Author: Badalian Vardan

Voice of America
Feb 9 2008

Turkish Leader Criticizes European ‘Double Standard’ on PKK
By Al Pessin
Munich
09 February 2008

Turkey’s prime minister criticized European nations Saturday for
providing sanctuary to groups that support the Kurdish Workers Party,
which Turkey, the European Union and the United States have labeled a
terrorist organization. VOA’s Al Pessin reports from Munich, where
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to the European Security
Conference on Saturday.

Prime Minister Erdogan called on European countries to stop allowing
affiliates of the group, known as the PKK, to raise money and promote
their cause. The prime minister said he would not name any countries
specifically, but he also called for the extradition of PKK members
who are held in Europe. He is heard here through an interpreter.

"Countries who apply double standards, or who remain unwilling
towards terrorism, in time, will become shareholders of negative
consequences of terrorism," he said.

Prime Minister Erdogan said European countries already suffer from
drug trafficking used to finance PKK activities.

He also called on the European Union to move forward with Turkey’s
long-standing application for membership, and he rejected calls by
some in Europe to give Turkey a ‘privileged partnership’ status,
short of full membership.

In answer to questions from the audience of senior officials and
leading security experts from Europe, North America and elsewhere,
the Turkish prime minister challenged Armenia’s foreign minister to
provide proof Turkey was responsible for a massacre of Armenians in
1915.

And he denied a charge by a Russian questioner that Turkey is
harboring Chechen terrorists.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will deliver a major speech at
the conference on Sunday. He says he will lay out what he sees as the
justification for European involvement in bringing stability to
Afghanistan – the need ensure it does not again become a terrorist
safe haven. Gates says he wants to convince ordinary Europeans to
support additional troop deployments to help the undermanned NATO
mission in Afghanistan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA Justice Ministry burned in Yerevan
09.02.2008 13:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The roof and two upper storeys of
the Armenian Ministry of Justice burned out in Yerevan
this morning. An alert came at 5 a.m. 23 fire brigades
and 7 fire engines arrived at the site. The firemen
managed to carry out some equipment but the damage is
grave. The offices of the Minister and his deputies
were completely burned down. The building was erected
at the beginning of last century and was rapidly
enveloped in flames. It’s not known yet when the
Ministry will base, IA Regnum reports.

EXHIBITION OF 60 PAINTINGS BY SERGEI PARAJANOV OPENS IN KIEV

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. An exhibition of 60 paintings by
world-famous film director Sergei Parajanov opened from January 30 in
the three big halls of Kiev Academy of Art. Zaven Sargsian, the
Director of Parajanov Museum, said at the February 6 press conference.
According to him, such a big exhibition was to be organized in Kiev
long ago, as the years of Parajanov’s maturity passed in the very city,
and some of the members of his family and his relatives live there.

Besides paintings, the exhibits presented in Kiev include a collection
of Parajanov’s collages and hats, copies of the letters he wrote and
received in prison, as well as texts on his biography and collages.

The exhibition, which will be open until March 16, will be accompanied
by the show of three documentaries about the master. Several films by
Parajanov will be also presented.

The State Art Museum of Kiev plans to publish a 850-page album
dedicated to Parajanov, where 150 of his works will be presented.

Exhibitions dedicated to Parajanov were successfully held in Rome and
Venice last month.

RUSSIAN WORLD IN ARMENIA

Panorama.am
14:35 07/02/2008

Today an event was carried out in Yerevan State University: "Russian
World" center opened in Armenia.

The center should be equipped with information educational systems,
which makes it accessible for the examination of educational and
scientific materials.

Aram Simonyan, the rector of the YSU, said that the Russian center
is available not only for the students of the university, but also to
those who wish. "The fund inserted all the literature due to its means
and it is not all, as it should be updated. We made some arrangements
on getting physical and chemical literature," he said. Simonyan
said that the center will become an ideal resource center where the
professors should be directed to pass their trainings.

The center is established by means of "Russian World" center, and by
the support of ESY and Serzh Sargsyan.

The head of the center Vicheslav Nikonov said that the center opened
last years with Putin’s support and its establishment in Armenia is
not just a contingency.

"According to our investigation, there is a great interest towards
Russian language and culture," he said.

ARMAN MELIKYAN CONFIDENT THE NUMBER OF HIS SUPPORTERS IS GROWING "EVERY DAY"

armradio.am
07.02.2008 18:20

Armenian presidential candidate Arman Melikyan stated in Yerevan
today that he does not need a pre-election fund and can "achieve
good results without the use of advertisement posters, since people
realize the necessity of changes anyway".

Arman Melikyan said that the use of media resource allows the
candidates to make their programs clear for the electors. The candidate
expressed confidence that the number of his supporters grows each day.

Arman Melikyan criticized the behavior of certain presidential
candidates, noting that "they are more involved in sorting out their
relationships, rather than presenting programs."

He informed that he received proposals to withdraw his candidacy
in favor of this or that candidate, however he does not intend to
support anyone, since he is confident that neither of them will be
able to realize his pre-election program.

RUSSIAN PM EMBARKS ON VISIT TO ARMENIA

RosBusinessConsulting
Feb 5 2008
Russia

RBC, 05.02.2008, Moscow 09:26:50.Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov
is scheduled to pay an official visit to Armenia on February 5-6,
2008, the government’s press office reported today. The visit’s agenda
includes a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian
and Chairman of the National Assembly Tigran Torosian, among others.

A source close to the Russian government explained that the talks
between the two Prime Ministers are expected to center primarily
around economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia, as well as
around the development of trade, economic, and investment cooperation.

Russia is currently the major investor in Armenia’s economy.

The two countries cooperate closely in energy, construction,
transportation, communications, banking sector, and in diamond and
gold mining industries. RAO UES, Gazprom, Vneshtorgbank, UC RUSAL,
and VimpelCom operate in the republic.

CONTRACT SIGNED BETWEEN MCA-ARMENIA AND "JRTUK" LLC, "JRARBI" LLC AND "JINJ" LLC JOINT VENTURE

armradio.am
04.02.2008 16:08

Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia SNCO announced the award of
a consulting contract to the Joint Venture of "Jrtuk", "Jrarbi" and
"Jinj" LLCs for the design and construction supervision of 8 gravity
irrigation systems as part of the MCA-Armenia Irrigated Agriculture
Project infrastructure activity. The contract was signed by MCA-Armenia
CEO and the directors of "Jrtuk", "Jrarbi" and "Jinj" LLCs.

This contract will focus on the economic justification and feasibility
of constructing eight gravity irrigation systems, effectively replacing
up to 21 deteriorated and inefficient Soviet-era pumping stations. The
construction of eight gravity irrigation systems will provide a
stable water supply to approximately 8,800 hectares of farmland in
41 rural communities throughout Shirak, Tavush, Gegharkunik and Lori
marzes. The eight gravity schemes are: Kaps, Mantash and Tavshut
(Shirak marz); Getahovit-Lusadzor and Berd (Tavush marz); Vardenis
and Argichi (Gegharkunik marz); and Amrakits (Lori marz).

The consultant will also prepare the designs for the 8 gravity
irrigation systems and supervise the construction works. The contract
value in AMD is equivalent to USD 955,200, spanning a period of
39-months.

SECULAR TURKEY PROTESTS AGAINST HIJAB

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.02.2008 13:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Thousands of secularist Turks took to the streets on
Saturday, February 2, against government plans to lift a decades-long
ban on hijab on campus, warning the lift could undermine Turkey’s
secularism.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," shouted protesters
as they waved Turkish flags and banners of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
the emblematic leader who threw religion out of public life as he
rebuilt Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

"We are concerned that universities will plunge into a chaotic
environment and opposing groups will start clashing with each other,"
Professor Mustafa Akaydin, the chairman of the oversight board at
Ankara’s Middle East Technical University, said in a statement.

Reuters reported.

The ruling Justice and Development Party and the far-right Nationalist
Action Party (MHP) opposition party have agreed a constitutional
amendment to allow a compromise headscarf on campus. Under the deal
between the two parties, women and girls at universities are permitted
to cover their heads by tying the headscarf in the traditional way
beneath the chin.

A majority of women use the traditional "basortusu" – head cover in
Turkish – that is more or less loosely knotted under the chin for
protection against the elements or for modesty. It can come off just
as easily as it can be tied on and raises no objections.

But the ban would remain on the wrap-round headscarf, which secularists
claim is associated with political Islam, as well as face-veil.

Together, the AKP and the MHP easily have the two-thirds parliamentary
majority required to amend the constitution. The Turkish parliament
is expected to approve the amendment this week.

According to Director of Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA
Academy of Sciences, Dr Ruben Safrastyan, the Turkish bill permitting
to wear hijabs proves consolidation of Islamic spirit and deviation
from the ideas promulgated by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of
the Turkish secular state. "It’s quite possible that the restrained
statement by Turkish military, who guarantee the Ataturk Constitution,
is conditioned by a kind of agreement sealed by the AKP and the
General Staff on "disclosure" of Ergenekon," the Armenian expert said.

PROSPECTS OF EXPANDING COOPERATION IN TAX SECTOR BETWEEN ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH DISCUSSED

Noyan Tapan
Feb 4, 2008

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The president of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakian on February 2 received the head of the
State Tax Service of the Republic of Armenia Vahram Barseghian. During
the meeting, the sides discussed the the current state and development
prospects of cooperation in tax sector between Armenia andd Nagorno
Karabakh.

The interlocutors addressed a wide range of issues related to
experience exchange, expert training and retraining, and technical
and methodological assistance.

NT was informed by the main information depratment of the NKR
president’s staff that the prime minister of the NKR Ara Harutyunian
and the head of the State Tax Service Artak Balayan participated in
the meeting.

OSKANIAN CONGRATULATED BAKRAZDE ON APPOINTMENT GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.02.2008 14:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian had a
phone conversation with his newly appointed Georgian counterpart
David Bakradze, the RA MFA press office reported.

The Armenian Minister congratulated Mr Bakradze on appointment and
voiced confidence in development of bilateral relations.