GIBRAHAYER e-magazine - Azeris threaten war at military parade

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AZERBAIJAN THREATENS WITH WAR AT MILITARY PARADE

Thursday, June 26, 2008 - BAKU (Combined Sources) - As the US Charge d'Affairs in Armenia Joseph Pennington was praising the June 6 meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents as a sign of progress in peace talks, Azerbaijan on Thursday staged its first military parade in 16 years, and announced its intentions to build a military industrial complex that would support a second round war with neighboring Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The military parade, which was a show of strength aimed at Armenia, comes amid rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and other top officials in his government continue to jeopardise the future of peace-talks with Armenia by threatening to launch an all out war in the Caucasus. Warnings of an eminent military attack on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and frequent cease-fire violations by Azeri armed forces have marred recent attempts by the OSCE Minsk Group to mediate a compromise solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. But a resumption of hostilities could disrupt oil supplies from Azerbaijan, which exports about 700,000 barrels of oil a day to world markets, most of it via a pipeline operated by a British Petroleum-led international consortium. Troops, multiple rocket launch systems, armoured personnel carriers, tanks and unmanned reconnaissance planes were paraded in front of the Soviet-built government headquarters in the capital Baku, watched over by President Aliyev. Attack helicopters, bombers and fighter jets later flew in formation past the building on the shores of the Caspian Sea, in a parade that lasted over an hour. Much of the equipment on show was Soviet-designed but there was also Western gear and troops were fitted out in NATO-style uniforms--part of a modernisation of the armed forces funded with a ten-fold rise in defence spending since 2003. The United States has also been a benefactor for the Azeri military, providing military expertise and millions in US aid to "combat drug trafficking, “counter-terrorism”, and Caspian Sea oil security. US aid, however, has largely allowed the government to allocate greater sums of its budget to military spending, as more money is made available because of US subsidies. But Aliyev signalled in his speech during the parade that his country intends to develop its own military industrial complex that will bolster the country's military strength in order to wean it off its dependency on foreign military hardware. “Most of our armaments and defence technologies are bought from foreign states, we want to produce our own military hardware,” he said. “Azerbaijan is building a military-industrial complex.” Aliyev said at the parade Azerbaijan's annual defence spending was now $2 billion. He said the increase was in line with an overall growth in state spending in Azerbaijan, which has one of the world's fastest-growing economies. "The international community is worried by our policy in this area and places the emphasis on this," said Aliyev, who succeeded his father as president in a 2003 election. "Azerbaijan continues to live in a state of war and is trying to resolve the Karabakh issue," he said. "We are continuing negotiations with Armenia, but they have been going on for a very long time and the people are tired of them. They cannot go on for ever." “The war is not over, only the first stage has ended and we are ready to liberate our lands at any moment,” he warned. Though the international community, and the OSCE Minsk Group continue to assert that progress is being made in peace talks, the fragile ceasefire that has been in force since 1994 is on the verge of collapse, as Azerbaijan continues to beef up its military and provokes a war. The two sides have never signed a peace deal to formally end the conflict, and their armies are locked in a tense stand-off, as Armenian and Karabakh border villages are frequently fired upon by Azeri forces. The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group from France, Russia and the US attended Thursday's military parade and congratulated Aliyev on the occasion of the anniversary of the country's Armed Forces. Prior to that, the French co-chair, Ambassador Bernard Fassier, who was in Baku on Wednesday said that “real peace requires wisdom, moral power and will." The three mediators are set to meet with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and President Aliyev on Friday, after which they will fly out to Yerevan and meet with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and President Serzh Sargsyan. They will visit Stepanakert and Yerevan once more before they leave for Vienna for a June 30 expanded session that will focus on recent developments in peace talks. Thus far, talks mediated by envoys from France, Russia and the United States have failed to produce a peace agreement.

SERGE SARGSYAN SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR TURKISH-ARMENIAN HISTORIAN COMMISSION

Thursday, June 26, 2008 - YEREVAN (RFE/RL) - Signalling a major shift, President Serzh Sargsyan confirmed Thursday that he is ready to accept, in principle, Turkey's proposal to form a controversial commission of Armenian and Turkish historians that would examine the already proven 1915-1923 Genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. But he made clear through a spokesman that such a commission should be created only after Turkey agrees to unconditionally establish diplomatic relations and open its border with Armenia. The proposal was formally made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a 2005 letter to then Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Erdogan suggested that the would-be commission determine whether the Armenian massacres constituted genocide and said his government would accept any conclusion reached by it. In a written reply, Kocharian effectively rejected the idea and came up with a counterproposal to set up a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental commission that would deal with this and other issues of mutual concern. Other Armenian officials, backed by local and Diaspora scholars, as well as international genocide scholars, dismissed Erdogan's move as a Turkish ploy designed to scuttle international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. They also said that by agreeing to the proposed study the Armenian side would play into Turkey's campaign of denial, which attempts to question the very fact of the genocide. “We are not against the creation of such a commission, but only if the border between our countries is opened,” Sargsyan declared during a visit to Moscow earlier this week. Sargsyan's press secretary, Samvel Farmanian, reaffirmed this in a statement issued on Thursday. “We are not against any study of even obvious facts and widely accepted realities,” he said. “Agreeing to a study does not mean casting doubt on the veracity of facts. “However, the creation of such a commission would be logical only after the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the border between our countries. Otherwise, it could become a tool for dragging out and exploiting the existing problems.” Farmanian's statement came amid an uproar from the country's main opposition alliance led by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian. In a statement on Wednesday, Ter-Petrosian's Popular Movement condemned Sargsyan's “dangerous” remarks, saying that the new Armenian leader has agreed to a proposal “calling into question the fact of the Genocide.” Farmanian rejected the opposition claims. “It is strange that the genocide issue is being exploited by individuals who had done everything in the past to condemn that tragic page of our history to oblivion,” he said regarding Ter-Petrosian's more conciliatory line on Turkey.

ARF DASHNAKTSOUTIUN DEMAND OFFICIAL EXPLANATION FROM SARGSYAN

Asbarez - Monday, June 30, 2008 - The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsoutiun announced Monday that it has expressed concern to President Serzh Sargsyan regarding recent statements that signal an acceptance by the current administration of Turkey's proposal to form a commission of Turkish and Armenian historians that would jointly study the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. According to ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Political Director Giro Manoyan, the party asked the president for an official explanation on whether Sargsyan's statements made in Russia last week signalled a policy change in the administration. more on www dot asbarez dot com

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PYUNIK YEREVAN Vs ANORTHOSIS FAMAGUSTA

Gibrahayer - Nicosia July 1, 2008 - Cypriot football champions Anorthosis - a refugee club from Turkish occupied Famagusta - are Armenian Champion Pyunik's first round opponents in the qualifications of the Champions League. The first round match will take place on Wednesday 16 July with the return match being played in Yerevan a week later. Pyunik (formerly HMEM) were founded in 1992 and have won a record of ten Championships, three Cup titles, and five Armenian Supercups. Anorthosis were founded in 1911. They have 13 championship titles, ten Cup titles and they have won the Super Cup trophy 6 times. Anorthosis stunned the football community three years ago when they ousted Turkish champions Trabzonspor (3-1, 0-1). In Nicosia today, Anorthosis officials were secretly eyeing round two against Rapid Vienna.

News in Brief - by Sevag Devledian

The foundation that was founded to promote Turkish-Armenian relations following the 2007 murder of famous Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink, has published Dink's first and only book titled "Two Close Nations, Two Distant Neighbours" in Turkey. Switzerland wishes to strengthen its relations with Armenia by opening an embassy there, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey announced last week. She was speaking in the capital, Yerevan, where she held official talks with her Armenian counterpart, Eduard Nalbaldian. Among the topics discussed by the two ministers was the situation in the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is surrounded by Azerbaijan. Switzerland has attempted to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the conflict. Armenian and Syrian ministers of education Spartak Seyranian and Ali Saadi signed a cooperation program for 2008-2011. The program provides for new spheres of cooperation (exchanging music teachers, scientific cooperation). The sides are to sign a document about mutual recognition of higher school completion certificates. The Minister also discussed opening of an Armenian studies chair in the University of Damascus. After eight years of debate, the Armenian Heritage Foundation has cleared the final major hurdle in its effort to transform a prime space on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway into a park that commemorates the victims of the Armenian genocide. U.S. Deputy Assistant of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Bryza said that inviting Turkish President Gul to Armenia would be unbelievable progress. The Armenian President announced his intention to invite Abdullah Gul to Yerevan for a soccer match between the Armenian and Turkish national teams.

BANK OF CYPRUS BUYS 80% OF RUSSIAN UNIASTRUM BANK

The Chairman of the Board of Unibank Armenia, Vardan Atayan says that the deal does not imply the purchase of the Armenian bank

ArmInfo June 26 - 2008 - The estimated cost of the bank is $720mln. Bank of Cyprus says that Uniastrum will continue independent development with focus on retail while the Moscow subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus - Bank of Cyprus Russia - will offer services to corporate clients. The agreement on the purchase of the 80% stake has already been signed. Now the parties are waiting for the approval of the regulating authorities. The biggest shareholders of Uniastrum are its founders: the chairman of the Board of Directors Georgy Piskov and President Gagik Zakaryan (each having 22.64% stake). After the deal with CB they will have 10% each. The other owners - three LLCs and Oxana Belousova (each having 13%) - are selling their stakes. Bank of Cyprus is going to pay $576mln for the 80% stake. By 2010 BC is expecting to get at least 10% dividends from the deal. The remaining stakes can be bought by Bank of Cyprus within the next three years and their prices will depend on the financial performance of the bank. "I am still the president of the bank," says Zakaryan. The chairman of the Board of Unibank (Armenia) Vardan Atayan says that the above-mentioned deal does not imply the purchase of the Armenian bank, however, it may strengthen its international positions. The key shareholders of Unibank are Uniastrum Assets Management and Eva Invest. The president of Unibank is Gagik Zakaryan, the chairman of the Board - Georgy Piskov. The Unistream payment system, one of the most interesting assets of Uniastrum, is not in the package of the deal.

Sports - by Sevag Devledian

English Premiership club Fulham have completed the signing of former Bolton midfielder Andranik Teymourian on a free transfer.Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has clearly seen some potential in the 25-year-old having handed him a two-year deal at Craven Cottage. 25 athletes will represent Armenia in the 29th Summer Olympic Games in Beijing from August 8-24. in Greco-Roman Wrestling, boxing, weight lifting, track and field athletics, shooting, swimming and judo. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan will also take part in the opening ceremony. Armenian Greek-Roman style wrestler Yuri Patrikeyev (120 kg) won the international Greek-Roman style wrestling tournament held in the city of Mereopol. Another Armenian wrestler, Roman Amoyan (55 kg) won silver.

“HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CYPRUS BY TURKEY”

The Press and Information Office (PIO) of the Republic of Cyprus has recently issued the following new publication in English: “HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CYPRUS BY TURKEY” This 48-page booklet examines the documented, massive and continuing violations of internationally protected human rights committed by Turkey in Cyprus. These violations are the direct outcome of Turkey’s unlawful 1974 invasion of the Republic of Cyprus, of the continuing occupation of nearly 37% of its sovereign territory, and the systematic ethnic cleansing that occurred in the area of Cyprus under Turkish occupation. The text is based on a forthcoming larger study on the subject by Dr. Van Coufoudakis, a distinguished political scientist and prominent scholar of the Cyprus problem. That book will be published by the end of 2008 in the United States of America. The information comes from reports, investigations and decisions by NGO’s, the European Commission of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament among other sources. These independent sources fully document Turkey’s violations of contemporary international and European human rights laws and treaties that Turkey itself has signed and ratified. The information presented leaves no doubt about Turkey’s systematic and deliberate policy of eradicating the Greek and Christian cultural heritage and presence in the Turkish occupied areas. These discriminatory policies have been directed since 1974 at Greek, Maronite and Armenian Cypriots because of their ethnicity, religion and language. Such discrimination is explicitly prohibited under both the European Convention of Human Rights and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. As the author points out: “This is a stigma on the international community at a time when, with support from the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey is engaged in accession talks with the EU. Turkey continues to violate its international obligations capitalising on regional instability and the support extended to Turkey by influential external powers. The subordination of human rights to economic, political and security considerations undermines not only the European human rights regime, but also the European commitment to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Cyprus, since 1974, was and remains the testing ground of these principles.” In short, the author argues that the restoration of human rights in occupied Cyprus will provide the foundation of a just and viable settlement to the Cyprus problem. The booklet will be published in several languages. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~