Author: Emil Lazarian

“DOES THE EXPRESSION “STATE NEEDS” COINCIDE WITH ELITE BUILDINGS?”
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[03:48 pm] 16 November, 2006
Today the residents of alienated zones organised a rally of protest
and assembled opposite the RA government building. They shouted,
“Go away, thieves!”
“Shame on you, prime minister!” “We demand resignation from the post,”
etc. The veterans of the Artsakh war also joined them.
This time the rally participants displayed civil disobedience against
the adoption of the draft bill on “Alienation of Property for State
and Public Needs.”
None of the government representatives received the strikers. The
residents become indignant at the fact that they were neglected
by the authorities. “They ignore us and our demands. If we live in
a democratic country, they ought to respect our rights. This is an
apparent violation of the citizens’ rights”, claims Sonya Barseghyan,
one of the residents.
The strikers continued to shout and warn that the “illegal law”
refers to each citizen of the Republic of Armenia. They claimed that
they had been paid lower than the current prices at the market.
By the way, the strikers are going to organise the next rally of
protest opposite the President’s residence. They will call on Robert
Kocharyan to negotiate with them tete-a-tete.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE PARTIES TOUCHED UPON THE ISSUES OF THE CO-CHAIRS’ VISIT
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The NKR MFA Press-Service
[04:07 pm] 16 November, 2006
On November 15, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic Masis Mayilian received a group of members of the office of
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Personal Representative (CiO PR).
In the course of the meeting office employee Gunter Volk (Germany)
introduced to Masis Mayilian newly appointed Field Assistant of the
OSCE CiO PR, Kazakh diplomat Jaslan Nourtazin.
The participants of the talk touched upon issues concerning the coming
regular monitoring of the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed
forces contact-line, as well as the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict to the region planned for
the last decade of December.
Masis Mayilian answered the questions in which the newly appointed
Field Assistant of the OSCE CiO PR was interested in.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIAN ARMS IMPORTED TO ARMENIA
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[07:28 pm] 16 November, 2006
Today the arms of the Russian military base located in Tbilisi were
being taken out of the city. The first train left for Gyumri.
Another train loaded with Russian arms will arrive in Armenia by the
turn of the year.
The Russian Defense Ministry has decided to remove the arms and
transport them to Armenia prior to the fixed deadline. The decision was
determined by the recent worsening of the Georgian-Russian relations.
Over 350-ton stores, ammunition and 390 servicemen will be taken out
of Tbilisi.

NOW MONEY TRANSFERS FROM RUSSIA TO ARMENIA CAN BE MADE IN NATIONAL CURRENCY
Regnum, Russia
Nov 18 2006
For the first time, it has become possible to transfer money from
Russia to Armenia in the Armenian national currency – dram (AMD),
the chairman of the Council of the Unibank, the president of the
Uniastrum bank (Moscow) Gagik Zakaryan said during a press-conference
in Yerevan Nov 17.
A REGNUM correspondent reports Zakaryan to say that, from now on,
people in Russia will be able to transfer money to Armenia in AMD
via the UNIStream system – with 0% commission. “We are planning to
get profit not from commission but from the conversion of foreign
currency and RUR into AMD,” Zakaryan said. He noted that this project
is a novelty for Russia too. It will make it much easier for people
to transfer money, while the recipients will know beforehand how much
they will get in AMD. “We are planning to start transferring money
to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, but this time we will already
charge commission because the money will be transferred to partner
banks who have their own interests,” Zakaryan said.
The chairman of the Board of the Unibank Vardan Atayan said that the
system was introduced quite recently and has transferred 6.5mln AMD
($17,500), so far. The system can transfer not only AMD, but also
RUR, USD and some other currencies. According to the forecasts, the
UNIStream system will transfer a total of $400mln-$420mln to Armenia,
including $100mln-$120mln in Nov-Dec.
The president of the Central Bank of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan said that
the introduction of the system of AMD transfers will allow people to
reduce their losses as presently they have to convert their transfers
twice: first, in Russia from RUR into USD and, then, in Armenia from
USD into AMD. The system of AMD transfers will also allow to make
the Armenian economy less dollarized.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIGHTS OF MILITARY SERVANTS NOT STIPULATED IN LAW
Panorama.am
14:55 16/11/06
“Military service and human rights are contradicting at
the first glance but there is an option under which they are
compatible.” Vaga Amirkhanyan, head of “Hakastver” NGO (Against
shadow), said. Amirkhanyan talks about contract service. Harutiun
Mukhsi -Hoveyan, personnel department head at the ministry of defense,
said there are a lot of contract military servants in the army but
he declined to unveil their number.
Speaking about prospects of contract service, Mukhsi-Hoveyan said,
“Time will show.” He also said contract service will run together
with compulsory military service.
“Contract service is a base for democracy in the army which will
respect the right of military servants,” Vladimir Priakhin, OSCE
Yerevan Office head, said.
“After constitutional changes, there is a need to make amendments in
a number of laws, including relating to military,” Serjik Avetisyan,
judge of military and criminal affairs appeal court, said. He said
there are laws in Russia will enable a military servant to complain
against the orders of his commanders as well as defense minister and
chief headquarter commander which are not available in Armenia. He
said Armenian laws enable to complain against higher rank orders only
through supervisors.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANKARA GèLE SES RELATIONS MILITAIRES AVEC LA FRANCE
Laurent Zecchini
Le Monde, France
18 novembre 2006 samedi
LA FRANCE s’est efforcee, jeudi 16 novembre, de minimiser la
decision de geler les relations militaires franco-turques, annoncee
la veille par le general Ilker Basbug, chef d’etat-major de l’armee
de terre. A l’occasion d’une reception marquant le 23e anniversaire
de la Republique (autoproclamee) de Chypre du Nord, le ” numero deux
” des forces armees turques avait indique : ” Les relations dans le
domaine militaire avec la France ont ete suspendues. ”
Si elle se confirmait (ni le Quai d’Orsay, ni le ministère de la
defense n’ont recu d’avis officiel), cette decision constituerait la
première mesure de represailles contre la France après l’adoption,
le 12 octobre, par l’Assemblee nationale, d’une proposition de loi
reprimant la negation du genocide armenien de 1915.
Mehmet Dulger (AKP), president de la commission des affaires etrangères
du Parlement turc, a explique que la Turquie n’avait pas d’autre
choix, le vote de l’Assemblee nationale etant considere comme ”
un acte d’hostilite contre la Turquie “. ” Nous devions agir, on ne
s’attend pas a un tel geste de la part d’un ami “, a-t-il ajoute,
dans une declaration rapportee par l’International Herald Tribune.
Les diplomates francais ont rappele a leurs homologues turcs que
le vote d’une proposition de loi (d’initiative parlementaire) ne se
traduit pas forcement par une loi, le Senat n’ayant d’ailleurs pas
inscrit ce texte a son ordre du jour.
” Les Turcs ont voulu marquer le coup sur le plan interieur. Après le
vote de 2001 – la loi reconnaissant le genocide armenien – , il y avait
eu une periode de refroidissement, pendant dix-huit mois, puis tout
est rentre dans l’ordre “, assure-t-on au ministère de la defense,
où l’on confirme cependant qu’une reunion franco-turque destinee a
adopter un ” plan de cooperation ” militaire, prevue en decembre,
a ete annulee par Ankara.
Cette decision pourrait cependant avoir des consequences, dans la
mesure où la France et la Turquie ont d’etroits liens militaires
(notamment via l’OTAN), au travers d’operations exterieures
(Afghanistan, Bosnie, Kosovo, Liban et Centrafrique).
Eurocopter est, d’autre part, en competition pour un marche d’environ
1,5 milliard d’euros portant sur la vente de quelque 52 helicoptères
Cougar et NH90 a l’armee turque.
–Boundary_(ID_iXqCWbi3XdgvAm4jyrdLhw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE ECONOMIST: FRANCE’S ARMENIAN BILL RESTRICTS FREE SPEECH
Journal of Turksih Weekly, Turkey
Nov 17 2006
London-based The Economist reported that the main reason of the
Armenian bill in France was growing hostility towards Turkey and its
EU membership. ‘Free speech under threat’ titled article says that
the Armenian bill restricts freedom of speech in France.
The Economist reports:
“The most vivid example of the creeping extension of Holocaust-denial
laws has come in the French National Assembly, which last week voted
for a bill to make denial of the genocide of Armenians in Turkey during
the first world war a criminal offence. The political context for
this was not just vociferous lobbying by Armenians in France but also
growing hostility among voters to the idea of Turkish membership of
the European Union. To appeal to such voters, the assembly proved ready
to place restrictions on one of the most fundamental of all freedoms,
that of speech (though in fact the bill is unlikely to become law).”
“This is a perfectly logical extension of a slew of laws imposing
free-speech restrictions to suppress racial, ethnic and religious
hatred. Indeed, it may be an offence to deny the Armenian genocide
in France already, because its Holocaust-denial law was extended in
1990 to cover all crimes against humanity. Bernard Lewis, an American
historian, was condemned by a French court in 1995 under this law.
Britain also has laws against incitement to racial hatred; last January
it tried but failed to extend them to religious hatred. On the face
of it, then, it does not seem outlandish for Muslims to demand that
Islam be equally “protected” under speech-restricting laws.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KAZAKHSTAN RECOGNIZES AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Nov 17 2006
Kazakhstan recognizes territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev said today at the eighth Summit of
the Heads of Turkish-speaking States in Antalya, Turkey.
“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be peacefully solved in
accordance with international norms. We will further continue our
cooperation with Azerbaijan within international organizations”.
Mr. Nazarbayev also added his country condemns all terrorist acts
in various regions of the world, and is against the international
terrorism and separatism.

YOUTH CALL FOR ACTION TO STOP KILLINGS OF ETHNIC ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA
By Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Nov 17 2006
About three dozen young men gathered near the Armenian Foreign
Ministry building on Friday to denounce the recent killings of ethnic
Armenians in Russia and call for Yerevan’s official response to what
they believe to be crimes committed on ethnic grounds.
They said their previous protest actions near the Russian Embassy in
Yerevan were followed by more murders of ethnic Armenians in Russia
with clearly ethnic motives that they said had been covered up by
Russian law officials as hooligan actions.
This time around the young activists addressed their appeal to Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian.
“The Year of Armenia in Russia is being accompanied with brutal
murders of young Armenians,” a letter addressed to Oskanian reads.
“We are full of grief and anger with the criminal inaction under the
pretext of the so-called complementary policy.”
The letter was originally signed by nine activists. About 200
passers-by also joined in the demand by putting their signatures to
the appeal.
One of the activists, Izabela Sarkisian, cited statistics according
to which some 3,000 Armenians have been murdered in Russia in the
past ten years. “All those murdered are qualified as hooliganism
and not as murders on racist grounds. We call for Armenia’s clear
stance on this matter,” she told RFE/RL. “We believe that under the
constitution the Republic of Armenia has the obligation to take care
of its every citizen and do everything for our compatriots to feel
more secure in foreign countries.”
Head of the Ministry’s Russia Division Marina Balayan accepted
the letter from the protestors and promised them to forward it to
Minister Oskanian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY SUSPENDS MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE OVER ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Nov 16 2006
Turkey has suspended military relations with France over the French
Parliament’s passage of a bill penalizing those who question Armenian
genocide claims, Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug said
late Wednesday.
“Relations with France in the military field have been suspended,”
Basbug said. Asked whether there were any cancellations of military
visits, Basbug said, “There are no high-level visits between the
two countries.”
Basbug made the remarks during a reception held in Ankara to mark
the 23rd anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The move of the French Parliament raises tensions with a key member
of the European Union at a time when Turkey’s negotiations to become a
member of the 25-nation bloc look increasingly troubled, with neither
side willing to give way on a dispute over divided Cyprus.
Lale Sariibrahimoglu, an expert on military issues, told AP that the
cancellation of visits would not have a substantial effect on military
contracts. “In the past few years, France had not had a very high
chance of winning Turkish military contracts anyway, for example
in helicopter and satellite procurement projects,” she said. For
example, the Eurocopter Group’s Tiger helicopter was eliminated from
the running to supply attack helicopters to Turkey, she said.
A Turkish, army-owned conglomerate, Oyak, has several partnerships
with French companies, including Renault, and these investments were
not likely to be affected, Sariibrahimoglu said.
Turkey says that large numbers of Armenians died in mass expulsions
and fighting during war conditions of 1915, but says the number of
dead is exaggerated and that most were killed in interethnic battles
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed. The French bill, which introduces
prison terms up to one year and fines up to 45,000 euros to those who
question the Armenian genocide claims, would have to be approved by
the French Senate and president to become law.
France and Turkey are both NATO members, and Turkey has bought
French weaponry. The two countries also have participated in military
exercises together, and have sent troops to serve in the international
peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
Turkey has said that the French lawmakers’ vote has deeply harmed
relations. A Turkish consumers’ union has urged a boycott of French
goods, and Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog suggested a complete boycott
of French films and other media.
The European Union has criticized the French bill, saying it is not
in line with the principle of free expression. The U.S. has also
criticized the bill, saying it obstructs Turkish-Armenian dialogue.
Paris plays down Turkish halt of military ties
The French Defense Ministry on Thursday played down the Turkish
decision to suspend military ties with France and said the announced
move had no immediate impact.
Ministry spokesperson Jean-Francois Bureau said France believes
that existing cooperation with Turkey will continue. Specifically,
he mentioned operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan.
“There is a relationship of work and cooperation in these operational
commitments with Turkey that are extremely important and which,
in our eyes, will continue,” he said.
Bureau noted that the suspension was announced by a military commander,
not Turkey’s civilian government.
“Until now, the announcement has not had any practical and concrete
effects,” he said, although he added that there could be some in
the future.
He also noted that military relations recovered in recent years from
a previous chill in 2001, when France passed a law recognizing the
Armenian genocide claims.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress