Month: October 2006

MATTHEW BRYZA: THE US EQUALLY APPRECIATES ITS STRONG TIES WITH AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2006

The US equally ppreciates its strong ties with Azerbaijan and Armenia,
US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told ArmInfo,
commenting on the report of the Azerbaijani "AzerTag" state agency,
which ascribes him a biased pro-Azerbaijani position.

Referring to the Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of
Azerbaijan, "AzerTag" agency reported in particular that during
the meeting with Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiev US Co-Chair
Matthew Bryza had mentioned, "Azerbaijan is an important country
for the United States, which highly appreciates the achievements of
Azerbaijan in political and economic spheres." Besides, according to
the information of the Azeri agency, in response to the statement
by Minister Safar Abiev that "in case the peaceful talks yield no
results, Azerbaijan will regain the territorial integrity itself,"
Matthew Bryza had said Azerbaijan surpasses Armenia in all spheres,
calling on Azerbaijan to wait a little more.

Commenting on the report of the Azeri agency, the US Co-Chair Matthew
Bryza said in his interview that the information of "AzerTag" it
incorrect and does not express the whole essence of what he said
during the meeting with the Defense Minister of Azerbaijan. The US
appreciates the strong ties with Azerbaijan in a number of spheres,
and this refers also to Armenia, the mediator mentioned.

TURKEY MARKS 80 YEARS OF ADOPTION OF SWISS CIVIL CODE

The New Anatolian
Oct 5 2006

The New Anatolian/ Ankara

The country is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the adoption of
the Swiss Civil Code, after a cold snap between the two capitals,
with Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocker in Turkey on a visit.

Ties between the countries cooled after a Swiss public prosecutor
launched a criminal investigation against the head of the Turkish
History Foundation (TTF) in Switzerland over a speech he made denying
the Armenian "genocide," a violation of Swiss law. Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul described the Swiss investigation as "unacceptable" and
"absolutely contrary to the principle of free speech."

Historian and Turkey expert Hans-Lukas Kieser, in an interview with
swissinfo, explained how the Islamic sense of justice, the remnants
of the Ottoman Empire and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s aspirations of
European legislation came together.

Q: How did Turkey come to adopt a large part of Switzerland’s
legislation 80 years ago?

HANS-LUKAS KIESER: An important reason was that a brand new state
was being created by a young elite — some of whom had studied in
Switzerland.

The Swiss Civil Code was also considered to be the most modern,
the most simply formulated, the most concise and with the greatest
popular touch.

Q: What changes did this "legal revolution" cause?

KIESER: There were violent changes. Family law is to a certain extent
the nucleus of society and this shift meant the complete abolition
of the Sharia tradition.

Q: Were there also changes concerning women’s rights?

KIESER: Of course. Under traditional Islamic law women are seriously
disadvantaged when it comes to inheritance or divorce and that changed
at a stroke — even if it’s been effective for only a part of society.

Q: Did the introduction of the civil code go smoothly, or were there
obstacles?

KIESER: One of the largest obstacles is power being imposed from those
at the top — in other words, not a grassroots democracy. In this
respect there was resistance to this very authoritarian behavior by the
state, not only from traditional Islamic groups but also from liberals.

Even though the civil code was widely accepted by the elite, its
implementation took decades. It’s only recently that we’ve been able
to talk of a more or less complete implementation.

Q: Did the civil code cause differences of opinion between Turkey
and sympathetic Islamic states?

KIESER: The introduction of the civil code and the abolition of Sharia
law led to resistance, especially from Islamic thinkers and religious
academics. These intellectuals considered that it could only lead to
a decline of Islamic teaching.

Q: The Turkish Civil Code was revised at the end of the 1980s. Did
this lead to a greater religious influence?

KIESER: No. It emphasizes just how dramatic the legal revolution had
been in this respect, as it’s still holding up. The revision took
place at the same time as that of the Swiss Civil Code. The Swiss
federal court’s decisions and commentaries were even translated.

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC TO INVEST IN ARMENIA’S IT SPHERE

Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2006

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation intends to invest in the development
of the IT sphere of Armenia.

October 6 Representatives of the Mitsubishi Electric Company will
meet with RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and the prospects of
implementation of programs will be discussed.

The Mitsubishi Electric will participate in the DigiTec2006 exhibition
to be held October 6-8 in Yerevan.

ALEXI GEOVCHIAN: THE YEAR OF ARMENIA IN FRANCE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2006

"Although the Year of Armenia in France is a cultural event, it will
help Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in political affairs also," noted
Alexi Geovchian, member of the Democratic Party of France, President
of the Board coordinating French-Armenian organizations. In his words,
it is a great historic event and an exceptional opportunity.

Alexi Geovchian said in an interview with "Armenpress" that the Year
of Armenia is exceptional also in the sense that France will get to
know Armenians not only as people that suffered genocide, but also
as a nation having three thousand years of history and culture. Next
year the attitude of the French towards Armenia and Armenians will be
quite different. In Alexi Geovchian’s opinion the Year is a wonderful
opportunity to promote tourism. In his words, Armenian spirit is
already felt in France. Especially after the joint press conference
of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, whole French media
started speaking about Armenia.

SERGE SARGSYAN PAYING AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO GREECE

Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2006

October 3 the delegation headed by Secretary of the Presidential
Council on National Security, RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
participated in the opening ceremony of the 14th "Defendori
International" exhibition of defense systems.

The same day members of the delegation visited the Military Academy
of Land Forces of Greece, where they met with the leadership of the
Academy and the group of Armenian students there.

The delegation visited also the Military Museum of the Defense
Ministry. An agreement was reached with the leadership of the Museum to
arrange exhibition dedicated to the history of Armenian Armed Forces.

October 4 the delegation had a meeting with National Defense Minister
Evangelos Meymarakis. Issues related to the current process and
prospects of Armenian-Greek bilateral military cooperation, a number
of agreements have been reached on the expansion of cooperation in
the spheres of military education and peacekeeping.

The same day in the Armenian Embassy RA Defense Minister met with
representatives of the local Armenian community. Later Serge Sargsyan
gave a press conference to Greek mass media, where he summed up the
results of the visit.

DIGITEC 2006 INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND HIGH-TECH EXPO TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2006

DigiTec 2006 information, communications and high-tech expo will take
place in Sport Complex after Karen Demirchyan October 6-8.

"Technologies of the Future Today" conference on ICT and high-tech
strategy issues in Armenia will be organized in the framework of
the event.

During the Conference, perspectives of Armenian ICT sector development
and strategic ways to achieve them will be discussed.

Particularly, the following issues will be also addressed: the role
of Armenian ICT sector in the context of international development
perspectives, mutually beneficial integration perspectives, events
focused at information society development in Armenia and their
effectiveness, as well as issues related to competitive workforce
formation, education and development.

TURKISH DELEGATION FAILS TO MEET WITH SUPPORTERS OF BILL ON PUNISHMENT FOR DENYING GENOCIDE IN PARIS

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

ANKARA, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA President
Robert Kocharian is not for ratification in France of the bill on
punishment for denying the Armenian Genocide. This was reported by
the Zaman Turkish newspaper, according to which the members of the
Turkish parliament’s delegation having left for Paris for establishing
contacts for preventing ratification of the above mentioned bill were,
allegedly, informed from French political scientists that President
Kocharian told French President Chirac in Yerevan that he is not
for ratification of this bill, as at the moment this will do harm
relations between Armenia and Turkey.

But, against this, according to Marmara’s report, the parliamentary
delegation returned from Paris without any expected results. The
delegation members failed to meet in Paris with the deputies of the
Socialist Party who support the bill.

It is also reported that Nicola Sarkozy, French Minister of Internal
Affairs, has started a movement against the bill after his talk with
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. In the coming days Sarkozy should
answer Prime Minister Erdogan with a letter. And the official Paris
informed the Turkish Ambassador in France with a letter that no change
has been made in the policy of France.

ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO BILATERAL STATE ASSISTANCE TO BUSINESSMEN FOR SUCCESSFUL ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues of the Armenian-Romanian
cooperation were discussed at the October 5 meeting of the Armenian
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and the Romanian President Tryan
Basesku who is on an official visit to Armenia.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department,
expressing a high opinion about the Armenian-Romanian relations,
including the current state of the economic cooperation, the Armenian
prime minister stated Armenia’s willingness to strengthen and develop
these relations, with special emphasis being laid on mutual visits
at various levels. He expressed a hope that the Romanian president’s
visit will become a new incentive for the promotion of cooperation
and extension of economic links.

Noting that the relations between the two countries have always been
friendly, Tryan Basesku and Andranik Margarian underlined that the
Romanian Armenian community greatly contributed to the development of
links between Armenia and Romania. A. Margarian expressed his gratitude
to the Romanian people for providing shelter to our compatriots who
survived the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and
creating favorable conditions for them to live and work.

Welcoming Romania’s efforts to join the EU, the prime minister
expressed a hope that 2007 will be a historical year for the Romanian
people, noting with confidence that the country’s membership of the UE
will have an additional positive influence on the bilateral relations.

According to A. Margarian, it is envisaged to sign the EU-Armenian
Action Plan in the near future. He noted that Armenia is ready to
consider the opportunities of cooperation with Romania within the
framework of implementation of this action plan. In terms of promoting
the Armenian-Romanian relations regarding Eurointegration, the head
of the Armenian government also attached importance to the signing
of the memorandum on cooperation between the MFA of Armenia and the
MFA of Romania in European integration and Euroatlantic structures.

Addressing the issue of cooperation between NATO and Armenia,
A. Margarian said that our country intends to make full use of the
opportunities provided by Armenia’s Individual Partnership Action Plan
(IPAP), which was approved by NATO in December 2005, and is ready to
consider Romania’s assistance and participation in the implementation
of the Armenia IPAP.

As regards the economic cooperation, President Tryan Basesku and Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian noted with satisfaction the existence of
a favorable legal field for efficient cooperation between Armenia and
Romania, with a number of bilateral agreements being signed. In terms
of promoting the economic relations between the two countries, they
pointed out the importance of activities of the Armenian-Romanian
intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and
technical cooperation, anticipating that the most important issues and
development priorities of the bilateral economic cooperation will be
clearly outlined as a result of the second meeting of the commission
held during the visit of the Romanian president to Yerevan. The
prime minister underlined that the high level of relations between
the Armenian and Romanian presidents obliges the two governments to
carry out an adequate cooperation.

President Bryan Basesku also considered the current legal and
contractual base as satisfactory for economic cooperation, noting the
existence of a political will along with it in order to foster economic
cooperation and stressing the necessity for bilateral assistance to
businessmen, which, according to him, is a key for success.

President Basesku assured that Romania as a friendly country will
support Armenia in any situation, providing all possible assistance
for Armenia to establish closer relations with the European Union. In
this connection, he mentioned Romania’s support to Armenia when our
country joined the European Neighborhood Policy. In his words, no
country should become a EU member while having an ethnic problem. He
reminded about the problems that arose between the Romanians and
Hungarians years ago, as a result of which Romania was isolated for
about two years. "Europe should not tolerate such diversities, because
it is a multinational organization," the Romanain president stated.

During the meeting, the Armenian prime minister presented in detail
the steps taken by our country for Eurointegration since Armenia
became independent.

The Romanian president and the Armenian prime minister also addressed
some regional problems, the current state and prospects of Armenia’s
relations with Turkey, as well as the latest development related to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. In this connection President
Basesku assured that Romania will continue taking a neutral position
on the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

DAVIT RSTAKIAN’S SUPPORTERS LEFT OUT OF ELECTORAL ROLLS

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

AKHALKALAK, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Names of many
electors have been left out of electoral rolls at electoral districts
of village of Baraleti, Akhalkalak region. According to the A-Info
agency, the majority of these electors are relatives and supporters
of Davit Rstakian, parliament deputy candidate, member of Board of
Samtskhe-Javakhk Armenian NGOs.

People having been left out of electoral rolls applied to the regional
electoral commission, but its chairman said that he cannot change
the electoral rolls.

It is noteworthy that electoral rolls were corrected in Akhalkalak
region about two months ago by the Regional Police. By the way,
according to A-Info, at that time the Chief of the Regional Police
was Aram Poghosov who has been currently registered as a candidate by
the proportional system in Akhalkalak region by the United National
Movement Party.

ELECTIONS PROCEED TENSELY IN TSALKA

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

AKHALKALAK, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Local
self-government elections proceed tensely in the Tsalka region.

According to the A-Info agency, open falsification of electoral rolls
happened there. Names of people having left Georgia and not being
Georgian citizens appeared on electoral rolls.

Though empowered persons of the Industry will Save Georgia Party
attentively follow the process of elections and are inclined to
prevent falsifications, nevertheless the power levers continue to act.

To recap, mainly Armenian candidates have been nominated by
proportional system, by the electoral rolls of the Industry will Save
Georgia Party in Tsalka.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress