Joint Armenian-US Program To Be Launched At Zvartnots Airport

JOINT ARMENIAN-US PROGRAM TO BE LAUNCHED AT ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT

Economy | 11.07.12 | 13:15

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern and Armenian Territorial
Administration Minister Armen Gevorgyan will attend the ceremony of
U.S.-Armenian corruption awareness enhancement program at Zvartnots
Airport on Thursday, July 12.

The $77,000 worth program is financed by the Bureau of International
Security and No Dissemination of Nuclear Substances of the U.S.

Department of State. It is part of the Joint Action Plan of the
Government of the Republic of Armenia and the U.S. Government in the
fight against the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive substances and
was signed in 2008 by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward
Nalbandyan and then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

From: A. Papazian

http://armenianow.com/economy/39257/armenia_us_anti_corruption_program

Un-Informed: Center Names Parties Failing To Provide Public Informat

UN-INFORMED: CENTER NAMES PARTIES FAILING TO PROVIDE PUBLIC INFORMATION
By Gayane Lazarian

ArmeniaNow
11.07.12 | 13:22

The Armenian Center for Freedom of Information has made public
names of political parties which have violated people’s right to
be informed and which have been put on “black list” for this year’s
second quarter. The list names the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA),
the Prosperous Armenian Party (PAP), the Armenian National Congress
(ANC), and the Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA) for having refused
to respond to the Centre’s enquiries.

“These parties have been put on a ‘black list’ because of not
responding to the written enquiry on the funds spent during the
election campaign. The Center has filed lawsuits against two parties
only – PAP and DPA – for not providing information. ANC as a respondent
is not a legal entity because of being a bloc,” says the Center’s
lawyer Gevorg Hayrapetyan.

He says that although RPA has responded to one enquiry, it has left
another one unanswered – in regard to the balloon blast accident at
the Republic Square during the Republican campaign meeting with voters.

“How many balloons did you purchase for the May 4 event at the Republic
Square, how much did you pay for the purchase and which companies did
you buy them from?” Hayrapetyan gives the details of the questions
sent to RPA.

The Center regards it as failure to provide information when it
does not receive answers. The questionnaire is sent twice to the
same official or structure, the second time as an insured letter,
guaranteeing that it would either be received or returned.

RPA press secretary Eduard Sharmazanov said in reference to the “black
list”, that their party had not received any letter from the Center.

PAP speaker Tigran Urikhanyan said the head of PAP office had responded
orally. DPA speaker Ruben Bakhshyan said they had not received a
letter. ANC speaker Arman Mousinyan did not answer the phone.

“I have PAP’s, DPA’s enquiry letters with postal service stamps;
they were sent as insured letters. I am not going to try to find out
whether the letter reach the addressee or not. I represent an NGO,
I have sent the letter and it hasn’t returned, and we have had such
cases before. The problem might be technical, etc, but I can’t take
assumptions for facts,” says Hayrapetyan.

The “black list” is not final, meaning that if the respondent changes
its mind and decides to respond, it is taken off of the list. Oral
answers are not satisfactory; enquiries should receive a written
response.

The lawyer says that not all cases of unanswered enquiry become lawsuit
issues, because the Center is implementing projects, has limited
resources, and is developing strategic approaches to solve the issue.

“When information is refused or an enquiry is left unanswered by
bodies that have never possessed that information, it can be appealed.

We have sued ANC and have been rejected on this basis, since ANC is
not registered as an organization, there was a legislative issue:
a bloc has rights, liabilities, certain functions, but it cannot be
a respondent in a civil lawsuit,” he explains.

A lawsuit will not be filed against the RPA, which has duly responded
to the Center’s enquiry regarding campaign spending.

“They informed that 77,706,146 drams (around $200,000), 15 million
(around $38,500) out of which was their personal funds, and the rest
was donation. This was as of April 27,” says the lawyer.

The “black list” also includes city halls of Vardenis and Yeghegnadzor.

From: A. Papazian

European Court Of Human Rights Upholds Armenian Lawyer’s Claim

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS UPHOLDS ARMENIAN LAWYER’S CLAIM

arminfo
Wednesday, July 11, 13:04

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld Armenian lawyer Vahe
Grigoryan’s claim against the Republic of Armenia (CASE OF GRIGORYAN
v. ARMENIA Application no. 3627/06).

Now the Government of Armenian must pay 2,500 EUR to Vahe Grigoryan.

The latter was the lawyer for the residents expelled from their homes
on Byuzand Street in Yerevan for state needs. On 7 Oct 2005 Grigoryan
was detained on the charge of fraud and forgery. On October 10, the
court chose arrest as a measure of restraint. The Court of Appeal
left the first instance court’s judgment unchanged. Afterwards the
arrest was extended for two months.

The European Court considers the arrest of Vahe Grigoryan to violate
Article 5 Part 1 (“right to liberty”) and Article 5 Part 6 (“fair
trial”) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

From: A. Papazian

Armenian Agriculture Minister Impressed With Karabakh’s Achievements

ARMENIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER IMPRESSED WITH KARABAKH’S ACHIEVEMENTS

tert.am
10:55 ~U 11.07.12

Armenian minister of agriculture Sergo Karapetyan was in Artsakh from
July 5-7 for a working visit to get familiarized with the agricultural
issues of the second Armenian republic and discuss further partnership
issues with the Artsakh partners.

According to the press release of the ministry, the delegation met
with the Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan, officials of the
sphere, businessmen and farmers.

Accompanied with his Karabakhi counterpart Andranik Khachatryan,
Sergo Karapetyan visited different communities, farms, reprocessing
enterprises, veterinary laboratories.

At the meeting with vice prime minister of Karabakh, Spartak Tevosyan,
who is the finance minister as well, different issues relating to
the sphere of agriculture were discussed.

The Armenian minister said he is impressed with the achievements
registered in Karabakh’s agricultural sphere, in cattle-breeding area
in particular.

Sergo Karapetyan offered establishment of food security service in
Stepanakert that will meet European standards.

Issues on export, standardization, training of specialists were
discussed at the meetings, arrangements on further cooperation have
been achieved.

From: A. Papazian

Syrian Armenians Involved In Numerous Pan Armenian Projects

SYRIAN ARMENIANS INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS PAN ARMENIAN PROJECTS

ARMENPRESS
11 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS: The Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic
of Armenia continues to work with Armenian Community in Syria and
the institutions operating there. The Ministry briefed Armenpress,
Syrian Armenians are participating in “Diaspora” summer school and
“Back to home” programs.

Within the framework of “My Armenia” All-Armenian festival “Andranik”
dance ensemble visited Ashnak, Karabakh, came forth in the closing
ceremony. Syrian Armenian participants of “Back to home” program are
living in Armenian families and are deeply involved in all scheduled
activities.

Syrian Armenians keep on attending Ministry of Diaspora on different
issues and recommendations. The Ministry of Diaspora is cooperating
with State Migration Service of Ministry of Territorial Administration,
Passport and Visa department of Armenian Police, which pursuant to
the law provide appropriate services.The Ministry is engaged in the
issues of teaching language to Syrian Armenians.

The ongoing clashes lasting over 16 months resulted in the death of
ten thousand people. Armenian Community living there has also suffered
losses: 6 Armenians were killed, 4 of which soldiers serving in the
Syrian Army. “Syria is currently facing a war” President Basher al
-Assad for the first time came forth with the similar statement on
June 26.

From: A. Papazian

Ce Qui Se Passe En Turquie Nous Regarde

CE QUI SE PASSE EN TURQUIE NOUS REGARDE

Publié le : 11-07-2012

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
propose cette information publiée sur le site susam-sokak.fr,
le blog d’Etienne Copeaux, le 10 juillet 2012. Ã~Itienne Copeaux
est un historien spécialiste du monde turc. Chercheur au Groupe de
recherches et d’études sur la Méditerranée et le Moyen-Orient a
Lyon, il s’intéresse particulièrement au nationalisme en Turquie.

susam-sokak.fr

Mardi 10 juillet 2012

Le quotidien turc Taraf m’a demandé pourquoi j’avais signé le texte
de soutien aux accusés du procès géant de Silivri, paru dans Le
Monde du 4 juillet, où sont jugés Busra Ersanlı, Ragıp Zarakolu,
Ayse Berktay et 202 autres personnes, et ce que je pensais de ces
déclarations de Mr Ahmet Davutoglu, ministre des affaires étrangères
: ” Je ne crois pas que Mme Ersanlı soit terroriste. Mais le fait que
je n’accepte pas cette situation en tant que ministre, ne me donne pas
le droit d’intervenir sur la justice. Ceux qui nous critiquent disent
soit ‘Pourquoi intervenez-vous ?’, soit ‘Pourquoi n’intervenez-vous
pas ?’.

Certains croient que ces vagues d’arrestations ont lieu suite a une
décision gouvernementale, que le pouvoir [a décidé] d’arrêter
ces personnes. Mais la justice est indépendante. ”

Voici ma réponse, publiée dans Taraf ce 10 juillet :

J’ai signé cet appel en tant que chercheur, spécialiste de la
Turquie contemporaine. Voici plus de vingt ans, j’avais commencé mes
recherches en étudiant le discours des manuels scolaires d’histoire,
la ” fabrication ” de l’histoire a l’époque d’Ataturk – sur les
pas de Busra Ersanlı – et l’imprégnation des manuels scolaires
par l’idéologie nationaliste. J’ai fait cela scientifiquement, sans
m’impliquer personnellement, mais il est évident que je n’aurais pas
pu le faire sans dénoncer le nationalisme, sans chercher a donner
des outils a ceux et celles qui veulent débusquer l’idéologie dans
un discours historique. Le nationalisme est porteur de malheur et
de guerre – voir la Yougoslavie – et je sais parfaitement combien
ce mot milliyetcilika une valeur positive en Turquie. Je veux dire
par la que même en faisant une thèse scientifique, j’étais en un
certain sens engagé, et conscient de l’être. Sinon j’aurais fait
une thèse sur l’harmonie vocalique ou la cuisine turque au XVIIIe
siècle, que sais-je !

En ce moment je fais une recherche sur les années 1990 et quand
j’ai revu l’affaire du marché égyptien (juillet 1998) j’ai été
scandalisé d’apprendre que Pınar Selek était toujours dans de
graves ennuis, malgré trois acquittements.

J’ai senti alors que, en conscience, il ne m’était plus possible
de continuer mes recherches comme si de rien n’était, comme si
j’observais des insectes.

Mais pourquoi prendre parti sur des questions turques ?

Ces ” questions turques ” ne concernent pas seulement la Turquie. La
Turquie pourrait devenir pays européen et donc cela me regarde. Cela
me regarde aussi en tant qu’être humain, ami et proche de certaines
personnes poursuivies (Busra). Cela me regarde parce que la Turquie
représente un ” modèle ” de pays capitaliste et libéral, avec
une extrême-droite puissante et que ce modèle pourrait être copié
(Hongrie). Des éléments de la culture politique qui prévalent en
Turquie ont fait beaucoup de progrès en France même. Je ne veux pas
de ce ” modèle ” ultra-libéral et répressif ; j’estime que la
où il existe, il faut l’analyser, le faire connaître et le dénoncer.

Enfin cela me regarde parce que j’aime la Turquie et j’aime les Turcs
; la Turquie fait partie de moi-même ; j’y ai vécu, j’en ai connu
chaque recoin, c’est en quelque sorte mon deuxième memleket. Cela me
regarde parce que je souhaite a mes amis turcs le bonheur de pouvoir
vivre en démocratie, dégagé d’une guerre qui dure depuis bientôt
trente ans – nous savons ce que c’est, nous qui avons connu cela avec
l’Algérie. Et croyez que je suis tout aussi exigeant vis-a-vis de
mon pays, la France ; comme j’ai été, en exercant mon métier de
professeur d’histoire, aussi exigeant avec le discours des manuels
d’histoire francais que celui des manuels turcs.

C’est un engagement politique, si vous voulez, mais je m’engage en
tant que chercheur, c’est-a-dire en tant que personne qui connaît la
question, l’enracinement historique des problèmes, qui a accès a
la langue. Les recherches que je fais sont susceptibles d’éclairer
le présent, car le ” présent ” remonte au moins a 1923, si ce
n’est 1915.

J’ai ressenti la nécessité de l’engagement a partir de l’affaire
Pınar Selek mais je ressentais déja un malaise, depuis longtemps,
en considérant les cas d’Ismail Besikci, ou de Yasar Kemal. Puis,
l’arrestation de Busra m’a mis en rage. C’est comme si nous étions
sur un champ de bataille, avec le tir qui se rapproche et se précise,
et je crains pour d’autres personnes.

Enfin mon engagement n’est pas dÔ au fait que des universitaires
et autres intellectuels sont emprisonnés. Bien sÔr, c’est mon
milieu ; mais je suis tout aussi scandalisé – sinon plus – par les
autres centaines ou milliers de prisonniers d’opinion en Turquie,
les exécutions extra-judiciaires et les départs forcés en exil
pour fuir la répression.

Quant a l’avis émis par Monsieur Davutoglu, je le respecte mais
malheureusement je m’attends toujours a ce genre de réponse de la
part d’un homme politique. C’est la manière classique des politiques
de se défausser que d’affirmer ” Mais mon cher Monsieur, nous
sommes dans un Etat démocratique, un Etat de droit, les pouvoirs
sont séparés et un membre du gouvernement ne peut pas intervenir
dans le cours de la justice ”. C’est un avis tellement usé !!! On
sait très bien comment, dans tous les pays y compris la France,
l’Etat peut manipuler la justice.

D’ailleurs Monsieur Davutoglu se trompe sur un point : si effectivement
la justice est – en théorie – indépendante, la police, dans tous
les pays, dépend des gouvernants ; les arrestations, les maintiens en
détention, les conditions de détention, l’usage de la torture ou de
la violence, les conditions d’interrogatoires, tout cela dépend soit
de la hiérarchie policière et donc du ministère de l’intérieur,
soit de l’administration pénitentiaire (et non des juges) ; tout cela
est donc susceptible – dans un Etat de droit – d’être contrôlé par
la population. Si ce n’était pas le cas, ce serait vraiment grave
pour la Turquie et les Turcs.

Voila donc pourquoi j’ai signé l’appel publié dans le journal Le
Monde la semaine dernière.

Par Etienne Copeaux

Lire aussi:

Turquie : un futur Prix Nobel en prison ?

Liberté pour Ragip Zarakolu : Dossier complet

Turquie : ouverture du procès du KCK

Turquie : Premier jour du procès du KCK

Turquie : Deuxième audience du procès du KCK

Turquie : le théâtre judiciaire de Silivri fait salle comble (1)

Le procès du KCK fait dérailler la machine judiciaire turque (2)

Procès du KCK: la liberté de recherche menacée (3)

Le grand enfermement des libertés en Turquie

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : susam-sokak.fr

From: A. Papazian

http://www.collectifvan.org/article.php?r=0&id=65489
www.collectifvan.org

Michael Johnson: ‘For Eight Years I Was A Five-Time Gold Medallist.

MICHAEL JOHNSON: ‘FOR EIGHT YEARS I WAS A FIVE-TIME GOLD MEDALLIST. THEN IT WAS FOUR-TIME. IT’S NOT THE SAME’

Michael Johnson’s steely perfectionism made him the fastest man on
earth, but not necessarily the nicest. Now he’s learned to relax –
sort of

09 Jul 2012

The gold shoes may have been auctioned off and his 200m record broken
but Michael Johnson is still – in many people’s minds – the fastest
man on earth. Not only does he hold the world record for the 400m,
he is the only male athlete in history to win the 200m and 400m at
the same Olympics.

“I was the face of the 1996 Games,” says Johnson, now 44,
matter-of-factly, when we meet at his exquisite home high in the hills
above San Rafael, northern California. More than the face of the
Games, he was the feet of the Games: those gold Nike racing spikes
pummelling the ground as he sped over the 200m finishing line and –
in an uncharacteristic display of emotion – roared with pure joy when
he saw his phenomenal time flash up: 19.32 seconds.

But Johnson was more than just an extraordinarily fast runner: he
was the sport’s first multimedia superstar, a sort of Tiger Woods of
athletics, bringing it into the mainstream. The Man With The Golden
Shoes – as he became known – graced magazine covers around the
world and secured multimillion-dollar-endorsement deals previously
unthinkable for a sprinter. “I’m proud of being remembered as someone
who changed the sport in terms of what’s possible,” says Johnson
in his distinctively deep voice. He sits down on a gold-print
sofa adorned with pale gold cushions. “People thought it wasn’t
possible to be a champion at 200 metres and at 400 metres. What I
did changed sprinting and how people looked at sprinters. It also
changed the economics of the sport in terms of the financial demands
I was able to make.” Dressed in a purple-and-white-striped shirt,
jeans and black loafers, Johnson is far more relaxed and friendly
than I had anticipated, with a streak of wry humour. In fact, he is
so approachable that I find myself telling him that I had not been
expecting an easy interview.

“I didn’t used to be this way,” he agrees amiably, taking a sip of
coffee. “I have changed. As an athlete, I was never really comfortable
with being a celebrity. Everybody wanted something of me and I didn’t
really do a good job of understanding that. It was a huge intrusion
into my life… and when journalists asked me questions… it became
this kind of…” he trails off and growls to show the stand-off
that resulted.

Despite the austere demeanour he projected in those days, Johnson
was always an athlete who stood out – partly because of his peculiar
running style: the stiff straight back coupled with the short piston
stride. As a child, his friends laughed at him for running “funny”;
as an adult, reporters compared him to a running duck. “It was funny
to me too,” says Johnson drily. “I was winning.”

“Opting for gold shoes could have been considered downright cocky,”
he writes in his book, Gold Rush, recently published in paperback,
“but I was confident and never doubted my ability to deliver gold
medals to match my shimmering footwear.” His confidence was not
misplaced. Even 12 years after retirement, Johnson is still tied with
Carl Lewis for the most gold medals won by any runner in history. He
has four Olympic golds and eight golds at world championships.

There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and Johnson
treads it carefully. He has high expectations of himself but knows
his flaws. “I work hard to improve myself as a person – as a father,
as a husband, as a manager. I’m always on that mission.” In the past,
he says, he was a perfectionist. Was that a good thing?

“No,” he says, smiling. “It creates some struggles when you have that
expectation of other people. I’ve gotten much better with it.

I’ve had to learn that not everybody does things my way. But I do
expect the absolute best of everyone around me and I’m disappointed
when people don’t expect that of themselves.” He once said he was
difficult to live with. “I think I was. I don’t know if I still am –
you’d have to ask my wife.” He and his first wife, Kerry D’Oyen,
an entertainment reporter and the mother of his 12-year-old son
Sebastian, broke up after Johnson retired from racing. Now he is
married to Armine Shamiryan, a chef – whom he says he met “randomly”
through friends in Los Angeles nine years ago.

So while he is having his photograph taken, I ask Johnson if he
minds if I talk to her. “Go ahead,” he says, unfazed. I find Armine,
a petite, dark-haired Armenian, in the kitchen, making Greek salad
for lunch. “He is a control freak,” she says affectionately. “And he
makes me work out in the gym every day, which I hate. But I think
he’s changed a lot. As he’s got older he’s realised that he can’t
make everything perfect and once you realise that, you can either
accept it or be miserable about it. He’s accepted it.”

Johnson thoroughly enjoys the wealth that his success has bought him.

“From as young as I can remember, this is the life I always wanted.

I wanted to have the luxury of having really nice fast cars – I have
a couple of McLarens and a Porsche and…” he stops himself, perhaps
thinking he has said enough. But in his garage, I also glimpse a
silver Mercedes SLS AMG – which seriously impresses the photographer
who identifies it for me – and a Ferrari. “I wanted to be able to
live wherever I wanted, to travel the world and to be able to take
care of my family back in Texas.” Indeed, his large, secluded house
looks like a high-end show home, with a general impression of tasteful
opulence but hardly a hint of anything personal. A bar with a wine
refrigerator dominates the living room (Johnson is something of a
wine buff) but there is none of the usual paraphernalia of family life.

From: A. Papazian

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9378922/Michael-Johnson-For-eight-years-I-was-a-five-time-gold-medallist.-Then-it-was-four-time.-Its-not-the-same.html

ANKARA: Davutoglu To Armenians: I Do Not Deny Your Suffering; Come,

DAVUTOGLU TO ARMENIANS: I DO NOT DENY YOUR SUFFERING; COME, LET US TALK
by Asli Aydintasbas

Milliyet
July 7 2012
Turkey

[Translated from Turkish]

I went to Paris with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for the Friends
of Syria summit. We had a long talk on the flight. I thought what he
said was important, but with a journalist’s cunning I decided to keep
that waiting for a day. While we had a long discussion with Davutoglu
about Syria on our way to Paris, the topic somehow switched to the
Armenian issue.

Do not say “what does the Armenian issue have to do anything here?”

The Armenian issue or the events of 1915, and the debate on how those
events need to be called, all continue to paralyse Turkey even after
100 years. Look at Hrant Dink, the relations with France that reached
a breaking point, the millions of dollars that are spent every year in
order to prevent the US Congress from saying “genocide.” And naturally,
the pain, the sufferance, and the nostalgia a body feels even after
100 years, caused by a limb that was abruptly cut off…

I understood from the foreign minister’s statements that on the eve
of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian incidents of 1915, there is
a brand new “overture” process that is being developed away from the
public eye. That is a three-step strategy.

The first step concerns feelings. For years, Turkey either denied
the Armenian incidents or looked down on the Armenians’ suffering
on the official level using arguments such as the “Hocali massacre”
or policies in the line of “If it happened to you, it happened to us,
too.” That is why, in my opinion, Davutoglu’s following statement was
important: “The Armenians are not facing a foreign minister who claims
that nothing happened in 1915. I do not call the incidents genocide,
but that is at the discretion of the individual. We must develop
a new language on the issue. We are not denying your sufferance, we
understand it. Let us get together and do whatever is necessary. That,
however, cannot be a unilateral declaration of guilt.” There is a
concept developed by Davutoglu called the “just memory.” It is based
on feeling the Armenians’ pain, and “not trying to shut them up.”

“We are not like the Germans. We do not have in our history ideas such
as pogroms or ghettos. The Muslims in the Balkans and the Caucasus
also have fears, concerns, and losses. Certain things happened causing
paranoia in people who feared that they would be exiled from Anatolia.

That, however, was not an ideological reflex that was caused by an
attempt to liquidate an entire race. It would be unacceptable to draw
an analogy between the Turks and the Nazis, and present them as a
murderer race. We cannot accept a unilateral declaration of guilt.

“I am looking at the glass that is half full. It is important to
say, albeit late, ‘I understand your pain; we will listen to the
Armenians.’ There is an effort for a joint declaration on the subject
while we are approaching 2015.”

The second step of the overture concerns redefining the word
“diaspora.” The foreign minister said that he sent a circular to all
the embassies in which he redefined the Turkish diaspora: “We consider
all those who emigrated from those lands, and not only the Turks,
to be the diaspora: the Armenians, Jews, Greeks, the people called El
Turco in Latin America, and the Arabs in Argentina… Those are our
people… Those are people whose culture and language resemble ours.”

According to this, the embassies will now open their doors to those
people who were once Ottoman subjects, they will contact them, and
they will even invite them to national days. The contacts with the
Armenian diaspora are said to have already started.

That is a very important evolution for a republican ideology that
tried to transform the empire’s difficult but rich heritage into a
“homogenous&q uot; Turkish race. Think of that overture together
with the statement Tayyip Erdogan made last week at the Assembly:
“Our history did not start in 1923.” Bureaucracy will probably have
a hard time to adjust. Those new notions, however, draw a parallel
to Turkey’s new regional claims.

The last step concerns the delicate diplomatic ties with Armenia.

Davutoglu kept recalling that the “protocols” – which have become
transitory – with Armenia are still “on the table.” Hillary Clinton
reportedly went to Armenia last month. Sarkisyan was reelected. What
is asked from him at the first stage is to withdraw from a very small
part of the Azeri lands that are under Armenia’s occupation. After
that, Turkey will open its borders, trade and investments will start,
and as a high-ranking official I interviewed said: “We will revive
Yerevan as we revived Arbil.” That is an attractive proposal for the
Armenians. For the Turks, it is a step that has no material value
but that will psychologically unite the separated souls and the lost
identities. Davutoglu says: “If you [Sarkisyan] want to contribute to
the solution of the Armenian issue, come and let us work together. We
wish the protocols could be implemented. I am still sorry about the
lost opportunities. We could have easily achieved a lot. That did
not happen because of psychological factors.”

What can I say? Perhaps it is not too late. Perhaps it will happen.

[translated from Turkish]

From: A. Papazian

Local Democratic Party Leader Launches Bid For Council: Richelle Nor

LOCAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER LAUNCHES BID FOR COUNCIL: RICHELLE NOROYAN TO SEEK OFFICE FOR FIRST TIME

Santa Cruz Sentinel

July 10 2012
CA

Click photo to enlargeRichelle Noroyan (Dan Coyro)”1″SANTA CRUZ –
A longtime fixture in the background of local politics, Richelle
Noroyan is ready to test her own electability.

The Santa Cruz native, who this month will leave her post as chair
of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party, has said she will be a
candidate for City Council in November.

“I love the town I grew up in and brag about it all the time,” Noroyan
said. “Being part of making decisions and making the community better
are very exciting to me.”

The nomination period for the Nov. 6 council race opens July 16.

Noroyan, 43, the granddaughter of Armenian immigrants whose parents
ran a convenience store and the former Hugo’s Armenian Restaurant
on Mission Street, is a member of the city’s Transportation and
Public Works Commission. She served five years as district director
for former Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Los Altos, before becoming a
marketing consultant for a small web-based firm.

Noroyan’s top priority as a council member would be spurring job
growth that keeps workers in Santa Cruz rather than Silicon Valley.

The Santa Cruz High graduate said she supported the La Bahia Hotel
project for its construction and tourism jobs, and would support
new high-tech industry here built around the gaming department at UC
Santa Cruz and other ventures.

“I saw a lot of friends I went to school with, kids from blue-collar
homes, not be able to stay in Santa Cruz,” she said. “We need to
make an effort to bring jobs that allow people of all income levels
to stay in town.”

Outgoing Councilman Ryan Coonerty, a former two-time mayor, said he
believes Noroyan has the experience and pragmatism to serve on the
council, including helping to deal with take-aways from Sacramento.

“She and her husband have tried to find jobs in this community, and
that really informs her experience when trying to vote on projects,”
Coonerty said. “Certainly her work with the Legislature and her other
relationships will be helpful as the city continues to be victimized
by the state of California. She also has experience in and appreciation
for the private sector.”

Noroyan, who wanted to be a music teacher growing up, said she
developed an interest in government early on. She realized as a music
student that schools took a funding hit when Prop. 13 passed in 1978.

“We always had to do fundraisers,” she said. “That made me angry
because we are doing something good for the community.”

She also understood the abuses of government, having listened to
stories of relatives who survived the Armenian Genocide during World
War I.

“It made them conscious about human rights,” she said of how her
parents raised her. “It made me socially conscious and aware.”

After graduating from Fresno State University, now known as CSU Fresno,
Noroyan worked for the state Democratic Party as a campus outreach
coordinator and field representative and was the project manager for
the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California.

Noroyan also has held posts at UCSC, Apple and Caldera Systems.

Two new candidates joined the frey Monday for the four seats up for
grabs in the Nov. 6 contest. Take Back Santa Cruz board member Pamela
Comstock and resident Jake Fusari filed statements of intent with
the city clerk Monday.

Those who have already filed are Mayor Don Lane, former mayor Cynthia
Mathews, nonprofit leader Cece Pinheiro, homeless services advocate
Steve Pleich and bicycling advocate Micah Posner.

From: A. Papazian

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_21039722/local-democratic-party-leader-launches-bid-council-richelle

Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Threatens Regional Security

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT THREATENS REGIONAL SECURITY

Global Times

July 10 2012
China

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a major threat
to regional security and economic development in the South Caucasus,
Lamberto Zannier, secretary general of the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said Monday during his visit
to Azerbaijan.

“Negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict, while the
political will and commitment of all participants is a prerequisite
for finding a peaceful solution,” Zannier said at a news conference
after meeting Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku.

Zannier has supported OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts in finding solution to
the conflict and a quick cease-fire regime between the two countries.

The OSCE Secretary General said he was “deeply concerned” by recent
incidents on the front-line, which are weakening the efforts aimed at
achieving a long-awaited peace. OSCE stands ready to promote dialogue
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said.

Zannier will also visit Tbilisi and Batumi in Azerbaijan, and Yerevan,
the capital city of Armenia, on Thursday.

The secretary general will discuss with high-level officials of the two
countries cooperation in military, economic and environmental fields.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries over the
sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabakh region started in 1988. The two
countries signed a cease-fire treaty in 1994 and have been holding
peaceful negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.

From: A. Papazian

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/720070.shtml