Author: Badalian Vardan

"PROSPEROUS ARMENIA PARTY" AND "REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA" SPENT MUCH MORE

A1+
[08:32 pm] 31 May, 2007

"The Central Electoral Commission does not observe activities
carried our before the official campaign launch as camping
activities. This certifies the deficiency of the Electoral Code,
which does not define what a campaign is", this was registered by the
Center for Regional Development/ Transparency International Armenia
NGO. The Organization carried out a monitoring on pre-election period
financing and administrative resource abuse during 2007 parliamentary
elections. The program was implemented in Yerevan, Gjumri and Vanadzor
cities in Armenia.

According to the Organization, another defect of the law is the
financing the activities of this or that political figure or a party
which is not controlled by the law. A bright example of this is
"Prosperous Armenia Party" whose activities are financed by the
charity foundation of Gagik Tsarukian, Head of the mentioned party.

Amalya Kostanyan, Head of the NGO, estimated the amendments to the
Electoral Code positive but not sufficient. She also noted that until
no program punishing the riggers existed, one should not hope for
progress in electoral system.

The parties should spend no more that 60 million drams during the
campaigns, while the "Prosperous Armenia Party" and the "Republican
Party of Armenia" exceeded this limit. According to the monitoring,
the "RPA" spent 79.1 million drams during the campaign, whereas, the
"Prosperous Armenia Party" – 129.6 million drams.

In Amalya Kostanyan’s opinion, concealed advertisements or using
administrative resources are serious violations.

"We used as a basis only official information and counted by the
lowest tariffs for preparing the report. We believed the singers who
announced that they supported a party free of charge. We also believed
some parties which assured that transport expenses, payments of some
employees of temporary party headquarters were on humanitarian basis",
says Amalya Kostanyan.

KARABAKH ISSUE NOT URGENT FOR LEBANON’S FOREIGN POLICY

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.06.2007 15:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nagorno Karabakh settlement issue is not urgent
for Lebanon’s foreign policy, Lebanese former Ambassador to Armenia
Gebrael Geara told a news conference in Yerevan. "Our country always
takes a neutral stance during discussions on Karabakh conflict in
international organizations," he said, Novosti Armenia reports.

WFP WELCOMES US$ 2 MILLION DONATION FROM RUSSIA TO ARMENIA

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
May 30 2007

YEREVAN – The United Nations World Food Programme today warmly
welcomed the delivery of 3,375 metric tons of wheat flour and 195
metric tons of vegetable oil, valued at US$2 million, donated by the
Russian Federation to support WFP’s operation to assist some 110,000
beneficiaries in Armenia.

"This donation to Armenia is very timely and has enabled us to continue
assisting the poorest communities," said WFP Armenia Country Director
Muzaffar Choudhery. "We are extremely grateful for Russia’s ongoing
commitment to our efforts to help those in need," he added.

Currently, WFP’s operation includes relief food distributions,
food-for-work, food-for-training and food-for-education in the
provinces of Gegharkunik, Lori, Shirak and Tavoush, as well as the
capital city of Yerevan.

The food donated by Russia has already arrived in Armenia and will
be immediately distributed in all four of WFP’s programme activities.

Food rations absorb the bulk of WFP assistance and reach beneficiaries
who are targeted through the Government’s vulnerability assessment
system, PAROS.

"In the current phase of WFP’s assistance to Armenia, such donor
support makes us feel confident that we will be able to continue
and conclude our mission in this country in a responsible manner,"
said Choudhery.

The country still faces major challenges in reducing poverty,
redistributing gains from economic development as well as ending
corruption and improving corporate governance. High unemployment,
occasional informal jobs and self-employment characterize the present
situation.

WFP has been providing food aid to Armenia since 1994, first to
the refugees from Azerbaijan and later to Armenia’s own vulnerable
population. To date, WFP’s food assistance totals US$79 million.

Donors to the WFP operation in Armenia between 2004 and 2007
include Russia (US$2 million), Switzerland (US$1.8 million),
Sweden (US$1.6 million), the United States (US$1.3 million), Japan
(US$402,000), Greece (US$512,000), Canada (US$51,000) and private
donors (US$214,000). A further US$3.5 million was received in
multilateral donations.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency: each year, we give
food to an average of 90 million poor people to meet their nutritional
needs, including 58 million hungry children, in at least 80 of the
world’s poorest countries. WFP — We Feed People..

WFP now provides RSS feeds to help journalists keep up with the
latest press releases, videos and photos as they are published on
WFP.org. For more details see:

WFP now has a dedicated ISDN line in Italy for quality two-way
interviews with WFP officials.

For more information please contact (email address:
[email protected]):

Liana Kharatian, WFP/Armenia, Tel: +374-10- 580538, 564904 ext. 2024,
Mob. +374-91-407834

Tatyana Chubrikova, WFP/Moscow, Tel. +7-095-2323011, Mob. +74
9591610 65774

Mia Turner, WFP/Cairo, Tel. +20-2-5281730, Mob. +20-122455769

ARG TO BUILD KAJARAN-ARARAT GAS PIPELINE

ARMENPRESS
May 31 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS: The joint Russian-Armenian Armrosgazprom
(ARG) natural gas operator will spend 33 billion Armenian Drams this
year on construction of a new gas pipeline that will stretch from the
town of Kajaran in the southern province of Syunik to the province
of Ararat through the towns of Sisian and Jermuk.

The pipeline will bring Iranian gas to thermal power stations in
central Armenia.

The overall cost of this project is estimated at about 52 billion
Drams. The new pipeline will have 720 mm diameter and will stretch
197 km.

Shushan Sardarian, a spokeswoman for ARG, said ARG chairman Karen
Karapetian traveled lately across the pipeline’s route to see the
pace of the work on the ground.

The construction is commissioned by the ARG and is being carried out
by its Transgazshin firm and five other sub-contractors.

KOSOVO PARLIAMENT ANNOUNCED CONTEST FOR FLAG AND NATIONAL SYMBOLS

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2007 17:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kosovo leaders on Tuesday announced a design
competition for the flag and national symbols of the Republic of
Kosovo, despite continued uncertainty over the Serbian province’s
bid for independence.

Parliament should formally call the tender on June 4, and the
competition would close two weeks later.

New passports would also be prepared in anticipation of a United
Nations resolution that the West hopes will set Kosovo on the road
to statehood after eight years of UN administration.

"We agreed the travel documents should carry Republic of Kosovo, but
without a crest, which can be incorporated later," political leader
Veton Surroi told reporters.

Kosovo, where 90 percent of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanians,
had hoped to declare independence from Serbia by now, but their
Western backers have been frustrated by opposition from Russia,
Serbia’s main ally and a UN veto holder.

Kosovo Albanians can now get passports issued by the UN mission in
Kosovo, but many also carry Yugoslav passports.

The Albanian national flag — the black-on-red double-headed eagle —
has served as Kosovo’s own since 1999, when NATO bombs wrested control
of the territory from Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia.

But under a blueprint drafted by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, Kosovo
must have new symbols reflecting the multi-ethnic character of a
province that is also home to 100,000 Serbs as well as Roma and
Turkish minorities, Reuters reports.

850 EVENTS HELD IN FRANCE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF TEH YEAR OF ARMENIA

armradio.am
29.05.2007 15:02

850 events instead of 100 envisaged were held in 160 French cities in
the framework of the Year of Armenia in France . All the arrangements
were highly assessed by the French society.

Armenian Ambassador to France Edward Nalbandian told ArmInfo
correspondent that events of this scale were never held in any of
the European countries.

These arrangements allow to present the history and culture of the
Armenian people not only in France, but also all over Europe. "4
thousand articles have been dedicated to the Year of Armenia in France
in French media," noted the Ambassador, adding that the trip of 165
journalists and tour operators to Armenia also played a positive role
in the dissemination of information about the Armenian culture. The
Ambassador stressed the importance of holding the economic forum in
the Chamber of Trade and Commerce of Paris from the perspective of
development of Armenian-French trade-economic relations. The forum
featured more than 200 French entrepreneurs and representatives of
the executive power. The conference on decentralized cooperation
held in the French Senate and National Assembly also attracted great
attention. Representatives of 25 Armenian and French sister cities
participated in the event. For the first time Armenia participate
din the agricultural exhibition in Paris as an honoured guest.

THE ELECTIONS AND THE FATE OF LIBERATED TERRITORIES
Naira Hayrumyan

KarabakhOpen
23-05-2007 10:03:18

The Armenian parliamentary election ended: lots of speeches, lots
of opinions. One of those opinions interested me – some analysts
and oppositionists say the international observers gave a positive
evaluation of the election because a recognized legitimate government
is needed in Armenia to be able to implement the resolution on
Karabakh, which has been arranged already. And the resolution is that
Armenia agrees to withdraw force from the territories around the former
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, international force is deployed
there, Azerbaijani refugees return (therefore only the Azerbaijani
refugees are considered), and the issue of the status of NKAR is put
off. In 15 years, either the donkey will die or its master. Moreover,
they say 15 years was not chosen at random: by that time all of the
oil of Baku will have been pumped.

We can not only guess but also maintain this because the talks over
Karabakh have stopped being confidential. Before the meeting with
the parties the mediators are not shy to tell the details. Now two
co-chairs of the Minsk Group are visiting the region, and apparently
they will be discussing this question. And the Armenian government
does not deny having agreed to make compromises.

The election in Karabakh is drawing nearer. It is true that the world’s
" rulers of destinies" leave the greater role in resolving the problem
up to Karabakh. Although it is possible that soon a "concession" will
be made to Karabakh; namely, some post, something like "Karabakh’s
special representative to the CoE". Karabakh may even be granted a
status, such as an associate member of international organizations,
and some retired official will be appointed there. But only in case
Karabakh "behaves" himself. It is already clear what "behaving" is –
agreeing to pull out force from the liberated territories.

Are there any Armenian political leaders and forces able to give
a sensible explanation to the people living in Karabakh why the
territories should be returned? Many say let us give it to them,
maybe they will calm down. But will they?

I will not resort to historical, legal arguments, because those are
blurred and have no importance in politics. I am speaking about
the reality – what may make people who guaranteed their security
and a normal life to give up this real guarantee for security and
rights? Only political amenability, foolishness and personal interests.

Yesterday I watched Nahapet, a program on the public channel of
Artsakh. The host Norek Gasparyan said lots of nice things one cannot
deny. He also said the external policy of Karabakh will depend on the
internal, therefore it is necessary to become stronger and develop. We
wish we lived in a country where the internal policy determines the
foreign policy. Unfortunately, however, our situation is such that
we are too dependent on foreign policy, what is more, on the other
country’s foreign policy rather than ours.

Why do we need to pretend living in an invisible island in the middle
of the ocean, and that we can decide on our own at what time to get
up and what to do in the morning? Unfortunately, there are too many
eyes on our "island" or "enclave". Everyone thinks they can handle
our island the way they want – someone for our benefit, another in our
detriment. More in our detriment, more for their benefit. Someone is
thinking about creating an offshore zone here, the other is considering
disposing of nuclear wastes, the third considers a military base. They
have already decided how we should live. They have decided that former
NKAR and the small corridor, plus a special representative to the
CoE and some few million dollars is enough for us to be happy. Is it
really enough? Let us view in real light, which cannot be disputed
(like patriotic or historical points of view) – what will happen if
the territories are returned? It would be excellent if in Karabakh
they did not come together around one candidate or another, did not
divide people, but expressed a opinion on proposals on the settlement
of the conflict. Offended excuses "we do not take part in the talks,
so we will not say anything" won’t do. Tomorrow we may have to face
up to the fact. This is where we need unity, because the point is
not the first step towards resolution – "the pull-out of force". No
other step may follow the first. This is the "resolution" we avoided
in 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998. Do we want such a resolution?

A FILM BASED ON WILLIAM SAROYAN’S "THE LAUGHING MATTER" REPRESENTS RUSSIA IN CANNES

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.05.2007 13:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The Banishment" directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev
from Russia takes part in the official selection of Cannes’s
Festival. The film is based on "The Laughing Matter", a novel by
William Saroyan, independent French journalist Jean Eckian informed
the PanARMENIAN.Net. The story is about a family, which moved from
an industrial city to countryside to the husband’s birthplace, to
stay in his father’s old house. In the center of the subject are
relations between the husband and wife. This film is about kind,
beautiful people in the tragic circumstances of hopelessness.

Maria Bonnevie (Maria) from Sweden, who learnt Russian during three
years of shootings, together with Konstantin Lavronenko (Alex) and
Alexander Baluev (Mark) play key roles in the film.

It has been four years since Andrei Zvyagintsev was honored with the
Golden Lion at the Venice Festival for his first film, The Return. His
second film, The Banishment, screening in Competition brings the
Russian director to Cannes for the first time. Some critics say
director Andrei Zvyagintsev’s chances are rather high. And on May 27,
when the film festival is over, the world will know who the winner
of the Golden Olive-Branch is.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF NATO SECRETARY GENERAL DESCRIBED AS "A VERY POSITIVE SIGNAL" THE FACT THAT THE ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA BECAME AN IMPROVEMENT AS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS ONES

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
May 21 2007

Yerevan, May 21. /Mediamax/. Special Representative of the NATO
Secretary General in Central Asia and the South Caucasus Robert
Simmons stated in an exclusive interview to Mediamax that "democratic
institution building is an essential part of Armenia’s Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO and I am pleased that
an important step in the right direction was taken" during the
parliamentary elections of May 12.

"But, like the Secretary General, I would like to stress that there
remains significant work to do. The international observers have
noted a number of shortcomings and these will need to be addressed
effectively", Robert Simmons stated.

The Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General reminded
in an interview to Mediamax that "the Individual Partnership Action
Plan sets out ambitious objectives in a number of areas, including
democratic reforms".

"Even before the elections, in April 2007, we conducted an assessment
of Armenia’s progress in the implementation of the IPAP, which was
largely positive, though we also noted many areas where further work
is required. In this context, it is a very positive signal that
the parliamentary elections last weekend were an improvement over
previous ones. It makes me confident that further progress can be
achieved in the many areas we work on with our Armenian Partners and
we look forward to continuing this work", Robert Simmons stated in
an exclusive interview to Mediamax.

TURKEY AT THE CROSSROADS?
By George Gregoriou

Greek News, New York
May 21 2007

Turkey is at the crossroads, at the turn of the 21st Century. But
Turkey has been at the crossroads for over a century, a long time for
a nation of 70 million to make up its mind which way to go: secular
vs. Islamic? The main obstacle to confronting the dark pages in its
history, from the Ottoman centuries, to the "Young Turk" movement at
the turn of the 20th century, and to Kemal Ataturkism is this. The
genocidal policy to end the presence of Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians,
and other Christians in the Ottoman territories. This inability and
the punishment of those who violate his taboo is a clear insight into
modern Turkey.

We are at the turn of the 21st Century, and the Turkish leadership
seems unable to get it right. The Turkish people want to be in the
EU. But, membership requires democratic credentials, a secular state,
and the generals on a leash. Evidently, the war between Islamicists
and secularists, was not resolved with the creation of the Republic of
Turkey in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk). We are reminded that Mustafa
Kemal secularized Turkish politics in 1923. What we are not told is
that his "national independence movement" carried out the policies
of the Young Turks, who, in turn, carried out the "Turkification"
policy of the Ottoman rulers, that is, the elimination of the Christian
population in the Ottoman Empire.

Christians were 33% of the total population in 1900. There are very
few left today. Where did they go?

Abdul Hamid, the Sultan for thirty years (1876 to 1909), had one
policy: "kill, kill." The Young Turks had a two-pronged policy:
"deport and kill." Deporting was the same as killing. Hamid was
having nightmares, that the Christians, Sir Edwin Pears reports,
would become the majority. He was also paranoid. He declared war
on the Armenians, banned any references to Armenians and all words
referring to regicide or murder of heads of state. In 1890 Sultan Hamid
created his own personal army, the "Hamidiye" (literal "belonging"
to the Hamid). The targets were Armenians, and other Christians. He
was not exactly sane. The entire Hamidian system had but one aim: the
security of the Sultan himself. All historical Anatolian geographic
names were banned, even references to H2O were banned from science
textbooks because he feared the symbol would read as meaning "Hamid
the Second is Nothing. "The Hamidiye Kurds terrorized the Armenian
population. There were 33 Hamidieye regiments in 1892, each with five
hundred men, and more were found under a new commander Zeki Pasha,
who would play an important role in the Empire-wide massacres of the
Armenians a few years away!

Mustafa Kemal did not ³subdue² the Islamic religion from Turkish
politics. He merely offered a "garb" of secularism to an otherwise
dominant Islamic culture. This superficiality was evident in the
1930s when political parties were permitted. The Kemalist state had
to intervene to safeguard the Kemalist tradition from an Islamic
surge. The military did so again in 1960, 1971, and 1982, to protect
the Kemalist legacy, mostly from too much democracy, demanded by the
labor movement. Safeguarding Kemalʼs legacy means suppressing
the democratic movements, even forcing the Islamicist Erbakan out
of office. The current crisis over the presidency is a continuation
of this anti-democratic climate in Turkish politics. Every time the
pressure builds up in Turkey (from inside and outside forces), the
leadership in Ankara creates or finds itself in a crisis to ward off
these pressures. It is a lot easier to have a political crisis than
deal with the problems confronting the Turkish society.

Neither the Kemalists nor the Islamicists are capable of submitting to
real democratic politics. Open elections would most likely guarantee
one victory after another, for the Islamicists. On the other hand,
the Kemalists are doing their best to stifle democratic opposition,
with the threat of military intervention. Article 301 of the Penal
Code is very handy. "Insulting" Turkishness or Ataturkism can lead to
prosecution and jail. This is what happened to the Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink. He referred to the Armenian genocide, was prosecuted,
and was assassinated by a young Turkish nationalist, who in his own
words "I killed a non-Muslim!"

Except for those who attended the funeral, most Turks were concerned
over the murderʼs impact on Turkey¹s accession to the European
Union.

"Real" democracy in Turkey is not possible, if it means the right:
to discuss and write about the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Kurdish
genocide, without landing in jail or forced into exile; to criticize
the Islamicists and the Kemalists without fear of punishment, the
first for their religious fanaticism, the second for putting Mustafa
Kemal on a pedestal, as a demi-god, beyond criticism; to agitate
for more rights for the 15 million Kurds (including autonomy) and
guaranteed equal rights for the non-Turkish minorities; and a Turkey
which is not the bully of the neighborhood, occupying 1/3 of Cyprus
and carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing for 33 years.

Such a democracy is incompatible with the present state of affairs
in Turkey (Islamicist or Kemalist), including membership in the NATO
bloc and being a "staunch" ally of the United States.

**** George Gregoriou Professor, Critical Theory and Geopolitics

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