Author: Tamamian Anna

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 7 2010

`Genocide’ fatigue: newest hurdle in normalization process

Could this spring be one of discourage-ment, even though the season is
usually associated with feelings of hope?

This seems to be the case among the public in Turkey, as people
overwhelmingly feel exhausted from annually watching a foreign
legislative panel attempting to call their ancestors perpetrators of
genocide against Anatolian Armenians, with whom they lived for
centuries. Whether or not it is scientifically accepted, maybe it is a
kind of a `spring depression’ that could be seen as linked to Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD). Yet, this year’s public anxiety is different
than that of previous years, when similar resolutions recognizing
claims of genocide against Anatolian Armenians under Ottoman rule
during World War I were voted on in various US congressional
committees — thus it can’t be defined as a seasonal disorder.

This year’s irritation stems from the fact that this year, for the
first time, there has been an ongoing process of normalization of ties
with estranged neighbor Armenia — efforts which also include a
framework for contemplating historical facts and facing whatever the
reality was in Anatolia during World War I.

As an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Friday titled `But
Who Needs Allies? Congress poisons US-Turkey relations’ summarized:
`The diplomats at the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday
[Thursday] adopted a view on the urgent matter of world events that
transpired 95 years ago. By a 23-22 margin, the committee declared
that the mass deportations and serial massacres of Armenians by
Ottoman forces during World War I ought to be called a genocide. The
vote has sparked a full-blown diplomatic spat with Turkey — with
Ankara recalling its ambassador to Washington — but that’s really no
big deal, says Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D., Calif.).’

Berman has a point in declaring that the vote’s outcomes are `really
no big deal’ vis-Ã-vis US-Turkey bilateral relations. Yet, `a big
deal’ has apparently emerged regarding the future of the normalization
process between Armenia and Turkey, though Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu stated that Turkey would push on with efforts to
normalize ties with Armenia despite the US vote.

`We are determined to press ahead with the normalization of relations
with Armenia,’ DavutoÄ?lu told a news conference, while also
emphasizing that the parliamentary ratification of the peace accords
with Armenia was at risk, referring to the two protocols signed by
Armenia and Turkey in Zurich on Oct. 10 — the `Protocol on the
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations’ and the `Protocol on the
Development of Bilateral Relations.’

The deals, seen as crucial to obtaining long-term peace in the
volatile Southern Caucasus, must be ratified by the parliaments in
Ankara and Yerevan.

Normalization is a process that will be carried out by a mutual
exchange of views between the two nations, DavutoÄ?lu said, adding,
`Further intervention by third parties will render this normalization
impossible.’

What about April 25?

The fatigue observed among the public is best summed up with commonly
encountered expressions — the people are saying: `OK, what is the
point? Let them pass this resolution so we can get rid of this tension
forever.’

These feelings, nonetheless, also carry a tone that hints at a
tendency that victimizes the normalization process as well, since the
feeling of US pressure on Turkey is acceptable neither for the public
nor the government.

Leaving aside what Armenia has or hasn’t done to advance the
normalization process, and given that the current issue seems to be an
urgent bilateral matter between Ankara and Washington, it may be
useful to examine what Turkey and the United States have and have not
done, or what they have been promising to do or not do.

Despite a strong expression of commitment from Ankara, it is still
unclear how the normalization process can be dealt with under these
circumstances, when Ankara will apparently have to exhaust much of its
energy — at least until April 24 — on preventing US President Barack
Obama from calling the Anatolian Armenians’ killings `genocide’ in an
annual White House statement on the day marking Armenian remembrance.
Ankara will also have to mount a significant campaign to keep the
resolution from being brought to the House floor for a vote.

As for April 25, Ankara hasn’t given any clues about its plans for
moving forward with the normalization process if both a resolution on
the House floor and Obama’s use of the g-word are avoided. The
normalization process has already been crippled by Turkey’s insistence
on parallel progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as by a ruling by the Armenian
Constitutional Court. In January, while upholding the legality of the
protocols, the court underlined that they could not contradict
Yerevan’s official position that the alleged Armenian genocide must be
internationally recognized.

Now, Turkey is expecting a written document or assurance either by
Armenia or a third party that would be acceptable to both Armenian and
Turkish sides that would state that the protocols are valid.

The fact that neither the US nor Switzerland — which mediated
closed-door talks between Armenia and Turkey that were held for more
than a year on ways to restore diplomatic relations and open their
mutual border before the two parties announced on April 22, 2009 that
they had reached an agreement on a road map to normalize their
relations — are sympathetic to Ankara’s demand for such assurance
poses further ambiguity regarding the future of the process.

And hypothetically assuming that such assurance is provided, how will
Ankara fulfill its promise to push for the ratification of the
protocols at the commission level when there is no improvement on the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue?

US `awareness’

It would be naïve to believe that the US administration really
reckoned that a last minute effort would be effective on the House
committee members.

While making clear that the Obama administration was against the
resolution and noting that they called Berman on Wednesday to try to
persuade him to shelve the vote, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said on Thursday: `We think that [the protocols] is the appropriate
way to manage the problems that have stood in the way of normalization
between the two countries. Within the protocols, there was an
agreed-upon approach to establishing a historical commission to look
at events in the past.’

The `Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations’ says the two
countries have agreed to `implement a dialogue on the historical
dimension with the aim of restoring mutual confidence between the two
nations, including an impartial scientific examination of historical
records and archives to define existing problems and formulate
recommendations.’

That brings to mind another question: Wasn’t the US administration
aware of the content of the protocols when they let the US
congressional committee go ahead with their plans since Berman first
announced on Feb. 5 that he intended to call a committee vote on the
non-binding resolution on March 4?

It’s hard to believe how the US administration failed to consider that
the adoption of the vote would be seen as pressure on Turkey — both
on the public and the government — over ratifying the protocols.

This is not the first time that hopes for a long-awaited new spring
coming to Turkey, this time freshened up by the normalization process,
have been crushed.

Back in October 2005, an Ä°stanbul court’s conviction of
Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink for insulting `Turkishness’ —
a conviction which indirectly led to his assassination in January 2007
— led to the same kind of feelings.

Tens of thousands of people marched during his funeral with tears.
Those thousands and more in Turkey now need to be persuaded that
Dink’s death will not be forgotten and that Turkey must continue its
efforts to not let this country turn into a wasteland. Otherwise,
bitterness among the public might yet turn into dangerous indifference
to ties with their Armenian siblings.

07 March 2010, Sunday

U.S. State Department reaches understanding with Congress over
Genocide resolution

06.03.2010 12:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Secretary of State made it clear that any
further congressional action will impede the normalization process
between Turkey and Armenia. `We continue to believe that the best way
for Turkey and Armenia is to address their shared past through their
ongoing effort to normalize relations,’ Philip J. Crowley, Assistant
Secretary of State said at the briefing, commenting the decision of
the U.S. State Department Committee on Foreign Affairs to adopt the
Armenian Genocide resolution 252.

‘The Secretary has talked to Hill officials and other officials. I
think they understand our position,’ he said.

Answering the question whether the State Department officials or
Administration officials were making clear to people on the Hill that
they didn’t want this to proceed for the last few weeks, Philip J.
Crowley particularly said,
`This is not an issue that has snuck up on anybody. This is an issue
that we’ve gone through a number of times in the past. The Secretary
made clear in a conversation with Chairman Berman earlier this week,
but other officials have been talking to congressional staff for some
time on this’. According to Philip J. Crowley, they have an
understanding with congressional leaders on this issue, but Congress
has a right to take action with its own body as it sees fit.

‘We have made clear to them the risk. I think in the statements that
various members made before the vote – I think they understood fully
that their – the risk of this vote and the impact it was going to have
in both political circles and in popular circles, particularly in
these two countries, ‘ the Assistant Secretary of State stressed.

`We continue to press Turkey and Armenia to move ahead with the
ratification of the protocols. We understand that this is difficult.
We understand that these issues evoke very strong emotional reactions
within both populations. That said, we think it is in everyone’s
interest to see this process continue to move forward, and we will
continue to press this case with these countries,’ Philip J. Crowley
concluded.

On March 4, US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passed a resolution
recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The resolution
was passed by a vote of 23-22.

The resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide
(H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich
(R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill) in 2009.
It currently has 137 co-sponsors.

news.am, Armenia
March 5 2010

Armen Rustamyan: Armenians are right

14:10 / 03/05/2010 The approval of the Armenian Genocide resolution by
the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs is the Armenian lobby’s
great achievement, which, however, is the result of greater efforts
this year as compared to the previous years, Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, RA Parliament, Executive Council member, Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) (ARFD), Armen Rustamyan told
a press conference.

He stressed that the Armenian-Turkish negotiations and relevant
protocols complicated Armenian lobbyists’ task. `Striking evidence
thereof was the speeches made by the Congressmen that referred to the
Armenian-Turkish negotiations as a major argument against the
resolution. Many of them even quoted Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan, who said that Yerevan would greatly benefit from the
approval of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, and the Congressmen were
justifying their refusal to vote for the resolution by their
unwillingness to cause any damage to, first of all, Armenia’s
interests,’ Rustamyan said. He pointed out that several months ago the
ARFD warned about a negative impact the Armenian-Turkish protocols
could have on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
He stressed that the lobbyists had to exert tremendous efforts to
ensure at least one vote more in favor of the resolution. `The
majority was ensured at the last moment, and only those who did it
know the cost,’ Rustamyan said. He stressed that the Armenian lobby’s
positions were very strong until Turkish delegations arrived in
Washington.

Rustamyan said that the Turkish delegations `worked hard,’ being well
prepared and consulting each businessman. `But I must say that the
Armenian delegation’s arrival in Washington at the last moment has a
positive effect on the atmosphere at the Committee and cheered up the
proponents of the resolution,’ Rustamyan said. He stressed that the
work aimed at getting the Armenian Genocide internationally recognized
will be more effective if not only Hay Dat (Armenian Cause) offices,
but also the Armenian State deals with the problem. `One thing is when
only one party conducts negotiations, which makes the impression that
it is only Dashnaktsutyun that is concerned with this, another thing
is when consultations are held in cooperation with Armenian officials.
In the latter case, the international community will realize the issue
is of state importance for Armenia,’ Rustamyan.

Speaking of the voting, Rustamyan said that the 23 Congressmen that
voted for the resolution did so listening to the voice of conscience.
He stated that the approval of the resolution has been the first
success in the process of international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide since the Armenian-Turkish protocols were signed, as well as
against the recent `lull’ in the process. Rustamyan stressed that the
Armenian side’s success should show Ankara that, despite all its
efforts, the struggle for the international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide will go on. `Even if Ankara consolidated its
positions after signing the Armenian-Turkish protocols, the Armenians
are right, which makes us strong,’ Rustamyan said. In this context he
pointed out the necessity for getting prepared for vote at the U.S.
Congress. He pointed out that the ARFD will go on contributing to
progress in this matter. `If Armenian organizations, ARF and official
Yerevan marshal their efforts, we can achieve success,’ Rustamyan
said.

T.P.

Politico
March 5 2010

Who dropped the ball on Armenia resolution?

Did the administration drop the ball on the Armenia genocide
resolution? The non-binding resolution calling the killing of up to a
1.5 million Armenians in 1915 Ottoman Turkey genocide, narrowly passed
the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday in a vote of 23-22,
Marin Cogan reported, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador to
Washington for consultations.

Hill staffers and Democratic foreign policy hands say neither the
White House nor State tried to stop Rep. Howard Berman (D-Cal.),
chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, from proceeding with
the committee mark-up of the nonbinding resolution until the night
before it was scheduled. This though Berman had publicly announced the
intention to schedule the mark-up over a month before. Committee aides
"said there had been no pressure against the resolution from the White
House," the AP reported last month.

Berman `announced way in advance he was’ scheduling this, one
Washington Democratic foreign policy hand said. `They are basically
asking `Please stop me.’ And they did not hear a word from the
administration, I am being told,’ until the night before.

Clinton called Berman Wednesday night from Latin America, State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday.

`And in that conversation, she indicated that further congressional
action could impede progress on normalization of relations,’ between
Armenia and Turkey, Crowley said. `I think the President also spoke
yesterday with [Turkish] President Gul and expressed appreciation for
his and Prime Minister Erdogan’s efforts to normalize relations
between Turkey and Armenia. And in that call, I think he continued to
press for rapid ratification of the protocols that have been worked
out between the two countries.’

`We are concerned that possible action that Congress would take would
impede the positive momentum that we see in the Turkey-Armenia
normalization process,’ Crowley said. `We’ve made that position clear
to Chairman Berman, and we’ll see what Congress does as a result.’

But the Democratic foreign policy hand said the Wednesday night
efforts were too late. Berman is `a politician. If he folds then, he
looks like a poodle.’

`My impression is that State weighed in [Wednesday] but that with the
Armenia resolution, as with all other things, White House/NSC
legislative affairs was completely asleep at the wheel,’ one Hill
staffer said. `Consequently the White House `discovered’ the problem
yesterday when call slips started finding their way to higher-ups.’

`As best I can tell, with regard to foreign policy, both White
House/NSC legislative affairs shops could shut down entirely and no
one would even notice,’ the staffer added.

The episode demonstrates the need for beefing up the NSC legislative
affairs shop, the Democratic sources said. The Democratic foreign
policy hand said it was his understanding that the NSC legislative
affairs shop in place during the Clinton administration had basically
been done away with during the George W. Bush administration, and
hadn’t been fully restaffed in the Obama NSC. Two lieutenant colonels,
including John Beaver, and a civil servant are currently fulfilling
the role in the Obama NSC. But "they’ve been under-staffed for ages
thanks to the set-up they inherited from the Bushies … that left NSC
resource-poor," a second Hill staffer said.

The Armenia genocide issue crosses domestic politics and foreign
policy lines, as a largely domestic political issue for the Armenian
American community, while a sensitive foreign policy/diplomatic issue
for Ankara.

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. John
Boozman (R.-Ark.) asked Clinton whether U.S.-Turkey relations would be
impacted by the forthcoming Armenia genocide resolution markup. And
while Clinton suggested it was for the "Armenian and Turkish people
themselves to address the facts of their past," she did not seem to
raise the alarm over the forthcoming resolution.

Hill sources said Berman anticipated some demonstration of Turkish
diplomatic pique. In advance of the committee vote, Turkey’s new
ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, who only arrived in Washington
less than a month ago after serving as the well regarded ambassador in
Israel, indicated to one contact that he may or may not be here in
Washington next weekend, depending on how the vote goes — a detail to
which Berman was apprised. (Through a spokesperson, Berman declined to
comment.)

Beyond the Obama administration’s efforts to help advance
reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, the U.S. has turned to
Turkey on a number of other fronts, including Afghanistan, Middle East
peace efforts (Turkey mediated an Israel-Syria peace channel before
the Gaza war), and efforts to influence Iran. Turkey is also currently
a member of the UN Security Council, where the U.S. seeks to move a
new resolution on Iran next month.

Administration officials said at this point, the key thing in terms of
mitigating damage to the U.S.-Ankara relationship and efforts to
advance Turkey-Armenia reconcilation would be that there is no further
full Congressional action on the Armenia genocide resolution, e.g.
that it not come up for a vote in Congress.

Posted by Laura Rozen 12:18 PM
ho_dropped_the_ball_on_Armenia_resolution_.html?sh owall

US PRESIDENT OPPOSES "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" DRAFT RESOLUTION

APA
March 4 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Barack Obama administration urged the US Congress to hold
off the "Armenian genocide" draft resolution.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned to Chairman of US House of
Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Howard Berman and told
him that the draft resolution could venture the protocols signed
between Turkey and Armenia, APA quotes CNN Turk.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs holds a meeting in Washington
on Thursday. Turkish parliamentarians are also attending the meeting.

YOUNG IRELAND BEATEN BY ARMENIA

Sky Sports
ort/0,19764,11065_3245811,00.html
March 3 2010

Givens’ men at the foot of qualifying group

Republic of Ireland’s Under 21 side suffered a dismal 2-1 home defeat
at the hands of 10-man Armenia and are stuck at the foot of their
European Championship qualifying group.

Levon Hayrapetyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan both found the net for the
visitors before the break at Tallaght Stadium to complete the double
over Ireland.

Substitute Ian Daly’s 80th-minute strike proved to be nothing more
than scant consolation for the hosts, who had a man advantage for
the final 12 minutes after Masis Voskanyan was sent off for a second
bookable offence.

Don Givens’ side are now three points adrift at the bottom of Group
2 and without a win in their seven games to date.

They are not in qualifier action again until August, when they play
their final home game against Estonia, who lost 2-0 in Georgia earlier
in the day.

Givens made six changes to the side which lost the reverse fixture in
Yerevan 4-1 in November last year, and that meant returns for Everton
full-back Seamus Coleman and skipper Owen Garvan, who were injured
and suspended respectively that night.

Lively In a lively start, Hovannes Goharyan and Sean Scannell traded
efforts on goal, although the game was repeatedly interrupted by
referee Nerijus Dunauskas’ whistle.

Cillian Sheridan and Scannell also threatened as the game approached
the half-hour mark with the Republic pressing, but Darren Dennehy
and Goharyan were both shown yellow cards in quick succession in a
feisty contest.

However, for all Ireland’s pressure, it was the visitors who took the
lead when Hayrapetyan struck 11 minutes before the break, and worse was
to come for the home side six minutes later when Ghazaryan made it 2-0.

Given introduced Daly for Sunderland’s David Meyler at the break and
Sheridan and Alan Judge both went close as the half got under way.

West Ham striker Terry Dixon was handed his chance on his return
to the Under 21s set-up as a 62nd-minute replacement for Scannell,
and Armenia were reduced to 10 men when Voskanyan saw red.

Ireland made their numerical advantage tell within two minutes when
Daly pulled a goal back, but that proved little consolation as Armenia
held out to claim all three points.

RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA ARE NOT SINCERE
Leyla Tagiyeva

news.az
March 3 2010
Azerbaijan

Nizami Jafarov News.Az interviews Nizami Jafarov, chairman of the
Azerbaijani parliament’s culture committee.

How would recognition of the killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
as "genocide" affect the situation in the region? Can the visit
of Azerbaijani deputies to the United States prevent this decision
being taken?

It is necessary to speak out about this danger, but there is no need
for Azerbaijani deputies to visit the United States as the question
of the "Armenian genocide" of 1915 is at issue. These hearings are
not within the competence of Azerbaijani deputies, but I think Murat
Mercan’s committee [the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s foreign
relations committee] should take part in these hearings. But this is
not the only issue. In fact, there is no need to prove the historic
or any other side of the issue to the US Congress. It is necessary
to show political power. I would like to repeat that there is no need
to present scientific proof in Congress as the United States is well
aware of this proof.

Who may influence opinion in the House of Representatives?

We are now facing the Armenian diaspora. Today the Armenian diaspora
urges us to demonstrate our political will to prove that Turks did not
commit genocide in 1915. But instead we should find the mechanisms
through which Armenians manage to present events that occurred a
century ago and understand why the world believes this.

Will Azerbaijan have to review its relations with the United States
if the "Armenian genocide" is recognized in Congress?

No, I think the attitude of the Azerbaijani side to the United
States differs from US-Turkish relations because Azerbaijan, as one
of the republics of the former USSR, is a country that has built
the most appropriate relations with the United States. Meanwhile,
Turkey is a NATO member, which means that relations between Turkey
and the United States are discussed on quite a different level and
in quite a different context. Therefore, Ankara can say that it may
review relations with the United States if the "Armenian genocide"
is recognized. But, the attitude to the United States in Azerbaijan is
different. Our system of relations with the United States differs from
Turkey’s. We have built everything on the necessary level and we are an
independent state. We can discuss this issue with Turkey on the level
of strategic allies without binding relations to the United States.

In other words, recognition of the mythical "Armenian genocide" in
the US Congress will not lead to profound changes in US-Azerbaijani
relations. Any relations between Turkey and the United States have
nothing to do with US-Azerbaijani relations. We are an independent
state and we conduct our own policy.

What can the Azerbaijani parliament do if the "Armenian genocide"
is recognized by the US Congress?

We have already sent appeals to the US Congress. Our relations
connected with history are statistical, that is we have already voiced
our position on this issue.

What do you think of the proposal in the Azerbaijani parliament that
the Turkish parliament would have to recognize the "Khojaly genocide"
if the "Armenian genocide" were recognized in the US Congress?

We have never demanded that the Turkish Grand National Assembly
recognize the Khojaly events as an act of genocide. The essence of our
state policy is that we are responsible for disseminating information
about the Khojaly events in the world. There is no need to demand
recognition of the Khojaly genocide by Turkey. Turkey has a separate
political history and there is a certain limit beyond which it is
clear that Turkey cannot do it [recognize the Khojaly genocide]. In
turn, we should also not insist on this issue.

We wage the political struggle not by making sacrifices to our close,
fraternal country, but by a correlation of powers in the contemporary
world. Certainly, our public in Turkey and Azerbaijan are similar,
we are a single nation, but there are also other states with the same
nation throughout the world.

Would recognition of the "Armenian genocide" in the US Congress
influence the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia?

Relations between Turkey and Armenia are a gesture by Turkey. They are
not sincere. Such relations are seasonal, that is, they pass. Turkey
has made gestures. On the other hand, there is Russia, which maintains
good relations with Turkey. This means that Turkey makes these gestures
within the framework of relations with Russia.

In addition, the United States also puts pressure on Turkey. In turn,
Turkey builds its relations with Syria and Iran within the framework
of this pressure. Relations between Turkey and Georgia have already
been settled and now it is Armenia’s turn. The complication is
that the protocols envisaging the normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations have been a gesture from the very beginning. These gestures
and football diplomacy are put on for the public’s benefit.

What country or political force could be held responsible for
frustrating the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia?

Naturally, the responsibility lies with the United States, Russia and
France. In other words, these countries are responsible not for the
completion of the process of normalization of relations between Turkey
and Armenia, but for the normalization of ties between Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Turkey.

Will this influence resolution of the Karabakh conflict?

Of course, the frustration will have a negative impact on this process,
but we are ready for this. Azerbaijan, as a state, society and nation,
is ready for this. Azerbaijan does not fear that the Karabakh conflict
will not be settled today or tomorrow. The situation will be settled
in Azerbaijan’s favour, sooner or later.

Nizami Jafarov is chairman of the Milli Majlis culture committee,
head of the Azerbaijan-Turkey interparliamentary working group, head
of the Ataturk Centre and a correspondent member of the Azerbaijan
National Academy of Sciences.

URUGUAY READY FOR MULTILATERAL COLLABORATION WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2010 19:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Monday, March 1 Armenian Ambassador to Argentina
and Uruguay Vladimir Karmirshalyan participated in inauguration of
Uruguay President Jose Mujica and Vice President Danilo Astori.

Following inauguration, on March 2, Karmirshalyan was invited to
attend the reception organized on the occasion of Tourism and Sports
Minister and Vice Minister, Hector Lescano and Lilian Keshishyan’s
assumption of office.

Upon completion of the event, Karmirshalyan had a conversation with
Uruguayan President and Vice President. Uruguay authorities expressed
readiness to intensify multilateral collaboration with Armenia,
RA Foreign Ministry press service reported.

RUSSIA-GEORGIA CROSSING RE-OPENS

Al-Jazeera
news/europe/2010/03/201031124943879961.html
March 1 2010
Qatar

Georgia and Russia have re-opened their only usable land border
crossing for traffic and trade for the first time in four years.

The border post, in the Caucasus town of Kazbegi in Georgia, opened
to traffic on Monday at 7am (0300GMT) after a brief, pre-dawn ceremony.

"The Daryal checkpoint, which was closed for several years, had been
officially opened today," Georgy Gegechkori, a local police chief,
told reporters.

The crossing runs through a narrow pass in the Caucasus mountains,
about 170km from Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

It was closed in 2006 after tensions between Russia and Georgia
escalated in a situation that eventually led to a five-day war in 2008.

Tensions between the two sides reached a flashpoint in August 2008,
when Russian forces poured into Georgia to repel a Georgian military
attempt to retake South Ossetia, which had received extensive backing
from Moscow for years.

Russia later mostly withdrew to within South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
which Moscow recognised as independent states in August 2008.

‘No warming ties’

The crossing is the only land border point that does not go through
South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

But Nino Kalandadze, Georgia’s deputy foreign minister, said the move
"does not mean [a] warming" in ties with Moscow.

"The opening of the crossing will not have significant economic
or political consequences for Georgia," the AFP news agency quoted
Kalandadze as saying.

"But it is a positive fact that the differences between Georgia and
Russia did not impede the opening."

He said Georgia’s consent to the re-opening was "motivated exclusively
by our will to give a helping hand to our neighbour Armenia".

The closing of the crossing dealt a heavy blow to Armenia, which
relied on the crossing as its only overland route to Russia, the
country’s key economic partner.

TURKISH-AMERICAN GROUPS PROTEST CBS GENOCIDE BROADCAST

2010/03/ 01 | 16:26

world

In response to the CBS 60 Minutes broadcast of "Battle Over History",
a program that delved into the history of the 1915 Genocide, two
Turkish organizations have sent protest letters to CBS executives.

The Federation of Turkish-American Associations and the Assembly of
Turkish-American Associations have also launched a letter writing
and e-mail campaign to display their displeasure with the CBS program
that featured Peter Balakian on a visit to Deir ez-Zor, the last stop
for thousands of Armenians on forced death marches, described in the
piece as ‘the biggest Armenian graveyard".