No ideology of hate

Greater Kashmir, India
Feb 7 2005

No ideology of hate

No bloody borders, as Huntington sees, the whole affair needs to be
seen from an objective perspective, writes
ASHFAK BUKHARI

How and why 9/11 occurred, shattered the myth of America’s supremacy
of power for a while, and provided a raison d’etre for the renewal of
‘crusades’ against Islam, as a religion and society, is a theme that
has seized the attention of western intelligentsia since the event
and led to a flood of books on the subject in the market. But the way
this sensitive subject has been treated and the explanations offered
in most of the essays, 20 in all, in this outstanding work by a
Pakistani economist who teaches in an American university, is
inspiring.
The question commonly asked is: Is there an Islamic problem behind
this unthinkable tragedy? The answer the author gives is: there is no
Islamic problem – and, if any, it is a problem of temporary
disruption in the West’s legacy of plunder, conquest and massacres to
subjugate the rest of the world. Two opposite visions dominate
American scholarship on Islam and Islamic societies. One represents
Islam as an enemy that must be destroyed, or otherwise it will
destroy the West. Its prominent advocates are Bernard Lewis, Daniel
Pipes, Charles Krauthammer and Martin Kramer.
The second vision tends to accommodate Islam and argues that since
political Islamists do not reject modernity, they must be given a
chance to run Islamic societies as this will, ultimately, either
discredit them or bring them into political mainstream of western
orientation. The upholders of the first vision, whom the author calls
“anti-Islam warriors”, consider Islamic societies lagging in economic
development, deficit in democracy, and having “bloody borders” – a
phrase coined by Samuel Huntington.
The author, Shahid Alam, says the evidence fails to support these
charges. Although the Islamic countries do face numerous serious
economic problems, they are not worse or much worse than others.
Judging from the 1999 living standards, according to the World
Development Report, 2000, one can see Muslims have not done too
badly: Malaysia is well ahead of Thailand, Iran fares better than
Venezuela, Egypt is modestly ahead of Ukraine, Turkey is slightly
behind Russia, Tunisia is well ahead of Georgia and Armenia, etc.
Regarding bloody borders, Jonathan Fox has shown that Islam was
involved in 23.2 per cent of all inter-civilizational conflicts
during 1945-1989 period and 24.7 per cent of these conflicts during
1990 to 1998. This is not too far above Islam’s share in the world
population, nor is there any dramatic rise in this share since the
end of the cold war. Hence, Huntington’s claim of “Muslim
bellicosity” does not qualify as a fact. Islamic societies have not
suffered from democracy deficit either. Incredible as it may appear,
Tunisia, Egypt and Iran were in the process of making a transition to
constitutional monarchies during the 19th century but their attempts
were foiled by the West. In 1881, the Egyptian nationalists had
succeeded in convening an elected parliament but the British
disbanded it when they occupied the country a year later. Tunisia
promulgated a constitution in 1860, setting up a supreme council with
an intention to limit the powers of monarchy. Ironically, the French
suppressed this council in 1864 when they discovered that it
interfered with their ambitions in Tunisia.
Turkey elected its first parliament in 1877; it was dissolved by the
Caliph a year later. A second parliament was convened in 1908. In
1906, Iran’s first elected parliament adopted a constitutional
monarchy limiting the powers of the monarch but in 1911, with the
support of Russia and Britain, the pro-monarch forces defeated the
constitutionalists and the parliament was dissolved.
And in recent period, it has been oil, Israel and the old antipathy
to Islam that have kept democracy away from the Arab world. It is
interesting to note that the western donors have, especially after
the end of the cold war, used their financial leverage to encourage
democratization in client countries. But not so in the case of Arab
countries because democracy there could bring Islamists to power.
They do get enough support of various kinds so long as they come to
terms with Israel and are willing to suppress Islamist opposition.
When Iraq violated this understanding in 1990, it faced endless war
and crippling sanctions. Then, Algeria shows the fate a Muslim
country can face if the Islamists seek to capture power.
The author takes note of an essay written by a well-known physicist
and activist, Pervez Hoodbhoy, in December 2001 in which he argues
that a deadening obscurantism has paralyzed Islamic civilization
since the 12th century and that the Muslims can end this paralysis
only if they decide to “replace Islam with secular humanism which
alone offers the hope of providing everybody on this globe with the
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. This suggests,
the author says, Hoodbhoy has been raised “on a pure diet of
Orientalism and its falsification of Islamic history”.
Shahid Alam refutes the claim of Eurocentrists and their Muslim
acolytes quite forcefully that religion and culture are the principal
source of backwardness of Islamic societies and its so-called
antipathy to science, rationality and modernity. He quotes a
historical fact, often ignored by the western scholars, that had the
Egyptian bid to industrialize – initiated by Muhammad Ali Pasha in
1810 – not been dismantled by the European powers, the Middle East
would have been industrially transformed. But since an industrialized
Middle East would have renewed the “old threat of Islam”, the
European powers united to abort Pasha’s great initiative. In
contrast, when Japan made a similar industrial drive some 60 years
later, Europe did not block it.
Referring to Hoodbhoy’s advice to the Muslims to “give up the false
notions” of Islam, the author asks them instead to give up false
Orientalist notions of an Islam that has been misrepresented as
“irrational, fatalist and fanatical”. Rational thinking, he says, did
not begin with the Enlightenment as the West claims. In fact, several
Enlightenment thinkers turned to Islam to advance their own struggle
against medieval obscurantism. Shahid Alam concludes his first
chapter, which is the core essay lending its name to the book, by
suggesting that the Muslims, a fourth of the world’s peoples, are
today seeking their identity within a stream of history that flows
from the Quran. The Quranic impulse towards truth, justice, sincerity
and beauty will find expression again, not in combat, but in a new
Arabesque of creative minds.
The book is divided into three parts: Islamic societies and the West,
Arabs and the United States, and Palestine and Israel. Each chapter
begins with a verse from the Quran , relevant to the subject-matter.
The author has devoted one chapter to Huntington’s thesis “Clash of
Civilizations”, calls it utter nonsense and demolishes his
philosophy. Another chapter takes to task Bernard Lewis, the doyen of
the Orientalists, who has actually been serving the Zionist interests
for 50 years.
“Why 9/11 and why now” is a fascinating essay in which he says the
tragic event, irrespective of whoever engineered it, has incidentally
enabled the quartet of American Likudniks, Corporate America, the
Zionists and the Christian coalition to launch their project of a
‘new American century’.

–Boundary_(ID_Joy5q+94Wnpv1FnkxNhraA)–

OSCE fact-finding team ends inspecting Armenian-controlled regions o

OSCE FACT-FINDING TEAM ENDS INSPECTING ARMENIAN-CONTROLLED REGIONS OF AZERBAIJAN

ArmenPress
Feb 7 2005

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS: Officials from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have ended today
a first-ever international inspection of Armenian-controlled
Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabagh to investigate
Azerbaijan’s allegations that they are being illegally populated with
Armenians. The last region they visited was Lachin. They went back
to Karabagh capital Stepanakert and were expected to leave today.

The fact-finding team was led by a senior German Foreign Ministry
official, Emily Habber, and accompanied by the French, Russian and
U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE’s Minsk Group. The US co-chairmen, Steven
Mann, had to fly to Washington on the third day of the mission.

Mission members spoke with Armenian refugees in Lachin but refused
to talk to journalists. They are expected to sum up what they have
seen and present a report in spring.

AEN (Electricity) fails to meet its 2004 investment commitments

AEN FAILS TO MEET ITS 2004 INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS

ArmenPress
Feb 7 2005

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Public Services
Regulatory Commission told Armenpress that it has asked the Armenian
Electricity Network (AEN) to explain why it failed to fulfill its
2004 investment programs. Shiraz Kirakosian, a commission member,
said the company fulfilled only 34 percent of its 2004 investment
commitments.
But Kirakosian forestalled the AEN explanations saying one of the
reasons was that the process of approval of the company’s investment
plans began in early 2004 and was approved in mid-2004. The company
pledged to invest last year 5.8 billion drams to improve electricity
supplies.
Kirakosian said the AEN is not going to raise electricity prices
in 2005, “provided no radical changes take place influenced by
external factors.” The AEN plans to invest 19 billion drams in
2005-2007, around 8 billion drams in 2005 alone. Kirakosian said the
bulk of investments will be directed at upgrading of electricity
distributing networks.
AEN is owned by Midland Resources Holding, a company registered in
the British Channel Islands.

BAKU: Azerbaijan to raise Upper Garabagh issue at PACE session

Azerbaijan to raise Upper Garabagh issue at PACE session

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2005

Azerbaijan intends to raise the Upper Garabagh problem at the winter
session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
in Vienna on February 23-24. The agenda of the forthcoming session
has been approved, chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission
on economic policy Sattar Safarov has said.

Safarov said that Azerbaijani parliamentarians will attend the meetings
of the Assembly’s three committees.

The agenda of the PACE final session of 2005 due in Washington on
July 5-9 will also be approved at the winter session, during which
the Azerbaijani delegation will propose that the report on the Upper
Garabagh conflict, prepared by Goran Lennmarker, the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (PA) rapporteur, be included in the session agenda.

Preliminary discussions on the report were held during Lennmarker’s
visit to the region in November 2004. The initial version of the
report will be presented to Azerbaijani MPs at the winter session of
the OSCE PA.*

Ukraine posts highest CIS growth in 2004

Ukraine posts highest CIS growth in 2004

Interfax
Feb 7 2005

MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) – Ukraine posted the highest economic growth
among CIS nations in 2004, with GDP rising 12%, the CIS Interstate
Statistical Committee said.

Russia and Kyrgyzstan had the lowest growth of 7.1% in both cases,
the committee said.

GDP grew 11% in Belarus, 10.6% in Tajikistan, 10.2% in Azerbaijan,
10.1% in Armenia, 9.4% in Kazakhstan, 8.4% in Georgia and 7.3% in
Moldova, the committee said.

The committee did not give GDP growth figures for Turkmenistan or
Uzbekistan.

GDP grew 8% in the CIS as a whole in 2004, as in 2003. Industrial
output was up 7%, compared with 8% in 2003, retail grew 13%, compared
with 10%, and capital investments increased 14%, compared with 16%.

BAKU: Aliyev receives French senate member Aymeri de Montesquiou

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2005

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES FRENCH SENATE MEMBER
AYMERI DE MONTESQUIOU
[February 07, 2005, 17:03:03]

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received February
7 member of the French Senate Aymeri de Montesquiou.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his satisfaction with the rapid
development of the Azerbaijan-France cooperation in various fields.
Recalling his visits to France, the Head of State highly valued
the meetings and talks held there saying they play a key role in
strengthening cooperation between the two countries. The President
pointed out in this connection that French companies are actively
involved in a number of energy projects implemented in Azerbaijan.

Touching upon the visit to the country by the OSCE fact-finding mission
to examine the situation concerning illegal settling of the occupied
territories with ethnic Armenians, the Azerbaijani leader pointed to
the great role France as the OSCE Minsk group Co-Chair plays in the
process of the conflict’s resolution.

Mr. Aymeri de Montesquiou shared the President’s opinion that
Azerbaijan-France cooperation is developing in many spheres, and that
a number of French companies are actively involved in development of
the hydrocarbon resources in the Caspian Sea. Recalling President Ilham
Aliyev’s visit to France, he described his meetings and negotiations
held in the country as very fruitful.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Parliament Speaker meets heads of Azerbaijani Parliament

Turkish Parliament Speaker meets heads of Azerbaijani Parliament

Kazinform, Kazakhstan
Feb 7 2005

Baku. February 7. KAZINFORM. 7 February, Chairman of the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey Bulent Arinc and the accompanied delegation has
been in the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Republic, Azer-TAj informs.

Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament Murtuz Alaskarov, first deputy speaker
Arif Rahimzade and head of the Parliament Administration Safa Mirzayev
and other officials welcomed the guests.

Heads of the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey had a one-on-one
meeting.

Then, Mr. Bulent Arinc and the Turkish delegation familiarized with
the Milli Majlis museum.

The delegation of Turkey and Azerbaijan parliamentarians held a
meeting in large.

Speaker Murtuz Alaskarov thanked Mr.Bulent Arinc for visit to
Azerbaijan, wished it to be useful, stating the relations between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, basing on common historical, cultural, religious
and moral roots, develops in the spirit of friendship and fraternity.

After gaining sovereignty, in strengthening of friendship and
fraternity an exclusive role belongs to the nationwide leader of
Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, he said.

Thanks to regular visits of the officials of two countries, the
relations have acquired higher level.

The documents signed during the first visit of President Ilham Aliyev
have founded legislative basis for long-term cooperation.

As a result, the economic links of two countries are developing.Over
thousand Turkish businessmen have invested in numerous fields of
Azerbaijan’s economy.

Realization of the BTC oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas
pipeline will play important role in development of Azerbaijani and
Turkey, as well as in establishment of stability in the region.

The parliamentary links of two countries also develop.Our legislators
cooperate within the international organizations.

The Council of Europe has adopted a resolution in connection to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where calls Armenia
as an aggressor state, and the regime in the Nagorno Karabakh region
as a separatist.

In discussion of the document, the Turkish deputies have actively
taken part. Mr.Alaskarov updated the guests on the document,
expressed gratitude to the Turkish state and government for support
of Azerbaijan’s position.

Chairman of the Milli Majlis reminded his visit to France last year,
the insidious wishes of the Armenians related to recognition of the
so-called “Armenian genocide” that he condemned during his visit.
Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament also reminded the Khojali massacre
the Armenians have committed in February 26 in 1992 and expressed
hope that the Turkish Parliament would regard this question.

Expressing gratitude for cordial reception and provided information,
Mr.Bulent Arinc said he was pleased to visit the fraternal country.
He reminded huge contributions of the nationwide leader of Azerbaijan
Heydar Aliyev in development and strengthening of the relations
between two countries.

Mr.Bulent Arinc expressed consent with inter-parliamentary links,
noting that on 23 April, Turkey would mark the 85th anniversary of
establishment of the Grand National Assembly and wished to see the
Azerbaijan parliamentary delegation in the festivities.

“Turkey always and constantly supports Azerbaijan position in
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and it will remain
unchangeable”, he stated.

Mr.Bulent Arinc said on February 26 the Turkish parliamentarians are
going to hold discussions related to the Khojali genocide.

Speaker of the Turkish Parliament gave high assessment to
activity of the Turkish businessmen in Azerbaijan, noting that the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum oil-gas pipelines would
strengthen the two countries economically and play important role in
integration to Europe.

At the meeting, also were exchanged views on a number of other issues
of mutual interest.

Gazprom considering participation in Iranian-Armenian pipeline proje

Gazprom considering participation in Iranian-Armenian pipeline project

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
Feb 7 2005

RBC, 07.02.2005, Moscow 16:25:44.Gazprom is likely to take part
in the construction of Iranian-Armenian gas pipeline. Gazprom’s
Chairman Alexander Ryazanov pointed out that should the Russian gas
holding abstain from participating in the gas pipeline construction,
this gas could enter into competition with that supplied by Gazprom
via the Blue Stream pipeline.

The Armenian government acts as the principal customer to the
construction. The principal agreement was signed in Yerevan on May
13, 2004, indicating that the gas pipeline would become operational
before January 1, 2007. Armenia will receive the annual volume of
1.1bn cubic meters of gas via the pipeline from Iran. Armrosgazprom,
owned jointly by the Armenian government (45 percent), Gazprom (45
percent) and Itera (10 percent), is expected to take part in bidding
for its construction and running.

VTB Raised Subordinated Loan Through Eurobonds

Kommersant, Russia
Feb 7 2005

VTB Raised Subordinated Loan Through Eurobonds

Vneshtorgbank (VTB) has raised $750-million subordinated loan to
become Russia’s first bank with the loan financed by placing 10-year
eurobonds (call option) on cross-border markets, VTB said in a press
release on February 7, 2005.

Lead managers are Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP
Morgan. The order book set forth $1.2 billion. As much as 116
investors, most of them from Europe, took part in the placement. For
instance, U.K. investors bought out 49 percent of the issue, other
European investors covered 27 percent, Asian investors accounted for
8 percent. Fixed half-year coupon was set at 6.315 percent on year,
corresponding to the yield of 222 basic points above 5-year midswap.

Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings assigned BB- and BB+ credit
ratings to the eurobonds respectively, Moody’s Investors Service
granted investment rating of Baa2 category, in line with the senior
unsecured liabilities of the VTB.

The bonds were released by VTB Capital SA. The raised funds are
transferred to the VTB subordinated loan agreement and will be spend
to strengthen capital base of the bank.

Vneshtorgbank is one of the leading universal banks in Russia and the
largest one in terms of authorized capital. State-run stake stands at
99.9 percent. Other holders are Gazexport, Sberbank,
Energomashexport, Ingosstrah, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the
Russian Federation.

In Russia, the VTB has the broadest network of correspondents, while
its foreign network is represented by four subsidiaries: in Zurich
(Switzerland), in Limassol (Cyprus), in Vienna (Austria) and in
Erevan (Armenia) as well as by the associated banks in Luxembourg and
Frankfurt-on-Main (Germany), representative offices in Milan (Italy),
Beijing (China), Kiev (Ukraine) and Minsk (Belarus).

TARC’s Phillips at NYU

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
Eastern United States
69-23 47th Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 917 428 1918
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

TARC Moderator David Phillips at NYU: Each Side has its Historians
Armenian Students Barred from Seminar

David Phillips spoke at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs on
February 4 at a seminar entitled, “Turkey and its Neighbors: Current
Political Overview and Forecast for 2005 and Beyond.” Phillips used the
opportunity to discuss his yet-to-be released book, Unsilencing the Truth,
about the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC). Phillips was
the architect and moderator of TARC, which he claims was meant to foster
dialogue between Armenians and Turks. TARC was disbanded in September 2002,
when worldwide Armenian opposition arose when it became clear that hindering
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide was one of its main
purposes.

Another result of TARC, which some believe was not accidental, was to divide
the Armenian-American community about how to treat the issue of the
genocide. TARC excluded one of Armenia’s traditional political parties, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and characterized the party as extremist
due to its criticism of TARC. TARC’s exclusionary practices continued at
New York University, when Armenian students at NYU were turned away from
attending the event by the Global Affairs Department. “Many Armenians on
campus would have really wanted to attend this seminar had it not been kept
secret from them. The organizers are using NYU’s name, but then excluded
very relevant segments of NYU’s community,” said Veronica Siranosian, a
graduate student at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Affairs. Siranosian and
other NYU students were told by the Center for Global Affairs that they
would not be allowed into the seminar.

Ms. Vera Jelinek, assistant dean at NYU’s School of Continuing and
Professional Studies and Director of the Center for Global Affairs,
introduced Phillips and described the event as partly a discussion of “the
Turkish-Armenian crisis of the past.” During his presentation, Phillips
discussed his work dealing with some of Turkey’s most significant problems
regarding democracy and human rights. Former US Ambassador to Turkey Marc
Grossman of the U.S. State Department had asked Phillips to approach the
Turko-Armenian conflict, using the “track two diplomacy” method he had
employed to bring together Kurds and Turks, as well as Greek and Turkish
Cypriots. Phillips explained that this method attempts to establish a space
that is “low-key, non-judgmental, and non-coercive” so that participants are
willing “to explore ideas for resolution, free of the constraints of
government positions.” After he agreed to Grossman’s request, he soon
learned how much he “had underestimated the bitterness which Turks and
Armenians hold for each other.”

Provided with three million dollars, Phillips said that the U.S. government
“wrote a blank check to do this work, which is highly unusual for U.S.
government officials to do.” This led to the formation of the Turkish
Armenian Reconciliation Commission. Once talks began, Phillips said the
issue of the Armenian Genocide continued to arise. Moving forward did not
seem possible without addressing it. Therefore Phillips approached the
International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) for it to study the
Armenian Genocide and issue a legal opinion on the applicability of the
Genocide Convention to it. Phillips said, “that the U.S. government knows
that Turkey will never return land nor pay reparations.” He said that, “I
have nothing against historians, but often they can’t agree on what the
facts are. The Turks and Armenians each have its group of historians with
volumes and volumes claiming their own side of the story.”

Phillips went on to explain that, “the reason I use the word genocide has to
do with the working through the International Center for Transitional
Justice, which determined that the Armenian Genocide did not apply to the
Genocide Convention.” According to Phillips, the ICTJ explained that no
treaty had ever been applied retroactively so no reparations could be
expected from Turkey. Phillips closed his comments by saying that the
September 11th terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq increased Turkey’s
strategic value to the United States and thus interfered in TARC’s work
because it was more difficult to pressure Turkey to make concessions. He
had hoped that Turkey’s border with Armenia would be opened, but the
relaxing of visa regimes was the only progress made.

Phillips also discussed what he saw as the great geopolitical advantages if
Turkey was allowed to join the European Union. He briefly reviewed Turkey’s
modern history, mentioning that the Republic of Turkey emerged from the
ashes of the Ottoman Empire when Kemal Ataturk set out “to build a truly
modern state on a par with its European neighbors.” Phillips went to say
that, “Turkey’s founding constitution enshrined the country’s commitment to
secularism and republicanism.”

Phillips explained that the role of the military and national security
apparatus in the years following the founding of the Turkish Republic has
been to preserve the secular principles of Kemalism and guard against
tendencies to return to Islamic rule. Phillips said, “Turkish officers see
their task extending beyond the protection of the country’s territory to
include warding off threats to the public order, such as separatism,
terrorism, and religious fundamentalism.” He noted that this had led to
previous military coups when the Turkish General Staff felt Kemalism was
under threat.

Addressing the rise to power of Recip Erdogan, Phillips related how his
Justice and Development Party came to dominate the Turkish parliament. He
stated that concerns remain about how committed Erdogan and his Islamist
party are to preserving Ataturk’s secular Turkish state. Phillips reviewed
the Turkish Parliament’s decision to ultimately not allow U.S. troops to use
southeastern Turkey as a point of entry to invade Iraq. Phillips also
devoted a portion of the lecture to Erdogan’s campaign to gain Turkish
accession to the European Union.

http://www.anca.org/