Author: Kamalian Hagop

news.am, Armenia
March 5 2010

Turkish FM reveals its true face: Protocols will not be sent to
Parliament before April 24

12:42 / 03/05/2010Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed a hope that
Resolution #252 on recognition of Armenian genocide by U.S. House
Committee on Foreign Affairs will not be included on the agenda of the
U.S. Congress plenary session.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, it is essential not to submit
Armenia-Turkey Protocols to Turkish Parliament before April 24,
Turkish Haber7 website reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will organize a press
conference following the adoption of Armenian Resolution. Earlier,
Turkish FM said Turkey will not make decisions under the pressure.

L.A.

Xinhua General News Service, China
March 5, 2010 Friday 8:10 AM EST

Turkey urges stronger U.S. support for normalization talks with Armenia

ANKARA March 5

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday demanded a clear
stance and stronger support from the United States regarding the
ongoing Turkish-Armenian normalization process, Turkish media
reported.

Davutoglu made the remarks after a U.S. congressional panel passed a
resolution that upsets Turkey by recognizing the " genocide" of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

"It made Turkey uncomfortable that the U.S. administration did not
show its strength in this regard," Davutoglu told a press conference
in Ankara, referring to the normalization talks between Turkey and
Armenia. "We’re expecting them to increase their efforts hereafter."

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on
Thursday approved a resolution labelling the massive killings of
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks during World War I as "genocide."

Turkey denies that charge and has warned an adoption of the resolution
would hurt Turkish-U.S. ties and impede efforts to normalize relations
with Armenia.

He urged U.S. President Barack Obama "not to perpetuate or exaggerate
this crisis" in April, when Obama is expected to make a speech to the
American Armenian community.

In last year’s speech, Obama avoided using the term "genocide" when
describing the Armenians’ deaths and welcomed Turkish- Armenian peace
talks.

The White House had urged the House panel not to adopt the " genocide"
resolution, which was eventually passed by a 23-22 margin on Thursday.

Turkey condemned the resolution on Thursday and temporarily recalled
its ambassador to the United States for consultations.

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down in the row over the deaths of
Armenians and have no diplomatic or economic ties since Armenia
declared its independence in 1991.

Armenians claim that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during World War I.

Turkey says the death toll is exaggerated and insists the Armenians
were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the
Ottoman Empire collapsed in the years before modern Turkey was born in
1923.

In October last year, the two countries signed historic deals on
normalizing ties and reopening their borders after decades of
hostilities. The agreements need to be ratified by both countries’
parliaments before taking effect.

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 6 2010

Turkish ambassador to U.S. arrives in Ankara for talks

06.03.2010 17:55
Turkish ambassador to the United States Namik Tan, returning from
Washington, said to a press conference held at Esenboga Airport that
he arrived in Ankara for talks, CNN Turk reported.

"I arrived in Ankara for talks and it is unknown how long they will
last," said Tan.

The recognition of Armenian genocide by the U.S. Congress committee on
foreign affairs is a wrong step, he said.

Deutsche Welle, Germany
March 5 2010

Turkey warns of broken US ties after Armenian ‘genocide’ decision

GroÃ?ansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Turkish-Armenian
relations have never fully recovered since the killingsTurkey has
responded sharply to US lawmakers’ decision to brand the killing of
Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I a ‘genocide.’ Ankara
immediately recalled its US ambassador.

Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, warned of a breakdown in
ties with the US after a congressional committee approved a resolution
that said the World War I killing of Armenians was genocide.

Davutoglu said the Obama administration hadn’t done enough to support
efforts to block the Thursday vote, and minutes after the results were
known, Turkey angrily and immediately withdrew its ambassador to the
US, Namik Tan.

Davutoglu – who had sent Turkish lawmakers to Washington to lobby US
congressmen on the matter – called the issue a matter of "honor."

On Thursday, the US Congress’ Foreign Affairs committee passed the
symbolic resolution to name the killing of Armenians in World War I by
Ottoman forces "genocide." The vote passed by a slim margin – the
result was 23 to 22 – despite strong opposition from Turkey and the
White House.

Now the stage is set for a full vote in the House of Representatives.

"We condemn this resolution which accuses the Turkish nation of a
crime it has not committed," the Turkish government said in a
statement.

President Abdullah Gul added his protestations, saying the resolution
had "no value in the eyes of the Turkish people" and warning it would
deal a blow to fledgling efforts to end decades of hostility between
Turkey and Armenia.

"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications that
this vote may have in every field," he warned.

But Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian welcomed the vote and
called it a boost for human rights.

Bildunterschrift: Armenians believe the massacre was a deliberate
campaign of genocide
Pressure on Obama

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed during World
War I by their Ottoman rulers as the empire was falling apart, a claim
supported by several other countries. Turkey claims that only 300,000
to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a
civil strife when Armenians rose up for independence and sided with
invading Russian troops.

The non-binding resolution from the Foreign Affairs Committee calls on
President Barack Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an
understanding of the "genocide" and to label the mass killings as such
in his annual statement on the issue.

The US has traditionally condemned the killings, which occurred
between 1915 and 1918, but refrained from calling them genocide, since
it was anxious not to strain relations with Turkey, a NATO member and
a key Muslim majority ally in the Middle East.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged the committee not to
press ahead with the vote for fear it might harm reconciliation moves
between Armenia and Turkey and said she hoped the bid would progress
no further.

"We do not believe the full Congress will or should act on that
resolution," Clinton told reporters.

Bildunterschrift: GroÃ?ansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Obama sees Turkey as an important ally
But the US Congress took a more combative view. In his opening remarks
Thursday, Howard Berman, the Democratic chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee, said "nothing justifies Turkey’s turning a blind
eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide.

"At some point, every nation must come to terms with its own history.
And that is all we ask of Turkey," he said, urging his fellow
lawmakers to support the legislation. Ankara also recalled its envoy
from Washington in 2007 when a congressional committee passed a
similar text.

Peace deal in jeopardy

Turkey and Armenia signed accords last year to normalize ties after a
century of bitter hostility rooted in the 1915 mass killing and
deportation of Armenians. The accords have yet to go through either
parliament.

In his telephone call with Gul, Obama urged quick ratification of the
accords, the White House said. "The Turkish people and all of us here
are extremely upset," a Turkish member of parliament, Suat
Kiniklioglu, told reporters in Washington after the vote, which took
over two hours.

"You will see in the coming days and week that the Turkish parliament
and the Turkish government will take all necessary actions to make our
displeasure known in no uncertain terms. No one can equate our
grandfathers with Nazis."

bk/jen/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Rob Turner

,,53222 48,00.html

`Turkish Ambassadors in Washington Don’t Have Much Luck’: Giro Manoyan

16:02 – 05.03.10

`Turkish ambassadors in Washington don’t have much luck,’ said head of
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun, ARF-D) Bureau’s
Armenian Cause (`Hay Dat’) and Political Affairs Office Giro Manoyan
at a press conference today, referring to recent reports that Turkey
had recalled its ambassador from Washington.

According to Manoyan, Turkey is particularly worried after the US
Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted Armenian Genocide
Resolution, and it’s possible that Turkey will raise issues relating
to Turkey-US relations with the US, but it will not ratify the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

Manoyan noted that there are no guarantees that House Resolution 252
won’t undergo the same fate previous draft bills had; that is, being
approved in a congressional committee only to not make it to a full
house vote. But in the ARF-D member’s opinion, much hinges on Turkey’s
attitude toward the US and its counter-reaction. Manoyan said that the
resolution doesn’t have any legal weight; its value is entirely
political.

Asked whether the passing of this resolution will have an effect on
Obama’s April 24 address, and whether he will perhaps utter the word
Genocide, Manoyan found it difficult to respond, noting that, however,
the reason for not saying the word Genocide last year wasn’t the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols, and if he doesn’t use the word Genocide
again this year, it wont’ be because of the Protocols: `Those are just
a pretense,’ he said.

What should Armenia do so that there are more yes votes than no votes
on the Armenian Genocide Resolution at the full US Congress? asked one
journalist. To which Manoyan responded that there was much work to be
done; for example, even today, the National Assembly Chair can send a
letter to the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Tert.am

ADAM SCHIFF: MANY WHO ORGANIZED SUMGAIT BLOODSHED SERVE IN HIGH POSITIONS ON THE AZERI GOVERNMENT

Panorama.am
18:24 04/03/2010

Politics

US Congressman Adam Schiff released a statement commemorating the
twenty-second anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms, the 3-day massacre
of Armenians in the winter of 1988.

Recalling that 22 years have passed since the pogrom against Armenians
in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, Schiff said:

"The 3-day massacre in the winter of 1988 resulted in the deaths of
scores of Armenians, many of whom were burnt to death after being
brutally beaten and tortured. Hundreds of others were wounded. Women
and girls were brutally raped. The carnage created thousands of ethnic
Armenian refugees, who had to leave everything behind to be looted
or destroyed, including their homes, cars and businesses."

"These crimes, which were proceeded by a wave of anti-Armenian
rallies throughout Azerbaijan, were never adequately prosecuted
by Azerbaijan authorities. Many who organized or participated in
the bloodshed have gone on to serve in high positions on the Azeri
government. For example, in the days leading up to the massacre,
a leader of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Hidayat Orujev,
warned Armenians in Sumgait: "If you do not stop campaigning for the
unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, if you don’t sober up,
100,000 Azeris from neighboring districts will break into your houses,
torch your apartments, rape your women, and kill your children." Orujev
is currently the State Advisor for Ethnic Policy to Azeri President
Heidar Aliyev," the Congressman said.

"Despite efforts by the Government of Azerbaijan to cover up the
events of February 1988, survivors of the pogrom have come forward
with their stories. They told of enraged mobs, which threw furniture,
refrigerators, television sets and beds from apartment balconies and
set them afire. Armenians were dragged from their apartments. If they
tried to run and escape, the mob attacked them with metal rods, knives
and hatchets before the victims were thrown into the fire. One witness
said of a victim, "He was still moving, trying to escape from fire, but
five young men were pushing him back into the fire with metal rods."

Others told of Interior Ministry troops, who stood by doing nothing.

"The Sumgait massacres led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan’s
ethnic minority, resulting in the virtual disappearance of Azerbaijan’s
450,000-strong Armenian community, and culminating in the war launched
against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. That war resulted in almost
30,000 dead on both sides and created more than one million refugees
in both Armenia and Azerbaijan," he highlighted.

"This April will mark the 95th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
a crime that Azerbaijan’s ally and protector Tukey has devoted enormous
political resources to deny. Just as we cannot allow the first genocide
of the Twentieth Century to fade into history, the memory of the
victims of Sumgait must not be forgotten either," Mr. Schiff concluded.

BAKU CONCERNED ABOUT OPENING LARSI CHECKPOINT

The Messenger
March 5 2010
Georgia

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Eldar Mammadyarov has expressed concern
about the opening of a direct land connection between Russia and
Armenia via Georgia through the Larsi checkpoint. Azerbaijani’s concern
is based on the fact that through this connection Moscow could supply
Yerevan with military cargo designed for the 102nd Russian military
base located in Gumri, Armenia. If Azerbaijan receives information
that Armenia is being supplied with arms through this route Baku will
immediately react and ask Tbilisi for explanations.

The Russian media reports that Baku is thinking of taking "adequate
measures" against Georgia in response to the Larsi checkpoint opening.

Energy and investment projects and the issue of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia may be affected by these.

RA PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF THE INTER-STATE BANK

/lang/en
2010-03-02

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS: RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
received today president of the Inter-State Bank Igor Suvorov.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that the president of the
bank presented to the prime minister the activity and strategy of
the bank and programs carried out in Armenia.

The parties referred to the issues of the "Nairit" factory, development
prospects as well as its upgrading.

Tigran Sargsyan expressed readiness to support in the solution of
the issues of the activity of the bank.

U.S. HAILS POSITIVE UPPER LARS REOPENING

news.am
March 3 2010
Armenia

Opening of Upper Lars checkpoint on Russia-Georgia border is positive
move towards stabilization of the situation both in Georgia and the
region on the whole, said the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Bass,
Georgia Online reports.

According to him, checkpoint opening will positively affect development
of relations between the nations, as well as economic situation in
the region.

At the meeting with journalists Bass stressed that U.S. will go on
with assistance to Georgia.

As NEWS.am reported earlier, after a lapse of three years the Upper
Lars checkpoint on Russia-Georgia border reopened on March 1.

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told yesterday that Upper Lars
checkpoint opening is an achievement primarily for Georgia, Russia
and definitely Armenia. According to him, talks over reopening were
held in Armenia under Yerevan’s mediation.

OSCE MISSION HELD MONITORING ON NKR-AZERBAIJAN CONTACT LINE

news.am
March 3 2010
Armenia

March 3, OSCE mission held a regular monitoring on NKR-Azerbaijan
armed forces’ contact line in Talish settlement, Martakert region.

Field Assistants to Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Zhaslan Nurtazin (Kazakhstan) and Irji Aberle (Czech Republic)
conducted the monitoring from Karabakhi side, NKR Defense Ministry
press service reports.

Monitoring was held in accordance with schedule. Violations of
ceasefire were not registered.

As NEWS.am reported previously, March 2, ceasefire violations from
Azeri side were registered in Karabakh conflict zone. As a result,
NKR Defense Army officer Artyom Sahakyan got injured during the shoot
up on Verin Chaylu. After receiving the first aid he was taken to
Stepanakert hospital. His health state is esteemed as mid grave.