Secret Turkish-Armenian Talks Focused On 3 Key Areas
Reopening border depends on Armenia’s ‘partial’ withdrawal from
Nagorno-Karabakh
Ayhan Simsek
The New Anatolian / Ankara
Turkey is considering reopening its border with Armenia if Yerevan will
commit to a partial pullout from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan, diplomatic sources told The New Anatolian yesterday, speaking on
condition of anonymity. Ankara expects a pullback from four regions in
Nagorno-Karabakh, and believes that such a move can facilitate a
comprehensive agreement between Yerevan and the Azeri capital Baku.
Secret talks between Turkish and Armenian senior diplomats seeking ways to
normalize relations were focused on three key areas, according to diplomatic
sources.
One of the key points in the talks was the recognition of the existing
common borders. TNA learned that at a meeting between senior diplomats last
month, Ankara suggested an “exchange of letters” between the two countries,
in which the both parties would reaffirm their commitment to the Kars and
Gumru Treaties of 1921. Armenian diplomats rejected this suggestion, stating
that while they do not have any territorial claims or problem with
recognizing the existing borders, they cannot accept this since the treaties
set down Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory. The Armenian side
proposed other formulas to meet Turkey’s expectations.
Yerevan’s demand for the reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border
constitutes another important issue in the talks. Ankara recently conveyed
that it would consider reopening the border if Yerevan were to partially
withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh. One diplomat said that the Azeris and
Armenians are close to an agreement which would foresee an Armenian
withdrawal from four regions in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Turkey has a positive
view of this. But, Turkish diplomats underline that they are not a party to
the negotiations and what is important is that any proposal must be
satisfactory to the Azeris.
A third key issue in the talks between Turkish and Armenian diplomats was on
the formation of a committee of historians. In recent meetings between
senior diplomats, the Armenian side offered to establish a commission
composed of parliamentarians and suggested that a committee of historians
would be a subcommittee to it. Turkish diplomats had some reservations
concerning the Armenians’ suggestion, but the two sides agreed that the
committee of historians should include Turkish, Armenian and Armenian
diaspora members but no other third party.
This April, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to
President Robert Kocharian, proposing to set up a commission of historians
who would jointly study the events of 1915-18 and the genocide allegations.
Kocharian responded by calling for the creation of a Turkish-Armenian
intergovernmental body that would tackle this and other issues of mutual
concern.
Source: TNA, 11 August 2005

ARMENTEL TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY (ARMENIA) IMPLEMENTS CONTINUOUS
WORK TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION
YEREVAN, August 11. /ARKA/. The ArmenTel Telecommunication Company
(Armenia) implements continuous work to improve quality of the mobile
communication, Executive Director of ArmenTel Vasilios Flavios told
journalists. Answering the ARKA News Agency’s question, he said that
“there is no doubt in poor quality of mobile communication in July,
2005”. He also said that he is not going to deny this fact. Ar the
same time he reported that the company implements all possible
technical work to improve quality of mobile communication, and some
progress is already seen. He said that the problem exists only in
evening hours in Yerevan center, and this problem will be solved by
the end of August, 2005. He said that “improvement of quality of the
mobile communication is very hard work that needs some time”. He said
that the company should project its network carrying the obligation to
reduce about three times the spectrum of its frequencies during nine
months. He said that ArmenTel is worried about the possibility to
loose its clients due to the law quality of mobile communication.
“There are some risks, but we believe we will provide the mobile
communication of a higher quality”, Flavios said. In his turn,
Vice-Commercial Director of ArmenTel Armen Simonyan said that
provision of AMD 1,000 bonus to pre-paid communication subscribers was
based on approximate calculations of the mobile communication usage
for a certain period. The Greek OTE Telecommunication Company bought
90% of ArmenTel shares on the international tender for USD 142.47mln
in 1997. The company was a monopolist on the Armenia mobile
communication market till the RA Government decision on November 4,
2005. The “K-Telecom” Company entered the Armenian market of mobile
communication on July 1, 2005 with VivaCell trademark. A.A. -0–

YOUR CHOICE ARMENIAN NGO LAUNCHES OWN WEBSITE
YEREVAN, August 11. /ARKA/. Your Choice Armenian NGO opened its
website The organizations’ initiatives on democratic
election conduction, monitoring reports on presidential, parliamentary
and local government elections will be placed on the site as well as
those on legislation improvement. Public discussions over
constitutional amendments are also to be organized. According to the
organization’s press release, the site will be regularly updated.
Your Choice NGO functions from 1996 in the area of elections
monitoring in the country. The organization’s mission is to promote
transparent and democratic elections in the republic and public
participation in the processes of running communities as well as
providing comprehensive information to voters. The organization has
offices in Armenia’s all provinces of and Yerevan’s districts. Some 4
thousand volunteers are involved in the NGO’s activities. M.V. -0–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri opposition leader says authorities to attack his family
MPA news agency
11 Aug 05
BAKU
“The consent for a referendum in Nagornyy Karabakh in exchange for the
return of several districts will lay the legal foundation for the loss
of Nagornyy Karabakh,” MPA has quoted the leader of the Musavat Party,
Isa Qambar, as telling a meeting of the Bizim Azarbaycan [Our
Azerbaijan] bloc today.
Qambar said the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is a nationwide problem,
therefore, neither the authorities nor any other political
organization can use its solution in their own interests. The
authorities must provide complete information about the negotiating
process to the public.
The meeting also discussed support for the Azadliq bloc’s protest
scheduled for 27 August, the need for a dialogue between the
authorities and the opposition, preparations for the [November
parliamentary] election and attacks on the PFAP [opposition People’s
Front of Azerbaijan Party].
Qambar said the authorities were preparing provocation against
Musavat, its leader and his family. The plan, he said, will also
affect the politician’s son, Ilkin Qambar, who will be blackmailed
with the participation of young women.
The party leader stressed that by such a campaign the authorities are
trying to divert the public’s attention from the forthcoming
election. However, he added that democracy would get the upper hand in
Azerbaijan since there is no alternative to it and no forces can stop
democratic processes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIS antiterrorist units in Belarus contest practise freeing hostages
Belarusian television, Minsk
11 Aug 05
The complex storming of a multistorey building with hostages. A new
stage in the contest among special-purpose units [from Belarus,
Russia, Ukraine and Armenia] began today. According to the event
organizers, all the competition participants will be able to
demonstrate their skills at this stage of the contest. Pyrotechnics
experts, snipers and storm-troopers will be quite busy. According to
the scenario, there are hostages on the ground and the first floors of
the building. Foreign antiterrorist units have already experienced
such activities in practice. Fortunately, Belarusians are mastering
their skills on a training range. Belarus’s Almaz special-purpose unit
has been the leader in terms of scores gained so far.
[Video shows the building with “hostages”, servicemen running and
getting ready for storming the building.]

Kyrgyzstan ratifies accord on military facilities
Interfax-AVN military news agency website
11 Aug 05
Moscow, 11 August: Kyrgyzstan has ratified an agreement on setting up,
building, maintaining and jointly using military infrastructure
facilities in member countries of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO), the organization’s Deputy Secretary General
Valeriy Semerikov told Interfax-Military News Agency today.
“The Kyrgyz president has signed the law on ratification of the CSTO
agreement on setting up, building and jointly using military
infrastructure facilities. Thus, Kyrgyzstan is the fourth CSTO member
nation to complete the ratification procedure,” Semerikov said.
The agreement was signed in Astana on 18 June 2004 by the leaders of
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, he
recalled.
“In accordance with the text of the agreement, it takes effect on the
day the depository receives the fourth written notification on the
document’s ratification by a member state. After the document is
ratified by Kyrgyzstan, it has effectively come into force,” he said.
The agreement outlines the order of setting up, developing,
maintaining and using military infrastructure facilities in CSTO
member nations by coalition (regional) groups of forces both in
peacetime and wartime.
The document sets obligations for the parties in case they use
military infrastructure facilities jointly.
In particular, the parties are to work out and submit to the
Collective Security Council for approval the list of military
infrastructure facilities intended for joint use by coalition groups
of forces, and also to supply each other with specifications of
infrastructure facilities and share information on them.
In addition, the document sets the order of funding provision for
accommodation of the territory, and the order of joint use of military
infrastructure facilities in command post and field exercises.
Earlier, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan ratified the accord.

Far Away Trial
News
Inside Higher Ed (Washington, DC)
August 11, 2005
By Doug Lederman
Academics and human rights advocates are warily monitoring a trial
unfolding in an Armenian courtroom, in which a Duke University doctoral
student from Turkey faces up to eight years in prison for allegedly
taking used books out of the country illegally.
Scholarly groups, which have waged a campaign to defend him, fear the
smuggling charges are a subtext for the Armenian government to crack
down on a researcher who is studying a politically sensitive period in
the country’s tangled history with Turkey.
Yektan Turkyilmaz, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in cultural anthropology
at Duke, in May became the first Turkish citizen to request and receive
access to the Armenian National Archives, where he sought information
for his dissertation, `Imagining `Turkey,’ Creating a Nation: The
Politics of Geography and State Formation in Eastern Anatolia, 1908-1938.’
Turkyilmaz is said to be one of a handful of Turkish scholars who have
critically assessed the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman in
1915 and 1916, which Armenians and most scholars have long characterized
as genocide, and the means by which Turkey took control of the eastern
region of the country known as Anatolia.
On June 17, according to the Social Science Research Council (which
supports his work with a field grant) and the Science and Human Rights
Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
authorities at Yerevan Airport in Armenia pulled Turkilman off an
airplane as he prepared to leave the country. They seized in the
neighborhood of 100 books that he had bought at secondhand stores and
compact disks that contained the fruits of his research in the Armenian
archives.
He was held without bail for nearly a month before being charged, on
July 21, with violating an article in the Armenian Constitution that
bars transportation out of the country of drugs, nuclear weapons and
certain `raw materials or cultural values’ without prior permission.
According to the scholarly groups’ reports, Armenian customs regulations
require travelers to declare books that are at least 50 years old, as
seven of Turkyilmaz’s books reportedly were.
Turkyilmaz’s supporters say that if he violated the customs policy, he
did so unknowingly, and that he is being far more harshly than the
charges warrant. They say that the first few days he was held in custody
were dominated by interrogation about his research and his political
convictions, and that the Armenian authorities pored over his archival
material, which arguably had nothing to do with the alleged book smuggling.
The arrest, the AAAS said in its report on the case, `sends a negative
signal that Armenia does not encourage independent scholarly research
into its history.’
More than 200 academics from around the world signed a letter to
Armenia’s president urging that Turkmilyaz be released and his archival
materials returned. Richard H. Brodhead, the president of Duke, where
Turkmilyaz is a John Hope Franklin Institute fellow, sent a similar
letter, in which he called Turkmilyaz a `scholar of extraordinary
promise.’ `His exceptional command of many languages is, I am told,
unique among scholars of this period and gives him an equally unique
opportunity, therefore, to help illuminate this critical historical
period,’ Brodhead wrote.
He added: `As the leader of a great country, you have the ability to
intervene in this matter and to determine the appropriateness of the
actions of your government and the Armenian prosecutors and police. You
also have the ability to release Mr. Turkyilmaz. With respect, I urge
you to do so.’
International PEN, the writers’ group, issued an alert on Turkyilmaz’s
behalf, and the former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bob Dole
weighed in with a letter.
Those pleas did not stop the trial, which began Tuesday but was promptly
delayed, according to a report by Radio Free Europe. The agency reported
that Turkyilmaz’s new lawyer said he needed more time to familiarize
himself with the case, and that a delay was granted until tomorrow.
Ayse Gul Altinay, an assistant professor at Istanbul’s Sabanci
University and an organizer of the campaign for Turkyilmaz, said in an
e-mail message Wednesday that `we are hoping that the trial process will
not last long and that Yektan will be freed soon. It is also very
important that they return his research material, together with his
personal things, when he is released.’
For more information on Yektan Turkyilmaz, see:

Armenia Tree Project
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Tel: (866) 965-TREE (toll-free)
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
August 11, 2005
Diasporan Students Work in Armenia With ATP Summer Volunteer Program
WATERTOWN, MA–This summer, two university students traveled to Armenia to
work as volunteers in the only environmental organization operating in the
country with a broad-based diasporan support network.
The two, Christian Millian of Maine and Anais Kadian of Ontario, were
selected as participants in the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) Summer Volunteer
Program, which was organized in close cooperation with the Birthright
Armenia program.
Soon after arriving in Armenia, the coalition of organizations and
individuals opposing the construction of a road through the Shikahogh Nature
Reserve was becoming very active, and the volunteers accompanied ATP staff
to a forum on the issue at the UNDP office in Yerevan. In support of the
grassroots effort in Armenia, the ATP office in Watertown initiated an
action alert that resulted in over 700 people sending letters to President
Robert Kocharian expressing their opposition to the proposed route.
Later in the month, Christian and Anais were able to attend the public forum
at American University of Armenia, where the Minister of Transportation
announced that the government decided upon an alternative route for the
roadway, and a number of local experts discussed the reserve and related
environmental issues in Armenia.
As the program became more hands-on, Christian and Anais assisted workers at
the ATP nursery in the village of Karin with an inventory of available
trees, extracting weeds, shaping irrigation channels, and sorting out cedar
cuttings, but both truly enjoyed the experience. `I got to taste the most
delicious mulberries,’ exclaimed Anais when she recounted the day’s work.
A gardener himself, Christian was very interested in the irrigation system
used at the nursery. `I hope to implement it in my own garden when I return
home,’ he declared. `I was amazed how the workers, in the absence of
pre-made materials, devised their own methods of building a greenhouse.’
Christian and Anais also assisted the teams of workers hired by ATP to
perform coppicing at the Botanical Garden site in Yerevan. The two used
hand-made acacia branch brooms to help clear the area of leaves and
branches, and were treated to a tour of the Academy of Sciences greenhouse
followed by a picnic lunch with the workers.
Because the ATP and Birthright programs strongly encourage homestays with
Armenian families, the volunteers were able to improve their Armenian
language skills and develop personal relationships with local people. These
experiences were also cultivated when Christian and Anais accompanied ATP
workers as they traveled to various planting sites throughout the country to
monitor the health of the trees, ensure that they are being properly
watered, and calculate amounts of fruit production.
The two traveled on monitoring excursions to ATP planting sites including
Khor Virap, Armavir Zoo, Sardarabad Monument, and Nor Kharpert Children’s
Home. `The orchards at the children’s home were absolutely gorgeous, and the
trees at Khor Virap were extremely healthy and well cared for,’ recounted
Christian after the visits. `Khor Virap was beautiful and it was wonderful
to see the trees greening such a sacred place.’
One of the highlights of the program for the volunteers was the extended
visit to the remote Getik River Valley, where ATP has established backyard
tree nursery micro-enterprises in Aygut and neighboring villages. During the
trip, Christian and Anais were able to meet a number of the nursery owners,
who are growing tree seedlings in their own backyard nursery plots. The
seedlings will be purchased by ATP for planting into the adjacent forests,
providing a source of income for the villagers and restoring the forests in
the valley.
For one week, Christian had the opportunity to travel to Ijevan, where he
assisted US Peace Corps volunteers who were field-testing ATP’s new
environmental education curriculum at an Eco-Camp for local children of ages
11-15. `ATP agronomist Genik Movsisyan showed the children a seed and they
had to guess which tree it came from. Most of the time, they were very
accurate, which was encouraging,’ emphasized Christian.
Christian worked with the Peace Corps volunteers on environmental education
lessons that included games and skits about resource management, discussions
about conserving electricity and water, and cutting down on trash and other
waste.
`Our skit featured an apple tree, a butterfly, a cow, a bird, and a small
boy that all become sick from the pollution. Finally, at the end of the
skit, a factory owner is convinced by a little girl that he should clean up
the trash and pollution,’ explained Christian. `When these skits were
presented to the parents of the children, many of the parents got tears in
their eyes and were so proud. It was evident that the children were
educating the older members of the community about the environment.’
`The work dynamic at ATP is one of the things I enjoyed very much during my
internship. I would like to thank all the people who have taken me along
with them in their daily work, and who made me a part of what ATP is
contributing to Armenia,’ stated Anais. `I was curious to see how an NGO in
Armenia truly works. In school we studied NGOs, but here I was able to
experience first hand what it means to be a part of an NGO in a developing
country. Seeing the logistics of this entire operation, its communication
with the office in the US, and the concrete difference it makes in people’s
lives was very exciting.’
PHOTO CAPTION: (L to R) Summer volunteers Anais Kadian of Ontario and
Christian Millian of Maine at the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) nursery in the
village of Karin with nursery worker Grigory Kolayan

Azeri authorities use youth leader row to “discredit” democratic forces
Turan news agency
11 Aug 05
BAKU
The authorities are using the row involving [leader of the Yeni Fikir
youth movement who is charged with plotting to overthrow the
government] Ruslan Basirli to discredit the democratic youth
movement. This opinion was voiced during a round table organized today
by the human rights centre, Free Society.
The head of the centre and a former “October prisoner” [reference to a
group of people imprisoned in the aftermath of street clashes after
the 2003 presidential election], Kanan Haciakbar oglu, said the
authorities and the media subordinated to them were trying to portray
Basirli as someone representing the opposition youth in general. The
meeting participants expressed their regret with Basirli’s actions and
described them as “erroneous and faulty”.
The meeting participants, who represented youth bodies of opposition
parties and youth organizations, accused the authorities and
pro-government media of being insincere and pseudo-patriotic.
It was indicated that the authorities had imprisoned the activists of
the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) who took part in the
rallies condemning the arrival of Armenian officers in Baku [in 2004]
and deprived 21 people (“Karabakh guerrillas”) of liberty for
intending to fight for the liberation of Karabakh.
The round table participants said that if the smear campaign against
the youth movement continued, democratic forces would stage protests
outside the headquarters of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x137
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, August 11, 2005
AGBU LONDON SPONSORS INTERNATIONAL GENOCIDE CONFERENCE AT THE HOUSE OF
LORDS
London, England — In commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, AGBU London sponsored an international conference
entitled “Recognizing Genocides” on June 15, 2005 at the House of
Lords. The conference was organized by the British-Armenian All Party
Parliamentary Group (BAAPPG). Over 200 participated in the day’s
commemorative events, including parliamentarians, government
officials, scholars, media and community leaders as well as AGBU
London members and officers.
The daylong program began with a requiem service at St. Margaret’s
Church Westminster, otherwise known as the “Church of the British
Parliament.” The service was officiated jointly by Canon Robert
Wright, Rector of St. Margaret’s Church, and His Grace Bishop Nathan
Hovanissian, Primate of Armenian Churches in Great Britain. Readings
were given by Rabbi Baaden, Reverend John Winburne and Bishop
Hovanissian, who also delivered a message on behalf of His Holiness
Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.
Immediately following the service, attendees made their way to the
Moses Room at the House of Lords for the conference, which was chaired
by His Excellency Dr. Vahe Gabrielyan, Armenian Ambassador to the
United Kingdom, and moderated by Baroness Caroline Cox, Deputy Speaker
of Britain’s House of Lords.
Conference participants included keynote speaker Vartan Oskanian,
Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; François Rochebloine, a member
of the French Parliament and Chairman of the Franco-Armenian
Parliamentary Group; Sarkis Assadourian, a former Canadian Member of
Parliament and Senior Advisor on the Caucasus to the Canadian Prime
Minister; and James Smith, the Executive Director of the Holocaust
Memorial Trust Beth Shalom.
All speakers noted the significance of holding the conference in the
House of Lords and expressed the wish that the British Parliament
would, in the future, recognize the Armenian Genocide joining the
seventeen other countries that have already done so.
“The saddest point is that governments such as the United Kingdom in a
house such as this will have to carry the shame of repudiating the
genocide,” said Smith. He went further by saying that remembrance is a
message to perpetrators that justice will eventually prevail and is a
deterrent for the future.

Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Armenia, Oskanian emphasized
that, unlike Turkey, Armenia wanted to normalize relations with Turkey
without any preconditions and was prepared to do so now. However, he
stressed that this did not mean that the Armenian Government would
stop demanding the recognition by Turkey of the Armenian
Genocide. Citing the latest adoption of document 305 of the Turkish
penal code that makes the use of the term genocide a punishable crime,
Oskanian said, “One does not knock on Europe’s door by blindfolding
historians and gagging writers.”

In his address, Rochebloine reminded the conference how the Turkish
Government used the usual twin methods of applying pressure and
threats against the economic interests of France to stop members of
the French Parliament from voting for recognition of the
Genocide. “The Armenian Genocide no longer needs to be proved.” He
continued by stating that Europe’s values ” must not be diluted by
accepting a nation that practices bargaining on such values…the
process of international recognition must be irreversible.”
He spoke of Turkey’s continued use of enormous resources to subvert
the truth and discredit all those who campaign for the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide with lies and misinformation, like the DVD that
was distributed in the June 6, 2005 issue of Time Magazine. “The
existing negationist state discourse is completely unacceptable. It is
trying to wipe out memory,” said Rochebloine referring to Turkey’s
endorsement of Armenian Genocide denial as official foreign policy.

Ambassador Gabrielyan closed the conference by thanking speakers,
guests, AGBU London for its generous help and sponsorship, BAAPGG and,
in particular, BAAPPG Executive Secretary Odette Bazil for organizing
the event.
Following the conference, a petition of over 3000 signatures urging
Her Majesty’s Government to recognize the Armenian Genocide was hand
delivered to 10 Downing Street, the home and office of Prime Minister
Tony Blair by a delegation comprised of BAAPPG members and guests (as
pictured).
The AGBU London-sponsored commemorative activity concluded with a
parliamentary debate at the House of Lords on July 14, 2005 following
a question by Baroness Cox of whether Her Majesty’s Government would
reconsider its position with regard to the recognition of the Armenian
massacres of 1915 as Genocide.
Founded in 1910, AGBU London is dedicated to preserving and promoting
the Armenian identity and heritage through humanitarian, educational
and cultural programs in the United Kingdom and Armenia. For more
information, please contact AGBU London by visiting ,
emailing [email protected] or writing Harout Aghajanian, P.O. Box
3102, Barnet EN4 0ZL, U.K.
For more information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please visit