Author: Antonian Lara

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Nov 16 2008

Darchinyan’s trash talk yanks Americans’ chain

Stathi Paxinos
November 16, 2008

BROWSE through some of the American boxing forums on the internet and
you could come across some surprising criticism of Australia’s newly
crowned and undisputed super-flyweight world champion, Vic Darchinyan.

There among the entries of his fans are those who brand him as
arrogant and a trash talker. It is somewhat ironic criticism given the
boxing industry and many of its participants, particularly in America,
have perfected the art.

Darchinyan, who is winning a growing support base and the interest of
American television networks with his all-action style in the ring,
certainly does not lack belief in his abilities and is not afraid to
tell people about it. It is a style that has put some off-side – most
notably a possible next opponent in Mexican Jorge Arce.

But Australian boxing commentator Paul Upham said the criticism was a
case of the straight-talking Sydney-based Armenian being misunderstood
– because his predictions of beatings were delivered with such
conviction, "people [think] he is too serious or too arrogant".

"There’s no doubt that a lot of them don’t like him over the way he
talks," Upham said. "I found it to be completely misrepresented
because once you get to know Vic you find that it’s not arrogance,
it’s not cockiness, it’s just supreme confidence.

"I remember when he first came to start training under Jeff [Fenech]
after the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He hadn’t even had a pro fight and
he would talk about guys he would eventually fight and he would say,
‘I will fight him and I will beat him.’

"But to be the best in any weight class or to be one of the elites you
have to have that supreme confidence that no one else can beat you."

But ESPN’s Dan Rafael, one of America’s leading boxing writers, said
he had mainly come across positive feelings for Darchinyan.

"The boxing fans I encounter, most importantly, like watching him
fight because he doesn’t mess around," Rafael said. "He gets in there
and tries to knock your head off. He makes fights that are
entertaining, that people like to watch – so the trash talk, that just
goes with the territory.

"Some people think it’s funny, some don’t like it, some enjoy it but
mainly they like watching the guy fight, they’re boxing fans and they
know what they’re going to get with a Vic Darchinyan fight and that is
probably someone going to get knocked out."

Darchinyan has every reason to have a bit of a strut after his
nine-round demolition of highly regarded Mexican world champion
Christian Mijares earlier this month.

Darchinyan had gone into the fight as the International Boxing
Federation belt holder but a marked underdog against Mijares, who held
the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council titles. Most
believed the Mexican would be too classy, with a poll of boxing
writers backing Mijares 26-6 before the fight.

Still, Rafael insisted the reporters had no disrespect for Darchinyan.

"I think everybody’s got respect for Vic," he said. "They just looked
at it as a style thing where Mijares was the type of guy who could
solve the kind of fighter that Vic is. Obviously we were wrong and
congratulations to Vic for doing what he said he’d do."

The question now is where to from here for Darchinyan, a former
flyweight world champion. The feisty 32-year-old has been talking big,
saying he wants to win as many world titles in as many weight
divisions as he can.

His manager, Elias Nasser, said the priority was a fight against Arce,
although he said the match-up was looking less likely as negotiations
dragged on. If it falls through, Darchinyan will probably move up to
bantamweight, where his camp has already made approaches to WBC
champion Hozumi Hasegawa and WBO title-holder Gerry Penalosa.

However, apart from potentially equalling Fenech’s effort of winning
world titles in three weight divisions, bantamweight holds little
attraction for Darchinyan because of its lack of big-name opponents. A
world title there would be used as a stepping stone to bigger paydays
in the super-bantamweight division against the likes of Israel Vazquez
and Rafael Marquez – and the possibility of a world title in a fourth
weight division.

First, however, Darchinyan has his eye on claiming the super-flyweight
WBO title from highly rated Fernando Montiel, thus putting his name
among the few to have held the four major belts in the one division at
the same time.

"If I collect four belts I don’t think it will ever happen again in
the history of boxing in this weight division," Darchinyan said.

"It’s too hard."

THE WAVE VANISHES AND NOTHING REMAINS
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
14 Nov 08
Armenia

During the recent days the radicals diligently develop the version
of the inter-party crisis "ripening" inside RPA.

On this occasion RPA Vice-Chairman, MP Razmik Zohrabyan responds
our questions.

"They say the Republican Party again "splits", this time because
of sharp controversies linked with the appointment of the head of
the faction."

"Nothing special happened. But because you asked I must say that this
is not the issue to cause "serious discontent" inside the party. This
chitchat started when the head of the faction Karen Karapetyan was
appointed as the head of the Presidential staff and Hovik Abrahamyan
was elected as Speaker of NA. The appointment of the head of the
faction took a bit long, because here the standpoint of the Leader
of the Party is really important and at that time the President was
engaged in foreign policy issues, the preparation of the declaration
on the settlement of Karabakh issue, etc.

I must repeat that there is no discontent inside the party, but the
Republican Party is a living organism, living with its party-political
problems and naturally there can be different approaches, in the
issue of the appointment of the head of the faction as well.

What we need is a qualified person, someone who has experience in
working with people, a good organizer, to be able to work with 64 MPs
of the faction. In this regard Galust Sahakyan has great experience
in working with people, he used to be the head of the faction which
he implemented very successfully, and when the Leader of the Party
proposed his candidacy during the session of the council, we perceived
it quite normally.

As regards Edward Sharmazanov, whose name was also circulated, he is
an active, skillful, young political figure who could also work in
that position. In my view whole life is before him. So I don’t see any
problem among the old and new republicans, pro-Njdehs and "komsomols".

"Robert Kocharyan’s possible "return" is a matter of anxiety for some
people. Do you think the second President really intends to "take"
the majority of NA and form his own government as the representatives
of the Armenian Pan National Movement state in terror."

"Some months back Robert Kocharyan "handed over" the power and frankly
I don’t think he hurries to hold the position of the Prime Minister
or the Speaker of NA or any other post. Power is not that sweet. It
demands lots of suffering."

And besides that for such action there should be a demand. For example
if something jeopardizes the national security and the incumbent
President can’t solve that issue and there is20a requirement for a
second leader.

At the moment I don’t see such demand. Serge Sargsyan is quite able
to solve issues."

"Can Moscow declaration become a trap for the Armenian party. Don’t
you think Azerbaijan can breach the agreement and attack Karabakh?"

"I don’t think the declaration will blunt our vigilance. There
have been certain cases in the history, when the two parties signed
agreement on not using force, but one of the parties has breached
the agreement. But we shouldn’t overlook the fact that Russia, which
is a powerful superpower, is one of the parties to the declaration,
which has got its own interests in the region and will never allow
new start of Armenian -Azerbaijani conflict, even if the third party
tries to provoke the war."

"How do you estimate the situation created in the pro-oppositional
camp.

When will they start their active actions?"

"I have already underscored that when a political force is leaded
from outside they can’t take decision on when to become active. At
the moment they are disoriented. If tomorrow they are instructed from
outside that they must continue their demonstrations, they will do so,
speculating Karabakh issue.

If they are really guided by national interests and they consider
Madrid principles unacceptable for the Armenian party, they shouldn’t
quit demonstrations, on the con trary they should have tried to
put pressure on the international community and our authorities to
avert the signing of any agreement which enshrines these principles,
instead of stepping aside "to give possibility to the ruling power
to solve Karabakh issue without any obstacles."

ALBERT MKRTCHYAN: "PSYCHOLOGICAL WAR IS THE WORST"

Panorama.am
20:07 14/11/2008

"I am classified with those directors who don’t like to speak about
their films until revising themselves. That’s why I have presented
my new film "the sunrise of sad street" to my Russian colleagues,"
said Albert Lazarian. Mr. Lazarian said that movie critic Russian
Armen Medvedev told him that was one of his best films.

The presentation of the current film took place in Gyumri, on 30
October, and then it was accessible in "Moscow" cinema. Public TV
will show the film in the coming week. The film tells about Karabakh
war, Armenian blockade and a family. Though the film is about war,
only one shooting is heard through the film. "War scenes I’ve tried to
describe through psychological war, which I guess the most frustrating
type of war," said Lazarian.

The heroes of the film are Anahit Kocharyan, Guyzh Manukyan, young
actors Vardan Lazarian and Armen Sargsyan. According to the director
of the film, most of his heroes are not actors at all. "If I see what I
need in them, I put on other spices on them myself," said the director.

FRANCE PROPOSES CLOSER EU-GEORGIA TIES

PRESS TV
Nov 14 2008
Iran

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili (R) France has assured Georgia of closer ties with the
EU as the presidents of the two countries meet on the eve of an
EU-Russia summit.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with his Georgian counterpart
Mikheil Saakashvili on Thursday at the summit venue in the southern
French city of Nice.

Sarkozy assured Saakashvili that he would be pressing for closer
Georgian links with the European Union, Reuters reported. He suggested
that Georgia and the EU develop a special partnership.

This is while officials of the French presidency said that the
timing of Sarkozy’s meeting with Saakashvili contained a political
signal. "Even if tomorrow there is an important summit between the EU
and Russia, that doesn’t mean that Europe has abandoned its positions
on Georgia, quite the contrary," said the official who spoke on
condition of anonymity.

On Monday the EU states had agreed to re-launch talks on a partnership
agreement with Moscow that had been frozen following Georgia’s August
7th military adventure into the breakaway province of South Ossetia
which was followed by a robust Russian response and brief occupation
of parts of Georgia.

"After the Georgian crisis this summer, the Europeans realized
that they needed to develop cooperation between the EU and European
countries that are not members like Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia,"
said an official at the French presidency.

France currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member
EU until the end of the 2008 and Sarkozy played a leading role in
diplomatic efforts to resolve the Georgian crisis.

Officials from Sarkozy’s office have said that the proposed EU-Georgia
partnership would be similar to the agreement that is being negotiated
between the EU and Ukraine.

ARMENIAN FUND FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: 25% OF POPULATION USE INTERNET IN ARMENIA AND 10% – USE IT EVERY DAY

ArmInfo
2008-11-14 16:04:00

ArmInfo. 25% of population use Internet in Armenia and 10% – use it
every day, the leader of the Armenian Fund for Information Technologies
Garegin Chugaszyan told journalists today.

He also added ‘About 80 thsd families or 1/10 of Armenian population
use Internet every day. The figure is not strict since no relevant
poll was held, though we need it, as the number of permanent Internet
users serves a certain criterion of education level of population and
its involvement in the modern life. This is very important to us as
highly appreciating our past we also want to become a country of the
present and future’, – Chugaszyan said.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN HOPE AZERBAIJAN’S OCCUPIED LANDS WILL BE RETURNED

Trend
Nov 13 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 13/ Trend News, corr A. Badalova/
"The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group on the settlement of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict hope that Azerbaijan’s occupied lands will
be returned.

"We hope that Azerbaijan’s occupied lands will be returned to this
country," Matthew Bryza, US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group said
to journalists in Baku on November 13.

"Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia should find a common ground on
this issue. Today there is confidence and respect between Presidents
of Azerbaijan and Armenia," Bryza said.

Concerning Turkey’s mediation on settlement of conflict, Bryza said
Turkey is a member of Minsk group, but not co-chairman. "Turkey
is a very important country. It is NATO ally and it should play an
important role in Caucasus which is happening at the moment," he added.

Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory – Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven surrounding regions. The occupation began in 1988. Azerbaijan
lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and
Nagorno-Karabakh’s seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia,
France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful, but fruitless
negotiations.

EU SILENT DESPITE AKP’S MOUNTING SINS

Hurriyet
Nov 14 2008
Turkey

It should be much more apparent to European diplomats today, that
the relative leniency with which the European Union is approaching
the Erdogan government’s sins against democracy and human rights,
is being used to the advantage of the ruling Justice and Development
Party, or AKP.

We have been trying for weeks to warn that selective criticisms
leveled at Turkey by EU officials are disheartening pro-EU elements
in Turkey. For example, the same officials who made negative remarks
against the AKP over the closure case, have not been vocal in the
face of some highly telling, and to that extent worrying, salvos from
government quarters.

Granted the 2008 progress report touches on, almost with kid gloves
and indirectly at that, Prime Minister Erdogan’s attacks against
the media in connection with corruption cases, and on Chief of the
General Staff Gen. Basbug’s threats to the media in connection with
the fight against terrorism.

This, however, does not appear to have made much of an impression
on the government, which is supposed to take Turkey closer to the EU
by initiating reforms and making headway according to the Copenhagen
Criteria. Put another way, the Erdogan government does not consider
itself reprimanded by the Progress Report. It behaves, rather, as if
it could care less about what is in the report.

However its "sins against the Copenhagen Criteria" are increasing,
yet no one, other than European deputy Joost Lagendijk that is, appear
to have much to say on this front. Just a look at the government’s
recent record should send shivers up European spines. Especially
among those who invested so much hope in this government.

w Prime Minister Erdogan calls for media boycotts because of the way
it reported the Deniz Feneri corruption case in Germany, an extension
of which clearly existed in Turkey and involved quarters very close
to the AKP.

w Prime Minister Erdogan justified the use of sawed-off shotguns by
individuals against pro-Kurdish demonstrators, saying citizens have
the right to protect themselves. The fact that he is inciting armed
violence does not appear to concern him much.

w Prime Minister Erdogan started to play the ultra-nationalist and
told pro-Kurdish politicians to either respect the flag and nation
or leave the country. He conveniently forgot there were times his
party had been attacked for being "Islamist" by opponents who said,
"Either respect secularism or go to Saudi Arabia."

w In the same vein, AKP Yozgat deputy Abdulkadir Akgul while arguing
with pro-Kurdish deputy Hasip Kaplan in Parliament, went as far as
saying, "I would of course take pleasure in shooting those who are
against their own state and nation."

w State Minister Nimet Cubukcu is more concerned with slinging mud
at Sarah Ferguson and the ITN network for exposing abuse in centers
for disabled children in Turkey, than explaining what she intends
to do to bring these centers up to EU standards. Having been caught
out two years ago in a similar incident in Malatya, exposed by the
Turkish media on that occasion, she clearly has done little in the
meantime to improve standards in these centers.

w Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul came out with remarks justifying what
amounts to ethnic cleansing by saying that if Greeks and Armenians
remained in Anatolia, Turkey would not be a national state today. He
totally disregarded the pain and suffering of Greek, Armenian and
Turks alike in the past, and left open the question of his opinion on
the Kurdish problem in this country, relative to his despicable views.

w The government continues to be reluctant to act in the face
of mounting police brutality, torture, and abuse of women, which
continues unabated, with impunity, and remains committed to the
tradition of protecting those guilty of the crimes. When it does
act, on the other hand, it does not do so on its own initiative,
but because the issue has caused a major public outcry.

w The Prime Ministry tries to ban "undesirable reporters" from
covering Prime Minister Erdogan by canceling their accreditation,
even though it can not accuse the banned reporters of writing untruths
or of fabrication. The government followed the lead of the General
Staff in this respect, showing once again how much of a defender
of the traditional status quo it has become. The bottom line here
is that Mr. Erdogan wants "AKP friendly news" and loses control,
both verbally and otherwise, when he does not get it.

Even this list and the relative silence in the face of it in Europe
makes one wonder if Brussels is following these developments as closely
as one would expect, with a view to giving appropriate signals at the
right time to Ankara, to try and reign in some of the abuses and spur
the government toward an EU perspective.

Granted the EU’s hard working envoy in Ankara, Ambassador Marc Pierini,
said in a piece he wrote for the Daily News recently, "The Progress
Report is not meant to comment on the acts and words of a given set
of personalities, nor on specific events." He is absolutely correct
about this, as the progress report by its nature is about principles
and criteria rather than personalities. But what we are referring
to here is other Europeans, be they from individual EU countries,
the European Commission or the EU Parliament, who were so vocal on
issues such as 301, Orhan Pamuk, the Hrant Dink murder and the AKP
closure case in the past, but prefer to remain silent in the face of
further serious abuses by the AKP.

Europe should not, however, be blinded by what appears to be support
for the AKP, and against those elements it finds undesirable in
Turkey. Especially now the Erdogan government has started to behave
just like those elements.

The whole idea behind the EU perspective is positive change under
the umbrella of lofty ideals, which include human rights and press
freedom. If this does not happen, then the EU will start to lose its
meaning, even for Turks who have supported this perspective strongly
hitherto.

RUSSIA MIGHT PARTICIPATE IN IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION

Messenger
Nov 12 2008
Georgia

There is serious speculation that Russia might play a key role
in constructing railways between Iran and Armenia. This issue was
discussed at the September meeting in Sochi between the Russian and
Armenian Presidents.

On June 1, 2008 Russian Railways received the concession to run
Armenian Railways for 25 years. The Russians renamed it South
Caucasus Railways, making a serious claim even in the name it gave
the company. However, this South Caucasus Railway has so far only
one international connection, with Georgia. Armenia’s borders with
Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed and there is no rail link between
Iran and Armenia at present.

The idea of building an Iran-Armenia connecting railway cane about
in 2006. Armenian Transport and Communications Minister Gurgen
Sarkisian says it will cost USD 2 billion approximately. A special
Iran-Armenia working group has been created and Russia will most
probably participate in this.

"DIPLOMATIC RELATIONSHIP WITH TURKEY WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS"

Panorama.am
18:55 11/11/2008

To the request of German "Frankfurter algemeine tseitung" newspaper
on Turkish recommendation to establish a group of historians to study
the details of Armenian genocide, the President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan said that there is absolutely no need for that initiative.

"We don’t think that it would solve problems. We wish to establish
diplomatic relationship without any preconditions, to open the
borders and only after that to discuss questions in the frames of
inter-governmental structures. If Turkey recognizes Armenian Genocide
this is not a precondition for us to start diplomatic relationship
with them," said Serzh Sargsyan.

"ARMENIA WILL NOT TOLERATE"

A1+
[02:24 pm] 11 November, 2008

"I have said a number of times and I would like to repeat again that
the Armenian officials have never spoken and will never speak in
favour of stopping the process of the international recognotion of the
Armenian Genocide. Moreover, Armenia cannot tolerate any demonstration
of denial of the Aremenian Genocide", announced RA Minister of Foreign
Affairs Edward Nalbandian today.

According to the Minister, the statements about the process of the
international recognition of the Armenain Genocide which are ascribed
to Armenian officials by Turkish press are distorted and do not
correspond to reality.