Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 15 2004
EPM Cohn-Bendit: This is not the Right Place to Discuss Armenian
Issue
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, member of European Parliement, critized France
for bringing the Armenian Issue to the EUP. Cohn-Bandit said the
European Union was not the right place to discuss the Armenian
issue.”
“The right place is Turkey and Armenia. Turks and Armenians should
discuss the problems and they should find a solution.” added EPM
Daniel Cohn-Benditt.
France wants to bring the issue to Turkey’s EU Agenda. Teher is a
strong Armenian Diaspora in France. The Diaspora organizations make
pressure on the Government.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 15 2004
British F.M. Straw: Britain Supports Azerbaijan’s Efforts in
Nagorno-Karabakh
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says Britain fully supports
Azerbaijan’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to a territorial
dispute with Armenia.
Mr. Straw made the comment about Nagorno-Karabakh Tuesday, following
a meeting in London with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that
declared independence in 1988. A six-year conflict over the area
claimed some 35,000 lives.
Mr. Straw also described Azerbaijan as an important energy partner
for Britain, and he thanked Mr. Aliyev for his country’s
contributions to the multinational forces serving in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Mr. Aliyev succeeded his ailing father, Heydar, as Azerbaijan’s
president in October 2003. The elder Mr. Aliyev died two months
later.
Azerbaijan marked his passing Sunday, the first anniversary of his
death.

Detroit News
Dec 15 2004
What kind of kids love opera? 3,000 will find out on Friday
By Neal Rubin / The Detroit News
Ed Hingelberg, the first person I ever heard sing “Amazing Grace” to
the tune of the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song, approached me the
other day with a musical question:
What kind of kids love Armour hot dogs?
Those of you too young to remember the Armour jingle can surf
directly to Google on your hiptops and look it up. For everyone else,
stay tuned; the answer will be along shortly. If it helps, the verse
mentioned six types of children.
Meantime, consider a more elevated — yet eminently approachable —
musical format, all but gift-wrapped for the holidays.
The Motor City Lyric Opera will present “Amahl and the Night
Visitors” this weekend at the Music Hall. It’s in English, it’s
inexpensive as these things go, and it gives me a chance to answer
another musical question — what do you get when the 14th of 18 kids
marries the third of nine?
Nearly 28 years together, says Patrick Lynch, a lot of singing, and a
modest two children. “We just did the division and came up with two,”
he says, “and it seemed to work for us.”
His wife, operatic soprano Mary Callaghan Lynch, founded the MCLO in
2002. Since then, thousands of inner-city kids have seen their
productions at no cost. A robust 3,000 will attend “Amahl” Friday,
which is one of the reasons she’s hoping for a beefy turnout for the
public performances Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m.
“We desperately need to sell tickets,” she says, to make all the
charitable work possible. They’re $25 for adults and $10 for children
younger than 12; call (313) 963-2366.
This is beside the point, but the Lynches met at a funeral and were
set up by their parish priest.
His family owns five mortuaries. Patrick, a baritone, is frequently
asked to sing at services, but it was young Mary Callaghan who
provided the vocals at the funeral of a close friend of his family.
“I decided right then and there I had to have a date with her,” says
Lynch, 54, of Bloomfield Hills. Leaving little to chance, he let
future bishop Bernard Harrington of Holy Name in Birmingham do the
actual asking.
One other irrelevant but noteworthy fact: Mary Callaghan Lynch is
Aretha Franklin’s voice coach. And now on with the rest of today’s
non-sequiturs.
AMONG THE brothers and partners of Patrick Lynch is Thomas Lynch of
Milford, the noted poet. Because it’s an increasingly small world, I
found myself speaking last week to Thomas Lynch of Garden City —
also an undertaker, and no relation to the Milford Lynch, no matter
how often he’s asked.
“I met him a few years ago,” says the Garden City Lynch, “and I told
him, ‘Gosh, I’ve signed so many of your books.’ ”
THE FAMOUS Armenian vocalist Onnik Dinkjian will perform a selection
of hymns Jan. 15 at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Dearborn.
They tell me he’s famous, anyway. I’d have no idea, but I figure
mentioning the show is the least I could do for the Nork Marash
Medical Center in Yerevan, Armenia, the beneficiary of the night’s
receipts.
If you’re thinking I just wanted an excuse to type the words Onnik
Dinkjian and Nork Marash a few times, well, what’s the harm?
Assuming you’re a big fan of Armenian music, by the way, you’ll want
to know that Ara Topouzian and Michael Mossoian will perform tonight
at 9 at Crave, 22075 Michigan Ave., Dearborn.
Topouzian plays the kanun and Mossoian rocks the dumbeg, an
hourglass-shaped drum. The kanun is sort of a Middle Eastern zither,
if that helps any.
I didn’t think so.
YOU CAN’T get enough lyric opera, I’ve always said, so be advised
that the Great Lakes Lyric Opera will hold a Christmas concert to
benefit Mom’s Place Friday at 7 p.m. at Beverly Hills United
Methodist Church.
Tickets are $10, or $25 maximum for parents accompanied by minor
children. Call (248) 646-9777 for details.
Chances are the program will not include the Armour hot dog song,
which went like this:
Hot dogs, Armour hot dogs,
What kind of kids love Armour hot dogs?
Big kids, little kids,
Kids who climb on rocks,
Fat kids, skinny kids, even kids with chicken pox
Love hot dogs,
Armour hot dogs,
The dogs kids love to bite!
Neal Rubin appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him
at (313) 222-1874,
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Dec 15 2004
ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS BILATERAL TIES
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: The chairman of Russian State
Duma (parliament) Boris Gryzlov, who arrived in Yerevan Tuesday
evening, was received today by parliament chairman Arthur
Baghdasarian to discuss ways for boosting ties between the two
nations’ parliaments.
They also spoke about economic issues. Parliament press office
quoted Baghdasarian as saying that Armenians are waiting for Russia
to resume the operation of five enterprise which were handed to it by
Armenia to settle its outstanding debt. Under the deal known as
Assets for Debt the Russian side pledged to resume their operations
as soon as possible, to invest in them and create new jobs.
Later in the day Gryzlov was received by president Kocharian and
discussed with him, according to the presidential press service, the
pace of development of Russian-Armenian political and economic issues
“in the context of harmonization of their legislations and
interaction in international organizations.”
Kocharian and Gryzlov also spoke about a meeting of bilateral
commission for economic cooperation later this month in Moscow which
is expected also to focus on resumption of the five enterprises.
Gryzlov said the Russian side is considering the question of
placing orders for Mars plant, specialized in electronic equipment
production.

ArmenPress
Dec 15 2004
PROSECUTORS CONCERNED OVER GROWING NUMBER OF GAS LEAK ACCIDENTS
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s chief prosecutor’s
office has called in a statement today on the population to avoid
using makeshift stoves to warm their homes that work on natural gas
and urged it to observe all safety rules. The warning came after a
series of accidents from across the country reporting death or
poisoning from gas. The latest such accident occurred in Etchmiadzin
where a couple and three their little children were poisoned by a gas
leak out.
The incidents prompted the prosecutor’s office to make a probe and
reveal that virtually all accidents are due to people’s failure to
observe the most elementary safety rules and the carelessness of
authorized bodies which are supposed to supervise local gas networks’
safety.
The chief prosecutor’s office also urged the population to report
immediately about careless work of authorized bodies. It also
required that gas authorities carry out sweeping reforms within the
system and take measures to prevent such accidents in future.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Dec 15 2004
Council race gets infusion of youth
Hovik Gabikian, 35, says he would represent a younger generation of
voters on the City Council.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE CITY HALL – By the time Glendale voters choose their next
slate of City Council members in April, the youngest incumbent, Rafi
Manoukian, will be 44 years old. The average age of the council
members will be 54.
Hovik Gabikian sees an aging council, and he wants to inject some
youth into it. The 35-year-old social worker announced Tuesday that
he will run for a seat on the council.
“I try to assist the younger generation, especially the immigrant
families that are somehow underrepresented, to give them a political
education, participation and empowerment,” Gabikian said. “My goal is
to help them to register, to vote, to be an active participant in
this process. If that could lead my election, that would be great.”
Gabikian moved to Glendale from Armenia in 1989. He attended Glendale
Community College and UCLA. He has been active in the Homenetmen
Ararat chapter for more than a decade, and has been a member of the
United Young Armenians for the past four years.
“He’s very popular among the young university kids who attend several
different universities,” Mayor Bob Yousefian said. “He’s got a lot of
devoted fans willing to put the time and effort to volunteer. He may
have a good chance.”
Gabikian said he will make traffic management, affordable housing and
health care and employment opportunities his top priorities.
“He always first thinks and then talks,” said Hoosik Ghookasian,
athletic director for the Homenetmen Ararat chapter. “He does
everything perfect. He cares about everything and everybody, and he
cares about his job and what he has to do.”
But Gabikian will have much competition. With more than six weeks
remaining until the filing deadline, 10 people have already announced
their candidacy. Yousefian, Frank Quintero and Dave Weaver are
running for reelection. John Drayman, Pauline Field, Glynda Gomez,
Steve Hedrick, Ara Najarian, Garry Sinanian and Gabikian will
challenge them. Candidates have until Jan. 27 to file the necessary
paperwork to run.
The fourth-highest vote-getter will replace Gus Gomez on the council,
and will serve the remaining two years of his term. Gus Gomez,
husband of challenger Glynda Gomez, must give up his council seat
before taking a judicial post on Jan. 3.

The Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 15 2004
Turkey’s EU Membeship’ Possible Impacts on the Caucasus
View: Dr. Sedat LACINER
There are relatively three small countries (Georgia, Azerbaijan, and
Armenia) and three large countries (Russia, Turkey, and Iran) in the
Caucasus. With the collapse of the USSR, Turkey does not have common
boundaries with Russia anymore. Turkey has been one of the first
countries to recognize the newly independent states.
Oil has a special role in the importance of the region. Especially
the Azerbaijani oil makes the region very vital. In addition, in the
transportation of Central Asian oil and natural gas, the Caucasus is
an important route. In the post-Cold War era, it can be said that
three approaches in the region have competed for ascendancy: the
Iranian approach, Russia’ unwillingness to retreat, and Turkey’s
desire for integration with the West.
The Iranian approach is related more with Azerbaijan and wishes for
the establishment of a form of government in this country similar to
that in Iran. As with Georgia and Armenia, Iran stays close to
Russia’s position and endeavors to keep the US and Israel out of the
region.
Russia, in addition to its cooperation with Iran, wants to maintain
its influence in the region. From the insurgency in Abkhazia to the
invasion of Karabakh, there is no ethnic conflict in the region in
which Russia has no part. As a matter of fact, both Georgia and
Azerbaijan blame Russia for instigating ethnic secession in the
region. During the tension that mounted in Ossetia in August 2004, it
is no coincidence for Georgian officials to state that `This is a
conflict between Russia and Georgia. War with Russia is imminent.’ In
addition, Russia is internally occupied with Chechnya and a bloody
war is going on there for a decade. In short, be it Russia as a state
or some elements in Russia who are fuelling instability in the
Caucasus, or even if this is only a perception, it can be said that
Russia will not act as a locomotive in efforts to consolidate
regional stability and cohesion.
In this respect, Georgia and Azerbaijan seek to improve their
relations with Turkey, the US, and NATO and have demonstrated their
intention on various occasions. Expressing their desire to enter NATO
and the EU repeatedly, these countries see Western institutions as
the guarantee for their survival and Turkey as a gateway to the West.
Indeed, relations with Turkey go further back than is normally
thought. During Ottoman times, Georgians and Azerbaijanis asked the
Ottomans for help to ensure their safety against outside powers and
were met with reception. In a sense, today’s convergence can be
viewed as continuity. In the framework of the cooperation in
question, the Turkish military trains the Georgian and Azerbaijani
militaries. Numerous Turkish companies operate in these countries.
Another area that strikes attention is education. In addition to the
thousands of Georgians and Azerbaijanis attending Turkish
universities, relations are further improved with the opening of
primary, secondary, and higher education facilities in these
countries by Turkish private enterprise. The event that perfects
these developments is the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The energy
pipeline starting in Azerbaijan, passing through Georgia and ending
in Turkey’s southern shores closely knits the three countries to each
other. This route also connects the Caucasus to the Mediterranean,
that is, to Europe. Lately, the subject that is paid close attention
to is to attach more tightly the region to the Black Sea, the
Mediterranean, and Europe by railways, roads, and seaways and all
directions pass through Turkey.
While talking about Turkish-Caucasian relations, the subject of
ethnic ties cannot be overlooked. Today, some 100,000 Armenians and
millions of Georgians and Azerbaijanis live in Turkey. In addition to
Armenians, Georgians and Azerbaijanis who are Turkish citizens, there
are some 100,000 workers are known to be in Turkey, legally or
illegally. Moreover, of the minorities that constitute Georgia’s
populace, a sizeable number lives in Turkey. These groups also
maintain their ties with the Caucasus. This is to such an extent that
when clashes erupt between Georgians and Abkhazians, both groups try
to muster the support of Turkish public opinion. It is a blessing
that the Caucasian groups that are in dispute do not take their
problems into the Turkish political scene.
To summarize, Turkey has the dynamics to maintain the balance among
the region’s great powers. This is not to suggest that there is a
Turkish model against Russia and Iran and one that aims to oust the
two countries from the region. On the contrary, the Turkish model is
inclusive as well as supportive of integration. Turkey’s approach is
in conformity not only with Russia’s and Iran’s aims, but also with
those of NATO, the EU, and the US.
Following the approaches of the global and the region’s great powers,
when analyzing the cognition of the region’s relatively small states,
Georgia and Azerbaijan seem to be in close collaboration with Turkey.
The two states also think of NATO and the EU very pleasantly and
desire to become a member in both institutions while both have
fostered close military ties with the US. Most importantly, both
countries hope that Turkey will carry them to the Western system.
During the latest NATO summit that took place in Istanbul in 2004 a
meeting was held between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia,
and Azerbaijan. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stated that
Turkey had a sincere intention to improve relations with Armenia and
that the current government was much more eager for that end than
previous governments. Oskanian also said that they welcomed Turkey’s
leadership regarding regional dialogue and underscored Turkey’s role
in the region once again. The three countries’ representatives all
unanimously agreed that the EU and NATO sought a new strategy in
Southern Caucasus and that regional actors had to help this search.
The representatives argued that with the inclusion of Georgia, this
strategy had to be shaped by the region’s countries and be given its
last form by the EU and NATO and that Turkey had a special role in
this strategy and in bringing the region closer to Europe. In short,
Turkey’s EU membership will both hasten the region’s direction
towards Europe and at the same time enable the EU to act as a
significant actor in the region with a strong and applicable vision.
Sedat LACINER: IR Lecturer and Director, ISRO, Ankara
[email protected] or [email protected]

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 15 2004
Georgia’s demographic woes
By M. Alkhazashvili
Civil confrontation, ethnic conflicts, economic collapse, a leap in
unemployment and many other negative factors have led to many
Georgians to leave the country in the last fifteen years.
The census conducted in 2002 shows that within the territory under
Georgia’s jurisdiction (excluding separatist Abkhazia and South
Ossetia) 4,361,000 people live, some 431,000 less than in the 1989
census.
The situation is worse if the 162,000 refugees who left the
separatist-controlled territories are taken into account. Urban
population decreased by 7,000 and rural population by 323,000.
Experts estimate that approximately one million people – or one in
five of the population – left the country because of the developments
in Georgia in the 1990s. These were mainly young people – the
educated, qualified sector of the population – meaning that the
population left behind has become older and older.
Many of those to leave were of Abkhaz ethnicity: the number of Abkhaz
in Georgia, including Abkhazia, has halved and is now about 45,000 –
42,000 of whom live in the separatist republic, and the rest in
different regions of Georgia. Around 50,000 Abkhaz live abroad,
mainly in Russia.
The number of Ossetians has also halved. There are currently 84,000
in the country, including 46,000 who live in Tskhinvali controlled
territory. 79,000 Ossetians now live abroad, again, mainly in Russia.
Other citizens of non-Georgian ethnicity have also left the country.
Of the 341,000 Russians who used to live here, only 100,000 remain;
while people of Armenian origin now number 281,000, a decrease of
155,000. The number of Azeri leaving the country is lower – around
22,000 – leaving 284,000 in the country.
Although there are social reasons for such an exodus, for the most
part the high number of emigrants is due to economic reasons.
According to official statistics, there are some 620,000 registered
unemployed people in Georgia, 33 percent have a University education
and 75 percent of whom live in urban areas. 40 percent are under
thirty and 22 percent have had no permanent job since the beginning
of the 1990s.
Parliament is shortly to adopt the new Tax Code and law on financial
amnesty, and it is hoped that this will provide a boost to the
economy, and that as a result the hemorrhaging of the Georgian
population will be brought to a halt.

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 15 2004
Misunderstandings of strategic partnerships
The Georgian-Azeri strategic partnership, centered on coinciding
political and economic interests of the two countries, is considered
to be one of the central tenets of Caucasus politics. But this
relationship has recently faced some very public disruptions.
Confusion between Georgian and Azeri officials emerged when
Azerbaijan’s customs inspectors began increased inspection of
Georgian cargo. They suspected that part of this cargo was bound for
Armenia, and soon Georgian businesses were complaining they faced
detrimental delays in shipping from Azerbaijan. Soon afterwards, the
Georgian media speculated that Azerbaijan is beginning to suspect
that the new Rose Revolution government is in fact friendlier towards
Armenia.
But concerns more volatile than railroad cars have also emerged. On
December 3, an elderly ethnic-Azeri woman was killed when she and a
group of armed protestors converged on a large farm to demand the
right to use the land. Then last Wednesday, December 8, special
forces from the Financial Police raided the village Vakhtangisi
bordering Azerbaijan in the same Marneuli region in an effort to
crack down on smuggled goods.
A spokesman for the Financial Police told Rustavi-2 that the village
was known as the ‘capital of contraband.’ Despite protesting
residents who even temporarily held captive some officers, the
Financial Police seized goods valued at GEL 5 million and took them
to the Lilo Customs checkpoint for inspection.
Azerbaijan responded to all of these issues. An Azeri union of NGOs
launched an appeal to President Mikheil Saakashvili demanding that
Tbilisi protects the rights of local ethnic Azeris. Speaker of
Azerbaijan’s national assembly Mili-Majlis Murtuz Aleskerov expressed
his discontent with the fact that over 500,000 Azerbaijanis reside in
Georgia, but that they are not employed on the construction of the
BTC oil pipeline. “Georgia should understand that its future income
as a sovereign state will depend on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pipelines,” Aleskerov declared at a session of
the Mili-Majlis on Tuesday, December 7.
He added that a special commission of four Mili-Majlis MPs has been
created to investigate these issues in Georgia, including land
distribution in the Marneuli region. As part of this investigation, a
delegation from the Azeri government visited Georgia early this week.
In Georgian circles, the Azeri reaction was seen as an over-reaction
by a neighboring country. “I advise to my Azeri colleagues to be more
careful with such issues. I think this subject is being deliberately
stirred up. Azerbaijan’s authority is misinformed,” stated the head
of Georgia’s committee on foreign relations MP Kota Gabashvili, as
quoted by the newspaper Akhali Taoba.
Over the past year, the Georgian and Azeri governments have
demonstrated high levels of cooperation. Both countries’ ministers of
education have traveled to visit ethnic minority regions (i.e.
Georgia’s Lomaia has visited ethnic Georgians living in Azeribaijan,
and vice versa) and brought with them ‘native language’ text books
and teaching materials.
For both countries, the issue of ethnic minorities is a sensitive
issue that requires the emergence of an idea that citizenship is
based on geography and not ethnicity. This is a difficult task for
the Caucasus region where ethnicity and heritage are patriotic
buzzwords.
But there are also signs the two countries are politically astute
enough to deal with the current events through other means. Georgia’s
president replaced his representative in the Shida Kartli region and
President Aliev of Azerbaijan stated on Friday that there are and
will be no problems along the Georgian-Azeri border.
Recently a Georgian delegation participated in the ceremonies
commemorating the first anniversary of death of President Heidar
Aliev. The representatives of both countries stressed upon the fact
that Georgia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and they will not
deviate from the direction of close partnership and friendship. With
BTC set to go online in the coming months, they will have even more
motivation to do so.

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 15 2004
Tbilisi’s shuki shortage
A combination of problems causes city-wide blackout, and industry
spokesman warns of similar problems to come
By Keti Sikharulidze and James Phillips
Tbilisi experienced a city-wide blackout on Tuesday, with important
facilities including the metro, airport, and hospitals all losing
light for several hours during the evening.
The blackout was due to the loss of the Aragvi 220 kilovolt
transmission line into Tbilisi, which as Director General of the
Georgian State Electrosystem Joe Corbett told The Messenger, was the
result of a number of problems.
Corbett explained that a joint on the Aragvi line blew as a result of
overloading, which was itself due to the disconnection on Sunday
morning of one of the two automatic transformer boxes, ‘AT 4’ at
Gardabani, which transfer electricity from the high voltage 500 KV
lines across Georgia to the 220 KV line, owing to a defect.
“When we lose a transformer we have no backup,” Corbett says, adding
that because of a lack of maintenance over the last fourteen years,
the Aragvi line sometimes struggles to cope with levels of
electricity that theoretically it should have no problem with, as was
the case on Monday.
The autotransformer was reconnected on Tuesday evening, although PR
officer of the Ministry of Energy Teona Doliashvili notes that the
transformer will be disconnected again this weekend for scheduled
testing.
In the meantime, Tbilisi should receive a normal electricity service,
at least until another fault appears, but the GSE General Director
says that this is unlikely to be long, because the electricity system
is in such a bad state of repair, and the money to rehabilitate the
system is not available. “Georgia wants a transmission system that it
is not willing to pay for,” he complains.
Corbett says that the loss of the Aragvi line was just one of a
multitude of inter-related problems faced by Georgia’s electricity
system over the weekend.
Imports of electricity from Armenia were suspended until Sunday
evening owing to a fault on the Alaverdi line, on the Armenian side.
For several days until Sunday night, one of the units at the Enguri
hydroelectric power station was disconnected owing to another
breakdown.
There were also problems over the weekend with the high voltage
Imereti and Kavkazioni lines which transmit electricity from Enguri
and Russia.
The combination of all of these problems meant that even more
electricity had to be transferred to Tbilisi along the Aragvi line,
resulting in the city-wide blackout on Monday.
Despite the problems, however, Deputy Energy Minister Aleksandre
Khetaguri told Imedi he believes that “the emergency situation will
become better in the near future and Tbilisi will receive the same
energy once the AT 4 transformer has been repaired.”
The lack of electricity, meanwhile, has led to twice as much gas
being consumed as usual, causing a drop in pressure in the gas
system.