Author: Harutyunian Christine

TREATY BETWEEN SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAY AND TRANSPORT POLICE OF ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-03-10 16:58:00

ArmInfo. On 10 March a treaty was signed between South Caucasus
Railway and Transport Police of Armenia, which was signed by the head
of Transport Police of Armenia Samvel Asatryan and Director General
of South Caucasus Railway Shevket Shaydullin.

As press-service of the company reported, the treaty will regulate
official relations between the railway and transport police. Within
the frames of the treaty they offer to accompany and guard cargo
transported via the railway, to accompany passenger trains, to ensure
public order, etc. To note, Transport Police of Armenia is a body of
executive power. South Caucasus Railway is ready to closely cooperate
with Transport Police, especially in sphere of ensuring safety of
railway traffic, in which representatives of the state power bodies
should take part.

South Caucasian Railway CJSC is the subsidiary (100%) of the Russian
Railways CJSC. The contract of concession of the Armenian Railroad
CJSC for 30 years with a 10-year renewable period was signed in
Yerevan on February 13 2008.

ARMENIA INTENDS TO IMPROVE BORDER SECURITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.03.2010 18:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On March 10 Secretary of the Armenian National
Security Service Arthur Baghdasaryan met with the Chairman of the CIS
Council of security services border troops commanders General-Colonel
Alexander Manilov. During the meeting the officials discussed issues
related to strengthening the border security.

According to Baghdasaryan Armenia implements significant reforms aimed
at ensuring a higher level of border security, as well as develops
a program of modernization of border infrastructure.

In turn, Colonel-General Manilov briefed on the Council activities and
the existing regulatory framework. He attached particular importance
to the establishment of an interdepartmental commission on the Armenian
border security and modernization of border infrastructure.

The meeting also agreed to expand cooperation with the Command of
Border Guard. Manilov handed Baghdasaryan a medal awarded by the
Council for his great attention to the border security, press office
of the Armenian National Security Service reported.

THE RA PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN CONGRATULATED THE DAY OF WOMEN

Aysor
March 8 2010
Armenia

The president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the women on
the Women’s International Day:

"Dear compatriots,

On the occasion of this beautiful day of women I address to the
mothers, women, sisters, daughters and colleagues sending to them
words of special gratitude and honour. I congratulate you cordially
and with love, dear women, on this marvelous spring day.

Our nation has always glorified the woman. Even on the most difficult
moments of the history the women have become a support for us,
have given hope and belief to our nation. Today there can hardly be
found a field where the refined and tender presence of the women is
not required.

The women of Armenia continue bringing up, educating, creating,
defending and curing with honor.

Dear women,

Once again I congratulate you on the women’s day. Let the love,
warmth and happiness accompany you forever."

PROVOKE CHINA, NOT TURKEY

Memphis Commercial Appeal
March 8 2010

Why is Congress even considering a resolution regarding actions of
the Ottoman Empire in the second decade of the past century (March 3
article, "Cohen warns of provoking Turkey/Opposes resolution condemning
1915-23 killings")?

In no way do I mean to condone the actions of the now nonexistent
Ottoman Empire or to minimize the suffering of Armenians, but what
basis is there for Congress to concern itself with such matters?

If Congress is responsible for punishing or shaming foreign regimes
for evil acts, why are we not condemning China for its current actions
toward the government and people of Tibet? Why are we not passing
resolutions condemning the daily cyber attacks against U.S. commercial
and governmental computer systems conducted by the Chinese? Why is
there no bipartisan condemnation of the numerous shell corporations
that have been formed in the U.S. with the fact concealed that these
corporations are operatives of the Chinese military? (Now these
corporations can contribute as they see fit to U.S. political races
thanks to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.) No resolutions are
in the works about China’s manipulation of the value of its currency
to the immediate detriment of the U.S. and other countries.

Oh, I forgot that China is our banker. It allows us to continue down
the road to our own economic ruin. Without China, our politicians
would have to deal with our debt albatross without the option of
pushing the pain onto future generations.

This may explain the resolution against the Ottoman Empire. It no
longer exists. Congress can cloak itself with the halo of moral outrage
without risking its catnip of borrowed money or campaign contributions.

ANSAmed – Italy
March 4, 2010 Thursday 2:43 PM CET

TURKEY: ARMENIANS; ANKARA PREPARES FOR "PLAN B";
(SEE: TURKEY: ARMENIANS; $45 BILLION ULTIMATUM… AT 12:30)

ANKARA

(ANSAmed) So far US President Barack Obama has undertaken no steps to
block a critical resolution for the approval of Armenian genocide
claims, and Ankara believes that this is result of the hardships
encountered by Obama administration in domestic politics. Hurriyet
daily newspaper says that Ankara has outlined a plan for coping with
the possible approval of the resolution.

The ratification of normalization protocols signed between Turkey and
Armenia is important for stability and tranquility in the Caucasus. If
the US Congress approves the genocide resolution, Turkey might shelf
the normalization protocols. Hrriyet says that the US should not
forget that the Turkish parliament had rejected a motion for
cooperation with the US in the Iraqi war. The US expects Turkish
support in Afghanistan as well as in the withdrawal of American troops
from Iraq. Turkey might review its positions in these issues. Turkey
might slow down its efforts to make a breakthrough in the nuclear
tensions with Iran and in the Middle East peace process. The Turkish
General Staff still evaluates the radar system planned as part of NATO
defense system. The genocide resolution will have impact on these
assessments.

According to the most recent speculation, 22 of the 46-member
committee are expected to vote in favor of the resolution, while 17
are anticipated to vote against. Seven of the committeés Jewish
members remain undecided. The aim of the Turkish committee, which is
currently in Washington, is to obtain the support of at least some of
the members which remain undecided in order to decrease the gap
between votes in favor and votes against the resolution. The U.S.
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to
meet today at 17:00 Turkish standard time.

Today, Azerbaijan
March 6 2010

Experts: U.S. not to allow recognition of "Armenian genocide", as this
will cause damage to its relations with Turkey

06 March 2010 [13:55] – Today.Az

The process of recognition of the so-called "Armenian genocide" will
not go on in the U.S. Congress after its recognition by the Foreign
Affairs Committee, as in this case, the United States and Turkey would
suffer irreparable damage, experts say.

"If this resolution will be recognized in the U.S. Senate that would
have an extremely negative effect on the U.S-Turkish relations, which
in turn could destabilize the important region in such a potentially
promising moment," European expert on the Caucasus Ziba Norman told
Trend News. "The adoption of such resolution is not of U.S.
interests."

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday adopted 23 votes
to 22 a resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide".

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to
promote the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its
recognition by parliaments of some countries.

The Turkish government has expressed dissatisfaction with the decision
of the U.S. Congress committee and said that it was a blow to
Turkish-American relations.

The intervention of a third party, in this case the U.S., in relations
between Armenia and Turkey, complicates the process of reconciliation
between the countries, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

The minister considers erroneous view that the adoption of the
resolution could put pressure on Ankara to ratify the Armenian-Turkish
protocols.

According to experts, adoption of a resolution recognizing the
so-called "Armenian genocide" will not go on further the Foreign
Affairs Committee.

The House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are not likely to support
the resolution on the so-called "Armenian genocid" recognized by the
International Relations Committee, U.S. expert on South Caucasus and
Turkey Mark N. Katz believes.

"But will the resolution then be passed by the House of
Representatives as a whole? But will the Senate also pass the
resolution? In my view, this is highly unlikely–if only because it
is very difficult for the Senate to pass anything that is
controversial," Politics Professor at the Public and International
Affairs Department at George Mason University Mark Katz wrote Trend
News in an e-mail.

Prior to discussions, the U.S. President Barack Obama advised Congress
not to adopt resolution on genocide, CNN Turk reported.

The observers believe even the fact of adoption of the resolution in
the U.S Congress Committee have a negative impact on the U.S-Turkey
relations.

In case of adoption of resolution on the so-called "Armenian genocide"
by the U.S. Congress, Ankara should develop a strategy for further
action, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Adviser on
Eurasia Geybulla Ramazanoglu believes.

"Turkey will use all its capabilities to prevent adoption of a
resolution on the so-called "Armenian genocide" by the U.S. Congress.
Even if the U.S Congress will make a decision on the recognition of
the genocide, this will not affect Turkey so mush, but Ankara must now
develop a strategy for further action" he told Trend News over the
telephone from Ankara.

How this affects US-Turkish relations depends on how Turkey reacts,
Katz said. "If both the House and the Senate pass the resolution,
US-Turkish relations are highly likely to be negatively affected. But
this, I believe, is highly unlikely," he added.

However, Turkey may react negatively to approval of the resolution by
just the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he said. "I would hope not,
but if it does, this will actually increase the chances that the full
House and perhaps even the Senate will also approve the measure," Katz
added.

The Azerbaijani Presidential Administration categorically condemned
the adoption of the resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian
genocide" by the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee.

Such step by the U.S congressmen is mistaken and unfair, Azerbaijani
Presidential Administration Socio-Political Department Head Ali
Hasanov said in his interview with the media outlets.

"We believe this decision also does not correlate strongly with the
interests of the United States and the American people, and seriously
damages the international image of this country," he said.

Hasanov also expressed confidence that receiving the required
assessment from the U.S Congress House of Representatives, the Foreign
Affairs Committee’s decision will be withdrawn, and the U.S.
government will be released from this unfair responsibility.

According to observers, events taking place in the U.S. Congress could
also nullify the efforts of the United States to normalize the
Armenian-Turkish relations.

The U.S-Turkish relations have reached a higher level, and the U.S.
should not risk the progress made in resolving the Armenian-Turkish
relations, considering the matter, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu said March 4.

"The work done thus far towards normalization of relations with
Armenia would be undone. Of course, this will mostly affect the
Armenian people," Director of the British Transatlantic Institute
Norman added.

According to Norman, Turkey’s role is changing and it sees itself as
shaper of the region.

"The Armenian lobby, who have a one dimensional approach, largely
ignoring the realities of the geopolitical situation, and the hard
facts of life in Armenia, have been given some space to manoeuvre as
the protocols to normalization relations have not been ratified as
yet, by either Turkey or Armenia. The whole affair shows just how
tricky Davutoglu’s laudable policies will be to implement," the expert
said.

/Trend News/

URL:

Ankara blames Obama over Armenia ‘genocide’ resolution

Financial Times
March 6 2010

By Delphine Strauss in Ankara and Daniel Dombey in,Guatemala City

Published: March 6 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 6 2010 02:00

Turkey yesterday warned of serious damage to its relations with the US
and blamed Barack Obama’s administration for failing to stop a
congressional panel from approving a resolution describing the
Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians as "genocide".

The vote by the foreign affairs committee of the House of
Representatives is a severe test of bilateral ties. It comes when
Washington is already struggling to persuade Turkey, a Nato member and
key regional ally, to back sanctions against Iran.

The Turkish government, which denies the genocide claims, recalled its
ambassador to Washington for consultations after the House committee
approved the resolution by 23 votes to 22, and complained that a
last-minute plea by Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, to stop the
measure was not forceful enough.

"We expect a more effective policy from the administration," said
Ahmet Davutoglu, foreign minister, adding that Washington had
displayed "a lack of strategic vision".

But Mrs Clinton said: "The Obama administration strongly opposes the
resolution that passed by only one vote in the House committee and
will work very hard to make sure that it does not go to the House
floor."

Her remarks, made during a visit to Guatemala, were tougher than the
previous day, when she outlined the Obama administration’s opposition,
and much stronger than congressional testimony last week in which she
obliquely warned that the resolution could be a "distraction" from the
Armenian-Turkish talks.

Mr Davutoglu said the vote could harm Turkish and Armenian efforts at
reconciliation, which had already stalled, as Turkey "never took
decisions under pressure".

The Turkish cabinet would assess the situation on Monday after
consultations with Namik Tan, the country’s ambassador to the US, who
was flying back from Washington, Mr Davutoglu said.

He said it was too early to talk of any retaliation. But US officials
express fears that the vote has hit the chance of winning an already
sceptical Turkey’s support for Iranian sanctions in the United Nations
Security Council, where it has a non-permanent seat.

"Getting Ankara on board for punitive actions against Tehran was
already going to be a challenge, but an Armenian genocide resolution
would make it nearly impossible," said Stephen A. Cook, a fellow at
the Council on Foreign Relations.

Similar resolutions have passed a committee vote before without
reaching the floor of Congress, and the US administration is
signalling this may be repeated.

"We understand that there will be no decision in full Congress. We are
against any new Congress decision," Jim Jeffrey, US ambassador in
Ankara, told reporters after being summoned to the foreign ministry
yesterday.

"I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two
countries resolve matters between them," Mrs Clinton said on Thursday,
adding that the administration did not believe the full House "will or
should" vote on the resolution.

Nationalist and anti-American feeling runs high in Turkey, and
Ankara’s tough reaction reflects its need not to alienate voters
shortly before a possible referendum on constitutional reform, and
with elections looming in 2011.

Turkey denies that the 1915 killings of some 1.5m Armenians
constituted genocide, saying many Turks also died in the chaos that
engulfed the disintegrating Ottoman empire.
.Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our
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The FINANCIAL, Georgia
March 5 2010

Turkey condemns Armenian genocide bill, recalls ambassador to U.S.
05/03/2010 11:49 (11:23 minutes ago)

The FINANCIAL — Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United
States shortly after a U.S. congressional panel supported a bill
recognizing mass killings of Armenians by Turkish troops in the
beginning of the 20th century as an act of genocide, according to RIA
Novosti.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
approved on March 4 a non-binding resolution recognizing the genocide
of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

"We condemn this bill that blames the Turkish nation for a crime it
did not commit. Our Washington ambassador was invited to Ankara
tonight for consultations," Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
said in a statement posted on his office’s website.

The resolution, which has already become a diplomatic flashpoint
between Washington and Ankara, has not been finally adopted and will
now go before the full House, although no date has been set for the
vote.

Turkey, which has always refused to recognize the killings of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman period in
1915 as an act of genocide, earlier warned Washington that this move
could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back the talks aimed
at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey and Armenia signed protocols on establishing diplomatic
relations and on developing bilateral relations last October. They are
yet to be approved by their parliaments.

The Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 on Ankara’s
initiative. Bilateral relations are complicated over the genocide
issue as well as by Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan’s position in the
Nagorny Karabakh problem.

A number of states have recognized the killings in Armenia as the
first genocide of the 20th century, including Russia, France, Italy,
Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece, as well as 42 of the 50
U.S. states. The Vatican, the European Parliament and the World
Council of Churches have also denounced the killings as genocide.
Uruguay was the first to do so in 1965.

1_Turkey_condemns_Armenian_genocide_bill,_recalls_ ambassador_to_U.S._/

The Washington Post: Pricey real estate deals in Dubai raise questions
about Azerbaijan’s president

05.03.2010 21:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Pricey real estate deals in Dubai raise questions
about Azerbaijan’s president, The Washington Post reported.

Even by the standards of a city that celebrates extravagance, it was a
spectacular shopping spree: In just two weeks early last year, an
11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner of nine waterfront
mansions.

The total price tag: about $44 million — or roughly 10,000 years’
worth of salary for the average citizen of Azerbaijan. But the preteen
who owns a big chunk of some of Dubai’s priciest real estate seems to
be anything but average.

His name, according to Dubai Land Department records, is Heydar
Aliyev, which just happens to be the same name as that of the son of
Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev. The owner’s date of birth,
listed in property records, is also the same as that of the
president’s son.

Officials in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, declined to comment on
how the president’s son — or at least an Azerbaijani schoolboy with
the same birth date and the same name as the son’s — came to own
mansions on Palm Jumeirah, a luxury real estate development popular
with multimillionaire British soccer stars and others with cash to
burn. Ilham Aliyev’s annual salary as president is the equivalent of
$228,000, far short of what is needed to buy even the smallest Palm
property.

Azer Gasimov, the president’s spokesman, declined to discuss the Dubai
real estate purchases. "I have no comment on anything. I am stopping
this talk. Goodbye," he said when contacted by telephone and told
about the names on the property records. Gasimov did not respond to
requests for further comment sent by fax, e-mail and cellphone text
message.

Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic blessed with plentiful oil and
gas reserves yet blighted by widespread poverty outside its glitzy
capital, has long had a reputation for corruption. But the Dubai
purchases, which have not been reported before, could provide a rare
concrete example of just how much money the country’s governing elite
has amassed and of the ways in which at least part of this wealth has
been stashed overseas.

The transactions sharpen a dilemma that has shadowed Washington’s
relations with Azerbaijan for years: how to reconcile the United
States’ security and energy interests in the oil-rich Caspian Sea
nation with what the State Department, in a report last year on human
rights around the world, described as the "pervasive corruption" of
its increasingly authoritarian regime.

Azerbaijan has sent troops to support U.S. democracy-building efforts
in Afghanistan and Iraq but at home has retreated steadily from
democratic practices, according to diplomats and experts on the
region. Transparency International, in a 2009 survey of global
corruption, ranked Azerbaijan among the worst at 143 out of 180
nations.

In addition to recording nine properties owned by Heydar Aliyev, the
now-12-year-old schoolboy, Dubai’s Land Department also has files in
the names of Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva. President Aliyev has two
daughters with the same names and roughly the same ages. Their exact
dates of birth could not be established, but various reports indicate
Leyla’s birthday is the same as that of the Azerbaijani woman who
figures in the Land Department records.

In all, Azerbaijanis with the same names as the president’s three
children own real estate in Dubai worth about $75 million, property
data indicate. Dubai real estate dealers with knowledge of some of the
transactions said the purchases were made by a buyer representing
Azerbaijan’s ruling family. The dealers said the properties were paid
for upfront.

When Richard B. Cheney visited Baku as vice president in 2008, he not
only held talks with President Aliyev focused on energy but also met
with executives of BP and the U.S. oil company Chevron, both of which
have operations in Azerbaijan, as do Exxon and other foreign oil
companies. Azerbaijan and the United States, Cheney said, "have many
interests in common."

The Obama administration has also focused on strategic issues in its
relations with Azerbaijan. On a visit to Baku two weeks ago, William
J. Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, praised
Azerbaijan for supporting the United States in Afghanistan and
trumpeted the role of a U.S.-backed oil pipeline from Baku to Turkey
that broke Russia’s stranglehold on energy exports from the Caspian
Sea.

In a speech, Burns avoided direct criticism of Azerbaijan, noting
only: "We also believe that the strengthening of democratic
institutions, rule of law and respect for human rights will have a
positive effect on the future of this country."

Armenian ‘genocide’ vote unjust, says Turkey
US congressional panel’s resolution describing ‘genocide’ of Armenians
could damage relations, warns Turkish PM

Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk,
Friday 5 March 2010 10.21 GMT
menian-genocide-vote-unjust-turkey

Armenian orphans during the first world war. A US congressional panel
labelled the massacre of Armenians as genocide. Photograph: John
Elder/Reuters

Turkey’s prime minister warned of serious damage to US-Turkish
relations today after a congressional committee approved a resolution
describing the massacre of more than 1 million Armenians by the
Ottoman empire during the first world war as genocide.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had been accused of a crime it
did not commit, adding that the resolution would hamper efforts by
Turkey and Armenia to end a century of hostility.

Turkey last night recalled its ambassador after the house foreign
affairs committee approved 23-22 the non-binding measure despite
objections from the Obama administration, which had warned that such a
move would harm relations with Turkey – a Nato ally with about 1,700
troops in Afghanistan – and could imperil fragile reconciliation talks
between Turkey and Armenia.

The Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, called the resolution "an
injustice to history and to the science of history".

Armenia applauded the passage of the measure, which its foreign
minister, Edward Nalbandian, described as "an important step towards
the prevention of crimes against humanity".

He added: "This is further proof of the devotion of the American
people to universal human values and is an important step towards the
prevention of crimes against humanity."

It remained unclear whether the resolution would come to a vote in the
full house. A similar 2007 resolution died after intense lobbying by
the Bush administration, amid fears it would damage relations between
Turkey and the US.

Historians say that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman
empire between 1915 and 1923, during a forced resettlement.

"The overwhelming historical evidence demonstrates that what took
place in 1915 was genocide," writes Henri Barkey, a Turkey scholar at
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, who
nevertheless opposes the house resolution as a needless political
manoeuvre.

The killings are considered one of the first instances of genocide in
the 20th century. Turkey insists its historical records indicate no
genocide took place, but points to a lack of common historical
understanding over the events.

After centuries of foreign domination, Armenia won independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991.

Under Swiss auspices, Turkey and Armenia have been negotiating a
normalisation of bilateral relations and an opening of the border,
outcomes which are strongly favoured by the US.

The house resolution is the product of intensive lobbying by
Armenian-Americans. Last year the Armenian national committee of
America spent $50,000 (£33,000) lobbying Congress on the resolution,
which urged Barack Obama to characterise the events as genocide in an
annual message commemorating the massacres.

During the presidential campaign, he referred to the killings as
genocide, but did not use the term last year in a statement
recognising Armenian remembrance day, which commemorates the
massacres.

The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, called a senior Democrat
congressman, Howard Berman, on Wednesday to warn that the resolution
could hurt US-Turkey relations.