BÝA, Turkey
May 5 2006

Trials Continue Under Article 301
Dink, editor of an Armenian language newspaper, “Agos”, was found
guilty of insulting Turkishness. Zarakolu is accused under Article
301 for publishing Jerjian’s and Sakayan’s books on Armenian issue.
Belge’s case will continue on 8 June.

WiPC/IFEX
05/05/2006

BÝA (London) – On 3 May 2006, World Press Freedom Day, in Turkey
trials continue against writers, journalists and publishers who have
been charged with “denigration of Turkishness” under Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code.

International PEN is calling for an end to all trials against writers
for the peaceful expression of their views, and for the repeal of
Article 301 that is in direct contravention of international
standards that guarantee the right to freedom of expression.

On 1 May, Hrant Dink, editor of an Armenian language newspaper,
“Agos”, who was found guilty of insulting Turkishness and given a
six-month suspended prison term in October 2005, had his appeal
against his conviction overturned.

Dink had been accused for an article in his newspaper on the
relations between Armenians and Turks, which included a phrase that
the court said, suggested that Turkish blood was “dirty”. Dink has
repeatedly stated that his article had been misconstrued and that his
aim is to improve relations between Armenians and Turks.

Dink launched an appeal against his sentence and, in February, the
Chief Prosecutor told the Appeals Court that the phrase under
scrutiny could not be considered insulting. In light of this, the
Court’s decision to uphold the case is particularly surprising.

Ten days earlier, on 20 April, another of a series of trial hearings
took place against publisher Ragip Zarakolu. He is accused under
Article 301 for publishing two books.

The first, George Jerjian’s “The Truth Will Set us Free
/Turkish-Armenian Re-Conciliation”, refers to the mass deportations
of Armenians in 1915. If convicted, Zarakolu faces up to 7.5 years in
prison. For the second book, Dora Sakayan’s “An Armenian Doctor in
Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian’s Izmir Journal”, Zarakolu could receive a
six year sentence. Although the trials have already dragged on for
over a year, the hearings were adjourned further to 21 June 2006.

There was disappointment for Murat Belge, a columnist for “Radikal”
who was among five mainstream journalists who went on trial in
February 2006 for “attempting to influence the outcome of a trial” in
articles that criticized a court’s decision to ban an academic
conference on Armenia in November 2005.

The conference eventually took place. Belge’s colleagues had the
charges against them dropped on 11 April, when it was deemed that the
trial was subject to a statute of limitation due to the length of
time between the alleged offence and the charges.

However, in Belge’s case it was deemed that the statue of limitation
did not apply and his case will continue on 8 June. On 28 April the
Bagiclar prosecutor’s office issued an appeal against the decision to
discontinue the trial against Belge’s four co-defendants, and there
is a possibility that the proceedings against them may restart.

These are just some of the more well known of the writers,
journalists and publishers who are on trial in Turkey today for their
writings. International PEN has long campaigned – and will continue
to campaign – against the use of the courts to stifle freedom of
expression in Turkey.

It calls on the Turkish government to once again review its
legislation with the aim of removing all remaining laws that allow
for the prosecution of those who practice their right to write and
publish freely.

By so doing, the Turkish government can stand by its commitment to
the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 10 of
the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (YE)

Recommended action :

Send appeals to authorities:
– protesting the upholding of the sentence against Hrant Dink

– protesting the lengthy and convoluted trials against Ragip Zarakolu
and Murat Belge

– expressing dismay that writers, journalists and publishers continue
to be brought before the courts in violation of their right to
freedom of expression

– urging that there be an end to these trials

– asking the government to review its legislation with the aim of
removing all remaining laws that allow for the prosecution of those
who practice their right to write and publish freely

– calling on the government to do all that it can to abide by its
commitments to the protection and promotion of freedom of expression

Appeals to :

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476

Mr Abdullah Gul
Foreign Minister and State Minister for Human Rights
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 287 8811

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Sara Whyatt at the WiPC (Writers in
Prison Committee) , International PEN, Brownlow House, 50/51 High
Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, U.K., tel: +44 207 405 0338, fax: +44 207
405 0339, e-mail: [email protected], Internet:

http ://

— Boundary_(ID_eCuWUgnvQ+ROu0m2RTUu4g)–

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
May 5 2006

DESPITE INITIAL PROTEST, OPPOSITION LEADERS CHANGE TONE AFTER
ALIYEV’S VISIT TO WASHINGTON

By Fariz Ismailzade

Friday, May 5, 2006

Opposition parties in Azerbaijan were not happy with President Ilham
Aliyev’s invitation to visit the United States and were even hostile
about the warm welcome he received from the White House. Referring to
the contested presidential election in 2003, opposition parties
criticized U.S. President George W. Bush for betraying his “freedom
agenda” and cooperating with a foreign authoritarian leader. Some
politicians even described Aliyev’s invitation from Washington as the
final humiliation for the domestic opposition. They predicted that
the visit would turn the opposition away from Western liberal values.

Surprisingly, the domestic opposition’s initially chilly reaction
toward the president’s visit has begun to thaw and refocus. Some
senior opposition activists are trying to sugarcoat the “damage” done
to the Azerbaijani opposition’s attitude toward the U.S. government
and downplay the initial criticism of the Bush administration.
Speaking to the opposition daily Yeni Musavat on May 3, Hikmet
Hajizadeh, a member of the Supreme Council of the leading opposition
party Musavat, observed, “America is busy now with the third World
War [i.e. the War on Terrorism] and just like the Second World War
brought freedom to many nations, this one can also bring freedom to
many peoples. We often seek a quick resolution of our problems, but
it is not possible. The U.S. is now trying to fight for democracy and
economic freedoms globally. No one except the U.S. is doing this and
wants to do this. Thus, we should help the U.S. in this.” Hajizadeh
also heads Far Center, one of Azerbaijan’s preeminent think tanks.

Another prominent opposition activist similarly commented that the
ongoing crisis around Iran was the real motivation for inviting
President Aliyev to Washington. Fuad Mustafayev, deputy chairman of
the opposition Popular Front, commented, “That is why I believe that
[the opposition’s] relations with the U.S. will remain the same as
before despite this invitation. The Popular Front party has never
expected anybody from abroad to come and build democracy for us here.
It is our own duty” (Yeni Musavat, May 3).

Meanwhile, other experts clearly focused on the benefits of the
visit. According to independent political analyst Rasim Musabeyov,
“for a [country the] size of Azerbaijan, such a visit and talks with
the sole superpower in the world have extraordinary implications. It
shows the growing geopolitical role of Azerbaijan in the region”
(Echo, May 2).

Another expert suggested that the visit had actually strengthened
Aliyev’s position as head of state. Echoing the opinion of some
Western analysts, Zardush Alizadeh speculated that President Aliyev
might change his mind regarding Iran should the time come for Baku to
take a stance.

Aliyev’s visit to the White House brought new dimensions to
U.S.-Azerbaijani relations. Henceforth, bilateral ties will no longer
be evaluated through the prism of oil and gas alone. Now cooperation
between the two countries has shifted to address issues of
geopolitical strategy and the global fight against terrorism, both of
which are ongoing priorities for Bush and Aliyev in the region.

At the same time, opposition parties are now focusing on the Iranian
issue more and more, trying to draw Tehran into the critical
discourse regarding Aliyev’s visit. On May 3, Yeni Musavat reported
that the United States is building a military base in the south of
Azerbaijan, which will host a radio-location station and air-defense
equipment. Such capabilities could be called into service should
Washington launch an attack on Iran.

Aliyev’s visit raised the U.S.-Azerbaijani strategic partnership to
new, higher levels, but it still left many questions unanswered.
Pundits in Baku continue to wonder what will be Azerbaijan’s role
should the U.S.-Iranian conflict intensify, and what will be the
future of the peace talks with Armenia over the disputed Karabakh
enclave. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was expected to be on the
agenda of the Bush-Aliyev meeting, yet it still is unclear exactly
what they discussed and what will be the consequences of this
meeting.

Meanwhile, the co-chairs of the Minsk group gathered in Moscow this
week to discuss the ongoing peace process around the Karabakh
conflict. Azerbaijani politicians and experts believe that the
results of Rambouillet talks in February between the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan are not as dead as they initially seemed. The
Day.az Internet news service reported, “At this stage, the U.S. is
taking a lead in the peace process.”

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 5 2006

9th summit of Economic Cooperation Organization launched in Baku

[ 05 May 2006 19:15 ]

Today 9th summit of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) has
launched in Baku.

(APA). Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, President of Iran Mahmud
Ahmadinejad, Pakistani prime minister Shovkat Aziz, Tajikistani prime
minister Akil Akilov, Kazakhstan’s prime minister Danial Akhmetov,
first deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan Medetbek Kerimkulov,
Turkish prime minister Recap Tayyip Erdogan, Afghanistan president
Hamid Karzai, Kyrgyzstan deputy prime minister Almanbet Matubraimov,
Uzbekistan parliament Legislation Chamber chairman Erkin Khalilov,
delegation headed by special representative of Turkmenistan president
on Caspian Sea issues Khoshgaldi Babayev were represented in the
summit. Opening the summit, Tajikistani Prime Minister Akil Akilov,
who chaired the organization until this day, stated that ECO has
significant role in regional cooperation, and it is of effective
mechanism for protecting stability in the region, bilateral relations
in the field of economic- commercial, industrial, agricultural,
transport and scientific technical fields. “We have more serious
duties to implement; to expand ECO member states’ regional
cooperation, increase efficiency of the organization, and necessary
decisions should be adopted for raising new level.” Then Mr.Akilov
granted the chairmanship to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. In
his speech, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope for the success
of the summit, analyses of the activity of the organization in the
process of the summit, as well as efficient dialogue related to the
activity of the organization. Stressing the ancient and deep roots of
historical and cultural relations of ECO member countries, the
president said it to be good bases for successful activity. Mr.Aliyev
stressed economic increase in the region with certain figures
concerning Azerbaijan. “Last year Azerbaijani economy increased 26%,
this gives chance for implementation of economic projects. General
product has increased 40% and within this year this level will be
preserved. In the last two years and half, 380 thousands job places
have led to decrease of unemployment and the number of people living
in poverty.” Azerbaijani President has stated that he attaches much
importance to regional cooperation, the country being of member of
several regional projects. ” Caspian Sea states implement much work
for transportation of oil-gas resources to deliver to world market
and this projects serves stability in the region as well as economic
growth “. President stated that some months later, Azerbaijan will
deliver gas to Turkey at first and from there through
Baku-Tbilisi-Arzurum gas pipeline will be transferred to the
necessary places.”

President stated that successful cooperation is implemented in energy
field with Iran, gas and electric projects are implemented through
exchange ways. The State head expressed his hope for success of
East-west transport corridor that will serve development of transport
infrastructure, and of Gars-Tbilisi-Baku railway projects. In the end
of his speech, the Azerbaijani president stated that there are issues
in the region that cause anxiety. With regard to international
terrorism, he called all the world countries to struggle against it.

“Azerbaijan is a country suffering from the terror, more than 2
thousand people have died as a result of more that 30 terror acts
implemented by Armenian terrorists, and Armenian aggression to
Azerbaijan is obstacle to the development of the region. Azerbaijani
president reminding that he is for the settlement of Nagorno Garabagh
conflict to be solved in peaceful way, with regard to it he stated
that Azerbaijani peoples’ patient is not endless and noted that
solution of the problem should be found through international law
norms.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed gratitude to ECO member
countries for their support to Azerbaijan, after which the summit
continued its work without participation of journalists./APA/

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 5 2006

EC Human Rights Commissioner to receive full information on refugees
and forced migrants of Azerbaijan – Azeri Ombudsman

Source: “Trend”
Author: S.Agayeva

05.05.2006

CE Human Rights Commissioner will be informed on problems of human
rights protection for refugees and forced migrants of Azerbaijan that
were expelled from

their homeland by Armenians, reportedly said Azeri Ombudsman Elmira
Suleymanova, commenting on new CE Human Rights Commissioner Thomas
Hammerberg’s visit to Azerbaijan.

She said it was Hammerberg’s first visit to Azerbaijan as CE
Commissioner. “It is another chance for us to provide CE Commissioner
additional information on Nagorny Karabakh conflict, its
consequences, over one million of refugees and forced migrants,
losses Azerbaijan suffered in this respect”, – Suleymanova said. She
also expressed her hope for usability of such information for
Commissioner.

Mr Hammerberg arrived in Baku to participate in IV Baku international
conference of Azeri and Russian Ombudsmen. During his visit in Baku,
CE Commissioner is meeting with chairman of Milli Medjlis, Foreign
Minister, Ombudsman, etc.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Losing Freedom of Speech

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
May 5 2006

Turkish foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, asked a quite meaningful
question to French politicians whether he or one of his colleagues
would be punished for rejecting the Armenian genocide. It was a very
well advised question indeed. Really how should the Turkish
politicians answer questions regarding the so called Armenian
genocide? Getting a prison sentence is not a very weak possibility
even for political figures. The leader of the Turkish Proletarian
Party, Dogu Perincek, was arrested in Switzerland due to his speeches
regarding the issue just a few months before.

Such a thing has of course roots in (political) attitudes toward
other nations, but it would be missing the entire picture to say that
such instances are directed to a certain case, nation, or belief. The
situation seems much worse than just blindly opposing a particular
group of people. Europe recedes from its tolerant culture in general.

Tolerance is not the only value, which we back out of. The
humanitarian values, on which the modern Europe is built, are now on
a quite splitting base.

The cartoons of Jyllands-Posten led to an intense tension in the
world public opinion. Many supported them quite passionately, however
people preferred to keep their silence in many similar issues
afterwards. The famous historian, David Irving, experienced quite
uneasy days when he contradicted the established belief on the
Holocaust. Thanks to God, it did not realize but the Austrian court
jailed him for three years for the speeches, he gave ten years
before. What he said is open to debate but rejecting what someone
says is something and abolishing the right to express what he wants
to do are two very distinct things. Sentencing an academician for
what he said is totally another thing. It is thought provoking that
all the process about Mr. Irving took place in February this year, in
the middle of all the discussion about the cartoon issue.

Nowadays the Dutch Labor Party discusses introducing a preliminary
evaluation and checking of interviews, its members give. The recent
abolishment of a commercial Tv advertisement in the Netherlands is
even more confusing. The publicity medium was Rita Verdonk (the
Minister of integration and minorities) and her strict attitude was
criticized in a quite funny approach. Just like in many other cases,
she was quite determined in expelling a refugee because his residence
permit had expired. The fact that this refugee was a famous
footballer, made the case much more popular than the others. In the
advertisement, Mrs. Verdonk’s husband was driving crazy when that guy
scored against the Netherlands. The Dutch courts will now punish the
advertiser 50 000 Euros each time if it continues showing the
advertisement. People criticized this repressiveness but it can not
be said that there was a remarkable opposition to all these
happenings. People did not underline the significance of freedom of
speech in many of these instances. Restrictiveness seems to grow
silently. The list of examples can be further lengthened…

The point is to be wise enough to be able to form a common platform
to discuss this. Opposing or supporting the Holocaust is one thing,
but sentencing an academician to prison just because of his speeches
is another thing. Maybe the most frightening aspect of all these
cases is that, they take place without any noteworthy opposition. Of
course not everything can be said, there should be some basic
concerns and some exceptions like respect, national integrity, etc
but one sightedness should not be the guide.

We, all are on the edge of a gloomy phase indeed and losing something
very valuable. It took quite a long time for people to become wise
enough to learn the importance discussing rather than blindly
promoting their own ideologies. The democratic values thought people
the significance of providing a neutral ground, on which different
people could express what they believed. We are now edging away from
liberal democratic ideology and becoming hostiles again. On the other
hand, liberals, themselves also act highly contradictory to their
ideologies nowadays. How much liberal are liberals themselves in this
context? Or does liberalism just follow a path towards a different
form of fundamentalism? Liberals are quite open when what they
believe is at stake but critical and even aggressive when people
contradict them. Ayaan Ali Hirsi, the member of parliament of Dutch
Liberal Party, recently published an article with the title of
confrontation in place of collaboration. She was charging Islam due
to being the source of terrorism and radicalization within the
society in her article, just like she does in all her speeches. In
the meantime, she is chosen as the candidate for the Nobel price for
this year.

To conclude, Europe losses its basic principles and exaggerated
nationalism, Islamaphobia, exclusionism take their place. Maybe we
should now ask ourselves the question whether systems can survive
despite eradicating their core values.

05 May 2006

Nermin Aydemir is Netherland representative for Journal of Turkish
Weekly

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 5 2006

All possible ways for resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict already
considered – Azeri President states

Source: Trend
Author: S.Aliyev

05.05.2006

All possible variants for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh have been already considered,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on 5 May, Trend reports.

The President informed that the co-chairs were actively involved in
the conduct of intensive consultations and different options are
under consideration. He did not rule out possible innovations in the
resolution process.

“I don’t believe that a new proposal can be forwarded for the
resolution of

the problem, or any new proposal can be submitted for the settlement
of the problem. Soon changes can be injected in the proposals which
are under discussion. I do not exclude it, as it could bring us
closer to the resolution of the conflict,” Aliyev underlined.

Azerbaijan’s position remains unchanged, he stated. “We support the
use of international legal norms and there should be a unified
approach in this issue, he said. The conflict and mechanisms for its
resolution must not be separated from common processes ongoing
throughout the world. We cannot agree with the application of a
special option.’

Armenian foreign minister: “We are coming to the second stage of democratization”

Regnum, Russia
May 5 2006

By present day, Armenia has become a more democratic country than it
was while joining the Council of Europe, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan has announced at a conference held to honor fifth
anniversary of the Armenian membership in the Council of Europe. By
the way, according to him, Armenia is left to do a lot to become a
fully democratic country.

As a REGNUM correspondent informs, as the minister puts it, Armenia
has fulfilled almost all its obligations taken at joining the Council
of Europe. “We are coming to the second stage of democratization. It
is a very difficult stage, as it envisages reforms that would
directly touch upon the political elite. We should show our political
will,” noted the foreign minister. “We do comprehend that democracy
is a tough way, and it cannot be established in a night. Deciding to
become a member of the Council of Europe, Armenia has chosen the way
for democratization and exact steps have been undertaken in this
direction,” Vardan Oskanyan stressed.

In his turn, Director General of Political Affairs of the Council of
Europe Jean-Louis Laurens has announced that one of Armenia’s
achievements in recent years is the way to Europe chosen by it. “It
is not so important, what steps are taken and where Armenia is on the
way to democracy; the way it chose is important,” the Council of
Europe official noted. “It is very important that Armenia holds
transparent parliamentary and presidential elections,” noted
Jean-Louis Laurens, adding that the Council of Europe and
international institutions would render assistance to Armenia in
carrying out transparent and fair elections. According to him, the
Armenian authorities have elaborated 67 draft laws in accordance with
the new Constitution and a proportion of these laws has been
introduced to the CE for analysis. It is also important for Armenia
to establish the ombudsman institution, noted Jean-Louis Laurens.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russian TV shows underwater probe used at plane crash site

RTR Russia TV, Moscow
6 May 06

Russian recovery workers are using a “unique” underwater visual
observation system to pinpoint wreckage from the Armenian Airbus A-320
that crashed in the Black Sea off Sochi, Russia TV reported on 6 May.

An object 20 metres by 30 metres has already been located on the
seabed, but it is not clear whether it is part of the plane’s fuselage
or a rock, the report said.

A correspondent described the underwater probe – known as Obzor-600
– as a “remote-controlled robot that can descend to a depth of 600
metres in order to pick up a picture of the seabed using a video
camera installed on it”.

The whole underwater investigation system is known as Kalmar [squid].

Describing how it works, the correspondent said: “A special echo
sounder located in the bow of the ship scans the whole surface of
the seabed, and as soon as an object appears the command goes out to
drop anchor.”

He went on: “The robot is connected to a monitor by a fibre-optic
cable and lowered into the water. It descends not under its own
weight, but with the help of three independent engines controlled by
a joystick from a control unit. So in just a few minutes a picture
of the seabed appears.”

A ship’s engineer introduced as Dmitriy demonstrated the robot and
described how it works: “Its maximum working depth is 600 metres. It
has two video cameras – one black-and-white and one colour. It has
light-emitting diode lighting. This is the manipulator. This is the
locator and this is the navigation system.”

Sergey Biryukov, captioned as chief of underwater work, said in an
interview: “It is a miniature craft designed exclusively for visual
observation. More powerful heavy-duty equipment with manipulators
and a lifting capacity of around 30 kg would be needed for lifting
a black box. As far as I know, the navy does have such craft.”

[Video showed image of seabed on screen, close-up of the Obzor-600
robotic probe being handled by ship’s engineer who points to its
various features, robot being lowered overboard, cable being played
out trailing behind robot, man with joystick-like hand-held control
unit, recovery workers at crash site, victims’ relatives giving blood
for identification purposes in Sochi]

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 5 2006

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev: “It is impossible to settle
Nagorno Garabagh conflict out of the international law norms”

[ 05 May 2006 15:30 ]

Azerbaijan is a country suffering from terror. As a result of more
than 30 terror acts of Armenians against Azerbaijanis more than two
million innocent people died.

President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev told these words at the 9th
summit of Organization for Economic Cooperation and called whole
world to join in the struggle against international terrorism.(APA).
President stated that all the Armenian aggression is a great obstacle
in the development of the region and noted that all terror
organizations should be treated on the same way. I.Aliyev stated that
Azerbaijan supports peaceful resolution of Nagorno Garabagh conflict
and noted that patience of Azerbaijan people is not endless.
President noted that the settlement of Nagorno Garabagh conflict on
the basis of international law norms is very important and it’s
possible to settle the conflict by the way of occupied territories of
Azerbaijan to be freed: ” No agreement exists outside of it.” Ilham
Aliyev expressed his gratitude to ECO member countries for supporting
Azerbaijan. /APA/

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

French experts say radio signals are from A-320 black boxes
13:34 | 05/ 05/ 2006

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 5 2006

SOCHI, May 5 (RIA Novosti) – Airbus experts believe that radio
signals they have picked up were coming from flight recorders on
board an Armenian airliner that crashed Wednesday in the Black Sea,
an emergencies official said Friday.

“Experts from France confirmed that these were [signals from] radio
beacons [black boxes],” said Sergei Kudinov, the head of a regional
emergencies ministry center.

The ongoing recovery operation involves more than 700 rescue workers,
23 boats, deep-sea vehicles, a Be-200 amphibious aircraft and a
Ka-32 helicopter.

An experimental rescue boat, Katran, and a new Kalmar deep-sea search
vehicle are expected to arrive at the scene to help locate parts of
the wreckage and flight recorders.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress