Month: October 2006

EX-RULING PARTY PAVES THE WAY TO POWER

Panorama.am
14:51 10/10/06

Several like-minded persons from the ex-ruling party, All-Armenian
National Movement, formed a public-political initiative called
Alternative joining a number of renowned politicians, among them
deputy of parliament Yerjanik Abgaryan, chairman of Armat Babken
Ararktsyan, editor of Armenian Times newspaper Nikol Pashinyan and
some others. Leader of Democratic Motherland, Petros Makeyan said the
group has signed a statement attracting a dozen of political and public
figures around it. Makeyan said they are proposing an alternative to
the existing political system. As a primary goal the group aims to oust
a group of bureaucracy who is "protecting its own skin."

BASHAR ASAD: SYRIA AND ISRAEL CAN LIVE IN PEACE
By Petros Keshishian

AZG Armenian Daily
11/10/2006

President of Syria Bashar Asad said in the interview to BBC that,
recognizing each other’s right for existence, his country and Israel
can live in peace.

At the same time, he stated that USA can’t separately act as a mediator
in the issue of improving the relations between Israel and Syria. "This
role should take USA, UN and the Europeans should take. But USA doesn’t
want to take that part. They don’t have the concept of reconciliation,"
Asad said.

According to InterFax agency, this statement made by Asad differs
from that made in the interview to "Al Anbaah" newspaper. In the
abovementioned interview he said that one should expect attack from
Israel any moment.

In response to a question about supporting various foreign movements,
Asad said that his country supports the rebels from Iraq and the
Lebanese "Hezbollah" movement only politically, without rendering any
financial assistance to them. The Syrian President denied the rumors,
according to which the Syrian special services are engaged in the
murder of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri. He said that anyone caught
in that crime would be punished by the Syrian legislation as a traitor,
if the relevant forces prove the guilt of the Syrian special services.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEADER OF CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORTS GEORGIANS

Panorama.am
15:09 10/10/06

At the present phase of Russian-Georgian conflict, Khosrov Harutunyan,
chairman of Christian Democratic Party (CDP) supports Georgians. "We
think that any country has the right to state its geopolitical
dispositions if they are not against of any third party’s strategic
interests," he told a press conference today. However, Harutunyan does
not like that the Georgian authorities contribute to the formation
of dividing railways of Ghars-Akhalkalak.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FLOOD AND EMERGENCY SITUATION IN GREECE
By Petros Keshishian

AZG Armenian Daily
11/10/2006

The government of Greece has announced emergency situation in the
Northern regions country because of heavy flood there. The heavy rain,
which lasted for 12 hours, surpassed any monthly limits. The Associated
Press agency informed that one person is missing; many houses, roads
and electric lines are destroyed.

The bridge that unites Thessalonica and Cavalla towns is destroyed
as well. The roads are totally flooded.

The Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis visited the destroyed regions
and assured that the residents will get compensations for their lost
or damaged property.

According to the government experts, the loses amount to million
dollars already.

AMERICANS TRY TO MAKE ARMENIAN ADVOCATES FREE BUT…

Panorama.am
15:10 10/10/06

A group of judges and advocates had a dinner in one of luxurious
hotels of Yerevan accompanied by Carin Metis, head of American Bar
Association.

Carin Metis is on a three-day visit to Yerevan to congratulate the
newly accredited advocates who passed qualification test.

Metis said they are trying to help "to create independent judicial
system and independent advocates unions in Armenia so that they are
free and not corrupt."

Asked if they have recorded a slightest progress in this sense,
Metis said, "We have not reached our aims yet but we closely work
with judges and advocates. We will accomplish our goals."

The head of Bar Association also was asked if the proposed raise
in salary in the new budget will reduce corruption in the judicial
system. She said that in her countries judges are paid high salaries
so that they do not take bribes. In case they do, they lose their
jobs.

INTERNATIONAL BANKING CONGRESS ON MONEY TRANSFER ISSUES TO TAKE PLACE IN YEREVAN
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
11/10/2006

Today, "Money Transfer. Banking Services" third international
interbank congress will take place in Yerevan.GareginTosounian,
Cahirman of the Accosiation of Russian Banks, Aleksey Mamontov,
chairman of Currency Accosiation of the Moscow Banks, Stepan Gishian,
Chairman of the Union of Armenian Banks, and other are expected to
participate and hold speeches at the congress. It is envisaged that
the representatives of a dozen of CIS and Balitic banks, as well as
the experts from "Anelik," "Arag Post," "Unistream," Private Money
and other money transfer systems will take part in the forum.

The arrangement is initiated by "Planeta Diaspor" and "Anelik Money
Transfer" systems.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sunday, October 08, 2006
*************************************
ON THE MARK FOLEY SCANDAL
*********************************************
Most crimes are never solved. Likewise, most cover-ups are never uncovered. Placed in this context, the Mark Foley cover-up makes perfect sense.
*
ON ORGANIZED RELIGIONS
*************************************
If you have been successful in fooling millions of people for a thousand years or more, you have a good chance of fooling them for at least another thousand.
*
GOOD VERSUS BAD IDEAS
***************************************
Even the best ideas are vulnerable to perversion. A good idea in step one may be a bad idea in step two. This explains why very often it is not easy to discriminate good from bad ideas.
*
ON EDUCATION
***************************
The true aim of education consists in preparing young minds to oppose injustice even if doing so may be against one’s own self-interest.
*
ON UNDERSTANDING
**********************************
Understanding is acquired less by means of explanations and more through painful experiences.
*
ON WRITING
***************************
In an elementary school textbook on how to write, I read: “Turn someone you dislike into an animal.” I have never done that, but I have turned someone I disliked into two animals by calling him “Jack S. Avanakian.”
*
Franz Kafka: “In the battle between the world and you, back the world.” He should have added: To write means backing yourself even when you know you are backing a sure loser.
#
Monday, October 09, 2006
******************************************
In the preamble of Arshak’s THE SOLITARY WOLFE: NOVELLAS (700 pages, Yerevan: 2005) we read the following: “In the 20th Century predatory nations used religion and ideology as weapons with which to annihilate their enemies. By contrast, we the naïve were taken in by new and old religions and sacrificed our homeland to them.”
*
We the naïve? I find that hard to swallow. I was brought up to believe Armenians are just about the smartest people on earth. So much so that even when I was taken in by idiots I thought of myself as smart. It took me not just years but decades to catch up with reality. Which may suggest that neither the Ottomans nor the Soviets were as successful in brainwashing us as we were in brainwashing ourselves.
*
Bernard-Henri Levy (French critic and philosopher): “The Pope’s interpretation of jihad may have been offensive, but infinitely more offensive is justifying in the name of Islam human bombs, 9/11, the stoning of women caught in adultery, the beheading of a Jewish journalist, and the indiscriminate slaughter of fellow Muslims not only in Darfur but also in Iraq, as they stand by the gate of a mosque. The Pope should have mentioned these things.”
#
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
********************************************
HOW TO COMBAT CORRUPTION
********************************************
Corruption means much more than the penetration of the social fabric by crooks and bloodsuckers; corruption means the systematic alienation of all honest men, in the same way that mediocrity means the systematic alienation of all those whose aim is to achieve excellence.
*
Corruption is as old as mankind; so are ways of combating it. History provides us with many examples. The following suggestions are based on methods that have been employed in the past with some degree of success.
*
To editors and publishers: print more articles, case histories, and commentaries on corruption and less on Turkish denials; and if that’s too much to ask, adopt an equal opportunity policy: for every headline on Turks publish one on Armenians — and I don’t mean bald-headed tennis players.
*
To lawyers: provide pro bono services to victims of corruption, take the bloodsuckers to court, and if necessary go to jail. They may jail a few, but they don’t have enough jails to lock up everyone.
*
To benevolent institutions: withdraw financial support from organizations that lack high standards of accountability.
*
To tourists: let the relevant agencies and bureaucracies know that henceforth you plan to stay home or travel only to countries where you are more welcome.
*
To those who say some of these tactics may penalize the victims more than the victimizers, I say, maybe, but for only a limited time (less than a year or at most two). Which is far more preferable than the alternative of adopting a wait-and-see and hope-for-the-best stance until the rotten structure collapses under its own weight (which may take forty or fifty years).
*
History is clear on this point: corrupt power structures do not as a rule reform themselves. Consider the cases of the Roman Empire, and more recently of the Ottoman and Soviet Empires? This much said, I am willing to concede that all this talk about combating corruption in our context might as well be an academic exercise in futility because we are as much victims of corruption, mediocrity, and incompetence in the Diaspora as they are in the Homeland. That’s because the number one concern of our self-appointed elites is number one, and to hell with underdogs and victims, even when they happen to be our brothers.
#
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
*********************************************
MEN AND BOOKS.
GOD AND THE DEVIL.
******************************************
I approach a new book as if it held a secret that may change the course of my life. If most books disappoint me, it may be because I expect too much from them.
*
If most men disappoint us, it may be because we make too many unreasonable demands on them. On the day we convince ourselves that the average man is very much like ourselves, a bundle of contradictions and a self-centered bastard with the potential of a hero or a saint, we may be more willing to see the potential and to ignore the actual.
*
Divine impartiality makes sense only if both sides of a conflict are evenly matched. But when a hoodlum rapes and kills a child, we can no longer speak of divine impartiality, only of satanic indifference.
*
For millions of years men believed in an Unnamable and Incomprehensible Being who was the source of good as well as evil. Traces of this belief survive today in the Lord’s Prayer when we say to God “Lead us not into temptation,” which we are taught to believe belongs to the Devil’s agenda.
*
By departmentalizing the Incomprehensible into God and the Devil, so-called civilized man has allowed bloodthirsty fanatics to commit all kinds of atrocities in the name of God, when in fact it’s in the name of the Other one.
*
Whenever pundits speak of Muslim aberration they feel obliged to cite the Crusades, religious wars, and the Inquisition, completely ignoring the fact that Christian aberrations belong to the irrevocable past, and that Muslim terrorism is rooted less in the Koran and more in money from oil — they have so much of it that they think they can take over the world.
*
As the last but one Pope said when he visited a mosque, both Christians and Muslims believe in the same God who is love, mercy, and compassion. What the good Pope failed to say is that what we believe may well be propaganda.
#

EMIN COLASAN: ANKARA TAKES "ACTION" IN ADVANCE OF THE FRENCH VOTE

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 10 2006

Dear readers, a country which does not bow before others, which does
not allow its honor to be violated, is also one which takes care of
its own business.

We have been watching the Armenian disgrace in France for the past
days, and by now, we don’t even know what round we are in anymore.

France is doing all this for its own domestic politics. First of
all, there are many, many Armenian voters in that country. Secondly,
France has always been against our membership in the EU-despite all
the pleading our government in Ankara has done-and is trying to put
a note of finality on this business.

Now, let’s ask ourselves this question: What would a country that
protected its own honor and respect do in a situation like the one
Turkey finds itself in? Right off the bat, the government would spring
to action. Diplomatic envoys would be put into service, to use their
skills in putting pressure on France.

But what do we do? The Prime Minister met on Saturday with
representatives from French companies doing business in Turkey and
shook a big stick at them.

He said: "If your government does not pull back on this Armenian
bill, our trade relations with you will go bad. There are 450 French
businesses in Turkey. Rather than writing letters to your government,
why don’t you go altogether to France, and do some lobbying. Put
pressure on the Paris administration."

And so you see what Ankara has done: they have exported this issue,
one which they could not take care of themselves, to French companies!

* * *

But who are these companies? Let me give you a few examples: Renault,
Alcatel, Carrefour, Danone, Peugeot, Citroen, Total, Elf, Nestle,
Lafarge, Sodexho……these are all world giants.

A full 24% of Turkey’s automotive sector alone lies in the hands
of French companies. France is Turkey’s fifth largest partner in
foreign trade. The French companies active in Turkey provide work
opportunities for 70 thousand people. So, let’s say that the French
Parliament goes ahead and votes to pass the Armenian bill; what will
Prime Minister Erdogan do? Kick these companies out of Turkey?

Of course not, this would not be possible. He can neither kick them
out nor bring any limitations on their business about. Because the
ultimate damage from such actions would be felt not by the companies
themselves, but by the Turks working for them.

Interestingly, we experienced this same event during the collapse of
the Ottoman Empire. When Austria decided to include Bosnia Herzegovina
in its own land, there were giant protest meetings in Istanbul and
throughout Anatolia. It was declared that there would be a boycott
(!) of Austrian goods. At that time, the famous "fez" worn by
males was produced in Austria. But in the end, nothing changed,
and Bosnia-Herzegovina slipped from our hands!

So, knowing that we cannot kick out the French companies, what else
can be done? Ah yes, Ankara is intoning that there will be contract
bidding for a helicopter order Turkey is going to make…..and there
is also the bidding for the nuclear reactor to be built! And so,
warns Ankara, we will not allow French companies to bid in the high
stakes for those contracts!

But please friends, let’s not joke around.

Boycotts and such are not going to solve this business. It is when you
gain respect for your country outside in the world that things like
"Armenian genocide bills" cease to keep you from proceeding. Our
current leaders have forgotten this. While there is no gravity or
respect accorded to Turkey outside our borders, the leaders in Ankara
are looking for savior in a few French companies doing business here.

It’s like this: A man commits a crime, he’s surrounded by police, and
in desperate hopes of saving himself, he takes a small child hostage,
and presses a knife threateningly against the child’s throat. This is
what Prime Minister Erdogan is doing. He says "My word is no longer
effective, I have no gravity left outside Turkey. Hey, French firms,
rescue me." What he forgets is that these same firms do business in
both France and Armenia.

****

Let’s imagine for a moment that France does not pass the bill. What
would this mean? Would it mean that their stance on our membership in
the EU, or on the whole Armenian genocide issue, had changed? No. And
if they do pass the bill? Will French companies be scapegoated
and kicked out of Turkey? Please don’t make me laugh. As Turks, we
watch the situation that the Turkish Republic has fallen into with
amazement, horror, and embarassment. This is some sort of enormous
spiritual torture that we are being exposed to. We have auctioned off
everything we have to foreign firms. The US is now in charge of dealing
with PKK terror, while Northern Iraq has been handed over to Barzani
and Talabani. Meanwhile, our laws governing the insulting of Turks,
Turkish Parliament and our republic are being guided by EU laws. And
the economy is in the hands of the IMF and foreign capital.

The latest in this auctioning off is to hand over the business of
the Armenian genocide bill to be taken care of by French companies
and their representatives!

And so we witness the painful ending to endless pleading, begging,
and the destruction of our country’s own respect: the passing off of
national problems to foreign concerns in the hopes that they can act
for us! I don’t know whether we should laugh or cry.

ERDOðAN SLAMS SARKOZY’S CONDITIONS

Turkish Daily News
Oct 10 2006

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan blasted conditions French
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy laid down in return for voting down
a controversial bill penalizing any denial of the alleged genocide
of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Presidential hopeful Sarkozy said on France-Inter radio that he had
spoken with Erdoðan on the telephone twice with regard to the French
bill, which will be debated at the National Assembly on Thursday,
and told him that they could oppose the bill if Turkey opens its
border gate with neighboring Armenia, scrap Article 301, which the
European Union says is restrictive of freedom of expression, from
its penal code, and establish a joint commission between Turkey and
Armenia to study the genocide allegations.

In response to Sarkozy’s conditions, Erdoðan said it was the Turkish
side which proposed the establishment of a joint commission for
academic debates on genocide allegations and made clear that Turkey’s
good intentions were not welcomed by Armenia, which rejected the
proposal.

On Article 301, Erdoðan said the French suggestion on that issue
had nothing to do with the issue, stressing that France was not in
a position to demand something from Turkey.

"First of all France should take a look at itself," Erdoðan said.

Facing pressure from the EU to amend or scrap Article 301 under which
scores of Turkish intellectuals have been put on trial, Turkey has
accused the bloc of applying double standards, saying that France
itself is blocking free speech under the bill that it plans to
legislate.

On opening the border gate, Erdoðan said Armenia should first act
with good will toward Turkey’s approach.

The border gate between Turkey and Armenia has been closed for more
than a decade. Turkey closed the gate and severed its diplomatic
relations with Armenia after Armenian troops occupied Azeri territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ankara now says normalization of ties depends on Armenian withdrawal
from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on progress in resolution of a
series of bilateral disagreements, including Armenia stopping to
support Armenian diaspora efforts to get international recognition
for the alleged genocide.

–Boundary_(ID_i03bILoDs1a18XHzxKfRhg)- –

WHEN THE ACTION PLAN IS ADOPTED, EU, AZERBAIJAN WILL ENTER A NEW ACTIVE PHASE IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP – EU SR
Author: A.Mammadova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Oct 10 2006

Trend’s exclusive interview with European Union’s Special
Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby

Question: When exactly will you arrive in Azerbaijan?

Answer: I have the intention of visiting all three countries in
the South Caucasus with regular intervals. I just returned from the
successful EU troika visit, which also brought me to Azerbaijan. I
intend to come to Azerbaijan at least once more before the end of
the year.

Question: What are the objectives of your visit to Azerbaijan in
November? Who are you planning to meet during the visit?

Answer: The purpose will be to discuss some aspects of the European
Neighbourhood Action Plan, which are particularly relevant for my
activities, in particular the political parts, such as conflict
resolution, the development of democratic institutions, the rule of
law, human rights, and regional cooperation.

As usual, I will discuss the issue of conflict resolution. Although the
negotiations on Nagorny Karabakh are the responsibility of the Minsk
Group, there is a lot the EU can do to support their work and create
conditions for confidence-building. I believe that the lack of contacts
between Azeris and the people in Karabakh is a serious problem. There
is a similar situation in Georgia, in particular between Georgians
and Abkhaz, who have not had any significant contacts for one and a
half decades. The lack of contact and the development of societies in
different directions make a peaceful resolution more and more difficult
as time passes. Therefore, we should think about how to gradually
create conditions for interaction and contacts between the communities.

When the Action Plan is adopted, the EU and Azerbaijan will enter
a new and much more active phase in their relationship. I am very
happy that Azerbaijan has made the choice to deepen its relationship
with the European Union. This is very much a mutually beneficial
relationship. The EU made a strategic choice by extending the European
Neighbourhood Policy to the countries of the South Caucasus, and
I believe that the Azeri decision to accept the offer represents a
strategic choice as well.

I do not yet know exactly whom I will meet on my next visit, but I
usually see a range of the highest political leaders, senior officials
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as media, civil society
and opposition representatives.

Question: When and where will the ENP Action Plan be finally
approved? What steps will be taken after the approval?

Answer: The Action Plan is scheduled to be formally approved at
the meeting of the Cooperation Council in mid-November. This also
marks the formal start of programming. Beginning next year, funding
will be available under the so-called European Neighbourhood Policy
Instrument. In order to be able to support the implementation of the
action plan as effectively as possible, the European Commission is
planning to open a Delegation in Baku in early 2007.

Question: Will you visit Georgia and Armenia too? Which meetings are
you planning to hold in those countries?

Answer: Yes, I will also go to Armenia and Georgia before the end of
the year. I usually have very similar programmes in all countries:
government, media, civil society and opposition. In Georgia, I also
pay special attention to areas where the EU has recently been active
with advice, in particular the judicial sector and border management.

The support that we have given to Georgia in these areas can in some
ways serve as inspiration for our relations with Azerbaijan, as we
now move into the implementation of the Action Plan.