Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

OBAMA AVOIDS CONCRETE COMMENTS ON ARMENIAN ISSUE AND THE PKK

BIA
glish/113653/obama-vague-on-armenian-issue-and-the -pkk
April 7 2009
Turkey

US president meets president Gul and addresses the parliament. He
avoids making concrete statements on recognizing Armenian genocide
claims and support on fighting Kurdish rebels; praises Turkey-US
relations as a model of alliance.

US President Barack Obama has met President Abdullah Gul and addressed
the General Assembly in Ankara during the first day of his visit to
Turkey. Faced with questions on recognizing Armenian Genocide claims
and aiding the struggle against armed Kurdish rebel group, the PKK,
Obama abstained from making concrete statements.

Among the topics of discussions were the situation in Afghanistan
and the fight against terrorism. Obama, expressed a continued support
for the latter.

PKK and the Kurdish issue Responding to a question during the press
conference, Obama assured the audience that the PKK was regarded as a
"terrorist organization" by the US. He said that their collaboration
with the Turkish administration was showing results, as attacks by
the PKK were in decline. "We discussed with president Gul on how to
further our support."

Armenian issue He said that his views on the Armenian Genocide claims
had not changed, but that he was encouraged by the recent talks between
Turkey and Armenia. In 2008, he had asserted that the events of 1915
amounted to a "genocide". This time, he refrained from using the word
and noted that his aim was to facilitate the ongoing dialogue between
the two peoples.

On the other hand, President Gul voiced the Turkish position and
proposed to leave the discussion to historians. He claimed that both
Muslim Turks and Armenians suffered during the times of war and that
the Turkish administration has opened the archives to anyone willing
to work on them.

"As the problems in the Caucasus are resolved, the dialogue between
Turkey and Armenia will go further" he added.

In parliament During his speech in parliament, Obama referred to recent
reforms in Turkey and demanded a continuing effort of democratization.

He welcomed the Kurdish broadcasts in state television as well as
the abolition of State Security Courts. Nonetheless, he stressed that
further reforms were needed for freedom of expression and freedom of
faith, citing the opening of the seminary in Heybeliada.

The Armenian issue could be discussed in parliament, he told the
MPs. Regarding Cyprus, the Obama stated that both the US and the UN
supported a federation of the two peoples.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama emphasized that they
supported a two-state solution.

The US President said that while Turkey and his country had not always
agreed on everything, the two states were stronger when they acted
together. He said Turkey and the US had to listen to each other and
seek common ground.

Protests Around 500 protesters gathered in Ankara and tried to walk
to parliament, shouting "Yankee go home!". The police intervened and
took 21 people into custody.

Activists criticized Obama’s visit as part of a plan to "subcontract
Turkey" to the wars the US and the NATO are waging in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Obama met with opposition party leaders following his address in
parliament. He is expected to arrive in Istanbul later this evening
(6 April) and to participate in several meetings tomorrow.(EZO/BC/AGU)

OBAMA NAVIGATES GENOCIDE FAULT LINE DURING TURKEY TRIP

SmartBrief
April 6 2009

While U.S. President Barack Obama did not go so far as to use the word
"genocide" on Turkish soil to condemn the systematic destruction of
1.5 million Armenians, he did say he had not changed his position on
the matter. While in Ankara, Obama expressed hope the dialog between
Turkey and Armenia would bear fruit. While speaking before the Turkish
parliament, Obama also expressed his belief Israel and Palestine had
not given up on the goal of a two-state solution. Times (London),
The (04/06) Guardian (London), The (04/06) Reuters (04/06)

IS THE SHUSHI MAYOR ABLE TO NATIONALIZE THE PROPERTY
Nano Arghutyan

LRAGIR.AM
17:46:51 – 06/04/2009

On March 29, the Shushi Mayor elections took place. 2 candidates
were struggling for this office: school director Karen Avagimyan,
whom judging by undercover rumours, supported the authorities, and
director of the Humanitarian technical school Albert Khachatryan, who
has been in the governmental camp for all his life. Karen Avagimyan
won with 5 votes of advantage (779-774).

During the elections, the authorities struggled against the
authorities. In essence, the government has no one else to struggle
against, as there has been no opposition in the Nagorno-Karabakh for
many years. The principle, implemented by the government in the 2007
presidential elections- who is not with us, is a national enemy,
does not work in this case. Here, not the ideological difference
but the personal ambitions play their role. And in this case another
principle functions – you are not with us, move apart.

The bad thing is that such election is held in a city which has not
only a sacral but also a strategical meaning for the Armenians. The
city liberated 17 years ago, goes on living in the post soviet reality:
ruins, poverty, humanitarian help. The government takes up some steps
but they are far to be enough, the only hope is the Diaspora. And
what can the poor Diaspora do? The "Sushi renascence" fund carried
out a TV marathon "Wilhelm-Yerevan-Shushi" and collected 5, 8 million
dollars, and then someone sank into oblivion suddenly. Where this
money disappeared, who leads the fund now, what the fund is engaged
in is unknown. The fund on the restoration of the Real College and
other organizations do not operate either. A number of Armenians,
who are ready to invest money in the city’s reconstruction, meet
the situation when all the destroyed or half destroyed buildings are
privatized by someone and are sold at a fabulous price.

Everyone understands that before starting massive reconstructions
in Shushi, a denationalization of the city property is needed to be
carried out. But, since everything belongs to people who are in power
now, this comes out to be impossible. There is no one to speak about
this because there is no opposition. So, it is not so important who
won in the Shushi Mayor election. Even if we assume that the government
without opposition is engaged self-destruction.

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
April 3, 2009 Friday

US WILL STEP UP ITS EFFORTS FOR RESOLUTION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH
CONFLICT US MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR

Baku April 3

US will step up its efforts to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs,
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, Matthew Bryza told a news conference on the
results of his Azerbaijan trip.

Bryza noted positive changes in the region would help achieve progress
in the conflict resolution.

According to Bryza, discussions here also revolved around
US-Azerbaijan cooperation in the energy and security fields. He
described the Baku meetings as fruitful.

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS, LEADERS REFLECT ON OBAMA’S VISIT TO TURKEY
By Khatchig Mouradian

41131_4/3/2009_1
Friday, April 3, 2009

On April 5, U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive in Turkey, making
it the first Muslim country he visits after taking office. Analysts
say his trip will aim at strengthening ties with Ankara, and point to
the issue of the Armenian Genocide as possibly the most challenging
for the president to deal with during his talks with Turkish officials.

On several occasions during his campaign for president, Obama had
promised to properly recognize the massacres and deportations of the
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, thus angering Turkey,
which continues to vehemently deny that there was any genocidal intent
towards the Armenians in the last years of the empire.

Official Ankara spends millions of dollars in its denial campaign,
which lobbies politicians, entices support from journalists, funds
academic denial efforts, suppresses education efforts on the Armenian
Genocide to the general public in North and South America, Europe,
and the Middle East (Israel especially).

For decades, Turkey has been struggling against resolutions in
parliaments around the world recognizing the genocide. Twenty
countries, including Russia, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands,
Canada, and Argentina, have already recognized the Armenian massacres
and deportations as genocide, citing the overwhelming consensus of
historians and genocide scholars on the subject.

The main battlefield for genocide recognition in recent years has been
the United States, where a majority of Members of Congress support
passing a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. But at least
twice in recent history, voting on such resolutions has been postponed
or put on hold at the last minute.

Armenian intellectuals, scholars, and leaders I interviewed this week
expect Obama to stand firmly behind his convictions during his trip
and to send a clear signal to Turkish officials that while he values
Turkey’s friendship, he will acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in
the president’s annual statement on Armenian Remembrance Day because
truth and good relations need not be mutually exclusive.

Turkish officials, on the other hand, hope that the recent
rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia can be used as a bargaining
chip to keep Obama from speaking the truth. On numerous occasions
in recent months, top Turkish officials have warned the U.S. that
interfering in discussions between Turkey and Armenia and recognizing
the genocide would be detrimental to the budding relations between
Yerevan and Ankara.

"I hope President Obama will impress upon the Turkish leaders the
importance of facing the dark chapters of their history honestly,
their understanding that the United States can recognize the Armenian
Genocide as a historical fact and still remain good friends and
allies with Turkey, and advise them of the undesirability of making
threatening statements against the U.S.," said Harut Sassounian,
one of the most widely read Armenian columnists and the publisher of
the California Courier.

"Furthermore, since President Ronald Reagan signed a Presidential
Proclamation on the Armenian Genocide in 1981, President Obama should
tell the Turks that his April 24 statement would contain nothing new
or earth-shattering. In keeping with his campaign pledge, he would
be simply repeating what has already been acknowledged by a former
president," Sassounian said.

Prominent Armenian American author Peter Balakian asks Obama not to
be intimidated by Ankara. "President Obama is a shrew reader of the
world; I hope he will see that the U.S. does not need to be intimated
by a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world
over the past several decades," he said. "We can only hope he is
able to balance pragmatic politics with ethical integrity. We know
he understands the truth of history," he added.

Garen Yegparian, a columnist for several Armenian American newspapers,
said, "I hope President Obama, on his Turkey visit, sits [Turkish
President] Gul and [Prime Minister] Erdogan down, and says, ‘Listen
guys, this charade has to end. I’m willing to help you out of the
hole your political predecessors have dug for you. I’ll make a good
statement on the Armenian Genocide. You guys raise a hue-and-cry,
act like the sky is falling, and demand a meeting with me. You can
then come to the White House and we’ll figure out how to do things
from then out. This way, we’ll pacify the loudest Armenians, at least
long enough to figure out how to get them on board for a permanent,
mutually acceptable solution. Now, let’s go to your favorite doner
kebab place.’"

"We look to the President, as a man of his word, despite the latest
round of warnings he’ll no doubt hear from the Turkish government, to
maintain his principled support for U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide," said Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian
National Committee of America, a grassroots organization that has
for decades fought for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in
the U.S. and is active nationally in several anti-genocide campaigns.

"The U.S. response to the Armenian Genocide must no longer be dealt
with down at the level of Turkey’s threats, but rather, as the
president has so powerfully articulated, as a matter of fundamental
American values," Hamparian added.

Official Yerevan, although committed to establishing diplomatic
relations with Turkey, also believes that any normalization with Ankara
should not be at the expense of casting doubt on the veracity of the
genocide. Statements to this effect have been made by both Armenian
President Serge Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

"I think Obama decided to visit Turkey so soon in his term to
demonstrate how much the U.S. values Turkey’s friendship, and hence,
he will personally inform the Turkish leadership that the reason he
will reaffirm the official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide
is for Turkey’s own good, and that’s what close friends should do,"
said Giro Manoyan, the political director of the ARF Bureau in
Yerevan. The ARF is a junior partner in Armenia’s governing coalition.

"If President Obama does not use the word ‘genocide’ by this April 24,
then his visit to Turkey would mean adding insult to injury as far as
the Armenian American community is concerned. I think by delivering
what he has time and again committed himself to, he will be helping
the ongoing Armenia-Turkey negotiations, because he will be sending a
clear message to Turkey that it needs to come to terms with its own
history, and based on that establish true neighborly relations with
Armenia," added Manoyan, expressing hope that Obama "does not become
an accomplice in Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide."

TURKOLOGIST ARTAK SHAKARIAN: ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS DO NOT DEPEND EITHER ON ARMENIA OR ON TURKEY

Noyan Tapan
Apr 2, 2009

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian-Turkish relations do not
depend either on Armenia or on Turkey: they are conditioned by a more
global diplomatic game. Turkologist Artak Shakarian expressed such
an opinion at the April 2 press conference adding that at present
the Armenian-Turkish relations are moving towards warming, as it is
beneficial for both the U.S. and Russia.

In A. Shakarian’s opinion, U.S. President Barack Obama in his April 24
speech will not pronounce the word "genocide," but instead will achieve
some mitigations in the Armenian-Turkish relations. The Turkologist
considers improbable complete opening of the Armenian-Turkish border
in the future.

According to A. Shakarian, in its relations with Armenia Turkey
always takes steps "that can be easily liquidated, but instead demands
concessions from Armenia, which are difficult to renounce." "Judging
by the whole history of Turkish diplomacy, the latter will not take
the first step until it is sure of its victory in the issue of April
24," A. Shakarian said.

Speaking about the local self-government elections held lately
in Turkey, he said that they predetermine the results of the 2011
parliamentary elections.

According to A. Shakarian, those elections showed that the Justice and
Development party led by Erdogan has serious problems, which is mainly
connected with the economic crisis. According to him, the Turks showed
that "they blame Erdogan and his party for carrying out bad policy"
in conditions of the crisis.

HAROLD ALBRECHT APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF CANADA-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP

Noyan Tapan
Apr 2, 2009

OTTAWA, APRIL 2, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Harold Albrecht, Member
of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga, has been appointed Chairman of
the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group. Dr. Albrecht is a
Dental Surgeon with many years of community service. A Conservative,
he was recently appointed Deputy Government Whip in the House of
Commons. The previous Chairmen of the Canada-Armenia Parliamentary
Friendship Group were Sarkis Assadourian MP, and Gary Goodyear MP.

JAN POULSEN DISMISSED

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2009 10:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Jan Poulsen was relieved of position of Chief Coach
of the Armenian national team. The decision was taken after a meeting
FFA President Ruben Hayrapetyan held with Mr. Poulsen on March 30.

The Dutch specialist was however offered the post of FFA technical
director.

Vardan Minasyan will act as Chief Coach of the Armenian national team
for a time.

The FFA’s decision to dismiss Poulsen is obviously conditioned by 4
defeats [in 5 matches] the Armenian team suffered in World Cup 2010
qualifying round.

CSTO AGREEMENT ON FORCE AND SECURITY SYSTEM MANAGEMENT COMES INTO EFFECT

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2009 15:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Collective Security Treaty Organization has
enabled the agreement on force and security system management.

"Development and adoption of the agreement are conditioned by the
necessity to resolve a number of problems," said Valery Semerikov,
CSTO Deputy Secretary General. "The tasks are determined by the
CSTO council."

The agreement was developed in compliance with the coalition military
building plan, the CSTO press office reported.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF AUSTRALIA CALLS ON PARLIAMENT TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2009 13:59 GMT+04:00

On behalf of the Armenian community in Australia, the Armenian Rights
Council of Australia thanked the South Australian Parliament’s
Legislative Council for passing a motion recognizing the Armenian
Genocide as "one of the greatest crimes against humanity."

The motion, introduced by the Hon. David Ridgway MLC (Leader of
the Liberal Opposition in Legislative Council) and seconded by the
Hon. Bernard Finnigan (Member of the Labor Government in Legislative
Council) went through unopposed. As a result, the Upper House of
South Australia’s parliament joins the New South Wales parliament in
condemning "the Armenian Genocide and all other acts of genocide".

"Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Australian Federal
Government remains an important objective for the Armenian Rights
Council. Being proud citizens of Australia, the Australian Armenian
community looks forward to the moment when the Australian Parliament
displays the same level of courage and conviction that the SA
Parliament displayed when they joined NSW and officially recognized
the Armenian Genocide," ARCA said in a press release.