Author: Emil Lazarian

A1+
«THEY DID NOT BEAT US; WE LOST OURSELVES»
[07:03 pm] 27 October, 2006
`Armenia has always faced a dilemma; it used to be
between Byzantium and Persia before, and now it is
between the West and Russia’, announced member of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Alvard Petrosyan in `Pastark’ club
during the discussion of Armenian-Russian relations.
Mrs. Petrosyan who has grown up in Russian atmosphere
and considers Russian literature one of the greatest
achievements of the world, also considers servility
and blind admiration for the Russians unacceptable.
`Once there were Russian painters in our house who
asked me if we love them. I answered that we wouldn’t
love them if we had any alternative’. Alvard Petrosyan
admits that it’s impossible to solve many problems
without Russia, but the fear that we can’t live
without them is destructive for us.
Alvard Petrosyan can’t stand it when someone comes
Armenia and calls us an outpost, «I’m not angry with
the Russians; I’m angry with us. They did not beat us;
we lost it ourselves».
According to Mrs. Petrosyan, it is fashionable today
to love France, «I highly appreciate their culture,
but France would never adopt the resolution if they
didn’t need it themselves. Protecting us, France
protects itself. At this rate the Eiffel tower will
become the highest mosque of the world».

A1+
AZERBAIJAN IS WORRIED
[09:08 pm] 27 October, 2006
Armenian armed forces have started to bring additional
weaponry and troupes to the `occupied’ Azeri
territories, Azeri Mass Media claim.
In particular, new weaponry and troupes are observed
in the Aghdam part of the border line.
According to Azeri sources, the Armenian armed forces
have been strengthening their positions in the
`occupied’ Azeri territories since December 2005,
Radio station `Azatutyun’ informs.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am
13:43 27/10/06

WORLD BANK SAYS ARMENIA NOT TO HAVE TWO-DIGIT GDP
GROWTH IN 2008-2009
Armenia will not have two-digit growth of GDP in
2008-2009, Rojer Robinson, head of Yerevan office of
World Bank (WB), told a news conference today. He said
WB has never forecast 12.5% growth of GDP for Armenia.
In his words, one should be very careful in economic
forecasts because they serve as a base for the state
budget. `However, I do not see a reason for not
keeping to the pace of stable economic growth,’ he
said. `Armenia need serious institutional reforms for
stable pace of GDP growth for the coming 10 years,’
Robinson said. /Panorama.am/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am
15:01 27/10/06

DEPUTY PINPOINTS TO ARMENIAN FOREIGN POLICY FAULTS
Stepan Zakaryan, member of Justice block, said if
Armenia had not lost its independence because of
incorrect foreign policy, Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
would not have the diameter it has now. In his words,
even the West agreed that the pipeline would be
transit but Armenia could not protect her interests,
he said.
The deputy said Armenia has become a `pillar’ for
Russia because of the faults of the Armenian
authorities. He said in the case of Javakhk Armenia
should protect her interests, too. He said the Armenia
authorities should clearly say that they protect human
rights and will defend the interests of Armenians
living in Javakhk. Speaking about Russian-Armenian
relations, Zakaryan said Russian should be made to
understand that Armenia is not her `pillar.’ /Panorama.am/

PanARMENIAN.Net
Schiff: High Time That We as Nation Recognize Armenian Genocide
28.10.2006 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Congressman Adam Schiff, the
author of Armenian Genocide legislation which passed
the House International Relations Committee, commended
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her support
of Genocide recognition legislation. Leader Pelosi
recently committed to support Armenian Genocide
legislation in the 110th session of Congress if she
becomes Speaker of the House, Schiff’s Press Secretary
Sean Oblack told PanARMENIAN.Net. “There is no hiding
the fact that one and a half million Armenians were
deliberately murdered at the beginning of the 20th
Century, and it is high time that we as a nation
recognize these heinous crimes for what they were – a
genocide,” Schiff said. “I stand with Leader Pelosi in
her commitment to get this important legislation
passed. We need to acknowledge these horrible
atrocities of the past, in order to progress towards a
brighter future.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 28 2006
Turkey set to bring dynamism to BSEC
Turkey is aiming at bringing a new dynamism to the organization of
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), during its six-month term
presidency starting Wednesday.
BSEC Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Murat Sungar told The New
Anatolian that Turkey will carry out a more active policy during its
Term Presidency and as a sign of that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
is expected to participate in the upcoming 15th meeting of the
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Moscow next week.
“International developments are making the Black Sea region much more
important for almost all countries. The region, which lies at the
crossroads of Europe and Asia has big economic potentials. Turkey,
which led efforts to establish the BSEC 15 years ago, now aims at
bringing a new momentum to the organization,” Sungar said.
According to Sungar, despite various interesting projects being
raised by BSEC members in the past, most of them haven’t been
realized. “One of the projects that will gain more importance in the
coming period will be the so-called ring-road project, which aims to
link the countries of the region,” Sungar said.
Turkey is also planning to host a major meeting of the BSEC next
June, which will bring the heads of states of the member countries to
Istanbul. The event will mark the 15th anniversary of the BSEC.
On June 25, 1992, the heads of state and governments of 11 countries
signed in Istanbul a summit declaration and the Bosphorus Statement
giving birth to the BSEC.
The organization came into existence as a unique and promising model
of multilateral political and economic initiative aimed at fostering
interaction and harmony among the member states, as well as to ensure
peace, stability and prosperity encouraging friendly and
good-neighborly relations in the region.
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova,
Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine are the founding members of the
BSEC. Serbia and Montenegro also later joined.
The United States and Israel are among the 13 observer states.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Vartan Oskanian’s Speech at the Independence Celebration in Washington
ASBAREZ, 10/28/2006
More than 500 Armenian political party leaders, community organization
representatives, religious leaders, dignitaries and government
officials, among them Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
attended a banquet organized by the Armenian Embassy on Oct. 21
marking the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s independence the Omni
Shoreham Hotel. Among the speakers at the event were Foreign Minister
Oskanian and the chairman of the Armenian National Committee of
America, Ken Hachigian. This week we present the text of the two
speeches.
I am pleased, honored, and still a little awed by the fact that I can
stand before you, as foreign minister, at the official celebration of
15 years of Armenia’s independence. The fact that we are celebrating
in this important capital, with the representatives of a strong,
active, prosperous, proud and engaged Diaspora, in the presence of
several of Armenia’s ambassadors, is still the stuff of dreams.
It has been 15 years since our independence. This came at the end of a
difficult century and an even more difficult millennium. Armenians
take great pride in their millennia of history. The leitmotifs that
run through our recollections of our past are fraught with a search
for silver linings.
We have outlived the empires of the Babylonians and Assyrians, the
Hittites and Medes, the Byzantines, the Mongols and the Ottomans. We
shared the gods of the Greeks and the Romans, until St. Gregory
illuminated the path to Christianity. We translated the Bible not just
into Armenian, but also into Chinese. We recorded the history of
Armenians and of Western civilization in beautifully illuminated
manuscripts. We welcomed the Crusaders to our Kingdom in Cilicia, and
accompanied European traders to the exotic East. Instead of
fortifications, we built monasteries and centers of learning which
have withstood invaders and earthquakes.
In the 18th century, when first the American colonies, and later the
people of France were upholding liberty, equality and fraternity, our
students and merchants in Europe, were watching and learning. They
knew that they had rights and liberties as subjects of three different
empires, and used the formulations and vocabulary of the leaders of
the Western enlightenment to articulate them. It wasn’t that they
wanted to overthrow those governments which abused or usurped their
rights, but to reform them. It didn’t work.
The Sublime Porte, which ruled over the majority of Armenians, made
its Armenian minority the scapegoat for its own inability to
govern. The Genocide followed. The remnants of the Armenian people who
emerged following the Genocide had independence hoisted upon them in
1918. A population of refugees, insufficient resources with which to
govern and protect, an elite that did not live in Armenia, and an army
composed of well-meaning patriots-that was Armenia’s first modern
attempt at independence. It was a valiant effort to first wrestle with
the social and existential dangers from within, and later to fight
against the direct physical threats from without. The First Republic
of Armenia survived independently long enough that, when it fell, it
fell as a legitimate, independent, political entity. That entity was
subsumed into the Soviet Union as the Armenian Soviet Socialist
Republic.
That was the journey that brought us to today and to the improbability
of our independence-the improbability that this surviving nation would
witness the fall of yet another empire-this time Lenin’s. And that the
homeland would be born again, free and independent.
In Armenia, and in the Diaspora, too, where you are still overwhelmed
at the improbability of Armenia’s independence, you sometimes suffer
from the reverse: because we’ve never really had independence, we
sometimes believethat we don’t deserve to have it or that it will
necessarily be taken away again. I want to tell you that Armenians are
not only worthy of independence, we are also capable of independence,
aware of the demands of independence, responsive to the expectations
of independence and accepting of the burdens of independence.
But we were ready. Armenia’s Democratic Movement, the Environmental
Movement, the Karabakh Movement were not just the product of a changed
Soviet Union, but they also accelerated the transformation of the
USSR.
Independence is borne of high ideals. We believed that freedom is the
secret to a prosperous nation, a healthy nation, a fair and just
nation, and a stable future. We believed that freedom isn’t just the
right to do what you want, it’s the opportunity to do what you want,
it’s the opportunity to make choices, the right choices.
We made the basic choice ”we chose the way of a liberal society”open
markets and democratic institutions. That was the first choice.
And today, as we celebrate independence, we are celebrating that
choice. We are celebrating in Washington, the capital of the country
that proved thata liberal economy in a democratic republic is a
winning combination. Americans are the people who set out to design a
political system that is built around the individual, his liberties
and capacities.
In other words, the American Declaration of Independence is about
rights. It is a testament to the rights of individuals, of peoples, of
society. But no man was ever endowed with a right without being at the
same time saddled with a responsibility.
We are privileged to be the generation that is consolidating
independence. We do have wide and generous opportunities to turn a
dream into a country,a stable country with a promising future.
And to that end, I want to propose a declaration of
responsibilities. Our responsibilities. This generation’s
responsibilities. The responsibilitiesof Armenia and Diaspora, of all
those who call themselves Armenian.
* We have a responsibility to empower our people to confidently
participate in building their democracy.
* We have a responsibility to create an even playing field for every
Armenian citizen.
* We have the responsibility to continue on the diffcult but necessary
path of political and economic reforms.
* We have a responsibility not to take Armenia for granted, but to
work to create an Armenia that makes real the promises of democracy
and freedom.
* We have a responsibility to remember our past, without being bound
by it, because the future is ours.
* We have a responsibility to reach a just and lasting resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on mutual compromise.
8 We have a responsibility to make the Diaspora an extension of the
homeland- not a permanent dislocation, not a destructive dispersion.
* We have a responsibility to welcome and embrace every Diasporan who
calls himself or herself an Armenian.
* We have a responsibility to rally every bit of our
resources-individual and collective, private and public.
* We have a responsibility to stand united, to work united, to go
forward united in the face of new challenges, we can win together, and
not lose separately.
These responsibilities come with independence, with freedom, with
liberty. Demanding freedom means recognizing the responsibility to
ourselves, for ourselves. Freedom is also the right to make mistakes,
to learn from those mistakes. It remains for those who have greater
experience in freedom to be patient as we sort out the options and
freely choose the one that is right for us.
We believed that independence may be bestowed, but freedom must be
achieved. Independence meant rights. Liberty means responsibility.
Thank you
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

World Screen News, NY
Oct 26 2006
Globo Hails Successful MIPCOM
RIO DE JANEIRO, October 26: Globo TV International has announced the
highlights of its MIPCOM stint, including a slate of new deals as
well as securing an International Emmy nod in the dramatic series
category for its telenovela Little Missy.
The first novela ever nominated in this International Emmy category,
the show recently wrapped its Brazilian run with a 60 percent
audience share.
On the sales end, Soico TV in Mozambique, which has already broadcast
more than 30 Globo TV International productions, has signed up for
Belíssima and the JK mini-series.
Romania’s Acasa TV renewed an agreement to broadcast more than 350
hours of Globo telenovelas in 2007. The selected titles include
Belíssima and America.
Armenia TV, currently broadcasting two telenovelas – Taste of Passion
and America – has signed an agreement to air Belíssima and Soul Mate,
plus the historical miniseries Mad Maria and JK. Belíssima was also
sold to Imedi Television in Georgia.
Finally, City of Men was purchased by Fox Italy and Swiss TV. The
acclaimed series has been licensed into some 50 markets, including
the U.S., with Sundance, the U.K., with BBC Four, and France, with
France 5.

San Mateo Daily Journal, CA
Oct 26 2006
Anna Eshoo has come a long way in Congress
By Keith Kreitman

There is no question U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, 63, is a
people person. I still recall the first time I interviewed her six
years ago. That interview is still relevant to this day.
After speaking at a legislative luncheon, she started in my direction
but was cut off again and again by friends, fans and well wishers.
There were hugs and short intense verbal exchanges and then, another
move in my direction, only to be interrupted again by hugs and more
intense verbal exchanges.
Meanwhile I was leaning against a post contemplating my `lead’ for
the story.
Should it be, `Another lady disproves the myth that women cannot be
hard-nosed, effective legislators?’
Or, should it be, `The lady has guts,’ for her vote in favor of the
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) despite the opposition of
some of her most ardent constituent supporters?
This reflects the dichotomy legislators must face when they are sent
to represent a local district and are asked to vote on issues of
broader national scope.
Some quiver, quake and vote only their own local interests.
Others rise above that and vote their consciences for what they
perceive to be the greater national good. These are the ones who make
history and leave their mark on the national consciousness.
Finally, she reached me and we headed for a stairway and away from
this madding crowd.
No luck! Another fan was mounting the stairs. Another hug and another
short intense exchange and finally we were able to make it across the
lobby to some soft chairs in a secluded corner of an adjoining room.
Our staff photographer, was circling about us with his cameras like a
stalking panther.
`Matt!’ I growled. `Take her photo from any angle. There’s no way
that you could ever make this lady look bad.’
Another friend walked across the room. Another intense exchange. Does
she know and make contact with everyone in the world?
Finally, she leaned forward to speak. Intense. Passionate. Infused
with the juices of life. To me, it was deja vu, like the old days in
ethnic Chicago where people freely communicated their emotions as
well as their intellect. Like the others before me that morning, to
Anna Eshoo, at this moment, I was the only other person in the world.
Facts: Born in New Britain, Conn. Armenian-Assyrian. (Looks with
disdain upon those who change their names to disguise origin for
career purposes.) Father: jeweler and watchmaker. Mother: housewife.
Speaks lovingly about her greatest accomplishments, her teacher
daughter and then college student son who, after serving in the Peace
Corps, is now a humanitarian and economic aide in Laos.
Came to California in 1962. Served for 10 years on the San Mateo
County Board of Supervisors before winning a seat in Congress in
1993. Sixty-three years old.
She speaks passionately about her commitment to her constituents,
expanded health care, environmental protection, abuse-protection for
women and children and other humane areas of legislation.
Then, I framed the next question as delicately and sensitively as
possible: `How in the hell did you, the first Democrat in decades and
the first woman ever, become elected with a 20 percent majority in
such a heavily Republican district?’
She sat back shyly and modestly presents me with a practiced litany
about how she had learned to be a loser in her first run in 1988 and
how her 1,200 volunteers had put her over the top and …
I broke in: `Baloney! C’est toi! C’est toi! It’s you! It’s you! You
did it. You touched some nerve and revived some confidence in the
disenchanted electorate to gain a margin of victory that would have
been a shock even in Mayor Daley’s Chicago.
`Nobody can tell me that a Congressional member who is a favorite of
both the president and vice president of the United States, has been
elected repeatedly to leadership positions so early in her national
career and who has won the ungrudging support of the hard-nosed CEOs
of Silicon Valley is a shrinking violet. You’ve got something, Lady!
Well, she has never gone off that course. Same issues. Same concerns,
except expanded, big time. Now, she sits on the House Intelligence
Committee, where she is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on
Technical and Tactical Intelligence; the House Energy and Commerce
Committee; Subcommittee on Telecommunication and the Internet;
Subcommittee on Health; the House Medical Technology Caucus and the
21st Century Health Care Caucus.
And, although she opposed our involvement in Iraq, she is unfailingly
a big-time supporter of our troops wherever they are, as well as
returning veterans.
Are there any committees more important in the 21st century than
these where Eshoo can exercise her experience as a legislator and
strong influence?
As we used to say back in the 1960s, `You’ve come a long way, lady!’
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Business Wire (press release), CA
Oct 27 2006
Comstar-UTS Announces Acquisition of Armenian Telecommunications
Group CallNet/Cornet
MOSCOW–(BUSINESS WIRE)–JSC `COMSTAR – United TeleSystems’ (`Comstar
UTS’, LSE: CMST), the leading provider of integrated
telecommunication services in Russia and the CIS, today announced
that it has acquired majority shareholding in CallNet and its 100%
owned subsidiary Cornet (together the `Group’) in the Republic of
Armenia. Comstar has purchased 75% of the shares plus one share with
an option to acquire the remaining stake in the Group. The companies
together comprise the second largest alternative telecommunications
group in the Republic of Armenia: Callnet is a transit operator and
Cornet is an Internet Services Provider.
CallNet is one of the four telecom operators in the Republic of
Armenia, which have a license to provide transit of international
traffic across Armenia, a strong competitive advantage due to high
volume of incoming international voice traffic in Armenia. Cornet has
a fast growing customer base, including 76% of the banking sector in
Armenia. In 2005 the consolidated revenues of the Group doubled year-
on -year to US $4.3 million.
Eric Franke, CEO and President of Comstar – United TeleSystems,
commented: «Both companies have leading positions in the fast growing
telecom segments in the Republic of Armenia – data transmission and
Internet access- the same business model that Comstar has in Russia.
Cornet is a sole provider of WiMax services in Armenia, and we will
use their expertise in the deployment of WiMax services in Russia.
This acquisition clearly provides us with additional synergies within
Comstar-UTS Group».
The purchase of CallNet and Cornet is the second transaction by
Comstar UTS in the CIS, and it follows on the JV agreement signed in
June of 2006 to establish the subsidiary Comstar – Ukraine with the
local partner OOO Neotel.
`This is the first transaction in a pipeline of new acquisitions
which we announced in October 2006 to make use of IPO proceeds in
order to implement our investment program in the regions’, –
continued Eric Franke.
Comstar UTS is a leading provider of integrated communications
services in Moscow and the Moscow region in terms of revenues and
subscribers and also offers communications services in other regions
of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Comstar UTS had
3.6 million subscribers in its traditional segment of the business,
479.2 thousand subscribers in its alternative segment in Moscow and
91.1 thousand subscriber in its alternative segment in the regions at
June 30, 2006. Comstar UTS offers voice, data and Internet, pay-TV
and various value-added services to corporate, operator and
residential subscribers, using its alternative and traditional
fixed-line networks. Comstar UTS had consolidated operating revenues
of US$ 286.6 million for the second quarter of 2006 and Comstar UTS’
consolidated assets totalled US$ 2.7 billion at June 30, 2006.
Comstar UTS ordinary shares are listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange
and on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol `CMST’.
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections
or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the
future financial performance of Comstar UTS. You can identify forward
looking statements by terms such as `expect,’ `believe,’
`anticipate,’ `estimate,’ `intend,’ `will,’ `could,’ `may’ or
`might’, the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.
Comstar UTS wishes to caution you that these statements are only
predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially.
Comstar UTS does not intend to update these statements to reflect
events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could
cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in
projections or forward-looking statements of Comstar UTS, including,
among others, general economic conditions, the competitive
environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid
technological and market change in the industries Comstar UTS
operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to
Comstar UTS and its operations.
Comstar UTS
Masha Eliseeva, +7 495 950 02 27
Mobile +7 495 997 08 52
[email protected]
or
Shared Value Limited
Larisa Kogut-Millings, +44 (0) 20 7321 5037
[email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress