This was perhaps
the last important event witnessed by this fort.
“Vencataghery was formerly the usual residence of the Pedda Naieka
Polygar, and the ruins of his fort are still conspicuous. It is built
on a rising ground…”
Buchanan’s next stop was Venkatagiri, where he saw the remains of a
fort and palace. Today this town is called V Kote, Kote meaning fort.
Surprisingly people here were completely unaware of any fort in the
vicinity. After repeated enquiries, we were told that we could find
a stupa nearby an old temple. This was definitely the old fort. It
was on rising ground just as Buchanan says, with an old temple and
a granite pillar. All but gone, even in people’s memory.
“In the morning I went to Baydamungulum; leaving on my right a hill
crowned with a fortress, and a temple dedicated to Seitadevi…”
On our way out of V. Kote, we could find no Sitadevi temple or a
fortress that Buchanan had seen. But we found a mantapa on a small
hill to the north of the town. This hillock comes to the right when
exiting V. Kote towards Betmangala. We were sure that this was the
fortress that Buchanan mentions. The temple is not here anymore;
perhaps the idol may have actually been shifted to another temple.
People mentioned to us that there was a Sita temple some ten kilometers
away.
“I went sixteen miles to Tayculum … the last two miles of our road
lay between two immense piles of granite, gradually crumbling into
fragments that roll down into the plain’.
“The soils here are impregnated with salt … The natives allege that
if they walk on this saline earth, their bare feet become blistered.”
“Tayculum is strongly situated at the end of a small hill of granite,
and has a triple wall, each line strengthened with various defences …
On the outside of the hill is a temple of Siva, and within it one of
Vishnu; both of which are ruinuous.”
Though the landscape seemed dry and arid at many places, there was
no knowledge of saline soil in the area. The biggest problem faced
now is the scarcity of water, forcing people to migrate to Bangalore.
National Highway 4 or “Old Madras Road” from Chennai to Bangalore
via Kolar is sometimes called “Tekal Bypass”. With it, development
too seems to have bypassed this small village.
Tekal may not have changed much from what Buchanan may have seen.
Imprisoned by barren rocky hills on both sides, Tekal’s surroundings
is a picture of stark beauty. We located both, the Shiva and Vishnu
temples, each situated on either side of the road. The Shiva temple was
in ruins, but the Vishnu temple is in better condition and undergoing
repair. The archaka family has been in charge of the temple for
generations. They say it the temple was built by the Cholas, making
it about a thousand years old. At one point of time, they say Tekal
had 101 temples, 101 tanks and 101 orchards. Today only a few houses
and two temples survive, barely.
“The mud here is excellent for making walls. It is a reddish
ferruginuous clay intermixed with small fragments of quartz, and
other materials of decayed granite; and a wall constructed of it will,
with tolerable care, resist the rains for many years.”
As we drove towards Malur, Buchanan’s Waluru, we noticed several brick
factories; SVB, MSB, VBS, CBI, LBW… Buchanan had pointed out that
the mud in this region was extremely well suited for making walls,
and could resist the rains for several years. We spoke to a worker
at one of the factories and his comment was just the same.
“Put the brick in water for a day and it won’t even crack”.
“Waluru is a town containing about five hundred houses, and by far
the richest, and best built, that I have yet seen above the Ghats.
Most of the houses… are in general clean, and, had they any windows,
would be comfortable.”
“The town consists of a castle, of a fort or city, and of a Petta
or a suburb. The castle is occupied by a Rajput and fifteen of his
family… formerly Jaghirdars of this place…”
“At this place there is a weekly fair; and today one was kept, to which
people flocked in great numbers from all the neighbouring country.”
Waluru to Malur
Malur seems to have lost its looks, at least that which Buchanan
had seen. Today it is but another typical small town with iron rods
jutting out from unfinished concrete structures. We passed through
Malur on a Thursday. It was the also the day of the week that Buchanan
had seen the weekly fair at Malur. This tradition continues even now
but the market was a rather sad sight with just a few vendors selling
vegetables. The facade of the marketplace, now in ruins, seemed to
indicate that it could have been an important place many years ago.
We had one more thing to check at Malur; the Rajput families that
Buchanan spoke of. There are quite a few Rajput families still living
here, perhaps 25. We were directed to one Rajaram Singh who knew that
his roots were from Rajasthan but nothing more.
“In this neighbourhood are many kitchen gardens, which are very well
cultivated … the gardens are on sloping ground, watered from wells
by the Yatam, or, as the English say, by the Pacota…”
“In the morning I traveled from Catcolli to Bangalore, through a very
naked country, of which about six tenths appear to be arable. The
remainder is covered with low bushes, and much of it seems capable
of being brought into cultivation.”
.. Catcolli to Kadgodi .
Our next stop was Kadgodi. There was nothing to write home about from
this small town which seems to await Bangalore’s arrival. En route
to Kadgodi we noticed an old well, dry and abandoned. We were told
it was attached to a local temple long ago. Buchanan had seen several
wells in this area that watered kitchen gardens. Today we still find
many vegetables being cultivated here to serve the Bangalore market.
We met a farmer who has built a nylon netted sheltered nursery for
cabbage, tomato and cauliflowers.
Rural India is changing … its landscapes may soon be covered with
sheets of plastic.
The road from Kadgodi to Bangalore is no longer “naked”. Almost
immediately after Kadgodi is Whitefield, now a suburb of Bangalore.
It is now one of the most sought after residential areas, apart from
being a major industrial and software hub.
It is more than 200 years since Buchanan made his journey, a period
which covers our entire colonial and post-colonial history. Even as
the sun sets on our past, the shadows linger on. The question is,
for how much longer?
For details log onto
1799. The Fourth War of Mysore brought with it an end to Tipu Sultan’s
life and his rule over Mysore. With this began the British East India
Company’s influence over the region.
1800. Dr. Francis Buchanan was appointed by the Company to carry out
a comprehensive survey of the region. Buchanan made the objective of
his mission clear in the rather long title of his book, “A Journey
from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar
for the Express Purpose of Investigating the State of Agriculture,
Arts and Commerce; the Religion, Manners, and Customs; the History
Natural and Civil, and Antiquities in the Dominions of the Rajah of
Mysore and the Countries Acquired by the Honourable East India Company,
in the Late and Former Wars, from Tippoo Sultan”.

‘SOME EU COUNTRIES’ ATTITUDE OVERSHADOWS ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS’
By Foreign News Desk
Zaman, Turkey
Sept 17 2005
zaman.com
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said some European Union
(EU) governments, with motives pertaining to their domestic politics
created a “virtual mood.”
Erdogan in New York to attend the United Nations (UN) summit attended
a session of the “Clinton Global Initiative” titled “How should
civilizations speak with each other?”
There, he said there were still some governments in the Union which
had negative attitudes towards Turkey, despite Turkey’s completion
of all requirements.
If this attitude remains, EU will be nothing more than a Christian
club, Erdogan said. “We should not overshadow the alliance of
civilizations. If EU says, ‘we are not a Christian club,’ then Turkey
should take its part there. If you don’t think to accept Turkey,
we then have the right to ask, ‘why did you detain us so long then?'”
Upon the mediator’s remark that Justice and Development Party (AKP)
reconciled Islam and Modernity, Erdogan retorted: “I want to make a
correction. We are not a party that reconciles modernity and Islam.
We are not a party with religion as the main axis. We are a party
that completely assumes the principles of the democratic, secular
law state. We are conservative democrats.”
“If you place Islam ahead of democracy this would be using religion as
a political means. We did not accept this, and we cannot accept this.”
Saudi Arabian Ambassador to US Prince Turki Al-Faisal, principal deputy
assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and daughter of
Vice President Dick Cheney Elizabeth Cheney, and the Conflict Forum
chair Alistair Crook attended the session.
In the mean time, Former US President Bill Clinton, British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, King of Jordan Abdullah and US Secretary of State
Condelezza Rice, who attended the opening session the day before,
drawing a bold line between Islam and terror, stressed, it was not
possible for terrorists to represent a religious belief.
Islam and the Muslims who live in Britain make Britain richer, said
Blair in his address.
“Armenian genocide resolution will not serve peace”
“The acceptance of such resolutions will not serve world peace,”
Turkish Prime Minister assessed for two separate resolutions on
the so-called Armenian Genocide allegations at the US House of
Representatives International Relations Committee. Politicians who
sought peace, he indicated, were on a wrong path at this point.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry as well expressed its sadness with
a statement.
In the news conference Erdogan organized, the US State Department
Spokesperson, Adam Ereli said US’s position was different and the
subject should not be politicized but seriously and fairly discussed
by the concerned parties.