ASBAREZ Online [03-28-2006]

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03/28/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Armenia Ready to Suppress Attack by Azerbaijan 2) Oskanian Urges Diaspora to Continue Partnership with Armenia 3) Millennium Challenges Corporation Signs Five Year $235 Million Compact with Armenia 4) Kurdish Protesters Attack Police in Turkey 5) Turkey to Buy 100 Combat Jets Worth $10 Billion 1) Armenia Ready to Suppress Attack by Azerbaijan YEREVAN (Yerkir)Armenia's Armed Forces are prepared to suppress a possible attack by Azerbaijan or any other state, said Armenian Deputy Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Artur Aghabekian. Commenting on the more frequent cease fire violations between the Armenian and Azeri Armed Forces recently, Aghabekian said that similar incidents have occurred since the Karabagh cease fire was established in 1994. Aghabekian said the violations have become more frequent lately for a number of reasons, such as the restructuring of trenches near troop positions and more aggressive statements by Azeri officials. "I can assure you that in case our positions are fired on, we will respond in an adequate manner," the lieutenant general said. 2) Oskanian Urges Diaspora to Continue Partnership with Armenia YEREVAN (Armenpress)--Speaking at a Washington DC conference on Armenian issues, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian discussed Monday Armenia's relations with the US, democracy in Armenia, Armenia-diaspora relations, and the aid Armenia will receive from the US under the Millennium Challenge Account program. US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Freid, USAID Armenia Mission Director Robin Phillips, Congressmembers and various other officials attended the conference organized by the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), and Western and Eastern Dioceses of the Armenian Church in America. In his speech, Oskanian discussed cooperation between the US and Armenia in the war on terror, non-proliferation, regional security, and in supporting democratic and economic freedoms. "Not only are we ideological partners, but we share the values that have made America. We want those values to be not just aspirations for the citizens of Armenia but solid realities." Referring to the development of democracy in Armenia, Oskanian said: "The entire process of nation-building has been different for us [than the US], since we had to undo an existing system and build a new one. That is why we have welcomed the various US programs which have supported our institutional, democratic and economic reforms." Speaking of the aid Armenia will receive through the Millennium Challenges program, Oskanian said that, "the US government determined to contribute to the budgets of those countries that are themselves attempting to grow in the right direction--to govern justly, to encourage economic openness and to invest in people." "Armenia is a part of the MCC because not only is there plenty about our society that needs to be put right, but because we are on a path that is right," he said. Oskanian also spoke of the important role the diaspora plays in Armenia. "If I think back, I don't know where Armenia would have been without the diaspora," said Oskanian. "The Armenia-diaspora collaboration has been invaluable in this decade and a half of upheaval, confusion and learning. The value of the diaspora is in its ingenuity, non-conformity, its belief in a dream, its access to networks, its ability to be international and national all at the same time, and its tremendous resources." "I am now going to ask you [the diaspora] to partner with Armenia--even more deeply and broadly and seriously than you have already done--in addressing Armenia's domestic and international challenges," said Oskanian. He ended his speech by saying: "The Republic of Armenia exists, it is independent, and it is ours. It still needs its diaspora, more than ever. We must cooperate, not compete, in order to turn the Armenia of our dreams into the Armenia of our future." 3) Millennium Challenges Corporation Signs Five Year $235 Million Compact with Armenia (ARMENPRESS/RFE/RL)--The United States formally released on Monday $235 million in economic assistance to Armenia, to be provided over the next five years under the Bush administration's Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program. Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Ambassador John Danilovich and Armenia's Minister of Finance and Economy, Vartan Khachatrian signed the compact, which is designed to reduce widespread rural poverty by upgrading the country's battered irrigation networks and rural roads. MCC Chair Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice officiated and witnessed the signing. She was joined by Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. Rice said the assistance is a "testament to the hard work and dedication of the Armenian people and their elected government." "I congratulate the people of Armenia for developing a results-focused and transformational program that will improve the lives of the poor," said Danilovich. "MCC assistance will be used to rehabilitate roads needed for Armenians living in rural areas to access social services such as healthcare and markets to sell their products. The Compact also includes funding for projects that will increase the productivity of farm households through improved water supply, higher yields, higher-value crops, and a more competitive agricultural sector." Ambassador Danilovich added, "Continued eligibility for Millennium Challenge Account funds depends on adherence to our indicators measuring performance in ruling justly, investing in people, and encouraging economic freedom. MCC will continue to monitor Armenia's policy performance in these three categories throughout the life of the Compact." "Our partnership will help Armenia to fight poverty through sustainable economic growth," Rice said during the signing ceremony held at the State Department. "To ensure that progress toward this end remains constant, Armenia must continue to advance its democratic reforms." Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who also spoke at the ceremony, assured Washington that his government is "aware that we have the obligation to build on the confidence that has been placed in our government and people." "We know that corruption must not be tolerated and that law must rule, that the principles of democracy must be transformed to traditions of democracy in our country," he said. The launch of the aid program came nearly two years after Armenia was included on the list of 16 developing nations eligible for MCA funding. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government agency administering the scheme, approved the Armenian government's detailed aid application late last year. Most of the MCA funds, $146 million, will be spent on rebuilding and expanding the country's battered irrigation networks. Another $67 million would go to pay for capital repairs of about 1,000 kilometers of rural roads that have fallen into disrepair since the Soviet collapse. Officials say these projects will directly benefit 75 percent of approximately one million Armenians living in rural areas. The MCA aid will be disbursed parallel to regular US assistance to Armenia which has totaled $1.6 billion since 1992. Oskanian described it as "invaluable." 4) Kurdish Protesters Attack Police in Turkey (AP)--Kurdish protesters hurled firebombs at armored police vehicles in southeastern Turkey Tuesday after a funeral for some of the 14 Kurdish guerrillas killed by troops last week. Police launched tear gas canisters at the crowd of hundreds in return, triggering street clashes which left at least five people injured and several businesses and vehicles damaged in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, images broadcast by private NTV television showed. The clashes erupted after protesters chanted pro-Kurdish slogans and attacked the police after the funeral of four of the dead guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. NTV footage showed at least one armored police vehicle engulfed in flames after being hit by a firebomb in Diyarbakir. The operator of the vehicle immediately turned on the vehicle's pressurized water canon in an attempt to extinguish the fire. Further west in Adana, some 3,000 Kurdish protesters attending the funeral of another killed guerrilla clashed with police, prompting the police to detain dozens. Turkish troops had killed 14 Kurdish guerrillas in the province of Mus in a two-day clash that ended on Saturday. Tensions have been running high in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, where violence has escalated recently. The fight for autonomy has claimed the lives of more than 37,000 people. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, reports the AP. 5) Turkey to Buy 100 Combat Jets Worth $10 Billion ANKARA (Reuters)--Turkey's Air Force plans to buy 100 new generation combat aircrafts worth $10 billion and will decide by the end of 2006 which ones to purchase, a senior Turkish official said Tuesday. NATO member Turkey will choose between the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), whose construction is being led by Lockheed Martin, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, being built by a European consortium. Ankara may also opt for a combination of the two planes. Defense Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar said that the new warplanes would replace F-16 and F-4 aircraft currently used by the Turkish Air Force. He was also quoted as saying Turkey wanted its own defense industry facilities to handle half of the warplane project. Bayar, Turkey's chief procurement official, was expected to hold talks with Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon and US defense industry officials during a visit to the United States. The JSF, the Pentagon's costliest weapons project at more than $250 billion, is a US-led effort to develop a family of radar-evading, supersonic, multi-role warplanes with co-financing from eight other countries, including Turkey. Other partners include Britain, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. But the project has been hit by a row over Washington's reluctance to share technology. Turkey, whose largest arms supplier has traditionally been the United States, has invested $175 million for the development phase of the JSF and is hoping to win contracts worth up to $5 billion for its domestic industry, reports the Turkish media. The Eurofighter, a supersonic, twin-engine aircraft, is being built by a consortium including firms from Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany. 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