Author: Frangulian Shushan

Turkey Calls for Concrete Steps from US on PKK

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 16 2005

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara was confident
over Armenian allegations as one million Ottoman documents studied
in the Turkish archives prove the claims are totaly wrong.

Erdogan also said that Ankara Turkey to see the US taking concrete
steps to halt the infiltration of members of the terrorist organisation
the PKK, which has bases in Northern Iraq, into Turkey.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Turkish television station
NTV, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the US, which has
troops on the ground in the region, needed to do more to combat the
terrorist group.

“If we are going to fight against terrorism jointly, we shall expect
concrete steps from our friends. The number of martyrs we have lost
in the last four months is in very clear,” Erdogan said.

When asked to asses his recent visit to the US, the Prime Minister
said he was content with the outcome.

“I never said that we got what we wanted, I was I was content. These
are two different things,” he said.

On the issue of relations with the US, Prime Minister denied there
were any problems, adding that Turkey and US were strategic partners.
Turkey was with US in NATO and in Afghanistan, Erdogan said,
rejecting suggestions that ties between the two countries had been
damaged by Ankara’s refusal to allow US forces to use Turkey as a
base to launch an invasion into Iraq. Coalition forces were getting
logistical support from Turkey, he added.

Ankara is expecting to see what steps will be taken by the US on the
Cyprus issue, the Prime Minister said, adding that it was pleasing
that members of the US Congress had visited the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus.

In respect to another concern in the Turkey-American relations,
Erdogan praised the Ankara’s betterment of relations with Syria,
saying this had not been achieved in the last 40 years. “A new era
has started with the rule of Esad,” he said. “We are also holding
talks on the issues of terrorism and human rights,” he said.

Turning to domestic issues, Erdogan stressed that the structure of
presidential election were set out by the constitution and said there
were laws covering the issue of what the wife of the president can be.

FORMER SOVIET STATES MIGHT JOIN OPEN SKIES TREATY AT ANY TIME

A1plus

| 20:57:43 | 14-06-2005 | Politics |

New nations are welcome to join the 2002 Open Skies Treaty — a
confidence-building agreement involving unarmed aerial observation
flights over the territories of its participants, according to an
updated State Department fact sheet.

The Open Skies Treaty, to which 34 nations are parties, ~Sis of
unlimited duration and open to accession by other states.~T Any
nation that signs the treaty agrees to open all of its territory
to overflights by other signatories. Nations who have most
recently joined the effort designed to promote the openness and
transparency of military activities include Finland, Sweden,
Latvia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia and
Lithuania. Kyrgyzstan has signed but not yet ratified the treaty.

States of the former Soviet Union who have yet to do so may accede at
any time, while other interested parties may apply to the Open Skies
Consultative Commission, based in Vienna, Austria, for a consensus
decision. An application by Cyprus is now before the commission.

Applications from other interested States are subject to a consensus
decision by the Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC), the
Vienna-based organization charged with facilitating implementation
of the Treaty, to which all States Parties belong.

The Open Skies regime covers the territory over which the State Party
exercises sovereignty, including — land, islands, and internal and
territorial waters. The Treaty specifies that the entire territory
of a State Party is open to observation. Observation flights may
only be restricted for reasons of flight safety; not for reasons of
national security.

WB VICE-PRESIDENT: COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA EFFICIENT

Pan Armenian News
14.06.2005 07:58

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with
World Bank Vice-President Shigeo Katsu and WB Yerevan Office head Roger
Robinson, reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. Having
emphasized the successful implementation of programs in Armenia
by the WB, Shigeo Katsu qualified the cooperation with Armenia as
efficient. He also noted certain progress in economic development
of Armenia. Having expressed confidence that the cooperation will
further be efficient, R. Kocharian said, “We hold reforms being sure
that we are those who needs them first of all and our goal is to pass
the transition period as soon as possible.” In the course of the
meeting the parties discussed questions referring to perfection of
the tax and customs administration, enhancement of efficiency of the
activities of industrial infrastructures. In R. Kocharian’s words
these were announced a priority task and the Armenian party will
be consistent in working over it. “Administration, transparency,
publicity are the main aspects we have to actively work over,” the
Armenian President remarked. The interlocutors also concerned problems
of education system and health protection, as well as reforms of local
self-government bodies. Having mentioned the rate of education and
health reform is slow, R. Kocharian added a timetable of reforming
the system of higher education institutions and the scientific sphere
is already worked out. In the President’s words, decentralization is
the main policy line in the self-government reform. Having noted that
notable work has been done within the past two years, R. Kocharian
stated, “Our goal is to commission as much power as possible to local
self-government bodies, specifically in everyday matters.” Within the
context of the territorial policy the Armenian leader remarked the
importance of development of border settlements and poverty reduction.

US daily editors, Turkish PM discuss unpublished advert on Armenian issue

NTV Television, Istanbul
11 June 05

[Announcer] It has emerged that New York Times [NYT] [daily] refused
to publish an advertisement by 36 Turkish nongovernmental organizations
[NGOs] which reject the allegations regarding the Armenian genocide.

The NYT advertisement section wrote a letter to the said Turkish NGOs,
stating: We believe that the Armenian genocide took place. Therefore
we do not find it right to publish your advertisement.

At a meeting with the editorial council of the NYT, Prime Minister
Erdogan expressed his displeasure regarding this issue.

On the last day of his contacts in the United States, Erdogan
held a meeting with the NYT editorial council. At the meeting, the
NYT officials criticized the cancellation of the planned Armenian
conference that was to be held at Bogazici University. Prime Minister
Erdogan said that Justice Minister Cemil Cicek’s remarks on the issue
were his personal views and that there was no legal barrier to hold
the conference.

At this point, Erdogan raised the issue of the NYT’s refusal to
publish the advertisement last April, and criticized the paper for the
decision. Erdogan pointed out that by showing its goodwill Turkey has
opened its archives. Anyone can come and learn the truth from these
official archives, he said.

Given this situation, Erdogan went on, the fact that the NYT refused to
publish the Turkish NGOs advertisement by claiming that it believed in
the Armenian genocide showed that it had had certain ulterior motives.

Akif Beki, the prime minister’s spokesman, related how the NYT editors
responded to the prime minister’s remarks:

[Beki] They merely listened. Then they said that they would study
the said advertisement as well as the refusal by the head of the
advertisement section, and that they would inform us of the results
of their evaluation.

A1plus

| 20:21:08 | 10-06-2005 | Politics |

A STEP FOR THE FUTURE

Today RA NA President Arthur Baghdasaryan received the delegation of Turhan
Chomez, deputy of the Turkish Parliament. The delegation comprised of
journalists and social bodies.

During the meeting issues about the present state of the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the perspectives of development were discussed. The sides
confirmed their readiness to contribute to the development of relations by
means of open discussions. The RA NA President mentioned that Armenia wants
to have normal relations with all its neighbors and thinks that the problems
in the Armenian-Turkish relations must be solved by means of joint
discussions, `We must solve the present problems, not fight against them’,
said the NA President.

The President of the Parliament called everybody to build the relations
looking forward – having the courage to admit the fact of the Genocide and
to go forward taking as basis the way of joint Euro integration. He
mentioned that Armenia expects the establishment of diplomatic relations as
basis to solve further problems.

It was also mentioned that Armenia does not mind having a neighbor member of
the EU, if the dual standards are excluded. The fact of the Genocide is not
under question for us, and we think that we must go forward without
forgetting the past. The NA President also mentioned that in the Armenian
Constitution there is no demand of land from Turkey.

Deputy of the Turkish Parliament Turhan Chomez qualified his visit to the RA
NA as the first of the steps to be taken in future. Mr. Chomez mentioned
that what is done cannot be undone or denied and we must go forward looking
into the eyes of the reality.

Nevertheless, he considered the issue of the recognition of the Genocide the
problem of the historians. `We are two countries living in the same
geographic area and we must come to an agreement’, said Mr. Chomez. He
passed the greetings and the best regards of the Turkish Parliament
president Bulent Arinch to the NA president and expressed his readiness to
spread the ideas discussed during the meeting in the Turkish society and the
authorities.

At the end of the meeting the sides also discussed the possibility of
organizing a meeting of the Armenian and Turkish young people in Yerevan and
Ankara in order to discuss the present problems in the Armenian-Turkish
relations.

PARTY ARMENIAN-ARYAN ORDER ANNOUNCES ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM INTER-PARTY
CONSULTATIVE BODY

YEREVAN, JUNE 10. ARMINFO. Party Armenian-Aryan Order announces its
withdrawal from the Inter-party Consultative Body.

According to the statement of the party received by ARMINFO today, it
attaches a great importance to development of inter-party relations in
the political field. However no such approach has been observed within
the framework of the Inter- party Consultative Body so far. In this
connection, AAO party withdraws from the ICB maintaining only its
status of an observer to keep in contact with the political forces
included in the ICB. If the circumstances change, AAO party may
restore its membership.

Some two dozens of political organizations of the country are included
in the Inter-party Consultative Body, including the Democratic
Motherland head by Petros Makeyan and the Union Self-Determination
party lead by Paruyr Hairikyan.-

Armenpress

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS JAPANESE LEADING COMPANIES
TOKYO, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS: The visiting Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian met today with the president of the Japan’s International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) Atsushi Hatakenaki, and visited also Japan’s
leading Sumitomo and Panasonic companies and before that he was interviewed
by Japan Broadcasting Corporation.
The government press office said Margarian shared his views on a wide
scope of political and economic developments. It said the reporter
interviewing Margarian was eager to learn Armenia’s stand on a wave of
revolutions in some post-Soviet countries, US-Russia relations, Armenian
foreign policy priorities, its relations with neighboring countries,
Armenian Diaspora and its potential.
The press office said Margarian provided detailed answers to all these
questions and also on Armenian-Turkish relations, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
international recognition of the Armenian genocide. The government press
office said Margarian thanked the government of Japan and Japanese agencies
for their continued assistance to Armenia

Belarus to introduce visas for citizens of Georgia

Belapan news agency
9 Jun 05

Minsk, 9 June: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has adopted
a decision to introduce a visa regime for Georgia.

The Belarusian leader’s press service reported that the decision by
the head of state “was prompted by the necessity to continue efforts
aimed at stepping up the fight against organized and transnational
crime and the defence of interests of third countries – Belarus’s
neighbours in this area – in accordance with existing agreements”.

In particular, the press service notes that attempts by Georgian
criminals to use the territory of Belarus for entering Russia without
appropriate visas are increasing. The press service said that Russian
law-enforcement bodies has drawn up a list of foreigners who committed
crimes in Russia and who are banned from entering the Russian
territory. Georgian nationals account for almost 25 per cent of the
names on the list.

The chairman of the Belarusian State Border Troops Committee, Lt-Gen
Alyaksandr Pawlowski, said at a news conference on 26 May that
citizens of Georgia and Armenia who cannot enter Russia legally have
been trying to do so via Belarus by flying to Minsk from Tbilisi and
Yerevan recently. He said he referred to individuals banned from
entering the Russian Federation for various reasons. Belarusian
border guards also have such lists. Therefore, Pawlowski said, border
guards have to send six to eight Georgians and Armenians back to
Tbilisi and Yerevan every week.

[Passage omitted: Turkmenistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
withdrew from the CIS agreement on visa-free travel of CIS citizens.]

Interfax
June 7 2005

Analyst comments on Russian arms’ transfer to Armenia

YEREVAN. June 7 (Interfax) – The partial transfer to Armenia of
weapons from Russian military bases in Georgia that Moscow has
pledged to withdraw will “somewhat stabilize the balance of power
between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” a senior Armenian political
scientist said on Tuesday.

“Undoubtedly, the existence of Russian military bases on Georgian
territory is politically more in the interest of Georgia than in that
of Russia as this enables Tbilisi, which often misunderstands
pro-Western orientation as anti-Russian, to play on this factor,”
Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Institute of Mass
Media, told Interfax.

The withdrawal of the bases should contribute to “certain
improvement” in Georgian-Russian relations, though “there’s still
enough reasons for disputes between Russia and Georgia,” he said.

Armenpress

ARMENIAN ARCHITECT TO HELP TURKISH FIRM RECONSTRUCT AKHTAMAR CHURCH

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian architect is making the final
arrangements for leaving for Turkey to join there a team of Turkish
architects who have been selected by Turkish ministry of culture to
reconstruct the Armenian Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross located on the
Island of Akhtamar in Lake Van. The Church was built by architect Manuel
between 915 and 921 AD. Deputy Armenian culture minister Gagik Gyurjian told
Armenpress the reconstruction will be carried out by a Turkish firm selected
through a tender, but he declined to reveal the name of the Armenian
architecture for the time being, saying his work would of great importance
in terms of taking the chill off of the strained Turkish-Armenian relations.
Gyurjian said the architect’s task would be to help Turkish architects
reconstruct the church in line with traditions of medieval Armenian
architecture and also to work to have it protected by UNESCO, since each
country decides which are the monuments to be protected by UNESCO.
The restoration project was developed in 2003 in cooperation with the
Conflict Resolution and Peace Establishment Foundation of the
Washington-based American University and was approved by Armenian and
Turkish governments. Late last year a Turkish daily Milliyet reported from
Van that the marvelous carvings of the Church were regularly used as targets
for shooting practice by visitors. The newspaper published also a photo
where one could see the state of carvings after such visits. The
correspondent reported that the church was protected by a guard in the
summer time only during the working hours. During the rest of the day the
visitors entertained themselves by shooting on the carvings of the Akhtamar
Church, and some of them even tried to find some treasure.
Pr. Veli Seckin, professor at the archaeology department of the
University of Van was quoted as saying that there are rumors among the
population that there is treasure cached in the island of Akhatamar. Even
the guard of the Church was arrested while he was “hunting for treasure”. In
May 2004 another Turkish daily Zaman alerted that the famous church of the
Holy Cross of the Akhtamar was almost in ruins. The church, which is visited
by many foreign tourists, is badly neglected and close to ruins. Both its
foundation and the ceiling have cracks and holes.