Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

N.L. POURS MILLIONS INTO IMMIGRATION

CBC – Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada
March 22 2007

Pastor Machado is an engineer who came to Newfoundland and Labrador
as a Colombian refugee with his wife and daughters. With a $6 million
plan announced on Wednesday, the province aims to keep them here.

Machado said there’s nowhere else he would rather be living right now,
but he needs help before he can find work in his profession.

"I want to stay here because this is a peaceful place. My family
is glad to be here," he said. He needs to work on his English and
possibly upgrade his technical skills.

"For people in our country, it is complicated to get training here,"
Machado said.

Aiming to change that, the provincial government announced on Wednesday
it would devote $6 million to attract more immigrants to the province.

Of the 250,000 immigrants who come to Canada each year, only about
150 of them settle permanently in Newfoundland and Labrador. The
government wants to triple that number.

Part of the plan includes extending the health coverage to
international students. Money will also go to enriching programs to
help immigrants upgrade their skills so they can work in the province.

Human Resources Minister Shawn Skinner said it’s important to attract
more people, or the province will suffer economically.

"People are what drive the demand for goods and services. Fewer people
can impact economic growth," Skinner said. "Through their work and
investment people generate the wealth needed to sustain our province."

Aida Icababian came to Newfoundland in 2005 with a teaching degree
from her native Armenia. She hopes to find work in her profession
once her English improves. She too, hopes to stay in the province.

"Government maybe will do something for us to stay here because we
have to work," She said.

The province expects to open the new immigration office in April.
From: Baghdasarian

US-TURKISH BUSINESS GROUP HOPES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTIONS WON’T PASS

ArmRadio.am
22.03.2007 16:27

The head of a key US-Turkish business group, including top US defense
companies dealing with Turkey, said he hoped that two Armenian genocide
resolutions pending in the US Congress would not be brought to a vote.

"I’m hopeful that we’ve made significant progress that the leadership
of the Congress will not bring either in the Senate or in the House of
Representatives this legislation to the floor for vote," James Holmes,
president of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) said in an interview
with the Turkish Daily News.

Holmes noted this is a vote which would have political consequences
and commercial consequences and that the Congressmen need to take
greater care in addressing such issues. "We have a lot of business
with Turkey and we have a lot of prospective business with Turkey,
which doesn’t merit being risked on such a resolution. So from the
perspective of US interests, the legislation is completely unwanted,"
he said.

His ATC has sent an open letter to all lawmakers, arguing against the
genocide measure, and the group’s members are seeking to use their
influence on legislators representing their states and districts.

James Holmes said support for this resolution "will not advance"
Turkish-Armenian ties.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT SELLS ITS 10% STAKE OF ARMENTEL

Noyan Tapan
Mar 22 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 22 sitting, the Armenian
government made a decision to privatize ArmenTel CJCC’s 1,883,771
shares repsresenting the 10% state property by selling them to
ArmenTel’s owner – Vympelkom OJSC. The sale price of property was set
in the amount equivalent to 1/9th of the price of 90% shares of the
company acquired by the purchaser and stipulated by a memorandum. NT
was informed about it from the RA Government Information and PR
Department.
From: Baghdasarian

VAHAN HOVHANNISIAN AND ARSHAK SADOYAN ARE INDIGNANT WITH GATHERING OF CITIZENS’ PERSONAL DATA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 21 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Though the official propaganda of
the parliamentary elections did not start yet, but it does not mean
that no electoral violations can be before it. NA Deputy Speaker,
ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian made such a statement at the
National Assembly on March 20. In his words, phenomena causing
anxiety are already noticed today: particularly, some organizations
and separate individuals from public organizations, who presenting
themselves as representatives of the state machinery, gather data
base about citizens.

V. Hovhannisian mentioned that gathering passports of citizens,
those people violate the law. He stated that nobody has a right to
demand their passports, irrespective of the fact what structure he
represents. The NA Deputy Speaker called on the citizens not to give
personal data to anybody and "vote freely."

Welcoming his colleague’s statement, Chairman of National Democrates’
Alliance Arshak Sadoyan mentioned that representatives of different
compatriotic unions visit citizens and "gather passports in the most
obscene way." In his words, the "Zhoghovrdakan Ughi" (Democratic Path)
party in the proportional list of which he was nominated, can also
call on 280 thousand of people from Aparan by origin to vote for them,
but "it is not a manner." (To recap, "Zhoghovrdakan Ughi" Chairman
Manuk Gasparian and Aghasi Arshakian involved in the party list are
from Aparan by origin). A.Sadoyan considered inadmissible attempts
to divide citizens of Armenia according to their territorial belonging.

The NDA Chairman mentioned that though the opposition was not able
to unite but it must make an attempt to jointly cotrol the process
of elections. In his words, the control process must be given an
organization shape, by founding united control structures in all the
2000 electoral districts.
From: Baghdasarian

Focus News, Bulgaria
March 18 2007

Iran’s President to open new gas pipeline in Armenia

18 March 2007 | 21:50 | FOCUS News Agency

Yerevan. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will open a new gas
pipeline in Armenia, RIA Novosti reported citing local newspapers.
Iran’s head of state is due to arrive at the border zone with
Armenia, in the Eastern Azerbaijan province, where an official
ceremony on the opening of a new gas pipeline will be held. The
construction of the 141-kilometer gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia
will total about USD 210 – 220 million.
From: Baghdasarian

ANCIENT ARMENIA FIGHTS TO SURVIVE ISOLATION
by Sebastian Smith

Agence France Presse — English
March 15, 2007 Thursday

Tantalisingly close and cruelly distant, Armenia’s national symbol,
the legendary Mount Ararat, soars just beyond reach for a country
fighting to escape isolation.

The snow-capped mountain — named in the Bible as the place Noah’s
Ark grounded after the Great Flood — dominates the horizon from as
far away as Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

But that proximity is an illusion. The extinct volcano lies just
across Armenia’s hostile border with Turkey, turning a centuries-old
source of inspiration into an emblem of this Christian people’s
growing difficulties.

"Ararat symbolises all Armenia, all the pain in our soul," Arsen
Yegikian, 32, an auditor, said as he visited the church of Khor Virap,
a popular viewing point on the frontier.

All four of Armenia’s borders are either closed or problematic,
forcing this landlocked and resource-poor state of three million
people to struggle for access to the world.

Turkey shut its land border in 1993 in support of Armenia’s eastern
neighbour, Azerbaijan, which lost a war in the early 1990s with
Armenian forces for control of Nagorny Karabakh and a swath of other
Azeri territory.

On the Azeri-Armenian border, the cut-off encompasses air, rail,
road, telephone and postal links.

Meanwhile, Armenians can only access their main economic and military
ally, Russia, through Georgia to the north and the road route is all
but excluded due to Russian-Georgian tensions.

The way south to Iran is open and a new pipeline bringing Iranian
gas is about to enter service, but with Tehran and Washington in a
dangerous stand-off many here are afraid that border could also shut.

"If something happens tomorrow with Iran — God forbid — it will be
even harder," Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian told AFP.

Increasingly Armenia, a proud nation with an ancient language
and unique alphabet, finds itself left out of projects that are
transforming the rest of the ex-Soviet Caucasus.

New oil and gas pipelines snaking from Azerbaijan to Western markets
bypass to the north. Just last month, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey
agreed to build a new east-west railway route — again missing Armenia.

The people of this starkly beautiful and rugged land are trying
to fight back and last year gross domestic product (GDP) posted
double-digit growth.

One key to salvation has been a diaspora estimated at almost nine
million people scattered across the United States, Russia, Europe,
Asia and the Middle East.

These are descendants of refugees from the mass killings of Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire at the start of the 20th century and about a
million others who left the poverty of post-Soviet Armenia during
the last 15 years.

Their donations and transfers to Armenia amounted to 1.2 billion
dollars (900,000 euros) last year, an impressive chunk of the country’s
6.5-billion-dollar (five-billion-euro) GDP, economist Tigran Jrbashyan
said. "Emigres are Armenia’s version of oil."

About 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to
the World Bank, and the countryside beyond Yerevan is littered with
shut-down ex-Soviet factories.

But according to Jrbashyan, the cutting of Armenia’s traditional trade
routes has also forced the economy to switch from cheap bulk exports to
more profitable high-tech sectors, such as IT and diamond processing.

Construction is also booming — rising 43 percent last year — and
Yerevan is being transformed into a sophisticated city.

"I don’t want to exaggerate, but in conditions of a blockade by
Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as a conflict, we have still managed
economic success," Kirakossian said.

Such confidence, however, masks widespread fears about Armenia’s
vulnerability. Many ordinary people, for example, worry how Russian
investors are gobbling up strategic enterprises, including most of
the energy network.

Yegikian, standing by the stunning church of Khor Virap, said his
people were desperate to join the outside world.

"Everyone here is for opening that border," said Yegikian, gazing
across no-man’s land to a Turkish village. "Globalisation is happening
and we can’t stay outside."

Armenians may "never" trust Turks, Yegikian said, "but when you
talk in the language of business, then everything else falls into
second place."

Of course, even reopening the border would not change the fact that
Mount Ararat is likely always to remain Turkish.

>>From Khor Virap you plainly see the border fence and watchtowers.

Chimney smoke rises from a Turkish village.

"Of course this is hard to bear," said Kirakossian, whose office is
decorated with a picture of the iconic mountain. "But if we had normal
relations with our neighbours, then people could at least visit."
From: Baghdasarian

HEAD OF AZERBAIJAN DELEGATION TO PACE: AZERBAIJAN REPEATEDLY SUSTAINED POLICY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 15 2007

Kazakhstan, Astana / corr. Trend K.Konirova / The Head of the
Azerbaijani delegation to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary
Assembly (PACE), Samad Seyidov, informed Trend Special Correspondent
in Astana that Azerbaijan has repeatedly sustained policy of double
standards by the international organizations.

He stressed that the territories of Azerbaijan have been occupied
by the Armenian military forces and the international community
knows it. "However, unfortunately, we observe that the international
organizations try to approach this conflict in other manner," he said.

Touching up on the statement of the Speaker of the Senate of the
Kazakhstan Parliament, Kasim-Jomrat Tokayev that "fatal mistakes have
been made in the sphere of non-proliferation of the nuclear weapons,
as well as in ambiguity and double standards", Seyidov said that
all aspects mentioned by Tokayev are actual. Azerbaijan is worried
by this process because it happens close by. Therefore, the position
of Azerbaijan is that this problem should be resolved only under the
aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of
international laws and norms. The Head of the Azerbaijani delegation
said that following the international rules may ensure the security
of not only Caucasus region, but also of the world.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN SIDE LOYAL TO SPIRIT AND LETTER OF DOCUMENT ON TABLE OVER KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.03.2007 14:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister does not categorically
agree with the statements of some Azeri representatives that the
OSCE Minsk Group slows down the negotiation process on the Karabakh
settlement.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian in the interview to the
PanARMENIAN.Net journalist said there is no sense in continuing
negotiations, if those statements are right. "I do not see any
logic in that statement. And if the Azeri side really thinks so,
its goal is clear: to exert pressure on the Co-Chairs, continuing
efforts to pass the Nagorno Karabakh conflict problem to other
structures. However, judging by readiness of Azeri authorities to
participate in negotiations, today such opinion does not prevail with
Azeri side," he said.

Commenting on the last meeting with his Azeri counterpart Elmar
Mamedyarov, Vartan Oskanian noted, "As was reported before, during
negotiations we continued to discuss principles of settlement, we
touched upon details of document. In the result of constructive and
encouraging talks we agreed on continuing meetings. I wouldn’t like
to pay a special importance to the statements of some representatives
of Azeri delegation and I hope that the Azeri side will be loyal
to the spirit and letter of the document on the table and desire to
fix progress. Moreover, we are inclined just so. Our positive mood
proceeds also from intensive and serious preparations of Minsk Group
Co-Chairs to discuss the situation with conflicting parties. And we
will be able to speak about results of coming meeting after it ends.

The next meeting between Armenian and Azeri FMs will be held in Geneva
March 14.
From: Baghdasarian

AN OBVIOUS ECONOMIC STRUGGLE AGAINST "JERMUK" LAUNCHED IN THE WORLD MARKET

ArmRadio.am
13.03.2007 16:30

Obviously, an economic struggle against Armenian "Jermuk" has started
in the world market. According to economist Edward Aghajanyan, the
matter is that Italy, France and Germany are dominating in the world
market of mineral waters. Armenian "Jermuk" is pressing forward, that
is why it is natural that this struggle started just now. According to
his assessment, this market is a profitable one: a liter of "Jermuk"
costs more than a liter of oil.

Armenian "Jermuk" can have its place in the world market only in
case of having a corresponding brand, while no Armenian product has
an international brand today. To create an own brand long time and
large sums are needed.

According to Edward Aghajanyan, for overcoming the situation some
international brand should be taken, i.e. it is necessary to create a
joint enterprise with some company having international fame, which
will ensure the entry of Armenian "Jermuk" into the world market.

In his words, ever since Soviet times Armenia has exhausted only 1%
of its mineral water recourses. Currently the production of mineral
waters is rapidly progressing.
From: Baghdasarian

OIC SECRETARY-GENERAL SUPPORTS AZERBAIJAN’S RIGHT TO REGAIN OCCUPIED TERRITORY

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 13 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend , corr A.Gasimova / Trend’s exclusive
interview with Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

Question: What are OIC’s priorities for 2007 and the near future?

Answer: The OIC’s broad priorities for 2007 would be to continue
the process which was started two years ago to promote the role and
the performance of the Organization to be able to cope with the new
international and regional order and to face the many challenges
confronting the Muslim World. I would like to highlight some of the
most important areas which are already being focused upon by the OIC.

These include, first and foremost, the adoption of the new OIC Charter,
which I consider will create a new momentum to the performance and
the effectiveness of the organization in order to serve the collective
interests of its 57 Member States. Another important area would be to
reinforce the political role of the OIC in addressing the many crisis
and challenges which confront its Member States and the Muslim World, a
process which I had started already ever since my assumption of office
in January 2005. I would also especially focus upon reinvigorating
the Solidarity / Assistance Funds which the OIC has established to
fulfill their noble objectives of forging solidarity and assisting
the Muslim people in need.

Another area that I would actively address would be the
institutionalization of the new OIC agenda items like science

Question: How do you assess the co-operation between Azerbaijan and
the OIC and the role of Azerbaijan in the OIC? How do Azerbaijani
activities as OIC’s ICFM Chairman meet the necessary requirements?

Answer: I personally highly appreciate the manner in which
Azerbaijan has conducted itself ever since its assumption of the
ICFM chairmanship. I have been extremely pleased to note that my
sentiments are also fully shared by all OIC Member States. On the
ground, Azerbaijan called for the convening of two Ministerial-level
meetings of the OIC Executive Committee on the questions of Beit
Hanoun and Jerusalem. This clearly demonstrated Azerbaijan’s strong
commitment to OIC causes. Furthermore, Azerbaijan convened in Baku
the 5th OIC Ministerial Conference on Tourism. We are now all looking
forward and grateful to H.E. the President of Azerbaijan’s initiative
of organizing another important and timely conference in Baku on
"The role of the media in promoting understanding and tolerance".

Question: Do you plan to inject any changes into the OIC’s Charter
adopted in 1970 which might have become outdated amid the developments
that have taken place over the last 35 years ? Is there any necessity
to carry out reforms within the OIC?

Answer: This is a very important question and I have already partially
answered this question earlier. I would like to further elaborate
that the new OIC Charter is already in the process of being drafted
and I earnestly hope that it will be adopted very soon by the Member
States. A new OIC Charter is becoming a necessity for more than
one reason. Firstly, this will be an implementation of the 10-year
Programme of Action, which was unanimously adopted by the Third
Extraordinary OIC Summit Conference in Makkah in December 2005.

Secondly, it is true that many major developments have taken place,
both internationally and regionally, and the organization needs
to effectively cope with these developments. As for the reforms,
it is also becoming a necessity for the OIC and is being given
utmost priority. The new Charter is one of this reform process. Other
measures are already underway at many levels, like restructuring the
Secretariat and some of its affiliated institutions as well as their
working methodologies, improving the level coordination between the
Secretariat and its over 20 affiliated institutions, recruitment
of highly qualified staff members, construction of an impressive
headquarters building, new agendas and many other such measures.

Question: Have you set up arrangements for the forthcoming Conference
on Tolerance in the Media, which is being organized in Baku in April?

How relevant do you find this topic?

Answer: This Conference would be an important occasion and, as per
its usual practice, the Secretariat would be extending its full
support to organize a successful event. However, rather focusing
on administrative arrangements, I would like to highlight both the
importance as well as this timely initiative. We all are aware about
the importance of the media in the contemporary age, especially its
influence on formulating the perceptions of the public opinion. We
are now suffering from the alarming phenomena of escalating violence
and terrorism. This is a direct outcome of the intolerance and
misunderstandings. Moreover, it is becoming a growing problem that
the misperception being disseminated through the media about linking
violence and terrorism with Islam. For all these reasons, I find H.E.
the President of Azerbaijan’s initiative to be most timely and would
significantly contribute in correcting this misperception and lead
to greater understanding and tolerance among mankind

Question: When do you plan to convene a regular OIC Summit and what
issues would be included in its agenda?

Answer: According to OIC’s Charter and its rules of procedures, the
next regular Summit Conference was supposed to take place this year
in Senegal. However, upon its request, it has been postponed to March
2008. Malaysia will continue with its responsibilities as the Summit
Chairman until that time. As for the Summit’s agenda, this is the
prerogative of Member States and it is still too early to talk about
it at this stage. The agenda would, generally, include all issues of
mutual interest to the Member States and would encompass all fields.

However, I would like to elaborate that the coming Summit would be
an important one since it will be the first ordinary Summit to be
held after the 3rd Extraordinary Summit of Makkah and also it will be
entrusted the responsibility to endorse and adopt whatever has been
achieved since Makkah. The Summit would also give a new impetus and
momentum to the ongoing process for OIC’s reform.

Question: Despite OSCE’s Minsk Group involvement in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for over 10 years, no results has
been achieved as yet. Do you believe that it is time for another
organization, including the UN, to join the conflict resolution
process?

Answer: I strongly believe that in any conflict situation, it was
imperative to maintain all the ongoing processes of resolving the
conflict, whether on a bilateral or a multilateral level. Because
of the extremely complicated nature of conflicts, like the one in
Nagorno-Karabakh, it needs both time as well as accumulation of
collective efforts until its resolution materializes. Therefore, I
think we need to maintain the OSCE Minsk Group efforts and supplement
them with other efforts by the UN and other international and regional
organizations. I would like to highlight that as an organization
responsible for security and cooperation in Europe, OSCE is most
relevant organization to deal with this conflict.

Question: What could be OIC’s reply to the possible decision of the
Azerbaijani leadership to regain the occupied territory by military
means?

Answer: At the outset, I would like to confirm that I personally and as
the Secretary General of the OIC fully supports the right of Azerbaijan
to regain its occupied territories from Armenia and that the OIC will
continue to work hard, with its Member States and the international
community, to assist in fulfilling this objective. At the same time,
I strongly believe that any conflict should be peacefully resolved
through political and diplomatic means. Military solution is a very
costly and a very dramatic one in terms of loss of lives and damage
to property. In the ultimate analysis, this option is a zero-sum game
and requires that after the cease-fire and the many losses of lives,
the concerned parties to return to the negotiating table for a final
settlement through diplomatic means. I would accordingly suggest
that the Azerbaijani leadership and the OIC as well as all other
international actors to be actively involved in peacefully resolving
the problem.
From: Baghdasarian