World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (December 25-27, 2010)

An article headlined "Azerbaijan needs bipartisan support" was published by The Washington Post on December 26. According to the author, Azerbaijan has registered no political progress in the past 10
years, the Aliyev regime is extremely corrupt and the country isn't democratic. At the same time, the author admits that the country's elite is trying to improve the image of Azerbaijan. The country's
authorities are interested in balanced relations with both Russia and the USA. "The good news today is that there is clear evidence of American influence in Azerbaijan," the author concludes.

The Washington Post has also published two articles devoted to human rights violations in Iran. The first one tells about Fariborz Raeis Dana, an Iranian economist, who has been detained recently because he criticized the government's pricing programme. The author of the second article reports that a so-called "Israeli spy" has been sentenced to death in Iran. Israel has made no official comment, the article says.

According to Iranian news agency Press TV, a person sentenced to death was providing Israeli officials with secret information. Press TV reports that 5 more people were arrested, "These spies supplied the
enemy with information on Iran's judiciary, military and space agencies, among other things, prior to their arrest. Israel runs spy cells in many countries around the world. It is also the only Washington ally to openly spy on the United States. In recent years many Tel Aviv-linked individuals have been arrested in countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Syria on espionage charges," the relevant article says.

Another article published by The Washington Post is entitled "Turkey wants to make peace with Israel". Turkey's foreign minister on Saturday said the country wants improved ties with Israel, but it must apologize and offer compensation for its deadly raid on a Gaza Strip-bound aid flotilla, the author reports. "We have the intention of making peace with Israel," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, "We are for peace with all countries," the Minister added.

The Los Angeles Times has also published several articles devoted to human rights violations in Iran. The author of one such article reports that Iran's opposition leaders are barred from leaving the
country. According to the article, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, who both ran in the disputed 2009 elections, are now prohibited from travelling abroad. The author of another article
reports that relatives of two German journalists detained in Iran since October have been prohibited from visiting the suspects.

"Ship in Israel Raid Returns to Turkey", is the headline of an article published on December 26 by The New York Times. "Thousands of people gathered along the shores of Istanbul on Sunday afternoon to welcome home the Mavi Marmara, the ship that was raided by Israel as it led a flotilla aimed at breaking the blockade of Gaza," says the article. Turkey, which had long been a close ally of Israel, has demanded an apology and compensation for the deaths of the activists killed in the raid and had recalled its ambassador. Israel has refused to apologize, saying that the ship was warned to stay away and that Israeli commandos fired in self-defense after the activists aboard the ship fired first.

The Guardian has published two articles devoted to the case of Habibollah Latifi, an Iranian student accused of being a member of a Kurdish separatist group and a terrorist. A 29-year-old student was
sentenced to death, but the international community has launched a campaign aimed at saving his life and bringing it to the attention of human rights advocates all over the world. As a result, the execution was postponed.

The Turkish news agency Hurriyet has published an article headlined "Examining the Armenian deportation", devoted to recent debates in the Congress on the deportation of Armenians in 1915. According to the author, the deportation was by no means a genocide and he asks whether
"Western politicians such as Adam Schiff or Nancy Pelosi who vote in favour of "Armenian genocide" bills are even aware of the realities", and answers that it's improbable.