Author: Emil Lazarian

DEMOCRATIC PARTY READY FOR COOPERATION

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: Leader of a minor opposition party
advocated today formation of a self-sufficient alliance to contest
next parliamentary elections saying it should be able to press for
what he called ‘systematic changes in the country."

Aram Sarkisian, leader of the Democratic Party, elected to parliament
in 2003 polls on the opposition Ardarutyun (Justice) bloc’s ticket,
said to a news conference today that he would not object to a wider
alliance and is prepared to cooperate with all forces that are
determined not only to supervise the voting on the election day but
also all election-related processes.

"The opposition bares a great responsibility… It has to has an
effective team and political will to face any force majeur situation
that may erupt during the election campaign or on voting day," he
told reporters.

Sarkisian said his party activists will meet February 24 for a
conference to decide the format of its participation in the elections,
tentatively slated for May 12 and will declare their goals and plans.

Sarkisian predicted ‘an interesting competition’ among opposition
forces saying at least two or three opposition blocs would be made
of parties with different ideologies.

He argued that voters should be given a chance to make their choices
after listening to opposition forces’ approaches to various issues,
particularly, on foreign policy. "We are for Armenia’s integration
with international organizations, but we are against its joining
NATO… We deem it unacceptable, because that would make a partner
a rival,’ he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN COMMUNISTS SPEAK AGAINST HATE CRIMES IN RUSSIA

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: Head of the Communist Party of Armenia
slammed today Russian law-enforcement bodies for their reluctance to
stop the increasingly endemic violence against Armenians and other
dark-skinned natives of the Caucasus in Russia, saying his party and
the People’s Party of Tigran Karapetian would team up for a protest
action if hate crimes against Armenians in Russia continue.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #014, 26/01/2007

Murder of Hrant Dink

OPPOSITION CRITICIZES "WE ALL ARE ARMENIANS, WE ALL
ARE HRANT" SLOGAN

Prime Minister Erdoghan Condemns Nationalists

On January 23, over 100 thousand participants of the
funeral of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
were shouting "We all are Armenians, We all are Hrant"
slogan. The Turkish "Star" reported about this in its
January 25 issue. Muhusin Yazejeoghli, chairman of
"Great Union" party greatly criticized this action of
protest on January 24.

This party is a more extremist one, that the political
union of the "grey wolves," i.e. the Nationalist
Movement Party. On the contrary, the
Democratic-Republican Party founded by Kemal Ataturk
is considered to serve as a guarantee for democratic
developments in Turkey.

Nevertheless, all these factors do not hinder Onur
Oymen, former ambassador and deputy chairman of the
party, to remember the 40 Turkish diplomates killed by
the Armenian Secret Army for Liberation of Armenia,
when holding a speech condemning the murder of Hrant
Dink.

According to the Turkish Publis TV, Oymen stated that
till now they didn’t reveal the murderers of most of
their friends. "When Galip Balkar was killed and his
body was brought to Turkey, only the family members
and the officials from the foreign ministry
participated in his funeral, instead of dozens of
thousands rally participants. Certainly, we should pay
tribute to the murdered and condemn murders, but we
shouldn’t forget other victims and find forces in
ourselves to shout "We all are Balkar, we all are
Erez," he stated.

>>From this viewpoint, Develet Bahcheli, chairman of
Nationalist Movement party, shared the ideas of Oymen.
According to the January 24 issue of "Sabah," Bahcheli
condemned those who demanded to make amendments to the
article #301 of the Turkish Criminal Code after the
murder of Hrant Dink. In particular, Bahcheli
said:"The murder of Dink is a dirty deed. But one
shouldn’t call the turksih state a murderer for this
recent murder case and demand repsponsibility from
those who came out to the streets with black flags
immediately after the murder.

It is notable that these circles, even representing a
part of the Turkish nation, never appear on the
funeral of Armenian victims, but always find suitable
inventing new slogans. This is a incosisitency that
still lacks explanaiton.

Bahceli, condemning the "We are all Armenians, we are
all Hrant" slogan, also tried to prevent accusing the
nationalists for the murder. Even though leader of
Turkey’s Nationalistic Movement party gave no name,
Prime Minister Erdogan in his accusatory speech
defined the addressee. "I can never recognize as
nationalisst those people who do respect neither the
law or the human rights and who kill guiltless people.
No one but God can take a life of a man, given by
God," said he.

It shoukld also be noted that Mr. Erdogan, so as to
express his condolences to the Armenian people and the
family of the victim, visited the house of Hrant Dink
and the Armenian Patriarchy of Istanbul. On his
meeting with the Armenian Patriarch Mesrop II Mutafian
the Turkish Prime Minister said that besides punishing
the murderer, the uthorities will do eevrything to
find the organizers of the assasination.

By Hakob Chakrian

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

"OVER 70 PERCENT OF ELECTORATE WON’T PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTIONS"

A1+
[03:03 pm] 25 January, 2007

"Robert Kocharyan is to bear responsibility for everything that might
happen these months", Aram Sargsyan, leader of Democratic Party of
Armenia announced today in the Pastark Club.

He doesn’t deem the rumors about the alliance of Republican and
Prosperous Armenia Parties serious.

"I would congratulated them if they united as everybody would
understand that Prosperous Armenia is not a new force in our reality;
it is but an illusion, Robert Kocharyan’s program. Unfortunately that
alliance will not come true".

In Mr. Sargsyan’s words, Republicans make state employees join them,
whereas Prosperous Armenia enlarges under the guise of charity.

Democratic Party approves of the formation of an oppositional force
which will be gain the confidence and respect of the people. As
for Robert Kocharyan’s anticipations on parliamentary elections,
Mr. Sargsyan has certain reservation on this score. "If one wants
to become the Prime Minister and the other – the president, the gap
between the authorities will deepen; the power must be in the hands
of one person".

Mr. Sargsyan claims that everything will be decided on election
night, during the ballot counting and Robert Kocharyan’s philosophy
"the person having a lot of money is capable of doing everything"
will work. The authorities will reach "the climax" that very night.

If in 2003 there was only one person in the rival camp, and others
served him, today the situation has changed and more people seek to
seize the power and have its monopoly".

Aram Sargsyan thinks that prior to the Democratic Party’s sitting
(February 24) many things may change in the republic and the party
will make its final decision later on. He only says that DP will
cooperate with people having democratic ideas.

Mr. Sargsayn also adds that outer factor will influence on the
elections as well. "I don’t understand why the USA should allot 6
million AMD to Armenia. Are we Zimbabwe or Burkina Faso? "

If the sum is allocated for democratic processes, it was to be
represented by international structures and not by a concrete country.

DP initiated polling and revealed that over 70perecnt of the voters
won’t participate in the elections.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TERRY DEVIS PROTECTED AZERIS INDIRECTLY

A1+
[04:22 pm] 25 January, 2007

On January 25, Aram Sargsyan, leader of the Democratic Party of
Armenia, commented on the announcement of Terry Davis, Council of
Europe General Secretary, in which the latter said that it is upon the
UNO to grant independence to Kosovo, Nagorno Karabakh, Cyprus and other
territories. Today, Aram Sargsyan considered the issue from angles.

"It is true that the OSCE is entitled to grant NKR independence or
not. If the question is to be considered in the UNO, it means the
matter is transferred to a higher level".

In Mr. Sargsyan’s opinion the negative point is that we don’t have
corresponding voices in the UNO. Aram Sargsyan noted that Terry Davis’s
announcement can be viewed as indirect protection of Azeris taking
into consideration the attempts of Azerbaijan to shift the issue to
the UNO. And yet he added, "Nevertheless, from the point of view of
international right, Davis is right".

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EQUITY OF CASCADE CAPITAL HOLDINGS FINANCIAL GROUP EXCEEDED USD 17 MILLION

Yerevan, January 25. ArmInfo. The equity of the Cascade Capital
Holdings financial group comprised USD 17 million at the beginning of
the current year, informed the CCH CEO Jonathan Stark in his interview
with ArmInfo. He stressed that the borrowings of CCH as of the date
totaled USD18 million, including the debt from EBRD and the World
Bank under various projects.

CCH includes Cascade Bank CJSC, Cascade Bank Georgia CJSC, Cascade
Insurance ICJSC, Cascade Credit Universal Credit Organization CJSC,
Cascade Investments CJSC and Cascade Equity Managers CJSC. CCH is
owned by the US businessman Gerard L. Cafesjian through the US-based
Cafesjian Family Foundation.

According to Jonathan Stark, the target debt and equity of CCH will
reach USD 40 million shortly; intensive negotiations are under way
with international organizations with regard to involvement of CCH
operational units in new projects. He specifically emphasized the
importance of the Bank winning the tender for servicing the cash
flows on the Millennium Challenges Account during 5 years in the total
amount of USD 236 million. "That was a fair competition, and we were
able to offer the best conditions and schemes to the Client;," – stated
Jonathan Stark. According to him, Cascade Bank demonstrates significant
added value since acquisition . As the result of this, the Bank became
a member of the KfW German Development Bank mortgage program; it is
intensively improving the services and building the infrastructure. The
Bank has further developed the E-banking system, and is planning to
offer innovative local ArCa chip cards and MasterCards to its clients.

The Head of CCH expressed his satisfaction with the work of Cascade
Credit, which accomplished the placement of the first private sector
notes in the total amount of USD 400,000 in the open market last
October. "The proceeds from the placement are used for extension
of export orientated loansl. We are currently preparing the second
tranche of notes and are anticipating amendments to the placement
and trading regulations by the Central Bank of Armenia, due to which
natural persons will have the right to purchase the notes," stated
Jonathan Stark. He highly appreciated the participation of Cascade
Credit in the Renewable Energy Program funded by the World Bank and
EBRD. The Company has targeted 20 individual projects; is already
involved in 6, of which 3 projects have already received funds.

According to Jonathan Stark, Cascade Insurance is becoming one of
the leading and most reliable insurance companies in Armenia. The
owner of 35 % of the equity of the Company is EBRD. "It is better
for an insurance company to create horizontal spread in its account,
rather than being dependent on one or two major customers. " stressed
the Head of CCH, emphasizing the actions taken by the regulator –
the CBA in terms of rationalizing the local insurance market into
fewer stronger players.

With regard to Cascade Investment’s development of savings and pensions
products, particularly pension annuities, Jonathan Stark described it
as "the most difficult project from a psychological perspective." "It
is absolutely a new concept for Armenia. We are prepared to be the
first in the market by the time the concept of alternative pension
security gets a start in life," he stated.

Nonetheless, he added that a total amount of USD 2 million had
already been transferred to the Company for trust management. "This
is the money that people entrusted us for management. Through
Cascade Investments, we can attract capital inflows to Armenia
targeting both domestic and Diasporan investors,who are able to keep
continuous track of their cash flows," said the Head of CCH. "If the
US Government trusts us with their money, individuals can feel secure
with Cascade". As Mr. Stark informed, CCH is seriously considering
the regional expansion opportunities with major focus on efficiency
across all subdivisions. "While studying the opportunities of opening
subsidiaries, we are not only oriented on the bank operations,
but also on the business potential of our "financial supermarket"
(one-stop shop) to provide a comprehensive package of services relating
to loans, savings, insurance, pension security and so on," he stated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEW DIRECTOR OF WESTERN UNION’S REPRESENTATION IN ARMENIA, UKRAINE AND GEORGIA

Yerevan, January 26. ArmInfo. Yesterday, the Western Union Company
has informed about appointment of Mikhail Bibirenko a Director of
the Company’s representation in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia from
January 9, 2007. As the "Interfax-Ukraine" reports, M. Bibirenko has
been earlier engaged in finances, taxes and budget in the Procter &
Gamble Company in Russia and Ukraine.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACCEPTS LAWSUIT OF HRANT DINK

ANKARA, JANUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The European Court
of Human Rights on January 25 stated that it accepted the lawsuit of
Hrant Dink, assassined editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper "Akos"
(Istanbul).

After being accused of "insulting Turkish identity" by Article 301
of Turkey’s Criminal Code and getting a six-month suspended sentence,
Dink applied to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to
reconsider the court’s decision.

According to the Jihan news agency (Turkey), the European Court of
Human Rights stated that Dink’s lawsuit is related to violation of
4 articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms: "Article 6 of the Convention says that each
accused person has the right of fair trial, Article 7 stipulates
that there may be no punishment without law, Article 10 says that
everyone has the right of speech freedom, and according to Article
14, manifestation of discrimination is forbidden in any sphere,"
the European Court’s statement says.

Due to the death of the person who filed the suit, the European
Court of Human Rights will ask the family of Hrant Dink to decide the
issue of continuing the suit. The fate of the lawsuit depends on the
family’s decision.

Turkish Revenge Brigades planned to blow up Turkish parliament

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.01.2007 14:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A package suspected of a bomb, which was left on
Thursday at a gate of the Turkish Parliament, has been defused by an
expert, reports Cihan News Agency. Security officials at the Turkish
Grand National Assembly (TBMM) informed the police that a package was
left at the Dikmen entrance of the parliament. Arriving at the scene,
the bomb squad noticed that a clock was placed next to the package so
that it looks like a bomb. A bomb expert defused the package through
a detonator. Police found a memo on the lid of the package that read
"Turkish Revenge Brigades", or TIT.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HEAD OF GENERAL HEADQUARTERS OF RA AF: LET NO ONE THINK OF ANY
AGGRESSIVE ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO ARMENIA!

Yerevan, January 26. ArmInfo. The Armenian Army is ready to fulfill the
tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the first deputy Defense
Minister of Armenia, the Head of the General Headquarters of RA AF,
Colonel-General, Mikael Harutiunyan told the journalists today.

"The Armenian Army has been accomplished. I am sure the Army will
splendidly fulfill all its tasks. The Army protects and will protect
the Motherland", M Harutiunyan said. The Armenian Armed Forces
have high preparedness, they are provided with modern equipment and
armament and are completed with highly-prepared personal staff. Let
no one think of any aggressive actions with respect to Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress