Author: Kanayan Tamar

‘EUROPEAN AUTONOMY’ FOR NOW

AZG Armenian Daily #178
05/10/2005

At a joint press conference with his Latvian counterpart the
Azerbaijani President stated that Nagorno Karabakh could get autonomy
with a status resembling those autonomies existing in Europe. President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga said on her part that Latvia holds to the European
Union’s stance over Karabakh issue. The Latvian President, who makes
official visits in the South Caucasian republics from October 3 to 8,
said that violation of sovereign state’s territorial integrity is a
worrisome factor.

The Latvian president’s visit will continue in Georgia today, and she
will head for Armenia on October 6. This is the second case in the last
two weeks that a female president visits Caucasus. The first female
leader to visit South Caucasus last week was Tarja Halonen of Finland.

MAMEDYAROV REFUTES THE INFORMATION CONCERNING BREEDING IMPEDIMENTS TO AZERBAIJAN’S COOPERATION WITH EU

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2005

In the course of the press conference conducted on October 30 Azeri
FM Elmar Mamedyarov stated there were no obstacles to Azerbaijan’s
cooperation with the European Union (EU), Trend reports.

When commenting on “the EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Heikkie Talvitie’s statement on braking the program “Enlarged
Europe: New Neighbors” in the South Caucasus in connection with Cyprus’
stand towards Azerbaijan circulated by Armenian mass media” Azeri
FM said “there have been no statements on breeding impediments to
Azerbaijan – EU cooperation in the context of the present realities”.

It is strange that Azeri FM refers to Armenian mass media, as the
information concerning the fact that Republic of Cyprus has vetoed
Azerbaijan’s candidature and blocked Baku’s participation in the
program titled “Enlarged Europe: New Neighbors” has been spread by
Day.Az Azeri agency.

To note, in the course of the press conference in Yerevan the EU
Special Representative for the South Caucasus Heikkie Talvitie
stated consultations between the South Caucasus and the EU, which
were to start in early September, had been postponed for early
October because of differences between Azerbaijan and one of the
EU countries. According to Talvitie, unless the issue referring
to Azerbaijan is settled they will begin cooperating with Armenia
and Georgia.

CHARLES AZNAVOUR TO GIVE TWO CONCERTS IN MOSCOW

ArmInfo News Agency
Oct 4 2005

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4. ARMINFO. The world renowned French singer
and composer Charles Aznavour will give two concerts in Moscow’s
Kremlyovsky Palace Oct 4-5, reports ITAR-TASS. This is part of the
world tour he is making to mark his 80th birthday.

Aznavour was born in Paris to an Armenian family. He is a frequent
guest in Russia. He goes there like his own home and loves Moscow
and the Russians.

Aznavour worked with legendary Edith Piaf, Liza Minnelli and many
other world celebrities. He is the author of over 800 songs and the
first singer in Europe to record a platinum disc. The Time has called
Aznavour the best variety singer of XX. Aznavour is not only composer
and singer he is drama and cinema actor. He starred in over 60 films
by world famous directors. Now he is finishing a book of novels and
will soon publish a photo album about his life.

FOREIGN MINISTER VARTAN OSKANIAN’S MEETINGS IN ABU DHABI

Panorama
16:12 03/10/05

Minister Oskanian visited Abu Dhabi, on the occasion of the
groundbreaking of the Armenian Embassy building in the United Arab
Emirates. Large number of representatives of the government, together
with the diplomatic corps, and members of the Armenian community from
throughout the Emirates were present.

In a brief ceremony, Minister spoke, followed by Ambassador Arshak
Poladian, and then the first stones were laid for what will be a
7,000 sq. meter building.

During his visit, the Minister also met with Deputy Prime Minister
and State Minister for External Relations, Sheikh Hamdan Ben Zayed Al
Nahanyan. The two discussed bilateral and regional issues, including
Armenia´s having provided suitable embassy state for the Emirates,
which will be opening an embassy in Yerevan.

The Minister also met with Ahmad Bakr, the Deputy Director of the
Abu Dhabi Development Fund. The Minister described Armenia´s economic
development and prospects for growth.

The Minister returned to Yerevan late Monday.

Press and Information department of MFA..

–Boundary_(ID_ItX4iXpEspjA0aabqP7kIg)–

ETIBAR MAMEDOV – THE ETERNAL OPPOSITIONIST WITHOUT ANY CHANCE TO WIN

Axis News
Oct 3 2005

Asim Oku, AIA Turkish and Caucasian section

Etibar Mamedov was born on April, 2, 1955 in Baku. He graduated
from Faculty of History, Baku State University. He participated in
anti-Soviet activity being a member of unformal student’s organizations
of nationalistic trend. After getting the diploma Mamedov started to
teach in the University, later he passes qualifying examination for
the candidate degree.

Political career

In 1988 Mamedov was actively participating in creating of Popular Front
of Azerbaijan (PFA) – first massive national-democratic movement of
the republic. In 1989 he was elected to the PFA board, the headed
by Abulfaz Elchibey. At the same time Mamedov becomes the defense
adviser in the leadership of PFA . In January, 1990 the army units,
the troops of the Ministry of Interior and KGB took over Baku . The
Kremlin aspired to suppress by force the activity of PFA which was
uncontrolled by it and struggled for preserving Upper Karabakh as
a part of Azerbaijan and for resignation of official leadership
of the republic that discredited itself. In this situation Mamedov
decided to come to Moscow. There he was arrested and put in jail for 10
months. After being released Mamedov comes back to Baku and was elected
into the Higher Council of Azerbaijan and then to the Parliament
from PFA. In 1991 after the disagreements with the leadership of
Popular Front he abandoned it and in 1992 created his own party –
Azerbaijan National Independence Party (ANIP or Azerbaijan Milli
Istiglal Partiyasi). Mamedov’s party was joined by the representatives
of intellectuals, businessmen, famous public activists. The peak of
popularity of this party was in 1992-93. At this period the number
of its members reached several tens of thousands.

Meanwhile in the spring of 1992 PFA comes to power in Azerbaijan. The
leader of the movement

Etibar Mamedov in 1996 Abulfaz Elchibey was elected the President
of the republic. But in the summer of 1993 Russia oriented
military-political forces revolted against the ruling regime. Despite
the fact that Mamedov came into big politics thanks to PFA, he not only
refused to help Elchibey, but also actively supported his opponent
Heydar Aliyev. But as soon as Heydar Aliyev came into power Mamedov
refused to be the member of the new cabinet and even refused to take
the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, the events of
1993 became one of the main reasons to accuse the leader of ANIP in
cooperation with Aliyev’s regime.

The suspicions of such a cooperation were sounded more and more later,
in 1995 when Mamedov, as against many opposition leaders became the
Member of the Parliament. At the end of the 1990s ANIP splited. A
part of its activists created their own party, which soon joined the
ruling party Yeni Azerbaycan. Mamedov’s influence on the political
scene of the country became very limited. In 1998 the leader of ANIP
proposed his candidacy at the presidential elections. By the official
data, he received only 12% of the vote. At the end of 2000, as a
result of elections (which were falsified by regime, as the leaders
of opposition say) the representatives of ANIP, including Mamedov,
didn’t get into the Parliament. During the presidential elections in
October 2003 Mamedov tried his luck again and came forth – after Ilham
Aliev, Isa Gambar and Lala Shevket Hajiyeva. In December, 2004 Mamedov
unexpectedly announced his resigning from the post of the leader of
ANIP. But at the same time, on March, 26, 2005 he announced that
“by the decision of the last session of the National Independence
Party he is given the status of the leader of the party on March,
13, and he has the rights to gather ANIP any time he wishes to”.

On April, 12, 2005, together with the group of other social and
political activists Mamedov announced the creation of oppositional
bloc New Politics (Yeni Siyaset – YeS). Presently he is one of the
leaders of this political movement .

Views and References.

Etibar Mamedov – the representative of Gyandjinsk clan from the west
part of the republic. The largest part of his electorate – refugees
from Armenia and Upper Karabakh, the citizens of the regions,
which suffered from Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The Conflict
with Armenia: The electorate base of Mamedov announces about the
sharp and even military position of ex-head of ANIP with regard to
Upper Karabakh. He thinks of useless to make agreements with Yerevan
and is on the side of only power decision of the conflict. Internal
Politics: Mamedov announces his sights as right conservative. For
the years of leadership he showed himself as out of compromised
and ambitious politician. Because of the sharp critics of the power
disregard of who is the president, Mamedov got the stamp of “forever
oppositionist”. ANIP was created as the political platform for
Mamedov’s activity in the beginning and is still known as “the party
of one leader”. As for Azerbaijani an politicos, the formal refusal
from the post of the leader of ANIP was made by Mamedov to show more
liberal image in it within the parliament’s elections of 2005. Being
one of the leaders of YeS, Mamedov disregarded the opportunity to
combine with Azadliq block. Mamedov is voting against the poverty of
the religious factor in the republic and calls for creation of “common
front” for “Islam revolution” prediction. Political Potential: At
the present time Mamedov’s electorate quantity is not more then 15-20
thousands of people. Financial opportunities of ANIP in consideration
with 1990s are highly narrowed. The party’s newspaper is published
only before the election’s campaign starting. Economics: Mamedov is
the voter for radical economical reforms. He announces the support
to small and middle business (in that case providing the country
guaranties to the owners of private companies) and for creating optimal
conditions for foreign investors. Mamedov announces not to limit of
developing only oil sector and create multi-aimed economics. He is
positioning himself as the deep struggler with corruption, which,
by his words, “got the threatening for national interests of the
country character”. Mamedov promises to held social reforms in case
of success in the elections. International Relations West: Mamedov
is the supporter of joining with West. For a long period of time
he made the main rate to the cooperation with EU, but for the last
time he is trying to strengthen his positions in USA. In July 2005
Mamedov took part in the commitment of International Democrat Union
in Washington where he met with national secretary Kondoliza Rice and
prime-minister of Australia Dhon Howard. Russia: In the relations with
north neighbor of Azerbaijan, Mamedov has contradiction position. From
the first side hi supports the economical cooperation with Russia
and appeals for “returning to Russia’s market”. From the other side,
he looks at Moscow as at the strategic partner of Yerevan and insists
on limiting of its dealing role in Karabakh’s conflict.

Iran: Mamedov takes extremely sharp anti Iran position. He, in
that case, accused Tegeran of support of radical Islam movement in
Azerbaijan. In his speech in The Nixon Center, Washington, May 2001,
Mamedov announced that Iran is afraid of “Azerbaijan turning into
strong democratic country” as “They fear a strong and democratic
Azerbaijan would became a magnet for ethnic Azeris in Iran”.

Turkey left out in cold as Austria digs in heels over EU entry talks

The Times, UK
October 03, 2005

BY ANTHONY BROWNE, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT

TURKEY’S 40-year campaign to join the European Union is on the brink of
collapse after emergency talks between EU foreign ministers broke up without
agreement just hours before entry negotiations were due to start.

Amid frenetic diplomacy and warnings of dire consequences if the EU rejected
Turkey, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, chaired fraught negotiations
through the night in an attempt to stop Austria from torpedoing the
membership talks.

Failure to secure the start of Turkey’s entry into the Union will be
humiliating for Tony Blair, who made it one of the priorities of his
six-month presidency of the EU.

Initial optimism gave way to gloom as the meeting of European foreign
ministers ground on through a series of informal and formal meetings, with
diplomats reporting no progress.

A dinner of EU foreign ministers overran by two hours as EU countries put
pressure on Austria to back down. By the early hours, tempers were flaring
and British diplomats stormed around the EU complex with long faces.

The talks are due to start again this morning, but hopes of securing a deal
were fading last night. A clearly exhausted Mr Straw said: `We have been
unable to reach agreement. It’s a frustrating situation, but I hope and pray
we may be able to reach agreement. We have a situation where 24 have decided
to move forward and one has not. It is not the first time that has happened,
and I am sure it will not be the last.’

A review of Croatia’s progress towards starting membership talks – an issue
close to Austria’s heart – due to be held today has been postponed by
Britain, as holder of the EU presidency, until the mandate for Turkey is
resolved.

Membership talks with Turkey, which were agreed in principle last December,
had been due to start at a special ceremony this afternoon, beginning a
process that is expected to take ten years.

Austria has demanded that Turkey be offered a `privileged partnership’ as an
alternative to full membership, an offer that Turkey has made clear is
unacceptable. Although Austria stands alone on the issue, it has the power
of veto.

Previously agreed points were being called into question as Turkey started
raising objections to a demand that it must stop vetoing Cyprus’s membership
of Nato.

In a final attempt to change Austria’s mind, Mr Blair telephoned Wolfgang
Schüssel, the Austrian Chancellor, and Mr Straw held repeated meetings with
Ursula Plassnik, the Austrian Foreign Minister, to warn her of serious
consequences if the EU rejected the Muslim country. Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
the Prime Minister of Turkey, also phoned Herr Schüssel to try to reach a
deal.

Before the talks, Mr Straw gave warning about the impact it would have on
relations between Islam and the West if Austria wielded its veto: `This is a
crucial meeting for the future of the European Union. We’re concerned about
a so-called clash of civilisations. We are concerned about this
theological-political divide, which could open up even further the boundary
between so-called Christian-heritage states and those of Islamic heritage.
The heavy responsibility rests on all member states.’

Mr Erdogan told Turkish television: `Either the EU will decide to become a
world force and a world player, which would show its political maturity, or
it will limit itself to a Christian club.’

Opponents of Turkish membership claim that the country is too big, too poor
and too culturally different to join the EU. With the EU in crisis over the
rejection of its constitution by French and Dutch voters, they claim that it
is not capable of absorbing the Muslim country.

Opinion polls show that the majority of EU citizens are opposed to Turkey’s
membership, with opposition particularly high in Austria, France, Germany
and the Netherlands.

Frau Plassnik said: `We should now listen to the concerns voiced by so many
people across Europe.’
Turkey’s moderate Islamist Government has made joining the EU its top
political priority, and completed a feverish round of reforms – including
giving more rights to its Kurdish minority and abolishing the death sentence
– to meet the criteria for starting entry talks. To join the EU, it would
need to adopt about 80,000 pages of European legislation, which is expected
to take a decade.

Rejection at the last minute would be a serious political blow. Abdullah
Gul, the Turkish Foreign Minister, summoned his political advisers last
night and told Mr Straw he would not fly to Luxembourg until he had seen the
negotiating mandate approved by the 25-nation bloc.

Mr Gul has also made clear that if the talks do not start now, Turkey will
not come back to the table. `I cannot see them happening again,’ he told the
Yeni Safak newspaper.

European diplomats believe that Austria’s hardline stance is partly dictated
by internal politics, with 80 per cent of Austrians and all main political
parties opposing Turkey’s membership.

,,13509-1808868,00.html

ARMINFO News Agency
September 30, 2005

ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION FOR ECONOMIC
COOPERATION CONVENES IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30. ARMINFO. The 4th sitting of the
Armenian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic
Cooperation convened in Yerevan, Thursday.

The Armenian Governmental press-service reports that the results of
the third sitting and the fulfillment of the tasks were discussed at
the 4th sitting. In this connection, the two countries’ foreign
ministries were instructed to hold relevant discussions once in six
months. The sitting participants agreed to activate the preparations
for an intergovernmental agreement to combat hijacking.

The Armenian Ministry for Trade and Economic Cooperation and the
Georgian Ministry for Economic Development were instructed to prepare
an agreement of mutual recognition and protection of geographical
names and trade marks by the end of the year; to form a bilateral
working group to prepare a complex of proposals for settlement of
current problems in the trade and economic cooperation; to activate
the cooperation under the agreement of cooperation between the two
countries’ chambers of commerce and industry dated October 2004; to
contribute to development of cooperation and establishment of JVs; to
secure free information flow on the enterprises privatized.

The customs structures of the two states were instructed to prepare
an agreement of cooperation and mutual assistance in the customs
sphere by the end of the year. The parties agreed to prepare a
mechanism of border control to establish an uninterrupted passenger
railway communication. A proposal was made to modernize the bilateral
legal filed in the sphere of customs and border relations. The
ministries of transport and communication were to prepare a new
agreement of motor-transport communication and start its
implementation by April 1 2006. Besides, the ministries were
instructed to prepare an agreement of air communication, restore the
flight Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan, and establish road and railways
communication between Yerevan and Batumi. The Georgian party
expressed readiness for contributing to development of train-ferry
Kavkaz-Poti.

EUobserver.com, Belgium
Sept 30 2005

[Comment] Why we should delay opening accession negotiations with
Turkey

30.09.2005 – 11:02 CET | By Peter Sain ley Berry EUOBSERVER / COMMENT
– The British Presidency, we are told, has been working very hard to
ensure that the negotiations to allow Turkey to accede to the
European Union will begin, as scheduled, on 3rd October – that is
next week. They may indeed begin. Or on the other hand they may not.

If they begin they may be broken off, perhaps indefinitely. If they
are postponed now they may never start. The situation is not a happy
state of affairs for anybody. This may be the 21st century but
diplomacy remains an artisanal craft.

The immediate reason why the talks may not commence is that Austria
is reportedly still not happy with the UK Presidency’s negotiating
framework. The only intended outcome this envisages is full EU
membership for Turkey. Austria would prefer to see reference to a
‘privileged partnership,’ as an alternative. Turkey has countered by
indicating that it would not enter negotiations on this basis.

Regardless of this there are at least seven other good reasons why
the talks should not commence next Monday, despite that being the
desire of the British Presidency, the European Commission, the
European Parliament, at least 23 of the EU’s 25 member states and, of
course, Turkey itself. These reasons, moreover, have nothing to do
with the merits, or otherwise, of Turkey’s case for Union membership
sometime around 2015. Nor do they have anything to do with Turkey
being predominantly poor, predominantly Muslim or predominantly in
Asia.

EU cannot negotiate honestly
The first is that the Turkish negotiations are already in a big hole
before they have even started. And the first thing you should do when
you are in a hole is to stop digging, or as the early pilots were
instructed should they find themselves in a tailspin: ‘centre all
controls and pray like hell.’ Pursuing the negotiations now is likely
to harm both parties: both Turkey’s prospect of eventual membership
and Europe’s own necessary constitutional reform process.

The second reason to postpone the talks is that the EU is simply not
in a position itself to negotiate honestly with Turkey at this time.
It is currently deeply divided on Turkish membership. There is major
– if not majority – opposition in all the EU’s institutions and in
national parliaments. A substantial part of the European Parliament
is opposed, as are an even wider section of the European electorate.
This absence of full-hearted consent will hamper the negotiations.
The persistence of such a split will damage coherence within the EU,
making constitutional and economic reforms far more difficult to
achieve.

This split in European opinion can be attributed to several factors –
several of which can be addressed. If they are – and Turkey does
certain things and Europe does others – public opinion may well
become more favourable.

Not recognising Cyprus is ridiculous
It is ridiculous, for instance, that Turkey does not currently
recognise one of the states of the Union it is seeking to join. As
its delegates sit down to negotiate Turkey will still be banning
certain EU ships and aircraft (namely those from Cyprus) from its
ports and airports.

It is also ridiculous that Turkey should be still prosecuting
writers, like the respected novelist Orhan Pamuk, for expressing
non-violent opinions and that it should keep active on the statute
book laws that make it a crime to ‘denigrate Turkish identity.’ This
is the third reason why talks should not start now. Turkey should
address such fundamental un-Europeanism before embarking on accession
negotiations: not during those negotiations.

But Europe also needs to do certain things if it is to bring its own
citizens ‘on-side.’
It needs to have, for instance, an overall enlargement policy – not
just for Turkey, but for the Ukraine, for the Balkans, for the
Caucasus states, for Belarus and Moldova. How large should the Union
become? How should it be managed at that size? How financed? In other
words, where are we going? Many, especially in France and the
Netherlands, would like to know.

EU needs overall enlargement policy
Until we ourselves have formed an opinion on these matters how can we
negotiate with Turkey? That is the fourth reason for delay. We need
to be able to fit Turkey into a wider enlargement framework before we
open talks.

Part of this framework would be the institutions we might need to
manage an expanded Europe. The late lamented European constitutional
treaty proposed institutional change to accommodate 25 member states,
not 35. In any case it was rejected and we are left with the existing
‘stretched’ version of a system designed for 15. We can’t honestly
embark on discussions about further European enlargement before we
put our own constitutional house in order – for what is adding new
member states but changing the fundamental nature of the Union? This
is the fifth reason why the accession talks should not begin now.

Then we have the problem of Northern Cyprus. Of course, with
hindsight, we should not have allowed Cyprus to join the Union before
reunification of the island. The Turkish Cypriots loyally voted for
the UN backed reunification settlement. The Greek Cypriots, knowing
they had nothing to lose, did not. The result is an unresolved mess
and a state of bitterness and non-recognition between Turkey and the
Cypriot government. This festering sore needs to be healed before the
Turkish accession talks commence. This is the sixth reason to delay.

A seventh reason is the events – I don’t want to be prejudicial – of
1915. So many Turkish diplomats have been killed and still are killed
by those who hold them, even today, responsible for tragedies that
occurred ninety years before, that this is also unfinished business
that risks clouding a new political future. What happened to Turkey’s
Armenian population – and to indigenous Turks in Turkish Armenia –
should, three generations later, surely be a matter for independent
historians. That also requires action by Turkey, but not only by
Turkey.

Turkey’s hinterland
These then are the reasons for delay. But postponing the talks by a
few years need not delay eventual Turkish accession. Both sides have
problems to sort out. Once these are resolved, the accession
negotiations will proceed more speedily and still could conclude by
2015.

In the meanwhile, Turkey and the EU should talk about the economic,
military and political future of the eastern Mediterranean and its
large hinterland. Turkey is not an island: it is rather the centre of
a region, one of the reasons that a hundred years ago it had a large
empire. The future of the region as a whole should not be divorced
from Turkey’s bid for EU membership. And that provides yet another
reason, if one were needed, for not rushing into talks which, on
present omens, look destined to end in tears. The enemy of diplomacy
is rush. ‘N’ayez pas trop de zèle,’ as Talleyrand used to say.

The author is editor of EuropaWorld

Associated Press Worldstream
September 29, 2005 Thursday

EU envoy praises Armenia’s constitutional amendments

YEREVAN, Armenia

An EU envoy on Thursday hailed constitutional amendments passed by
the Armenian parliament as a step in the right direction.

The nation’s parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to the
amendments, which are intended to impose a more strict separation of
powers between the judicial, executive and legislative branches.

“Now that the amendments are there, we can state that the country is
moving in the right direction,” said Heikki Talvitie, the EU’s envoy
to southern Caucasus.

Talvitie said that the EU is planning to expand its contacts with
Armenia and the ex-Soviet Caucasus nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan
under its initiative “Expanded Europe: New Neighbors.”

Tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains high more than a
decade after a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war that left the
disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenian hands.

Some 30,000 people were killed and a million displaced, and the lack
of resolution of the enclave’s status has impeded economic
development in the region.

A draft budget for next year approved by the Armenian Cabinet
Thursday envisages a 13-percent hike in defense spending to the level
equivalent to US$150 million ([euro]125).

The oil-rich Azerbaijan, which budgeted over US$300 million
([euro]250 million) for defense this year, will double its defense
spending next year.

ANKARA DID NOT LIKE EP RESOLUTION

Pan Armenian News
29.09.2005 03:16

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The Europarliament Resolution does not have
obligatory,” Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated, when commenting
the EP passage of a resolution providing for recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by Ankara as a “compulsory conditions” for Turkey’s
EU accession. “No matter what a resolution they have passed, we
will not surrender our position,” the Turkish PM said. It should
be reminded that the resolution “gave OK” to the launching of the
talks on Turkey’s accession to the EU October 3. It should also be
noted that the resolution was passed with 356 MPs for, 181 against,
and 125 abstained.