Author: Ekmekjian Janet

PanARMENIAN.Net

Azerbaijan spends its oil dollars on buying weapons

The Azerbaijani authorities, who keep declaring their military
superiority over Armenia, realize that without Turkey’s military
assistance they will be unable to try to `restore control’ over the
territories bordering to Nagorno-Karabakh. 24.07.2008 GMT+04:00

Russian magazine Moscow Defense Brief published the list of reported
deliveries of military equipment to Azerbaijan in 2000`2007. Whatever
we say, the list is rather impressive and it seems as though
Azerbaijan is going to fight against the whole region. Shortly after
the publication Defense Minister of Azerbaijan hurried to disclaim the
statement, naturally, shifting the blame onto the «Armenian
intrigues».

/PanA RMENIAN.Net/ In 2007 Azerbaijan signed a contract with the
Arzamas Machine Building Plant for delivery in 2008 of a few Russian
BTR-90 and 70 BTR-80A. One of the conditions of the agreement reached
in 2002 over the status of the Gabalina radar station was the
provision of military assistance to modernize Azerbaijan’s air force
and air defense systems, train the Azeri military in Russia, and
provide repair services for military equipment. Turkey provided the
greatest amount of aid, reaching a total of 170 million USD in
2005. According to Undersecretary for Defense Industry of Turkey Murad
Bayar, Ankara is presently considering the possibility of producing
new tanks in the territory of Azerbaijan for the Armed Forces of both
countries. According to him, the appropriate agreement may be signed
between the defense authorities of the two countries in the current
month. `We can also join efforts in producing robot planes and
mine-detectors,’ the Minister added. In his words Turkey has also
suggested Azerbaijan modernization of T-72 tanks.

Besides Russia, Azerbaijan has also purchased small arms and modern
communications equipment from American and Israeli firms. And now it
is putting the emphasis on acquiring new aviation equipment for its
air force. In 2005 Azerbaijan signed a contract with the Ukraine for
the delivery of twelve MiG-29 fighters, two MiG-29UB aircraft, and
twelve L-39 training aircraft. It bought twelve Su-25 assault planes
(probably Czech) and one Su-27UB from Georgia. Negotiations with the
Ukraine for the acquisition of Su-27 fighters and Su-25 assault planes
have also been reported, along with modernization in the Ukraine of
Azeri Mi-24 combat helicopters by the South African ATE Company’s
Super Hind Mk-III program. Besides, Azerbaijan is reportedly looking
forward to acquiring new Chinese FC-1 light fighters.

According to the list provided by Moscow Defense Brief, Azerbaijan
acquired 106 T-72 main battle tanks from the Ukraine, Belarus,
Slovakia, Bulgaria and Georgia in the years of 2002-2006. The list
shows that Ukraine holds the first position in delivering military
equipment to Baku, which is not surprising, as still in the time of
war Kiev used to provide the Azerbaijani Army not only with military
equipment, but also with pilots and snipers. What is quite surprising
the list also includes patrol cutters: in 2000 one AB-25 patrol cutter
was bought from Turkey, in 2003 another Point patrol cutter Azerbaijan
acquired from the USA, two Small patrol cutters were delivered from
the USA and another 30 from Turkey in the period of 2001-2005. The
cutters are assigned for the Caspian Sea and, in all probability, will
«protect» the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea
against Turkmenistan and Iran, from whose territory Baku pumps
oil. However, these are particulars that cannot trouble
Azerbaijan. The oil revenues are still enough for part of them to
avoid Aliyev’s clan. How much longer can Baku «flourish»
with majority of its population starving? In all probability Baku
prepares his citizens for war in order to stay away from protests. It
is a well-proved practice, but sometimes results prove to be opposite.

Meanwhile, as usual, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry shifts its
blames onto others. `The information on acquired Azerbaijani military
equipment published in the Russian press is distortion of truth. The
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry considers it misinformation dreamed up by
pro-Armenian Mass Media in Russia. Such articles are part of the
information war, whose aim is to outline Azerbaijan as an aggressive
country,’ declared the Defense Minister of Azerbaijan at a press
conference. However, Baku overlooked something: Moscow Defense Brief
is a serious magazine and publishes only truthful information. And the
fact that Azerbaijan is an aggressor is already a widely known
secret. At the beginning of the year Stockholm Institute for Strategic
Studies noted that Georgia and Azerbaijan are the countries with the
highest military spending. Moreover, the figures provided by the
Russian magazine are even reduced ` in fact, Azerbaijan possesses more
military equipment. Anyway, all these figures confirm that Baku is not
determined to come to a peaceful settlement on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and sets hopes on the power and assistance of Turkey. In the
words of Russian expert Alexey Makarkin the Azerbaijani authorities,
who keep declaring their military superiority over Armenia, realize
that without Turkey’s military assistance they will be unable to try
to `bring back under their control’ the territories bordering to
Nagorno-Karabakh.

«PanARMENIAN.Net& #xC2;» analytical department

ARMENIAN RENEGADE SOLDIER SEEKING TRANSFER ABROAD

Assa-Irada
July 24 2008
Azerbaijan

An Armenian soldier who voluntarily crossed to the Azerbaijani
territory has turned down his citizenship and is seeking transfer
to a third country. Representatives of the International Committee
of the Red Cross met with Paruyr Stepanian on Thursday. Although he
had sought the participation of journalists as he intended to make
a statement, the meeting was held behind closed doors. Head of the
ICRC delegation in Azerbaijan, Martin Amacher, had refused to hold
discussions with the serviceman, saying media presence was counter
to the international conventions joined by the country. The Armenian
serviceman told the Baku-based ANS TV channel after the meeting
that he had crossed over to Azerbaijan due to cases of torture in
Armenias military and lawlessness in the country. Stepanian said
he had requested the ICRCs assistance in arranging his transfer to
a third country. The organization has yet to respond to the renegade
servicemans request. Chief of the Azerbaijan Defense Ministrys military
police department, Rovshan Maharramov, said another reason for the
Armenian servicemans move was his admitting that the Armenia-occupied
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region is part of Azerbaijan and his refusing
to undergo military service in another states territory. Stepanian
said that not only him but also other soldiers were abused in the
Armenian army. He has therefore turned down his citizenship and has
no intention to go back to Armenia, Maharramov said.

COMMENTARY: IRAN POSES NO THREAT TO THE U.S.

The Reporter
July 24 2008
WI

I was quite offended by the tone of Mona Charen’s syndicated column,
"How crazy is the Iranian regime?" (The Reporter, July 16), the title
of which surely violates your own policy on defamatory statements.

In addition, I would like to make a few other points.

The intelligence report she alludes to — in which it is acknowledged
that Iran, in 2003, abandoned its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons —
has been regarded as accurate both in this country and abroad. There
is, however, a staunch cadre of pundits who decry the report without
ever mentioning the fact that they have been pushing for war with
Iran since at least the beginning of the current conflict in Iraq.

Simply put, they want another war, and they are not going to let truth
stand in their way. Most of the neocons in the current administration
fall into this category. Of course, India, Pakistan and Israel are
all nuclear powers already.

Often, one hears criticism of Iran for having agents in Iraq. Under
the circumstances this is quite normal. Iraq is a country with
which the Iranians share a border, and a mere 20 years ago the two
countries were at war themselves (and the U.S. supported Iran, though
covertly). Iran has as legitimate an interest as anybody in finding
out what kind of regime is being installed on its doorstep. Israel
and Turkey also have agents in Iraq, and nobody frets about them.

Iran is also charged with providing material support to the Iraqi
resistance. This assistance must be very limited. If the government
of Iran were really interested in becoming involved in the fighting
in Iraq, they would be able to supply the resistance with some quite
sophisticated weapons. This they have not, however, and the Iraqi
fighters must rely on truck bombs and the like — all of which is very
low-tech, and for which the materials probably come from elsewhere
in central Asia (if not homemade).

The discovery, now and then, of Iranian rifles and other hand-held
weaponry is even less conclusive of Iranian involvement in Iraq. These
weapons could come from any contraband arms dealer. It is also worth
remembering that rifles of Russian (or Soviet) manufacture have been
found, as well as arms from France and even the U.S. Where did those
come from?

Worth remembering too, is the fact that Iran has no quarrel
with countries such as China, India and Armenia (all of which
have non-Muslim majorities). In fact, Iran and its president,
Dr. Ahmadinejad, are well-respected in Asia.

Iran has only one enemy: the only openly, defiantly expansionist
country in the region, namely Israel.

Israeli politicians have been calling for a sort of holy war against
Iran for at least a generation. Is it any wonder, then, that Iranian
officials occasionally respond in kind to play to the home audience? If
our country had been repeatedly the target of threats by another
nation, we would certainly expect our leaders to make some tough
statements, would we not?

Iran poses no threat to the U.S. Whether there will be war or not,
I cannot know. But the U.S. should have no part of it.

PACE CHAIRMAN: "CE RULES OUT ARMED WAY OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT"

Today.Az
July 24 2008
Azerbaijan

PACE chairman Luis Maria de Puig announced that the Council of Europe
sees the resolution of the Karabakh problem in the framework of
international law and only peacefully, ruling out any armed resolution.

"PACE recognizes the principle of territorial integrity of the
countries and nations right for self-determination", said Luis Maria
de Puig Tuesday in Yerevan during the meeting with the Armenian
delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly.

According to the public relations department of the National Assembly
of the country, de Puig said though the Council of Europe did not
play a great role in the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict but
in case of the need it may contribute to organization of a dialogue
in the parliamentary frames.

The PACE chairman considers it necessary to assist to the activity of
the OSCE Minsk Group on the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
which makes great effort in this direction, according to him.

In turn, member of the Armenian delegation in PACE Avet Adonts,
speaking about the recent PACE resolution, in line with which
democratic development is difficult without resolution of the issues
of the territorial integrity of the state, noted that it creates
reservation for the development of democratic processes for any
country, especially, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia.

"At the same time, Armenia, which has been isolated since 1991, does
not present any preconditions for conduction of democratic processes",
noted Adonts, calling it a demonstration of double standards.

Arutyunyan called to assist the Minsk Group and voiced surprise that
the press release, posted at the CE website due to Puig’s visit to
Baku, contains a formulation, according to which "it is necessary to
find solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the basis of the
principle of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan only peacefully".

According to Arutyunyan, this formulation threats the peace process.

In this connection, Puig said he is responsible for his words and not
formulations, attributed to him by mass medias, which do not reflect
the reality.

According to the PACE chairman, he said that "the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe recognizes principle of territorial
integrity of states and national right for self-determination".

ARMENIAN-AMERICAN SOPRANO ANI MALDJIAN TO STAR IN FESTIVAL OPERA’S

NewsBlaze
July 24 2008
CA

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – opening August 9

Former two-time San Francisco Opera Merola Program participant Ani
Maldjian will replace Marnie Breckenridge in the role of Tytania in
Festival Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, opening August 9, 2008.

Breckenridge had been given permission by Festival Opera to bow
out so that she could accept an invitation by the Glyndebourne
Opera Festival to cover the lead role in the world premiere of
Peter Eotvos’ Love and Other Demons on August 10 – 30, following
a critically-acclaimed turn at English National Opera in the role
of Cunegonde for Candide. Maldjian was the Western Regional winner
of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2005, and a
national finalist in 2006. She has participated in Seattle Opera’s
Young Artist program for the last two years. Maldjian was notified
on Monday by Festival Opera that she had the part, leaving her only
six days to learn the role prior to arriving in Walnut Creek for the
start of rehearsals under director Michael Morgan on Monday.

Festival Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s adaptation of
Shakespeare’s romantic comedy will also feature countertenor William
Sauerland as Oberon, Kurt Krikorian as Puck (spoken), bass Kirk
Eichelberger as Bottom, baritone Igor Vieira as Theseus, mezzo-soprano
Lauren Groff as Hippolyta, tenor Jorge Garza as Lysander, baritone
Nikolas Nackley as Demetrius, mezzo-soprano Jessica Mariko Deardorff
as Hermia, and soprano Stacey Cornell as Helena. Set design will be
by Peter Crompton and costume design by Susanna Douthit.

Maldjian was not aware she had an exceptional voice until the age
of nine, when a choir teacher suggested she consider a singing
career. However, she thought it would be in pop music. Instead,
Maldjian immediately took to opera upon hearing it for the first time
at the California Institute of the Arts, which she entered at 16 and
graduated with a B.A. in fine arts at 20. She went on to obtain a
M.A. from California State University in Northridge.

Considered one of the country’s fast-rising sopranos, she was
the toast of Southern California last year for her tour-de-force
performance in Russian composer Grigori Frid’s one-woman opera,
The Diary of Anne Frank, at Long Beach Opera. Among other accolades,
Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed wrote that Frid’s "vocal writing
fits the words closely and offers a technical and emotional tour
de force for a game soprano. [Artistic director] Mitisek found just
that soprano in Ani Maldjian. Tuesday at 8 p.m., one might have said
she was an emerging artist in the earliest stages of a career. By
9:30, she had emerged�. Her singing was commanding and brilliant,
fresh and strong from beginning to end�. Discovering talent like
Maldjian’s is no easy feat." And John Farrell of the Los Angeles Daily
News noted: "She sings Frid’s simple, emotional score with elegance
and intelligibility. Maldjian brings Frank to life in a performance
at once understated and fully realized. It is a star turn."

Benjamin Britten’s magical adaptation of the Shakespearean classic has
been praised as "marvelously wrought" and filled with "fantastical
exuberance" by the New York Times. The haunting score is at once
inventive and evocative, and entices the listener deep into the
enchantment of a summer’s night, where anything can happen in the
name of love.

To bring Shakespeare’s ethereal world to life, director Michael Morgan,
who will also conduct, had Crompton create a set out of fabrics
rather than solid objects to represent his vision of the opera as
"light to the point of weightlessness. The sensuality of the forest is
being portrayed by young dancers. The only heaviness will be in the
clumsy but always lovable Rustics (sometimes called the Mechanicals)
and their attempt to win favor by their performance of Pyramus and
Thisby." Morgan has also garnished the story with a 1960’s color
scheme. "My hope is that the visual charm will match the lightness and
transparency of Britten’s most unusual and immediately striking opera
score." Morgan has invited accomplished choreographer Mark Foehringer
to assist him in staging the popular work. "Mark has a wonderful eye
and imagination, as well as a gift for telling a story through motion."

Morgan – who made his debut as an operatic stage director with Festival
Opera’s 2006 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni – notes that one of
the reasons he was attracted to this project is that "it’s an opera for
any age. The play has a long history of charming audiences, as well
as being heavily edited to mute its sometimes overt sensuality. In
our more easy-going era, I hope both its charm and sweet sensuality
will be appreciated by those who have an eye for it, and that even
the youngest viewers will find it enchanting and entertaining."

Festival Opera executive director Helen Sheaff points out that the
company was fortunate to include William Sauerland in the cast. "There
are so few countertenors today that this will be a rare opportunity to
see one in performance. And Britten’s opera is one of the most famous
countertenor roles, but most companies are limited to using a contralto
or female soprano. So this will be a treat for Bay Area opera lovers."

A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens on Saturday, August 9, at 8 pm. Three
performances follow, on August 12 and 15 at 8 pm, and a Sunday matinee
at 2 pm on August 17. All performances will take place at the Lesher
Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA. Tickets are
$36 – $100. Order online at or call (925)
943-SHOW. For more information, visit

–Boundary_(ID_qz2V0/hSgHU EGRy3iNipew)–

FALSE INFORMATION

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 23, 2008
Armenia

According to the Mass Media reports, defendant Gourguen Yeghyazaryan
announced in a press-conference held yesterday that Vrezh Nikolyan,
who is accused of ordering "hedgehogs", is a relative of Mr. Aghvan
Hovsepyan. Such information is an obvious lie and does not correspond
to the reality.

There are no friendly or family ties between Vrezh Nikolyan and the
Prosecutor General, and such statements are the product of morbid
imagination.

A. Hovsepyan is familiar with the accused as a fellow-townsman like
many others, including such activists who pursue different political
views.

Press Service of the General Prosecutor’s Office

SERZH SARGSYAN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO ACTIVITY OF ALL ARMENIAN ORGANIZATIONS IN PRESERVATION OF ARMENIAN NATION

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 22

RA President Sarzh Sargsyan receiving on July 22 the delegation of the
Armenian Missionary Association of America, led by Executive Director
Andrew Torigian, congratulated them on the occasion of Association’s
90th anniversary and said that it is a good occasion to estimate
the past way. He attached importance to activity of all Armenian
organizations in the sphere of preservation of Armenian nation, their
involvement in Armenia’s life, as well as using the potential of all
Armenians for the sake of the homeland and the Armenian people.

S. Sargsian considered preservation of Armenian nation, repatriation,
complete and purposeful use of Armenians’ abilities the most important
problems of the newly created Ministry of Diaspora.

According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA President’s
Press Office, the meeting participants briefly presented the history
of creation of the Armenian Missionary Association of America. They
touched upon programs implemented currently by the Association in
different spheres in Armenia and NKR and presented their plans. It
was mentioned that along with charity programs the Association tries
to gradually pass to development programs.

ARMENIA, TURKEY WILL GAIN FROM BILATERAL RELATIONS – PRESIDENT

Interfax News Agency
July 21 2008
Russia

Contacts between Armenia and Turkey never ceased, Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan told a press conference on Monday."Contacts between
Armenian and Turkish diplomatic circles never ceased and there is
nothing sensational about Armenian and Turkish representatives meeting
in Bern," he said.

"Both Armenia and Turkey will gain from established relations.

Certainly, in both countries there are people who think the opposite
but this does not mean that we must sit idly by," Sargsyan said.

"The Turkish president’s visit to Armenia may have a positive effect
on the discussion of the existing issues between our countries.

It is very important that there is an emerging trend among the Armenian
and Turkish public toward healthy discussion of the existing problems,"
said the Armenian president.

Asked how long he is willing to wait for the Turkish president’s
reply to the invitation to visit Yerevan, Sargsyan said: "When it
comes to a neighboring country, one does not speak about deadlines,
one has to wait as long as it takes."

There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire remain a stumbling block in the
relations between the two countries. A number of nations recognized
the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which claimed
more than 1.5 million lives. Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the
genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so.

For its part, Ankara demands that the Karabakh conflict be resolved
on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

WB APPROVES OF PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION IN ARMENIA

ARKA
July 21

The World Bank is content with the results of its programs in Armenia,
WB Director of Infrastructure Sector in Europe and Central Asia Peter
Thompson told Saturday Armenian journalists.

WB has been assisting Armenia since the early 1990s. The initial
focus on WB-Armenia cooperation was energy. Thompson said WB is now
elaborating renewable energy projects with Armenia.

He stressed the importance of WB assistance to the country’s
agriculture and other sectors. Last week the WB Director of
Infrastructure Sector and Armenian government members discussed
WB-Armenia cooperation prospects. The bank will submit its new
four-year assistance program to Armenia by October, Thompson said.

WB has allotted about $1.1bln for 52 credit programs in Armenia. The
International Development Agency (IDA) had extended only lax credits
to the country by 2006. As of July 1, 2006, Armenia gets EBRD loans
for average-income countries.

ERGENEKON INDICTMENT DEEPENS DIVISIONS IN TURKISH POLITICS
Saban Kardas

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
July 18 2008

A suspect in the Ergenekon operation Turkish prosecutors investigating
the Ergenekon network finally submitted their indictment to the court
on July 14. The indictment was presented a year after the network
was first discovered and many influential figures including retired
army generals, journalists, businessmen and academics were arrested or
interrogated as part of the investigation. This delay has caused much
speculation that the investigation was being used by the government
to silence the opposition. The substance of the indictment is also
a matter of contention, because in the wake of different waves of
arrests, the case has evolved from the investigation of a criminal
organization into a probe of a network connected to the "deep state"
with extensions in various sectors of civil society seeking to change
the government, by staging a coup if necessary.

Istanbul’s high criminal court will examine the 2,500-page indictment
and decide whether to accept it and open the case, reject it, or
return it to the prosecutors for amendments. This process may take
up to two weeks, and the court is currently working hard to ensure
that its procedure is compatible with the penal code (CNNTurk, July
16). In the meantime, the indictment cannot be made public; but in
an unusual press briefing, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor summarized
the main charges. There are a total of 86 suspects, of whom 48 are in
custody and 38 temporarily released. It is not clear which ones will
be tried for which crimes. Sections of the indictment have been leaked
to the press as well. The prosecutors accuse the suspects of various
crimes including "membership in an armed terrorist group"; "attempting
to destroy the government of the Republic of Turkey or block it from
performing its duties"; and "being in possession of explosives, using
them, and inciting others to commit these crimes." More importantly,
the prosecutors have established connections between the Ergenekon
network and the 2006 Council of State shooting and an attack at the
daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul office. Moreover, the indictment charges
the suspects with inciting several unresolved murders in Turkey’s
recent past, which may lead to the reopening of some closed cases
(CNNTurk, July 14).

The indictment produced mixed reactions from the Turkish political
community and the Turkish media. For some reformists it was a step
toward further democratizing the country, while others found that
it did not live up to expectations. The opposition, in contrast,
believes that the case is highly politicized.

The core of the indictment is its labeling of Ergenekon as a "terrorist
network." It does not include charges related to staging a coup, and
therefore the notorious "coup diaries" are not among the evidence
presented. Treating Ergenekon as a terrorist organization rather
than as a "junta" has enabled critics to argue that the controversy
created previously around the investigation was baseless and that the
pro-government media overstated its case by connecting many unrelated
charges to Ergenekon (Cuneyt Ulsever, Hurriyet, July 15-16). Reformists
see this move as deliberate insofar as the suspects will be tried
by the civilian penal system and a transfer to the military courts
has been prevented. In the notorious Semdinli case, according to the
reformists, the transfer of the file to the military tribunal hijacked
the entire case and thwarted the investigation into the involvement
of military officers in subversive activities (Samil Tayyar, Star,
July 16). For the reformists, the very act of bringing former military
officers to trial under the civilian penal code, together with the
cooperation of the military, is a revolutionary step for the Turkish
political system (Today’s Zaman, July 16).

Avoiding mentioning a "coup" also results from the fact that the
suspects taken into custody in the wave of arrests in early July
are not included in the indictment. Although initially there were
expectations that a complementary indictment for them would be
submitted in the following days, it was later announced that there
would be a separate indictment for them that might be combined with
the original one in the course of trial (Milliyet, July 16, 17).

Because some former and possibly active military personnel and
military-related information were involved, there was speculation
at first that the military had initiated a separate investigation,
but those claims were denied by the military prosecutor (Hurriyet,
July 17). Aksam claimed, however, that the Air Force’s prosecutor was
investigating an illegal formation in Turkish Armed Forces and whether
it was tied to Ergenekon. This formation was allegedly uncovered
by a National Intelligence Service report that was handed over to
the military authorities by the civilian prosecutors in charge of
the Ergenekon case (Aksam, July 18). An article in Taraf, however,
argued that even if the case involved active officers, it would have
to be heard by civilian courts (Taraf, July 15).

For reformists, the case is a revolutionary step for Turkish
democracy. The liberal-left Taraf has already published documents
exposing a new illegal organization named Lobi and revealing its plans
of operation; and it has implied that the Ergenekon investigation
might be deepened further through new waves of arrests (Taraf, July
16). For Sabah, the case is a turning point for democratization and
demilitarization, because it will end a tradition of coups dating
back to the late Ottoman period (Soli Ozel, Sabah, July 17). For
Yeni Safak, it may uncover the Turkish Gladio and normalize Turkey
(Fehmi Koru, Yeni Safak, July 17). The liberal-left Radikal sees the
possibility of reopening unresolved murder cases as a light of hope
for the relatives of victims and for Turkish democracy (Radikal, July
16). In Today’s Zaman Kerim Balci views Ergenekon as "the Copernican
revolution of Turkish republican history…. Starting from the forced
Armenian emigration, I propose [that] each and every illegal event
in our recent past be reopened and re-judged" (Today’s Zaman, July
17). Some observers have even speculated that Ergenekon is tied to
the PKK (Bugun, July 17).

Skeptics caution against those exaggerated claims and maintain
that lumping together any and all past cases and blaming them on
Ergenekon and tying all leftist, rightist, Islamist, and nationalist
groups to Ergenekon could inflate expectations. It could, moreover,
turn into a defamation campaign (Fikret Bila, Milliyet, July 17). The
opposition Birgun (July 17) responded to these claims with the headline
"Ergenekon: The new detergent!"

Whether it is a decisive moment in Turkish politics or a feint
used to suppress the opposition and deflect attention away from the
government’s legal problems will be seen as the case progresses. The
Ergenekon case has in any event already shaped public opinion: First,
the leaked information, whether true or false, has created a climate
in which the majority of people believe that the "deep state" seeks
to remove the ruling AKP from power through whatever means. Second,
it has brought the judicial system’s credibility into question. Taken
together with the closure case and the divisions created in the
country, no matter what the ruling on Ergenekon will be, at least
some segments of society will question it.