Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

ARMENIA-TURKEY RAPPROCHEMENT WILL ENCOURAGE ARMENIANS: FREIZER

News.Am
Oct 23 2009
Armenia

Reestablishment of Armenia-Turkey diplomatic relations cannot proceed
from Yerevan’s deconstructive stance on Nagorno-Karabakh peace process,
said Sabine Freizer, Brussels-based Director of the Europe Program
of International Crisis Group.

Backpedaling of the process is caused by complexity of the issues,
the parties have to agree on.

"The Armenia-Turkey rapprochement will actually encourage the Armenians
to be more flexible in the negotiation with Azerbaijan," Freizer told
Azerbaijani Trend news agency.

The last meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents did not inspire
optimism, Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov said. According to him,
Armenian side raised the issues that were agreed on as far back as
two-three years ago. Mammadyarov connects these actions with the recent
developments in the region, that is Armenia-Turkey reconciliation.

"According to Freizer, the Armenians main argument for retaining
control over the occupied territories is because they say "We need
to have these territories as a security guarantee. We feel isolated
and we need these territories to protect ourselves", the article reads.

"Once the border with Turkey is open, that excuse will no longer be
valid. They will have access to the rest of the world. And thus they
will no longer be able to say that they need all these territories
as security guarantees," Freizer underlined, adding that the Karabakh
status is one of the main unsettled issues. The reason why Azerbaijan
and Armenia have been unable to agree to a kind of compromise is that
they are still dealing with issues that extremely difficult to resolve.

"The two sides seem to have agreed on above mentioned. I would hope
that the sides could sign a document that at least puts into writing
these significant issues the parties agreed upon," Freizer concluded.

DAVID HARUTYUNIAN APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF RA STATE COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC COMPETITION

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. By an October 23 decree of
RA President Serzh Sargsyan, David Harutyunian has been appointed
Chairman of the RA State Commission for the Protection of Economic
Competition for a 5-year period.

According to the RA presidential press service, prior to that, by a
decree of RA president, Ashot Shahnazarian was relieved of his post
as Chairman of the Commission.

ARFD DEPUTY: TURKEY WILL RATIFY ZURICH PROTOCOLS AS THEY ARE BENEFICIAL FOR IT

Noyan Tapan
Oct 21, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. RA National Assembly ARFD faction
Secretary Artyusha Shahbazian is convinced that the Turkish parliament
without reservation will ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed
in Zurich, which will pave a way for the Armenian side to also follow
its example. As the ARFD deputy said at an October 21 press conference,
Turkey will ratify these protocols as they are beneficial for it.

However, according to A. Shahbazian, after the ratification of
the protocols Turkey will not open the border "by keeping it as a
condition." It proceeds from the statements of the Turkish authorities,
according to which the border will be opened if only progress is
recorded in the Nagorno Karabakh process.

According to the deputy, a resolute struggle based on exact principles
is needed to suspend the process of ratification of the protocols in
the RA NA. "All political forces should unite and suspend ratification
of the protocols in the parliament," he said. As to cooperation with
the Armenian National Congress, A. Shahbazian said that "there is no
problem" if ANC joins their struggle.

PODOLSK HOSTS THE DAY OF ARMENIAN CULTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.10.2009 17:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Palace of Culture "October" in Podolsk, a city
neighboring Moscow, hosted October 20 The Day of Armenian culture .

The event was organized by the local Armenian cultural and educational
society "Nairi" in cooperation with the city administration and
with support of the Moscow-based "Russian-Armenian Commonwealth"
organization.

According to the Yerkramas newspaper of Armenians in Russia, adviser to
the Governor of Moscow region, deputy chief of Podolsk administration,
heads of the Moscow-based Armenian organizations addressed the official
part of the meeting.

Dwellers of Podolsk have familiarized with Armenian art groups,
"Flowers of Armenia" dance ensemble. The exhibition devoted to
the Armenian alphabet is also scheduled. It is projected to open a
division of Armenian literature in the local library. Podolsk is a
major city near Moscow, populated by more than 200 thousand people,
including 5 thousand Armenians.

NATO SEES PROGRESS IN DEFENSE REFORMS IN ARMENIA

-16-nato-sees-progress-in-defense-reforms-in-armen ia
Friday October 16, 2009

Yerevan – Special progress has been made in Armenia in carrying out
defense reforms within the framework of implementing the Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of NATO.

Mediamax reports that the Representative of NATO International
Staff Lorenz Meyer-Minnemann said this during the first space bridge
between the Information Center on NATO in Yerevan and the alliance’s
headquarters in Brussels on October 14.

According to Mr. Meyer-Minnemann, practical evidence of those reforms
is the quality of work being carried out by the Armenian peacekeeping
contingent in Kosovo.

Mr. Meyer-Minnemann stated that there has significant progress in
institutional reforms, in particular, by involving a large number of
civilians in the work of the defense ministry of Armenia.

"Earlier this year, NATO and Armenia signed an agreement on updating
IPAP, and in this context, Armenia has yet to carry out volume work,"
Mr. Meyer-Minnemann stated.

He spoke highly of the relations between Armenia and NATO, stating
that Armenia has demonstrated great activity in the process of the
"Partnership for Peace" program implementation.

Mr. Meyer-Minnemann expressed the opinion that normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations will be of great importance for providing
security in the region and will positively influence relations between
Armenia and the North Atlantic Alliance.

Head of Alliance Operations Division Erik Sandahl, during the space
bridge, said active negotiations are in process with Armenia regarding
its participation in ISAF International operation in Afghanistan.

According to Mr. Sandahl, the main issue is the deployment of an
Armenian peacekeeping subdivision in the north Afghan province of
Kunduz in February, 2010.

Ambassador of Armenia to NATO Samvel Lazarian said that presently,
the coordination of the corresponding legal documents between Armenia
and NATO is in process.

"Striving to send its peacekeeping contingent to Afghanistan, Armenia
is trying to make its contribution to securing international security
and increase professional qualification of Armenian Armed Forces," Mr.

Lazarian stated.

He stated that the Armenian subdivision in Afghanistan will not
participate in military actions, but will be involved in the defense
of Kunduz Airport. The Armenian ambassador noted that the province
of Kunduz is a relatively peaceful region in Afghanistan, where the
German military contingent, consisting of a few thousands soldiers,
is deployed.

A day earlier at a forum entitled, "The role of NATO and the EU
in ensuring stability in Armenia and the South Caucasus," NATO
Coordinator-Officer for the South Caucasus Zbigniew Ribatski stated
that the alliance and the European Union collaboratively assist in
the maintenance of peace and stability in the Caucasus. NATO is not
involved in the regulation process of the conflicts in South Caucasus,
but it is interested in their peaceful regulation. According to him,
the improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations will bring Armenia and
NATO closer to each other, as Turkey is a member of the North-Atlantic
Alliance as well.

"The cooperation of Armenia and NATO is developing quite actively in
the direction of some programs, but in Armenia there still exists the
stereotype of a negative attitude toward NATO, a heritage of its the
Soviet past," Mr. Ribatski noted. "Armenia has taken an important
step by regulating its relations with Turkey… I hope that over a
period of time Armenia will change its negative attitude toward NATO."

Speaking of the relations of the countries in the region with NATO,
he noted that the alliance attaches a military importance to the
relations with its partners. Affiliation to NATO is not part of
Armenia’s foreign policy agenda. However, if Armenia is interested,
it will be possible to speak of the country’s affiliation, said Mr.

Ribatski. According to him, NATO respects Armenia’s decision to
strengthen its military cooperation with Russia.

OBAMA, GUL DISCUSS ARMENIA-TURKEY TIES

Asbarez
ama-gul-discuss-armenia-turkey-ties/
Oct 19th, 2009

WASHINGTON, ANKARA (RFE/RL)-U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed his
strong support for the normalization of Armenia’s relations with Turkey
in a weekend phone call with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.

The White House said Obama and Gul discussed on Saturday a range of
issues of mutual interest, including the Turkish-Armenian agreements
signed in Zurich on October 10.

"The two Presidents discussed the historic progress that is being
made on normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, and
the importance of maintaining the momentum in this important effort,"
it said in a statement. No further details were reported.

The U.S. support for the process was underscored by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s presence at the signing ceremony in the Swiss city
that was nearly disrupted by a last-minute dispute between the Armenian
and Turkish foreign ministers. Obama was quick to praise Clinton for
helping to work out a compromise arrangement that salvaged the deal.

Obama made a point of phoning President Serzh Sarkisian earlier this
month during the latter’s tense visit to the United States aimed
at explaining his conciliatory line on Turkey to the influential
Armenian-American community. He praised Sarkisian’s "courageous
leadership" and encouraged the Armenian leader to stay the course.

Both Clinton and other top U.S. officials said that the two states
should establish diplomatic relations and open the Turkish-Armenian
border "without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe."

However, there were further indications on Monday that Ankara will
not rush to ratify the agreements if the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
remains unresolved in the coming months.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that his government will continue
to unequivocally support Azerbaijan in the bitter dispute with
Armenia. "Azeri soil is as sacred for us as our own and liberating
this soil from occupation is one of our primary national issues,"
Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara.

"Even if the skies fall down, Turkey’s position will not change… Our
policy on ending the occupation… will continue until the problem
is resolved," he said, according to AFP.

Gul also sought to reassure Baku, which believes that an open border
with Turkey would only strengthen the Armenians economically and
thereby discourage them from seeking a solution to the Karabakh
conflict. "The fact that a country is occupying the territory
of another country is unacceptable," he told the French magazine
"L’Express" in an interview published on Monday.

The statements came amid Azerbaijan’s growing frustration with the
Turkish government’s policy of rapprochement with its arch-foe.

President Ilham Aliyev on Friday threatened to stop selling natural gas
to Turkey at low prices and said Baku will consider routes other than
Turkey to ship the gas to Europe. Also, media reports said Turkish
flags were removed from a Baku cemetery, where Turkish soldiers who
fought for Azerbaijan in the early 20th century are buried.

In his interview with "L’Express" cited by "Hurriyet Daily
News," Gul also indicated that Ankara would accept any verdict
by a Turkish-Armenian "subcommission" of historians which the two
governments plan to form as part of their accord. The panel is expected
to look into the Armenian Genocide.

"Let a committee of historians, even experts of the subject from third
countries, work on this issue. We will recognize its conclusions,"
said the Turkish president.

The Armenian government insists that the subcommission would not be
tasked with determining whether the massacres constituted a genocide,
as that is already a fact. But its critics in Armenia and its worldwide
Diaspora counter that the Turkish government would exploit the very
existence of such a body to deter more countries, notably the U.S,
from recognizing the crime against humanity perpetrated by Ottoman
Turkey and denied by the current Turkish republic.

Gul chided the Armenian Diaspora for maintaining that Turkey must
recognize the genocide before it can make peace with the Armenians.

"The Armenians living in France are far from Armenia," he said. "If
they want to lend their support to the Armenians of Armenia, they
must support the process."

PASADENA TO HOST EXHIBITION OF SCULPTOR AND PAINTER EMIL KAZAZ

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2009 16:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On October 6-8, Pasadena Central Art Gallery of
(California), in cooperation with Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU), will host the exhibition of sculptor and painter Emil Kazaz.

Exhibition will display the artist’s sculptures and paintings. Author
will receive AGBU’s honor award for his achievements in the sphere.

On November 7, exhibition will be attended by Shahen Khachatryan,
art historian and Cultural Advisor to Catholicos of all Armenians
Karekin II and Director of Arshil Gorky Gallery, painter Jo Louis,
Dean of Alfred School at University of Art and Design, pianist,
composer, conductor and instructor Vache Mankeryand and world-class
opera singer Bakur Kalantaryan.

TURKISH ENERGY MINISTER CALLED ON BAKU NOT TO TIE ENERGY PROJECTS WITH POLITICS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2009 21:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz called on
Azarbaijan, which announced it would raise the price of natural gas
sold to Turkey in reprisal for recent Turkey-Armenian rapprochement
not to entangle energy projects with politics.

Yildiz commented on Turkey Azerbaijan relations at the press
conference held Monday following the signing of MoU on Samsun-Ceyhan
Pipeline between Turkey, Italy and Russia in Milan. "We will never
want Azerbaijan to loose money. The talks for revision of prices were
deadlocked for a brief period. We raised our offer and talks continue,"
said Yildiz.

Yildiz referred to Aliyev’s remarks suggesting Turkey ought to cut
transit fees for Azerbaijani gas and said Aliyev was misinformed on
this issue too.

"Turkey has always looked out for our ally and brother Azerbaijan. It
is a known fact that Turkey charges lower transit fees for Azerbaijani
gas, compared to other countries" said Yildiz reassuring once more
that Turkey would not make agreements with Armenia that would hurt
Azerbaijan, reported Anatolian news agency.

AN OPEN LETTER FROM COMMITTEE FOR PROTECTION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ARMENIA

Tert
Oct 19 2009
Armenia

The Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners in Armenia
sent an open letter to United States President Barack Obama, French
President Nikolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The
letter reads:

"Nikol Pashinyan, who voluntarily presented himself to the Prosecutor’s
Office on July 1, 2009, is kept in prison till today without any
basis and presently will be brought before the court under false
accusations for organizing mass disorders.

"Your excellences,

"Hundreds of legal proceedings have taken place in Armenia. You can
be informed about those shameful proceedings from your countries’
ambassadors and competent international organizations.

"The recorded outcome thus far is as follows:

1. So far, no murderer has been brought to account for his actions
before the court, 2. The opposition’s charge against the current
governing leadership for seizing power was dismissed, 3. 30 political
prisoners were released as a result of pressure from the opposition
and international organizations, 4. 17 political prisoners, one of
whom is a French citizen, are still imprisoned, 5. Many innocent
prisoners, who have exhausted all instances for attaining justice
in their own country, attempt to attain justice through the European
Court of Human Rights.

"Your excellences,

"Today, your countries direct their joint efforts toward the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the establishment
of Armenian-Turkish relations; however, by strange coincidence,
your countries’ and international organizations’ pressure on Serzh
Sargsyan’s administration directed to re-establishment of democracy
and release of political prisoners has stopped altogether. This fact
creates grounds for us and a large mass of the Armenian people to
doubt the sincerity of your intentions; it gives the impression that
an unethical deal has taken place and that you turn a blind eye to
gross human rights violations and to obvious violations of democracy
in order to get concessions from Sargsyan’s administration.

"Proceeding from that which was mentioned above, on behalf of Republic
of Armenia citizens, thousands of innocent victims’ relatives,
political prisoners suffering in prisons, and those sufferering from
the regime’s tyranny and political persecution, we ask and demand you
to use your countries’ and your own authority to compel Armenia’s
current leadership to respect the rights and freedoms of their own
citizens."

LESS PEOPLE IN ARMENIA OPPOSE THE PROTOCOLS SIGNED WITH TURKEY
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
19.10.2009 17:33

The results of public opinion polls conducted in Armenia and Turkey
reveal that the number of respondents opposing the Armenian-Turkish
protocols decreased by the end of September.

Head of the Center of Sociological Research in Armenian, Gevorg
Poghosyan told a press conference today that 70% of the respondents
said to be against the signing of the protocols in early September.

However, the number decreased to 54% by the end of September.

More citizens opposed the signing of protocols in Armenia than
in Turkey.

Gevorg Poghosyan said that the survey was conducted among 1 000
citizens of Yerevan.

According to the Head of the Center of Sociological Research, Armenians
stand against the implementation of the provisions of the protocols
in their current wording rather than opening of the border.

The sociologist considers that the change in public opinion was
connected with the clarifications of the authorities, which were a
little belated.