Month: March 2007

TURKEY IS GOING TO PUNISH U.S. IF CONGRESS WILL DARE TO RAISE GENOCIDE ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 17:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is worried
about high-level Turkish lobbying against a proposed congressional
resolution that would recognize as Genocide the early 20th century
killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians. In the interview to The
Associated Press the RA FM stated, "Governments should stay away from
meddling in these matters. But when topics of interest for Armenia
are being discussed, we cannot remain as a government indifferent,
particularly in light of Turkish lobbying at a government level." He
also stressed that "the Turkish warnings are an attempt to silence
critics of Turkey’s position on genocide abroad as it has domestically
through its penal code." "Now Turks are traveling to punish the United
States if the U.S. Congress dares to speak out about the Armenian
Genocide," the Armenian FM stated. Oskanian said he discussed the
resolution with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Monday’s
meeting.

CIS TO FORM A MISSION OF OBSERVERS TO WATCH ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 17:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The CIS Executive Committee has launched preparation
works to form a mission of observers for parliamentary elections in
Armenia. The mission of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) is
being formed in accordance with Armenia’s invitation to participate
in monitoring of elections, RIA "Novosti" reports.

"In connection with Armenia’s invitation and based on the May 30, 2003
decision of the Council of CIS Presidents about mission of observers
during CIS presidential and parliamentarian elections, as well as
referendums of member-states, the CIS Executive Committee has launched
preparations works to form a mission of observers who will watch the
parliamentary elections to the RA NA," CIS Press Office reports.

ARMENIAN PARTIES PREPARE FOR ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN START

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 17:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian political parties have launched
formation works of their electoral campaign headquarters. Three
parties-The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), ARF Dashnaktsutyun and
"National Unity" (NU) have already appointed their heads of campaign
headquarters.

The chairman of RPA campaign headquarters will be Minister of
Territorial Administration, RPA Council member Hovik Abrahamyan. ARFD
appointed in this post NA Foreign Relations Committee Chairman,
representative of ARFD Supreme Body of Armenia Armen Rustamyan. And the
campaign headquarter of NU will lead Secretary of NU parliamentarian
fraction Aleksan Karapetyan, who occupies the second place in party’s
electoral list.

The People’s Party of Armenia, The Joint Labor Party and "Prosperous
Armenia", as well as "Orinats Yerkir" are still discussing the
question.

175 candidates run for 41 parliamentarian mandates on majority system,
that is to say, approximately 4-5 candidates run for one mandate
on average.

POTI-KAVKAZ TRAIN-FERRY TO BE LAUNCHED TILL APRIL 10

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 17:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Poti-Kavkaz train-ferry, which connects
Armenia with Russia, will be launched till April 10, Co-Chair of
Armenian-Russian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation,
Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan told journalists in Moscow in
the result of his meeting with Russian Co-Chair of commission, Minister
of Transport Igor Levitin. "We agreed that the train-ferry will work
not late than on April 10," S. Sargsyan stated adding that during
his talks with I. Levitin the issue to launch not only a train-ferry,
but also a car-ferry was discussed, Armenian Public Television reports.

TURKEY SEES SURGE IN ILLEGAL WORKERS
Ercan Yavuz Ankara

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 6 2007

Following the murder of Hrant Dink, it was claimed that 40,000 to
70,000 Armenians were working illegally in Turkey.

The Interior Ministry and the Labor and Social Security Ministry
launched a comprehensive investigation concerning foreign nationals
working illegally in Turkey.

Turkey’s unemployment rate is above 9 percent, and there are
approximately 5.4 million unemployed Turkish citizens. The issue of
illegal workers has just begun to be tackled after Dink’s murder.

During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey last November, it was
alleged that foreign nationals were taken to Turkey to be illegally
employed and that Turkish security authorities were aware of this
process. As most of these illegal workers worked as prostitutes,
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ýstanbul deputy Onur Oymen had issued
a parliamentary question concerning the allegations to be answered
by Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu. In the written answer sent to
Oymen, Aksu noted, "Foreign nationals are not illegally employed by
security forces or other government bodies."

274,458 people were deported

The Interior Ministry found out that 4,109 illegal workers from 32
countries were caught and deported within the last four months. The
number of illegal workers who were deported in the last year was
19,754.

Frequent deportation by the Interior Ministry shows that Turkey is
the most popular destination for foreign illegal workers. Overall,
274,459 people were reportedly deported within the last 10 years.

Between 1996 and 2006, 33,394 foreign nationals were deported
on charges of prostitution while 221,310 people were deported for
passport violations. Thus, the number of deported illegal workers
amounted to 274,458. Considering this figure relates only to those
who were caught and deported, the actual numbers of foreign nationals
working illegally in Turkey might be much higher than estimated.

The legality of employing foreign nationals in Turkey is audited
by labor inspectors from the Labor and Social Security Ministry and
insurance inspectors from Social Security Authority (SSK) as per the
provisions of the Work Permits of Foreign Nationals Law No. 4817.

According the Labor Ministry data, 4,104 nationals from 32 countries
were identified as illegal workers between 2002 and 2006. Within
this scope, 10,754 foreign nationals were deported due to illegal
employment during the last 10 years.

They pay fines, continue to work illegally

Foreign nationals who do not have residence permits in Turkey and
those who employ them are issued fines by Labor Ministry inspectors.

These foreign nationals can stay in Turkey if they pay these fines
and obtain a work permit. The fine levied illegal foreign workers is
YTL 1,000.

As the fine for the employers of illegal foreign workers is YTL 2,500,
many tourist establishments prefer to employ foreign workers.

These workers, who have come to Turkey with tourist visas and work
illegally, are deported irrespective of their nationalities.

A significant portion of illegal foreign workers in Turkey are
prostitutes. Romanian, Moldovan, Ukrainian, Georgian and Russian
women who entered Turkey following the disintegration of the Soviet
Union were later employed illegally by organized crime gangs in Turkey.

Despite the significant drop in such employment in recent years,
Turkey is still a center of attraction for illegal foreign workers.

Immigration, wars, economic crises and high unemployment rates in
the region are aggravating the problem for Turkey. Former CHP Kocaeli
Deputy Bekir Yurdagul even filed a report with the Labor and Social
Security Ministry on charges that the US Army employed illegal foreign
workers at Ýncirlik airbase in Adana.

A report issued by the Ýstanbul police maintained that the number of
Romanian paper collectors was increasing and that they stole traffic
panels, power cables, manholes and garbage bins, forcing their children
to steal as well.

The Ýstanbul police further stated that there was a 2 percent increase
in crimes disturbing public order.

–Boundary_(ID_QHST2mSZmwloTQuIsZeuGw)–

U.S. CONGRESS GENOCIDE RESOLUTION IS RATHER MORAL THAN POLITICAL STEP

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 13:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Adoption of the Armenian Genocide bill by
the U.S. Congress cannot become a subject of speculations and
pressure on Armenia by the United States, political scientist Levon
Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference in Yerevan. He said, it
is a rather moral than a political step. "However, currently it is
being viewed in the political aspect.

After all, United States’ guilt in 1896-1923 Armenian Genocide in
Ottoman Empire is rather small. In this crime more guilt have Russia,
Germany, France and Great Britain. Here France’s example is very
instructive, which despite anything recognized the Armenian Genocide
and even adopted a bill on criminal punishment for denying it,"
the political scientist stressed. He expressed confidence that the
United States will not demand support from Armenia in the Iranian
problem in return for adoption of the bill.

THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR YEREVAN STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION DO NOT WANT TO ACCEPT THAT THEIR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE CORRUPTED

Noyan Tapan
Mar 06 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The Social-Democratic Hunchak Party
"Sargis Tkhruni" youth union is blackmailed and has got letters of
different character from those responsible for a number of Armenian
state institutions of higher education. Reality of results of social
surveys held by the union are called into question in them. Union
head Narek Galstian stated about it at the March 6 meeting held in
"Pastark" club. In his words, those letters started after the fact
when results of social surveys concerning corruption held in Yerevan
state institutions of higher education on their union’s initiative
on December 10-18 of 2006 were sent to those institutions, with RA
Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchian’s awareness. To
recap, according to results of that social survey, in the opinion
of 1821 students from 2000 surveyed ones, there is corruption in
Armenian institutions of higher education. Only 179 students has
had no cause yet to make themselves sure that they take a bribe at
higher educational institutions. By the way, even sizes of the bribe
for a pass-examination or examination at different institutions of
higher education were mentioned. According to data of social surveys,
the Yerevan State Agrarian University heads the list of corrupted
institutions of higher education. The head of the union initiated the
social survey stated at the meeting with journalists that the last
similar letter was got by Yerevan M.Heratsi State Medical University
Rector Gohar Kyalian who insists that no similar social survey was
at all held in their institution of higher education. In N.Galstian’s
words, an attempt is made just by it to cast a shadow on the done work
and its doers. N. Galstian also mentioned that results of the social
survey and the methodology were presented to the Minister of Education
and Science, after what they also have two meetings with him. Minister
L. Mkrtchian agreed to cooperate with the union in the issue of
anti-corruption struggle. It was decided to found new independent
non-partisan students’ trade unions which will in their places struggle
against corruption. The young union head expressed confidence that,
owing to honest and independent students it is possible to soften
those phenomena more strained during the recent period.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE SHOULD CONTROL TV BROADCASTS, RUBEN HAKHVERDIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 06 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN. "Today many things are distorted, as
any kind of mediocrities enter into television and TV air is filled
with Turkish and Arab melodies, idiotic humor broadcasts," composer
of songs Ruben Hakhverdian stated at the March 6 meeting held at the
Hayeli (Mirror) club.

In his words, television should propagandize only Armenian and
non-distorted culture. R. Hakhverdian considers that RA Ministry
of Culture and Youth Affairs should undertake measures and control
TV broadcasts, as such tasteless broadcasts have especially great
influence on under-aged, 10-14-year-old children. "Songs play a great
role in the issue of preservation of Armenian language and Armenian
nation, but first of all singers "make dirty" the language by bleating
songs in unintelligible Armenian, which is not characteristic of
Armenian. I think a Frenchman will never permit himself such a thing,
as he respects his language," R. Hakhverdian said adding that "if we
lose our language, we will lose our culture." In the words of singer
Shushan Petrosian, the majority of her colleagues does not have their
own image and tries to be like another one, from which, in her words,
first of all art suffers. As S. Petrosian affirmed, we should return
to our national sources and preserve the values we had got before.

YEREVAN TO GO BY ‘BOGDAN’

arminfo
2007-03-06 09:12:00

The "Bogdan" Corporation announced of signing of a large export
contract for delivery of buses. The Contract has been signed with
the Yerevan City Hall.

The Yerevan authorities envisage to acquire 0,5 thsd small-class buses
A-092. "We shall export 150 buses to Armenia in 2008 and 200 units – in
2009", the Head of press-service of "Bogdan" Sergey Krasulya said. The
corporation’s market competitors recognize the importance of agreements
reached. "500 buses will not satisfy Armenia’s needs. However, taking
into account the fact that the sales market permanently increases,
this is rather a great number of buses", the Head of press-service
of the Lvov Bus plant , Yelena Mulyak said. According to the Head
of the Department of Strategic Marketing of a group of automobile
companies "ViDi", Anatoly Spolnikov, the Ukrainian buses will be
able to withstand a competition in the Armenian market. The experts
note that the export contract with Yerevan will allow the Ukrainian
corporation to get an access to the new sales market.

THREE ARMENIANS IN NA OF ABKHAZIA

A1+
[12:54 pm] 06 March, 2007

Two Armenian deputies are elected in the National Assembly of
Abkhazia. Due to "Yerkramas" newspaper, on March 4, out of 35 deputies
18 were elected, two of them being Armenians. Valeri Mayromyan won
the election in the 12th polling station and Sergey Matevosyan in
the 22nd one.

An Armenian deputy is likely to win in the 20th polling station as
Albert Hovsepyan and Parad Mikaelyan have passed on to the second
phase. The latter will take place on March 28.

Thus, there will be three deputies in NA of Abkhazia.