Month: October 2008

EUROPEAN UNION CONSOLIDATES ITS POSITION IN THE REGION
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.10.2008 GMT+04:00

Neither France, nor Germany will aggravate relations with Russia
because of a small country, which, however sad it may sound to
Saakashvili, is of no strategic value.

The European Union is slowly but steadily restoring its once lost
position towards peacemaking and establishing order in conflict
regions. In short, it is trying to replace the USA, which being
presently busy with the financial crisis and pre-election presidential
fever is not in the mood for regulating conflicts. Inability to
cope with the Talibs in Afghanistan, the failed attempt to establish
democracy in Iraq and complete absence of ideas of restoring peace
in the Caucasus resulted in the opportunity for the EU to begin
its own game. The succeeded "Sarkozy-Medvedev" plan of settling the
Georgian-Ossetian conflict in essence became the first real signal
indicating that European politicians have ceased to look back at the
USA and are eager to prove that problems can also be solved in the
Old World, with their own strength.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In this connection it should be reminded that
French and British generals in Afghanistan have directly stated that
it is absolutely impossible to defeat the Talibs and win the war. In
fact, the generals have recognized the weakness of NATO and what is
more serious, incorrectness of the US policy. But these are already
details. Much more serious is the problem of Turkey’s membership in
the European Union. As you know, the most active adherent of Ankara’s
integration into the European Union used to be the USA. President
George Bush even tried to "push" Turkey into the EU through its
faithful ally, Great Britain. However, France and Germany were able
to resist the pressure and did not yield. Today allegedly remaining
the strategic ally of the US Turkey is in fact implementing its own
policy, which often goes against the interests of Washington.

However, in connection with the latest events in the Caucasus and with
the five-day war in particular, which, by the way, is very often called
"Georgian-Russian", the force vector has changed. Perfectly realizing
that his stake over the ocean is already lost, President Saakashvili
is currently seeking help in Europe, and exactly in France. Visits
of President Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Kouchner are apparently
called to support the Georgian President, who bluntly trusted George
Bush. However, neither France, nor Germany will aggravate relations
with Russia because of a small country, which, however sad it may
sound to Saakashvili, is of no strategic value. For the powerful
world even the whole South Caucasus is no more than a territory for
pipelines, and its population is an annoying but, alas, a required
reality. Europeans utter general phrases about the necessity of a
dialogue and renunciation of confrontation, which in regular language
means "We are in crisis and winter is at hand. Solve your problems
yourselves". Even if Russia is not able to cope with the crisis,
it will surely have no problems with energy carriers.

As for Turkey, according to EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli
Rehn Turkey should hurry with making reforms related to the process
of her full membership in the European Union. "I would like to see
Turkey move rapidly in its reform process. The EU and Turkey are
acting united towards unification of their economies. Despite arising
negative moments the process is moving ahead, and now talks are open
on seven chapters of international dossier. By the end of the year
further negotiation chapters of membership talks will be opened,"
Rehn said at the fifth Bosphorus Conference on EU-Turkey Relations.

Quite probably Turkey’s activeness in the process of regulating
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as its attempts to improve
relations with Armenia can be explained by its hopes to gain a soonest
access into the EU. Despite the delayed and unfruitful war against the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), this will bring considerable political
dividends to Recep Erdogan’s Government. The prolonged "antiterrorist"
operation may simply end up with annexation of part of Northern Iraq,
which, in its turn, might result in a new regional war, and it would
be almost impossible for Turkey to rise from this war even with the
help of the USA or Europe.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN ATHLETES WIN THREE MEDALS IN THE WORLD YOUTH CUP OF UNARMED SELF DEFENSE

ARMENPRESS
Oct 13, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenian athlete, champion of Europe
Zhanna Vardanian (44 kg) won silver medal in the world youth cup of
unarmed self defense. The tournament was held in Tashkent, capital
of Uzbekistan.

Artavazd Minasian 62 kg and Aramayis Margarian 48 kg took bronze
medals.

Chief coach of the Armenian unarmed self defense youth team is
Hovhannes Khojoyan.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GRANTS TITLES OF HONORABLE ARTISTS TO K. STANISLAVSKI ACTRESS IRA HARUTYUNIAN AND ACTOR ARMAN GHAZARIAN

ARMENPRESS
Oct 13, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: On the occasion of the 70th
anniversary of K. Stanislavski Russian State Theatre President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree October 9 on granting titles
of honorable artists to the actress of the theatre Ira Harutyunian
and actor Arman Ghazarian for their contribution to the consolidation
of Armenian-Russian cultural ties, presidential press service reported.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN HIGHLY UNDERSCORES 14TH YEAR-OLD ACTIVITY OF UNICEF IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Oct 13, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian received today the newly appointed head of the UNICEF
Armenian office, Mrs. Layli Moshiri-Gilani.

Foreign Ministry press service told Armenpress that during the meeting
Edward Nalbandian highly underscored the 14th year old activity
of UNICEF in Armenia which is directed towards the protection
of children’s rights, improvement of their health conditions and
education.

The sides discussed the implementation of current programs of UNICEF
and issues connected with the development of 2010-2014 program package
and particularly referred to the issues on cooperation in child and
mother health care sphere which is one of the goals of Millennium
Development.

Minister Nalbandian reconfirmed the readiness of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry to closely cooperate with the UNICEF office, develop and
carry out new programs and support the newly elected director in
her activity.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE STRATEGIC REVIEW INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMISSION CONDUCTS ITS FIRST SESSION

ARMENPRESS
Oct 13, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: The first session of Armenia’s
Defense Strategic Review inter-ministerial commission took place
today in the residence of the president of Armenia.

Presidential press service told Armenpress that Arthur Baghdasarian,
Secretary General of the National Security Council, who was chairing
the session, presented the mission of the commission, and noted that
the strategic review of the reforms of the defense sphere stems from
the national security strategy, presupposes preparation of a complete
package of reforms and is under the direct limelight of the Armenian
president.

Afterwards, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, according to
the registered priorities, pointing out the importance of the works
and its peculiarities, presented the main directions of the review
and methodology of the work.

During the session the participants also adopted decisions connected
with the organization of the work and registered the exact time of
its implementation.

SESSION OF NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES PACE OF JUDICIAL REFORMS

ARMENPRESS
Oct 13, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Session of the National Security
Council took place October 11 chaired by the head of the council,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

Presidential press service told Armenpress that Secretary General of
the council Arthur Baghdasarian and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian
presented reports and summed up the results of "Rubezh 2008" military
exercises held within CSTO, discussed issue of military-political
cooperation within the framework of the CSTO.

During the session the participants also discussed pace of reforms
in judicial sphere. In this respect the president said that there is
serious complaint of the courts in Armenia and the reforms carried
out in the legislative sphere are not enough for the increase of the
role of the courts. The president highly underscored the necessity of
fighting against bribery and corruption in courts, adding that hence
for the assessment of the pace of reforms in the judicial sphere he
will not be guided by the length of the list of the carried out steps
but by the trust of the public towards the system.

He stated that hence the staff of the president will order relevant
specialized sociological polls to understand not only the level
of trust of people towards the judicial system but also its change
and dynamics.

Summing up the session the president said that the issue will be
under the limelight of the National Security Council. Serzh Sargsyan
also assigned to conduct wide public and specialized discussions over
judicial reforms.

"NA SPEAKER SOLVED THE ISSUE OF HIS LEGITIMACY"

A1+
[07:17 pm] 13 October, 2008

"The Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly invited the U.S. experts
simply to solve the issue of his legitimacy," Republic Party member
Suren Abrahamian told A1+. Note, Suren Abrahamian is involved in the
public committee looking into the March 1 events.

Suren Abrahamian has met with the U.S. experts. He says the meeting was
merely cognitive and was a "demonstration of good will." Asked about
the engagement of the Armenian National Congress in the fact-finding
mission, Suren Abrahamian said: "It depends on the mission’s format."

"The fact-finding mission should act by law /and not execute NA
decisions or Presidential decrees/, control the pre-trial body
otherwise everything will be but a farce," said Abrahamian.

In general, Suren Abrahamian thinks the fact-finding mission was to
be set up earlier if they really wanted to reveal the reality.

"Our committee has nothing to do with the NA ad hoc Committee on the
March 1 unrest. The Pan-National Movement expressed distrust towards
the ad hoc Committee and its format just from the very beginning,"
added Mr. Abrahamian.

NONPARTISAN CANDIDATES WIN LOCAL ELECTIONS

A1+
[04:05 pm] 13 October, 2008

Nonpartisan Grigor Melkonyan was elected the head of Ararat
village on October 12 beating his ARF Dashnaktsutiun contender
Khoren Sargsyan. The only candidate running for the head of Aralez
community, nonpartisan Martik Tevonian got 987 votes for, 13 against
and no abstentions.

Non-party Surik Grigorian won the local election in the community of
Avshar with 2554 votes for and none against.

Visit Bulgaria, Bulgaria

Turkey’s Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk is controversial at home

Submitted by Anna Tomova on Sun, 10/12/2008 – 07:25. Orhan Pamuk
Ankara Turkey

When Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk opens the
Frankfurt Book Fair this week, he will do so not just as Turkey’s most
famous novelist, but also as one of its most controversial.

Pamuk has never been far from debate inside Turkey, where he has
critics in both the religious conservative camp and the secular
establishment.

But what really riled Turkish nationalists were his comments in 2005
concerning the massacres of Armenians in Turkey during the First World
War and Turkey’s continuing fight against Kurdish separatists.

"Thirty-thousand Kurds and a million Armenians have been killed and
almost nobody dares to mention that, except for me," Pamuk was quoted
as saying in a Swiss magazine in 2005.

After his commentsm he was immediately denounced by nationalists in
Turkey and charges were brought against him that he had "insulted
Turkishness". The charges were later dropped for technical reasons but
the incident polarized Turkey.

When he became the first Turkish author to win the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 2006, many praised his work. Others claimed that he only
won it because of his "anti-Turkish" political statements. Some were
torn.

"We are angry at Pamuk because our Turkish soul weighs heavy in us,
but for the same reason we are also proud he won the highest literary
award," wrote Ertugrul Ozkok, the editor of Turkey’s top selling
newspaper, Hurriyet.

In what was a clear snub, the president of Turkey at the time, Ahmet
Necdet Sezer, failed to publicly congratulate Pamuk.

Pamuk may no longer live in Istanbul, where he claims to have received
death threats from nationalists, but his opening of the Frankfurt Book
Fair this week is a clear acknowledgement that he is still Turkey’s
leading author.

Born in Istanbul in June 1952, he has published eight novels and a
memoir which explore the way Turkey is torn between East and West and
how it is torn between conservative religious folk and modern
western-looking secularists.

The writer sees the splits clearly, but also looks into how the two
actually make Turkey what it is. His main argument is that upholding
one’s own history and traditions is not incompatible with a modern
secular state that seeks to join the European Union.

Educated at the prestigious American Robert College high school in
Istanbul, Pamuk went on to study architecture at Istanbul Technical
University, but dropped out after three years. He later went on to
complete a course in journalism at the University of Istanbul.

While never actually going into journalism, Pamuk wrote his first
book, Darkness and Light, in 1974. It was not published until 1982
under the title, Cevdet Bey and His Sons.

Since then he has written a number of prize-winning novels including
The White Castle, The Black Book, My Name is Red, and Snow. His latest
novel, recently released in Turkey, Masumiyet Muzesi (The Museum of
Innocence), is currently topping the book charts.

New York Daily News, NY

Jacqueline Mossessian & Kegham Jarjokian

Sunday, October 12th 2008, 4:00 AM

Jacqueline Mossessian & Kegham Jarjokian – Photo
Sept. 7, 2008, Queens

Though they have known each other for many years, Kegham Jarjokian and
Jacqueline Mossessian didn’t go on their first date until Sept. 9,
2006.

Kegham, 33, who works for the New York City police department, and
Jacqueline, a 26-year-old college admissions counselor, both live in
Whitestone, Queens.

In June 2007, they took a vacation to Miami where, while strolling
along the sands in the South Beach area, Kegham popped the question.

"It was her first time in Miami," Kegham explained, "and I just
thought it would be the best place to have the proposal."

Three priests presided over the Armenian Christian Orthodox ceremony,
which was held at St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in
Douglaston. The wedding party featured eight bridesmaids who wore Ann
Taylor Celebrations dresses in pacific blue, and eight groomsmen.

Jacqueline wore an ivory strapless dress with intricate beading,
designed by Allure Bridals, and carried calla lilies with pink roses
and hydrangea.

The newlyweds left the church in an antique Rolls-Royce while wedding
guests threw pink rose petals after them.

Tables at the reception featured candles and floor-length ivory
tablecloths.

Instead of extensive party favors, guests received a small box of
chocolates with a scroll explaining that, in lieu of traditional
gifts, the bride and groom had made donations to cancer, diabetes and
heart charities.

A four-piece Armenian band and deejay entertained the 170 wedding
guests, and the couple shared their first dance to Edwin McCain’s "I
Could Not Ask for More."

Their four-tiered chocolate mousse cake featured a custom cake
topper. "It’s 3-D images of our faces on bobble heads," Kegham
laughed. "And her bobble head is pulling mine by the collar at the top
of the cake."

A limo escorted the couple to the airport for their 10-day honeymoon
in Maui.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress