Zaman, Turkey
June 29 2004
Erdogan: Kurds Are Not Minority but Part of All
At the Pan Atlantic Youth Summit yesterday organized as part of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, Prime Minister
Erdogan emphasized that Kurds are not a minority, but one part of a
whole.
Erdogan answered questions posed by the audience at the Summit
attended by approximately 200 students. “Kurds are components
inextricable from the whole. Religious groups can be counted as a
minority. For us, the Kurds do not have minority status,” Erdogan
said in response to a question about the future of the Kurds. He also
pointed out that although he is from Rize, his spouse is from Siirt,
a southeastern city that is densely populated by Kurds. He said, “the
population in Turkey is almost hybrid, there is no minority.”
Erdogan said that NATO and the European Union (EU) have extended east
and Turkey is no longer a geographical wing, but rather the center.
He stressed that Turkey is gaining importance and it will
successfully overcome the difficulties with its historical experience
and the power it took to unify with the west. Erdogan said, “Turkey
is a candidate to be a symbol of 21st century culture and
civilization.” When asked when the Armenian border will be opened, he
reminded the audience that Armenia is an occupier in Azerbaijan. He
added: “Turkey cannot develop its relationship with Armenia and this
stems from Armenia. It is an incompatible country.” Erdogan
criticized Armenia for not attending the NATO summit. “The Armenian
Diaspora wants to keep so-called genocide on the agenda. It is
impossible for Turkey to approve this attitude.” He also replied to a
question about the new Turkish policy in the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by saying: “We put effort forth for the
unification of the island and started peace talks for the fourth
time. We showed we would be always a step ahead of the Greeks. The
side that rejected the Annan plan is in the EU and the situation of
the side who said yes is apparent.”
Next Step: Iraqi Election
All eyes have turned to elections to be held in January of 2005 for
the Iraq National Assembly now that sovereignty has been transferred.
The transfer of power took place yesterday, two days ahead of
schedule.
The new Constitution to be prepared by the Parliament in the fall of
2005 is to be presented for a referendum. The new government that
will be determined through the free general elections in December of
2005 will come to power in January of 2006.
The US forces entering the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on March 9, 2003
formed the Iraqi Temporary Governing Council consisting of 25 Iraqi
members on July 13, 2003. The Council enacted the interim
Constitution on March 8, 2004 and, after electing Ghazi Al-Yawar as
President on June 1, 2004, annulled itself as of June 28, 2004.
06.29.2004
Bahtiyar Kucuk, Servet Yanatma
Istanbul

Cumhuriyet, Turkey
June 29 2004
GUL HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS WITH WORLD LEADERS
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday held bilateral meetings with
several leaders attending the current NATO summit in Istanbul. In
talks with his British counterpart, Gul urged Jack Straw to lend
support to end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Gul also called on Britain to begin direct
flight to the TRNC soon. For his part, Straw said that both the
European Union and Britain had been working seriously on the matter.
Furthermore, the Turkish foreign minister also met with his
Macedonian, Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. /Cumhuriyet/

Turkish Daily News
June 29 2004
Turkey seeks catalyst role in Azeri-Armenian conflict
Foreign Minister Gul holds talks with Armenian and Azeri counterparts
on the sidelines of the NATO summit and discusses Cyprus steps with
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Turkey seeks to become a catalyst between Azerbaijan and Armenia in
an effort to resolve the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region,
Turkish officials said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Monday morning met his
Armenian counterpart, Vartan Oskanian, on the sidelines of the NATO
summit in Istanbul. Oskanian said that Yerevan was serious in its
determination to improve relations with Turkey, while Gul noted that
Turkey had the will to reciprocate.
Both ministers agreed that due to the public’s sensitivity in both
countries, it would take time to achieve this objective. Gul cited
the example of Cyprus, noting that they had first laid a foundation
that had paved the way for negotiations and relations.
NATO has been discussing a project for launching a Caucasus Stability
Pact, but the continued tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a
significant obstacle to the plan.
Gul was scheduled to hold a trilateral meeting with his Armenian and
Azerbaijani counterparts, Oskanian and Elmar Memmedyarov, later in
the day.
Turkey had severed its ties with Armenia and says normalization in
relations depends upon Armenia’s withdrawing its forces in
Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azeri territory under Armenian
occupation for the last decade. Other conditions for normalized ties
include Yerevan putting an end to its support for Armenian diaspora
efforts to secure international recognition of an alleged genocide of
Armenians at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire.
A Turkish official said that Armenia had no objection to developing
relations but noted that it had posed no objections during other
international meetings, later reneging on its pledges.
In this afternoon’s meeting, Oskanian was expected to broach the
issue of stability in the general Caucasus although the raising of
the topic would not be welcomed by the Armenian people.
Turkish officials said that all three ministers would express their
willingness to meet regularly on a trilateral basis in addition to
meetings at international summits.
Turkey and Armenia do not enjoy diplomatic relations. A Turkish
official close to the talks said, “Only the results and indirect
consequences of the problems between the two countries are of any
interest to us.” The Turkish official also declined to specify how
Turkey would act as a catalyst in relations between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.
Another topic during the meetings is expected to be the replacement
of private charter flights between Turkey and Armenia with scheduled
flights.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Head of Armenian reporters’ union accuses authorities of controlling media
Mediamax news agency
29 Jun 04
YEREVAN
The chairman of the Gyumri-based Asparez journalists’ club, Levon
Barsegyan, has accused the Armenian authorities of violating freedom
of speech and of the desire to control the media.
Addressing a seminar organized by the Yerevan Press Club and the
Friedrich Naumann Fund in Yerevan today, Levon Barsegyan said that
“Armenian TV companies have the right to criticize the work of the
country’s legislative and executive branches but not the president of
the country”.
According to him, at present Armenia seriously lacks independent
media, like A1+ which was deprived of the right to broadcast two years
ago. At the same time, Barsegyan noted that “the major part of
Armenia’s mass media is controlled by the president’s administration”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian servicemen pleased with visit to Baku-hosted NATO conference
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
26 Jun 04

[Presenter] Armenian military officers who returned from Azerbaijan
announced today that the incident which took place during NATO’s
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 planning conference in Baku was directed
not against Armenia but against Azerbaijan’s international
image. Azerbaijan also understood that if the Armenian officers were
not allowed to Baku or something happened to them, the international
community would not forgive it this time. The incident that took place
during the conference was not unexpected for the Armenian officers.
[Correspondent over video of press conference and Azerbaijani entry
visas in the Armenian officers’ passports] This is the historic
document which allowed the Armenian officers to arrive in the
Azerbaijani capital. Col Murad Isakhanyan and senior Lt Aram Ovanesyan
crossed the Georgian-Azerbaijani border without any problems in
accordance with an agreement reached in Kiev. Representatives of the
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry met the Armenian officers at Heydar
Aliyev airport and suggested taking them on an excursion.
[Col Murad Isakhanyan, captioned] They showed us the same day all the
changes which they had made.
[Correspondent] The Armenian delegation was accommodated at Hotel
Europe where the NATO member-countries’ delegations were staying. That
was the end of the peaceful life. Activists of the Karabakh Liberation
Organization led by Akif Nagi managed to get into the hotel’s security
area and entered the conference hall.
[Murad Isakhanyan] This disturbance was directed against us. We were
quiet. We had been aware of this possibility since 22 December. Our
security service officers collected everything from the table and put
into my bag. Our Mr Ovanesyan jumped up immediately and grabbed our
flag and hid it under his clothes. They were looking for Armenians.
[Correspondent over video of protest in Baku] The incident was not
unexpected for the Armenian officers. This is understandable. Before
leaving for Baku they were ready for everything. The Armenian Defence
Ministry immediately recalled its delegation from Baku. A
representative of the NATO Command, Charles Lee, said that everyone
who wished could leave Baku immediately. Representatives of some
member-countries also said that they were ready to leave Baku in case
the Armenian delegation left Baku.
[Murad Isakhanyan] This incident, i.e. when the leadership and
representatives of NATO’s 19 member-countries were sitting in the
conference room and they burst into it and smashed everything in their
way, damaged Azerbaijan’s international image in the first place. I
told them that I expected this when I came here and knew that this
could happen.
[Corespondent] The Armenian officers did not leave Baku. The
conference completed its three working days. The Armenian officers
used this opportunity to speak to not only high-ranking military
officials of Azerbaijan but also ordinary people.
[Murad Isakhanyan] Everyone shook hands and spoke to us. Nobody
reminded us of Karabakh or land problems.
[Correspondent] The incident has not affected the Armenian officers’
intention to participate in future programmes, especially in the
exercises which will be held [in Azerbaijan] in September. The NATO
Command has announced that they will not limit the number of Armenian
officers who can take part in the forthcoming NATO exercises.
Tereza Kasyan, “Aylur”.

Azeri ombudsman asks for “lenient punishment” for jailed Karabakh activists
Turan news agency
29 Jun 04

BAKU
Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova has appealed to the Prosecutor-General’s
Office in connection with the protest staged by members of the
Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO] outside Hotel Europe on 21
June.
She said in the appeal that the picket was not an act of hooliganism,
but a protest against Armenian servicemen’s arrival in Baku. Many
members of the KLO fought in Karabakh, lost their relatives and
friends, and suffered a severe psychological shock.
In this connection, the ombudsman asked the prosecutor-general to take
into account the mitigating circumstances and regard the deeds of the
detainees under articles stipulating lenient punishment.
Six members of the KLO have been arrested and criminal proceedings
have been instituted against them on charges of hooliganism and
violation of public order. They are accused of attempting to disrupt a
NATO conference at Hotel Europe.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia expresses interest in post-conflict Iraqi operations role
Mediamax news agency
29 Jun 04

YEREVAN
Armenia is ready to play an active role in the post-conflict
humanitarian operations in Iraq, Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben
Shugaryan announced in Yerevan today.
Mediamax news agency quoted the diplomat as explaining Yerevan’s
position both by the presence of 30,000 Armenians in Iraq and
Armenia’s state interests.
Talks on the dispatch of Armenian military doctors, drivers and
sappers to Iraq by and large have now been completed and at present
they are discussing the logistics, the Armenian deputy foreign
minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

New proposal on Karabakh based on Cyprus blueprint – Azeri paper
Ayna, Baku
29 Jun 04

Text of X. Afqani report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ayna on 29 June
headlined “Cyprus blueprint for Karabakh” and subheaded “Turkey’s
involvement in the Nagornyy Karabakh talks agreed”
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey met yesterday
[28 June] on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Istanbul. The
gathering was held behind closed doors.
The ministers told journalists after the meeting that they had
discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict but did not disclose the
details. In their brief speeches the ministers said that both
Azerbaijan and Armenia support a greater involvement of Turkey in
resolving the conflict. The mechanism for this will be ready in one or
two months, [Azerbaijani Foreign Minister] Elmar Mammadyarov said.
In turn, [Armenian Foreign Minister] Vardan Oskanyan said that the
sides also discussed the opening of the Turkish-Armenian
border. Resolving this issue may take some time, Oskanyan said. The
foremost objective of the talks was to work out a new approach to
resolving the problem.
According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Armenia received a new
formula to settle the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict during the trilateral
meeting. The formula is similar to the blueprint for resolving the
Cyprus problem. In essence, the new proposal is to pay greater
attention to the interests of both the Armenian and Azeri communities
in Nagornyy Karabakh.
Before the trilateral meeting, [Turkish Foreign Minister] Abdullah Gul
received Oskanyan. The Turkish mass media reported that this meeting
discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh problem and relations between Turkey
and Armenia. The two countries have yet to establish diplomatic
relations.

Tehran Times
June 29 2004
Armenian President Keen On Expansion Of Tehran-Yerevan Ties
MOSCOW (IRNA) — Armenian President Robert Kocharian in the meeting
with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Farhad Koleini on Monday called for
expansion of Tehran-Yerevan ties.
During the meeting which took place at the end of Koleini’s tenure,
the two sides discussed mutual cooperation in political, security and
economic fields aiming to restore stability to the region.
Kocharian called for further Tehran-Yerevan cooperation compared to
the past and stressed the necessity of steady development of the
region.
He assessed the upcoming visit of President Mohammad Khatami to
Armenia as a “turning point” in bilateral ties and a step towards
bolstering mutual relations. He hoped that Khatami’s visit would bear
fruitful results.
President Khatami is schedule to pay an official visit to Armenia in
September.

PRESS RELEASE
June 29, 2004
CONTACT: MFA PRESS
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Foreign Minister Oskanian Addresses NATO – EAPC Summit in Istanbul

Armenia’s Foreign Minister led Armenia’s delegation to the NATO-EAPC Summit
in Istanbul, on June 28-29. This year’s annual meeting was attended by
nearly 50 heads of state. The agenda focused on Afghanistan, the Balkans,
and included a discussion of a strategic shift by the North Atlantic
Alliance to focus on the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In the margins of the meeting, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. This was the fourth meeting between
the two over two years. They discussed the steps necessary to move towards
normalizing relations. In addition, Armenia’s, Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s
foreign ministers met to discuss various regional issues.

Following the meeting, Minister Oskanian reiterated his position on such
trilateral meetings. He explained that they are useful because are held
among equals, among neighbors who have many matters to discuss or resolve.
The three ministers agreed to consider meeting again in the margins of an
international organization meeting.

Below is the transcript of the Minister’s spoken remarks.

Statement by H. E. Mr. Vartan Oskanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Armenia
at the EAPC Summit
29 June 2004, Istanbul

Mr. Secretary General,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

History is moving so quickly that nearly each one of these summits can,
without great exaggeration, be said to be a meeting which will appear in the
annals of history as a most important one for the development of the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership. This summit marks the 10th anniversary of the
Partnership for Peace program. We can, in hindsight, congratulate ourselves
on a well-designed, well-thought out, useful, successful program.

Within this program, and in response to the Alliance’s policy shift towards
our region, Armenia has undertaken a number of steps aimed at enhancing and
deepening our relations. Today we can surely state that Armenia is actively
engaged with NATO in all spheres of cooperation considered by the Allies as
main priorities and objectives of the Partnership.

First, let’s speak of the future. Armenia has officially presented its
intention to continue and deepen relations within the framework of the
Individual Partnership Action Plan. Armenia has also offered to host NATO
PfP Exercise Cooperative Associate 05.

As for what we have accomplished: First, political consultations with the
NATO leadership are held on a regular basis, and are considered by both
sides as important components of Armenia-NATO relations. Second, Armenia
actively participates in the PfP programmes on developing interoperability
and undertakes appropriate steps aimed at the reforming of its defense
system. Third, Armenia is a member of NATO-led peacekeeping operations. The
positive experience that we have gained from this encourages us today to
examine new ways and possibilities of increasing the overall volume of our
engagement in international peacekeeping. Fourth, Armenia successfully
hosted the `Cooperative Best Effort 2003′ NATO/PfP exercise, and also
greatly benefited from improved peacekeeping capabilities. This Cooperation
also made it possible for Turkish troops to participate in that exercise.
Ten years ago who would have thought such a thing possible? That Turkish
troops would take part in NATO exercises on Armenian soil, and the Turkish
flag would fly in Armenia.

Mr. Secretary-General,
The benefits of our participation in the EAPC, which is really a unique
forum unifying all states of the Euro-Atlantic region, continue. That we are
here, today, with a large delegation, is evidence. That we are here, today,
at all, in Istanbul, is evidence of our further belief that Turkey has a
role to play in that integration path, not just for Armenia, but for the
entire South Caucasus.

Turkey’s choice of a logo for the NATO Istanbul summit is a bridge, probably
signifying the link between East and West. This bridge could and should also
signify the link that Turkey can be between the Caucasus and Europe. Turkey,
by geography, is the bridge between the Caucasus and Europe. Turkey is the
only NATO member with which the three countries of the Caucasus share a
border. Further, now that the Caucasus is part of the European Union’s New
Neighborhood initiative, our links with Europe go through Turkey. With
Turkey itself on a path toward Europe, ahead of the Caucasus, this whole
area is truly on its way to becoming neighbors of Europe, and eventually a
European neighborhood. Armenians believe that just as Turkey has normal
relations with Azerbaijan and Georgia, it must have ties with Armenia as
well, in order to draw the whole region together into a real neighborhood.

Such a move would have an immeasurable impact on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict as well. Nothing can compensate for our people’s deep feelings of
insecurity so long as neighbors are not a source of comfort, but a reminder
of recent and old grievances. In this new era, with new challenges, and new
alliances, Turkey’s even-handed regional policies would go a long way to
convincing the Armenian public that a Nagorno Karabakh resolution – which we
all want – must be fashioned for a region at peace, and not for neighbors at
war. Turkey is a neighbor whose words, actions, relations – or absence of
relations – influence the environment in which security concerns must be
addressed.

It goes without saying that Nagorno Karabakh is a serious security problem.
The President of Azerbaijan, however, addressed this issue from a purely
narrow, ethnocentric perspective. The conflict is deeper, broader than the
simple terms in which it was presented here. The allegation of terrorism in
Nagorno Karabakh is so absurd that I won’t even bother to try to respond.
But, I will speak about the other issues he raised: territories, refugees
and the status of Nagorno Karabakh. These are serious problems that we do
need to confront. The fact of the matter is that territories and refugees
are the consequences of a serious core issue: the status, the future status,
of Nagorno Karabakh.

This conflict started peacefully when the people of Nagorno Karabakh opted
for self-determination. Azerbaijan rejected that decision, and resorted to
military operations to suppress that right to self-determination. So, what
we have today are the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression against the
people of Nagorno Karabakh. In addition, and as my president said recently,
Nagorno Karabakh has never ever been part of independent Azerbaijan. These
realities need to be factored into our future negotiations. As President
Aliyev made his perspective known, let me say, too, that we have long been
ready and willing to make the necessary compromises to reach a peaceful
solution to achieve long-lasting peace and stability.

Thank you.