Month: October 2005

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER COMMENTS ON ARMENIAN COMPANIES HANDED TO RUSSIA

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
Oct 13 2005

RBC, 13.10.2005, Erevan 17:57:16.Russia has not met requirements to
utilize the capacities of Armenian companies handed to it to settle
Erevan’s state debt to Moscow, co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian
intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation Igor
Levitin, who is also Russian transportation minister, has told
journalists. According to Levitin, a working group has been created and
a protocol on enhancing the efficient operation of these companies has
been signed. Russia has made no decision on whether these companies
should produce civil or military goods, he added. In 2003, Armenia
handed 5 companies estimated at USD93.7m to Russia.

ARMENIAN STATE BUDGET-2006 WILL EXCEED $1 BILLION

Regnum, Russia
Oct 13 2005

Armenian state budget-2006 will exceed $1 billion, that is the
first time in the history of the independent country, said Armenian
Prime-Minister Andranik Margaryan. As it has been in the last three
years, this is a social budget.

As a REGNUM correspondent informs, during the discussion of the
budget draft, the government proposed to the parliament to approve
the budget as follows: revenues – 382 billion dram, expenses –
451 billion dram, deficit – 69.9 billion dram. According to Finance
Minister Vardan Khachatryan, this year’s deficit is only 3%, that
meets the requirements of the EU. Also, in 2006 wages and pensions
will be raised.

The prime minister informed that 38% of all the expenses will be put
on social needs. The revenues will be 52.7 billion drachms higher
then in 2005, the deficit decrease has raised from 30% to 47% thanks
to using internal recourses.

RUSSIA HOPEFUL ABOUT RENEWED RAIL LINK WITH GEORGIA, ARMENIA
By Nane Atshemian

Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 13 2005

Russia and Georgia are close to reaching a long-awaited agreement on
restoring their direct railway connection which could significantly
benefit the Armenian economy, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin
said on Thursday.

But he cautioned that the section of the railway passing through
Abkhazia is in need of serious capital repairs that would take as
many as two years.

The Abkhaz section of the Soviet-built railway was seriously damaged
during the 1992-1993 armed conflict which led to the Black Sea region’s
de facto independence from Georgia. Until recently Georgian leaders
opposed its restoration before a settlement of the conflict.

But the administration of President Mikhail Saakashvili appears to
have softened Tbilisi’s position on the issue.

Levitin said he will again discuss the issue with Georgian officials
during a visit to Tbilisi next week and is optimistic about a positive
outcome of the talks.

“If the Georgian side is prepared for the restoration and confirms that
to us, Russia, Georgia and Armenia will have to set up a consortium,
determine each country’s share of investments in the project and start
restoring the railway,” he told reporters in Yerevan. “According to
our calculations, [the repairs] could last for two years.”

Speaking at a joint news conference with Levitin, Armenian Defense
Minister Serzh Sarkisian said Saakashvili reaffirmed Tbilisi’s
commitment to a quick resumption of rail communication between Russia
and Georgia and Armenia during his recent informal talks with President
Robert Kocharian. “Armenia will certainly participate in the project,”
he said.

Sarkisian added that Russia is ready to cover most of the repair
costs. “We are not talking about tens of millions of dollars,” he said.

The lack of rail communication with Russia and other countries makes
export-oriented Armenian companies less competitive and hampers
foreign investment in Armenia’s struggling economy. It is also a
serious hindrance to Russian-Armenian economic ties. Hence, Yerevan’s
strong interest in restoring the vital transport route.

Sarkisian and Levitin spoke at the end of a two-day session of the
Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation,
of which they are the co-chairmen. Officials said the commission
discussed a broad range of economic issues, with the Armenian side
again pressing the Russians to make good on their pledge to revive
Armenian enterprises which were given to them in payment for Yerevan’s
$100 million debt. All of those enterprises except a big power plant
used to be part of the Soviet military-industrial complex and are
now largely standing idle.

“Russia feels its responsibility for those enterprises. That is one
of the obligations which we have not yet fulfilled,” admitted Levitin.

The Russian official said Moscow needs more time to decide what to do
with those industries. “We can’t figure out what type of production
they should have: defense or civilian or both,” he explained.

Russia’s strong presence in the Armenian energy sector was also
high on the agenda of the commission’s session. The two ministers
said they discussed in particular the recent controversial takeover
of the Armenian power grid by Russia’s state-run power monopoly,
Unified Energy Systems, but did not give details.

Levitin was also asked to comment on the Armenian government’s decision
not to grant Russia’s Gazprom giant a contract for the construction
of a pipeline that will pump natural gas from Iran to Armenia. Work
on the Armenian section of the pipeline will be carried out by an
Iranian company and financed with a $35 million loan provided by the
Iranian government.

“We understand the actions of the Armenian side,” Levitin said. “I
consider them logical.”

FRENCH INSURER SETTLES SUIT BY HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 13 2005

(AFP) – The heirs of victims of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians
have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit against French insurer
Axa for $17 million, lawyers said Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, accused Axa of failing to
pay death benefits for the insurance policies purchased by Armenians
living in the Ottoman Empire prior to the genocide in which up to
1.5 million people were killed.

“This is an example where dead men can’t speak but they can file
lawsuits,” said Vartkes Yeghiayan. “It writes another chapter about
persistence and hope. The resolution of the case helps the healing
process.”

Under the terms of the deal, announced in Los Angeles, Axa will donate
at least $3 million to various French-based Armenian charities and
another $11 million towards a fund designed to pay out policyholders
of Axa units that did business in the now defunct Turkish-run Ottoman
Empire.

“Certain of these policyholders and beneficiaries were among the
1.5 million Armenians who perished and were unable to obtain their
insurance proceeds in the ensuing chaos,” lawyers for the victims’
descendants said in a statement.

The Axa settlement follows a similar agreement with New York Life
Insurance Company in early 2004 under which it agreed to pay $20
million.

“The AXA and New York Life settlements are important building blocks
not only toward seeking financial recovery for the losses resulting
from the Armenian Genocide but also in our ultimate goal, which is
for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the genocide,” said
U.S. celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos.

Geragos, who has represented stars including Michael Jackson and
Winona Ryder, is of Armenian descent. “These cases are historical
because they are the only cases ever brought on behalf of genocide
survivors,” he said.

No comment was immediately available from Axa.

The settlement, subject to court approval, will be administered
in France, which was one of the first countries to recognize the
Armenian genocide.

WINE FOR ST. STEPHEN’S

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Oct 13 2005

St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School’s PTO will host its fourth
annual Wine Tasting event on Friday, Oct. 21, starting at 7 p.m.

The venue will be the newly opened Arsenal Center for the Arts in
Watertown, Greater Boston’s new home for the visual, literary and
performing arts. The event will have about 300 attendees, sampling
wines from all around the world and food from many of the area’s fine
food establishments. While mingling, they will also enjoy the sounds
of Gitano Rafael, a trio playing gypsy guitar music.

This year’s event will feature a masquerade theme, since it is
taking place so close to Halloween, and guests are encouraged to
wear masks. For those unable to find the perfect mask before coming,
there will be a chance to pick one up at the event – many varieties
will be sold at the door.

As in years past, the evening will include a live as well as a
silent auction featuring works of art and other one-of-a-kind items
from Armenia.

Donations for the tickets are $50 per person. Tickets need to be
purchased in advance, as they will not be sold at the door. The event
usually sells out. To reserve your tickets, call Linda at 617-901-8022
or e-mail [email protected].

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BABACAN RELAXES WITH ERDOGAN-GUL SUPPORT
By Suleyman Kurt

Zaman, Turkey
zaman.com
Oct 13 2005

“We have taken a long and rocky road,” is the phrase widely repeated by
the public as to how Turkey will conduct the membership negotiations
with the European Union (EU). The first official assessment on the
subject came from the Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan as he underlined
the same point rather than discussing technical details: “At the end
of the road, the standards of life in Turkey will further improve.”

That the Turkish flag was together with that of the EU in one frame
in the room where Babacan met the press did not pass unnoticed. The
background behind him was split into two; on the one side stood
Turkey’s crescent and star and on the other EU’s 12 stars. The
beginning of the negotiations confers Turkey the right to wave both
flags. If the government decides, both flags can stand next to each
other in Turkey’s all foreign missions.

Ali Babacan’s tone so far was not much political, as he is the
minister of state for treasury; it just manifested how competent he
was in this subject. He used to have rather a technocratic profile.

On October 12, he provided technical information about the organization
of the negotiation delegation and the negotiation process; but he
produced assertive statements as well. The sentence, “policies will
henceforth be grounded upon progress rather than fear” should be
underlined. This sentence targets those who, inside and abroad base
their policies on fears. During the entire conversation, Babacan
seemed committed to the negotiation process and its outcomes.

Those who criticized his youth and thought that he could not
simultaneously handle the ministry and the office of chief negotiator
were faced by a self confident Babacan. In fact his youth can turn
into an advantage during the process. His forming friendship with the
EU Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn to the extent of spending
his family holiday with him is a consequence of this. We should not
also forget the EU’s positive approach towards young leaders.

Top negotiator Babacan strongly believes that Turkey will successfully
handle negotiations and end up being a full member of the European
Union (EU). However, he needs to talk the bureaucracy and the public
into believing that this will come true sooner or later. There is no
doubt that as a top negotiator, Babacan will spend most of his time
persuading the Turkish public. As the short-term difficulties emerge,
objections will ease gradually. Those with financial disadvantages
will put much pressure on him eventually. And what’s more is the
need to talk to members of the cabinet into believing in Turkey’s EU
membership. Matters such as Cyprus, allegations about the so-called
Armenian genocide, and the minorities will give the government a
headache. Babacan will be dealing more with the economic aspect of
the EU program.

A large number of government officials claim nothing will be the same
again after October 3. Turkey is most likely to face huge problems
and debates soon on its one-way path. The government is also perfectly
aware of this. Considering the fact that the EU process is so difficult
to manage, the 25-nation bloc was set high on top of the agenda for
all the departments and institutions. A new department has not yet
been formed, and a new structure not developed to meet requirements
due to emerge during the negotiations. The Turkish Prime Minister
has given the ministers the order to deal with the Union first. A
deputy secretary of each department will assume responsibility for
the negotiations.

The high performance of Babacan and his confidence is evidence that
he can overcome the difficulties. Babacan has the chance to find
much room for maneuver thanks to the support of Erdogan and Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. The business world and non-governmental
organizations look on it as sure that the government that Babacan
will manage to follow his successful policies on the EU as he has
been successful in dealing with the global business circles. The
picture that Babacan portrayed of himself at Wednesday’s meeting has
the characteristics to prove this point right.

CONNECTING JAMES JOYCE WITH ARMENIA

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Oct 13 2005

Marc A. Mamigonian of Belmont will speak at the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research Center in Belmont, on Wednesday,
Oct. 26 at 8 p.m., on the Irish novelist James Joyce’s use of Armenian
words and themes.

The lecture, entitled “All Abunk for Tarararat!: Armenian in James
Joyce’s ‘Finnegan’s Wake,'” will be a substantially expanded version
of talks given at international conferences in Dublin in 2004 and at
UCLA in 2005.

James Joyce wrote his final book, “Finnegan’s Wake,” between 1923
and 1939. Joyce, one of the high priests of literary modernism whose
earlier novels, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” (1916) and
“Ulysses” (1922), were in many ways the ultimate expression of that
movement, in “Finnegan’s Wake” demolished the very notion of a unified
work of art, of literary structure, and of the English language itself.

Joyce’s revolution of the word was in part a reaction to the chaos
of World War I, and finding a place in his de-centered universe
are the Armenians and the Armenian Genocide, to which he refers in
the book. This lecture will explore the ways in which Joyce used the
Armenians, the Armenian language, and the Armenian Genocide to support
the book’s major themes of death and rebirth, the “fall from grace,”
and the cyclical nature of history.

The light cast by the Armenian references into the novel’s
vast obscurity is not merely peripheral. Joyce, ever alert to
historical-mythical parallels, saw the Armenians as similar to the
Irish, both nations of “people living in the same place … or also
living in different places,” dispersed, oppressed, persistent in
their refusal to be destroyed.

Mamigonian is director of programs and publications at NAASR, where
he has worked for nearly eight years. Prior to his time at NAASR,
he spent two years at Boston University writing annotations for
a multi-media edition of Joyce’s “Ulysses.” He is co-author of a
full-length commentary on Joyce’s Stephen Hero, published in 2004
by the James Joyce Quarterly, as well as other articles on Joyce,
the Armenians, and other topics. He holds a master’s degree in
English from Tufts University and has taught a class on “Ulysses”
at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education since 1997.

Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The NAASR
Bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will begin promptly at
8 p.m.

For more information about the lecture, call 617-489-1610, e-mail
[email protected], or write to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

CELEBRATE HARVEST AT ARMENIAN CHURCH

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Oct 13 2005

The Women’s Fellowship of the First Armenian Church, 380 Concord Ave.

in Belmont, is sponsoring a Fall Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct.

22 from noon to 8 p.m.

Armenian delicacies such as shish kebab, losh kebab and chicken kebab
will be served for lunch and dinner, and choreg, string cheese,
yalanchi and manti will be among the many foods available for
purchase. There will also be a wide variety of Armenian and American
pastries for sale. All are welcome.

THE ARMENIAN SHADOW OVER TURKEY’S DEMOCRATISATION
Gunes Tezcur

Open Democracy, UK
Oct 13 2005

Turkish acceptance of the fate of the Armenians in 1915 would unlock
a society steeped in denial of its own historical experience, says
Gunes Tezcur

“Every society experiences defeat in its own way”, observes Wolfgang
Schivelbusch in his book The Culture of Defeat: On National Mourning,
Trauma and Recovery, “but the varieties of response within vanquished
nations conform to a recognisable set of patterns that recur across
time and national boundaries.”

Turkish responses to the Ottoman defeat in the “great war” of 1914-18
have been idiosyncratic. After all, that ignominious defeat gave
birth to ultimate victory under the nationalist leadership of General
Mustafa Kemal, who succeeded in creating a homeland for the Turks and,
as Kemal Atatűrk, led the country until his death in 1938.

Perhaps as a result, almost ninety years since the greatest debacle
ever to have befallen the Turkish people, a collective amnesia of the
disaster prevails. History textbooks do not even tell young Turkish
citizens that the Ottoman empire was defeated in the war.

Also on the future of Turkey in openDemocracy:

Reinhard Hesse, “Turkish honey under a German moon” (March 2004)

Murat Belge, “Turkey and Europe: why friendship is welcome”
(December 2004)

Fred Halliday, “Turkey and the hypocrisies of Europe” (December 2004)

Fadi Hakura, “Europe and Turkey: the end of the beginning” (October
2005)

If you find this material valuable please consider supporting
openDemocracy by sending us a donation so that we can continue our
work and keep it free for all

For the ultimate surrender of the empire, they blame the failure of
the Germans and the allies; for the loss of the Arab territories,
they perpetuate the myth of an “Arab stab in the back.” This denial of
defeat has been accompanied by a denial of any responsibility for the
fate of the empire’s Armenian subjects. And that tragic fate of the
Armenians still haunts Turkey’s prospects for democratisation today.

Debates on the fate of the Armenians living under the Ottoman empire
have intensified in recent years. Armenian communities in the west have
long been active in publicising the Armenian genocide and in urging
western parliaments and governments to recognise it. On 28 September
2005, the European parliament passed a resolution that calls on Turkey
“to recognise the genocide of the Armenians” and considers this act
as a “prerequisite to accession to the European Union.” Meanwhile,
an Istanbul conference organised by Turkish scholars who challenge
the official Turkish line stirred a major controversy after various
attempts to prevent it from convening it proved futile.

Still, Turkish public opinion remains very sensitive to the claims
that Armenians were deliberately annihilated in a policy of ethnic
cleansing. Not just the Turkish state, but large segments of Turkish
society remain defensive. Dissidents have a hard time swaying public
opinion; they feel compelled to state that they are not “traitors.”

How to make sense of the current state of Turkish public opinion?

What can it tell us about the power of national imaginations vis-a-vis
the past on the future of democracy?

Four elements of denial

The denial of Turkey’s defeat in the first world war translates
into sympathy for the Ottoman rulers who perpetrated the acts of
genocide against the Armenians. Mehmet Talat Pasha, the wartime
grand vizier who ordered the mass deportation of Armenians in 1915,
was assassinated in Berlin by an Armenian survivor, Sogomon Teleyran,
in 1921. His remains were brought to Turkey from Germany in 1943 and
reburied on the “hill of liberty” in Istanbul along with those of
the formidable war minister, Enver Pasha.

Talat, Enver, and their accomplices brought about the demise of six
centuries of empire in pursuit of hollow, grandiose designs; they were
men who sent millions to their deaths with impunity. Yet they still
enjoy the status of heroes in contemporary Turkey. Despite the fact
that the Young Turks lost the war, their crimes are long forgotten
if not forgiven by Turkish nationalists.

There are four reasons why Turkish public opinion cannot swallow the
term “genocide”.

First, Turks do not believe that the “Turkish nation” is capable of
committing such unspeakable atrocities.

Second, the extermination of the Armenians has been shrouded in
the claims of a civil war: “if we killed some of them, they also
killed many of us” is the usual reaction of ordinary Turks. It is
not uncommon for the Turkish media to show newly discovered mass
graves full of Turks killed by Armenian militias in eastern Turkey,
or to publish memoirs of old Turks who witnessed Armenian atrocities.

Turkish public opinion is stirred up by the perception that Armenians
exclusively monopolise the status of victim.

Third, it is an open secret that without the annihilation of Armenians,
Turkey’s eastern borders would look quite different.

Fourth, the extreme politicisation of the issue in the international
arena and western pressure on the Turkish government to recognise
the Armenian genocide have strongly contribute to widespread Turkish
feelings of unfairness, exploitation, and inferiority vis-a-vis the
west. In this connection, the passivity of western governments during
the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, to cite the most recent cases,
hardly helps their claims to serve as arbiters of justice.

For all these reasons, discussions of the fate of the Armenians
in contemporary Turkey are largely deprived of moral concerns and
sensitivities.

Also in openDemocracy, Nouritza Matossian’s essay on the Armenian
painter Arshile Gorky, “Disinterring the past” (July 2001):

“The violation of history continues to unhinge the present.”

New past, new future

An unfettered and open discussion of the fate of the Armenians would
lead to greater public awareness of the perils of absolute state
power, as it would buttress democratic and accommodative approaches
to dealing with Kurdish nationalism.

It would be naïve, however, to expect that the emergence of the
Armenian issue as a major factor in negotiations between the European
Union and Turkey would tame the chauvinistic tendencies in Turkish
nationalism. It would more likely play into the hands of isolationists
and ultra-nationalists who insist that Europe is insincere and seeks to
“betray” Turkey over and over again.

How the defeats of the past are articulated in national memory
inevitably affects how nations behave in the conflicts of the
present. Crimes committed in times of national desperation or
decadence can occasion healing only when all of their justifications
are categorically rejected by present generations. Then, the culture
of impunity unravels.

In the case of Turkey, this entails a self-critical and unflinching
examination of its greatest defeat, the first world war, as well
as its subsequent victory in the war of independence of 1919-22. A
more open and ethical understanding of the fate of the Armenians is
absolutely essential for Turkey’s democratic future.

–Boundary_(ID_uHJNcEyEE8TlGxR9bQ6W4g)–

BUSINESSMEN ARRESTED AMID COURT BATTLE WITH ARMENIAN CUSTOMS
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 13 2005

The two top executives of a coffee importing company who have alleged
high-level corruption within Armenian customs have been arrested on
charges of fraud and smuggling, their lawyer said on Thursday.

The arrest of Gagik Hakobian and his deputy Aram Ghazarian is the
latest twist in a long-running bitter dispute between their Royal
Armenia firm and the State Customs Committee (SCC). It began nearly
two years ago when they the company claimed to be penalized for its
refusal to cut illegal deals with corrupt customs officials.

Criminal proceedings against the Royal Armenia executives were launched
by the National Security Service (NSS), the Armenian successor to
the KGB secret police, last spring. The case is reportedly based on
a complaint filed by a U.S. citizen of Armenian descent who claims
that Royal Armenia owes him $164,000 for coffee supplies and has
failed to pay up. The man, identified as Vache Petrosian, has also
alleged that Hakobian and his associates forged financial statements
to understate the volume of their imports.

Hakobian’s lawyer, Ashot Sargsian, described the case as “weird.” “I
wonder why he went to the National Security Service,” Sargsian
told RFE/RL. “If one of the parties fails to honor its contractual
obligations, it must be taken to court.”

“I don’t know what National Security wants today. They themselves
probably don’t know,” he said.

The NSS refused to comment on the case on the grounds that the
investigation is still going on.

Speaking at a news conference last June, Hakobian charged that he is
being prosecuted in retaliation for its high-profile battle with the
customs chiefs. “We are dealing with a group of officials who set
unofficial rules, and if you don’t comply with those rules then you
must not operate,” he said.

The two-year dispute centers on the Customs Committee’s controversial
discretionary power to determine the market value of imported
commodities before levying a fixed 10 percent duty from them. Royal
Armenia, which imports, processes and sells coffee, said last year that
customs officials offered to grossly undervalue price of its imported
coffee beans in return for sharing in the resulting extra profits.

The Armenian customs has evaluated one kilogram of Indonesian raw
coffee imported by Royal Armenia at $1.8. The company insists that
its real purchasing price was only $1.24 per kilogram. The value of
the same sort of coffee brought in by other importers is set at $1.1
per kilogram or even less.

Customs officials say they trust invoices submitted by Royal Armenia’s
competitors but they have yet to clearly explain why they distrust
customs declarations issued by Hakobian’s company.

Royal Armenia says it has repeatedly demanded a written explanation
of the price evaluation policy from the customs but to no avail. It
asked Armenia’s Economic Court last month to force the SCC to provide
such a document and reconsider its controversial import duties. The
court is still considering the lawsuit

Customs administration is one of the most frequent sources of
complaints made by Armenian entrepreneurs. However, few of them go
public with their grievances for fear of government retribution.

Royal Armenia is the only private firm which is known to have publicly
clashed with the SCC in recent years.

Corruption among Armenian officials in charge of collecting taxes and
import duties is widespread. President Robert Kocharian personally
warned senior customs officials on two occasions this year to stop
harassing honest taxpayers and helping importers avoid taxes in return
for kickbacks.

Armenia’s controversial customs chief, Armen Avetisian, is believed to
be close to Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian. Incidentally, Avetisian
has held senior posts in the NSS in the past.