Month: August 2008

TECHNOPARK IN GYUMRI PROJECT AFFIRMED

Panorama.am
20:40 07/08/2008

The Executive body of Armenia affirmed the state support project of
Technopark to be constructed in Gyumri. Vahe Danielyan, the Deputy
Minister of Economy said that the project has been drafted taking as
a base the policy and the principle points of the strategy adopted
by the Government.

"By the construction of Technopark it will be possible to involve
Gyumri in the production activities, moreover including the qualified
specialists of Shirak Marze (region)," said the Deputy Minister.

One of the objectives of the current urban community is to contribute
to the development and foundation of information technologies’
companies. To conclude new job vacations will be created in Gyumri.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARONYAN IMPROVED HIS POSITIONS

Panorama.am
20:42 07/08/2008

The sixth round of FIDE Grand Prix finished in Sochi. Four meetings
of the seven ended in a draw. Levon Aronian-Al Modiah meeting ended
in 1:0. After this round Armenian GM has 3.5 points and shares 1-2
horizontals with Hashimov, the representative of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani Rajabov and Bulgarian Cheparinov lead the
tournament. Svidler, Wang Yue, Kamski, Grishchuk, Ivanchuk and
Yakovenko share 5-10 horizontals with 3 points. Gelfand, Kariakin,
and Al Modiah are on the 11-13 horizontals having 2.5 points. GM from
Poland Navari has 1.5 points.

Remind that the second part of Grand Prix started on 30 July in Sochi
and will last till 15 August.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HANDLING WHEAT PROBLEM THROUGH LAKE SEVAN WATER LEVEL

Panorama.am
20:42 07/08/2008

On 19 August the National Assembly of Armenia is to discuss in its
special session the question of releasing certain amount of water from
Lake Sevan for irrigation, said Andranik Andreasyan, the chairman of
Water Network State Committee of the Territorial Administration in
a briefing after the Government session.

Note that on 24 July the Government of Armenia made a decision to
in crease the number of released water of the Lake Sevan for the
irrigation in 2008.

According to Andreasyan, the amount of water released from the lake
is not sufficient for the irrigation, as the irrigation season in
2008 started earlier than in usual. Hence, the decision is made to
escape wheat problem.

NEPHRITE MEDALS DAY

Panorama.am
19:41 07/08/2008

The last delegation of Armenian Olympics left for Beijing. On 8 August
the official ceremony of Olympics Games is to be opened in the capital
city of China. After that the President of Armenia will follow the
performances of Armenian sportsmen. The President of Armenian National
Olympics Gagik Carukyan will lead our delegation in China.

On the official opening ceremony Armenian triple champion Albert
Azaryan will hold Armenian flag. 25 Armenian sportsmen will present
8 sports types.

On the first day of the Olympics competition for the nephrite medals
will start.

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR EU RISES AFTER CLOSURE CASE

Today’s Zaman
Aug 9 2008
Turkey

A clear majority of society supports Turkey’s bid to join the European
Union, a new opinion poll has found. Public support for Turkey’s EU
membership rose to 66.2 percent in this month, up from 55 percent in
June of last year, according to a survey conducted earlier this week.

The Social and Political Situation in Turkey survey, conducted by
the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center on
Aug. 4-5, surveyed 1,226 people across various provinces in Turkey to
find out people’s views on a closure case against the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AK Party), which concluded last month, and on
an ongoing trial of suspected members of the terrorist organization
Ergenekon, whose members are facing various charges over trying to
topple the government. Ergenekon is suspected of a number of political
murders, assassinations, attacks and other public incidents with
the ultimate aim of creating disorder so as to trigger a military
intervention against the government. The survey also sought to measure
the pulse of the people on everyday politics and their opinions on
the future course of the country.

In response to a question on whether they would vote for or against
Turkey’s EU membership if there were a referendum today, 66.2 percent
said they would vote ‘Yes,’ while only 28 percent said they would vote
against. In June of 2007 38.3 percent of those polled were against
EU membership while 55.5 percent supported it.

The poll supports the notion that the general tendency of the
Turkish public is to increase support for EU membership in the face
of processes perceived to be anti-democratic. The increase follows
the failed attempt of a state prosecutor to close the ruling AK Party.

The Constitutional Court announced on July 30 that it would not
close the AK Party, noting, however, that the party was guilty of
anti-secular activities, but that the activities weren’t serious
enough to warrant closure. The court ruled instead to impose financial
sanctions on the party.

A state prosecutor in March had filed the case for closure of the AK
Party, calling also for a ban on 71 of its high-level officials from
belonging to a political party for five years.

In response to how they saw the ruling of the Constitutional Court,
27.6 percent of those polled said they were not pleased with the
decision while 69.7 percent said they were happy with it. In response
to a question on whether they thought the AK Party indeed threatens
secularism in Turkey, 35 percent said yes while 60 percent said
no. However, an overwhelming majority of 73.4 percent said the AK
Party should change its policies in the future to avoid a similar
situation, while only 22.6 percent said the party should stick to
its past policies.

Some critics have claimed that the Ergenekon investigation is the
government’s response to the closure case, since all of those detained
are staunch secularists known for their criticism of the AK Party. In
response to a question on whether they saw a link between the closure
case and the Ergenekon investigation, 54.6 percent of those polled
said no while 36.3 percent said they believed there was a link.

Ergenekon is political

Of the respondents, 16.2 percent said they agreed with the statement
"Ergenekon is a patriotic organization established to protect Turkey’s
regime," while 71.4 said they did not agree. However, 43.3 percent said
they agreed with the statement that "Ergenekon is an organization
aiming to stage a coup to forcibly overthrow the government,"
while 45.5 percent said they disagreed. In regards to the statement
"Ergenekon is a terrorist organization," 48.7 percent said they did
not agree while 40.5 percent agreed. Asked whether they agreed with
the statement "Ergenekon is a crime organization aiming to acquire
special interests," 55 percent agreed while 35.1 percent said they
did not agree. A not insignificant 41.8 percent agreed that "There
is no such thing as Ergenekon and the investigation is a politically
motivated process," while 45.5 percent said they disagreed. The
rate of those who had no opinion on this statement was 12.6 percent,
higher than in the case of any of the rest of the statements about
Ergenekon. In response to what they thought of the case without asking
if they believed that Ergenekon really existed, 54 percent said they
believed the case was political, while 32.9 percent said they saw it
as a legal case. Here too, 12.8 percent said they had no opinion.

In response to the question "Are you satisfied with the Ergenekon
indictment?" 59 percent said no, while 22 percent said yes. Eighteen
percent said they had no idea. The 2,455 page indictment, made public
last month, indicates that Ergenekon was behind a series of political
assassinations over the past two decades. The group is also suspected
of being behind the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist
killed by a teenager in 2007. Eighty-six suspects, 47 of whom are
currently under arrest, are accused of having suspicious links to the
gang. Suspects will start appearing before the court on Oct. 20 and
will face accusations that include "membership in an armed terrorist
group," "attempting to bring down the government," "inciting people
to rebel against the Republic of Turkey" and other similar crimes.

When asked their opinions about the possible outcome of the case,
a majority were pessimistic, with 53 percent saying they agreed with
the statement that the prosecutor’s claims will not be investigated and
no effective results will come out of the trial. However, 35.2 percent
said they agreed that the case will be the end to illegal formations
within the state and that it will enhance democracy in the end.

CHP support for Ergenekon suspects questioned

An overwhelming majority, 71.2 percent, said they thought the attitude
of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which has
accused the prosecution of conducting the operation in retaliation
for the closure case against the AK Party, was wrong. Only 19 percent
of the respondents said they agreed with the CHP, while nearly 10
percent said they did not have an opinion.

Pessimism about Turkey’s future

However, optimism about Turkey’s future was not high. In response
to the question "In which direction overall do you think Turkey is
headed?" 37.2 percent said Turkey will change for the better, while
58.2 percent said for the worse. The figures, however, mark a slight
improvement from those in June, when 28.6 percent had expressed hope
that things in Turkey would get better in the future and 66 percent
had said they believed things would get worse.

In response to a question on how the respondent would rate his or
her sense of trust on a scale of 1 to 10 for various individuals
and state agencies, the highest trust rating went to the military
(8.7), followed by the police (7.7) , President Abdullah Gul (7.1),
the judiciary (6.9), the Constitutional Court (6.7), Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan (6.4), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader
Devlet Bahceli (4.0) and finally CHP leader Deniz Baykal (3.1).

Asked who they would vote for if there was an election today,
42 percent of respondents said they would vote for the AK Party,
followed by the CHP (13.9 percent), the MHP (8.4 percent) and the DTP
(1.8 percent). Of the remaining respondents, 12.5 percent said they
were undecided, while 7.2 percent said they would simply vote a blank
ballot; 3.8 percent said they wouldn’t go to the ballot box at all,
while 5.4 percent said they had no opinion.

The poll was conducted Aug. 4-5 by telephone among a random national
sampling of 1,226 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The
margin of error for the full poll is 2.5 percentage points, at a 95
percent confidence level.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION INSISTS ON PRESIDENT’S RESIGNATION, NEW ELECTIONS

Interfax News Agency
Aug 7 2008
Russia

The Armenian opposition insists on President Serzh Sargsyan’s
resignation and the holding of new presidential elections, Ruzanna
Khachatrian, a member of the board of the opposition People’s Party,
said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We intend to secure the Armenian president’s resignation and the
holding of new elections. The newly-established Armenian National
Congress is working on a daily basis. In particular, we will continue
pickets, protests, press conferences and other events until the next
opposition rally on September 5," Khachatrian said.

The Armenian National Congress’ activities worry the authorities,
Khachatrian said. "Our Congress worries the authorities because they
understand that this organization is capable of engaging larger masses
for this struggle," she said.

The establishment of the Armenian National Congress was proclaimed at
an opposition rally on August 1. It comprises 16 parties supporting
opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian.

SAAKASHVILI APPEALS TO US AS RUSSIAN MILITARY UNITS ENTER GEORGIA

The White House Bulletin
August 8, 2008 Friday

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appeared on CNN television
today to ask for US help, claiming Russia had invaded Georgia this
morning. Early press accounts reflected the confusion in the area,
but it appears that a smoldering situation caught fire today in
South Ossetia, a province of Georgia which has struggled to win its
independence, with the help of Russia which has deployed peacekeepers
to the provincial capital of Tskhinvali. Open fighting has been taking
place for weeks between South Ossetian separatists and Georgian
military forces, and some news accounts report that this morning
Georgian military units launched an offensive on the provincial capital
to regain control. Georgia lies in the Caucasus region and is bordered
by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The region is a major oil
producing and transit area, and ancient enmities among the Turks,
Armenians and Azeris have repeatedly flared into open hostilities,
with Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting as recently as 1994. Should
fighting from Georgia spill over into that area, it would mark a
third area of open warfare on Iran’s borders.

As of late this morning, the Georgian government was claiming to be
in control of Tskhinvali. A convoy of Russian tanks is expected to
reach that city by nightfall. The Russian military says 10 Russian
peacekeepers have been killed and 30 wounded in South Ossetia. Georgian
President Saakashvili claims Georgian defense forces shot down two
Russian fighter jets over Georgian territory. Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said today, "I am obliged to protect the lives and dignity of
Russian citizens, no matter where they are located," adding, "We won’t
allow the death of our compatriots to go unpunished." Russian media,
citing South Ossetian rebel sources, said "hundreds" of civilians
were dead in Tskhinvali.

Opening the media front on the war, Saakashvili, speaking in
English, told CNN this morning, "Well, I mean, Georgia is under
attack. And we have Russian tanks moving in. We have continuous Russian
bombardments since yesterday, you know, specifically targeting civilian
population. It happened at — you know, we had lots of bombs today,
but it happened in one occasion I saw firsthand with my own eyes,
I happened to be in that town, two Russian jets coming very low, and
at low altitude at low speed, specifically looking at the marketplace
in a very busy afternoon time. And hitting it — hitting the crowd
of the people. And lots of wounded people there. And, you know,
this is — Russia is fighting war with us in our own territory. And
this — we are in the situation of self-defense against the big and
mighty neighbor. We are a country of less than 5 million people,
and certainly our forces are not comparable."

Asked what he would like the United States to do, Saakashvili said,
"Look, I mean, this conflict is not about separatist area inside
Georgia. There where — the overall population there is less than
25,000 people. It has never been more than 30,000. And it’s ethnically
diverse, and it’s right in the middle of Georgia. Russia has been
preparing for this for years and months now, you know. There have
been amassing troops at our border at that place for already four
months and they made no secret. They are unhappy with our closeness
with the United States, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
with the West in general. They are happy with Georgian — they are
unhappy with Georgian democracy, and the way Georgia is run. Georgia
is indeed one of small but very prosperous democratic neighbors of
Russia. Not a good example for present people, apparently, in the
Kremlin. And the point here is that, you know, they’ve always told us,
We’ll hit at you because you’re so close to the United States."

Saakashvili continued, "Yesterday the whole thing started. You
know, they had been shelling our position for weeks and weeks and
for — especially the last hours. We didn’t respond, we declared
a cease-fire. And we only responded when Russian tanks started to
move into our country. I mean, at 24:00 a.m., the very moment I got
the news, Russian tanks are in, I told, OK, let’s open the artillery
fire. This was not about separatist area. This a very blunt Russian
aggression.

"So what the — what America can do about it? Well, look, it’s not
about Georgia anymore. It’s about the principles and values America
has. You know, it’s like Finland in 1939 attacked by Stalin. It’s like
Afghanistan in 1979. It’s like Czechoslovakia in 1968, when Soviet and
Russians tanks moved in. We are right now suffering because we want to
be free and we want to be a democracy — multi-ethnic democracy that
belongs to all ethnic groups. And that’s exactly what’s happening
there. So, basically I have to — I mean, it’s not about Georgia
anymore, it’s about America, its values.

"You know, I went to two U.S. universities. I always thought that these
values were also those of my own. We have held them not because we love
America — although I love America — but because we love freedom. And
the point here is that I also thought that America always stands
up for those free-loving nations and supports them. And that’s what
America is all about. That’s why we look with hope at every American."

Saakashvili Claims Georgian Attack Would Be Suicidal.

Asked about the Russian contention that Russia is only protecting
South Ossetians in the face of a Georgian attack, Saakashvili
responded, "You know how well the moment was chosen. Look
at it. You know, there is — there are Olympic Games; nobody
cares about politics. There is a U.S. election, of course, the
internal politics consumes everything. There is — most of the
decision-makers are gone for holidays. Brilliant moment to attack a
small country. Who would care? Please, do care, because it makes lots
of difference." Saakashvili added, "Of course, it would be suicidal
of us to provoke Russia unless Russia — I mean, what happened to us,
it wasn’t about provocation anymore. Russia waited, waited for some
time and then just said, ‘OK, something is happening, you know, there
is artillery fire, there is attack,’ and then tanks move in. This
situation was so artificial, it was like Poland attacking Germany in
1939. It was exact — I’m — for me that the parallel. I mean, and it’s
like Finland attacking the Soviet Union in 1939, when Stalin wanted
part of Finland and therefore that he trying to subjugate that nation."

Saakashvili concluded, "And if this thing — if they get away with
this in Georgia, the world will be in trouble. Georgia is not at stake
right now, although for me Georgia — it’s all about Georgia. It’s
about values, principles and the world order. Is Russia going to get
away this kind of violation? Well, I don’t think so."

White House Appeals For Calm.

The White House today called for both sides to avoid more
violence.? Press Secretary Dana Perino said, "We urge restraint on all
sides — that violence would be curtailed and that direct dialogue
could ensue in order to help resolve their differences."? Another
White House press official, Gordon Johndroe, said Bush discussed the
issue with Russian President Vladmir Putin earlier today during a
luncheon in Beijing, but had no further details.

SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS RESUMES SUBURBAN PASSENGER SERVICES IN ARMENIA

SKRIN Market & Corporate News
August 8, 2008 Friday 9:54 AM GMT

South Caucasus Railways, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, has resumed
suburban passenger services in Armenia.

On 2 August, the Company began suburban passenger services between
Gyumri – Yerevan, Gyumri – Pemzashen – Artik and Yerevan – Erash. Since
July 12, it has also been running commuter services between Yerevan
– Tsovagyuh.

Rolling stock for the services has been provided by Russian Railways
in the form of technical assistance.

In addition, South Caucasus Railways has signed a contract with
Georgian machine builders to carry out major repairs on 1,000 wagons
and 23 electric locomotives. Currently the company is working on
customs clearance documents for the export of cars and electric
locomotives to Georgia.

Freight wagons will be serviced at depots in Yerevan and Gyumri,
rzd.ru reports.

CORRELATION OF FORCES IN THE GEORGIAN-OSSETIAN CONFLICT AREA; Georgian-Ossetian conflict: correlation of forces.
by Pavel Felgengauer, Valentin Zvegintsev

WPS Agency, Russia
What the Papers Say
August 8, 2008 Friday
Russia

Initiative in the conflict area is the Ossetians’. It is the Ossetians
who provoke the conflict by all means available. Georgia does not
need a war this year. It knows that it will be much stronger next
year. Moreover, Tbilisi must convince the international community
that it is not Georgia that started it all. Even Russian peacekeepers
say that the Ossetians are lying, that there is no fighting under
way there…

Meanwhile, there are trigger-happy hotheads in Georgia too, so that
a conflict is actually possible. Eduard Kokoity of South Ossetia is
probably correct to regard late September and early October as the
extremely dangerous period, a period when the hostilities may begin.

It should be remembered, however, that Saakashvili’s regular army
is one of the best in all of the post-Soviet zone. It consists
of 6 brigades. Four of them are autonomous formations, each 3,300
men strong. Every brigade includes 3 infantry battalions 591 man
each, an armored battalion, artillery battalion, and some companies
(communications, rear services, military engineers). A great deal of
Georgian infantrymen saw combat in Iraq.

Also importantly, Georgian infantry is well-trained in mountainous
warfare.

Special task brigade includes all special forces of the Georgian
army. The Air Force includes six squadrons of MI-8s, UH-1Hs, SU-25s,
MI-17s, MI-24s, L-39s, and drones.

The Georgian Defense Ministry assumed command of the Internal Troops as
well. These latter number 15,000 men plus several special battalions
deployed in Abkhazian and South Ossetian conflict areas where units
of the regular army are forbidden by cease-fire agreements.

Along with everything else, Georgia has a combat ready army of
volunteers numbering 30,000. Reservists (100,000 men) are arranged
in the manner of the US National Guard…

By and large, the Georgians can muster 80,000 men this year. Even
100,000 men, actually, if the conflict becomes protracted.

The situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia is different. When
they received Russian passports and citizenship, people there
began immigrating to Russia and Turkey in search of jobs and
safety. According to OSCE and UN observers, there are less than 30,000
Ossetians in South Ossetia nowadays. In Abkhazia, the Abkhazians
themselves number only about 30% of the whole population estimated at
140,000. The largest ethnic community there is Armenian. There are
also Russians, and so others. Plus 50,000 Georgians who returned to
the Gali district.

In time of peace, the Abkhazian army numbers up to 4,500
men. Mobilization of 10,000 more is expected. As for the Ossetians,
their army is 3,000 men strong.

South Ossetian Deputy Premier Boris Chochiyev: When the Georgians
invade us, all Ossetians will leave for Russia

Question: What if the Georgians pierce the defense and enter South
Ossetia?

Boris Chochiyev: All Ossetians will leave for Russia because they
will be imprisoned otherwise.

Question: How will Russia and the West react to it?

Boris Chochiyev: Well, Russia is supposed to protect and defend it
citizens, isn’t it? Moreover, Russia is the principal guarantor of
peace and stability, and this particular document bears signature of
Georgia. Documents are to be signed and honored, right? As for the
West, it is clear I believe that the West has been arming Georgia in
order to use it as a bridgehead in its own wars on Russia afterwards.

Question: The government of South Ossetia claims that Tbilisi is
putting its military plans into motion…

Boris Chochiyev: It does indeed. Georgia turned down all our
suggestions made over the last eight months. Not a single one was
accepted. Tbilisi turned down everything including a non-aggression
pact.

Question: The widespread opinion is that this action on the part of
Georgia may facilitate official recognition of the Republic of South
Ossetia by Russia. What do you think?

Boris Chochiyev: I think that it is what should be done. Russia should
have recognized South Ossetia already. The Ossetians mutter that they
want to know how many victims more are needed for Russia to recognize
South Ossetia…

ARMENIA IS GOING TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS OF CUSTOMS WAREHOUSES

RIA Oreanda
Aug 8 2008
Russia

Yerevan. OREANDA-NEWS . On August 06, 2008 RA Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan called a consultative meeting to discuss the ways of improving
the operations of customs warehouses, reported the Official website
.

The meeting was attended by members of the Supreme Council on New
Revenue Management Practice Introduction (SCRM), customs warehouse
executives. Tigran Sargsyan briefed them on the new requirements
and standards applicable to customs warehouses under the licensing
procedure which seek to streamline and improve their activities.

The Prime Minister stated in part:

"Our common goal is to improve the quality of services rendered by
customs warehouses throughout the country. This is supposed to call
for the combined efforts of both the customs authorities and customs
warehouse executives. In view of the above, all our undertakings
should be clear and predictable to you."

In stating those key legislative requirements binding upon both customs
service officers and warehouse operators, the Prime Minister said:
"Firstly, we must rule out any wholesale or retail trade from customs
warehouses whatsoever. We will have this rule strictly enforced. No
activity other than the one stipulated in the law and specified in
the license shall be carried out in customs warehouses. Secondly,
spaces for customs warehouses have to be clearly defined.

Thirdly, any possibility of getting in goods bypassing the customs
and taking them away from customs warehouses must be ruled out. The
fourth essential requirement bears on the compliance with the safety
standards. We are going to demand for access to all your contracts
signed with security services so as we can henceforth deal only with
licensed entities responsible for the service provided.

Together with you, we must provide the conditions necessary for
self-declarations.

This means that favorable working conditions should be created for
customs-brokers. The last requirement concerns the proper equipping of
customs warehouses which calls for investment. I mean the availability
of state-of-the-art weighing and recording devices, means of conveyance
etc. to ensure that the whole process in customs warehouses is subject
to control by both you and the customs service. We are determined to
ensure compliance with the foregoing regulations, and I would like
to ask for your cooperation in giving effect to them."

No questions having arisen with the executives of customs warehouses
regarding the above-stated requirements and standards, the Prime
Minister advised that they may turn to the RA Customs Committee by
the Government for any clarification concerning these issues.

In conclusion, once again the Prime Minister underscored the need for
working jointly towards improving the operations of customs warehouses.