Author: Karagyozian Lena

TURKISH MP: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REOPEN BORDERS AND ESTABLISH TIES WITH ARMENIA UNTIL NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IS RESOLVED

Today.az
cs/59893.html
Jan 21 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with member of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly
(parliament), Deputy Chairman of ruling Justice and Development
Party’s parliamentary faction Mustafa Elitash.

The Armenian Constitutional Court decision declaring the
Turkish-Armenian protocols consistent with country’s laws once again
highlighted relationship between the two countries. What next steps
will Turkey take in this process?

The Armenian Constitutional Court decision can change something just
for Armenia itself. I think Turkey’s position in this process will not
change. The Turkish leadership has an obvious decision on this issue.

The prime minister announced this in the parliaments of Turkey and
Azerbaijan, as well as at international meetings. It is impossible
to reopen borders and establish ties with Armenia until the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved.

Turkey has given promise to Azerbaijan and its people. No agreement
will force it to backtrack. Turkey is very concerned about the fate
of Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

These protocols were actually a gesture of good will by Turkey to
Armenia which must appreciate this gesture in its turn. Ankara has
announced that it can reopen border and establish relations with
Armenia helping the country to get out of the impasse once the Karabakh
problem is resolved.

Turkey can become the best platform for Armenia to access Western
markets. Decisions are made not in order to remain on paper. Turkey
has always been aware of responsibility of the documents signed. By
signing the protocols, Turkey has assumed great risk. The country’s
public opposes the signing of the protocols. But we have demonstrated
that we want to live not by history, but present day, in peace and
understanding. Now it is Armenia’s turn to take action.

Do you mean the Turkish parliament will not debate the protocols
until the Karabakh problem is solved?

Turkey’s position on this issue remains unchanged. Turkey will ratify
the protocols and begin to implement them only after decisive steps
are taken to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Even before the Zurich protocols were signed, the Turkish authorities
stated that if the reasons which led to closure of the border between
the two countries are not eliminated, implementation of the protocols
will be impossible. It all depends on further steps by Armenia. New
decisions adoption today should not ignore what was adopted yesterday.

On the contrary, we should take future steps analyzing the past. We
are advocates of the slogan "Yesterday’s the past, but today is
reality." But this does not mean ignoring the past. We just support
new approach to problems.

By signing these protocols, we demonstrated our good will to Armenia
and the whole world. But fraternal Azerbaijan, a victim of Armenian
aggression, should not suffer from our good will. We would like to
make the Caucasus a zone of peace and cooperation. Those who want
to join us should abandon their ambitions and think about how we can
live together in the future.

Armenians usually put up anti-Turkish campaign before April 24. Turkey
is expected to face increased international pressure in the light
of the decision adopted by the Armenian Constitutional Court. Will
Turkey be able to stand this pressure?

Turkey is a country in the region with its own word and weight. No
one can make it a tool in their games by exerting pressure. The
world has changed very much and it cannot force Turkey to accept what
is unacceptable.

Every year on April 24 Armenian claims of genocide reach their peak.

Every time they introduce April 24 as the deadline for Turkey. But
these ambitions cannot replace the truth. We will never accept a
campaign aimed at insulting good name of our ancestors and announcing
them murderers. This is a matter of honor for Turkey. We give a chance
to Armenia to identify the historical truth. The Turkish government
has proposed establishing a joint commission to investigate the events
of 1915. Our archives are open to all. But they prefer not facts,
but fictional stories.

How do you assess Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit
to Moscow?

It was a very important visit in terms of warming relations between
Turkey and Russia, boosting economic ties and solving energy problems.

I highly appreciate this visit.

Russia is one of the most influential countries in the world with
its own place and weight in international politics. Russia is also
an energy giant. Given the energy needs in the modern world, the
relationship with the world’s energy giant must always be at the
proper level. In recent years, many countries, especially European
ones, have experienced the "pleasures" of the cold winter. Turkey
is a country that consumes huge amounts of energy. Our country can
find common points with Russia and achieve a positive result from
such relations. Russia’s leaders also treat Turkey with understanding.

What are your views on Russian FM Lavrov’s statement that it is
"incorrect" to link resolution of the Karabakh problem with reopening
of the Turkey-Armenia border?

Russia is not one of the two sides, but a third party in this process.

We understand what concerns us and what not in such matters relating
to Turkey only. We must decide matters related to Turkey only
ourselves. Russia may remain committed to its opinion. I must say
that is not right to respond to Turkey’s good will this way.

I think Russia should help resolve the Karabakh problem as a country
with a huge impact on Armenia. Mediation mission in the Minsk Group
obliges Russia to do this. This is our problem whether the protocols
have something in common with the Karabakh conflict or not.

OBAMA: ONE YEAR OF PRESIDENCY

Aysor
Jan 20 2010
Armenia

It is one year already that the US President Barak Obama took the
oath of office. Exactly one year ago America voted for the first black
president of the country who before was the senator of state Illinois.

The promises of the President were too many; to stop the war in Iraq,
to improve the health and taxing systems… Obama had given promises
to the Armenian communities in America as well for which he received
the votes of the American – Armenians. He had promised to recognize the
Armenian Genocide realized by the Ottoman Turkey in 1915. But on April
24, 2009 in his annual speech directed to the Armenians in the whole
world the US President Obama didn’t pronounce the term "Genocide",
and replaced it with the Armenian synonymous word "Mets Yeghern".

One of the US President’s biggest issues was and is the war in
Afghanistan. In 2009 in spring Barak Obama sent 21 thousand soldiers
to that country, and on December of the same year he sent 30 thousand.

The presidency of Obama symbolized "the recharging" of the Russian
Federation and Muslim world’s relations, expectations for new kind
of relations.

In 2009 Barak Obama received the Nobel Prize of Peace which raised
bewilderment with some analysts and experts.

It should be mentioned also that Obama has the 63% of trust of the
American population.

WITH RELEASE OF POPE GUNMAN, TURKS RECALL ANOTHER SHOOTING BY THE SAME MAN – THIS ONE FATAL
By Christopher Torchia

Canadian Press
Jan 20 2010

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The release of the Turkish man who shot the pope
in 1981 has unsettled Turks who remember him for another crime –
the killing of journalist Abdi Ipekci, whose calls for tolerance
still resonate in a divided nation.

The world knows Mehmet Ali Agca for his attempt on Pope John Paul
II, a brazen assault in the midst of throngs of the devout in Rome
that has not been explained to the satisfaction of prosecutors. But
his emergence after decades in jail had a deeper impact in Turkey,
troubled by a dark past and concerns about impunity, conspiracy and
freedom of expression.

Agca was convicted of the fatal shooting of Ipekci, chief editor of
Milliyet newspaper, outside his apartment building in Istanbul on Feb.

1, 1979. Yet suspicions that he acted for a wider right-wing network
never advanced beyond speculation in a country where many believe a
"deep state," renegade gangs with links to security forces, targeted
perceived enemies.

Those suspicions about opaque power interests revived when Agca, 52,
was released Monday. A black SUV with tinted windows ferried him to
the luxury Sheraton hotel in Ankara, and he was escorted by men in
suits, some with thick moustaches of a style worn by the now-defunct
Gray Wolves, a rightist militant group to which Agca was once linked.

In a statement released Wednesday, Agca declared his innocence,
saluted Ipekci’s family as "noble and respected" and said he "had no
connection with official or unofficial circles in Turkey other than
a handful of ultra-nationalists."

Agca’s claims this week that he is the Messiah fueled old theories
that he is indeed mentally ill, or is trying to stoke curiosity and
diversion in order to collect as high a price as possible for selling
his story.

His lawyer, Gokay Gultekin, said Agca was resting in Istanbul on
Wednesday. He apologized for a reported incident in which armed
associates of Agca threatened journalists on a highway while travelling
with him from the capital.

Turkish journalists were deeply conflicted about Agca, so hungry for a
sensational story that they rough-housed for position in the elegant
hotel lobby after his release, but also repulsed by a man who killed
one of their most respected colleagues.

"Ipekci’s dirty murderer," grumbled some who felt they were bestowing
on Agca the celebrity status that he appears to crave.

Milliyet newspaper published a front-page photograph of the gaunt,
grey-haired Agca with a black strip across his eyes and the headline:
"We don’t want to see his face."

Ipekci, an advocate of secular democracy who was seen as leftist
by hardline nationalists, appeared to be the victim of ideological
divisions driven by the Cold War. In contrast, one of the main rifts
in democratic Turkey today pits the Islamic-rooted government against
secular circles linked to the military and judiciary.

But his message of inclusion and democratic change applies across
the decades, his admirers said, and the naming in his honour of an
Istanbul street and a major sports arena, as well as the unveiling
of a bronze bust, have established him as an icon for some.

"That message is as valid today 30 years on," said Semih Idiz, a
columnist at Milliyet. "He’s obviously a very big role model for a
very significant portion of the population."

While Turkey is far more stable than it was three decades ago, recent
murders of journalists seem to echo the lack of answers surrounding
Ipekci’s death and reinforce the sense that transparency is elusive
and expression can be dangerous.

In 1993, investigative reporter Ugur Mumcu died in a car bombing. The
case was never solved.

Ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was fatally shot three years
ago outside his newspaper office, just blocks from where Ipekci was
assassinated. A young triggerman is on trial and state agents have
been scrutinized for negligence, but Dink’s family and lawyers say
the real masterminds of the murder have yet to be uncovered.

On Dec. 19, Cihan Hayirsevener, the editor of a newspaper in the
western town of Bandirma, was fatally shot after reporting on a local
corruption scandal. Authorities are investigating.

Agca had received a life sentence, which amounts to 36 years under
Turkish law, for murdering Ipekci, but he promptly escaped from prison
and left the country – possibly with the help of an underground
network – and shot the pope two years later. After his extradition
from Italy in 2000, authorities deducted time served in Italy, and
several amnesties and legal amendments further reduced his term.

The complex calculation of his punishment led to his wrongful release
from prison in 2006. He was re-imprisoned eight days later.

Agca’s contradictory statements about his attack on the pope have
frustrated official inquiries over the decades. At the time of his
arrest, he said he acted alone, but later suggested Bulgaria and the
Soviet Union’s KGB were behind the attack. Prosecutors in Poland, where
John Paul II was born, say Agca is an unreliable source of testimony.

In Turkey, those who dwell on Ipekci’s murder include Hasan Fehmi
Gunes, the interior minister at the time.

"I harbour the suspicion that those who directed him toward the act,
those who protected him, those who organized his escape are at this
point protecting him and directing the process," Gunes told Cumhuriyet
newspaper.

Associated Press Write Suzan Fraser contributed to this report
from Ankara.

TURKEY – ARMENIA PROTOCOL "SLIPPED"

APA
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Ayaz Abdulla – APA. Press Release Regarding the Recently
Published Grounds of the Decision of the Armenian Constitutional
Court on the Protocols Between Turkey and Armenia.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia has declared
its decision of constitutional conformity on the Protocols between
Turkey and Armenia signed on 10 October 2009 with a short statement
on 12 January 2010. The Constitutional Court has recently published
its grounds of decision. It has been observed that this decision
contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the
letter and spirit of the Protocols.

The said decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these
Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot
be accepted on our part.

Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international
commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of
these Protocols.

We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian Government.

‘WE ARE ALL NIKOL’: DEMONSTRATORS OUTSIDE COURT BUILDING TOLD TO LEAVE

Tert.am
15:52 ~U 19.01.10

Today, at Yerevan’s Shengavit Community Court, whenthe judge read out
Nikol Pashinyan’s verdict, those in the court began to chant "Shame!

Shame!" The numerous protestors gathered outside the court building
also expressed the same sentiment to the verdict that Pashinyan would
be imprisoned for seven years; in fact, many were crying.

The crowd outside the building also chanted "We are all Nikol" and
"Fight, fight till the end!" After hearing this last slogan, police
and special military units began to get in close, demanding that
demonstrators vacate the court premises, with many officers forcibly
pushing people aside.

Police backed down somewhat when Armenian National Congress
representatives announced to demonstrators to go home. Oddly enough,
in all the hustle and bustle, no one seems to have noticed how they
took Pashinyan away.

YEREVAN LAUNCHES CONFERENCE ON 1990 MASSACRES IN AZERBAIJAN

Aysor
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

Today Yerevan launched a conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary
of the 1990 Massacres in Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s National Assembly’s member Larisa Alaverdian said all those
massacres are called and recognized as genocide. "Genocide is not a
crime against a single nation. It is a crime by a group, generally at
government, against the whole humanity," she said. In her opinion,
all science circles, not only, historians and ethnologists, must
rethink the reasons of these brutal actions.

The conference has been launched at the National Academy of Science of
Armenia. It was attended by Public Chamber’s member Vladimir Movsisian,
Director of the Institute of History of NAS Ashot Melkonian, the
former foreign minister Arman Melikian, and some guests from Russia.

The movie of memories, testimonies by the refugees, and documentary
episodes of those days, the ‘Baku, January 1990: an Ordinary Genocide’
film was screened at the conference. The film is dedicated to the
memory of those hundreds of killed people, and dozens of hundreds of
those people who had to leave Baku.

NALBANDIAN: COURT’S DECISION GOES WITH PRESIDENT’S STATEMENTS

Aysor
Jan 18 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an interview
with Radio Liberty it’s an absurd to say some political forces pressed
Constitutional Court.

"If it makes someone happy to say this, then let him do it. Actually,
it’s an absurd to say of pressure on Constitutional Court.

Constitutional Court’s decision goes with President’s statements which
he has made in Armenia, at pan-Armenian trip through Armenian centers,
and in his address to people on October 10 2009," said minister.

When asked whether ratification could be delayed by April or post-April
times, Edward Nalbandian said this is a very simplified view as Turkey
realizes that April 2010 is not the last April whatever."

DARCHINYAN- MARTINEZ FIGHT OFF

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 15:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Vic Darchinyan’s defense of the WBC/WBA super
flyweight titles on March 13 against Raul Martinez is off. The fight
was scheduled to be televised on Showtime as the co-feature to the
Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Dirrell super middleweight clash.

Martinez’s side wanted $100,000 for the fight and there was $70,000
on the table from Darchinyan’s promoter Gary Shaw. Shaw’s offer was
more money than Martinez had earned for last year’s knockout loss
to Nonito Donaire. Shaw will look to get Darchinyan another opponent
for the date, BoxingScene.com reported.

Vakhtang Darchinyan or Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan (born 7 January
1976 in Vanadzor, Armenia) is a professional boxer who is the current
WBA, WBC unified Super Flyweight World Champion. Darchinyan was also
formerly the IBF and IBO champion of the flyweight division and
briefly reigned as the IBO’s super flyweight champion also. He is
a southpaw boxer, who currently trains under Billy Hussein, brother
of boxers Nedal and Hussein Hussein. Previously, he was trained by
former 3-division world champion, Jeff Fenech in Sydney.

Darchinyan’s amateur career was 158-18 record with 105 knockouts,
fighting in many different countries, as he participated for Armenia
in the2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He went to the third
round in the 112 lb division before losing against Bulat Jumadilov
ofKazakhstan. Darchinyan moved to Australia after competing in the
Olympics, eventually became an Australian citizen on 7 July 2004.

Darchinyan turned pro at age 24 on 3 November 2000.

He won his IBF title on 16 December 2004, in his first fight in the
United States, beating respected champion Irene Pacheco of Colombia,
via 11 round technical knock-out.

On February 7, 2009, Darchinyan successfully defended his unified
title against Jorge Arce, winning by TKO in the 11th round.

On December 12, 2009, Darchinyan successfully defended his unified
title against Tomas Rojas, winning by KO in the 2nd round.

ARMENIA’S CONSTITUTIONALLY APPROVED STRATEGY OF RAPPROCHEMENT WITH TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN

Today, Azerbaijan
Jan 15 2010

On Jan. 12, Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the
Armenian-Turkish protocol signed in Zurich Oct. 10 to establish
diplomatic relations and open borders between the two countries
conforms with the country’s Constitution. The court’s final decision
cannot be appealed.

The announcement of the decision was followed by cries of "Traitors!"

and "You Are Not Armenians!" right inside the courtroom.

At the same time, ARF Dashnaktsutyun members were protesting outside
the Constitutional Court building. Opposition Dashnaks who once were
members of Armenia ruling coalition are unhappy with foreign policy
implemented by President Serzh Sargsyan.

Opponents of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement believe that the
protocols lead to the collapse of a multi-year efforts to impose
"the fact of the Genocide of 1915" to country’s people, Turkey and
all over the world and involve major concessions in the Karabakh issue.

It is worth noting that Armenia’s Constitutional Court reviewed
the protocols on the backdrop of two landmark visits. The same day,
Turkish PM Erdogan arrived in Moscow and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov
(author of a note or order to Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian "Agree to
the ceremony without statements") arrived in Yerevan in his turn. It
would be naive to consider this a trivial coincidence. Coincidence is
a rare phenomenon in big politics especially when the dates of visits
and meetings of the court are discussed and appointed in advance. It
turns out that the current situation is well planned especially in
an emphatic manner.

The Armenian authorities have clearly indicated to domestic opponents
their intention to bring the case to the end. And it is quite logical:
why it was necessary to negotiate with Ankara and put a signature in
Zurich, if not try to enforce the agreements reached? Another thing
is that the Armenian authorities were in time trouble because of
Azerbaijan’s rigid position which prompted post-Zurich preconditions
by Turkey: ratification of the protocols is possible if only there is
progress (withdrawal from some Azerbaijani regions) in the Karabakh
issue. Yerevan tried to play up, allowing leaks of information
about its intention to legislate the right to withdraw a signature,
but the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court said that even
President Serzh Sargsyan’s administration considers the "feedback game"
not promising.

The background is really serious. Erdogan in Moscow urged Putin and
Medvedev to take a more active position resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Azerbaijan starts gas supplies to Russia. Gazprom managers
expressed willingness to buy the entire volume of Azerbaijani natural
gas. Baku symbolicly keeps silent. Sergey Lavrov visits Armenia.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court endorses the protocols. Karabakh
Armenians are building a new defensive line, which cannot attributed
to anything but withdrawal of troops (by the way, no Armenian official
has denied building of this defensive line which is impossible) …

Certainly, each of these steps have their own reasons. Exports of
Azerbaijani gas to Russia does not mean immediate liberation of the
ocourtupied territories. Likewise, as Baku’s tough position regarding
the Armenian-Turkish protocols does not mean signature of a peace
agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh any time soon.

But if you have a complex look at the events, you can notice quite
clearly negotiated and phased process.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court made a decision on the three issues
approving Sargsyan’s policy in the following areas:

– Giving up policy of "genocidal blackmail" against Turkey; –
Renunciation of territorial claims against Turkey; – Start of a real
process to settle the Karabakh conflict, taking the first step towards
partial "deoccupation."

The next steps are predictable. The protocols will be approved by
the parliaments of Armenia and Turkey as soon as efforts are made to
solve Azerbaijan’s problems.

Although one should not exclude Armenia’s ability and desire to
organize coups or shootings of state officials in the crucial moments
of settling the Karabakh conflict.

Kanan Guluzade Day.Az writer

URL:

POLICE EXAMINE 7 REPORTS ON VIOLATIONS DURING BY-ELECTION OF NA DEPUTY

NoyanTapan
Jan 14, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. As of January 12, one report was
received regarding violations during the January 10 by-election of a
National Assembly deputy at electoral district 10 in Yerevan, another
7 reports are being examined on the initiative of the prosecutor’s
office – following monitoring by the mass media.

Particularly:

At 2:45 pm on January 10, the Marash unit of RA police received a
call about an argument outside polling station 10/09 located in John
Kirakosian Secondary School No 20. Policemen were immediately sent
to the scene of the incident.

On the same day the Marash police unit received a call from University
Hospital No 1: citizens Petros Makeyan, Karen Makeyan and Suren
Martirosian told the hospital personnel that they had suffered
injuries during an argument and a scuffle outside polling station
10/09. After the phone call, the above mentioned men were taken to
Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, where they received medical
aid and then were discharged.

The police were also informed about this incident by Tigran Muradian,
an empowered person of candidate for the post of NA deputy A.

Simonian. According to T. Muradian, at about 2:30 pm on January 10
he noticed that P. Makeyan – an empowered person of candidate Nikol
Pashinian, along with another two supporters was engaged in propaganda
in favor of Pashinian outside polling station 10/09, and he warned them
to stop it. An argument broke out, which was followed by a scuffle.

P. Makeyan, K. Makeyan and S. Martirosian declined to provide
explanation to policemen who arrived at the hospital on January 10. P.

Makeyan provided explanation about the incident only on January 12,
at the police unit. A criminal case was opened under Article 258
of the RA Criminal Code, police are conducting an investigation to
reveal all circumstances of this incident.

The press service of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office reports that
following mass media monitoring, the prosecutor’s office instructed the
police to check the circumstances indicated in the publications such
as preventing reporters, observers and empowered persons from carrying
out their work, voting instead of another person, and falsification
of vote results at polling stations 10/19, 10/14, 10/15, 10/20, 10/12,
10/18 and 10/24.

By instruction of the RA prosecutor general, the materials about
violations at polling station 10/19 were sent to the RA Special
Investigation Service for opening a criminal case and conducting
an investigation. The police continue examining violations at other
polling stations indicated in mass media publications.