Author: Chalian Meline

THE GOVERNMENT’S BUSHEL
Hakob Badalyan

hos15424.html
11:47:42 – 06/10/2009

The discussion of the Armenian and Turkish protocols, sure, if
this process maybe called a discussion because except oppositional
arguments no essential anti-argument is presented by the government,
is passing on a plane exceptionally regarding the extern field,
excluding of course the tale on price decline that the government
tells the Armenian citizens.

The discussion of the Armenian-Turkish protocols skillfully avoids the
issues in Armenia on democracy, legality, right and free speech. They
seem not to have anything in common with the reality present in the
Armenian and Turkish normalization process. While, these problems
are not only the cause of the current image of the process but they
will also accompany all possible developments because the result or
consequence of any development in connection with the Armenian and
Turkish process will be determined by them.

The approach that the quality of the foreign policy is tangibly
determined by the quality of the home life is not just a theoretical
affirmation. The point is not even the legitimacy or non-legitimacy
of the government. The point is not that if Serge Sargsyan was a
legitimate president he would not have taken up a harmful scenario of
the Armenian and Turkish normalization process. Maybe Serge Sargsyan
really affirms his ideas being sure of his rightness and makes his
steps believing in the rightness of them. But the point is that
when in a country democratic, legal mechanisms work, when there is
possibility of free speech not only through press but also through TV,
it is easier for the society to influence governmental decisions.

In other words, we deal with just, legal election problem. Regardless
we want or not. If the government in a country is not formed by the
will of the citizens but by the wish of the same government, it will
naturally have no reason to doubt its being right. Moreover, the
government starts suspecting all those who doubt its rightness. And
this suspicion of the government has objective grounds because not
depending on the public the government does not believe that any
political force may set hopes on coming to power by the will of the
people but it just tries to make a shift of government deceiving
the society.

In other words, the government measures everything and everyone
by its own bushel because there is no other unit of measure in the
country. During the discussion of the Armenian and Turkish protocols,
the lack of a national unit of measure was felt. Whereas, it is
impossible to find anywhere any other more right unit of measure
than the law and the right. Consequently, the problem is whether the
government policy in this case in relation to the Armenian and Turkish
process is legal. It is legal as much as the process of the formation
of the very government is legal. Perhaps, all the political forces who
indeed are trying to prevent the process full of dangerous development
in result of singing of the protocols have to seek for answers on this
plane and have to turn it into a pro-Armenian course. In the opposite
case, any debate is only legitimating the governmental foreign policy.

LIBYAN AIR FORCE MIG-23 FIGHTER CRASHES AT AIR SHOW IN TRIPOLI

RIA Novosti
14:0707/10/2009

TRIPOLI, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – A Libyan Air Force MiG-23 Flogger
fighter crashed on Wednesday during a demonstration flight at the
Third Libyan Aviation Exhibition.

The aircraft crashed about 2 kilometers from observation platforms
at the Libyan Aviation Conference & Exhibition, which runs October 4-8.

According to preliminary reports, the pilot died.

Production of the "third-generation" MiG-23 started in 1970 and ended
in 1985 with over 5,000 aircraft built.

Its various modifications are currently operated by several former
Soviet republics and traditional recipients of Soviet arms including
Armenia, Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Sri
Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

HIGH FEST: PHILIP JANTI’S TROUPE STAGED "SIGMUND FOLLY" FOR ARMENIAN AUDIENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2009 15:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On October 6, Philip Janti’s well-known French
troupe gave a press conference in Hovhannes Tumanyan Puppet Theatre.

"We were surprised by Armenian spectator’s ability to listen, since
not everyone in the hall knew French," troupe’s main actor Eric De
Saria said.

The troupe played "Sigmund Folly", a performance created in 1983-84
by Philip Jenti and his wife Mary Underwood". It was staged about
100 times in France, and after repeated performances was played in
500 countries with slightly modified content.

The plot of the performance is a human being’s internal conflict with
his personality. A human being is somewhat divided into two halves
which need to be united. And then follows a chaos, schizophrenia,
and paranoia. So it is necessary to join all parts inside oneself to
establish calmness and harmony.

The well-known theatrical group was created in Paris in 1967 by Philip
Janti and his wife Mary Underwood.

PRESIDENT’S TOUR – JUST A COMPONENT IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.10.2009 19:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "During discussions on Armenian-Turkish ties,
Armenian President revealed the essence of Armenian-Turkish Protocols,"
said Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) Executive Director Brian
Arduni. President, according to him, listened to each Diaspora
representative’s opinion. "Serzh Sargsyan explained that Protocols bore
no relationship to either Armenian Genocide or Karabakh conflict,"
Ardunyan said, adding that Armenian Genocide issue was not subject
to discussion, and Diaspora had no intention to renounce claims
to Karabakh.

"Discussions are just a component in the process," Arduni noted,
highly appreciating RA President’s initiative.

NATIVE OF ARMENIA ASSASSINATED IN MOSCOW

54
Oct 02 2009, 22:00

In the evening on October 1, in the southwest of Moscow, unidentified
persons accomplish murder of a citizen of Armenia, as reported by
law enforcement bodies of the Russian capital.

It is already the second crime committed this week against Caucasians
in Moscow. Earlier, as a result of mass fight in the south of the
Russian capital at night of September 29 four citizens of Armenia and
a native of Northern Caucasus were wounded. People from antifascist
circles of the Russian capital do not exclude that this could be done
by neo-Nazis.

On October 1, at about 11:00 p.m. Moscow time, in the yard of No. 15
in the Vvedenskogo Street in Moscow, the body of a young man, a native
of Armenia, was found. "Forensic experts have established that his
death was a result of numerous knife wounds," said a source in law
enforcement bodies of Moscow.

The source has noted that, according to eyewitnesses, the victim was
attacked by a group of youngsters.

The "Interfax" adds by quoting the source: "The casualty stayed
illegally in the territory of Moscow; in Armenia he was searched for
evasion from regular military service."

The "Gazeta.Ru" writes that law enforcers do not exclude that the
victim lived in Moscow at his relatives, hiding from military service
in Armenia.

SOCIALISTS TO FORM NEW GREEK GOVERNMENT

RIA Novosti
Oct 5, 2009

ATHENS, October 5 (RIA Novosti) – Greece’s president asked George
Papandreou to form a government on Monday after his Socialist party won
a decisive victory over the ruling conservatives in early elections,
state television reported.

The PASOK party won a majority of 160 seats in the 300-seat parliament
in Sunday’s election, pledging to fight corruption and tackle Greece’s
worst economic recession in years.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’s New Democracy party received 91
seats. Karamanlis said he would step down as party leader.

Greece is currently burdened with increasing unemployment rate and one
of the biggest public debts in the euro zone, amounting to nearly 100%
of its GDP. Its budget deficit is almost twice the euro zone maximum
of 3% and continues to grow.

Karamanlis, 53, proposed an austerity program, which would include
cutting budget expenses and freezing wages and pensions, as the only
way to compensate for the impact of the global financial crisis on
the Greek economy.

Former foreign minister Papandreou, 57, has said the economy needs
a stimulus package to spur the GDP growth. Under Papandreou’s plan,
about 2-3 billion euro ($3-4.3 billion) would be allocated to stimulate
the economy, followed by significant investment into infrastructure
projects, science and education. He has also pledged a tax system
reform and anti-corruption measures.

The conservatives and the communists have dismissed PASOK’s program as
"populist."

The new government is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Papandreou on the
election victory on Monday, expressing hope for "joint efforts to
deepen Russian-Greek cooperation on a bilateral basis in many areas
and in international affairs," the Kremlin said.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Jews in Iran
Iran is home to the biggest population of Jews in the Middle East
outside Israel

by Damien McElroy

daily telegraph/uk
Published: 4:15PM BST 03 Oct 2009

Iran is home to the biggest population of Jews in the Middle East
outside Israel Photo: GETTY
Iran is home to the biggest population of Jews in the Middle East
outside Israel. While the community faces limited discrimination, it is
largely free to exercise the same rights as Muslims enjoy in the
Islamic republic.

Like the country’s Armenian, Assyrian and Zoroastrian minorities, it
has one reserved seat in parliament.

Jews trace their presence in Iran from the point that Cyrus the Great
liberated the people from slavery in Babylon in 593BC. There are about
25,000 left in Iran. Tehran has 20 active synagogues. But the Jewish
population has dwindled rapidly since an Islamic theocracy was
established. At the end of the Shah’s reign, there were an estimated
100,000 Jews. Esther, the legendary empress and wife of Ahasuerus, was
Jewish.

The community played a prominent role in commercial life and supplied
several prime ministers. Sensitive posts in the judiciary and military
are barred from Jews.

Maurice Motamed, the country’s Jewish MP, has criticised Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad’s denials of the Holocaust but is otherwise a staunch
supporter of the radical president’s foreign and security policies. "I
am an Iranian first and a Jew second," he said.

Armenian-Turkish process not to be slowed down
03.10.2009 17:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `For the first time in history we had the
opportunity to make an all-national issue like Armenian-Turkish
relations subject of discussions,’ said Spanish-Armenian community
leader Gaspar Petrosyan. Armenian-Turkish relations is a complex
issue, he finds, and regardless whether or not Armenian people want
it, Armenia should normalize ties with neighboring states.
`Superpowers cannot stand such situation long and will sooner or later
impose on parties rules which are unacceptable,’ Petrosyan said.

Armenian community of Spain was formed in 1980s. Currently there are
about 50 thousand Armenians living in the country.

NKR OPEN TO JOURNALISTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE COUNTRY THEY REPRESENT

armradio.am
01.10.2009 17:17

Despite Baku’s ballyhoo in connection with the Turkish NTV film
crew visit to the NKR and the Azerbaijani pressure on the political
leadership of Turkey apropos of this, Turkish journalists keep on
making a request for the NKR authorities to grant them entry visas
to the republic for covering the current events.

"Following the democratic principles and treating with understanding
the journalists’ aspiration to fulfill their professional duty by
getting information from the primary sources, the NKR leadership does
not only raise difficulties, but even support their activity.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic is open to journalists, irrespective
of the country they represent. The NKR authorities also proceed from
the fact that an objective and detailed presentation of the situation
in the republic to the world will only contribute to the peaceful
settlement of the conflict with Azerbaijan and to the international
recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic," NKR Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said in a statement.

SERZH SARGSYAN: SOME POINTS OF PROTOCOLS RESULT OF COMPROMISE

News.am
16:48 / 09/30/2009

By signing the Armenian-Turkish Protocols Armenia is not forming "ties
of relationship" with Turkey. Rather, Armenia is only trying to create
a tolerable atmosphere for further cooperation, RA President Serzh
Sargsyan stated at his meeting with members of the RA Public Council.

"Yes, the public has doubts about the Armenian-Turkish protocols,
which is quite natural. Everyone may have doubts about any issue. I,
too, had doubts when I was inviting Turkish President Abdullah Gul to
Yerevgan, and when I was fighting on the frontline for Karabakh. Did
not we have any doubts when we were voting for independence? And if
anyone thinks the Armenian-Turkish protocols are documents designed
to make wishes come true, then -" the President said. Sargsyan regards
as unfounded the fears that Turkey may spell out the protocols in its
favor. "If Turkey can, we can as well. Has anyone seen a 5-6-point
international document that would not allow of various comments?" the
President asked. Sargsyan stressed he does not claim all the nuances
were considered in preparing the documents, that better results were
impossible or a better document can be compiled some time. "No computer
in the world can forecast all the consequences of Armenian-Turkish
relations. I just say we cannot live on like this, we must speak. I
respect the forces holding a different opinion now, just as they did
10-15 years ago, but not the ones that stated one thing 15 years ago,
whereas they are stating different things now, thereby trying to cash
in on the people’s feelings and reap dividends," the President said.

As regards fears of economic and geographic expansion on Turkey’s
part if the Armenian-Turkish border is reopened, Serzh Sargsyan
does not share them. "Moreover, I have talked to many experts and
economists. They believe that an open order will open up ampler
opportunities for Armenian producers than for Turkish producers –
the Armenian market serves three million people, the Turkish market 70
million, which is almost 23 times as much. If, under the circumstances,
Turkish businessmen gain an advantage over Armenian businessmen,
they deserve it. We are in constant fear of the penetration of cheap
Turkish products into out market. One gets the impression we do
not want to see cheap goods on our markets," the Armenian President
said. Sargsyan expressed surprise at the fact why nobody has ever
voiced fears of Iranian economic expansion. As regards demographic
expansion, Sargsyan said that it can only be prevented provided all
necessary conditions for a demographic boom are created in Armenia.

The Armenian leader also addressed the regularly voiced fears about
preconditions allegedly contained in the Armenian-Turkish protocols. He
stated that the documents do not contain any preconditions. "Of
course, the documents have some points that are the result of
compromise. However, discontent would be expressed even if they were
not there. Even if the protocols resembled a capitulation [of Turkey],
discontent would be expressed in any case," Sargsyan said. Commenting
on the statements that the Armenian-Turkish dialogue was the result of
external pressure, the Armenian President stated that no pressure has
ever been exerted. "Nobody forced me to invite the Turkish President
to Yerevan nor did anyone force us to sit down at negotiating table
with Turkey. If anyone thinks it is only Turks that need all this,
they are mistaken," the President said.

He once more stressed that establishing relations with Turkey does
not at all mean consigning the Armenian Genocide to oblivion. "During
this year I have said it hundreds of times. What else shall I do
for you to believe? Write it in capitals on a poster and put it up
somewhere like a slogan of Soviet times?" Even if the process of
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide slows down, it
will not be the result of the signing of the protocols. Rather, some
forces discontented with the documents, will stop exerting necessary
efforts. "Of course, I do not claim the Armenian-Turkish protocols,
if signed, will facilitate the international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. Moreover, all those denying the Genocide will
refer to the documents and say the Armenian-Turkish dialogue must
be finished before. This means we must show even a greater degree
of persistence even to greater degree, exert even greater efforts
toward the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. If the
Armenian communities in a number of countries have to make some more
efforts toward the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
and for the sake of the Homeland’s steady progress, let them do so,"
Sargsyan said. If the Turks were sure that by admitting the Armenian
Genocide they would "put an end" to the Armenian communities worldwide,
they would do that, Sargsyan said. According to the Armenian leader,
even if the signing of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols slows down
the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
it will intensify debates over the issue inside Turkey.

"What is more important for us – the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by a country or, for instance, Turkey’s abrogating the
law providing for criminal responsibility for using the term
‘genocide’?" Sargsyan asked. He does not rule out that Turks will
try to get the issues of the Armenian Genocide discussed by the
scientific subcommittee. However, the Armenian scholars to be involved
in it must be able to decisively repel their Turkish counterparts’
attempts, and advance convincing counterarguments, Sargsyan said. "Any
process has its cost, and I am ready to ‘pay the bill’," the Armenian
leader said. If Turkey tries to make use of the documents in its own
interests, Armenia will do the same. "Any country has its potential,
and Armenia has sufficient potential to negotiate with Turkey. What
are we afraid of? Aren’t we able to negotiate with Turkey? How then
are we able to negotiate with superpowers?" the President asked.

As regards the alleged link between the Armenian-Turkish protocols
and the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Sargsyan said: "When I am
alone, I heartily laugh at the accusations against me concerning
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. People who were not even in Armenia
during the fights for Karabakh are accusing me – people who were
afraid of going out lest they be called up. Who are they defending
Karabakh from? From at least an indirect way, mention the borders
and the Armenian Genocide, they do not contain a single hint at
Nagorno-Karabakh. Of course, Turks can state the necessity for
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict simultaneously with the
Armenian-Turkish normalization process — it is nothing, but their
wish. We, as well as the international community, have repeatedly
stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has nothing in common with the
Armenian-Turkish relations. Why are they trusted, not we? I think that
the talks about any link between the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the
Armenian-Turkish protocols will not be taken seriously after the OSCE
Minsk Group issues a relevant statement," President Sargsyan said. He
stressed that the problem must be solved, and the solution must contain
the de facto status of Nagorno-Karabakh over the last 21 years, ensure
the country’s peaceful and steady development. "If a solution fails
to be found, we will again stand up for Nagorno-Karabakh’s interests,
and the people accusing me of betraying these very interests will
run to hide at their homes not to get caught by military registration
officers," President Sargsyan stated.