Author: Tambiyan Samvel

TURKEY STRUGGLING MIGHTILY WITH FREEDOM
By Howard Eisenstat

Topeka Capital Journal (subscription), KS
Nov 3 2006

At first glance it might seem that the Turkish government under Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan, once so determined to join the European
Union (EU), has had a change of heart. With an overwhelming majority
in Parliament, Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AK) Party pushed
through a series of liberalizing reforms early in its administration
that went far beyond those contemplated by previous governments.

Taken as a whole, they seemed to promise a new, more democratic and
pluralistic country. In those heady days in 2003 and 2004, it seemed
that Turkey was poised to achieve its long-term goal of membership in
the European Union and — given Erdogan’s moderate Islamist base —
a potential place of leadership for reforms within the Muslim world,
as well.

For the past year or two, however, such hopes have seemed increasingly
Pollyannaish as reforms have stumbled. Most dramatically, a steady
stream of Turkey’s most prominent intellectuals, journalists and
authors have been brought to trial under infamous "Article 301" of
the Criminal Code, which makes it a criminal offense, punishable by
as many as three years in prison, to "denigrate Turkishness." Should
a citizen be found guilty of doing so while abroad, the time served
may be increased by one-third.

The result has been a serious blow to Turkey’s reputation. The
international stature of many of the accused has ensured widespread
media coverage of the trials and a steady decline in national stature
abroad. For example, Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s most celebrated novelist
and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, was brought to
trial in 2005 for saying "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians
were killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it." The
case against Pamuk was eventually dropped, but new cases are brought
up on a regular basis. No intellectual can write confidently on the
wide range of issues that considered "hassas konular," or "sensitive
issues," without the fear of possible prosecution. These issues range
from the role of minorities in history and society to the rights
of conscientious objectors. Turkish democratization – and Turkey’s
international reputation — are dying from a thousand small blows.

In fact, this public embarrassment appears to be part of a concerted
effort by members of the old elite within the bureaucracy and military
and their allies to sabotage both the Erdogan government and Turkey’s
European aspirations. The liberalization promised by the Erdogan
government — and demanded by the EU — placed elements of the old
elite in a dilemma. Many in the bureaucracy — and particularly within
the military — believe it is their right and duty to shepherd Turkey
toward modernization. Elected officials are seen as too corrupt, the
populace as too ignorant and fickle to be trusted with stewardship of
the nation. When legal limitations are insufficient for maintaining
control, a murky system of patronage, strong-arm tactics and outright
violence that the Turks refer to as the "Deep State" can be relied
on to keep both politicians and ordinary citizens in line. The
liberalization demanded by the EU and the reforms implemented early
on by the Erdogan government all seemed to threaten this monopoly on
real power.

Thus early reforms went only half way. Though many were courageous,
there were significant concessions to the powerful old guard. Since
then, the enemies of liberalization have been busy, exploiting these
weaknesses. They play on nationalist sentiment, giving ammunition
to enemies of Turkey’s bid to membership in the EU and making the
government look far weaker than its strong majority in Parliament
would suggest.

Article 301 has become a weapon for Turkey’s most retrograde
elements: a weapon against the government, against Turkey’s EU
ambitions, against further reforms and against the burgeoning civil
society. If recent media reports are correct, the Erdogan government
is considering addressing the question of Article 301 again in the
near future. Government officials need to do so quickly. And this
time, they need to avoid the half-measures that have burdened them
so far. This time, they need to cut out the root and branch, the
anti-democratic language that Article 301 represents.

Howard Eissenstat teaches Middle Eastern History at Seton Hall
University in New Jersey and is a Turkey Country Specialist with
Amnesty International USA. Founded in 1961, Amnesty International
is a Nobel Prize winning grassroots activist organization with over
one-million members world wide —

10306/opi_eisenstat.shtml

PROSECUTOR’S ALLIES SET TO STEER CLEAR OF 2007 VOTE
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Nov 1 2006

A recently formed political party widely linked with Prosecutor-General
Aghvan Hovsepian signaled on Wednesday its intention not to contest
next year’s parliamentary elections, in a surprise move that will spark
speculation about far-reaching deals cut within Armenia’s leadership.

The governing board of Association for Armenia party is scheduled
to meet on Thursday to discuss the issue. One of its top leaders,
parliament deputy Vahram Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL that he will push
for the party’s pullout from the unfolding parliamentary race.

The party, which claims to have about 40,000 members, said as
recently as last summer that it intends to make a strong showing in
the elections. Levon Khachatrian, another Association for Armenia
leader close to Hovsepian, claimed that it can win them and form the
next government.

"We have no goal to win a majority [in parliament] and things
like that," countered Baghdasarian. He made the point that the only
"realistic" way of winning elections in Armenia is massive vote buying
and that he is categorically against resorting to that.

"Everyone sees what kind of mechanisms exist for winning votes,"
said Baghdasarian. "We have to decide whether we will use those
mechanisms. In a country having social problems, it is obvious how
votes are won."

"We have spoiled our people, our voters. I don’t deny that," he added.

The remarks followed a weekend local election in Yerevan’s Ajapnyak
district that were easily won by Hovsepian’s brother Ruben. The
victory is widely seen as the result of a deal cut between the
influential prosecutor and the governing Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK) that unexpectedly decided not to field a candidate for the post
of Ajapnyak mayor.

Baghdasarian denied that the Association for Armenia’s likely refusal
to participate in the parliamentary elections is part of a deal cut
with the HHK’s unofficial leader, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian,
or President Robert Kocharian. He made it clear that his party
will have candidates in some of the country’s 41-single mandate
constituencies. The remaining 90 seats in the Armenian parliament
will be distributed on the party list basis.

Although Hovsepian has repeatedly denied any connection with the
Association for Armenia, he is widely believed to have been behind
its launch earlier this year. The development highlighted his growing
political ambitions, with some commentators suggesting that he is
one of Kocharian’s potential successors.

RA CITIZENS ARRESTED WITH ACCUSATION OF VIOLATING GEORGIAN BORDER RELEASED

Noyan Tapan
Nov 01 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. All RA citizens arrested with
the accusation of violating Russian-Georgian border were released
thanks to the efforts of RA Foreign Ministry. NT correspondent was
informed about it by Vladimir Karapetian, Acting Spokesperson of RA
Foreign Ministry. He did not clarify the details. To recap, several
dozens of RA citizens were arrested two months ago in Georgia with
the accusation of violating Russian-Georgian border, for which a
fine of about 2 thousand dollars is established by Georgian Criminal
Code’s Article 334, part 2 and imprisonment of 3-5 years is determined
for its recurrence. In the given case, RA citizens entered Abkhazia
and South Ossetia from Russia. The "circumstantial evidence" was the
seal on entrance and departure in their passports, which was evidence
of visits to the above mentioned territories and became a basis for
Georgian law enforcement bodies to arrest RA citizens.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "ROLE OF POLICY OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS WITH OPEN CODE IN DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION SOCIETY" TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. International conference "Role
of Policy of Computer Programs with Open Code in Development of
Information Society" will be held from October 31 to November 1 in
Yerevan. The conference is organized by Internews’ Information Right
and Policy Center, Institute of Open Society and Bulgarian Internet
Society organization ( and ). As Noyan
Tapan was informed from Internews Armenian office, the main goal of the
conference is to acquaint representatives of the Armenian government,
representatives of the civil society and production of information
technologies with application of computer programs with open code and
policy of this sphere. Experts of the sphere from Armenia, Russia,
Bulgaria, Macedonia, Tadzhikistan have been invited to the conference.

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

RUSSIAN VTB MAY PURCHASE 30% OF VTB BANK (ARMENIA)

YEREVAN, October 27. /ARKA/. The Russian Vneshtorgbank does not rule
out the possibility of purchasing 30% of shares of the Bank VTB
Armenia, VTB Senior Vice-President Vasily Titov told reporters. "We
are considering the proposal of the owner of the 30% of the VTB
(Armenia) shares for the sale of his shares to us," he said.
According to Titov, the evaluation process is under way. "I am sure
that we will reach an agreement on the term and prices," he said.
As a result, the VTB will be the holder of 100% of shares of the VTB
Bank Armenia.
On September 8, 2001, the RA Government made a decision on the
privatization of the Armsavingsbank by means of a direct sale to the
ARCH Limited consortium (Bahamas) and ÌIKA Armenia Trading.
Early in 2003, the stock was transferred to the ÌIKA Armenia Trading,
and in March 2004, in Yerevan, a contract was signed for the purchase
of 70% of the "Armsavingsbank" shares by the Russian VTB.
The authorized capital of the "VTB Bank Armenia" CJSC is currently
7,526.2mln, assets AMD 14.7bln or $109.4mln (on September 30, 2006),
total capital AMD 9.1bln ($23.9mln). In January-September 2006, the
bank’s profit amounted to AMD 493.4mln ($1.3mln), and the balance
profit AMD 1.2bln ($3.1mln).
The VTB Bank Armenia is among the leaders as to the main indicators.
Specifically, it has the 4th largest assets, 5th largest volume of
individual crediting, 2nd largest volume of crediting legal entities,
3rd largest volume of funds attracted from clients and the amount of
individual fixed deposits, 2nd largest amount of individual call
deposits. As regards the total capital, the bank has the 4th largest
capital, and the 2nd largest authorized capital.($1 – AMD 379.84).
P.T. –0–

AZG Armenian Daily #205, 27/10/2006

Exhibition

`THE ARMENIAN ART OF 20TH CENTURY’ TO LAUNCH AT TRETYAKOV GALLERY

New exhibition entitled "The Armenian Art of 20th Century" will
officially launch at the Tretyakov State Gallery on October 27 within
the frameworks of the arrangements of Armenia’s Year in Russia. The
exhibition will present the works from the collection of the Tretyakov
State Gallery.

The Armenian Embassy in Russia informed that the paintings and
sculptures by the most prominent Armenian artists of the second half
of the 20th century will be included in the exhibition, i.e. about 50
pieces. In particular, there will be displayed art works by Martiros
Sarian (1880-1972), created in Yerevan in 1930s and 1960s. Besides,
the exhibition will include pieces by his favorite student Minas
Avetisian (1920-1975), who revived the traditions of the national art,
continued the development of decorative art.

The exhibition will represent the works by the classical Armenian
artists M. Abeghian (1909-1994), O. Karalian (1897-1981),
O. Zardarian (1918-1992). The exhibition includes also the works of
other Armenian painters. The sculptures by S. Ghazarian, G.
Frandulian, G. Baghdasarian, Kh. Iskandarian and others will be
exhibited. The collection of the Tretyakov State Gallery rather widely
reflects the development of the Armenian sculpture in the second half
of the 20th century. At present, this collection consists of about 100
works. The paintings and sculptures exhibited have common peculiar
features of Armenian graphic school well known for its coloration,
light, plastics granted by the unique nature of Armenia. The
exhibition will be on till November 26, 2006.

EUROPEAN UNION POSITIVELY ASSESSES PROCESS OF REFORMS IN ARMENIA

BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The 7th sitting of the Armenia-EU
Cooperation Committee took place in Brussels on October 25. The
Armenian delegation headed by the RA Minister of Trade and Economic
Development Karen Chshmaritian was composed of the deputy ministers of
foreign affairs, justice, finance and economy, and energy, and the
Head of the RA Mission in the EU Vigen Chitechian. The European
delegation was headed H. Mingareli, Director of the Directorship
General for Foreign Relations. According to the RA MFA Press and
Information Department, issues related to the European Neighborhood
Policy were discussed at the sitting. The Armenian officials
representing various sectors spoke about the reforms implemented and
to be implemented in these sectors. The EU positively assessed the
process of reforms in Armenia and attached special importance to the
signing of the Action Plan under the European Neighborhood Policy
Program on November 14 and to the further cooperation within the
framework of the program. K. Chshmaritian on October 26 met with David
O’Sullivan, Director of the European Commission’s Directorship General
of Trade. The sides discussed issues related to granting Armenia
status of a free economic zone and market economy, problems of
EU-Armenia trade regime and issues concering the development of
bilateral trade.

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL: "KARS-AKHALKALAK-TBILISI-BAKU FRUITLESS FOR REGION"

Today, Azerbaijan
Oct 25 2006

Construction of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway line is aimed
at restrictive policy and is economically inefficient.

Yuri Petrosian, counselor of Armenia’s embassy in Georgia told APA
bureau he considers restoration of through-Abkhazia railway line
(joining Russia and Armenia) as a pragmatic project.

Petrosian said that Kars-Baku project is political project and planned
to discriminate Armenia and this factor is known to most international
organizations and leading countries.

"The existing Kars-Gumru-Tbilisi railway is not in use. Some
South Caucasian states aspire to construction of an inefficient,
discriminating and useless project. The funds can be used for more
actual projects," he said.

He said that restoration of the railway through Abkhazia to Russia
requires $150-200m and some two years and this project is beneficial
for all parties. This project can Georgia’s transportation expenses
by 30% and ensure Armenia’s way-out to Russia.

URL:

ARMENIA PASSES TO WINTER TIME FROM OCTOBER 29

Noyan Tapan
Oct 25 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the law "On Order of
Calculation of Time in the Territory of Armenia," from October 29,
Armenia passes to winter time: at 03:00 that day the clocks should
be put an hour back. Noyan Tapan was informed about it from the Press
Service of RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development.

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTERS AGREE TO CONTINUE CONSULTATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 24 2006

PARIS, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting of the Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian and the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs took
place in Paris on October 24.

According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, during
the negotiations in a positive atmosphere, the sides continued the
discussion of new ideas and thoughts that the co-chairs proposed at
the Moscow meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
on October 6 of this year. An agreement was reached to continue the
negotiations at the level of foreign ministers in order to clarify the
positions additionally. It is envisaged to hold the next meeting in
Brussels on November 14, 2006, within the framework of the Armenia-EU
Cooperation Council. On the same day V. Oskanian was received by the
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.