Author: Boshkezenian Garik

Haykakan Zhamanak , Armenia
March 5 2009

Programme may be suspended

Following the known report of the US State Department, 2008 Human
Rights Report, Armenia may get another slap from the United States.

The thing is that the Millennium Challenge Corporation is set to hold
its board’s meeting in Washington on 13 March. This meeting will be
crucial for Armenia. The Millennium Challenge Corporation [MCC] was
supposed to allocate 70m dollars in grant to Armenia this year. We
should understand that "year" means from 29 September 2008 to 29
September 2009 because this is the fiscal year for the MCC.

After the 1 March 2008 events, the corporation’s director, John
Danilovich, sent a letter to [then president] Robert Kocharyan on 11
March, warning that because of the regress in democracy in Armenia,
the Millennium Challenge Account could be suspended, and that this
should be regarded as an official warning.

Three months later when the project was discussed in Yerevan, US
charge d’affaires Joseph Pennington, in response to a question voiced
by a member of the programme’s board of trustees if the more funds
could be allocated to Armenia due to the dollar depreciation, said
that "the original amount is under question, not speaking about
additional funds". The press reported about this at that
time. Pennington also said that if Armenia had the scores of 2008 in
2006, no agreement would have been signed with Armenia. On 12 December
2008, the MCC refused to extend the 7m dollar tranche to Armenia under
the sub-project of rural roads, quoting the state of democracy in the
Republic of Armenia.

[Passage omitted: In MCC’s December 2008 report, Armenia scored "red"
in five out of six sectors that are used to make a decision whether to
extend the grant or not.]

In addition, the corporation takes into account the US Department of
State report on human rights, the corruption level report issued by
the Transparency International, and the report by the Human Rights
Watch. If taking into account the Department of State report and the
other reports – which contained tough wording – it is clear that
Armenia is in a risk zone. This means that all the projects here could
be considered as failed, and the "red" scores are serious threats that
the Millennium Challenge Account may be suspended in Armenia. The
agreement between Armenia and MCC was signed on 27 March 2006, and the
programme’s start was on 29 September 2006. Armenia was supposed to
get 236.65m dollars over five years’ period

[Passage omitted: the breakdown of the amount for each year]

The MCC has so far allocated about 32m dollars to Armenia while
Armenia was supposed to have received more than 100m dollars. On 13
March the corporation will make a semi-annual review to see how the
candidate countries meet the requirements. Our sources in Washington
told us yesterday that MCC may really suspend the funding. This,
however, depends on several factors. According to our sources in
Washington, the Armenian lobby in the US has been working hard to have
this grant extended to Armenia; it’s a question of prestige for
them. However, the US government uses this programme as a pressuring
instrument, and an effort will be made to get concessions from Armenia
in the issues of the Karabakh conflict and relations with Turkey. Our
sources also say that the US will issue more reports on Armenia,
especially on the economy, and most likely, they are going to be
toughly worded.

Armenian government shifts to strict regime of savings

4

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Armenian government should shift
to a strict regime of savings, we should save state resources and spend
in line with our revenues," the prime minister Tigran Sargsyan stated
at the March 12 sitting of the government. In his words, the data of
the National Statistical Service show that GDP indices sharply worsened
in January which means "we must be prepared for the worst scenario".

T. Sargsyan said that no one today can make forecasts about further
developments in the global economy as a result of the crisis. So,
according to him, it is necessary to adopt the principle of quarterly
budget planning and to plan expenditures based on it. The prime
minister pointed out that expenditures should be reduced, but in
conditions of such savings, social expenditures: benefits, pensions,
salaries should be protected. "Strict savings must be ensured with
respect to other expenditures," he underlined.

He expressed an opinion that numerous difficulties will arise in terms
of both domestic and foreign functions. "We must overcome, there is no
other way as the global economy is developing by a not good scenario.
The forecasts of the Central Bank of Armenia and the IMF are regularly
revised and changed in a not positive direction. We should save and
spend as much as we are able to collect in taxes," he noted.

The minister of finance Tigran Davtian said that taxes-GDP ratio should
be increased by 0.4% to 17.4% this year. "There is no other way," the
minister said. In his words, expenditures should be redistributed
rather than reduced, and several expenditures should be transferred to
some other period. The formation of 2010-2012 medium-term expenditure
programs has been temporarily suspended.

The prime minister instructed all the ministries and departments to
submit proposals on efficient budgetary expenditures within 5 days.

CBA approves design of new commemorative coin from `Kings of football’ series

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) approved
the design of obverse and reverse of `ZBIGNIEW BONIEK’ commemorative
coin from `The Kings of Football’ series under Commemorative Coins
Issue Program for 2008-2009.

According to the press-service of the CBA, the decision was made at the
sitting of the CBA Board today, presided over by its Chairman Artur
Javadyan. G. S. `0–

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian youth combats bribery in universities
11.03.2009 18:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Miasin’ (meaning `together’) Youth Movement has
started its struggle against corruption in a very peculiar way. Within
the framework of this movement, today in the morning more than ten
pictures of University professors have been posted on the walls of
some Higher Education Establishment buildings of Yerevan, on
bus-stops, and some other public places. The pictures were grouped
under the heading `Bribe-takers.’ Besides the pictures the posters
also provided information on the activities of the professors about
their `professional’ career.

The participants of the Movement call for all students to join their
struggle and help eradicate corruption and other such things at
Universities.

Yerevan police officers started their own fight with the strugglers
against corruption. They circled the bus-stops and the undergrounds at
the Metro Station `Yeritasardakan’ and started to remove the photos by
thus `helping’ to eradicate corruption.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 10 2009

Russia protests foreign intervention in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict: Foreign Minister Lavrov
10.03.09 12:00

Azerbaijan, Baku, March 10 /Trend News/

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks in an interview with
news agencies in Azerbaijan

Q: Mr. Lavrov, which issues will be discussed during the Baku talks?

A: My task – together with my Azerbaijani counterparts – is to
summarize the activities of the Declaration on Friendship and
Strategic Partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan dated July 3, 2008
and outline steps to implement regulations in the near future. During
my upcoming meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, I hope to
hear his thoughts about developing our relations.

I am tuned into talks with my counterpart Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov on key issues in our bilateral agenda, including
political, economic and humanitarian cooperation.

Obviously, foreign political talks will be comprehensive. Russia and
Azerbaijan, as neighboring countries and active regional players, have
many topics to discuss. These are Caspian issues, including defining
the Caspian’s legal status, creating a multilateral mechanism to
ensure security in the region and furthering economic cooperation. In
this respect, we may make rapid progress.

We intend to discuss the initiatives of several countries to
strengthen stability in the South Caucasus.

We will surely have comprehensive talks on resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will be glad to hear the thoughts of our
Azerbaijani partners about Russia’s future steps as an OSCE Minsk
Group co-chair to assist Azerbaijan and Armenia to end this frozen
conflict.

And there is also our international agenda. We will see what can be
done to further coordinate the activities of our foreign ministries in
the UN and other international organizations.

Q: Are Russia’s and Azerbaijan’s stances on regional policy close,
such as resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? How can the Moscow
declaration contribute to solving this territorial conflict?

A: Russia’s and Azerbaijan’s views on the situation in the South
Caucasus and ways to guaranteeing peace and stability in the region
were fixed in the declaration on friendship. Both our countries have
concerns about existing obstacles preventing regional governments from
developing steadily.

Firstly, this relates to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia’s
position has been expressed repeatedly, including by President
Dimitriy Medvedev. I believe it is well known.

Again, I repeat that we protest foreign intervention. The primary
responsibility to resolve the issue falls on Azerbaijanis and
Armenians. Russia is prepared to support a compromise agreement to
satisfy all parties. A viable solution is one that will return
stability to the South Caucasus.

Now let us touch upon the declaration signed on Nov. 2, 2008 by
Medvedev, Aliyev and Sargsyan and how it can contribute to resolving
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I must say this document has great
significance as the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders unambiguously
confirmed their intention and readiness to continue bilateral talks to
resolve the conflict.

It is no accident that the results of the trilateral meeting received
support at the session of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers in
Helsinki in December 2008. Moreover, the three OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen – Russia, the U.S. and France – later made complementary
proposals.

The fact that the presidents’ last meeting took place recently in
Zurich less than three months after the signing of the Moscow
declaration testifies to the document’s ability to resolve the
conflict.

Q: The Azerbaijani parliament voiced anxiety regarding the creation of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) armed forces. What
is the goal of these forces?

A: As far as I understand, this question is linked to the decision to
establish the CSTO collective urgent response forces, which was passed
at an irregular CSTO session. I want to say straight off that any
apprehension in this regard is groundless.

For instance, contrary to NATO urgent response forces, the CSTO forces
will only be active in member-countries. The decision to use these
forces was adopted unilaterally by their presidents.

Key functions of the CSTO forces will be to repulse military
aggression, hold special operations to combat international terrorism
and forcible extremism, transnational organized crime, narcotics
trafficking and handle natural calamities. To fulfill these tasks, the
forces will include mobile military units, special interior ministry
divisions and security forces.

Q: Despite Russia’s denying an alleged arms delivery to Armenia in
2008, Azerbaijan continues to raise the issue at a high level. The
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said the question is still open and
parliament continues to make harsh statements in this regard. How
could this impact bilateral relations? Can Azerbaijan make Russia
investigate the issue again and in more detail?

A: We have answered this question repeatedly. Russia has never sold
arms or ammunition to Armenia from the Gumri Base No. 102, as
Azerbaijani media reported on Jan. 8.

I do not think there is a need for an additional investigation because
all the statements made by Russia via diplomatic channels are based on
facts and leave no doubt about the decision made by our military
leadership.

We understand Azerbaijan’s careful approach towards the issue given
the difficult relations between Baku and Yerevan. At the same time, we
are convinced that Russia and Azerbaijan have enough reserves of
mutual confidence to prevent such falsifications from hindering us
from expanding our strategic partnership.

Q: What steps are being taken to consolidate the efforts of CIS
countries to combat the negative consequences of the global financial
crisis?

A: After a CIS Presidential Council decision dated Oct. 21, 2008, a
meeting of CIS finance ministers was held in Moscow. Participants
exchanged their views. Anti-crisis issues were also the focus of a CIS
Presidential Council meeting on Nov. 14, 2008 in Kishinev.

During the meeting, participants discussed mutually integrating CIS
economies to minimize the negative consequences of the crisis. Most
CIS countries face problems with limited access to foreign funds. Work
in this regard continued at a CIS Economic Council session on Dec. 12,
2008.

Q: Will the $2-billion Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral trade change
during the crisis?

A: Goods turnover between our two countries hit $2.4 billion last
year. Goods turnover has doubled in the past three years. This
testifies to our sound basis for developing future economic
cooperation.

The structure of our goods turnover minimizes the potential negative
aspects of the crisis.

We must take the appropriate measures to change the structure of our
mutual trade. We plan to implement huge joint energy projects with
Azerbaijan, which are currently under development.

All interested organizations and enterprises must take active steps to
increase the efficiency of our economic cooperation. Our experts are
sure that Russia will remain a huge commodity supplier to
Azerbaijan. Russian entrepreneurs have voiced their readiness to
develop businesses in Azerbaijan. As a result, goods turnover between
Russia and Azerbaijan is predicted to remain at its 2008 level in
2009.

Q: Talks are ongoing about the Nabucco project. Could Azerbaijan’s
participation in the project negatively impact bilateral relations
between Baku and Moscow?

A: Azerbaijan’s decision to participate in energy projects is its
sovereign right. We respect this. That also goes for the Nabucco
pipeline.

Key criteria to select routes for oil-and-gas deliveries should be
cost efficiency, reliability and ecological security. We are against
excessive politicization.

Russia shares a common understanding of the need to diversify supply
routes to ensure European energy security. We implement alternative
gas pipeline projects following routes to various regions. First and
foremost, this concerns the North and South stream routes. The Blue
Stream route has been commissioned.

We support increasing Russian-Azerbaijani energy cooperation.

Q: If our youth begin to better understand each other, will it be
possible to resolve the Russian-Azerbaijani problems that have arisen
over the past 15-18 years? What role does the Russian language and
culture play in strengthening mutual understanding?

A: Welfare and prosperity depend on the efficiency of youth
policy. Youth differ given their active role in society, receptiveness
to innovation, mobility and ability to find a common language with
their foreign contemporaries.

Thus, 2009 was announced the Year of Youth in the CIS and
Russia. Various events will be held. I expect that youth from
Azerbaijan will play an active role in this process. I want to note
that the events will encourage intercultural dialogue, confirm
tolerance and basic spiritual and moral values.

Our youth have a great deal in common. We must promote bilateral
cooperation in our youth policies to create opportunities for joint
public activity. These projects should have a legal basis as
intergovernmental agreements.

Russia remains a key tool of human intercourse in the CIS and an
important element strengthening moral and cultural
communities. Although ethnic Russians comprise only two percent of the
population in Azerbaijan, Russia retains the position of a second
language in the country. Education in tens of schools and universities
is in Russian. We are grateful to the Azerbaijani authorities for
their efforts to maintain Russian-language information, education and
culture.

We feel that Azerbaijani youth crave Russian. Our task is to render
support to them in this respect. We carry out many projects, including
various contests in Russian, book exhibitions and literary evenings.

Developing cultural ties between our nations is important for
deepening mutual understanding between our youth. A range of actions
are scheduled such as an international cinematographic festival and
applied and folk arts exhibition.

Q: How do you see future Russian-Azerbaijani humanitarian cooperation?

A: Very positively. We have huge reserves to increase humanitarian
cooperation between our two countries in bilateral spheres such as
education, culture, science, health, sports, tourism, social and legal
defense and information.

While holding the Russia and Azerbaijan national years in 2005-2006,
we received a wealth of experience implementing joint measures in
various spheres of life in Russia and Azerbaijan. We hope these trends
will develop further.

We coordinate our relations in an international context under the
Russian-Azerbaijani program on humanitarian cooperation in 2007-2009.

We regard education and science as prospective spheres of
cooperation. The recently opened Lomonosov Moscow State University
Baku Branch, Baku Slavic University and other Russian schools could
become platforms for implementing joint projects in innovative
spheres, particularly nanotechnology. There is a good reason for this
– 2010 was announced the year of science and innovation in the CIS.

Interaction in the religious sphere will contribute to deepening
confidence and understanding between out two nations. We expect that
the fruitful cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and
Caucasus Muslims Board to continue.

We are interested in expanding the legal basis of our humanitarian
relations. Our agenda includes signing several bilateral agreements on
migration problems, establishing university affiliates and youth and
tourism cooperation.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 10 2009

The winners and losers with the so-called Armenian genocide resolutions

by
Mehmet Kalyoncu*

Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines "genocide" as "any of the
following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part,
a national, ethnical, and racial or religious group, as such:"

(1) "killing members of the group"; (2) "causing serious bodily or
mental harm to members of the group"; (3) "deliberately inflicting on
the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical
destruction in whole or in part"; (4) "imposing measures intended to
prevent births within the group"; and (5) "forcibly transferring
children of the group to another group." So, the key is the "intent to
destroy, in whole or in part," or in other words, the intent to
"annihilate, or put out of existence." Therefore, the committing of
any or all of these acts constitutes genocide only if done with such
intent. By this definition, the Holocaust obviously constitutes
genocide because the very definition of the word "genocide" seems to
almost perfectly describe the Nazis’ horrendous treatment of the Jews
during World War II.

However, describing what befell a portion of the Ottoman Armenians as
genocide is tantamount to either refuting the credibility of the
Holocaust, or paving the way to describing every kind of war casualty
as genocide because "causing casualties within a group while
internally displacing a portion of that group in the time of war, or
causing unintentional civilian casualties within that group" is not a
part of the "genocide" definition. Similarly, the exploitation of the
UN convention on genocide to prosecute crimes retrospectively is
contradictory to the very logic of law, if such a law had not been
enacted with such a purpose in the first place, which, if it was,
would jeopardize the credibility of all other international
laws. Another matter of curiosity is the fact that then-Ottoman
Minister of Interior Talat Pasha’s controversial telegrams, which
allegedly approved the annihilation of the Ottoman Armenians, are the
only evidence to certify such intention and that the very authenticity
of those telegrams is still questionable and has yet to be verified.

One wonders if Reps. George Radanovich (R-Calif.), Adam Schiff
(D-Calif.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) paid
attention to these nuances, or if they were even aware of these
nuances, before they introduced the so-called Armenian genocide
resolution, HR 106, in the House of Representatives. It would not be a
surprise if they had not or were not because of what some would call
the so-called Armenian genocide industry seems to have long been
yielding lucrative profits for the resolution sponsors, the Armenian
diaspora organizations and for Washington’s lobbying
establishment. Next month, the whole "Armenian genocide resolution"
play is likely to be staged once again and to strain US-Turkish
relations, thereby yielding lucrative profits for some while harming
others.

Armenian diaspora and the so-called Jewish lobby

Within the Armenian diaspora, the proponents of the so-called genocide
resolution think they simply have nothing to lose no matter how long
they prolong their campaign against Turkey. After all, there are two
likely outcomes. If the resolution does not pass Congress, and/or the
US president does not mention the "g"-word in his annual speech
commemorating the 1915 tragedies, then business continues as usual:
The Armenian diaspora reaffirms its allegedly "underdog" status,
portrays Turkey as an anti-democratic state incapable of facing its
history and embarks on yet another year of intensive political
campaigning, which in turn strengthens the diaspora’s solidarity and
creates lucrative lobbying opportunities.

If the resolution passes Congress and the US recognizes the so-called
genocide, then the whole so-called genocide enterprise becomes an
international business. Relying on the fact that the US government
recognizes the so-called genocide, a US state or federal court or an
international authority such as an International Criminal Court (ICC)
prosecutor could take the issue to The Hague to prosecute the late
Ottoman government for the alleged genocide and war crimes. Similarly,
the proponents of the so-called genocide would try to convince one or
more of the UN member states to take the issue to the International
Court of Justice against Turkey. The ICC cannot rule for any
reparations to be given to the Armenians because the ICC does not have
jurisdiction over Turkey, as Turkey is not a signatory to the Rome
Statute, which founded the ICC. However, the mere existence of the ICC
prosecution would bring, the Armenian diaspora thinks, satisfactory
damage to Turkey’s image. No need to mention that such an outcome
would materialize, if ever, only after several decades throughout
which lucrative lobbying opportunities would emerge, and Turkey would
be forced to a series of concessions to the Armenians — and not
necessarily only to the Armenians.

The Armenian diaspora organizations’ unrelenting defamation campaign
against the Turks and Turkey is somewhat understandable given the fact
that the hatred of the Ottoman Empire — if not of the Turks and
contemporary Turkey — seems to be the only factor binding the
different factions and generations within the Armenian diasporas, and
that the so-called genocide resolutions seem to be the most effective
means for the political mobilization of the Armenian
diasporas. However, some Jewish-American organizations’ pattern of
shifting loyalties vis-?Ã? -vis the so-called Armenian genocide
allegations is confusing at best.

In his "Backstabbing for Beginners," Michael Soussan observes what
used to be probably the most distinguishing characteristic of Jack
Abramoff, Washington’s legendary lobbyist who is currently serving a
prison term for federal felony charges. Soussan suggests that
potential clients would walk into Abramoff’s office thinking that they
had a tiny problem, and then walk out thinking that they were in huge
trouble and that Abramoff was the only person who could help them
out. From one perspective, what Abramoff used to do was just "business
as usual," doing what any other Washington lobbyist would do. It also
reflected general characteristics of the broader entity that Abramoff
belonged to: what the two American scholars John Mearsheimer and
Stephen Walt termed as the "Israel Lobby." From another perspective,
what Abramoff used to do was not any different from what certain
Jewish organizations do whenever a so-called Armenian genocide
resolution is introduced in the House of Representatives. Simply
stated, certain Jewish organizations in the US have taken advantage of
these infamous resolutions to manipulate Ankara and make the Turks
agree to what they might not otherwise vis-?Ã? -vis Turkish-Israeli
relations. Although it would be unfair to assume that these
Jewish-American organizations have simply been manipulating US-Turkish
relations for the sake of Israel’s interests, the continuous shift of
these organizations’ attitude toward Turkey that almost always occurs
in parallel to the changes in the Turkish-Israeli relations makes one
rethink the situation.

It seems like certain Jewish-American organizations — and Israel
indirectly through them — have vastly benefited from the recurring
waves of the so-called Armenian genocide resolutions popping up on the
US House Committee on Foreign Affairs agenda every year around
April. However, with the changing political and economic dynamics both
in the US and Turkey, not only are such resolutions no longer
profitable, but also what some may term "Jewish opportunism" may grow
increasingly detrimental to the wellbeing of Jews in general.

One should be reminded of the fact that — no matter how hypothetical
a situation it is — if the Americans turn cold on the Jews and Israel
at some point in the future, the Turks are pretty much the likeliest,
if not the only, people whose help the Jews can seek and possibly
get. At least, that is what history teaches. With that thought in
mind, the Jewish organizations in the West in particular and the world
Jewry and Israel in general would be better off avoiding the
shortsighted practices and policies that would alienate the Turks in
the long run. Although seemingly a hypothetical situation at the
moment, it has already been forecasted by many Jewish intellectuals in
the US. Thankfully, despite the oscillating attitude of certain
Jewish-American organizations, there have always been Jewish-Americans
who have never wavered in their support for Turkey and for the
improvement of the US-Turkish and Turkish-Israeli relations.

The US and the American people

Although the United States and the American people have always been
victimized by the manipulation of the US Congress by certain interest
groups, there have not been many — if any — scholarly studies that
scrutinize the impact of the so-called Armenian genocide resolution on
US interests. Some tend to make comparisons between the Ottoman Empire
in its last century and the United States today. As the argument goes,
in the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire introduced a
comprehensive series of democratic reforms that intended to improve
the political environment so that the non-Muslim minorities, a
prominent component of which was the Ottoman Armenians, could become
more politically active and take a role in the Ottoman
administration. However, it continues, that certain militant Armenian
groups such as the Tashnaks exploited this window of opportunity to
pursue their own narrow interests, thereby contributing to the
collapse of the empire. Similarly, as the argument goes, in the last
several decades certain Armenian-American organizations such as the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), which itself originates
in the Tashnak movement, have been exploiting American democracy to
pursue their narrow group interests, even though it gravely damages
the US’s image and interests.

Whether such a similarity exists is certainly something that their
fellow Americans are to decide. However, one difference is certain:
While within the Ottoman Empire numerous militant Armenian groups
engaged in armed conflict against the empire, massacred some 800,000
Muslims and defected to the invading Russian army, such is not the
case today in the United States. The only similarity is that Armenian
terrorists such as Murad Topalian and his accomplices in the Armenian
Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) inflicted terror on
American soil long before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 by
assassinating Turkish diplomats and attacking the American scholars
who called for an objective investigation of the genocide
allegations. While these terrorist acts deserve condemnation, they
should not overshadow the fact that today there seems to be a sizeable
peace-loving Armenian-American community that is as disturbed by ANCA
as many Americans and Turks are.

What should Turkey do?

Turkish Ambassador to the US Nabi ?Å?ensoy recently commented that
"the Turkish nation is ready to struggle altogether against [a
possible passage of the so-called genocide resolution in the
Congress]," and hoped that the US administration would understand the
importance of Turkey, the meaning of this issue to the Turkish people
and the harm it would bring to Turkish-American relations. More
important than the US administration’s comprehension of this is the
American people’s understanding of how such resolution and its
concomitant political intrigues harm their country.

In this regard, by reaching out to the American people via ads in the
major newspapers, Ankara should express Turkey’s respect for the
rights of Americans and for their representatives in the Congress to
do what is right and rational, and what they believe serves the US’s
national interests. The ad should point out that Turkey believes that
passing a controversial resolution in Congress recognizing the
so-called Armenian genocide is neither right nor rational, nor does it
serve US national interests. Nevertheless, it should assert that
Turkey would respect it no matter how wrong, irrational and
detrimental to the US interests that resolution would be. Moreover,
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government should say
what it can guarantee is that it would do its best in the aftermath of
such a resolution to counter the Turks’ rising discontent with the US
and everything related to it, because Turkey is committed to the
US-Turkish partnership.

However, the AK Party government should clarify that it cannot
guarantee that Turkey will be able to maintain its responsiveness to
cooperation with the United States. The American people would
appreciate the fact that, just like any other democratic nation’s
government, the Turkish government is bound by the preferences of its
citizens.

Finally, the Turks should remain calm and enjoy the blessings of the
Armenian diaspora’s defamation of Turkey, because there could
literally be no better justification and reason for mobilization than
this continuous defamation effort for the Turks to reach out to the US
Congress and the American people, introducing Turkey and all it stands
for.

*Mehmet Kalyoncu is an international relations analyst and author of
the book "A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious Conflict: The G?Ã?¼len
Movement in Southeast Turkey."

etaylar.do?load=detay&link=169118&bolum=10 9

ARMENPRESS

THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION PROGRAM AIMS AT
BRINGING THE ARMENIAN LEGISLATION IN LINE WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS: Within the frameworks of Technical
Assistance and Information Exchange program (TAIEX), which is
implemented through European neighborhood partnership tool, the
Armenian Economy Ministry has today organized a conference on `The
tool of technical assistance and exchange of information program in
Armenia: the present situation and prospects of cooperation in 2009′.
The present situation of the tool of technical assistance and
exchange of information program in Armenia and the 2009 tasks were
presented to the employees of the state departments taking part in it,
and group discussions were held. According to the head of the agency
of coordination of programs which are implemented through European
neighborhood partnership Ruben Sarukhanian `TAIEX’ is implemented in
the bodies of state management and aims at bringing our legislation in
line with European one and to improve the management based on
that. From 2007 already 21 events have been approved and implemented
in Armenia, other 5 are in process.
Other 10 applications have been received from the state bodies,
which will be presented to the approval of EU in the nearest
future. The main tasks of `TAIEX’ are to provide a short-term
technical support and consultation with an aim to enclose the
legislation of the beneficiary country to the EU legislation, and with
an aim to ensure its further implementation conduct teaching and
technical support of the state servant of the beneficiary country, as
well as to collect and make the information on the EU legislation
available.

PanARMENIAN.Net

World-renowned musician Peter Gabriel stresses the importance of
Armenian Genocide recognition
08.03.2009 01:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ World-renowned musician and songwriter Peter Gabriel
talked about the importance of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. Asked by interviewer about the best places to travel for
music, Gabriel said, `I had a house in Senegal and music was a big
reason. And when I did music for `The Last temptation of Christ,’ I
was introduced to one of the most soulful instruments, the Armenian
duduk. I went to Armenia for the birthday of duduk player Djivan
Kasparyan.. We visited the genocide Memorial, which is dedicated to
the more than one million Armenians who died in 1915.’ He added, `The
Turks deny the Armenian Genocide, and Britain and the United States
haven’t properly acknowledged it. I hope that happens. As with the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, you need to air
issues and accept what happened in the past before you are free to
move on,’ The Armenian Weekly reports.

Gabriel, 59, has won Grammy Awards in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 2008
for his work. He received the Nobel Peace Laureates’ Man of Peace
Award in 2006 and was named Amnesty International’s Ambassador of
Conscience in 2008.

Also in 2008, Time magazine chose him as one of the 100 most
influential people in the world.

Karzai welcomes Obama’s truce call toward Taliban

cle02/indexn2_html?pdate=090309&ptitle=Karzai% 20welcomes%20Obama’s%20truce%20call%20toward%20Tal iban
Monday, March 09, 2009

AFGHANISTAN President Hamid Karzai has welcomed his United States
(U.S.) counterpart, Barack Obama’s, call to identify moderate elements
of the Taliban and encourage them to reconcile with the Afghan
government.

Obama’s call "was good news because this has been the stand of the
Afghan government", the Associated Press (AP) quoted Karzai as telling
a gymnasium full of Afghan women during a speech to commemorate
International Women’s Day.

Obama said in an interview with The New York Times published yesterday
that there might be opportunities to reach out to moderates in the
Taliban, but the situation in Afghanistan is more complicated than the
challenges the American military faced in Iraq.

"There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the
Pakistani region", Obama said, while cautioning that solutions in
Afghanistan will be complicated.

U.S. troops were able to persuade Sunni Moslem insurgents in Iraq to
cooperate in some instances because they had been alienated by the
tactics of al-Qaeda terrorists.

Karzai warned that there are Taliban fighters who are beyond
reconciliation – those who have joined with al-Qaeda, for instance. But
he said talks should go forward "with those who are afraid to come back
to their country, or who feel they have no choice but to stay with the
Taliban for various reasons. They are welcome".

Obama cautioned that Afghanistan is a less-governed region than Iraq
with a history of fierce independence among tribes, creating a tough
set of circumstances for the United States to deal with.

The American leader last month ordered 17,000 more troops to
Afghanistan to bolster the record of 38,000 American forces already in
the country. Obama has promised to increase the U.S. focus on
Afghanistan and away from Iraq, as the U.S. begins to draw down its
forces there.

In the latest violence, a roadside blast killed a North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO) service member and wounded two U.S. coalition
members in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, the NATO-led force said. The
alliance did not disclose the troops’ nationalities or the exact
location of the attack, but the majority of troops in eastern
Afghanistan are American.

Another roadside blast in central Ghazni province hit a police vehicle,
killing six policemen and wounding another six officers, said Ismail
Jahangir, the spokesman for the provincial governor.

A joint Afghan-coalition patrol, meanwhile, killed two Afghan policemen
late on Friday who opened fire on their team in north-eastern Kapisa
province, the coalition said in a statement yesterday.

The joint patrol, which was on foot, attempted to identify themselves
as friendly forces to the police without success, the statement said.
"In self-defense, the patrol returned fire killing two individuals", it
said.

The string of deaths continues an upward spike in violence that has
spread throughout Afghanistan in the past three years even as Obama’s
administration is trying to come up with a new approach to dealing with
the Afghan war.

In a separate development, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ali Babacan, has
said there was a "risk" that Obama would recognise the massacre of
Armenians a century ago as genocide.

Babacan, in an interview with the NTV television channel, said that
such a move would only impede efforts to reconcile Turkey and Armenia.

Obama, who is expected to visit Turkey in April, said several times
during his election campaign that he would recognise the 1915-1917
massacres under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

The United States has previously condemned the killings while not
calling them genocide to avoid tensions with Turkey, a NATO member and
key Middle East ally.

"I still see a risk", Babacan said. "Mr Obama made the promise five
times in a row", he added.

He added, however, that "the new American administration understands
Turkey’s sensibilities better today" and called on the United States
not to interfere in the dispute between the neighbours.

"It would not be rational for a third country to take a position on
this topic. A bad step by the United States would only worsen the
process" of reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.

The two countries offer starkly different accounts of the events and
the dispute has been a major obstacle in relations between Ankara and
Yerevan.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people died between 1915 and 1917 in
orchestrated killings as the Ottoman Empire fell apart. More than 20
countries have recognised the killings as genocide.

Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that between 300,000 and
500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops.

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced during a visit to
Ankara on Saturday that Obama would visit Turkey "within the next month
or so". The visit is expected in April.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 7 2009

Wise Men call for new constitution, judicial reform to surmount obstacles

BÄ°LGESAM’s report on Turkey’s current situation and future
challenges was made public by retired Ambassador Ä°lter
Türkmen on Thursday.
The Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BÄ°LGESAM), a think
tank formed by retired soldiers, ambassadors and academics, called for
the preparation of a new civilian constitution and enactment of
judicial reforms to overcome future challenges in a report made public
on Thursday.

The think tank’s report on Turkey’s current situation and future
challenges was penned by retired Ambassador Ä°lter
Türkmen, a former foreign minister, with contributions by
BİLGESAM Chairman Atilla Sandıklı, former Supreme
Court of Appeals President Sami Selçuk and retired Ambassador
Ã-zdem Sanberk. The report underlined that Turkey urgently needed
to reform its judicial system to eliminate its current flaws, to take
sound steps on the path toward full membership in the European Union,
to adopt a new civilian constitution to replace the current one, which
was prepared under military rule, and to provide its citizens with
broader rights.

`Turkey has long been the target of harsh criticism from the EU due to
violations of freedom of expression and religion, which has made
judicial reform a must for the country. … Reforms implemented so far
as part of the EU accession process have not managed to eliminate all
the flaws of our democracy. The latest annual report [on Turkey’s
progress toward full EU membership] showed that little progress had
been made over the past year, raising serious concerns about freedom
of expression, the independence of the judiciary and the military’s
interference in politics, among other issues,’ read the
BÄ°LGESAM report.

The report said that because recent amendments made to the current
Constitution, which was drafted under military rule in the wake of the
Sept. 12, 1980 coup, have not adequately met the needs of the Turkish
nation, it is necessary to replace it with a new one.

There has been growing demand in Turkey for a new civilian
constitution that would meet the country’s contemporary needs. The
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) formed an independent
commission in 2007 to prepare a draft of a new civilian
constitution. However, this work was shelved when a closure case was
filed against the AK Party in March of last year on charges of
anti-secularism.

The governing party plans to refocus on drafting a civilian
constitution shortly after the upcoming local elections, which are
slated for March 29.

The report also stressed that a recent amendment to the notorious
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was superficial and had
cleared the way for new problems. The article, under which a number of
intellectuals and activists have been tried for `insulting
Turkishness,’ was amended last May.

`Keeping all these flaws in mind, judicial reforms should ensure,
first of all, that the principles of justice are internalized in a way
that would not lead to misinterpretation. The judiciary should not be
open to subjectivity, and its members should refrain from making
rulings based on their own ideologies,’ the report went on to say.

BÄ°LGESAM made an open call to Turkish authorities to accelerate
their efforts toward full membership in the EU, which would also
contribute to modernization efforts in the country. The think tank
pointed to the actions of anti-Turkish ethnic lobbies in Europe,
European leaders failing to keep their promises about Turkey’s EU
membership and the exhausting EU negotiation process as the reasons
behind a recent loss of momentum in Turkey’s EU bid.

Suggestions on the Kurdish issue

The think tank also put forward a few suggestions for resolution of
the longstanding Kurdish problem. Turkey’s Kurdish question has
existed since the founding of the Turkish Republic and became violent
during the past 25 years, as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) launched an armed campaign against Turkish civilians and
security forces in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast.

The report said solving the Kurdish problem within the unity of the
state depends on recognition of the cultural identity of Kurds, adding
that all obstacles before the use of the Kurdish language should be
eliminated.

`Although regulations that banned the public use of Kurdish were
changed, the ban continues as far as implementation is concerned,’
read the report. The public use of Kurdish was prohibited following a
1980 military coup, and this ban remained in place until 1991. The AK
Party has recently taken significant steps toward providing the
Kurdish population their cultural rights. Among these steps was the
dedication of one of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s
(TRT) channels to 24-hour Kurdish broadcasting in a bid to fulfill a
long-sought demand from the country’s Kurds. BÄ°LGESAM
appreciated this move, saying such steps should not be considered
threatening to the country.

The think tank additionally called for an end to all administrative
rules preventing the use of Kurdish outside official meetings and said
Kurdish language courses should be offered as electives at schools
where demand for them exists. `Kurdish institutes should be allowed to
operate,’ said the report, adding that the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) should not be shut down.

The DTP, which has 21 legislators in Parliament, faces closure by the
Constitutional Court for its alleged ties to the PKK. The case is
still under deliberation at the court. The party has control over much
of Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast.

The report stated that it would be unrealistic to ignore the
administration in northern Iraq when dealing with the Kurdish
issue. It said the emergence of a partially autonomous Kurdish
administration in a region that is rich in natural resources near the
Iraqi-Turkish border would have a considerable impact on developments
within Turkey.

`It is not easy to predict whether the entity in northern Iraq will
gain independence, which looks quite unlikely at the moment. But, it
will become more autonomous,’ said the think tank. It called on the
Turkish government for a more constructive, rather than
confrontational, relationship with the Kurdish administration in
northern Iraq.

The report said several countries in the world have relations with
northern Iraq, noting that Iran has a consulate in Arbil. `Iran will
take northern Iraq under its influence if Turkey has a confrontational
relationship with it. In this way, Iran will expand its impact on both
northern and southern Iraq, which will go against the interests of
Turkey,’ the report said.

Armenian `genocide’ resolution

BÄ°LGESAM said Turkey is in a deadlock over the issue of the
Armenian claims of genocide, with Armenians insistent on their claims
that the 1915 killings of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks
constituted genocide.

`The parliaments of 17 countries have recognized Armenian genocide
resolutions. US President Barack Obama referred to the killings of
Armenians as genocide during the 2008 election campaign and promised
the Armenian lobby that he would recognize their claims. … As it is
not possible for Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide claims, the
best thing that can be done at the moment is to create an environment
in which the problem can be pushed to the back burner over time,’ read
the report.

The report also stressed that President Abdullah Gül’s visit to
Yerevan last year contributed a great deal to the improvement of ties
between Turkey and Armenia. Gül visited Yerevan in September of
last year to watch the World Cup qualifying match between the national
teams of the two countries, which observers have said was a turning
point for the settlement of longstanding disputes between the two
neighbors.

07 March 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL