NTV MSNBC, Turkey
April 14 2005

Turkish army calls for common sense over lynching and flag incidents

General Baþbuð said that General Staff was releasing a four volume
study on the `Armenian activities’ based on the army’s archives in
Ottoman, Turkish and English.

April 14 – The Turkish public should not be carried away by
provocations or excitement in respect to the incidents occurring in
Trabzon and Mersin, the Deputy Chief of the Turkish Staff said
Wednesday.

Speaking to the defence correspondents General Ýlker Baþbuð said that
it was impossible for the military to remain silent over incidents
such as the attempted burning of the Turkish flag by youths in Mersin
last month. However, he said that dealing with illegal activities
should left in the hands of the related institutions. The general
added it sociologists should study the reasons of these incidents.
He also said that the statement issued by the General Staff
after the flag incident when used the word `so-called citizen’ was
used in the context of the Atatürk nationalism in the constitution.
Turning to other issues, Baþbuð said that it was not
acceptable for Greece to increase its territorial waters from six
miles and 12 miles. The position adopted by the Turkish parliament in
reaction to the 31 May 1995 Greek parliament decision to increase
Greece’s territorial waters was still the valid and in force state
policy.
The Turkish parliament in 1995 voted in favour of a motion
saying that if Greece increased its territorial waters to the 12 mile
limit, this would be a cause of war. Though having adopted the motion
to increase its territorial limit, Athens has not enforced the
decision.
Discussing Armenian allegations that the Ottoman Empire
committed genocide against its Armenian citizens in the period 1915
to 1918, Basbug said that the General Staff would release a book
based on material in its archives refuting the claims.
Also speaking at the press briefing, General Karakuþ said that
statements that the General Staff’s archive on the so-called Armenian
genocide were not open to researchers was not correct and the
archives were open to all researchers who met the requirements of
article 3681 of the law on making use of the archives.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
April 14 2005

Vice-speaker opposes discussions on Garabagh conflict in parliament

The Milli Majlis (parliament) vice-speaker Ziyafat Asgarov has
opposed the discussions of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper
Garabagh in the parliament, saying that they would be useful only
after specific results are achieved in the ‘Prague talks’.

The vice-speaker said that similar discussions of the Garabagh
problem recently held in the Armenian parliament turned out fruitless
and no specific decision was made afterwards.
“Such discussions are due to the situation Armenians are facing, and
they are simply trying to drag time.”
The Azerbaijani parliament, in its recent session, decided to put the
Garabagh conflict on agenda by May.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
April 14 2005

Vice-Speaker says OSCE envoy ‘knows which side violates ceasefire’

The OSCE special envoy Andzhei Kaspshik’s recent statement that his
mandate does not allow him to determine whether Azerbaijan or Armenia
breaches ceasefire is far from reality, Vice-Speaker of the Milli
Majlis (parliament) Ziyafat Asgarov said.

“This is just an excuse, as Mr. Kaspshik knows well which side
violates ceasefire,” said Asgarov, stressing that it is time to tell
the truth.
The ceasefire has been breached more than 50 times over the past two
months alone. The casualties on both sides have amounted to 40 for
the first time in 7 years.

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
April 14 2005

Turkish parliament issues statement on Armenian allegations

The parliament called for a commission of Turkish and Armenian
experts to jointly examine the evidence.

April 14 – The Turkish parliament has called for an objective
and thorough study of allegations that the Ottoman Empire committed
genocide against its Armenian citizens during the First World War.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the parliament said that it
would be of benefit to both Turkey and Armenia to settle their
differences and move forward to share a common future based on
tolerance, friendship and co-operation.
In a proposal backed jointly by the government and the
opposition, the parliament called for a commission of Turkish and
Armenian historians to search through their national archives without
limitations, make public the results of their research, and set the
working methods of the commission.
However, the parliament said that the success of this proposal
depended on the co-operation of the Armenian government.
`Unless Turkey and Armenia look at the history from the same
perspective, they will only leave prejudices, enmity and revenge to
their children and forthcoming generations,’ the declaration said.
`What is reasonable for Turkey and Armenia is to end taboos with a
joint initiative, clarify all sides of what they had experienced, and
be ready to settle old scores with their history. This is the only
way to prevent the past from darkening today and future.’
If Armenia wants to establish good neighbourly relations with
Turkey it should not hesitate to adopt Turkey’s proposal to re-assess
their common history, the statement said.
`The parliament would also like to stress that every
good-willed country and statesman that wants to contribute to world
peace and stability, should consider Turkey’s proposal as positive,
leaving aside his/her/its internal political views,’ it said. `In
this context, countries which want betterment of Turkish-Armenian
relations and settlement of peace and stability in the Caucasus
should support this initiative, and refrain from acts which will harm
this initiative.
The declaration also said that it was impossible for Turkey to
base its history on some one-sided and misleading assessments.

Journal of Turkish weekly
April 14 2005

British Parliament urged to disown Blue Book

The New Anatolian
14 April 2005

Ankara – In a letter signed by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and
opposition leader Deniz Baykal, Turkish National Parliament asks the
British Parliament to declare ‘The Blue Book’ invalid as a historical
document.

The Turkish Parliament has prepared a letter to be sent to British
Parliament urging it to disown a World War I era document called “The
Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916,” more
commonly known as “The Blue Book.”

The letter was first signed by ruling Justice and Development (AK)
Party leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal at
Parliament. The six-page letter was then openedfor signing by all
lawmakers in Parliament.

`Considering that Great Britain’s Parliament decided to publish
Arnold Toynbee’s work as a reference book in 1916, we kindly request
that the British Parliament shed light on a significant part of our
joint history by declaring The Blue Book invalid and unfounded as a
historical document,’ the letter says.

The letter stresses that the book was part of a campaign carried out
to urge the U.S. to join World War I. It emphasized that the Ministry
of Information (Wellington House) prepared two important reports
called `German brutality’ and `Turkish brutality’ as part of this
campaign. The letter refers to the late Foreign Minister Austin
Chamberlain, who said that the report about the Germans was just
unfounded war propaganda in a speech to the House of Lords in 1925.
It also says that Arnold Toynbee, one of the authors of the book,
admitted that the book was war propaganda.

Some 150 people told their stories in the book and the letter goes on
to say that 59 of them were later found out to have been
missionaries, 52 were Armenian activists while seven were Armenian
Tashnak rebels. The remaining 32 names cited in the book were
fictitious or the same people already mentioned in the book.

`The Blue Book was an extremely successful piece of propaganda by
Britain during the war but it’s not a trustworthy historical source
about the Ottoman Armenians revolt and the measures taken by the
Ottoman state against this revolt,’ the letter says. “The book
doesn’t mention the Armenian gangs which joined forces with the
Russians against the Ottoman armies; killing of Ottoman state
officials; cutting of communication lines; attempts to invade Ottoman
cities; massacre of Turks in Van; and exile of over 1 million Muslims
from their land by Russians and Armenians.”

Today, Azerbaijan
April 14 2005

Elmar Mammedyarov and Vardan Oskanyan are not considered to meet in
private in London

14 April 2005 [14:26] – Today.Az

Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan are not considered to meet in
private in London on 15 April. Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan
Oskanyan said about it to the journalists.

According to him, the meeting will be held with the participation of
Foreign Ministers of two countries and co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk
Group. V.Oskanyan said that co-chairmen wanted the meeting to be held
in this format.

The head of MFA of Armenia touched on the process of regulation: “It
is impossible to offer any solution packet in this stage of the
talks.”

Foreign Minister of Armenia rejected flatly the opinions concerning
the sides are close to the regulation of the conflict and it depends
on the Presidents’ political will: “When we discuss any matter in
details it turns out that the positions of the sides are not
corresponding”.

V.Oskanyan stated of the exact time and place of the meeting of the
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to be known.

/APA/

URL:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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Website

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, April 14, 2005

ARMENIAN PHILHARMONIC HOSTS BARITONE RENATO BRUSON AND CONDUCTOR
ALEXANDER SIRANOSIAN

New York, NY – The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (APO), supported by
AGBU, continues to catalyze Yerevan’s cultural scene with two major
concerts this season, a performance by Italian baritone, Renato
Bruson, and the premiere by Alexander Siranosian of a long-lost
symphony by Vincent D’Indi.

On February 5th, 2005, the APO hosted the famous Italian baritone
affiliated with the Vienna State Opera, Renato Bruson, for a sold-out
performance where he performed arias by Verdi under the direction of
APO conductor, Eduard Topchjan. The concert, attended by President of
the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, and Armenian Culture
Minister, Hovik Hoveyan, attracted leading political and cultural
luminaries, along with members of the city’s international community.

On April 8th, 2005, French conductor, Alexander Siranosian, led the
APO in the world premiere of nineteenth century French composer
Vincent d’Indi’s 1872 “Italian Symphony,” a work that has languished
in obscurity for over 140 years. Siranosian discovered the piece while
conducting research in the composer’s archive.

The symphony, according to the composer’s great-grandson, Christophe
D’Indi, who attended the Yerevan premiere, symbolizes the victory of
Christianity over Paganism. “[Vincent D’Indi] was a friend of the
Armenian people but his name is not known to Armenians. I believe that
APO will help fill this gap by performing more of his work in the
future,” D’Indi told Armenpress news agency.

Other recent concerts during APO’s 2004-2005 season included
performances by two guest artists from Europe (Hratchia Hovhnnissian
from Germany and Emmanuel Siffert from Switzerland), a joint
performance of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” with Hover choir on the
occasion of Greek Independence Day, and an appearance by young
violinist, Suzy Yeritsian.

Formed over 75 years ago, APO has been mainly subsidized by AGBU since
1992 in recognition of the importance of the performing arts in
Armenia. Annual grants are allocated for weekly concerts, new
instruments, administration, salary supplements, international guest
artists and special festivals. APO has successfully toured Austria,
England, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey. UAE
and the United States, and has produced over a dozen CD
recordings. For more information on APO, please visit or

Turkish Press
April 14 2005

Friendship Is Ok, But…

BY OKTAY EKSI

HURRIYET- The fact that Turkish and Greek boats have been uttering
threats and challenging each other even while Greek Foreign Minister
Petros Molivyatis is in Ankara to discuss how the two nations can
obtain lasting peace and friendship confuses us. Maybe you’ve been
able to make some sense of it. We haven’t…

Our Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his Greek counterpart Petros
Molivyatis signed an agreement to end dogfights over the Aegean.
Meanwhile, the Athens News Agency reported that 34 Turkish airplanes
had recently violated international air traffic laws by violating
Greece’s national airspace.

Gul had previously announced that he was against lifting the casus
belli decision, but somehow he changed his mind overnight and
expressed that he had no objection to removing it. I’d say, `If no
one has any objections, then just announce that the casus belli has
been lifted and be done with it.’ But it’s not that simple.

Let’s say the Kardak issue is just a minor, unfortunate disagreement.
What about Turkish airplanes violating Greece’s national airspace? If
the reports are true, doesn’t this mean that our Foreign Ministry and
General Staff have communications problems?

Let’s make it clear, we do want to be friends with the Greeks, but we
believe that friendship is only possible if both sides adopt a
serious and sincere approach towards each other.

But if you say, `Let Turkey lift the casus belli and give up on
Kardak, but let Greece continue to teach its children in primary
school that Turks are savages and barbarians. Let Greece ignore the
European Union criteria for minorities when it comes to Turks living
in western Thrace. And let Greece still recognize the Armenian
`genocide’ and other fake claims.’ If you say this, then I say, no
way.

Turkish Press
April 14 2005

Press Review

PARLIAMENT DEBATES ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS

/Turkiye/.. Parliamentarians yesterday debated motions submitted by
both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and main
opposition Republican People’s Party CHP) on the Armenian issue.
Addressing the General Assembly, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said
that this year there were a number of activities against Turkey to
mark the 90th anniversary of the so-called Armenian genocide. `This
organized campaign is based upon prejudice, falsehoods and
accusations,’ said Gul. He also warned countries who blame Turkey
that their stance would damage bilateral relations. Afterwards,
deputies agreed to join forces to pursue a more active policy on the
issue. In addition, it was decided to send a letter signed by all
deputies, including AKP leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and CHP leader Deniz Baykal, to the British Parliament
concerning the Armenian allegations. /Turkiye/

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 14 2005

An ugly “no” from Yerevan

Hurriyet
14 April 2005

By Nerdun HACIOGLU (Hurriyet) – For the first time in history, the
Armenia question was discussed in the Turkish Parliament (TBMM). In
the discussion, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul revealed that Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan had written a letter to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, inviting him to join Turkey in creating an official
shared commission to look into the Armenian claim of genocide.

The invitation was turned down by Kocharian however, who sent a reply
the same day from Yerevan.

Said Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian at a recent press
conference related to the upcoming genocide anniversary: “On the eve
of the 90th anniversary of the genocide, rather than assuming a more
restrained attitude, Turkey has launched an agressive attack. In
addition to rewriting its own history, Turkey is unashamedly
exporting its ideas on this matters to other countries.”

Oskanian also made a significant reference to Armenia’s fear of
Turkish military strength, saying “For as long as Turkey has a strong
army, and for as long as it supports Azerbijan politically, Armenia
will not feel safe.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress