Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Hürriyet, Turkey
Feb 21 2009

Israel says ‘sorry’ for top officer’s outburst

ANKARA – The Turkish military yesterday confirmed a phone call from
Israeli Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to his counterpart
Ä°lker BaÅ?buÄ? to apologize for remarks made by a
top Israeli officer.

The Land Forces Commander Avi Mizrahi said last week Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, who criticized Israel’s campaign in Gaza,
"should first look in the mirror," and accused Turkey of committing a
massacre of Armenians, as well as suppressing the Kurds.

Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, spokesman for the military, said in a
weekly press conference Friday Ashkenazi phoned Chief of Staff General
BaÅ?buÄ? on Feb. 16 and sent an official letter
Thursday. In the telephone conservation, Ashkenazi said what the
commander said was his personal opinion and didn’t reflect the Israeli
Armed Forces’ official opinion.

Ashkenazi said he felt sorry for the incident and that he would deal
with the issue.

According to Israeli daily Jerusalem Post, Ashkenazi apologized in an
effort to prevent deterioration in military relations with Turkey.

Gürak also denied media reports about transfers of retired
generals, who have been arrested as part of the ongoing Ergenekon
case, to the military hospital Gülhane Military Medical
Academy, or GATA.

"Although all operations and procedures regarding the retired generals
have been carried out in line with the law and under the supervision
of Justice Ministry, the allegations leveled at the GATA, an
institution of the Turkish Armed Forces, are groundless and
ill-intentioned," Gürak said.

"Such campaigns carried out against the generals, who are currently
facing serious health problems, aren’t in line with the human values
and ethical rules," he said.

BAKU SHOULD THINK TO EXPLAIN ITS NON-CONSTRUCTIVE POSITION IN TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.02.2009 19:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs avoid stating that
actions of one of the sides hamper the peace process, Armenia’s
Foreign Minister said.

"Azerbaijan should think thoroughly to explain its non-constructive
position in talks," Edward Nalbandian told journalists today.

He emphasized that peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
has no alternative.

"As to the document Azerbaijan pushed in the UN General Assembly, the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states assumed a maximally clear position
on the issue," he said.

ATLANTIC STAGE 2 WILL BE HOME TO WORLD PREMIERE OF AYVAZIAN’S MAKE ME IN MAY
By Kenneth Jones

Playbill.com
rticle/126473.html
Feb 19 2009
NY

The final production of Atlantic Theater Company’s 2008-09
Off-Broadway season will be the world premiere of Leslie Ayvazian’s
modern-relationships play Make Me, directed by Atlantic associate
artistic director Christian Parker. Casting will be announced shortly.

Make Me will begin previews May 19, officially open May 31 and play
a limited engagement through June 14 at the intimate Atlantic Stage
2 at 330 West 16th Street.

According to Atlantic, "In Make Me, six pent-up Americans in three
different relationships have reached the end of their ropes. In
this naughty comic fugue, Leslie Ayvazian explores what happens when
the rules are changed just at the moment when people think they are
perfectly comfortable and the lengths to which some will go to be seen,
heard and obeyed."

Ayvazian makes her Atlantic Theater Company debut. Her acclaimed
Off-Broadway play Nine Armenians won the John Gassner Outer Critics
Award, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the Kennedy Center’s Roger
L. Stevens Award. Her film credits include Showtime’s "Every Three
Minutes" starring Olympia Dukakis.

Atlantic associate artistic director Parker most recently staged the
New York premiere of Tina Howe’s play Birth And After Birth. Other
Atlantic credits include Jeff Whitty’s The Hiding Place and 10X20, a
festival of newly commissioned ten-minute plays by writers previously
produced at Atlantic.

Make Me will feature scenic design by Anna Louizos, lighting design
by Josh Bradford and sound design by Jill BC DuBoff.

Ayvazian’s second full-length play (after Nine Armenians), Singer’s
Boy, was produced at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco
directed by Cary Perloff. High Dive, her one-woman show about turning
50, premiered at the Long Wharf Theatre directed by David Warren,
produced in conjunction with The Play Company, and opened in New York
at Manhattan Class Company. It has since received many productions in
the U.S. and recently completed a successful run in Poland. Rosemary
and I, which was named a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, received
a workshop at New York Stage and Film and a full production at the
Passage Theatre in Trenton, NJ, directed by Blair Brown. Her play
Lovely Day premiered at City Theatre in Pittsburgh in a production
directed by Tracy Brigden, and was produced in New York at The Play
Company where it was staged by Blair Brown.

Make Me received workshop productions by the Cape Cod Theatre Festival
and the Adirondack Theatre Festival, both directed by Martha Banta. She
has received commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast
Repertory Theatre and Wind Dancer Productions.

Make Me will play Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM, Saturday
matinees at 2:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM. All tickets are $40
and are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or by
visiting

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS DEPENDS ON EU MEMBER STATES AND PARTNER COUNTRIES’ STRONG POLITICAL WILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.02.2009 12:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Eastern Partnership is an initiative developed
within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy to implement
and reinforce it, a European official said.

"As for ENP, also for the EP how far we go in relations with each
country will continue to depend on the progress made by the partners
in their reform and modernization efforts. The Eastern Partnership
has a strong emphasis on shared European values," Head of the European
Commission Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Raul de Luzenberger said
in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"The success of this initiative will depend on strong political will
of EU Member States and partner countries alike – joint ownership is
essential in this. The Commission will also play a crucial role in
making the multilateral framework an effective tool for cooperation,"
he said.

Ambassador de Luzenberger said that after adoption by the European
Council, the Eastern Partnership will be launched at an "Eastern
Partnership Summit" in May 2009 involving the Heads of the States or
Governments of EU Member States and Partner Countries.

"From then onwards biennial summits will be held to provide direction
and profile to the Partnership. Annual meetings of Foreign Affairs
Ministers should review progress and provide more detailed political
guidance," he said.

AL-JAZEERA PANELLISTS DISCUSS TENSION IN TURKISH-ISRAELI TIES AFTER GAZA WAR

Al-Jazeera
"Behind the News" programme
Feb 17 2009
Qatar

Qatari government-funded, pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera satellite
TV at 1830 gmt on 15 February carries live a new 25-minute episode
of its "Behind the News" programme on "tension" in Turkish-Israeli
ties following the war on Gaza. Anchorwoman Jumanah Nammur in the
studio begins by making the following remarks: "After decades of
distinguished relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv, signs of tension
began to threaten these relations. Following the sharp criticism
the Turkish prime minister levelled at Israel because of its war on
Gaza, and following the heated debate that took place between him
and Israeli President Shim’on Peres in Davos, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry issued a statement protesting comments by an Israeli general,
in which he accused Ankara of killing the Armenians and suppressing the
Kurds. These accusations angered the Turkish military establishment,
which described them as false and unacceptable accusations that
jeopardize ties between the two countries."

The introductory remarks are followed by a three-minute report over
video by Iman Ramadan. The report shows Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
telling parliament: "I am telling Ehud Baraq and Tzipi Livni to forget
about the elections because history will judge them for the black stain
they are leaving on humanity." He is then shown telling the Israeli
president in Davos: "I will not speak loudly, but when it comes to
killing, you know very well how to kill. You have prime ministers
who said they felt quite happy when they entered Gaza on tanks." The
report ends by saying: "This tension in relations did not begin with
the war on Gaza. It was preceded by talk about Israeli support for the
Kurds, who are viewed as a thorn in Turkish mouth. Israeli meddling in
northern Iraq, however, did not negatively affect the strong military
and economic cooperation between Israel and Turkey."

To discuss this issue, the programme hosts Husni Mahli, a press writer,
via satellite from Istanbul, and Shlomo Ganor, correspondent of the
Israeli Television, via satellite from Jerusalem.

Asked about the consequences of this "escalation in verbal war
between the two regional allies," Mahli says: "Answering this
question is certainly linked to the overall regional developments,
primarily those related to the new Israeli Government, the future
of inter-Palestinian reconciliation, the Israeli-Palestinian clam
agreement, and the new Israeli Government’s position on peace with the
Syrians. All these will influence the future Turkish position and the
future of Turkish-Israeli relations." He adds that Israel seeks good
relations with Turkey because it is "the only Islamic state that has
strategic economic and military ties with Israel."

Commenting on Mahli’s remarks, Ganor says: "I do not think so. Israel
has ties with many friendly and neighbouring countries. It has peace
agreements with Egypt and Jordan and special relations with the
PNA. There is no doubt that it has distinguished historical ties with
Turkey. These relations have largely developed during the past two
decades and they are characterized by strategic cooperation based on
joint interests and confrontation of common threats. The two countries
also have a common interest in the prosperity of this region. I think
this deterioration or this crisis in relations is a summer cloud that
will go away. I know quite well that the Israeli and Turkish sides are
making intensive efforts towards this end and that other parties are
mediating to clear the atmosphere and restore past relations. What we
see these days is perhaps due to some developments which influenced
relations as a result of the Israeli military campaign against
Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Syria’s decision to suspend the indirect
negotiations held with Israel through Turkey. This somehow disappointed
Turkey. Also there is the issue of stumbling European-Turkish
talks on Turkey’s EU membership, in addition to other international
problems and challenges facing the Islamic party in Turkey." He adds:
"Turkey is on the threshold of elections and there is no doubt that
Turkish-Israeli relations figure high in the election campaign."

Asked if Turkish-Israeli "tension" is a storm in a cup that will
have no influence on bilateral relations, which have "much improved"
during the last two decades, Mahli says: "Yes, they improved during
the last two decades but they did not improve during the government
of Recep Tayyib Erdogan. It is worth noting that when Israel killed
Shaykh Ahmad Yasin in March 2004, Erdogan said Israel is a terrorist
country. Also Erdogan was the only one who hosted Khalid Mish’al
after the 2006 elections."

Reminded that Erdogan said after the Gaza war that his country was not
against Israel and would not suspend its military exercises with it,
Mahli says: "The issue of exercises is a different one. A strategic
military agreement was signed between the Turkish Army and Israel in
1997. Therefore, let us put aside this issue. Erdogan firmly believes
that Israel is not a state that can be trusted or have strategic
relations with." He adds that the Turkish opinion polls showed that
98.9 per cent of the Turkish people were against Israel during the
Gaza war. He then says Erdogan’s government has suspended its military
contracts with Israel to modernize Turkish tanks and planes.

Ganor responds by saying: "We here in Israel do not think relations
have reached this serious level as some are trying to show. Strategic
relations between the two countries are strong. We have to remember
that the military in Turkey enjoys a special status and adopts a
special position on relations with Israel. Its position on Israel is
completely different from that of the Turkish politicians."

When told that the Turkish Army supported the prime minister during the
Gaza war, Ganor says: "Nevertheless, relations are still in place and
will continue, especially since an agreement was signed in 1996 and
there are joint military exercises, contracts on the modernization
of Turkish weapons, and joint naval and air exercises. Arms deals
were signed and Turkey buys weapons from Israel. There is also an
exchange of intelligence information on the dangers threatening the
two countries like terrorism and Iran."

He adds: "If Turkey severs its military and security relations
with Israel, this will reflect negatively on NATO relations with
Ankara. Both Turkey and Israel take this into consideration." He then
says "there is a crisis which we do not ignore, but intensive efforts
are being made to overcome this crisis so that the two countries can
play their role in the Middle East and confront common dangers."

Asked if Turkey will be able to maintain good relations with Israel
and the Arabs and continue to play the role of mediator between Israel
and Syria, Mahli says: "There are no strategic interests between Israel
and Turkey and there is no joint enemy. If by enemy the speaker means
Iran, I will then say Turkey does not consider Iran a threat to it
or to the region."

He adds: "Turkey was and will continue to be the key player in
all Middle East developments as long as it maintains distinguished
relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad. Since Syria is a
principal party to the peace process in the Middle East, the Syrian
president will accept no mediator other than Turkey in the peace
talks with Israel. Turkey knows this. Turkey also has distinguished
relations with Hamas’s leaders. Although Hamas is now holding talks
with Egypt, the leaders of Hamas have absolute confidence in Prime
Minister Erdogan and the Turkish leaders."

He adds: "Turkey was deceived by Israel although it did not deceive
anyone. It was Olmert who deceived Turkey when he came to Ankara
before the Israeli invasion of Gaza and promised Turkey, Syria,
and Hamas that there will be a new phase of talks. He, however,
returned to Israel and launched his aggression against Gaza. This
is what prompted Prime Minister Erdogan to say two days later that
Olmert was impolite and did not respect Turkey. When Olmert was here,
Erdogan contacted Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and agreed with
him to hold direct talks between Israel and Syria. He also contacted
Isma’il Haniyah [head of deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza] and
agreed with him to continue to observe calm with Israel."

Responding to this, Ganor says: "A clear official Israeli statement
made here in Jerusalem said neither Olmert nor any Israeli official
deceived the Turkish side on any level whatsoever. The talks Olmert
held with the Turkish prime minister dealt with the Syrian issue." He
then says the Israeli Army issued a statement saying Israeli General
Mizrahi’s criticism of Turkey did not express the official position
of the army.

Finally asked if differences between Turkey and Israel can be
forgotten, Mahli says: "I do not think so because the Turkish leaders
are strongly convinced that they can no longer trust any Israeli
official on any level." He adds that Turkey will nevertheless "be
careful to maintain ties with Israel even if it does not believe in
them or is not satisfied with them" because Turkey is a NATO member
and has ties with the United States and the Jewish lobby there.

OBAMA DISCUSSES ARMENIA, MIDEAST, AFGHANISTAN WITH TURKISH OFFICIALS

Hurriyet
Feb 16 2009
Turkey

U.S. President Barack Obama called Turkish President Abdullah Gul
and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and had two "warm and productive"
conversations, the White House said late on Monday. (UPDATED)

According to the statements issued by the White House, and both Gul
and Erdogan’s offices Obama and Turkish officials discussed the Middle
East, including Iraq and Iran, Afghanistan and Armenia.

"In both calls, the leaders discussed a number of current issues,
including U.S. support for the growing Turkish-Iraqi relationship,
the importance of cooperation in Middle East peace efforts, and the
U.S. review on Afghanistan and Pakistan policy," the White House said
in a statement.

This is the highest level contact of the new administration in
Washington with Ankara since Obama took the office in Jan. 20. Earlier
in February U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with Turkish Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan on the sidelines of a security conference.

"The president emphasized the importance of the United States alliance
with Turkey and said he looks forward to working with both President
Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan on a broad agenda of mutual strategic
interest," the White House said adding, Obama emphasized his desire
to strengthen U.S.-Turkish relations and to work together effectively
in NATO.

Gul’s office said prior to the White House’s statement Obama had
praised Turkey’s leadership in the regional issues. The two leaders
also "re-affirmed the will to work together, reviewing regional as
well as international issues," Gul’s office added.

Gul told the U.S. president that a legislation that would recognize
the Armenian claims regarding the 1915 incidents should not be put
before Congress.

The issue of 1915 incidents is highly sensitive for Turkey as well as
Armenia. Around 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks, died
in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by
Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

FOCUS ON ARMENIA ISSUE

However Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5
million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in
1915. The issue remains unsolved as Armenia drags its feet in accepting
Turkey’s proposal of forming a commission to investigate the claims.

The issue of 1915 incidents was high on the agenda of Obama-Erdogan
discussion. The Obama administration is seen as the most pro-Armenian
administration in Washington. Obama, Biden and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton pledged to recognize the Armenian claims on the 1915
incidents, which has caused major concern in Turkey.

Erdogan underlined the importance of the strategic
cooperation. "Turkey’s stance on policies regarding the Middle East
and Armenia is clear. America’s fair and impartial approach (to these
issues) is important in order to prevent any damage to the bilateral
relations," Erdogan was quoted as telling to Obama.

The U.S. president welcomed the recent restored dialogue between
Turkey and Armenia, signaling under the existing circumstances he
would refrain from taking any step that would harm these efforts.

Turkey and Armenia had restored dialogue, an important step to
normalize the relations that would eventually result in the opening
of the border between two neighboring countries. Turkey closed its
border and cut its diplomatic relations with Armenia in a protest to
Armenian occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory.

"I would like to say that your leadership is vital in the Middle East
peace process and America always understands Turkey’s sensitivities,"
Erdogan’s office quoted Obama as telling the Turkish prime minister.

The statement said Obama expressed willingness to work with Turkey
on many issues such as maintaining peace in the Middle East, ending
PKK terrorism and relations with Armenia.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: BAKU ENDANGERED REGIONAL SECURITY

Regnum
l
Feb 17 2009
Russia

Negligence of the propositions established in the documents signed
by Azerbaijani leaders, the ongoing war declarations, boosting the
arms race, evident violations of CFE Treaty’s quotas, justification
and corroboration of application of force, the anti-racial propaganda
not only impede the peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but
threaten regional security and stability, declared Edward Nalbandyan,
Armenian Foreign Minister while addressing students and professors
at the University of Warsaw, a REGNUM correspondent was informed at
the press office of the ministry.

Nalbandyan also underlined, that similar developments requires a
response from the international community.

It is worth mentioning that Edward Nalbandyan had already met with
his Polish counterpart Radoslav Sikorski, within the framework of
his visit to Poland. On February 17 Edward Nalbandyan is scheduled
to meet with President of Poland Lekh Kachinski, President of the
Seim Bronislav Komorovski and Chairman of the Senate Bogdan Borusevich.

FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: ARMENIANS IN US STRONGER THAN BEFORE

ArmInfo
2009-02-13 14:15:00

ArmInfo. Armenians in US stronger than before. The Armenian lobby is
fully mobilized and highly motivated yet that does not mean Barack
Obama’s administration will recognize Armenians claims of "genocide"
despite pledges made during election campaigns, former US ambassador
to Ankara Marc Parris said.

As the Turkish mass media report, he said that the bad news is that the
Armenian lobby is fully mobilized, highly motivated and in possession
of unprecedentedly clear and unqualified commitments from leading
members of the new administration that the events of 1915 will be
termed ‘genocide’.

However, he did not think it necessarily meant either a resolution
or a statement by the White House would be forthcoming.

Parris also said the progress in Turkish-Armenian ties is important
for Washington.

NO BAN IN ARTIK

A1+
[08:23 pm] 12 February, 2009

The "Miatsum" civil initiative met with residents of Artik city in
one of the auditoriums of the city, according to the initiative’s
press release.

Members of the "Miatsum" initiative, Deputy of the National Assembly
Zaruhi Postanjyan, Jirair Sefilyan, Seda Melikyan, Tigran Khzmalyan,
member of the "Heritage" party, NA Deputy Vardan Khachatryan gave
answers to a number of questions raised by citizens.

The speakers stressed that the current authorities are robbers and
murderers who have seized power in Armenia and are selling out the
country. They called on the people to be more proactive and participate
in all events organized by the pan-Armenian movement, particularly
the rally to be held on March 1. The proposal was accepted unanimously
and with great enthusiasm.

ARMSWISSBANK BECOMES MARKET MAKER FOR NEWLY LISTED HSBC BANK ARMENIA BONDS

ARKA
Feb 9, 2009

YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. Starting February 6, 2009, Armswissbank
cjsc will provide buy and sell prices for nominal coupon bonds of
"HSBC Bank Armenia" cjsc, which have been listed on NASDAQ OMX Armenia
since February 2, 2009 under ticker symbol HSBCB1.

The market and communication division of NASDAQ OMX told ARKA News
Agency that this issue consists of 10,000 bonds with nominal value
AMD 100,000, maturity 365 days and coupon yield 9%p.a, and is included
in the Bbond list of the stock exchange.

In its status of a market maker Armswissbank will ensure that investors
are always able to buy and sell the bonds of the issuer on NASDAQ
OMX Armenia, thus promoting the liquidity of the securities in the
secondary market.

ArmSwissBank was registered on November 22, 2004 with 100% Swiss
capital.

The bank received its final banking activity license on February
25, 2005.

Armswissbank has been a member of the stock exchange since September
14, 2007 and, apart from HSBCB1, is also the market maker for corporate
bonds issued by "ArmRusGasprom" cjsc (HRGAB2), which is currently
the only security on NASDAQ OMX Armenia Abond list, "Valletta" LLC
(VALTB2, VALTB3), and "Armenian Copper Programme" cjsc (ARCPB1) –
all three on the exchange’s Bbond list.

The bank’s assets reach ed AMD 23.5 billion by Dec 31, 2008,
liabilities AMD 18 billion and total capital AMD 5.5 billion.

The bank’s net profit amounted to AMD 7.2 billion in Jan/Dec 2008.

HSBC Bank Armenia, subsidiary of HSBC Bank Plc, was registered on
September 25, 1995.

HSBC Bank Plc holds 70% of HSBC Bank Armenia shares. The remaining 30%
belong to overseas Armenian investors.

In January 2009, HSBC Bank Armenia also became a member of NASDAQ
OMX Armenia.

The Bank’s assets reached AMD 121.8 billion, liabilities AMD 106.3
billion and total capital AMD 15.5 billion by late December 2008.

The bank’s net profit for Jan/Dec 2008 amounted to AMD 3.9billion.

Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) renamed NASDAQ OMX Armenia in January
2008 was established in 2001 as voluntary merger of 21 broker (dealer)
companies.

In November 2007, Armex was reorganized into an open joint stock
company.

In January 2008, OMX, Scandinavian stock exchange operator, bought 100%
of Armenian Stock Exchange and Central Depository’s shares.

After NASDAQ and OMX merger in March 2008, the company NASDAQ OMX
Group, Inc became the sole holder of Armenian Stock Exchange and
Central Depository’s shares.

23 securities underwent registration and listing on Armenian Stock
Exchange by Feb 6, 2009, 2009.

Capitalization of Armex amounted to AMD 53.6 billion. ($1 = AMD 305.3).