Month: November 2006

ARMENIAN BUSINESSMEN COME TO ISTANBUL FOR INVESTMENTS
By Ercan Baysal
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 16 2006
As the reactions to French parliament’s controversial Armenian genocide
bill continue, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association
(TUSIAD) is taking the initiative to loosen tension between Armenia
and Turkey.
Members of TUSIAD and the Union of Businessmen and Manufacturers of
Armenia (UMBA) do not want France’s stance to overshadow relations so
they will come together in Istanbul. UMBA was officially invited to
the Black Sea and Caspian Industrialists Confederation Union meeting
on Nov. 27.
TUSIAD president, Omer Sabanci, and UMBA chairman Arsen Ghazarian
will also discuss their countries’ relations besides regular business
negotiations.
Kaan Soyak, the Turkish-Armenian co-chair of the Council on Development
of Economic Ties said Ghazaryan will invite TUSIAD members to Armenia
to invest in textile, energy and telecommunication sectors.
Soyak said this meeting was important for Russia and the Armenian
Diaspora:
“Turkey has become an attractive market thanks to the atmosphere
of stability. Armenians in the Diaspora want to make investments in
Turkey mostly in hotels, real estate and port sectors. They have made
their applications to our council in this regard. These issues will
be discussed during the meeting.”
“Armenia is a virgin market, right now they only have relations with
Iran so we want Turkish investors there too,” said Soyak and added
that this kind of commercial relationship could diffuse the tension
between the two countries.
Trade between Turkey and Armenia takes place unofficially via Iran.
According to unofficial statistics, the total trade volume between
the two countries reached $200 million dollars.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) noted the
Turkey-Armenia embargo costs about $570-720 million dollars to Armenia
every year.
If the border gates were opened, Armenia’s transportation costs would
drop by about 30-50 percent, its export volume would double and its
Gross National Product would increase by about 30-38 percent.
According to World Bank statistics, Armenia’s savings in transportation
costs would be about $6.4-8.4 million dollars, energy saving would
be $45 million and its export volume would increase by about $269-342
million dollars. In this way Armenia’s total benefit from the opening
of the border would be about $320-396 million dollars.

TURKEY: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE SPURS GOVERNMENT ACTION
AKI, Italy
Nov 16 2006
Istanbul, 16 Nov. (AKI) – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has
suggested Turkey may seek the opinon of an independent international
panel on the controversial Armenian genocide issue. “Retired diplomats
and reliable foreign law experts are studying the case”, Gul said
on Wednesday. The remarks come amid growing pressure on Turkey to
acknowledge the early 20th century massacre or Armenians under the
Ottomans. Last month the French senate approved a bill which would make
it a criminal offence to deny that the deaths amounted to genocide.
Observers have also suggested that last week’s victory in US
congressional elections by the Democrats – who have closer ties with
pro-Armenian lobbies in America – could mean an end in Washington’s
current acquiescence to Ankara on the subject.
In 2004 Turkey tried to establish a joint Turkish-Armenian commission
of academics to study the issue, but the initiative failed when
Armenia rejected the proposal.
If Armenia accepts Turkey’s latest proposal, then the case would
be examined before the Internatonal Court of Justice in The Hague,
Netherlands. A commission would be set up consisting of, an equal
number of Turkish and Armenian judges and would be chaired by a
national of a third country.
The commission would examine archives in Turkey, Armenia, Russia,
the United States, France, Germany and Britain. It would also examine
military records, demographic changes, hospital records dating from
the time of the killings mostly from 1915-20.
Still, not all the signs from Turkey have been reconciliatory. Also
on Wednesday Turkish land forces commander Gen. Ilker Basbug said
Turkey would cut all top level military contacts with the French
military on account of the Armenian genocide bill which still needs
to be approved by the French National Assembly, the lower house of
parliament, before it becomes law.

TURKEY SEVERS MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE
United Press International
Nov 16 2006
ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 16 (UPI) — Turkey has severed military ties
with France over a century-old dispute involving the alleged slaughter
of Armenians.
At issue is the French Parliament’s adoption of a draft bill that
makes it a crime to deny Turks committed genocide against Armenians
in the late Ottoman period during World War I, the Cihan news agency
reported Thursday.
While the bill still requires the approval of the French Senate and
president to become law, Turkish Land Forces commander, Gen. Ilker
Basbug said he was following the Turkish parliament’s lead.
“There are no high-level (military) visits between the two countries,”
Basbug said.
Last month, Turkey’s Grand National Assembly issued a declaration
denouncing France’s insistence of genocide.
“The French National Assembly has not only inflicted great damage on
bilateral ties but has also dealt a blow to efforts to normalize our
ties with Armenia,” the declaration said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIA WITHDRAWING TBILISI GARRISON AHEAD OF TIME
Interfax, Russia
Nov 16 2006
MOSCOW. Nov 16 (Interfax-AVN) – The withdrawal of the Tbilisi garrison
of the Russian Forces in the South Caucasus started on Thursday,
a representative of the forces’ command told Interfax-AVN by phone.
“The first train carrying military hardware and property of the
Tbilisi garrison departed for the 102nd Russian Military Base in
Gyumri, Armenia, on Thursday. Only the headquarters personnel of the
Russian Forces in the South Caucasus will remain in Tbilisi after
December 10,” he said.
“The second train will leave Tbilisi for Russia on November 23, the
third train will depart for Russia on December 1, and another train
to Gyumri is scheduled for December 10,” the source said.
All trains will go to Russia through Azerbaijan, which signed an
agreement on military cargo transit with Russia, the source said.

VIMPELCOM CEO: ARMENIA, GEORGIA CAPEX IN LINE WITH STRATEGY
Cellular-News, UK
Nov 16 2006
NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Dow Jones) — Capital expenditure plans for Georgia
and Armenia will generally follow OAO Vimpel Communications’ pattern of
investment in second-tier countries, Chief Executive Officer Alexander
Izosimov told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.
That is to say $100 per subscriber, Izosimov said. He added that the
company could reach one million subscribers – and $100 million in
expenditures – in both countries in about 36 months.
Izosimov said he couldn’t disclose more specific numbers or timeframes
at the moment.
In the case of Armenia, the deal in that country has just won approval
from the Armenian government and it is too early to talk about set
numbers, Izosimov said.
“We are very happy to see the Armenian government give its blessings,”
he said. “We have yet to finalize a capex plan.”
VimpelCom last week bought 90% of Armenian operator Armentel from
Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA or OTE, for
EUR341.9 million in cash and EUR40 million in debt. The deal met
official approval last week.
Izosimov was in New York to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary
of listing in the New York Stock Exchange. VimpelCom, as it is more
commonly known, is Russia’s No. 2 mobile phone provider after OAO
Mobile TeleSystems, or MTS.
“We already entered key markets” outside Russia, such as Ukraine,
he said. “We’re now going through the second-tier (countries)” and
Armenia and Georgia are important for the company’s strategy in the
Caucasus region, Izosimov said.
In terms of measuring its growth, the company is now focusing on
“real, quality subscribers” rather than raw subscriber numbers based
on phone card sales.
Real subscribers are people who not only buy mobile phone cards but
also use them in a chargeable transaction in three months’ time,
he said.
“Our aspiration is leadership,” Izosimov said. “We are very close,
we are a stone’s throw from closing the gap.”
Izosimov said relations between Russia and Georgia aren’t interfering
with company’s business in Georgia.
Relations between the two countries have become strained, with Georgia
recently vowing to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and in an
apparent effort to counteract pressure from its neighbor.
“It has not affected at all. We enjoy great support from the (Georgian)
government,” he said.
In September, VimpelCom posted a 23% rise in second-quarter net
profit, driven by price increases and tight cost controls. Net profit
increased to $194.9 million from $158.8 million a year earlier,
and revenue rose 46% to $1.12 billion from $769.8 million.
Shares of VimpelCom in New York were down 0.2% at $66.50 in early
afternoon trade Wednesday, when most Russian American Depositary
Receipts were seeing red.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CEASE-FIRE REGIME BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIAN IS BROKEN
Author: Sh. Jaliloghli
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
Today, units of Armenian Forces have broken the cease-fire regime on
the contact line, Trend Regional Correspondent reports.
It started at 10:00 a. m. and lasted for 30 minutes. Shots came from
the positions located in the occupied Azerbaijani Village of Talish
of Tartar District. The enemy was stifled by the back fire. Neither
victims nor injures have been reported.
Employees of “Lider” TV Channel were taping the cease-fire line in
the village of Borsunlu of Tartar District of Azerbaijan. Units of
Armenian Forces subjected “Lider” TV Special Correspondent Gabil
Aslanoghli and Operator Ilgar Farmanli to gun fire as well.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN AMBASSADOR: SCIENTISTS THAT RAISED AN ISSUE OF GEORGIAN GENOCIDE COMMITTED BY ARMENIANS, HAVE WEIGHTED GROUNDS UNDER IT
Author: A. Ismayilova
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
I think that the scientists who appealed to the Georgian President,
Mikhail Saakashvili to acknowledge the Genocide of Georgians committed
by Armenians had certain grounds under it, Zurab Gumberidze, the
Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, said, Trend reports.
Last week, 60 members of the Georgian National Assembly, which consist
of scientists and intellectuals, have appealed to the President Mikhail
Saakashvili with a request to acknowledge the Genocide committed by
Armenians in Georgia.
The appeal points out that in 1993, Armenian military force “Bagramyan”
jointly with Abkhazians fought against Georgia Army. It resulted in
killings of many Georgians living in Abkhazia. “No Armenian had lived
in Georgian Javakhetia until the Czar of Russia settled Armenians on
this territory. Many Armenians claim Javakhetia as part of Armenia
on their maps. All this is of a systematical character, and therefore
that must be acknowledged as the Genocide against Georgian people. MP
of the Pro-Georgian Supreme Council of Abkhazia Akakiy Gasviani made
an announcement where he supported this step, and marked the role of
Armenians in occupying the Georgian territories and establishing the
separatist regime in Abkhazia
The Georgian Ambassador guesses that the Georgian President will take
a corresponding decision.

ETHNIC HATE AMONG LEADS IN ARMENIAN BOY MURDER PROBE
ITAR-TASS, Russia
Nov 16 2006
MOSCOW, November 16 (Itar-Tass) – Investigators do not rule out
ethnic hate as a prime motive behind the murder of an Armenian boy
in the town of Ivanteyevka, Moscow Region, on November 11, the press
service of the regional prosecutor’s office told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
“Various leads are checked in the course of the probe, including
the version that the crime was motivated by ethnic hate and strife,”
a prosecutor said.
“The case is supervised by the regional prosecutor’s office”,
she underlined.
Earlier, police reported that a 15-year-old boy was found not far
from the railroad platform of the town of Ivanteyevka with multiple
stab wounds in the back, and brought to hospital where he died.”
The victim, Narek Kocharyan, lived in the Moscow region and was
in hairstylist training. He was out for a walk with his friends on
that day.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DODGING A BULLET: FINLAND 1 ARMENIA 0
By William Moore
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
Nov 16 2006
Oh well, it’s the points that count, I suppose
First, the good news. Finland beat Armenia 1-0 in an almost-full
Finnair Stadium on Wednesday evening, and regardless of the outcome of
the other two games in Qualifying Group A of the 2008 UEFA European
Championships, Finland will head the group table over the winter
recess.
Some more good news: Finland have a world-class goalkeeper.
Without the timely intervention of Bolton’s Jussi Jaaskelainen on at
least three occasions, the headline at the top of this piece would
have been somewhat different, and there would probably only have been
bad news to report.
In part thanks to the estimable Mr. Jaaskelainen’s efforts, there is
also the good news that Finnish crowds now know rather better how
to sing – rather than simply yelling “Suomi, Suomi” with rythmical
clapping accompaniment. The crowd on Wednesday night did their
best. Would that the team had matched them in intensity and strength
of purpose.
And so to the bad news. To put it kindly, this was a pretty lacklustre
performance, even for an injury-hit side.
If it were not for the incontrovertible fact that Finland have eleven
points and Armenia have just the one, it would have been very hard to
tell these two teams apart. For lengthy periods of the second half at
least, the Armenians looked like the contenders for group leadership
while the Finns looked, well, the word “shambolic” comes to mind.
After the first ten minutes, in which Mika Nurmela’s head got the
final touch to a move that was started by a fierce parried shot from
Mika Vayrynen and then laid back off the rebound by Jonatan Johansson,
there was precious little for the 9,400 fans to get excited about.
The Finnish midfield was shapeless, and most attacks (with the notable
exception of the one that led to the goal) doggedly went down the
right. Few passes inside the final third of the field found home –
even on an artificial turf pitch that was light-years better than
that for the 0-0 draw at the reverse fixture in Yerevan last month –
and the absence of a player with vision was palpable.
Jari Litmanen may be in the twilight of his career, and he may have
lost more than the proverbial “yard of pace”, but he still has enough
footballing nouse between his ears to run rings around the sort of
opposition Finland faced on Wednesday.
His replacement (Litmanen was regrettably again unavailable through
injury) Alexei Eremenko Jr. has a great deal of skill on the ball,
he has been achieving great things for FC Saturn in Moscow, and he
may yet develop into an international player of real stature, but he
did little last night to suggest he has the wherewithal to step into
Litmanen’s shoes just yet.
All too often, he charged forwards in route-one style, tried to take
on two or three defenders, and then hit a pass that would have had
multi-million-euro stars struggling to connect with it. It was all made
so very difficult, when the recipe was to “keep it simple, stupid”.
This was the problem of the first half, after the 8th minute goal.
Finland kept a lid on things, and didn’t really look like conceding
a goal, but then again they hardly looked like scoring again either,
because they never held the ball up long enough in midfield to get
anyone into a decent scoring position. Haste makes waste.
If the first half was a chapter of missed opportunities to create
opportunities to score, the second half was even worse. Whatever the
Finns’ British-born coach Roy Hodgson said to them at the interval,
they lost the plot.
By sixty minutes the Armenians had gained enough in self-confidence
that they actually posed a greater threat than their hosts.
Two of the three aforementioned timely interventions by Jussi
Jaaskelainen came in the second period. Once he smothered a shot
from Levon Pachajyan after the Armenian had nutmegged Toni Kallio on
the right-hand edge of the box, and then five minutes from time he
produced a brilliant reflex stop after Pachajyan set up substitute
Aram Hakobyan with the goal at his mercy.
Karen Dokhoyan also brought out the best in the Finnish keeper
after only five minutes with a flighted header from distance that
Jaaskelainen did well to steer past the post for a corner.
The very fact that so much has been written about Jussi Jaaskelainen
and the three Armenian efforts should indicate that the visitors
ultimately came closer to grabbing a share of the points than Finland
did to getting a second goal to kill off the contest.
In fairness, the disjointed and at time hapless work of the Finns
in the second half was partly caused by the loss of Mika Vayrynen at
half-time. He picked up a knock on his thigh just before the interval
and was replaced by Jari Ilola.
The defence was for the most part solid, although the infection of
giving the ball away when it was least helpful seemed to be spreading
down to the basement as the final whistle approached.
But I suppose in the end all that the record-books will show is that
Finland won, that they collected three valuable points, and that they
are heading the group table for the next four months. Few will bother
to reflect on the way in which the result was achieved – especially
if these points make a difference when it comes to qualification from
Group A.
However, there’s the rub. Any half-decent, organised side would have
cut through Armenia like a hot knife through butter, especially after
grabbing an early nerve-settling goal, and Finland will have to play
much better outfits than this and still keep winning if they wish to
go to Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
On the strength of this performance at least, that will be a very
tall order.
The returns to duty of a fit Litmanen, a Mikael Forssell who has
rediscovered a taste for scoring goals, the hard-working Teemu Tainio
and Aki Riihilahti in midfield, and also the contribution of Petri
Pasanen at right-back are devoutly to be wished when things get going
again next March.
The first four were already ruled out of last night’s encounter,
and Pasanen apparently picked up a last-minute ankle problem. A small
footballing country like Finland does not have the depth of players
to cope with a long injury list, as Roy Hodgson’s predecessors know
only too well.
Finally, a bit more (relatively) good news. Poland defeated Belgium in
Brussels by the only goal. Since the Finns have already disposed of
Poland 3-1 away, this result indirectly helped to blunt the Belgian
threat to Finnish hopes of qualifying, even though a draw would have
possibly been the optimum outcome for us.
The Poles are clearly an improving force – they beat Portugal at home
last month – so it is nice to have got that difficult away fixture
out of the way successfully.
Although naturally anything can happen before November 2007, the smart
money would probably suggest that World Cup semi-finalists Portugal
will qualify from Group A, leaving the second available place to be
scrapped over by Poland, Belgiúm, Serbia, and Finland.
Finland next travel to Azerbaijan in March 2007 for another awkward
long-distance away game, and then they host Serbia and Belgium in
quick succession at the beginning of June. All three games will be
critical, and will ask a lot more of the Finns than we saw them give
on Wednesday.
Finland’s experienced coach Roy Hodgson has stated earlier that he
is confident there will be setbacks for the more fancied teams in
the large group, with the minnows stealing points here and there and
complicating matters.
In that sense, Finland dodged a bullet against Armenia. But only just.
Finland: Jussi Jaaskelainen Toni Kallio Sami Hyypia (captain)
Hannu Tihinen Ari Nyman Joonas Kolkka Markus Heikkinen Mika Vayrynen
(46. Jari Ilola) Mika Nurmela Aleksei Eremenko jr (88. Shefki Kuqi)
Jonatan Johansson
Head Coach: Roy Hodgson
Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland) Attendance: 9,445 (capacity 10,770)
Weather: Chilly (+3°C) but dry.
–Boundary_(ID_EKabJVjwTxHSjFqu3HG3yQ)–

NATO SEES NO IMPACT FROM TURK-FRENCH MILITARY FREEZE
Reuters, UK
Nov 16 2006
BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Turkey has assured NATO its move to
freeze military ties with France in a growing diplomatic row will
have no impact on alliance operations, a spokesman for the Western
defence organisation said on Thursday.
The two NATO allies work side-by-side in the Afghan capital Kabul as
part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
which is battling a fierce Taliban insurgency in a mission NATO says
is vital to its credibility.
General Ilker Basbug, head of Turkish land forces, said on Wednesday
that Ankara was suspending military ties with Paris in protest at the
French parliament’s support for a bill making it a crime to deny that
Armenians suffered genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
“Our initial understanding is that the Turkish decision will not affect
NATO. It (the freeze) is focused on bilateral military activities,
not NATO operations,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.
He said that assessment was based on statements by the Turkish
delegation at NATO and ISAF officials.
The French National Assembly voted last month in favour of the Armenian
bill, triggering threats of a trade boycott in Turkey, which strongly
rejects the claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War One.
While the French bill is unlikely to make it into law because it
is opposed by President Jacques Chirac, many Turks see it as further
proof that opponents of its bid to join the European Union are gaining
the upper hand.
French defence firms view NATO member Turkey, which has a fast-growing
economy, as a lucrative market for their hardware.