Month: September 2006

ARMENIAN MINISTER ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF REJECTING KARABAKH PEACE PLAN

Public Television of Armenia
Sept 26 2006

Armenian foreign minister has said that Yerevan has agreed to all
basic principles of a proposal on ending the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. In an address to a UN General Assembly session, he also
accused Azerbaijan of rejecting peace plans and of seeking a return
to the past in the face of changes in the region. The following is the
text of a presenter-read report by Armenian Public TV on 26 September

The people of Nagornyy Karabakh have adopted a decision long ago not to
be represented by the Azerbaijani government. The Karabakh people were
the victims of state violence, they defended themselves, and succeeded
against all odds, only to hear the state cry foul and claim sovereignty
and territorial integrity, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
said at the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Vardan Oskanyan outlined that the Azerbaijani government has lost
the moral right to make offers to ensure the Karabakh peoples’
security and future. Azerbaijan did not treat the Karabakh people,
who were Azerbaijan’s citizens, with responsibility. Azerbaijan allowed
pogroms in the cities, far from Nagornyy Karabakh and more than 300,000
Armenians were evicted. After signing an agreement on cease-fire in
the war which they have lost, the Azerbaijanis started destroying
all Armenian traces on their territories, Vardan Oskanyan said.

Ten years later after the end of hostilities, they destroyed thousands
of cross stones. This shows that Azerbaijan’s attitude to humanitarian
and cultural values and agreement, even to peace has not changed. One
cannot blame Armenia for thinking that Azerbaijan is not ready or
interested in the negotiations.

We have agreed to each of the basic principles in the document on
the settlement of the conflict that is on the table. Having rejected
the other two compromise solutions that have been put forward,
Azerbaijan does not want to be accused of rejecting the peace plan
on the table today. Therefore, they are using all means available,
from state violence to international manoeuvres, trying to prove that
it was Armenia who rejected it.

However, Armenia has agreed to each of the basic principles in the
document that is on the table today. Yet, in order to give this or
any document a chance, Azerbaijan cannot think or pretend to think
that there is still a military solution. There is no such option.

Compromise and realism are the only options, the Armenian foreign
minister said.

The road chosen by the Nagornyy Karabakh people 20 years ago is
irreversible. Thanks to it Nagornyy Karabakh succeeded in ensuring
self-defence, has established a mechanism of self-government and is
in charge of its borders and economy. An official recognition of this
process is an important condition for stability in the region.

Ignoring what has happened in the course of the past twenty years,
Azerbaijan is demanding with an offended look to restore everything as
it used to be. This is unfair and unrealistic, said Vardan Oskanyan,
and added that Nagornyy Karabakh is not a court of law [as heard],
but a place, a beautiful garden inhabited by people who deserve
the right to live in peace without fear. We are not demanding more,
but we are not expecting less either, Vardan Oskanyan said.

CIS SECURITY SERVICES OPEN ANTITERROR EXERCISES IN ARMENIA
by Vladimir Zainetdinov

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 26, 2006 Tuesday

Security services of the CIS and Collective Security Treaty
Organisation (CSTO) countries opened the massive exercises Atom –
Antiterrror-2006 at the Armyanskaya nuclear power plant on Tuesday.

The exercises will continue through Friday.

The CIS Aniterrorist Centre’s chief Colonel-General Boris Mylnikov
told reporters that the Atom – Antiterror-2006 operative-strategic
exercises would be a drill of planning and conducting the search "to
reveal and destroy sabotage groups that infiltrated the territory of
Armenia and seized a nuclear power plant in the city of Metsamor".

Workers of the Armenian National Security Service and the Russian
Federal Security Service’s Special Task Centre will act as "terrorists"
who have been secretly moving in Armenia for ten days with designs
to seize the Armaynskaya nuclear power plant, Mylnikov said.

He said that antiterrorists divisions of CIS security services would
hold the exercises of this scale for the first time jointly with the
allied headquarters of the CSTO and Armenian army units that are a
part of the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Forces.

The Armenian National Security Service and antiterrorist units of the
FSB Special Task Centre will play a main role in the exercises. When
"terrorists" are spotted, the Armenian army’s motorised infantry
battalion of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces in the
Trans-Caucasus and two companies of special forces will join the
action, Mylnikov said.

The active phase of the exercises, at which the anti-terrorist forces
will free the "seized" nuclear power plant will be held on Thursday.

Representatives of G8 countries, the antiterrorist division of the
OSCE Secretariat, the counter-terrorist committee of the UN Security
Council, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation’s Regional Antiterrorist Structure have been invited to
the exercises in a capacity of observers.

The US, Greece, France, China and the OSCE have confirmed their
attending the exercises.

Security services of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will not
participate, Mylnikov said.

MEDIAMAX EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF PETER SEMNEBY

MEDIAMAX Armenian news agency

weekly analytical report
26.09.06

"A Very Important Opportunity Has Been Lost"

The exclusive interview of Peter Semneby, EU Special Representative
to theSouth Caucasus, to Mediamax news agency

– When will the Armenian Action Plan within the European Neighborhood
Policy (ENP) be adopted?

– The European Union Troika and External Relations Commissioner are
planning to visit all three countries in the South Caucasus in early
October. The intention is that all three Action Plans should be ready
by that time.

– Azerbaijan was demanding to include in its Action Plan wording
saying that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled within
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Has this issue been solved,
or is it still under discussion?

– What we have in the draft text of the Azerbaijani Action Plan is the
acknowledgement of its territorial integrity – the same was introduced
in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Azerbaijan that
was signed long time ago.

Both in Armenian and Azerbaijani Action Plans there are sections
specifically referring to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. They are
very similar and based on the same draft. Some small differences
reflect the different concerns and the different aspirations of the
countries. But there is no prejudging what the final outcome and the
resolution of the conflict would be.

– Can we say that the adoption of the Action Plans will open a new
chapter in the relations between the EU and the countries of the
South Caucasus?

– Absolutely. It will be a much more profound relationship. The three
countries will be tied very closely to the European Union; there will
be much closer contacts with Brussels.

>>From now on it would be up to the ambitions and the ability of each
country to move forward in building its own relations with the European
Union, and I expect Armenia to do very well in this. Our negotiations
experience proves that Armenia is taking the Action Plan very seriously
and the Armenian negotiators were exceptionally well prepared.

– This May you said that all three countries of the region were moving
in different directions. At the same time EU perceives this region
as a whole. You don’t see any contradictions here?

– Each country in the South Caucasus has an individual relationship
with the EU that is largely performance-based. At the same time, there
are also issues of regional concern related to environment, trade,
energy issues and others that we need to address through a regional
framework. So one thing doesn’t exclude another. One of the tasks and
the obligations in the Action Plans is to move forward on regional
cooperation. I realize that in case with Armenia and Azerbaijan this
presents particular difficulties as long as the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is not resolved. Resolution of the existing conflicts is a
priority task in the Action Plans as well.

– Does the Armenian Action Plan contain any mentioning about Armenia’s
aspiration to join the EU?

– It is stated in the draft text that the European Union takes note
of the ambitions expressed by Armenia. I should say that this issue
has been actively debated inside the EU, because the Union is now at
the stage of reflection after that latest enlargement and the failure
of the European Constitution ratification. Many member-states think
that this is not the right time to take further obligations.

Nevertheless, the EU countries have come to a conclusion that
it is a positive sign that Armenia, as well as other countries,
are expressing this ambition since it indicates the willingness to
implement difficult reforms.

At the same time, this does not mean that the path towards the EU
membership is open. ENP does not include a membership prospective
and it also doesn’t exclude it. The issue of membership is a separate
one, and if it is on the agenda some time in the future, it will be
discussed separately from the ENP. Diligent implementation of the
ENP tasks, of course, will be a big plus and will demonstrate that
Armenia is serious about its expressed ambition.

– This March you told our agency that the contribution to the
resolution of the conflicts will be your top priority. Now, as half a
year passed, you have probably gained more experience. Do you think
that the window of opportunities to settle the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict in the near future is still open?

– If I had to mention my biggest disappointment in my first half a
year as the EU Special Representative in the South Caucasus it would
be the failure of Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. I think that very important opportunity
has been lost, but I hope it has not been lost for a long time.

I am not particularly optimistic at this moment. I don’t want to put
blame on any side, but I think that both Armenia and Azerbaijan should
think about the dangers and costs of not reaching a solution.

For Armenia there are quite obvious huge costs. Armenia’s relative
isolation is a direct consequence of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

In Azerbaijan the costs as such may not be on the top of the people’s
minds, but there are also risks related to the undetermined status
of the conflict. I am noticing a growing harsher rhetoric in the
domestic discussion in Azerbaijan. This increases the risk of any
kind of incident along the contact line developing into more serious
confrontation.

– Don’t you think that the relative isolation of Armenia, that you
have mentioned, creates additional frustration in Yerevan and toughens
its position? Don’t you think that Armenia’s involvement in the major
regional transport and energy projects could have made Yerevan more
ready for some compromises that are considered impossible today?

– I am not saying how the things should be ideally, I am just stating
the fact. This is the reality that Armenia has to live with, and
these are the costs that Armenia has to take into account when it
weights the costs and the benefits of the current situation. There
will be costs of the settlement as well, because it will mean painful
compromises. So these costs will have to be weight against the costs
of the continuing isolation. I very much hope that in this calculus
Armenian leadership and the population would come to a conclusion on
that it is more beneficial for Armenia to settle the conflict despite
the costs this will entail.

– Do you see any opportunities to improve the Turkish-Armenian
relations before the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict?

– I think that the issue of the Turkish-Armenian relations should
have been settled a long time ago. What we put across to the Turkish
authorities is that there is no justification for keeping the border
closed. At the same time if there was the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, this would probably lead to the opening of the
border very rapidly.

– During your last visit to Yerevan you said that the 2007
parliamentary elections will be a very serious test for Armenia. Does
it mean that you’ve already had some concerns regarding the upcoming
elections?

– What I hear from the Armenian political leaders and those who are
in charge for administering the elections is that all preparations
are made to ensure absolutely free and fair elections. I don’t have
any independent ability to judge whether this is the case. There will
be an electoral observation carried out by the OSCE/ODIHR.

This will be the first major elections in Armenia after the adoption of
the Action Plan and it will determine the quality of our relations. The
elections will show what degree of commitment Armenia has towards
meeting the goals and objectives reflected in the Action Plan. The
upcoming elections will be crucially important and we will be following
them with great interest.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EURO MPS DEPLORE TURKEY’S SLOW REFORM PROGRESS
by Yann Ollivier

Agence France Presse — English
September 26, 2006 Tuesday 6:40 PM GMT

The European Union on Tuesday criticised Turkey over its slow pace
of reforms, urging Ankara to respect its obligations in order to
continue talks on EU membership.

Most of the European parliamentary deputies debating the issue
in Strasbourg echoed the views of the European Commission and the
Finnish EU presidency which deplored the lack of momentum in the
Turkish reform process.

"Turkey needs to give fresh impetus to reforms," said Finland’s
minister for European affairs, Paula Lehtomaki.

"The momentum for reform has slowed down in Turkey in the past year,"
echoed EU Enlargement Minister Olli Rehn

There was more support for Turkish membership from the European
socialists, with bloc leader Martin Schulz arguing that Turkish EU
membership would "refute irrevocably the idea that western values
are incompatible with Islam".

The debate came on the day that the EU announced that Bulgaria and
Romania could join the group in 2007.

That announcement came with a stark message from EU Commission
President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso that the union had to get its
institutional house in order before letting any other nations in.

A senior Turkish diplomat said Tuesday that EU officials do not expect
Turkey to be ready for membership before 2015.

Turkey’s accession talks, which started last October, have met with
serious European opposition amid concerns over its sizeable population,
relatively weak economy and predominantly Muslim faith.

The Commission is set to issue a crucial report on Turkey’s progress
towards membership on November 8 amid mounting EU criticism that
Ankara is failing to ensure freedom of speech and a row over trade
privileges for Cyprus.

"If there is no progress," before then "there will be consequences
for the whole accession process," said Lehtomaki.

Last week, the EU slammed Ankara for failing to promote free speech
after best-selling novelist Elif Shafak went on trial for insulting
the Turkish nation in a book about the massacres of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire.

Even though the writer was swiftly acquitted, the Commission said "a
significant threat to freedom of expression" remains in Turkish law
and urged amendements in the penal code, including the infamous Article
301, which landed Shafak and a string of other intellectuals in court.

Turkey’s EU bid is also complicated by its rejection to open its sea
and air ports to Greek Cypriot ships and planes on the grounds that
international restrictions on the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet
should also be lifted.

"The credibility of the European institutions are at stake," EU
rapporteur on Turkey Camiel Eurlings told the parliamentary plenary
debate.

Eurlings is the author of a recent hard-hitting report on Turkey
which will go to a vote here on Wednesday.

While there was general unanimity on Turkey’s poor human rights
record and restrictions on the freedoms of religion and free speech,
the eurodeputies remained divided on whether an apology from Turkey
is required over the Armenian massacre.

Earlier this month Turkey denounced an EU report saying that Ankara
must recognize the 1915-1917 genocide in Armenia as a condition for
joining the EU.

Armenians estimate that up to 1.5 million of their forebears perished
in systematic killings orchestrated by the Ottoman Empire between
1915 to 1917.

Ankara rejects all accusations of genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Tuesday that
Turkey would stick to the path of democratic reform.

"We are keeping up the reform process, without slowing down and
without losing our enthusiasm," Erdogan said in a speech.

He added, however, that freedoms cannot be "limitless" and underlined
that enacting higher democracy norms in the country also required
"a change in mentality" among the judiciary, "which does not happen
overnight."

TURKEY PLEDGES TO KEEP UP REFORM AFTER EU CRITICISM

Agence France Presse — English
September 26, 2006 Tuesday

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Tuesday that Turkey
would stick to the path of democratic reform following European
Union criticism that EU-hopeful Ankara was failing to ensure freedom
of speech.

"We are keeping up the reform process, without slowing down and without
losing our enthusiasm," Erdogan said in a speech to lawmakers from
his Justice and Development Party.

Last week, the EU slammed Ankara for failing to promote free speech
after best-selling novelist Elif Shafak went on trial for insulting
the Turkish nation in a book about the massacres of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire.

Even though the writer was swiftly acquitted, the European Commission
said "a significant threat to freedom of expression" remains in
Turkish law and urged amendements in the penal code, including the
infamous Article 301, which landed Shafak as well as a string of
other intellectuals in court.

Erdogan reiterated the government was open to proposals to amend
Article 301 in order to "to thicken the line between offence and
criticism."

He said, however, that freedoms cannot be "limitless" and underlined
that enacting higher democracy norms in the country also required
"a change in mentality" among the judiciary, "which does not happen
overnight."

Article 301 sets out up to three years in jail "for denigrating
Turkish national identity" and insulting state institutions.

No one has yet been imprisoned under the provision, but the appeals
court in July confirmed the suspended six-month sentence of a
Turkish-Armenian journalist, setting a precedent for dozens of other
pending cases.

Parliament last week began debating a package of reforms aimed at
further boosting Turkey’s accession bid before a crucial European
Commission report on November 8 detailing the country’s progress
towards membership.

Erdogan said the government was determined to press ahead with a draft
law expanding the property rights of non-Muslim religious foundations,
brushing aside criticism from the opposition that the planned reform
would grant too broad rights to minorities.

Turkey’s EU bid is already complicated by its rejection to open its
sea and air ports to Greek Cypriots on the grounds that international
restrictions on the breakaway Turkish Cypriots statelet should be
simultanously lifted.
From: Baghdasarian

ASILE POLITIQUE: UNE FAMILLE ARMéNIENNE EXPULSéE DE CORRèZE VERS L’ALLEMAGNE

Agence France Presse
26 septembre 2006 mardi 6:20 PM GMT

Une famille d’Armeniens, installee a Tulle et qui avait demande
l’asile politique en France, va etre expulsee vers l’Allemagne où
elle avait entrepris une première demarche identique mais sous une
fausse identite, a-t-on appris mardi auprès d’une association locale.

Depuis juillet, Guennady et Nakhchoum Arakelov sejournaient a
Tulle avec leurs deux enfants, âges de 6 mois et 4 ans, soutenus par
l’association Le Roc. Il avaient fui la Russie avec une vieille tante
après avoir, selon eux, heberge quatre combattants tchetchènes a Volks,
leur ancienne cite de residence.

Dans un premier temps, les cinq Armeniens ont gagne l’Allemagne, où
ils ont rempli une demande d’asile sous de fausses identites, grâce
a des papiers delivres par le passeur qui les avait accompagnes. Sans
reponse, ils ont poursuivi leur periple jusqu’a Tulle.

La prefecture de la Corrèze a pris lundi un arrete d’expulsion pour les
renvoyer en Allemagne, au motif que la reglementation communautaire
impose aux demandeurs d’asile politique d’attendre sur place la
decision des autorites du pays qu’ils ont sollicite.

Apprehendes a l’issue d’une ultime demarche a la prefecture, les
Arakelov sont alles chercher leur fillette dans l’ecole où elle
venait d’effectuer sa première rentree. Ils ont ensuite ete conduits
au centre de retention de Toulouse, d’où ils devaient etre expulses
vers l’Allemagne.

L’association Le Roc craint que les autorites de Berlin les renvoie
en Russie pour defaut de papiers.

–Boundary_(ID_CHoC/Z3SC0ok5/wKKn+d2w)–

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS LAW CRIMINALIZING INSULTS AGAINST TURKEY

Associated Press Worldstream
September 26, 2006 Tuesday

Turkey’s prime minister defended a law that makes it a crime to
insult "Turkishness" or Turkish officials on Tuesday, saying European
countries had similar laws and politicians did not have to stand for
being targets of abuse.

"Yes to criticism, no to insult," Erdogan told parliament on Tuesday
while talking about article 301 of the penal code, which the European
Union insists must be changed or abolished because it limits free
expression in this EU candidate country.

Despite a rash of prominent court cases using article 301 against
authors, academics and journalists, however, Turkish politicians have
been reluctant to amend the law, saying it needs more time to be tested
and that the problems are in implementation, not with the law itself.

Erdogan makes a distinction between criticism, which he says is
democratic and acceptable, and insult, which he says is not. His
lawyers regularly open court cases against journalists who allegedly
insult him.

"Is a politician this country’s whipping child?" he asked rhetorically
on Tuesday. "There are those circles who mix up criticism and insult."

The prime minister added, however, that his government would consider
changing the law as long as the changes ensured it still protected
against insults.

"Just like in European countries, this law stems from need. If in
the end it emerges that there is a problem in implementation which,
while stopping the crime (insults), also limits legitimate rights
and freedoms, then we will amend the law in the necessary way. We
are open to concrete suggestions on this subject."

Most of the charges brought using article 301, including those against
leading Turkish novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak, have not led
to convictions, but European Union officials argue even the threat
of legal action limits free expression.

The law is frequently invoked by nationalist lawyers against those
who suggest that Turks were guilty of genocide against Armenians.

On Monday, Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink was charged with
"insulting Turkishness" for saying bluntly that Armenians were victims
of genocide. Dink faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR IN BIGGEST POLITICAL CHALLENGE
By E.J. Schultz, Fresno Bee

Scripps Howard News Service
September 26, 2006, Tuesday 4:24 PM EST

If Jerry Brown was born into politics, Chuck Poochigian, you might say,
stumbled into it over breakfast.

The year was 1977. The occasion: a morning organizing event in Fresno
for then-state Sen. George Deukmejian.

Deukmejian was ramping up his run for attorney general and looking
for volunteers. Poochigian, fresh out of law school, seemed to fit
the bill.

"They were looking for someone who was a young attorney," he recalls.

And so began a nearly 30-year political career that this fall brings
Poochigian to his greatest challenge yet: a run for attorney general
against Brown, a better-known and better-funded Democrat.

To say the race is a study in contrasts is an understatement.

Poochigian, a 57-year-old conservative Republican state senator,
grew up on a family farm in rural Fresno County. He spent nearly 20
years volunteering for campaigns and working behind the scenes before
plunging into elected office in his mid 40s with his election to the
Assembly in 1994.

Brown, the mayor of Oakland, is the son of a governor. His entry
into state politics began with a bang when he was elected California
Secretary of State in his early 30s. He went on to serve two terms
as governor and make three runs for president.

Brown, 68, remains one of the most well-known politicians in
California, a fact that has helped him to a double-digit lead in
early polling and a more than $1million fundraising edge.

Poochigian says the gap can be closed.

"My challenge is to overcome my name identification," he said. "His
challenge is to overcome his record."

So far the candidates have spent more time attacking each other’s
past than debating the issues of today.

The Poochigian team conjures up the image of Governor Moonbeam, the
"flaky" and "too liberal" Gov. Brown of the 1970s and early 1980s who
supported a prisoners’ bill of rights and vetoed a bill to reinstate
the death penalty. (The Legislature overrode the veto.)

The Brown camp paints Poochigian as an "out-of-touch" and "extreme"
career legislator who voted with business and against the environment.

The rough-and-tumble of a statewide political campaign seems an
unlikely place to find Poochigian, a mild-mannered policy wonk who
seems more at home breaking down legislation than slinging one liners.

"For me the campaign is an essential path to having the opportunity to
serve, and that’s it," he said. "I’m not interested in politics for
the sake of just taking a victory lap. My reward comes from getting
into the job, doing the people’s business."

The grandson of Armenian genocide survivors, Charles Suren Poochigian
was born in 1949 and raised in Lone Star, an old railroad town
southeast of Fresno. His elementary school didn’t have a Cub Scout
troop or baseball team, so Poochigian got involved in the 4-H club
and worked on the family farm.

He got a business degree from California State University, Fresno,
in 1972 and a law degree from Santa Clara University in 1975. After
graduation he opened a general law practice with Steven Vartabedian,
a college and law school friend.

Vartabedian, now a court of appeal justice in Fresno, said he and
Poochigian were "short-hair-cutted geeks" in college, bucking the
long-haired hippie trend of the day. "OK, let’s calm down," was their
attitude, he said. "We’re here to get an education, we’re not here
to save the world."

That’s not to say Poochigian isn’t outgoing. Vartabedian saw the
political ability in him from the start. "You walk into a room and
he’s the kind of person that knows everyone and will converse with
so many people," he said.

A noted punster, Poochigian thrives on one-on-one conversations,
but shies away from the limelight of a news conference. When he first
came to the Legislature, reporters joked that his favorite quote was
"off the record: no comment," said Deborah Gonzalez, Poochigian’s
chief of staff for the past seven years.

Poochigian’s first full-time political job came in 1988 when he
was named to the senior staff of Gov. Deukmejian, whom Poochigian
would come to idolize. Poochigian was responsible for interviewing
potential appointees to boards, commissions and the judiciary – a job
he performed with a penchant for detail, Deukmejian said. His reports
were "much longer memos than I would normally get, and I used to kid
him about it a lot."

Poochigian, who had no intention of getting into politics, expected
it to be a "two-year stint and back home." But he ended up staying
on through Gov. Pete Wilson’s inauguration and took over as Wilson’s
appointments secretary after the governor’s initial choice resigned.

He ran for the Assembly in 1994, at the urging of Bill Jones, who
left the Fresno-area seat to run for Secretary of State. Poochigian
won the election easily and quickly became a behind-the-scenes
power player. As a freshman he was named chairman of the powerful
appropriations committee, a rare assignment for a rookie.

He was elected to the Senate in 1998, earning a reputation among
Republicans and Democrats as a fair-minded, hard-working legislator.

One of his greatest legislative achievements was carrying the 2004
workers compensation overhaul bill that has been widely credited
with saving employers billions of dollars. He has written numerous
crime bills, including one that closed a loophole that allowed child
molesters who targeted their own family members to avoid prison time.

He says he is guided by the principle that "the primary goal in
government is public safety."

EXHIBITION OF PHOTOS BY BRAZILIAN ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER KICKS OFF

Armenpress
Sept 25 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS: An exhibition of photos by Brazilian
Armenian photographer Manuk Poladian kicked off today at the Moscow
cinema in Yerevan. The exhibition presents 46 photos of San Paulo and
is dedicated to the 450th anniversary of the town. The author of the
works decided to donate the photos to "Armenpress" news agency which,
together with Brazilian embassy in Armenia and Armenian Consulate
General in Brazil, has supported in the organization of the exhibition.

At the exhibition present were Armenian Culture and Youth Affairs
Minister Hasmik Poghosian, Executive Director of "Armenpress" news
agency Hrayr Zoryan, Armenian ambassador to Brazil Ashot Yeghiazarian,
Brazilian ambassador to Armenia Mrs. Renate Stille as well as Armenian
businessmen and art figures who arrived from Brazil.

Manuk Poladian was born in San Paulo in the family which was dealing
with photography and film making.

The works of the 70-years old photographer were presented in Brazil
and other countries.

UK-ARMENIA COOPERATION STRENGTHENED WITHIN PAST 3.5 YEARS

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 13:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the National Security Council at the
President of Armenia, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan received UK
Military Attache to Armenia, lieutenant colonel Christopher Nunn,
who finished his tenure, and his successor lieutenant colonel Nicolas
Ridout. Temporary Charge d’Affaires of UK in Armenia, Vice-Ambassador
Richard Haide was present at the meeting. As Spokesperson for the
Armenian MOD, colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net,
S. Sargsyan thanked Christopher Nunn and wished the newly appointed
Attache success. The parties confirmed that within past 3.5
years military cooperation between the two countries increased and
strengthened. The new Attache assures that within his stay in Armenia
he will raise the level of the UK-Armenia defense cooperation.