AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN ZURICH
APA
Jan 28 2009
Azerbaijan
Baku. Victoria Dementieva-APA. Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign
Ministers met in Zurich yesterday, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s
Press Service told APA.
The meeting covers preparation for the meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents. Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents are expected
to meet in Switzerland today. The meeting will conduct discussions
on the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
2009 CAN MARK TURNING POINT IN TURKEY-ARMENIA TIES: TURKISH FM
Trend News Agency
Jan 28 2009
Azerbaijan
2009 can mark a turning point in Turkey-Armenia relations, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in his interview with CNN Turk
in Davos. "If problems in Turkey-Armenia ties are solved this year,
it will not be surprise for me," Babacan said.
Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 because of Armenia’s
"genocide" claims and occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani lands. Turkish
President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan on September 6, 2008 at the
invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisyan to watch
Armenia-Turkey football match within the European Cup. Efforts have
been made since then to normalize ties between the two countries.
Babacan said the sides should keep their political will to the end
in an effort to normalize relations. Turkey has such a will, he said.
Minister said Armenia also has political will and it must stay
committed to his position.
Babacan said he backs resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem as
soon as possible.
TASK GROUP TO DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO CRIMINAL CODE FORMED AT ARMENIAN NA
ARKA
Jan 26, 2009
YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. Speaker of the RA Parliament Hovik
Abramyan signed a decree last Friday forming a task group to
draft amendments to Articles 225 (Mass unrest) and 300 (Attempted
accroachment of power) of the RA Criminal Code.
The Public Relations Department, RA parliament, reported that
Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Commission for State and
Legal Affairs David Harutyunyan has been appointed Head of the task
group. The group also includes Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing
Commission for Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan, Chairman of the
Standing Commission for European Integration Avet Adonts, as well
as the member of the Standing Commission for Finance, Credit and
Budgetary Affairs Artsruni Aghajanyan.
The task group was instructed to involve the ad hoc commission for the
March 1-2 events, consider the issue of harmonizing the decisional
law standards of the European Court on Human Rights in drafting the
amendments, as well as the principle of legal significance of law. The
Chairman of the task group was instructed to present proposals before
February 19, 2009.
ACCORDING TO SHIRAK TOROSIAN, GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE ADOPTED BERIA’S POLICY
Noyan Tapan
Jan 27, 2009
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Georgian authorities have
adopted Beria’s policy: they arrest Armenian young people to hinder
Javakhk Armenians’ cultural development," Shirak Torosian, a member
of the RA National Assembly RPA faction, the Vice-Chairman of the
Javakhk compatriotic union, stated at the January 27 press conference.
It should be mentioned that residents of Akhaltskha Grigory Minasian
and Sargis Hakobjanian were arrested and then imprisoned with the
accusation of espionage and creating illegal armed groups. G. Minasian
is the Director of Akhaltskha Armenian Youth Center and S. Hakobjanian
the Chairman of the Charles Aznavour charity NGO.
According to S. Torosian, Armenia should respond at the state level
to the actions undertaken by the Georgian authorities. According
to him, an Armenian-Georgian interdepartmental commission should
be made up to attend to solution of problems emerging among the two
peoples. However, as the NA deputy confessed, in the issue of Javakhk
problems Armenia has always been neutral having an apprehension
that the Armenian-Georgian border will be closed in consequence of
aggravation of the relations with the Georgians.
Haykazun Alvrtian, a research officer of Yerevan State University
Armenology Chair, in his turn, doubted that the Armenian authorities
are able to solve the problems of the Georgian Armenians. As to
Georgian authorities’ policy, according to him, the latters have just
decided to behead the active part of the Georgian Armenians. In fact,
as H. Alvrtian concluded, by arresting the Armenian young people the
Georgian authorities wish to criminalize the political problem trying
to "prove" the false accusation on existence of the armed group.
WORKING GROUP SET UP AT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WITH AIM OF DEVELOPING BILL ON AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS IN ARTICLES 225 AND 300 OF RA CRIMINAL CODE
Noyan Tapan
Jan 26, 2009
YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. By the January 23 order of the
speaker of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian, a working group
was set up with the aim of developing a bill on making amendments and
additions to Article 225 (Mass Disorder) and Article 300 (Usurping
State Power) of the RA Criminal Code.
The head of the working group – the chairman of the NA Standing
Committee on State and Legal Issues, head of the Armenian delegation
in the PACE David Harutyunian was instructed to present proposals by
February 19.
The members of the NA Ad Hoc Committee on Inquiry into the March 1-2
Events in Yerevan and Their Reasons will also participate in the work
of the group.
As NT correspondent was informed by the chairman of the ad hoc
committee Samvel Nikoyan, in its conclusion the committee will propose
revising the indicated and some other articles of the Criminal Code
so that "it would be impossible for the prosecution and the accused
to confuse political goals with criminal ones".
ISRAEL MAY RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO SPITE TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.01.2009 12:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Israel formally described this language (Erdogan’s
statement on Gaza) as "unacceptable" and certain Israeli media outlets
have raised the stakes. The Jerusalem Post editorialized that given
Turkey’s record of killing tens of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq,
"we’re not convinced that Turkey has earned the right to lecture
Israelis about human rights."
Israel’s deputy foreign minister was even more pointed, "Erdogan
says that genocide is taking place in Gaza. We [Israel] will then
recognize the Armenian-related events as genocide."
Turkish columnist Barcin Yinanc, shrewdly wrote, "When April comes,
I can imagine the [Turkish] government instructing its Ambassador
to Israel to mobilize the Israeli government to stop the Armenian
initiatives in the U.S. Congress. I can hear some Israelis telling
the Turkish Ambassador to go talk to Hamas to lobby the Congress."
"Then-candidate Barack Obama twice pledged that he would recognize
the Armenian Genocide. But so had candidate George W. Bush eight
years earlier, until he was elected and faced the Turkish/Jewish
lobby. Armenian Americans and their backers are already pressing
Mr. Obama to fulfill his pledge. With the Turkish-Israeli alliance
deeply strained, the position of the leading Jewish organizations is
very much in question this time. Whatever the outcome, be sure that
politics, not genocide, will be the decisive factor," Yinanc wrote.
POLICE CAPTURE TWO ERGENEKON DEATH SQUADS
Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=164816&bolum=100
Jan 22 2009
Turkey
Two assassination teams of Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist
organization nested within state organs and charged with plotting to
overthrow the government, were captured yesterday by the police in
14 provinces throughout the country in raids organized as part of an
investigation into the group.
Twenty police officers and military officers were detained in
yesterday’s operations on charges of being members of two assassination
teams led by Ä°brahim Å~^ahin, a former senior police official who was
the deputy head of the National Police Department’s Special Operations
Unit. Å~^ahin was arrested on Jan. 7.
A wave of detentions on Jan. 7 in the Ergenekon investigation revealed
that the group was planning to assassinate Alevi and Armenian
community leaders, the prime minister and members of the Supreme
Court of Appeals — acts that would have dragged Turkey into chaos
had they been carried out.
The many detentions of special operations officers were tied to
statements from Å~^ahin, reportedly made during his police testimony
following his detention. In his initial testimony, Å~^ahin said
7th Army Commander Gen. Bekir Kalyoncu, currently on active duty,
had assigned him to set up a team of 300 officers to be employed in
a new anti-terrorism department. Kalyoncu also promised that Å~^ahin
would be the undersecretary of the new unit. Å~^ahin claimed he was
working to set up this new structure. He said a document found in his
home during the police search was a list of officers to be chosen for
the special force. The document was titled "S-1" and listed military
officers and police Special Operations Unit members under the age of
30. Analysts believe most of those detained yesterday were individuals
from the list.
Members of the Foundation for Social Rights and Values asked Ergenekon
prosecutors to open some wells in the Southeast alleged to contain
the acid-doused bodies of missing people.
Yesterday’s raids were launched on a warrant issued by Ergenekon
prosecutor Zekeriya Oz on property of individuals affiliated with
a workers’ union and the ART TV network. Authorities began their
search of a house in Ankara’s Beysukent district belonging to Mustafa
Ozbek, the head of metals sector workers’ union Turk Metal, at 7:30
a.m. Ozbek, Turk Metal Deputy Chairman Ferruh Kavlak and Turk Metal
Secretary-General Muharrem Aslıyuce. Union officials Suleyman Erdinc
and Pevrul Kavrat were also detained.
A group of Turk Metal Union members protested the detention of Ozbek
in front of the Ankara Police Department yesterday. Union members,
holding signs, chanted: "We are wherever Ozbek is. Don’t be silent,
you will be next. We are Turkish, we are strong, we are Ataturkists."
Journalist Unal Ä°nanc and Turkmeneli Association President SavaÅ~_
Avcı were detained in İstanbul. Researcher Erhan Göksel, owner of
the Verso Research Company, was also detained yesterday.
Answering reporters’ questions while being taken away by the police for
a health check-up, Göksel said he was not a member of Ergenekon. Ozbek
also made a brief statement in front of the Ankara Police Department,
claiming that the detentions and raids were "unlawful."
A police chief and a police officer were detained in Antalya and
sent to Ä°stanbul to testify as part of the investigation, sources
said. One other person was detained in Bursa.
Other detentions took place in operations in Antalya, Elazıg,
Hakkari, Hatay, Ä°stanbul, Igdır, Isparta, KahramanmaraÅ~_, Siirt,
Å~^ırnak and Tokat. The police also searched the Å~^irinoglu Social
and Strategic Research Center in Ankara
Commenting on his father’s arrest, Ozbek’s son Haydar Ozbek said:
"We are living in a period when being a Turk in Turkey is a crime. I
wouldn’t be surprised if they arrest Nejat Uygur soon," he said,
in an ambiguous comment about a veteran thespian.
Other searches and detentions
Murat Cavdar, a police officer from the Special Operations Unit,
was detained in Tokat. In Isparta, a high-ranking military officer
was detained. Three special operations officers were detained in
KahramanmaraÅ~_. In Bursa, a military officer was detained.
At least 10 people were detained in Ä°stanbul, although the police
did not announce an exact figure.
A gardener who worked for Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez, detained in the
Jan. 7 raids, was taken to the Ä°stanbul Police Department yesterday
to testify. Twelve rifle grenades and 12 booby traps were found.
Meanwhile, President Abdullah Gul yesterday reacted to news stories
about a luncheon he gave for military and government representatives
earlier this week. Some newspapers had claimed that the president,
presidents of high courts and the prime minister had spoken about
the Ergenekon investigation during the luncheon. "Would the judges,
the president and the prime minister violate the law? Would they speak
about an ongoing case?" he asked, speaking to journalists yesterday
during a brief press conference at the Cankaya presidential palace.
–Boundary_(ID_+X+DmaH+g3490G2y0OmeFg)–
ARMENIA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY URGES AZERBAIJAN TO STOP ANTI-ARMENIAN RHETORIC
ARKA
Jan 21, 2009
YEREVAN, January 21. /ARKA/. Azerbaijan must stop its anti-Armenian
propaganda that only affects a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh
conflict, RA Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said at a press
conference on Wednesday.
"I think Azerbaijan has neither ratcheted nor weakened its
anti-Armenian rhetoric. This agitation has always been strong, but
if we want to settle the Karabakh problem, we must strengthen mutual
trust by stopping any such agitation," the minister was quoted saying.
It will be of no good if Armenia returns Azerbaijan’s hostile rhetoric,
according to Nalbandyan.
The minister believes the anti-Armenian propaganda casts a doubt over
whether Azerbaijan is really ready to settle the Karabakh conflict,
the minister said, adding Armenia has urged Azerbaijan many times to
stop the anti-Armenian rhetoric.
"Even the Moscow declaration considers it necessary that the two
nations increase mutual trust," Nalbandyan said.
On November 2, 2008, the Azeri, Armenian and Russian presidents
met in Meiendorf castle (Moscow area) to sign a declaration on
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The three leaders pledged to combine efforts to improve the situation
in the South Caucasus and charged their foreign ministers to keep
working on a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
The Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Artsakh, m ainly populated
by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.
On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet
Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority
of the population (99.89%) voted for independence from Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, large-scale military operations began as a result of
which Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven
regions adjacent to it.
On May 12, 1994 after the signing of the Bishkek cease-fire agreement,
the military operations were stopped.
AGREEMENT ON MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS REACHED
ArmInfo
2009-01-20 17:42:00
ArmInfo. Today President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met with the
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Matthew
Bryza (US) and Bernard Fassier (France) as well as the personal
representative of the OSCE CIO Andrzej Kasprzyk. Foreign Minister of
Armenia Edward Nalbandyan also took part in the meeting.
The press service of the President of Armenia reports that the
parties discussed the current stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process. The co-chairs told Sargsyan about the results of their
meetings in Baku. The parties agreed on the conduct of a meeting of
the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the near future.
To remind, earlier the co-chairs said that such a meeting was possible
in the framework of the economic forum in Davos.
ARMENIAN OFFICIALS, ANALYSTS DISMISS REPORTS OF WEAPONS TRANSFER FROM RUSSIA
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Jan 15 2009
Russia
The Russian Defence Ministry on Wednesday [ 14 January] officially
denied reports in the Azerbaijani media regarding the transfer of $800
million worth of arms to Armenia. This comes almost one week earlier
than the fact-finding deadline previously announced by the Russian
Defence Ministry. "The reports are not true. The text of an official
statement will be circulated in the coming hours," Nezavisimaya Gazeta
was told by the Russian Defence Ministry’s press office.
Let us recall that this story of an all but complimentary transfer of
arms from Russia’s 102nd military base, located in the Armenian city of
Gyumri, to Yerevan was published shortly after the New Year by a number
of Azerbaijani media outlets. Russian Ambassador Vasiliy Istratov was
summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to provide clarifications.
The Russian Foreign Ministry promised Baku to look into the situation,
while the Russian Defence Ministry, after initially denying the
Azerbaijani journalists’ reports out of hand, nevertheless took a
pause until 20 January "to prepare an official response."
Nothing was lacking in Azerbaijan’s accounts of this "New Year’s
present to Armenia": from the already hackneyed accusation that Russia
is planning to start another war in the Caucasus to the extravagant
proposition that the Armenian authorities may have needed almost $1
million worth of arms in order to carry out reprisals against the
opposition-minded segment of their own society.
Colonel Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, press secretary for the Armenian Defence
Ministry, has been pestered with phone calls. "We have not received
anything from the Russians… You should contact the Russian Defence
Ministry and find out why they needed a whole week to prepare a
statement," he told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, scarcely concealing his
irritation. Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Analytical Centre for
Globalization, expressed surprise at what has happened. According to
him, considering that Russia and Armenia are both members of the CSTO
[Collective Security Treaty Organization], along with a number of other
factors, military cooperation is going to continue and deepen, and
"the most important thing is for them not to breach their obligations
under the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE)."
The republic [Armenia] itself has been rife with rumours in recent
days that the Russian base in Gyumri is going to undergo significant
expansion through the redeployment of units to other regions of
Armenia, and that the possibility has been raised of opening another
military base: representatives of the Russian Defence Ministry have
made familiarization trips to various parts of the country and have
allegedly settled on an airport in the city of Stepanavan, northern
Armenia, that is not in regular use. Both countries’ defence ministries
refused to comment on whether any such plans exist.
"Such matters are not so easily resolved. Even if the Russian officers
did like the Stepanavan airport, that does not mean anything. Russian
officers have made familiarization trips around the country in the
past and will continue to do in the future – this is normal practice
between strategic partners, as is discussing promising plans," former
Armenian Defence Minister Vagarshak Harutyunyan told Nezavisimaya
Gazeta. According to him, talk of the 102nd military base sprawling out
throughout the republic is unfounded: the base is located where it is
supposed to be pursuant to a treaty concluded back when Harutyunyan
was still minister, just as its aviation component, incidentally,
is based at Yerevan’s Erenuni Airport, "which is in joint use".
"Under the CFE, both Russia and Armenia have to declare what they have,
where it is, and how much they have. They are required to inform the
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] headquarters
in Vienna about any redeployments or changes in the quantity of any
units," Harutyunyan told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. It is precisely for
this reason, the ex-minister believes, that the story circulated by
the media regarding the $800 million deal is untrue: any signatory to
the CFE Treaty may at any time declare a wish to inspect compliance
with the treaty. "So far not a single check of Armenia has revealed
any violations," the ex-defence minister says. According to him,
it is Azerbaijan that has violated the treaty by actively purchasing
weapons in the Czech Republic and, especially, Ukraine -this refers
primarily to armoured vehicles and Smerch multiple long-distance rocket
launchers. "We all saw what Ukraine’s arming of Georgia led to, and
one certainly would not want to see history repeated. As for the fact
that Baku has rearmed, this is well-known at the UN, which receives
information each year from the arms-exporting countries regarding their
completed transactions," Harutyunyan informed Nezavisimaya Gazeta.