Author: Andres-Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Oct 30 2010

Istanbul exhibition: eastern Turkey part of Armenia

October 30, 2010 | 12:55

On the occasion of Republic Day (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Bayramı), the
youth wing of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) organized
an exhibition of caricatures entitled `Outcasts of Justice and
Development Party.’

The CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who participated in the exhibition,
stopped at a caricature depicting weeping Recep Erdogan, his wife,
Vice-Premier Bulent Arinc, the former Interior Minister Abdulkadir
Aksu and Fethullah Gulen. A question was written below: `Whose tears
are insincere?’

There was a map among the exhibits entitled `Privatized Turkey’ with
Turkish provinces that `passed’ to different countries. Particularly,
eastern provinces were depicted under Russian and Armenian flags. The
Armenian part of Turkey was marked by the logo of the Petkin
petrochemical company.

The visitors were also attracted by the caricature of Recep Erdogan in
Hitler’s style.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Oct 30 2010

Another Turkish influential force would evoke different response

October 30, 2010 | 14:00

Armenian Foreign Ministry will never receive representatives of Strong
Turkey party and treat them with a cup of tea of coffee, as their
visit was an unofficial one, Turkish studies expert Kristine Melkonyan
told the journalists today.

`In case foreign office received them and asked their standpoint, it
would mean Armenia is trying to speak about Armenian-Turkish relations
with a force that is not that powerful in Turkey. If any other
influential force, for instance Justice and Development party members,
visited Armenia, responses and approaches would be different.
Meanwhile, Strong Turkey party that chose the shortest way to become
popular, visited Armenia just for political PR,’ she said.

According to the expert, Armenian-Turkish dialogue will still remain
frozen. `In case ruling Justice Development party wins parliamentary
elections, the process may be resumed, or may be not,’ Melkonyan
stressed.

The expert also recalled that the EU is expected to issue an annual
report on Turkey on Nov. 9.

From: A. Papazian

WAM – Emirates News Agency, UAE
Oct 30 2010

Lubna Al Qasimi to visit Armenia

2010-10-30 14:11:05

Abu Dhabi, 30 Oct. 2010 (WAM) – Shiekha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi,
Minister of Foreign Trade, will visit Armenia from the 2nd to the 5th
of November, heading a delegation comprised of 50 public and private
sector representatives from governmental and federal entities,
chambers of industry and commerce, and private corporations.

The visit aims at boosting UAE-Armenian commercial cooperation and
promoting the economic, commercial and investment opportunities that
are available in the United Arab Emirates.

Shiekha Lubna said that this visit comes within the framework of
boosting the commercial and economic partnership that exists between
the United Arab Emirates and Armenia, increasing foreign investments
and expanding the private sector’s participation in development with
the aim of increasing the rate of economic development being witnessed
in the UAE in all sectors.

She said that although commercial cooperation between the UAE and
Armenia is currently limited, valued at AED 256 Million in 2009, the
rapid economic growth witnessed in both countries and the many
available investment opportunities present therein – especially within
the context of the UAE’s economic diversity strategy – makes it
possible to greatly increase the volume of commercial exchange and
investments and develop economic cooperation between both countries to
new levels.

She pointed out to the importance of searching for new and advanced
mechanisms to encourage commerce between both countries especially
that Armenia has an emerging and open-market economy that is in need
of a lot of merchandise; such as capital and consumer goods,
especially electronic appliances.

From: A. Papazian

EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 29 2010

Armenia and Azerbaijan: Breathing Life into Karabakh Peace Talks?
October 29, 2010 – 3:54pm, by Shahin Abbasov

An unexpected joint statement issued by the presidents of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia could reinvigorate the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process.

The statement came after talks held by Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan, his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, and Russian leader
Dmitry Medvedev on October 27 in the Russian city of Astrakhan, near
the Caspian Sea. `The settlement of the [Karabakh] conflict through
political and diplomatic means requires further efforts on
strengthening the ceasefire regime and confidence-building measures,’
the statement declared.

To give substantive meaning to the statement’s intent, Sargsyan and
Aliyev agreed to exchange prisoners and to repatriate the remains of
soldiers killed in the fighting.

Officials in Baku have sounded an upbeat note in the days since the
Astrakhan meeting. Ali Hasanov, a presidential aide, hailed the joint
statement as a `positive result of the Astrakhan meeting.’ Meanwhile,
Aydin Mirzazade, the deputy chairman of parliament’s Committee on
Defense and Security, said the statement `creates a cautiously
optimistic feeling.’

While the Astrakhan statement may have offered an encouraging sign,
Azerbaijani officials say they do not expect it to lead to a
breakthrough during the upcoming OSCE summit in Astana in early
December. `The [Astrakhan] statement serves only to create a direct
dialogue in humanitarian area,’ Hasanov said.

Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov downplayed
speculation that a blueprint for a Karabakh peace settlement could be
signed on the sidelines of the OSCE Astana gathering. `Such a proposal
was made earlier but there is nothing on the table now,’ he said at a
news conference in Baku.

French diplomats praised the Astrakhan statement, according to a
report distributed by the Panorama.am news website. A French Foreign
Ministry representative was quoted as saying the statement `can help
ease tension and reduce the incidents of ceasefire violation.’ France
is one of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe body that is overseeing peace
talks.

In a related development, the Armenian parliament on October 29
postponed a vote officially to recognize Karabakh’s independence from
Azerbaijan.

Editor’s note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.
He is also a board member of the Open Society Foundation – Azerbaijan.

From: A. Papazian

Hurriyet Daily News
Oct 29 2010

Atatürk’s signature came from hand of Armenian-Turkish master

Friday, October 29, 2010
VERCÝHAN ZÝFLÝOÐLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Armenians experienced many tribulations during the last days of the
Ottoman Empire, yet some from the community also stayed to help build
the new Republic, including Hagop Vahram Çerçiyan, an Armenian-Turk
that created Atatürk’s iconic signature in just one night in 1934. The
Daily News spoke to Çerçiyan’s son about the making of the famous
signature

Dikran Çerçiya says he is proud that his father designed Atatürk’s
signature. Photos, Mehmet DEMÝRCÝ

>From state buildings to official monuments and from the back of car
windows to tattoos and all other points in between, the distinctive
cursive signature of republican founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is
ubiquitous in Turkey. But while few Turkish citizens would fail to
recognize the leader’s signature, even fewer know that an Armenian
Turk created the iconic signature – in just one night.

“It was early in the morning. Someone knocked on our door. Worried, my
mother came back telling my father that police was asking for him,”
Dikran Çerçiyan, the 90-year-old son of the signature’s creator, Hagop
Vahram Çerçiyan, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in
recalling the day in 1934 when authorities came looking for a master
signature maker.

Hagop Vahram Çerçiyan worked as a teacher for 55 years at Istanbul’s
prestigious Robert College, overseeing the graduation of 25,000
students, including former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, former
foreign ministers Selim Sarper and Turgut Menemencioðlularý and former
Cabinet minister Kasým Gülek.

Though teaching math and geography at Robert College at the time,
Çerçiyan had also gone to the United States to learn the Palmer
Method, a system of handwriting that became popular in the country.
Upon his return to Turkey, Çerçiyan also taught the method at Robert
College.

After the Turkish Republic was formed on Oct. 29, 1923, the country’s
leaders set about trying to remake and modernize the country. As part
of changes aimed at nation-building, the government decreed that all
citizens should take a last name, which did not exist in Ottoman
times.

Mustafa Kemal, duly, took the surname Atatürk, meaning father of the Turks.

Name needed a signature

With the 1934 adoption of the surname law, many of Çerçiyan’s former
students-turned-parliamentarians, became convinced of the need for the
Republic’s founder to develop a signature to accompany his new name.

“The students of my father who were then members of Parliament decided
to present him with proposals for a signature. The decision was
conveyed to my father by the police commissioner in Istanbul’s Bebek
neighborhood,” said Dikran Çerçiyan, who still recalls the day.

After being entrusted with the task, Çerçiyan’s father set to work. “I
was tired of watching him and fell asleep. When I woke up in the
morning I saw five models on the table. They were handed to the police
officer who came that morning,” he said.

Çerçiyan’s work later forgotten

“My father used to have great admiration for Atatürk and always feld
proud of his work, so do I,” said Çerçiyan.

“Following Atatürk’s death, some wrote in the Turkish press about my
father and the signature. But later on it was all forgotten. Some
tried to introduce others as the creator of the signature. There were
efforts to forget my father. But the truth always come to the
surface,” he said.

Although Çerçiyan lives in New York, he said he spent an important
part of his life in Turkey.

“After [first] retiring in 1919, my father came to America for trade
but we returned [to Turkey] when I was 2 years old,” he said, adding
that although he settled back in the U.S. in 1990 he still had great
love for Turkey.

Ultimately, Çerçiyan said there were no problems between Armenians and
Turks but only between governments.

“Although my lifetime will not be long enough to see it, the problems
will be alleviated one day. We still need time for that but time will
heal the wounds,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 30 2010

EU to call for new civilian constitution in Turkey strategy

The European Union is preparing to praise a set of amendments recently
made to Turkey’s military-drafted Constitution but will reiterate its
call for a new civilian constitution, saying it is needed to
strengthen democracy in the candidate country.

`The constitutional amendments are an important step in the right
direction,’ the European Commission is expected to say in a document
outlining the 27-nation bloc’s enlargement strategy.

`A new civilian constitution would provide a solid base for a further
strengthening of democracy in Turkey, in line with European standards
and the EU accession criteria,’ the document, a copy of which was seen
by Today’s Zaman, reads. It is due to be released on Nov. 9 along with
an annual progress report that thoroughly assesses Turkey’s efforts to
meet the EU’s accession criteria. It will also call for `broad public
consultation involving all political parties and civil society’ so as
to strengthen support for constitutional reform and `proper
implementation’ of the reforms passed through relevant legislation.

The current Constitution, drafted during military rule in 1982,
underwent significant reform when voters approved a government-backed
package of amendments during a referendum on Sept. 12. The changes
further curtail powers of the military by limiting the authority of
military courts and ending constitutional immunity from prosecution
for leaders of the 1980 coup; reform the Supreme Board of Judges and
Prosecutors (HSYK), which appoints senior judicial figures; and
overhaul the Constitutional Court by allowing the president and
Parliament to elect all members. The changes, which critics had
claimed would establish government control over the judiciary, was
approved by 58 percent of the voters, while 42 percent voted against.

The EU, which has long called for judicial reform, is expected to
welcome the changes as advancing Turkey’s reform efforts. The draft of
the strategy document says the reforms `address a number of priorities
in the areas of judiciary and fundamental rights.’ According to the
document, changes made to the structure of the HSYK make the top
judicial body `more representative of the judiciary as a whole.’

Under the changes, the number of HSYK members rose from seven to 21.
Thousands of judges and prosecutors voted in elections earlier this
month to elect 10 members to the HSYK. In remarks earlier this week,
Stefan Füle, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, welcomed the election
of new HSYK members by direct vote of judges and prosecutors.

Shortcomings in freedoms
Turkey, a candidate to join the EU since 1999, opened accession talks
with the bloc in 2005 but little progress has been achieved since then
due to the continued division of Cyprus and growing opposition to
Turkey’s membership in many European countries. The EU also complains
that the pace of reforms in Turkey is slow.

Highlighting deficiencies in Turkey’s record, the strategy document
says the accession negotiations have `reached a demanding stage
requiring Turkey to step up its efforts in maintaining established
conditions.’ It says: `Regarding fundamental rights, freedom of
expression and of the media needs to be strengthened in Turkey both in
law and practice. A number of shortcomings remain in the exercise of
the freedom of religion. Progress is also needed regarding women’s
rights and gender equality and trade union rights. The `democratic
opening’ aimed notably at addressing the Kurdish issue has produced
only limited results. The security situation in the Southeast has
worsened with a resurgence of attacks by the terrorist organization
[Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK/Kongra-Gel. Some progress has been made
in the fight against corruption.’

The document also notes that Turkey’s foreign policy `has become more
active in its wider neighborhood.’ This is an asset for the EU, says
the strategy paper, `provided it is developed as a complement to
Turkey’s accession process and in coordination with the EU.’ The
government pursues a policy of zero-problems with neighbors, which won
Turkey friends in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries of
the Middle East as well as Russia, but raised concerns in other
countries such as Israel and the United States that Turkey is moving
away from the West to build new alliances in the East.

The EU document also says there has been `considerable progress’ in
negotiations for an agreement with Turkey for readmission of illegal
immigrants arriving in Europe after transiting Turkish territory.

On Cyprus, the document notes that Turkey remains supportive of
efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement on the fate of the island,
yet points out that there has been no progress towards `normalization
of bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus.’ Turkey refuses to
open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus as long as
Greek Cyprus, which represents the entire island in the EU, continues
to block EU plans to initiate direct trade with Turkish Cyprus. The EU
suspended accession talks on eight chapters in 2006 due to Turkey’s
refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus.
In the strategy paper, the European Commission says it will continue
to monitor the situation and says the EU decision to freeze talks on
eight chapters will remain in place. It also notes `a renewed impetus’
in Turkey to improve relations with Greece and that two protocols
Turkey signed with Armenia to normalize ties are yet to be ratified.

30 October 2010, Saturday
SELÃ?UK GÃ`LTAÅ?LI BRUSSELS

From: A. Papazian

Today’s Zaman , Turkey
Oct 30 2010

Turkish politician detained in Armenia, says party

A minor political party that is not represented in Parliament said on
Friday that its leader has been detained in Armenia.

Tuna Bekleviç was detained by Armenian intelligence following a press
conference he held in Yerevan, according to the Strong Turkey Party
(GTP). Bekleviç recently entered Armenia from Turkey by crossing the
Arpaçay River in protest of the two countries failing to take further
action for a year after signing protocols in Zurich to normalize
relations.

The GTP leader had headed to Armenia to hold a press conference about
his party’s protest of the status quo in relations between the two
countries. Turkey closed its border with its eastern neighbor in the
early `90s in solidarity with Azerbaijan in its war with landlocked
Armenia. An attempt at rapprochement was initiated last year, but very
little progress has been made since then.

30 October 2010, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL

From: A. Papazian

Armenia simplifies registration procedures

Artur Yernjakyan, ArmInfo, 26.10.10
2010-10-27 15:16:00

Interview with Armen Gevorgyan, the Head of the Armenian State
Register of Legal Entities

In 2009, despite the global crisis, Armenia went seven ranks up in the
Ease of Doing Business Index even though it is still behind its
neighbors, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the World Bank’s Doing Business
2010 report, Armenia is 43rd among 183 countries. As compared with
2008, the country has substantially simplified its enterprise
registration, international trade and construction licensing
procedures.

What reforms are you planning for the near future? Will you simplify
the legal entity registration procedures?

We have worked on the program of reforms for over a year. In
accordance with the government’s decision, the “one window” principle
should be introduced. It is very convenient, as the citizens can apply
to one registering body in the person of Armenian State Register of
Legal Entities. At the moment people apply to the State Register to
receive a firm name, and for registration of legal entities, and they
apply to tax bodies to receive a tax code. In the future the
above-mentioned functions will be carried out by the State Register.
Various samples of charters are worked out and placed at the Agency’s
website to simplify the registration procedure. Those wishing to open
an organization can use these samples of charters.

We are also planning to introduce an e-registration procedure for the
Armenian citizens having an e-signature. At present specialists are
developing necessary software. The pilot program will be started in
Mar-Apr 2011. The `one window’ system will be launched even earlier.
In the future we are planning to make our database fully electronic.

Will the payments also be electronic?

Of course, they will. The citizens will be able to pay their state
dues in electronic way. The computer program will check the
authenticity of the payment. It will be also possible to receive
information about organizations included in the Agency’s database.

Are you going to increase the state duty for registration or provision
of information as they usually do during reforms?

As far as I know, the Government is planning no such changes in the
law on state duty. In the countries whose economies are comparable to
ours people pay much more than we do. For the moment we pay 5,000 AMD
for the registration of a company’s name and 12,000 AMD for the
registration of the company itself. In the future we are going to
unify these two fees into one 17,000 AMD duty. For non-profit
organizations the duty is 10,000 AMD.

What compulsory data do you require when registering legal entities?

According to the law, we require the following information: authorized
capital, legal address, registration number, the number of founders.
For example, phone numbers, physical address, type of activity are not
obligatory information.

Do you have minimum authorized capital requirements?

The minimum requirement to the authorized capital was removed to
simplify registration procedures in February 2009. So, now one can
open an organization with only 1 AMD authorized capital. Formerly, the
minimum authorized capital requirement was 50,000 AMD. The requirement
to provide the document affirming the authorized capital payment is
also removed.

How many days does it take to register a company?

Fives working days. In the future we are planning to reduce this period.

As far as I know, you charge 3,000 AMD for information about companies
registered in your database. So, it turns out that you earn money not
only by registering entities but also by selling information about
them. Why don’t you place all of your data on a web-site for free?

The law says that certain information can be provide free of charge
(the name of an organization, the names of its founders, its
registration number and date). You can find this information on our
web-site for free. But in order to obtain more detailed information
one should pay a state duty.

Where do you send the collected money? Do you have an extra-budgetary fund?

All of the money is transferred to the national budget of Armenia. We
have no extra-budgetary fund yet.

As far as I know sometimes the information you provide for money is
not correct and may contain wrong phone numbers, names. Is this true?

This is a very painful question. We just record the information we
get. We have no authority to verify it. The law says that it is the
applicant who is responsible for the accuracy of his information. So,
in some cases our data proves to be outdated or incorrect.

When a company is reorganized or changes it authorized capital or
board, isn’t it obliged to get re-registered?

Some information is subject to re-registration, for example, changes
in the authorized capital. But we cannot force companies to get
re-registered. We can’t just say: `You know what? We have heard you
have changed your authorized capital. So, you must get re-registered.’
We have no such authority.

Your web-site has not been working for already three weeks. What is
the problem and when will it be fixed?

Voltage fluctuations have put our software out of order. This is a
merely technical problem. We have already restored the program and
hope that the site will soon be restarted.

P.S. As of 1 October 2010, the Agency registered 62300 commercial
organizations and 82100 individual entrepreneurs. The number of
registered legal entities does not indicate the business activity in
the country, because some of them operate only on the paper and are
not liquidated. A conclusion about the business activity may
conditionally be drawn from the tax revenues of the budget. For
instance, in 2008 the tax revenues of the budget totaled 182,4 mln
AMD. Over the crisis year 2009 this amount declined to 168,2 mln, and
over Jan-Sep 2010 the tax revenues made up 137,6 mln AMD.

From: A. Papazian

Democracy of the South Caucasus countries is an inevitable process

2010-10-29 17:54:00

ArmInfo News Agency’s interview with Armenian parliamentarian from
Heritage Party faction Vardan Khachatryan

Mr.Khachatryan, the CoE Forum For the Future of Democracy has recently
been held in Armenia. How do you assess the efficiency of such
measures from the viewpoint of establishment of democracy in our
country?

I think such forums in the country that has entered the
democratization path give a fresh impetus to the given process. In
addition, the forum agenda mostly included issues related to reforms
in such an important sphere as the legal system. Democracy in any
country is known to have 3 important cornerstones: independent legal
system, independent financial sources in the state, and media freedom.
It would be wrong to say that everything is alright in our country.
Certainly some steps re being taken, but I don’t think these steps are
enough. The point is that the West’s focused attention to the ongoing
processes in our region, particularly, connected with Iran’s nuclear
program and Turkey’s curtseys towards the Islamic world, creates
additional premises for intensive `development of democracy in the
region’. It is another question whether it is good or bad, but I
believe democratization is an inevitable process.

Won’t this attention of the international community hinder further
development of Armenian-Iranian cooperation?

For the international community a region’s predictability implies its
controllability and transparency. The same is true for Iran’s nuclear
program. On the other hand, we should respect Iran’s sovereign right
to develop its own programs and to cooperate with its neighbors. So,
the
pressure on Iran cannot curb Armenian-Iranian relations. In addition,
one shouldn’t forget that Iran is one of the world’s greatest gas and
oil powers and it has a very small foreign debt. Its key rival in the
region, Turkey, has much worse parameters.

How much possible is the compatibility of the European integration
policy with the increasing influence of Russia in Armenia?

I think Armenia’s European integration policy cannot be a
counter-balance to its cooperation with Moscow. There is no sense in
such confrontation. Today Russia has a very serious influence in the
South Caucasus and this influence will keep growing. The point is that
today Russia’s key rivals are relatively weak due to the problems of
Iraq, Afghanistan and the very tense situation in Pakistan. Today the
West does not need conflict with Russia. The time of orange
revolutions has passed and there will hardly be anti-Russian alliances
like GUAM.

Is the policy of our country’s leadership adequate to the specified
realities? Does Yerevan maintain the balance?

Armenia’s friendship with Russia does not imply enmity with the West.
Fortunately, no such radical turns are expected. In any case, the
Armenian authorities should be prudent as any deviation may lead to
serious geo-political cataclysms.

Turkey speaks of its willingness to normalize relations with Armenia
more often. How much sincere are these statements?

I have no grounds to believe Ankara. Moreover, Armenia should actively
gain strengthening of the international community’s pressure on
Turkey. The policy with respect to Ankara should be tough. Ankara has
roughly violated the provisions fixed in Zurich Protocols. The
normalization process has reached a deadlock for such violations, as
Turkey was linking ratification of the documents with the Karabakh
conflict settlement in every possible way though the text contained
not a single hint at any interdependence of these problems. Now it is
more than impudence to speak of willingness to continue the process.
Such policy does not inspire confidence. Actually, Ankara may sign the
document and then refuse to implement the provisions fixed in it. And
it is somewhat illogical and senseless to trust such an unpredictable
and unreliable partner.

And still, are there any secret talks as such?

I believe there are certain latent contacts between Yerevan and
Ankara. And this is a regular phenomenon, as the countries having a
common state border cannot be fully isolated from each other. But I
think that Yerevan should exert pressure on Ankara to make the latter
implement the commitments it assumed. It is ridiculous to sign the
protocol on normalization of relations and then state unwillingness to
start a dialogue due to some reasons not fixed in the protocols.
Taking into account these circumstances, it would be naive to flirt
with Turkey.

Was the `football diplomacy’ the result of Armenia’s naivety?

Armenia’s steps in the negotiations cannot be condemned at least. To
be honest, actually the Turkey-Azerbaijan inseparable alliance
directed against our country has become obvious thanks to the
negotiations process. I think this will increase our policy’s
prudence.

By Ashot Safaryan, 29 October 2010. ArmInfo

From: A. Papazian

Armenia shifts to winter time on October 31

armradio.am
30.10.2010 15:24

According to Armenian legislation, Armenia will shift to winter time
on October 31. At 3 a.m. the pointers of the clock must be drawn an
hour back all over the republic, Information and Public Relations
Department of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia
informed

From: A. Papazian