Author: Kharatian Ani

AZERI OFFICIAL REFUSES TO COMMENT ON LIKELIHOOD OF NEW WAR WITH ARMENIA

Turan News Agency
March 1 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku, 1 March: "I think it is not worth commenting on the defence
minister’s statement since he is responsible for his words," Ali
Hasanov, head of the public and political department of [Azerbaijan’s]
presidential administration, has told journalists when asked by
journalists to comment on the defence minister’s statement "on the
inevitability of war".

Hasanov said that the president had spoken repeatedly on maintaining
the potential of talks for a peaceful resolution. "The president has
also said that if he feels the potential for negotiations is running
out, measures would be taken to restore the territorial integrity with
all available means. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are offering new
proposals to the parties to the conflict," Ali Hasanov said. So far it
is unknown exactly how the process of agreeing the proposals will go.

ARMENIAN SOLDIER DIES AS A RESULT OF CEASEFIRE VIOLATION BY AZERI ARMED FORCES

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 17:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On March 1, 1:30 p.m. local time, another case of
ceasefire violation by Azeri armed forces was registered in RA Tavush
region, resulting in death of Armenian soldier.

Squad commander Sargis Voskanyan died as a result of head wound
received. An inquiry is now in progress, RA Defense Ministry press
service reported.

PRESSURE OF ARMENIA GROWING IN KARABAKH ISSUE

news.az
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Stepan Demirchan "The presidential and the parliamentary elections
as well as the constitutional referendum have been falsified thrice."

The page of March 1 cannot be turned as those responsible for it have
not been punished, said Stepan Demirchan, leader of the Democratic
Party of Azerbaijan, told an oppositional meeting held at Matenadaran.

He reminded that "the presidential and the parliamentary elections
as well as the constitutional referendum have been falsified thrice
through the period of the current regime and violence was committed
on 13 April 2004".

"The authorities showed that they are unable to settle the problems
of the country and the socioeconomic crisis", he said.

"It is wrong to leave Karabakh out of the negotiation process.

Meanwhile, the Armenian-Turkish process has entered a deadlock. It
is unclear what Armenia has won by signing the protocols. The way
out can be the conduction of new and just elections", Demirchan said.

ARMENIA-TURKEY RECONCILIATION INSUFFICIENT FOR STABILITY IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

news.am
March 2 2010
Armenia

Turkey was aware of the fact that Armenia-Turkey reconciliation is
insufficient for establishment of long-waited peace and stability in
the South Caucasus in the course of the whole negotiation process with
Yerevan, reads the article by Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu published
in Russian Global Affairs magazine.

According to Davutoglu, "occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia
causing the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh impeded further cooperation
in the Caucasus on the regional and international scene."

"Progress achieved at the recent talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents – Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev was critical for conflict
resolution, as the technique worked out by OSCE Minsk Group produced
no tangible and concrete results," Davutoglu considers.

In his article Turkish FM also stresses that OSCE MG, having Turkey
its member remains the only international tool capable of urging
sides to take specific steps for overcoming disagreements as well as
achievement of peaceful settlement.

Commenting on the current stage of Armenia-Turkey reconciliation,
Davutoglu underlined that Turkey is not unhopeful about restoration
of Ankara-Yerevan relations "that to date remain missing link in the
whole picture that Ankara would like to see in the South Caucasus."

Turkish diplomat calls Protocols’ signing "unprecedented step forward
directed towards removal of legal and psychological barriers that
separated two neighboring nations so far."

According to him, Ankara is confident that progress in Armenia-Turkey
relations should be supplemented and develop in specific steps towards
Karabakh conflict resolution. "Only in case of all-embracing settlement
we will preserve atmosphere of reconciliation and elimination of
remained barriers impeding the dialogue, cooperation and peace in
the region. It will definitely demand political will and courage,"
Davutoglu concluded.

BATTLE OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BEING FOUGHT ON U.S. SOIL
By Lilly Fowler

True/Slant
r/2010/03/01/battle-over-armenian-genocide-being-f ought-on-u-s-soil/
March 1 2010

"60 Minutes" aired a segment Sunday night on the Armenian genocide
of 1915 that is worth watching. It’s not a subject that gets a lot
of media attention and thus, not one a lot of people know about.

Ottoman Turks deported and killed Christian Armenians, a minority in
the predominately Muslim region. Moreover, historians argue that the
genocide served as an example to Hitler. Turkey, however, has long
said that what happened during World War I under the Ottoman Empire
does not constitute genocide.

Today, Congress is debating whether the U.S. government should
officially recognize the Armenian genocide. It’s something they’ve
argued about before, and it’s an issue President Obama himself has
taken up, but one that has been left unresolved because of a fear of
damaging U.S./Turkey relations.

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: GENOCIDE BILL MIGHT PASS

2010/03/01 | 13:26

Politics

Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Morton Abramowitz is reported to have
said that the current Genocide resolution scheduled for a gearing in
the U.S. Congress is "the most urgent issue" in Turkish-U.S relations.

Ambassador Abramowitz, who served in Ankara from 1989-1991, said
that the resolution might eventually be adopted if President Barack
Obama doesn’t intervene in the process. The Anatolia News Agency says
Ambassador Abramowitz made the remark at a meeting organized by the
Istanbul Center and Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International
Affairs held in Atlanta on Sunday.

Abramowitz also suggested that the ongoing tension between Israel and
Turkey had sparked anger against Turkey amongst the Jewish lobby in
the US, which has traditionally been pro-Turkey.

AzTV Baku, Azerbaijan
Feb 27 2010

Azeri president questions calls for peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has questioned international
requests, which call for a peaceful settlement to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan’s state owned AzTV showed Ilham Aliyev saying the following
at the opening of an IDP settlement in the country’s northern Qabala
District: "On the one hand, we are being told to peacefully solve the
issue and we support this. However, no one should forget that the
Armenians did not occupy those lands peacefully, they occupied our
lands by force and with the support of other countries… So if the
Armenians used force to occupy our territory, why are we being asked
to seek peaceful ways [to settle the conflict]? I want to reiterate
again. No one wants war. How long we should tolerate such an
intolerable situation? How long the world community and the parties
who deal with this matter will demonstrate patience? We cannot accept
the present situation. The status quo does not satisfy us. The status
quo should be changed."

President Aliyev also said that despite international norms, justice
was on the side of the strong party: "The world events indicate that
whoever is strong is right. Unfortunately, this is the reality and we
live in reality and we do not live in a virtual world. Everyone would
want to see functioning laws, international norms, and justice. But we
do not see that. The example of this conflict shows us that injustice
has been continuing for 20 years."

[translated from Azeri]

Aysor, Armenia
Feb 27 2010

`We should show what’s going on in reality’

The Sumgait massacres were an answer to the decision of the Artsakh
people to join Armenia, reminded the witness of the Sumgait massacres,
founder of the `Shushi’ fund Bakur Karapetyan.

The speaker informed that after the massacres at the end of March and
the beginning of April had left for Sumgait as a journalist where he
had shot a documentary film on the documentary pictures with robbed
and broken apartments, interviews from the witnesses. The film is
called `Wave of Sumgait’.

`The famous Azerbaijani scientist Zviat Buniatov has written an
article as if the Armenian journalist had come to Sumgait a day
before, before those events, surely it is a lie’, – he said.

The speaker paid attention over the fact that today the authorities of
Azerbaijan try to conceal the massacres of Smgait with the Khojaly
events of 1991.

`We were urged to destroy that fireplace in Shushi, Malibeli,
Jalhasan, Aghdam, etc. We were urged to destroy those fire places one
by one, as the people in Stepanakert and Artsakh were being bombed day
and night’, – he said, stressing that the Armenian side had permitted
the peaceful inhabitants of Khojaly to leave their places.

`We have to show what has happened in reality. I have a lot of
materials, scenarios of films. We have to present all these staff to
the world for the latter to learn the truth, and not the lie that the
Azeri dictate’, – Bakur Karapetyan stated presenting some of his books
concerning the Sumgait and Baku massacres.

I MAINTAIN CONTACTS WITH TURKISH, ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI LEADERSHIP,CLINTON

news.az
Feb 26 2010
Azerbaijan

Hillary Clinton The US State of Secretary considers the resolution
of the Karabakh conflict important.

"Though the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is not a provision
for normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, its settlement
will promote stability in the region".

She said this while speaking during hearings in the committee on
external ties of the House of Representatives of the US Congress.

"I maintain regular contacts with the leadership of Turkey, Armenia
and Azerbaijan. We are going to do everything possible for promotion
of the ratification process of protocols and the diplomatic settlement
of the Karabakh conflict", CNN-Turk quotes Clinton as saying.

Meanwhile, Clinton did not answer the question from congressman Adam
Schiff, author of the resolution on Armenian genocide, who voiced
hope that the Department of State will support this document, giving
preference to another question from him.

She also voiced Turkey’s importance for the United States in different
world policy issues.

TURKISH MP: CHANGE IN MINSK GROUP FORMAT SHOULD BE DECIDED BY OSCE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

Today
/62561.html
feb 25 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with head of the Turkish delegation to the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly, member of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey (Parliament) from the ruling Justice and Development Party
Alaattin Buyukkaya.

In your opinion, what contribution can Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship
make in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

Kazakhstan’s chairmanship can be regarded as a chance to resolve
the Karabakh problem. Naturally, everything depends on Kazakhstan’s
stepping up efforts to address the problem and the interest of
the conflicting sides to hold consultation with Kazakhstan. Taking
advantage of its chairmanship, Kazakhstan can expedite work of the
Minsk Group and assist in achieving concrete results in resolving
the conflict.

During OSCE Chairman-in-Office Kanat Saudabayev’s visit to Azerbaijan
and Armenia, the media broadly discussed Kazakhstan’s involvement
with the OSCE Minsk Group. But involvement of a new country in the
work of the Minsk Group requires to change the format of the group,
increase the number of co-chairs or replace them. This issue should be
resolved by the OSCE Committee of Ministers. I believe Kazakhstan’s
talks with the Minsk Group co-chair countries to accelerate the
conflict resolution is the most real step in this matter.

Armenia has refused to ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols. Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan has already urged Turkey to ratify the
Protocols first. Why Armenia wants Turkey to ratify the protocols
first?

Our views regarding the protocols are clear. We adhere to a consistent
position on Karabakh. Because of this the protocols have not yet
appeared in the Turkish Parliament. We made concessions to the
Armenian side and stated that we will ratify the protocols and take
steps to open borders once Armenia withdraws from five of Azerbaijan’s
occupied lands. But the Armenian side seems to be very cautious in
this issue. Armenia says let Turkey ratify the protocols first, and
then it will think about withdrawal from the five regions. In fact,
their desire for Turkey to launch the ratification process first is
due to our terms and conditions concerning Karabakh.

Turkey has voiced its discontent with the Armenian Constitutional
Court decision. It seems both Turkey and Armenia advanced new terms
after the protocols were signed…

Of course, the protocols contained neither conditions on the Karabakh
issue nor comments of the Armenia Constitutional Court. But one
cannot deny that the Armenian Constitutional Court has an authority
to comment on conformance of international instruments and agreements
with the Constitution and laws of the country. So, in general, we do
not oppose the Constitutional Court decision. We mainly disagree with
preamble of the decision which contains recommendations on continuation
of the process in stages which Armenia requires. In any case, given
sensitivity of the issue, the signatories to the document should have
foreseen the problems that may arise later.

Armenia claims that Turkey cannot involve the Karabakh issue in this
process since the protocols make no mention of the conflict…

It is true that the documents make no mention of the Karabakh
conflict. If there would be something about it, Armenia would surely
oppose it and the protocols would not have been signed. But these
protocols meet interests of Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan because
these accords imply that Armenia unconditionally recognizes Turkey’s
territorial integrity and the commission of historians is tasked to
study the "genocide" and achieving regional peace.

As you know, the Armenian Constitution calls Turkey’s territorial
integrity into question. The Armenian side has always opposed to
studying this issue by historians, and claimed that it was political
in nature. But by signing the protocols, it agreed to study of the
issue by historians. At the same time, Armenia has agreed to Turkey’s
participation in peace processes in the region. This means that
paves a way for Turkey’s involvement in liberation of Azerbaijan’s
occupied territories.

What do you expect from Turkish PM Erdogan’s U.S. trip to take place
in April?

I do not know details of PM’s visit to the United States. All urgent
issues including Turkish-Armenian relations and the Karabakh conflict
will certainly be discussed. I think that Barack Obama would put
pressure on the Prime Minister in terms of ratification of the
protocols to establish relations with Armenia and to recognize the
"genocide". Iran, Israel and Iraq also will be the subject of the
dialogue. I am confident that Prime Minister Erdogan will protect
Turkey’s interests in the best manner.