Turkish Daily News
March 2 2005

Turkish Press Yesterday

Research campaign for alleged genocide

Radikal said the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
will launch a campaign in Parliament to investigate the alleged
Armenian genocide, which is claimed to have occurred around the time
of the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

`Turkey has become bored with this business. Everyone should put
forward what he knows. The truth must be revealed,’ the newspaper
quoted CHP leader Deniz Baykal as saying when he proposed the
formation of a commission formed by both Armenian and Turkish
historians.

Radikal reported that the CHP’s Þükrü Elekdað has offered to send a
letter to the British Parliament asking them to admit that the
documents mentioned as proof of the alleged Armenian genocide are not
supportive of the allegation.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 2 2005

AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO VIETNAMESE PRESIDENT
[March 02, 2005, 16:54:17]

Presenting credentials to the President of Vietnam Tran Duk Luong,
Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Hanoi Y. Aliyev noted his country is
interested in expanding and deepening of bilateral relations with
Vietnam, and informed the Vietnamese leader in detail on
socio-economic development of Azerbaijan, reforms being implemented
in the country, as well as touched upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

President Tran Duk Luong pointed out the importance of development of
cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and invited
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to pay a visit to Vietnam.

Ambassador Y. Aliyev also met with Prime Minister Fan Van Khai,
Foreign Minister Nguen Di Nien and other Vietnamese officials.

The meetings were focused on enhancing of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam
cooperation in the spheres of economy, trade, education and culture.

Azeri pundit says no talks after Armenian leader’s annexation remarks

Ayna, Baku
1 Mar 05

Excerpt from X. Safaroglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ayna on 1
March headlined “Deadlocked ‘Prague principles'” and subheaded “The
fact that the basis of negotiations has not been formed has made
solution models ineffective”

The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov and
Vardan Oskanyan, were expected to meet in Prague on 2 March for their
sixth meeting within the framework of the “Prague process” [postponed
till 4 March].

The ministers will to discuss a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. The two will also discuss the OSCE report on the monitoring
of cases of Armenians settling illegally in the occupied [Azerbaijani]
territories.

Mammadyarov and Oskanyan last met in Prague on 11 January [this year].
Meanwhile, the Armenian president has elaborated on his vision of how
to solve the conflict.

“Nagornyy Karabakh will either be independent or part of Armenia in
the foreseeable future,” Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said in
an interview with Golos Armenii newspaper.

He said that the negotiations process has become active and there is a
slight hope for breakthrough. Kocharyan also said that some views on
Nagornyy Karabakh’s participation in the negotiations need to be
corrected.

[Passage omitted: reported details, importance of healthy approach to
negotiations]

The president of the so-called “Nagornyy Karabakh Republic”, Artur
Gukasyan, said that there is no alternative to a peaceable solution to
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

“Life has proven that the problem cannot be solved through war. The
problem remains although we have won the war,” Gukasyan said. The
parties are not yet ready for solving the problem, he said.

“It is necessary to make a clever compromise,” the head of the
separatist regime said, adding that propaganda should be intensified.

“We understand that the Azerbaijanis are our neighbours. Our main aim
is to have peace. We have to do whatever we can to prevent war
here. It would be possible to ensure the development of the region
after all the conflicting issues are resolved.”

He also noted that it does not matter how positive meetings between
the presidents and the foreign ministers of the two countries are,
they cannot replace the OSCE Minsk Group in the resolution of the
conflict.

Azerbaijani political analysts have convergent views on this.

The former foreign minister, Tofiq Zulfuqarov, said that Kocharyan’s
statement is a repetition of his old position.

“The negotiations are actually suspended following that
statement. It’s no use holding negotiations under the
circumstances. This is not a peace process. The Armenians are hoping
that someone from Azerbaijan may sign a defeatist deal.”

Such a statement in the run-up to the Prague meeting illustrates that
the Armenians stick to their old position and are not interested in
any breakthrough in the talks:

“Such statements show that no talks are possible. By holding the
negotiations, they are just killing time.”

Commenting on Gukasyan’s statement that “the conflict should be
resolved not through the meetings of the presidents, but within the
framework of the Minsk Group”, the former minister said that it is
important to define a principle here.

International organizations have said that the conflict can [only] be
solved by the two countries, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The meetings between the presidents and the foreign ministers aim to
reach a high-level agreement on some principles, Zulfuqarov said.

“It is impossible to reach agreement on the principles after
Kocharyan’s statement. What is the basis for talks in the Minsk Group
format if there is no agreed basis for the resolution of the
conflict?”

It’s no use conducting negotiations with the principle “Karabakh
should be part of Armenia”, he noted.

Zulfuqarov believes that the proposals of the Minsk Group for
resolving the conflict do not have any basis. Saying that “these 10
years continue to pass in the same way as it has elapsed so far”, the
political analyst said that for the talks to be successful, the
negotiating parties should show desire to achieve peace.

“Armenia does not want to come to agreement and is setting forth such
demands in advance which the other party cannot accept them. So, the
negotiations will not yield any results.”

Zulfuqarov said that Armenia’s policy contributes to increased tension
in the region. “By frequently violating the cease-fire, Yerevan is
aiming to force Baku to respond. They are sort of dragging Azerbaijan
into sabotage.”

OSCE mission submits its Armenian resettlement report to Azeri minister

ANS Radio, Baku
2 Mar 05

The OSCE fact-finding mission which looked into whether Armenians were
illegally settling in Azerbaijani occupied territories has submitted
its final report to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov at
a meeting with the fact-finding mission and the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen in Prague.

Foreign Minister Mammadyarov said that he familiarized himself with
the report fully. But it was decided not to disclose the details until
16 March. To recap, the report by the OSCE’s fact-finding mission will
be submitted to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen and the OSCE standing
council in Vienna on that day.

Mammadyarov was to hold the next round of consultations with his
Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan today. But the meeting was put
off due to the Armenian minister’s problems with health. The meeting
will take place in France tomorrow [4 March].

US SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR NOT RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, MARCH 2. ARMINFO. It is shameful that the U.S. has not
publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide, says Hellenic News of
America.

The world community and the academic community overwhelmingly
recognize the Armenian Genocide. The Library of Congress held a major
conference on the Armenian Genocide several years ago. Yet the State
Department continues its opposition to recognition. The U.S. should
also publicly call for the removal of Turkey-s illegal economic
blockage of Armenia which also prevents U.S. humanitarian aid to
Armenia.

The U.S. media has failed to cover adequately the situation in Turkey
for decades. They have taken handouts and statements from
U.S. officials without serious questioning or investigation. Speeches
and interviews by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and
former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman
for years have contained blatant falsehoods, misleading statements and
serious omissions of fact regarding:

To remind, during his recent meeting with US Armenians US Ambassador
to Armenia John Evans characterized the 1915 events in Ottoman Empire
by the term “genocide” saying that it was his personal opinion. But
the US official policy on the issue has not changed as the US has
traditional ties with Turkey in the framework of NATO.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAIRMAN OF CIS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ARRIVES IN ARMENIA TODAY

YEREVAN, MARCH 2. ARMINFO. Chairman of CIS Executive Committee,
Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushaylo is arriving in Yerevan on a
three-day visit today.

Rushaylo is to meet with Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan, Prime
Minister Andranik Margaryan, Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan, Deputy
Foreign Minister Gegam Garibjanyan, WWII veterans.

He is to discuss issues concerning reformation of the CIS and
celebration of the 60th anniversary of the WWII Victory.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE LEADER OF THE RAMKAVAR-AZATAKAN PARTY TOOK THE SEMINAR FOR A MEETING

A1+
02-03-2005

Today in the Tekeyan center the coalition RAP- Democratic Liberal
Union-Powerful Homeland had invited out-parliamentary powers to
discuss theissue of the electoral rolls. The speakers of the seminars
subconsciously divided the Armenian political field into two parts:
included in the Parliament and excluded from it. The main concern was
that the parties excluded from the NA do not have representatives in
the Electoral Committees.

Seyran Avagyan, the head of the DLU, who is also the advisor of the
President of the Republic, kept silence, while the speech of Haroutyun
Araqelyan, the leader of RAP, was like that in a meeting, «The
elections have been forged, our votes have been stolen, In reality our
party has not only overcome the barrier of 5% but it could mark an
even higher index».

Edvard Antinyan, the politica secretary of the Liberal Progressive
Party, wanted to get straight the remark of Mr. Araqelyan, «Do you
mean to say that the Parliament is not legitimate if you mention that
your votes have been stolen? ». Mr. Araqelyan avoided the question.

As for the «meeting» speech of Shirak Torosyan, representative of the
party Powerful Homeland, Seyran Avagyan, the head of the DLU said, «
Shirak Torosyan said what any man in the street could say».

Kurdish Info, Germany
March 2 2005

International Observers to Attend FOE Cases

BianetISTANBUL / 2 March 2005 / by IPA/International PEN
2 March trials of Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu symbolise the
continuation of freedom of expression problems in Turkey.
International PEN, and the IPA, as well as other international NGOs,
among them Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are in
Turkey to attend as observers the trial hearings against writer
Fikret Baskaya and publisher Ragip Zarakolu, set for 2 March 2005.

Fikret Baskaya will be tried in Ankara on charges of ‘insult to the
State, State institutions, and the military’ under Article 159 of the
current Penal Code. He could face a three-year jail sentence. The
charges stem from articles published in the early nineties (since
republished as a book entitled: “Articles against the Current”) in
which he was critical of the Turkish authorities.
Ragip Zarakolu, co-founder and owner of Belge Publishing, is charged
in Istanbul with ‘incitement to racial hatred’ under Article 312 of
the current Penal Code, charges occasioned by his writing of an
article critical of Turkey’s foreign policy on Kurdish issues. The
charges carry a two-year jail sentence. An additional case was
initiated against him in December 2004 for the publication of George
Jerjian’s Book entitled: “The truth will set us free/Armenians and
Turks reconciled” for insulting the State and the memory of the
founder of the Republic, Atatürk. The first hearing in this case is
due to take place in Istanbul on 16 March 2005. An investigation was
also opened for his publication of Zulkuf Kisanak’s “Lost Villages”.
Lars Grahn, Chairman of the IPA Freedom to Publish Committee,
declares: “Both Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu have been subjected
to a series of long, time-consuming and expensive court hearings.
Whatever the outcome of these trials, this is in itself a form of
harassment and punishment for daring to produce works which touch on
sensitive issues”.
There are currently an estimated 60 writers, publishers and
journalists under judicial process in Turkey for practicing their
right to freedom of expression. In this regard, the 2 March trial
hearings of Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu are just two out of
many. Eugene Schoulgin, Member of the Board of International PEN
says: “To us, they symbolise the continuation of freedom of
expression problems in Turkey”.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 2 2005

French to hold referendum on Turkey’s EU membership

French Parliament voted “yes” yesterday to hold a referendum on
Turkey’s bid for EU membership.

Despite fighting strong opposition from his centre-right party UMP,
French Prime Minister Jack Chirac is in favor of Turkish EU
membership.

The party is currently split down the middle on the subject, but are
expected to reach an agreement in December 2005.

Before the referendum on Turkey can take place, France will hold a
referendum on the EU constitution. This referendum was originally
going to be held late in 2005, but as France wants to keep the issue
of “Turkey’s EU bid” completely separate, the date may be brought
forward to May 8. , symbolising the end of world war II.

Once all member states have signed the treaty on October 29. , the
ratification process can begin.

There is a strong anti-Turkish lobby in France including the Greek
and Armenian lobby groups. Apart from teh ethnic lobbies, the
rightist groups claim that Turkey is a Muslim country and there is no
room in EU for the non-Christian states. The EU has no Muslim member
now, though there are Muslim states in the continent like Turkey,
Albania, Bosnia, Turkish Cyprus and Azerbaijan.

Compiled from Hurriyet, Milliyet, Zaman.

The Messenger, Georgia
March 2 2005

Excise tax weighs down early results of Tax Code
By M. Alkhazashvili

Georgia’s new tax code entered force in January, making months of
theoretical discussion, debates and disputes a matter of the past and
placing all eyes on the code’s work in practice.

And as reported in the Georgian media, the government is facing
serious trouble. Over the course of a month state revenues decreased
by GEL 15 million and cases of smuggling dramatically increased;
dynamics that are linked to the major rise in excise taxes.

While the tax code won support for its flat tax, elimination of all
but 8 taxes and new dispute-resolution methods, it is now coming
under criticism for the excise tax hikes, including an increase to 90
tetri from 40 tetri per pack of imported cigarettes.

Officials saw this as one easy way to maintain revenues while cutting
other taxes but, as the recent measures against cigarette sales in
Georgia’s many open markets show, officials are struggling to limit
the surge of smuggled goods.

It is obvious that a vital step in increasing revenues by increasing
the excise tax is the eradication of smuggling. But to stop smuggling
is always difficult in Georgia because the country’s borders are not
protected well enough. The post-Rose Revolution government considers
the eradication of smuggling to be one of its major priorities but
raising the excise only makes its fight harder.

When the excise tax is 70 tetri for Georgian made cigarettes and at
the same time smuggled tobacco products from Russia cost 50 tetri, it
is clear that there is now more to be gained from smuggling.
Contraband goods chiefly come from separatist regions, as well as
from Armenia and Azerbaijan. Meanwhile local tobacco producers face a
drop in sales because their legal products are now more expensive.

Since the government found itself facing a rising tide of smuggled
goods, three ministries, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of
Finance and the Ministry of Health, agreed to go after the likely
distribution points for cigarettes. Thus they banned all small
traders from selling tobacco products in open air markets and
required a new licensing system for sellers in shops.

Government representatives say the decision, which took effect on
March 1, is correct. “It is outside of the law when on every street
and on every crossroad tobacco products are sold,” the vice-speaker
of Parliament Mikheil Machavariani said on Monday. But others think
that it is pointless to fight against small traders since they are
not the ones bringing in the smuggled goods.

Opposition leaders are attacking the new ban as another example of
the government’s painful policies. “In this decision, as in other
decisions made by the government, the social issues have not been
considered. Social problems are not mentioned in the new Tax Code,”
Conservative Party MP Kakha Kukava tells the newspaper Akhali Taoba.
“This badly influences the interests of the middle and small
entrepreneurs as well. At the same time the excise price increase was
considered only for the importers who have powerful lobbies in the
government,” he goes on the claim.

The sudden implementation of the measure – the government rejected
claims that they announced the new rules only a week ago by saying
they had in fact announced the rules two weeks ago – is one major
defect. Moreover, it will require serious government energies to
police markets and bazrobas, energy that could be also spent
attacking the root of the problem, smugglers busily penetrating
Georgia’s loose borders.

A comparison of excise increases and price increases on selected
cigarettes (source: Anti-Monopoly Service)