Author: Emil Lazarian

The New Anatolian, Turkey
July 28, 2006
Turkey brushes aside differences with Canada in evacuation effort
The New Anatolian / Ankara
Turkey is winning praise and thanks from Canadians for its
humanitarian efforts to save its people escaping from war-torn
Lebanon, notwithstanding tense relations between the two countries
since April.
Leaving aside tensions stemming from the Canadian government’s
decision to recognize the Armenian genocide claims and Ottawa’s moral
support for Israel in the current Lebanese fighting, a view strongly
opposed by Ankara, Turkish authorities and even citizens rushed to
help the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon and to provide them
with all kinds of assistance before they left for their homeland.
While Canadian Ambassador to Turkey Yves Brodeur thanked Turkey
yesterday for its hospitality, the country’s newspapers called on
Canadians to take note and bear in mind that Turkey avoided
temptation by brushing aside differences when it comes to
humanitarian efforts. “The port of Mersin and the nearby airport in
Adana were instead opened wide for Canadians coming off chartered
ships,” wrote the Montreal Gazette.
“Although it would have been an easy matter for the Turkish
authorities to find themselves too busy to return calls last week
when Canada requested the use of a Turkish port and airport to funnel
Canadians out of Lebanon as the principal staging post at Larnaca,
Greek Cyprus was overflowing with people from many nations, the
cooperation of Turkey’s government simplified the evacuation process
for many Canadians,” the newspaper wrote. According to unofficial
data, authorities said yesterday that so far some 9,500 foreigners,
most of whom were Canadians and Australians, have been evacuated
through the port of Mersin.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who arrived in Adana
yesterday to provide moral support to his country’s citizens escaping
the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, thanked Turkey in Turkish for the
country’s efforts in the humanitarian evacuation effort.
Turkish authorities also announced yesterday that the first
assistance sent by the Lighthouse Association has reached Lebanon.
According to the statement, 60 tons of aid reached and was
distributed in Beirut after a six-day journey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
July 28, 2006 Friday 2:09 PM GMT
Police detain 27 illegal immigrants at Polish-German border
WARSAW, July 28 2006
Polish border guards and German police detained 27 illegal immigrants
aboard two trucks attempting to cross from Poland to Germany,
officials said Friday.
The immigrants — 12 Chinese, nine Vietnamese, four Armenians, one
Egyptian and a man whose nationality has not been established — were
detained at the western Polish town of Swiecko, border guard
spokesman Andrzej Kaminski told Poland’s PAP news agency.
Checks found 19 people aboard one truck at around midnight Thursday.
Several hours later, eight were discovered in a second truck. None
had identity documents.
The drivers of the two trucks face a jail term of up to three years
if found guilty of people-smuggling. The illegal immigrants are to be
expelled from Poland.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The New Anatolian, Turkey
July 28, 2006
WB says Turkey tackles corruption successfully
EkoTürk News Agency / Ankara
The World Bank released a new report titled `Anticorruption in
Transition 3-Who is Succeeding … And Why? ‘ taking a detailed look at
firm-level survey data and concluding that the studied region’s
progress in reducing corruption is unmistakable.
The study is the third in a series of World Bank reports tracking
levels of corruption in enterprise-state interactions since 1999.
Like its predecessors, the report draws on the Business Environment
and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), a joint initiative of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.
The triennial survey, conducted most recently in 2005, covers 26
former socialist countries and Turkey, as well as five western
European comparator countries. The non-transition European
comparators are Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. More
than 20,000 firms have been interviewed since the inception of BEEPS.
“Since 2002, firms in most countries are paying bribes less
frequently and in relatively smaller amounts, and they report
corruption to be less of a problem than in the past,” explains James
Anderson, co-author and Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Europe
and Central Asia region, “The common assumption that corruption is
steadily worsening does not stand up to scrutiny.”
“Strong leadership is a key weapon in the fight against corruption.
Every country that has made measurable progress in reducing
corruption has had a strong champion who made transparency and
accountability top priorities,” explains Cheryl Gray, co-author of
the study and Sector Director in the World Bank’s ECA region.
The study also comments about Turkey where it stands out in a way.
Those parts say;
On general corruption:
`For the first time in 2004/5, the BEEPS also was conducted in a
number of nontransition countries, including five European
comparators: Greece, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. A sixth
comparator country, Turkey, has been included in all rounds of the
survey. The results confirm the widespread assumption that corruption
tends to be worse intransition countries than in Western Europe,
indicating that most transition countries – including the eight new
members of the European Union in Central and Eastern Europe – still
have a way to go in improving accountability in government. However,
along some dimensions of corruption the nontransition European
comparators – most notably Greece and occasionally Portugal, Turkey,
and the eastern part of Germany – fared worse than many transition
countries.
As with other measures of corruption, the impact of state capture is
perceived by firms to be somewhat lower in several European
comparators – Germany, Ireland, and Spain – but relatively high in
Portugal and Turkey and at about the average for transition countries
in Greece.
Firms in most transition countries – other than perhaps Estonia and
Slovenia – still report significantly higher levels of corruption than
Western European comparators – most notably Ireland, Spain, and
Germany, as some indicators in Greece, Portugal, and
Turkey are not too different than those in the transition countries.
Bribery appears to have worsened from already high levels in the
Kyrgyz Republic, from more moderate levels in Serbia and Montenegro,
and from previously low levels in Armenia. Of the comparator
countries, corruption in the tax system appears relatively higher in
Greece and Portugal, moderate in Turkey, and very low in Germany,
Ireland, and Spain.
Portugal and Turkey appear to have levels of corruption in customs
that are comparable to most of the new EU members, while bribery in
customs appears to be very low in Germany, Greece, Ireland, and
Spain.
Turkey appears to be tackling corruption successfully through a wide
variety of policy and institutional reforms, including a strengthened
supreme audit institution and a law on `Freedom of Information for
Citizens’ enacted in 2003 that has led to a major expansion in the
distribution of information to the public through government
websites.’

PanARMENIAN.Net
RA MFA: No One Treats Seriously Myths Invented by
Azerbaijan
28.07.2006 13:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Hearing Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s
statements one can suppose that this official speaks of a process he
is not concerned about, RA Foreign Ministry’s Acting Spokesman
Vladimir Karapetian said when commenting on the recent statement by
Mammadyarov on the Karabakh conflict settlement. `I think Azerbaijan
still suffers from the myths it invented and nobody but Azeris
believes in them or even takes seriously. The sooner they get rid of
these illusions the more possible will become the establishment of
stability and mutual trust in the region,’ Vladimir Karapetian said,
reported the RA MFA press office.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenpress
ARMENIA TAKES UP CHAIRMANSHIP IN CAUCASIAN
PARLIAMENTARY INITIATIVE

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian
parliament member who traveled to London a week ago to
take the rotating chairmanship in the low-profile
South Caucasian Parliamentary Initiative from Georgia
for the next six months, reiterated today the official
Yerevan’s arguments that economic cooperation between
rivals and open borders can serve as an extra tool to
help the involved parties to resolve their conflicts.
The lawmaker, Ararat Malkhasian, told Armenpress
that during its six-month chairmanship Armenia will
place focus on urging cooperation in nature protection
and banking sectors. He said the parliaments of
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have assumed to set up
task forces which will be assigned to outline concrete
steps for each direction.
The Armenian lawmaker said contacts between South
Caucasian lawmakers are very important because they
are frank and immediate. He said the lawmakers also
agreed to consider the idea of designating a Caucasus
Day.
Malkhasian said the Armenian side hopes that the
Initiative would eventually turn into the
Parliamentary Assembly. He also said in London Azeri
counterparts agreed that war rhetoric in Baku is only
deteriorating chances for the peaceful settlement of
the Armenian-Azeri dispute.
The next meeting is expected to take place in Dubai
on December 16-17 when Armenia will hand the
chairmanship to Azerbaijan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

July 27, 2006

Armenian media situation improved, but more diversity needed, OSCE
media watchdog says in new report

VIENNA, 26 July 2006 – Armenia has made significant progress in
improving media legislation, but media pluralism remains limited to
the independent, but financially weak, print media, OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti said in a
report released today.
Haraszti prepared the report following an assessment visit to Yerevan
between 19 and 21 July.
“In order for Armenia to continue the process of media
democratization, the broadcasting sector needs to reflect diversity
of opinion, and the composition of all boards should represent the
political and social diversity of the country,” Haraszti said.
“Although Armenia has a good set of laws and has adopted a
progressive Freedom of Information Law, their proper implementation
should be ensured.”
The report also offers detailed recommendations to further promote
free and pluralistic media.
Armenian and Russian translations will follow shortly.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO CITIZENS OF ARMENIA ARE LEFT AT ERGNETTI
Lragir.am
28 July 06
The deputy foreign minister of Armenia Arman Kirakosyan told the news agency
ARKA that no citizens of Armenia are left at the checkpoint of Ergnetti.`At
present, they have been transported to Armenia in a motorcade,’ said the
deputy foreign minister, adding that the Armenian embassy to Georgia did
everything for their secure return.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REPUBLICAN IS NOT A PARTY ANY MORE
Lragir.am
28 July 06
`Tax avoiders, bribers, corrupt officials centered in ministries and
business monopolies were rounded up in a place,’ stated Member of
Parliament Manuk Gasparyan July 28 at the National Press Club in
connection with the unification of the Republican Party and Serge
Sargsyan. He does not know how to define the situation in the
political sphere of Armenia.
Manuk Gasparyan thinks there are two main reasons for enlargement and
consolidation of the Republican Party. `First, they rounded up in this
half-criminal organization, as they call it, and decided that power
reproduction may be impossible. What do they have to do for
reproduction? They have to round up.
They fear too. Do no think that it was just a call for
consolidation. It was made out of fear,’ says the member of
parliament.
`Second, the call for consolidation was such that if power
changessuddenly in the country, because there are two scenarios, one
is an early election,I do not deny that it may take place this year,
the second is a scheduled election. Reproduction of power is 100
percent impossible in an early election, and in a scheduled election
this consolidation may lead to something, but it is their
scenario. Because people saw during the extraordinary conference who
was sitting there in the hall of the conference, especially in the
upper part,’ Manuk Gasparyan says.
The member of parliament says 80 percent of people enjoying the hatred
of the public were sitting at the chair during the extraordinary
conference of the Republican Party. Earlier he had even presumed that
Serge Sargsyan would be elected president if the opposition were
divided and passive. `ButI immediately realized that it was
impossible, for the mask was torn and it became clear with what team
Serge Sargsyan is going to come to power,’ says Manuk Gasparyan.
He thinks that Serge Sargsyan’s team `marred’ the Republican Party,
`which was partly marred in 1999, and now it stopped being a political
party at all.
‘Manuk Gasparyan has not found a definition for the present
Republican Party.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Artyom Movsisyan: Human factor was the cause of the A-320 crash

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 14:32
Unfortunately we can state that the reason for the A-320 crash was the
human factor ` the uncoordinated actions of the crew during the last
17 seconds of the flight. However, it’s not clear so far what was the
cause of such activity of the pilot, and it needs to be clarified,
Head of the Chief Board of the Civil Aviation of Armenia Artyom
Movsisyan said during a press conference, commenting on the
conclusions of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) on the causes
of the Armavia A-320 crash.
`It’s not clear for us what served as a reason for the uncoordinated
actions of the crew, since the modeling of the flight in Toulouse
revealed that during the last 17 seconds the flight of the plane was
stable. Suddenly, 17 seconds before the crash, the actions of the
crewmembers became uncoordinated. Possibly, this was connected with
the pilot’s health condition, which worsened under extreme
circumstances or the state of mind caused by the actions of the flying
control officer, or even the loss of orientation in the space,’
Movsisyan said. He added that decoding of the voice recorder revealed
that the crew was extremely nervous and discontent with the activities
of the flying control officer. However, he avoided providing a direct
answer to the question whether the Civil Aviation Committee agrees
with the conclusion of the Interstate Aviation Committee that the
responsibility for the accident falls on the crew. He noted only that
the information in the IAC conclusion corresponds to the data of the
A-320 flight recorders.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“Mika” out of the contest for the UEFA Cup

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 15:15
July 27 `Mika’ football team of Ashtarak lost 0:1 to the Swiss `Young Boys’
in the response game of the first qualification round of the UEFA Cup, thus
staying out from the further competition.
To remind, in the first game in Yerevan `Mika’ lost with the score of 1:3.
Thus, all of the four Armenian teams left the race for 2006 European Cups
from first qualification rounds.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress