Author: Chatinian Lara

, Turkey
March 13 2010

Turkey: Swedish politicization of history "big mistake"

Turkey’s foreign minister said, "it is impossible to accept approval
of the resolution on Armenian allegations by the Swedish parliament."

Saturday, 13 March 2010 10:04

Turkey’s foreign minister said, "it is impossible to accept approval
of the resolution on Armenian allegations by the Swedish parliament."

Ahmet Davutoglu, who is currently in Lapland city of Finland to attend
the informal meeting of foreign ministers, met with his Swedish
counterpart Carl Bildt.

Davutoglu told reporters following the meeting, "we regret that
Swedish parliament decided to approve the resolution. First of all, we
think that parliaments should not evaluate such historical events
since most of parliamentarians do not have adequate information about
those events. Politicization of the history leads to serious problems
for our societies. We consider this decision of the Swedish parliament
as a big mistake. It is impossible to accept it."

Swedish Parliament on Thursday approved a resolution on Armenian
allegations regarding 1915 incidents.

The resolution was approved with 131 votes against 130.

"Secondly, there were perfect relations between Turkey and Sweden.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to pay a visit to
Sweden next week to further improve our bilateral relations which we
described as a kind of strategic partnership. Under the light of
recent developments, we had to cancel Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit.
Also, we recalled our ambassador in Stockholm for consultations. We
did not expect such a decision from the parliament of a friendly
country," he said.

Davutoglu said, "I conveyed our views to Bildt. We hope that such
decisions which provoke developments in the region would not be made
in the future. Turkey will not allow anyone else to evaluate its
history. Others may consider the year of 1915 as part of an Armenian
issue, but for us, 1915 was the year when a nation defended its
country against big armies."

Carl Bildt, on his part, said that it was not rightful to politicize
historical issues with decisions made by parliaments. He said that
such decisions seriously damage rapprochement processes, and expressed
his sorrow.

Bildt said that Sweden, despite the decision of the parliament, would
continue extending full support to Turkey’s EU membership process.

We consider Turkey as an important part of the future Europe, he said.

Bildt added they tried hard to persuade parliamentarians that such a
decision would be a serious mistake.

Davutoglu said, "I warned Bildt that this is an attempt to provoke
Turkey-Sweden relations. He admitted it. He told me that they, as the
government, did everything in their power, but could not prevent it.
He also told me that they would take all kinds of steps to improve
relations with Turkey, and added that they understood Turkey’s
reaction."

Turkey strongly rejects the genocide allegations and regards the
events as civil strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks
and Armenians.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols on October 10, 2009 to
normalize relations between the two countries. The protocols envisage
the two countries to establish diplomatic ties and open the border
that has been close since 1993.

Turkey and Armenia also agreed to take steps to operate a
sub-commission on impartial scientific examination of the historical
records and archive to define existing problems and formulate
recommendations, in which Armenian, Turkish as well as Swiss and other
international experts would take part. However, on January 12, 2010,
the Constitutional Court of Armenia declared a decision of
constitutional conformity on the protocols. Turkey thought the fifth
article of Armenian Constitutional Court’s verdict regarding the
protocols was against the target and basis of the protocols.

AA

Kurdish Aspect
March 13 2010

Impugning Turkey for Kurdish genocide

Kurdishaspect.com – By Baqi Barzani

One of the most common traits of every individual genocide is it is
consistently negated by its perpetrators. This is mainly rampant in
societies that do not possess democratic system of power. A very lucid
instance is the republic of Turkey, obstinately resisting to
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide of 1915, despite the US House
Foreign Affairs Committee lately passing a resolution labeling it as"
genocide"

>From Nazi holocaust to Rwanda, Armenian, Bosnia and Darfur, all
genocides have left profoundly throbbing socio-economic, political and
psychological impacts on their victims and ensuing generations.
According to figures, genocides and other mass murders account for
more human casualties in the twentieth century than all the wars
combined.

The renowned genocide of "Halabja "is regarded as one of the most
unrivaled genocide in the history of genocides and mankind because of
the maximum number of fatalities inflicted in the least period of time
and the method the genocide was carried out. Even today, the
residents of Halabja and their family members continue to undergo
emotional trauma and post occurrence complications.

What is the definition of Genocide and how is it categorized? Does the
ongoing repression and containment taking place in Turkey against the
Kurd fall under the universal definition of genocide? What disparity
is there between the Armenia Genocide of 1915 as compared to the
present Kurdish Genocide in Turkey ? What preventive measures should
be taken in order to cease the perpetration of Genocides overall and
what is the role and responsibility of global community in this
regard? Why the Kurdish plight does not obtain sufficient attention
from the international community?

Let me begin responding to those queries by first referring to the
implication of the term genocide briefly. The UN general Assembly
characterizes genocide as: "the deliberate and systematic
destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or
national group". Ethnic cleansing has been defined as "the elimination
of an unwanted group from society, as by genocide or forced
migration." It is also worth to allude to a U.S. State Department
recent report on Kosovo concluding: �ethnic cleansing generally
entails the systematic and forced removal of members of an ethnic
group from their communities to change the ethnic composition of a
region." In consistent with all cited definitions, the continuing
forceful resettlements, assimilations and annihilations of Kurds by
Turkey fit in this category.

As for the lack of sympathy for Kurdish cause in Turkey compared to
the Armenian Genocide, the whole Kurdish genocidal killing is gradual,
unremitting and complex to unravel. Since the foundation of outmoded
Turkey by Atta Turk, Turkish successive fascist militaristic regimes
have been ruthlessly trying to destroy Kurds and Kurdistan , having
recourse to every viable excessive modus operandi. In effect, the
planned and systematic efforts by xenophobic Turkey to wipe out
Kurdish national identity, cultural heritage and ethnic roots outstrip
the scope of hideous Armenian Genocide. Therefore, it is not
exaggeration to assert that Turkey should also be charged with even
greater, worst abhorrent crimes against the Kurds by the international
tribunal.

The looming of a coherent strategy to hamper future genocides from
occurring is not just an ethical imperative; it represents the
confluence of many of the most focal issues on many nations’ foreign
policy agendas, and should accordingly be made a top tier priority.
States have a responsibility to protect their own population from mass
violence and if they fail to fulfill their responsibilities, it is the
burden of the global community to dynamically participate in
alleviating the suffering of people, including resorting to the use of
force.

Art present, the world has zoomed in its focus on the Armenia Genocide
committed by Ottoman Turks. Being impugned by EU, US, UK, sooner or
later, Turkey bears no alternative but to admit its guilt and need to
take the de rigueur measures to rectify that horrible historical
tragedy. Expectantly, The UN should remind Turkey of its mounting,
grave human rights violations, discriminatory and biased treatment of
other non-Muslim groups, forceful relocations and assimilations of
non-Turkish groups and greater rights and autonomy for the 25 million
victimized Kurds in that country.

.html

POLISH PM DONALD TUSK IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
10:42 ~U 12.03.10

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, along with his delegation, will
be in Armenia today for a one-day business visit, during which time
he will meet with RA President Serzh Sargsyan; His Holiness Garegin
II, Catholicos of All Armenians; RA National Assembly chair Hovik
Abrahamyan; and RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

A broader meeting and signing of documents will take place right after
a private meeting between the Armenian and Polish prime ministers.

Tusk will visit Tsitsernakaberd, Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex,
where he will place a wreath in memory of the victims of the Armenian
Genocide.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

March 11, 2010
___________________

A NEW GENERATION OF CHURCH LEADERS DEVELOPS SKILLS, BUILDS CONFIDENCE,
AT THE 11th ACYOA YOUNG ADULT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

The Eastern Diocese saw the bright future of the Armenian Church in the
faces of participants at the 11th annual ACYOA National Young Adult
Leadership Conference, which met in Tarrytown, N.Y., from March 5 to 7,
2010.

The two-day conference attracted close to 100 people, including 67 young
participants from 32 parishes in the Eastern Diocese, led by clergy,
Diocesan Council members, ACYOA Central Council members, and seminarians.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), presided over the conference, which gave participants
an opportunity to hone their leadership skills and to network with ACYOA
members from parishes throughout the Eastern Diocese.

"I trust you to lead our church," Archbishop Barsamian told the delegates in
opening remarks Friday evening. "I have faith in your vision, in your
commitment, in your spiritual strength, in your feelings of respect and
reverence for our Armenian Christian heritage." He added that the large
turnout from throughout the Eastern Diocese "testifies to the great
potential for leadership we have in the young adults of our church."

The Primate thanked everyone for their passion for leading the Armenian
Church into the future, and stressed that the church needs the leadership of
its youth.

"You are the kind of leaders I want future generations-your own children and
grandchildren-to look up to, for guidance, and inspiration. You are the
kinds of men and women I want the world to think of, when they hear the
word, ‘Armenian.’"

He remarked that organizing the conference had itself been a good model of
leadership in action. "Working alongside our excellent ACYOA Central
Council members-listening to their creative ideas, suggestions, concerns and
criticisms; and working also with Fr. Yeprem Kelegian and Fr. Vasken
Kouzouian, with Oscar Tatosian and Nancy Basmajian-all of this has been very
rewarding for me, personally."

Archbishop Barsamian also expressed gratitude to Aso Davitian, Dr. Sarkis
Kechejian, Nazar Nazarian, Charles Simonian, and Harry Toufayan, whose
generosity made the leadership conference possible.

* New Level of Commitment

A dynamic, motivating talk about the need for leadership was delivered by
guest speaker Dr. Marvin Zonis, from the University of Chicago’s Booth
School of Business. In an animated Q-and-A session, he engaged participants
on the question of whether leaders are made or born, and outlined ways to be
a better leader.

"With the inspiring words from Dr. Zonis and the support of our Central
Council liaisons, I saw a sense of responsibility and maturity emerge from
the youth," said Taleen Terjanian, an ACYOA Seniors member from St. Stepanos
Church in Elberon, NJ. She also appreciated the chance to "strengthen old
friendships and form new ones."

Conference sessions on the Bible, Models of Leadership, Leadership
Potential, and Leadership in Action were held throughout Saturday. ACYOA
members explored the decisive traits that made for good leaders, and
discussed the qualities embodied in such diverse Armenian leaders as
Catholicos St. Nersess the Great and philanthropist Alex Manoogian.

Seminary dean Fr. Daniel Findikyan, and pastors Fr. Vasken Kouzouian and Fr.
Yeprem Kelegian led break-out sessions and prayer services.

"This leadership conference shows growth," said Fr. Kouzouian, a Diocesan
Council member and pastor of the Holy Trinity Church of Cambridge, Mass.
"There are a great number of parishes represented here, and it shows that
the young adult programs at the Diocese are unified."

St. Nersess seminarians Justin Ajamian, Levon Asdourian, Vahagn Azizian,
Mkritch Ksachikyan, and Stan Sheridan helped facilitate throughout the
conference, working alongside ACYOA Central Council members Alex Derderian,
Danielle Der Assadourian, Talin Hitik, Ara Janigian, Lydia Kurkjian, Danny
Mantis, and Gevork Vartanian.

The conference concluded with a dinner and closing program on Sunday night,
during which participants were encouraged to express their individual
talents. Mher Saribekyan and Davo Gevorkian played the duduk and the dhol
to thunderous applause. Arman Avedyan and Alyne Corrigan sang a lovely
Armenian song. The Primate presented certificates and small gifts to each
of the attendees.

On Sunday the group attended badarak at the nearby St. Gregory the
Enlightener Church in White Plains, N.Y.

"I was very pleased with the outcome of the weekend and the spirit of
group," said ACYOA executive secretary Nancy Basmajian. "I think
participants felt affirmed and valued as young leaders. That’s quite an
accomplishment, and I was thrilled to be part of it."

Participants who had attended leadership conferences in the past said they
appreciated changes to the format this year.

"This year the ACYOA Central Council and Srpazan took the leadership
conference to a new level," said Arpi Paylan, from the St. James Church of
Evanston, Ill. "I came away from the weekend inspired to redouble my
commitment to parish life-not only because I felt motivated by the
dedication and passion of my peers, but also because I left with a specific
skill set and a renewed vision for my role in my church."

For other attendees, the gathering was their first time at an ACYOA
Leadership Conference, but probably not their last.

"It was a wonderful learning experience that makes me want to come back next
year," said Arese Soghomonian, a Leadership Conference first-timer from the
St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, Pa.

Ara Janigian, a member of the ACYOA Central Council, from the Sts. Sahag and
Mesrob Church of Providence, R.I., extolled "the level of commitment and
passion our youth have within our Diocese. Once again, I left an ACYOA
event feeling more confident about our future."

He added: "It’s vital for our church that we continue to get support and
guidance from our elders."

The same theme was struck by Diocesan Council chairman Oscar Tatosian.
"There are leadership capabilities in each of us, and it’s our obligation as
Diocesan leaders to encourage, foster, and cultivate that potential. We
need to give our young adults the tools to bring out the great leadership
abilities within them."

>From that perspective, Mr. Tatosian added, "This weekend was a tremendous
success."

–3/11/10

***

PHOTO CAPTIONS

Photo 1

Young church leaders from across the Eastern Diocese met in Tarrytown, N.Y.
for the 11th annual ACYOA National Young Adult Leadership Conference.

Photo 2

Diocesan Primate Abp. Khajag Barsamian presided over the Youth Leadership
Conference, which ran March 5-7.

Photo 3

A breakout session on leadership qualities, at the ACYOA National Young
Adult Leadership Conference.

Photo 4

Guest speaker Dr. Marvin Zonis, of the University of Chicago, delivered a
dynamic, motivating talk about the need for leadership.

Photo 5

Leadership expert Dr. Marvin Zonis and Diocesan Council chairman Oscar
Tatosian.

Photo 6

Fr. Vasken Kouzouian addresses the Diocese’s Young Adult Leadership
Conference.

Photo 7

Some 67 young leaders from parishes across the Eastern Diocese gathered to
exchange ideas and build leadership skills.

Photo 8

Abp. Khajag Barsamian addresses the youth leaders attending the ACYOA
National Young Adult Leadership Conference.

# # #

ASHOT MELKONYAN: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE – INCONTESTABLE FACT

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.03.2010 13:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution 252 by
the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs once again proved that
the Armenian Genocide is an incontestable fact, Ashot Melkonyan ,
Director of the Institute of History of RA NAS told a news conference
in Yerevan. According to him, Armenia has no longer have problems with
international recognition of the genocide. "International recognition
of the Armenian Genocide is a part of history and now we need to think
and talk about the elimination of its consequences. The best way for us
is an appeal to the International Court in The Hague," Melkonyan said.

According to the historian, until now no one except Russia recorded
that in 1915 Armenians were deprived of their homeland. "We will not
deviate from the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
but that process should be moved to the politico-legal field in
order to speak of elimination of the consequences. Prior to this
recognition by the international community, the Armenians spoke only
abouyt the return of territories, but in 1965 there was a turn in
consciousness, and today we demand not only territories but also
financial compensation," Melkonyan said.

However, in Ashot Melkonyan’s opinion, the resolution 252 will not
be put to a vote in the Congress."Previously, there was no Iraq
or Afghanistan and the resolution was not put to a vote, and now
even more. Even if the Congress votes, there will not be a positive
decision. The United States and Turkey have agreed that the resolution
will remain at the Committee, and in return, Turkey will not worsen
relations with the United States," the director of the Institute of
History of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia said.

On 4 March the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs adopted the Resolution 252 on the Armenian Genocide (23 votes
in favor and with 22 votes against).

OBAMA’S IRAN POLICY COLLAPSES TO THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOCKERY AROUND THE GLOBE
By Joel J. Sprayregen

American Thinker
mas_iran_policy_collapses_t.html
March 9 2010

Barack Obama, in his first press conference after his election, called
Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons "unacceptable." He repetitively
offered Iran "engagement." He set a deadline of year-end 2009 for
Iranian compliance, now unilaterally extended another three months.

Iran contemptuously and repetitively responded that it had no intention
of abandoning its nuclear program. Obama’s Iran policy is collapsing
to the accompaniment of open mockery around the globe.

Obama assured us that his "engagement" would make it easier to enlist
other countries to stop Iran. The result is the opposite: Virtually
every country Obama approached has rebuffed him. Without a credible
threat of force, it is now clear that "engagement" has no chance
to stop Iran’s military nuclear program. It is indisputable that
Iranian possession of nuclear weapons would destabilize the Mideast
and gravely threaten world peace.

Let’s leave China and Russia to the end on the grounds that it may be
more difficult to persuade major powers. In recent weeks, the Obama
administration launched a curious charm offensive with the announced
purpose of weaning Syria — Tehran’s closest ally — from Iran. Syria
has been ruled by the Alawites — a despised Muslim minority considered
heretical — since the French colonialists elevated them to military
leadership. The country has since 1970 been the Mafia-like fiefdom
of the Assad family, which murdered more than 15,000 of its own
rebellious citizens in Hama in 1982.

Syria has been on the State Department’s list of terrorist countries
since 1979. Syria routinely dispatched terrorists into Iraq to kill
American soldiers. Syria dominates Lebanon, from which it extorts
wealth through violent means, including arming the Iranian proxy
terrorist forces of Hezb’allah. The U.N. authorized an interminable
tribunal to investigate charges that Syria murdered Rafik Hariri,
Lebanon’s prime minister, in 2005. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador
from Damascus in protest of the Hariri assassination. I have personal
insight into this tragic killing and farcical investigation because
Saad Hariri, Rafik’s son, desperately asked me in Riyadh in 1998 to
pass on his fears that the Syrians would kill his father to preserve
their hegemony in Lebanon. What a difference twelve years makes! Saad
Hariri is now Lebanon’s prime minister. Seeing the weakness of U.S.

policy, he now embraces Hezbollah and the Syrian forces who killed
his father.

Appeasing Syria Provokes Mockery from Assad and Ahmadinejad

The current Obama approach to Syria includes dispatching six high-level
State Department delegations, announcing that our ambassador will
return to Damascus, rescinding banned shipment of aircraft parts, and
deals worth several billion dollars. Secretary of State Clinton purred
over this "slight opening" with Syria and expressed hope that it would
lead Syria to curb support for Iran as well as Hezb’allah and Hamas.

Syrian President Bashir Assad, responding instantly following
departure of the U. S. Under-Secretary of State from Damascus, invited
the Iranian president to his capital. The Assad-Ahmadinjead press
conference can be described most tactfully as a roast of the Obama
administration. The two presidents announced removal of travel visas,
meaning that Iranian terrorists are free to travel to the borders of
Europe and Israel. Assad, not ordinarily known for humor, said of U.S.

hopes of separating Syria from Iran that "[w]e must have understood
Clinton wrong because of bad translation." The Iranian president
reliably played straight man: "The Americans are forced to leave the
region, leaving their reputation, image, and power behind in order to
escape. The U.S. has no influence to stop expansion of Iran-Syria,
Syria-Turkey, and Iran-Turkey ties. God willing, Iraq too will join
this circle."

The failure of Obama’s appeasement was understood in the region.

Editor Michael Young asked in his Beirut Star,

"Just what does Barack Obama stand for?" His answer: "The Assad
regime’s abuse of its own population, Syrian involvement in myriad
bombings in Iraq, support for Iraqi Baathists, and its permissiveness
toward Al-Qaeda in Iraq have not made the Administration reconsider its
Syrian opening. Violence works, and Obama has not proven otherwise. The
Obama Administration these days provokes little confidence in its
allies, and even less fear in its adversaries" [emphasis added].

Rebuffed by Lebanon, Brazil and Turkey

Syria is not a member of the U.N. Security Council. But Lebanon,
Brazil, and Turkey are among the nine non-permanent members. Since
Obama has unwisely delegated to the Security Council power to defend
American interests, their votes are important. It is clear from what
is written above that Lebanon, until recently a U.S. ally with its
large but no longer dominant Christian minority, will now vote as
directed by Syria and Iran.

Mrs. Clinton made a pitiful visit to Brasilia last week. It is not
far-fetched to presume that Brazilian leadership contrasted the empty
words of Obama with the deeds of their neighbor, President Chávez
of Venezuela, who is assiduously expanding the western hemisphere
bridgehead of his Iranian ally. A weekly flight from Tehran to Caracas
carries unregistered passengers who can infiltrate our porous southern
borders. The president of Brazil told Mrs. Clinton that his country
would not "bow" to demands for sanctions against Iran. He suggested
that it would be "prudent" to instead pursue negotiations. As in the
Middle East, Obama "provokes little confidence" among our traditional
good-neighbor allies.

Even more ruinous is the state of Obama’s relations with Turkey, a
country he has fulsomely praised as a Muslim democracy, notwithstanding
the apparent drive of its present government to create an Islamist
police state. Last week, Obama did nothing to prevent a symbolic
23-to-22 vote in a House of Representatives committee for a resolution
labeling as "genocide" Turkish massacres of Armenians during World War
I. I have lobbied on this issue and understand its intractability. Most
historians call the events genocide, but a minority say it occurred
during the fog of a war of reciprocal massacres in which Armenians
aided invading Russians. The resolution is driven by understandable
pressure of Armenian-Americans on California congressmen. But analysts
of U.S. foreign policy understand that passing the resolution would so
alienate Turkish voters that vital U.S. interests would be undermined
— e.g., supply of U.S.

forces in Iraq, our air base at Incirlik, and the role of Turkish
military (NATO’s second-largest) in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Ankara Decries America’s "Lack of Strategic Vision"

The Turks did not distinguish themselves by the bullying tone
of their comments on the vote, and Obama may feel hamstrung by
campaign promises he made — which he cannot conceivably honor —
to recognize the "genocide." Turkey has resisted sanctions against
Iran because Ahmadinejad was correct when he boasted in Beirut of
blossoming Turkish-Iranian ties. But if Obama thought he might get
any help from Turkey, whose government he courted by visiting its
capital on his first overseas trip, his inaction on the genocide
resolution provoked this blast from Ankara:

This decision, which could adversely affect our co-operation on a
wide common agenda with the U.S., also regrettably attests to a lack
of strategic vision [emphasis supplied].

Obama’s difficulties in obtaining cooperation on sanctions from smaller
countries underscore his better-known problems with veto-wielding
Russia and China, whose interests are diverse from ours.

These countries, in different ways, see themselves as rivals of
the U.S. and have extensive commercial relations with Iran, by whom
they do not feel threatened. Russia at times has indicated support
for mild sanctions — rather than the "biting" sanctions aimed at
energy import/export (Iran is already rationing refined petroleum),
insurance, and banking — understood by many congressmen as the only
method short of war to influence Iran.

There were reports at week’s end that the administration would retreat
to seeking diminished sanctions that exempt China and other permanent
members of the Security Council from compliance. This would confirm the
complete collapse of "engagement." One might call it "diss-engagement,"
warranting the mockery of Obama’s policies echoing from Damascus,
Beirut, Brasilia, and even Ankara.

Joel Sprayregen is associated with think-tanks dealing with issues
of security and human rights in Washington, Jerusalem, Istanbul,
and Ankara.

WHEN FILLING THE BUDGET BECOMES A STATE PRIORITY
Babken Tunyan

March 6, 2010

Back in the day, when a number of economists and journalists were
warning that the credits and loans received from foreign donors will
became a headache for Armenia, the officials of relevant sectors
would try to calm them down by saying that the foreign debt is in the
allowable limits and would advise not to worry about the state. The
time showed (in the near it will become more evident) that they
were right. But in this case in order to determine the right or
wrong we should understand whether the headache is caused to the
state or average citizens. And if we take into account that there
is enormous difference between the people and the state and that the
officials are demonstrating information far from reality it turns out
that there is no headache for the state. The headache is for average
citizens in the form of taxes and customs fees. A week ago the head
of the World Bank in Armenia Aristomene Varudakis mentioned that the
foreign debt is growing rapidly. But on the other hand he added that
there is no need to worry. All is necessary to be done is to be able
to acquit the debt. "And for that it is necessary to levy more taxes,"
mentioned Varudakis. Now it is this provision that is demonstrated in
the policy course of the government. We even reached the point that
we get to pay to the state for holding a dog in our homes. The rest,
such as fight against oligopolies, diversification of the economy,
supporting the domestic producer, are merely nice words. According
to logic, concrete steps should be taken to recover the economy from
the crisis. It means that first of all the base of taxation should
be increased. This assembles the tactics of trying to scrape the
empty jar of honey to get whatever possible left. However, first of
all it is necessary to fill in the jar with honey (or at least not
ban the jar-filler from doing this) and only then be sufficed with
the desire of eating the honey. In our country the exact opposite
is being done and this is depicted as victory. Two days ago, almost
all the media outlets of the country adverted to the information on
the January-February inflows of the State revenue Committee. Armenian
tax and customs authorities collected a total of 51.1 billion Drams of
different revenues in the first month of 2010, by 22.3% or 9.3 billion
Drams more than a year ago, the ministry of finance reported. According
to the ministry, 40.2 billion Drams were collected as taxes and duties,
of which 21.9 billion Drams were collected as VAT, by 20.5% more than
in 2009 January. Also 3.5 billion Drams were collected as excise taxes,
4.6 billion Drams as profit taxes, 4.4 billion Drams as income taxes,
2 billion Drams as customs duties, 916,2 million Drams as state dues
and 1.7 billion Drams as fixed payments. According to the ministry, the
amount of collected mandatory social insurance payments rose by 41.7%
from 2009 January to 6.8 billion Drams. Other non-tax revenues totaled
4.2 billion Drams or 68.5% of the quarter projection. The Armenian
government plans to collect this year 742 billion Drams in revenues
and spend 935 billion Drams. The projected deficit is 193.4 billion
AMD. It is really good that a positive dynamics is formed. The thing
is that they have tried to impressively deliver this information to
the TV audience. And one of the media outlets added by its part that
the Committee doesn’t mention at the expense of what these revenues
were added. We thought that the media reporters are supposed to ask
questions like this to the state officials and not make guesses. For
example, they were supposed to find out how come the economy grows by
2.4% and the state budget inflows – by 8.4%. Maybe if asked they could
have found out that the budget was filled due to the reduction of the
black market. The release would turn out to be more impressive. The
State Revenue Committee is doing its work by trying to collect as much
revenue as possible and as much as mentioned in the budget. Let us
agree that it is possible to collect money only when it exists. But
in this case the Committee has a problem in creating and getting this
money. And it is not its function to reform the economy. In fact
the other state bodies should be in charge of this. It means there
must be a joint approach, the basis of which shouldn’t be only levy
maximum amount of money but the increase of the base of taxation. In
our country the logic is different though. As of the activation of
the business then in this field these are only words. As a rule,
when the government speaks about the small and medium businesses it
always mentions the facilitation of the crediting process. Meanwhile,
any bank of Armenia demands stable incomes and mortgage. These are
conditions, the existence of which doesn’t require credits any more.

Any businessman, who had to deal with the banks, will confirm these
words. In fact great efforts are needed to strengthen businesses.

There is simply no need to hinder the development of businesses. For
instance, one state structure shouldn’t demand from the same citizen
to submit a state form from some other state structure. The citizen
wastes time and energy for some simple piece of paper and gets to
deal with the "sassy" faces of low-class state officials. And this is
happening in the era of high technologies when any 7-year-old kid can
send my e-mail any information to another kid living in Mozambique. By
the way, two days ago our government started to speak with real about
the investment the system of electronic governance, which will reduce
the amount of time spent on documentation, will decrease bureaucracy
and the communication of the citizen with the statesmen and thus lower
the corruption risks. This is a good initiative but as you know it is
not going to be exactly like this. Let us bring another example. The
international partner of the domestic businessman sends the latter
of a catalog with a few sample (let’s say perfume) to demonstrate it
to the members of the domestic market. The foreign partner sends the
stuff via the DHL so that it gets here fast. But this stuff remains in
the customs service instead of reaching the domestic businessman. As a
result the businessman here has to pay 10.000 AMD for some paperwork
to get his stuff (worth 10-15 thousand AMD). It seems like a minor
nuance but many people have encountered this and got discouraged even
before they’d start their business. The solution of this wouldn’t take
too many efforts from the state. And the use will be more tangible
than all kinds of trainings with their coffee breaks. All is needed
is goodwill to help the businesses and not just levy money.

CNN AGAIN BROADCASTED "SCREAM BLOODY MURDER" FILM ABOUT GENOCIDES

news.am
March 8 2010
Armenia

Several days after the Armenian Genocide Resolution adoption in the
U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs CNN channel broadcasted a
"Scream bloody murder" film about Armenian Genocide first time shown
on March 4, 2008.

According to Turkish Haberler, U.S. Turks are irritated about this
fact. CNN telecasted the film on March 7 night, that tells about
genocides of 20th century, where the episode about Armenian Genocide
hardly takes one minute.

Besides, February 28 CBS Company in its "60-minutes" showed a "Battle
over history" video about Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915.

It tells about displacing and killing of over 1 million Armenians,
calling it a Holocaust, "but Turks reject to call this occurrings
genocide."

Agence France Presse
March 5, 2010 Friday 6:25 PM GMT

Clinton: ‘We will work very hard’ to block Armenia bill

guatemala city, March 5 2010

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the Obama
administration will "work very hard" to block passage of a bill
labelling the Ottoman-era massacre of Armenians as "genocide."

"We will work very hard to make sure it does not go to the House
floor," Clinton told reporters when asked to comment on Turkey’s
withdrawal of its ambassador over a congressional panel’s adoption of
the bill.

Washington Post: 11-year-old son of Ilham Aliyev becomes owner of nine
waterfront mansions in Dubai

2010-03-06 13:23:00

ArmInfo. Even by the standards of a city that celebrates
extravagance, it was a spectacular shopping spree: In just two weeks
early last year, an 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan became the owner
of nine waterfront mansions, says Washington Post.

The total price tag: about $44 million – or roughly 10,000 years’
worth of salary for the average citizen of Azerbaijan. But the preteen
who owns a big chunk of some of Dubai’s priciest real estate seems to
be anything but average.

His name, according to Dubai Land Department records, is Heydar
Aliyev, which just happens to be the same name as that of the son of
Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev. The owner’s date of birth,
listed in property records, is also the same as that of the
president’s son.

Officials in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, declined to comment on
how the president’s son – or at least an Azerbaijani schoolboy with
the same birth date and the same name as the son’s – came to own
mansions on Palm Jumeirah, a luxury real estate development popular
with multimillionaire British soccer stars and others with cash to
burn. Ilham Aliyev’s annual salary as president is the equivalent of
$228,000, far short of what is needed to buy even the smallest Palm
property.

Azer Gasimov, the president’s spokesman, declined to discuss the Dubai
real estate purchases. "I have no comment on anything. I am stopping
this talk. Goodbye," he said when contacted by telephone and told
about the names on the property records. Gasimov did not respond to
requests for further comment sent by fax, e-mail and cellphone text
message.

Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic blessed with plentiful oil and
gas reserves yet blighted by widespread poverty outside its glitzy
capital, has long had a reputation for corruption. But the Dubai
purchases, which have not been reported before, could provide a rare
concrete example of just how much money the country’s governing elite
has amassed and of the ways in which at least part of this wealth has
been stashed overseas.

The transactions sharpen a dilemma that has shadowed Washington’s
relations with Azerbaijan for years: how to reconcile the United
States’ security and energy interests in the oil-rich Caspian Sea
nation with what the State Department, in a report last year on human
rights around the world, described as the "pervasive corruption" of
its increasingly authoritarian regime.

Azerbaijan has sent troops to support U.S. democracy-building efforts
in Afghanistan and Iraq but at home has retreated steadily from
democratic practices, according to diplomats and experts on the
region. Transparency International, in a 2009 survey of global
corruption, ranked Azerbaijan among the worst at 143 out of 180
nations.

In addition to recording nine properties owned by Heydar Aliyev, the
now-12-year-old schoolboy, Dubai’s Land Department also has files in
the names of Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva. President Aliyev has two
daughters with the same names and roughly the same ages. Their exact
dates of birth could not be established, but various reports indicate
Leyla’s birthday is the same as that of the Azerbaijani woman who
figures in the Land Department records.

In all, Azerbaijanis with the same names as the president’s three
children own real estate in Dubai worth about $75 million, property
data indicate. Dubai real estate dealers with knowledge of some of the
transactions said the purchases were made by a buyer representing
Azerbaijan’s ruling family. The dealers said the properties were paid
for upfront.

Ali Kerimli, chairman of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, an opposition
party, said in a telephone interview, "We all know that our country is
one of the most corrupt." But when told about the Dubai purchases, he
added that he was surprised at the apparent lack of effort to conceal
them.

Azerbaijan’s leaders, Kerimli said, "face no danger" because the
judiciary, anti-corruption bodies and most of the country’s media
outlets are firmly under their control.