Armenian News

Agence France Presse
April 10, 2009 Friday
Turkish PM sets conditions to Armenia reconciliation: report
ANKARA, April 10 2009

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday ruled out a deal
with Armenia to normalize ties unless Yerevan resolved its conflict
with Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, the Anatolia news
agency reported.

"We will not sign a final deal with Armenia unless there is agreement
between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorny Karabakh," Erdogan was
quoted as telling reporters.

He was speaking from the southern province of Hatay, where he is
holidaying, in response to remarks by Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian earlier Friday.

Sarkisian had expressed the hope that the border with Turkey, closed
for more than a decade, would reopen before an October football match
between their national teams.

"We can do the preliminary work (for a deal with Armenia), but it
definitely depends on the resolution of the conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh," Erdogan said.

Recent reports have suggested that Ankara and Yerevan will soon sign a
landmark deal paving the way for formal diplomatic ties and opening
their shared border.

The reports have irked Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey.

Azerbaijan insists that any deal should be contingent on Armenian
concessions over Nagorny Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that
broke away from Baku during a war in the early 1990s.

On a visit to Turkey this week, US President Barak Obama urged Ankara
and Yerevan to "move forward" in fence-mending talks to normalize ties
poisoned by disagreements over the World War I killings of Armenians.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically
killed between 1915 and 1917 during the dissolution of the Ottoman
Empire, Turkey's predecessor -- a charge that Ankara categorically
denies.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan's international campaign to have the killings recognized as
genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of
solidarity with Azerbaijan over the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh.

Ankara and Yerevan have been pursuing a tentative reconciliation
process that has gathered steam since President Abdullah Gul paid a
landmark visit last year to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader, to
watch a football match.

TURKEY PREVAILS IN ROUND 1; KICKS OFF ROUND 2 OF TRICKS ON ARMENIA By Harut Sassounian The California Courier Apr 14, 2009 Turkey brilliantly accomplished its objectives in the first round of negotiations ostensibly to open the border with Armenia. Ever since 1993, when Turkish leaders closed the border, they set two main preconditions for its reopening. Armenia must: 1) Stop pursuing international recognition of the Armenian Genocide; and 2) Return Artsakh (Karabagh) to Azerbaijan. Despite persistent Turkish attempts to impose such harsh terms on Armenia, successive Armenian governments have declared that diplomatic relations should be established and the border reopened without any preconditions. Thus, the standstill continues until today. During the past year, however, a series of unexpected developments provided new impetus for Armenia and Turkey to repair their contentious relationship. Both countries, under pressure from the U.S. and Europe, were now prodded by a new major actor, Russia, to open the Armenian-Turkish border. As owner of major businesses in Armenia, Russia sought to establish cross border trade with Turkey, thereby also diminishing Georgia's strategic significance as a sole transit route for the region. The turmoil in the aftermath of the contested Armenian presidential election last year rendered the new leaders more sensitive to demands from the major powers, expecting in return their support to counter the=2 0 opposition at home. To be fair, the Armenian government believed that opening the border was also in Armenia's own economic interest. Moreover, when Armenia's imports through Georgia were temporarily blocked during last year's Georgian-Russian war, Armenian officials realized the strategic value of having an alternate border outlet. Turkey also stood to gain both economically and politically from an open border with Armenia because: 1) The population of Turkey's eastern provinces, living in abject poverty, would significantly benefit from trading with Armenia; 2) Turkey would fulfill one of the prerequisites for European Union membership; and 3) Ankara hoped to preempt the White House and Congress from taking a stand on the Armenian Genocide. Despite such clear and immediate advantages, Turkish officials prolonged the negotiations, in order to secure maximum concessions from Armenia in return for opening the border. The first glimmer of a breakthrough came on June 23, 2008, when Armenia's newly-elected President, Serge Sargsyan, unexpectedly announced, during a Moscow visit, his acceptance of a Turkish proposal to form a "historical commission." However, the Armenian President insisted that the commission would be established "only after the opening of the border." Later, the Armenian side announced that it would accept the establishment an inter-governmental commission that would discuss all outstanding issues between th e two countries. As it became clear in late 2008 that Barack Obama would win the presidency and probably keep his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish government launched a propaganda campaign to convince the international community that Armenia and Turkey were engaged in delicate negotiations which would be undermined if third countries acknowledged the Genocide. Clearly, the Turks were not sincere in their declared intentions. Had they been serious, the border could have been opened in a matter of days, not months or years! At the height of that campaign, the Presidents of Armenia and Turkey held a summit meeting in Yerevan on the sidelines of a soccer match between their national teams. Armenians were encouraged that Turkish officials made no mention of their usual preconditions for Armenia to desist from genocide recognition and to make concessions on Artsakh. Pres. Obama's visit to Turkey last week had a critical impact on the development of Armenian-Turkish relations. Judging from his circumspect remarks in Ankara, it became clear that the American President had adopted the duplicitous Turkish line that third parties should not comment on the Armenian Genocide while Armenia and Turkey were engaged in serious negotiations. This carefully orchestrated Turkish ploy, however, almost fell apart at the last minute when Pres. Aliyev of Azerbaijan refused to go to Istanbul and meet with Pres. Obama. Aliyev was upset that Turkey was considering opening the border with Armenia while ignoring Baku's interests. To reassure Aliyev, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan announced that the border would not be opened until Yerevan resolved its conflict with Azerbaijan. Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, objecting that Turkey was reviving its old preconditions, canceled his trip to Istanbul. However, he ended up taking a later flight, possibly at the urging of American officials. Aliyev, on the other hand, remained steadfast in his refusal to go to Turkey. Mr. Nalbandian's presence in Istanbul regrettably gave credence to Turkish misrepresentations that the two countries were making good progress in their negotiations. Thus, Turkey managed to fool Pres. Obama and other world leaders into thinking that it was seriously trying to resolve its long-strained relations with Armenia. Consequently, Turkish officials were showered with many accolades and received priceless publicity. The Economist magazine aptly pointed out: "Turkey basks in the glory of a two-day visit by Barack Obama." To be sure, the Turks managed to get maximal public relations benefits by simply talking about opening the border and succeeded in convincing Pres. Obama that it was not a good idea to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide while in Ankara. It remains to be seen whether Turkey has also secured the President's silence on April 24! Round 2 of t he Turkish ploy is now in full swing, with Azerbaijan threatening to take all sorts of measures against Turkey should the latter dare to open the border with Armenia, without linking such action to territorial concessions on Artsakh. The entire population of Azerbaijan has been whipped into frenzy over this issue. Opposition leaders in Turkey are also up in arms, accusing Erdogan of abandoning "fraternal Azerbaijan's" interests. Pres. Obama, upon his return to the White House, immediately phoned Pres. Aliyev to assure him of America's support for the resolution of the Artsakh conflict as well as normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. While the charade goes on, Armenia's leaders continue to make surprisingly positive statements about their negotiations with Turkey, despite repeated announcements by Turkish officials that the border will not be opened until Yerevan makes concessions on Artsakh. It now appears that Turkey will place the border negotiations on the back burner until the Minsk Group, composed of the United States, Russia and France, can come up with some evidence of progress on the Artsakh negotiations. Only then would Turkey consider opening the border with Armenia. To counter these Turkish/Azeri ploys: 1. Armenia's leaders should start playing hardball with Turkey and Azerbaijan and not get overly concerned with making a good impression on the major powers in trying to accommo date their demands. 2. Armenia should stick to its long-avowed position of no preconditions for opening the border and establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey, and resist pressures from Russia, the U.S., and Europe. 3. Armenia should consider setting October 7 as a deadline for opening the border. In case of Turkish inaction by that time, Pres. Sargsyan should refuse to go to Turkey for the return soccer match, thus exposing Turkey's ploy on improving relations with Armenia. 4. Long in advance of any border accord, the Armenian Parliament should safeguard Armenia's national security by prohibiting all foreigners from purchasing land in sensitive border areas and making investments in certain strategic resources. 5. Armenia and Armenian-Americans should condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Pres. Gul's blatant denial of the Armenian Genocide during a joint press conference with Pres. Obama in Ankara last week, televised live worldwide. To set the record straight, Armenian-Americans should immediately submit to the U.S. Senate the counterpart of the House genocide resolution. After all, it makes more sense to pass such a bill in the Senate, which has never approved a resolution on the Armenian Genocide, rather than in the House which has already adopted two such resolutions in 1975 and 1984. State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan April 10, 2009 Friday OPENING TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER CONTRADICTS NATIONAL INTERESTS OF AZERBAIJAN, ZIYAFET ASGAROV Baku, 10 April (AzerTAc. Opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia contradicts national interests of Azerbaijan, said First Vice-Speaker of the Milli Majlis Ziyafet Asgarov. He underscored the problem will be discussed with Turkish parliamentarians who are due to come to Baku soon. "The Turkish government has repeatedly said that the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border depends on the following terms: Armenia should turn down territorial and genocide allegations against Turkey and free the occupied Azerbaijani territories," Asgarov said. "Armenia had not yet complied with any of the abovementioned conditions, and in this case, opening of the borders can never be acceptable," he added. ARMEN AYVAZIAN: ARMENIAN AND DIASPORAN FIGURES ARE DISCONTENT WITH POLICY CARRIED ON BY ARMENIA TO TURKEY Noyan Tapan Apr 14, 2009 YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The surveys conducted in Armenia and Diaspora by the Ararat strategic center are evidence that considerable part of Armenian scientists, experts, public figures is too discontent with the policy carried on by the Armenian authorities to Turkey. Center Director Armen Ayvazian mentioned at the April 14 press conference. According to him, the participants of the survey held between March 12 to April 10 were asked three questions on three concrete subjects. 96% respondents gave "an extremely negative answer" to the question of how do you treat the fact of showing the film on the genocide allegedly organized by the Armenians in Turkey. Asked whether after R. Erdogan's statements Armenia should continue the rapprochement policy, 61% respondents gave a negative answer. And 81% respondents gave a negative answer to the question of how do you treat the invitation of RA government to Turkey to take part in the construction of a new nuclear power plant. A. Ayvazian said that some of the respondents considered that invitation a manifestation of Armenian officials' humor. According to the Ararat head, today Armenia's authorities make mistakes endangering country's future. The first mistake, according to A. Ayvazian, is that "the authorities do not perceive Turkey as it is, as an enemy." The second mistake is that Armenia's leaders name Turkish officials and Azerbaijan's leader "a normal person," while it is by Azeri President's order that Armenian monuments are destroyed in that country. And the third mistake, according to the political scientist, is disregarding the opinions of "non-court" Armenian experts. Weekend Australian April 11, 2009 Saturday 2 - All-round First Edition Turkish anger at holocaust remark Jamie Walker TURKEY has officially complained to Canberra that a state Labor minister tried to lever one of the most sensitive episodes in that country's modern history into votes for the ALP. What began as a seemingly unremarkable speech by South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson to 40 people at a Greek community function has so angered Ankara that its ambassador to Australia, Murat Ersavci, protested to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith about the ``defamation'' of his country. ``I feel our relations are too important to be used in these self-serving, petty local politics,'' Mr Ersavci told The Weekend Australian. The Turks are seething over remarks Mr Atkinson made about the role of one of the country's towering figures, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the tragedy that engulfed its Pontian or Black Sea Greek minority between 1915 and 1922. Kemal was the commander who broke the hearts of the Anzacs at Gallipoli and then held out a hand to Australia by declaring its fallen soldiers would forever be sons of Turkey. He is revered in his homeland as the founder of the modern Turkish republic. After doing the honours at the launch of a plaque commemorating what he called the ``genocide'' of Pontian Greeks by Turkish nationalists led by Kemal's forces -- a contention flatly rejected by Ankara -- Mr Atkinson poured petrol on the flames by declaring that anyone who disputed this version of history was practising a form of ``holocaust denial''. When his account was challenged in federal parliament last month by the Deputy President of the Senate, Alan Ferguson, it was the expatriate Greek community's turn to be outraged. The veteran Liberal senator has since apologised for any offence he might have caused. Mr Atkinson, seizing on this, had Senator Ferguson's speech to parliament translated into Greek and mailed out to thousands of voters from Greek, Assyrian, Syrian Orthodox and Armenian backgrounds in eight state seats in Adelaide. Other state Labor MPs followed up with letters urging them to remember Senator Ferguson's speech ``supporting the Turkish version of history'' at next year's state election. Mr Atkinson denied that he had used the issue as a political wedge against the state Liberals. ``I have an intellectual interest in this ... if there were no Greeks in my electorate, only Armenians and Turks, I would take the same position,'' he said. For the record, Mr Atkinson said he knew of 12 ethnically Turkish constituents in his inner Adelaide seat of Croydon, against some 900 of Greek extraction. There were two Armenians. The 2006 census found that 365,200 Australians described themselves as being of Greek descent, and 59,400 as Turkish. Mr Ersavci said he had received ``thousands of letters'' from Turkish Australians concerned that they could face discrimination because of the ``defamation situation'' in South Australia. Referring to Mr Atkinson's speech to the Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia last December, the ambassador said: ``He seemed to be completely unaware of what is going on in the world. Politicians should not rewrite history, especially when talking about the Black Sea Greeks.'' Mr Ersavci, who will attend Anzac Day commemorations with Mr Smith at Gallipoli in a fortnight, said he had asked the Foreign Minister to look into the Turkish Government's concerns. ``He said he would do it,'' Mr Ersavci said. Mr Smith's office said he had written to South Australian Premier Mike Rann outlining the federal Government's position ``on these historical events'' in Turkey at the time the remnants of the once mighty Ottoman Empire gave way to the new republic. Australia believed ``dialogue between the governments and communities of the countries concerned'' was best and would not seek to intervene in the historical dispute. Mr Atkinson said he backed independent research findings, contested by Turkey, that 1.5million ethnic Armenians and 350,000 Pontian Greeks were massacred during and after World War I. Mr Ersavci said Turkey acknowledged that a ``war within a war'' had taken place, but not on the scale purported. The toll among Pontian Greeks cited by Mr Atkinson was ``simply preposterous''. Sticking to his guns, Mr Atkinson said: ``To say that is a non-existent event is equivalent to holocaust denial.'' ARMAVIA AIRCOMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW FLIGHT YEREVAN-BERLIN ArmInfo 2009-04-14 13:38:00 ArmInfo. Armavia Aircompany, the national air carrier of Armenia, has announced a new flight Yerevan-Berlin. Armavia Director General Norayr Belluyan told media up-to-date planes will fly to Berlin from Yerevan. Airbus A-319 will serve the first flight. Armavia offers flights to Berlin twice in a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. The tickets are starting from 300 euros. In addition, in Berlin passengers will be given an opportunity to get a flight of Air Berlin due to an agreement between Armavia and Air Berlin. Tickets can be reserved also at www.armavia.aero. Armavia offers over 170 flights to over 30 destinations. The air fleet of the company consists of 3 A-319, 2 A-320 airbuses, by one Il-86 and Tu-134. In 2009 the company will acquire Sukhoi Superjet-100. The company's aviation risks are insured by ISG company.