Month: October 2008

K-TELECOM TOPPING LIST OF LARGEST TAXPAYERS OF ARMENIA IN JAN/SEPT 2008

ARKA
Oct 23, 2008

YEREVAN, October 23. /ARKA/. K-Telecom (Viva-Cell-MTS brand) mobile
telecommunication operator topped the list of the largest taxpayers
of Armenia in Jan/Sept 2008.

According to the Government affiliated tax agency, the company has
sent AMD 23.1 billion to the state budget over the period between
January and September against AMD 10.1 billion paid at the same period
a year earlier.

The tax agency says AMD 19.9 billion was paid as taxes and 3.2 billion
as customs duty in Jan-Sept 2008.

Indirect taxes amounted to AMD 13 billion, including VAT and excise
duty.

Another 1.4 billion was paid as other duties.

The second biggest taxpayer is Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine
with its AMD 12.6 billion transferred to the state budget in Jan-Sept
2008. Of this amount, 10.4 billion was paid as taxes and 2.2 million
as customs duty. The company was atop the last year’s list with AMD
20.1 billion.

ArmRosgasprom follows Zangezur in the Jan/Sept 2008 list. The company
sent 12.1 billion to the state budget at the mentioned period of
this year against AMD 16.5 billion paid the same period of the
previous year.

ArmenTel Telecommunication Company contributed to the state budget
AMD 11.6 billion in Jan/Sept 2008 against 14.2 billion s year
earlier. Alex-Grig paid AMD 8.03 billion, Gor Petrol Service and
Flash oil traders added AMD 7.9 billion and 7.4 billion to the budget.

Armenian Electric Networks transferred AMD 4.7 billion and Armenian
Railways AMD 3.7 billion to the state budget in Jan/Sept 2008. ($1 –
AMD 308.68)

HOW I BECAME A CAMPUS DIVA
Christina Varga

Globe and Mail
October 23, 2008
Canada

Opera star Isabel Bayrakdarian recalls her undergrad struggles
balancing a tough engineering program with her true passion in life

I was always good at math and sciences, ever since I was very
little. It was just a natural fit that I would go into something
that a) provided me with scholarships and b) was something I’m
good at. I come from a family of doctors. Even my great-grandmother
was a midwife. That’s one of the reasons I decided I wanted to go
into biomedical engineering. But, I found it extremely, extremely
difficult, especially the more advanced we got in the classes and
the more I realized that my passion wasn’t really this. I must admit
that I also took it too seriously. In high school, I was very active
in music. In my community, the Armenian community, I used to sing in
church a lot. And when I entered the University [of Toronto], I said,
"No, no, no, no, this is very serious now. I have to concentrate on
my studies." And I almost cut back and cut out all my extracurricular
activities. And you know what? That made me more miserable. And in
my second semester I said, "Enough. I need some creative outlet." I
went across the street to the Royal Conservatory of Music. I said,
"I want to take singing lessons."

Finding my voice

So [in] that first year of engineering, the second semester, all
of a sudden, was lighter, happier and brighter because I had another
outlet and it wasn’t just technical things. I continued to take singing
lessons on and off for the first two years. In my third year I decided
to take a year off for an internship. In that year, I finally had a
regular timetable. I could take singing lessons regularly. And all
of a sudden my singing went to another level.

And then I realized I was bitten by the bug: I really, really,
really liked to sing. But I wasn’t sure I could do it as a living
and that was one of the reasons why I headed back to the third year
of engineering. In my fourth year…I entered the Metropolitan Opera
competition. And against all odds, I won.

What I learned

I’m happy that I took the risk because taking the path of art when
you come from engineering and the technical world is a big risk. But
I decided to take the risk for the simple reason that I didn’t want
to be 40 years old and say, "I wish I had," or "What if."

I think it must be one of the most difficult decisions that a
17-year-old or a 16-year-old has to make, about what to do in
university. …But a good start for anybody is to capitalize on what
you’re good at. If you’re miserable in university, you’re more likely
to drop out or more likely to be aimless. Always keep in mind what
you’re good at and what you like, and hopefully find something that
combines both.

IT IS INTERESTING CITIZENS OF WHICH COUNTRY THE CHILDREN OF THE MASS WEDDING WILL BE
James Hakobyan

Lragir.am
12:10:41 – 23/10/2008

If the society of Armenia cares about the future of the state and
namely the Karabakh issue which has a crucial importance to this
future, it should now be highly embarrassed or at least on the verge
of it. The society should worry whether Karabakh is really sold,
who sells, for what price, part by part or the whole at once, and to
whom. For instance, the leader of the opposition Levon Ter-Petrosyan
says that Serge Sargsyan sells, and the buyer is the West. It seems
unambiguous that nobody else except the government can sell Karabakh
or any other territory of the country. In that sense, if they sell,
nobody else but Serge Sargsyan can sell it for the simple reason that
Serge Sargsyan is the head of state. But does he sell, if he sells
of course, to the West, as Levon Ter-Petrosyan analyzed in the rally
of October 17?

Maybe he knows something which is not known to the society, and
therefore he assures that the government sells Karabakh to the
West. Certainly, Ter-Petrosyan does not use the word "sell", he uses
the word "concede". But perhaps the difference is not big in terms
of meaning, tendencies of the situation, especially when it is said
that Serge Sargsyan concedes in return for the recognition of his
legitimacy. It means he gives Karabakh, he gets loyalty, hence we
deal with trade, sale and purchase, a deal.

Unlike Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s analysis, the analyses in the Russian and
Azerbaijani media prompt that the Armenian government sells Karabakh
to Russia rather than the West. In addition, these analyses seem
to be confirmed by the circumstance that in the negotiations Russia
tries to assume a leading role and undertakes a three-party meeting
of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

It is possible that while America and Russia will be fighting for
Armenia and Karabakh, the Armenian government will silently and
without any fuss sell Karabakh to Europe, especially that it may
be helpful to getting a favorable conclusion and resolution during
the discussion of the issue of Armenia in the winter session of the
PACE. The United States and Russia will certainly be upset but it
will be too late, and if they have questions, they will have to let
the Armenian government go and turn to Europe.

Although there are no analyses about it, the sale of Karabakh to
Asia or Africa should not be ruled out. It is also possible that
Australia, Latin America and even Antarctica appear among the buyer,
although the buying capacity of the penguins does not promise great
prospects to the government of Armenia. However, in any case, it
is highly important to have more buyers for a successful deal. It
would increase competition and raise the value of Karabakh. Moreover,
the buyers may even start fighting one other and forget about both
us and Karabakh, which would be the best way out for the government
of Armenia. However, this is just a hypothetical option.

Unfortunately, our product mostly interests the United States, Russia
and Europe.

However, these three, plus Turkey, are enough for the society of
Armenia to get entangled in the flow of information and be unable
to understand what is happening about the Karabakh issue. It may
proceed from the interests of the partners in trade to have the society
entangled in its perceptions, and until it realizes what is happening,
everything will be over. That would be convenient for the government
because the society will not hinder the deal, and the opposition will
perhaps say that before the society could understand his words and
move, Karabakh was sold, and the money was spent on buying special
police equipment to disperse popular movements without victims,
that is through modern technology.

Meanwhile, Karabakh is waiting calmly to see citizens of which country
the children born after the mass wedding will be.

TURKISH CULTURAL SEASON IN FRANCE VIEWED FROM LYON
By Andrea Giambartolomei

cafebabel.com
22/10/08
France

Fre d Bassier and Faik Sardag, bass player and singer of French-Turkish
band, Fake Oddity (Image: AG)

The cultural and political relationship between France and Turkey is
ambivalent. Events such as France’s recognition of Armenian genocide
and Sarkozy’s opposition to Ankara’s entry into the EU make 2009 a
pivotal year focus

‘Certain political choices have had very negative effects,’ states
Ugur Hukum, journalist for Radio France International and Paris
correspondent for the centre-left daily Cumhuriyet. ‘Sarkozy’s
stance and that of his colleagues and the National Assembly on the
Armenian genocide have made Turks more suspicious towards Europe,
and France especially,’ he continues. Has Turkey become stigmatised
in the opinion of the French public? The ‘Year of Turkey’ starts in
July 2009 and ends in March 2010. Co-organised by the French culture
ministry, it will justifiably be looking to restore the tarnished
image of the Turkish people, with the help of a series of initiatives.

In the Pentes de Croix Rousse Quarter On the premises of an association
located near the Pentes de Crois Rousse district in Lyon, immigrants
meet, sip the national drink cay and play okey, a Turkish tile
game. They smoke, despite the ban imposed at the beginning of the
year ‘This event will promote good relations,’ says Ilyas, 52. ‘Our
culture is vast. Its history is ancient: you have only to think of
the Ottoman Empire.’ ‘The French know Turkey and the Turks well,’
continues Mustapha, 28. ‘Even Sarkozy knows it, but he doesn’t want
it in the EU. Turkey has 70 million Muslims: perhaps he is scared.’

‘Turkey has 70 million Muslims: perhaps Sarkozy is scared’ The two
men state that Turkey is already at the heart of several events. ‘In
Lyon, some cultural centres organise Whirling Dervish performances,
oriental parties and debates,’ says Ilyas. Mustapha asserts, without
any pretensions, that he is unsure of whether ‘Turkish singers coming
here can really promote good relations and integration.’ How many
French people visit the Franco-Turkish association? ‘Sometimes someone
who has taken a trip to Turkey will come and have a cup of tea and
chat for a bit,’ says Ilyas. ‘Then there are those …’ He repeats
himself, as if to reassure himself that occasionally a visitor can
shyly penetrate this little corner of Anatolia.

Turkey: yes, no, don’t care?

The association in Lyon | (Image: Andrea Giambartolomei)If you look
at the culture industry, the French are definitely attracted by and
curious about Turkey. ‘In the last five years, editors have translated
and published many Turkish authors. In a well-stocked bookshop you can
find works by thirty Turkish authors,’ asserts Hukum. ‘We can remember
the success of Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and that of poets like
YaÅ~_ar Kemal and Nazim Hikmet, and of romance novelists such as Nedim
Gursel and Elif Å~^afak.’ The list is long: ‘In music, there is Fasil
Say who, with his album and his Mozart pieces, has had great success in
the last six years. In cinema, Nuri Bilge Ceylan took away two prizes
at Cannes, and there is the young German-Turkish director, Fatih Akin.’

Fake Oddity is a band in Lyon whose singer, Faik Sardag, is originally
from Turkey. ‘People could get along just fine, but the media blocks
any possibility of making connections,’ he says. With his band he
recorded his latest album Runfast in Istanbul, where they also had
several concerts. This experience enabled the French members of the
group to learn a little bit about the country and its inhabitants.

This project is directed at young rock enthusiasts An example of
successful integration and the potential for cultural exchange, they
have decided to get involved in the Turkish cultural season. ‘We
have suggested an exchange between Lyon and Istanbul, with some
Turkish bands coming to play here, eventually accompanied by other
artists,’ explains drummer Fred Bassier, who is busy organising
this project. ‘This project is directed at young rock enthusiasts,
but we would also like to organise events with Turkish story-tellers
for children and parents.’

–Boundary_(ID_cLgEFubgbCisZwlhDBoTzQ)- –

ON THE VERGE OF CONFRONTATION INSIDE THE GOVERNMENT
Haik Aramyan

Lragir.am
13:57:26 – 21/10/2008

In the rally of October 17 Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated that the
opposition temporarily stops public struggle, explaining that by
geopolitical factors, and particularly the danger posed to Karabakh. By
this step of the first president the internal "status quo" of the
recent months in Armenia changes, and may lead to serious change and
redistribution. The problem has two aspects, internal and external. On
the internal arena, over the six months of his office Serge Sargsyan
was unable to settle the post-election situation and establish
his pyramid of government. On the external arena, the situation
becomes unfavorable for Serge Sargsyan. He was actually "let down"
in the developments regarding the Armenian and Turkish relations, the
sweeping start of which promised serious political capital to Serge
Sargsyan. It turned out that the recurrent Russian-Turkish alliance
involved return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan and deployment of Russian
troops there. Meanwhile, the readiness to return the territories had
already been announced on behalf of Serge Sargsyan. In fact, Serge
Sargsyan’s government was not adequate to the political developments,
and got entangled in their "initiatives", from which there is only
one way out – to agree to meet every external pressure and demand.

For their part, the recent reports in the press that Robert Kocharyan
is going to return to politics in November become interesting.

Ter-Petrosyan’s departure from the arena and the current situation of
the government on the one hand, and the recent developments regarding
the Karabakh issue on the other hand, enable Kocharyan to create a
basis for his return. The point is that in public consciousness the
approaches of Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Serge Sargsyan towards the issue
of NKR and the regional problems do not differ much, while Kocharyan’s
point of view is different. In one of his recent interviews Kocharyan
underlined that difference, stating that he would not have invited Gul
to Armenia. And if at that time the statement was described as a major
political mistake, in the current complicated situation it may become
a trump card. For their part, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun and the Bargavach
Hayastan Party, as well as the "political" wing of the Republicans
may join Kocharyan, thereby dissolving the political coalition.

In addition, the issue of the March 1 tragedy again became a
burning topic in the sense that for the first time the international
organizations demanded to hold the government accountable although
the government tries to blame the opposition for the tragedy of March
1. In addition, the international organizations present this problem
together with other problems, which does not allow the government to
maneuver. Hence, the tragedy should be blamed on someone, which is
another reason for a serious confrontation inside the government.

It is difficult to tell whether this situation has dictated the current
tactics of the opposition, about which Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated,
noting however that he is not going to reveal the details. On the other
hand, it is strange that the West and the United States in particular
endorse Serge Sargsyan’s "bold steps" every now and then. Obviously,
Serge Sargsyan is pushed to take steps both inside the country and
in foreign policies. What steps are they and do they refer to the
Turkish-Armenian relations? Perhaps not only and no all that. Most
probably, the problem is to bring about a new situation in Armenia,
after which all the other problems will be "solved". And there are
all the preconditions for that. Here it is worthwhile to remember
the discourse on the "second generation reforms" in Armenia before
the presidential election 2007, which ended in the night of May 12
and the morning of May 13, 2007.

THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION HOLDS A DISCUSSION ON "ARE TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS ABOUT TO TAKE OFF?"

The Washington Daybook
October 15, 2008

LOCATION: The Jamestown Foundation, 1111 16 Street NW, Suite 320,
Washington, D.C.

CONTACT: 202-483-8888 [Note: RSVP required to [email protected]
with your name and affiliation.]

PARTICIPANTS: Jamestown Foundation President Glen Howard; European
Stability Initiative Senior Analyst Diba Nigar Goksel; Armen Kharazian,
Washington-based security consultant on the South Caucasus; and
Paul Goble, director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan
Diplomatic Academy in Baku

NKR PRESIDENT AND DELEGATION HEADED BY ARMEN MEDVEDEV DISCUSSED ISSUES RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT OF CINEMATOGRAPHY IN KARABAKH

De Facto
2008-10-23 15:22:00

STEPANAKERT, 23.10.08. On October 22 President of the Nagorno-Karabagh
Republic Bako Sahakian received a group of art workers at the head
of Armen Medvedev, president of the "Rolan Bykov" foundation.

To note, the guest arrived in Artsakh within the frameworks of the
4th International Child and Youth Film Festival.

According to the Central Department of Information of the Office of
the NKR President, a wide range of issues related to the development of
cinematography in Artsakh were discussed at the meeting. The importance
of regular visits and enlarging bilateral cooperation as well as making
more films about Artsakh was mutually underlined during the meeting.

The guests welcomed the proposal of the NKR President to organize
film festival in Artsakh, which will make a substantial contribution
to the development of film industry in the Republic.

NKR minister of culture and youth affairs Lernik Hakobian partook at
the meeting.

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: "MINSK GROUP HAS GAINED BROAD EXPERIENCE AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO USE IT"

Today.Az
23 October 2008 [14:37]
Azerbaijan

There are numerous formats discussing the resolution of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, they are partially supplementing and working
on par and fortunately, none of them work on the opposite course
towards others, said Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov,
commenting on the planned meeting between the Presidents of Russia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

As for the comments of experts about the weakening of the Minsk Group
activity in the lights of the recent initiatives of Russia and Turkey
for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the ambassador
that a very good material and broad experience have been gained in the
framework of the Minsk group and it is impossible not to use it. At
the same time he noted that definite proposals on the resolution of
the conflict have been worked out in the framework of the Minsk Group.

"They were not completed because the parties have not yet agreed on
all the points of the draft regulation. Anyway, the resolution can
not start from zero level. The idea that if there is a competition
between different formats and all of them must work in a single
direction should not be excluded", said Istratov.

HUMAN RIGHTS, DANGER OF GENOCIDE

Targeted News Service
October 15, 2008 Wednesday 5:27 AM EST

Salem State College issued the following press release:

A symposium sponsored by Salem State College Graduate School and the
Holocaust Center, Boston North

WHAT: Human Rights and the Danger of Genocide

Salem State College Graduate School and the Holocaust Center, Boston
North Present a Symposium regarding human rights and the danger
of genocide

This documentary concerns the Armenian Genocide and the diplomatic
efforts by U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr. to put an end to
the mass killings and deportations in 1915 by the Turkish Ottoman
leaders. Ambassador Morgenthau was also Chair of the Greek Resettlement
Commission under the League of Nations in 1923.

WHO:

The filmmaker, Apo Torosyan, will be present to engage in conversation
with those attending the event.

WHEN:

Monday, October 20, 2008

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Martin Luther King Room in the Ellison Campus Center

Salem State College’s North Campus (Lafayette Street)

COST:

Free and open to the public

For More Information

Contact: Professor Robert McAndrews

Phone: 978-542-6815

Contact: Robert McAndrews, 978/542-6815.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEAL BETWEEN TURKCELL COMPANY OF TURKEY AND ARMENIAN ARMENTEL COMPANY NOTHING BUT RUMORS

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
October 15, 2008 Wednesday

Reports concerning the deal between the Turkcell Company of Turkey and
Armenian ArmenTel company are nothing but rumors, Turkcell Companys
international relations department said. The rumors were disseminated
by Armenpress News Agency. Prior to signing of similar agreements the
New York and Istanbul Stock Exchanges where the stocks of mentioned
companies placed, should be notified. The rumor disseminators are
not aware of these economic rules, the Companys official said.