Armenian News

Commentary: Turks Create False Impressions to Block Obama's Promises
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Turkish officials are in a mad rush. Informed by Washington insiders that
President-elect Barack Obama intends to carry out his promises to Armenians, the
Turkish government is anxious to conclude an agreement with Armenia in order
to block the incoming administration and/or Congress from taking a stand onthe
Armenian Genocide.

For years, Ankara repeatedly rejected Yerevan's offers to normalize relations
without preconditions. Hoping that Armenia would buckle under intense
economic pressure, Turks placed strict demands for lifting the blockade and
establishing diplomatic relations. Armenia had to refrain from efforts for genocide
recognition, accept Turkey's territorial integrity, and relinquish Artsakh
(Karabagh) to Azerbaijan.

A few months ago, the two sides appeared to have reached an arrangement
whereby Pres. Serzh Sargsyan would agree to Turkey's request to form a joint study
group on the Armenian Genocide, as part of a larger inter-governmental
commission that would deal with a host of bilateral issues, on condition that Turkey
would first establish diplomatic relations and opens its border with Armenia.
Soon after, Pres. Abdullah Gul made an unprecedented trip to Yerevan at the
Armenian President's invitation to watch a soccer match between the national
teams of the two countries. Both leaders received high praise and encouragement
from the international community for their "football diplomacy."

Relations between the two countries seemed to be on the mend, until Turkey's
leaders, misjudging Pres. Sargsyan's eagerness to have the Turkish border
opened, demanded additional and unacceptable concessions from Armenia. Theyasked
that Armenians initially withdraw from a small area on the periphery of
Artsakh and announce the formation of the study group on the genocide priorto the
convening of the wider inter-governmental commission.

In making these demands, the Turkish leaders were trying to accomplish two
contradictory objectives. On the one hand, they were pressuring Armenia into
making as many concessions as possible. On the other hand, they desperatelywant
to reach a quick agreement with Yerevan before Pres. Obama enters the White
House next month.

When Armenia rejected Turks' excessive demands, Turkish authorities decided
to switch tactics and attempt a more effective approach: Create the impression
in Washington that Armenians and Turks are making good progress in resolving
their differences, even though in reality they are not!

To implement this new policy, Ankara persisted in placing a positive spin on
all official contacts with Armenia. For example, Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian's trip to Istanbul on November 24, to chair the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) conference, was repeatedly mischaracterized by the Turkish side
as a visit to discuss with Foreign Minister Ali Babajan the improvement of
relations with Armenia.

Also, Turkish officials and media have been repeating ad nauseam that
Armenia's President would be visiting Turkey shortly, thus giving the false
impression that the two sides are about to resolve their differences. In reality, Pres.
Sargsyan is not expected to go to Istanbul until October 2009, when the
Armenian and Turkish national soccer teams meet again.

Yet another falsehood spread by the Turkish media, for the sole purpose of
manipulating American and international public opinion, is that Armenia has
accepted to participate in a joint study group on the Armenian Genocide, even
after Pres. Sargsyan's announcement that such a commission was "absolutely
unnecessary." Armenia's President expressed his concern that such a study would
actually "mislead" the international community.

In another diversionary tactic, Turkish authorities announced last week that
they are considering the accreditation to Armenia of their current Ambassador
to Georgia, who would continue to be stationed in Tbilisi. This is a clever
attempt to claim that Turkey has taken a major step in establishing diplomatic
relations with Armenia! Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines announced last week that it
is planning to start charter flights to Armenia -- another attempt at
creating a false impression of the ostensibly improving Armenian-Turkish relations.
In support of their government's propaganda, Turkish newspapers have been
publishing interviews with Armenians and Turks who are engaged in a varietyof
joint cultural and business activities and predicting that Armenia would have a
thriving economy once the border with Turkey is opened. The Turkish press does
not interview, however, Armenians who demand justice for the crimes committed
by the Ottoman Turkish government during the Genocide.

It is regrettable that certain Armenian individuals, driven by their narrow
self-interest, have made statements to the Turkish media that help reinforce
the false impression that Armenians and Turks are getting along perfectly well,
and outsiders like the United States should not take any initiatives that
would ruin this budding friendship!
The fact of the matter is that Armenians worldwide will continue to view
Turkey with deep misgivings as long as the Turkish government pursues its morally
bankrupt policy of making demands rather than amends.

[can you believe the following story? who did the invitation?

has the return visit taken place?]

GUL'S ARMENIA VISIT BRINGS TURKEY SPORT PEACE PRIZE
Anadolu Agency
Dec 2 2008
Turkey

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Gul and
his Armenian counterpart Sargsian shook hands prior to a World Cup
qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on September 6.

The "Peace and Sport" organization, based in Monaco, has awarded
Turkey with the 2008 Peace and Sport Image of the Year prize.

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Abdullah Gul
and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian shook hands prior to a
World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on
September 6.

Turkey will receive its prize on Thursday, December 4 from Prince
Albert II of Monaco. The President of the Turkish Football Federation
(TFF) Mahmut Ozgener will receive the prize on behalf of President
Abdullah Gul.

Iran-Armenia Gas Pipeline Inaugurated

By Emil Danielyan

Armenia officially completed on Monday the construction of a natural gas
pipeline from neighboring Iran which could reduce its heavy dependence
on Russian energy resources and significantly boost its electricity
exports. It remained unclear, however, when Iranian gas could start
flowing into the country.

The pipeline's second and final Armenian section was inaugurated in the
presence of President Serzh Sarkisian and Alexei Miller, chairman of
Russia's Gazprom giant. The two men, joined by other Armenian, Russian
and Iranian officials, watched as workers welded together its last
pipes.

Miller's presence at the high-profile ceremony underscored the fact that
the pipeline will be controlled by the ArmRosGazprom (ARG) national gas
distribution company in which Gazprom holds a controlling stake. ARG has
financed and carried out work on the 197-kilometer stretch running
through the country's mountainous Syunik region.

In a speech during the ceremony, Miller welcomed the completion of the
`very important project.' He said its implementation testifies to a
`high level of political cooperation between Russia and Armenia.'

Former President Robert Kocharian was also in attendance. Kocharian had
inaugurated the pipeline's first, 41-kilometer section together with
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in March 2007.

Speaking to journalists, Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said the
pipeline will undergo technical testing and be ready to pump Iranian gas
within weeks. But he again avoided setting any dates for the start of
Iranian gas supplies.

The new pipeline's operational capacity of approximately 2.3 billion
cubic meters of gas per annum essentially matches the annual volume of
Armenian gas imports from Russia that are carried out via Georgia. With
Russian supplies meeting Armenia's needs, the bulk of Iranian gas is
expected to be converted into electricity that will then be exported to
the Islamic Republic.

As Movsisian pointed out, the pipeline would be vital for Armenia's
energy security in case of `force majeure situations.' The minister
clearly referred to a possible disruption or termination of Russian gas
deliveries to Georgia that would almost certainly affect Armenia as
well.

The prospect of a cut-off in Russian supplies has become even more real
since the August war between Georgia and Russia. A senior Georgian
official predicted last month that the Russians will at least cut back
on those supplies this winter.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO PROFIT FROM BETTER

ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS - TURKISH FM
Interfax
Dec 2 2008
Russia

BAKU. Dec 1 (Interfax) - The normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations will help improve Azeri-Armenian relations and to speed up
the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan said on Monday.

"The improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations will have a positive
influence on the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Babacan told
a briefing after talks with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov,
commenting on a possibility to open the Armenian- Turkish border.

The Turkish FM noted that there are problems in the region, which
need to be resolved through dialog. He also stressed the importance of
implementing the Turkey-sponsored Caucasus Stability and Cooperation
Platform.

"There are problems in the region, and efforts are being made to
resolve them. The countries of the region should sit at one table. We
should seek the normalization of relations through dialog, so that
these problems are not left to other generations. There is diplomatic
activity now, and results are needed," Babacan said.

Yerevan Loses More European Court Cases
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Three more citizens of Armenia controversially imprisoned during and
after the disputed 2003 presidential election won on Tuesday lawsuits
against their government filed to the European Court of Human Rights.

The court declared the arrests illegal and ordered the Armenian
government to pay each of the plaintiffs 4,500 euros ($5,700) in
`non-pecuniary' damages. They will also get an additional 3,000 euros
worth of compensation each for legal expenses incurred during the
lengthy litigation.

Two of them, Lavrenti Kirakosian and Arman Mkhitarian, reside in
Karakert, a village in the southern Armavir region. They both
participated in March 2003 rallies staged in Yerevan by Stepan
Demirchian, the main opposition presidential candidate. They were
subsequently arrested and sentenced to ten days in prison for allegedly
disobeying police orders and using `foul language' against
law-enforcement officers.

The third plaintiff, Miasnik Tadevosian, is a resident of another
Armavir village, Mrgashat. A retired senior police officer, he led the
regional chapter of the opposition National Unity Party.
Tadevosian was arrested and given a ten-day sentence on the same charge
after attending similar anti-government rallies staged by Demirchian and
other opposition leaders in March-April 2004.

The three men were imprisoned under the Soviet-era Code of
Administrative Offenses. The Armenian authorities used the code for
briefly jailing hundreds of participants of unsanctioned opposition
rallies. The so-called `administrative arrests' were strongly condemned
by local and international human rights organizations. The authorities
abolished the practice in 2005 under strong pressure from the Council of
Europe.

In separate rulings, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that the prison
sentences given to the three men violated several provisions of the
European Convention on Human Rights ratified by Armenia. It said none of
them had a fair trial and `adequate time and facilities for the
preparation of his defense.'

The opposition supporters' defense lawyer, Tigran Ter-Yesayan, welcomed
the rulings. `The European Court simply certified that the rights of
these individuals were violated during and after the presidential
elections,' he told RFE/RL. `But whether the authorities will draw
appropriate conclusions from these verdicts and refrain from such
actions in the future is an open question.'

The authorities could face similar lawsuits from more than 100 other
opposition members and supporters who were arrested in the wake of the
last presidential election held on February 19. At least 70 of them
remain in jail on charges stemming from the March 1 clashes in Yerevan.
The Council of Europe and other international bodies say at least some
of these detainees were jailed for exercising their political rights.

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