Month: December 2008

Divisions deepen in Armenia as country braces for MPs’ trial
¢ Seven accused of usurping state power at March rally
¢ Police among 10 victims at ‘vote-rigging’ protest

Duncan Campbell in Yerevan
The Guardian,
Monday 15 December 2008

Armenia is bracing itself for one of the biggest trials in its short
history as an independent country, with a former foreign minister and
three MPs among seven charged in connection with mass protests in which
10 people died.

The case this week against Alexander Arzoumanian, the former foreign
minister, and six others charged with "usurpation of state power", is
the culmination of a political storm that has engulfed the former
Soviet republic since thousands took to the streets early this year
against the disputed presidential election result.

"There is a real atmosphere of fear now," said Melissa Brown, the wife
of Arzoumanian, who is in jail awaiting trial. "It is like Soviet
times," she said during a protest in Yerevan, the capital.

Brown, from Philadelphia, met Arzoumanian when he was Armenia’s UN
ambassador in Washington. He later became the campaign manager for the
opposition leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who lost
this year’s election. The Arzoumanians’ phones were tapped by police in
the run-up to the elections and their conversations were published in
the media and used to charge him with money-laundering.

"This is Watergate stuff," said Brown, who visits her husband twice a
month in prison. "It is not about one candidate against another, it is
about freedom and democracy."

Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters, who blamed voting irregularities for the
election of President Serzh Sargsyan, began protesting in Freedom
Square in mid-February. By night, about 1,000 camped out in freezing
temperatures. By day, crowds of up to 50,000 – estimates vary wildly –
participated in rallies.

Tensions rose further during the last week of February, and on 1 March
police entered the square, claiming they were searching for ammunition.
There were running battles through the streets, culminating in the
police opening fire, with each side claiming that the other launched
the first missile. Ten people, including two police officers, were
killed.

The killings sent shockwaves through the country and the government
imposed strict media censorship for 20 days. While the
government-sanctioned television stations continued to broadcast news,
some newspapers ran blank pages until their publication was halted.

More than 70 protesters have already been jailed but it is the seven
awaiting trial this week who face the main charges.

Sargsyan claimed 52.8% of the vote, enough to avoid the run-off that
some international observers believe should have been held. The
bloodshed has obscured argument over vote-rigging.

"To me, it was like the death of my country," said Karine Asatryan,
editor of the A1+ website, which was closed down during the news
blackout. "It is nine months now and we still don’t know what happened,
no one believes the police version of events. As for the trial, I am
sure they will all be found guilty unless there is international
pressure."

Gegham Vardanyan, a journalist with Internews, said that the issue of
elections remained unresolved. "Armenia has never had fair elections,
there has always been fraud, people don’t believe you can change that."
As for the court case, "it is a political trial and what happens in it
will depend on the political process".

The police feel they have been unfairly portrayed in the media and that
little sympathy was shown for the dead officers. "The coverage has been
extremely negative, it has often added fuel to the fire," said Sayat
Shirinyan, the chief police spokesman. "As for what happened, I can’t
provide a clear picture because there is a still an investigation to be
completed. After it happened, many saw me as the embodiment of the
whole situation. About half the country knows me [due to media
appearances] and I experienced some very tense looks, but that has
changed. There are still aftershocks but what happens in the future
depends on the authorities."

Avetik Ishkhanyan, the chairman of the Helsinki committee of Armenia, a
human rights body, said that the country faced many challenges.
"Armenia is not totalitarian but it is not democratic," he said. "There
is still limited freedom of expression. The television stations, both
public and private, are under the control of the authorities."

Turkish academics in apology to Armenians

Intellectuals break taboo to acknowledge genocide by Ottoman Turks

By Nicholas Birch in Istanbul

Monday, 15 December 2008
Independent.co.uk Web

Around 200 Turkish intellectuals and academics are to apologise on the
internet today for the ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the First
World War, in the most public sign yet that Turkey’s most sensitive
taboo is slowly melting away.

"My conscience does not accept the denial of the great catastrophe that
the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915," the text prepared by
the group reads. "I reject this injustice and … empathise with the
feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologise to them."

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed during the collapse of
the Ottoman empire, but insists they were victims of civil strife and
that Muslim Turks also died. Most Western historians agree that the
ethnic cleansing that killed roughly 700,000 Armenians amounted to
genocide.

The academics are inviting Turks to sign a petition and add their
voices to the apology. "Our concern is being able to look at ourselves
in the mirror in the morning … freeing ourselves by finally facing up
to the past," said the political scientist Baskin Oran, one of the four
organisers of the initiative.

However, nationalists have reacted angrily to the internet apology
before it has even gone live, saying it is a national betrayal. Counter
campaigns refusing to apologise have sprung up. The head of a
nationalist party with 70 seats in parliament described the initiative
as an example of the "frightening extent to which degeneracy and
corrosion have spread".

The public apology coincides with a diplomatic rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia, whose shared border has been closed since the
Nagorny-Karabakh war in 1993 and who have been locked in almost 100
years of hostility. President Abdullah Gul made history in September
when he became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia, and the two
countries have been talking about restoring full diplomatic relations.

Publicly talking about what happened in 1915 remains a sensitive issue
in Turkey. The Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted
in 2005 for saying a million Armenians had died. In January 2007, the
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was gunned down by a nationalist
teenager for advocating a more humane debate on the issue.

Yet, while almost every Turkish town has a street named after the chief
organisers of the massacres, the taboo surrounding the Armenian issue
is nowhere near as total as it was a decade ago. Bookshops sell books
by Western and Armenian historians alongside texts written by defenders
of the official Turkish thesis. Universities organise conferences on
the issue. Istanbul galleries run exhibitions of postcards showing the
central place Armenians had in the life of the late Ottoman Empire. And
a 2005 memoir, My Grandmother, in which an Istanbul lawyer recounts her
discovery that the woman who brought her up was born an Armenian,
sparked widespread and sympathetic debate.

One of the first Turks to break the taboo was the historian Halil
Berktay, who received death threats for months after telling a Turkish
newspaper in October 2000 that he believed the Ottoman Empire committed
genocide. Today, he is convinced the space for intelligent debate is
growing. "Beneath the bluster," he says, "the Turkish establishment
position is crumbling."

Lancet: Dozens of nations inflated vaccine numbers
AP foreign,
Saturday December 13 2008
By MARIA CHENG

AP Medical Writer= LONDON (AP)Dozens of developing countries
exaggerated figures on how many children were vaccinated against deadly
diseases, which allowed them to get more money from U.N.-sponsored
programs, a new study said Friday.

Research in the medical journal, The Lancet, said only half as many
children were vaccinated than was claimed by countries taking part in
special programs meant to reach kids in poor nations. The findings
raise serious issues about vaccination programs â’ and whether money
earmarked for children is actually reaching their intended recipients.

"With the unprecedented billions given by the international community,
there is no excuse for these poor coverage rates," said Philip Stevens,
of the International Policy Network, a London-based think-tank. "One
has to wonder where the money has gone hopefully not into Swiss bank
accounts."

American researchers analyzed records of children supposedly vaccinated
by initiatives led by the United Nations and related groups like the
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, or GAVI.

The scientists examined reports the countries gave to the United
Nations on how many children were immunized. They then compared those
figures to independent surveys on vaccination conducted by
non-governmental groups and other outside researchers.

The report did not20focus on the tens of millions of children immunized
globally each year. Instead, the researchers studied programs meant to
increase the availability of vaccinations in poorer countries
vaccinations designed to reach kids who would not be covered otherwise.

From 1986 to 2006, the United Nations reported that 14 million children
received immunizations in the programs. But the reports from the
independent surveys put that number at just over 7 million.

"The magnitude of the gap is surprising," said Christopher Murray,
director of the Institute for Health Metrics at the University of
Washington and the study’s lead author.

Murray and colleagues found that at least 32 of the 51 countries taking
part in the U.N.-backed programs over-reported by at least 50 percent
how many children were protected against diphtheria, tetanus and
whooping cough.

Experts suggest that inflating the numbers is part of a larger problem
in attracting limited resources.

"That’s how you get money," said Ken Hill, a public health professor at
Harvard University who was not linked to the study. "You exaggerate the
number of people who die or who you save to get visibility. Somehow,
numbers always end up bigger than they would be otherwise."

The global alliance pays developing countries $20 per extra vaccinated
child a payment that relies exclusively on reports from the countries.

Murray and colleagues estimated that the alliance should have paid=2
0
countries $150 million. Instead, it paid them $290 million.

The report said the worst countries for over-reporting were Armenia,
Somalia, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, none of which immunized any additional
children at all.

Countries that reported vaccination numbers more than four times higher
than surveys showed included Tajikistan, Pakistan, Togo, Lesotho,
Liberia and Zambia.

Those overestimating immunizations by more than two times were Niger,
Ivory Coast, Congo, Central African Republic, Guinea, Indonesia,
Gambia, North Korea, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nations that claimed at least 50 percent more vaccinations than were
actually done included Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Uganda,
Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Nepal.

Experts said the study raised questions about the credibility of other
health data from the United Nations and countries.

Julian Lob-Levyt, the chief executive officer of the global vaccines
alliance, said it would hold off on all payments until affected
countries can clarify what is happening in their programs.

He also stressed that there was no evidence of corruption in any of the
countries that had received money from the alliance.

Some experts worry that the Lancet study, which was paid for by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, overstated the problem and that
immunization programs would be unfairly overhauled.

The United Nations has been criticized for its fluctuating figures in
the past. In 2007, it dramatically slashed its HIV figures, citing new
surveillance methods.

—

On the Net:

Chanson
Charles Aznavour und die dicke deutsche Frau
(1)
Von Sascha Lehnartz 14. Dezember 2008, 12:09 Uhr

Er ist eine Legende und schier unermüdlich: Mit 84 Jahren steht
Charles Aznavour noch auf den Bühnen der Welt, schreibt Erzählungen
und hat gerade eine Doppel-CD produziert. Im Gespräch mit WELT ONLINE
verrät der Chansonnier, warum dicke deutsche Frauen beinah einen
seiner größten Hits verhindert hätten.

Der gebürtige Armenier Charles Aznavour ist vielseitig: Sänger,
Schauspieler und Buchautor. Für den Erzählband "Mon père, ce géant"
hat er den "Prix de la nouvelle" bekommen. Foto: EMI

Charles Aznavour ist verärgert. Er will bald ein Konzert in Amerika
geben, und der amerikanische Veranstalter verlangt ein medizinisches
Attest für die Versicherung des 84 Jahre alten Künstlers. Aznavour
sieht das überhaupt nicht ein. Er will nicht für ein EKG aufs
Laufband. Aznavour sitzt im Chef-Büro des Pariser Musikverlages seines
Entdeckers Raoul Breton, den er vor einigen Jahren gekauft hat, und
wirkt höchst lebendig. Wir erteilen gern ein
Unbedenklichkeitsattest. Der Mann ist fit.

Die Anfänge
Der Sohn armenischer Einwanderer wird am 22. Mai 1924 in Paris geboren. Schon
als Neunjähriger hat er unter dem Künstlernamen Aznavour Auftritte als Sänger
und Entertainer. Eigentlich heißt er Shahnour Varenagh Aznavourian.
Charles Aznavour: Ich soll tatsächlich einen Test einreichen, der nachweist,
dass ich kein Kokain nehme. Dabei haben die jede Menge Künstler, die sich mit
Drogen zugrunde gerichtet haben. Ich habe mich noch nie in meinem Leben
berauscht. Na ja, das stimmt nicht ganz. Mit Bordeaux schon. Das ist aber nicht
dasselbe. Das ist eher ein nationaler Charakterzug.
WELT ONLINE: Ändert sich etwas für Sie, wenn Sie in einer anderen Sprache singen
als Französisch?
Aznavour: Das ändert gar nichts. Französisch kann ich mir besser merken, aber
bei der Plattenaufnahme liest man ja eh. Auf Deutsch zu singen ist allerdings
eigenartig. Als ich Platten auf Deutsch gemacht habe, habe ich gelernt, Deutsch
zu lesen – aber ohne es zu verstehen.
WELT ONLINE: Aber Sie haben mit der deutschen Version von "Tu t’laisses aller",
"Du lässt Dich geh’n" 1961 einen großen Hit in Deutschland gehabt.
Aznavour: Das stimmt, dabei wollte die Plattenfirma diese Platte gar nicht
veröffentlichen. Die haben mir gesagt: "Das können wir nicht machen. Wir haben
in Deutschland ziemlich viele dicke Frauen." Aber dann wurde es ein Hit.
WELT ONLINE: Jetzt haben Sie eine Doppel-CD mit Duetten herausgebracht: Wenn Sie
mit einem anderen großen Star gesungen haben, etwa Frank Sinatra, gab es da
nicht auch Konkurrenz?
Aznavour: Nein. Zwischen uns gab es da nicht mehr Konkurrenz, als wenn wir
zusammen Whiskey getrunken haben. Obwohl: Das stimmt nicht, wir haben gar keinen
Whiskey zusammen getrunken, ich mag nämlich keinen Whiskey. Wir haben die eine
oder andere Flasche Petrus zusammen geleert, die mochten wir beide gern.
WELT ONLINE: Es heißt immer, Sie seien von Edith Piaf entdeckt worden.
Aznavour: Das stimmt aber nicht. Entdeckt hat mich der Musikverleger Raoul
Breton. Edith war die Erste, die mir vorausgesagt hat, dass ich eine große
Karriere machen würde. Ich bin mit ihr aufgetreten und habe acht Jahre in ihrem
Haus gewohnt. Ich habe alle anderen kommen und gehen gesehen, aber ich war immer
noch da. Raoul hat mir dann irgendwann gesagt, "Aus dir wird nichts werden, wenn
du das Haus nicht verlässt."
WELT ONLINE: Sie haben anfangs heftige Verrisse erhalten. Was hat Sie bewegt
weiterzumachen?
Aznavour: Es hat Momente gegeben, wo ich aufhören wollte. Aber Breton hat mir
gesagt: "Versuch es noch ein Jahr. Wenn es nicht klappt, hörst du auf." "Gut",
habe ich gesagt, "ein Jahr gebe ich Ihnen." Und in dem Jahr hat es dann
geklappt. Erst bin ich in Paris in einem kleinen Musiktheater mit der Sängerin
Rose Avril aufgetreten. Dann in Marokko, wo ich am Tag nach unserem Debüt auf
einmal der Star war. Die Show hat der Direktor des "Moulin Rouge" gesehen, der
mich dann engagiert hat. Danach lief es. Man muss Geduld haben, und ich war mit
meiner Geduld da fast am Ende. Ich hatte ja schon Frau und Kinder.

Der Durchbruch
1946 nimmt Edith Piaf ihn mit auf ihre Tournee durch Frankreich und die USA.
1950 wird er jedoch in der Presse böse verrissen. Vor allem seine Stimme
missfällt. Dennoch singt Aznavour weiter und feiert 1960 in Casablanca seinen
Durchbruch. Zahlreiche Alben und Tourneen folgen. Bisher hat er über 1000 Lieder
veröffentlicht.
WELT ONLINE: Heute gibt es Castingshows. Wie finden Sie die?
Aznavour: Ich schreibe gerade ein Buch über unser Metier, in dem ich
Nachwuchskünstlern ein paar Ratschläge gebe. Simple Dinge. Wenn sie beginnen,
Erfolg zu haben, gibt es immer irgendeinen, der ihnen einen Cognac oder einen
Whiskey anbietet. Dann trinken sie einen, dann zwei oder drei, dann brauchen sie
eine Flasche, und bald ziehen sie die erste Linie. So läuft das. Ich warne
davor, ich sage den jungen Leuten, das Metier ist bereits eine Droge, man
braucht die anderen Drogen gar nicht.
WELT ONLINE: Es gab einen Film über Edith Piaf, können Sie sich ihr Leben auch
verfilmt vorstellen?
Aznavour: Meine Tochter und mein Schwager beschäftigen sich damit. Man wird
sehen. Sie kennen ja den Witz, oder?
WELT ONLINE: Welchen?
Aznavour: "Wir drehen einen Film über Aznavour." "Aha, wer soll denn Aznavour
spielen?" – "Das macht Aznavour selbst." – "Aber der ist doch zu klein." – Man
muss die Dinge mit Humor nehmen.
WELT ONLINE: Neuerdings schreiben Sie auch Kurzgeschichten?
Aznavour: Ja, ich bekomme für meinen Erzählband "Mon père, ce géant" jetzt
tatsächlich den "Prix de la nouvelle". Ich bin Sohn von Einwanderern. Bei uns
wurde kein Französisch zu Hause gesprochen. Ich habe die Schule im Alter von
zehneinhalb abgebrochen – und heute bin ich Schriftsteller. Sänger kann jeder
werden oder Boxer, Fahrradfahrer oder Torero. Aber Schriftsteller, da bin ich
schon ein wenig stolz drauf.
WELT ONLINE: Und Ihr Werk ist heute schon Teil des kulturellen Erbe Frankreichs.
Aznavour: Aber ich bin ja auch Franzose. Ich bin mehr Franzose als Armenier.
Obwohl ich sehr armenisch bin, durch meine Kultur, meine Religion und die
Vergangenheit meines Volkes, durch meine Sprache und meine kulinarischen
Vorlieben.
WELT ONLINE: Was ist denn an Ihnen besonders armenisch?
Aznavour: Ich hatte früher kaum armenische Freunde. Seit dem schweren Erdbeben
1988 habe ich durch meine Arbeit für Armenien viele gewonnen. Wir haben viel
gemeinsam. Wir sind alle Kinder von Menschen, die man vertrieben und massakriert
hat. Und trotzdem ist das, was uns am meisten verbindet, das Lachen.
WELT ONLINE: Auf Ihrer letzten CD gibt es ein Lied mit dem Titel "Moi, je vis en
banlieu", in dem Sie die Rolle eines jungen Einwanderers aus der Vorstadt
annehmen.
Aznavour: Ich identifiziere mich mit Menschen, die ich liebe, weil sie etwas
Ähnliches erleben wie das, was wir erlebt haben. Die Kinder der Immigration sind
meine eigenen Kinder. Da bin ich genau wie mein Vater. Wenn ich ihnen helfen
kann, tue ich es. Und die Lieder helfen ihnen. Schon, wenn sie so ein Lied
hören, dann wissen sie, dass da jemand an sie denkt. Sie müssen wissen, ich habe
selbst eine Benetton-Familie. Ich habe eine Schwiegertochter aus Haiti, einen
algerischen Schwager, einen jüdischen Enkel, meine Frau ist protestantische
Schwedin, und ich bin gregorianisch-armenisch. Es fehlt eigentlich nur noch eine
Chinesin.
WELT ONLINE: Jean Cocteau war es, der über Sie gesagt hat, Sie hätten die
Verzweiflung populär gemacht. Ist es Ihnen mal passiert, dass Sie sich in einer
unglücklichen Liebesgeschichte befanden, und währenddessen dachten Sie bereits:
"Diese Geschichte könnte vielleicht einmal ein schönes Chanson werden?"
Aznavour: Das ist ja nicht nur mit Liebesliedern so. Jedes Ereignis, aus dem man
ein gutes Lied machen kann, wird von Autoren benutzt. Es wäre auch lächerlich,
ein schönes Thema einfach auszulassen. Ja, ich habe zum Beispiel "Il faut
savoir" so geschrieben. Aber als ich meinen Auto-Unfall hatte und neun Monate im
Gipsbett lag, da habe ich "Pour faire une jame" geschrieben. Sehen Sie den
Unterschied?
Aznavour spielte in über 70 Filmen mit, wie etwa in François Truffauts "Schießen
Sie auf den Pianisten" oder Volker Schlöndorffs "Die Blechtrommel".
WELT ONLINE: Sie haben mal gesagt, Charles Trenets "La mer" sei vielleicht das
schönste Chanson überhaupt.
Aznavour: Eins der schönsten, jedenfalls mein bevorzugtes Chanson von Trenet. Es
ist das größte, optimistische Chanson, das ich kenne. Niemand in Frankreich hat
ein so großes, optimistisches Lied geschrieben. Das hätte ich selbst gern
geschrieben. Ich habe kein einziges Lied der Freude geschrieben. Ich habe
lustige Lieder geschrieben, aber kein frohes.
WELT ONLINE: In vielen Ihrer Lieder geht es um den Verlust der Zeit: "Mais
c’était hier encore" – "Gestern noch". Wissen Sie noch, wann Sie das erste Mal
dieses Gefühl hatten, dass die Jugend verloren ist?
Aznavour: Ich hatte nie das Gefühl, dass die Jugend verloren ist. Ich hatte
keine Jugend. Meine Jugend war im Krieg, deshalb hatte ich keine. Manchmal sehen
mich Leute schräg an, wenn ich von den "seligen Zeiten der Besatzung" spreche.
Das hat mit Politik überhaupt nichts zu tun, sondern nur mit dem Alter, das wir
damals hatten. Wir waren ja "in der Blüte unserer Jugend". Aber ich sage das
auch nur, um zu provozieren. Nach dem Krieg hat man mich oft gefragt: "Aber Sie
haben ja während des Krieges nicht für Radio Parisgesungen?" Dann kann ich nur
sagen: "Nein, und zwar, weil man uns nicht gebeten hat." Das ist die Wahrheit,
natürlich hätte ich gesungen, wenn ich gefragt worden wäre. Das ist doch
lächerlich. Natürlich war das Land besetzt, aber man konnte ja die Leute nicht
einfach verhungern lassen, nur weil das Land besetzt war. Da beklagt man sich,
die Schauspieler seien aufgetreten, die Sänger hätten gesungen, ja klar – von
irgendwas musste man ja leben. Man konnte ja nicht das ganze Volk einfach
sterben lassen. Aber trotzdem: Eine Jugend hatte ich nicht. Ich habe gearbeitet,
seit ich neun Jahre alt war. Ich bin mit meiner Schwester aufgetreten und habe
mich verantwortlich gefühlt. Das war’s. Die Jugend, die erlebe ich eigentlich
jetzt.
WELT ONLINE: Also sind Sie nicht nostalgisch?
Aznavour: Ich bin nicht nostalgisch. Ich verstehe Nostalgie. Ich schreibe
Nostalgie. Aber schreiben ist lügen, vergessen wir das nicht. Spielen ist lügen.
Singen ist lügen. Man muss es so ehrlich wie möglich tun, so wahrhaftig wie
möglich. Das heißt, man muss sich unglücklich fühlen in dem Moment, wo man das
Unglück besingt. Und nicht so tun, als ob man unglücklich sei. Das ist nämlich
nicht das Gleiche. Ich sehe das im Blick des Sängers.

Persepolis to receive UNESCO certificate

press tv
Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:44:30 GMT

A view of the ceremonial Achaemenid capital of Persepolis which has in
its heart untold stories of Iranian history.
UNESCO is scheduled to present its world heritage certificate to the
ancient site of Persepolis in the southern Iranian province of Fars.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) will award the certificate to Iran during a ceremony to mark
the country’s efforts in safeguarding the ancient site.

The Achaemenid site of Persepolis was registered on the UNESCO World
Heritage List in 1979.

Founded by Darius I in 518 BCE, Persepolis was the capital of the
Achaemenid Empire. It was built on an immense half-artificial,
half-natural terrace, where the king of kings created an impressive
palace complex inspired by Mesopotamian models.

The importance and quality of the monumental ruins make it a unique
archaeological site.

According to the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), certificates
will be granted to Iran’s Armenian Monastic Ensembles, Soltanieh Dome,
Takht-e-Suleiman, and Choqa Zanbil.

Mottaki: Iran, Armenia are true friends

Tehran, Dec 14, IRNA

Iran-Armenia-Mottaki

Visiting Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen
Movsisian conferred on Sunday with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
on expansion of cooperation between the two countries.

Movsisian is also the Armenian head of Iran-Armenia Economic Commission
which is to meet in Tehran.

At the meeting, Mottaki expressed satisfaction with the termination of
military conflicts in Ossetia noting that its aftermath will not harm
Armenia anymore. He added that Iran and Armenia are true friends
through hardship and happiness.

On construction of oil and gas refinery, laying pipelines and
construction of power plants and dams, Mottaki said that Tehran
welcomes any projects the help improve the living standards of the
people of border areas and will spare no efforts to help implement
development and industrial projects in Armenia.

Rendering more financial facilities for Iranian businessmen along with
improving the methods for transit of Iranian-made goods to Armenia and
the Caucasus would be vital for expansion of economic cooperation
between the two countries.

The Armenian minister, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the
current level of relations between the two countries and expressed the
hope that with the launching of Armenian consulate in Tabriz,
cooperation between the two countries businessmen and industrialists
will expand.

December 14, 2008

Armenian Rights Council of America, Western Region
1901 N. Allen Ave.
Altadena, CA 91001
Contact: Mr. Ara Aharonian
Tel: 626-296-2921
Fax: 626-296-2922
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

Argentine-Armenian Legislator Sergio Nahabetian Welcomed at Glendale
City Hall

ALTADENA, CA – On Wednesday morning, November 26, 2008
Argentine-Armenian Legislator representing the Province of Buenos Aires
in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, the Honorable Sergio Nahabetian,
accompanied by his gracious wife Susanna and a delegation of board
members from the Armenian Democratic Liberal (ADL) Organization, Western
Region, was officially and warmly welcomed by municipal leaders at City
Hall in Glendale, California.

Upon arrival at Glendale City Hall, the delegation was greeted by
Glendale City Council members Bob Yousefian and Ara Najarian. Glendale
City Clerk Ardashes Kassakhian and Glendale Senior Assistant City
Attorney Lucy Varpetian joined the City Council members in graciously
welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Nahabetian to City Hall.

The delegation was immediately ushered to the Council Chambers where the
Glendale City Council conducts weekly meetings on Tuesday evenings.
While in the Council Chamber, Mr. Sergio Nahabetian was given the unique
honor of sitting on the Mayor’s chair, during which he and his hosts
exchanged information about the current challenges of their respective
cities, namely Buenos Aires, Argentina and Glendale, California. A
mutual presentation of gifts ensued between Sergio Nahabetian and
Glendale municipal officials, after which Mr. and Mrs. Nahabetian
invited their hosts to visit the province and city of Buenos Aires, and
meet members of its vibrant and active Armenian community.

Officials change Eurovision voting rules

BERLIN, Dec. 13 (UPI) — New rules for voting in the Eurovision music
competition are to be implemented in an effort to keep people from selecting a
winner based solely on nationality.

The German publication Der Spiegel said that in recent years Eastern
European Eurovision Song Contest fans have voted by _phone_
( 8/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules/U PI-19411229176489/#) in blocs, helping Eastern European countries dominate the
international competition regardless of the talent of the contestants.
Voting patterns have affected the decision regarding where the competition
is held and kept it largely in the former Eastern Bloc during the last decade.
Eurovision organizers decided to change the rules for 2009, so the viewer
voting results will be combined with the decisions of juries, made up of people
with _musical_
( 008/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules /UPI-19411229176489/#) backgrounds, from each
country to determine the outcome, the newspaper said.
"Those who care (about the contest) will have had it up to here with the
blatant political voting from the former satellites of the U.S.S.R. that awarded
this year’s event to Russia," the _BBC’s_
( 8/12/13/Officials_change_Eurovision_voting_rules/U PI-19411229176489/#)
longtime Eurovision presenter, Terry Wogan, recently wrote in Britain’s
Sunday Telegraph.
Der Spiegel added that Wogan threatened to quit if changes weren’t made.
The next Eurovision contest is slated to take place in Moscow May 16.

Hovnanian says debt exchange undersubscribed
Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:42pm EST
By Helen Chernikoff
NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Hovnanian’s recent debt exchange did not
lower its outstanding debt as much as it could have, but it is a first
step in a series of debt reduction moves, including more exchange
offers, Chief Financial Officer Larry Sorsby told Reuters.
Through the exchange, the No. 6 U.S. homebuilder reduced its outstanding debt
of about $2.51 billion by $42.1 million, Sorsby said.
It traded various unsecured senior notes for senior secured notes, due 2017,
with an 18 percent interest rate on the condition the holders accept a loss
of their original value in the range of 53 percent to 60.5 percent, according
to a company statement.
Hovnanian extended the offer in late October to holders of $1.5
billion worth of notes, but only $71.4 million worth of the company’s
noteholders accepted, likely because they refused to accept the heavy
discount, said analyst Vicki Bryan of Gimme Credit, a corporate bond
research firm.
Ultimately, Hovnanian issued $29.3 million of the new notes, according to a
Dec. 8 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
If the company had found enough takers among its noteholders, it could have
lowered its absolute debt by about $350 million, said Fitch Ratings analyst
Robert Curran.
"In the end, there wasn’t enough interest to move the needle on the company’s
capital structure," Curran said.
But Sorsby sees this exchange as a start.
"While we did not capture as big of a discount as we would have had
the exchange been fully subscribed, we did reduce our outstanding
debt," Sorsby said.
"We believe that there are other initiatives we can take to reduce our debt
in the future, including additional exchange offers."
Bryan also sees more exchange offers in builders’ futures, as they struggle
to cope with the squeeze between debt expense and dwindling cash, Bryan said.
Over the course of the U.S. housing slump, banks have cut back their
agreements with the builders. Also, next year, the builders cannot rely on tax
refunds as they have until now because the provision that made them possible is
expiring.
"They won’t sell enough homes to save them, so where are they going to get
their cash?" Bryan said. "They have to get their debt down somehow." (Editing
by Andre Grenon)

Although the oil is running out Aliyev continues to splurge
MARK GODFREY
Thu, Dec 11, 2008
LETTER FROM BAKU:A man for big cars and building projects – the Azeri
president’s excesses know no bounds, writes Mark Godfrey
WALKING BY Baku’s tastefully restored Philharmonic Hall recently I got to eat
the dust churned up by a presidential convoy of 15 black cars tearing up
Niyazi Street towards government buildings. Riding in the second Mercedes,
President Ilham Aliyev was probably rushing from a ribbon-cutting downtown.
The mustachioed president, a man with reputedly Tony Soprano appetites for
gambling and women, has gone on a building spree to ready Baku for the Olympic
Games, an honour he has sought with obsessive zeal. Baku is the oil capital
of the world in the 19th century and still soaks in the stuff. The handsome
mansions built during the city’s first oil boom in the 1890s have been
renovated into a museum- perfect citadel peppered with boutiques and
embassies.
Oil and crony capitalism have allowed Azerbaijan to escape the worst effects
of global economic turmoil. A decade of oil earnings and average annual GDP
growth of 15 per cent give the Caspian Sea state a comfortable buffer of
foreign exchange; and because the economy is controlled by a handful of
interconnected officials and businessmen, overseas borrowings by local banks
or enterprises was limited.
That doesn’t mean Azerbaijan has a sound economy, because it hasn’t. It’s
easy to think that the Azeri leadership blew its chances on vanity building
projects and shockingly corrupt administration that has kept the bulk of
proceeds from prodigious gas and oil sales in the pockets of the politically
connected elite.
Chinese immigrant workers are an extravagance in a country with plenty of
poverty and unemployment. But ostentation is a way of life in Azerbaijan.
Baku’s prosperity is its curse. It has the least pedestrian-friendly cities
in the world which are ruled by jams of SUVs and saloons belonging to the
wealthy minority. The majority of the population, meanwhile, squeeze on to its
overwhelmed and uncomfortable Soviet-era subways lines.
It occurred to me, as I was swept along in a shuffling queue for the lone
escalator out of a subway station to the city’s main train station, that the
Azeri people had been badly served by their oil wealth.
"The bulk of the economy is controlled by a handful of officials and
businessmen," a local lawyer said. Like most local business people I talked
to, he didn’t want to be quoted but wanted it known that the country’s economy
is failing a young, relatively well-educated workforce.
Baku was only 100 years ago the world’s top oil exporter. In the
desert-barren landscape that surrounds it the smell of oil pervades the airm,
and soil
is streaked with black from exposed pipes and discarded metal oil rigging. But
this is no Dubai. Outside the oil and gas sectors, there’s been little
serious success at building alternative industries for the day when the wells dry
up. A economics lecturer at Baku State University curses Baku’s lack of
vision in investing its oil profits. "We’re just sucking out the existing reserves
. . . in the last five years there’s been no major find . . . there doesn’t
seem to be any plan for what happens when the oil runs out." Here’s his
suggestion: a bridge between Europe and the East, Azerbaijan needs to become a
services hub for multinationals servicing their operations in resource-rich
central Asia. It must hurry, says the professor. Across the Caspian, Kazakhstan
is leading Azerbaijan in busting corruption and attracting foreign investment.
"It’s building the financial services industry that Azerbaijan could have."
There is some hope amid the stench of corruption and oil. The state
investment agency Azpromo has belatedly been looking for foreign investmentin
mechanising agriculture. And despite the waste and the cronyism, roads have being
built with oil and gas revenues. "The government is well aware of Azerbaijan’s
infrastructure needs," says Daniel Matthews, a partner at the Baku office of
Baker Makenzie. He points to new highways that lead from Baku to the
Russian, Georgian and Iranian borders, and projects like a new Baku port.
My taxi driver insisted a seat belt wasn’t necessary as he showed off the
smooth new airport expressway at 140km/h. We whizzed past billboards along the
road bearing the wise, slightly smiling face of Heydar Aliyev, the country’s
deceased former president. A casual visitor would think he’s still the boss-
and in a sense he is: President Aliyev today rules with his father’s old
cronies looking over his shoulder. "They’re resistant to change, so don’t expect
much in the next five years, before the old crew begins to shuffle off,"
explains the local lawyer.
A man for big cars and building projects, Azerbaijan’s president will need to
keep building if he is to host the Olympic Games. He hasn’t lost his
ambition, judging by the generous use of the Olympic logos and a rash of
administrative buildings built for the national Olympic Committee, chairedby one Ilham
Aliyev.
Aliyev is unlikely to ever host the Olympics but a sharp fall in oil prices
means there will be less cash around in 2009 to build the infrastructure and
alternative industries Azerbaijan needs to guarantee future growth.
© 2008 The Irish Times