Author: Emil Lazarian

DUAL CITIZENSHIP ISSUES
Yerkir.am
June 23, 2006
National Assembly is set to hold hearings titled “Dual Citizenship:
International Law and Experience,” initiated by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’ s parliamentary faction.
Interested organizations, political parties, non-governmental
organizations and experts have been invited to participate.
For the Armenian people, who found itself in a unique situation spread
around the globe after it was subjected to genocide in its homeland
in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the
dual citizenship is a special issue.
The Armenian Diaspora is a unique phenomenon of the history,
and Armenians have for decades preserved their ethnic culture and
awareness due to their quest to return to their independent homeland.
The uniqueness of our situation makes us create a united sphere of
national identity that would form a united responsibility for the
homeland and future of the Armenians.
Our wish is to make Armenia the homeland of all Armenians and at least
partially soothe the consequences of the history under the norms of
the international law.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VIABLE INSTITUTES AS GUARANTEE FOR DEVELOPMENT
Yerkir.am
June 23, 2006
Only 15 years after Armenia launched market reforms Europe is mulling
granting Armenia a status of a country with market economy. It is
said that the issue could be solved by the end of the year.
How serious are these discussions and what actually a ‘country with
market economy’ means?
The experience of leading countries
The fact is that only 10 percent or 20-25 countries out of 200 have
developed market economies. While other have some infrastructures
typical for market economies, market stagnates in those countries
without ensuring a glut for society’s prosperity.
International donors spend billions of dollars to reform the economies
of those countries but the expected results are not reached. The gap
between the rich and poor is gradually widening.
The experience of developed countries indicates that the first
precondition for a developed market economy is an efficient formulation
of property rights. Only then we can expect that the property rights
could become permanently available, standardized and subject to
exchanges that could be centrally registered, legally formulated and
guarantee that their owners would not be deprived form their rights,
or nationalized or uncertainty.
The situation in other countries
Apparently, in countries with underdeveloped market economies not only
are the property rights weak and unclear but also their registration
and protection mechanisms are inefficient.
This means that institutional weakness and underdeveloped
infrastructures are obstacles for implementing efficient market
economy. And fist of all this applies to underdeveloped government
institutions.
In theory, government can both contribute to establishment of
efficient and viable market institutions and block its development
through beneficent institutions.
Statements of politicians on political goals and necessity of reforms
often do not correspond to the institutional mechanisms capacities
for implementing such reforms since the price a society is to pay is
not clearly defined.
In this regard, a choice for an institutional structure of a country
is a result of proactive measures to better implement reforms. Western
countries posses more developed institutions that are in line with
dominating method of economic coordination.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VISITING ISTANBUL, ARMENIAN ORTHODOX LEADER SAYS TURKS COMMITTED GENOCIDE AGAINST ARMENIANS
AP Worldstream
Jun 25, 2006
Armenian Orthodox leader Karekin II said in Istanbul Sunday that Turks
committed genocide against Armenians, a statement that is likely to
increase tensions during the last two days of his weeklong visit here.
Karekin II, whose official title is Catholicos of All Armenians, has
been facing protests since his plane landed at the Istanbul airport
on Tuesday.
The protesters included prominent lawyers from the Turkish Lawyers’
Union, who previously pushed for the prosecution of novelist Orhan
Pamuk after he said that Turks had killed 1 million Armenians.
Turkey vehemently denies that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks around the time of World War I was genocide, and several cases
have been brought against those who say otherwise. The cases have
been opened under a law making it a crime to “insult Turkishness.”
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killing in an organized genocidal campaign by Ottoman Turks, and have
pushed for recognition of the killings as genocide around the world.
Karekin II was unreceptive Sunday to Turkey’s requests that Turkey and
Armenia, which are neighbors but have no diplomatic relations, open
their historical archives to researchers from both countries to try
to ease tensions and reach an objective conclusion about the killings.
“For our people research is not an issue. This is something that
happened and it needs to be recognized,” the Dogan news agency quoted
Karekin II as saying. “The genocide issue has been researched for 90
years by academics.”
Karekin II said the protests hadn’t affected him.
“They didn’t break my spirit and they don’t reflect my visit,” he
said. “But if these kinds of protests continue, it shows that we have
a lot of work so that these two societies can live together.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER PETROSSIAN’S STATEMENT
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
26 June 2006
Recently the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammedyarov has
announced about their willingness to grant the highest degree of
sovereignty to Nagorno Karabakh, applying the model of Tatarstan
to Karabakh. With regard to this the foreign minister of NKR Georgy
Petrossian made a statement: “This statement, if it is not another
propaganda device, means, in fact, that the Azerbaijani government
is likely to transform into a federation. Hence, hopefully, the same
status will be granted to the Lezgis, the Talish and other peoples
living in Azerbaijan. For NKR, the Azerbaijani government avoids
contact with NKR, and it should be emphasized that official Baku
cannot grant a status to Nagorno Karabakh, because this is beyond its
jurisdiction. The people living here decided the status of Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in conformity with the law.
The essence of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict is that the
Azerbaijani party was unable to solve these problems in a civilized way
and resorted to an armed aggression. Official Baku ignores the reality
that the independence of NKR is the highest value of the people of the
republic, which was established by the universal referendum, held on
December 10, 1991. The people of NKR defended their right to decide
their fate. Moreover, for over 7 times in the past 15 years restated
their will through democratic presidential and parliamentary elections
in NKR, when the voters voted for the programs of separate candidates
and political parties, upholding the independence of the republic.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRIME MINISTER MET WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SHUSHI FOUNDATION
Press Service Of NKR Government
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
26 June 2006
The reconstruction and development of Shushi remains urgent, not
only for the NKR government but governmental and non-governmental
organizations, as well as all the Armenians, who are worried about
the fate of the ancient Armenian fortress. In order to bring into
being the ideas of reconstruction of the city and coordinate programs,
as well as deal with fundraising, two foundations were set up, which
is reassuring, but their activities are extremely slow.
During his recent visit to Armenia Prime Minister Danielian met
with the mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharian and gladly accepted
his willingness to assist in the reconstruction of Shushi. Soon it
became known that Mr. Zakharian has established the Shushi Revival
Foundation. The board of the fund will include representatives
of relevant organizations, as well as specialists from Armenia and
Artsakh. On June 22 the Prime Minister met with the executive director
of the foundation Grigor Hovanissian, and commending this initiative,
expressed hope that this new organization will manage to work out
realistic programs and fulfill their honorable mission. At the same
time, the prime minister expressed the commitment of the government
to assist in the activities of the foundation. Deputy Prime Minister
Anoushavan Danielian was also present at the meeting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE BIG RED ONE: POMEGRANATE JUICEIT’S ANTIOXIDANT-RICH. IT’S ALSO HYPE- AND CALORIE-RICH.
By Erika Engelhaupt
For The Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA
June 25 2006
First it was red wine. Then green tea. Now pomegranate juice is making
the rounds as the latest good-for-you drink.
Experts say it may help lower blood pressure and even fight certain
cancers, although the research is still preliminary. But beware those
extra calories if you’re swilling a daily dose.
The near blood-red drink is cropping up all over, from chic cocktail
lounges to humble neighborhood delis.
Sales of refrigerated pomegranate juice soared from zero in 2001 to
more than $63 million in 2005, according to A.C. Nielsen, the market
research firm.
Moving beyond the martinis that appeared a few years back, the tart
juice is now sold in blends, combined with everything from mango to
lychee green tea.
At the Latimer Delicatessen near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia,
four pomegranate blends rub bottles with lowbrow colas and sports
drinks.
Running from $2 to $4 a bottle, the pom is not cheap.
The mover behind the juicy surge is Pom Wonderful, which helped create
the U.S. market for the drink when its 6,000 acres of pomegranates
started bearing fruit in 2002. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners
of the Philadelphia area’s Franklin Mint, also manage Pom Wonderful
through their parent company, Roll International, based in Los Angeles.
Apparently, everyone already knows about antioxidants and wants to
imbibe as much as possible, or at least Pom Wonderful’s ad campaign
makes it seem that way.
For those feeling left out, antioxidants are natural substances in
plants and foods that protect cells from marauding oxygen molecules
called free radicals.
Antioxidants stop free radicals from attacking LDL, or “bad”
cholesterol, and combining with cells to form plaque that hardens
arteries.
Research has shown that people whose diets are rich in fruits and
vegetables have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and
certain cancers.
A small, 19-person study by scientists at Israel’s Rambam Medical
Center in Haifa showed that pomegranate juice lowered systolic blood
pressure, the upper reading, by 21 percent and prevented thickening
of the arteries for the 10 subjects who drank about two ounces of
pomegranate juice daily for up to three years.
At least half a dozen other studies by the Israeli group and others
show similar effects in mice and humans. Some were funded by a
foundation run by the Resnicks, owners of Pom Wonderful.
Several studies also show that antioxidants in food may help prevent
prostate cancer. One study of pomegranate juice, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2005, found that
it reduced tumor size by as much as half in mice. More research is
needed to gauge the effects on humans.
Pomegranates pack more than five times the antioxidants of green tea,
and are especially loaded with a potent type called polyphenols.
Long-term studies of antioxidants also suggest that taking antioxidants
in pill form is less effective than eating them in whole foods.
“It’s worth incorporating pomegranate juice into the diet on a regular
basis as part of your armament to prevent chronic disease, and it’s
good for both men and women,” said Lisa Hark, director of nutrition
education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Hark said pomegranate juice and other antioxidant-rich foods should
be part of a prevention arsenal, but they’re not a cure. “I can’t see
pomegranate juice reversing heart disease – it’s not going to break
up plaque.”
And not all pom drinks pack the same antioxidant punch. For the
biggest wallop, look for pomegranate high in the ingredient list or
mixed with other antioxidant brews, such as green tea.
Hark also cautions that consumers should balance the healthful benefits
of pomegranate juice against the calories it contains. One 16-ounce
bottle of Pom Wonderful contains 320 calories – more than a Hershey’s
bar. Hark said drinking one bottle gives you the same calories you
would get in more than five servings of fresh fruit.
She recommends diluting the pure juice and drinking four ounces a
day to save on cost and calories. Sparkling water makes a refreshing
spritzer and won’t add calories.
Pomegranates have a fabled history. In Greek mythology, when Persephone
was tricked into eating six pomegranate seeds during a stint in Hades,
she condemned Earth to six months of infertility each year, explaining
the seasons.
Many ancient foods now are getting reviewed. “We’ve rediscovered that
food has medicinal qualities,” said Ara DerMarderosian, a professor of
medicinal chemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
who has studied folk remedies for nearly half a century.
His group has studied medicinal effects of cranberries and
blueberries and has turned to pomegranate juice. The scientist, who
is first-generation Armenian, said he had been eating pomegranates
for years and recommended eating the seeds whole from fresh fruit.
“My mother would labor over these for a long time when I was a kid,
and then we kids would devour them in a minute,” DerMarderosian said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

JUNE 27 OSKANIAN TO LEAVE FOR WORKING VISIT TO GEORGIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2006 16:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 27 Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian will leave
for Georgia on a working visit, reports the Armenian MFA Press
Service. During his visit the head of the Armenian MFA will met with
Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili, FM Gela Bezhuashvili and Speaker
Nino Burjanadze. June 28 the Armenian FM will make a statement on
regional policy issues at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and
International Research.
The same day the delegation led by the Minister will return to Yerevan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FOUCHET. IT’S TOO LATE, HMAYAK
Melik Frangulyan
Lragir.am
26 June 06
Recently people have emerged in Armenia, who insist that it is better
to legalize illegality, for there is no other way to tackle it. Such
an Armenian intellectual, Hamayak Hovanisyan was fond of praising our
“superminister” Serge Sargsyan. That allegedly he is strong, very
strong, no one can do anything to him. We must make him a president
and let him wave his sward above our heads.
Recently, however, Hmayak spoke differently: Serge feeds “swine in
Armenia”, in other words, criminal business and criminal members
of parliament. He feeds them to get their support later to become
president. Perhaps, he does not believe that Hmayak will persuade
people to kneel before Serge. Hmayak was so offended that Serge treats
dread and harms our country. Whereas he had been hopeful that Serge
would get furious and clear the country of the unclean.
And Hmayak would tell everyone: look how insightful I am.
He is so deeply sorry that Serge Sargsyan can but is reluctant to
beat the oligarchy and make Armenia a free country. He was so offended
that he even threatened his Fouchet that he would be defeated easily
like that French of Napoleon.
Recently they have asserted righteously that after the secession of
Orinats Yerkir from the coalition everything changed in Armenia. Only
Hmayak did not change. And he did not change for the reason that he
cannot see the change around him. Although, most probably, he can
see but he cannot believe. Because he knows that days will pass and
Hmayaks will not be needed in Armenia any more. But we will not tell
this to Hmayak. We will do something else and quite seriously.
If Hmayak were Serge Sargsyan’s poor relative from the village of
Tegh, it would be possible to understand him as someone who suffered
that everything is so unfair, who wants to live as his relative, the
“superminister”, the Armenian Fouchet. Kinship normally prevents from
perceiving life profoundly: he is dazzled by Fouchet’s glory. But if
the superintellectual Hmayak wants to persuade the citizens that a
person such as Serge Sargsyan can “strike” an oligarch and a criminal
for the sake of someone or something, we have to confess that something
is wrong with his intellect.
But if some crumbs of intellect remain, nevertheless, Hmayak can be
made to understand the simple truth that such political merchants
as Serge Sargsyan managed to emerge and float because they created
hurdles for honest politicians through coercion, venality and plots.
These merchants know that if law and order and an electoral system
of governance is established, they will be locked up for a long time,
where people go for treason.
Everyone except for Hmayak knows that struggle against law and
promotion of unconstitutional elements are the political credo of
serges of different kinds, since power is a source of wealth and
careless life, causing sorrow and hardship to others. They do not want
to work, because they cannot work and create anything. They are not
gifted by God. Therefore they are taking revenge on people because
they are not gifted.
Hmayak is not ungifted, therefore for him it is hard to believe what
ungifted serges, who have a grudge against God, are capable of. But
if he stayed at home and prayed for serges, we would not have even
noticed him. But he is teaching intellect and consciousness to
people, inspiring people all the time that serges can do a lot but
are reluctant. And he does not think that someone may believe him the
intellectual. Believe and never stop serges, believe that they may
become better and beat the oligarchs for the sake of people. It is a
real theory of reincarnation. Maybe he is not conscious of what he is
doing. Hmayak inspires his belief in the inability of the Armenian
people to change anything in their life. He would not realize that
it is unacceptable to instill one’s own inability in other people.
They also say that he does everything to please Serge. Then we should
tell Hmayak that it is not worthwhile. It is not worthwhile because
it is already too late. Also it is too late to understand all those
things that one failed to understand. It is already too late because
one cannot do that thing without being punished. He has to give an
answer, for most people have understood that without such harmful
people as Hmayak it is impossible to allow the political adventures
of such ungifted people as Serge. And if they have realized it, they
will decide what to do with the others, they simply have to be patient.

PRIME MINISTER WILL LEAVE FOR FRANCE
A1+
[01:46 pm] 26 June, 2006
On June 26 RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan took a short
vacation. Andranik Margaryan will spend his one-week vacation in
France in order to undergo a prophylactic medical examination.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BEGINNING FROM JUNE 1 ARMENIANS CAN SEEK JUSTICE AT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
Armenpress
Jun 26 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS: Chairman of Armenia’s Constitutional
Court, Gagik Harutunian, said those Armenians who would like to take
their case to the highest judicial body of the country, should first
of all learn provisions of the revised law on Constitutional Court
that was enforced on June 1.
Under the revised Armenian Constitution, beginning from July 1 all
Armenians can seek justice at the Constitutional Court but only
after exhausting chances to find it in lower courts. Harutunian said
to Armenpress that article 69 of the revised law on Constitutional
Court sets in a clear way mechanisms of how individuals can apply
to the Constitutionals Court. He said the procedure of accepting and
consideration of applications will be developed very soon.
But he predicted the majority of first applications will be those of
unaware applicants, ‘because many people still think they can take
any case to the Constitutional Court.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress