Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

WHAT A PITY KARABAKHIS ENJOY NO RIGHTS

KarabakhOpen
05-11-2007 17:28:13

The settlement of the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh has been lasting too
long and it needs to be resolved at last, the CoE Secretary General
Terry Davis stated November 5 in Yerevan during the news conference
with the Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan. Davis said he
does not want it to sound like criticism against the OSCE Minsk Group
and the leaderships of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "However, it is in the
interests of people to have the conflict settled," Terry Davis says.

According to him, there are many more important things in life other
than the Karabakh conflict, meanwhile, the unresolved issue distracts
focus from those key issues. The CoE Secretary General thinks the
conflict takes not only attention but also money which could have
been used for better purposes.

The CoE Secretary General is hopeful that the conflict will be
resolved, and Karabakh will benefit from the CoE programs. In this
connection, Terry Davis made an interesting statement. He regrets
that some individuals living in Karabakh do not enjoy the right to
dispute issues at the European Court of Human Rights. Terry Davis
says physically the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot go to the
ECHR, meanwhile it is highly important for a citizen to be protected
from the government, Terry Davis says. He also said turning to Vardan
Oskanyan sitting beside him that such a democratic activist as Vardan
Oskanyan perhaps would also want the people of Karabakh to enjoy this
right. Vardan Oskanyan did not react to this, either through words
or gestures.

The local election held in Karabakh a few weeks ago, unlike the
previous election, was not criticized by the Council of Europe, the
reporters reminded Terry Davis visiting Armenia, who is the secretary
general of the Council of Europe, on November 5. Why this time the
CoE did not criticize the NKR local election, the Armenian reporters
asked Davis with irony.

The CoE Secretary General admitted that this time the CoE did not
utter a critical word for the election. He added, however, that the
Nagorno-Karabakh regime is not recognized by the world, and if he
does not condemn the local election, it does not mean he recognizes
it. According to Terry Davis, if he reacts to every similar thing
taking place in the world, time may not be enough. The CoE Secretary
General went so far as to compare it with the barring of a gay parade,
saying that he does not necessarily need to make a statement condemning
the prohibition. Sometimes silence is the best way of expressing
disagreement, says the secretary general of the Council of Europe,
who perhaps does not know that in the Armenian culture it is quite
the opposite, and silence is a sign of approval.

The reporters also asked why Terry Davis refers to Karabakh as a
regime while he does not refer similarly to Kosovo. Davis explained
that there is a major difference between Karabakh and Kosovo. The
CoE Secretary General says there is no separatist regime in Kosovo,
the United Nations rules there.

Terry Davis says he understands that some in Kosovo want to
separate from Serbia but it is not the government. He compares the
Nagorno-Karabakh government with Abkhazia, Transdniestr and other
similar subjects, referring to them as separatist regimes.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Unveiling of monument to Armenian Genocide victims due in Cardiff today
03.11.2007 15:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ November 3, a historic consecration of a Khatchkar
will take place in Cardiff, Wales.

As the Wales-Armenia Solidarity told PanARMENIAN.Net, Wales has
distinguished itself by being the first country within the UK to
recognize the Armenian Genocide at both national and regional levels.

This is the first time a plot of land has been allocated in a public
area within the UK for a memorial to the victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

The monument will be unveiled by the Presiding Officer of the National
Assembly, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the Armenian Ambassador, Dr Vahe
Gabrielyan.

The stone is Welsh, the design is Armenian, the stonemason is Welsh
and the inscription is by the hand of a Bishop of the Armenian
Apostolic Church.

The commemorative words are in Welsh, Armenian and English.

GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN CRISIS AND THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
By David Batashvili

Abkhazia Institute for social & economic research, CA
Nov 2 2007

On October 30, 2007 a Georgian-Russian armed confrontation was narrowly
avoided in the village of Ganmukhuri in Western Georgia.

Dozens of heavily armed men were kicking and pushing each other,
occasionally firing in the air. While bloody encounter luckily did
not occur, political tensions have reached their peak as a result of
the incident.

Ganmukhuri is a village situated on the very frontier of the territory
controlled by the Abkhazian rebels who enjoy support of Kremlin and
the Russian troops stationed in the area. Despite its geographical
location, Ganmukhuri was a site of a Georgian youth camp in the summer
of 2007. On October 30 Russian soldiers approached the empty camp,
encountered the five Georgian policemen that were guarding it, bullied
them, and took as prisoners, severely beating them in the process. In
less than an hour Georgian Special Forces and police arrived at the
spot and the stand off began. It appeared to be so serious that the
president of Georgia Michael Saakashvili decided to go to Ganmukhuri
and establish control over the situation personally. Subsequently
the Russians freed Georgian policemen and left the scene.

This was not an isolated incident, but rather a logical development
of the political situation that currently exists in the region of
Caucasus. One of the key components of this situation is an amounting
Russian pressure on Georgia. On March 11 2007 Russian helicopters
bombed the Georgia-controlled Kodori gorge in Abkhazia.

On August 6 Russian plane dropped a rocket in the Georgian-controlled
part of another rebellious region of the country – South Ossetia. A
more than one year-old Russian embargo against Georgia, which includes
cutting all sorts of economic ties, trade, and transportation
either by land or air, has already become a mere fact of life for
Georgia. Russian pressure is not new for this country.

The incident of October 30, however, has come too close to a direct
military confrontation. It has proved that Russia is unpredictable
and its direct aggression against Georgia is not totally unlikely,
to say the least.

What is position of the West in these circumstances? Existing
experience demonstrates that usually the Western countries do their
best not to emphasize Russia’s aggressive actions towards Georgia. As
a result, Russian activity of this sort is steadily increasing. This
Western policy of appeasement towards Russia is counter-productive from
various points of view. It only increases the risk of destabilization
in the Eastern Europe, which would create very serious problems for
the Western Europe. The Western Europeans had a good opportunity to
understand this when they experienced interruptions of the natural gas
supply during the Russian-Ukrainian crisis in January of 2006. That
was a mere symptom of the troubles that may occur if Russian bullying
towards its neighbors is further tolerated.

Georgia is a strategically vital country if the stable transport
route between Europe and Central and Eastern Asia is ever to be
established. This route cannot go through the Russian region of North
Caucasus, ravaged by the guerilla war. Iran also cannot be considered
to be a stable territory for such a route to go through. With the
Armenia-Turkey and the Armenia-Azerbaijan borders closed, Georgian
territory seems to be the only possible route for the European-Asian
transportation, including the potential direct European access to
the vast natural gas reserves of the Central Asian countries. It
is not reasonable to let Russia – largely a monopolist gas supplier
to Europe – destabilize Georgia, which is essential for the direct
natural gas supply from Central Asia that would seriously lessen
European dependence on Russian gas.

There are still other reasons for the Western countries to pay more
attention to the Russian aggression towards Georgia. Europe has an
extremely bitter experience of leaving small democracies alone to face
aggression of the tyrannies. Turning the blind eye and appeasement
of Russia can bring only an increased danger of destabilization and
violence in the Eastern Europe, since such a policy gives Kremlin
an impression that even their most violent actions will not result
in strong reactions from the Western countries. If so, Kremlin
may not see any reason to abstain from aggression. Western silence
provokes Kremlin to become further less democratic inside Russia, to
strengthen its Cold War style rhetoric, and to continue its aggressive
actions towards Georgia and other neighbors (like Ukraine) which can
potentially result in an armed conflict, as the Ganmukhuri incident
has demonstrated in a very obvious way.

Most of the Western countries do not seem likely to change their
policy of not opposing Russia in its political, diplomatic and
economic attacks on its neighbors. This may create an impression that
Russian military attack will be tolerated in just the same way. This
impression, in turn, would dramatically increase the chances of
such an attack to occur. There is a hope that Russian policy towards
its neighbors will not result in the catastrophic consequences, but
considering the current Western attitude, such a hope does not have
a sound logical base.

4/

TURKEY MANAGED TO STOP THE PROCESS OF RECOGNITION OF RESOLUTION NO 106 IN US CONGRESS WHICH SUPPOSES RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

arminfo
2007-11-01 18:11:00

ArmInfo. Turkey threatens to start wide-scaled military actions
against Kurds, placed in northern Iraq, for getting certain political
dividends, Director of Oriental Studies Institute Rouben Safrastyan
said at the briefing in Yerevan today.

He also added that thanks to threats, in fact, Turkey managed to stop
the process of recognition of Resolution No 106 in US Congress which
supposes recognition of the Armenian genocide. whereabouts of the
PKK>, – Safrastyan said. He also added that by using the threats about
string of the battle actions Turkey is demonstrating that it is one
of the central forces and super states of the region. Safrastyan also
said that at present despite weakening of its intention to start the
wide-scaled war, the Turkish society still has an anti-Kurdish mood,
and the threat of the war has not disappeared yet. visit to the USA
on 5-6 November>, – the scientist concluded.

WHO WILL ALLOW IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE
Haik Aramyan

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 1 2007

Apparently, the "electorate" of Armenia again will not witness
ideological struggle of political forces. Meanwhile, the beginning
was so promising: the first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan stepped onto
the stage and in the rally on October 26 he spoke about the necessity
for establishment of constitutional order, presenting the structure
and essence of the system that has formed in Armenia.

Earlier he had met with the ARF Dashnaktsutyun and they appeared to
have agreed to wage an ideological struggle. Generally, in Armenia
there is a tendency to think that there are two ideological forces
– the ARF Dashnaktsutyun and the Liberals. Therefore, the society
expected civilized ideological struggle of these two forces.

Apparently, however, it is not likely to happen.

We may state with confidence that they will not allow it to happen.

In fact, the ideological struggle is the greatest threat to this
system, which Levon Ter-Petrosyan described in his address. This
system seems invincible with its relations and internal rules. This
system cannot be dismantled through either a "constitutional" or
"unconstitutional" ways. The only option is that society defines the
main problem of Armenia and forms its pole. At the moment it is very
difficult, considering the perverseness of the political sphere,
the poor state of non-governmental organizations and the media:
everyone has something to be reminded of.

And the system has got down to work. The "common joint" past, bitter
memories, the ratio of the budget to the GDP and the "savior" issue of
Karabakh were brought up to distract from the main problem. The Minsk
Group is always handy – Bryza stated in Baku Armenia and Azerbaijan
may sign a framework agreement before the presidential election. It
seems to be the best opportunity for "bringing the nation together"
and bringing Dashnaktsutyun "to its senses". And in order not to let
the ARF Dashnaktsutyun think long, an outstanding member of it Gegham
Manukyan lost the Duel show on Armenia TV to Ashot Bleyan in voting
of viewers. This is not the end, however. They announced later that
the telephone line was not operating properly and there will be a
new voting. Dashnaktsutyun had never received such a blow.

As to the others, it goes without saying. In this debate it is
difficult to expect any important move from them except joining one
pole or the other. The system seems to succeed, involving everyone
in two trenches, once again depriving the society from a chance for
a real vote.

TURKEY’S PLACE IN EUROPE

The Irish Times
October 30, 2007 Tuesday

Turkey presents a particular problem for Europeans as they consider
whether it should join the European Union. The issue seems to invite
identity questions along the following lines: "Are they like us? Are
they not so different in values, culture and religious practice that
we cannot share a political community with them?"

These questions are in fact also about Europeans themselves: "Who
are we and what are we like? What are the relevant values, cultures
and beliefs that bring us together?"

Such questions cannot be answered abstractly or by cultural
introspection alone, nor only by geography or history. They require
accurate reportage, information and analysis about contemporary
Turkey and its developing relations with a European Union that is
equally evolving. We need to know more about our differences and
similarities with this other society. Nor can these questions be
answered prematurely, since the EU negotiations with Turkey will take
another 10 years and its accession, if agreed, may not happen until
2020, during which time both sides will have changed.

Lara Marlowe’s reports on Turkey over the last month help readers
of this newspaper understand it better. It is a more rich, complex
and surprising picture than many may have realised. Turkey is a
dynamic society going through an extraordinary political and economic
transformation. Having been run for decades by a secular and military
elite inspired by Kemal Ataturk’s nationalist revolution in the 1920s,
Turkey is now governed by the centre right Justice and Development
Party (AKP) which emerged from Islamic movements but is no longer
determined by that past.

It has just been returned to power on a strong popular mandate, led by
one of the most impressive figures in contemporary European politics,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The party combines a radical reformist programme
with more conservative social values. It represents a new commercial
class with roots in Anatolia and a broad appeal throughout the
country. Its reformism has been centrally inspired by the aspiration
to join the EU, believed to vindicate the AKP’s programme of change
by better recognising Turkey’s own diversity.

Turkey’s national mentality and character are strikingly alert and
sensitive to external attitudes and criticism. This is evident
during the ebbs and flows of EU negotiations. Rapid mood swings
follow negative responses to Turkey’s membership application. The
same volatility applies to the recent crisis with the US over the
Armenian catastrophe during the first World War and the current much
more serious one on Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq.

The existential questions posed by Turkey’s application to join the EU
need a long period of open engagement. They should not be foreclosed
at this stage by those who object in principle to such a large state
with an Islamic culture. We have a lot to gain from Turkey’s dynamism,
difference and location but need more time to learn about them and
decide how best to respond.

BOYFRIEND ACCUSED OF KILLING TO SAVE FACE
By Carl Schreck, Staff Writer

The Moscow Times
Oct 31 2007
Russia

A St. Petersburg resident has been arrested in Moscow and charged
with murder for shooting dead a road construction worker in order to
save face in front of his girlfriend, authorities said.

Police arrested Artyom Turitsa, 26, on Oct. 24 on Gorkovskoye
Shosse, just east of Moscow, one month after he purportedly killed a
construction worker and injured another on Ryabinovaya Ulista, near
the Kuntsevskaya metro station in western Moscow, police spokeswoman
Yulia Makartseva said.

Turitsa began arguing with the two workers, a Georgian citizen and an
Armenian citizen, who were pouring cement on the evening of Sept. 22
after one of the tires on his Mercedes was damaged by a piece of
equipment at the construction site, Makartseva said.

After exchanging words, Turitsa fired several shots at the workers,
striking one who died at the scene and injuring the other in the thigh,
Makartseva said.

She declined to identify the victims, but Izvestia reported that Yago
Samanashvili, 26, was killed in the attack, while Srab Kachoyan, 40,
was hospitalized.

Turitsa fled the scene, and police had difficulty tracking him down
because he had temporary license plates, Makartseva said.

A massive manhunt, however, resulted in his arrest last week.

Turitsa has told police that he didn’t want to kill anyone and that he
just meant to fire some shots at the workers’ legs, a law enforcement
source said, Interfax reported.

Turitsa told police that the argument happened in front of his
girlfriend and that he "simply didn’t want to ruin his reputation in
his girlfriend’s eyes," the source said.

"He claimed the workers had insulted him and spoken in a crude
fashion," Makartseva said. "But that’s no reason to shoot someone.

People need to know that they can’t just resort to brute force in
cases like this."

Both Makartseva and city Investigative Committee spokesman Mikhail
Ionkin declined to elaborate on the details of the case, citing the
ongoing investigation.

Turitsa has been charged with murder and could face up to life in
prison if convicted, Ionkin said.

The deadly incident was not the first case of road rage this month.

On Oct. 8, a driver near the Kitai-Gorod metro station in central
Moscow ended an argument with three pedestrians by shooting them with
an air pistol and trying to flee, police said.

The pedestrians were injured, but not critically. The driver was
arrested by a police officer in the vicinity, police said.

BY 2008 DRAFT STATE BUDGET, EXPENDITURES ON SCIENCE TO MAKE ABOUT 6.8 BILLION DRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 31, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, NOYAN TAPAN. By the 2008 draft state budget,
expenditures on the sphere of science will make about 6.8 bln
drams. The growth of expenditures as compared with the specified budget
of 2007 will make 969 mln drams or 16.51%. Current expenditures of
2008 will grow by 1.1 bln drams.

In 2008, it is envisaged to allocate: about 3.9 bln drams to
organizations receiving basic financing against 3.6 bln drams in 2007;
943.3 mln drams for state target-programmed financing against 833
mln drams; about 1.5 bln drams for contractual (thematic) financing
against 1.34 bln drams (this growth is conditioned by an increase
in the average salary of scientific workers by about 50%). Based on
this, in 2008 the average salary of scientific workers will make 50
thousand drams against 38 thousand drams in 2007. It is envisaged to
give additional payments for scientific degrees of scientists under a
separate program of 549.9 mln drams. The amount of additional payments
will double as compared with 2007: it will make 20 thousand drams for
doctors of science and 10 thousand drams for candidates of science
– against 10 thousand drams and 5 thousand drams (about 15 USD)
respectively in 2007.

"DANGEROUS VIOLATION"

A1+
[12:25 pm] 31 October, 2007

Ruben Torossian, the head of "Supreme Council" Deputy Club has
requested the RA Justice Ministry to take preventive measures against
utilizing the RA Football Federation for political purposes.

To remind: under a federation decision, the premises will serve as
Serzh Sarkisian’s election headquarters.

"The federation’s decision contradicts the RA "Law on NGOs" and is
an unprecedented and dangerous violation of the law.

Companies should utilize their property in due order and in compliance
with their charters.

We ruled out such phenomena after the precedent with the National
Academy of Science. Unfortunately, they are inevitable nowadays,"
the statement runs.

BSEC ANKARA DECLARATION DOESN’T REFLECT AZERBAIJAN’S STAND ON KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.10.2007 15:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The text of the Ankara Declaration adopted by the
summit of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Black
Sea Economic Cooperation doesn’t reflect Azerbaijan’s stand on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry told PanARMENIAN.Net that Provision 14
of the Declaration reads, "We reaffirm that the existing protracted
conflicts in the region impede cooperation and emphasize the need
for their earliest peaceful settlement on the basis of the norms and
principles of international law."

Azeri media circulated misinformation again, the Ministry said.

Trend Azeri news agency reported that "the Declaration reflects the
position of Azerbaijan, which called on the BSEC member states to
react to Armenia’s aggressive policy destabilizing the entire region."