ANKARA: World Press: Kremlin Loses Another Friend

Zaman Online, Turkey
March 26 2005

World Press: Kremlin Loses Another Friend
By Foreign News Desk
Published: Saturday 26, 2005
zaman.com

The Tulip revolution, which resulted in the overthrow of President
Askar Akayev on Friday (March 25) in Kyrgyzstan, was broadcast in
the headlines around the world.

The answer to the question of “Who is next?”, has dominated with
comments suggesting “Moscow is loosing its friends one after the
other.”

Apart from Kyrgyzstan’s neighboring countries, Armenia was mentioned
as next possible stop on velvet revolution trail. The headline of the
French newspaer “Liberation” read, “Putin loses his friends” and wrote,
“the democratic revolution has expanded in the countries of the former
Soviet Union.” Austria’s newpaper “Die Presse” made similar comments
and referred to the event as “Domino effect in their ow back yard.”

The Spanish El Pais pointed out that the incidents in Bishkek are
similar to the ones that occurred in Georgia and the Ukraine and
said it was”a serious warning to Russia.” The British press, on the
other hand, preferred the use of the ‘domino effect” expression. A
commentary in the Times noted the existence of two military bases
just 35 km apart from each other in Kyrgyzstan. The Guardian reported
the event under the headline “One more gap in Putin’s Pro-Soviet
Vision.” The Russian media published news of the events with regard
to Kyrgyzstan and referred to it with, “The Tulip Revolution Reaches
Kyrgyzstan. Who is the next country?”

German Bundestag To Consider Motion On Armenian Genocide Apr 21 Or 2

GERMAN BUNDESTAG TO CONSIDER MOTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE APR 21 OR 22

BERLIN, MARCH 24. ARMINFO. The motion “Commemoration of Armenians
on the 90th Anniversary of Their Relocation and Massacre on Apr 24
1915 – Germany Should Contribute to Provide Peace Between Turks and
Armenians” will be considered in the German Bundestag Apr 21 or 22,
says the author of the motion, the president of the German-Caucasian
Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag Christoph Bergner.

Earlier Bergner said that he is convinced that despite the importance
of German-Turkish relations the German MPs will follow the voice of
their conscience when deciding on the motion.

US-Turkish Relations Go Wobbly Now Over Syria

US-Turkish Relations Go Wobbly Now Over Syria
By K Gajendra Singh

Al-Jazeerah.info, GA
March 23 2005

When it appeared that the acrimonious airing of differences between
Nato allies USA and Turkey over Iraq had ebbed somewhat, US efforts
to ‘franchise ‘ a ‘ Cedar revolution’ in Lebanon, to weaken and
isolate Syria have brought acute tensions back into the relationship.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer told media last week that he would
go ahead with his planned visit to Syria in mid-April. “Of course,
we will go (to Syria),” he said when questioned by reporters at the
presidential palace.

Analysts commented that Sezer’s visit could be interpreted as support
for Syria at a time when it was under mounting international pressure
to end its military presence in Lebanon. Turkey largely kept its
silence when USA supported by France commanded Syria to quit Lebanon
forthwith.

Ankara has also kept quiet on sale of short range Russian missiles to
Damascus. It would have howled over such a deal in the past. Russian
Defence Minister and head of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov
told Israel’s Channel 1 TV last week that Russia is ready to provide
assurances that non-portable, anti-aircraft Strelets missiles with
a range of 4-5 Kms being sold to Syria would not threaten Israel.

US ambassador Eric Edelman had urged Ankara to join in for an immediate
and complete Syrian withdrawal. “What can be said on Syria is that
the international community is completely unanimous on UN Security
Council Resolution 1559,” which calls on Syria to immediately pull out
of Lebanon. “We hope Turkey will join the international community. Of
course, the decision to do so lies with Turkey,” Edelman added.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul explained that his country
was fully in line with the UN resolutions as “democracy and the
dissemination of freedoms in various parts of the region is Turkey’s
basic policy”. Diplomatic sources in Damascus reportedly revealed that
the US administration reacted angrily at the Turkish government’s
silence over a Turkish people’s delegation visiting Syria to voice
its support and solidarity with the Syrian people in the face of the
US pressures and the Israeli threats.

USA has cautioned, even warned Ankara many times, not to have
close relations with Damascus, but Turkey has ignored such threats.
Several bilateral high level visits have taken place, the last one
was in December by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sezer’s visit is in return for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s
earlier visit to Turkey in 2004, which marked a turning point in the
Syrian-Turkish relations.

Syria has begun withdrawing its forces from Lebanon near to its border
as laid down in the 1989 Taif Agreement, which had ended the 16 year
civil war in Lebanon in which nearly 100,000 people were killed and the
nation almost destroyed. Syria had gone in to protect the Christians
and the Druzes, now leading opponents of Syria. Last year US and
France made UN Security Council pass resolution 1559, which called
for Syrian with drawl and disarming of various militias in Lebanon.

France became the colonial power in Syria following the First World
War, which ended the Ottoman empire and its rule over the Middle
East. Paris created Lebanon by detaching it from Greater Syria to
give a dominant role to Maronite Christians, who had forged closer
relations with France during the Crusades.

After massive but peaceful demonstrations from anti- and pro -Syrian
groups ignited after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq Hariri in February, an early morning bomb blast on 19
March morning in the Christian sector of Beirut has rekindled fears
of renewal of inter -communal violence and worse.

During the cold war, while Turkey was member of Nato, Syria was a close
ally of USSR. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the change
in international strategic scenario, specially after the illegal US
invasion of Iraq two years ago, Turkey and Syria have come closer.

In late 1998 Turkey had threatened to invade Syria unless it expelled
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan and his Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK ), sheltered in Syria. Ocalan was expelled, caught up by Turkish
agents in Kenya, brought to Turkey for trial and is now lodged in a
Turkish jail.

The US -Turkish differences reached a high acrimonious level, when
on 1March, 2003, Turkish Parliament shot down a government proposal
to let US use its territory to open a second front against Iraq from
the north. Since then Turks have remained opposed to US policies in
the region.

Turkish Foreign Ministry did try to lower tensions when it spokesman
Namik Tan told the media on 10 March that Turkey was strongly committed
to its strategic partnership with the United States. Rebuffing
recent allegations that the ruling Justice and Development Party’s
(AKP) had helped encourage rising anti-American sentiment in Turkey,
Tan stated that Turkey was a friend and ally to the US and that such
media allegations had no place in Ankara’s relations with Washington

But utterances like the recent one by Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld on the 2nd anniversary of US invasion of Iraq do not help
either. He told Fox News TV on 21 March that “Given the level of the
insurgency today, two years later, clearly if we had been able to
get the 4th Infantry Division in from the north, in through Turkey,
more of the Iraqi, Saddam Hussein, Baathist regime would have been
captured or killed.” “The insurgency today would be less,” he said.
Rumsfeld of course understands little about insurgency, rebellion
and war of independence against occupying powers through out history,
Vietnam. Algeria and Kenya being recent examples.

War of Words in US media ;

Calling Turkey “The Sick Man of Europe-Again ” in his oped piece of
16 February in the Wall Street Journal “,Robert Pollock declared that
“Islamism and leftism add up to anti-American madness in Turkey.” Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s favorite.– Yeni Safak has repeatedly
claimed that U.S. forces used chemical weapons in Fallujah. One
of its columnists has alleged that U.S. soldiers raped women and
children there and left their bodies in the streets to be eaten by
dogs. Among the paper’s “scoops” have been the 1,000 Israeli soldiers
deployed alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, and that U.S. forces have
been harvesting the innards of dead Iraqis for sale on the U.S.
“organ market.”

“It’s not much better in the secular press. The mainstream Hurriyet has
accused Israeli hit squads of assassinating Turkish security personnel
in Mosul, and the U.S. of starting an occupation of Indonesia under
the guise of humanitarian assistance. In Al Sabah, a columnist
last fall accused the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman,
of letting his “ethnic origins”–guess what, he’s Jewish–determine
his behavior. –The intellectual climate in which he’s operating has
gone so mad that he actually felt compelled to organize a conference
call with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to explain that
secret U.S. nuclear testing did not cause the recent tsunami.

“All of which makes Mr. Erdogan a prize hypocrite for protesting to
Condoleezza Rice the unflattering portrayal of Turkey in an episode of
the fictional TV show “The West Wing.” The episode allegedly depicts
Turkey as having been taking over by a retrograde populist government
that threatens women’s rights. (Sounds about right to me.) ”

Tensions fictionalized into US-Turkish War ;

Voice of America ‘s Ed Warner reported on this startling shift of
opinion in a nation recently considered quite close to the United
States. He quoted from a current best selling novel depicting war
between the two countries

Turkey is in flames. A U.S. air attack has leveled Istanbul and
Ankara, and now American tanks are rolling in to occupy the country.
In desperation, the Turks call on Russia and the European Union for
help, and these onetime enemies of Turkey stall the U.S. advance
and end the war, but not before an enterprising Turkish agent has
destroyed much of Washington with a nuclear device.

It is from Turkey’s best-selling Turkish novel titled ‘Metal Storm’
which has indeed taken the Turkish public by storm and politicians with
its outrageous plot which strikes a responsive chord. One of the two
authors, Burak Turna, a former military affairs reporter, claims his
book is not just another conspiracy theory but a possibility theory.

Certainly there is a war of the words. A recent BBC survey indicated
that Turkey was now the most anti-American nation on earth. So, no
monstrous act was considered beyond America or its Israeli partner in
crime who are even compared to the German Nazis. Warner then writes
about the causes and quotes Sabri Sayari, director of the Institute
for Turkish Studies at Georgetown University. Turks believe the United
States has failed to suppress the anti-Turkish rebels operating in
northern Iraq.

He said,”I think Turkish sentiment has to be explained in the context
of what is happening in Iraq,” he said. “Obviously, the war in Iraq
has not been popular in Turkey for a variety of reasons, especially
the situation in northern Iraq with the growing power of the Kurds
and the general instability that has engulfed a neighboring country.”

“The US has been pretty much in support of Turkey’s experiment with a
party that originates from the Islamist movement.” “When it initially
came to power in 2002, this party was viewed as something that would
prove that Islam and democracy are compatible and there should be no
clash of civilizations. So the US was upholding Turkey as a kind of
model in a way,” he added

Henry Barkey, professor of international relations at Lehigh
University, says there is Turkish concern of spillover. A separate
Kurdish entity in Iraq could revive the separatist movement in Turkey.
“I think this is overly exaggerated. The Turkish Kurds have had
problems with the Turkish government and the Turkish elite, but they
are part of a very vibrant economy and a very vibrant society, which
is on its way to become a member of the European Union a decade and
a half from now.”

Prof Barkey continued that relations cooled after Turkey’s refusal to
let U.S. forces invade Iraq from its territory. But U.S. actions hardly
excuse the constant anti-American drumbeat of Turkish politicians
and journalists. Nothing Washington says is believed:

“When you have serious newspapers publishing articles about the United
States having a secret weapon that makes earthquakes and that Istanbul
is the next target,” he explained. “When you have newspapers that
publish all kinds of scurrilous articles about the United States,
that is more worrisome. The problem is that some Turkish politicians
have joined the fray and have accused the United States of genocide
and all kinds of other activities in Iraq.”

Calling for dialogue Professor Barkey said that U.S. and Turkish
officials” should sit down and map out the steps ahead to restore
proper, if not amicable relations. The two countries are too important
for each other to let the current rancor persist. ”

Of course Warner did not disclose that PKK rebellion since 1984
against the Turkish state cost over 35,000 lives, including those of
5,000 soldiers. To control and neutralize the rebellion, thousands of
Kurdish villages have been bombed, destroyed, abandoned or relocated;
millions of Kurds have been moved to shanty towns in the south and
east or migrated westwards. The economy of the region was shattered.
With a third of the Turkish army tied up in the southeast, the cost
of countering the insurgency at its height amounted to between US$6
billion to $8 billion a year.

The rebellion died down after the arrest and trial of Ocalan in 1999,
but it has not been fully eradicated. And the PKK – now also called
Konga-Gel – shifted almost 4,000 of its cadres to northern Iraq and
refused to lay down arms. A five year unilateral ceasefire declared by
PKK in 1999 was not renewed in last June. There have been increasing
skirmishes and battles between Kurdish insurgents and Turkish security
forces inside Turkey. Turkey remains frustrated over US reluctance to
employ military means against the PKK fighters – in spite of promises
to do so. US priority to disarm PKK cadres was never very high,in fact,
it wants to reward Iraqi Kurds, who have remained peaceful and loyal,
unlike the rest of the country.

The Turks manifest a pervasive distrust of autonomy or models of a
federal state for Iraqi Kurds: it would encourage the aspirations
of their own Kurds. It also revives memories of Western conspiracies
against Turkey and the un-ratified 1920 Treaty of Sevres forced on the
Ottoman Sultan by the World War I victors. It promised independence
to the Armenians and autonomy to Turkey’s Kurds, which Iraqi Kurds
could later join. So Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, after undoing the Sevres
Treaty with his war of independence, opted for a unitary state and
ruthlessly suppressed Kurdish rebellions in Turkey.

The war between Iraq and resurgent Shi’ites in Iran in 1980s helped
the PKK establish itself in the lawless north Kurdish Iraq territory.
The PKK also helped itself with arms freely available in the region
during the eight-year war. The 1990-91 Gulf crisis and war also proved
to be a watershed in the violent explosion of the Kurdish rebellion
in Turkey.

Writing in the Washington Times, Andrew Borowiec claimed that
“Turkey’s often virulent anti-American media campaign appears to
be ebbing somewhat, but diplomats say considerable damage has been
done to the relationship between the two allies.” He added that,
“Signals from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are regarded as
confusing — one day minimizing the differences with Washington,
and another day warning about their impact.”

He quoted Istanbul’s left-leaning Cumhuriyet daily, “The United
States wants Turkey to cooperate with it unconditionally. Should
such a cooperation be rejected, then [Washington] is threatening to
isolate Turkey, and going even further, to turn it into a target
country. … The situation is every bit this serious.” He also
refers to, “Metal Storm,” novel, already into a third edition, which
describes an imaginary U.S. invasion of Turkey,. “Much to the concern
of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the book is particularly appreciated
in Turkish military and government circles. According to a recent
opinion poll, 82 percent of Turks consider U.S. policies under the
Bush administration to be negative.

“The peace and freedom loving country of the Cold War period has now
become the enemy of peace and freedom,” wrote columnist Ahmet Cakar in
Istanbul Ortadogu, a newspaper supporting the right-wing Nationalist
Action Party. “The United States, which dreams of dominating the
entire world, is especially attacking Muslim countries and shedding
Muslim blood in streams.”

But he noted a sober appeal to “respect mutual sensitivities”
in the English-language Ankara Turkish Daily News (TDN). “The
relationship between the two countries “rests on mutual respect and
national interests,” said TDN the newspaper said. “The two countries
should take cognizance of their common interests and United Nations
resolutions. Both countries should be more calm and more collected
in relating incidents and events that occur in wartime.”

The mass-circulation Istanbul Milliyet also reminded its readers that
“the United States is not Turkey’s enemy. On the contrary, it is a
friendly country, it is our ally.” “There is no doubt that the United
States is also making mistakes that should be criticized. And it is
being criticized,” the newspaper added.

TDN was bought last year by a corporate business house from its founder
editor Ilhan Cevik’s family. When the author returned to Ankara in 1992
after 20 years, the quality of journalism had declined, with major
trading /industry corporate interests having muscled their way into
media to exploit its power for their interests, in the foot steps of US
media now under control of half a dozen corporate conglomerates. People
in Turkey bought newspapers for the gifts of crockery and other awards
instituted to increase circulation and not for its contents. A sad
development in the free world which lectures others on media freedom.

Turkish Media reaction;

Writing in Yeni Safak, Columnist Ibrahim Karagul commented on 17 March,
“Considering the range of his activities, his statements which violate
the decorum of democracy, and his interest in Turkey’s internal
affairs, Eric Edelman acts more like a colonial governor than an
ambassador. Since his appointment as US ambassador to Turkey, Edelman’s
actions have always caused discomfort among the public. His latest
‘suggestions’ on Sezer’s upcoming visit to Syria had the same impact.

“Edelman is probably the least-liked and trusted American ambassador
in Turkish history, and his reputation is not likely to recuperate.
Edelman’s actions have exceeded his diplomatic mission. His ‘interest’
in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the Turkish media and ethnic
minorities make him go beyond his role as an ambassador. His presence
here has never contributed to Turkish-American relations, and it
never will. If we want to address the reasons for anti-Americanism,
Edelman must be issue one. As long as Edelman stays in Turkey, the
chill wind disturbing bilateral relations will last.” ( Incidentally
Edelman has resigned but cited personal reasons )

Chiding the pro-US writers in the Turkish media, Karagul said, “Don’t
our government and people have the ability to decide which countries
we should visit? Is our foreign policy decided by Edelman and his
chorus among the Turkish media? — Do we have to act in accordance
with the common interests of Israel and the US? Is Turkey not an
independent nation?”. He concluded, ” The ultimate plan is to corner
and control Turkey in order to use it as a hit man. The Vietnamese
were terrorists, according to the US. Latin America, China, Libya
and the USSR were also terrorists. And now Iran and Syria. But if
they abandon their policies based on opposing the US, they will no
longer be called terrorists. Instead, they will be lauded as models
of democracy for the Middle East.” If Turkey follows an independent
policy, ” who can guarantee that those who serve Turkey’s interests
won’t be declared terrorists? –Isn’t more than half of the world
already a threat for the US?”

Recalling ups and downs in US Turkish relations since Turkey’s No to
US troops, another Journalist Fehmi Koru wrote in the New Anatolian
on 15 March, ‘Turkey’s stature was raised by Parliament’s decision
in March 2003. Many in the region started to look up to Turkey as
a strong democracy which could say “No” to a superpower with little
regard for challenges to its hegemony. This isn’t just my point of
view or that of the people in the region, but is also shared by some
U.S. specialists. Alan Makovsky, an aide to Congressman Tom Lantos,
in a panel discussion last week in Washington DC. called it “ironic”
that Turkey’s stand against the U.S. can be used as a successful
example of the U.S.’ democratization project for the Middle East.

He then lambasted US corporate media, “Can you find any justification
for the high number of articles recently appearing in the U.S. media
criticizing Turkey for being “anti-U.S.”?

He added that Turkey could play an important role in the
democratization of the Middle East because the Parliament didn’t say
“No” to a good relationship between Turkey and the U.S., but only
opposed US intentions to get Turkey involved in an unjustified
war in Iraq. It was a warning to all concerned to steer clear of
military engagement which would lead nowhere. Democracy has worked
beautifully in Turkey, making the country an exemplary democracy for
both undemocratic countries in the region and for those democracies
with little respect for their peoples’ wishes.

” Instead of rushing to Turkey’s assistance to put things in order in
the region, the people representing U.S. interests in Ankara have been
trying to ruin anything good that remains. Can you see the reason why?
He then quoted Einstein who once said, “Logic will get you from A to B,
imagination will take you everywhere.” So one has to use imagination,
Koru concluded.

Even US friendly Sami Kohen in a recent column, while reacting to US
criticism of Turkish reliability quoted a Turkish official: ‘Instead,
we should question America’s reliability. Does the US care about our
concerns on the PKK? Does the Bush administration take into account
our opinion on Iraq? Turkey has always been loyal to the alliance. If
the dialogue between our countries is in a sorry state, it’s America’s
fault. He added that that the true motive behind anti-Americanism in
Turkey is Bush administration policy on Iraq.’ Unlike a large number
of countries, neither the Turkish government nor the public feels
hostile towards the US. Those in Washington must come to see that.’

On the Syrian question, US Middle East policy was “to soften up and
eventually knock down Syria. The recent events in Lebanon were just
what the US needed to make another move against Syria. And this time
Washington got active support from Europe and other nations. Such
a display of support was anticipated from Turkey as well. Instead,
Ankara announced that President Sezer would visit Syria. That clearly
upset the US. Thus the Syria issue was also added to the list of
disagreements between Turkey and the US.

“It’s a new experience for the Bush administration to see Turkey act
according to a foreign policy independent from that of Washington.
But it’s time the US became tolerant of Turkey and got used to Turkey’s
new policy.”

Fireworks !

To discuss and analyze the future of Turkish-American relations a
panel discussion on “Can Turkish-American relations be saved?” will
be held in Washington on 23 March. It would be organized by the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), known for supporting franchised
revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere, with the aim of
restoring relationship .. The US side would include Robert Pollock
of Wall Street Journal, Richard Perle and Michael Rubin, all known
for lambasting Turkey in the media. Ankara will be represented
by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Vice- President
Murat Mercan.

Conclusion;

Since decades Turkey has suffered the consequences of the wars next
door, first between Iraq and Iran in 1980s, then US led war on Iraq
in 1991. And now the illegal US invasion of Iraq two years, with no
end in sight in spite of Washington’s glib talk of promoting democracy
in the region. After decades of political and economic instability at
home under asymmetrical coalition governments, the new party with its
overwhelming strength in the parliament and the municipalities would
like to concentrate on economic rebuilding of the state. Turkey thus
aims to promote peace in the region and with a growing economy and a
million strong armed forces would like to be a regional peacemaker
and promote democratic legitimacy in international relations. It
would like Syria and Iran to act according to the demands of the
international community, but not according to what USA and Israel
demand. Turkey’s new neighborhood policy remains how to minimize
problems without being pulled into international confrontations.

Turkey doggedly pursued its campaign to stop Israeli interference
in Iraqi Kurdistan after an article by veteran US journalist Seymour
Hersh exposed Tel Aviv providing training to Peshmarga commando units
in north Iraq and running covert operations in neighbouring countries
Israel was also infiltrating agents into Iran to plot Iran’s.
clandestine nuclear weapons program for a possible pre-emptive
strikes. Israel would prefer a weak and decentralized Iraq if not
a divided one. It led to public denunciation of Israel’s actions in
Gaza, which Erdogan described as state terrorism. It also adversely
affected their close defence relationship.

But conflicting strategic interests and consequent tensions between the
US and Israel, and Syria and Iran would not make Turkey’s task easy.

(K Gajendra Singh, served as Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan
in 1992-96. Prior to that, he served as ambassador to Jordan (during
the 1990-91 Gulf war), Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman
of the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies. The views expressed here
are his own.- [email protected])

Indictment Details Terror Weapons Smuggling Scheme

The New York Sun
March 16, 2005 Wednesday

Indictment Details Terror Weapons Smuggling Scheme

By CATRIONA STUART, Special to the Sun

Rocket-propelled grenade launchers, claymore mines, AK47s, machine
guns, shoulder-launched missiles, and enriched uranium were among the
weapons arms dealers offered to sell to an FBI informant last year,
federal prosecutors said yesterday.

At least 18 men hatched a complicated scheme to smuggle numerous
assault weapons into America from Russia and Eastern Europe and to
sell the arsenal to an informant posing as an arms trafficker with
connections to terrorist organizations, prosecutors said in an
indictment unsealed in federal court yesterday. During a yearlong FBI
surveillance operation, the men allegedly smuggled in eight weapons
that they stashed in storage facilities in New York, Los Angeles, and
Fort Lauderdale, and had another cache ready to be shipped into the
country, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York,
David Kelley, said.

When they opened the storage locker located in downtown Manhattan,
agents involved in the joint FBI-NYPD investigation found a Norinoco
model long-gun equipped with two loaded bullet clips, an Israeli
military-issue Uzi, 31 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and a 9mm assault
rifle wrapped in a plastic bag from a Gap clothing store.

“This case posted a big ‘Keep Out’ sign for arms traffickers
everywhere,” the city’s police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, said.
“They’re not welcome, especially not in New York.”

According to the indictment, the roster of international arms
smugglers included Artur Solomonyan, 26, an Armenian citizen who
lives in New York and Los Angeles; and Christian Dewet Spies, 33, a
South African citizen who lives in New York.

In a series of surreptitious meetings and coded telephone
conversations in which they referred to assault rifles and
shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles as “puppies” and “stingers,”
Mr. Spies allegedly enlisted the informant’s help in securing a buyer
for a stash of weapons held by a contact affiliated with the Russian
mafia. Mr. Spies believed that the informant intended to sell the
weapons to terrorists of Middle Eastern descent, prosecutors said.

Messrs. Solomonyan and Spies allegedly orchestrated a deal to provide
the informant with approximately $2.5 million worth of assault
rifles, explosive mines, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and more
using an informal network of arms traffickers in Miami, New York, Los
Angeles, and Eastern Europe, prosecutors said.

As late as February, police said, the two men had given the informant
a username and password to a Russian email account that contained
e-mail messages with photos of 17 additional weapons available for
purchase.

For their roles, Messrs. Solomonyan and Spies, who were both in this
country illegally, have been charged with several counts of weapons
trafficking and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Azeri DM: No Peace With Armenia Possible Until Azeri Lands Retaken

NO PEACE WITH ARMENIA POSSIBLE UNTIL AZERI LANDS ARE OCCUPIED: AZERI DM

YEREVAN, MARCH 19. ARMINFO. “Azerbaijan will not make peace with
Armenia until it occupies its territories,” Azeri Defence Minister
Safar Abiev said at his Friday meeting with Commander of the National
Guards of Oklahoma, US, Harry White.

“Unfortunately the OSCE Minsk Group has not to date achieved any
tangible results in the peace process. Plenty of arms and ammunition
has been piled in the occupied Azeri territories posing a big threat
to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.” “We expect much in the
matter from the US co-chair of the OSCE MG,” Abiev said noting that
“the liberation of the occupied territories” will give Azerbaijan new
impetus for further developing and becoming leader in the South
Caucasus.

Tehran: Armenia’s new envoy submits credentials to Kharrazi Tehran

IRNA, Iran
March 18, 2005 Friday

Iran-Armenia-Relation

Tehran

Armenia’s new envoy submits credentials to Kharrazi Tehran,

Appointed Ambassador to Tehran, Karen Nazarian, handed over his
credentials on Thursday to Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Information and
Press, Kharrazi termed as “valuable capital” the age-old relations
between the two countries, stressing that Iran and Armenia can
reinforce mutual ties by relying on those relations.

He said the development projects that Iran has implemented or still
has underway in Armenia indicate the “active relations” between the
two countries and highlighted the need to facilitate the activities
of Iranian traders and investors in Armenia.

Nazarian, for his part, described Iran-Armenia relations as strategic
and said Yerevan attaches a special significance to the expansion of
its relations with Tehran.

He further underscored Iran’s decisive role in the stability and the
developments of the region.

Armenia starts construction of gas pipeline from Iran

Agency WPS
The Russian Oil and Gas Report (Russia)
March 16, 2005, Wednesday

ARMENIA STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF GAS PIPELINE FROM IRAN

Armrosgazprom (a joint venture of Gazprom and the government of
Armenia) plans to start construction of the Armenian extension of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline in a month. On March 11, head of the
company Karen Karapetyan reported that the company had to change the
initial project a little, for example, making provisions for “some
objects” along the route. According to Karapetyan, by the end of
March the Iranian party will present the final financial calculations
to Armenia and will approve the new project.

The main contract for construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
was signed in May 2004. Construction of the pipeline between Armenia
and Iran should be completed by January 1, 2007. In the first stage
Iran should supply 1.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to
Armenia and starting from 2019 it should supply 2.3 billion cubic
meters annually. The contract was signed for 20 years. The project is
estimated at $200-250 million. Its first phase includes construction
of 100 kilometers of pipeline on Iranian territory and 41 kilometers
on Armenian territory (Megri-Kadzharan), which will enable Armenia to
receive 1.5 million cubic meters of gas per day. The second phase
includes construction of the Kadzharan-Sisian-Dzhermuk-Ararat
extension. Armrosgazprom and several foreign companies united into a
consortium are going to participate in construction of this
extension. Negotiations are nearing completion and very soon the
Armenian government will name the contractor for construction of the
second extension of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.

In early March, Armrosgaz was named the winner of the tender for
construction of the Megri-Kadzharan extension. The Iranian company
Sanir, project contractor, already completed preparation of the
technical project, geological and mapmaking documentation. Sanir will
also supply pipes and equipment. According to Karapetyan, use of the
gas pipeline for transit purposes is not planned and the scheme “gas
in exchange for electricity” will enable Armenia to cover its
domestic needs.

Source: Vremya Novostey, March 14, 2005

Sunshine Week: Worldwide, Nations Use U.S. As Model for FOI Laws

Editor & Publisher
Monday, March 14, 2005

Sunshine Week: Worldwide, Nations Use U.S. As Model for FOI Laws

Published: March 14, 2005 11:30 AM ET

(AP) More than 50 countries have adopted laws facilitating access to
government records and information, according to a comprehensive survey
released last May.

Laws vary from country to country in their breadth, adequacy, and
effectiveness, since exemptions and poor implementation can badly harm their
usefulness. While most freedom of information laws have resulted in
increased openness, some nations impose tight access restrictions.

Guarantees to freedom of information have existed for hundreds of years. The
world’s first information access law was Sweden’s Freedom of the Press Act
in 1766, and France’s 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man said individuals
had the right to obtain information about the budget.

More than half of the current laws have been approved in the last decade, as
a result of increased international, economic, and societal pressures to
increase transparency in government. According to the Freedominfo.org Global
Survey, many countries have modeled their freedom of information laws after
those of the United States, Australia, and Canada.

Some highlights of the FOI laws in those countries and a list of other
nations with such legislation:

United States

– Freedom of Information Act enacted in 1966 and implemented in 1967;
amended in 1996 by the Electronic Freedom of Information Act.

– Any person or organization, regardless of citizenship or country of
origin, may request records held by agencies of the federal government.
Requests to Congress, the courts, the president’s immediate White House
staff, and the National Security Council are excluded. Agencies are required
to respond in 20 working days.

– More than 3.2 million FOIA/Privacy Act requests were received by all
federal entities in fiscal year 2003, an increase of nearly 36 percent from
the previous year, and the greatest one-year increase ever.

Australia

– Freedom of Information Act 1982 established rights of access to materials
held by Commonwealth agencies. Agencies must respond within 30 days.

– 42,627 FOI access requests were received between July 2003 and last June,
a 2.8 percent increase over the prior year. Through June, more than 685,000
access requests had been submitted since the act’s implementation.

– The Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 affords individuals the
right to request personal records held by private entities.

Canada

– 1983 Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, a companion law.
Amended by the Terrorism Act in November 2001.

– Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and corporations can request and
obtain materials held by government entities. Individuals can access and
correct personal records held by federal agencies. Institution must reply in
15 days.

– Almost 23,000 ATIA and nearly 38,000 Privacy Act requests were received in
2002-03.

Other nations with freedom of information laws

Albania (enacted 1999); Armenia (2003); Austria (1987); Belgium (1994);
Belize (1994); Bosnia and Herzegovina (2000; Republika Srpska, 2001);
Bulgaria (2000); Colombia (1888, 1985); Croatia (2003); Czech Republic
(1999); Denmark (1865, 1964); Estonia (2000); Finland (1951); France (1978);
Georgia (1999); Greece (1999); Hungary (1992); Iceland (1996); India (2003);
Ireland (1997); Israel (1998); Italy (1990); Jamaica (2002); Japan (1999);
Kosovo (2003); Latvia (1998); Liechtenstein (1999); Lithuania (2000); Mexico
(2002); Moldova (2000); Netherlands (1978); New Zealand (1982); Norway
(1970); Pakistan (2002); Panama (2002); Peru(2002); Poland (2001); Portugal
(1993); Romania (2001); Slovakia (2000); Slovenia (2003); South Africa
(2000); South Korea (1996); Spain (1992); Sweden (1766,1949); Tajikistan
(2002); Thailand (1997); Turkey (2003); Trinidad and Tobago (1999); Ukraine
(1992); United Kingdom (2000; Scotland 2002); Uzbekistan (2002); Zimbabwe
(2002).

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TBILISI: Saakashvili Pledges Jobs for Akhalkalaki Residents

Civil Georgia, Georgia
March 14 2005

Saakashvili Pledges Jobs for Akhalkalaki Residents after Russian Base
Withdrawal

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on March 14 that those
local residents of Akhalkalaki who are currently employed at the
Russian military bases stationed there will not remain unemployed
after Russia pulls out its troops from Georgia.

`After the pullout of the Russian military bases from Georgia, we
will help all the employees, including local residents of
Akhalkalaki, to get jobs in the Georgian armed forces. Not a single
high-skilled person will remain unemployed,’ Saakashvili said while
visiting the 11th Battalion of the Defense Ministry deployed in a
town of Telavi in eastern Georgia.

The Georgian President also reiterated that no troops of any foreign
country will be deployed in Georgia after Russia closes down its
bases.

On March 13, hundreds of local residents in Akhalkalaki, a town in
Georgia’s south-western region of Samtskhe-Javakheti which is
predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, rallied in protest of
the withdrawal of the Russian military base stationed in that town.

BAKU: President in Saudi Arabia

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 10 2005

President in Saudi Arabia

Baku, March 9, AssA-Irada

The meeting of President Ilham Aliyev, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on
Tuesday, and this country’s Foreign Minister Amir Saud al-Faisal was
due to the latter’s poor health condition.

On Wednesday, President Aliyev gave interviews to the “Ar-Riyadh”
newspaper and the Saudi state television. He also met with chairman
of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ishan al-Yamani and
Saudi business people to discuss economic, industrial and trade
relations between the two countries.

President Aliyev expressed his satisfaction with the position of
Saudi Arabia on the Upper Garabagh conflict, emphasizing that Riyadh
refused to establish any relations with Armenia, including diplomatic
ties.

Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia signed agreements on allocation of a $18
million loan to finance the Valvalachay-Tahtakorpu canal construction
project and on mutual protection and encouragement of investments.
Afterwards, Aliyev left Riyadh for Jeddah, west Saudi Arabia, to
visit the holy city of Mecca.

On Thursday, President Aliyev is scheduled to meet with Secretary
General of the Islamic Conference Organization Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
and the Islamic Development Bank President Ahmed Mohamed Ali.

Aliyev will also visit Medina to pay tribute to Prophet Muhammad. He
will wrap up his official visit to Saudi Arabia late on the same day.

President Aliyev met with Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and
Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud on Tuesday. Aliyev presented
the Saudi King and Prince with Azerbaijan’s highest award, the
Istiglal (“Independence) Order. The Saudi King, in turn, presented to
the Azerbaijani President his country’s highest award, the Order of
King Abdulaziz.

The parties exchanged views on developing relations between the two
countries. President Aliyev’s private meeting with the Saudi King and
Prince was followed by an open meeting attended by delegations of the
two countries.*