Author: Dabaghian Diana

ULP CALLS ON ITS MEMBERS TO BACK CANDIDACY OF SERGE SARGSIAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The majority of active members of the
United Labor Party (ULP) expressed their approval for the pre-election
program of the candidate for RA presidency, the prime minister Serge
Sargsian. Out of 199 delegates of the 4th congress of the ULP on
February 1 who took part in a secret vote, 124 voted for the program of
S. Sargsian, 5 – for the program of Artur Baghdasarian, 1 – Artashes
Geghamian, 0 – Tigran Karapetian, 1 – Aram Harutyunian, 2 – Vahan
Hovhannisian, 14 – Vazgen Manukian, 1 – Arman Melikian, 47 – Levon
Ter-Petrosian.

Taking the position of the majority into account, the ULP political
board instructed the heads of territorial structures to inform all
political parties about the vote results and called on the ULP members
to take an active part in the upcoming presidential elections and to
back the candidacy of Serge Sargsian.

The chairman of the ULP Gurgen Arsenian stated that no pressure was put
on the participants in the vote. In particular, one of the regional
structures, whose representatives did not attend the congress because
of bad weather, have sent the results of its vote, according to which
this structure will not back the candidacy of S. Sargsian. He assured
those present that members of their party are given freedom in giving
their votes for the candidate they prefer at the February 19 elections.

In response to the question about why the ULP, a party with a liberal
ideolody, endorses the candidate of a nationalist party, G. Arsenian
replied that the matter concerns support of the program of Serge
Sargsian rather than that of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). The
leader of the ULP added that by supporting S. Sargsian’s program, the
party also takes responsibility for its implementation.

G. Arsenian expressed his disagreement in connection with pressure put
on the owner of Sil Concern Khachatur Sukiasian. He said that in
applying pressure on businessmen for their oppositionist political
position, the authorities should take into account that this practive
may be adopted by future authorities.

"AZG" DAILY ONE OF THE MOST READ AND TRUSTWORTHY NEWSPAPERS OF ARMENIA
By Armen Manvelian

AZG Armenian Daily
01/02/2008

Local

Baltic Surveys Ltd./The Gallup organization has studied what sources
of information the population uses. According to it, the main source of
political information remains TV. All the questioned (100 percent) use
this source of information. The second source of political information
is mentioned as newspapers (46 percent). According to the survey in
December it was 41 percent, and in November – 37 percent.

9 percent growth of last months is conditioned by pre-election period
and big public interest of the processes.

As a next source of information relatives and friends are mentioned
– 42 percent, which means that gossips continue to enjoy widespread
popularity in our country. Then comes radio – 40 percent.

The list of the most read newspapers is the following – first comes
"Iravunk" weekly – 15 percent, the second place share "Azg" and
"Aravot" daily newspapers, then comes "Haykakan jamanak" daily –
8 percent. "Erkir" weekly and "Hayots ashkharh daily newspapers have
7 percent each, etc.

To the question "Whom do you trust in?" the following answers were
given – "Iravunk" weekly – 8 percent, "Aravot" daily – 6 percent and
"Azg" daily – 5 percent. The other newspapers have low rating of
trustworthiness. 43 percent of the questioned don’t trust in any
newspaper.

So, we can conclude that in Armenian press "Azg" daily, in spite
of available competition, continues to hold front line and work for
its readership.

THE GIN COMES OUT OF THE BOTTLE
by Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkharh
Jan 25 2008
Armenia

New debates at the PACE winter session

The debate on the Kosovo issue during the [2008] winter session of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] and the
resolution, adopted on its base on 22 January, is a manifestation of
the total impotence of the European community on reaching a coordinated
compromise on the status of this territory.

It was not occasional that on the day of the resolution’s adoption
Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci stated that the deadline for the
proclamation of Kosovo’s independence was agreed with Washington and
Brussels and will be announced in the nearest future. Thus, although
the PACE has called to continue the negotiations based on Resolution
1244 of the UN Security Council, even Russia, which has authorized
such an amendment to the document [1244 resolution] adopted by the
PACE, realizes that it is no more possible to stop the process.

The situation

The Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations, which participated in the
PACE winter session, clashed at a different time presenting to the
international community serious and essential differences in their
approaches.

Unlike the MP representing Azerbaijan, Qanira Pasayeva, who once
again reiterated as a parrot Azerbaijan’s simple point of view that
"there is no common grounds between Kosovo and Nagornyy Karabakh,
and these conflicts differ by their roots, history, causes", the
Armenian delegation this time selected a totally new strategy of
debating and did not reply to the idle talk of the Azerbaijani side.

[Passage omitted: details of the debate]

The recent statements on the issue voiced from the PACE rostrum by the
Armenian parliamentary delegation, the structure of which has been
significantly strengthened, differ qualitatively from the tactic of
simply wrangling with the Azerbaijani colleagues, in which our side
has usually lost over the last years. This time the blow was aimed at
the goals [of the Azerbaijani delegation] themselves, and we believe
the failure of separating the "Kosovo precedent" from the Earth and
presenting it as some unknown, alien phenomenon has become obvious
for participants of the PACE winter session.

It is more important that such statements on the issue by the
Armenian side were voiced on the eve of the proclamation of Kosovo’s
independence , when the international community, on one side, is trying
to create an impression of the continuation of the negotiations,
but on the other hand, realizes extremely well that it will have no
other way except for recognizing Kosovo’s independence in the future.

Kosovo’s precedent becomes the peculiar gin and the inevitability of
it coming out of the bottle forces the European Union to think from
today about preserving the unity of its political positions.

Due to the maturing of the "Kosovo precedent", we are on the eve of
radical breakthroughs in the international legal practice, which will
provide new and unprecedented opportunities for developing a certain
model for the settlement of conflicts in the post-Soviet area.

RUSSIAN DUMA CHAIRMAN ARRIVING IN ARMENIA ON FORMAL VISIT

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.01.2008 15:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On January 28, Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the
State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, will
arrive in Armenia on a formal visit, the RA NA press office reported.

He will meet with National Assembly President Tigran Torosyan and
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.

On January 29, a meeting President Robert Kocharian is scheduled.

Mr. Gryzlov will sign an agreement on cooperation with the Republican
Party of Armenia and Prosperous Armenia Party.

CONFERENCE ON PLANNING ‘COOPERATIVE LANCER/LONGBOW – 2008’ MILITARY EXERCISES OPENED IN YEREVAN

arminfo
2008-01-29 14:00:00

ArmInfo. Conference on planning "Cooperative Lancer/Longbow – 2008"
military exercises opened in Yerevan today. The exercises will be
held within the frames of "Partnership for Peace" programme. The
conference will last till 1 February.

As commander of General Headquarters of Armenian armed forces
Col-Gen Seyran Ohanyan told journalists, this is the first planning
conference of "Cooperative Lancer/Longbow- 2008". He also added that
over the conference they are going to discuss the problems connected
with holding of the exercises. Such conference will be also held in
Armenia in April and May.

And the exercises will be held in September of the current
year. Ohanyan said that these exercises will become the biggest at
the territory of South Caucasus. Their purpose is to raise security
and stability cooperation level.

Many representatives of the member-states of "Partnership for Peace"
programme are taking part in the conference. According to Ohanyan,
this is evidence of importance and significance of their holding. He
said that this time representatives of Turkey are also taking part
in the conference, but despite being invited representatives of
Azerbaijan did not arrive in Yerevan to take part in the conference.

Holding of events within the frames of "PfP" programme is becoming
a tradition in Armenia. ‘I am happy for developing cooperation
with partners within the frames of NATO, and Armenia is highly
appreciating NATO role as an effective structure of European security’,
– Ohanyan said.

IN IRAQ, CHRISTIANS SAY THEY ARE DWINDLING

Assyrian International News Agency

Jan 29 2008

Avak V. Asadourian, archbishop of the Armenian Church of Iraq, told
Ecumenical News International that Christians are fleeing Iraq.

Christians make up less than 3 percent of the country of 27.5 million.

Young people "are faced each day with death and destruction,"
Asadourian said. "They are faced each day with being kidnapped or
facing the agony of having a loved one who is kidnapped." In Mosul,
he said, a Syrian Orthodox priest was decapitated, apparently for
refusing to "adopt another religion," and a Chaldean priest and his
three assistants were shot dead.

Iraqi faith "is strong enough to face martyrdom," Asadourian said.

But, he added, unless something is done, "I am afraid that Christianity
will face a slow demise not only in Iraq but in the entire region
where Jesus Christ lived and worked."

Asadourian asked for churches in the West to intercede with their
governments about the plight of Iraqis. He said the four years since
the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq were "the most difficult by far" of
his 28-year ministry in Iraq.

Similarly, Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest in Baghdad,
told a CBS-TV crew for 60 Minutes that "things [in Iraq] are the
most difficult they have ever been for Christians, probably ever
in history."

White told reporter Scott Pelley that after being targeted by
Islamic extremists, the majority of Iraqi Christians have fled or
been killed. Many bodies have never been found, White said, calling
the killings an example of "religion gone wrong."

Baghdad neighborhoods that were once Christian strongholds are now
virtually empty of Christians, according to the CBS report.

White said all of his parish leadership were "taken and killed. … I
regularly do funerals here, but it’s not easy to get the bodies."

According to the Middle East Council of Churches, an ELCA partner, such
experiences aren’t unusual. The MECC General Assembly said on Nov. 30,
2007, that its members report that Iraqi Christians "are forced to
emigrate, their churches are assaulted and their clergy are killed."

To help, the World Council of Churches (the Lutheran World Federation
is a member) launched "Accompanying Churches in Situations of
Conflict," an initiative of intervention through local congregations,
Christian and interreligious dialogues, regional cooperation and
interreligious advocacy. According to a September 2007 statement
from the WCC Executive Committee, "more than half of Iraqis live in
abject poverty," and one in six "is internally uprooted or among the 2
million people who have fled the country." Forty percent of refugees
are Christian, said the WCC statement, "a sign of the failure of
policies that were purported to bring stability and peace to Iraq
and even the region."

The New ANatolian, Turkey
Jan 28 2008

Armenian, Greek and Hebrew departments for Turkish university

The New Anatolian / Ankara
28 January 2008

Nevsehir University is preparing to open new departments on Armenian,
Greek and Hebrew languages.

The Dean of Faculty of Science and Letters at Nevsehir University
Prof. Dr. Metin Hulagu says the university will be the first one in
Turkey to open departments on the three languages.

"We want to open new departments on the three languages to promote
Turkey’s relations with Armenia, Greece and Israel. There is
presently a lack of Turks speaking these languages fluently," Dr.
Hulagu said.

Nevsehir University is awaiting for a permission from the Turkish
Higher Board of Education (YOK) in order to officially open the
language departments.

Nevsehir University was established on May 17th, 2007. The campus is
located in the central Anatolian province of Nevsehir.

Russia & CIS General Newswire
January 25, 2008 Friday 5:11 PM MSK

Jury repeatedly acquits man charged with hate crime in Moscow region

MOSCOW Jan 25

A jury at the Moscow Region Court acquitted for the second time a
defendant charged with the murder of Artur Sardarian, 19, an ethnic
Armenian, in the Moscow region.

Nine out of the 12 jurors found a 17-year-old Muscovite not guilty,
while three found him guilty.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 27 2008

To fight with gangs needs to fight with our genes

by AYSE KARABAT

Since the police detained more than 30 people recently on suspicions
that they are members of a shadowy clandestine network that seeks to
create a chaotic atmosphere in Turkey to prepare for a military coup,
millions of questions have been flying in the air.

First of all, we should keep in mind that these people have not been
brought in front of a court yet. But maybe since we are so sure about
the fact that these kinds of gangs have been a part of our political
culture for years, almost everybody is convinced that they are
involved with the Hrant Dink assassination, the slayings of
missionaries in Malatya and the Daniþtay attack. But the first
question that keeps everyone busy is not whether they are guilty or
not, but if there is enough evidence.

The second question is the nature of the investigation. Is this an
investigation against the "deep state" or is it an operation aiming
at some elements of the deep state. Because when you look at the
names of those under detention, the first thing you should notice is
that they were so public. They were everywhere, they were making
provocations against intellectuals, they were blaming everyone who
was not with them, accusing almost everyone of being traitors. Maybe
for this reason they came to the point of being unbearable for the
real "deep state."

Another important question is to what extent this operation will go.
For example, if they were aiming at a military coup, who would carry
out this coup?

Everybody is also discussing whether the government will be brave
enough to follow through to the end. Finally, will we be able to live
in a country that is free of these kinds of gangs?

The pessimists are saying that the government, which is dragging its
feet on dealing with Article 301, may not go any further. The
optimists are recalling the victory speech Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan made right after the July 22 elections. In this speech
he promised to fight against such gangs.

All these questions and discussion points are right. But there are
more questions to be asked. For example, will society show its
reactions to these gangs and give the courage to the judiciary and
security forces to go through to the end? Will society send the
message of "enough" to those who are protecting these gangs?

What allows these gangs to survive is the understanding of their
relation to the order of things in Turkey: The superiority of the law
can be put aside, when it is necessary. A part of society is agreeing
with this, too, because our sense of justice was harmed a long time
ago. In general, we don’t believe that our judiciary is functioning
well. This is why instead of applying to the court when we have a
problem, we prefer to solve it for ourselves. This is one of the main
reasons that we have these gangs. Will society able to change this
attitude and will we really be able to believe that everyone without
any exception recognizes the superiority of the law?

Will the society change its mentality about the state? Will the
society be brave enough to think that the state is just an entity
composed of citizens — citizens who are not only subjects but also
individuals with rights? Once society accepts this fact, will it
question the persons who are claiming that they are representing the
state?

Strong belief — or, to put it more correctly, strong perception of
some state officials who think that they are above society — is one
of the main reasons for the existence of these gangs. Since some
believe in this, the natural outcome is that citizens are not
valuable and the law is something forgettable because ordinary
citizens don’t understand the state’s affairs and don’t have the
ability to understand the high interests of the state. Will society,
citizens who are totally aware of their rights, force a change in
this understanding? Will society be brave enough to face up to its
history and its understanding of negative nationalism, which creates
countless ‘others’ as enemies?

These understandings have engrained themselves in society through the
education system and became almost a part of our genes. Will we be
brave enough to fight against our genes?

To get rid of these gangs, the right question is not if the
government will be brave enough to go through to the end, but if the
society will be brave enough to go through to the end.

Because, as Edmond Burke puts it, "The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

27.01.2008
AYSE KARABAT

PhilBoxing.com, The Philippines
Jan 27 2008

DARCHINYAN PUBLIC WORKOUT ON JAN 30

PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 27 Jan 2008

CEBU CITY — Cebuano boxing fans will finally witness `The Raging
Bull’ in person as the reigning IBO super flyweight king Vic
Darchinyan is slated to hold a public workout at the ALA Boxing Gym
in the Banilad Town Center on Jan 28, Wednesday.

Darchinyan is a dominant figure in the IBF flyweight division as his
kingship spanned four straight years from 2004 through 2007, annexing
the IBO title with his 8-round knockout of Mzukisi Sikali of Japan on
Mar 27, 2005. He rampaged both divisions with 28 wins and zero
defeats until Filipino firepower Nonito Donaire Jr. snatched both
crowns in a 5th round stoppage in July last year. The taste of defeat
so hit him badly he went back into his game with a conquest of the
vacant IBO super flyweight title three months later.

Darchinyan (29-1-0, KOs 23) began boxing at age eight in Vanadzor,
the third largest city in Armenia where boxing was very popular. He
was Age Champion in the Armenia Junior Amateur Boxing circuit in the
108 lbs class for five years straight. He left Armenia in 1994 to
pursue an amateur boxing career and started training in Sochi, a
sprawling city just north of the southern Russian border. He
represented Russia in over 10 tournaments before he joined the
Ukraine team in 1996.

In 1997, he was invited back by Armenia to represent it in amateur
world boxing tournaments, defeating reigning warriors from Hungary
and Australia. He was honored by the Armenian government as the top 3
sports hero, and was honored as one of Armenia’s `Sporting Masters in
Boxing.’

He debuted as a boxing pro in 2000 by outpointing Sande Kizito of
Uganda. His second professional fight was also a point game. But his
heavy fists started to take control in his third pro tournament where
he stopped Filipino pugilist Selvio Glinoco in the 2nd round in 2001,
a feat that ignited a long string of knockouts in his boxing career.

In the same year, Darchinyan took over the vacant Australian
flyweight title with a stoppage in the 7th round. He rose to take the
IBF Pan Pacific flyweight crown in August 2002, and defended the turf
three times before he conquered the IBF flyweight division. He
unified the IBO and IBF super flyweight titles in 2005.

The resurgence of his bullish campaign hit the IBO super flyweight,
frustrating Filipino ringster Federico Catubay with a knockout in the
12th round. Darchinyan arrived in the Mactan shore on Jan 26 in order
to remove the only Filipino standing on his way to again unify the
IBO and IBF super flyweight mantles – Z `The Dream’ Gorres, a technical
craftsman who will stop at nothing to put an end to Darchinyan’s bid
for the IBF super flyweight title.

The eliminator tourney, dubbed as `Now or Never,’ will hit the ring
on Feb 2 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug at
6:00 PM. This year opening battle of epic proportion is brought to
you by Solar Sports in cooperation with ALA Promotions, Gary Shaw
Promotions, and the Cebu City Government, and sponsored by Waterfront
Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Y101, and Kia Motors-Cebu.

The Darchinyan workout is expected to be more bag works and photo
sessions. No sparring has been scheduled. A private workout will
follow on Feb 29 at the ALA Gym Talamban.