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05/24/2005
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1) French Armenians Full-force against Turkey Accession
2) US Regrets Azerbaijan Crackdown on Protest Rally
3) Ankara Condemns Dissident Conference on Armenian Genocide
4) Javakhk Armenians Face Russian Base Closure
5) US to Deploy Military Bases in Azerbaijan

1) French Armenians Full-force against Turkey Accession

PARIS (Combined Sources)–Close to 2,000 Armenians gathered in Paris on Sunday
to seek a delay in the start of European Union (EU) accession negations with
Turkey.
In a letter to French President Jacques Chirac, organizers pointed to
Turkey’s
poor human rights record and its denial of the Armenian genocide, adding that
the country is far from adopting and implementing European standards.
The rally was organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the
Hunchagian, and Ramgavar political parties.
As a means to stop Turkey’s accession, the Armenian community in France, some
400,000-strong, has been expected to lean towards a ‘no’ vote on adopting the
EU constitution. A nationwide referendum in France has been scheduled for May
29. Community leaders have insisted that France urge Turkey to acknowledge the
1915 genocide as part of the accession talks.
Armenia’s foreign minister Vartan Oskanian said though he could understand
concerns of French Armenians, a “No” vote would nevertheless bring about a
decreased French role and influence in Europe.
“Armenia has, too, expressed its concerns over Turkey’s failure to meet a set
of EU membership requirements, particularly its persistent denial of the
Armenian genocide and the blockade of Armenia, but we do not see any
connection
between the European Constitution and Turkey’s EU membership,” Oskanian said.
But polls released over the past two weeks indicate opposition to the treaty
is likely. According to a poll by Ipsos published in Le Figaro 51 percent of
decided voters would reject the European Constitution.

2) US Regrets Azerbaijan Crackdown on Protest Rally

WASHINGTON(AFP)–The United States expressed regret Monday over a move by
police in Azerbaijan to break up a banned anti-government rally over the
weekend, arresting and beating dozens of protestors.
“We regret that Azerbaijan’s government refused a request by the
opposition to
hold a peaceful rally,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
“It’s also regrettable that the police used force to disband small groups of
protesters and detain participants in an unsanctioned rally.”
Authorities in the capital Baku refused to allow the rally Saturday on the
grounds it fell too close to opening ceremonies for the $4 billion
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC).
No figure was available for the number of injured in the crackdown, but an
AFP
reporter saw police flogging several protestors with rubber batons,
knocking at
least one man unconscious and beating a local reporter.
Boucher said the government’s handling of the rally and its decision to
detain
protesters violated the spirit of President Ilham Aliyev’s decree last month
that affirmed the constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
“We again call on the government of Azerbaijan to honor the right of its
people to assemble peacefully and freely and to ensure that those detained
during the rally are afforded due process immediately,” he said.

3) Ankara Condemns Dissident Conference on Armenian Genocide

(AFP)–Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek Tuesday accused of “treason” a
group of academics organizing a conference to question Turkey’s official
position on the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the
Anatolia news agency reported.
The three-day conference, which opens Wednesday at Istanbul’s prestigious
Bogazici University, will be attended by Turkish academics and intellectuals
who dispute Ankara’s version of the 1915-1917 massacres, recognized as
genocide
by several countries.
Cicek condemned the initiative as a blow to government efforts to counter a
mounting Armenian campaign to have the killings recognized internationally as
genocide, which many fear may cloud Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
“This is a stab in the back to the Turkish nation…this is irresponsibility,”
Anatolia quoted Cicek as saying at a parliamentary debate.
“We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading
propaganda against the (Turkish) nation by people who belong to it,” he said.
The opposition joined the criticism. Sukru Elekdag, a senior MP for the main
opposition Republican People’s Party and a retired ambassador, called the
conference “a treacherous project” aimed at disseminating pro-Armenian
propaganda “under the guise of research.”
Conference organizers said in a press statement that “it is high time
Turkey’s
own academics and intellectuals collectively raise voices that differ from the
official stance” on the Armenian killings. “The expression of critical and
alternative opinions will be to Turkey’s benefit, because it will show how
rich
in pluralist thinking Turkish society actually is,” the statement said.
Ankara fears that the genocide allegations could fuel anti-Turkish sentiment
in international public opinion and cloud its image at a time when it is vying
for EU membership.

4) Javakhk Armenians Face Russian Base Closure

(RFE/RL)–Civic groups in Georgia’s Armenian-populated Javakhk region
called on
the local population on Tuesday to stop protesting against and come to terms
with the eventual closure of a Russian military base stationed in the area.
A coalition of local non-governmental organizations was reported to urge the
Javakhk Armenians to accept its withdrawal, demanded by the authorities in
Tbilisi, as a “fait accompli.” A joint statement issued by them came as the
Russian and Georgian governments reported further progress in their difficult
talks on a timetable for ending the longtime Russian military presence in
Georgia.
The Javakhk town of Akhalkalak is home to the two Russian bases in
Georgia. It
has also been the single largest employer in the economically depressed and
restive area ever since the Soviet collapse.
“True, the military base in Akhalkalak has somewhat mitigated economic
problems and served as a psychological security guarantee, but the Javakhk
people should not consider its withdrawal a tragedy,” read the NGO statement
cited by the local A-Info news agency. “If the Georgian state fails to ensure
the security of the Javakhk people, one can always count on the assistance of
the international community and international law.”
Tbilisi has long been seeking the closure of the Russian bases, regarding
them
as a holdover from the Soviet era that hampers its efforts to forge closer
links with NATO and the European Union. The administration of the pro-Western
President Mikhail Saakashvili stepped up pressure on Moscow last March,
threatening to declare the Russian military presence illegal.
Thousands of Javakhk Armenians rallied in Akhalkalak on March 13 in
support of
the Russian base. The protest was widely covered by state-run Russian media.
President Robert Kocharian unexpectedly traveled to Georgia for informal
talks
with Saakashvili on April 1, just days after another rally in Akhalkalak. The
situation in Javakhk was high on the agenda of the meeting. Saakashvili said
afterward that he is satisfied with Yerevan’s position on the issue.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili said late Monday
that Tbilisi and Moscow are close to finalizing an agreement on the time frame
and other terms of the Russian pullout. Georgia has insisted the bases be out
by January 2008, but Russia wants more time to prepare infrastructure to house
the returning troops and equipment. Georgian officials have indicated that
they
would not mind if the Russians agree to close them in the course of 2008.
Russia’s armed forces chief of staff General Yuri Baluyevsky said last week
Moscow might have to move some of the Akhalkalak base’s military hardware to
Armenia where it has stronger military presence.
Baluyevsky’s statement drew protests from Azerbaijan. “Such developments will
not serve the interests of peace and security in the region and will create
tensions …in the process of solving the conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a note to Moscow.

5) US to Deploy Military Bases in Azerbaijan

BAKU (Interfax)–The US and Azeri governments have agreed on the deployment of
US military bases in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani newspaper Echo reported,
citing the US-Israeli strategic analysis and forecast center Stratfor.
“These forces will start to be brought into the country this year, and taking
into account the huge significance of the Caucasus region for the US, the
American military presence here will be long-term. Moreover, the first US
units
will arrive in Azerbaijan within the next several weeks,” reads an article
published in the Saturday issue of Echo.
Citing sources in the Azerbaijani government, Stratfor analysts said
Washington and Baku reached the final agreement on this issue during US
Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s low-profile visit to the Azerbaijani capital on
April 12.
Under the agreement, US forces will be deployed in Kurdamir, Nasosnaya, and
Guyullah. Various types of aircraft will be deployed at all the three bases,
which have runways modernized for US military needs.

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